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 An Analysis of

Hamid Dabashi’s
Theology of Discontent
The Ideological Foundation of
the Islamic Revolution in Iran

Magdalena C. Delgado
with
Bryan R. Gibson

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 1 10/06/2017 20:50

 CONTENTS

WAYS IN TO THE TEXT

Who Is Hamid Dabashi? 9
What Does Theology of Discontent Say? 10
Why Does Theology of Discontent Matter? 12

SECTION 1: INFLUENCES
Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 15
Module 2: Academic Context 20
Module 3: The Problem 25
Module 4: The Author’s Contribution 30

SECTION 2: IDEAS
Module 5: Main Ideas 35
Module 6: Secondary Ideas 39
Module 7: Achievement 44
Module 8: Place in the Author’s Work 48

SECTION 3: IMPACT
Module 9: The First Responses 53
Module 10: The Evolving Debate 57
Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 61
Module 12: Where Next? 65

Glossary of Terms 70
People Mentioned in the Text 79
Works Cited 88

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 3 10/06/2017 20:50

 THE MACAT LIBRARY
The Macat Library is a series of unique academic explorations of
seminal works in the humanities and social sciences – books and
papers that have had a significant and widely recognised impact on
their disciplines. It has been created to serve as much more than just a
summary of what lies between the covers of a great book. It illuminates
and explores the influences on, ideas of, and impact of that book. Our
goal is to offer a learning resource that encourages critical thinking and
fosters a better, deeper understanding of important ideas.
Each publication is divided into three Sections: Influences, Ideas, and
Impact. Each Section has four Modules. These explore every important
facet of the work, and the responses to it.
This Section-Module structure makes a Macat Library book easy to
use, but it has another important feature. Because each Macat book is
written to the same format, it is possible (and encouraged!) to cross-
reference multiple Macat books along the same lines of inquiry or
research. This allows the reader to open up interesting interdisciplinary
pathways.
To further aid your reading, lists of glossary terms and people
mentioned are included at the end of this book (these are indicated by
an asterisk [*] throughout) – as well as a list of works cited.

Macat has worked with the University of Cambridge to identify the

elements of critical thinking and understand the ways in which six
different skills combine to enable effective thinking.
Three allow us to fully understand a problem; three more give us
the tools to solve it. Together, these six skills make up the
PACIER model of critical thinking. They are:

ANALYSIS – understanding how an argument is built

EVALUATION – exploring the strengths and weaknesses of an argument
INTERPRETATION – understanding issues of meaning
CREATIVE THINKING – coming up with new ideas and fresh connections
PROBLEM-SOLVING – producing strong solutions
REASONING – creating strong arguments

To find out more, visit WWW.MACAT.COM.

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 4 10/06/2017 20:50

 CRITICAL THINKING AND THEOLOGY OF DISCONTENT
Primary critical thinking skill: ANALYSIS
Secondary critical thinking skill: CREATIVE THINKING

Hamid Dabashi’s 1997 work Theology of Discontent reveals a creative

thinker capable not only of understanding how an argument is built,
but also of redefining old issues in new ways.The Iranian revolution of
1978–9 was front-page news around the world, and in some ways it
remains so today.Though it was an uprising against authoritarian royal
rule, the work of a coalition of modernisers and Islamists, the
revolution saw the birth of a new Islamic republic that seemed to reject
pro-western democracy.
Dabashi wanted to analyse the real reasons for this change, while
examining the ways in which Islamic ideologies contributed to the
revolution and the republic that emerged from it. Theology of Discontent
examines eight different Islamic thinkers, analysing how views that,
superficially, appear to have little in common contributed to the
modern Iranian belief system.
In addition to its insightful analytical dissection of the ideas of these
eight thinkers, the book also showcases Dabashi’s creative thinking skills.
Reframing the debates about Iran’s relationship with the west, the
author traces the ways in which Iranian identity formed in reactive
opposition to western ideas. In many ways, Dabashi suggested, Iran was
trapped in a cycle of deliberately asserting its difference from the west –
a process that was fundamental to the development of its own unique
brand of revolutionary Islamism.

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 5 10/06/2017 20:50

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE ORIGINAL WORK
Born in Iran in 1951, Hamid Dabashi is a prolific Iranian American
scholar, sociologist, and postcolonialist who specializes in Islamic studies,
history, and culture. A passionate political activist in his youth, Dabashi
studied in the United States, but went home to take part in the Iranian
Revolution of 1978–9, before completing a double PhD back in
America in 1984. His books have been highly praised, though his views
on a number of subjects, including Israel, have polarized opinions. He
is currently a professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at
Columbia University.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS OF THE ANALYSIS

Dr Magdalena C. Delgado holds a doctorate in international relations
from the London School of Economics, where her research focused on
the role of religion in the politics of the Middle East. She is currently a
research associate at LSE.

Dr Bryan Gibson holds a PhD in International History from the

London School of Economics (LSE) and was a post-doctoral research
fellow at the LSE’s Centre for Diplomacy and Strategy and an instructor
on Middle Eastern politics in the LSE’s Department of International
History and the University of East Anglia’s Department of Political, Social
and International Studies (PSI). He is currently on the faculty of Johns
Hopkins University and is the author of Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq,
the Kurds and the Cold War (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).

