Full text of "Popular science news, formerly Boston journal of chemistry. A popular illustrated monthly devoted to the progress in zoology, botany, mineralogy, archaeology, hygiene, invention, with related physical sciences and general scientific information"

l\v,^o.ifj:S 3 Sliein^a

THE

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS

AND

BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY.

DEVOTED TO

SCIENCE OF HOME-LIFE, THE ARTS, AGRICULTURE,

■ AND MEDICINE.

EDITORS:

AUSTIN P. NICHOLS, S. B. W. J. ROLFE, Lirr.D.

VOLUME XXIV.

January- December, 1890.

BOSTON:

THE POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS COMPANY,

INDEX TO VOLUME XXIV.

Articles marhcd ivith {*) arc illustrated.

PAGE.

Accident, A Remarkable 150

Accident, An Instructive 185

Acids, 'I'ransportation of T

Aerial Navigation 52

Agassi/. Association 7, ',>, 22, 38, 54, 71, 86, 101, 118.

134, 151, lti7, 182, 185

Agricultural Items 68

Air. Burning in Furnaces 41

Air, Compressed as a Motive Power 22

Alaskan l.urial 56

\icoliols. The 138

Alloy, A New 7

Alum in liread 8

Aluminium 52

Aluminium Alloys, Cheap Production of 153

*Amar>'llis, Curious Movement of 161

American Association, Indianapolis Meeting of 153, 154

American Psychical Society 41

Amoeba , The 3

Aiiclior Ice 163

Ancients. Arithmetical Calculation Among 114

Ancients, Scientific Knowledge of ■ - 6, 21, 37

\ninial Intelligence 172

Anti-Cigarette Legislation 153

Ants. To Drive Away 68

Appendicitis 101

Aryan Race, Origin of 169

Astronomical Phenomena (monthly). .12, 28, 45, 60, 75, 91, 108,

: 124, 140, 157, 173, 189

Atlantic Racing, cost of 36

Aurora. Height of 9

*Autographisni 125, 144, 148, 1^5

Autumn, Prenionititms of 123

Bacteria, Microbes, etc.

Baking Powder, Poisonous

Base Hail, Electrical

Battery, Au Kconomical

Beer, Ancient

Biology, Brief Studies in 3, *42, 74, 98, 138, 171,

liirds, Speed of Flight

Blast, A Big

Blood .Stains, Detection of

Boiler Explosions. Causes of

Boilers, To Fill

Book. A Valuable

Boracic Acid.. . ■>

Brass, To Polish

Bread, Stale, New Use for

Brick P^stimates

*Bridge, The English Channel

British Association Meeting at Leeds

British Association, Newcastle Meeting of

lironze. Malleable

Bronze, How l^ong Manufactured

Burns, Salve for

Cadmium, Atomic Weight of

Camphor, Movements of, Upon Water
' "arbons

Carbon Compounds, Two

Carpentry, Aboriginal

'Cash Box, The Magic

Catarrh, Nasal

Celerj', To Preserve

Centenarian, A Noted

Characters, Acquired, Inheritance of ....

*C,'hem'cal Laboratory, An Ancient

t bemical Nomenclature

Chemical Symbols, Ancient

Ciiemistry, A Practical Use for

Chemistry, Relation of, to Medicine

*Chigger

Children's Nurses, School for

Cigarettes

Coal Cutter, Electric

Coca in Bolivia

Cocaine Pencils for the Skin

Coco, Cacao, and Coca

Coffee Beans, Artificial

Cold Bed. The Deadly

Color Blindness, An Experiment in , .. .
Conductivity of Metals, Alterations in. .

Consumption, Alleged Cure for

Consumption, Open Air Exercise in.. .

Crime, Is it a Disease ?

Criminals. Abuse of Pardoning Power.

Crocuses

Crystals, Fluid

Culinary Recipes

Curic>us Facts

*CycIone, A Medieval

Cyclone in the Azores, Results of

Cyclone in New England

Cypripedium Calceolus, Fertilization of.

47
137
116

118
187
8
181
158
16!)
181
73
173
85
32
166
5
186
10
7
73
64

185

164

100

133

134

121

116

104

145

116

. 61

, 148

134

7(i

137

116

100
120
18(i
27
137
131

Dangerous Fun 36

" Darwinism," Review of Wallace upon 82, 106

Deer Forest, Pleasures of a t>8

Dentists, Number in Germany 96

Development, Photographic, Reversal by Eikonogen 185

Dextrose. Synthesis of 153

Dodder, The 67

Doors, Electrical 70

Ears, Operation for Prominent %

Earth, Ceological Formation of 131

Earth, Theories of Formation of 83

Earthquake in California 105

Earthworm, The 74

Eating too Aluch 13

"Eclipse, Total Solar 73, 109

Education, Modern. Deficiencies of 169

Eggs, Bacteria in 89

Egyptian Language and Chronology 35

Eiffel Tower, I'tiTization of 148

TJght Hour Movement, Physiological View of 141

Eikonogen, A New Developer 6

Electrical and Magnetic Disturbances Produced by jRailway

Trains 121

Electrical Humbug, A Recent 121

Electric Light for Binnacle 116

Electricity, Case-hardening by 181

Electricity in the Dairy 52

Electricity, Limitations of 122

Element, A New 57

Elements, Apparent Transmutation of 9

Elements, New Theory of 41

*Elevator, A Novel 5

Engineering Achievements, Modern 89

•Erosion, .\tmnspheric, Cm-ious Effects of

Evolution Club of Chicago

Execution by Electricity 137,

Eyes, Care of the

Faith Cure Society, Disbandment of

Fauna and Flora of Primitive and Recent Periods

Fees, Medical, in New York

Fight Between Wasp and Bee 55,

Fingers, Peculiar Adhesive Power of

Fire

Fire, Curious Methods of Making

Fire-Flies, Light of ; ;

Flames, ^Iusical

Flash Powders, Photographic

Florida, Rainy Season of

Flowers, Mailing :

Fluoresence

Fluorine, Combinations, with Platinum and Gold.

Flies of Prey

Flora of Eastern and Western Hemispheres

*Forces, Minute, Measurement of

Foster's Flat

Fretwork, To Varnish

Fruit Blossoms

Gases, Liquid

Gas RIeter, An Honest

Gas, Natural, Alleged .Solidification of

Gelatine and Its Uses

Geological Observations in 1890

•Giant, A Prehistoric

Glaciers, Their Formation and Movement.

Glanders, A Cure of

Glass Tubes, To Cut

Gleanings '

( Uycerine

Glycerine, Action on Vulcanized Rubber .
(Jold .

Gordius, The

( drafting. Herbaceous

Grapes, Novel Training of..
Graphites, Chemistry of the-

•Grasses, About

Grass of Parnassus

Grasshojiper, The

Gravitation, New Theory of.
Gun, Gatling's Cast Steel . - -

.135,

90
92
174
93

73
3
48
67
25
33
99
137
53
73
19
130
9
25
115
120
170
84
85
36

130

1(>6

167

113

164

132

180

153

169

)>8

152

116

150

Hailstones, Extraordinary .'»4, 138

Horse-hair Snakes 169

How Old is the World? i\^

H unyadi Janos 48

Hybrids, Vegetable ■ -Sfi

•Hydra, The .' 42

Hydrophobia, Cure of 9

Hypnotism HJO

Hypnotism, Operation under . : 108

Ice Hou.se, A Natural 1(>3

Incombustible Textile 70

Indian Village, An .Ancient 43

PAGE.

Indians of New Mexico, Dwellings of 67

•Induction, Electric, Experiments in 129

Industrial Memoranda 6,22,70, 118, 134,160,166, 181

Industry, A Novel 134

Infant Feeding, Dilution of Cow's Milk in 15

Iiitluenza, The 25

Ink, Invisible 4

Insect Intelligence, Remarkable 55, 57

Insulating Compound, New 70

Iodine, " Colorless '" 105

Iron, Ores of 149

•Joule, James Prescott 1

•Jugs ; How They Are Made 5;i

Khojak Pass. The 1^-

Knock-out, Physiology of 112

Kochs' Consimiption Cure IWI

*I.Aborator>' Devices, Some New ltl">

Laboratoiy Notes : 5.'l

La Cirippe ; Report of Case .' 12^

Lake Cliamplain 164

Lake Dwellers of Switzerland, The 17, 34, 51

Lake (Juinsigamond, On tl>e Shores of 150

Landrey, Dr. S. F 41

•Leaf Mosaics 49

Left Side of Body, Inferiority of 48

•Length, The .Standard of IT

Leyden Jar, A Simple 116

Lick Observatory, A Visit to the 105

Lick Telescope, Photographic Qualities of 121

Light, Mechanical Equivalent of 41

Lightning, Kinds of 117

Lightning, Peculiar Freak of 10.'>

Lightning, The Way of the 16;i

Lint, Sterilized 4?<

Literary Notes 12, 29, 45, W, 76. !)2, 109, 125, 141, 157, 173, l!)i»

Low Water in Boilers 169

Magnetic Experiment, Explanation of los

, " Magnetic Man," A !!•"

Magnet for Extracting Metallic Particles from the Body lis

•Magic Square, An Ancient 74

Malaria, Protection from 121

Manure, Loss of, by Exposure. ^f-

•Marine Animals, Rock-Boring 12:i

Measles. Child Born with the ti4

Medical Congress, Tenth International 159

Medical Memoranda 16, 64

Medical Miscellany 32,48,96, 112, 128, 144

Medicine, Rational Use of 77

Medicine, Relation of Chemistry to *'I

Medicine, State Regulation of 126,174

Mental Trait, A Curious 50

Mercury Mine, A New 52

Mercury, Rotation Time of ; - 67

Metals, Uncommon , but Useful 132

Meteorite Containing Organic Matter 41

Meteorological Report (monthly) 11, 27. 44. 59, 75, 91, 107.

124, 139, 156, 172, 189

Metric System, Modern Adoption of 89

Mexican < )nyx 164

Microbe Killer 32

Microptione, A New Use for ■ 116

•Microscope for Pharmacists, A 141

Microscopic Exhibits, Curious VJ\)

Microscopical Meeting at Detroit 14*i

Milk, Consumption of, in Paris 6h

Mineralogy. Course in 22

Mining, .Safety of 7

Mizar, The Star •. 132

Mole Crickets : 24

Montpelier l^niversity, Sixth Centennial of 114

Moon's Surface, Temperature of 9

M usic as a M edicine i**i

Musk, Artificial 4

Nail Holes, To Fill 85

Natural (ias, Reduced Supply of 185

Natural History Observations in 1890 '. 168

•Natural History Observations in 1890 (Walter's). 183

New Mexico, Botanical Notes from 147

New Mexico, Mineral Wealth of 58

New Mexico. Water Ways of 122

Nitrous Acid, .Solidification of 38

Norumbega, An Ai»cient City 9

Nutmeg in Sledicine, The ' 16

Observations, Original 8. 24

•Observatory, Eiffel Meteorological 81

Oil Wells, Burme.se 101

Old Age Ill

( )leomargarine Tjegislation, Proposed 41

Optical Phenomena, Wonderful 9!t

Orchids, Rhode Island 148

risTDEX TO VOLUME XXIV.

Oxygen Apparatus, Explosion of 41

Oxygen, Atomic Weight of 41, 153

Oxygen , Easy Preparation of 1-'

Oxygen ( »as. To Prepare Safely 1^*-

Oxygen. Ordinarv' Actions of l(>r>

Paper Pulleys If'ti

Paper, To Waterproof ST*

Paris Letter 26, 69, 90, 123, 155, l!^

Pasteur Institute, New York 175

Patent Medicines. Some Old Tifi

Pearl, The f.«

Pendulum Experiment in Earth's Motion 1H4

Periodic System , The 1

Pestle Handles, Cement for 181

Petrifactions and Fossils 102

Pharo-Light, A New 84

Phcenicians. Modern F^nglish Descendants of 73, 148

Phonograph as an Acoumeter , 9(5

Phonograph. Improvement in the 4

Phosph()rus, TWo Forms of G9

Photographs. Ink for Writing on ll*i

Photography 4*1

Photography Abroad 120

Photography for Deciphering Writing ll*i

Photography, Instantaneous, Recent Improvements in 7fl

♦Photography, Novelties in 20

Photography for Physicians 157

Photographic Amateurs, Hints to 85

Photographic Films ItW

Photographic Points, Practical 40

Photometric Balance 179

Phthisis in Switzerland 04

Pigments, Our Common 117

Pile Dwellers 104

Pills, Chinese 32

Pinholes in Platinum, To Solder - - ■ ■ 150

Pipes, Tarred 16*>

Plants for Shady Places 179

Plants, Hot Water *. 2()

•Pneumatics, Curious Experiment in 113

Poison , African Arrow 121

Practical Recipes l(i*i

Prescription , A Unique .' 32

Proto-Helveles. The - 17, 34, 51

Proverbs, Old, F'rom a Scientific Standpoint 25

Questions and Answers 12,29,45, 92, 109, 125, 140, 104, 190

Quinine Sulphate, Non-actinic Property of . ^ 26

Railroad Tariff, A Novel 68

Railway, A Remarkable 134

FAGK,

Railways, Japanese 70

Railway Systems, Future Extent of 73

Railway Ties. Steel 150

Ranunculus, Double, Traced by a Stream of Water 55

Recipes, Practical 85

Respiration, Artiticial, New Instrument for 78

Ring Finger, Increasing Mobility of 142

Robins, Colorado. A Pair of 72

Rock Inscriptions. Swedish, Prehistoric 42

Roofing Material, A New 52

Rope, Cork HO

Rosetta Stone, The 35

Rubber Pavements 181

Rust, To Prevent 84

Saccharin in Belgium 112

Salicylic Acid as a Food Preservative 137

.Scale in Boilers 70

Science, Assumptions of 57

Science, Twenty Years of ■ 20

Scientific Brevities 4, 20, 3(), 52, 84, 110. 1.32. IW. 79

•Scientific Experiments, Simple fv^, 97, 113

•Scientific Recreations 2,81, 145

•Scientific Station, Highest in Europe 170

•Seed Planter, A Chinese *■ 85

Semitic Races, Place of < >rigin 73 ■

•Sepulchre, An Ancient 178

Shingle Paint - lOti

Siberian Railway, The 101

Silver '. 180

Silver, To Detect , in Presence of Lead 70

Sleep 46

Smoke Machine 181

Snail, The 171

Snakes Swallowing Their Young 134

Soap, Blue 70

Sodic Carbonate, Manufacture of 149

Specialism in Medicine 174

•Spiders, Two Remarkable 177

•Spider Webs : How Spun 101

Sponges, Artificial. Industry in 4

Spring Prelude. The 72

Star, A Variable 30

Starfish, The 138

Statue , A Double 26

.Steamship, A Novel 169

Steamship Racing on the Atlantic Ocean 105

Steel. Crushed - 130

.Steel, Hydrogen Occluded in 22

Stellar Motions, Spectroscopic Analysis of 178

Stencil Ink '• 106

Stomach Brush, The 15

|-,\i.K.

.Stomach, Hair Halls from 10

Sulph\ir, Affinity of Metals for 179

Summary of itledical Progress (monthlv) 14. 31, 4(>. 0,'(. 79.

' . 110, 127, 14::. 100. 17.-.. 191

Sunnner Schools. SK

Tariff "Bill, Effect upon Science 185

Telegraph, ( )ptical 121

Telephone, New Application of 181

Telephony, State 5.3

TheiyfihotniSy Giganteus, Notes on I.'i4

Thermometer, An Expensive o(KI

Thermometer, Scales 4

Thioketone 121

Thinider Storm, Winter 57

Trance, State of S4

Transparencies in Prussian Blue 5

•Tree, A Curious 140

Tuberculosis, Transplanting i*0

Tube Press, Hydraulic 1 18

Ultramarine - 37

Va-seline and .Soluticms, To Mix 04

Vertebrata, The 187

Vitality lOi)

Vivisection 137

War Rocket, A New i;!4

Warts 2!>

Waterproofing Cloth 181

•Water Still, A Simple W

Water Supplv, Pollution of 137

Waves. Heig'ht of 120

Wave Power, Cause of. .'>7

Well, (las. Fresh and Salt Water Combined 20

Wesley, John, Medical Talk by 01

WJiite Lead, Wet Process for Alanufacturing liiO

Wild Roses 120

Winter Cough, Ammonium Chloride in .'JO

Winter Weather. Unusual 25

Women in Pharmacy iH

Woods in Winter, The 30

•Writing in Railroad Cars, I )evice for .■>7

Yellow Fever, <Iin as a Remedy for 10.")

Ye Olden Time 22

Zinc 22

Zinc in Artesian Well-water I8r>

Zinc, Native Metallic 2

^p /^S

€|)e ^ojJttlar ^cttnce i^etu0

AND

BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTR

Volume XX1\'

CONTENTS.

Familiar Science. — James Prescott Joule . . i

The Periodic System i

Scientific Recreations 2

15rief Studies in Biology 3

Fauna and Flora of Primitive and Recent

Periods 3

Scientific Brevities 4

Practical Che.mistry and the Art.s. — The

English Channel Bridge ....... 5

A Novel Elevator 5

Transparencies in Prussian Blue .... 5
The Scientific Knowledge of the Ancient

Greeks and Romans 6

Eikonogen, a New Photographic Developer . 6

Industrial Memoranda 7

The Out-Door World. — Original Observa-
tions S

Gleanings 8

Editorial. — Fluorescence 9

The British Association at Newcastle ... 10
Meteorology for November. 1889, with Review

of the Autumn 11

Astronomical Phenomena for January, 1890 12

{.^lestions and Answers iz

Literary Notes 12

Medicine and Pharmacy.- — Is Crime a Dis-
ease? I'J

We Eat Too Much 13

Monthly Summary of Medical Progress . . 14

An Experiment in Color-Blindness .... 15
On the Dilution of Cow's Milk in Infant

Feeding 15

The Stomach-Brush 15

Hair-Balls from the Stomach 16

Formyl Amidophenol Ether 16

The Nutmeg in Medicine 16

Medical Memoranda 16

Publishers' Column 16

Fan^iliar Scierjce.

JAMES PRESCOTT JOULE.

One of the most distingiii.shecl scienti.sts ol"
the present century died at Sale, near Man-
chester, England, on the i ith of last October.

James Prescott Joule was born at Salford,
near Manchester, in the year 18 r8. His
health was so delicate that he was not sent to
school, but received his first elementary edu-
cation from his mother. At the age of fifteen
he commenced his scientific studies, under the
tuition of the eminent chemist, Dalton, the
discoverer of the atomic weights, who was at
that time President of the Manchester Literary
and Philosophical Society. Under the direc-
tion of his instructor he made some more or
less important investigations upon the consti-
tution of gases and vapors, and the effect upon
them of heat, but his first personal researches
were made in 183S upon the subject of mag-
netism. In 1840 he discovered the principle
of magnetic saturation, or the limit beyond
which it is impossible to increase the power
of a magnet.

AlK)ut this time he suggested an electric

BOSTON, JANUARY, 1890.

Number i.

unit to express the power of the current. As
the molecular weight of water was at that
time considered to be nine, he proposed to use
as unit of quantity that amount of electricity
which would decompose nine grains of water.
Although this unit has never been accepted,
an international congress of electricians has
recently given his name to a practical unit of
electric work, based on the modern system of
electric measurements. The ampere, which
now replaces Joule's proposed unit, is the
current which will deposit .0014888 grammes
of silver in one .second.

Joule's gi'eatest fame, however, is due to his
demonstration of the great principles of the
conservation of energ)-, and the mechanical
equivalent of heat. Count Rumford, in the
last century, experimented upon the develop-
ment of heat by the friction produced in

very first, and at once became a firm supporter
of Joule's theories, and was a co-worker with
him for many years.

This discovery of the connection between
the great forces of Nature was an epoch in
scientific history, and was to physics, what
the discovery of oxygen and the true nature
of combustion was to chemistry. His other
work alone would have given Joule a high
rank in the scientific world, but it has been
almost completely overshadowed by this great
physical and mathematical generalization,
which he was the first to formulate in defi-
nite terms.

The accompanying portrait is reproduced
from La Nature'

boring a cannon, and in August, 1843, at a
meeting of the British Association, at Cork,
Joule, after referring to Rumford's researches,
stated that he was "convinced that, by the
will of the Creator, the great principles of
Nature are indestructible ; each time that a
mechanical force is exerted in any way, an
equivalent quantity of heat is always pro-
duced."

At this day, when the doctrine of the con-
servation of force is undisputed, and is one of
the corner stones of science, it seems strange
that the new theory was by no means unani-
mously accepted by the leading scientists of
the day. Even Faraday was not convinced
of its truth for several years, and Miller and
Graham likewi.se doubted it at first ; but Sir
William Thomson comprehended the truth
and importance of tlie generalization from the

THE PERIODIC SYSTEM.

Every elementary body combines with
others in definite proportions by weight
which are unchangeable. Hydrogen, which
combines in the smallest proportion of all, is
taken as unity, and its combining number,
or atomic weight, is considered as r. Oxy-
gen has an atomic weight of 16, and never
combines with hydrogen except in that pro-
portion, or a multiple of it. Thus in water,
one atom of oxygen with a weight of 16 is
combined with two atoms of hydrogen with
a weight of 2, giving the proportion of 2 to
16. Another compound of hydrogen -and
o.xygen, known as peroxide of hydrogen,
contains two atoms of hydrogen and two of
oxygen, giving the proportions 2 to 32. The
element carbon has an atomic weight of 12,
and unites with four atoms of hydrogen to
form marsh gas, which contains four parts by
weight of hydrogen to twelve of carbon.
Oxvgen and carbon unite to form carbonic
acid gas, which contains one atom of carbon
with a weight of 12, united to two atoms of
oxygen weighing 32. These proportional or
atomic weights with which all elements com-
bine with one another, are determined by
direct analysis, and are always fixed and
invariable.

Now if we arrange the elements in certain
horizontal and vertical lines, so as to form a
table, commencing with lithium with its atomic
weight of 7, and ending with uranium with a
weight of 240, we obtain a most remarkable
result. We find that in this table, the ele-.
ments form themselves into groups of those
which most closely resemble each other in
other chemical and physical characteristics
besides their atomic weights, The alkaline

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[January, 1890.

metals lithium, sodium, and potassium, which
very closely resemble each other in their
chemical relations, form a group by them-
selves ; as likewise do the non-metallic ele-
ments fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine,
which are distinguished by the ease with
which they all unite with hydrogen to form
powerful acids, as well as in many other
ways. There are seven of these groups,
besides another one which comprises certain
metals related to iron and platinum, the place
of which in the system is not well fixed.
This remarkable and important principle,
/ which is called the "periodic law," was first
pointed out by Newlands, in 1864, but was
more fully developed and brought into gen-
eral notice a few years ago by Mendelejefl"
and Meyer, who are generally credited with its
discovery. Briefly stated, it may be expressed
that, The qitantivalence and many other
chemical characteristics of the elements are
a function of their atomic weights, and it
is, undoubtedly, the key to many chemical
mysteries which at present we cannot well
understand, and much adcHtional study will
be necessary before we shall know how to
use the key properly, and comprehend the
full significance of the law of nature which is
dimly hinted to us in this periodic grouping
of the elementary bodies.

When the elements are arranged as above
described in groups and series, we find that
they are not continuous and unbroken. Many
blank spaces remain to be filled by elements
possessing an atomic weight between that of
their nearest neighbors. It is a striking proof
of the truth of this theory that, since it was
first brought forward, some of these vacancies
have been filled by newly-discovered elements.
When the original table of groups was drawn
up, there was a vacancy between the elements
zinc (65) and arsenic (75), which indicated
the existence of a trivalent element interme-
diate in atomic weight between those two
metals. MendelejefF predicted the discovery
of this element, and the chemical properties
which it should possess, and gave it the pro-
visional name of ekaluminium. Shortly
afterwards, the metal gallium was discov-
ered, possessing the predicted properties,
and having the intermediate atomic weight
of 69.8. Another example is afforded by
the metal scandium, which agrees closely in
its properties and atomic weight (44) with
an element intermediate between calcium
and titanium, whose existence was predicted
by Mendelejefl", under the provisional name
of ekabor.

To what further discoveries this wonderful
law may lead, it is impossible to say, but it
undoubtedly indicates a closer connection
"between what have been considered as defi-
nite and distinct forms of matter, than has
hitherto been supposed. We cannot over-
look the hint of an inorganic evolution of the

difltrent forms of matter from one primordial
substance, analogous to the difterentiation of
plants and animals from simpler and lower
forms of life, now so generally accepted by
biologists. But, whatever may have been the
conditions governing the existence and mani-
festations of matter in the early ages of our
universe, the impossibilit}' of a change from
one form of matter to another at the present
time and under the existing conditions, seems
almost certain. Not a single fact is known
which leads us to suppose that it is possible
for the chemist to change hydrogen into oxy-
gen, for instance, or mercury into gold.
But, judging from the previous achievements
of scientific research, we are on the verge of
some wonderful and revolutionary discoveries,
which, to say the least, will profoundly mod-
ify our present views in regard to the con-
stitution of matter, and the laws governing
the phenomena which it exhibits.
«♦>

SCIENTIFIC RECREATIONS.
A VERY pretty experiment in inertia can
be performed with a dice box and two dice,
held in the hand as shown in the engraving.
It is required to toss the two dice into the
box, one after the other. The problem at
first sight appears ridiculously simple, and so
it is for the first die, but it will be found
almost impossible to toss the second one into
the box without throwing out the one alreadv

diflicult to move the box directly under the
second die, so that it shall fall into it without
throwing out the first one. Like all experi-
ments of this sort, a little practice is necessary
to do it successfully, but the trick is soon
learnt, and is an amusing one in itself, as well
as an illustration of the fact that, owing to
the principle of inertia, a body does not
commence to fall at the exact instant that its
support is withdrawn.

The second illustration shows very plainly
the proper way of bending a glass tube — a
very simple matter, but one in which chemi-
cal amateurs often come to grief. The whole
secret is to heat a considerable portion of the
tube by moving it back and forth lengthwise
in the flame, at the same time slowlv revolv-
ing it between the fingers. When the tube is
thoroughly and uniformly softened for a space

there by the same movement. It can, how-
ever, be performed as follows : After tossing
the first die into the box, hold the second one
with the fingers so that it shall be somewhat
higher than the bottom of the box and the
die within it. Then give a quick downward
movement with the hand, at the same instant
letting go of the die held in the fingers ;
the latter will not move quite as (juickly as
the hand and dice box, and it will not be

of about two inches, remove it from the
flame, and bend it into the desired curve.
Take plenty of time, as the glass will not
harden immediately. In the engraving, a
spirit lamp is represented, but an ordinary
gas burner gives a broad flame of just the
right shape for heating the tube, which
should be held in the upper part of it, where
it is hottest. A dense coating of soot, or
carbon, will be deposited upon the glass by
the lamp flame, but it will do no harm, and
can be easily wiped ofl' after the tube has
cooled. If it is desired to draw the tube out
to a point, heat it in the same waj , and pull
gently but firmly, with both hands. If a long,
slender point is desired, the tube must be
removed from the flame before drawing out ;
but to make a short, blunt point, heat the
glass till it is quite soft, and draw out slowly
without removing it from the flame.

The accompanying engravings are repro-
duced from La Nature.

Native Zinc. — In the laboratory of the State
Mining Bureau in San Francisco a discovery was
made recently which is highly prized. In working
a specimen of sulphide or blende ore sent from a
mine in Shasta County, Cal., a small piece of
native metallic zinc was secured. This is the first
piece of the character named ever known to have
been secured in this country. Late works on met-
allurgy note the existence in the mines of Victoria,
Australia, of the only native metallic zinc known.
The Mining Bureau will endeavor to secure other
specimens from Shasta County.

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIENCE I^EWS.

[Original in The Popular Science N ws.]
BRIEF STUDIES IN BIOLOGY.

BY PROF. JAMES H. STOLLER.

THE AMrF.BA.

The delightful field ot knowledge which modern
biology has opened, has scarcely yet been explored
by the intelligent general reader, so recently has it
been added to the realm of science. It is therefore
believed that a series of brief studies, which may
serve to guide the reader to an apprehension of the
leading facts and principles of the science of life, as
known at the present day, may be acceptable to
many. Our method will be to study a number of
forms of animal life, seeking to find out how they
illustrate, in the forms of their bodies and the carry-
ing on of their life processes, the laws which govern
the world of animate nature. Naturally, we shall
begin with the simplest of organic beings, and pro-
ceed in order toward the highest forms.

What, then, is the simplest form of animal life.'
The word which stands at the head of this article is
the name of a typical unicellular animal, found
everywhere in pools of stagnant water, which biolo-
gists commonly refer to as a representative of the
lowest class of animal organisms, viz. : the Protozoa.
The amceba is a very tiny creature, visible only by
the aid of the microscope. But it is so simple in
structure that one can get quite a correct idea of it
from a description. Imagine how a bit of uncooked
white of egg, spread out flat and of an irregularly
rounded form, would look, and you have a very
good notion of the appearance of the amoeba under
the microscope. And a notion obtained in this way
is not only correct as to the appearance of the organ-
ism, but also as to the nature of the material of
which the body is made. For the albumen of which
white of egg consists, in its chemical and physical
properties is precisely similar to that substance,
called protoplasm, which composes the bodies of
the protozoan animals.

But let us stop here to note a very important dis-
tinction : If a bit of white of egg be left to itself, in
a little while it wastes away; the oxygen of the air
attacks it and converts it into new compounds.
But if an amoeba be left to itself, under natural con-
ditions, it does not undergo destructive change; it
is endowed with a principle of life, by which it can
resist the attacks of the oxygen. Thus, while the
amceba, when subjected to the chemist's analysis, is
found to consist of the same chemical elements as
white of egg, — namely: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen,
and nitrogen, — it also possesses, in addition to this,
a something else- — a something which enables it to
maintain itself intact against external physical
forces. This something is life. We may sav that
it is a force resident in the protoplasm of which the
body of the organism consists. It is as well to call
it the vital force, and to correlate it with the physi-
cal forces, heat, electricity, magnetism, etc. And
just as we do not know the real nature of these
physical forces, but know them only by their mani-
festations, so we do not know the real nature of life,
and can only say that it manifests itself by certain
phenomena, happening in more or less certain
order, — that is to say, according to laws more or
less known to us. The study of biology is the studv
of the laws which govern the phenomena manifested
by living bodies.

Let us now return to the amoeba, understanding
that the task before us is to observe and reflect upon
the phenomena which it manifests. By watching a
little while, one is sure to observe a change in the
form of the body taking place. There is a thrusting
out of one side into a club-like projection ; presently
the rest of the body, by a kind of flowing motion,

moves toward this projection. The animal is able
to push out any side of its body in this way, so that
when it wishes to change its direction it has no
need to turn about, as those animals do which
always move with one end forwards. These pro-
jections are called pseudopodia, a word which means
false feet; they are organs of locomotion, but, as
they are formed for only temporary use, it is no
more than right that their pseudo character should
thus be recognized in their name. As the creature
is moving about in this way, it may chance to come
in contact with a particle of matter which it can use
for food. If so, it immediately proceeds to swallow
it. But, as the organism has no mouth nor stoinach,
— being only a bit of structureless homogeneous
protoplasm, saving a central portion called the
nucleus, — it must improvise a digestive cavity as
occasion demands, just as it improvises feet when it
wishes to move. It simply flows round the particle
until it is completely enclosed in its body-substance,
where it then undergoes digestion. Beyond doubt,
the amceba digests and assimilates its food — in other
words, performs the general function of nutrition —
just as perfectly as the higher animals do, though
destitute of any special organs for carrying out this
function. Its food is of just the same nature as that
of the higher animals, consisting of organic matter,
such as minute plant cells, and water. It takes this
food into its body and converts it into its own sub-
stance (assimilates.) As a result of this process,
the amceba shows increase of size, or growth. The
facts at hand, then, are that the simplest animal
organisms are able to procure food, to swallow,
digest, and assimilate it, thus effecting growth and
maintaining life, just as perfectly as the most highly
organized animals. When it is called to mind that
in the higher animals, as in man, there are several
systems of organs — the digestive, the circulatory,
and the excretory — which are subservient to the
function of nutrition, it is seen that the problems of
physiology, instead of being rendered simpler in the
lowest organisms, are really more difficult to under-
stand. We can only say that the protoplasm which
constitutes the body of the amoeba is able of itself
to perform the functions of the stomach, heart
kidneys, etc., of the higher animals.

Having thus seen that the amoeba is able to per-
fectly discharge the physiological function of
nutrition, — the function by which it is kept alive as
an individual being, — let us now find out whether it
is able to discharge the other fundamental function
of living bodies, namely, reproduction — that by
which its kind, or species, is kept alive. By patient
watching it will be found that any amreba, after a
greater or less length of time, undergoes division of
its body into two parts. It is as if an invisible thread
was passed around the body, and the loop drawn
smaller and smaller, until the body was constricted
into two. Each of these parts has all the powers of
the being from which they were formed ; they are,
in fact, a new generation of amcebas. Each is
destined to grow to its full size, to nourish itself for
a while, and then, in turn, by the simple process of
self-division, to give rise to a new generation of its
kind. Thus, by the simplest process we are able to
think of, the function of reproduction — fundamental
to all living beings — is effected.

The manifestations of life seen in a study of the
amceba may therefore be summarized as follows :
(i) power of self-movement; (2) power of taking in
outside matter as food and converting it into its own
substance; (3) power of reproducing its kind.

This sketch of a typical organism of the lowest
grade in the scale of life would not be complete if it
was not pointed out that the amceba is exactly simi-
lar to certain cells found in bodies of all the higher
animals, including num. It is well known that the

blood consists of a liquid plasma in which float cor-
puscles of two kinds, the red and white. Now the
white corpuscles are almost precisely like amcebas.
Like them, they consist of minute masses of proto-
plasm, containing in their central part a nucleus ;
and, like them, they are constantly undergoing
changes of form. It is also highly probable that
they nourish and reproduce themselves, just as
amcebas do; at any rate, this affirmation can be
made of other cells, especially during the embryonic
period of life.

In this connection it is instructive to draw this
parallel : Of all the forms of animal life, the amoeba
is the simplest, retaining with the least modification
the properties of the elementary form of living
matter, viz. : protoplasm. So, likewise, of all the
cells of the body, the white corpuscles are the least
specialized ; unlike the cells which go to make the
nerves, muscles, and bones, they have not acquired
special distinctive qualities, but retain in the least
degree modified, the properties of elementary living
matter. In other words, the amoeba stands at the
bottom in the scale of animal life, and the white
corpuscles, and other simple cells, stand at the
bottom in the scale of the structural elements that
go to make up the body.

Union College, Schenectady, N. Y.

[Original in The Popular Science Neici.l

FAUNA AND FLORA OF PRIMITIVE AND

RECENT PERIODS.

BY JOSEPH WALLACE.

It is singularly strange, in this age of progress
i.nd advanced science, to find some people who call
themselves learned still persisting that the present
fauna and flora are but pigmies in comparison to
those which are extinct. Thanks to the advance-
ment in paleontological researches, we know the
former and present fauna and flora, for it teaches us
about the animals and plants which have existed on
the earth, but, for the most part, do not at present
exist. The history of the present fauna and flora is
a supplement or revised edition of the history of the
fauna and flora of the primeval world ; no visible
signs of a universal catastrophe of animal and vege-
table life can be traced. The most marked change
on the earth's surface took place at the close of the
Mesozoic or Secondary period, when lycopods,
ferns, cycads, and yew-like conifers passed away,
and diocotyledonous angiosperms — the hard-wood
trees and evergreens of today — succeeded them, but
not by any sudden extinction, for some of these
trees had already begun to make their appearance
in Cretaceous times. Consequently, natural history
is complete, because it embraces two classes of
organic beings : those which still exist and those
which are extinct.

It seems natural in man to be imaginative and
susceptible of wild, grotesque, and fabulous impres-
sions of pre-existing organic forms. No doubt,
primeval plants and animals of odd and rare descrip-
tion are found, but it is by no means generally the
case. Strange forms occur among petrified remains,
as in the case of reptiles. Among these are found
various saurians, or species of flying and swimming
lizards, as the plesiosaurus and peterodactylus;
among the mammalia, the dinotherium giganteum.
But strange forms also exist at the present day ; for
instance, the ornithorhynchus, ant-eater, sloth, and
flying-dragon ; and, as a rule, those were just as
rare formerly as these are now. The same holds
good in regard to size of the organisms. The
present equisetacea;, or horse-tails, are usually a
foot high (seldom exceeding four feet), and about
the thickness of one's thumb ; our lycopodiacei, or
mosses, consist of tendrils with thin, branching
stems, which wind along the ground between the

POPULAR SCTET^CE NEWS.

[January, 1890.

heather. Now we find petrified equisetaceae which
are as thick as one's arm or leg, and Ijcopodiacese
which have grown to large trees; but we find noth-
ing in the petrified plants that can compare to our
oaks, cedars, pines, and other giant trees, — there is
no specimen on record of more than four feet in
diameter. And if we are told of the enormous size
of the ichthyosaurus, dinotherium, and others
among the fossil animals, the mammoth, or elephas
primogenius, was not materially larger than the
present Asiatic elephant. We can show that our
oceans and seas contain gigantic whales which
exceed in size the largest types of fossil fauna.

Much has been said about the mammoth in Bibli-
cal and natural history. According to some, the
name is corrupted from behemoth, or the Russian
"mammont," and which did not exceed the largest
elephant in size ; on the contrary, it had a smaller
head, weaker chest bones, and shorter and thicker
legs. We are told, too, that fossil tusks of twelve
feet or more have been found. Granted ; but we
must remember that the tusks of elephants grow on
till the animal dies, no matter how great be its age ;
and, as the mammoth was neither tamed nor
hunted for the sake of ivory, it could grow on and
reach the advanced age that was natural to it.

We know that the body of the northern whale
sometimes reaches to sixty-six feet long, and at the
fins, forty feet in circumference. The body of the
sperm whale is sometimes seventy feet long, by
thirty-eight in circumference, and the fin-backed
whale exceeds all other animals in length, and often
attains to one hundred feet, by ten in circumference.
Now we look in vain for such monsters in the
earlier periods of creation. The largest crocodiles
average from twenty to thirty feet long, but this is
considered small in comparison to the fantastic
leviathans of the sea and huge land animals of the
primeval world. When the bones of the iguanodon
were first found, its length was immediately reckoned
to be one hundred and sixty feet; but Prof. R.
Owen surprised these superficial reckoners by
reducing it to twenty-eight feet, of which three were
for the head, twelve for the body, and thirteen for
the tail. The hylseosaurus and megalosaurus are
often supposed to reach from sixty to eighty feet,
the mistake in calculation being based on the first
find, of the size and massive form of a single bone,
which does not determine the whole size of the
body. Prof Owen's trustworthy computation puts
the length of the former at twenty-five feet at most,
and the latter at thirty feet. These are the most
colossal land saurians ; the longest ichthyosaurus
did not attain to more than thirty feet, and the
dinotherium did not exceed twenty feet in length.

Generally speaking, although many huge forms
of the primitive world do not exist in the present
condition of things, yet their places are filled by
other massive forms, so that the present state of
nature is not so very much inferior, if it is at all, to
the earlier state, in respect to the size of the organic
forms. On the other hand, animals of middle size,
small, and even of microscopic dimensions, are not
wanting in the fossil fauna. Whole beds of rock,
with an aggregate thickness of hundreds — yea,
thousands — of feet, are made up of shells which
witness their perfect preservation. The polishing
stone from Bohemia, which we know as tripoli, is
only an accumulation of the flinty coverings of
organisms known as diatoms — so minute that no
less than 41,000,000,000 of them go to make up a sin-
gle cubic inch of stone. There are similar deposits
30 feet thick, and of great extent, in Virginia, known
as "infusorial earth." The "greensands" of the
chalk and other periods, in the same way are found to
consist mainly of the casts of minute shells, from
which the lime has been dissolved, — a phenomenon

which is being even repeated in various parts at
the bottom of existing oceans, each grain being the
cast of a single shell.

The abundance of microscopic life in early periods
is beyond calculation ; this, of itself, leads us to
imagine millions of years intervening between the
primitive and present fauna and flora. It seems
very probable that some of the great clayey accum-
ulations of past geological formations may be really
the remains of minute shells. Many enormously
thick beds of limestone, extending over vast regions,
are also simply the wreck of countless millions of
similar humble forms of life. • Our chalk is an
example, and so is a similar deposit still being
formed over large areas of the Atlantic and Pacific
at great depths, almost wholly from the debris
of minute shells. Whole limestone ranges in Rus-
sia, America, and Britain owe their origin to a no
more dignified source. They are built up of the
shells of foraminifera. The petroleum so largely
obtained in this country and Russia, may have an
animal origin, as the "bituminous schists" of
Caithness are impregnated with oily matter, appar-
ently derived from the decomposition of masses of
fish in them through long periods. The so-called
nummulite limestone (from the Latin nummus —
money) attains a thickness of many thousand feet,
and extends from the Alps to the Carpathians,
while it plays a great part in the formation of
mountains and hills in Asia Minor, Persia, India,
and Africa ; yet it is the creation of innumerable
disk or money-like shells, though very small.

In comparing the animals and plants of the
earlier and later periods, we find that the earliest
differ most and the later ones least from the present
fauna and flora. It is certain, from the evidence of
paleontological records, that a development of ani-
mals and plants from a lower to a higher torm has
taken place with each period or organic change.
This, of course, can be explained. The earliest
formations contained scarcely any but the remains
of a low organization — fiowerless plants, corals,
mollusks, articulata ; there are very few signs of
fish and reptiles, and, so far as is known, no birds
or mammals. In the succeeding strata, more highlv
organized forms are found ; in the Carboniferous
period there are some conifers, many fish, and a
few reptiles ; in the Triassic period, higher reptiles
are found quite prevalent, and a few mammals ;
in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, a few dico-
tyledonous plants and endogenous trees, with a great
prevaU nee of higher reptiles, fishes, and birds; and
in the Tertiary period, many dicotyledonous plants
and mammals. In all cases, the lower organisms of
the animal and vegetable world appear first, and
the higher organisms later. Thus, of the radiata,
the crinoidese appeared first; of the fish, the tailed
ganoid and placoid ; of the reptiles, the saurians;
of the birds, the marsh and tufted birds ; of the
mammals, the oppossums and cetacea. The organic
forms differ most from those now existing in the
earliest strata, and the differences diminish steadily
all through the more recent deposits.

SCIENTIFIC BREVITIES.

Improvement on the Phonograph. — In the
present phonograph, a stylus for impressing the
wax is attached to the center of the vibrating dia-
phragm. The new improvement of G. Bettini is to
extend little rods from the stylus to several parts of
the diaphragm. In this way greater exactness of
tone and speech is obtained, so the inventor claims,
and much superior results.

Inheritance of Accjuired Character.s. — With
regard to the question of the inheritance of injuries,
a correspondent of Nature writes about an Irish
terrier bitch which had a litter by a mongrel terrier

whose tail had been cut off with a hatchet. Of the
litter, one puppy was without a tail. The Irish
terrier belonged to the writer, and he says that she
had had several litters before, none of which were
irt any way deformed.

An Industry in Artificial Sponges is in pro-
cess of creation. M. Oscar Schmidt, professor at the
University of Gratz, in Styria, has invented a
method by which pieces of living sponge are broken
off and planted in a favorable spot. From very
small cuttings of this kind. Prof Schmidt has ob-
tained large sponges in the course of three years, at
a very small expense. One of his experiments gave
the result that the cultivation of 4,000 sponges had
not cost more than 225 francs, including the interest
for three years on the capital expended. The
Austro-IIungarian government has been so much
struck with the importance of these experiments
that it has officially authorized the protection of this
new industry on the coast of Dalmatia.

Invisible Ink.— M. E. Pecard has published an
account of this chemical discovery. It is a mixed
acid procured by a solution of molybdic acid in
boiling oxalic acid. He calls it oxalomolybdic acid.
The crystals of this acid are insoluble in strong
nitric acid, but they dissolve in cold water. Paper
written upon with the solution shows nothing in a
weak light, but when brought into the sunshine the
written characters suddenly appear in deep indigo
blue. Paper saturated with the solution and dried
in the dark becomes blue when exposed to the sun,
and on this blue surface white characters may be
written by dipping the pen in water. The color
disappears in contact with water, and the blue
writing becomes black when exposed to the heat of
a fire.

Artificial Musk. — A remarkable oily liquid,
having a brown color, and smelling so like musk
that, it is said, very few noses are able to detect the
difference between the natural product and the arti-
ficial body, is obtained by a new process. Two
parts of isobutyl alcohol, three parts of meta-xylol,
and nine parts of chlorate of zinc [Qy. chloride], are
are heated together for eight or nine days at a temper-
ature of about 440° or 450° F. in a strong vessel, the
pressure inside of which speedily rises to nearly
30 atmospheres, but gradually declines to about a
quarter of that degree of tension when the whole is
allowed to cool gradually. Th£ crude product so
obtained is purified by distillation once or twice
repeated, until an oily fluid is the result, which
comes over between 220° and 260°; this, when ren-
dered slightlj- alkaline, is the " musk" in question,
and it may be diluted with alcohol, for the use of the
perfumer, to any degree of odoriferous strength.

Thermometer Scales.— Three scales have sur-
vived. The Fahrenheit is the oldest, and dates
from 1724. It is used popularly in Great Britain,
the British colonies, and the United States. This
scale was primarily divided into iSo°; zero was
placed at temperate, a point corresponding with
if C. ; the point to which the alcohol rose when
placed under the arm of a healthy man was marked
90°; and the temperature of a mixture of ice and
salt, then believed to be the greatest possible cold,
was marked — 90°. In 1714 Fahrenheit again altered
his scale ; 0° was placed at the absolute zero, and
the space between this point and that representing
the warmth of the human body was divided into
twenty-four degrees. The freezing point of water
was now 8°. But these long degrees being incon-
venient, each was divided into four, and thus in-
stead of 8°, the freezing point of water became J2^'
and the blood heat 96°. A mercurial thermometer
thus graduated registered 212- as the boiling point
of water.

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

Practical Cljcnjistry aijd tlje ^rts.

THE ENGLISH CHANNEL BRIDGE.

The accompanying engraving (from I^a
Nature) represents a view of the proposed
bridge across the English Channel, as it will
appear after completion. This project is cer-
tainly a bold and magnificent conception,
and, if ever carried out, the bridge will be
the greatest feat of engineering ever accom-
plished. The preliminary plans have been
made for the work, but, before it becomes an
accomplished fact, many obstacles — not only
natural ones, but financial and political —
must be overcome.

The proposed bridge will start from near
Folkestone, in England, and cross to a point
near the port of Ambleteuse, on the French
coast. The total length will be about twenty-
iour miles, but it will deviate from a direct
line, in order to cross two banks, or shoals,
in the middle of the channel, and obtain the
advantage of the
shallow water (20
to 30 feet) above
them. In the deep-
est part of the chan-
nel the piers must
be sunk in 165 feet
of water — a feat
which will require
some skillful en-
gineering.

The piers, of
which there will
be about 125, will
be of solid masonrj-,
and will be built
near the shore in
caissons, and then
floated out into the
channel and sunk
in their proper
places. They will project 60 feet above
low water, and on them will rest the
steel cylindrical columns, 120 feet in height,^
which support the superstructure of the I
bridge, making a clear height of 180 feet
above the water, and allowing ample room
for vessels with the highest masts to pass
freely beneath. The construction and placing
of each pier is estimated to take about a year,
although, of course, an indefinite number can.
be constructed at the same time. i

The length of the spans will vary, but the
widest will consist alternately of 900 and |
1,500 feet, each span of the bridge (as shown I
in the engraving) resting upon two piers.
The narrowest span will be 300 feet. Over 1
a million tons of metal will be used in the
work, and the cost is estimated at from 175
to 200 millions of dollars. About ten years
will be required to complete it, and, if the ,
success is assured, it would seem to be an j
easy matter to raise the necessary funds. I

The commercial and political importance
of this bridge, which would give Great
Britain direct and unbroken railroad commu-
nication with all parts of the eastern hemis-
phere, can hardly be overestimated, and it
would also tend to bind the European nations
more closely together and prevent war. Mr.
Gladstone is reported to have said that "by
either the tunnel or the bridge the peace of
the world is assured," and, although this may
be rather a sanguine view to take of the mat-
ter, there can be no doubt that the result of
such direct means of communication would
be an unqualified blessing to all concerned,
and it is to be hoped that the ridiculous fears
of foreign invasion which led the British
government to suppress the already com-
menced tunnel underneath the channel, will
not be the cause of the abandonment of the
proposed bridge above its tempestuous waters.

stopping, starting, or reversing the motion,
and safety catches, to prevent its fall in case of
the breaking of the chain, can be readily
attached to it. No attendant is required, as
its operation is so simple that anyone can
make use of it without danger, and means
can easily be arranged by which it can be
brought back to the foot of the staircase by a
person standing below, if it has been left at
the top by the last passenger.

This invention is nuich less costly than a
regular elevator, and seems to be especially
applicable to private houses, stores, small
hotels, and similar buildings. It will doubt-
less come into quite extensive use.

A NOVEL ELEVATOR.

The ingenious device for ascending stair-

cases shown in the illustration (on page 6)
was exhibited at the Paris Exposition last
summer by M. Amiot, under the name of
monte-escalier. It is intended as a substitute
for the more expensive elevator in private
houses, and buildings where the travel from
one story to another is small, besides being
adapted to narrow and crooked locations,
where the regular type of elevator could not
be introduced, for want of sufficient space.

The engraving leaves little to be explained
in regard to its construction and working.
The whole installation may be divided into
three parts : the rails, which are attached
firmly to the side of the staircase, which may
be either straight or curved ; the car, which
is a platform resting on the rails by wheels ;
and the motor, which may be either hydraulic,
electric, or of any other type, according to
circumstances, and which draws the car from
one story to the other by means of a chain.
The car is provided with a simple means •f

TRANSPARENCIES IN PRUSSIAN BLUE.
Mr. Robert Benecke, of St. Louis, gives instruc-
tions in Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, to select
glass free from scratclies and bubbles, put it in a
solution of washing soda for a time, wash, and f.»t
it up to dry. Now take one ounce of fine gelatin.,
such as is used for making dry plates, put it in clean
water; wash it a couple of times, squeeze out the

water and place it on
a clean towel. After
about one hour, dis-
solve the gelatine in
twenty ounces of hot
water, and filter it
through cotton, flan-
nel, silk, or buckskin
pushed into the neck
of a funnel. Coat the
plates with the gela-
tine solution wanned
from 120° to 140°
Fahr. In cold weather
it will be necessarv to
warm the plates. When
the solution is spread
evenly over the glass,
lay it on a cold marble
slab placed horizon-
tally, and as soon as
the coating has be-
come stiflf enough not
to run, set the plates
up on nails to dry. This will take from eight to
twelve hours or more. Any number of plates can
be thus prepared, and may be kept for any length of
time in a place free from dust. Next mix the sensi-
tizing solution. Dissolve citrate of iron and ammo-
nia, 71/2 drachms in 4 ounces of water, also ferricya-
nide of potassium, 5 drachms in 4 ounces of water.
Mix and filter into a dish, and immerse the plates
about five minutes, avoiding air bubbles. This is
better done in the evening by lamp-light. Next
morning they will be dry, and ready to be placed
under the negative and exposed. The time for
printing required is about double that for albumen-
ized paper. The last thing to be done is the wash-
ing, which removes the salts and develops a rich
blue print. The solution must be freshly made, as
it will not keep very long after being used. The
plates will keep in the dark for some time.

There was at the Paris Exhibition a coal-digger
which is worked by an electro-motor. By its aid a
man and helper can uncfercut one hundred and ten
tons of coal in ten hours, in a seam six feet
thick, and the power required for this at the
pit-head it a little over two and one-quarter horse-
power.

t^OPTJLAR SCIEl^CE NEWS.

tJ-'

1S90.

[Original in The Popular Science iVr!«s.]

THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE
ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS.

BY JOHN C. ROLFE, PH. D.

II.
SOUND, HEAT, AND LIGHT.

The father of the science of acoustics was the
famous philosopher Pythagoras, who was born at
Samos, at the end of the seventh century B. C. We
are often told that he was led to the discovery of the
arithmetrical relations of the musical scale by ob-
serving accidentally the various sounds which were
produced by hammers of different weights striking
upon an anvil. Longfellow refers to this old story
in his poem "To a Child":

As great Pythagoras of yore,
Standing beside the blacksmith's door,
And hearing the hammers, as they smote
The anvils with a different note.
Stole from the varying tones that hung
Vibrant on every iron tongue.
The secret of the sounding wire.
And formed the seven-chored lyre.
But, unfortunately for the truth of the story, dif-
ferent hammers do not produce different sounds
from the same anvil. It seems certain, however,
that Pythagoras invented the monochord, which is

A NOVEL ELEVATOR. (See page 5.)

thus the first known apparatus for the experimental
investigation of natural laws. By means of this, he
discovered that all intervals of sound which make a
pleasant and harmonious impression on our ears,
correspond to the simplest numerical relations ;
that, for example, if a string of the length » gave
the keynote, V2' and /i* gave the octave and the
third. Euclides, or Euclid, the famous geometer,
collected the results reached by Pythagoras and his
school, giving us an aritmetical- demonstration of
the way of dividing the scale ; while, among the
Romans, Vitruvius and Bcethius wrote on the same
subject, but without making any original contribu-
tions to it.

The first to undertake to explain the phenomena
of sound was Aristotle. He discovered that the air
was the medium by which all sounds were trans-
mitted, and observed that the velocity with which
they travelled, differed on difterent days and at dif-
ferent seasons of the year. Vitruvius applied

acoustic principles to the construction of theaters.
He explains clearly that sound travels in waves
of air, spreading in all directions from the sonorous
body.

