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Ti

Lut wa Le : Jef lt,

ANNUAL

OF iad

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY:

OR,

YEAR-BOOK OF FACTS IN SCIENCE AND ART

FOR

1866 and 1867.

EXHIBITING THE

MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS

IN

MECHANICS, USEFUL ARTS, NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, CHEMISTRY,
ASTRONOMY, GEOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, MINERALOGY,
METEOROLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, ANTIQUITIES, ETC.

TOGETHER WITH ~*

NOTES ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE DURING THE YEARS, 1865 AND 1866;
A LIST OF RECENT SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS; OBITUARIES
OF EMINENT SCIENTIFIC MEN, ETC.

EDITED BY

SAMUEL KNEELAND, A:M., M.D.,

FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, SECRETARY OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ETC,

BOSTON:

GOULD AND LINCOLN,
59 WASHINGTON STREET.
NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY.
CINCINNATI: GEORGE 8S. BLANCHARD & CO.
LONDON: TRUBNER & CO.

1867.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

ROCKWELL & ROLLINS,
PRINTERS AND STEREOTYPERS, BOSTON.

PREFATORY NOTE.

WASHINGTON, D.C., February, 1867.
To THE READERS OF THE “‘ ANNUAL oF ScreNTIFIC DiscovERY:”

HAVING been called to the supervision of a branch of the public
service, the duties of which are too engrossing and responsible to
allow of any diversion of attention or employment, the under-
signed is compelled to announce his withdrawal (at least for the
present) from the editorial charge and management of the ‘‘An-
nual of Scientific Discovery.”

He has, however, the satisfaction of knowing that his with-
drawal is not to affect the continued publication of the work; and
that, under the guidance of the eminent scientific gentleman
whose name appears on the title-page of the present volume, the
sphere of usefulness of the ‘‘ Annual of Scientific Discovery” is
certain to be not only maintained, but greatly enlarged.

With no little personal regret at being thus compelled to give
up a work which for more than fifteen years haS been followed as
a labor of love,

Iam, most respectfully,
DAVID A. WELLS, _
iii U. S. Commissioner of Revenue.

fof HF
< o / / /
‘

NOTES BY THE ADITOR,

ON THE

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE FOR THE YEARS 1865 AND 1866.

THE years 1865 and 1866 have been uncommonly prolific in sci-
entific discovery, in almost every department of knowledge. This
has been mainly due to the activity of Associations for promoting
the progress of special branches of knowledge, which not only
furnish important and varied contributions to science, but consti-
tute impartial triburtals for the determination of the value of indi-
vidual researches. Among these, the Royal Society and British
Association in England, the Academy of Sciences of France, and
the American Association (this year successfully revived after an
interval of five years) and the National Academy in this country,
stand prominent.

Taking the departments of science in the order adopted in this
work, the mechanic and useful arts first claim attention. The
successful laying ,of the new Atlantic telegraph cable, and the
picking up and utilizing the old cable, are the greatest engineer-
ing achievements of the year 1866, and continue to excite the in-
terest of the scientific world. The completion of the Chicago
tunnel under Lake Michigan will doubtless inaugurate a new era
in subterranean modes of communication; and the success of the
third or centre-rail system over Mt. Cenis will probably ere long
do away with the tedious and expensive plans of boring through
mountain chains both in Europe and this country.

In marine and locomotive engineering the improvements are
chiefly in the direction of economy of fuel by modifications of fur-
naces and flues, and especially by the due supply of air for com-
plete combustion. Surface condensation increases in the estima-
tion of the best engineers, greatly increasing the economy of ma-
rine engines. The use of superheated steam is yet in its infancy,

IV

NOTES BY THE EDITOR. Vv

but it is to be hoped that theoretical fears on this subject will soon
be dissipated by successful experience. The use of petroleum as
a fuel for steam engines seems to be approaching practical appli-
cation.

The substitution of steel for iron in various parts of locomotives,
and for rails, has added greatly to the permanence of the ma-
chinery, and diminished the wear and tear in a remarkable de-
gree. The extensive use of steel in ship-building, especially
since the Bessemer process has come into vogue, has contributed
much to the strength and safety of sea-going vessels, with dimin-
ished weight, and seems likely to restrict the composite system
of wood and iron construction to those navigating smooth waters.