ABOUT MACAT
GREAT WORKS FOR CRITICAL THINKING
Macat is focused on making the ideas of the world’s great thinkers
accessible and comprehensible to everybody, everywhere, in ways that
promote the development of enhanced critical thinking skills.
It works with leading academics from the world’s top universities to
produce new analyses that focus on the ideas and the impact of the most
influential works ever written across a wide variety of academic disciplines.
Each of the works that sit at the heart of its growing library is an enduring
example of great thinking. But by setting them in context – and looking
at the influences that shaped their authors, as well as the responses they
provoked – Macat encourages readers to look at these classics and
game-changers with fresh eyes. Readers learn to think, engage and
challenge their ideas, rather than simply accepting them.

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 6 10/06/2017 20:50

 ‘Macat offers an amazing first-of-its-kind tool for
interdisciplinary learning and research. Its focus on works
that transformed their disciplines and its rigorous approach,
drawing on the world’s leading experts and educational institutions,
opens up a world-class education to anyone.’
Andreas Schleicher
Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development

‘Macat is taking on some of the major challenges in university

education … They have drawn together a strong team of active
academics who are producing teaching materials that are
novel in the breadth of their approach.’
Prof Lord Broers,
former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge

‘The Macat vision is exceptionally exciting. It focuses

upon new modes of learning which analyse and explain seminal texts
which have profoundly influenced world thinking and so social and
economic development. It promotes the kind of critical thinking
which is essential for any society and economy.
This is the learning of the future.’
Rt Hon Charles Clarke, former UK Secretary of State for Education

‘The Macat analyses provide immediate access to the critical

conversation surrounding the books that have shaped their
respective discipline, which will make them an invaluable resource
to all of those, students and teachers, working in the field.’
Professor William Tronzo, University of California at San Diego

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 7 10/06/2017 20:50

 WAYS IN TO THE TEXT
KEY POINTS
• Hamid Dabashi is an Iranian-born, US-educated scholar, and
is considered one of the key postcolonial* cultural critics of
the twenty-first century. Postcolonial thinkers consider the
various legacies of colonialism and imperialism.
• Dabashi’s book Theology of Discontent shows how the
Islamic ideology of the Iranian Revolution was formed
through a dialectical* relationship with the West—that is, a
relationship founded on arguments and counterarguments
from two opposing viewpoints.
• The text is important because it gives readers the tools to
understand Islamic ideology as a developing theory.

Who Is Hamid Dabashi?

Hamid Dabashi, the author of Theology of Discontent: The Ideological
Foundation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1993), was born in Ahvaz,
Iran in 1951 and raised by his illiterate and devoutly Islamic mother.
After receiving his primary education in his hometown, Dabashi
moved to the capital, Tehran, in August 1970, and was accepted into
the University of Tehran. From an early age, Dabashi was a fierce
Iranian nationalist and social activist. He attended secret poetry
readings and read subversive materials as a student. He even returned

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 9 10/06/2017 20:50

 Macat Analysis of Hamid Dabashi’s Theology of Discontent

from his studies in the United States to take part in the Iranian
Revolution* of 1978–9, in which the head of state, Shah Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi,* was overthrown, but afterwards Dabashi saw his
democratic dreams for Iran destroyed by the new ruling theocratic*
elite (a theocracy is a government founded on religious doctrine and
law).
After finishing his undergraduate degree, Dabashi traveled to the
United States in the mid-1970s to study, and was exposed to American
cultural and political values. In 1984, he completed a dual PhD in
sociology of culture and Islamic studies at the University of
Pennsylvania, having written his thesis on the German sociologist
Max Weber’s* theory of charismatic authority,* a study of the
devotion given to apparently exceptional individuals. He now has
American citizenship and lives in New York City.
Dabashi is a prolific writer. He has written 18 books, edited four,
and contributed chapters to numerous other volumes. He has
published over 100 essays, articles, and book reviews on subjects
relating to Iranian studies, Islam, world cinema, and the philosophy of
art. His books and articles have been translated into more than 16
languages.1

What Does Theology of Discontent Say?

Theology of Discontent says that Iran’s revolution of 1978–9 in which the
head of state, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown and
replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of an Islamic
republic, would not have happened without the Islamic ideology
developed by eight prominent Iranian Islamic thinkers in the decades
prior to the revolution.
Dabashi explains the contributions these Iranian thinkers have
made to the development of Iran’s Islamic ideology. He argues that this
ideology was formed in a dialectical conversation (through argument
and counterargument) with the West. He also says it was influenced by

10

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 10 10/06/2017 20:50

 Ways In to the Text

Iranians’ perception of themselves in comparison with their perception

of the West. These eight writers are: the thinker and activist Jalal Al-e
Ahmad* (1923–69); the socialist Ali Shari’ati* (1933–77); the cleric
and teacher Morteza Motahhari* (1919–79); the theologian Sayyid
Mahmud Taleqani* (1911–79); the philosopher Allamah Sayyid
Muhammad Hossein Tabataba’i* (1904–81); the academic and activist
Mehdi Bazargan* (1908–95); the economist and human rights activist
Abolhassan Bani-Sadr* (born 1933 and president from 1980); and the
cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini* (1902–89, Supreme Leader of
post-revolution Iran). Dabashi’s approach—examining the work of
key Iranian thinkers who might otherwise have been ignored—was
considered to be inventive.
Central to the text are three core themes: anti-Westernism,*
Westoxification,* and othering* (the process by which a community
or people develops a collective identity by building an imagined,
negative, collective identity for another community or people—the
West and Iran, for example).
Dabashi argues that Iranian anti-Westernism (an opposition to
Western cultural and political models) has emerged as a result of a
dialectical conversation between Islam and the West. Although Iran
avoided being colonized* directly by Western powers during the
colonial era (that is, it was never subject to foreign government or
settled by foreigners), it was drawn into the imperial system. Since the
early nineteenth century, both Britain and Russia have tried to impose
their imperial influence on Iran.This has resulted in the formation of a
national Iranian identity based on the need to resist foreign
domination. Dabashi argues that Western involvement in Iran since
World War II* heightened the desire among Iranians to resist control,
first by Britain and Russia, and then gradually by America.This process
culminated in the Iranian Revolution.
The second theme, Westoxification, is a concept that was first
introduced by Jalal Al-e Ahmad, one of the Islamist ideologues*