Of the laws of heat, the ancients knew practically
nothing, having a merely empirical knowledge of
the ordinary processes of melting, freezing, boiling,
and the like. They developed heat by burning, by
friction, and by the concentration of the sun's rays.
They knew that steam and air were expanded by
heat. Aristotle, who investigated the subject, was
prevented from accomplishing anything by assum-
ing at the outset that heat and cold were radically
independent things, instead of differing merely in
degree. He seems, however, to have recognized a
definite melting-point for various metals, and he
explains the ready melting of "Celtic tin" by the
weak cohesion of its molecules. He also appears to
have had some idea of latent heat. Among the
Romans, we find the use of a principle of heat by a
man who, least of all, would have claimed the glory
of being a savant — the grim old censor, Marcus
Porcius Cato. In describing the preparation of a
certain dish, he says that the ingredients are put
into an earthen vessel ; this in turn is put into a pot
full of water, which is set over the fire. Here we
have a suggestion of the method afterwards em-
ployed by the Arabs, and familiar in our day, for
maintaining a given temperature in water-baths.

In optics, far greater advances were made than in
the two departments of physics already reviewed.
At first, the idea of the process of sight was a wholly
inverted one, for it was supposed that the course of
light was from the eye to the object seen, long
feelers going out from the organ of vision, which
formed a conception of the object viewed by actual
contact with its surface. Epicurus and Hipparchus
assumed the existence of visual rays proceeding
from the eye ; and the ancient geometers described
spheres which resulted from the union of the beams
from the two e3"es, those from the right eye turning
to the left, and vice versa. They maintained that
while the eye could take in a great many objects, a
distinct impression was received only where the
rays met.

The first to write on the subject was Euclid, a
believer in the "feeler" theory. While he made
many errors, he showed that the angle of incidence
is equal to the angle of reflection, and in one of his
theorems gives the germ of the idea of linear per-
spective. The next in order in the development of
the subject is Cleomedes, whose work is largely a
compilation of that of Poseidonius, a contemporary
of Cicero. He is the first to show a knowledge of
the principle of refraction, which he illustrates by
the familiar experiment with the coin in water; and
he explains the phenomenon of twilight on that
principle.

Ptolemains, or Ptolemy, the well-known mathe-
matician and astronomer, wrote on the theory of
light, and defined the angles of incidence and re-
flection for various refracting media. While it was
left for Descartes to discover the laws of refraction,
Ptolemains laid the foundation for later investiga-
tions. A work on mirrors, which was formerly
attributed to Ptolemains, is now believed to be the
work of the versatile Heron, who did such good
service in the field of mechanics. He gives a de-
scription of a heliostat, by which a ray of sunlight
was introduced into a darkened room and kept in a
given position ; of a mirror which distorted the
image reflected, and of an apparatus for producing
ghostly apparitions on the stage, similar to those
now employed for that purpose.

The ancients were acquainted with various opti-
cal instruments. Mirrors were known at a very
early period. They were made of various metals,

and of polished stone. Nero had a mirror of emer-
ald, and Pliny tells us that mirrors were made of
rubies, though this stone is never found now suffi-
ciently large for the purpose. The mirrors made at
Brundisium, from a mixture of tin and copper, were
celebrated. The white metal thus produced readily
becomes dim, and a sponge with powdered pumice-
stone was generally fastened to them for renewing
the polish. The use of silver mirrors was very
common at Rome. Glass mirrors are spoken of by
Pliny and others.

Burning-glasses were known at Athens as early
as the time of the Peloponnesian war, for Aristo-
phanes makes one of his characters use one to
obliterate a charge against him which was recorded
on a wax tablet. The burning-glasses of Archime-
des have already been referred to. This instrument
was also used by the vestal virgins to rekindle the
sacred fire, if, by any unhappy chance, it was ex-
tinguished.

Magnifying-glasses were known to the Romans,
and the short-sighted emperor Nero is said to have
used one at the theater. This instrument was sim-
ilar to our modern spectacles or eye-glasses, rather
than to opera-glasses. The vexed question whether
anything corresponding to the opera-glass or the
telescope was known to the ancients, seems to have
been answered in tlie negative, although they may
have used an empty tube to aid their sight in cer-
tain cases.

The question whether the sense of color of
the ancients was less developed than our own, has
been much discussed, and the attempt has been
made to prove that Homer was partially color-
blind. Aristotle distinguished only three — or at
most four — colors in the rainbow, though he could
probably have passed a modern examination for
color-blindness.

The subjects of magnetism and electricity must be
left for another paper.

[Note. — The December number, containing the first article
of this series, will be sent free to anv 7iew subscrilier requesting
it.l

EIKOXOGEN, A NEW PHOTOGRAPHIC
DEVELOPER.

Andressen, of Berlin, has discovered a new sub-
stance to which he has given the name of eikonogen
or ikonogen, and which is manufactured in Ger-
many. This is a substance derived from anilin, like
hydroquinon, of a greenish gray color, sensitive to
light, and non-crystallizable. According to M.
L'llote, it is distinguishable from hydroquinon by
means of fuming nitric acid, whichacts slowly upon
the latter body, blackening the crystals and forming
an oxide, yellow and slightly soluble; while it acts
very energetically upon eikonogen, forming a yel-
low colored matter which turns red with water.

Eikonogen can replace hydroquinon for the devel-
opment of photographic images. The following
formulas may be used :

FORMULA NO. I.

Sulphite of soda 100 grammes

Distilled water 1500 grammes

Eikonogen 25 grammes

FORMULA NO. 2.

Distilled water ^ao grammes

Carbonate of soda 74 grammes

Three parts of the first solution is taken with one
part of the second.

To hurry the development, add a few drops of the
following accelerator :

Carbonate of potash 10 grammes

Distilled water , . . 100 grammes

To restrain the development, add a few drops of
the following retardator:

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

Brtmiide of potash lO grammes

Distilled water lOO gramnies

Fixing is done in tiie usual manner. Tiie batli of
eikonogen is not colored by contact with the air,
which permits its employment for the development
of many plates in succession.

It does not stain the fingers or the nails, it gives
clear negatives, and development is easy and rapid.
N. E. Druggist.

[Note. — In our experience with eikonogen, we
find it to give great detail, but not very much inten-
sity. It also appears to have a tendency to cause
blisters in the gelatine coating. It is especially
adapted for developing bromide prints, and no
clearing solution is necessary. — Ed.]

♦♦v

INDUSTRIAL MEMORANDA.

A New Alloy has been discovered by llerr
Reith, of Bockenheini, Germany, which is said to
practically resist tlie attack of inost acid and alkaline
solutions. Its composition is as follows : Copper,
15 parts; tin, 2.34 parts; lead, 1.82 parts; anti-
mony, I part. This alloy is, therefore, a bronze
with the addition of lead and antimony. The
inventor claims that it can be very advantageously
used in the laboratory to replace vessels or fittings
of ebonite, vulcanite, or porcelain.

The safety of mining has been materially in-
creased in recent years. The average ratio for the
ten years ending 1S60 was one death in every 245
persons employed, for the ten years ending 1S70 it
was one in 300, for the period ending 1880 one in
425, and for the present year one in 602. Even this
more favorable ratio will, no doubt, be improved
upon, and mining may become as safe as any other
occupation. Seeing that an army of nearly 600,000
persons are employed in or about the mines of
Great Britain and Ireland, and that in round num-
bers 183,000,000 tons of minerals were wrought last
year, the importance of the industry can hardly be
overestimated.

The Transportation of Acids. — There has
been patented in Germany a process by means of
which sulphuric acid for manufacturing purposes
can be safely transported. The inventor takes
advantage of a property of certain salts, — of which
alkaline sulphates are representatives, — by which
they give up their water of crystallization when
heated, and take it up again when cool ; and he does
so by mixing the salts in an anhydrous condition
with a calculated quantity of sulphuric acid. The
whole mass becomes granular, or may be formed
into cakes, and, when heated, the whole liquefies,
»nd may be used as if it were sulphuric acid, for the
presence of bisulphate of soda does no harm.

Malleable Bro.nze. — A patent has been taken
out, both in England and France, by Mr. A. Sentex,
Mr. C. Marechal, and Mr. A. Saunier, establishing
a process for producing malleable and ductile bronze
bars or plates, which are free from cracks and blow-
holes, are "inoxidisable," and which may be "rolled
and drawn with the greatest ease." Moreover, the
metal has the appearance and "sonorosity of gold."
One and a half kilos, of tin are purified by melting
under nitre. Ten kilos, of copper are melted, and
50 grammes of equal parts of nitrate and cyanide of
potassium are added, for the double purpose of
reducing the oxides and "fattening" the metal.
Then 25 grammes of bitartrate of potassium, with
the same quantity of cyanide, are added, and, after
poling, the tin is introduced; 25 grammes each of
sal-atpmoniac and cyanide are thrown on, i gramme '
of "phosphuret of copper" introduced to "impart '
mildness," and 20 grammes of "Marseilles soap" |
added, which still further "fattens" the metal.
Finally, i gramme of sodium is added at the mo- ,
ment of casting. i

Ttje Ont-Door morld.

Edited by HARLAN H. BALLARD,

President of the Agassiz Association.
[P. O. Address, Pittsfield, Mass.]

Every member of the Agassiz Association
will appreciate and reciprocate the cordial
greeting given by the editor of the Popular
Science News. Let us increase our devo-
tion to the study of the Out-Door World
during the year now opening, and strive in
every way to render our society more and
more worthy of the commendation so kindly
be.stowed upon it.

T/ie Swiss Cross, which for more than
two years has been the "official organ" of
the Agassiz Association, is now combined
with Santa Claus, the new and beautiful
young folks' weekly magazine published in
Philadelphia, and will continue its pleasant
work of interesting the children in the study
of Nature. In "The Out-Door World" we
shall speak to those who are older, and who
are approaching a maturity of thought and
endeavor that will not rest short of thorough
scientific attainment. The publishers of these
two journals are in the heartiest accord, and
will aid and supplement one another in giving
our Association the completest possible rep-
resentation. By a friendly clubbing agree-
ment, both the Popular Science News
(whose regular subscription price is $1.00)
and Santa Clans ($3.00) will be sent to
any addre.ss for $3.25. To this most gener-
ous oHer we expect an equally generous
response from ever3one interested in our
work.

In addressing for the first time the new
audience to which we have thus kindly been
introduced by the editor of this journal, a few
words may be needed regarding the purpose
and scope of our Association. Its aim is to
awaken among the people an interest in the
personal observation of their immediate nat-
ural surroundings. As we have often ex-
pressed it, we wish to lead as many as
possible along the footsteps of Gilbert White.
To this end we constantly invite persons of
all ages and conditions to form local clubs
and unite with us. On their part, they are
to explore, as best they may, the country
within, sa\', a ten-mile radius of their respec-
tive homes ; make collections, if they choose,
of their representative animals, plants, and
minerals ; study the geological structure of
the rocks above which they live ; found local
scientific libraries ; provide courses of lectures ;
and, in a word, establish, if possible, perma-
nent scientific societies in their several towns.
On our part, we undertake to help any who
need assistance, by directing them to the
simplest methods of organization, and the
most approved ways of working in the acvcral

departments ; by suggesting books appropri-
ate to their varying necessities ; by putting
them in communication with men of high
standing, who are able and willing to give
them sound answers to the questions that may
perplex their inexperience ; and by providing
for them a regular means of intercommunica-
tion, so that they may not only maintain
private correspondence and exchange their
specimens, but ma}' also have a place in
which there may be made a permanent record
of whatever may be di.scovered of general and
abiding interest.

To this end we earnestly invite the co-
operation of every scientific man and woman
who reads this paper. Give us your sym-
pathy, your counsel, your assistance. You
will hardly be able to render the nation a
better service than by helping to enlist our
young men and young women in the consci-
entious study of Nature and science. We
plead for no sentimental smattering. Our
young men mean business. Many of them
have devoted their lives to science. Some
have already attained eminence who began as
boy-members of a village Chapter of the
Agassiz Association. Help them now, and
you will be unconsciously sowing seed that,
after many days, shall produce a harvest
worthy of your own gathering. You will
some day wish to give a scientific lecture ;
our Association is preparing you an audience.
You may embody the results of your life-
work in a book ; our Association is training
those who will buy and read it.

Another leading aim of the Agassiz
Association is to increase the quantity, and
particularly to improve the quality, of science-
teaching in our public schcwls. Much has
already been accomplished in this direction.
We have awakened a desire for right and
adequate instruction in nearly twenty thousand
youthful minds, and have given them a suffi-
cient understanding of what right instruction
is, to make them absolutely intolerant of
obsolete methods of rote-work and book-
cramming. You couldn't hire a member of
the Agassiz As.sociation to study botany with-
out plants, mineralogy without minerals, or
chemistry without chemicals. In this mat-
ter we have constantly been in the closest
sympathy of belief and endeavor with the
"Committee on the Subject of Science in the
Schools" appointed a year ago by the Amer-
ican Society of Naturalists. We cannot
better sum up our desires than by quoting
the words of this committee ; for the Agassiz
Association also asks for " the active support
and encouragement of every parent and
teacher who believes that the young should
have their natural tendencies and longings for
a knowledge of the things of Nature culti-
vated ; their questions about it, which are in
•v«ry w«y pure «n<l true, answered ; oppor-

POPULAR soii:hoe news.

[Jaxuary, 1890.

tunities for enjoyment and for friendships that
will never fail laid open to them ; and, above
all, the opportunity freely afforded them for
securing the brain-growth and mental power
by observation and independent thought
which these studies are so peculiarly well
fitted to give."

The smallest number that can be admitted
as a Chapter of the A. A. is four. These
may be all of one family, or of several ; they
may be of any age, and their entrance is
entirely free, the only necessary expense
being the purchase of the Association hand-
book. Three Kingdoms, and a subscription
to one of the papers that contain our reports.
For convenience in reporting, the Chapters
are arranged in groups of one hundred, called
Centuries, of which there are now ten, though
none of them are full. Chapters belonging
to the first Century (Nos. i-ioo) are expected
to send their annual reports to the President
by the first of January, and reports from this
division are now due. The other Centuries
will follow the months in regular order until
August. August and September are omitted,
as vacation months, and then the eighth
Century begins again in October. We shall
now present a few extracts from the large
number of these reports which have been
received dining the past few months.

505, Greene, N. Y. , [A]. — We have added to our
herbarium, by collecting and by exchange. Our
cabinet of minerals is also enlarged, and we have a
large number of slides prepared for the microscope.
Correspondence with the Gray Memorial Chapter
has proved very interesting and profitable. — L. P.
J., Sec.

One or two things in this pleasant letter may need
a word of explanation for the general reader. The
number (505) shows that this Chapter is the fifth
Chapter in the sixth Century. The letter A after
the address signifies that it is the first Chapter in
Greene, N. Y. The Gray Memorial Chapter is one
of a class of societies formed, not bj the union of
several residents of the same town, but by the asso-
ciation into a "Corresponding Chapter" of widely
separated individuals, all interested in the study of
botany. It is named in honor of Professor Asa
Gray, and has a large and earnest membership.
The President is George H. Hicks, Owosso, Mich.

513, Buffalo, N. Y., [D]. — We have lectures every
week, and every two weeks an essay and discussion.
We have had a series of excursions for the collection
of wild flowers, and are preparing an herbarium. — •
Lilian M. Hoffer, Sec.

517, Appleton, Wis., [A]. — We are studying leaf
forms and caterpillar changes. A charming book,
which we have lately obtained, Instd Lives; or
Born in Prison, has been a well of delight. With
great gratitude for the privileges you have enabled
us to enjoy, we are all very sincerely your co-
workers. — M. Rogers Winslow, Sec.

If anyone deems it immodest in the editor to feel
proud that the book referred to by Mrs. Winslow is
the work of his mother, and to think it the best book
on the subject yet written for young people, let him
read Exodus 20: 12.

520, Piqua, O., [A]. — We have gained a most
valuable member in J. W. Dowler, a civil engineer.
Our studies are at present confined to archicology,
geology, and zoology. In the first department we
have nearly five thousand specimens, as this is an
excellent field for Indian relics. — J. A. Rayner, Sec.

We have a "Corresponding Chapter" in arch-
seology, like the one in botany already referred to.
Its membership extends into many States. The
President is Hilborne T. Cresson, Philadelphia
Academy of Sciences; Vice-President, Dr. C. C.
Abbott, Trenton, N. J.; Secretary, A. II. Leitch,
41 Mound Street, Dayton, O.

521, New York, N. Y., [O].— We have held thir-
teen meetings since September, five of which were
devoted to answering the questions sent by Mr.
Wyht, whose course in botany we are still pursuing.
Miss Ilirsch has taken Professor Guttenberg's course
in mineralogy. We spent one field-day at Spuyten
Duyvil, May 2, and found, among other flowers,
Panax trifotium, Arahis lyrata, Nepeta glechoma,
and Erylhronium Americanwiu. One member found
an alder-tree in bloom January 4 ; and some arbutus
was found at Cornwall, January 29. — Alice M.
Isaacs, Pres. ; Daisy L. Stein, Sec.

530, Boston, Mass., [E]. — We have begun to
study geology, and have made three collecting
trips.— John J. Fay, Sec, 41 Allen Street.

535, Ilallowell, Me., [A]. — Death has visited our
little Chapter, removing one of our members. The
remaining three are earnestly and steadily at work,
adding much to their knowledge, and enlarging
their collections of minerals, fossils, woods, etc. —
M. Lillian Hopkins, Sec.

540, Oskaloosa, lo., [A]. — Our Chapter is in a
most flourishing condition. Within the last eight
months the membership has increased from twenty-
three to fifty. We have rooms in the High School
building, where we have our museum. The School
Board has also given into our hands the arrange-
ment and care of their numerous scientific speci-
mens. Our work is in chemistry, geology, zoology,
astronomy, and botany; we also have numerous
field-meetings. — Mary B. Green, Pres.

48, Fitchburg, Mass., [A]. — Hereafter, please
address all correspondence intended for this Chap-
ter to "Agassiz Association, No. 48, P. O. Box
1685, Fitchburg, Mass." This will insure its imme-
diate delivery. There are frequent changes in the
office of corresponding secretary, but the foregoing
address will be permanent. — Ira C. Greene, Pres.

ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS.

[Continued from The Swiss CVos«, \'ol. 5, No. 6, p. 184.]

255. A Late-Blooming Pear. (See Note 245.)
— A pear tree in our garden lost all its leaves after
an August storm. In the warmth of September,
after long-continued showers, it put forth a crop of
young leaves, blossomed, and continued in flower
for three weeks. — C. C. Cruger, Barrytown, N. Y.

256. A Mastodon's Skeleton. — I have found
what I take to be a tooth and part of a tusk of a
mastodon. The tooth is y'/i inches in length
and 3^/4 in the diameter of its cross-section. It
has five transverse ridges, about an inch high,
except the last, which is smaller. Each ridge is
cut in two by a longitudinal groove, or furrow,
which, however, is not nearly so deep as the trans-
verse grooves. The piece of tusk is 16 inches long,
5 inches in its longer and 2 in its shorter diameter.

The outside is dark colored, and has a perfect polish.
The inside is soft, and can be scratched with the
nail. Some persons here took it for petrified wood,
because three concentric layers appeared on the
end ; but I think it is ivory, because the broken end
shows small lozenge-shaped markings, formed by
the intersectingof circular arcs. A fragment heated
in the flame of an alcohol lamp gave a distinct odor
like that of a burning hoof Judging from the
curvature of this piece, the tusk must originally
have been about 8 inches in diameter. — George W.
Boot, Ute, Iowa.

257. One of the Tipulid.e. — I mail you a
small bottle containing two larvje, which I found
in the water of a vessel in which was an aquatic
plant. Kindly let me know their names, origin,
and future. I am not a member of the A. A., but
take great pleasure in reading the reports and
observations published in your magazine. The
bodj' is transparent olive green, rudimentary wings
darker. — ^J. T. B., Greensburg, Penn.

[This is apparently a dipterous larva of the family
Tipulida, and belongs to that section of the family
which have short palpi, among which are I'icrano-
mia, LimnoMa, etc. See Ostendacken's Smithso-
nian publications. — Ed.]

A cordial invitation is hereby extended to all
our readers to join the Agassiz Association, either
by organizing local societies, or as individual mem-
bers. Circulars giving full directions, and contain-
ing a fine wood-engraving of Professor Agassiz,
will be sent on application. Address all communi-
cations for this department to Harlan II. Ballard,
President of the Agassiz Association, Pittsfield,
Mass.

Reports from the second Century (Chapters loi-
200) should reach the President by February i.

GLEANINGS.

A Canvas-back Duck flies at an h.abitual rate of
80 miles per hour, which is increased in emergency
to 120. The mallard has a flight of 48 miles an
hour; the black duck, pin-tail, widgeon, and wood
duck cannpt do much better. The blue-wing and
green-wing teals can do 100 miles an hour, and take
it easy. The red-head can fly all day at 90 miles
per hour. The gadwall can do 90 miles. The flight
of the wild goose is 100 miles per hour.

An Entertaining Yarn. — An enterprising
Kentucky paper prints the following: "In Wood-
ford County Mr. John D. Burns raised a large drove
of turkeys this year, and by placing a bell upon the
old mother that led them he accustomed them to
follow the sound. When the time came to work
his tobacco fields he removed the bell, placing it on
his own waist, and while working his crop with the
hoe, the hungry turkeys followed the familiar tinkle
ot the bell, picking the stalks clean of the worms as
as they followed him up one row and down the
other. The turkeys have done the work of five
men and saved the crop."

Alu.m in Bread. — Alum owes its power of
blanching the paste of bread not to the alumina
which it contains, or to the combination of this
earth with the gluten, but to the sulphuric acid
liberated by the formation of aluminum albuminate.
According to Nothnagel and Rossbach, the pro-
longed daily use of alum in proportion of 0.0^ too.i
grm. occasions gastric disturbances not unimpor-
tant. The author finds that the artificial gastric
digestion of alumed bread eflects the solution of all
the alum present. Hence it is possible that a quan-
tity of alumina equivalent to 0.20 grm. of alum may
enter the circulation daily.

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

Slje Popular Science I^ews.

BOSTON, JANUARY i, 1890.

AUSTIN p. NICHOLS, S3 EilUor.

WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D., . Atsodate Editor.

The Popular Science News has watched
with great interest the development of that
achtiirable society of youth known as the
Agassiz Association. Founded in iSy^ by
Hahlan H. Ballard, it has grown, under his
devoted care, to national proportions, and
has successfully accomplished one of Louis
Agassi/.'s favorite dreams, — the general estab-
lishment of local clubs devoted to the personal
study of their close environment. During
the past fourteen years, no less than fifteen
hundred such clubs have been organized,
and hundreds of them have remained active,
and are growing in strenth and vigor. Even
those which have been most transient have
wrought a good work in engaging the atten-
tion of their members, and attaching their
interest to objects of essential usefulness.

It gives us pleasure to announce that we have
secured the services of Mr. Ballard to conduct
in the Popular Science News a depart-
ment, whicli is to be called "The Out-Door
World." In it will be presented, from
month to month, short articles of a popularly
scientific nature, largely embodying the
results of the personal observations of the
members of the Agassiz Association and its
friends, among whom are many of the leading
scientists of America. There will also be
a few selected extracts from the reports of
the local clubs, — particularly those which
constitute the maturer portion of the society,
— and there will be frequent hints and sug-
gestions designed to assist teachers of natural
science in our public schools. We are glad
to know that our journal has always been
popular with the members of the Agassiz
Association ; and, while the new department
must greatly increase their interest in us, we
feel sure that, on the other hand, the reports
of the work of this arm}- of students, from
whose ranks are to come our future teachers
and men of science, will be read with
approving and sympathetic interest by all.
The space formerly occupied by the depart-
ment of "Home, Farm, and Garden" will
be devoted to the interests of the Association,
and the articles formerly appearing under
that heading will be transferred to other
pages of the paper.

air and hermetically sealed. When one of these
tubes was spectroscopically examined in 1S80,
no less than 148 lines of the iodine spectrum
were visible, and only three very faint hydro-
gen lines. In the present year, when Mr.
Smyth again examined the spectrum given
by the same tube, not a single iodine line was
left, but hydrogen lines were present in great
abundance. The granules of iodine sealed
into the tube in 1878 had also entirel}- dis-
appeared. There was no possibility of an
accidental crack or leak in the tube to account
for this apparent transmutation of an element,
which was certainly a most remarkable piie-
nomenon, and, as Mr. Smyth observes, leads
us to speculate whether this change is not an
infinitesimally small part of the progress of
everything to turn into hydrogen, and for
assisting thereby the whole solar system to
explode some day into a so-called hydrogen
star.

turies which still bears the name of New
England, in honor of the native land of the
adventurous navigators who for the second
time brought it to the knowledge of the old
world.

Professor S. P. Langlev has been mak-
ing some investigations upon the temperature
of the moon's surface, — a work requiring the
utmost care and skill, and the use of instru-
ments of the greatest delicacy. Contrary to
the usually received opinion, that the sur-
face of the moon exposed to the rays of the
sun through the long lunar day becomes
heated to a very high temperacure. Professor
Langley comes to the conclusion that the
mean temperature of the sunlit lunar soil is
much lower than has been supposed, and is
most probably not greatly above 32° Fahr.

A genuine case of hydrophobia recently
occurred in Haverhill, Mass. The patient —
a strong, healthy man — was bitten by a dog
about six weeks previous to the attack. The
characteristic symptoms of spasm of the
throat and periodic general convulsions,
were so well developed as to leave no doubt
as to the nature of the disease. Death
occurred very suddenly, after several days of
! severe suffering. The keeping of dogs is a
custom handed down to us direct from our
savage ancestors, and is a practice unworthy
of civilized beings. But as long as mankind
insists upon the companionship of these use-
less and dangerous beasts, the risk of such
lamentable accidents as the above will be
always present, and fatalities from the dread-
ful disease will continue to be reported.

A CURIOUS observation was recently made
by Mr. C. Piazzi Smyth, while examining
the spectrum of the light emitted by some
vacuum tubes through which a current of
electricity was passed. Eleven years ago a
quantity of iodine was placed in the tubes in
question, which were then nearly exhausted of

Great interest was excited last November
among archaeologists, by the announcement
by Professor IIorsforu, formerly of Harvard
College, of his discovery of the site of the
ancient and traditional city of Norumbega,
which he claims was founded by the North-
men, about 1000 A. D., or nearly five
hundred years before the voyage of Colum-
bus. The site claimed for the ancient city is
near Watertown, Mass., a few miles west of
Boston, in the valley of the Charles River.
Professor Horsford claims that there are mon-
imients of the presence of the Northmen on
every square mile of the basin of the Charles.
As evidences of this, he points to a canal,
walled on one side for a thousand feet along
the west side of Stony Brook, and to the dry
canal near Newtonville. He has also found
remains of canals, ditches, deltas, boom
dams, ponds, fish-traps, dwellings, walls,
and amphitheaters scattered all throughout
the basin of the Charles. The evidence tend-
ing to prove the discovery and occupation of
the region around Massachusetts Bay long
before the date usually assigned to the dis-
covery of this continent, is constantly grow-
ing stronger, and there seems to be little
reason to doubt that the " Vinland" so well
known to the old Norse adventurers, was a
part of the country re-discovered in later cen-

In a paper read before the Danish Acad-
emy, M. Paulsen gave the results of numer-
ous determinations of the height of the
aurora. These results were very variable,
some auroras being observed as low as 1,000
feet, while others were apparently at a height
of 43 miles, and one aurora was estimated to
be over 500 miles above the earth. These
observations, therefore, lead to the conclusion
that auroras are by no means confined to the
highest parts of our atmosphere, but that
they occur almost indifferently at all altitudes.
M. Paulsen inclines to believe that in the
temperate zone, auroras only appear in the
higher layers of the atmosphere ; whereas, in
the auroral zone, properly speaking, the phe-
nomenon is generally produced in the lower
layers.

Mr. H. W. WiLEv has been making some
investigations upon the boiling-point of the
solutions of certain salts, and finds that it is
closely related to their molecular weights, so
that it is quite possible to obtain the approxi-
mate molecular weight of many chemical
compounds by careful observations of the
boiling-point of their solutions. This rela-
tion, apparently, only exists in the case of a
limited number of salts, and his observations
also lead him to believe that substances con-
taining water of crystallization exist in solu-
tion in a modified form, and the influence of
this modification on the boiling-point of the
solution must be determined by largely ex-
tended observations.

FLUORESCENCE.

A beautiful mineral occurs in various
localities known as fluorite, or fluor-spar, the
name being given from its use as a flux in
metallurgical operations. When pure, it is

POPULAR SCIENCE N'EWS.

[January, 1S90.

colorless and transparent, but often occurs
beautifully colored in various tints. What-
ever its own color may be, when a ray of
light is transmitted through it, the crystal
appears to become partially self-luminous,
shining with a faint bluish light, very hard
to accurately describe in words, but easily
recognized after being once seen. This phe-
nomenon, which is by no means confined to
fluor-spar, is known as fluorescence.

Fluorescence is due to the property pos-
sessed b}' many bodies of changing and
increasing the length of certain waves of
light, so as to render them visible to the eye.
The solar spectrum, as is well known, is
formed by the decomposition of white light
into its component parts, of different colors
and wave-lengths. Commencing with the
red rays, which have the longest wave-
lengths, and passing along to the violet, the
wave-lengths continually decrease, until they
fail to produce the sensation of light upon the
eye, and are transformed into actinic or
chemical rays. But the ether-waves still
exist, although invisible, and, in passing
through any fluorescent substance, they are
so lengthened as to be transformed into light,
and cause the peculiar illumination. There
are also ether-waves at the opposite, or red,
end of the spectrum, which are too long to
produce the sensation of light, and appear as
heat, but there is no fluorescent substance
which will shorten them into visibility. The
action of such substances is always in the
direction of lengthening the waves.

Sulphate of quinine is a beautifully fluor-
escent body. If a solution of this salt is
placed in the sunshine, it will glow with a
bluish tint, and if a convex lens is placed
between the solution and the light, the path
of the converging rays in the solution is very
plainly shown. This experiment forms a
most excellent demonstration of the laws
governing the action of such lenses upon
light.

Characters may be painted upon a screen
with a solution of sulphate of quinine, or any
fluorescent substance, and will be quite invis-
ible by ordinary light, but if the ultra-violet
rays of the spectrum are allowed to fall upon
them, they become visible at once. Owing
to the great actinic power of these ra\s, a
photograph of such a screen will show these
invisible characters upon the finished plate.
Certain mysterious "spirit photographs"
have been produced in this way.

Among other notably fluorescent sub-
stances are iBsculine, a substance extracted
from the horse-chestnut ; madder, chloro-
phyll, common kerosene oil, and quite a
number of recently discovered hydrocarbon
compounds. One of these shows the phe-
nomena so strongly that the name fluorescine
has been given to it. Some of these sub-
stances are used in photography in the prepa-

ration of the so-called ortho-chromatic plates, ; sound scientific principles to popular language

by which colored objects may be photo-
graphed in their proper relations of light and
shade, without the disturbing effect of the
varying actinic power of the different colors.
Glass colored yellow by uranium is highly
fluorescent, and characters traced on paper
with a solution of stramonium are almost
invisible in daylight, but appear instanta-
neously when illuminatfed with the flame
of burning sulphur. The distance on either
side of the light spectrum at which these
invisible ether-waves may be found is im-
known, but it must be very great. A spec-
trum has been obtained from the electric
light six or eight times as long as the ordinary
visible one, and these waves may exert a
distinct influence in many ways of which, at
present, we have no comprehension. Thev
may even produce sensations in some of the
lower forms of life of which we can form no
conception, just as certain persons can hear
acute sounds to which others are deaf. The
whole subject of radiant energy — which
includes light, heat, electricity, actinic force,
and probably many other forms — is just
beginning to be comprehended, and no one
can say to what revelations the future stud}"
of the subject may lead us.

[Specially Reported for Tlie Popular Science News.]

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT NEW-
CASTLE.

The last meeting of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science, at Newcastle, has
left, both upon scientists and their hosts, an im-
pression of unwonted success. The social arrange-
ments have been all that could be desired, and the
excursions admirable in every respect, — that of
Saturday (to the city of Durham) being made mem-
orable by the conferring of the honorary degree of
Doctor of Civil Law upon the officers of the Asso-
ciation. This imposing ceremony took place in
the chapter library of the Cathedral, within whose
lady chapel repose the bones of the venerable Bede,
England's first historian. The decorated shrine
that once adorned the spot has long since passed
awaj", leaving only a marble slab with the inscrip-
tion : " Ilac sunt in fossa Beda venerabilis ossa."

Gratifying as it was that one learned body should,
with all pomp of circumstance, show its appreciation
of another, it was still more gratifying to the Asso-
ciation to receive in Newcastle itself — a district
owing its prosperity to the practical applications of
science — distinct acknowledgments of the value of
abstract investigations apart from their immediate
utility. These were rendered by the Mayor on
more than one occasion, the most impressive being
that of Mr. Baker's lecture on the Forth Bridge,
when the various trades companies of the city pre-
sented an address to Professor Flower, as president
of the British Association, recognizing that only as
the result of long series of complicated researches,
undertaken solely for the discovery of truth, has this
triumph of engineering skill been possible.

Mr. Baker's lecture on the Forth Bridge was one
of three provided by the Association for what are
termed the working classes, the object being to
return some of the courtesies of the city by fostering

The appreciation of an account of this stupendous
enterprise by its chief engineer, had been shown
beforehand by S,ooo applications for tickets, when
only 3,500 could be allotted ; and the workingmen
assembled in the hall, repeatedly, and with intense
enthusiasm, expressed their intelligent interest in
Mr. Baker's clear explanations and magnificent
series of lantern illustrations. Scarcely less attrac-
tive did the " Hardening and Tempering of Steel"
prove in a district where the use of steel is of such
great importance; and in developing his subject.
Professor Roberts-Austin emphasized the absolute
dependence of industrial progress upon the investi-
gations of pure science. Pure science, itself, was
also presented to a large and attentive audience by
Mr. Walter Gardiner, who, in his practical illustra-
tions and examples of " How Plants Maintain
Themselves in the Struggle for Existence," gave a
memorable lesson in Darwinism, and one much
needed just now, when scientific terms and phrases
are entering common speech without carrying with
them the definite ideas to which in scientific use
they are attached.

Truly, Darwinism was in the air at Newcastle,
forming, under one aspect or another, the great
discussion of the meeting. In his presidential
address on the first evening. Professor Flower, after
making most practical suggestions on the arrange-
ment and preservation of natural history collections,
— a subject on which he, as director of the Natural
History Department of the British Museum, must
command the attention of all who would present
their specimens to the best advantage, — brought the
weight of his vast biological knowledge to the con-
sideration of recent criticisms of Darwin's great
hypothesis. Taking for granted that few, if any,
original workers at any branch of biology now
entertain serious doubt of the doctrine of evolution,
and that all recognize an innate tendency in every
organic being to vary from the standard of its
predecessors, he discussed the agents by which,
when it has asserted itself, this tendency is con-
trolled or directed in such a manner as to produce
the permanent, or apparently permanent, modifica-
tions of organic structures which we see around us.
In opening their respective sections on the following
day, Professor J. S. Burdon Sanderson directed the
attention of biological workers to fundamental
questions in physiology bearing on the elementary
mechanism of life, the problems of which most
urgently need solution; while Sir William Turner
called on his large audience of anthropologists to
consider the question of a physical basis for heredity
(the perpetuation of the like), and for variability
(the production of the unlike), especially in its
bearing on the transmission from parents to otf-
spring of characters acquired by the parent. This
latter topic, which just at present is greatly moving
the biological world, came up for full discussion on
Friday, in connection with papers from Mr. Poulton
on "Acquired Characteristics," from Mr. Francis
Galton on " Feasible Experiments on the Possibility
of Transmitting Acquired Habits by Means of In-
heritance," and from Professor Osborn on the
pala^ontological evidence in this direction. Again
was it brought up on Monday, in a large assembly
of biologists and anthropologists, by Mr. G. J.
Romanes in a paper on "Specific Characters,"
many men of world-wide reputation taking part in a
debate presided over by Canon Tristram, the first
church dignitary and almost the first naturalist to
accept the then new and unpopular doctrine of
Darwin.

But Darwinism, though the greatest, was by no
means the only subject to excite wide interest, even

an intelligent interest in science through the

addresses of specialists who know how to reduce ' in the sections of biology and anthropology, in the

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

former of which Sir John Lubbock, as usual, enter-
tained large audiences; the latter being crowded to
hear M. du Chaillu advocate the theory that the
Vikings are the direct ancestors of the English
speaking people — a theory that Dr. Evans, Canon
Isaac Taylor, Professor Boyd Dawkins, and others
found no evidence to support, though all agreed
that the time is ripe for a perfectly new investigation
of the whole question of the origin and migration of
the races inhabiting Europe and Asia. In this
section, also, a large crowd assembled to see the
hero of the meeting, Dr. Nansen, and to hear from
him a summary of what is known of the Eskimo.
Dr. Nansen, accompanied by his bride, — herself an
accomplished athlete and ski runner, who intends
to take part in her husband's next exploration of
Greenland, — appeared also in the geographical sec-
tion, and, with an account of his experiences,
exhibited pictures taken and curiosities collected in
the expedition from which he has just returned.
But it was the geologists — and notably among them
the glacialists — who followed with keenest interest
Dr. Nansen's description of the massive covering of
snow and ice under which the mountains and val-
leys of southern Greenland have disappeared. To
them it was as if a man had come back from the
Pleistocene period to tell them exactly how northern
Kuropc looked during the Ice Age. The Pleistocene
period had already been ablv treated by Professor
James Geikie, who showed that the recent investi-
gations of continental glacialists go far to prove
that it was marked by great changes of climate.
Eras in which more than half of Europe lay under
Scandinavian ice alternated with others so mild that
a temperate fauna and flora re-occupied the region,
to disappear again at a fresh onset of Arctic cold.
The climatic and geographical changes of this
period were, without doubt, witnessed by our Pahc-
olithic predecessors, who, however, with the mam-
moth and giant deer, never revisited northwestern
Europe after they were driven to southern France
by the advance of the last great northern ice-sheet.
Many lively discussions were elicited in the eco-
nomic section by papers dealing ably with impor-
tant social subjects, such as labor, the dwellings of
the poor, and technical education. Topics of an
exceedingly abstruse nature, however, predominated,
and it is doubtful whether half a dozen of his
hearers understood Mr. Edgeworth in his opening
address on the points at which mathematical
reasoning is applicable to political economy, al-
though he evaded many difficulties by distributing
to his audience printed notes illustrating the use of
curves in special problems. The chemical section
had, this year, a distinctly practical aspect. The
manufacture of iron and steel received ample con-
sideration, and, as also in the section of mechanical
science, blast furnaces excited much discussion. In
the last named section, deep interest was felt in Mr.
Anderson's presidential address, which dealt with
the conception of dynamic equilibrium in the ulti-
mate particles of matter in all its forms. Inert
solid masses he showed to be built up, like liquids
and gases, of moving particles, and thus to be sub-
ject to more or less permanent changes from exter-
nal forces. The practical importance of these views
lies in the explanation of such phenomena as the
failure of pieces of machinery, which, theoretically,
were abundantly strong for the work they had to
perform ; spontaneous fractures, without any appar-
ent cause, and often after long delay, in masses of
metal manipulated by forging or by pressure in a
heated condition, in such masses also as crank
shafts, screw shafts, etc. ; long continued stresses,
or stresses frequently applied, or the cooling of the
mass, having imposed restrictions on the free
movement of some, if not all, of the particles,

developing internal stresses, which slowly assert
themselves, with the disastrous consequences only
too well known.

This year being the jubilee of the practical intro-
duction of photography by Daguerre and Fox
Talbot, Captain Abney, in opening the section of
mathematics and physics, discussed the effect of
light on matter, especially on the salts of silver.
The question as to the exact product of a silver
salt by the action of light, led to the subject of
photography in natural colors, which Captain
Abney stated to have been already accomplished by
a printing-out process. The spectrum, for instance,
has been produced in all its natural tints by chlorin-
izing a silver plate, exposing it to white light till it
assumes a violet hue, heating it till it becomes
ruddy, and then exposing it to a bright spectrum.
The process is only interesting from a scientific
point of view, as it requires not only a bright light,
but also a prolonged exposure. The production by
means of the camera of a negative in natural colors,
from which prints in natural colors might be pro-
duced, is quite another matter, and, in the present
state of our knowledge, appears impossible. Cap-
tain Abney explained the different steps by which,
with the addition of various fugitive dyes to plates
prepared by the gelatine process, it has been ren-
dered possible to delineate those portions of the
spectrum tfrat do not impress an ordinary photo-
graphic plate. We have thus in photography a
means of recording phenomena in the spectrum,
from the ultra-violet to a very large wave in the
infra-red, — a power which physicists may some day
turn to account, possibly in a search for stars, dead
or newly born, whose temperature — being below
red-heat — renders them invisible to the eye in the
telescope. Captain Abney concluded by the state-
ment that if, as it deserves, photography had fol-
lowers of the highest scientific calibre, it would
soon prove itself the handmaid of Science as well as
of Art. C.

[Specially Observed for The Popular Science Jfews.]

METEOROLOGY FOR NOVEMBER, 1889,

WITH REVIEW OF THE AUTUMN.

TEMfKRATURK.

Average Thermometer,

.\t 7 A.M. .
At 2 P. M.
At 9. P. M.
Whole Month

Last 19 Novembers

Autumn of 1SS9 . .
Last 19 Autumns . .

ETER.

Lowest.

Highest.

It-

^s■6i•
42.10'

«.62'

20' •

38.58-

t »n 1873.

.43-62°
in 1S89.

51. 60-
50.18°

20°
( in 1S7J.

81°
.5-J-57; j

in iSSi. (

Range.

44
25°

12.50°
61°

5-73°

The lowest point of the mercury the last month,
at the hours of observation, was 20°, on the morning
of the i6th, and this was also the coldest day, with
an average of 27.33-^. The 30th was the next coolest,
at 30". The highest point of the month was 64'-'. on
the morning of the 3d, — a very unusual occurrence
for the warmest observation of an entire month to
be in the morning. The wind had been southwest,
but changed to the northwest soon after that morn-
ing observation, carrying the mercury down to 38" on
the following morning, — a fall of 26° in twenty-four
hours. The 3d was also the warmest day, at sS'-'.
The entire month was 5.04-^ warmer than the aver-
age, and the warmest November in nineteen years.
The extremes of temperature in November have
been 31.12° in 1873, and 43.62<^ in 1889,— a range of
12.50" The frosts of the season have been very few
and light, thus far : three in October, and seven in
November, only two of which have been severe —
those on the i6th and 17th.

The average temperature the past autumn has
been 51.60°, while the average in nineteen autumns
has been 50. iS°, with extremes as shown in the table.
Only three autumns in nineteen years have been
warmer than the present, viz.: 5357° in 1881,
52.51° in 1877, and 52.33° in 1878.

SKY.

The face of the sky, in 90 observations, gave 38
fair, 16 cloudy, 26 overcast, and 10 rainy, with no
trace of snow, — a percentage of 42.2 fair, while the
average in nineteen Novembers has been 54. 2, with
extremes of 400 in 1885, and 74.4 in 1874. Only
one November in nineteen years has been more
cloudy than the present. The following mornings
were noted foggy: the ist, 9th, 13th, and 19th; that
of the 9th was peculiarly dark, and the darkness
continued through most of the day. And yet we
had several very fine days in this very gloomy
month; the 4th, 7th, 14th to i6th, 26th, and 29th
were so noted.

The per cent, fair in the last nineteen autumns
was 56.3, with extremes of 41.8 in 1889, and 69.2 in
1874, showing the present to be an extreme. Only
three autumns in nineteen years have fallen below
even 52 per cent. fair.

PRECIPITATION.

The amount of rainfall the past month was 5.76
inches, while the average for the last twenty-one
Novembers has been 417, with extremes of i.io in
1SS2, and 7.45 in 1877. The amount in November
has exceeded the present five times during this
period, viz. : 6 87 in 1876, 7.45 in 1877, 6 25 in
1878, 6.30 in 1885, and 7.28 in 1888. The largest
amount the present November was 2.41 inches, on
the 27th and 28th ; i 50 inches fell on the 19th, and
the remainder in smallerquantities, well distributed.
The amount of precipitation since January i has
been 54.39 inches, while the average for the same
months in twenty-one years has been only 43.16,
showing an excess this year thus far of 11. 19 inches.

The amount of rainfall the past autumn was 13.96
inches, while the average for the last twenty-one
autumns has been only 11. 11 inches, with extremes
of 342 in 1874, and 21.47 '" 'S8S, — a remarkable
range of 18 05 inches.

PRESSURE.

The average pressure the past month was
30.011 inches, with extremes of 29.35 on the 22d,
a'nd 30.52 on the 26th and 27th, — a range of 1.17
inches. The average for the last sixteen Novembers
has been 29.985 inches, with extremes of 29.840 in
1878, and 30.193 in 1880, — a range of .353 inch.
The sum of the daily variations the past month was
6.45 inches, giving a mean daily movement of .215
inch, while this average the last sixteen Novembers
has been .232 inch, with extremes of .127 and .293.
The largest daily movements were .56 on the 28th,
•55 o" the 13th, and .50 on the 15th. There were
five principal barometric waves during the month,
with elevations on the ist, 5th, 12th, i6th, and 26th,
and depressions on the 3d, loth, 14th, 22d, and 28th.

The average barometer during the present autumn
was 30.008 inches, while the average for the last
sixteen autumns has been 30.001, with extremes of
29.S81 in 1S75, and 30.070 in 1S80,— a range of .189
inch.

WINDS.

The direction of the wind the last month gave
II N., I S., 3 E., 34 W., 5 N. E., 18 N. W., 4 S. E.,
and 14 S. W.,— an excess of 15 northerly and ^4
westerly over the southerly and easterly, and indi-
cating the average direction the past month to
have been W. 15" 32' N. The westerly winds in
November, for the last twenty years, have uniformly
prevailed over the easterly, by an average of 47.9
observations, and the northerly over the southerly,

POPULAR SCIENCE ]S[EWS.

[January, 1890.

with four exceptions, by an average of 14.9, — thus
indicating the approximate general average direc-
tion for November to be W. I'j^ 17' N., showing
the past montli to have been a near average. The
relative progressive distance travelled b\' the wind
the past month was 56.05 units, and during the last
twenty Novembers 1,003 such units, an average of
50.15, — showing less opposing winds the past month
than usual.

The direction of the wind the last autumn was
W. 23° 39' N., and the distance travelled 114 6 units;
and during the last twenty autumns the average
direction has been W. 13° 30' N., and the distance
travelled 2,191 such units, — showing that the winds
have been lo'-" 9' more northerly, and less opposing
winds, the last autumn than usual. D. W.

Natick, Dec. 5, 1889.

[Specially Computed for The Popular Science News.}

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR
JANUARY, 1890.
The earth is in perihelion on the morning of
January 2. Mercury comes to eastern elongation
on the evening of January 13, when it is a little less
than 19° distant from the sun. At the beginning of
the month it is about 15° distant, and sets an hour
later. It can probably be seen any evening during
the first half of the month, when the sky is very
clear, low down in the western horizon, soon after
sunset. During ths latter half of the month it
rapidly approaches the sun, and passes inferior con-
junction on January 29. Venus is still a morning
star, but is too near the sun to be conspicuous. At
the beginning of the month it is about 12° distant,
and by the end the distance is only 2'-', It will pass
superior conjunction on February 18, and will then
be an evening star until next December. Mars
rises about 1.40 A. M. on January i, and at about 1
A. M. on January 31. During the month it moves
somewhat rapidly eastward through the eastern
part of the constellation Virgo. It is gradually
approaching the earth, and will be quite a conspic-
uous object during the spring months. It will pass
opposition with the sun on May 27, when it will be
three and one-half times as near the earth as it was
on January i. Jupiter is not in good position for
observation in January, on account of its nearness
to the sun. It passes conjunction on the morning
of January 10, and becomes a morning star ; by the
end of the month it has receded to a distance of
about 17'^', and may possibly be seen in the early
morning twilight. Saturn is in the constellation
Leo, and is moving slowly westward toward Regu-
lus, the brightest star of the constellation. It rises
a little before 9 P. M. on January i. and at about
6.30 P. M. on January 31, and is on the meridian a
little less than seven hours later. It will come to
opposition on February 18. Uranus is in the con-
stellation Virgo, and moves slowly eastward during
the month. It rises at about i A. M. at the begin-
ning, and at about 11 P. M. at the end of the month.
It is in quadrature with the sun on January 16.
Neptune is on the meridian at about 9 P. M. on
January i, and at about 7 P. M. on January 31. It
is in the constellation Taurus, between the groups
of the Pleiades and the Hyades. As it is only
of the eighth magnitude, it cannot be seen without
a telescope.

The Constellations. — The following positions of
the principal constellations give their places at 10
P. M. on January i, 9 P. M. on January i6, and 8
P. M. on January 31. Auriga is near the zenith,
the principal star, Capella, being a little north.
Orion is just coming to the meridian on the south,
about halfway between the zenith and horizon. Below
and a little east of Orion is Canis Major, with

Sirius, the brightest of the fixed stars. Nearly on
the same level, and east of Orion, is Procyon, the
principal star of Canis Minor. Near the eastern
horizon is Leo; above this. Cancer, and above Can-
cer and near the zenith is (jemini. On the north-
east is Ursa Major, the two pointers being nearly as
high as the pole star, and the handle of the dipper
pointing downwards. The greater part of Ursa
Minor is under the pole, and the brightest stars of
Draco are very close to the northern horizon. Per-
seus is near the zenith in the northwest; below it is
Cassiopeia, and Cygnus iS' on the horizon. An-
dromeda is a little north of west, below Perseus,
and Pegasus is just below Andromeda. Pisces is
just west of Pegasus; above Pisces is Aries, and
above Aries and near the zenith is Taurus, with the
groups of the Pleiades and Hyades. Cetus is in the
southwest, and Eridanus a little west of south.

M.
L-VKE Forest, III., Dec. 2, 1889.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
LETTER.S of inquiry should enclose a two-cent
stamp, as well as the name and address of the wri-
ter, which will not be published.

Questions regarding the treatment of diseases
cannot be answered in this column.

K. T., Bombay, India. — Is there ^ny chemical
substance which, when sprinkled over combustible
bodies, will cause them to ignite.'

Ansuter. — Phosphorus can be dissolved in bisul-
phide of carbon, and when the solution is poured
upon porous bodies, like paper or wood, it will
spontaneously inflame as the liquid evaporates.
This "liquid fire" is, however, an cxtremelv dan-
gerous substance for inexperienced persons to
handle, and we would not advise any experiments
with it.

F. I. D., New York. — What causes the fatal effect
of powerful electric currents.''

Answer. — The most active cause is, undoubtedly,
the shock given to the nervous system, but there is
also a chemical decomposition of the bodily fluids,
and a direct burning action, all of which may aid in
the result. Just how electricity causes a nervous
shock, no one knows, any more than we know what
electricity really is.

T. H. W., New Votk. — Is there any fu.'ible alloy
which will melt at about 140"^ .'

Answer. — The following mixture melts at a tem-
peratu.e between 150° and i6o'-\ and is the most
fusible alloy of which we have knowledge. Bis-
muth, 50 parts; tin, 12 parts; cadmium, 13 parts;
lead, 25 parts. Melt the lead and tin together, and
afterwards add the bismuth and cadmium, stirring
the mixture with a dry, clean wire.

G. F. B., Boston. — Please give directions for mak-
ing a mixture for blowing large and strong soap-
bubbles.

Answer. — We have given this recipe several times,
but repeat it, as there may be others who have over-
looked it. Take shavings of the best Castile soap,
and make a saturated solution in warm water. Let
it stand over night, and the next day pour off the
clear liquid and add to it from one-third to one-half
its bulk of glycerine. Shake well and it is readv
for use.

LITERARY NOTES.

Chemical Technoloyy, edited by Charles Edward
Groves and William Thorp. Vol. I., Fuel and
Its Applications. P. Blakiston, Son & Co., Phil-
adelphia. Price, $750.

This is the first volume of a series of eight on
chemical technology. It is the most exhaustive
work that has been issued for some years, including,
as it does, all our knowledge of chemistry as adapted
to the arts and manufactures. The magnitude and
importance of this work deserves a more extended
notice, at some future time, than the limits of this
column will allow. It is a complete compendium
of all the existing knowledge on the subject of fuel,
which, it may be remarked, is the very foundation-
stone of nearly all industrial processes. We can
recommend the work as indispensable to all who

have control of any industrial establishment where
the question of fuel is to be taken into consideration.
The work is profusely illustrated, and the mechani-
cal execution is of the superior quality of all books
published by this well-known house.

Mommsen's History of Rome. Abridged by C. Br\-
ans and F. J. R. Hendy. Chas. Scribner's Sons,
New York. Price, $1.50.

Two English teachers have done an excellent
work for schools and colleges in condensing Momm-
sen's six volumes into this comely book of 542
pages. The task has been performed with skill and
judgment, and with a constant regard to educational
purposes which cannot fail to win the favor of
teachers and students. The 20-page index is a com-
mendable feature.

Experimental Science, by George M. Hopkins.

Munn & Co., New York. Price, $4.00.

This is a handsome octavo of 740 pages, with 6S0
illustrations, devoted to experimental physics. It
comes out very opportunely, when teachers are
opening their eyes to the value of practical work in
this department of instruction. It will be equallv
useful to those who are well equipped with illustra-
tive apparatus, and those who have to depend on
such appliances as they can construct for them-
selves from cheap and simple materials. The hints
for this latter kind of work are particularly full and
ingenious. The entire ground of school physics is
covered by the book: the properties of bodies; rest,
motion, and force; the mechanical powers; mole-
cular action; hydrostatics and hydraulics : the phe-
nomena of gases; sound, heat, light (including
microscopy, photography, etc.), magnetism; elec-
tricit3-, in all its forms and applications; lantern
projection ; and the mechanical operations con-
nected with the manipulation of glass and metals,
and laboratory work in general. No brief notice
can do justice to the merits of the volume, which is
by far the best in its line that has appeared on either
side of the Atlantic.

The J. G. Cui)plcs Co., of Boston, have published
a full account of Dr. Brown-Sequard's alleged new-
discovery which has recently created so much
interest in medical circles. It includes Dr.
Brown-Sequard's original paper. Dr. Variot's ex-
periments, and all the more important literature of
the subject, together with a biographical sketch and
portrait. Price, 50 cents.

The J. B. Lippincott Co., of Philadelphia, have
published a valuable work on Foods for the Fat,
(price, 75 cents), by Nathaniel E. Davies, of the
Royal College of Surgeons, England. It gives
many useful hints in regard to diet, and other
means of avoiding the evil of corpulency and
decreasing the bodily weight, together with recipes
and directions for cooking dishes suitable for per-
sons troubled with an excess of adipose tissue.

