, 1880-03-20
SCIENCE,

ItlE FlltE LAWS OF JAPAN,
Tho severity will, wI,tcl, persons in Japan
are punlshe1 wllo hnve the misfortune 10 be
burned out fs statetl as follows: II the house
Is nnoccnpie.l aud h accidentally set oh fire,
the person through whose caretesncss the
fire Is, started receives ten .ays' imprson
mcnt With hard labor; II It Is inhabited and
the fire bn produced by tho proprietor, then
lie Is punished with twenty days; II tlie fire
spreads to other houses, tho sentence Is forty
days, a..d when anybody is killed thereby
QUO degree hcnyter; hut, II the person allied
Ism reallye Of thp first degree, lilo pl.,lixll.
1nent IL 100 days; II the llD.tAg helDuGS IL the
G;oyernment 100 days; II n temple, from
slXty ~ days tc ono yenr; hut ten. yeara nrc
temples of 1slet Or III the precints Of tI!o 1,,l-
flol,a'ty 70 q house, he is punished with ut
5ehNr 5ehsa 'illee yeaiH nprisontnent With harl
years' penal seryltitlo at attempt Mt nrsolI,-
tho, ho,puntshnle,it being m!tlgatetl ii tho would
" incendlary IL Il servant who l,ns just rD-
eeayEt s s'!!rp reGl'ke; Of If the attempt be
m snts f,ta o., q ~ ~, in'Ited H dwelling If ma!'
II tho fire spreads to houses lit tho neighhor..
tude for life Ia Inflicted ii tho offender pl olifs
by the npportuMltynf tilt ir1 10 purloill goods
or property.-AHlcrfc4t1k ITc1tttcct,
RuN-sPOT CYCLES AND EpIDEMSCs.
1t 1nay he safely asserted that, from tho
earliest ages, no subject Inns filled tho minds
OF men with so much establishment and ter
ror Us tliat Of tia frequent and awful epi-
dcmEcs which have so often slcpopulntctl
Empires or ravaged thu known Earth; and
It Is not little curious TINT In tho very daw,,
Of medicine they should l,avo beel, .ltrIb-
utsl to the wrntll OF the Sun. 49,.
it u tchorally known that spots Of rarltly-
varying shape nild siz0 occur on thu SUMS
DISK; that these tncrcase a,ltl diminish leriat-
lcally: md that they nre simultaneous with
shangcs IN tho solnr aetivtty Oh felt m tho
Einatcen an, r. Ge,f ysTy 'f4n1 4 Nor, artSs III te
AteSsrs. Luckyer a!id Hunter show thai those
SArlntl0hB are periodical, recurring In cycles
Or eleven years and q fraction; TINT thpy dIt-
tsr rs to amount in different cycles; an1 tiiat
uaey aro e9Ialclacht with terrestrial cycles OF
VARIATIONS ILL.,
u; Terrestrial magne!lsm and elcctna ac~
.. Temperature;
g. Wind-listnrbances, hurricanes, ana cy-
Il. Knlnfall. with wttcl, The writer's show
TINT alt tho fllnncsln lMdIn tlurlng thls cent
Ary l,stye BEEN ,connectcd.- .-tlie famtnes
nint,v'I; 'oi'Gtw q a!ter drought occurring ut the
Ille Increased llsnt, rainfa!l, and electrical
aetlFlt} 0ccur, then, periodically with the
HfhAlihuin 0I lle 6lilt-sVOt cycle; this, Ut
course, means, III Temperate Zones, mild but
stormy winters, dnlnl, stormy springs, alsl
nnfrultful summers. The rain falIiHg sul.
dom, bnt, II ut nlI, III largu amounts. Tllat
nrtielo suggested tho thought TINT tis lr,eg!l:
lnrlty ot tho seaSuns Of such year would
ColIIcito closely with that described by Hin
nocrates ns tho Second Epidemic cuilstiti,-
ton. Miu, prlprl, one would sltp1H,se Tint
suca, weather would bo very tavnfthlo for
lle usvslopinent VI germs 0f low forms OF
organic life, a1lI very unhealthy for Mla]t,
1uH! disastrous for crui>S.
lcrr, tl'an, nrG four series ut pestilcnees
showing Il marked pprfOti{rlty of nt,nut
elnyen ye1.ra, uli II DECIDED tendency to fail
On Years neAr Whit va SUPPOSE with rcnsnn
to have BEEN tlosa ut Sull-spot n,axinn. Tbs
nnparent exception of tho epittclltcs Of the
take a9 fnr the titst maximum. although n.y.
narel!ty t'Irfe Years too late, It u ot moro 10
than l's9 nln1 l6:N,-0ne of which wa kttIw,
anu the other Ut which we SUPPOSE, to have
been . maximum year. Tllis year wus I'll.
lHwtti oY great tiu!Ids, etG, during which 1t Ia
1air y supposo uiat tie pestilence was gou.
sfatea srs Which reached Col,stantInopla III 81
Looking 1T MI the other great epidelI-
calculated data ot Hun-Aput lnnylu,a
With the historical accounts of tho nnturnl
phenomena, the weather, heat, sturlns, Auu;ls,
ETC., .recor'lel In connection Will thess epI.
uelnlcst uIa coincidence hcu!itics yery strtk.
Ing. aud seems clear tint tho great cpldelli-
tcs of tho Oriental plague 'aays appeared, H.
ERASED, and Diminished coinclae!tIy with
the tides nf solar CLERGY corresponding with
the maximum years OF ths SusSsp0t cy.
S9w, whit eau these general Influences he.
ILLS geAtrai cause,-tAls inural1c influence