11

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 11 10/06/2017 20:50

 Macat Analysis of Hamid Dabashi’s Theology of Discontent

(outspoken adherents of an ideology) examined in the book.

Westoxification is the attraction to and dependence on the West, an
attraction that has damaged Iran’s traditional, historical, and cultural
ties to Islam and the Islamic world.The term derives its name from the
intoxication or infatuation that destroys rational judgment and the
ability to appreciate the dangers presented by the toxic substance—
namely, the West.These dangers are what are seen as the West’s “moral
laxity, social injustice, secularism,* devaluation of religion, and obsession
with money, all of which are fueled by capitalism.”* The inevitable result
of Westoxification is described as “cultural alienation.”*2
Finally, the concept of “othering” is a central theme of Theology of
Discontent. Othering refers to the process of pitching a collective
identity (that of Islamic Iran, for example) against an imagined
ideology (that of the Christian West, say).This approach—good against
evil, capitalism* against communism,* and so on) is often used in
international relations, where states point out the negative features of
their neighbors to emphasize their own strengths.

Why Does Theology of Discontent Matter?

Theology of Discontent is considered a key text in the study of the Iranian
Revolution, primarily because it is the first to explain the ideological
origins of this groundbreaking event. The text provides the tools for
understanding how Iran’s revolutionary Islamic ideology emerged. By
showing how this ideology has been shaped through perceptions of an
Islamist East and a Christian West, Dabashi emphasizes how symbols
have played an important role in the development of Iran’s national
identity. When the book was republished in 2006, its core content
remained unchanged, though an extra introduction was added in the
light of continuing events, such as 9/11* and the US-led invasions of
Iraq (2003)*and Afghanistan (2001).*
Theology of Discontent is also important because it went beyond the
speculative and catch-all explanations for the Iranian Revolution that

12

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 12 10/06/2017 20:50

 Ways In to the Text

had been given by the typical academic works on the subject. It

suggested that an Islamic ideology developed by eight seminal Islamic
thinkers influenced the revolutionary masses more than the other
secular and populist ideologies that some said caused the revolution.
The second edition, published in 2006, provided explanations of Islam
and Islamic ideology that were an alternative to those that dominated
academic and public debate at the time and which presented an
essentialist* idea of an unchanging Islam (that is, an idea of Islam as
something that can be explained and defined by certain essential
characteristics regardless of political, cultural, or geographical context).
Moreover, the text offers an excellent model for analyzing other
radical Islamist movements that triumphed in the aftermath of the
protests, demonstrations, and civil wars that swept through the Arab
world (particularly Tunisia and Egypt) in 2010, collectively known as
the Arab Spring* (although it should be noted that in Egypt, the
military has since regained control over the state and cracked down on
Islamist movements).

NOTES
1 Columbia University, “Hamid Dabashi,” accessed May 4, 2015, http://www.
columbia.edu/cu/mesaas/faculty/directory/dabashi.html.
2 The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, “Westoxification,” accessed April 29, 2015,
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2501

13

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 13 10/06/2017 20:50

 SECTION 1
INFLUENCES

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 14 10/06/2017 20:50

 MODULE 1
THE AUTHOR AND THE
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
KEY POINTS
• Theology of Discontent is an important text because it
shows how complex the Islamic ideology was that led to
the 1978–9 Iranian Revolution*—that is, the overthrow of
the existing government and the installation of an Islamic
government. It helps our understanding of contemporary
Muslim–Western relations.
• Dabashi was born and raised in Iran, which explains his
advanced understanding of the politics and literature of Iran;
he is also a Western scholar.
• Both the Cold War* (a period of tension between the United
States and its allies and the Soviet Union* and its allies
between 1947 and 1991) and the Iranian Revolution had an
impact on the writing of the Theology of Discontent.