A Hand- Hook for Sugar Manufacturers and Their
Chemists, by Guilford L. Spencer, contains all the
necessary tables and information required in the
important industry of sugar-making and refining.
Many of the tables have never before been published
in this country, and will be found of great value to
those in charge of such establishments. Published
by John Wiley & Sons, New York.

From D. C. Heath & Co., Boston, we have received
Rick's Natural History Object Lessons ($1.35), Niels
Klim's Wallfahrt in die Unterwelt, and Victor Hugo's
Bug Jargal, all school text-books of the highest
degree of merit,, and worthy of examination by
teachers and school committees.

Everybody's Iland-Book of Electricity, by Edward
Trevert, is a useful and popular little book, which
everyone interested in the modern applications of
this wonderful manifestation of energy can read
with pleasure and profit. Damrell, Upham & Co.,
Boston. Price, 25 cents.

Pamphlets, etc., received : Temperance Literature
and Publications of the Woman's Temperance Pub-
lication Association, 161 La Salle St., Chicago;
Highway Improvement, by Col. Albert A. Pope,
Boston ; The Transfer of the United States iVeather
Service to a Civil Bureau; Graphic Methods ni
Teaching, and the usual State and National Agricul-
tural Reports.

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIENCE ]S"EWS.

IQediciije aijd PliariQacy.

IS CRIME A DISEASE ?
Ix recent times the idea has become very
prevalent among a certain class of senti-
mentalists that crime is not an indication of
innate depravity, but a symptom of mental
and physical disease, or an inheritance from
some criminal ancestor, and, therefore, the
much-a])used murderer or robber is not a bad
man, but only an unfortunate one, deserving
of pity and care rather than punishment. A
sick man, tiiey say, ought not to be impris-
oned, and one who is staggering under a load
of homicidal tendencies bequeathed to him
by his grandfather, is not worthy of death,
even if he does occasionally send some of his
less unfortunate fellow-beings into the next
world. This idea is carried out to its logi-
cal conclusion in a somewhat noted book,
Looking Back-ivard, written by Edward
Bellamy, where, in his assumed ideal state
of society a thousand years hence, the few
criminals that are left are considered as vic-
tims of atavism, or a reversion to previous
types of humanity, and treated in hospitals
instead of jails — an idea scarcely more absurd
than the other ultra-socialistic theories of that
most preposterous work. We doubt verv
nnich that if a man should assault and rob
Mr. Bellamy some dark night, he would turn
and offer him a prescription for the cure of
his '"atavism."

To a certain extent, the above ideas are
correct ; a man physically and mentally sound
is less likely to commit criminal acts than one
with a diseased body or abnormal mental
action, and the history of the notorious Jukes
family proves beyond question that from a
single criminal ancestor may spring a long
line of descendants, a majority of whom will
be enemies to the welfare of societv. But
granting that a tendency to crime may be
inherited, it must originate somewhere, and
if a man's ancestor may have been a sponta-
neous criminal as it were, another man of
the present day may also be laying up, on
his own responsibility, a heritage of crime
for his unborn descendants.

It has been suggested — and the plan has
met with general approval — that criminals
should not be allowed to marry and repro-
duce their kind to the injury of posterity.
This would be a most excellent method of
reducing the criminal population, if the pro-
hibition of a legal marriage to such persons
would ensure their leaving no descendants.
Unfortunately, the victims of " atavism " have
inherited a tendency to look upon the mar-
riage laws of modern society as distinctly
, superfluous, and we fear that the total number
of children born among them would not be
very greatly reduced by any such enactment.

Practically, it is of very little consequence
whether crime is a disease, an inheritance, or

an original manifestation of "pure cussedness." j sufficient to keep the average worker in good
The criminal is an enemy to society under j health. One part of nitrogenous to seven or
any circumstances, and society has a right to | eight parts of non-nitrogenous food is found
protect itself from him. A rabid dog is not to be a fair combination. A very small
to blame for his condition, but we shoot him addition of stimulants appears to increase the
just the same, as a matter of protection ; and, amount of possible work; but moderately
for the same reason, it is right that a mur- i free drinking diminishes it. Women eat less
derer should be put out of a world in which i than men, after making allowances for differ-

he is not fit to live. If a man is not able to
live among his fellows without robbing them
or otherwise injuring their property or per-
sons, let him be remo\ed from among them
and permanently confined where he can do
them no harm. It is not a question of pun-
ishment or revenge, but of self-protection.
If the abnormal tendencies can be eradicated,
and the criminal made a useful member of
society, every effort sliould be made to that
end ; but, if crime is a disease, it seems — at
least in its more serious manifestations — to be
an incurable one. The percentage of re-
formed criminals is discouragingly small, and
that of those convicted for subsequent offences
disproportionately large. The best treatment
of such persons is a perplexing question, but
the right of self-preservation is paramount to
every other consideration, and the morbid,
unwholesome sympathy shown by an increas-
ing class of people towards those who are so
much out of harmony with their social envi-
ronment, will only result in great injury to
the orderly and law-abiding classes of societv,
without causing any decrease of crime or
conferring any permanent benefit upon the
criminals themselves.

WE EAT TOO MUCH.

A RECENT writer in an English medical
journal shows conclusively that, while certain
classes, owing to the stress of poverty, cannot
obtain the nutriment they really need, the
majority of people eat too much. Fortun-
ately a moderate - degree oi over-eating does
not appear to be markedly injurious. The
digestive apparatus, thougli compelled to do
more work than is really necessary, proves
equal to the demands made upon it and does
not break down or get seriously out of order.
This is but one illustration out of many that
might be given, showing how the marvellous
mechanism of the human body adopts itself
to conditions more or less abnonnal. It
is lucky for the average man that physiologi-
cal laws are not of Medo-Persic inflexibility.
He can violate them to a limited extent with-
out incurring the penalty, though he finds
that, if he goes beyond that point, the punish-
ment is swift and sure.

Careful investigations prove that the daily
"destructive metabolism," or, in plain Eng-
lish, the inevitable waste and wear of the
body, which is the measure of the work it
does, varies but little for different occupations.
A diet of from twelve to fourteen ounces of
chemically dry Ibod, if the ingredients are
in proper portion and readily digestible, is

ences in weight and work. Where a man
eats nineteen ounces, a women of the same
weight and equally active habits eats only
fourteen or fifteen ounces. This latter allow-
ance, as will be seen from the figures given
above, is more than enough for a hard-work-
ing man, even when all meat is excluded
from the diet. It is no' uncommon thing,
however, for a man of average size and
activity to eat double this amount, or from
twenty-five to twenty-seven ounces of chemi-
cally dry food in a day. In fact the writer to
whom we are indebted for these statistics
does not hesitate to assert that the majority of
people in England eat literally twice as much
as they need.

We are inclined to think that excess in eat-
ing is at least no less common in this country
than in England. The abundance, variety
and cheapness of food are naturally favorable
to this over-indulgence. If we do not "live
to eat," we are very far from making it the
law of our diet to "eat to live." The palate
is tempted to intemperance by appetizing-
dishes when it would be fully satisfied with a
normal amount of plain and wholesome food.
Probably there are few of our readers who
will not have to confess that often the
appearance of the puddings or pies revives
the appetite which had been completely
appeased by the meat and its concomitants in
the preceding course at dinner. We feel
that we have had enough, but the new and
savory appeal to our love for the good things
of the table is too much for us. We have
been eating because we were hungry ; we
now go on eating because we enjoy doing it.
It is not necessary, but it is "nice." Let us
congratulate ourselves that, though gluttonv
and intemperance are bestial sins and cannot
escape their punishment, moderate over-in-
dulgence in eating is, as we have said,
apparently a venial offense against the laws of
health ; but let us beware of presuming tco
much upon the mercy with which Nature
tempers justice in the enforcement of these laws.

A Case of Glanders.— Much interest was felt
alike by native and foreign physicians in Vienna, in
the recent case of Dr. G. HofTmann, assistant in the
Hygienic Institute at Vienna, who fell a victim to
glanders whilst conducting experiments with the
virus, and who was said to have contracted the dis-
ease by using upon himself a hypodermic syringe
with which he had made the inoculation of animals
with the cultures of the bacteria. It is now author-
itatively stated that this method of infection has
been disproved by the post-mortem examination,
which showed the respiratory mucous membrane to
be the starting point of the infection.

POPULAR SCIEI^CE NEWS.

[January, 1S90.

I Specially Compiled for The Popular Science Neio8.\
MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL
PROGRESS.
by w. s. wells, m. d.
Suture of the Quadriceps Femoris-Tenuon.
— Dr. W. T. Bull presented to the section in sur-
gery at the New York Academy of Medicine, Nov.
II, 18S9, a young man, aged 17, who, on the 29th of
last April, was admitted to the New York Hospital
with a cut across the knee received from a circular
saw. The injury was three-quarters of an inch
above the patella, laying open the joint and denud-
ing the internal condyle of the femur of its cartilage,
and severing the quadriceps femoris. A three-inch
incision was made upward trom the center of the
wound, and the ends of the tendon were approxi-
mated and sutured with catgut. A drainage-tube
was inserted and removed on the fourth day. The
patient was up and around, with his limb in plaster
of Paris, on the tenth day. He was discharged at
the expiration of the fourth week, and the plaster
dressing was removed three weeks later. Motion
had gradually been restored to the joint, and at the
present time the power of extension was normal,
and there existed no interference with flexion.

Dr. R. G. Wiener, at the same meeting, showed
a patient whose tendon he had sutured at a point
below the patella. The operation had been done in
this case some five years ago, by Dr. Sands at the
Roosevelt Hospital, and with good results as to
union and motion. In December last the patient
had fallen down stairs, and had ruptured the tendon
once more, when he came under the speaker's care
at Charity Hospital in June last. The patella was
found to be four inches above the joint, and the
power of extension was entirely absent. On the
29th of June an incision nine inches in length was
made, laying bare all the tissues down to the joint.
No remains of the patellar tendon could be dis-
covered. It was impossible to make the patella
approach its proper relation to the joint, and the
operator then divided the quadriceps femoris tendon
above the patella, and, after restoring the latter to
its proper position, drilled both it and the tibia, and
secured the patella to the latter with stout wire.
The continuity of the tendon above was then re-
stored by suture. After a lapse of two weeks, pri-
mary union was found to have resulted throughout.

Dr. a. M. Phelps presented to the Academy of
Medicine, New York, lately, a boy, about 7 years
of age, who had been submitted to excision of the
astragalus for tubercular disease of the ankle-joint.
The disease relapsed, other bones becoming in-
volved, and a surgeon had condemned the case for
amputation. The patient then came under Dr.
Phelps' care, and he opened the joint, followed
sinuses down to the bones, and scraped nearly all
the bone out of the periosteal covering except in the
cuneiform. After suitable dressing without ligation
• of the vessels, the Esmarch bandage was taken off
and the cavities allowed to fill with blood. The
dressing was not changed for three weeks ; union
was primary; at the end of five weeks the bones
had become solid, there having been reproduction
of the OS calcis, cuboid, and scaphoid. There was
very good motion of the ankle-joint, the child walk-
ing as well as he had ever done. The operation
was done last May. A plaster of Paris dressing was
worn some time after the fifth week.

Dr. Phelps also presented an Italian girl, who,
when 5 years of age, had had extensive osteo-myelitis,
involving, apparently, the entire tibia, fibula, and
femur. The knee was anchylosed at a right angle.
The patient had lain in bed five years. The ques-
tion was debated whether to amputate or to exsect

the knee. The latter method was adopted in No-
vember last, and it was Dr. Phelps' intention on
cutting down upon the knee to perform Fenwick's
operation, making the end of one bone concave and
the other convex, but he found tubercular or fatty
degeneration in the interior of the femur and tibia,
and consequently scraped them out, leaving only
the shell, which he coaptated in a straight line by
wires, allowing the cavities to fill with blood.
When the first dressing was changed, at the end of
five weeks, the clots had organized and formed bony
union.

Dr. Powers inquired of Dr. Phelps what histolog-
ical changes took place in the reproduction of bone
through blood-clot.

Dr. Phelps replied that the blood-clot itself was
not supposed to organize, but that it acted as a
framework for the growth of the cell-tissue which
took place in it, constituting the normal elements
in that particular locality. As the new tissue
formed, the blood-clot became absorbed.

Dr. Robert Abbe presented a woman to the
New York Academy of Medicine on whom he had
excised the sheath of the flexors of the thumb and
index and little fingers because of the growth of
melon-seed bodies, now recognized to be the result
of tubercular inflammation. The case was inter-
esting in connection with the question of secondary
operations to free divided tendons. Notwithstand-
ing complete removal of the sheath of the tendons
in this case, and in other cases, freedom and power
of motion had afterward been complete. The
wound, of course, must be kept antiseptic, and
primary union take place, without any pus. In his
case, only voluntary motion was resorted to ; this
was begun on the sixth day.

Dr. Curtis related the case of a girl who, last
winter, had suflfered from an attack of cellulitis in
the hand. When he saw her she had entirely re-
covered, but the right fore finger was bound down
by adhesions in the tendon at the metacarpo-
phalangal joint. He laid back a flap, found the
tendon and its sheath bound together in a mass of
fibrous tissue, dissected them apart, put the finger
in extension, closed the wound, kept up active
motion, and had a result of normal power and
motion.

Dr. p. de Tullio, assistant to Professor Cantani
in the University Clinique at Naples, has lately
suggested {London Medical Record) a method of
applying cold air directly to the interior of the
lungs in cases of pulmonary hemorrhage. The
apparatus consists of a metal box through which
run several tubes, A^hich communicate with an
outer larger tube leading to a mouthpiece, which
the patient holds between his lips. The box is
filled with ice, or with a mixture of snow and salt,
so as to cover the tubes. Air is then pumped with
a suitable bellows into the tubes, and in its passage
through the box containing the refrigerant substance
it becomes cooled down to 0° centigrade. This is
ascertained by means of a thermometer introduced
into the tube at some distance beyond the box,
through an aperture which can be closed with a
cork. Dr. de Tullio reports three cases in which
severe h.-cmoptysis was arrested by this plan, when
drugs, ice to the chest, and the other usual measures
had failed. It does not, of course, cure the condition
on which the bleeding depends, but it is an effectual
remedy for the symptom.

he asserts, to arrange phonograms by means of
which the hearing can be accurately measured. The
operation of the apparatus is simple. The ear-piece
is applied to the ear which is to be tested, and a
phonogram which is audible to the patient is
sounded. The acoumetric scale is then descended
until a phonogram is reached which cannot be
heard. This marks the limit of hearing for that
ear. In this manner the source of sound remains
always at the same distance from the ear, and only
the intensity of the tone differs.

Milk sugar in cardiac dropsy is regarded by Ger-
main See as the most reliable and least harmful diu-
retic. He attributes the good effect of milk diet almost
exclusively to the lactose. One hundred grammes
(3% OZ-) of lactose will produce an enormous diure-
sis, increasing the daily discharge in twenty-four
hours to two and one-half liters, and daily over-
reaching this, until on the third day, four to four
and one-half liters are voided. Milk sugar, there-
fore, removes cardiac dropsy surely and rapidly, and
only fails if Bright's disease complicates it.

M. G. See has recently pointed out, before the
Academy of Medicine, that iodide of potassium, far
from being a depressant, is really a cardiac tonic, of
almost equal value to digitalis or strophanthus in
certain cases. Indeed, he says that iodide of potas-
sium is the real cardiac drug {vrai medicament du
cacur), since, when prescribed in cases of uncom-
pensated mitral lesions or affections of the myocar-
dium, it increases the cardiac power and raises
vascular tension. Thus, by subsequently causing
dilatation of the arterioles, it enables the heart to
recover its power, and affords also better facilities
for the coronary circulation, thus improving the
nutrition of the heart muscle.

According to the Deutsche Medizinal-Zeitung,
Lichtwitz maintains that Edison's phonograph fills
the requirements for an acoumeter. It is possible,

Dr. Rodriguez Mendez, professor of hygiene in
the Medical Faculty of Barcelona, has just published
in a new Spanish journal, La Medicina Practica,
some notes of a case of a peculiar affection of the
fingers and nails which appears to have been due to
the patient's trade, that of a confectioner. Poncet,
of Paris, and Albertin, of Lyons, have also noticed
the existence of this aflfection among those who are
engaged in the calling of a confectioner. Dr. Men-
dez's patient was a man about 40 years of age. His
trouble was a combination of onychia and parony-
chia, caused by immersing the hand in hot and cold
syrups.

G. W. Watson, in the Ohio Journal of Dental
Science, says: "I have very good authority for
saying that diseased roots and teeth have a great
deal to do in starting tubercutar trouble in the lym-
phatic glands of people predisposed to this disease.
Tubercle bacilli, gaining admission to the jaw
through the diseased teeth, speedily infect the
structures in their neighborhood. It would be
right, therefore, for us to look well to the teeth of
patients having a tubercular tendency, and see that
they keep their mouth in a thoroughly healthv and
aseptic condition." ♦

The cases of antifebrin poisoning are multiplying.
Dr. Pauschinger {iluench. Med. Wochenschr.) reports
one such case — that of a strong man, 34 years old
who took at intervals of one hour five powders, each
containing one gramme of antifebrin, for the relief
of a supposed fever, when violent diarrhoea ensued,
which confined him to his bed for ten days.

Dr. E. Fuerth ( Wiener Med. Presse) reports
another case in which a girl suffering from pain in
one side of her head, took four grammes of antife-
brin as a remedy. Nausea, eructation, pains in the

Vol. XXIV. No. i.]

POPULAR SCIETTCE NEWS.

stomach, and frequent vomiting followed quickly.
The patient became almost unconscious. Cerebral
symptoms and violent delirium soon succeeded.
This condition continued for almost two days.

A ciRiOL's case of poisoning is reported from
New South Wales {Australasian Med. Gaz.) A
woman who was suckling twins took a dose of
chlorodyne at night and suckled the twins afterward.
In the morning they showed signs of narcotic
poisoning, and died during the day.

Semmola declares that the administration of
antipyretics in continued fevers, produces a poison-
ous rather than a beneficial effect, the repose secured
being at the expense of vital force.

Dr. Koniostein, while giving directions in his
class on the uses and prescribing of spectacles, said
that green glass as a protection against strong rays
was worse than useless, and did more harm to a
sensitive eye than good, as they allowed the yellow
rays to be transmitted, and unnecessarily irritated
the eve. As a protection against strong rays, the
blue or smoked glasses were the only real protection.
The blue should be light.

Semmola proposes sulphur as the coming antis-
eptic, most serviceable, he thinks, forusein derange-
ments of the alimentary canal.

AN E.XPERIMENT IN COLOR-BLINDNESS.

ExA.MiNATioN of Several color-blind persons hav-
ing convinced me of the practical value of a com-
pound tassel of green and gray silk cords as a
preliminary indicator of defective color-vision; and,
moreover, having studied Professor William Pole's
interesting memoir, describing his own case, which
is illustrated by a diagram, showing bands of
" neutral gray " appearing to him in the middle of
the green and at the deepest red, or crimson, o
Chevreul's colored cercle chromatique ; I felt very-
desirous of trying an experiment to see for myself
whether it was possible, by the administration of af
small dose of santonine, — which is said to cause
temporary color-blindness, — to realize in my own
case the imperfection of vision which seems common
to most color-blind patients.

Such an experiment I made on the 29th of
August; but, before proceeding to describe the
result, it should be mentioned that I have good
proof of my being blessed with the possession of a
normal sight ; for in the course of a long experience
with coal-tar colors, and having frequent occasion
to compare observations with regard to slight dif-
ferences of tint with my six colleagues, I have never
perceptibly deviated from the consensus of the labo-
ratory staff, and may fairly claim to be reliable on
this score. On a fine day, provided with an ample
selection of chemical specimens and colored objects,
and Ladd's direct vision spectroscope ready to hand,
I took, fasting, a small dose of santonine, a grain
and a half, dissolved in a small quantity of alcohol
and diluted with water. In less than five minutes
the drug had taken effect; the white table-cloth
appeared of a delicate bluish green color — pale tur-
quoise, and all objects were seen as through specta-
cles of that precise tint. A rapid survey was made
of my varied collection of objects, and I went into
the garden to use my spectroscope. I could see all
the solar colors in unbroken series with scarcely
perceptible variation ; the Fraunhofer lines were
there as usual (not th-ckened), the violet extending
up to the usual limit, and so with the red end, with
slightly diminished brilliancy, but hardly appreci-
able absorption ; there was no neutral gray hand in
the green, but this portion of the spectrum appeared

quite normal and splendidly brilliant. The obser-
vation was repeated a few minutes later with the
same results.

Turning to my colored specimens: Nickel, cop-
per, and iron sulphates, iodide and chromate of
lead, ultramarine, and ammonio-sulphate of copper,
were quite normal; oxalate of cobalt had not lost its
delicate pink color, nor nitrate of uranium its well-
known shade. On the other hand, scarlet iodide of
mercury was decidedly dulled, and a fine sample
of carmine appeared more like crimson. By run-
ning my eyes along the book-shelves in my library,
I soon noticed that (jmelin's Chemistry — Cavendish
Society series — and other old-fashioned green bind-
ings assumed a kind of slatey appearance, crimson
backs appeared as maroon, dark brown was con-
verted to chocolate ; but I could see violet quite
well, bright green pretty much as usual; the Chem-
ical News, bound in scarlet, appeared red, and
neutral gray bindings looked only darker in color.
I could see quite distinctly the difference between
light-green and slate-gray silk tassels, so that my
condition was not so abnormal as many of my color-
blind friends, who fail to see any radical tint-distinc-
tion between these two dissimilar colors.

Now for a word of caution. I had taken only
what might be described as a quarter-dose, — " 2 to 6
grains"' is the stated quantity in Martindale's Extra
Pharrnacopaia : other authorities say more, — but at
the end of fifteen or twenty minutes, the tension
upon my nervous system proved so serious that I
feared the worst consequences. I felt so giddy and
depressed, with a kind of mild tetanus, that I was
obliged to resort to an emetic, — mustard and warm
water, — which soon gave me relief. I would
earnestly warn my readers of the danger of repeat-
ing this experiment; and now, on fuller inquiry,
I learn that santonine is a drug reported to be
" sometimes uncertain in its action," and occasion-
ally developing " poisonous symptoms from its
depressing effects on the nervous system." I had
read of Dr. W. G. Smith taking a 5-grain dose to
induce color-blindness, without dangerous conse-
quences, and resolved to take a very much smaller
quantity, 1V2 grains, in the first instance, well know-
ing that more than this had often been' given to
children. Perhaps taking it in the state of solution,
and before breakfast, or a wrong dose, made all the
difference. However that may be, I shall never
again try ophthalmic experiments with santonine,
and would warn others against doing so without
proper medical advice.

My object is accomplished : I wanted to search
for Professor Pole's neutral gray bands in the solar
spectrum, as he sees them in Chevreul's famous
cercle chromatique diagram, but did not find them.
Nor, it may be added, do any of my color-blind
friends see any break in the solar spectrum, although
we know that the heavy green pigments are by them
so often mistaken for gray. Furthermore, it does
not appear that santonine gives the same kind of
color-blindness as commonly presented by the natu-
ral defect, or my color test of green and gray would
at once have indicated it. — Read by Prof. John
Spiller, before the British Association.

ON THE DILUTION OF COW'S MILK IN
INFANT FEEDING.

The writer, in September, 18S6, had occasion to
consider this question in his daughter's case, owing
to the mother's deficiency in milk. The food used
as a substitute on that occasion has proved so suc-
cessful in more than one case that it merits record-
ing.

The formula is mainly based on a process devised
by Professor Frankland in rearing one of his own
children. In his paper (published December, 1S54)

Prof. Frankland gives the percentage amounts of
the different constituents of human, ass's, and cow's
milk as follows :

Womatu Ass. Cow,

Casein 2.7 1.7 4.2

Butter 3.5 1.3 3.S

Milk-sugar 5.0 .,.5 3.S

Salts .; .5 .-

These figures for human and cow's milk differ in
several respects from the averages deduced from a
wider range of analyses which are quoted bv Mr.
Thomas Maben in a paper published in the Pharma-
ceutical .Tournal, the most notable differences being
those of sugar and fat; but on referring to the min-
imum and maxinumi figures found bv Professor
Leeds, from analyses of eighty samples of human
milk from different sources, it will be seen that
those given b_y Professor Frankland provide him
with a basis for a formula which produces a fair
imitation of human milk with that of the cow.

In this formula. Professor Frankland takes no
account of the differences in coagulable and non-
coagulable albuminoids existing in each of the re-
spective milks. His process practically consists in
a precipitation (by means of rennet) of one-third of
the casein from fresh cow's milk, and the addition
of one-third more milk-sugar, but this was found by
the writer somewnat tedious, except to a specially
trained person. The process of dilution with water
was adopted because it was simpler, and would
enable the food to be prepared in a few minutes
whenever it was required.

Taking Professor Frankland's figures for the
average of fresh cow's milk, as quoted, it will be
seen that when it is diluted with water in the pro-
portion of three parts of the former to two parts of
the latter, the average amount of constituents is
modified as follows :

Fresh cow's milk, 3 parts; water, 2 jjarts —

Casein. z.^z p^r cent.

Fat i.iS

Sugar 2.2S "

Ash.

.4Z

From these figures the writer compiled the fol-
lowing formula. The albuminoids, fat, and milk-
sugar are by calculation made to approximate as
nearly as possible to the average of these constitu-
ents in human milk.

Finely ground oatmeal. . .1/4 gradually increasing to '/j ounce.

Fresh butter 1 drachm.

Milk-sugar 2 drachms.

Fresh cow's milk 6 fluid ounces.

Pure water 4 fluid ounces.

Salt 5 grains, or a sufficiency.

Mix gradually the water with the oatmeal, milk-
sugar, and salt, so that no lumps are formed in the
mixture, then add the milk and butter, and heat to
the boiling-point in a clean, enamelled saucepan.
The product should be made up to the measure of
half a pint, if necessary, and given lukewarm with
a spoon when required.

The oatmeal was introduced as a useful attenu-
ant, and it has been found to act as a laxative, and
also as a direct fat and heat-producer in tlie process
of digestion. The process of feeding with a spoon
is at first troublesome, but it is to be preferred to
the use of a feeding bottle, as, if care be taken to
have all the vessels employed scrupulously cleah,
the infant will enjoy an immunity from thrush
{Oidium albicans), diarrhoea, and other diseases
that follow in their train.— George Smith, in
Pharmaceutical Journal.

THE STOMACH-BRUSH.

A DENTAL journal publishes the following, trans-
lated from the German : In 17 13 there was pub-
lished a pamphlet entitled " A Complete Account of
the most Useftil Stomach Brush which is now to be

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[January, 1890.

had at the Brushmakers at the Old Court Sadler's
Shop in Broad Street in Colln-on-the-Spree." Manj
a one may have wished to be able once in a while to
have his stomach thoroughly cleaned out, and this
speculative brushmaker gave a practicable means to
give effect to this wish. In the pamphlet there is a
drawing of the stomach-brush : it resembles a pipe-
cleaner, but, of course, is larger. The stalk is made
of four wires twisted together, covered with thread,
silk, or small ribbons; it is twenty-six inches long.
The brush at the under end is two inches long and
one and a half broad, and is made of goat's-beard
hair; but, when one has been accustomed to use it
for three or four weeks, a horse-hair brush is sub-
stituted, this hair being somewhat stronger, and so
the effect is better. The application of this most
excellent brush is very simple. It is pressed through
the throat down into the stomach, which, by draw-
ing up and down of the brush, is cleaned. There-
after cold water or brandy is to be drunk, and the
operation is repeated till the cleaning is perfect.
The cure is repeated every morning. The author
says, according to the British Medical Journal, "At
first you will find it rather troublesome to get the
brush down, but when you put it in your mouth
and on your palate, draw in breath and wind, and
press it gently and gradually down, and, without
any particular trouble, it will i-each the stomach.
After eight to fourteen days' practice, it will come
as easily to you as eating or drinking." Of course,
the daily application of the stomach-brush is the
infallible remedy or preventive of all diseases that
can be imagined. " Whoever uses this cure requires
no other medicine, for it is good against all — cold,
hot, and poisonous fevers, it gives a good appetite
for eating, it is good against asthma, hemorrhage,
headache, chest complaints, coughs, consumptions,
apoplexy, toothache, sore eyes, dysentery, quinsy
on the tongue, quinsy in the throat, ulcers, ab-
scesses, cardialgy; it favors digestion, strengthens
the heart, drives away pimples on the skin, is
against choking in the stomach, etc., makes too
fat and asthmatical and swoUen-iip people thin", and,
on the other hand, makes meagre and thin people
fat. The great effect, however, is produced only
when the use of the brush is combined with that of
an elixir. This is compounded of aloes, saffron,
rhubarbona, lark-mushroom, wormseed, eugian,
myrrh, theriac. After the stomach-washing, forty
to fifty drops of the elixir is to be taken in wine,
and this preserves for twenty-four hours against all
poison and pestilence." — Science.

FORMYL AMIDOPHENOL ETHER.
One of the most recently patented syntheticcom-
pounds that has made its appearance in Germany is
neither a hypnotic nor an antipyretic, but is said to
act to an extraordinary degree on the spinal cord,
completely antagonizing the action of strychnine.
It is therefore proposed as a physiological antidote
for that poison, and it is expected to prove of value
in the treatment of tetanic affections. This com-
pound is said to be made by heating together defi-
nite quantities of the hydrochloric acid compound
of paraamidophenolethyl ether, sodium formate, and
formic acid in a flask with a reflux condenser, and
separating the formyl compound formed by boiling
the fused mass in water. On cooling, the water
deposits the formyl amidophenol ether in handsome
white brilliant tasteless scales, which melt at 69°
C.) are slightly soluble in cold water, and are read-
ily soluble in hot water, in ether, and in alcohol.
This compound corresponds in its composition to
that of phenacetin, save for the substitution of the
formyl for the acetyl group.

THE NUTMEG IN MEDICINE.
Many familiar culinary substances have been
found to have valuable medicinal properties, at
least in household therapeutics ; but the nutmeg, so
far as we are aware, has not been among the num-
ber. Its turn has now come, however, for Dr. J. O.
Shoemaker tells us, in the Medical Bulletin, that it
is useful in the treatment of summer diarrhoea,
many cases yielding readily to doses of half a
drachm administered in milk. Insomnia is said to
be effectually relieved by it, when opium has failed
and chloral is objectionable. In delirium tremens
it can be employed with safety and benefit, when
anv other sedative would be dangerous. For itching
and irritable hajmorrhoids an ointment of two
drachms of powdered nutmeg, one drachm of tannic
acid, and one ounce of lard, is an excellent applica-
tion. Powdered nutmeg may be administered in
doses of from two to ten grains for children, and
from ten grains to two drachms for adults. Larger
doses have produced profound coma, lasting for
hours.

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE

Popular Science News Company,

5 Somerset !<itreet, Boston.

ONE DOLLAR A YEAR IN ADVANCE.

SETII C. BASSETT,

Manager.

SPECIAL NOTICE.

The Publishers of the NEWS earnestly request that sub-,
scribers will make their remittances either by draft on Bos-
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necessary to mail money, it should be sent only in a regiatf-red
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mailed in unregistered letters.

Remittances will be duly credited on the printed address
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month, the change in the label cannot be made until a month
later. If a formal receipt is desired, a two-cent stamp or a
postal card should be enclosed with the remittance.

HAIR-BALLS FROM THE STOMACH.

At a recent meeting of the New York Pathologi-
cal Society, Dr. T. Mitchell showed some hair-balls
from the stomach of a pig. The balls were made up
of the hair of the pig, which had been licked off and
swallowed, mixed with sand and other matters. The
hair had a curious spiral arrangement, showing the
effect of the gastric movements. These hair-balls
are found very commonly in the pig's stomach, but
their occurrence is of interest by reason of the bear-
ing that it has on human pathology, since they are
sometimes found in the stomach of man. Dr. Prud-
den then showed two hair-balls from the stomach of
a 3'oung woman, which had been removed by Dr.
Finder, of Troy, and presented by him to the mu-
seum. There were two balls, one considerably larger
than the other, which were made up of human hair,
horse-hair, threads from blankets, pieces of string,
etc. The girl had been insufficiently fed in her
youth, and had got into the habit of swallowing
miny kinds of inert and indigestible substances.
Other specimens were presented of hair-halls from
the cow's stomach. — Medical Record.

MEDICAL MEMORANDA.

A School for Children's Nurses. ^-A long-
cherished plan of a training-school in New York
for nurses for children has assumed definite shape,
and such a school is expected to be in operation by
January ist. Quarters have been taken in the
Nursery and Child's Hospital, at No. 571 Lexington
avenue. A regular six months' course of training
in the care of children is to be adopted. This will
include instruction in matters of hygiene, such as
the care of the nursery, ventilation, preparation and
administration of food, and dressing and washing
children. A post-graduate course will provide in-
struction in some of the simpler methods o( medical
treatment of children.

A reporter of the Pittsburgh Dispatch "does
up" an amputation for the delectation of his readers,
and explains the great care taken "to keep small
insects out of the wounds." "After the leg was
severed from the body," says the scribe, " the stump
was scraped very carefully; the chloride of mercury
was kept flowing constantly over the wound to kill
any insects that might be drawn by the wound.
The doctors hold that the air is full of poisonous
germs, which are attracted to a wound where blood
flows. All the linens and gauze which are used in
operations, are soaked for twenty-four hours in
bichloride from 100 to 500 per cent, in strength.
This is done to pi-event the slightest irritation after
the operation has lieen performed ! "

Publisliers' Colimji!.

The writing master who wrote that his business was flourish-
ing, doubtless used Esterbrook's Xo. 128 extra fine elastic
pen, the best for ornamental writing.

All subscriptions to this journal received lo Dec. 26th have
been credited on our mailing books, and the printed address
label of this number. See if yours reads, Jan., '91.

Try our Clubbing List when ordering your reading matter
for 1S90. Send in the list of periodicals you want, for esti-
mates, and see what we can save you.

Why not have a good memory? Send a card to tlie Memory
Co., 6 W. 14th St., N. Y. City, for a pamphlet giving u rive-
ininute chat upon the subject.

From Wilmer Brinton, M. D., Baltimore; " 1 have used
CoLDEN's LiQjJiD Beef Tonic in my practice, and have
been much gratified with the result. As a tonic in all cases of
debility and weakness, aniemia, chlorosis, etc., it cannot be
surpassed."

Frye's Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil is continually grow-
ing in favor among pliysicians, owing to the purity of its con-
stituents, and the care and skill with which they are combined.
Being emulsified by steam-power, the complete and minute
subdivision of the oil globules is always assured.

The Ice Machines made by David Boyle, of Chicago,
have an enviable reputation for economy, efficiency, and relia-
bility. In many cases they have been substituted for the
machines of other manufacturers, with satisfaction and profit.
They incidentally produce a large quantity of pure distilled
water, which can be sold for domestic uses in localities where
the natural supply is unsatisfactory.

Dr. W. S. Leonard, Hinsdale, N. H., says : *' I have used
Horsford's Acid Phosphate in my practice for the past
eight or ten years, and have been much gratified with the
results obtained from its use. In various forms of dyspepsia it
reaches a class of cases that no other medicine seems to touch,
and I have repeatedly seen patients, where opiates were contra-
indicated, obtain refreshing sleep and rest at night from a
single dose at bed-time."

Littell's Living Age for 1S90. — In 1S90 JJttelf's Living
Age enters upon its forty-seventh year of continuous and suc-
cessful publication. A weekly magazine, it gives over three
and a quarter thousand large and closely-printed pages of read-
ing matter — forming four large volumes — every year. Its fre-
quent issue and ample space enable it to present with freshness
and satisfactory completeness the ablest essays and reviews,
the choicest tales, the most interesting sketches of travel and
discovery, the best poetry, and the most valuable biographical,
historical, scientific, and political information from the entire
body of foreign periodical literature, and from the pens of the
most eminent writers of the time. Such authors as Prof. Max
MuUer, Jas. A. Fronde, Prof. Huxley, Rt. IIon.W.E.Gladstone,
Edward A. Freeriian, Prot. Goldwin Smith, Prof, Tyndall,
Francis Cialton, The Duke of Argyll, Sir Lyon Playfair, Arch,
deacon Farrar, \Vm. Black, Mrs. Thackeray-Ritchie, Mrs.
Oliphant, Mrs. Alexander, Mrs. Parr, R.D.Blackmore,Th(unas
Hardy, W. E. Norris, B. L. Farjeon, \V. E. H. Lceky, Alfred
Russell Wallace, John Morley. W. H. Mallock, P. G". Hamer.
ton, W. W. Story, Ruskin, Browning, and many other foremost
writers in all departments of literary and scientific work, arc
represented in its pages. As the only satisfactorily complete
compilation of the best literature of the day, it is invaliuible to
the American reader. It enables him, with a small expenditure
of time and money, to keep fully abreast with the literary pro-
gress of the age. The price is $S.oo per year, but by special
agreement with Messrs. Litlell & Co., we can supply the Ago.
' and the SciKNCE News for only $8.25.

Cije ^0})ttlar Science 0tMiS

AND

BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY.

Volume XXIV.

BOSTON, FEBRUARY, 1890.

Number 2.

CONTENTS.

Familiar Science. — The Standard of Length 17
The Proto- Helvetes. or Lake -Dwellers of

Switzerland 17

The Chigger 19

The Rainy Season of Florida 19

Scientific Brevities 20

Practical Che.mistry and the Arts. — Nov-
elties in Photography _ . 20

The Scientific Knowledge of the Ancient
Greeks and Romans

Zinc

In Ye Olden Time

Industrial Memoranda

The Out-Door World. — Prof Guttenberg"s

Course in Mineralogy

New York City Assembly of the A. A. . .

Reports from Chapters

Original Observations

Mole Crickets "...

Editorial. — Old Proverbs from a Scientific
Standpoint

A Double Statue

Paris Letter

Interesting Results of Defoliation of Plants in
the Azores by a Cyclone

Meteorology for December. 1889, with Review
of the Year

Astronomical Phenomena for February, 1890

Qiiestions and Answers

Literary Notes

Medicine and Pharmacy. — Warts ....

A Simple Water Still

Chloride of Ammonium in Winter Cough
Monthly Summary of Medical Progress .

A Unique Prescription

Medical Miscellanv

22
22
22

22
23
23
24
24

25
26
26

27
28

29
29

29
30
30
31
32
■32

Publishers' Column 32

Fanjiliar Science.

THE STANDARD OF LENGTH.
In the United State.s and England the
standard of length is the yard, and the ques-
tion ari.ses, How long is a yard .' It may be
said in answer that a yard is simply an arbi- i
trary standard which tradition says is based
upon the length of the arm of Henry VIII. ',
At present the yard is the distance between i
two marks upon a certain bar, kept in the

Tower of London, and if it' should be de-

stroyed, the exact standard could never be'
replaced. !

To avoid this uncertainty, and obtain a
fixed and unvarying standard, the French, in
the last century, made an accurate measure-
ment of a quadrant of the earth's circumfer-
ence, and, taking the ten-millionth part of
this distance, gave it the name of »/e/rr, and
adopted it as the standard of length. This,
length, which is equal to about 39.37 inches, !
is now in universal use on the continent of
Europe, and is authorized as a legal .standard
in nearly all civilized countries. Consider-^
able discussion has arisen as to whether the
original measurement \\ Jis perfectly accurate, !

and it seems probable that there was a small
error, so that if the standard metre now kept
in Paris should be destroyed, a re-measure-
ment of the quadrant of the earth would not
give us exactly the same metre. However,
the error in any case is a very minute one,
and the chances are very small that the origi-
nal standard will ever be destroyed, to say
nothing of the fact that the numerous copies
distributed among the various nations of the
world do not appreciably difter from it.

The accompanying engraving shows the
form of these standards, which have been
copied with most scrupulous care from the
original metre at Paris. It is probable that
they do not differ from the standard over
two ten-thousandths of a millimetre, or one
five-millionth part of the entire length.
These standard bars (i) are cast from an
alloy of platinum with ten per cent, of
iridium, forming a metal almost as hard as
steel, practically infusible, and not acted

upon by chemical reagents. The measure-
ments are marked upon the surface A, (i),
and the peculiar shape of the bar is especially
calculated to endure a strain without bending ;
and, in fact, a slight deflection — as shown,
much exaggerated^ in 2 — will not materially
alter the length of the face on which the
scale is engraved. It has been proved that a
weight of eighty pounds may be placed on
one of these bars, while supported at the
ends enly, without permanently altering its
shape.

The standard of weight is the gramme,
which is the weight of a cubic centimetre of
water at 4° C. — its point of maximum density.
Practically, the standard at Paris is a block
of the platinum-iridium alloy weighing one
thousand grammes, or one kilogramme.
Copies of this- standard of weight have also
been made for the several nations comprising
the International Metric Conference, and it
is believed that they do not vary more than
one hundred-millionth from the original — a
dimension which is utterly imappreciablc.

A meeting of the International Conference
was held at Paris last September, when the
work of the committee who prepared the
various standarids was ratified, and the stand-
ards accepted for the respective nations. The
successful completion of this work, which
has been in progress for about fifteen years,
marks an epoch in scientific progress, and
denotes an amount of care, skill, and accuracy
on the part of those having the work in
charge, which cannot be realized by anyone
except those directly concerned in it. The
simultaneous destruction of these widely scat-
tered standards of measure and weight is
almost impossible, but even in such a remote
contingency, another measurement of the
earth's circumference would practically give
us back our metre, with no important change
from its original length.

[Original in Popular Setaice Xewt.]
THE PROTO-HELVETES, OR LAKE-
DWELLERS OF SWITZERLAND.

BY ADA M. TROTTER.

The little town of Morges is picturesquely situated
on a bay formed by the waters of Lake Leman. It
boasts, among other attractions, a beautiful view of
Mont Blanc. The castle (now used as an arsenal),
the church, the quaint houses, with the castle of
Wufflens on the heights, are very ancient — supposed
to date back to the Roman occupation of the coun-
try. The ancient city, however, which attracts the
attention of scientists to this charming spot, is not
the Morges visible to the eye. Those stone imple-
ments and the rude pottery which the Museum of
Antiquities at Lausanne displays as from the
"ancient city of Morges," belong to pre-historic
times, dating back to ages before the Romans set
foot in Helvetia.

But if the Lacustres, or lake-dwellers, were a
pre-historic race, how are we to learn anything
about them .' The archneologists, to whom we look
for the solution of this problem, do not fail us; one
by one they have wrested the objects in the
museums from the bottom of the lake, and from
them have evolved a history of the habits and cus-
toms of this interesting people. The lakes of
Switzerland kept jealous guard of the secrets com-
mitted to their charge. A mere accident revealed
the pre-historic occupation of the country. A bone
implement, rudely fashioned, was found bv a scien-
tist in a marsh. A small thing this; still, falling
into the right hand*, enough to open out a new
field of archaeological research.

But, before we follow the labors of the patient
men of science, it will be well for us to take advan-
tage of the oppol-tunity this visit to Morges affords
us, to see for ourselves the site of one of the cities
of the Lacustres. We must take a boat, for the
palafittes* of this primitive people were built on

*Term universally used to express " Ikke-dwellin^,*' from Ihe
IUIi»a Pala rUte.

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[February, 1890.

piles, between 100 and 150 yards from shore. The
boatman barely moves the water with his oars, as
he directs our attention to the veptiges of the ancient
city. Fortunately, the azure lake, this glorious
April day, is clear as crystal, without a whisper
from the "bise" to ruffle its serenity. We see the
piles in irregular groups, some two to three yards
below the surface. Those of the most ancient sta-
tions are merely trunks of trees driven deep into
the mud. They stand from one to three feet in
height, in semi-circular form, with intervals that
look like passages between the groups. As we
move slowly over the lake, we pass a boat at
anchor, in which are two scholarly looking men,
— fishing.' Yes, fishing; though the quality of the
fish they hook would scarcely satisfy the mundane
appetite. These fishermen belong to the coterie of
scientists whose researches have lifted the veil from
the past of the Proto-Helvetes. " They work here,"
says my boatman, "every clear day and all day
long." The difficulties which attend these labors
may be realized by a glance at the piles beneath the
dazzling, moving waters, between which are the
objects sought, covered with the mud or gravel of
at least three thousand years. The work has to be
carried on by means of special apparatus. Today,
a magnifving-glass a foot in diameter floats close to
the boat. One of the professors bends over this
instrument, as he makes use of his dredge ; the
other is cautiously manipulating a long pole.

Drifting here upon the breast of Leman, the
majestic head of Mont Blanc confronting us with
his crown of dazzling brilliancy, with the men of
science to aid us in our effort, can we not re-
construct upon these sunken piles the city of this
ancient people ?

Who were the Proto-IIelvetet.' Why did they
build their dwellings in this laborious manner on
the lake? A learned archieologist* tells us that the
L,acustres were colonists from Asia, — not by any
means savages, as we understand the term. Pro-
fessor Virchow, who has made an exhaustive exam-
ination of the skulls found among the palafittes,
corroborates this statement. The conformation of
the skulls shows the race to have been Aryan, and
of a high degree of intelligence, capable of as much
— if not more — development than ourselves. Fur-
ther proof may be found, if needed, in the objects
ranged in the museums, which demonstrate the
evolution of the Proto-Helvete from the earliest
Stone Age to that of the comparative civilization of
the Bronze. It must not be forgotten that the
forests extending to the shores of the lakes were
then haunted by wild beast*. The stone weapons
were insufficient protection against the ravages of
these enemies, and we may suppose that the colo-
nist was driven to erect hie dwelling on the lake,
as a defensive measure.

It was impossible to make any mental picture of
these dwellings until about ten years ago, for all on
the lakes of Switzerland had been destroyed by fire.
M. Frank, however, inspector of the forests at
Schussenried (Wurtemburg), was fortunate enough
to find a palafitte of the Stone period in a marsh
which he was surveying. It was in a perfect state
of preservation, and by its means we can gain some
idea of the dwellings of the Lacustres. It was built
on piles, in the shape of a right angle, ten meters
long, by seven in width. It was divided into two
compartments, communicating by a passage made
of three beams. There was only one door, which
faced the south, and was one metre in width. The
outer room, in which a pile of flat stones and debris
of charred bones indicated a fire-place, was the
kitchen, or living-room; perhaps, also, in the cold

* The Proto- Helves, by Victor Gr»s<.

season, a shelter by night for the domestic animals.
The inner and more spacious compartment was
probably the sleeping-room. The floors were
formed of round poles lying close together; the
partitions, of piles split in two; while the roof had
the circular form of an old-fashioned bee-hive.
Thus, taking this palafitte for our model, we can
build our city of Merges with the mind's eye. We
see in the Lacustres' an industrious people, busily
at work, having their work-shops on the platforms
surrounding their dwellings. Here they fashioned
their weapons, their pottery, and their utensils of
horn, bone, and wood.

And now, having seen the vestiges of this race in
one of the eastern lakes, let us pass to the western
lakes of Switzerland, where the archieological work
has been carried on with much greater success.
The rectification of the courses of the rivers Aar
and Thielle, with the construction of canals, neces-
sary to dry the marshes of Seeland, lowered the
level of Lakes Neuchatel, Bienne, and Morat. The
stations of the Stone Age became dry, and those of
the Bronze almost so. The researches could be
carried on all the year round, and without the use
of the cumbrous engines hitherto considered indis-
pensable. In the eastern lakes, the scientists are
confined to the months of winter, when the waters
are at their lowest level.

The Stone stationt laid bare revealed such dis-
tinct characteristics, that Dr. Gross found it neces-
sary to sub-divide the age into three periods, taking
the objects found in the palafittes as exponents of
his theory.

The products of the first period are very primi-
tive. The hatchets are small, unpolished, roughly
shaped, and the tools of horn and bone equally
unfinished. The mineral used for the stone imple-
ments is always that of the country, the softest,
most easily worked, being most frequently used, —
such as the molasses rock. The pottery is made of
coarse clay, without the aid of a turning-wheel, and
shows by its clumsiness the very infancy of the pot-
ter's art. No trace of ornamentation is found on
arms, tools, or pottery. The large number of sta-
tions which produce this rude handiwork gives
convincing proof to the archaeologist that many
centuries must have passed ere the Lacustre arrived
at the perfection which the palafittes of the second
period display.

This second period is one of continuous progress.
The museums show hatchets and hammers which
would do credit to our own skilled workmen. The
weapons and utensils of horn, bone, and wood are
beautifully finished, and the pottery takes graceful
forms, even showing crude traces of ornamentation.
A very interesting featurfe of this period is the pres-
ence of foreign minerals, not merely in arms and
implements, but in beads and small ornaments.
Hatchets in nephrite, jadeite, and chloromelanite
are found in the proportion of five to eight of
indigenous material. It is impossible to solve the
problem as to how the Lacustres obtained these
Asiatic minerals. The theory that the first colo-
nists brought them to the country is contradicted bv
the fact that only indigenous mineral is found in the
earliest stations of the Stone Age. Dr. Gross
thinks it probable that the Proto-Helvetes of this
second period held commercial relations with other
nations, thus obtaining the harder stone they
required for their weapons and implements. This
would seem to be the more probable explanation,
since directly copper was introduced the foreign
mineral disappears. Metal quickly supplanted even
these beautiful minerals, which are capable of such
great polish. Arrow-heads of stone, flint, and bone
are found in all three periods of the Stone Age.
That these objects served another purpose has lately

been proved by M. de Fellenberg. who found a
curious instrument of wood, at the station of Fenil,
in which these heads, fastened with resin, form a
strong saw. Two indentations are made in the
handle for the fingers of the workman. The pala-
fittes furnish sufficient proof of the intelligence and
industry of the Lacustres. This second period ot
Stone finds them feeling their way towards a stage
of civilization which requires more of life than
merely food and shelter. The innumerable objects
in horn, bone, and wood display skilled workman-
ship. Among these may be cited : arms, tools,
fish-hooks, harpoons, small goblets, beads, brace-
lets, cleverly carved pendants, large buttons, needles,
combs, hair-pins (perforated, sometimes, so that
they might be fastened by a thread to the hair), and
well-shaped spoons. Bone, being a material less
easily worked, was reserved for articles requiring
greater strength, such as poignards, arrow-heads,
and combs for carding flax. The debris of wooden
objects has brought to light an unequivocal sign of
progress among the Lacustres of this period — noth-
ing less than a yoke for oxen. It is interesting,
also, to note among the fragments of cups, plates,
and dishes, a variety of small boats, shovels, etc.,
— evidently playthings for children. Bows, the
complements of the arrow-heads, are rarely found.
Communication with the shore was made by means
of bridges and boats. The piles give evidence of
the existence of the former, while remains of the
latter abound — mere trunks of trees hollowed by fire.
A boat was lately dug out of the mud at Vingrave
(Lake Bienne), which is well preserved and of a
diflferent shape. The stern is square instead of
round, the bows are pointed, notches are cut in the
sides for the oars, while there is a place in the bot-
tom for a false keel to keep the water out. This
boat, carefully preserved by means of frequent
applications of linseed oil, is now in the museum of
Neuve-ville. The palafittes were also supplied with
ladders long enough to reach from the bottom of
the lake to the platform on which the Lacustre
performed his daily work. Dr. Gross has one in his
collection. Teeth of animals (wolf, bear, and dog)
were perforated and worn as armulets.

The second period was followed by what is termed
by archaeologists the epoch of copper, which means,
in fact, the transition stage of the age of Stone to
that of Bronze. This transition period is recognized
as a separate epoch in the evolution of other races
besides that of the Lacustre. In Hungary, for
instance, (according to certain authors), objects of
pure copper are as numerous as those of bronze.
North America furnishes more than a hundred
instruments in copper from one State (that of Wis-
consin), all of which appear to have been fashioned
with a hammer. Copper, in its native state, lends
itself perfectly to the fabrication of tools and arms,
as it can be shaped into poignards and arrow-heads
by means of a pebble. The operation of smelting
ore demands a certain amount of technical skill
seldom possessed by a primitive race. Still, the
palafittes deliver up objects evidently moulded,
proving that the Lacustre was not without elemen-
tary ideas of the art. The epoch of copper is largely
represented in the western lakes. But, until the
discovery of the station of Fenil (Finily), the con-
clusions drawn with regard to this transition period
were much restricted by the small number of
objects found. This station of Fenil, situated on a
little gulf of Lake Bienne, exposed to the north
wind, was entirely buried in sand and mud, thus
escaping the notice of the savants, until the peas-
ants — in making a ditch — came upon this rich
archa;ological bed. more than a meter below the ^
surface of the soil. Though but a third of this .
station has, as yet, been examined, the rich yield of

Vol. XXIV. No. 2.]

POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS.

copper objects has thrown new light upon the
transition period. The old supposition that the
Lacustre imported his metal implements was over-
thrown bv the proofs furnished at Fenil to the con-
trary, amid the debris of the palafittes. But, though
the chisels, beads, poignards, etc., were home-made,
the metal was cerfainlj imported. Fenil is the
exponent here, also, for several ingots of pure cop-
per have been found at this station, made in porta-
ble form, pierced for the rings bv which they were
suspended. The copper poignards are rivetted to
the wooden handles ; small copper plaques (dress
adornments) are also furnished with rivets. This
is a great advance, even on the neat handiwork of
the second period. It is evident that during this
transition period — which lasted only until the La-
custre found that an alloy of tin with the copper
produced a harder, more beautiful, and more ser-
viceable weapon — the implements of stone fell into
disuse. There was no longer a demand for the
foreign minerals, and the importation ceased. The
workman was wrestling with the problem of
metallurgy. The Stone Age was practically dead.
The pottery of the transition age of copper is dis-
tinguished by grace and elegance of design ; also by
a special mode of ornamentation, obtained by means
of tying threads at equal distances around the vases,
found also on the urns in the tombs of northern
Germany. Other forms of decoration also appear —
the series of lines crossing one another, and impres-
sions made by the fingers, being, perhaps, the most
frequent. Remains of baskets, linen tissues, and
nets belong to this period, and, from the station of
Locras, Dr. Gross obtained a complete spindle,
formed of wood, surrounded with thread ; it only
lacked the stone shuttle. Several shuttles have been
found, furnished with wooden cylinders, and a clew
of thread, which, if it were not charred, would seem
to be of modern handiwork.