The Work in its Context

Published in 1993, Hamid Dabashi’s Theology of Discontent: The
Ideological Foundation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran says that the Iranian
Revolution of 1978–9 would not have happened without the
contribution made by the Islamic ideology of eight prominent Iranian
thinkers in the decades before the revolution. As a member of the
postcolonialist* school of thought (that is, as a thinker concerned with
the various cultural, political, and economic legacies of colonialism),
Dabashi explores the development of Islamic ideology in Iran, arguing
that it was formed in a “dialectical* conversation” with the West. In
other words, it was shaped according to Iranians’ perception of

15

Dabashi BOOK FINAL.indb 15 10/06/2017 20:50

Other documents randomly have
different content
countenance at the dinner-table, readily follows and fully
comprehends the topics of conversation carried on by his English
masters.
The duties of the khitmutghar commence at daylight, when he puts in
an appearance bearing the morning cup of tea. Unless otherwise
ordered, he is only expected to be present, properly dressed, at each
meal. One of his most important duties is to be able to cook fairly
well when called upon to do so, more especially when his master
may move into camp either on the march or on a shooting
expedition. Then he is expected to show his powers in the culinary
art; and, generally speaking, Mohammedan cooks acquit themselves
admirably in this respect. They are especially clever at making
omelettes, soufflets, and such-like. It may be here mentioned,
however, by way of warning to the uninitiated in such matters, that
the native method of preparing a meal is not always too nice to our
ideas, so that it is well to avoid visiting the cooking-tent immediately
before dinner, or not improbably you will there see something or
other going on not calculated to give one an appetite.
Next in our list comes the bheestie or water-carrier, also of the
Mohammedan religion; but altogether a less troublesome mortal to
deal with. Generally speaking, the Bengal bheestie is a good, willing,
hard-working servant, seldom giving trouble or requiring reproof. His
chief duties are to supply the house and stables with fresh water
from the best well in the neighbourhood. It is the special duty of the
bheestie to keep the chatties or earthen jars of the bathroom filled
with water. Where a garden is kept up—and in hot climates there is
nothing so refreshing to the eye as a few flowers and bright-green
shrubs around the house—it is the duty of the bheestie to assist the
native gardener in watering the plants. He also, morning and
evening, sprinkles with water the flooring of the verandas, footpaths,
and dusty roads in the vicinity of his master’s abode. This has the
effect of laying the dust and cooling the air—no slight boon to
exhausted Europeans during the terrible months of April and May,
just before the first rainfall.
The dhobie or washerman is another important individual in the
Anglo-Indian establishment. The great majority of dhobies are
Hindus; but in Eastern Bengal, Mohammedan dhobies are often to
be met with. Though given to assuming airs and importance, the
dhobie is of low caste, generally speaking; a mild inoffensive being,
plying his trade industriously, and giving little trouble to his master.
There is a proverbial saying that obtains among the Hindus which
pronounces a dhobie as untrustworthy; but in reality he is no worse
than his brethren in this respect. The dhobie is one of the first to
bestir himself in the early morning, and accompanied by a small bail
or bullock, carrying his bundle of clothes, he may be seen making his
way in the direction of some tank or distant pool on the river-bank.
On reaching the scene of operations, he strips himself of superfluous
clothing, girds up his loins, and proceeds to business. Soon the air
resounds with the heavy thwacks of some article of raiment, which,
twisted into a small compass, the dhobie again and again whirls
round his head, and brings down upon a flat piece of wood or stone
placed on the margin of the water. Each blow is accompanied by a
grunt from the operator, as if to give an additional impetus to the
stroke. This somewhat rough treatment is liable to wear out fine linen
all too soon, and to make buttons fly; but considering that the dhobie
has no mangle to assist him, nor any of the ordinary appliances of a
laundry, and, generally speaking, only a small smoky hovel—
probably filled to overflowing with his wife and numerous children—
wherein to complete his work, it is astonishing how well he acquits
himself of his task; the well-starched, snow-white shirt-fronts bearing
witness to his skill and painstaking. Unless articles of clothing are
plainly marked, the dhobie has a tiresome habit of sewing coloured
pieces of cotton into the corners of every shirt and handkerchief, to
distinguish them from others, which practice has anything but a
beautifying effect. The dhobie considers himself so far independent
that he need only appear at stated times, to receive or make over his
master’s clothes from the hands of the bearer. He will never take
service as an indoor servant in the house of a European.
The duties of the mehter, sweeper or ‘knight of the broom,’ are so
commonplace as to require only a brief notice. He is always of low
caste; and though often addressed as ‘jemadar’ by the other
servants, he is always looked down upon, more especially for his
habit of eating or drinking anything left from the table of his master. It
is his special duty to take charge of and feed his master’s dogs. He
supplies them with food at a fixed rate, takes them in the early
morning for a bathe in the nearest tank, and towards sunset,
produces for inspection, in separate iron dishes, the food which he
has provided for each one of his charges.
It is amusing to observe how well-bred English dogs despise and
turn up their noses at their native attendant, permitting the latter to
lead them about and wash them when necessary without a growl of
disapproval, but at the same time clearly showing by their outward
bearing that no familiarities will be permitted.
Next we come to the syce or native groom; and in a stable where a
valuable Arab horse has to be cared for, he is a most important
personage. A really good, trustworthy syce is nowadays seldom to
be met with. There are Mohammedan syces throughout Northern
India; but the great majority are Hindus of low caste. The duties of
the syce are, to groom and feed the horse he is put in charge of—a
separate syce is necessary for each one of the horses comprising a
stable—to be ready to accompany his master to the parade-ground,
the band-stand, or for wherever he may be bound; and to keep the
latter in sight and follow him any distance, no matter at what pace
the sahib may choose to ride. It is astonishing what powers of
endurance these native grooms display in this respect; for however
far the distance or quick the gallop, he is seldom left far behind, and
nearly always makes his appearance soon after his master draws
rein.
A Bengal syce worthy of the name can hardly in any country in the
world be surpassed at his work. He is a most excellent groom; and
by means of hand-rubbing—which he often practises for hours
together—he brings out the muscles and sinews of a horse till they
are as tough and hard as iron. It is a good custom to inspect daily
the allowance of corn or grain provided by the syce for his charge, as
not unfrequently dishonest grooms steal a portion of it and grind it for
their own food.
The ‘grass-cutter,’ the last in our list, is a humble individual, who, as
his title tells us, supplies grass for the horse to which he is attached.
Hay is seldom seen in India; but horses thrive well on a particular
kind of soft green grass, which the grass-cutter cuts, or rather digs
up with a small iron instrument called a koorpah. It is well, every now
and again, to examine the quality and quantity of the grass supplied
for each horse, or else lazy individuals will likely enough bring in
coarse hard stuff quite unfit for the purpose. In large stations, a
grass-cutter who performs his work properly has often to walk many
miles before reaching a spot where soft tender grass is procurable.
The grass-cutter is under the immediate orders of the syce, and
usually receives four rupees a month as pay for his services.
In conclusion, it may be mentioned, that one of the most important
rules in the young Englishman’s household should be that each
native servant regularly receives his pay on a certain date in each
month. Without this being steadily acted up to, matters never work
smoothly in an establishment, but will cause constant bickerings.
Whereas, when paid regularly, and treated with kindness and
forbearance, these poor people speedily become attached to their
master, and exert themselves to meet with his approval.
J. H. B.
 THE MONTH:
SCIENCE AND ARTS.