Such, in brief, are the distinguishing character-
istics of the three periods of the Stone Age, which
lead us from the earliest ages of the Proto-Helvete
to his artistic triumphs of the "beautiful age of
Bronze."*

Among the bones of animals found in the debris
of the palafittes, we have those of the ox, horse,
goat, pig, sheep, cat. stag, roe-buck, beaver, hedge-
hog, bear, wolf, wild-boar, fox, frog, otter, hare,
swan, duck, pigeon, pike, carp, etc. Remains are
also found of fruits and cereals ; of fruits — the
apple, acorn, nut, plum, strawberry, raspberrv,
mulberry, pea, bean, lentil, chestnut, etc.; of
cereals — wheat, oats, barley, millet, etc

It is not possible to do more than approximate
to the length of time between the advent of the first
colonists to the lakes and the beginning of the
Bronze Age. Dr. Gross thinks that at least twenty
or thirty centuries must have passed, judging from
the number of the stone stations, and the gradual
progress of the workmanship of the objects found in
the palafittes.

The waters of the lakes have been faithful guardi-
ans of the secrets confided to their care. Perchance,
the clumsy implement which the patient professor
in the boat at our side has just succeeded in wresting
from the " sands of time," has been in hiding for at
least two thousand years. And the hands that drove
the piles into the lake, upon which we have built
our phantom city, have been dust — how long.'

•Prof. Desor.

, rOriginal in Popular Seienee Xewa.}
THE CHIGGER. (Leptus Irriians.)*

BY H. M. WHELPLEY, PH. G., F. R M. S.

This is a minute insect, much smaller, but in form
closely resembling, the true tick (Ixodida:.} It varies
in color from a dull brick-red to a bright blood-red.
It has six well-developed legs, each one terminating
in two stiff hairs. Its maxillje are strong and
elbowed, and look much like a pair of partially-
developed legs. The mandibles are large and well
marked internally by three indentations. After
measuring twenty specimens, I found the average
dimensions to be 15 mm. long and 1-6 mm. wide,
(1-125 by 1-150 inch), and the body is about as
broad in front as behind. The legs are about the
same length as the body, and 1-40 mm. (1-2,000
inch) wide. The following illustration gives a very
good idea of the animal, as seen under an amplifica-
tion of about two hundred and fifty diameters :

Easy Method of Obtaining Oxygen. — It is
proposed by C. F. Gohring to prepare pure oxygen
by adding permanganate of potash to peroxide
of hydrogen rendered slightly alkaline by ammo-
nl».

. Professor C. V. Riley gave an account of the
insect in the American Naturalist for January, 1873,
and christened it Leptus irritans, or the "harvest
mite." In its habitat it is variously known as the
"chigger," "jigger," "red bug," and "harvest
bug." I find what is undoubtedly the same insect
referred to in a European work as the Leptus
autumnalis, or "harvest flea." In this country,
this human parasite is confined to the Missi.ssippi
valley, ranging in latitude from the 35th to the 40th
degree. It makes its appearance in the early sum-
mer, about the first of the month of June, and
continues to annoy human beings until the first
frost kills off the season's supply. It is most active
in the month of August. The little pests are found
on all kinds of vegetation, but especially on black-
berry bushes. They are least likely to be found on
cultivated vegetation, and do not thrive well in wet
seasons. It is in the dry, hot time that the chigger
adds most to the discomforts of humanity. It seems
to be partial to mankind, and, as far as I know, does
not trouble any other animal. They seem to attach
themselves to the clothing of anyone who comes'
their way, and immediately start out on a tour of
inspection to find a suitable place to commence
operations. If the underclothing is changed soon
after they become attached to it, the little fellows do
not give up, but patiently wait, even for several
days, for the wearing apparel to be put on again,
when they will crawl upon the flesh and act as lively
as ever. The majority of them make for the axillae,
pubes, and the inside of the thighs, while a few fall
by the wayside and commence operations wherever
they happen to first come in contact with the flesh.
On boys and men they are very partial to the exter-
nal genitals, and sometimes cause an alarming
inflammation of these part?.

Within a few hours' time the animal will have
completely buried itself in the integument, and
causes a small red swelling with a putulous center.

*A paper read before the St. I-o\iiR Club ol Microscopists.

This action is accompanied by intense itching, and

the animal may be scratched out, but not until it has
started a sore which will take from a day to a week
or more to heal. It is a curious fact that some
people are never troubled by these parasites, no
matter how much they are among them. It has
also been noticed that persons from other parts of
the country will have much more severe sores than
the natives of the part of the country where they
abound. After one or two seasons, a stranger be-
comes acclimated, and is not excessively irritated by
them. I well remember my first season's experience,
but subsequent summers I did not fare worse than
the average persons.

The methods of treatment are numerous, for,
although the sores are not dangerous, they are very
disagreeable, and many things have been tried to
cure them up quickly. Among the principal appli-
cations are raw salt pork, bacon fat, water of ammo-
nia, chloroform, ether, carbolic acid and glycerine
or oil (80 grs. to i oz.), sulphur ointment, salt
water, bicarbonate of sodium solution. The most
effectual method is to look for the individual insects
by aid of a magnifying-glass, and remove them with
a pin-point. They are very active before they get
located, and will travel with considerable rapidity.
Children become quite expert at catching them
when on the flesh, and I have known of more than
a score being removed at one hunt before any had
found time to take hold of the flesh. The fat salt
pork grease is the most popular application for the
sores, but the glycerine and carbolic acid is
undoubtedly as effectual. The pustule should be
opened and the pus removed before the lotion is
applied.

Judging from the immense numbers that make
themselves manifest by attacking man every year,
the chigger must be a very prolific animal. Its
mode of life shows that vegatation is its normal
food. But, like the man-eating tiger, the chigger
that once tastes human blood has no more use for
its former food, and perishes in a vain attempt to
devour all mankind.

To the microscopist, the chigger is an object of
interest. It makes an interesting and popular
mount. In order to obtain the animal in all its
glory, it should be caught while seeking a lodging
place on someone's body. Place it directly into
glycerine, and mount in the same medium while the
animal is endeavoring to swim: then you will have
a perfect specimen, in good position to study.
Examine with a 4-10 inch objective.

The literature on the subject is exceedingly scarce,
the article by Prof Riley to which I have referred
being the only one of note that I have been able to
find.

[Original in Popular Science News.]
THE RAINY SEASON OF FLORIDA.

BY PROF. THOMAS R. BAKER.

Thk rainy season of Florida usually begins early
in June, and continues about three months. This
year it began on the 15th of June, and ended on the
24th of September, its time — both of beginning and
ending — being quite clearly defined. This season
is characterized by not only frequent, but by fre-
quently excessive, rains. For many successive days
there may be showers every day, but there may be
intervals of several days — as was the case during the
rain^' season of this year — when no rain falls. There
is an average of about one heavy rain a week during
this season.

I quote some interesting facts on this subject from
the notes of a local meteorological observer of this
place (Orlando) : From the beginning of the rainy
season (June 15) to the end of June, rain fell on
fourteen days. Rain fell on fifteen days during

■POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[FiBRUARY, 1890.

July, twenty-onfe days during August, and eleven
days during September. There were three heavy
rains in June, six in July, six in August, and one in
September. During the June part of the rainy
season there was a rainfall of 10.23 inches; in July
the rainfall was 9 41 inches, in August it was 11.30
inches, and in September (to the end of the rainy
season) it was 6 02 inches. The total precipitation
during the rainy season was 36 96 inches.

The rains of this season are sometimes produced,
as rains ordinarily are, from clouds that have slowly
formed ; but the typical rainy season shower comes
with little warning from an almost cloudless sky, is
of short duration, and is followed very soon by a
clear sky again. During some rainy seasons there
is a great deal of thunder and lightning, while there
is very little during others. The season of this year
was one of many thunder-storms, the accompanying
lightning being often very vivid and abundant,
while last year's rainy season had but few thunder-
storms.

The cause of this season of abundant rains may
be learned from a study of the nature and direction
of the winds that prevail in this region during the
summer months. The United States (except
Alaska) extends through two wind zones, the
variable and the sub-tropical zones, and Florida
lies in the sub-tropical zone. In this zone the
easterly trade winds prevail in the western part of
the United States, but in the eastern part the trades
are 'frequently interrupted by monsoons from the
Gulf of Mexico. These monsoons, warmed by the
Gulf Stream, — on account of which the temperature
of the western coast of Florida is several degrees
warmer than that of the eastern coast in the same
latitude, — and heavily charged with moisture, meet
the colder trades in this region, and to this occur-
rence the rains of our rainy season are largely due

The rainy season, occurring as it does during the
hottest months of the year, is of immense benefit to
the climate and vegetation of Florida. If excessive
exposure to the direct rays of the sun can be
avoided, a Florida summer, with its almost constant
breezes, and cool nights, is much more tolerable
than the summer weather of many regions of the
North, especially those not in the vicinity of moun-
tains. Vegetation is very luxuriant during this
season, — indeed, the rainy season is the great plant-
growing season of Florida, for two important con-
ditions of plant growth, heat and moisture, are then
abundantly supplied. It is during this season that
citrus trees — and hence, also, their fruit — make their
most vigorous growth. If our long summers were
dry, and our winters were wet, living in Florida
would be far less desirable than it is, — for our win-
ter climate, as well as that of our summer, would
siilTer thereby, — and the products of the soil would
be of far less value than they are. Indeed, if this
were the case, the citrus fruits might not be success-
fully produced in Florida. The Florida orange
would certainly not be the superior fruit that it is.

An interesting matter connected with heavy rain-
falls in Florida, is the readiness with which the soil
in most places receives the water. It might be sup-
posed that an average of three inches of rain a week
for twelve successive weeks, — the average during
our last rainy season, — would iill the soil beyond its
capacity for holding water, and that much of the
rain-water would flow off. But this is not the case;
most of this large amount of water, which, were it
to fall on clayey soils, would produce damaging
floods, quietly sinks into the sand, and is lost to
sight. Only when rain falls rapidly and in large
quantities, are surface streams formed, and these
soon disappear. The surface soil of central and
southern Florida is composed of sand and vegetable
mould, and this stratum is succeeded by almost

pure sand, extending to the depth of several feet,
and underlying this there is usually a stratum of
clayey sand, called "hard pan." Sand follows this,
and a second layer of hard pan is usually met before
selid rock is reached.

Although winter is called the dry season of Flor-
ida, it is not to be understood that it is always its
dryest season, as there is often less rain during the
spring and autumn months than during the winter.
The rainfall during March, April, and May of this
year was i 77, 2.45, and 2 08 inches for the respec-
tive months, and that for October and November
was only i 84 inches, while last winter was quite
wet, the rainfall during January and February alone
being 15.08 inches. These facts lead to the conclu-
sion that Florida really has no dry season. It
would be more correct to classify her seasons, so
far as precipitation is concerned, as the rainy season,
and the season of irregular rains.

Orlando, Fla., Dec. 13, 1889.

Practical Clioiiiistry aijd tlje yirts.

NOVELTIES IN PHOTOGRAPHY.

The applications of instantaneou.s photog-
raphy are constantly increasing with the
greater sensitiveness of modern plates, and

SCIENTIFIC BREVITIES.

Hot Water Plants. — ^J. Walter Fewkes has an
interesting paper in the May number of the Ameri-
ean Naiuralist on the vegetation of hot springs.
That vegetation can exist in these hot springs — the
highest temperature on record in which it occurs is
200° Fahr. — indicates that vegetation may have
occurred at a much earlier stage of the earth's his-
tory than has been generally supposed. The pre-
vailing form of vegetation in these heated waters is
algae. Diatoms also occur, but sparingly. They
have been found in Nevada at a temperature at
which the vegetation of hot springs is most flourish-
ing, but usually occur in great abundance in the
cooled waters of hot springs.

Combined Fresh Water, Brine, and Gas
Well. — One of the most remarkable things of
which Pittsburg boasts is the combination well that
has been struck on Liberty street. It produces at
one and the s«me time cold water, pure and sweet;
salt water, and a flow of gas that, when ignited,
illuminates the entire surroundings. The well was
drilled some time ago, to get a supply of pure cold
water for use in a bakery in the summer and during
flood times, when city water is not desirable. At
100 feet the fresh water was struck, and at 200 feet
the salt water and gas were found. Two casings
were inserted, — one for the salt water and gas, the
other for the fresh water, — and now, when the
engine is started and the gas lighted, spectators
behold the wonderful sight of fresh water, salt
water, and fire all coming out of one well at the
same time.

Twenty Years of Science. — The editors of
Nature (London), on the occasion of the twentieth
anniversary of the establishment of the magazine,
take occasion to review the progress of science dur-
ing that period of years. In the physical sciences,
the development of the atomic theory and the estab-
lishment of a connection between the theories of
electricity and light, have been the main achieve-
ments ; in chemistry, the proclamation of the peri-
odic law of the elements and the development of
organic chemistry ; in astronomy, the development of
the spectroscope, the use of photography, und the
extension of the nebular hypothesis ; in biology,
the firm establishment of the Darwinian docrine,
the development ot the study of bacteria, and, later,
the effort to determine the position of the Lamarck-
ian principle, have been the main features. In
botany, the key-note has been the study of proto-
plasm and cell-life ; in geology, the greatest advance
has been in the application of the microscope and
the stxidy of rock structure.

Fig. 1.

the more powerful developers which are
being almost daily discovered. Apparently,
there is no limit to the brevity of the time in
which the sensitive gelatine film may receive
arid retain a luminous impression, and photo-
graphs have been taken in such a minute
fraction of a second, (0.000076), that the ele-
ment of time is not worth cosideration, and
they may be considered as absolutely " instan-
taneous" pictures.

Fig. 1.

In Fig. I an instantaneous view of an erup-
tion in the crater of Vesuvius is shown. It is
necessaril}' somewhat obscured by the clouds

Vol. XXIV. No. 2.]

POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS.

of steam, but the masses of lava and scorias in
mid-air are well shown, and indicate the
quickness of the exposure. The picture was
taken by a French amateur, M. Luys, on the
27th of September last.

Fig. 2 is an excellent view of aman in the
middle of a high jump. The remarkably
awkward position of the bodv is noticeable,
and shows how easily the eye is deceived by
quick movements. No artist would venture
to draw a man in such a position as a truthful
representation of the attitude in jumping, but
the eye of the camera cannot be deceived,
even by the most rapid movements.

Fig. 3 is a reproduction of a photograph
made without any lens, a metal plate pierced
with a hole 3-10 of a millimetre (i-ioo of an
inch) taking its place. The time of exposure
in a good light was i minute, 18 seconds. A
sheet of pasteboard may be substituted for the
metal plate.

Although the "pin-hole" objective cannot
replace the usual lenses in all cases, it has
some advantages over them besides its cheap-
ness and portability. Spherical aberration
is avoided, the focal distance can be varied at
pleasure, and in copying engravings and
drawings in line or stipple, a very soft and
pleasing picture is obtained, in which the
lines or dots are blended together, and the
details of the artist's work are not so unpleas-
antly prominent as when the copy is made by
a regular photographic objective.

This method is worthy the attention of
amateurs, and, after a few experiments in
regard to the time of exposure, very satisfac-
tory results can be obtained. It is important
that the edges of the hole be perfectly sharp
and clear, as the presence of a fringe of fibres
of pasteboard or metal %\ould have a very
injurious effect upon the finished picture.

The, engravings are reproduced from
La Nature.

Canary-seed is composed of albuminoids, 138
percent.; fat, 5.4; extractives, 50.7; indigestible
fibre, 8.2; ash, 6.8; and water, 15.1.

[Original in Popular Scunrf y ws.}

THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE

ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS.

BY JOHN C. ROLFE, PH. D.

III.

MAGNETIS.M AND ELECTRICITY.

Oi'R word magnetism is derived from Magnesia,
the name of a town of Lvdia in Asia Minor. In the
neighborhood of this place there was found a kind
of stone, variously called Magnesian stone, Ljdian
stone, stone of Heracles, and Siderite, which was
observed to have the power of attracting iron. This
stone, our loadstone (or, more properly, lodestont),
was known to the Greeks as early as the fourth cen-
tury before our era. According to Pliny, the Ro-
mans knew four other localities which furnished the
mineral: Magnesia in Thessaly, (to which our Eng-
lish dictionaries erroneously refer as the place from
which the name was derived), Ethiopia, Boeotia,
and the Troad. Plato observed that the armature
of a magnet itself became magnetic; and Lucretius,
in his great poem on Nature, speaking of the lode-
stone, says: "It often produces a chain of rings
hanging down from it. Thus you may sometimes
see five and more suspended in succession and toss-
ing about in the light breeze, one always hanging
down from the one above it and attached to its
lower side, and each one in turn from the other ex-
periencing the binding power of the stone, with such
a continuous current the force flies through all."
He explains the attraction by assuming the existence
of an etherial force which poured forth from the
lodestone or magnet itself, and permeated the pores
of the magnetized object. Plutarch appears to ex-
plain the phenomenon on the same principle. The
magnetic power of the earth itself and the
phenomena arising from it were, in spite of some
wild theories to the contrary (it has even been
claimed that the ancients were acquainted with
the mariner's compass), completely unknown in
that day. There were, however, stories of all kinds
suggested by the power of the lodestone, the best
known being that of the " magnetic mountain,"
which drew the iron nails from the planks of ships
that came too near it, and caused them to fall to
pieces. Ptolemy, the geographer, gave the exact
latitude and longitude of this remarkable mountain,
whose existence was firmly believed in.

Still less did the ancients know o{ electricity. It
was known from the time of Thales, who lived at the
beginning of the sixth century B. C, that electron,
when rubbed, had the property of attracting light
objects. What is meant by electron in this con-
nection is not certainly known ; amber, a mixture of
gold and silver, tourmaline, a certain enamel,
and platinum are some ol the conjectures of those
who have discussed the question. However this
may be, it was afterwards learned that amber was
the best material for generating this kind of
electricity. This attraction was personified by the
imaginative Greeks. They spoke of a soul in the
amber, as the Chinese physicist Kuo-pho did in his
Poem in Praise of the Magnet. Plato's view was
that the amber contained a flame-like essence, but
gave it out only when the pores of its surface were
opened by rubbing. This essence, when given out,
had the same action as the magnet, but. by reason
of its lightness and weakness, could attract only the
lightest and driest substances. Pliny, too, speaks
of a flame which pours out of amber. The con-
nection of this frictional electricity with the external
manifestations of atmospheric electricity, and with
the shocks given by electric fishes (found in the
Mediterranean and Red Seas), was never suspected
by the ancients.

IV. — CHEMISTRY.

There enn be no question that some of our efctmi-

cal experiments may lay claim to a very high anti-
quity. According to Plutarch, whose etymology is
approved by no less an authority than Alexander
von Humboldt, the Greek word for chemistry, from
which our own word comes, was derived from an
Egyptian word, l<emi, originally meaning Hack,
which was later a designation of the whole land of
the Nile ; so that chemistry was synonymous with
the hlack art! The first known Greek chemist
(more properly a metallurgist) was Theophrastus,
who lived in the fourth century before Christ. In a
a book of his On Minerals he treats of the extraction
of metals from the ore, and describes the various
compounds which were formed in the process.
Among these are white lead and verdigris, which he
states to be earths, expressly distinguishing them
from stones or minerals.

Unfortunately this is the only work on chemistry
written before the Christian era which has come
down to us, although we know from references of
Pliny that such books existed. Their loss is partic-
ularly to be regretted, because it is possible that
they might have thrown some light on the subject
of polychromy, by telling us what aid the Greeks
derived from chemistry in the preparation of the
colors with which they decorated their statues and
temples, and ornamented their walls with paintings.
The encaustic painting of the Greeks has been
especially discussed. Cato the Censor, who has
already been referred to in these papers as having a
practical knowledge of an important principle of
heat, expresses some remarkably sound views about
the rusting or oxidizing of metals under the in-
fluence of the air, and upon the evaporation of
water from springs to produce salt.

The writers of the first century of our era bear
witness to the chemical progress of earlier times.
We find from their reviews of the past achi«vements,
that various chemical preparations were used in
medicine, especially in the composition of salves,
and that alloys and amalgams of many kinds were
familiar. He distinguishes the oxides of copper,
lead, and zinc from one another. The only acids
that appear to have been used are vineger (acetic
acid) and sulphuric acid ; to the former was
attributed a dissolving power far greater than it
really possessed. In his passage of the Alps, Han-
nibal, for example, is said to have dissolved rocks
which barred his progress by the agency of vinegar.

The process of distillation was used by the an-
cients. Aristotle refers to this operation, which is
clearly described by later writers, together with the
retort and the rest of the apparatus. The progress
in the knowledge of alloys is seen in the Roman
coins of small denominations. These at first were
made simply of copper, but from the time of Corn-
modus they were composed of bronze with a vary-
ing proportion of zinc.

Soaps were known to the ancients, but were
merely mechanical mixtures, not chemical. One of
the supposed soaps found at Pompeii proved ta be
nothing but fuller's clay.

Alchemy began in the first century of our era, and
the atomic theories of the philosphers are said to
have led to the attempt to change the baser metals
to the nobler ones. Towards the end of the fifth
century this pseudo-science became very popular,
and there were numerous guilds of alchemists at
at that time. The prolific writer, Hermes Trisme-
gistus, wrote a book called Tabula Smaragdina,
professing to teach the art of making gold, which
was translated at Nuremberg in 1541.

In the concluding paper of this series the remain-
ing departments of science will be briefly considered.

Errata.— In the preceding paper Boethius was
misprinted Bcethius, and Ptolemaius (thrice) as Ptol-
enteit^fs.

POPULAR SClEi^OE l!5EWS.

[February, 1890.

[Original in Popular Science JVewi J
ZINC.

BY GEORGE L. BURDITT.

Zinc, sometimes called spelter, is one of our most
useful metals, and is widely distributed, although il
never occurs alone. Sulphide of zinc and carbonate
of zinc are its chief sources, and from these com-
pounds it has to be distilled. The first step in the
extraction of zinc is to reduce the ore to an oxide.
Carbonate of zinc heated gives oxide of zinc and
carbonic acid gas, (Zn C03 = Zn O + CO2.) Sul-
phide of zinc roasted gives oxide of zinc and sulphur
dioxide, (Zn S + 30=Zn O + SO2.)

To get pure zinc from the oxide, the oxide is
mixed with coal and heated in a retort. The zinc
volatilizes, and comes out of the mouth of the retort
as a vapor. Cadmium is always mixed with the
zinc, and cadmium vapor comes out first. It is
lighted, and burns with a brown flame. As soon as
the zinc vapor begins to come off, the flame changes
CO green. An iron cap is then placed over the
mouth of the retort, through which the vapor
passes, and is condensed into a fine dust. Gradu-
ally the cap becomes hot and melts the dust into
liquid zinc, which runs into moulds and is cast into
blocks.

The process described is called the Belgian pro-
cess; there are two others, the Silesian and the
English. The Silesian process differs only in the
retort. The mixture of ore and coal is put in and
heated, and the vapor passes out through a tube
bent at right angles to the retort. The tube is kept
cool, but not cool enough to condense the vapor
into solid zinc. If this should happen, the pipe
would become clogged and the retort would burst.
In the English process, the retort consists of a
tightly covered crucible, through the bottom of
which passes a pipe. This pipe is stopped with a
wooden plug, and the mixture of ore and coal is put
into the crucible and heated. As the mixture grows
hotter, the plug is converted into charcoal, allowing
only the zinc vapor to pass through. The reaction
which takes place in the furnace is, in all cases,
2Zn + C=2Zn-|-C02.

The pure zinc obtained by either of these pro-
cesses is a bluish-white metal, having a metallic
lustre and a crystalline fracture. It does not rust
easily, and takes a good polish. Owing to this
polisfi, it is used for making stage jewelry. Under
the most favorable conditions, however, it rusts
slightly, becoming carbonate of zinc. At ordinary
temperatures it is brittle, and when heated to 100° —
150° it becomes malleable, and is rolled into sheets.
The specific gravity is 7.03, and the melting-point
412°. It is quite volatile, burns with a green flame,
and is one of the metals that expand on cooling.

Next to iron, zinc is the cheapest of the useful
metals, and, on account of this, has a number of
uses. It is used in the galvanic battery. In this
case, pure zinc would be very expensive to use, and
it is not easily dissolved by acids. Impure amal-
gamated zinc is cheaper, does just as well, and is
readily dissolved in acids. Galvanized iron is iron
coated with zinc to preserve the iron. If the zinc
begins to rust, a galvanic couple is formed, the
hydrogen collecting on the iron, thus preserving it.
Zinc is alloyed with copper to form brass ; is used
in making hydrogen, and is used in many places
where iron and tin cannot be, on account of their
rusting. Oxide of zinc, not being attacked by sul-
phuretted hydrogen, is used in making white paint
for laboratories.

IN YE OLDEN TIME.
When the "Best Friend," which was the first
locomotive used in the South and the first built in
this country, was put on the track of the South

Carolina Railroad, its performances excited great
curiosity. For a time its driver did quite a profita-
ble business carrying the curious, in small parties, a
few miles out on the line from Charleston and
return, for a consideration.

An old schedule and freight tarift" of the South
Carolina road, now in the possession of an oflicer of
that company, provided, among other things, that
no dogs should be admitted to cars without the con-
sent of the passengers; that conductors must require
all guns or pistols in the possession of passengers to
be discharged before the persons carrying them
should enter the cars, and that no package should
be entered on the conductor's freight list for less
than 6\'i cents.

After the explosion of the boiler of the "Best
Friend," through the stupidity of its negro fireman,
who held the safety-valve down a little too long, to
avoid the annoyance of escaping steam, a special
platform car was placed between the engine and the
first car of the train, and loaded with bales of cotton
as a means of protecting the passengers.

In the early days of the South Carolina Railroad,
before the telegraph came to be the handmaid of the
railway, and when hours of delay in the arrival of
trains were of less importance than are minutes
now, the good people of Charleston were notified of
the approach of a train by a flag displayed from the
steeple of the railway station. It was the duty of
an employe to keep a lookout from this steeple, and
hoi.st the flag when he should catch the first glimpse
of the smoke and steam of the locomotive. — Kailuay

Ag.- ^^

INDUSTRIAL MEMORANDA.
Hydrogen Occluded in Steel. — The theory of
Dr. Mueller concerning the character of the gas
occluded in steel, has been confirmed in a striking
manner. The inventors of the famous Mannesmann
method of making steel tubes, by rolling them
eccentrically from a solid bar, sent to the Charlotten-
burg laboratory two tubes closed at both ends, a
partly finished product, therefore. The steel con-
tained 0.46 carbon, 0.26 silicon, o.ojj phosphorus,
o.oi sulphur, 0.23 manganese, and a trace of copper.
The hollow cavity contained 911 c. cm. of gas at a
pressure of 760 mm. Chemical analysis showed
that this gas was composed of 99 per cent, of hydro-
gen and only i per cent, of nitrogen, confirming
Mueller's theory that the gas occluded in steel cast-
ings is hydrogen.

Co.MPRESSED Air AS Motive Power in France. —
The use of compressed air as a motive power for tram-
ways in France is extending. The system adopted
is that invented 'oy M. Mekarski, director of the
Nantes tramways, which have been open since 1879.
Two years ago the system was successfully applied
on the tramways at Nogent, in the neighborhood of
Paris, and more recently on those of Berne and
Limoges. This year it will be substituted for horse
power on the tramways of Lyons. The inventor
asserts that his system is far more economical than
horse traction, — the cost of coal per day of a machine
equal to 8 or 10 horse power being only $1.00, — much
cheaper than electricity or steam power, and that
machinery is simple and does not require a skilled
mechanic to control it. The British consul at
Nantes, in a recent report, states "that the tram-
ways of that town, which are worked by the system
ofM. Mekarski, alluded to above, continue to give
satisfaction. The cars are comfortable and lun
smoothly with little noise. They do not interfere
with the general traffic in the streets, and their im-
munity from accidents is remarkable. The average
speed is about eiglit miles per hour; but it can be
easily increased or moderated, and in case of need
an almost instantaneous stoppage eflfected."

Tlie Out-Door CLlorld.

Edited by HARLAX H. BALLARD.

President of the Agassiz Association.
[P. O. Address, Pittsfield, Mass.]

PROF. GUTTENBERG'S COURSE IN
MINERALOGY.

About a year ago, Professor Gustavo Gut-
tenberg, then teaching in the Erie (Penn.)
High School, undertook to give an Agassiz
Association course of lessons in mineralogy.
His plan is simple, and modeled somewhat
after the excellent course previously conducted
for us by Professor W. O. Crosby, of the
Boston Society of Natural History. The
course is conducted bv correspondence.

Each pupil receives a set of minerals in a
neat case, together with test-tubes, litmus
paper, and streak-plate. Accompanying this
case is the first lesson, in the form of a
pamphlet, containing necessary definitions
and concise instructions for a series of obser-
vations on the first twenty-five specimens,
which are numbered, but not labeled. There
are blanks, on which the pupil records the
results of his work. When the first blank is
properly filled, it is returned to Professor
Guttenberg, who corrects it, makes needful
suggestions, and returns it, together with
labels for the specimens alreadv examined.
For all this work he makes no charge, and
for the case of minerals and instrtunents, and
the printed pamphlets, he makes only the
nominal charge of one dollar. He divides
the whole work into four grades, two of
which were issued up to last August. Pro-
fessor Guttenberg then received an appoint-
ment as professor of biology of the Central
High School of Pittsburgh, Pcnn., and his
removal to his new post has caused a little
delay in the issue of the third grade. This
will soon be ready, however, and may be had
upon application to him. All members of
the A. A., and all subscribers to the Popular
Science News, are cordially invited to take
up this course of lessons. One who begins
it in complete ignorance of mineralogy, will
be surprised to find himself easilj' led along
to a familiarity with all the more common
forms of rock and mineral, and brought to
a stage of progress whence advancement to
higher work in determinative anahsis will be

easy and rapid.

^^►^

The organization of a Corresponding Geo-
logical Chapter of the Agassiz Association —
on a plan similar to the one so successfully
carried out by the Gray Memorial Chapter —
is now in progress. The undersigned organ-
izing committee desires to brinjj this matter
to the attention of every student and teacher
of geology, mineralogy, and paleontology
throughout the continent, whether a member
of the A. A. or not. The object of the
Chapter is to extend the knowledge of these

Vol. XXIV. No. 2.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

branches among its members, by circulating
papers and notes on local geology and geo-
logical phenomena, and by the exchange of
specimens. The final organization will be
effected February 20, and it is earnestly hoped
that a goodly number of members will ha\e
enlisted by that date. All interested are
invited to correspond with Amadeus Grabau,
(Secretary of Chapter 132), 154 Maple
Street, Buffalo, N. Y., at their earliest con-
venience. — Professor Franklin W. Barrows,
George T. Wardwell, Amadeus Grabau,

Organizing Committee.

*»*

XEW YORK CITY ASSEMBLY OF

THE A. A.

At a meeting of the New York City
Assembly of the A. A., December 19, it
was unanimously resolved, that,

Whereas: Having been informed in a compre-
hensive communication of our President's efforts to
secure an oflScial organ for the \. A., and of his
ultimate full measure of success;

Resolved: That the Corresponding Secretary
be instructed to inform the President of the A. A.,
officially, of our entire satisfaction with the maga-
zines selected — the Popclar Science News, and
the combined Santa Claus and Swiss Cross.

Resolved: That this Assembly heartily wishes
the undertaking and its projectors the thorough
support and success which thev deserve.

Resolved : That, inasmuch as this Assembly,
bein;} a constituent body, can take no direct action
in the matter, each Cliapter be requested to appoint
one canvasser to secure as many subscribers as
possible to one or both magazines.

Theodore G. White, Cor. Sec.

This action of the New York City Assem-
bly is exceedingly gratifying. That Assembly
was the only one of our larger bodies which
happened to hold a meeting after the arrange-
ments referred to had been completed, and
before the issue of the first number of the
magazines. It was, therefore, the only one
to which special notice of our action was
sent. There has not yet been time to hear
from other Assemblies and Chapters since
the issue of the first installment of " The
Out-Door World." Indeed, at the date of
this writing (December 30), on account of
unavoidable delays, the January News is just
off the press ; but, if the whole Association
shall be equally hearty in endorsing the new
departure, the future of the A. A. will be
brijrhter than ever before.

We hope to make the personal observations
of our members a special feature of this de-
partment, and to this end we solicit as prompt
and full notes of such observations as possible
from evervone interested. When convenient,
let these notes be accompanied by pictures —
photographs, India- ink drawings, or even

pencil sketches.

<♦» ■

We acknowledge reports of continued

interest and activity from Chapters 55, 107,

108, I20, 15S, 165, 199, 234, 2S7, 347, 354, members. They have studied the evergreens and

the trees about Plainfield, and have just commenced
the study of the roots of plants. Illness and
removal of members have interfered with the work
of the bird division, but there is great interest in the
study of birds. All the early-comers have been
noted, and the specimens in cases have been
studied. — William Moore, Sec.

362, 381, 399, 404, 414, 440, 444, 452, 478,

4S1, 494, 513, 5S4, 603, 604, 624, 957, 965,

and 972.

*♦>-

REPORTS FROM CHAPTERS.
jS, Philadelphia, Penn., [D].— I think the results
of our work are very obvious. Two of us are doc-
tors of medicine and a third is a student in medicine.
The Chapter address is 1314 Franklin Street. —
Joseph McFarland, M. D.

923, Columbus, O., [C]. — During the past year
we turned our attention entirely to the study of
mineralogy. In this we were very kindly aided by
Prof. Lord of the Ohio State University, who gave
us a very interesting lecture on the subject. For the
purpose of study, we bought a good collection of
minerals, a large cabinet for specimens, and several
good books. Besides the Chapter collection, indi-
vidual members have made collections of minerals
from the neighborhood, which abounds in sand-
banks of glacial origin. Regular meetings were
held every two weeks throughout the year. — S. C.
Kershaw, Cor. Sec.

977, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., [A]. — We have
twelve members, and are getting on quite smoothly.
Some are studying chemistry, using Cooley's text-
book, and are making analy.ses of diiferent dyes;
some are studying botany, using Gray's book, and
are working up the forest trees that grow in this
vicinity; others are studying geology, with the help
of Shaler's geology and Overman's mineralogy, and
are learning the characteristics of rocks and the
geological structure of this region. We all enjoy
our work immensely. ^S. L. Bayard Schindel, Sec.

824, Fall River, Mass., [B].— Our local Chapter
and the Wilson Ornithological Chapter (213) have
progressed so much since my annual report that I
wish to write of them again. We have increased
our membership, and have secured a room in the
Y. M. C. A. building. We have had interesting
debates, and papers of exceptional excellence have
been read. The Ornithological Chapter has reached a
membership of fifty-three. The plan of observation-
work laid out for our members is succeeding finely, and
we have on hand a large amount of valuable notes
and lists. To illustrate our work, on December 3.
iSSS, two ornithologists, Mr. Strong and Mr. Curtis,
of Wisconsin, joined us. Through their efforts, we
now have some Wisconsin members, organized into
a committee, and studying the bird-life of their
respective towns. — ^J. B. Richards, Pres.

264, Plainfield, X. J., [A].— Chapter Xo. 264 (A)
reorganized in Xovember in four divisions, for the
study of insects, minerals, flowers, and birds. At
the meetings of the insect division, the caterpillars
found in the vicinity of Plainfield were studied.
Specimens were brought to every meeting, and
drawings were made and descriptions written of
each kind. During the winter months, the mos-
quito, earth-worm, fly, and ant were studied. Much
interest has been shown in this division, and the
members are waiting for the spring to continue
the work. The meetings of the mineral division
began in Xovember, and have been held in the
science room, where the members had all the neces-
sary apparatus for the blow-pipe and chemical tests
of the minerals of Plainfield. The members have
studied quartz, calcite, and copper with its numer-
ous ores. A little study on the formation of rocks
has also been taken. One excursion to an old cop-
per mine was made in the autumn. The flower
division has held regular meetings. There arc ten

267, Pittsfield, Mass., [CJ. — While we were in
Waterbury, Conn., last winter, we collected between
400 and 500 good cocoons of those beautiful silk-
moths, Saturnia spini and Atlas, also a larga num-
ber of the Cecropia and Luna. In Great Barrington,
Mass., in one day, we collected 75 specimens ol
Grapia progue and about 50 of Vayiessa antiopa,
besides some very fine Papilios, including Cres-
phontes. We expect daily in exchange from Ger-
many 300 lepidoptera and 500 coleoptera. —
Theodore A. Schurr, Pres.

353, Philadelphia, Penn., [K]. — During the past
year we have held twenty-seven meetings, and have
increased our membership to fifteen, seven having
joined since our last report. At each meeting one
of the members is appointed to prepare an essay for
the next meeting, w hen it is read and discussed ;
after this, if there are questions to be asked, they
are in order. At every meeting we have the use of
the microscope for examining objects that may
interest us. — Theo. G. Brinton, Sec.

365, Hyde Park, 111., [A]. — We have at present
thirty-five members. Our President is Mr. Wm. L.
Boyd. We have held meetings every two weeks
during the year, and they have been much more
interesting than hitherto. — Grace M. Lane, Sec.

3S0, Elk Rapids, Mich., [A].— Xumber of meet-
ings, twenty-one; number of members, seventeen.
Studies : Geology, zoology, taxidermy. Topics of
late discussions: "Carbon," "What Forms an Inland
Beach," "Cause of Musical Sound along Telegraph
Wires." — Frank Vandeburg, Pr«s. ; John Pfeiffer,
Sec.

382, Brooklyn, N. Y., [F].— Our work lastwinter
was chiefly in analytical mineralogy, in connection
with w hich we read and discussed a portion of Prof.
Crosby's " Common Minerals and Rocks." During
the summer the members visited various localities,
and brought back notes of observations, also several
additions to the collection, such as a fragment of
rock from the Rocky Mountains, containing a num-
ber oftrilobites of various sizes; lichens of various
kinds, one weighing over seven and a half pounds;
and a wasp's nest, eighteen inches in diameter. An
interesting oak-gall, resembling white spun glass
with rose-colored spots, was observed, and a praying
mantis and leaf insect brought from Virginia.
Photography has been of absorbing interest to sev-
eral of our members, who have taken some credita-
ble impressions. Several notes in the Swiss Cross
concerning snakes hiding in their parent's open
mouth, are indorsed by an observation made by one
of our members near White Plains, N. Y., who
killed a black snake, four feet long, and, after death,
at least a dozen tiny snakes, three to four inches
long, crawled out of its mouth and were very lively.
We have received for our cabinet fine specimens ot
labradorite and crocydolite, or tiger eye, a bottled
flying-fish, and tropical sea-weed, also Alex. Agas-
siz's "Expedition of the Blake." Our average
attendance is seven ; membership, eight. — Henry
S. FuUerton, Cor. Sec.

387, Baltimore, Md., [E], Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity.— During the year we have had sixteen meet-
ings, fairly well attended, and at one time our ranks

POPULAR SGIENOE NEWS.

[Fejsruaky, i8c,o.

were greatly increased. We gained, as active mem-
berg, J. Ames and S. Cone, and as honorar;^
members the following gentlemen, most of them
professors in ths Johns Hopkins University : H.
Newell Martin, Ira Remsen, Alfred M. Mayer, Wm.
H. Howell, H. V. Wilson, F. H. Herrick, E. A.
Andrews, and A. C. Gill. One of our members,
Mr. R. G. Harrison, presented to us a very nice
chest of drawers for minerals, and at another time
we had a good-sized shelf-cabinet built for alcoholic
specimens. The latter is now quite full. A short
while ago we created a junior membership, our
active membership being limited to persons 18
years of age and excluding girls. The juniors will
have all the privileges of the Chapter, but no voice
in its government. In the first part of the year,
Mr. Orr, a graduate student of the University, gave
us a lecture and demonstration on hypnotism,
which we opened to University men, and it proved
of a great deal of interest. Dr. Geo. A. Williams,
professor of geology here, gave us a delightful lec-
ture on " How to Study Geology," and we derived
a great deal of useful information. Our latest step
was to raise the yearly subscription and initiation,
each to three dollars, hoping that it will be of
benefit. As the spring approaches we look forward
to many dolightful days in the open air. — Edward
McDowell, Pres., 117 W. Franklin Street; Charles
S. Lewis, Sec, Box no, Johns Hopkins University.

449, Fitchburg, Mass., [F]. — Our Chapter is in a
"live" condition, and has done some systematic
work in botany and entomology. We classify all
our work, and keep full reports of what each mem-
ber accomplishes. We should like to correspond
with other Chapters. — G. F. Whittemore, Pres.

507, Tonawanda, N. Y., [A]. — We have gained
three members, and now have thirteen. We have
held thirty-four meetings, and have given one suc-
cessful public entertainment. Our President is Mr.
J. O. Wilson. — Bettie Fisher, Sec.

523, Madison, So. Dakota, [A].— We now have
twenty-four active members. We meet every week,
with good attendance. We appoint three or faur
members to read papers at each meeting. Mr.
Yoder gives us lessons in botany and zoology. We
have made two expeditions — one to Lake Madison
and one to Lake Herman. We have a case for
minerals and about sixty specimens. We have also
begun a collection of insects, and one of birds' eggs.
We have opened one Indian mound, under Mr.
Yoder"s direction, and obtained good specimens of
beads, arrow-heads, etc. — G. Murray, Sec.

565, Waseca, Wis., [A]. — Two of our members
are taking Prof. Guttenberg's course in mineralogy.
Another has gathered 150 sets of eggs. The Cas-
pian tern was noted here last spring for the first
time. — J. F. Murphy, Sec.

577, Barton, Ross, England, [A]. — The subject
at present taken up is entomology, and we are
making collections of lepidoptera, coleoptera, and
hymenoptera. The Chapter has the advantage 01
owning a very good microscope. All the members
beg to send their best wishes to the A. A., and
to record their hearty appreciation of the good work
it is doing. — Frances Maclean, Pres.

ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS.

25S. Flight of a Hum.mino-Bird. — May 17, in
my garden, I saw a humming-bird describe several
times the following curve :

Many of the foregoing reports have been
unavoidably delayed, and appear out of their
regular order ; but they are too good to lose,
and are much better late than never. Reports
from the Third Century (Chapters 201-300)
should reach the President by March 1 .

STOP

VERY TAST

At the lower part of the curve, I could not see
him, for his swiftness, and he was then making a
very loud humming noise. — G. H. Claybrooke,
Santa Monica, Cal.

[Written for "The Out.Door World."]

MOLE CRICKETS.

BY S. L. CLAYES,
Of the Agit»8iz Association.

Running the share deeply into the earth, what is
this that the ploughman has turned up, in this old-
world garden, lying in the village of Bresselsleigh,
which is quite in the heart of Merry England.'
Something which, surely, our American eyes have
never seen before. A queer creature, about two
inches long, of a velvety-brown color, its body
divided into three portions. After a closer look, we
observe that its center is of a somewhat grayish
tint. Two wings spring from the hinder part; each
lengthens into a sort of fillet that stretches far
beyond the short wing-covers, reaching, in fact,
quite to the end of the body.

But the most noticeable things of all about the
stranger are its two wonderful fore-legs. These are
enormously large and strong, far more so than its
other legs, (which are themselves of no contempti-
ble size), and gradually broaden at their ends into
something resembling a hand, terminating in five
short, strong fingers, — or, perhaps, claws may be
a more nearly accurate name by which to call them.
Of these claws, one is star-shaped. It must be that
this is that curious creature, the English mole
cricket, we think; and we do not wonder that it is
so named, for the insect, while very like a cricket,
also bears, in some respects, a close personal resem-
blance to the mole. Especially is this true of these
digging feet, which seem to be as distinctly out of
proportion to the rest of its body, as would the
brawny wrist and hand of a laboring man if it was
seen protruding from the little dress-sleeve of a two-
year-old child. But these stout, broad feet are
almost precisely like those of a mole.

The mole crickets live under ground, and seldom
emerge into the open air; indeed, one may say they
never do so, except at night and during fine, dry
weather. With their strong fore-feet, with which
they can work even more expeditiously than the
mole, they dig for themselves burrows in the earth,
fashioned into galleries leading from a central
chamber, and communicating with the upper air by
a small aperture. Although the little creature pre-
fers to work in a soil composed of loose sand, and
her tunnels are only about one-fourth of an inch in
diameter, she manages to finish them very smoothly
upon the inside. Her central chamber — which is
not lar from the size of a couple of hazel-nuts, and
used as a living and sleeping-room — is not designed
to serve as a cool and shady residence during the
warm weather alone. It is sunk deep enough down
to be but slightly affected by any sudden change of
temperature, and here our little friend retires when
winter comes, and falls into that long, death-like

sleep which is so common among insects, and is
possible even to some among the higher organisms
of our globe.

In this cell she passes the greater part of her life
quite alone, for mole crickets are not gregarious, or >
even pairing, but are solitary creatures, each one
setting up for him or herself a separate establish-
ment, with chambers arid galleries all complete, and
meeting with their kind only when they go out to
take the air above ground. Even in these rare
gatherings they do not seem to be a harmonious
little people. The males often fight each other to
the death, the conqueror celebrating the victory by
eating up bodily all that is left of his vanquished
foe. But. although cannibals upon occasion, and
capable of subsisting for months even on animal
food, the mole cricket is really a vegetable-eater.
Its ordinary diet is the roots of plants, and in some
places it becomes a true pest, through the damage
it does to crops, and even grass and flowers, by
feeding upon their roots.

In the evenings and nights toward the end of
spring and beginning of summer, the mole cricket
sounds his love-making song. His chirp, which is
somewhat softer in its shrillness and more musical
than that of the domestic cricket, is supposed to be
produced in precisely the same way, that is, by the
friction of the wing-sheaths ; indeed, the sound has
been made artificially by rubbing together those of
a newly-killed insect. This song, which is truly a
rather dull, jarring sort of music, has gained for the
mole cricket a good many popular names. In some
parts of England it is known as churr-worm, in
others as jarr-worm, and again as eve-churr, and as
croaker. For another of its names — that of earth-
crab — it is indebted to the hard, shelly covering of
its limbs and body.

The female lays her eggs in the spring. They are
about the size of a sugared caraway seed, and are in
color of a grayish-yellow. Each insect lays from
one hundred to four hundred. The mother builds
a special chamber for their reception, which in size
and shape is very much like a hen's egg longitudi-
nally cut in Iialf. This apartment, while placed
quite near the surface of the ground, that it may
benefit by the warmth of the sun's rays, is most
carefully guarded. It is entered by a complicated
system of winding galleries that .surround it on all
sidts. It is also strengthened by fortifications and
entrenchments, while circling the whole is a ditch
of such size that few insects are capable of passing it.

The mother is devoted in her care of her young.
There is a species of black beetle which is one of
her most dreaded and dangerous enemies, and
which often succeeds in destroying her little ones in
great numbers. She watches this creature with the
greatest care, placing herself near the entrance of
her nest, and when the beetle has fairly got inside
it, this cunning guardian jumps upon it from behind,
seizes it, and fairly bites it in two. The young
ones live together for a considerable time, under
their mother's care in the home which she has pre-
pared for them. They are very active little creatures,
in both the larva and pupa states, running about in
all directions. •

The mole cricket is always exquisitely neat and
clean in its own person, both to the eye and touch,
notwithstanding its earthy abode and its continuous
labors in the way of burrowing in th. soil to the end
of building and fortifying its dwellings and nur-
reries. The cause of its exemption from impurity
lies in a fine down that covers its skin, and, while
adding to its beauty by giving it a soft, velvet-like
texture, also eflectively prevents the adhesion to it
of the earth in which the little creature spends so .
great a part of its life in w orking.

Vol. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIEIS'GE NEWS.

J-

Slje Popular Science I^ews.

BOSTON, FEBRUARY i, 1890.

AUSTIN P. NICHOLS, S3., .
WILLIAM J. ROLFE, LiTT.D.,

.... SiHtor.
Attodate Editor.

The principal object of scientific — and pop-
ular — interest the past month has been the so-
called Russian influenza, or "la grippe,"
which has overspread a large portion of the
country, and numbered its victims by the
thousands if not millions. There is really no
explanation to be given of this remarkable
epidemic, and the symptoms and general
details of an attack are doubtless sadly familiar
to most of our readers. There is some rea-
son to doubt whether the present epidemic is
really the true European disease, or a native
production occurring coincidently with it.
The first cases reported in this country,
occurred almost simultaneously with the
European ones, and it seems impossible that
the infection could have crossed the ocean in
so short a time. The first cases in this city
occurred in the county jail — perhaps the most
unlikely place in the whole city for an im-
ported epidemic to make its first appearance.
It is also stated that the United States war-
ships encountered it in mid-ocean on their
way to Europe, and that their crews were
aflTected by it. We are afraid, however, that
this entertaining yarn was spun for the benefit
of the "marines." Whatever its source, the
mild and harmless type of the disease is a
matter for thankfulness, and, in spite of the
persistent and reprehensible sensationalism of
the daily press in regard to the matter, seri-
ous or dangerous cases have been extremely
rare.

The phenomenal weather of the present
season is amply sufficient to account for the
epidemic, even if a similar disease had not
appeared in Europe. Up to the time of writ-
ing (Jaiuiary 15th) there has been neither ice,
snow, nor frost of any consequence, and the
weather of last winter has been exactly re-
peated. Two such unusually mild winters
occuring consecutively, have never been
recorded before, and the etfect of the unsea-
sonable warmth must be very injurious to the
public health, not to mention the possibility
of a total failure of the ice-crop, the harvest-
ing of which is such an important New
England industrv.

The cause of this unusual mild weather is
hard to explain. Of course the direct csiuse
is the prevalence of warm southwesterly
winds, and the absence of the cold northwest-
erly gales which usually blow during the
winter months ; but what determines the pre-
valence of one wind over another is at present
outside the limit of our knowledge. The
story has gone the rounds of the press that

the Gulf Stream has been deflected from its
course and approached nearer to our coasts,
but such a deflection would have but very
little effect upon the climate of the sea-board,
and none at all upon that of the interior of the
country. Both our warm and cold winds
blow towards the ocean, and not from it.
Besides, it is not true that the Gulf Stream has
changed its course, and no observations have
been made which would indicate that it is flow-
ing in any other than its usual direction. We
have heard this Gulf Stream theory advanced
to explain unusually warm weather for the
last twenty years, and never with any more
basis of fact than at the present time. There
is not the slightest reason to believe that any
permanent change of climate is taking place,
and the average temperature for any long
period of years always remains about the
same.

M. MoissAN, who isolated the element
fluorine a few years ago, has succeeded in
forming an anhydrous platinum bi-fluoride
(Pt Flj), by passing a current of fluorine gas
over a bundle of platinum wires heated to
dull redness in a tube of fluor-spar. At a
bright red heat the compound is decomposed,
and the reaction gives a comparatively easy
method of obtaining fluorine. Very curiously,
a dilute solution of platinum bi-fluoride in
water may be kept for a few iniiuites with-
out decomposition. Soon, however, it breaks
up into hydrated platinic oxide, and hydro-
fluoric acid. An analogous compound of
fluorine and gold has also been obtained.

Professor Simon, of Johns Hopkins
University, has been investigating the peculiar
power possessed by a young boy in Baltimore,'
of causing heavy objects to adhere to his
fingers, when closely pressed upon them.
The nature of the substance is of no conse-
quence, but the adhesive power is greatest
when they possess a clean, dry, and smooth
surface. For this reason, the best results are
obtained with glass and polished metals. A
maximum weight of about five pounds has
been lifted in this mysterious manner. The
adhesive power is quite variable and uncertain
in its action, and a careful microscopical
examination of the boy's fingers shows no
unusual or abnormal structure of the skin.
Professor Simon, while admitting his inability
to fully explain the phenomena, which he
describes at length in a recent number of
Science, considers that they are due prin-
cipally to atmospheric pressure, and notes
several circumstances connected with their
manifestations which tend to confirm that
theory of their cause.

It has recently been discovered that sulphate
of quinine possesses the power of rendering
light non-actinic, and that a plate of white
ground glass, which has been covered with a

strong solution and allowed to dry, may be
used in the photographic lantern instead of
that of the ordinary ruby color. We have
recently seen a bromide print developed by
the non-actinic white light produced in this
manner, which was perfect in every way and
did not show the slightest trace of fogging.
If future trials show the method to be a practi-
cal one, the use of red light in photography
will become a thing of the past. We shall be
glad to hear from any of our readers who
may make a trial of this peculiar property of
the hitherto exclusively medicinal alkaloid.

»*v

Some genius out in Indiana announces that
he has discovered a process of condensing and
solidifying natural gas, so that it can be
handled like coal, and that with the aid of a
ten-horse-power engine he can reduce enough
gas in one day to supply a city of fifty thous-
and inhabitants with fuel for twenty-four
hours. The readers of the Science News
will hardly need to be reminded that this is
an impossible achievement. The composition
of natural gas is perfectly well known, and
although it is possible by expensive and com-
plicated apparatus to temporarily liquefy a
a few grains of any gas, yet the process costs
many thousand times its fuel-value, to say
nothing of the fact that as soon as the exces-
sive pressure and cold employed in the pro-
cess are removed, the gas returns at once to
its normal condition. The supply of scientific
humbugs is unceasing, and vve often wonder
what will be the next manifestation in that
direction.

Some experiments recently made by Mr.
Baynes Thomson, upon the deviation of a
pendulum when brougiit near to another
body, lead him to believe that the generally-
accepted theory of a mutual attraction of
gravitation between all masses of matter is
incorrect, and that the tendency of bodies to
approach each other must be explained on
other grounds than that of an inherent attractive
property. He suggests that the position of
two bodies in relation to each other is the
determining fiictor, in that they screen each
other from the bombardment of the molecules
of the ether. This revolutionary theory is
hardly to be accepted without further evidence.
An inherent attractive force in matter is not a
very satisfactory hypothesis to account for the
phenomena of gravitation, but it is certainly
more rational than an assumel bombardment
of the supposed molecules of a hypothetical
ether, the actual existence of which has never
been proved.

OLD PROVERBS FROM A SCIEN-
TIFIC STANDPOINT.
There is much true wisdom and scientific
observation embodied in many popular
beliefs and sayings, even when the logical con-
nections between the premises and conclu-

POPULAR SCIEIYCE ITEWS.