According to Nature, the much-dreaded scourge of the vine, the

Phylloxera, has made its appearance in the vineyards of the Cape
Colony. Some years ago, the most stringent regulations were made
to prevent, if possible, the importation of these unwelcome guests.
The Cape government even refused to allow consignments of
beech-trees from England and tree-ferns from New Zealand to be
landed in the colony, and fixed a very heavy penalty as a punishment
for any infringement of the law. But by some mysterious agency, two
or three of the vineyards are swarming with the Phylloxera. The most
approved insecticides, carbon disulphide, &c., have been
telegraphed for, for they are not at hand in the colony, and in the
meantime the affected vines are being uprooted and burnt.
A curious instance of tenacity of vitality in low forms of life has been
discovered by Professor Leidy. Upon examining a block of ice which
formed part of a large quantity stored at Moorestown, N.J., and had
been so stored for more than twelve months, he found it riddled with
air-bubbles and drops of water. Upon melting a portion of the block,
a number of worms made their appearance. They died almost
immediately when liberated from their frozen prison. The worms
cannot be identified with any known species, and Professor Leidy
believes them to be of a form as yet undescribed.
It is satisfactory to note that the Emperor of Brazil has given orders
for a photographic astronomical apparatus like that employed so
successfully by MM. Henry of Paris, in order that Brazil may do its
share in the proposed photographic survey of the heavens initiated
by the French astronomers named.
Lloyd’s agent at Athens has recently reported some information as to
the progress of the canal which is to cut the Isthmus of Corinth. Out
of a total of thirteen million cubic yards of earth which must be dug
out before the canal is completed, nearly three millions have been
removed. The canal is to have a surface width of twenty-four yards,
except at the entrances, which will be widened to between fifty and
sixty yards. One thousand men are at present employed upon the
works, which, at the present rate of progress, should be completed in
five years.
The Austrian government offer a prize of one thousand ducats
(nearly five hundred pounds) for the discovery of a system of
working coal in fiery mines without shot-firing. The method must not
be more expensive than that of ordinary blasting. It must not be
capable of igniting fire-damp or coal-dust, and it must not leave any
injurious products behind it. These are the chief conditions.
An improved method of etching metallic surfaces has been invented
by Mr A. Piper of Wolverhampton. The metal surface is first of all
coated with gold, silver, nickle, brass, or any other metal desired, in
the ordinary electro-plating bath. The design is then drawn upon it in
some resinous or other acid-resisting medium, and the metal is
immersed in an acid, which eats away the coating, and at the same
time produces a dead or frosted appearance upon the exposed
metal beneath. The resinous drawing is now removed by any
suitable medium which will dissolve it, leaving the design in relief
upon a frosted ground. If desired, the operation can be reversed by
leaving a groundwork of plated metal, while the design is bitten out
by the acid.
A new stationary buffer-stop for railway stations and sidings was
recently described in a paper read before the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers by Mr A. Langley of Derby. This buffer-stop
consists of two hydraulic cylinders fitted with pistons. The piston rods
carry in front buffer-heads to meet those on the locomotive. There
are also projecting rods behind the cylinders connected by chains
with counterweights, to return the pistons after pressure to their
former position. The pistons have a stroke of four feet; and it is
calculated that this amount of depression would effectually stop a
train without jerk or damage even if it were moving at the rate of
eight miles an hour.
Gases inclosed in iron cylinders under enormous pressure are now
used in various branches of science and art, and are supplied
commercially by many firms in various countries. The gases most
commonly used are hydrogen and oxygen—for the lime-light—
carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide—this last being much employed as
an anæsthetic by dentists. Hitherto, there has been much difficulty in
controlling the outrush of gas from these cylinders, for the internal
pressure often amounts to six hundred pounds on the square inch.
By the aid of a new regulator, invented by Messrs Oakley and Beard
of London, this difficulty is at once obviated. The regulator consists
of a small india-rubber bellows inclosed in a brass box, which screws
upon the nozzle of the gas cylinder. By an ingenious device, as the
bellows top rises with the pressure of the gas, a screw valve
descends upon the opening in the cylinder. In this way the user of
the gas can regulate the outflow to his requirements. We understand
that it is in contemplation to adapt the same principle to ordinary gas
consumption in houses, so that the supply may always be adjusted
to the number of burners in actual use.
Habitual drinkers of aërated beverages were some time ago startled
by the report that the original source of the water used in the
manufacture did not much trouble the attention of the vendors, and
that micro organisms in fabulous numbers might find their way to the
consumers of these apparently innocent fluids. According to Dr T.
Leone’s researches, aërated waters are peculiarly safe from such
contamination. Taking a typically pure potable water, he tried how
many micro organisms could be developed in it in a given time. In
five days the water contained immense numbers of organisms. But
when charged with carbonic dioxide, as all aërated waters must be
to give them their effervescent quality, the number of living creatures
was at once diminished. Water so charged contained at the end of
fifteen days only a mere trifle of the original organisms. Dr Leone
therefore concludes that the longer aërated waters are kept, the less
chance is there of bacterial contamination.
The greatest living authority on bacteria, M. Pasteur, has by recent
experiments proved that water containing only two per cent. of
concentrated sulphuric acid possesses the property of destroying
these organisms. He recommends that this acidulated water should
be used as a disinfectant for floors of stables, mangers, courtyards,
cattle-sheds, &c. The compound has certainly the merit of extreme
cheapness, for about twelve gallons could be prepared at a cost of
twopence. We may mention that M. Pasteur’s inoculations for
hydrophobia have met with unlooked-for success. He recently told
the Paris Academy of Sciences that out of three hundred and twenty-
five cases of inoculation for this terrible disease, only one had
proved a failure, and that one he attributed to delay. It is suggested
that an international hospital should be established for the reception
of patients from every country.
The all-seeing microscope has very often played an important part
as an accusing witness, more especially in the identification of blood-
stains. Recently in Illinois the same detective agent was instrumental
in hanging a murderer; but the method of conviction was novel. Here
is the case: A. had been found murdered while sleeping on a pile of
sawdust in a certain icehouse, which we will call No. 1. B. was
suspected of the crime because particles of sawdust were found on
his clothing and on his boots. He accounted for this by pleading that
he had been sleeping in another icehouse (No. 2) which was far
away; and declared that he had not been near the No. 1 house. It
was proved that icehouse No. 1 contained pine sawdust, and house
No. 2 hardwood sawdust only. The microscope showed that the
clothes and boots had attached to them particles of the former only.
The man was convicted and executed.
Professor Vogel has lately brought forward the curious fact that the
generation of alkaloids in plants is dependent upon sunlight. The
hemlock plant which yields coniine in Southern Europe contains
none in Scotland. Again, the tropical cinchonas, from which quinine
is obtained, will yield very little of that valuable product if cultivated in
our weakly lighted hothouses. Professor Vogel has examined many
specimens of the plant from various conservatories, and has been
quite unable to obtain the characteristic reaction of quinine, although
the method of testing is a delicate one, and sensitive to minute
quantities of the alkaloid. It is curious to observe that although
sunlight seems so necessary to the formation of quinine in the living
plant, it acts most injuriously upon the alkaloid in the stripped bark. In
the latter case, the quinine is decomposed by it, and assumes the
form of a dark-coloured resin. Because of this, in the manufacture of
quinine, the bark is always dried in the dark.
The recent severe weather must have led many a half-frozen
traveller to wonder if our railway and tramway Companies will ever
hit upon some method of heating public conveyances. With a steam-
engine as a necessary adjunct, it would seem to the disinterested
inquirer that a method of warming by pipes fed from the ‘exhaust’
would be a comparatively easy way of managing the business, and
would at the same time save much labour in doing away with the
filling and distribution of inefficient foot-warmers. In Chicago, a new
method of heating tramcars is being tried, and it promises well. The
apparatus, which is placed under the floor of the car, consists of a
brass cylinder filled with coal-oil, which, under pressure of a strong