[February, 1890.

sions is not at first sight evident. For
instance, it was believed for many years that
the presence of barberry-bushes in the neigh-
borhood of a wheat-field had an unfavorable
effect upon the crop. This was always con-
sidered an agricultural superstition until it
was found, that, in one stage of its existence,
a fungus very destructive to wheat, takes up
its lodgment on the barberry-bush, forming
the curious growth known as the "cluster-
cups."

Sayings in regard to the weather are very
abundant, and, although in many cases, such
as the alleged influence of the moon, they
have no basis in fact, in others they are really
dependent upon well-known meteorological
laws. Many of the "weather proverbs" have
descended to us from our English ancestors,
and are not applicable to the climatic condi-
tions of the western world. Among these
are the dread of east winds, which in England
are cold, dry winds, blowing from the large
areas of land lying to the east, forming
the countries of Russia and Siberia, while
with us the east wind is a moist sea breeze,
and rarely or never has a temperature much
below the freezing-point.

A very reliable sign of stormy weather is
when the sun rises clear and shortly goes into
a cloud. This indicates the presence of rap-
idlv condensing moisture in the atmosphere,
which is likely to soon fall as rain. A lurid
color of the sky at sunrise, halos around the
sun and moon, "a rainbow in the morning,"
and the "sun drawing water" are due to the
same cause, and are all omens of stormy
weather.

The belief that if "it clears off in the night"
the fair weather will not continue, has, appar-
ently, no basis in fact, and as far as our obser-
vations go is by no means correct. Fair
weather seems to be as likely to come at one
period of the twenty-four hours as another.

Sailors say that if a storm clears with the
wind "backing round" to the north, another
storm will immediately follow. This can
be probably explained by the fact that when
the center of a cyclone or rotary storm passes
over any point, there is a temporarv calm,
after which the wind commences to blow
from the opposite direction. This sign, how-
ever, like manj' others, is by no means infal-
lible.

When the water in the tea-kettle boils away
rapidly a storm is said to be near at hand. It is
true that the low atmospheric pressure preced-
ing a storm would slightly lower the boiling-
point of water, but we do not believe that the
effect would be appreciable. It seems more
likely that in this case the common belief is:
founded more upon theoretical than practical
considerations.

The saying that "a green Christmas makes
a fat churchyard" is a popular recognition of
the unhealthfulness of a warm, open winter.
Unseasonable weather of any sort has an

unfavorable efiect upon the system, and the
ennervating effect of a high temperature in
winter, when the usual cold, bracing weather
is to be expected, is very marked.

On Candlemas day (February 2) the wood-
chuck is said to come out of his hole and
look around to see if his body casts a shadow.
If it does, he goes back for a longer sleep, but
if the sky is clouded he knows that winter is
over, and does not return to his former quar-
ters. We are afraid that in New England
the woodchuck must very often consider him-
self a victim of misplaced confidence, but
the belief may have arisen from certain
weather observations, showing that clear and
cold weather about that date was likely to
continue, and that storm and rain indicated
a more or less early breaking up of winter.

As to the January thaw, the Indian sum-
mer, the equinoctial storm, and the dog-days,
they have no existence whatever as definite
meteorological phenomena. One might as
well speak of i/ie January snow-storm, as to
consider any particular period of mild
weather in that month a special and regular
occurrence. These periods of hot, cold, or
stormy weather, may occur at any time within
their appropriate seasons, but do not recur in
successive years with any regularity what-
ever, and they can only be foretold on the
principle of the old-fasiiioned almanacs,
whose predictions of a — storm — may — be —
expected — about — this — time, extended over
an entire month.

As to the influence of the changes of the
moon, the spots on the sun, the markings of
the breast-bone of a goose, and many other
similar signs and wonders, upon the changes
of the weather, or other terrestrial phenom-
ena, they must be considered as superstitions
pure aiul simple, without any basis whatever,
either in scientific theory or actual fact. It is
remarkable how much faith ordinarily intelli-
gent people will place on these signs, which
every day experience shows to be utterly un-
reliable, and it can only be accounted for by
the fact that the failures are quickly forgotten,
while the occasional coincidences are care-
fully remembered and handed down to suc-
ceeding generations. The natural forces and
laws governing the weather are entirely irreg-
ular in their action, and there is no possible
way in which the state of the weather can be
predicted for more than forty-eight hours in
advance, and even for that length of time the
conspicuous failures of the government "in-
dications" show how little is really known
about the matter and how suddenly the con-
ditions governing meteorological phenomena
may change the manner of their manifestation.

the front, it presented no unusual appearance,
but, when placed before a large mirror, the
reflection from the back of the statue showed
the image of Marguerite's lover, Faust,
standing, apparently, just behind her.

This remarkable effect was obtained by
ingeniously carving the features and figure of
Faust in the back of the original statue. The
face was formed by the hair of the statue, and
the same arms answered for both figures, in
one case being held in front, and in the other

crossed behind the back. The folds of the
robe of Marguerite at the back were modelled
so as to form the figure of I'''aust, and it is to
be noted that the illusion was only perfect
when viewed in a mirror. If the back of the
statue was observed directly, the secondary
figure was not so evident. The statue is a
most remarkable example of the sculptor's
art, and indicates an unusual amount of artis-
tic and mechanical talent.

A DOUBLE STATUE.
Among the curiosities at the Paris Exposi-
tion was a statue representing the legendary
German heroine Marguerite. Viewed from

[Speciiil Correspondence oi Popular Scifwe Ncws.\

PARIS LETTER.
Scientific travellers are the lions of the day, and
much interest is exhibited in the results of the vari-
ous expeditions conducted in the heart of the black
continent by different. travellers. Stanley brings us
the results of three gears' experience, and, although
he has been enabled to accomplish his journey
under the most favorable circumstances and with
the best equipment which could be provided, he
still deserves much credit for his courage. When,
however, he speaks of continuing Livingstone's
work in Africa, he excites some wonder among
those who know the moral character of the great
pioneer of civilization in Africa, and have been able
to see how very much the temper of both men are
dissemblant. Unfortunate Camille Uouls, a verv
young African explorer, has just met with his end.
Captain Binger has just returned from his excursion
on the Niger, and brings back many important
facts; on the other hand. Captain Trivier, a jour-
nalist and traveller, has, alone, and without any
army of men and luggage, achieved a very hand-
some feat, crossing Africa from west to east in
less than a year, from Congo State to Mozambique,
after crossing the lake region, which he found to be

Vol. XXIV. No. 2.]

POPULAE SCIEN"CE NEW?5.

much agitated in consequence of Stanley's recent
passage with liis army. All these travellers will
surely, Fmin Pasha being the most prominent, give
us a large amount of information concerning the
numerous terras incognitas of the old African conti-
nent. All Europe is looking to this part of the
world, and most nations are struggling to secure
the largest and best part of the cake. Concerning
the •' cake," we must remind our readers that a very
successful African explorer. Captain Victor Girand
of the French navy, has just published a book
which is full of information as to the lake region of
Africa. He visited the lakes in 1883-1885, and has
summed up his experiences in a very interesting
work, where information and adventure are mixed
in a very palatable manner, and filled with very
good engravings. M. Girand's (Les Lacsde I'Afrique
Equatoriole, Hachette) meets with a large success,
in consequence of the interest which belongs to all
works pertaining to Africa. Concerning travels,
we have two good works ; the one by A. Mellion,
on the Deserts of Mongolia, Arabia, Africa, and
South America (/,e />sert),and the other by Capus,
on the Pamir region (/,« toU du Monde.) I merely
mention these books, both of which are very valu-
able to geographic and general readers.

.\n interesting experiment has been made in
Paris during the exhibition. It is known that a
special pavilion was devoted to ostreiculture and
pisciculture, and that a large number of marine
animals were kept in life during the exhibition, not-
withstanding the temperature. In 1878, the same
thing had been done, but the expenses for sea-water
brought by rail from the Channel, were enormous:
they reached some ten thousand dollars, and in
1S89 it was decided that unless some cheaper process
could be invented, the marine exhibition should not
be attempted. So experiments were maile to con-
coct an arlifical sea-water, and they met with full
success. The water was made as follows: In 3000
litres of river-water, were dissolved 79 kilogrammes
of chloride of sodium, 11 of chloride of magnesium,
3 of chloride of potassium, 5 of sulphate of magne-
sium, and 2 of sulphate of calcium, — sum total, 100
kilogrammes of the different salts for 3cxx) litres of
water. The whole expense did not exceed four
hundred dollars, and the result was quite as satis-
factory as if real sea-water had been used.

The agricultural exhibit of the United States
attracted a great deal of attention from the part of
specialists here, and many were most enthusiastic
over it. Among these persons, and among those
who are most competent and well fitted for
delivering a competent opinion, is M. Grandeau,
whose name is certainly well known to the United
States agricultural delegates. M. Grandeau, in his
recently published fourth volume of the Etudea Ay-
rononiiijues, which he regularly issues at this time
of the year, devotes the largest part of his book to
the agricultural exhibitions of the United States and
of the other countries, and the American agricul-
turists will certainly have much pleasure in reading
M. Grandeau's papers and comments, and will de-
rive therefrom much benefit. Being well read on
foreign agriculture, M. Grandeau already perceives
how much remains to be done in France to secure
better crops, and how much must be done to teach
the agriculturists, especially the small farmers, that
their ways are erroneous and must be altered in
conformity to the discoveries of science. M. Gran-
deau has done a great deal in this useful line, and is
now begining a series of publications on the matter;
cheap and clearly written papers, untechnical, and
easy of comprehension for the average, and rather
dull brain of the small farmer and peasant. The
I'etite Encyclopidie Agricole meets a positive demand.
During the latter part of December, Paris, as well

as the remainder of France and a greater part ' of the needle. The wind freshened after dark, and
of Europe, has been visited by an epidemic of , by midnight was blowing a hurricane from the S. S.
generally mild character, a sort of influenza, which ; E., which lasted for several hourf , the wind hauling
spread everywhere and upon almost everybody. In from the S. S. E. to the N. W. through the W.
some cases the disease has been fatal, when it came The squalls were fierce and incessant, striking the
upon persons of weak disposition; in some cases it water with such fury that the whole surface of the
has assumed a very marked malignant character, , ocean seemed to be lifted up and flung on to the

killing generally through pneumonia. Is there
some microbe underlying the disease? It seems
likely enough, judging from the symptoms and ex-
tension of the disease. At all events, the spreading

land in clouds of spray. Houses shook, windows
and doors were blown in, trees and plants uprooted
and broken, and leaves torn off or left hanging in
ribbons; and, as no rain fell to wash" away the salt.

of the influenza — if it really is influenza — has been i every green thing was burned or scorched, and the

much favored by the mild and unhealthy tempera-
ture at the end of the year, which has followed the
brisk frosts of the end of November.

Concerning microbes, I wish to say a word of an
interesting experiment recently conducted by M.
Charrin. This distinguished young bacteriologist
has shown that if blood serum of a normal animal

whole island on the nth looked as if a fierce fire had
swept over it in the night.

The above account of this storm, which occurred
at nearly the same date with similar ones all around
the globe, was given me by Miss Alice Dabney, of
Fayal, who witnessed it all. Rgaching Fayal Oct.
1st, it has been exceedingly interesting to observe

and of a vaccinated animal be used for the purpose | the results of the violent defoliation of vegetation

of cultivating the bacillus of the disease (pyocyanic
disease in M. Charrin's experiments) a very marked
difference is noticed in the behavior of the two cul-
tures. In the serum of the vaccinated animal, the

by the salt spray. After a brief rest, most of the
plants seemed to recover from their surprise, and
began to push new leaves ; but they seemed unable
to stop there, for many, forgetting it was winter.

development of the bacillus is much more difficult went on to develop new shoots and flowers, and soon

and slow than in the serum of the non-vaccinated
animal. It therefore seems that vaccination exerts
some direct influence on the blood and renders it
unfavorable to the life and growth of the bacillus.
This fact is a very important one, and one may
expect that the chemical study of the serum may fur-
nish some facts which will help to account for the
mechanism of immunity.

Zoologists will be much interested in learning
that the scientific results of the campaign of Prince
Albert of Monaco are now being published in a
series of very handsomely printed large quarto vol-
umes. The Prince, it is known, has been for the
past year engaged in the study of oceanic currents in
the Northern Atlantic, and of the marine fauna of
this part of the world. The results now obtained
are numerous enough, and the publication is a
timely one. The Prince is to prosecute his re-
searches, and a steam yacht is being built for this
purpose.

Anatomical work seems to meet with much favor
in France. Two important German treatises have
recently been translated in French : Gegenbauer's
Human Anatomy, and Krause's Human Anatomy.
A third work is now being published on the subject
by a Frenchman, Prof Debierre, of Lille.

Prof Deslougchamps, a well known geologist of
Caen, died a few days ago. The teaching of geology
is going to be somewhat changed in the course of
the next few years, as many aged professors are to
retire and be replaced by younger men. The result
will not prove unfavorable to science generally,
as many of the present professors are too old to give
much of their time to orginal work, and live on
their past reputation. H.

Paris, Dec. 24, 1889.

_**,

[Oriuiual in Popular Science Xewjt.]
INTERESTING RESULTS OF DEFOLIATION
OF PLANTS IN THE AZORES BY A
CYCLONE.

BY EDWARD G. HOWE.

On the night of September lo-ii a severe cyclone
•truck Fayal and the other islands belonging to the

' central part of the Azorian group. The weather on

: the loth had been unsettled, showery, and cloudy,
but there was no indication of the approaching
storm, beyond the falling of the barometer. The
mercury continued to fall steadily throughout the

I day, and, as night set in, it fell very rapidly — in an
hour and a half dropping 30-100, finally reaching

i 29.19°, >>hen several persons noticed the quivering

set fruit. The new- leaves seemed normal in shape
and texture, but pale and small, frequently only in
tufts at the ends of the branches. The blossoms —
which, added to the usual blooms of the season,
made the gardens very delightful — were often re-
markably fine and numerous, but seemed to lack
substance, fading soon when gathered nnd dropping
early without setting fruit, although bees, butter-
flies, and moths seemed numerous enough for those
needing aid in fertilization. But while this was
true of individual blossoms, the process seemed so
hampered by the unprepared state of the plants, that
new blossoms have continued to struggle along for
sixty days. Notable examples of this have been the
judas-tree, peach, apple, grape, eucalyptus, and
paulownia. Should anyone desire further details, I
shall be happy to furnish them on application.
Fayal, Azores, Nov. 30, 1S89.

[SpcciiiUy Observed for rnpular Science Xtwit.]

METEOROLOGY FOR DECE.MBER, 18S9,
WITH REVIEW OF THE YEAR.

TB&>:'ERATUKE.

AVBRAOE TlIEHMOMKTKR.

-M 7 A. M 32.SI'

At a I'. M 4' .8;"

At 9 p. M 35.74*

Whole Month .... 36.81*

Lowest, I Highest. Range.

53-
61*

Last 19 Decembers

33.97*

S 21. i9*

j in 1S76.

36.81*
in iS8o.

Year iSSy S0.4.*'

Last ly Years .... 47.66* j

i-H \ 89* j.io

j 45-15
i in 1S75.

in 1SS9.

'S-5»"

9''

5 ■2;'

The present December has been a remarkable
month, being the warmest on my record for the last
nineteen years; and the year, also, has been a
remarkable year, being the warmest during the
same period, as shown in the above table. The
lowest point reached by the mercury the last month
was lo*^ ajjove zero, on the 4th, and this was also
the coldest day, with an average of 14°. The 14th
and 15th were the next coldest, each averaging 22°.
The highest point reached was 6i", on Christmas
day, making an unusually warm Christmas, with an
average of 51-33°. The 9th was the warmest day of
the month, averaging 53°. Eight days toward the
close of the month — 19th to 26th — averaged 42.33°,
ranging from 30° to 61°, and fell below the freezing-
point but twice, at the hours of observation, — and
this approaching mid-winter I The entire month

POPULAR SCIEN'CE NEWS.

[February, 1890.

was 7.84° above the average in the last nineteen |
Decembers, and only 1.77° below the average of
November, while the average difference between
these two months is 951°. Five Novembers in
nineteen vears have been colder than the present
December.

The temperature of the entire year was 2.76°
above the average of the last nineteen years, which
is an excess equivalent to 1007. 4*^ during the year.
The lowest point reached during the last year was
— 2°, February 24th, and the highest 89°, May loth.
The lowest point in nineteen years was — 20°, Janu-
ary 30th, 1873, and the highest 95'-', July 4th, 1S73, —
a range of uj°. The lowest yearly range was 84°,
in 1S77, and the highest 113'^, in 1873.

SKY.

The face of the sliy the last month, in 93 observa-
tions, gave 50 fair, 16 cloudy, iS overcast, 6 rainy,
and 3 snowy, — a percentage of 53.8 fair, while the
average fair in nineteen Decembers has been just
50, with extremes of 40.9 in 1887, and 75 3 in 1877.
Only two Decembers have been moro fair than the
present, though several have been nearly the same.
The mornings of the nth and 19th were noted
foggy. The last half of the month was generally
fine and warm — more like autumn or spring than
winter. "What remarkable weather for the sea-
son," was a frequent observation. On the morning
of the 27th, at about 3 o'clock, a beautiful aurora
was noticed in the northeast, resembling, however,
more the break of day than the ordinary northern
lights, as it was a steady light, destitute of stream-
ers, extending four or five points in the horizon,
and rising 25° to 30° upward, and gradually shading
off into the blue sky. It continued for an hour or
more.

It will be seen by the table below tliat the entire
year has been less fair, and, con.sequently, more
cloudy, than usual, and that this cloudiness extended
through the year, except the three winter months.
Two of these months — January and December-
were remarkably warm, and nearly destitute of
snow.

PRECIl'IlATION.

The amount of precipitation the past month,
including about 5 inches of snow melted, was 2.97
inches, wliile the average amount during the last
twenty-one Decembers has been 3.96, with extremes
of 73 in 1875, and 7. 89 in 18S4. The precipitation
came in small quantities, principally on nine differ-
ent days, well distributed. The first snow of the
season fell on the 3d — only about half an inch. On
the 14th about 4'!! inches f.-U, giving two days of
very imperfect sleighing. On the i8th the snow
had entirely disappeared, and so continues until the
present. The ground has much of the time been so
free from frost, that plowing and other farm work
need not be hindered.

Th^ amount of precipitation the last year has
been 57 32 inches, while the average yearly amount
for twenty-one years has been 47.11, with the
remarkable extremes of only 32.26 inches in 1883,
and 64 40 in 1888, — a range of 32.14 inches. The
amount of the present year has been exceeded but
twice in twenty-one years — in 1878 and 1888. The
amount of snowfall the past year has been remark-
ably small, only 17V2 inches, and this fell entirely
on the first three and last months of the year.

PRESSURE.

The average pressure the last month was 30.068
inches, with extremes of 29.30 on the 26th, and
30.75 on the 31st, — a range of 1.45 inches. The
average for the last sixteen Decembers has been
29.959 inches, with extremes of 29 804 in 1876, and
30.073 in 1879, — a range of .269 inch. The sum of
the daily variations was 8.86 inches, giving an

average daily movement of .286 inch, while this
average the last sixteen Decembers has been .263,
with extrenies of .190 and .329. The largest daily
movements w-ere .53 on the 25th, and .52 on the
nth, downward, and .50 on the 27th and 30th,
upward ; on four other days the movements were
.42 to .46, showing large barometric waves. The
month closed with a very high barometer, 30 75, the
highest point, with one exception, in sixteen years.
December i, 1887, it reached 3080. The lowest
point rtached during this period was 28. 70, in
November, 1873, — a range of 2.10 inches. The
mercury has fallen below 29 inehes but five times in
sixteen years.

The average yearly pressure in sixteen years has
been 29 948 inches, with extremes of 29.891 in 1880,
and 29.993 in 1883, — a range of .102 inch. The
average daily movement in the sixteen years has
been .184 inch, with extremes of .158 in 1877, and
.2n in 1887.

Direction of the Winds, com-
bined from 8 Points.

'—■ V- '-^ 'O ""«- '^ "tT 'ov ">o "« "n '•»■
^ \n xn '» Nin— ^— f^vj
'10 %. % ":? 00 t^ V V) So V- w^ %

. 1

ZZ^izZ.'i'nuiZZ^Z

Hi's K!S>!S?"5~S-S^3:^S-
°5 V ft °i- ■'■ "8 "S" 1:? "'^ r V "2-

+ +|-|-|-f--f-l--f -f-l-

a '

3;-ffS'!f£-S"8.S,CifS!8;

roNo'dddwioMoJo

+ 1 1 l-l-l-t--f-l-l-fl

-f

00 P» ^«JfO(<! dv^"^roiO«

q q\q»o- "^m^*:^ «*-o«5

+ + \ 1 iTTiTTT-i-

q i;.q\D\q « ^'^", C)\«oo

t^d rJ)ir)— ' fi — ^ — J N ^

<4-r>.— — "(}-c5 — (^M^d -^

le"

-f-

i
0.

Ji, -j:. S < s S. ^ <: rf, y. a

The direction of the wind, in 93 observations, the
last month gave 14 N., o S., 4 E., 28 W., 8 N. E.,
25 N. W., 2 S. E., and 12 S. W., — an excess of 33
northerly and 51 westerly over the southerly and
easterly, and indicating the average direction to
have been W. 32° 54' N. The westerly winds in
December have uniformly prevailed over the east-
erly for the last twenty years, by an average of
54.95 observations, and the northerly over the

southerly, with two exceptions, by an average of
19 40, — thus indicating the approximate general
average of December to be W. 19° 27' N., and show-
ing the direction of the past month to have been
13° 27' more northerly than usual. The relative
progressive distance travelled by the wind the past
month was 60.74 units, and during the last twenty
Decembers 1,166 such units, an average of 58.30, —
showing less opposing winds than usual for De-
cember.

The direction of the wind, observed three times
daily for twenty years, five being leap years, has
required 21,915 observations, distributed as follows:
2,599 N., 1,606 S., 1,867 E., 5,192 W., 1,716 N.E.,
4,073 N. W., 722 S. E., and 4,140 S. W.,— giving an
excess of 1,920 northerly and 9,100 westerly over the
southerly an"d easterly, and indicating, approxi-
mately, the grand average direction of all the
months for twenty years to have been W. 11° 55' N.,
or almost exactly one point N., or, as sailors would
say, " W. by N."

The accompanying table is worthy of careful ex-
amination, as it contains the combined results of
over 75,000 observations, carefully computed and
clearly arranged. These observations have become
so numerous that the averages now secured give
quite a reliable standard of the weather for this
locality, in regard to the five aspects observed. The
unusual high temperature for the last year, e. g.,
raised the general average only sixteen hundredths
of a degree. So in regard to the other divisions.
The table is sufficiently clear without further expla-
nation. D. W.

Natick, Jan. 8, 1S90.

[Specially Computed for Populxr Sctetice A'««w.]

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR
FEBRUARY, iSyo.
MiiRruRY is a morning star throughout ihe
month, and is far enough away from the sun to be
seen during most of the latter half of the month.
It attains greatest western elongation on February
23, and is then nearly 27° west of the sun; but, as it
is at the same time nearly 10° south, it rises only
about an hour and a quarter before the sun. Venus
passes superior conjunction with the sun on Febru-
ary 18, and changes from a morning to an evening
star. It will remain an evening star for a little
more than nine months, or until December 3, when
it passes inferior conjunction and becomes a morn-
ing star. During the month it will be too near the
sun to be easily seen, and at the end will be only 3°
distaht. Mars is getting into better position for
observation. It is in quadrature w-ith the sun on
February 9, and rises a little before i A. M. on Feb-
ruary I, and just after midnight on February 28. It
is moving eastward in the constellations Libra and
Scorpio, and at the end of the month is only about
2° west of .Ssto Scorpii. This distance will be still
smaller in March, as the planet passes within 8'
of the star. The actual distance in miles of the
planet from the earth is rapidly diminishing. On
February i it is I34,ooo,oo»; on February 28 it is
109,000,000. At its nearest approach (on June 4)
the distance will be about 48,000,000 — only about
one-third of what it is on Februarv i. Tupiter is
now a morning star, and rises about an hour before
the sun on February i and about an hour and three-
quarters before on February 28. It is moving east-
ward from the constellation Sagittarius into Capri-
corn. Saturn is in the constellation Leo, and is in
good position for observation. It is in opposition
with the sun on February 18, and rises at 6h. 33m.
P. M. on February i. At the end of the month it
rises before sunset. During the month it moves
westward about 2° toward the first magsitude star
Regulus {Alpha Leonis), and at the end of the

Vol. XXIV. No. 2.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEAVS.

month is about 2^ east of the star. Uranus is in the
constellation Virgo, and is moving slowly westward.
Neptune is in the constellation Taurus, and is in
quadrature with the sun on the morning of Feb-
ruary 20.

Tin Consiellations. — The poiitiont given are for
lo P. M. February 1,9?. M. February 15, and 8 P.
M. Feb. 28. Gemini is near the zenith, the princi-
pal stars, Castor and Pollux, being a little south and
east. Canis Minor, with the first magnitude star
Procyon, it on the meridian to the south ; and
below that is Canis Major, with Sirius, the brightest
of the fixed stars. Cancer is just east of Gemini,
and Leo is about halfway from the eastern horizon
to the zenith, while Virgo is just rising in the east.
Ursa Major is high up in the northeast, and Bootes
i» below it on the horizon. Ursa Minor and Draco
lie principally to the east and below the pole star.
Cassiopeia is in the northwest, about the same alti-
tude as the pole star. Just west of the zenith is
Auriga; below this and a little to the north of west
is Perseus; and Andromeda is near the horizon,
below Perseus. Taurus, with the groups of Pleiades
and Hyades, is a little south of west, and below it
are Aries and Pisces. Orion is about halfway be-
tween Taurus and the southern meridian, the prin-
cipal stars being at a little lower altitude than those
of Taurus. M.

L.\KE Forest, III., Jan. i, 1890.

C^JESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Letters of inquiry should enclose a two-cent
stamp, as well as the name and address of the wri-
ter, which will not be published.

Questions regarding the treatment of diseases
cannot be answered in this column.

G. R. A.., Missouri. — If water is cooled it contracts
till a temperature of 39.2° is reached, and then
expand.s to the freezing-point. Now if the resulting
ice is cooled, does it contract, or continue to expand?

Anstver. — After water is once frozen, the ice acts
like any other solid body, and contracts as the tem-
perature diminishes.

G. B. D,, Cambridge. — How can sulphur be
detected in spring water.'

Answer. — A regular analysis is the only means of
detecting small amounts, but the odor of sul-
phuretted h.ydrogen gas — the usual form in which it
occurs — is the best test for any appreciable quantity.
This gas has a very offensive odor, similar to that
of rotten eggs. Or, you may add a few drops of
solution of acetate of lead, and note if a dark dis-
coloration or precipitate is produced, indicating the
presence of sulphur. These tests should be made at
the spring, as the gas rapidly escapes from the
water when exposed to the air.

A. P. H., Maine. — Next to the diamond, what is
the purest form of carbon .'

Answer. — A well-made lampblack is almost chem-
ically pure carbon, containing only a small quantity
of hydrocarbon compounds.

G. D. N., Alabama. — Can you give a formula cf
cliemicals to be dissolved in water, and kept in
bottles for the purpose of extinguishing fires.'

Answer. — Common water is the best of all sub-
stances for extinguishing fire, and the addition of
chemicals adds very little to its efficiency. You can
use common salt or alum in the water, but they will
not be of much use.

D. L. P., Boston. — Hydrogen gas is occasionally
formed in steam and hot water radiators, from the
decomposition of the water by the iron. The
inflammable gas, which was blown out of the air-
valve of your radiator, was doubtless due to that
cause.

B. J. C, Chicago. — Hydrogen gas has been lique-
fied, but it requires a pressure of 10,000 pounds to
the square inch, and a temperature of 220° below
zero. It forms a blue liquid, which,- by the cold
produced by its own evaporation, may be frozen for
an instant, to a solid with a metallic lustre, thus con-
firming the theory that hydrogen is a fai»«ou« m«t«l,
just as morcury is a liqufd ont.

LITERARY NOTES.

The National Medical Dictionary , by John S. Bil-
lings, A. M., M. D. Two volumes. Published
by Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia.
This most comprehensive work furnishes to stu-
dents and practitioners of medicine a clear and con-
cise definition of every medical term in current use
in English, French, German, and Italian medical
literature, including the Latin medical terminology.
Dr. Billings has had the collaboration of numerous
specialists, and the result has been the most com-
plete work of the kind ever published, and one that
will be of the greatest service to all persons con-
nected with the medical profession. Numerous
tables of food values, expectation of life, weights
and measures, and many others, add to the value of
the work.

A Text-Book of Assaying, by C. & J. J. Beringer.

Published by J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.

This text-book includes all the principal wet and
dry methods of assaying, and also gives directions
for the determination of many of the rarer elements,
as well as those which have a commercial value.
In drawing the line between "assaying" and
"analysis," the authors have always given the
benefit of the doubt, thus adding to the complete-
ness and value of the work.

Evolution, published by James H. West, 192 Sum-
mer street, Boston, ($2.00), is a compilation of
various popular lectures and discussions before the
Brooklyn Ethical Association. It is a systematic,
concise, and comprehensive presentation in popular
form of the foundation and theory of evolution, and
should be read by all interested in the subject,
whether from a biological, sociological, or philo-
sophical standpoint.

A. S. Barnes & Co., Of New York and Chicago,
publish a revised edition of Wood's Lessons in the
Structure, Life, and Growth of Plants, edited by
Oliver R. Willis. ($1.00.) Dr. Wood's works on
botany have always ranked with the best, and the
present edition, fully revised and brought down to
date, will be found a valuable text-book for classes,
and also suited for botanical amateurs taking up the
study by themselves.

P. Blakiston, Son & Co., Philadelphia, announce
Ostrom's Massage and Swedish Movements, Bevan on
Mental Diseases, and [fumphry's Manual for Nurses.
They will also continue to publish the Ophthalmic
Review, under the new editorship of Dr. Edward
Jackson, of Philadelphia, assisted by a large number
of eminent English and American ophthalmologists.

*<H

Herbaceous Grafting. — Annuals, or herba-
ceous plants, belonging to the same genus or natu-
ral family, says the American Agriculturist, will
adhere and grow on each other as readily as do
woody plants. Thus, a cauliflower will grow on a
cabbage, a tomato on a potato, or vice versa. The
garden cucumber will grow on the wild vines of the
same family which are sometimes used for covering
arbors. And these grow to an extraordinary length,
while the garden cucumber seldom exceeds six or
eight feet. This knowledge of grafting annuals
may be utilized and made profitable, especially when
the potato is forced to ripen seed by engrafting or
inarching on the tomato. Cucumbers may be
grown on a high trellis, or around the upper-story
windows of any building, by training one of the
wild cucumber vines — either Sicyos angulatus, the
single-seeded or star cucumber vine, or the Echino-
cystes or wild balsam apple, either of which grows
fifty or sixty feet in a single season — up to the de-
sired height. This is easily done by sowing cucum-
ber seed of any of the'garden varieties in a flower
pot, and, when the plant is six or eight inches high,
joining it to one of these wild vines when it has
reached the desired height. Merely scraping the
bark of each and tying them firmly together with
any soft material is sufficient. They will unite in
about ten or twelve days, or sooner, and produce
fruits at a height to which the garden cucumber
oould never attain. I

n^edicirje arjd Pljaripacy.

[Original in I'oputar Science Xeu!».'\
WARTS.

It seems highly proper to devote a few moments
to the consideration of these exceedingly common,
decidedly unsightly, and often very obstinate,
growths; and they more especially appeal for path-
ological and surgical consideration, since the various
methods of treatment suggested b^' housewives and
others, frequently fail to produce any effect upon
the offending growths, or, by appearing to remove
them, establish a suitable nidus for the growth of
superstition in the minds of the credulous; while in
not a few instances means are employed for their
removal which, while accomplishing this end, pro-
duce scars quite as unsightly as the warts themselves.

Warts, or technically speaking, verruca, are pa-
pillary excrescences of the true skin, due to hyper-
trophy and elongation of its papilla", together with
hypertrophy of the epidermis, or scarf-skin. They
occur on nearly all parts of the body, though the
fingers and the hands are their favorite seats. When
the papilla; are prominent and their dermal cover-
ing so arranged as to render them distinct to the
naked eye, the wart presents a split or lobulated
appearance, and receives the name of "seed-wart,"
or verruca lobosa.

The cause of these growths is unknown. A warty
state of the skin is often produced in those who
continually expose their hands to irritating fluids,
or hot surfaces, or even to long continued friction,
but this condition of the skin so plainly caused by
one's occupation gives no clue whatsoever to the
cause of the spontaneous growths so frequently
found on hands, as well as other portions of the
body, not thus exposed. Common warts are well
known to form much more frequently in children
and young subjects than in old persons. That they
are contagious is exceedingly doubtful. •

Various means are employed for the removal of
these offenders. Many need no treatment whatever,
undergoing spontaneous involution and disappear-
ing as mysteriously as they came. These are the
warts which yield so readily to the ridiculous
methods of treatment which have originated in
superstition and ignorance; That "charms" acting
through the mind have no effect upon the excres-
cences, we are not prepared to say. Carpenter be-
lieved that they did thus in some instances produce
their disappearance, and cited a case in one of his
physiological works ; and although we have met
with persons who have told us that their warts dis-
appeared in a week, after they had counted them
and buried in the garden as many pieces of meat as
there were warts, and others who were relieved of
their warts by touching each one with a piece of
brown paper which they afterwards threw over their
lefl shoulder at sunset, we have also met with in-
finitely more with whom all charms have failed, and
we are inclined to be quite as skeptical as Dr. John
Mason Good, who in his Study of Medicine savs,
"they (warts) often disappear spontaneously, and
hence are sometimes supposed to be charmed away."
What, then, are the means by which these growths
can be destroyed.' These are the ligature, the
knife, caustics, and the cautery. Of these methods,
the first two are probably the best, but even they
are not to be recommended in most cases. The
application of a ligature can only be effected when
the wart is pedunculated, and the slow tightening of
the loop is at the best a painful process, while warts
thus removed are quite apt to recur. However, if
the pedicle is narrow, and especially if the growth
be upon the face or neck, il may be "advisable ti>
attempt its removal by means of a silk ligature.

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[Fe bruary, 1890.

The removal of warts b\- excision with some sharp
instrument, as a razor or bistoury, was formerly
much practiced, and is still the method of treatment
employed by a few. It is, however, not usually to
• be advised, even though it may appear to be a
rational plan of treatment. The wound produced
bv the sharp instrument employed for the excision,
usually heals at once without producing any degen-
eration of the roots of the papilla; and deeper struc-
tures, and these by continuing to enlarge and
elongate, in not a few instances soon elevate their
heads quite as high above the surface of the skin as
they were previous to excision. Although the vital-
ity of these excrescences is usually not very great,
still considerable hemorrhage may be caused by thus
cutting the enlarged vessels of the papillae. We
would, however, recommend excision of peduncu-
lated warts, occurring upon the eyelids and other
portions of the face, and the excision should be
thus performed : Traction should be made upon
the growth with a pair of forceps applied to its
free extremity, and it is then snipped oft' as low as
possible with a pair of curved scissors. For these
warts this treatment is usually quick, thorough, and
causes but momentary pain.

Warts can be destroyed by caustics, and although
this is the plan of treatment most universally re-
commended, and is, in fact, quite efficacious, still it
has serious disadvantages and can in no way com-
pete with a form of treatment yet to be described.
The application of caustics is often attended with
much pain, their action is exceedingly slow, they
discolor the tissues to which they are applied, and,
what is of more consequence, they not only destroy
the wart, but when applied in sufficient strength and
amount to accomplish this end, they also invade
and destroy the surrounding tissues, thus producing
a wound which in healing almost invariably leaves
an extensive scar. If, however, the treatment by
caustics is adopted, let them be properly applied.
Pare down the wart with a sharp knife to the level
of the surrounding skin and then apply some strong
caustic,— as the nitrate of silver stick, or nitric,
muriatic, or glacial acetic acid, — repeating the appli-
cation daily until the wart is destroyed. Care
should be taken not te apply the caustic to the nor-
mal tissues.

These growths may also be destroyed by the gal-
vano-cautery, or even the actual cautery, but in the
experience of the writer, by far the best way of re-
moving all ordinary warts is by means of the der-
mal curette, or " sharp spoon." A rather large
sized instrument should be employed. Its edge
should be forced deeply around the base of the wart,
which usually comes away with the production of
but little pain and scarcely any bleeding, leaving a
clean ulcer, which soon heals over, so as to form a
smooth and uniform surface. By this means a
large number of warts can be removed at one sitting.
This is a favorite method of most dermatologists,
and we could easily cite numerous cases which have
been under our own personal observation, to prove
its efficacy. After the use of the curette, the result-
ing ulcers may be touched with the lunar caustic
stick, or otherwise stimulated, but this will usually
be unnecessary, as the curette itself usually produces
sufficient irritation to the roots of the over-nourished
papillae to cause their entire absorption. In default
of the dermal curette, these growths may well be
removed by means of a stout pair of dressing for-
ceps — such as is to be found in every complete sur-
geon's pocket-case. The wart is firmly grasped
from above with the forceps, and twisted from its
base. The therapeutical treatment of the common
warts is so uncertain that we may dismiss it without
further consideration. Dr. Verco reports a case in
which a severe crop of these growths disappeared

rapidly during a sea voyage, but we can quote nu-
merous cases in which they have persisted under
similar circumstances. J. H. E.

*»*

[Original in Popular Sei*ht€ ^ w«.J
A SIMPLP: WATER STILL.

BY EPHRAIM CUTTER, M. I).

When one lifts the cover of a dinner pot or wash
boiler, the amount of hot water that will drip from
the cover is noticeable. Now this water is con-
densed steam.

The idea struck the writer, why not utilize this
for procuring pure water for drinking use in places
where the natural water is not potable, i. e.. alkaline
or salt.

Acting on this hint I made a sketch of a device to
do this for a patient who went to live at Malad
City, Idaho, where the water was alkaline, three
years ago. I tested it at home on -the kitchen range
and it worked well. It was also tested with success
in 1889, in London, at 119 New Bond street.

DESCRIPTIOX OF THE STILL.

(A) Does away with the worm. (B) With the
condensing water. (C) Condenses by air which as
fast as heated passes off". (D) A reservoir of
tinned iron, 18x9 inches, with tight top, which fits
into a kettle.

At the bottom is soldered a flange of tin flaring
upwards. At B is a tube to lead off the water
that condenses inside and runs down the sides.

The drops of distilled water are aerated during
their fall through the air to receptacle, and becomes
palatable, unlike ordinary distilled water, which
goes from the still into the receptable without con-
tact with the atmosphere.

Fig. I. One eighteenth actual size — is a section
of the apparatus made in London to show the prin-
ciple. A B B' is a tin cylinder, 9 inches in diameter,
and 18 inches high, covered with a conical tight
cap. D is camp kettle — any common pot or kettle
will answer. E is a handle. F F' is a flange to fit
the kettle or pot as seen in any cover to a dinner
pot. C C is another flange liWe F F', turned upside
down, so that water condensed on the inside,
A B B', and rnnning down, may collect and run
into a receptacle, H. The use is clear. Put water
bad as it may be in the camp kettle D. Set on
stove, range, or fire, so that when ABB' is put on
the kettle the tube B G may come oyer the recep-
tacle II. Then have a gentle fire so that steam will
not issue from G. Pure distilled water will soon
drip from G, which will be whole-oome to drink.
XEW POINTS OP THIS APPARATUS.

I. It does away with a worm and cold water for
condenser. It is found that there is a current of air

from all sides cooling the condenser, A B B', enough
to give with this apparatus five pints in ten hours.

2. The distilled water of the chemist is known to
be brackish, but this is due to the distillate being
discharged in closed, or comparatively closed, ves-
sels. In the present case the water in drops falls
through the air, arid this pre.sents a large surface to
the atmosphere, Avith the practical result of an
aerated water like that of a spring.

3. The material shnuld be tinned iron, — not
zinc, which distills zinc oxide, — or may be of
enamelled ware, glass, porcelain, crockery, clay,
potter^', etc.

4. Variations. — Take a dinner pot, remove cover
to it and fit a tin cylinder to cover eighteen inches
long; at the other end put flanges and tube as above,
and this will also do the work. The apparatus may
be made coUapsibla, like the collapsible drinking
cup. Liquids of a less boiling-point that water can
also be distilled with this device, for example,
alcohol.

Water produced by this process will be pure and
clear as crystal. The importance of .purified water
is great. The late Consul General of Japan in the
United States, Mr. S. K. Takahashi, told me that
when cholera in Japan carried off thousands, none
of the Chinese died of it. He thought this immu-
nity was due to their drinking-water always being
boiled and filtered. The highest medical official of
the British army told me that when he had rain-
water, boiled and filtered, his health did not suffer,
while ordinary water would make him feel unwell.

1130 Bro.\dway, New York.

*.>v

CHLORIDE OF AMMONIUM IN WINTER
COUGH.

Dr. William Murrell, of London, possesses
high scientific attainments combined with a rare tal-
ent for getting up a new cough remedy every year.
Terebene, apomorphia, sirup of tar, have all been
recommended as marvels of therapeutic utility.
For the coming winter. Dr. Murrell proposes to
give us chloride of ammonium inhalations. This is
not a new thing, but it is served in a little different
style. Dr. Murrell, however, does not depart en-
tirely from his earlier loves, for he usually employs
the chloride of ammonium vapors as a vehicle for
using terebene, sandal-oil, or some other balsamic
compound.

We rejoice to see that Dr. Murrell possesses not
only an orginal and observant mind, but that he
has a sense of humor which adds much to the
interest of his clinical notes. In illustration of
the value of the ammonium inhaler, he cites the
following case :

" N. B. , a general, retired. Is deaf. Has

been deaf for years. Was in the artillery. Says all
gunners are deaf, so that they never hear anything
not good of themselves. Has strange noises in his
ears. Dislikes any noise in a 'room, especially
rattle of knives and forks at dniner. Prefers dinin"
alone on this account. General conditions very
bad, partly from want of exercise. Has consulted
all the specialists, and has had his ears examined
with many strange instruments. Says that the
advantage of consulting many doctors is that no two
of them agree, and you are not alarmed by what
they tell you. Not much in favor of inhalers.
Tried one once, but it blew up. Is introduced to
the inhaler, and takes to it kindly. Chloride ol
ammonium used first alone and then with pinol.
Purchases one for himself, and at end of month
writes to say it has done him much good."

This is a report of a case full of practical sugges-
tiveness.

The following note is almost equally valuable :

Vol.. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIEN"OE NEWS.

"Miss A. W , singer, contralto, often losses

her voice, especially when she has an engagement.
Chest and vocal cords healthy. Thinks symptons
partly due to nervousness. Voice uncertain, and
apt To give in the wrong place. Something wrong
with an upper C. Uses the chloride of ammonium
inhaler, and takes phytolacca assiduously for a
couple of days before singing. Maintains that it
does her good. Impossible to contradict a lady, so
treatment continued."

\Ve trust that Dr. Murrell's politeness had its
therapeutic reward. The inhalations of ammonium
should be taken once to thrice daily, for half an hour
at a time. — .V. }'. Medical Record.

I Specially Compiled for Popular Science Netes.}

MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL

PROGRESS.

BY W. S. WELLS, M. D.

Every surgeon knows how difficult it is in certain
cases to get a broken bone to heal by bony union.
The ends may be pegged and hammered and sutured
indefinitely without success. In the case of fracture
of the radius there are oftentimes special difficulties,
since resection — the last resource of the surgeon —
leaves a gap between the end of the radius, which
is shorter than the ulna beside it, and so it is almost
impossible to bring the bared ends of the fractured
parts into apposition and to keep them there. Even
if a piece be cut out of the unfractured ulna, so that
inequality in the length of the two bones is removed,
a satisfactory result cannot always be obtained. In
the London Lancet, Professor McGill reports this
case : A man, twenty years of age, had fractured
both bones so that the ends of the radius protruded
throHgh the wound on the radial side of the fore-
arm. The ulna healed quickly and well, but the
radius remained ununited, although the ends had
been refreshed and wired three months after the
accident. Some eight months afterward he came
to the hospital. He had a scar over the wound,
and the ends of the radius were quite movable, the
usefulness of forearm and hand being much im-
pared. An Esmarch's bandage was applied, and an
incision was made in the line of the old scar. The
ends of the bones showed no signs of union, but
were rounded and covered by a thick membrane-like
periosteum. When this had been filed away, an
interval of three-quarters of an inch was left between
the fragments. This interval was filled with thirteen
pieces of bone, each about one-sixth of an inch in
length, chiselled from the femur of a freshly-killed
rabbit. The bones were not wired. The skin
wound was tighly stitched, without drainage, with
catgut. Firm pressure was applied by means of
salicylated wool and bandages, and the forSarm
was placed on an interior splint. There was no
suppuration and very little discharge. The patient
left the hospital in six weeks, with the bone firmly
united. Three months later, the injured arm was
as useful as the other. Is it not possible that this
method used by Professor McGill may be of service
in the treatment of old ununited fractures in other
parts .' It is possible that a more vigorous action
might be set up, by presence of the implanted
healthy bone, than would naturally occur in the
fragments of a fractured long-bone in a person of
feeble constitution.

M. Perier, chief surgeon, and M. Patien, chief
pharmacist of the Hospital Lariboisiere {Paris Med.)
have ertiployed salol as a surgical dressing instead
of iodoform, and have found that it gives a real im-
pulse to the work of cicatrization, without causing
any disagreeable sensation.

Thus in the case of a man suffering from an ex-
travasation of urine, with gangrene of the parts,

iodoform was used as a dressing for about six weeks
without marked improvement, but as soon as salol
was substituted healing took place rapidly.

Excellent results, much superior to those of iodo-
form, have been accomplished with salol in a great
varietyof surgicalcases, viz. : Ulcers, epitheliomata,
mammary fistulx and abscesses, abscess of the
antrum of Highmore, abscesses at the anus, vege-
tations at the vulva, caries of the sternum and tha
fsmur, etc.

Both agree that even laymen prefer it greatly to
iodoform for two reasons, viz., its agreeable odor
and its moderate price.

One great point dwelt upon by them is its abso-
lute harmlessness as far as toxic effects are con-
cerned, which latter ferm a source of danger when
sublimate, iodoform, phenol, etc., are used, while
the antiseptic action of salol is deemed by them to
be equally valuable.

A NEW diagnostic sign of abscess of the antrum
was brought forward by Dr. T. Hervng, of Warsaw,
at the Congress of Otology and Laryngology, held
at Paris during September. The patient is placed
in a dark room and his mouth lit up with a small
electric lamp, placed above the tongue. Two bright-
red spots will then appear before the lower eyelids.
If the cavities are filled up with pus, or occupied by
a tumor, these red spots will not appear, but, as
soon as the pus escapes or the cavity is washed out,
the spots again become \\sih\e:.— Medical and Sur-
gical Reporter.

BoETHRiCK recommends sulphonal for night
sweats. In the majority of cases the sweating
ceases after the administration of half a gramme
(7 1-2 grains.) He is of the opinion that the in-
hibitory action of sulphonal on the secretion of
sweat is not inferior to that of atropine. Its action
is so lasting that during the second night (without
sulphonal) perspiration was less profuse than be-
fore the institution of the treatment. — Jour, de Med.
de Paris.

Sahli and Nencki, in a discussion before the
Medical Society of Berne, recommended the use of
salol in cases of diabetes, on account of the carbolic
acid It contained. Dr. Mundel, Milwaukee, has
used salol in three cases of diabetes during the past
year, and found at the expiration of that time that
the sugar in the urine had entirely disappeared.
Dr. Mundel prescribed 0.5 Gm. (7 1-2 grains) four
times daily.

Dr. William Perry Watsox, from observation of
thirty cases of enuresis, feels justified in saying
that in sulphate of atropia we have a remedy which,
when given to its full physiological effects, is un-
equalled in our materia medica. — Medical Bvlletin.

A French physician relates a case in which a
boy of fourteen suffered from persistent bleeding
after the extraction of a molar tooth. Perchloride
of iron was without effect, and so much blood was
lost that syncope was induced. On recovery, the
hemorrhage again broke out, and perchloride of
iron was once more tried, but vainly. The cavity
was then plugged with two or three pledgets of lint
steeped in solution of antipyrine. The bleeding at
once permanently ceased. It was noticed that
while the perchloride caused severe pain, the anti-
pyrine was not objected to. It is suggested, not
improbably, that the antipyretic action of this and
similar drugs may possibly be due to the fact that
they diminish the blood-supply by their astringent
effect on the blood-vessels. — Vhio Journal of Peiital
Science. -•

Cholewa recommends for the treatment of furun-
culosis of the external meatus, a twenty-par cent,
solution of oil of menthol, introduced into the
meatus by means of firmly twisted rolls of cotton,
which by their size exert a gentle pressure upon the
inflamed surface. The action of the remedy is not
only antiphlopistic and analgesic, but, above all,
antibacteric. The staphylococcus aureus, which,
according to the investigations of Garrc and others,
causes the formation of furunculic, does not develop
in nutritive substance which has been slighty im-
pregnated with solution of menthol oil (o.S of men-
thol : So aqua.) As soon as the coccus comes in
direct contract with the solution, it dies quickly;
even the vapor of menthol is sufficient.— t'frt/;-a//-
hlat f. d. Med. Wissen.

The following formula is suggested in Im Cliniqiie
with the view of facilitating the removal of accumu-
lations of wax in the external auditory meatus :

R. Acidi borici, gr. Iv.

Glycerini, f § iss.

AqusE dest., f| iss.

This should be warmed and instilled into the ear,
leaving it there for a quarter of an hour, and repeat-
ing the process for a day or two. The result is to
soften the plugs and make their removal compara-
tively easy by means of the syringe.

Dr. Geo. H. Powers, San F"rancisco,Cal., writes :
In reading an article on "Death from Chloro-
form," I notice the absence of the one antidote on
which I most rely, namely, nitrite of amyl. I always
keep it ready for use in my office, and carry it
with me when I use chloroform elsewhere, and find
it of great value, in cases where chloroform does
not act kindly, in restoring the heart's functions.
In the exceptional cases when cocaine causes faint-
ness and collapse, a few inhalations of nitrite of
amyl quickly restore a normal condition. — .,V. J-!.
Medical Journal.

Dr. Konigstein, {.Medical Press), while giving
directions in his class on the uses and prescribing of
spectacles, said that green glass as a protection
against strong rays was worse than useless, and did
more harm to a sensitive eye than good, as it
allowed the yellow rays to be transmitted, and un-
necessarily irritated the eye. Against strong rayS
the blue or smoked glasses were the only real pro-
tection. The blue should be light, as a deep blue
color produces a clear violet disk in the center of
the lens, which apparently corresponds to the fovea
centralis, and by a protracted use of dark-blue spec-
tacles the patient may become annoyed by the
mosiac work of the fundus of the eye appearing
before him. The phenomenon seems to be connected
with the pigmenting changes in the macula lutea.

Hitherto it has been deemed permissible to add
soda bicarbonate to milk to assist in its preservation,
but now the Council of Hygiene of the Seine has
condemned the practice as one of danger. The
transformation of milk-sugar into lactic acid, in
milk so adulterated, gives rise to i. lactate of soda
which is purgative, and frequently a source of
almost uncontrollable diarrhoea in infants. Conse-
quently, the Council in its liullelin decides that:
-'Soda shall no longer be permitted in milk, which
is an aliment of the first order, and very often pre-
scribed for invalids and children."

According to the Pharmaceutical Record, com-
pa.rtitive examinations of many mouth-washes
show that those containing thymol as the disinfect-
ing agent^of the mouth-cavity and teeth, are to be

POPULAB SOIEKCE KEWS.

[February, 1S90.

preferred to other*. The action of thymol is not
verv rapid, but its use has no deleterious influence
on "the teeth whatever. Salicjlic acid acts on the
teeth.

According to the Peoria Medical Monthly, stains
produced by the explosion of gunpowder may be re-
moved by first painting the slcin with a solution of
biniodide of ammonium in an equal part of distilled
water, then with dilute hydrochloric acid.

Parasiticide Ointment.

Salicylate of mercury, 16 grains.

Vaseline, i ounce.— M.

This makes not only an excellent ointment
against the paratitic skin diseases, but against
eczema, pityriasis, and syphilitic vegetations.—
7y' Union Medicate.

Ax excellent ointment for red hands {Pharm. Kra)
is the following :

R. Lanolin, 100 gm.

Paraffin (liquid), ' 25 gm.

Vanillin, o 01 gm.

01. rosa:, ggt- j. M.

The Parisians apply a thin coating of this at bed-
time.

<♦+

A UNIQUE PRESCRIPTION.

A PAPER printed in Krausenburg, Austria, on the
occasion of th« recent celebration of the centenary
of Cardinal Haynald, relates the following story on
the authority of one well acquainted with those who
know the reverend gentleman and were familiar
with the circumstances :

Havnald, Bishop of Siebenburgen, stopped, on his
return from a confirmation tour, at a small place
named Torda, and, being detained a day longer than
was expected, his secretary, Lonhart, found to his
dismay that they had not enough money to pay the
hotel bill. Now a bishop cannot very well run away
without paying what he owes, nor does his sense of
dignity permit him to plead even temporary pecuni-
ary embarrassment. Still, the bishop managed to
avoid either dilemma. He sent a waiter to the
apothecary of the place, a Mr. Gabriel, with whom
His Grace was acquainted, with the following
recipe, which has since been preserved by the sev-
eral successive proprietors of the establishment:

R Kotain auttriaeam

Numero

Ducenia
D. S. — For one day's use only.

Dr. Haynald.

The druggist's clerk, being somewhat; rattled by
the sudden interruption of his sleep, tried in vain to
understand the nature of the prescription, and after
fruitless consultation of his works of reference,
wakened his employer, who, after reading the recipe,
sent his clerk again to bed, and said he would him-
self prepare the prescription. He put 200 guilders
in notes into a powder box, duly sealed, labelled,
and inscribed, and sent it to the bishop, saying to
the messenger that in case the powder should not be
sufficient he would be glad to send a second dose.
This, however, was not necessary, and the first
dose, after "one day's use only," was returned with
thanks.— j4»i. Druggist.