spring, is forced into a small super-heater, where it becomes
vaporised. This oil-gas is ignited in a fire-clay combustion chamber,
and although there is no flame, the fire-clay is brought to a white
heat. The outer air passing over this hot box becomes well warmed,
and a constant stream of fresh, warm air is assured to the
passengers. The only visible evidence of the stove is a grating in the
floor of the car through which the hot air rises. When will our
tramway Companies consent to a small reduction in their high
dividends, to afford their patrons similar comfort?
The use of wood pavements in Sydney has been very strongly
condemned by a Committee appointed by the Legislative Assembly
of New South Wales to inquire into the subject. It had been alleged
that these wood pavements exerted a deleterious influence on the
health of persons living in their proximity, and the conclusions arrived
at by the Committee would seem to justify these allegations.
Analysis showed that the blocks in actual use had absorbed a vast
amount of organic matter, even though they had only been laid down
a comparatively short time. It was evident, too, that complete
impregnation of the wood was only a matter of time. In the words of
the Report: ‘So far as the careful researches of your Board go, the
porous, absorbent, and destructible nature of wood must, in their
opinion, be declared to be irremediable by any process at present
known; nor, were any such process discovered, would it be effectual
unless it were supplemented by another which should prevent
fraying of the fibre.’ It should be noted that this strong condemnation
is applied to the hard wood-blocks used for the purpose of paving in
Sydney, and not to the soft wood used here at home. These latter
are so thoroughly impregnated with tar, that it is difficult to imagine
that room could be found for anything else, organic or otherwise.
The cable tramway which is situated on the historic hill at Highgate,
London, has worked without hindrance during the recent frost and
snow. This is due to the fact that the working parts are underground.
But of late a new use has been made of the system. Heavy vehicles
even with six horses attached could not be moved up the hill during
the recent frosts. Many of them were therefore fastened to the
tramcars, and were pulled up the steep incline—one in eleven—at
the rate of six miles an hour.
In his recent lecture at the Royal Institution, Mr A. A. Common, the
treasurer of the Astronomical Society, pointed out that the old
method of eye-observation in telescopic work would probably in the
near future give way to automatic records on sensitive dry plates by
means of photography. He also pointed out what extreme variations
existed in the amount of light emitted by different celestial objects,
contrasting with the blinding glare of the sun the small quantity of
light received from a faint star. The latter he described as being
equivalent to the twenty-thousandth part of the light given by a
standard candle seen from the distance of a quarter of a mile. It is
not a matter for wonder, therefore, that the most sensitive dry plate
which would yield a photograph in daylight in the smallest fraction of
a second, should require an exposure of two hours, or thereabouts,
when used for recording the existence of one of these distant orbs.
Signor Ferrari, after making observations on between six and seven
hundred thunderstorms which occurred in Italy a few years back, has
noted that every thunderstorm is connected with a barometric,
hygrometric, and thermic depression. A German scientist who has
interested himself in the same line of inquiry, states that the danger
of a building being struck by lightning has increased in his country
during the past half-century from three to five fold. He attributes this
increase of danger to impurities carried into the atmosphere from
factory chimneys, the number of which is constantly increasing.
A new electric alarm-bell for use in places where highways and
railways cross one another has been invented in the United States.
On approaching such a crossing, the wheels of the train depress a
heavy trigger placed by the side of the rails. This trigger sets in
motion a flywheel sufficiently powerful to turn the armature of a small
magneto-machine. The current thus generated rings a bell at the
cross-road, so that wayfarers have an audible reminder of the near
approach of a train. Of course the same result might be brought
about with an electric battery. But the magneto-machine has the
advantage of requiring no attention, and of not being affected in any
way by changes of temperature. Its bearings can be provided with
oil-cups, so that it will act for months together without supervision.
Professor Ewart lately read a paper before the Royal Physical
Society of Edinburgh, in which he stated that from examinations of
specimens of ‘whitebait’ sent into the London market during the past
year, he had come to the conclusion that the much esteemed little
fish consisted of sprats and herrings, about sixty per cent. of the
former to forty per cent. of the latter. The origin of so-called
‘whitebait’ has always been such a disputed point that the
Professor’s remarks are particularly interesting. He also pointed out
that in Canada, sprats are extensively tinned as sardines. As we
some time ago pointed out in these pages, a similar trade has been
for a long time carried on at more than one place on the south coast
of England. We may mention that the authorities of the South
Kensington Aquarium are about to introduce herrings into the tanks
under their control, in spite of the fact that all such attempts, in inland
places at least, have hitherto failed. We trust that their endeavours
will be crowned with success.
Messrs Fairbairn and Wells, Manchester, have lately much improved
their screw forging machine. By this method of making screws, it is
claimed that much greater tenacity, ductility, and durability are
obtained in the finished product; for the fibres of iron, instead of
being cut through, are pressed and bent round to the shape of the
thread. In short, the machine rolls out the screws, instead of cutting
them out. We have lately seen photographs of some of these screws
which have been partially eaten away with acid, for the purpose of
showing the fibrous nature of the metal. It is curious to note how the
fibre is bent in and out as it follows the direction of the thread on the
screw. This method of manufacture is said to present advantages
apart from better quality. The screws can be more quickly produced
at a less cost, and there is a great saving of material, for nothing is
cut away to waste.
The results of a curious but very important test as to the accuracy
with which chemists, druggists, and others make up prescriptions
committed to their care, has recently been presented to one of the
London vestries. Fifty prescriptions were sent out to ordinary
druggists, to co-operative stores, to ‘doctors’ shops,’ and to certain
traders styling themselves drug Companies. The mixtures made
were afterwards analysed, to find out how nearly they agreed with
the prescriptions they represented; but in order to give a liberal
margin for error, it was resolved not to put a black mark against any
one, if the chief constituent were within ten per cent. of the right
amount. Notwithstanding this margin, no fewer than seventeen out of
the fifty mixtures were incorrectly dispensed. In one case the
principal drug was less by eighty-five per cent. than the amount
ordered, while in another it was fifty-seven per cent. in excess. The
chemists and druggists came out best in this strange competition, as
only six per cent. of their prescriptions had to be called in question.
Next came the co-operative stores with twenty per cent. of error;
then the ‘doctors’ shops’ with fifty per cent.; and lastly the drug
Companies, who are credited, or rather discredited, with seventy-five
per cent. of errors.
 OCCASIONAL NOTES.
THE ROOSEN METHOD OF PRESERVING FISH.
We have already noticed the method recommended by Professor
Cossar Ewart of preserving fresh fish with boracic acid and salt. Mr
Roosen of Hamburg has patented another method, which was lately
tested in Edinburgh. The process consists in the salmon being
placed in an air-tight compartment among a solution of boracic acid,
salt, and water, and a heavy pressure being applied, the solution
penetrates and thoroughly disinfects the fish, which are prevented
from decaying, and retain all their strength and nourishment. On the
15th of February, a steel barrel, made for the purpose, and capable
of holding about three hundred pounds of fish, was filled with salt
water containing about fifty per cent. of boracic acid, and into this
compound five splendid salmon, fresh from the Tay, were placed.
The air having been entirely withdrawn, the barrel was hermetically
sealed, a pressure of six atmospheres, or ninety pounds to the
square inch, being applied. After standing for seventeen days, the
barrel was opened on the 4th of March, and all the salmon were
found in as fresh and healthy a condition as when they were first
placed among the solution. The flesh of the fish was of a beautiful
colour, and could not be distinguished from that of a fresh salmon
placed alongside of it, while the blood began to flow freely
immediately on the salmon being cut up. The salmon was served up
at a luncheon, on the following day, in different forms of cooking, and
the general opinion was that the new method of preservation was
upon the whole successful. The fish was of good flavour and colour;
it could be separated in nice flakes, and the curd was well preserved.