MEDICAL MISCELLANY.
Chinese Pills —Chinese pills are said to be just
the size of crab apples, and are coated with a semi-
transparent sugary substance covered with flowers
and gilt letters. But it must take an uniKual
amount of moral courage in -n Chinaman U, tackle a
pill.

An extensively advertised "Microbe Killer" is said
by the Western Druggist to be composed of 4
drachms of oil of vitrol, l drachm of muriatic acid,
I ounce of red wine, and a gallon of water. The
dangerous nature of this stuff is evident from the
above formula.

The turnkey of the Peoria jail, according to the
Medical iroj-M, has a cure for delirium tremens. He
rubs the patient with capsicum ; and in the enthusi-
asm and singleness of purpose with which the latter
scratches himself he has no time to think of «n«kes.
One day of this treatment is sufficient for any ordi-
nary case.

New Use for Stale Bread. — A safe, sure, and
certain cure for corns is said to be found in a poul-
tice formed of stale bread soaked in strong vinegar.
It should be applied at night on retiring. In the
morning the soreness will be gone, and the corn
can be picked out. Obstinate corns may require
two or more applications.

The Tendency of the Times.- "Who is your
family physician, Freddy.'" asked Mrs. Hendricks of
the Brown boy. "We ain't got none," said the boy.
"Pa's a homcEopath, ma's an allopath, sister Jane is
a Christian scientist, grandma and grandpa buy all
the patent medicines going, uncle James believes in
massage, and brother Bill is a horse doctor."

A Novel Plant.— Miss Bacon (they have been
discussing orchid.s) : "And now, professor, I w«nt
you to tell me about the plant from which electricity
is made."

Professor Hohonthy (aghast) : "The which.'"
Miss Bacon : "You certainly must have heard of
it. Father says its high cost prevents the general
use of electric lighting — I mean the electric plant."

Cigarettes.— Mr.Willis G.Tucker, in his report
to the New York State Board of Health, on the re-
sult of his examination of various popular brands of
cigarettes, says that careful analysis of tobacco and
paper failed to reveal any poisonous ingredients,
other than the tobacco itself, and that most cigar-
ettes contain pure tobacco and good paper. The
evils of cigarette smoking are due to the fact that
cigarettes are cheap, convenient, and can be used
in large and excessive quantities, that the smoke is
usually inhaled, and that children and immature
persons freely use them.

A Bull in a Chemist's Shop. — Recently, says
the Liverpool Courier, the inhabitants of the usuall_!^
quiet suburb of Fairfield were treated to a sensation
of a novel description. About one o'clock in the
afternoon a herd of cattle were being driven from
Liverpool to Stanley, via Prescott Road. By Elm
Park a huge specimen of the bovine species bolted,
and evidently feeling unwell, rushed into the nearest
chemist's shop— kept by Mr. R. Jones. Once inside
the shop his bullship commenced a number of acro-
batic feats which, in the ring of Hengler's Circus,
would have made a fortune for its owner, but which
in the circumscribed arena of a druggist's establish-
ment, although, doubtless, somewhat entertaining
to the other onlookers, was not quite appreciated by
the proprietor of the shop. Having upset three
tables, smashed about two hundred bottles contain-
ing eau de Cologne, paregoric, castor oil, spirits of
nitre, St. Jacob's Oil, and other ingredients, the bull
rushed at another case which contained a number
of drugs, amongst others a large bottle of acetic
acid, and another of nitric acid. These he likewise
knocked on the ground, upsetting the contents.
Some of the nitric acid got on the. bull's nose and
feet, which caused him to beat a speedy retreat into
the street, where

published monthly by the

Popular Science News Company,

B Somerset Street. Boston.

ONE DOLLAR A YEAR IN ADVANCE.

SETH C BASSETT,
Manager.

SPECIAL NOTICE.

The Publishers of the NEWS e.irnestly request that sub.
scribcrs will make their remittances either by draft on Bos-
ton or New York, or by a po.st:il order. If it is absolutely
necessary to mail money, it should be sent onJy in a registered
letter. The publishers decline to assume the risk ol money
mailed in unregistered letters.

Remittances will be duly credited on the printed address
label of the paper; but if they are received after the 15th of the
month, the change in the label c.innot be made until a month
later. If a formal receipt is desired, a two-cent stamp or a
postal card should be enclosed with the remittance.

Publisliers' ColunjR.

One cannot be always going into the sublime, but if you
must write that way an Estekbrook Easy Writer Pen is a
valuable help.

The use of the Buffalo Lithia Mineral Water is said
to have accomplished some remarkable cures of gravel and
similar affections of the kidneys and bladder.

Thayer's Nutritive combines the properties ot a tonic,
stimulant, and food, and the name of the firm manufacturing it
is sufficient guarantee of its purity and reliability.

A GLANCE at the catalogue of Messrs. E. A. Jackson &
BRO.will show the great variety of styles of their Ventilating
Grate, and will convince one of their many points of excel-
lence and economy over the old-fashioned fire-place or grate.

The phenomenally mild winter is likeJy to cause a total
failure of the ice crop in many localities this season. The Ice
Machines of David Boyle will produce an abundant supply
in the hottest weather, and at a cost little exceeding that of cut-
ting and storing the natural product.

The preparations of the Health Food Co. arc admirably
adapted to weak and enfeebled stomachs, as they are readily
digestible, and contain much nutriment in a concentrated form.
Preparations are supplied for diseases (such as diabetes, etc.)
which require special forms of food.

The Wells Rustless Iron Water Pifes are the best
carriers of water in use. They do not load the water with oxide
of iron, to the staining of clothing, and the' rapid destruction of
the pipe itself; neither do they l^nd any metallic contamination
to the water, as is often the case with pipes made of lead, gal-
vanized iron, and other. poisonous metals.

The well-known nutritive properties of malt extract, and the
case with which it is assimilated, render it a valuable agent in
the treatment of diseases due to defective nutrition. The
Maltine Manufacturing Co. offer a very superior article,
which is highly recommended by physicians of national repu-
tation, and which can be obtained either by itself, or combined
with any of the therapeutical agents which are compatible
with it.

The following is a correct analysis of Colden's Liqj_'iD
Beef Tonic by Artlmr Hill Hassell, M.D., F. R.S., President
of the Royal Analytical Association, London:

30 per cent, saccharine matter 20

35 per cent, glutinous or nutritious matter obtained in the
condensation of the beef _. 2^

25 per cent, spirits rendered non-injurious to the most deli-
cate stomach by the extraction 6f tht fusel oil 25

30 per cent, of an aqueous solution of several herbs and
roots, among which are most discernible Peruvian and
Calisaya barks 30

Total 1 00

Since the date of the above analysis, and by the urgent

request of several eminent members of the medical profcs.sion,

cntually he w»* raptured bv aix ! ^^ Colden has added to each wineglassful of this preparation

men, and dragged off to Stanley cattle market.

two gmins of soluble cititte of iron.

C|)E $oj>ular detente iSttPS

AND

BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY.

Volume XXIV

BOSTON, MARCH, 1890.

Number

CONTENTS.

Familiar Science.— Fire 33

Extraordinary Hailstones 34

The Proto- Helvetes, or Lake -Dwellers of

Switzerland 34

Egyptian Language and Chronology — Char-
acters of Egyptian Inscriptions — The

Rosetta Stone 35

What the Winter Woods Aftbrd 36

Scientific Brevities 36

Practical Chemistry and the Arts. — L'ltia-

marine -37

A Device for Writing in Moving Vehicles . 37
The Scientific Knowledge of the Ancient

Greeks and Romans , . . 37

The Out-Door World. — Reports from Chap-
ters of the Ninth Century 39

Photography 40

Practical Photographic Points 40

Editorial. — Pre-historic Rock Inscriptions in

Sweden 42

Brief Studies in Biology 42

An Ancient Indian Village Site 43

Meteorology for January, 1890 44

Astronomical Phenomena for March, 1890 . 45

(^estions and Ajjswers 45

Literary Notes 45

Medicine and Pharmacy. — Sleep .... 46

Monthly Summary of Medical Progress . . 46

Bacteria, Bacilli, Micrococci, and Microbes . 47
Pathological Inferiority of the Left Side of

the Human Body 48

The Deadly Cold JBed 48

Medical Miscellany 48

Publishers' Column 48

Banjiliar Scieijce.

FIRE.

What is fire.' We fancy that few persons
coiild answer. this question oft' hand, although
the phenomenon of combustion is perfectly
familiar to everyone. The ancients consid-
ered fire to be one of the primitive elements,
like the earth, air, and water, — all of which
la.st we now know to be compound and not
elementary substances, — and this idea of an
elementary fiery principle survived under the
names of phlogiston, caloric, etc., down to
the time of Lavoisier, and was not entirely
overthrown until after the beginning of the
present century.

We have, in the preceding paragraph,
spoken of fire as a phenomenon, and that
is exactly what it is. Fire is not a substance ;
it is not even an immaterial force, like light
or heat ; but, as generally understood, is
simply the sensible phenomena of light and
heat resulting from an intense chemical
reaction — generally, but not always, a pro-
cess of oxidation. We may dissolve a piece
of zinc in sulphuric acid, b}' itself, or do the
same when it forms a pole of a galvanic

battery ; or we may heat it until it bursts into
ftame. In all these cases the process is a
similar one, — that of oxidation, — but fire
accompanies the process only in the last.
There the oxidation takes place so rapidly
that the heat .set free is not- only suflicient to
be detected by our nerves of sensation, but
the resulting particles of zinc oxide are heated
to such a degree that they become luminous.
So if finely divided metallic iron is exposed
to the air, it gradually absorbs oxygen and is
converted into rust. But if the same iron is
ignited with a match, it takes fire, becomes
luminous, smoulders away like a glowing
coal, ami is soon converted into a similar
oxide, or rust. Just as much heat is set free
in one case as in the other, the only difference
being in the rapidity .of its development,
which determines whether or not it shall
become evident to our senses. When hydro-
gen and oxygen gases are burned together,
as in the oxyhydrogen blow-pipe, the result-
ing flame, although one of the hottest known
to us, is almost invisible, and to the eye alone
there is no appearance of fire ; but introduce
a piece of metal, or a lump of lime, or other
refractory substance, and the brilliant lumi-
nous phenomena at once indicate the intensity
of the chemical combination which is taking
place.

Fire is not always dependent upon a pro-
cess of oxidation. A mixture of iron filings
and flowers of sulphur is readily ignited,
forming ferrous sulphide ; and sodium, potas-
sium, copper, and some other metals readily
burn in the vapor of boiling sulphur, giving
rise to the same igneous manifestations as
when they combine with oxygen. Nitrous
oxide, or laughing-gas (N^ O), also sup-
ports combustion, although the reaction is
one of true oxidation, the same as with pure
oxygen or air.

A very important distinction must be
drawn between fire and flame ; the latter
is merely an incidental manifestation of the
former. Burning charcoal simply glows and
wastes away ; there are no combustible gases
formed, and the chemical reaction takes place
only on the surface of the coals. With wood,
oil, wax, tallow, etc., the heat produced by
the oxidation sets free from the unconsumed
portioii, a large quantity of hydrocarbon
gases, which take fire and burn at a distance
from the original burning body, exactly as
the gas which we burn in our houses is

driven oH' by heating the coal at the distant
gas-works. If we burn a piece of magne-
sium,^ flame is apparently present, but it is
only the incandescent particles of oxide as
they fly off" into the air at a white heat. A
similar artificial flame may be made from
charcoal itself by finely pulverizing it, throw-
ing the dust into the air, and igniting it.
Serious explosions have occurred by dust
igniting in this manner, but such phenomena
are nof, strictly speaking, true flames, which
are only produced by the combustion of
gases.

A word shouU be said in reference to
electric lights, wliich are simply masses of
carbon heated to an excessively high temper-
ature. There is no true fire or oxidation
about them, but a transformation of electrical
energy into heat and light. There is an
oxidizing process at the foundation, however,
and the heat of the oxidizing carbon in the
furnaces under the steam boilers which fur-
nish the power to drive the dynamo machines,
is just as truly transferred through the wires
to the distant electric lights, as the water from
tile pond or stream is transferred through the
pipes to the dwellings of the city. In one
case it is the tiwnsference of energy, in the
other that of matter.

The knowledge of fire is a distinctive attri-
bute of mankind. No ape, however intelli-
gent, has been found but what regards it with
terror, and no race of men — with, perhaps,
one or two doubtful exceptions — but what
enjoys its numerous benefits. It is hard to
say how it was first brought to the knowledge
of mankind. The Greeks considered it a
direct gift from the gods ; but, disregarding
that belief, the lightning-stroke,* the volcano,
an accidental spark, from the striking of a
stone, falling upofi dry leaves, or even, as has
been suggested, by a drop of gum exuding
from a tree acting as a natural burning-glass,
— any or .all of these causes may have intro-
duced this useful but dangerous servant to
mankind. Once discovered, the knowledge
seems to have been carefully preserved, and
the art of producing fire has advanced
through the fire-sticks and drills of the
savage, to the flint and steel, and friction
matches of later times, until in this modern
age of electricity a touch of the finger is
suflicient to produce an electric spark, which
will instantly ignite the fires and gas-lights of
the largest building, or, if desired, those of an
entire city.

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[March, 1S90.

p:kTRAORDINARY HAILSTONES.

On the 9th of June, 1867, there was a fall
of hail at Bjeloi-Kliutsch, a village lying to
the southwest of TiHis, in which the hail-
stones occurred in the remarkable crystalline
forms shown in their natural size in the
engraving, (first published in the London
Nature.) The drawings were made by
a Russian professor residing at Tiflis, but,
for some reason, have only recently attracted
the attention they deserve. They consist of a
central nucleus, sinrounded by large nce-
crystals somewhat resembling those of (^lartz,
and, like that mineral, belonging to the hex-
agonal or rhombohedral system of crystalliza-
tion. It has been suspected tiiilt water is
dimorphic, and sometimes crystallizes in the
trimetric system, but the supposition has not
as yet been confirmed.

The most remarkable point in connection
with the hailstones, is the fact that, judging
from our present knowledge, a very long
time must have been

iii

occupied in their
formation. As a
general rule, the
larger and more
pei-fect a crystal,
the more slowly it
must be formed ;
and we cannot un-
derstand how so
heavy a body as a
hailstone can be
supported in the air
long enough for the
crystallization to
take place so per-
fectly. We must
admit either that
these stones were
formed under the
influence of natural

[Original in Popular Science New$.]

.THE PROTO-IIELVETES, OR LAKE-
DWELLERS OF SWITZERLAND.

BY ADA M. TROTTER.

PART II.

THE BRONZE AGE.

In the Bronze Age we have no longer to deal with
villages, whose people depended on the products of
the lake or woods for a living. On the contrary,
we find flouri.shing cities and organized towns, where
a certain degree of luxury obtains, characterizing
a civilized community. The palafittes were no
longer modest huts, but good wooden cabins, large
and firmly constructed, judging from the quality
and quantity of beams found among the piles.
They were spacious enough to find lodging place
for the domestic animals, as is proved Ijji the
remains of oxen, pigs, goats, and dogs gathered
from this archieological bed.

Round the palafittes a large esplanade must have
extended, iipon which certain kinds of work could
be done which could not easily be executed in the
dwellings. It is evident that all the work was done

practice of building on the water continued into the
beginning of the Iron Age. The number of sta-
tions, however, diminished. Proof is given in the
Lake of Bienne of thirteen villages of the age of
Stone to two of Bronze. The same comparison
exists is the lakes of Moral and Neufchatel. But
the stations of the age of Bronze, if less numerous,
are far more extensive than those of the Stone
periods. They are constructed farther from the
bank, — two or three hundred yards, instead of one
to two hundred, — and occupy a large area. The
piles are larger, better preserved, higher above the
level of the soil, and cut into form— often square.
Between these piles is a treasure trove of pottery,
fine vases having been found entire.

The discovery of the first bit for a horse, at
Moerigen in 1872, was a great event in the archaeo-
logical world. At first its authenticity was doubted,
but when the same station produced a bit made in
one piece, — a true chef d'ceuvre of metallurgy, —
further incredulity was impossible. At Cortaillod,
in 1862, a very large bronze wheel was found.
Archivologists looked upon it as a symbolical

on the lake, as in the Stone Age, indubitable proof, object, considering it unlikely that a people dwell-

of this being found in the debris of workshops,
where, besides tlie moulds and the tools used for

ing on lakes would have use for chariots. How-
ever, as the Bronze stations were further developed,
_ the richest beds fur-

nished skeletons of en-
tire horses and more
than twenty bits. The
museum of Lausanne
has one of these bits
— a particularly fine
specimen — among its
treasures.

The moulds in which
the various bronze ob-
jects were made are
almost as interesting
as the objects them-
selves. The m.njority
are made of gray mo-
lasses stone. They are
double, and have the
pattern traced on each
part. Some are found
in cl.iy, and a few of
bronze. The swords
and knives of bronze
are not onlv elegant

forces or conditions still imknown to us, manufacturing the arms, etc., broken objects are

or that, in certain circumstances, aqueous i °"^" '°""'' "^^'"^ '"''''= ''^^" brought to the spot to

, ,. ,.^ ? . ' be mended. Only, in order to diminish the risks of

Tapor or water mav be solidified into ! ^ j • .. .• c i.- • 1

' " [ nre durmg the operation of smelting, an especial

large crystals, with the rapidity which •■ pjace outside the palafittes was reserved for this
we should naturally expect to occur in ! work. At Moerigen and at Auvernier Dr. Gross

in shape, but are covered with graceful designs, all
of which, however, are more or less geometric, for
the Lacustres do not seem to have taken any ideas
/rom the kingdom of Nature nor from the animal
kingdom.

It is certain that they knew steel, since some of the
the sudden condensation of moisture in the found all the apparatus of workshops in a space of I arms are made of this metal, and they made use of
upper air. The genesis of hail is still an ! " ''^^^ square metres. ! it in engraving patterns on the hammered jewelry.

. ,„„i„„j ™„t 1 „• 1 ui 1 The discovery of the workshop foundries of the ' Lead, almost unknown hitherto in a pure state, has

unsolved meteorological problem, and pre- , . •' ,, ^ . ,,.,(, »- , . » . .u r r t

. ° ^ ' Lacustres is recent. Until this time it was believed ! been found at Auvergne, m the form of a granulous

gents so many difficulties that one scientist ^^^^ j,,^ ^1^^^^^ „l,j^^j^ i„ ^^^^^^ ^^.^^^ imported; | mass weighing 1,700 grammes; while a large mass
was driven to the theory that hailstones were but gradually, as the archaiolbgists pursued their of tin, suspended by a ring of bronze, and weighing
of interplanetary origin, like meteors. This | researches, Moerigen and Auvernier, then Esta- 1,800 grammes (about four pounds), was discovered
remarkable hypothesis, however, only brings vayer, Cortaillod, and Carcelettes, one after another, at the same spot. Hence it is proved that metals—
up the still greater problem as to how repealed the presence of the foundries on the pala-
fittes. The moulds for the objects we see in the
museums, of pins, bracelets, hammers, rings,
pendants, lances, and knives, are found in these
workshops; also the tools used for hammering the

the hailstones could enter and pass
through the atmosphere without being
instantly dissipated in vapor by the heat

evolved, as shown by the extreme tempera- ^ metal. The stations of the age of Bronze, unlike
ture to which the meteors themselves are 'hose of Stone, all existed at the same time. Ham-
raised in the passage. The actual cause '"^""« '"'"'' ^'"elting of metal belong to the same
, ^t 1 c .\ r ,■ .- 1 -1 ' period, some objects being found which unite the

and method ot the formation of hailstones!' ^, , r" 1 \.-

I two methods of, workmanship.

must be left for future students of mctcor-l with the introduction of bronze, palafittes ceased j the sun;" they are made of a hollow bowl of bronze
ology to discover, _ I to exist in the eastern lakes; but in the west, the 'or '^'a.v. <" .which are bits of metal or stone, the

copper and tin especially— were imported by the
Lacustres, and used by them for the manufacture
of their bronze objects.

Among the curious articles that this period fur-
nishes are tubes of bronze, which remained an
enigma to the savants until the discoveries on the
Tene — the great station of the Iron Age — proved
these tubes to be needle-cases, some being found
there enclosing the needles. The rattles for babies,
too, remind us that "there is nothing new under

Vol. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIE^^CE NEWS.

liandles being of wood. Clasps for belts or heavj
garments are massive, beautifully chased, and
handsome. The buttons show, among other varie-
ties of shape, that of the double or cuff-button of
our modern age. The ornaments of this period —
the ear-ring», bracelets, and pendants — are found in
amber (brought, probably, from the shores of the
Baltic), glass (blue, yellow, and white), and even in
gold. •

ISut, leaving the wealth of metal objects which
excite our admiration and surpriseat every moment,
and our appreciation of the ingenuity and skill of
the workman of this pre-historic race, let us pass to
the ceramics and see what progress the potter of
the Bronze period has made over his brothers of the
preceding ages. It is evident that pottery has now
approached a fine art. The shapes of the vases are
so graceful and perfect that some of- them can rival
those of the Roman ceramics. Utensils, dishes,
cups, and plates are all more or less flat at the
bottom, while vases and goblets are sometimes
rounded or conical, necessitating some kind of
stand to place them in. /C few specimens are sup-
ported by feet; others have one foot, enlarged at the
base and hollow inside, always decorated with taste,
very fragile and easily broken. Triple vases are
among the curious diversities of shape, being com-
posed of three vases identically alike, joined by clav
cylinders, perforated so that there is a communica-
tion between them. In certain tombs in Prussia
(Lausitz) and in the ruins of Troy, analogous vases
are found. Do we not find the same idea, t»o, in
the baskets of the Japanese.' Vases vary in size at
this period, from the colossal, to the tiny things
(evidently playthings for children) no larger than
a nut.

The ornamentation of the pottery, as that of the
bronze implements, is geometric — series of lines
traced in different ways, or grouped with artistic
skill. Triangles, concentric circles, wreaths jutting
out or hollowed in the clay, are among the most
beautiful of the designs. Here and there the cross
is met with, especially on the bottom of certain
little vases. The custom of coloring vases in
yellow, red, or black, belongs only to the end of the
Bronze Age, therefore specimens are very rare.
The best of these was found at Moerigen. It has
the form of a large open dish, whose interior is
covered with geometric designs, artistically colored
in red and black. The potters employed pebbles of
serpentine to rub the surface of the vases, but some
pieces present such a polished exterior as could
only be obtained by means of varnish. Moulds
were used instead of the potter's wheel to shape the
vases, and, in some cases, thin bands of metal, kept
in place by resin, were bound around the outer
edges for ornament.

Though no idea of using the kingdom of Nature
as a model for ornamentation seems to have
occurred to the Lacustres, they seem to have tried
their hand at modelling. Little statuettes of pigs,
moles, and ducks have appeared, the latter being
very interesting, since instead of feathers, the
artist has glued little pieces of tin to the clay. As
all the palafittes were destroyed by fire, it is not
unusual to see several objects — bracelets, hatchets,
and lances — in a state of conglomeration, soldered
together by the heat to which they have been
exposed.

In order to arrive at such a high degree of culti-
vation, which includes a technical knowledge very
astonishing at this epoch when individual develop-
ment was confronted with such great obstacles, it
must be granted that the pre-historic race was well
endowed, both as to intelligence and ingenuity.
N'or were they lacking in surgical skill, one would
premise, for a skull was found in Dr. Gross's

presence, at nearly two metres depth of soil, which
had a round opening in the occipital region of three
centimetres diameter, which by analogy is identical
with the operation of.modern days termed " trepana-
tion." The practice of "trepanning" has already-
been proved in several places, though this is the
first and only instance as yet discovered among the
Lacustres. t)r. Prunieres, of Lyons, was the first
to draw the attention of archicologists to t+iis point,
in determining the numerous skulls bearing traces
of this surgical operation discovered in the dolmens
of the Lozere.* Dr. II. Waukel de Blansko (Mora-
via) also has found a skull, presenting the resection
of the greatest part of the orcipital bone, in a tomb
near d'Olmutz.

But the "beautiful Bronze Age" had its limit.
It must have been a past age long before the men of
iron weapons occupied the banks of the lake. His-
tory had not begun for us by the advent of the
Rom,-As when the last palafitte of the Bronze Age
was destroyed ; therefore we cannot know why the
beautiful cities were thus desolated. It is almost
too much to hope that further researches can throw
light upon this disastrous close to an age of
remarkable development.

*Druiiiical reiniiins.

[OrigiiKil in t'opuUir Science Xcws,\

EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE AND CHRONOLOGY
—CHARACTERS OF EGYPTIAN INSCRIP-
TIONS—THE ROSETTA STONE.

, BY JOSEPH WALLACE.
The history of the development and decay of the
Egyptian language has not yet been authentically
traced; only the four distinct graphic systems —
Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, Demotic, and Coptic — can
safely be confined within chronological limits. The
time of the development of the old and full hiero-
glyphic writing is unknown. It was perfectly
understood and freely .used in the third and fourth
dynasties, which would render it probable that the
date of its discovery must be placed earlier than
3,000 years B. C. There were thirty-one dynasties
which reigned successively in Egypt, numbering
upwards of three hundred kings. The total number
of years between the reigns of Menes and Nectanebo
II., (about 350 B. C), the last king of the thirtieth
dynasty, who was succeeded by a Persian, was
3,555 years. This succession, though the longest
hitherto established anywhere in the world, is now,
also, the best authenticated. It is based upon the
lists of kings and their reigning years, and these
lists are corroberated and elucidated by contempo-
rary monuments up to the fourth dVnasty, with only
slight breaks in the chain. The era of Menes,
according to Bunsen, was 3,643 B. C. Lepsius
makes it 3,803; Brugsch, 4,455; and, according to
Mariette, 5,004. It is still disputed among Egypti-
ologists whether the first seventeen dynasties which
succeeded Menes were consecutive. It is main-
tained, however, by the latest writers, that the
dynasties were, with some exceptions, consecutive,
and that the kings enumerated reigned over all

Egypt.

The use of hieroglyphic writing was not confined
to the sacerdotal class, as was formerly believed on
the authority of the Greeks, but employed by all.
Though shorter methods of writing were afterwards
devised, the hieroglyphic or pictorial representations
of the language continued in use for important state
documents, inscriptions, and religious compositions.
It was accompanied by transcriptions in demotic
and Greek down to the Roman emperor Decius,
and, if Lenormant's researches are correct, so late
as the usurpation of the government of Egypt by
Achilles, who was put to death by Diocletian, A. D.

296. The spread of Christianity in Egypt caused
a proscription of hieroglyphics, because they are
full of mythological allusions and sensual figures.
The wants of a reading and writing nation led at an
early period to the use of linear hieroglyphics in
long documents, which subsequently developed into
a cursive hand, called the hieratic.

"The great body of the Egyptian jiterature," says
the learned oriental scholar. Rev. John Thein, " has
reached us through this character, the reading of
which can only be determined by resolving it first
into its prototype hieroglyphics. It is not possible
to fix the time of the first use of hieratic writing,
but from the actual preservation of several hieratic
papyri of the eleventh dynasty, presenting it as a
perfectly distinct and well developed mode of writ-
ing, it is safe to conclude that it must have come in
use earlier than 2,000 B. C."

The demotic denotes a rise of the vulgar tongue
into literary use, which took place about the begin-
ning of the. seventh' century B. C., when it was
brought into fashion by the great social revolution
in the reign of Psammetik. The oldest papyrus
found, which is now in tlie Turin museum, dates
from the forty-fifth year of his reign, or 620 B. C.
The demotic was used to transcribe the hieroglyphic
and hieratic papyri and Inscriptions into the vulgar
idiom till the secolfTd century A. Dvy^nd the gradual
transition from the obscure and diflicult demotic to
the more intelligible coptic alphabet. Demotic
words were occasionally transcribed in Greek letters,
pure Coptic occasionally in the demotic characters,
and, again, derr^ptic in Greek letters, with the
sounds not found in Greek, preserving their
original signs, which were in reality the Coptic
alphabet. Coptic is the exclusive character of the
Christian ICgyptian literature, and marks the last
development or final decay of the Egyptian lan-
guage, which became almost extinct in the last
century, and made way for the Arabic.

The learned men of the last century who gave
their attention to Egyptian writings, naturally con-
sulted the ancient Greek and Roman writers, and
censequently were led astray. All the ancients
agreed in speaking of the hieroglyphic system as
ideographic. They even gave the n»eaning of a
few signs which are common in the inscriptions,
and seemed to be well informed as to their interpre-
tation. As the hieratic and demotic characters
appeared more cursive and better suited to the
transcription of long documents, they maintained
that by means of them the same language was
written in letters representing sounds. The writ-
ings of Kircher during the seventeenth century,
De Guigness and Koch in the eighteenth, and,
later, those of Zoega, were based on the opinions of
the Greeks and Romans, and consequently failed to
throw light on the language.

An incident took place in 1799 which had the
effect of chang4ng the whole texture of the ancfent
speculations on the Egyptian hieroglyphic writ-
ings. A French engineer officer, M. Broussard,
while throwing up earthworks at Rosetta (Bashid),
discovered a large black slab of stone, somewhat
mutilated, with an inscription in hieroglyphic,
demotic, and in Greek. The victory of the English
a few days later threw it into the hands of the
ambassador, Sir William Hamilton, who deposited
it in the British Museum. By this accide;it, a text
was discovered, which the Greek version stated was
an inscription of divine honors to one of the
Ptolemies, and that the hieroglyphic and demotic
versions were transcriptions of the Greek text.

Although this was a very important aid to the
Egyptologists, and a hopeful suggestion to a suc-
cessful solution of those mysterious characters which
defied the learned of all nations for many centuries,

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[MaklJi, 1S90.

the difficulty still remained of determining the value
and sound of each character. It was observed that
about the place corresponding to the name Ptolemy
in the Greek version, there was in the hieroglyphic
inscription an oval ring enclosing a group of char-
acters. This ring suggested many ideas, but, on
further researches, it was observed that a long series
of sitting figures on the temple of Karnak had also
such rings placed over them, apparently indicating
their names or titles; therefore, it was conjectured
that this ring was the sign which indicated the
proper name.

Champollion discovered that the Greek proper
names on the Rosetta stone were transcribed pho-
netically in the demotic version. These results
were obtained by guessing that a group occurring
ih almost every line was the conjunction; that a
group repeated twenty-nine times in the demotic
version corresponded to kivg in Greek, when this
word occurred about the same number of times';
and for the words Alexander and Alexandria in the
fourth and seventeenth lines of the Greek, were
discovered two groups of equally close resemblance
n the second and tenth lines of the demotic.

The next difficulty was to determine the order in
which the characters were written — which might be
as in Hebrew from right .to left, or as in modern
systems from left to right. This point was soon
settled by Champollion. Mr. Banks brought a little
obelisk, found in the island of Philae, which was
inscribed with a dedication in Hebrew and Greek to
Ptolemy and sister, Cleopatra. This inscription
was copied by Cailliand in 1816, and commented on
by Letronne and Champollion in the French scien-
tific journals in 1822. There was a ring identical
with the ring for Ptolemy in the Rosetta stone,
and another for Cleopatra. By a fortunate coinci-
dence, these names have several letters in common.
Assuming from the analogy of other systems, that
objects depicted signified the initial letter of their
Coptic names, both groups were spelled out, and
Champollion was in possession of eleven phonetic
signs of the old Egyptian language. It now became
plain that in this case the signs were not syllabic,
but alphabetic. Applying them to monuments
which appeared to be of the Roman epoch, and
attempting to decipher the royal rings upon them,
Champollion found an almost ample list of Roman
emperors, each with his title, emperor, added ; and
this title became a clue to all similar inscriptions.

[Original in Popular Science 2)ew$.l
WHAT THE WINTER WOODS. AFFORD.

BY PROF. W. WHITMAN BAILEY.

It might seem as if the student of Nature would
find little to do in the depths of winter. He has,
however, many occupations. In the first place, if
he is a collector, there are all his summer stores to
examine. Often, as he turns them over, he is led
in imagination to the spot where he found them.
Suppose it is a set of plants he is viewing. Each
specimen will recall to him pleasant scenes and
delightful companionship. T,he outside storm no
longer has a voice for him ; he is in the woods with
his pets, breathing sweet perfume of leaves and
flowers, listening to the merry birds, or chasing
gilded butterflies. The memory of the noonday
halt comes back to him; the little spring, half
buried in moss and fringed with ferns, the over-
arching birches, and the " checquered shade" in
which he rejoiced.

But even now, cold as it may be, he who walks
with his eyes open will see much in the forest that
is worth possessing. The hazels, alders, and
birches, the sweet-fern, poplars, willows, iron-
wood, hop-hornbeam, etc., have all winter shown
their tassels. They are closely compacted now,

each scale closing over the minute flowers, but at
home we can coax out some of them in water. It is
always a delight to see them evolve, — the light,
pendulous, graceful "tags" of alder are an especial
joy. It is a not unusual thing to see the silver-
leafed maple' {Acer dasycarpum^ in full flower in
February. It is a frequent shade-tree in the cities,
and is known at this season by its exfoliating bark,
and the pendulous habit of the branches.

Crocuses and snow-drops sometimes shiver into
bloom on sunny banks before the calendar mentions
spring. It is not so astonishing after all. Do not
the 'most delicate of plants embrace the feet of snow-
drifts in the Alps.' On the top of Mount Washing-
ton, when the tourist is hugging his overcoat or
shawl about him, the little Arenaria is fluttering its
white blossoms in the gale. By the Lake of the
Clouds, fed by icy streams, which one hears mur-
muring under the rocks beneath him, there grows a
perfect garden of flowers. Mosses and licliens we
have ever with us, clothing the rocks, encrusting
the trees, spattering the grave-stones, or even
perching airily on our very house-tops. These are
the precursors of higher life — living chapters, as it
were, of that old history which ante-dates the
coming of man. Tree-ferns, that' tell of the Car-
boniferous period, do not, after all, inspire one so
much with awe as these Paleozoic forms. Then,
how beautiful they are I

Among mosses the student will flnd miniatures
of palms and spruces. The Pohjtrichum, indeed,
will show us a little pine forest, or a further stretch
of the imagination will convert the clump into an
army of pygmy spear-men. Do the breezes, we
wonder, sing in the tiny foliage that sad song that
the sombre trees have learned from old Ocean ?

There is no time so good as this for learning the
actual shape of the trees — when they have, so to
speak, left off their corsets. Look at the spire of
that maple, the fountain-spray of that elm, or the
dark silhouette of yonder rounded horse-chestnut.
Break off' a branch, tack it to a white .wall, and
sketch it. What a study of light, and shadow, and
form : You will discover beauties of which you
never dreamed. Open the buds, so neatly packed
in tarpaulins and wool. Here are little leaves, or
flowers even, so soft and tender that one feels a
human pang at having revealed them prematurely.

Life is dormant about us; but, after all, it is life.
The gray trees are no mere skeletons. Ere long
their opening hands will beckon us to the woods.

Brown University, Providence, R. I.

SCIENTIFIC BREVITIES.

An Economical Battery. — M. JablochkoflT has
furnished the Societe des Ingenieurs Civilswith the
models of a new primary battery consuming iron,
which he fondly believes will supplant the dynamo.
The battery is said to be interesting from a theoret-
ical point of view, but M. Hospitaller, in a note to
the "Bulletin" of the society, throws a doubt on the
accuracy of the flgures given by M. Jablochkoff,
who neglects to give the E. M. F. and consumption
of the battery, though he states the cost to be two
to three cents per horse-power per hour.

Fruit Blossoms. — A chief cause of unfruitful-
ness is the imperfection of the floral organs of many
of our fruit trees. In this particular the Russian
fruits are far superior to most of those of western
Europe, or of this continent. They are mostly
vigorously self-fertilizing, and bear full crops on
solitary trees. Yellow Transparent, Tetofsky, Ol-
denburgh, Longfield, Antonovkai Switzer, Titus,
Prolific Sweeting, St. Peter, Alexander, and many
other Russian apples, are sure croppers for this
reason, and large croppers, too. Russian crosses

will greatly benefit all our tree fruits, by infusing
their wonderful vigor into their progeny.

A 'Variable Star. — Professor Vogel, the German
astronomer, has recently made an interesting dem-
onstration of the existence of a companion to the
big variable star Algol, from photogfaphs of the
star's spectrum. Algol is one hundred and thirty-
four times as large as the earth, but suflFers a partjal
eclipse at short and regular intervals, wheiv it loses
about. five-sixths of its brilliancy, and falls from a
star of the second magnitude to one of the fourth
magnitude. Professor 'Vogel demonstrates by pho-
tographs of its spectra, what was before suspected,
that Algol has a dark satellite, a hundred times as
large as the earth, and moving at a speed of fifty-
six miles per second, the interposition of which
between us and the big star perfectly accounts for
its remarkable rariations.

The Cost of Atlantic Racing. — The recent
breakdown of one set of the engines of the " City of
New York" affords a startling illustration of the
enormous cost at which the fast records of ocean
racers are obtained. During a trip eastward, one of
the crank pins of the port engines was broken, and
the trip was finished »ith the starboard engines
alone. Comparing the three days' run with the
single set of engines to a corresponding period on
the previofis voyage with both engines, we find the
average ratio of the speeds in the two cases was
0.S20 to I. When they consider that the loss of
one-half the propelling power had the effect of
reducing the speed by only 18 per cent., the pro-
moters of the line of 2S-knot steamships will have
some idea of the cost of their projected scheme.

Vegetable Hybrids. — An agricultural exchange

says : There Is a class of vegetables that mix badly
when in bloom, and which in one season become
almost worthless. We allude to the various vines.
Farmers and gardeners de not, as a rule, exercise
enough care in planting them. Take, for instance,
the several varieties of squashes. They should be
planted quite a distance apart. Last autumn, while
attending a fair, we noticed an exhibit of squashes
marked Hubbards, which were yellow, showing
that they had been planted too near the Marrow, as .
they had all the characteristics of that variety.
Squashes should never be planted near pumpkins,
watermelons near citrons, or cucumbers near musk-
melons. If so planted, they will in one season
become worthless hybrids. Too much care could
not be exercised in this matter, and the farmer
should give careful attention to planting, or the
whole crop may be a loss.

Dangerous Fun. — Professor Cook, the chemistry
professor of Harvard College, has a reputation for
facetiousness, and his lectures are highly popular,
though the attraction appears to partake somewhat
of the fearsomeness with which little children pay
their first visit to Madame Tussaud's Chamber of
Horrors. One of his lectures, says the Toronto
Mail, is devoted to dangerous explosives, and a stir
always goes over the room when he picks up a
bottle labelled nitro-glycerine. When he takes the
bottle and holds it up, the yellow liquid stirring
with the shaking of his hand, he always says some-
thing like this : " Now, gentlemen, it is commonly
believed that if I were to drop this little bottle, we
should all be blown to the skies (his hand trembles
a little more, and timid freshmen look longingly at
the door) ; but if this compeund is pure, — perfectly
pure, mind you, — I can light a match with perfect
safety and thrust it down the neck of the bottle."
Here he feels for a match. "But," he instantly
adds, "I am free to confess that I have not enough
confidence in its purity to try the experiment."
(Many sighs of relief.)

Vol. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIE^^CE :J^EWS.

Practical CljorQlstry and tlje ]?Irts.

ULTRAMARINE.

A BEAUTIFUL bluc mineral, known as lapis-
lazuli, occurs rather sparingl3', which has
been used for many years in the manufacture
of pigments for artists. . Little preparation is
needed, beyond finely grinding and separat-
ing it from the gaiigue, or rock in which it
is found. Its magnificent blue color is all
the more remarkable in that it contains
neither copper, cdbalt, nor any other metal
forming colored salts, but is simply a silicate
of aluminium afid other bases, containing
also a certain amount of sulphur, both as
sulphates and sulphides, to which the color
is probably due.

The great beauty of this ultramarine, as it
was called, and also its scarcity and conse-
quent high cost, early led to attempts to
produce the compound iirtificially. . Its com-
position was known from analysis, and from
this an empirical formula was deduced, and
a mixture of China clay, sodic sulphate and
carbonate, coal, ancU sulphur w.ns strongly
heated in a closed crucible, the resulting mass
proving to be a very good article of artificial
ultramarine. This is one of the few qases
where "the rule of thumb" gives results
wliich would not have been anticipated from
a theoretical consideration of the principals
involved.

Artificial ultramarine was first prc|>nred by
Cmclin, in 1S23, and in 1S2S it was made at
Lyons on a commercial scale. Since then
the. production has greatly -increased, and
enormous quantities are now annually pro-
duced, and from its cheapness it has largely
replaced such pignlents as smalt (cobalt),
litmus, and Prussian blue. The process of
manufacture varies in difierent factories, but
is essentially that given above, where the
constituents, as shown by analysis, are mixed
together and ignited in closed crucibles. In
one process, a green ultramarine is first
obtained, which is roasted with access . of
air and additional sulphur to convert it into
the blue variety ; but the mixture is also
made so as to form the blue variety at the
first ignition. Artificial ultramarine is quite
stable imder ordinary conditions, but it is
readilv affected bj' even weak acids, which
destroy the color. Natural lapis-lazuli is not
affected in this way, showing that there is
some chemical or molecular difference be-
tween them. A similar acid-proof variety is
occasionally produced artificially in the fur-
naces, but the conditions governing its pro-
duction are not known.

The chemical constitution of ultramarine,
and the cause of its blue color, are not well
understood. According to the experiments
of Stein, it consists chiefly of a white mass,
with which black sulphide of aluminium is
intimately and molecularly incorporated, the

blue color being due, not to chemical com
position, but to the optical relations of the
component substances. Green ultramarine
contains less soda and more sulphur than
the blue. The native ultramarine surpasses
the artificial in beauty and softness of color,
and is still used by artists, and for purposes
where the artificial product is unsuitable.

A DEVICE FOR WRITING IN

MOVINC VEHICLES.
Umder the phonetic name of Wryteezy^
the London Industries^ describes an ingenious
and useful, though rery simple, invention, by
which one can write in a carriage or on
the cars without anj- disturbance from the
motion, even when travelling over the rough-
est roads. The writing-desk, as shown in
the engraving, consists of a light piece of
wood, the lower part of which is attached
to the arm by an elastic band. The upper
part is supported by two cords (not elastic)

V'ir»:4/'i'^-fr7«J^

which are attached to a point at some dis-
tance above the writer's head. By this
arrangement, all movements of the vehicle,
paper, and fingers are rendered synchronous,
or occur at the same time and in the same
direction.

Everyone who has tried to write on the
cars knows what an exasperating and.imsat-
isfactory operation it is, and this simple little
devite — which can be made by anyone, and
carried in an ordinary hand-bag — will be of
great service to those who have occasion to
make many railroad joinneys.

A New Way of Preparing Hydrogen is de-
scribed' by J. Haderniann as follows : A granulated
alloy of tin and zinc, containing about 83 per cent,
of ilie latter metal, is prepared by adding zinc to
molten tin as longas.it dissolves in tlie liquid metal.
The product is recommended for the production of
hydrogen. The pieces retain their shape and size
after all the zinc is dissolved out by acid.

[Original in PojmUir Sci*>nce New8.\

THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE
ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS.

BY JOHN C. ROLKE, PH. D.
V. — ASTRONOMY.

So much attention was given to this branch of
science, and so much progress was made, that only
a very brief survey of the field can be made in this
article.

The Greeks began at very early times to observe
the heavens, and to distinguish the heavenly bodies
froin one another. In the poems of Homer mention
is made of the Pleiades, Hyades, Orion, Sirius, the
Great Bear, and Arcturus. The morning and even-
ing stars are spoken of, but their identity is not
suspected. The earth is conceived to be a disc,
around which flows the stream of Oceanus. Thales
of Miletus, one of the " Seven Wise Men of Greece,"
who lived at the end of the seventh century before
our era, looked on the heavens as a hollow sphere
divided into five zones. He discovered the true
causes of the phases of the moon, and of eclipses,
and is said to have foretold an eclipse of the sun
which occurred during the reign of Alyattes of
Lydia, in the year 609. Anaximander, his great
successor, held that the earth had the form of a
cylinder, suspended in the middle of the universe,
and that men dwelt on its base.' It was surrounded
by water, air, and fire in successive layers. This
fire, shining through different openings, took the
form of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The first
to turn his attention to the planets was Anaxi-
menes. He looked on them as flat- discs, supported
by the air between the earth and the arch of hea\^n.
Heracleitos believed that the. heavenly bodies were
shaped like cups. When these were turned towards
the earth, they caught its vapors, which took fire
and reflected their flame. When they were turned
from the earth, darkness ensued. Bv the time of
.Vnaxagoras, who lived in the fifth century before
our era, the spherical form of the earth was known.

The first to elaborate a regular cosmic system
was, apparently, Pythagoras, although it is dilficult
to distinguish hi§ own personal work from that of
his successors. This system, as finally elaborated,
was as follows : In the center was an ever-burning
fire, not the same as the sun. Around it revolved
the sun, the moon, the earth, the five planets
(Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury), and
the sphere containing the fixed stars. There was
assumed to be a counter-earth, — probably merely to
make up the niynber ten, — which was distinct from
the earth itself, but always moved parallel to it at a
distance of 180°. Pythagoras defined the inclina-
tion of the courses of the planets ai?d of the ecliptic.
Aristarchus of Samos, in the fourth century B. C.,
first made the sun the center of the universe.
Copernicus mentions three other Greeks as prede-
cessors of his in this regard.

Aristotle wrote a work in four books on astronomy.
He gives various proofs of the spherical shape of the
earth, among others the circular shape of the edge
of the earth's shadow in a partial eclipse of the
moon. He also discusses comets and meteors, and
the nature of the milky way, which he believed to
be formed of luyriads of small stars. Aratus, an
Alexandrine astronomer of the same century, gave
especial attention to the constellations, whose form
and location in the heavens he describes in a
didactic poem.

Many attempts were made to ascertain the size
of the earth. The method of Eratosthenes was,
perhaps, the most ingenious. He was informed
that at Syene in upper Egypt, near the modern
town of Assouan, deep wells were lighted to their
bottoms at the time of the summer solstice, and

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[iMarcii, 1S90.

that vertical objects cast no shadows. He observed
the inclination of the sun in Alexandria (;2), and
got the distance from Syene to Alexandria (d) from
the Egyptian tribute-lists. He then calculated the
circumference of the earth (it) from the proportion

,1 : d=i6o° : z°

His result was 250,000 stadia. We do not know
what stadium he used, but in any case (the stadium
is, roughly, an eighth of a mile) his result was a
creditable one, considering the means he employed.

To discuss, even briefly, the discoveries and theo-
ries of Ptolemaius (Ptolemy), would be to write a
history of astronomy. The chronicle of the science
for many centuries consists merely of comments on
liis works.

The Romans did but little in astronomy. That
they were not keen observers is sufficiently shown
by the fact that for nearly one hundred years they
used a sun-dial brought from Catania in Sicily as a
public time-piece, without noticing the errors due to
the height of the gnomon, which was intended for a
more southern latitude. Their most distinguished
astronomer was Julius Ctesar, whose reform of
the calendar is too well known to be more than
alluded to.

VI. — PHYSICAL GEOGR.M-IIY.

Intercourse with Egypt led the Greeks at an early
period to speculations about the causes of the rising
of the Nile. The great traveller and historian,
Herodotus, mentions three views which were cur-
rent in his time.. Two, he says, are hardly worth
mentioning, while the third (that it is caused by the
melting of great quantities of snow) he objects to,
oi»account of the heat of Libya, which would make
the existence of snow impossible. The real expla-
nation had its advocates in very early times. The
alluvial formation of the Nile delta is also referred
to by Herodotus.

Earthquakes, which have always been common in
Greece, early became the objects of investigation.
Anaximander thought them caused by rifts in the
earth, the result of long droughts; while Anax-
agoras believed that masses of air imprisoned in the
earth and trying to force their way out, were the
cause of these disturbances. Aristotle agrees with
this latter theory. Aristotle also considers the
question of the saltness of the sea, which he thinks
due to chemical changes wrought vby the sun when
the water is taken up by it. He believes it can be
got rid of by filtration and boiling. Strabo first
observed the fall in temperature as the elevation
increases, and the fact that tree's were confined to
certain elevations as well as to certain latitudes.

Among the Romans, Seneca is the foremost
Avriter on physical geography. In' his A'aturales
Qucestiones he discusses the erosive force of water,
both mechanically and chemically. He observes
that the spring tides are caused by the attraction of
both sun and moon together. He defines volcanoes
scientifically, distinguishing them from subterra-
nean fires. He does not believe that the earth is a
mass of fire within, but that there are collections of
fire in dift'erent parts of its crust. On the subject of
earthquakes he agrees with Anaxagoras and Aris-
totle, but considers the imprisoned force to be gas
or vapor rather than air.

In the science of navigation little progress was
made, since voyages were only along the coast. In
the open sea "dead-reckoning" (by course and dis-
tance) was employed, the distance being merely
inferred, while the course was got from the constel-
lations. Lighthouses and beacons are of ancient
date, and charts were employed at a comparatively
early period.

VII. — .MINEK.ALOGY.

The industrious Pliny was the first to collect the

results reached on this subject. He knew a great
many varieties, although, of course, not the metals
(like platinum, cobalt, nickel,"" etc.) which are Qot
found in the Grecian and Italian mountains. He
enumerated most of the signs by which mineralo-
gists today distinguish different varieties — shape of
crystals, cleavage, hardness, color, transparency,
weight, lustre, and grain.

VIII. — BOT,\NY.

The Greeks were probably led to the study of this
science by the Egyptians, who turned their attention
to it at a very early date. They found a richly
developed flora in their own country, "hlthough
many forms of vegetation, associated in our minds
with the name of Hellas, first found their way there
from the East, in coiTiparatively late times. The
natural philosophers were too much taken up with
the consideration of larger subjects to give much
attention to the study of vegetable life, but the
extensive use of plants for medicinal purposes must
have led to a considerable knowledge of the subject.
Aristotle wrote a Theory of Plants, which seems,
however, to deal mainly with the analogies and
contrasts between plants and animals. Theophras-
tus of Lesbos, in the fourth century before our era,
wrote a work in nine books on botany, in which he
considers the anatomy and physiology of plants,
and their dependence on climate and cultivation.
The Alexandrines confined themselves to the rela-
tion of botany to medicine, and the same is true of
the Romans.

IX. — ZOOLOGY.

The knowledge of the ancients in this branch
of science was by no means insignificant, and inter-
est in it was kept up by the chase, and the popularity
of fights between wild beasts in later Roman times.
One writer, Aristotle, treats the subject so ex-
haustively that his successors did no more than
comment on his work. He knew five hundred dif-
ferent varieties of animals, not all of which can be
exactly identified at the present day. Much that is
common now-a-days was unknown to him. He
knew but four species of apes, 9nd nothing at all
about the man-monkeys. His knowledge of reptiles
and their geographical distribution is very limited.
Fishes, from gastronomic reasons, were better
known. Of the lowest forms of animal life there
was no knowledge at all in ancient times. Aristotle
is said to have been fHrnished with material for
study by his pupil, Alexander the Great, but he
appears from his description never to have seen an
elephant or an ostrich. He studied the internal
structure of animals also, but was hampered in his
investigations by the preconceived notion that the
heart was the centre of the nervous system. We are
unable to learn just How much he did know of this
branch of the subject, as his special book on The
Anatomy of Animals is known to us only by its
title. Pliny gave four books of his Natural History
to animals, but is in no way original. ^Elian
describes some new varieties, especially of fishes.

Solidification of Nitrous Acid. — To solidify
anhydrous nitrous acid, though still containing
small quantities of hyponitric acid, there is required
a temperature of — 52° to — 54*^0., obtained by the
evaporation of methyl chloride in a current of dry
air. To obtain anhydrous nitrous acid free from
hyponitric acid, Fl. Birhans has operated similarly
to Fritsche, but at a lower temperature. It.forms a
fine blue liquid, which was solidified only by the
cold produced by a mixture of methyl chloride and
carbonic acid in the flocciilent state. This mixture,
according to the experiments of MM. Cailletet and
Colardeau, lowers the temperature to 82" below
zero.

Tlje Out-Door morUl.

Edited by HARLAN H. BALLARD,

President of the Agassiz Association.
.[P. O. Address, Pittsfield, Mass.]

It is pleasant to know that the new
arrangement, by which the Agassiz Associa-
tion has secured a departnient in this journal,
and also one for the voungcr memliers in
Santa Clans, is proving popular. At a
meeting of the New York Assembly of the
A. A., a unanimous vote was passed endors-
ing the plan, and recommending all Chapters
to appoint committees to solicit subscriptions
from members and friends. This recom-
mendation has been promptly accepted by a
large niuriber of Chai^ters, and a veiy grar1f\-
ing addition has already been made to the
readers of both these excellent magazines.
Mr. W. T. Dcmarest, President of the Man-
hattan Chapter, No. 20, of New York, one
of our oldest and strongest branches, writes :
"As President of the Manhattan Chapter, I
wish to assure you that your plan has our
hearty approval, and tlwt we sliall do all that
in us lies to make it a success."

We wish every Chapter, and each member,
to take a personal interest in " IMie Out-Door
World," and feel, in a measure, responsible
for it. Let each be "on the lookout" for
interesting facts, particularly such as come
under his own observation ; and let him send
us as promptly as possible an accurate state-
ment of whatever he finds that is ciuioiis or
new to him. Whenever you can add to yoiu"
notes, pictures of the t>bjects or phenomena
described, it will greatly cniiance their value.
These pictures may be photographs, line-
drawings in india-ink, — w hich are the best if
well done, — or pencil sketches, from which
our artist may "catch the idea." It is a good
plan to carr}- a note-book in the pocket, and
thus be ready to jot down notes of what you
see at the time you see it. Then, if you can
send them to us the same day, so nuich the
better.

Mr. Fred E. Keay, one of our wide-
awake members, is engaged in a work which
may well be imdertaken by others, each in
his own neighborhood. "I have in mind,"
he writes, "to make a set of photographs of
our native trees, selecting as fine representa-
tives of each as I can find." If this plan
could be thoroughly carried out, and if to the
photograph of the tree, were added photo-
graphs of details, — such as leaves, flowers,
fruit, bark, grain of wood, insect visitors,
attached ne.sts, etc., — a valuable contribution
to science would result.

A WORD of special welcome must be
spoken to Chapter 771, of Adelaide, Austra-
lia, and also to the two Russian Chapters, '

Von. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

— S16, Sliargorod, Podolsk, Russia, Sasha
Shei^Dtieff, Secretary ; and 525, Savinstzy,
Poltava, Russia, Miss Julia Lcsscvitch,
Secretary, — and to 752, of Tnskegec, Ala-
bama. Of the first, the President is Mr. W.
Catton Grasby, a member of the Royal
Society of Australia. Mr. Grasby has been
at the head of a Field-Club of Young Natu-
ralists in Australia for some time — a club
quite similar in its plan and objects to our
Association. Hs has lately made a tour of
the United States, partly in order to study
our methods of scientific a ad industfial edu-
cation, and he soon heard of the Agassiz
Association. It appealed t« him at once,
because it reminded him of his own society
in Australia, and so he made many inquiries
about it, paid 3'our President a most delight-
ful visit, and, as he bade us good-bye, he
said : "You may enroll our Field-Club as a
Chapter of your Association. Put us down
to start with at a hundred members. After I
get back we shall soon send a larger list.
We are your first branch in Australia, and
we will do our best to be an honor to the
Association." The two Chapters that come
to us from the far interior of Russia, ai'e the
first ever formed in that great empire, and
they are desirous of corresponding with some
of our American Chapters, with a view to
exchanging specimens, and becoming ac-
quainted with American thought. The last
Chapter is established in connection with that
well-known and most interesting college at
Tuskegec, wlTich has the sympathy and good
will of all who know its history.

REPORTS FROM OUR CHAPTERS OF
THE NINTH CENTURY, 801-900.
It is quite impossible to print all the
excellent reports which come to us from our
active Chapters. We therefore shall select,
hereafter, those which reach us most
proniply, and which contain most matter
of general interest. While, therefore, it will
be no reflection upon any Chapter, if its
report should be crowded out, it may be
considered a special commendation whenever
a report is crowded in !

806, Morristown, N. J., [A]. — Our Chapter has
offered a prize to the member who shall hand in the
best note-book of personal observations. In July,
nine of our members went into camp at Lake
Hopatcong, N. J. This lake is about nine miles
long and two and a half wide. We had a delightful
and novel time. During the year we have held
twenty-five meetings, and have gained four new
' members.— Ridley Watts, 48 Hill Street, Cor. Sec.

811, Nyack, N. Y., [A]. — Number of meetings
held during the year, nineteen. The subject for one
evening was " Cotton." We had specimens of the
plant in its various stages of development, also the
raw and manufactured products of the same. At
another meeting, the habits- and appearance of
many of the fresh-water infusoria were described,
and illustrated by drawings made directly from
nature. A talk on corals interested us another

evening, and beautiful specimens were shown.
Again, we listened to a lecture on the "Geological
Evidences of Evolution," illustrated by drawings.
Other subjects have been: "The History of the
Obelisk;" and "A Practical Lesson on the Crab,"
with specimens in the hands of the members. Dr.
Hensoldt, of Columbia College, kindly gave us a
most interesting lecture on "Star-Fish, Encrinoids,
and Sea-Urchins;" anc| Mr. Lilley, for many j'ears
a resident of Japan, spoke to us on the " Education
and Life of the Japanese." W£ devoted one evening
to a microscopical exhibition. These are, of course,
only a few of the topics that have engaged our
attention, but they may give a notion of our general
work. Besides all special topics, each member is
expected to bring a specimen, concerning which he
either gives or asks information. The new year
brings us an addition to our membership, and all
promise* well. — Emma Partridge, Sec.

833, Fall River, Mass., [C]. (Massachusetts
Archa;ological Chapter.) — Our membership is
composed of amateur archaeologists of Massachu-
setts. We began on the first of May, with five
members, and have gained one. We were organ-
ized just before the long summer vacation, and are
now only fairly in working order. We shall be
glad to correspond with all who are interested in
archicology. — Lynward French, Box 45, Fall River,
Mass.

834, Peru. Indiana, [BJ. — Each of our members
has been studying some branch of natural science,
both by reading and by personal observation. One
member, for example, has been studying plants, —
visiting certain marked plants once a week, noting
the progress of their development, and making
careful sketches and notes; another has made a col-
lection of seeds of the plants in this region. — ^J. E.
Walter, Sec.

S49, Boston, Mass., [H]. — Although wur time for
study is limited, our interest does not flag. Last
winter we took Professor Crosby's course in miner-
alogy, and this year we are attending his lectures. —
Abbie F. Brown, Sec.

S62, New York, N. Y., [W].— We have now
eleven members. We have held meetings every
two weeks. A botanizing excursion to Fordham
was one of the pleasantest events of the year. We
are now studying mineralogy. — Florence L. Jack-
son, Sec.

867, Elizabeth, N. J., [C]. — Since our last report,
we have changed our Chapter room from our Secre-
tary's home to a room in one of our grammar
schools, where we have better accommodations, and
the use of the larger class-rooms for open meetings.
By thus meeting in a more public place, we'hope to
gain a finner foothold, and to interest mere people
in the work of the A. A. The number of active
members remains the same, bufwe have added sev-
eral to our honorary list — among them the princi-
pals of three of our schools. In April, two Chau-
tauqua Circles joined us in one of our meetings,
where we compared work and exchanged fraternal
greetings ; and in May, the State Assembly met with
us. We have been represented in all the meetings
of the "Hill and Dale Club," and many observa-
tions have been made and specimens gained in this
way. In the new Chapter room, cabinets have
been built, and now contain — besides those yet to be
determined and classified — 127 mineralogical speci-
mens, 50 kinds of weod, and, in the herbarium, 155
mounted specimens. The various stages of the
process of refining crude petroleum are represented
by sixteen samples. These show the process re-
quired to make not only one kind of refined oil, but

the way in which the process is varied in order to
make oils for different purposes. Crude petroleum,
as it comes from the Bradford oil-wells, embraces in
its composition all the varied products in the form
of lubricating oils, wax, or illuminating oils. The
first product from the distillation of crude oil is very
light naphtha. As distillation progresses, the pro-
ducts become of heavier gravity, and vary in color
from a yellow tinge to a white, clear oil, followed bv
products of a bluish cast. For each brand of refined
oil, a distillate of a certain color and gravity is
required. After all vapor has been drawn from the
crude oil, a tar remains, which, when distilled at a
high temperature, yields lubricating oils. These,
as they distill, are nearly congealed with paraffine,
whj^li is pressed out, leaving clear, cold, test oil.
Our samples include :
Brudfard crude.

Light naphtha Gravity 7J' neaiimc

Heavy " " 65 to fiS" "

Light distillate " Jo to 60 ."

Water-white distillate *' ^jj to 50 **

He.-ivy " " 40 to 45 "

Refined oil, regular " 44.5 '*

" " water-white " 4S.5 ••

Tar " 20

Lubricating oil, unpressed and untreated.
' " . " pressed " *'

" " " " treated. *

Wool oil.

Crude scale, or unrefined paraftine, pressed from oil.
Refined wax, or steam-treated and refined paraftine.

Among the apparatus constructed by one of our
members, we have a microphone, for making low-
sounds more distinctly audible; and a galvanome-
ter, for detecting the existence and determining the
strength and direction of an electric current. —
Lilian Faulks, Sec, 134 Broad Street; F. B. Kelley,
Pres., 1061 E. Jersey Street.

576, Peru, Indiana, [C].— Our society is consid-
erably scattered, but the work is going on just as
vigorously as ever. The President of the society is
.in Albion, Michigan, attending college, the Treas-
urer is in Chicago, and the other members are
scattered. The Secretary has, since last January,
kept up a scientific column in a county paper, and
has endeavored, as far as possible, to fill it with
articles by local writers. Qiiite an interest has
been awakened all over the county, and the Secre-
tary has been amply repaid for his la,bor by the
specimens — principally relics of the Stone Age —
that have been contributed to the scientific editor;
and. this work, arising out of an interest in the
Agassiz Association, is accomplishing much good.
— G. B. Lockwood, Sec.

577, Providence, R. I., [E].— We have worked up
the fossil Carboniferous flora of our State prettv
thoroughly, and have a fine collection, with dupli-
cates to dispose of We have also added many
species to the Carboniferous fauna of the State,
including several insects and Crustacea. — Russell
W. Knight, 190 Broadway, Pres. ; F. P. Gorham,
103 Knight Street, Sec.

•

SSo, Grand Rapids, Mich., [C]. — For the past
year, our Chapter has been exceptionally busy.
During that tiine we have added to our collection,
125 species of Michigan birds, including 332 speci-
mens; about 30 new kinds of insects; some miner-
als, and 21 new species of birds' eggs. We have
made many interesting discoveries and observa-
tions, one of which was the finding of a nest and
the young of the Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, which had

never been observed before in the United States.

T. Gilbert White, Sec.

S82, Bedford, N. Y., [A].— For several inonths
there have been only irregular meetings of oiir
society, dming which a few geological specimens

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[March, 1S90.

and fossils, have been exhibited, and various plants
shown and named. A collection of our native
grasses, hy Miss D. Marble, has advanced to forty
varieties. Our herbarium contains thirty-two spec-
imens. Our President gave' us an interesting
lecture on geology, and a friend gave us an illus-
trated lecture on the use of the blow-pipe in miner-
alogy. The society was broken up by the removal
of our Secretary and four or five members, and
reorganized on November 6 on a different basis.
Our members are now all adults, and we hope to do
some more serious work. — Mrs. Lea Luquer, Sec.

SS7, Grinnell, Iowa, [A]. — During the year, our
Chapter has gained six active members. Two
members spent the summer travelling in this ^tate
and Nebraska and South Dakota. They sent home
very interesting accounts of their travels, and many
fine specimens. The members at home have been
busy with the work of the Chapter. In the spring
they found five birds never seen here before, and
found the nests of four not before known to breed
here. Several new and rare species of butterflies
were collected. Six members attended the Sixth
Convention of the Iowa Chapters, at Oskaloosa, in
August. Our Chapter was awarded first honor for
work done. We have divided our work into depart-
ments, each department being given to two or more
members. We are still working for the government
under the departments of bird migration and for-
estry. — Lynds Jones, Sec, Box 1766, Grinnell, Iowa.

891, Schenectady, N. Y., [B]. — We have gained
three new members during the year. The prepara-
tion of note-books is now in progress, the member
having the best to be exempted Irom all Chapter
dues for six months. Our meetings, in which the
greatest interest is taken, are held twice a month in
the Union School Building. — S. Frances Winans,
159 Lafayette Street, Sec.

A CORDIAL invitation is extended to all our
readers to join the Agassiz Association.
Blanks for application will be furnished on
request. 'Address all communications for this
department to Harlan H. Ballard, President
of the Agassiz Association, Pittstield, Mass.
^ ^

[Written for "The Out-Door World."]

PHOTOGRAPHY.

THE CAMERA ABROAD.* /

BY ELLERSLIE WALLACE, M. D.

The first steps on German soil made by the
arriving traveller, or "einwanderer," as they pic-
turesquely call him, cannot oft'er anything very
remarkable for the camera. Bremerhaven, the port
of Bremen, is a dull seaport town, and almost the
only objects of interest are the docks and yards of
the North German Lloyd Steamship Company.
These, however, will repay a visit to those inter-
ested in marine matters. Subjects for the camera
might be found here, but not the characteristic and
beautiful ones of other cities and towns. A ride of
about seventeen miles by rail brings us to Bremen,
and here we immediately find ourselves in a city
thoroughly European in character. The guide-
books give short historical sketches of these old and
famous towns, which should by no means be ne-
glected, and 'this reading will at once make plain
how and why the present beautiful " Contrescarpe,"
planted with fine old trees, came to take the place of
the old city walls of the middle ages.

Those who stay at Hillmann's Hotel on the Con-
trescarpe, will find themselves well and centrally
situated for excursions about the town, both in the

old and the new quarters, and will also enjoy the
great treat of occasionally hearing the fine military
band play. The musicians are under strict army
discipline, and are frequently ordered out to the
Contrescarpe to play on Sund.iys in the forenoon,
and sometimes, also, on week days, quite early in
the morning. I was awakened about seven in the
morning from my first night's rest in the Father-
land, by this incomparable band, consisting entirely
of wind instruments. Although greatly fatigued
from the previous daj', the interruption to my sleep
was a most welcome one. These open-air concerts
have for years been a feature of German life, and
those of our young friends — and older ones, too, for
that matter — who are musically inclined, will find
them very delightful.

A short walk through the quaint, narrow streets
brings us to the Rathhaus Platz. This is a very
picturesque place; the Cathedral is at one end, and
the curious old Rathhaus, or State House, at the
side, with a colossal statue just in front, that adds
not a little to the picturesque, old-world, and
thoroughly German appearance of the square. A
very effective view of this fine old building may be
taken from the opposite side of the square, from a
sort of raised stoop in front of the shops; and
another one from the extreme left-hand side of the
Cathedral, opposite the Exchange. This view will
give the end of the Rathhaus, with the principal
(acade nicely foreshortened, and a glimpse down the
street leading from the square to the Church of St.
Ausgarius, the tower of which makes a pretty bit of
distance in the picture. If the front of the Rath-
haus is attempted, it should be done before noOn,
and care taken to choose a time when there is no
market being held in the square. The farmers put
up umbrellas, and have heaps of stuff of all sorts
littering up the pavement, and it makes a very poor
foreground for such a fine specimen of ancient
German architecture. Permission from the town
authorities could doubtless be obtained to make
views of the great hall on the second fioor of the
building. However this may be, the visitor should
by no means neglect to visit the cellar of the build-
ing. The Bremen Rathskeller is famous for its
great wine casks, second in antiquity and capacity
only to the great tun at Heidelberg. The cellar is
used as a restaurant, and the great casks are shown
on payment of a small fee.

The Cathedral is rather a plain structure, com-
pared to many of the continental churches, but it
has an imposing appearance on the square; and a
visit to the crypt, where the air is so dry that bodies
are said to keep indefinitely without decomposition,
will repay the curious.

The country around Bremen has numerous
features in common with Holland, although the
ground does not lie quite so low. To put a photo-
graphic meaning to this expression, let me say that
there is absolutely nothing to take, save here and
there a thatched barn with its cross-timbers, and an
occasional windmill. These windmills, however,
are fi-equently very picturesque, and some of the
larger ones quite imposing. A good-specimen will
well be worth an exposure. The question might
arise, whether to take it while at rest, or to try an
instantaneous exposure while the huge arms were
rapidly turning. I must leave this to the amateur
to decide for himself, merely hinting that the latter
will require a very quick shutter and a quick plate.
These mills, even when quiet, . are picturesque
objects; and a nice, sharp negative, with the expos-
ure well timed, and a sky with clouds back of the
arms, relieving their delicate wood-work, will be a
very pretty addition to the stock of negatives.

My route led me from Bremen to Dresden, via
Leipzig. Those who may follow in this track will

find much to interest them in a city like Leipzig, in
an historical point of view, and some fine modern
buildings to photograph. The new Book Exchange
makes a very fine picture, and there are numerous
private houses that are beautiful enough to devote a
plate or two to. There are but few ancient build-
ings of any interest here.

In Dresden, there are plenty oC subjects. The
Russian Chapel is a beautiful specimen of its class,
and makes a very effective photograph, as I can say
from my own experience. The various churches,
also, are picturesque, and may be conveniently
photographed, owing to there being plenty of space
around them. None but those who have experi-
enced the difficulties of getting good photographic
views of buildings when obliged to work "close-on,"
as it is tecjinically termed, can fully appreciate the
value of these open spaces.

A few days' work in Dresden, and I was obliged to
leave for the charming old town of Nuremberg, of
which I will speak in my next.

PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHIC POINTS.

Sulphite of Soda in Developing. — Having
found on analysis that numerous .samples of sul-
phite of soda, sold as chemically pure, contained
carbonate of soda, I have worked with a specially
prepared sample, absolutely free from carbonate.
One hundred c. cm. of a 25 per cent, solution of
this salt, with 1% grammes of Pyro. added, devel-
oped the picture under normal conditions (.'), more
slowly, indeed, than the commercial salt, or than a
bath to which carbonate of soda had been added ;
by allowing time, the required density is obtained.
The fog appearing on under-exposed and over-
developed plates is not seen when using this
developer. Plates exposed in the worst possible
light have been left soaking in this developer for
from eight to nine hours w;ithout veiling or frilling.
The solution may be used repeatediv, and in well-
corked bottles will keep for a long time. I have
kept a bath for five months in which eight to ten
plates had been developed ; there was hardly any
discoloration, and it worked as well as a fresh solu-
tion. After many trials, I have come to the conclu-
sion that the above conditions are the best, and that
carbonate of soda should only be added when the
development proceeds too slowly. — P.\UL Poire, in
Annals of the French Academy of Sciences.

We have frequently in these columns deprecated
the use of ruby light in the developing-rooni, on
account of tli£ strain upon the eyesight. Every
now and then we find ourselves supported in this
view by the experience of some operator of ability,
or even of world-wide fame. An article in the
Archiv, describing the studio of Schaarwachter, in
Berlin, says: "In the dark-rooms the work is not
done>by ruby light, but by a combination of green,
orange, and opal glass, which admits a light almost
white. It not only saves the eyes, but makes it
much easier to observe and control the develop-
ment."

Those of our readers who are old-fashioned
enough to possess a rolling-press for prints, will be
pleased to know that it has been recommended as a
speciallv valuable form of physical exercise by high
medical authorities. They declare that there is no
class of machines, in the use of which an equal
amount of bodily exerci.se can be expended in a
given time without over-fatigue, to compare with
those worked by a winch, or — what amounts to the
same thing — by the turning of a large wheel by a
handle. The theory is, that the whole muscular
system is brought into play, but particularly those
portions about the hips, the spine, and the arms.

Vol. XXIV. No. 3.]

Slie Popular Science I^ews.

BOSTON, MARCH i, 1890.

PQPULxlR SCIE^^CE NEWS.

merits. No punishment would be too severe
for the person who would knowingly sell
this murderous mixture for such a purpose.

AUSTIN P. NICHOLS, S.B., .
WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D.,

.... EtlUor.
Associate Editor.

It is with deep regret that we announce
the death of Dr. S. F. Landrey, at Logans-
port, Indiana, on the 25th of January last.
Dr. Landrey was a valued contributor to the
Science News for several years, and our
business relations with him led to -a full
appreciation of his noble character and high
scientific attainments. Dr. Landrey was
fifty-six years of age, and his death was
caused by consumption.

The Medical Summary, which, under the
successful editorship of Dr. Wells, has been
a feature of the Science News for the past
three years, will, for the present,- be con-
ducted by Dr. C. E. Washburne, of New
York City. Dr. Wells has been obliged to
resign the work, owing to the pressure of
other engagements ; but we have no doubt
that it will continue to be of as much interest
and value as formerly to the large number of
physicians among our readers.

The disbandment of the American Psychi-
cal Society is a matter to be greatly regretted
b}' all persons interested in scientific pro-
gress. Tiiere is no class of phenomena
more worthy of systematic study than those
mysterious occinrencA which it lias been tlie
province of the society to investigate. We
understand that tlie principal cause of its
dissolution was a lack of interest and finan-
cial support, and it is to be hoped that suffi-
cient encoiuagement may soon be given to
lead to the re-establishment of a society
which, at the least, has rescued an important
class of natural phenomena from the hands of
religious fanatics and peripatetic charlatans.
AlthoHgh the society has no longer an inde-
pendent existence, some of the members will
continue to carry on its work as an auxilliary
to the original British organization.

Speaking of adulteration, a correspondent
sends us some specimens of an ingenious
fraud in the shape of artificial coflee-beans,
apparently consisting of burnt flour, made
into a paste, with some albuminous substance
to prevent their entire disappearance in boil-
ing water. A few genuine coflee-beans are
mixed with them to gi\e a flavor to the bever-
age, and the total cost of the mixture is said
to be three cents a pound. Although the
artificial berries closely resemble the "genuine
ones, a careful examination of the interior,
in comparison with a genuine berry, will
show the difference at once ; and this is, per-
haps, the easiest way to detect the fraud,
where more complete tests are not available.

A SAD accident is reported from Bloom-
ington, Illinois, where a retort in which
oxygen gas was being generated, exploded
in the midst of a class of students, destroying
the eyesight of the instructor, and seriously
injuring a large number of pupils. No par-
ticulars are given, and we are at a loss to
account for the cause of so violent an explo-
sion, unless the binoxide of manganese used
in the experiment was adulterated with char-
coal or coal-dust, as has occasionally hap-
pened. ■ These s-ubstances, when mixed with
chlorate of potash, would form a violently
explosive mixture, and the greatest care
■ should be taken to obtain only pure materials
for this, as well as all other chemical experi-

TnE dairymen of this State are making
frantic efforts during the present session of
the Legislature to have a bill passed prohibit-
ing the artificial coloring of oleomargarine,
and thus preventing its sale in free competi-
tion with genuine butter. As there is not
the slightest objection to the use of oleo-
margarine as food, and as at least nine-tenths
of all the butter sold in the State owes its
yellow hue to artificial coloring-matter, there
seems to be a good deal of assurance in this
demand of a limited class of producers for
"protection." The whole history of oleo-
margarine legislation is a curious and most
unpleasant example of the success with which
State autiiority may be invoked to interfere
with private industries and the natural laws

of supply and demand.

*♦♦

. A meteorite fell at Migheni, in Russia,
on the 9th of June last, which was remarka-
ble in containing about five per cent, of
organic matter, in tlie shape of a yellow sub-
stance readily combustible and soluble in
alcohol, closely resembling resin. It also
contained two per cent, of an inorganic body
which is, apparently, a metallic salt of a new
element allied to tellurium, altiiough it has
not been fully investigated. The presence of
organic matter in this celestial visitor is cer-
tainly an extraordinary occurrence, and must
be held to indicate either the previous exist-
ence of living organisms on these bodies, or
else — as seems more probable — that under
certain conditions, such as we may suppose
to prevail in the interior of the earth, carbon
and hydrogen may imite to form organic
substances. The bearing of this theory upon
the formation of petroleum and natural gas
is evident, and, whatever may have been
the genesis of this irieteoric resin, the dis-
covery is of the highest importance.

Dr. Phipson, of London, has published a
paper in which he attempts to prove that the

difference between the various elements is
not in the atoms themselves, but in the space
between the atoms, to which he gives the
old-fashioned name of phlogiston. He claims
that each clement is composed of a system of
atoms — all alike in size, weight, and form.
This theory, although, of course, unprovable
with our present knowledge, is of interest as
showing the tendency among chemists, at
present, to refer all the different elements to
one primitive form of matter. A theory,
however, which apparently confers the prop-
erties of matter upon space is rather an
incomprehensible one, and not likely to meet
with general acceptance.

H. O. TuMLiRZ has calculated the mechan-
ical equivalent of the force of a ray of light,
and comes to the conclusion that, under cer-
tain standard conditions, the lighl received
through the pupil of the eye in each second
of time, represents a quantity of work which
would reqtiire i year and 89 daj's to raise the
temperature of a gramme of water 1° Cent.-
This amount, it may be noted, is so infinitesi-
mally small as to be quite beneath the bounds'
of human comprehension.

In continuing his researches upon the
atomic weights.of oxygen and hydrogen, Pro-
fessor Cooke has determined the specific
gravity of liydrogen by direct weighing of a
glass balloon filled with the gas. A new
feature of the process is the determination of
the weight of the empty globe, by first
weighing it when filled with carbonic
dioxide, and afterwards determining the
weight of this gas by tlie well-known
methods of organic analysis. The new de-
termination confirms the former atomic
weights of oxygen obtained by Professor
Cooke and Lord Rayleigh by other methods,
the average value of Lord Rayleigh's deter-
minations being 15.SS4, of Professor Cooke's
first determjnation by chemical methods being
15.883, and by his last experiments 15.891.
Althongii the atomic weight of oxygen is
undoubtedly below 16, Professor Cooke con-
siders it best, for various reasons, to assume
it to Be the whole number, and leave the value
of hydrogen to vary, as our increasing know-
ledge may indicate. Professor Cooke's origi-
nal paper, which is published in the Ameri-
can Cheviical Journal, is of great interest
as an illustration of tlie refinements and pre-
cautions required in modern scientific inves-
tigations.

<*v

At this season of the year a good deal is
heard of the injurious nature of the "burned
air" which is given off' from the furnaces
used in heating our houses. It is impossible
to "burn" air, and there is no chemical
change whatever caused in it by being
heated in a furnace. If the furnace is gas-
tight, and does not heat the air to too high a

POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS.

[Makcti, 1S90.

temperature, it is a perfectly safe and health-
ful means of warming buildings. The dis-
advantages of a furnace are due to other
causes than from its "burning" the air. It
is also a mistaken idea that steam heat is
moister than any other kind. Air heated by
passing over a radiator is in exactly the same
condition as when heated by a furnace, and
tlie only possible way in which it could be
moistened would be by the escape of steam
from a leakv valve, which, however, is by no
means an uncommon occurrence in many of
the radiators in use.

PRE-HISTORIC ROCK INSCRIPTIONS
IN SWEDEN.

No part of Europe has given richer returns
to the student of archasology than the countries
of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and, perhaps,
Finland, generally grouped together under
the name of Scandinavia. From the verj'
earliest times they seem to have been occu-
pied by a large and
energetic popula-
tion, and the nu-
- merous deposits of
weapons, imple-
ments, and utensils,
— whether of stone,
bronze, or iron, —
show a perfection
and beauty ex-
ceeded or scarcely
equalled b\' those
of no other pre-his-
toric races.

The advanced
state of the early
civilization indi-
cated in tlie Scan-
dinavian coimtries,
tends to confirm
the doubtful theory
that the great Aryan immigration startctl
from this region ; or that more prepos-
terous assertion, tliat the north polar
regions were the true cradle of the human
race, and were, in former times, blessed
with a temperate climate and a luxurious
vegetation. No scientist of any reputa-
tion, however, supports this wild idea, and
the best authorities consider that the use of
bronze and other metals was introduced into
the Scandinavian countries from other parts
of Europe, and did not originate with the
ancient inhabitants, no matter to what per-
fection they afterwards brought the foreign
arts.

M. Victor Rydberg has recently been
studying the curious rock inscriptions which
are quite abundant in Sweden. We repro-
duce two engravings of these cuttin»s, one
(Fig. 1) showing a ledge near Bohuslan cov-
ered with representations of boats filled with
men,, and the other (Fig. 2) showing the
details of a similar rock sculpture in the

parish of Brastad. The age of these sculp-
tures is still in doubt, but the best authorities,
including the Marquis of Nadaillac, — from
whose description in La Nature we repro-
duce the accompanying engravings,— agree
in referring them to the age of Bronze,"which
came to a close not later than 1500 B. C.
This age is particularly indicated by the
wheel-shaped solar emblems, shown in Fig.
3, and the absence of the svast/'ka, or sacred
symbol of the Aryans, which was not intro-
duced into Sweden until after the commence-
ment of the age of Ir(5n.

The objects represented in the Swedish
rock sculptures are very numerous. The
ancient boats, with high bow and ornamented
stern, are very common, and were probably
the models after which the later ships of the
Vikings were constructed. Many animals
are represented, including oxen, foxes, dogs,
various birds, and reindeer attached to a
sledge. Hmnan figures, are common, and

of Sweden, the peasants deposit in these
cupules ofierings for the souls of their
departed children, whiclr are supposed to be
wandering in space, waiting for an oppor-
tunity to enter once more into a human body.

Fig. 1.

generally represented as naked, but some-
times clothed in a long robe descending to
the feet. Certain of these figures are appar-
ently represented with tails, but this is
undoubtedlv an unskillful attempt of the
ancient sculptor to represent the extremity of
the arm.

At Tanum a certain number of men are
represented as walking in Indian file, and
deprived of their arms. These are supposed
to represent captives in war, submitted to a
cruel mutilation ; or, more probably, it is
only another indication of the sculptor's lack
of skill. Other inscriptions closely resemble
those of the North American Indians, and
suggest the question of a possible ancient
emigration to this country. Many religious j
symbols have been noted, such as wheels,
crosses, and cupules, or cup-shaped depres-
sions, doubtless connected with ancient
religious rites. To this day, in certain parts

Fig. 2.

The future study of these inscriptions,
which M. Rydberg has so successfully beg-un,
will undoubtedly greatl}^ increase our know-
ledge of those interesting pre-historic times
of which so many relics have come down

to us, but of
which we realh-
know so little.
All our historical
records are but of
yesterday, and we
cannot doubt that,
back of the races
of which \\e have
a direct know-
ledge, the earth
has been inhabited
for many thousands
of years by suc-
cessive generations
of men, who have
left scarcely any
more traces of
tlieir existence
than the leaves of
the trees in their annual growth and decay.

[Original in l*opular .S'ciCHc'C Xews.}
BRIEF STUDIES IN BIOLOGY.

BY PROF. JAMES U. STOLLER.

11.

■fllE HYDRA.

As a bubject for our second study, we inay take
the, little animal found everywhere in ponds attached
to the (' nes of water plants, called the hydra
{Hydra viridis or Hydra fiisca.) This animal,
which is a sort of classic in zoology, — having been
famous since 1744, when Tremblej, the Swiss natu-
ralist, did his curious experiments upon it, — is a
representative of the second great division of the
animal kingdom, viz. : the Coelenterata.

The general form and aspect of the hydra, as seen
under a low power of the microscope, is shown in the
accompanying figure (page 43.) It is seen that the
body consists of a trunk-like part, attached at its base,
and of six or eight radiating arms, or tentacles, at
the free end. (The bud-hydra connected with the
trunk will be referred to below.) The mouth is
situated at the free end, and opens into the body-
cavity, which is simply the hollow of the trunk.
The body-cavity is also the stomach, and it is from

Vol. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

the fact that the digestive cavity is thus one and the
same with the cavitj of the body that the group of
animals wjiich the hydra typifies receives its name,
the word Coelenterata meaning hidden stomach.

Thus the bodily structure of the hydra is exceed-
ingly simple. While in all higher animals, from
worms to mammals, there is a digestive tract, or
alimentary canal, separate from the general cavity
of the body, in the hydra a single cavity suffices.
Food taken in at the mouth moves about freely in
this cavity, undergoing digestion the while. Should
any innutritions matter be swallowed with the f»od,
it must be passed out of the body by the same open-
ing that it entered, that is, through the mouth.
Moreover, in this simple, sack-like animal there are
no internal organs at all, the work of food-digestion
being performed by the action of the cells that com-
pose the walls of the body, and the circulation of
the fluid product of digestion (blood) being effected
by the general movements of the body.

Having thus noticed the general features of the
hydra, we may now pass to a more detailed exami-
nation. By the use of the microscope it can be seen
that the body is made up of two layers of cells — an
outer layer, or ectoderm, and an inner Jaycr, or

cndoderm. If the cells of the two layers be exam-
ined and compared, they will be found to differ
somewhat. While — like all unmodified living cells
— they consist of minute bits of protoplasm, each
having a nucleus, those of the ectoderm have a
different form, and, as experiments show, possess
difterent active powers, from those of the endsderm.
If a few ectoderm cells be isolated and examined
under high magnification, they will be foiXid to be
drawn out at their inner ends into long processes.
In the living animal these processes lie between the
two layers, and extend longitudinally. Now, to
understand their use, let us observe what happens
when a hydra, extended at full length and swaying
its body to and fro in the water, is lightly touched
by a needle. The body — a quarter of an inch in
length when extended — is quickly contracted into a
small rounded mass. The little creature thus pos-
sesses the 'power of contracting its body to a
wonderful degree, and it has been found that it is
the processes of the ectoderm cells in which this
power of contractility lies. What we learn, then, is
that these processes have the' same function that
belongs to muscle-tissue in the higher animals.
And, as the endoderm cells are not provided with
these processes, we see that the latter differ from the

former both in form and in physiological properties.

We may now examine the endoderm cells. They
are of an irregularly spherical form, and have scat-
tered through their substance small grains of a
green color. It is the possession of cells containing
this green coloring substance that makes the hydra
almost unique among animals : for this green mat-
ter is chlorophyl, the same substance that gives to
plants their characteristic color. Now, in plants,
chlorophyl has a very important function : it enables
the plant to utilize the sunlight in the making of
starch, sugar, etc., out of things taken from the air
and soil — as water, carbonic acid, and ammonia.
The interesting question thus arises, whether chlo-
rophyl serves the same use in the hydra. This
point has not been finally determined. It is known
that the hydra, like other animals, seizes and feeds
upon organic bodies as food, but whether it is also
able to derive food-matter from inorganic com-
pounds, by means of the chlorophyl-grains, is not
yet known.

But what is certainly known in regard to the
endoderm cells is, that they are brought into con-
tact with the organic compounds swallowed as food
by the hydra, — since these cells line the stomach-
cavity, — and seem to digest them. At any rate, the
food-matter, consisting chiefly of minute animals,
is gradually absorbed by the living cells, and thus
the life of the hydra, as an animal, is preserved.
And here we may point out a biological principle
of fundamental interest. Any living body, plant or
animal, is an aggregate of cells, and the iife of the
body is the in toto life of the cells. It is understood,
of course, that we are here speaking of life as
ritalitf/, not as conseioiisiiess. The principle is, that
life, considered as that state of the body which is
opposed to death, is the product of the unified life
of the component cells.

The biology of the hydra is especially interesting
in regard to the ways in which the function of
reproduction is effected. We do not commonly
think of one animal being derived from another by
a process of budding, just as one branch of a tree
grows out from another. Yet this is one of the
ways in which new generations of hydras are pro-
duced. The cut shows a young hydra, formed by
this process of budding, still affixed to the parent
animal. During the time when they are thus con-
nected, the body-cavities of the two are continuous,
so that food swallowed by either is available for the
nourishment of both. Sometimes . the bud-hydra
will itself give rise to another, .so that three genera-
tions of hydras will exist in one body. After a
time, the buds detach themselves from the parent
and begin an independent career.

Reproduction by budding occurs only during the
summer. At the approach of cold weather another
process takes place, whereby the hydra perpetuates
its kind. A small protuberance appears upon the
trunk, just below the tentacles, and a second, larger,
rounded growth farther below. Now it has been
found out that these parts are sexual organs; that
in the former, male cells are developed, and in the
latter, an ovum, or female cell. The male cells
eventually escape from their covering, and, by
means of vibrating, hair-like processes (called cilia),
swim through the water to the ovary, or sack con-
taining the ovum; then, penetrating the wall of the
ovary, they unite with the ovum, which is then
capable of developing into a new hydra. But this
does not take place until the next spring, the fer-
tilized ovum remaining at the bottom of the pond
during the winter.

Let us notice that one method of reproduction
shown by the hydra is non-sexual, and the other a
true sexual one; also that these take place alter-
nately. The same is true of many of the lower

organisms, both plant and animal, and the whole
process is spoken of as an alternation of generation.

The manner in which the ovum develops into a
full-grown hydra is, briefly stated, as follows : The
cell divides into two; these grow and, dividing
again, give rise to four; the procEss continuing,
eight, sixteen, etc., are successively produced. The
aggregate of cells thus formed is a rounded, mul-
berry-like mass, and the embryo hydra is then said
to be in the morula stage. A little later, the cells
arrange themselves into two layers, thus passing
into the gastrula (little stomach) stage. These two
layers are, respectively, the ectoderm and endoderm.
The cells composing them, at first pretty much
alike, soon take on the distinctive characters (noted
above) of these two layers in the fully developed
animal. That is to say, the cells become differ-
entiated into layers, or tissues, having definite and
characteristic properties. Meanwhile, about an
opening (the mouth) in the wall of the gastrula,
the tentacles grow out, and development is complete
— a new hydra has been formed.

Now the development, or embryology, of all
animals is, in its earliest stages, substantially like
that of the hydra. All begin as a simple cell, and
pass through the morula and gastrula stages; and
in all, the cells gradually arrange themselves into
groups, thus forming tissues. At first, taking the
case of an animal of high organization, there is no
muscle, bone, nerve, or other distinct tissue ; but,
gradually, the undifferentiated cells fall into groups,
take on distinctive characters, and thus build up the
complex body. These are the fundamental facts of
etnbryology.

Union College, Schenectady, N. Y.

fOi-iginal in t'opular Svienfe News.\
AN ANCIENT INDIAN VILLAGE SITE.

IIY VVAKREN K. MOOKEIIKAI).

For Several centuries there flourished in certain
spots throughout the fertile Ohio Valley, large and
small towns inhabited by aborigines, who gained
their subsistence by hunting, fishing, and limited
agricultural pursuits. Many of these villages
occupied the same locality year after year; some
of them might have retained their position at the
present day but for the settling of the country by
the whites. Those who study the ancient Indian,
and who have become expert in field searches, can
readily distinguish the spots occupied by these
towns by the refuse — such as broken pottery, flint
and stone implements, burnt rock, etc. — that thickly
strews the surface. Often these objects have lain
exposed to. atmospheric agencies for so many years
that they present the appearance of the natural sur-
face rock in color.

The Indian towns were most numerous in the
State of Ohio, for it is in her river valleys that we
find field after field covered with diversified forms of
rude implements in various stages of manufacture.
The valley of the Little Miami River, for a distance
of seventy miles, was occupied by quite a numerous
people. At Old Town, in Green County, we find
the first large village site, at the forks of the river,
where it is swelled to a considerable size by the
influx of Caesar's Creek. From this point to its
junction with the Ohio River above Cincinnati,
towns were located every one or two miles.

At the station on the Little Miami Railroad
named Fort Ancient (in honor of a large pre-historic
earthwork upon the hills above), the largest Indian
town fouml in the entire valley was once situated.
The railroad runs parallel with the river for some
distance, and is two hundred yards east. Extending
between tlie base of the hills and the river, for a
distance of half a mile, and having a breadth of

POPULAR SCIENCE liEWS.

[March, 1890.

three hundred vards, is this Indian camp. The
refuse is thickest between the railroad and the river.
There seems to have been but little occupancy east
of the track. This peculiarity can be easily
accounted for, because the Indians always choose
to have their wigwams located as near the bank of
the stream as possible ; hence the greater number
crowd to the river front. The presence of so many
persons would cause a heavy deposit of wigwam
refuse.

There is nothing upon the surface in the river
bottoms at Fort Ancient. The deposits range from
two to five Teet in depth, with layers of loam alter-
nating, and thus indicating occupancy at three
distinct periods. When our survey located at Fort
Ancient, in July of last year, we began " prospect-
ing" in various portions of the ijieadows lining the
river by sinking small excavations here and there.
The river at this place has banks from twelve to
fifteen feet in height. It has cut into the rich, soft
soil, and is rapidly wearing down the east bank. In
its encroachments upon the farms it washed out
considerable pottery and animal bones. Those who
first learned of this informed me, and I went to the
spot to investigate. From what I could learn I had
formed the opinion that tliere was a cemetery some
feet below the present surface. The subsequent
examination of the place proved that a few persons
had been interred, but that the site was occupied
more as a town than as a burial spot.

The first few holes sunk struck one of the most
populous portions of the village. As soon as the
discovery was made, broad trenches were run in
various directions, and extended for several hundred
feet; thus a great portion of the town was laid bare.
At a depth of two feet from the surface, a thiri layer
of ashes was found intermixed witli burnt rock,
pottery, fragments, and broken animal bones.
This deposit was made by the last village, and can-
not be very old. The deposit of sand and loam
above is due to the encroachments of the river,
which overflows its banks every few years, and
leaves in one place heavy layers of mud, while in
another it may erode and transport the soil to some
distant point. The pottery and bones found at a
depth of two feet from the surface do not look as
old as those occurring further down, nor are the
bones in as decayed condition, but are quite well
preserved. It is a remarkable fact that the pottery
found on the later village occupation is plain, while
nearly all that found in the earlier epochs is deco-
rated and of a superior finish.

Four feet from the surface a uniform layer of
relics occurs. In this many shells of the fresh-
water unio and the backs of the land tbrtoise are
found. There is little or no burnt rock, the pottery
is very common, and not a few flint knives, broken
arrow-heads, and useless celts may be gathered
from every excavation. The village that deposited
the layer must have occupied this region several
hundred years ago. In spots the accumulation of
ashes is several feet in thickness ; it is in these ash-
pits that we find many bones of birds, fish, and
beasts. Some of these bones have been split
lengthwise to extract the marrow. From hundreds
of split bones (nearly always bones of the extremi-
ties) of deer and bear, we ascertain that the natives
consider^ the marrow a very great delicacy. In
estimating the age of the second village, a number
of things must be carefully considered. It was
occupied when the country was quite heavily
wooded, and the two feet of accumulated soil is due
to the decaying vegetable matter. The .j-iver has
been subject to sudden rise and fall, to %pring floods
and summer droughts, since the country has been
cleared. Before the . timber was destroyed, the
channel held an even stage of water the year round.

Of course, the winter floods came and caused high
water for a time, bufthe stage was more even —
there were no extremes. The meadows along the
banks were in many places vast swamps; the creeks
and tributaries were clogged by fallen trees and
brush ; the river itself was retarded in its course by
piles of drift. The thick woods that lined each
bank were undermined in places by the current cut-
ting into the bank. The trees fell out into the
stream and checked the rapid flow of the water.
Old settlers have told me that in 1810 to 1820, when
they first visited the Miami Valley, the country was
heavily timbered, that swamps lined the river
margin, and that sudden floods were of rare occur-
rence. All this being taken into consideration, we
can readily see how much longer it would take the
soil to accumulate between the second and third
epochs than between the third and the present
surface of the meadow.

Below the second village site there is one foot of
black soil which contains nothing whatever. Below
it, or five feet from the surface, lies the heaviest
deposit of all three— the one made by the first
aborigines who occupied the site. This layer varies
in thickness, and contains the most artistically deco-
rated pottery, I ever saw. (The pottery is fragmen-
tary.) The bones of the following birds, fish,
reptiles, and animals have been found and identi-
fied : Turkey, quail, hawk, duck, owl, gar, cat-fish,
turtle, bear, deer, elk, wolf, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel,
ground-hog, musk-rat. Many mussel shells were
found whi%h have been perforated- in the center.
The finger thrust through this perforation would
render Irhe manipulation of the large shell easy, and
thus they were used as scrapers, cutters, and
dippers. Some of these shells were 4% by 7 inches.
Ashes have a wonderfui preserving power; there-
fore the most minute bones, and even the scales of
fish, were almost as perfect as the day they were
thrown down, although centuries may have elapsed
since these bones and scales were a part of live
animals, and fishes. In some places we found bone
awls and perforaters, made from the bones of the
turkey and deer, and having very sharp points.
These were undoubtedly used as needles by the
squaws in the manufacture of hunting shirts, leg-
gins, moccasins, etc.

It was the custom of some of the tribes of Ameri-
can aborigines to bury, children underneath the
wigwam in which they died, or at the edge of the
village. No doubt this custom was practiced here,
for in the course of the excavations the skeletons of
three children were found, accompanied by small
ornaments of bone and unio shell. These skeletons
were poorly preserved, being but eighteen to twenty
inches below the present surface in two instances,
and three feet and a half deep in three other cases.
The bodies were walled in with large, flat, water-
worn slabs of limestone, transported from the river
bed near by. The stones were placed on edge at
the head and feet and on each side of the body.
One large one served as a covering to the rude
tomb. I think these infant'burials were made by
the inhabitants of the third village, as the lower
layers in the case of the deeper graves have been
disturbed. The reason that the skeletons are so
much decayed is because they are not surrounded
by ashes, as are the other deposits, and because the
floods fill the torpbs with water, causing rapid
decomposition of the bones.

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.

[Specially Ob.served tor Po2>ular Science News,]
METEOROLOGY FOR JANUARY, 1890.

TEMFERATUKK.

Average Thermometer.

At 7 A. M 27.90°

At 2 p. M 30.71°

At 9 p. M 32.24°

Whole Month .... 32.24°

Second Averag;e . . .i 33.20°

Last 20 Januarys
Second Average

24.49°

24.28°

Lowest.

17.50°
in 1875.

Highest. Range.

64°
59°

34.00"
in 1889

48°
54°
54°'

16.50°
16.59°

Chemical names for streets have been adopted
for a certain Australian town. Argent, Beryl, Co-
balt, Kaolin, Iodide, Oxide, Bromide, and Sulphide
are favorites. It is significant that along the latter
are situated churches and recreation grounds.

We have another remarkably- warm January to
report, exceeded only twice in twenty years, namely,
last year (see above), and in i8So, when the tem-
perature averaged 32.98°. The lowest point reached
the present January was 10" above zero, on the 25th,
and the highest 64°, on the 2d. The loth was the
coldest day, with an average of 12 33°, and the 2d
was the warmest, with a mean of 57.33°. The 20th
was the next warmest, at 46.66°, and the nth the
next coldest, at 17.66°. The first week averaged
41.48° — so near mid-winter! In the twenty-one
observations the mercury went below the freezing-
point only five times, and the extremes were 22°
and 64 -. The loth had the least range of any day,
being only 3°, and the 25th the widest — 30° in four-
teen hours, of which 26° occurred in seven hours,
an average rise of nearly 4° per hour! There were
only nine days when the mercury stood below the
freezing-point at 2 P. M.. Such warm and change-
able weather in mid-winter was unfavorable for
health, and "la grippe" prevailed, with a number
of deaths from this now memorabje disease.

SKY.

The face of the sky, in 93 observations, gave 43
fair, 16 cloudy, 21 overcast, S rainy, and 5 snowy, —
— a percentage of 46.2 fair. The average for the
last twenty Januarys has been 53.7 fair, with ex-
tremes of 40.9 in 18S4, and 61.3 in 187S and 18S8.
January has been less fair than the present only
three times in the last twenty years. The morning
of the 13th was foggy, and the 22(1 and 28th were
clear and cold. Only a few- days could be called
fine.

PRECIPITATION. \

The amount of rainfall the last month, including
4.5 inches of snow, melted, was 3.04 inches, while
the average for the last twenty-two Januarys has
been 4.83, with exti-emes of i So in 1871, and 8.85 in
1S89. The " Signal Service" at Boston reports this
to be the driest January in twenty years, while my
record gives seven drier than the present, illustrat-
ing how different localities may vary in this respect,
though not very far distant from each other. The
small amount of snow fell on four different days,
between the loth and 27th, and soon disappeared,,
leaving the ground usually bare and often muddy.
Only two days of imperfect sleighing thus far, andi
the prospect for a good ice crop is now quite:
unfavorable.

PRESSURE.

The average pressure the past month was 30. iir
inches, with extremes of 29.44 on the 8th, and
30.75 on the 1st,— a range of 1.31 inches. This
is the highest average for January on my record.,
and has been exceeded but twice in all the months
of the year. The average pressure fpi* January in
seventeen years has been 29.921 ijiches, with ex-
tremes of 29.840 in 1879, aid 30-111 in -1890, — a
range of .271 inch. The sum of the daily variation.s
the last month was 11.39 inches, giving a mean
daily movement of .367 inch — the largest, with three
exceptions, in seventeen years. This average in
January has been .302, with extremes of .196 and

Vol. XXIV. No. 3.]

POPULAR SCIEXOE J^EWS.

.391. The largest daily movements the last month
were .75 on the i6th, .74 on the 14th, and .60 on the
15th, in connection with the principal rainfall. On
fourteen other days the movements ranged from
.54 to .35. There were six principal barometric
waves during the month.

WINDS.

The direction of the wind, in 93 observations, the
f^ last month gave iS N., o S., 3 E., 19 W., 5 N. E.,
36 N. W., o S. E., and 22 S. W., — an excess of 27
northerly and 59 westerly over the southerly and
easterly, and indicating the average direction to
have been W. 24° 35' N. The westerly winds in
January have uniformly prevailed over the easterly
for the last twenty-one years, by an average of
j4 observations, and the northerly over the south-
erly, with two exceptions, by an average of 21.4,
indicating the general average direction to have
been W. 21° 36' N., a near average with the last
month. The relative progressive distance travelled
by the wind the present January was 64.SS units,
and during the last twenty-one Januarys i,2.;o such
units, an average of 58-1, — showing less opposiTig
winds than usual. The 9th and 22d were hoted as
very windy. D. W.

Natick, Feb. 5, 1890.

[Specially Computed for Popular Science News.]

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR

MARCH, 1890.
The sun crosses the equator and spring begins on
March 20, at about 10.30 A. M. Mercury is a morn-
ing StarBand passed west elongation on February
23. It is at the beginning of the month about 10°
south of the sun, but is about 25° west, and so can
be seen for a few days in the morning twilight, low
down in the southeastern sky. By the end of the
month it will be very near the sun, and will pass
superior conjunction on the morning of April 9.
Venus passed superior conjunction and became an
evening star on the evening of February 18. Dur-
ing the month of March it will gradually move east-
ward from the sun, but will not get far enough
away to be in good position for observation. Mars
rises at about midnight on March i, and at a little
after 11 P. M. on March 31. It is moving eastward
in the constellation Scorpius, and on March 4 it
passes very close to the second star of the constella-
tion, Jleta Scorpii, the planet being only 8' north of
the star. The distance in miles from the planet to
the earth diminishes from about 100,000,000 miles
to 75,000,000 during the month. Jupiter is a morn-
ing star, rising at about 4.30 A. M. at the beginning
of the month, and at about 3 A. M. at the end. It
is in the constellation Capricornus, and is moving
eastward and a little northward, it having passed its
most southern point during the past year. Saturn
passed opposition with the sun on February 18, and
is in good position for observation, being on the
meridian at about 11 P. M. on March i, and two
hours earlier on March 31. It is quite near the first
magnitude star Regulus. During the month it
moves slowly westward, and at the end is less than
1° 30' north of the star, between Regulus and Fia
Letjnis, the star at the j.unction of the blade with
the handle of the Sickle. Uranus is in the constel-
lation Virgo, about 5^- east of Spica {Alpha Vir-
ginis), and is moving westward slowly. It will
come to opposition with the sun in April. Neptune
is in Taurus, between the Pleiades and Hyades.

The Constellations. — The positions given are for
the latitude of the northern part of the United
States, and for lo P. M. on Marc^ i, 9 P. M. on
March 16, and 8 P. M. on March 31. Cancer is not
far from the zenith, a little to the south. I^eo lies
east of Cancer, and Virgo lies below Leo, reaching

to the horizon on the east. Between these constel-
lations and the southern meridian are Hydra and
one or two other constellations. On' the northeast
are Ursa Major, well up toward the zenith, and
Bootes and Corona low down. Draco and Ursa
Minor lie mainly to the east of the pole star, while
Cepheus is just below it. Andromeda is just setting
in the northwest, and Cassiopea lies between it and
the pole star. Perseus is above Andromeda, and
Auriga above and to the south of Perseus. Gemini
is west of the zenith, high up; and Taurus is low
down in the west, just above Aries, which is setting.
Orion is to the left of Taurus, a little lower down.
Canis Minor is about halfway from the zenith to
the southwest horizon, and Canis Major is below,
between Orion and the southern horizon.

M.
Lake Forest, III., Feb. 3, 1890.

«♦♦

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Letters of inquiry should enclose a two-cent
stamp, as well as the name and address of the
writer, which will not be published.

Questions regarding the treatment of diseases
cannot be answered in this column.

G. F. W., Boston. — In a recent number of the
Science News [Jan., 1890, page 6] it is stated that
Nero used a convex lens as an aid to his near-sighted
eyes. Was this an eccentricity on the part of that
amiable monarch, or a slip of the pen.'

Answer. — There is evidently some mistake about
the matter, but as the parties concerned are now
beyond the reach of an interviewer, we do not think
the question can be settled. Perhaps Nero was
really far-sighted, as the ancients would not readily
distinguish between the two defects in vision.

C. H. C., Va. — Is there any kind of rnk which
will fade away in a short time after being used.'

Answer. — We know of no ink which would
become absolutely invisible and beyond power of
restoration; but it is said that iodide of starch,
made by adding tincture of iodine to a thin starch
paste, possesses those properties to some extent.
We have had np practical experience with it, how-
ever, and do not know whether it will do what is
claimed for it.

J. K., New Hampshire. — How can I grind raw
bones so as to dissolve them in sulphuric acid for the
purpose of making an artificial fertilizer?

Answer.— Raw bone can only be ground in what
is known as an attrition mill, very few of which are
in use. You had best burn the bones till they can
be ground in an ordinary plaster mill, although in
so doing you lose the gelatine and other nitrogen-
ous organic constituents, the phosphoric acid alone
remaining. You must. not expect the bone-ash to
dissolve in the acid. The chemical reaction between
the bone and acid takes place without forming a
complete solution. See Dr. Nichols' "Barn Floor
Lecture," which we can mail for ten cents.

G. H. T. , A'eio York. — Which is the proper form
of the name of the metal occurring in clay.
Aluminum or Aluminium.'

Answer. — Both words are correct and used by
good authorities. While we prefer the form
aluminium, as the termination ium is analogous to
that of most of the other elements, the form alumi-
num is, perhaps, more generally used in works on
chemistry.

P. R. D., /"/a.— What is the exact length of a
pendulum oscillating in one second of time.'

Answer. — Owing to the varying force of gravitv
at different points in the earth's surface4 this length
is not invariable. Careful determinations have been
made, which show that at the level of the sea, at the
equator (St. Thomas), the length is 39.02074 inches ;
at London, 39. 13983 inches, and at Spitzbergen,
39.21469 inches.

LITERARY NOTES.

Conversations on Mines, by William Hopton. Pub-
lished by J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.
Price, $i.2v

This instructive book is intended for the better
information of miners, over-men, under-lookers.

deputies, and firemen, and those of them who intend
to become managers of collieries. The book has
had a remarkable history. Its author — a hard-
working coal miner of Lancashire, who had risen
by sheer natural ability and force of character to a
position of trust in a mine — determined, in 1S64, to
issue the work, chiefly as a hand-book for the use of
operatives and laborers in coal mines, p'rom the
very outset the book has had a marked success, and
has long since attained an unparalleled popularity
for a treatise of this kind. Its simple and exact
methods of statement, its quaint and at times pic-
turesque language, its high moral and humanitarian
purpose, and the transparent honesty and unques-
tionable manliness and straightforwardness of its
author, all help to give the book a character of its
own.