A NEW BOILER-FEEDER.
The problem of feeding boilers has yet to be solved, no method yet
introduced having by its intrinsic merits superseded all others. At the
present time, injectors or donkey-engines are usually employed—the
former being an ingenious apparatus which forces the feed-water
into the boiler by the rush of steam through a narrow orifice; the
latter differing in no way from an ordinary pumping-engine, and
usually deriving its power from the boiler itself. Both these systems
of feeding require constant supervision; and it is to obviate the
necessity of continued attention and the risk resulting from
carelessness, that boiler-feeders automatic in action have been
designed. So far, their application has not been extensive; but a
recent improved design, patented as ‘Mayhew’s Automatic Boiler-
feeder,’ bids fair to push its way even in these times of depressed
trade, when boiler-owners not unnaturally hesitate to incur any
outlay, however slight, which a rearrangement of the boiler-feed
necessarily entails. The apparatus consists essentially of two
vessels—the upper of copper, the lower of cast-iron. An ingenious
valve-arrangement connects the former with the boiler, whilst the
latter is connected with the supply of feed-water. When the water in
the boiler falls below a certain level, the end of the pipe connected
with the upper vessel becomes uncovered, and the steam being free
to enter it, operates on the valves, thereby admitting a charge of
water to the boiler from the copper vessel. A vacuum is formed in the
copper vessel, which now recharges itself from the one beneath,
ready for another operation. As many as five charges a minute can
thus be obtained. Should the apparatus, from any cause, fail to work,
and the water fall too low, a fusible plug melts and sounds an alarm
whistle. It is satisfactory to note that an ingenious straining
arrangement works well for feeding with dirty water—the great
difficulty in all apparatus of this class, owing to the valves becoming
choked. The feeder may be regarded as safely beyond the mere
experimental stage, a large number already being in operation in
different works throughout the country, and with results satisfactory
in every respect.