Massage, and The Original Swedish Movements, by
Kurre W. Ostrom. Published by P. Blakiston,
Son & Co., Philadelphia. Price, 75 cents.
The practice of massage has rapidly come into
(avor of late years, as a remedial agent, and, in
many classes of affections, has been used with
signal success. The Swedish Movements, which
are only a modification, have been in use among
the Swedish peasants for many years. Dr. Ostrom
has written a most valuable little hand-book upon
the subject, which clearly explains the methods of
performing the different manipulations, and the
various di-seases in which they may be expected to
^ve relief Numerous wood-cuts illustrate the
work, and add greatly to the clear comprehension
of the text.

The First /look in Color, by Stephen W. Tilton.

S. W. Tilton, 29 Temple Place, Boston.

The study of color is taking its place in our
schools as one of the necessities in education. The
training of the eye ffe acknowledged to be as impor-
tant as that of the hand and of the mind. Every
book, therefore, that treats the subject ol' color is of
timely assistance. The teacher, wliether in our
public schools or at home, will find this book a
great assistance. It presents carefully the theories
of color and accompanies them with valuable prac-
tical instructions. The book is in handsome, clear
type, and brought out with the carefulness shown in
other manuals issued by this firm.

The Psychology of Attention, by Th. Ribot. Author-
ized translation. The Open Court Publishing
Co., Chicago. Price, 75 cents:
A celebrated French critic has characterized the
monograph of M. Ribot upon the psychology of
attention as the most remarkable production of the
philosophical press of France for the year of 1889.
M. Ribot, who, in his own country, may be regarded
as the inaugurator of modern psychological re-
search, now occupies the chair of comparative and
experimental psychology at the College de France,
and is the editor of the foremost philosophical
review of the continent, the Revue Philosophique.
His works ujftn the diseases of will, of memory,
and of personality, are universally known. The
subject of the mechanism of attention, hitherto, has
nowhere been treated of with fullness and scientific
accuracy ; it has received at the hands of psycholo-
gists but cursory mention, and, practically, been
neglected. It has been the object of M. Ribot to
fill this gap in the domain of contemporary compar-
ative psychology.

The J. G. Cupples Company, of Boston, have in
press, and will shortly issue, the second edition,
enlarged and improved, of a work in the vein of the
"Widow Bedott Papers," but pronounced by compe-
tent judges to excel even that famous production.
It is entitled Aunt Nabby : Her Uambles, Her Adven-
tures, and Her Notions, and has already in the first
edition had an extensive run. They will also
shortly publish a bright volume of European travel,
entitled A liundle of Letters from Over the Sea, bv
Louise B. Robinson, so well known in artistic and
social circles of Boston.

Pamphlets, etc., received: Liberty and lAfe, by
E. P. Powell ; published by Charles H. Kerr & Co.,
Chicago; price, 75 cents. Sanitary Entombment,
by Rev. Charles R. Treat, New York; Fires in
American Cities, by Andrew P. Peabody, published
by Damrell, l^pham Si Co., Boston ; and An Aerial
Railway for the Exploration of the Volar Zone, by
David Thayer, M. D., Boston.

POPULAR SCIEl^CE I^EWS.

[March, 1S90.

n^edicirje aijd Pliarnjacy.

SLEEP.

Tin; condition in which wc pass at least
one-third of our lives is certainly one of the
highest importance and interest, and it is,
even witli om' present knowledge, not devoid
of a certain amount of mystery. We know
that in sleep the amount of hlood circulating
in the brain is considerably diminished, and
it is, un.doubtedly, the time when the waste
of the nervous system is repaired, and a store
of vital force — whatever that may be — laid
up for the labors of the ensuing day.

The profound influence which the state of
slumber has upon the human system, is evi-
dent to anyone who has ever passed one or
more nights without the presence of "tired
Nature's sweet restorer ; " and the feeling of
strength, vigor, and well-being with which
one awakens after a period of sound, dream-
less sleep, shows that the restorative'influence
extends to every part of the body. The
need of sleep is an imperative one, and, in
many cases, is almost irresistible. Instances
arc on record of soldiers sleeping on horse-
back, or even in the midst of a battle, and
many a sentry has been sentenced to death
for sleeping at his post, who was in no way
to blame for his neglect of duty, but was
simply overcome by a demand of Nature
which he was unable to resist, even at the
i)eril oi" his life. Similar instances are known
of railroad engineers and steamboat pilots
sleeping when on duly, with the knowledge
-that the lives of many others, as well as their
own, depended Upon their wakefulness.

The proper amount of sleep required by
anvone is an individual peculiarity, and no
general rule can be given. The new-born
infant sleeps nearly all the time, but the
periods of wakefulness soon grow longer,
through childhood and youth, until the full-
o-rown adult devotes a minimum time to the
recuperation of his bodily energies, while in
old age the need of more time for sleep is
again felt. The feelings are the best guide in
this respect, and if one awakes completely
refreshed after six hours of slumber, thai;
amoimt is doubtless surficieut for his bodily
needs, while another person may require nine
or ten hours of each day to restore the balance
of vital profit and loss. Nothing, however,
can be worse than to regularly deprive one's
self of needed sleep, in order to have more
time for work or pleasure. This is like
expending one's capital instead of the inter-
est, and although the final result may be
postponed, it can only end in physiological
bankruptcy.

The time of sleep is of no particular con-
sequence, and is largely a matter of habit.
The darkness and quiet of night naturally
lead to repose, but large numbers of people
must, necessarily, reverse the usual practice

and devote the daylight hoius to slumber.
Neither is there any particular hjgienic virtue
in early rising. The familiar old couplet is
only true in a very general sense, and there
are a great many cases where a man would
be healthier, wealthier, and wiser if he de-
layed the time of his rising to an hour con-
sistent with his own feelings and inclinations.

Dreams, undoubtedly, occur during dis-
turbed sleep, or during the interval between
sleeping and waking, and — althouglj it is not
easy to prove this — it is more than probable
that a sound sleep is a dreamless one.
Unusual mental anxiety or excitement, or
a disturbed state of the bodily organs, such
as an overloaded stomach, may cause a cer-
tain activity of the mental processes, which
will become manifest in dreams. The sudden
awakening of a sleeper will often cause a
dream in the brief interval before full con-
sciousness is attained. Dreams more often
relate to recent and important occurrences in
our daily life ; but, on the contrary, the most
trivial incident, forgotten for many years, may
be, as it were, stored up somewhere in the
brain, to be alterward revived in a dream,
with all the accompanying circumstances.

The literature and curiosities of sleep and
dreams is, however, very extensive, and it
woidd be impossible to refer to even a frac-
tional part of tiie observed phenomena. A
simple falling asleep, if it were not so com-
mon, would be a most wonderful and even
alarming occurrence. Although the vital
processes of a sleeper go on as usual, yet the
mental life, the self-conscioiisness is sus-
pended, and the sleeper is practically dead ty
this world, or else wandering in another
and stranger world — that of dreamland. A
dreamer may be said to be in two places at
once, and if, from any cause, he should not
awake, but continue to dream on indefinitely,
it would be hard to say why he would not be
living just as true and r^al a life' as the one
which he knew in-his waking hours. Ham-
let's chief argument against suicide was that
"In that sleep of death who knows what
dreams may come.'"' and Bryant, in his poem
Thanatopsis, speaks of welcoming the
approach of death,

'* Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch
About him/and lies down to pleasant dreams."

It is a noble, and perha])s the most logical
conception we can form of the great and in-
evitable change that must come to us all, to
consider it as but the awakening irom the
dream of our present life into a higher state
of existence, with a comprehension of the
laws governing the imiverse and our inilivid-
ual being, which shall lead us to look back
upon the experiences of our present life as we
now vaguely remember the visions of a dis-
turbed shuTiber, and with as little regret that
they have forever passed away.

I Specially Compiled for Popular Science J*>ews.\

MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL
PROGRESS.

BY C. K. WASHBURN, M. U.

Dr. Joseph D. IJrvant has come to the Ibllowinfr
conclusions (Medical Record) in regard to the me-
chanical treatment of hci-nia : i. No tbnii of truss
yet constructed can be relied upon to cure anv
variety of simply reducible hernia. 2. The manner
of the production of hernia, and that of its so-called
cure by mechanical appliances, are such that cure
by mechanical appliances alone need not be ex-
pected, now or hereafter. 3. Practical relief from
the annoyance of hernial protrusion may be had by
the use of hernial appliances, which, however,
ought always to be worn during all unusual physi-
cal efforts. 4. The so-called cures from hernial
appliances are dependent on the restoration of dis-
placed tissues to the normal position, and to oblit-
eration due to natural resiliency of tissues; not, as
is often claimed, to the inflammatory adhesions of
serous surfaces, caused by special mechanical
effects. 5. The hard, slightly convex pad, with the
elastic steel spring attached, constitutes the princi-
ple part of the most philosophical, comfortable,
cleanly, and durable of hernial appliances. 6. Sus-
pension, elevation, and protection of irreducible
hernial protrusions, are the main indications for
this mechanical treatment.

Respecting the use of taxis, Dr. Bryant holds;

1. That the abuse (not the use) of taxis constitutes
an evil against which all surgeons should protest.

2. That a quarter of an hour of well-directed and
continuously applied taxis is a rational procedure ;
longer than this is unnecessary, and therefore
unwise and harmful. 3. That repeated attempts at
reduction on the part of different persons are per-
nicious. 4. That the present status of operative
surgery has reduced the successful employment of
taxis to the position of rendering but little practical
benefit to the patient, except in special cases.

The propriety of operative interference to effect a
radical cure in all cases of herniotomy is insisted
upon.

His conclusions as to the prop»r procedure in
cases of intestinal mortifieation are thus formulated :
I. When gangrene of the intestine has taken place,
and the condition of the patient will permit, intes-
tinal repair should be practiced at once, and the gut
returned to the abdominal cavity. 2. When gan-
grene has occurred, presumptively involving a
portion of the upper two-thirds of the intestine,
intestinal repair should be practised at once, and
the gut returned to the abdominal cavity, even if
the immediate result of the operation be somewhat
doubtful. 3. When gangrene has occurred, and .the
condition of the patient will not permit immediate
operation, a temporary artificial anus should be
formed. 4. It is better to form an artificial anus,
under all circumstances, when the medical attend-
ants are not familiar with the details of intestinal
surgery. 5. Division of the constriction is not
always necessary, and is often imwise when the
formation of an artificial anus is contemplated.

The compaiative value of the new antithermic
analgesics was recently disctissed ( Therapeutic Ga-
zette) by Professor Dujardin-Beaumetz at a lecture
at the Cocliin Hospital, Paris. He rates antipvrin
first, because of its small toxic power and its readv^
solubilily. He could not agree with those who look
upon it with disfavor, because of the danger some-
tiines'attending^its use. The materia medica con-
tains numerous substances vastly more dangerous,
and very lew that do not — or might not — occasion
danger at times. Some of the most poisonous

Vol. XXrV. No. .",.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

drugs are among those most frequently employed —
and, when occasion warrants it, in large doses.
The chief objection to antipyrin is the scarlatiniform
eruption it is liable to produce when given in farge
doses, especially in the case of young girls.

Second to antipjrin (and inferior to it only be-
cause of its insolubility) he placed methylacetani-
lid, or exalgine. It is more active than antipyrin
and causes no eruption. The ordinary dose — four
grains two or three times daily — may be increased
to twenty grains in obstinate cases. Insoluble in
c water, it is to be given in alcoholic solution. The
following formula was suggested :

. R. Exalgine, 2.50 grams.

Essence of peppermint, 10 grams.

Linden water, 120 grams.

Syrup of orange flowers, 30 grams.

M. One tablespoonful, (four grains), morning

and night.

The remedy has a wide range of applicability. It
seemed to aflford relief whatever might have been
the cause of the pain. In three cases of cardialgia,
with anginous seizures, the speaker had observed
its benefical action, and Gaudiman, in neuralgia,
had known it to fail Iiut three times in thirty-two
cases.

Phenacetin, to which he accords third place, is
sparingly soluble, and but slightly toxic. It; is of
special value in the neuralgias of the hysterical. It
is best given in capsules — the dose being about
seven grains once or twice a day.

Acetanilid he placed last, not because of defi-
ciency in power to relieve pain, but on account of
the alarming c_\;anosis it sometimes produces. The
remedy, however, was often employed for months
without causing more than li passing — and harmless
— discoloration of the skin and mucous menbrane.

The close inter-dependence of different parts of
the body, and the folly of any "specialism" in medi-
cine which ignores that inter-dependence, is well
shown by cases of obstinate cough reported by Dr.
A. C. Palmer {iVorth Carolina Medical Journal.)
One case was that of a patient, forty-five years oI3,
suffering from an almost continuous cough with little
or no expectoration. After careful e.xamination of
the chest and larynx, accident led to an examination
of the ears, where there was found decided inflam-
mation, with hypericsthesia of the drum membrane
so intense that a touch or even a draught of air was
sufficient to bring on a characteristic paroxysm of
the cough. All other treatment was now discontin-
ued, attention being directed solely Xd relieving the
. condition of the ears." Under treatment of this
s. local affection of a comparatively distant and ob-
scurely-related part of the body, the cough entirely
disappeared. Afterwards two other cases suffering
from disagreeable and obstinate cough came under
Dr. Palmer's care. In one of these cases repeated
consultations had been held for some supposed lung
trouble. The real seat of the lesions in both cases
proved to be the ears, which were affected by
eczema of the external auditory canal, with inflam-
mation extending down to the drum.

Dr. Lindenborn, physician to the Municipal
Hospital, Frankfort-on-the-Main, claims for dithio-
salicylate of soda, a new antirheumatic with which
he has been experimenting, the following advan-
tages over ordinary salicylate of soda : It has a pow-
erful action; the requisite dose is smaller; it has no
bad effect on the stomach, heart, or great vessels ; it
does not cause collapse nor humming in the ears.
Conceding that I'arther experimentation with this
agent is desirable, "it suffices for him to have drawn
the attention of the profession to a preparation which

may, he confidently hopes, be of avail in the often
long and tedious treatment .of some rheumatic
affections."

Ilueppe, who has been testing the same substance
as a disinfectant and antiseptic, pronounces it much
superior to salicylate of soda.

Dithiosalicylate of soda is an isomeric substance
consisting of two molecules of sajicylic. acid bound
to two molecules of sulphur.

Dr. Kolinsky calls attention {Graefe's Archiv.) to
some undesirable effects produced by naphtjialin,
which has been coming into use considerably of
late in the treatment of diarrhoea. It is said to
cause small extravasations in the choroid and in the
ciliary body of the eye, which are followed — if the
naphthalin is continued — by ecchynioses and white
patches in the retina, and finally by a cloudiness in
the lens, and crystals in the vitreous humor. The.se
effects Dr. Kolinsky explains by attributing to
naphthalin the property, of producing nutritive
changes in the blood which occasion degeneration
of the blood-vessels. The eye being a highly vas-
cular organ, is easily affected by this vitiated state
of the blood.

M. Clemens (Joiirnnt de Medicine de /iordeaiij)
reports good results in the treatment of ingrowing
toe-nails, by the employment of tin-foil, such as is
used for enveloping chocolate and other food pro-
ducts. A single or double sheet of the tin-foil is
introduced between the nail and the ulcerated tis-
sues beneath, by the aid of an instrument with a thin
blade. The tin-foil is kept in place by wax, which
is moulded over the parts. M. Clemens attributes
the beneficial effects to the chemical, rather than
the mechanical action of the tin-foil.

Contagiousness OF Tuberculosis. — Dr. Leudet
of Paris, according to the Paris correspondent of
the Journal of the American Medical Association,
states that in the families he has known personally
and attended for the last twenty-five years, out of
112 widowers and widows, whose marital compan-
ions had succumbed to phthisis, seven onlv were
affected by tuberculosis, lie therefore concludes
that contagion, even between married couples, is
extremely rare.

A Paris pharmacist, says the Medical Record,
was recently called upon to dispense a mixture con-
taining sixty grains of antipyrin and seventy-five
grains of chloral in half an ounce of water. An
oily precipitate was immediately thrown down, re-
sembling neither antipyrin nor chloral in taste, but
suggesting that of coriander seed. A mixture of
antipyrin and quinine is also incompatible, both
substances being at once precipitated from the
solution.

According to Dr. Edw. N. Whittier, of Boston.
(iVfW Remedies), a comparison of antipyrin and
acetanilid shows the following points of difference :

ANTIPYRIN. ACETANILID.

Action more rapid, but Generally more prolonged
more transitory. and powerful.

More diaphoretic. More diuretic.

Depressing after effects. Stimulating.

Gastro-intestinal irritant. Non-irritating.

Easily toxic. Rarely toxic.

Large dose. Small dose. \

Expensive. Cheap.

These results, though not uniform, are, in his

opinion, sufficiently so to cause, in general, a prefer-
ence- for acetanilid in febrile cases.

Regulated Diet. — According to the Medical

Brief, (N. V., Feb., 1890), Dr. Flint says : "1 have
never known a dyspeptic to recover vigorous health
who undertook to live after a strictly regulated diet,
and I have never known an instance of a healthy
person living according to a dietetic system who
did not become a dyspeptic."

For nocturrial incontinence of urine, a combina-
tion- of bromide of potassium and tincture of bella-
donna is recommended ( Therapeutische Monatshefte)
as superior to either of these agents alone. Ten
grains of the bromide, together with ten to twenty
drops of the tincture of belladonna should be taken
before retiring.

Annidalin, a new substitute for iodoform, is a
preparation made by the action of iodine upon an
alkaline solution of thymol. It is of a red color,
and, on exposure to light or in the presence of
moisture, liberates iodine.

A Chicago boy, sutlering from paralysis, was
treated {Times and Rer/ister) by laying bare the
spinal column and removing a clot of blood which
had collected there.

Stammerers, s;tys the Tim.es and Register, are
advised to keep silent for ten days, then to speak
in whispers only for ten days more, and (inally to
return to the ordinary voice gradually.

A .MAN arrested in New York City for supposed
intoxication, was found to be suffering from a pecu-
liar and obscure brain trouble. He is unable to
keep awake, and seems to be in a fair way to sleep
himself to death. — Times and Register.

Massage wits a fine art with the Chinese about
the time Moses was perfecting his plans for the
exodus from Egypt. — Times and Register.

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire has de-
cided that the law of that State, requiring a license
for the practice of medicine, surgery, and dentistry,
is unconstitutional.

BACTERIA, BACILLI, MICROCOCCI, AND
MICROBES.

Webster thinks microbes of not sufficient impor-
tance to receive mention in his ponderous lexicon,
but in this belief he is poorly supported by scientists
of today. We cannot blame the compilers of this
work for shirking the task of definition, for the
query "what are bacteria, microbes, etc..'" would
elicit the greatest variety of answers, according to
the authorities consulted.

We confess to being sadlj' at sea when questioned
regarding the differences or shades of difference in
the meaning of the several terms taken as a text.
It is therefore pardonable to quote a few of the more
interesting statements contained within a papw
recently read by Mr. F. Davis before the Chemists'
Assistants' Association, in London. By the free-
dom with which he uses the terms, it would seem
that microbes, bacteria, and bacilli are the same,
and though enthusiasts may apply subtle and hair-
splitting differences, the uninitiated are not thereby
concerned.

Mr. Davis describes bacteria as being slender
little rods, about one-three-thousandth inch long,
and about one-twenty-thousandth inch in diameter.
Though in form the bacteria closely resemble one
another, in their manner of motion there is a vast
difference, which has led to their classification as
Vihriones, having a wave-like motion, Oscillarice,
oscillating motion, etc. Just previous to the period
of multiplying, the bacterium becomes quiescent,

POPULx^R SCIENCE NEWS.

[March, 1S90.

and shortly afterwards encysted, forming upon itself
an external gelatinous wall, which entirely encloses
the original bacterium or protoplasm. The proto-
plasmic mass tlien divides into numberless granules,
which increase in size, and eventually burst the
gelatinous wall and become free, each in turn com-
mencing to go tlirough the phenomena of multipli-
cation.

Micrococci are bacteria of another shape, m6stly
round or elliptical, multiplying by simple division.
There are two principal divisions into Micrococcus
zymof/ens and M. pathogens, besides two lesser sub-
divisions into the chromogenic or color-makers, and
the septic micrococci. Some (the aerobics) require
free oxygen, illustrated by the top yeast in the man-
ufacture of beer; others (the anaerobies) do not, as
in bottom yeast.

Bacteria exist in all departments of life. The
saltpetre beds of India and Peru are produced by
aerobic bacteria, which reduce the organic matter
of the soil to nitrates, which latter then combine
with potash or soda. The greenish matter in a
suppurating wound is the product of a chromogenic
microbe. Many bacteria appear to be altogether
harmless, such as Leptothrix huccalis, always presgnt
in the saliva. Others are harmless in the saliva
and digestive canal, but immediately produce dis-
ease if they gain access to the blood through rup-
tured membranes. Some bacteria assist materially
in the processes of digestion, converting albumin-
oids into peptones. The bacilli of contagious dis-
eases may be found in the body after death.
Small-pox, typhoid, and the like, each has its char-
acteristic bacillus. In some diseases they occur in
the blood, in others in the liver or kidneys. It is,
however, still an open question whether the bacteria
or their secretions are the immediate cause of the
disease, though many are inclined to think these
latter, the ptomaines, are really the cause of many
diseases. — I'harmacenUcal Era.

^.^^

PATHOLOGICAL INFERIORITY OF THE
LEFT SIDE OF THE HUMAN BODY.
WiiEN a unilateral lesion attacks any of the
double organs of the human body, the left organ
is more frequently affected than the right. Thus,
obliterating arteritis attacks the left Sylvian artery,
tuberculous infiltration occurs in the left apex,
pneumonia in the left lung; calculous nephritis, or
cyst of the kidney, attacks the left kidney; ovaritis
and ovarian hyperesthesia are observed in the left
ovary; orchitis affects the left testicle, etc. M.
Henry Duchcnne tries to explain this fact by the
greater activity of the right side of the body and the
relative passive condition of the left side, which
contains the heart. The mechanical activity of the
right side determines nutritive activity. The me-
chanical passivity of the left side produces a kind of
physiological mealiness, a pathological predisposi-
tion. Dr. Duchenne considers that the law of
atavism may also explain the physiological inferi-
ority of the left side of the body, for in ancient
times, when hand-to-hand fights were always occur-
ring, the activity of the right side of the body was
constantly called into play. — Medical Recorder.

the cold "spare-room" has slain its thousands of
hapless guests, and will go on with its slaughter till
people learn wisdom. Not only the guest, Ijut the
family often suffer the penalty of sleeping in cold
rooms, and chilling their bodies at a time when they
need all their bodily heat, by getting between cold
sheets. Even in warm, summer weather, a cold,
damp bed will get in its deadly work. It is a need-
less peril, and the neglect to provide dry rooms and
beds has in it the elements of murder and suicide. —
Good Housekeeping.

THE DEADLY COLD BED.
If trustworthy statistics could be had of the num-
ber of persons who die every year, or become per-
manently diseased, from sleeping in damp or cold
beds, they would probably be astonishing and
appalling. It is a peril that constantly besets
travelling men, and if they are wise they will inva-
riably insist on having their bedsaired and dried,
even at the risk of causing much trouble to their
landlords. But the peril resides in the home, and

MEDICAL MISCELLANY.

Professor Stowell urges medical students to
dissect cats, as a means of studying the arrangement
of nerve- cells in the spine.

" Change of climate is what you need," said the
high-priced physician, after he had listened to all
the details of the patient's case. "Change of cli-
mate I " exclaimed the patient, in surprise. "Why,
man alive, I've never had- anything else. I've lived
right here in New England all my life."

Sterilized Lint. — M. Regnier renders lint
sterile by heating it to a temperature of 120' C.
(248° F.) He has tested the antiseptic value of
lint thus prepared in dressings applied after opera-
tions of various kinds, with good results. At a
recent surgical congress he stated that he con-
sidered sterilized lint equal to antiseptic dressings.

HuNYADi Jaxos. — There recently died in Buda-
Pesth, Andreas Saxlehner, the discoverer and pro-
prietor of the well-known Hunyadi Janos water.
He was a cloth dealer and a Hungarian patriot, and
a warm friend of Kossuth. In 1863 a cloth dealer
from the country, chatting with Saxlehner in his
shop, told the latter that he had upon his own land
no fewer than ten places on which an oddly tasting
and smelling water bubbled up, which neither man
nor beast could drink. Saxlehner visited the farm,
accompanied by Dr? Molnar, the analyst. The visit
and analysis resulted in the purchase of the farm.
Twenty years later the poor weavers son had be-
come the richest trader in Hungary, and had devel-
oped Hungarian industry and commerce in a
direction and to a degree of which Kossuth never
dreamed. He named the water "Hunyadi Janos,"
after his darling hero, John Hunyadi, the victor
over the Turks.

Fees in New York.— The professional fees in
New York City are not so extravagant as they are
generally believed to be. The general practitioner
averages from two to five dollars per visit, according
to the pecuniary condition of the patient. The
average fee for visit to the wealthy is five dollars.
The office consultation -of an expert or general
consultant is, as a rule, ten to twenty-five dollars
for the first visit, and five to ten dollars for succeed-
ing ones. The fee for a consultation visit varies
with the reputation of the consultant and the ability
of the patient, from ten to twenty-five dollars.
Visits out of town are usually from ten to twenty
dollars per hour of absence from home, plus the
travelling expenses and regular consulting fee of
twenty-five dollars. Surgical operations are rated
according to character, time, and skill, range from
one hundred up into the thousands. The operation
fee is charged for as extra of that for time when away
from home. Night calls arc twice the amount of
day services, whether ordinary or consulting visits.
Notwithstanding these accepted rules, there are not
a few who can charge much higher fees — in fact,
name their own price and get it. On the other
hand, there are many younger men in the profession
who are content to average a dollar a head for every
patient they see, whether in their office or on the
top Hoor of a six-story tenement in the rear.

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE

Popular Science News Company,

^ Somerset Street, Ronton.

ONE DOLLAR A YEAR IN ADVANCE.

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SPECIAL NOTICE.

The Publishers of the NEWS earnestly request that sub-
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necessary to mail money, it should be sent only in a registered
letter. The publishers decline to assume the risk of money
mailed in tin registered letters.

Remittances will be duly credited on the printed address
label of the paper; but if they are received after the istTT of the
month, the change in the label cannot be made imtil a month
later. If a formal receipt is desired^ a two-cent stamp or a
postal card should be enclosed with the remittance.

Publisljers' ColunjQ.

In using new steel pens the ink sometimes will not flow
readily. This can be avoided by sticking the ]>en into a potato.
Try it the first Esterhkook's Pen you use.

Wood's Botanical Works, advertised by A. S. Barnes
& Co., are recommended to those intending to commence
this fascinating study the coming spring.

For children, convalescents, and invalids of weak constitu-
tions, the use of Colden's LiQj.aD Beef Tonic will be found
invaluable. T. Colden, proprietor, Baltimore, Md.

If your heativg apparatus has not worked satisfactorily the
past winter, you should examine the (Jurnev Hot Wate-r
Heater before making ajiy change. It gives universal satis-
faction.

Water-pipes protected by the Wells Rustless Iron
Process will last indefinitely, and deliver a supply of water
uncontaminated with poisonous metallic salts, and as pure as
the original supply at its source.

Druggists should note the advertisement of H. L. Bowker
& Co. before putting tlieir soda-water fountains in operation
for the coming season. They supply all the standard beverages
and flavors, besides many novelties which are sure to be a source
of profit.

Londonderry Lithia Mineral Water is a natural pro-
duct fresh from the granite liills of New Hampshire. It is a
delicious and healthful table water for daily use, and in addition
IS highly recommended as possessing valuable medicinal
qualities.

Seeger &. Guernsey's Cyclopedia is the standard expo-
nent of the United States manufacturing interests. All persons
engaged in manufacturing or mercantile pursuits will find it
indispensable in indicating where goods of any sort whatever
may be bought to the best advantage.

Artificial ice will have a very vigorous "boom" the
present year, on account of the almost total failure of the
natural ice crop. Those manufacturers jirovidcd with the effi-
cient and economical machines built by David Boyle, of
Chicago, will doubtless realize veiy large profits from their
business.

The Wheat Meal manufactured by Mr. S. A. Fowle, the
proprietor of the Arlington Mills, at Arlington, Mass., is for
sale by leading grocers everywhere. Peojile who will give it a
trial will find it far cheaper than flour, as it will give as much
nutriment and go fnur tiiius as far as ,a similar amoimt of the
latter, thus reducing the expense of this department of the
family larder no less than seventy-five percent.- It has received
the endorsement of the medical fraternity wlienever it has come
under ibeir notice, and if any of the large number of grocers
who are among our readers will give it a trial, they will 'find,
when once fairly introduced, that il is one of the readiest selling
articles Ihev ever handled.

C|)c popular Science 0tXas

AND

BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY.

Volume XXIV.

BOSTON, APRIL, 1890.

Number 4.

CONTENTS.

Familiar Science. — The Magic Cash Box . . 49

Leaf Mosaics 49

The Proto-IIelvetes, or Lake -Dwellers of

Switzerland 51

Scientific Brevities 52

Practical Chemistry and the Arts. — Aerial

Navigation 52

Aluininium 52

How Jugs are Made . . .' 53

State Telephony 53

Laboratory Notes 53

The Out-Door World. — Mr. Wight's Course

in Botanv .54

Professor Cassedy's Course in Chemistry . . 54

A New Member of the A. A. Council ... 54

Chapter Addresses. New and Revised ... 54

The World's Fair in 1S92 54

The Isaac Lea Mem»rial Chapter of Con-

chology 55

Original Observations by Members of the

Agassiz Association 55

Reports from Our Chapters 55

Alaskan Burial 56

Editorial. — Some Assumptions of Science . 57

The Mineral Wealth of New Mexico ... 58

Paris Letter 59

Meteorology for February, 1890, with Review

of the Winter 59

Astronomical Phenomena for April, 1890 . . 60

Literary Notes 60

Medicine and Pharmacy. — The Relation of

Chemistry to Medicine 61

A Talk by John Wesley: London, A. D. 1747 61

Monthly Summary of Medical Progress . . 63

Medical Memoranda 64

Publishers' Column 64

Banjiliar Scieijce.

THE MAGIC CASH BOX.

A CURIOUS little toy is illustrated in

Aa Nature, called the Magic Cash Box.

Viewed from the front through the glass

forming one of its sides (A), it appears to

f#r, '-'

\ <^

The Magic Cash Box. — A, Front view through g:lass side.
B, Rear view with back removed, showing arrangement of
mirrors.

be simply an empty box, covered on the
interior with white cloth or paper. Now, if
a coin is dropped into it through the slit in
the top, it immediately vanishes, the box is

apparently as empty as before, and the ques-
tion printed at the back, Ou est passe la
monnaie? (Where has the money gone.?)
becomes a very pertinent one.

The mystery is solved by removing the
back of the box (B) and examining the
interior. We then find that the box is not
really empty, but contains two mirrors,
placed together at an angle of 45°, with the
apex of the angle facing the front of the box.
These mirrors reflect the sides of the box,
and produce the illusion that one is looking
directly at the back, when, in reality, it is
the reflection of the sides that we see, and the
money dropped into the box is concealed in
the space behind the mirrors.

This ingenious toy can easily be made by
anyone with two pieces of looking-glass cut
to the proper size. Care must be taken to
have the cloth or paper covering the inside of
the box perfectly white and clean, with no
marks or figures to be reflected. The mir-
rors must be placed . at an angle of exactly
45°, and the edge where they come together
is concealed by a narrow strip of card bearing
the legend noted above.

[Original in Popular Science Jlew».\
LEAF MOSAICS.

BY FRED'K LEROY SARGENT.

Since the time when the illustrious Dr. Priestly,
a little over a hundred years ago, discovered that the
green parts of plants have the power of making
the air around them fit for animals to breathe,
the attention of the curious in such matters has

Fig. I. Plantain-leaved Everlasting. (Original.)

been repeatedly directed to the study of how the
leafy shoots perform their work. It was early seen
that sunlight is necessary to enable the leaves to
drink in the carbon-laden particles from the air,
and liberate from their confinement the atoms of

oxygen ; and, after a while, it came to be understood
that the purpose of this subtle activity was the mak-
ing of nourishment for the plant. Once arrived

Fig. 2. Water-starwort. (Original.)

at the conception of foliage leaves as so many
food-mills run by sunbeam-power, the great variety
of form and arrangement, and the many peculiari-
ties of behavior exhibited by leaves, acquired a
new interest from the hope thus given that an ex-
planation of their queer ways might now be found
by the use of this new key.

One of the most brilliant results of the studies in
this direction was the discovery that the arrange-
ment of leaves on upright stems is governed by

Fig. 3. Star-flower. (Original.)

curious mathematical laws, according to which the
place of origin of each leaf and the angle between
successive leaves is fixed with remarkable precision.

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[Ai'itiL, 1S90.

To fully discuss these laws would require inany
pages, but for our present purpose it will be enough
to point out that the various. sorts of leaf arrange-
ment on vertical axes are approximations — often
extremely close — to that method which mathema-
ticians have found to be theoretically best for
securing to each leaf the utmost exposure to sun-
light, and, at the same time, having it shade the
others as little as possible. Thus, on stems having
the leaves opposite, the successive pairs cross at
right angles, and so each leaf has a clear space
above it and also one below. In other cases, the
leaves are arranged spirally around the stem, like
the steps of a winding stair-case, and alwai'S with a
nice adjustment of distance, angle, size, and propor-
tions of leaf.

Fig. 4. Sycamore Maple. (Kerner.)

Besides these more common instances of leaves
situated in higher and lower planes, there not
infrequently occur occasions when it is of advantage
to a plant to have all its leaves — or, at least, all the
leaves of a branch — spread out at nearly the same
level. Then the best possible disposition of the
leaf-blades becomes a sort of mosaic, in which all
the available space is completely filled, and without
overlapping. Almost any wood or country road-
side will afford examples of leaf-groupings which
meet these conditions in ways as beautiful as they
are interesting, and if a person is on the lookout for
them, he will have many delightful surprises.

In situations where the soil is poor, and where,
consequently, as much of the ground as a plant can
get is none too much for its needs, we find leaves
disposed in flat rosettes, (like that shown in Frg. i),
which effectually exclude all rivals from the area
they cover. Plantains, dandelions, mulleins, and
saxifrage afford other familiar examples. But, in
the power to exclude other plants from the soil it
occupies, we have no weed which equals one which
southern farmers call "the king devil." Not con-
tent with poor soil, it encroaches upon cultivated
fields with such rapidity that, in a single season,
acres will be covered with an almost continuous
mat of the outspread leaves.

Similar in many ways to these rosettes on land,
are those made at the surface of ponds and strearris

by clusters of floating leaves, borne on more or less
elongated foot-stalks which come from a submerged
stem. The water-starvvort (Fig. 2) is a pretty little
plant of this description, and abounds during the
spring and summer.

Finally, in shady woods we find a third form of
rosette (Fig. 3), consisting of a circle of leaves
placed at the top of a short, upright stem, and so
rather suggestive of a parasol. Since the theoreti-
cally best form for the leaves composing a rosette is
a sector of greater or less width, according to the
number of leaves, it is interesting to notice how
nearly sector-shaped many of the rosette leaves
actually are.

In the case of trees and shrubs, a mosaic-like
arrangement of the leaves becomes of advantage on
those branches which take a horizontal direction,
and, if these happen to grow in a shady situation, it
becomes all the more important for the leaves to be
so disposed that they may utilize to the utmost
what little light they can get. A moment's consid-
eration will show that this little piece of engineer-
ing, which leaves have so often to perform, is by no

necessity of adjusting them to each other with
considerable nicety.

Thus in the maple (Fig. 4) we have a case in
which the leaves arise in pairs, crossing each other
as before described. Consequently, to make the
blades horizontal on a lateral branch, certain of the
leaf-stalks have to twist through half a turn, while
others are forced to bend through 90^'. But,
besides this, there is a lengthening of some of the
stalks, by which means the blades are carried out
of shadow, while other stalks are correspondingly
shorter than the average, so that they will shade
only the stem. Finally, it should be noticed how
well the size of each leaf is adapted to the place it
occupies, and how admirably the peculiar angular
shape allows them to fit together.

This fitting together of angular shapes is, how-
ever, accomplished even better by the English ivy
(Fig. 5), and the result, as will be seen, is an
especially fine mosaic. The hazels, blueberry-
bushes, and the elm (Fig. 6), especially when
growing in the shade, exhibit the effects of similar
twistings and bendings, and show also the filling of

means so simple as might appear at first sight.
To start with, all the leaves on a plant have funda-
mentally the same arrangement, and, most com-
monly, this is such as was described above for
vertical stems. Hence, to bring into one mosaic-
like cluster a number of leaves which tend to point

Fig. 6. Elm. (Kerner.)

away from the axis in all directions, a variety of
expedients must be resorted to ; and even when they
are brought to lie in one plane, there rernains the

(Kerner.)

small spaces with small leaves. In the Chinese
honeysuckle such small leaves make their appear-
ance on the older parts of a shoot — a single pair at
the base of each leaf-matter the first leaves have
attained their growth, and are thus actually inter-
calated to fill up, as well as may be, the remaining
spaces. This introduction of small leaves into a
mosaic is well exhibited also in the belladonna (i),
and in a somewhat different way in certain species of
selaginella (2, Fig. 7.)

Climbing plants, like this honeysuckle and the
ivy, and others which grow closely appressed to the
upright face of rocks, walls, or tree-trunks, differ, as
a rule, from the other plants we*have described, in
having their leaves vertical instead of horizontal,
and plenty of cases may be found of leaves grouped
in planes more or less oblique ; but in every instance
it will be seen that only one side of the leaves is
well illuminated, and this is clearly the essential
condition for the formation of a leaf mosaic.

A Curious Mental Trait. — A correspondent of
the German Anthropological Society tells of his
meeting a farmer by the name of Lowendorf, who
had a peculiar habit of writing "Austug" for
"August," his Christian name. Some years later
he was inspecting a school, and heard a little girl
read "leneb" for "leben," "naled" for "nadel,"
and the like. Upon inquiring, he found that her
name was Lowendorf, and that she was a daughter
of his former friend, the farmer, now dead. This
defect was noticeable in the speech and writing of
both father and daughter. It appeared in the father
as the result of a fall that occurred some time before
the birth of his daughter.

Vol. XXIV. No. 4.]

POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.

[Orijfinul in Popular Science Xeiag.]

THE PROTO-HELVETES, OR LAKE-
DWELLERS OF SWITZERLAND.

BV ADA M. TROTTER.

PART III.

THE HELVETES ON THE TENE.* — THE AGE OE IRON.

The numerous .Tnd important discoveries of arch-
icolosjists during the last thirty years have thrown a
new liglit on the times preceding the Roman inva-
sion in Gaul and Helvetia. The first researches
were made on the Tielman, near Berne, in an isle
formed by the Aar, in 1S49-50. A hundred swords,
debris of chariots and wheels, Gaulois and Roman
^K money, with numerous other objects like those later
W found on the Tene, rewarded these investigations.
B Archaeologists pursuing researches in Alesia (Alise
B Sainte-Reine), where Gaul and Roman met for the
B last time 50 B. C, brought to light arms which had
been buried for nineteen centuries, furnishing
precious specimens for study.

After the discoveries of M. Fred Keller, at

Meilen, Prof. Desor and Col. Schwab began to

seek for antiquities in the lakes of Western Switz-

' erland. At the extremity of Lake Neuchatel. near

the spot where the new canal of the Thielle is

by Port to Bruff, below Nidau, even to Zurich and
along the Linmat.

The researches organized by MM. Schwab and
Desor were carried on at the spot Avhere the water
was only from 60 to So centimetres in depth, and
where the gravel-bed was not so deep as elsewhere.
Here they found an ancient habitation — a station
almost full of objects in iron, unique then, which
made a great .sensation in the archaeological circle,
and bore afar amongst savants the distinguishing
title of Tene, (from tennis), shallow water. Still,
the depth of the water and the layers of mud and
gravel on either side, limited the researches to the
one accessible spot; and, after a time, this field was
left by the workers, apparently exhausted. When,
however, the correction of the waters of the Jura,
with the construction of the canals communicating
with the rivers, lowered the level of the lakes,
laying bare the archaeological treasures of the
Broie and Thielle, the portion which had already
yielded such rich rewards on the Tene was left dry,
and here Pref. v'ouga began his new investigations.

These works on the Tene have furnished the most
numerous and best preserved objects of the Iron
Age ; hence archiEologists have termed this period
when the use of iron was general, the "Epoch of

^'^S-7' (i) Atropa Belladonna. (2) Selaginella Helvetica. (Kerner.) (See page 50.)

opened, rises the establishment of Prefergier. All
.the space hence to the bridge of the Thielle, and
below as far as Lake Bienne, is a rich architological
bed, enclosing stations of the three ages — Stone,
Bronze, and Iron. Opposite Prefergier a species of
dyke was found, formed of gravel, driven there by
the west wind at an epoch when the waters were, no
doubt, at a lower level. This spot still bears the
■ name of Heidenweg — road of the Pagans. Behind
this dyke, and sheltered by it, extended a vast,
shallow l)asin, which later became a marsh, and
which made connection with the three lakes — Neu-
chatel, Bienne, and Morat. It was here on an
island formed by the Thielle and the Tene, that the
Helvetes who imderstood the employment of iron
planted their piles. They extended their dwellings
the length of the Thielle.

It is on the banks of water-courses, particularly
where there have been bridges, that the vestiges ef
the people of the Iron Age are found in the best
state of preservation. This is proved along the
border of the Broye, between Lakes Morat and
Neuchatel ; in the Tene, where the stations ex-
tended along the ancient Thielle to the bridge; also

*Le3 Helvetes a la Tene, by Prof. Vouga.

the Tene." It is supposed to be more recent than
that of Hallstadt, where iron existed at the same
time with bronze. These recent discoveries on the
Tene confirm the assertions to be found in the
writings ef ancient authors, Latin and Greek, as to
the manners, utensils, and arms of the Gaulois
tribe. "The Helvetes," they tell us, " made part of
the large Celtic, or Gaulois race, extending from
the Carpathian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean."
Proof of this assertion may be found in the tombs
of Western and Central Europe, even to the Carpa-
thian range and the Vistula, where objects are
found similar to those of the Tene. A century
B. C, however, the Gaulois, pressed by the Suedois
(Germans), occupied only the country west of the
Rhine. The time of their splendor was past, and
they were weakened by intestine warfare. The
advance of the Romans to the south of their terri-
tory, and the frequent incursions of the Germans to
the east, rendered them at length desperate, and
they decided to emigrate en masse, to pass the Jura
and establish themselves in Gaul. "Before their
departure," says Ciesar, "they had burned their
twelve towns and four hundred villages." So far
the ancient writers carry us. Now let us return to
the revelations of the Tene.

Prof. Vouga began his researches near a bridge,
or long passage on piles, and, in addition to several
Gaulois habitations, found traces of a Roman sta-
tion. Among the houses was one which had a
second floor still in place. This floor was formed of
two beams, 15 metres in length, — one of oak, the
other of pine, — 20 centimetres thick, square and
well jointed. The walls 'had fallen one upon
another in the lake, but it was found that each was
formed of. three beams of pine wood. The cross-
beams were there also, and some trellis-work,
whose interstices were filled with large pebbles.
The waters having retired here, gave opportunity
for further research, but it was impossible to pene-
trate the gravel-bed to the bottom of the river.
Vestiges of five habitations wore discovered within
an area of iSo metres, while from the neighbor-
hood, from a bed of mud three metres thick,
quantities of objects in iron were drawn, — swords,
lances, hatchets, razors, chisels, an entire wheel,
chariots, and a debris of broken wheels and harness.
Then below other layers of mud, sand, and gravel,
the searchers came upon a melee of bones of men,
horses, oxen, and other animals, with utensils of
wood, and fragments of large vases, unhappily
destroyed. Near this spot, throe complete skeletons
were discovered, one of which had a cord tied
around the neck. By the first habitation, the bank
of the Thielle is covered with gravel two or three
metres deep. The Roman remains are found in the
middle of this gravel-bed, in the ferm of tiles, frag-
ments of pottery, nails, etc., about a metre above
the objects belonging to the Helvetes.

The Helvetes worked in iron and bronze with
great skill. Their arms, swords with scabbards in
iron and bronze, lances, arrow-heads, javelins,
horse-bits, etc., show great perfection. The hand
of the artist also is visible in the tools of this age,
— the hatchets, hand-saws, chisels, gouges, files,
scissors, scythes and sickles, knives and razors,
their belts, rings, bronze ornaments, pins and
needles, and needle-cases. An iron hook has been
found, by which to suspend the kettle over the fire,
precisely' such as is in use in country places to this
day. The majority of the number of swords found
on the Tene are still in their scabbards, and, when
withdrawn, appear to be perfectly new. The scab-
bard adapts itself exactly to the sword. It is formed
of two blades of sheet-iron, or very thin bronze, of
which one laps over the other, and is more or less
ornamented. Most of the swords are rounded, but
a few have been found pointed. They are pliant,
but not always well tempered, as the Romans found
to be the case, according to Palybius. The fact that
so many of the swords and knives appear to be new,
has given rise to the supposition that these habita-
tions on the Tene were storehouses, or shops,
always kept well supplied, so that the Helvetes
could retire to their fastnesses on the pile dwellings
when pursued by the enemy.

Among other interesting objects, we find two
hand-saws, such as are used by gardeners of the
present age; also bronze cases containing iron
needles, and several iron and bronze kettles, with
circles and rings of iron. But none of these kettles
were furnished with handles ; the latter came in
with the Romans. There are but few remains of
pottery to be found in this epoch of the Tene. The
one whole vase is in the museum at Neuchatel.
The fragments of broken ones are not well made,
being rough inside, black, and polished on the
exterior. A few objects in glass, beads (white and
blue), part of a bracelet in blue glass, money, and
ornaments in gold, are sometimes found.

The stations on the Tene must have been very
ancient, as there are no signs of coats of mail,
casques, belts, or chains of bronze. The money

POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS.

[April, 1890.

found seems to date from 200 B. C. Still, some of
the establishments must have been of prior date,
but the researches have not been complete enough
to prove, or even approximate to correctness on this
point. But the archieologists seem to be of the
opinion that the T*ne was not a station such as
those of the Stone or Bronze Ages, known as habi-
tations where people lived in security against wild
beasts. It is evident that they were attacked here
and defeated by their enemies, who carried off
everything of value in gold and silver that thej'
could find. We read in Roman history that such
was the custom of the conquerors ; that Marius,
" having defeated the Cimbres, chose from the
trophies the most beautiful arms, and burned the
rest." The unfortunate Ilelvetes left on the marsh
or in the river, their bodies, their treasures, — every-
thing, in fact, that the victors did not care to carry
with them. The waters at flood tide swept these
bodies and objects to the bottom of the Thielle, and
there covered them with successive layers of turf,
sand, gravel, and mud.

Such is the conjecture of the archaeologists, to
whose labors we owe the fine collections in the
museums, which give us the opportunity of judging
for ourselves of the skill and ingenuity of this war-
like race of the great Iron Age — the "Epoch of the
Tene."

SCIENTIFIC BREVITIES.

A Dublin Trader announces on his billheads
that, in consequence of the inaccuracy of chemical
analysis, he has ignored such tests in favor of a
sworn magisterial declaration regarding the quality
of his goods.

Another Mine of Mercury is announced as
having been discovered in the Transvaal, at a place
called Witkoppies, near Malmani. The yield of
quicksilver shows that the ore is rich, though the
mine at present is only fifty yards square.

Electricity in the Dairy. — An interesting
application of electricity to the dairy industry has
been recently made in Italy. The Count of Assata,
whose buildings are fitted up with the electric light,
has connected his dairy plant with an electric motor
of twelve horse-power. This machine drives a
Danish separator and a Danish churn of the capacity
of 400 litres of cream, churning being conducted at
the rate ef 120 to 160 revolutions per minute, the
butter being brought in from thirty to thirty-five
minutes, in fine grains, which, it is now recognized,
enables the maker to produce the finest article. A
pump is also worked in 'the dairy.

A New Roofing Material. — A new roofing
material is mentioned in the German papers, in the
shape of a sort of metallic slate, somewhat similar
to those used among us, but enamelled so as to be
proof against moisture or acid vapors. Metallic
slates of tin and galvanized iron have long been used
in Germany, and galvanizing has been pronounced
by the highest scientific authority there, to be the
best protection against rust that has yet been applied
to iron, but it is acknowledged that the bending
necessary to form the locking joints of the metallic
tiles is apt to throw off the protecting covering,
leaving the iron exposed to corrosion. In order to
provide against the bad effects of this, the new-
plates are made of sheet-iron, stamped into shape in
the usual manner, and are then dipped into an
enamel paint, which, when heated, forms a contin-
uous coating, unaffected by acids or alkali»s. It is
too soon to say how long a roof laid with such a
material will last, but it promises to be of consider-
able value.

Practical Cljonjistry arid tlje Jlrts.

AERIAL NAVIGATION.

It may safely be said that the navigation of
the air is a practical impossibility, and that
no balloon, air-ship, or other means of con-
veyance which can be propelled through the
air in a definite direction, under the control
of the operator, will ever be constructed.
But, as. this method of travel is confidently
predicted by many as a development of the
near future, — and even now announcements
of the discovery of a means of navigating the
air appear more or less frequently, — a consid-
eration of some of the theoretical principles
involved may be of interest.

It is evident that a practicable air-ship must
contain within itself the power to make it rise
in the air, as in the ca.se of a bird. No bal-
loon could ever possibly be forced through
the air against a wind of any velocity. The
immense surface presented to the action of
the wind, would require a force to overcome
it far beyond any that we could produce ;
and, even if it .could be accomplished, it
wotild only result in its immediate destruc-
tion by tearing the necessarily light and fragile
material of the balloon into fragments. It
would be as easy to drive a balloon at a high
rate of speed underneath the ocean itself, as
to make any headway against a wind of only
moderate violence.

It is a necessity, therefore, of a practicable
air-ship that it must contain within itself not
only the power to move it through the air,
but to sustain it at the required height. A
bird does this, it is true ; but the body of a
bird has a very small weight in proportion to
the force developed by its organism. It is
like a motor which has only to move itself.
But we have no artificial motor which can
begin to compare in efficiency with the natu-
ral one possessed by the bird ; and, besides,
an air-ship must not only raise and move
itself, — and the weight of all our artificial
motors is very great in proportion to the
power they exert, — but it must also carry the
weight of passengers, baggage, supplies, and
many other things, all of which increase the
power necessary to raise them to an immense
degree. Theoretically, an air-ship is possible,
but a calculation of the force necessary to lift
into the air even the lightest and most effi-
cient form of steam engine known to us, will
show that it is far beyond any power that it
can develop, to say nothing of the addition
of passengers or freight, and the driving of
the whole through the air against the ever
prevailing winds. The storage battery has
been suggested as a feasible means of supply-
ing this power, but the storage battery is even
less efficient in proportion to its weight than
the steam engine, to say nothing, of the prac-
tical difficulties in the way of recharging it
with energy.

As far as we can now foresee, the railroad
will always remain our best means of loco-
motion. Undoubtedly immense impro\e-
ments will be made in our present system,
as regards safety, comfort, speed, and econ-
omy ; and, although the traveller of a hundred
years hence may, very likely, look- back upon
our limited expresses as something only fit
for emigrants, yet we are inclined to believe
that the fiuidamental tvpe of the railroad will
always persist, and that as long as the human
race remains upon the earth it must confine
itself in its movements to the surface of the
land and water.

[Original in Popular Science News.}
ALUMINIUM.

BY GEORGE L. BURDITT.

One of the most abundant elements on earth —
in fact, the most abundant metal — is aluminium. It
occurs in combination with oxygen and silicon, and
is the principal basic radical in many minerals,
such as slate, feldspar, and mica. It occurs in clay,
marl, and in different soils; also in sapphires,
■■ubies, and emeralds. In all, about one-twelfth of
the earth is aluminium.

Many aluminium salts had been known from
early times, and had been utilized in different ways,
but the pure metal had not been known. It was
first obtained by Wohler, in the form of steel gray
powder, but afterwards in malleable globules.
Others have obtained it by heating metallic sodium
with chloride or fluoride of aluminium, or with a
double chloride or fluoride of aluminium and
sodium.

The pure metal (AI2V1, 27) is bluish-white, with
a bright metallic lustre. Its low specific gravity
(2.56) is its most remarkable property. It is duc-
tile, malleable, and tenacious, and may be rolled
into sheets or drawn into fine wire. It melts at
about 700°. It conducts heat better than silver,
and electricity better than iron. It 4s permanent in
air, melts slowly when heated, and crystallizes in
octahedrons on cooling. When melted in a cruci-
ble, it does not oxidize, and so it may be cast.
When dropped or struck, it gives a clear, musical
note, but is too sonorous for bells. Neither concen-
trated nor dilute nitric acid acts upon it, but it is
readily attacked by both concentrated and dilute
hydrochloric acid.

The uses of aluminium are, at. present, compara-
tively few, owing to its cost and the difficulty with
which it is prepared. It is used chiefly on philo-
sophical instruments where permanence, lightness,
and rigidity are needed. For the same reason, it is
beginning to replace copper in making scale-beams
for delicate balances, being only about one-fourth
as heavy as copper, and of about the same rigidity.
Small weights are also made of it. Owing to its
permanence, it is used sometimes for cap-stones.
The cap-stone of the Washington Monument is of
aluminium, and is said to be the largest piece in
existence.

Aluminium forms a number of interesting com-
pounds. It readily unites with copper, silver, and
iron to form alloys. It may be melted with lead,
however, and no combination will take place. The
alloy with copper is a golden yellow, and takes a
high polish. It is much used as jewelry, being the
best imitation of gold. Aluminium treated with
sodic hydrate gives the rough, frosty surface lately
so popular on jewelry. Messrs. Bell manufac-
ture a yellow alloy containing ten per cent, of
alurninium, which they call aluminium bronze. It

Vol. XXIV. No. 4.]

POPULAE SCIENCE NEWS.

is very hard and tenacious, and is used to some

extent in gas-fixtures.

Aluminic oxide (Ah O3) is white when pure, but
when colored with oxides of iron and manganese, it
is known as enierj, and is used in the manufacture
and grinding of cutlery.

Aluminid hydrate (AU Oe He) is used to form