SHOT-FIRING IN COAL-MINES.
A correspondent thus writes: ‘In your article on “Shot-firing in Coal-
mines” you speak of the dangerous operation of tamping or plugging
the shot-hole with brick or coal dust rammed hard. It must indeed be
a dangerous operation; but cannot the hole be as effectually plugged
without any danger at all? It is usual, after charging a rocket, to drive
in dry clay upon the top of the fuse, to prevent its blowing through;
but a layer of wet plaster of Paris poured in and allowed to set, dries
harder than the clay, and obviates all danger from concussion or grit.
Cannot the shot-hole be in like manner plugged? Plaster of Paris
(gypsum or sulphate of lime) expands, not shrinks, when combined
with water, so that it fills accurately every part of the bore. If the hole
were slightly conical, the smaller end outwards, or made with an
internal flange, the plaster would offer more resistance than the clay.’
 PARTED.
The silver brooks will miss thee,
The breeze that used to kiss thee,
And ruffle with a soft caress thy curls of sunny hair;
When the early dewdrops glisten
On the roses, they will listen
For thy step upon the garden walk, thy laughter in the air.

The meadows gay with flowers,

The summer’s leafy bowers,
Will know thy joyous smile no more; the woodlands stand
forlorn;
I hear the soft complaining
Of birds, from mirth refraining.
That greeted with their carols sweet thy waking every morn.

Poor mother! hush thy weeping

Above thy darling sleeping,
Nor fret with aught of earthly grief the stillness where he lies,
Flowers in his little fingers,
Where the rosy flush still lingers,
For the angels are his playmates on the plains of Paradise.

J. I. L.

The Conductor of Chambers’s Journal begs to direct the attention

of Contributors to the following notice:
1st. All communications should be addressed to the ‘Editor, 339 High
Street, Edinburgh.’
2d. For its return in case of ineligibility, postage-stamps should
accompany every manuscript.
3d. To secure their safe return if ineligible, All Manuscripts,
whether accompanied by a letter of advice or otherwise, should
have the winter’s Name and Address written upon them in full.
4th. Offerings of Verse should invariably be accompanied by a
stamped and directed envelope.
If the above rules are complied with, the Editor will do his best to
insure the safe return of ineligible papers.

Printed and Published by W. & R. Chambers, 47 Paternoster Row,

London, and 339 High Street, Edinburgh.

All rights reserved.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S
JOURNAL OF POPULAR LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART,
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