The battle of the guns versus armor-plates is still waged with
great vigor, and the-victory just now appears to be on the side of
the steel projectiles and chilled shot of Maj. Palliser and others;
but this will only give rise to improved machinery, a better selec-
tion of material, and better processes of manufacture on the part
of the armor-plate makers,

The new gunpowder of Capt. Schultze, made from wood, by a
process similar to that of making gun-cotton, bids fair to rival the
old explosive forcertain purposes. Nitroglycerine and gun-paper
have also been successfully introduced, the former for blasting,
and the latter for small arms.

In respect to light, heat, chemical affinity, electricity, and mag-
netism, universal attributes of matter in all its forms, it may be
considered as proved that all these forces are so invariably con-
nected inter se and with motion, as to be regarded as modifications
of each other, and as resolving themselves objectively into mo-*
tion, and subjectively into that something which produces or
resists motion, and which we call force.

Recent researches go to show that magnetism is cosmical, and
not merely terrestrial. One of the startling suggestions made by
Mayer, as a consequence resulting from the dynamical theory of
heat, is that, by the loss of the vis viva occasioned by friction of
the tidal waves, as well as by their forming a drag upon the
earth’s rotary movement, the velocity of the earth’s rotation must
be gradually diminishing, and that thus, unless some undiscovered
compensatory action exist, this rotation must ultimately cease, and
changes hardly calculable take place in the solar system. M. De-
launay and Mr. Airy consider that part of the acceleration of the
moon’s mean motion, not at present accounted for by planetary

1*

VI NOTES BY THE EDITOR

disturbances, is due to the gradual retardation of the earth’s
rotation.

According to Mr. Grove, in his Inaugural Address to the British
Association for 1866, from which we quote largely, there are some
objections, though not insuperable, against the theory of Mayer,
that the-heat of the sun is caused by friction or percussion of me-
teorites falling upon it; but these cosmical bodies have not been
ascertained to impinge upon the sun in a definite direction from
their gradually lessening orbits. And M. Faye, who has recently
investigated the proper motions of the sun-spots, has pointed out
many objections to this theory, and attributes them to some gen-
eral action arising from the internal mass of the sun.

Assuming the undulatory theory to be true, and that light
must lose something as light, in its progress from distant luminous
bodies, it becomes an interesting question what becomes of the
enormous force of light lost, and heat radiated into space, which
do not apparently return in the same forms. Force cannot be an-
nihilated ; its modes of action in this case are only changed.
This is one of the most interesting problems of celestial dynamics,
which we wait for some Newton to solve. 3

The doctrine of the correlation of forces is steadily gaining
ground. Many points of great practical importance are connected
with this subject, as whether we can produce heat by the expen-
diture of other forces than those locked up in our coal-beds and
forests; whether we can absorb and store up for future use, by
chemical or mechanical means, the rays of the sun now wasted
for human purposes in the desert and the tropics.

The researches of Prof. Tyndall on radiant heat, and the dis-
coveries of Graham on the increased potential energy of atmos-
pheric air when passed through films of caoutchouc, it becoming
richer in oxygen by losing half its nitrogen, are interesting as
indications of means for storing up force. The magneto-electric
machine of Mr. Wilde, and the electrical machine of Mr. Holz,
show how mechanical may be advantageously converted into
electrical force. The greatest practical conversion of force is ex-
emplified in the fact that the chemical action of a little salt water
upon a few pieces of zinc, as shown in the Atlantic cable, has
bound the two hemispheres together by electrical action.

The remarkable results of spectrum analysis, from the labors of
Kirchhoff, Bunsen, Huggins, and Miller, have thrown a flood of
light upon the structure of the heavenly bodies. These conclu-
sions will be found under the head of ‘‘ Celestial Chemistry.”

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. VII

The old theories of geological convulsions and cataclysms by
which the inequalities of the earth’s surface and the many breaks
in the geological record were explained, are now supplanted by
the modern view of Lyell and others, which refers the changes in
the past to causes similar to those now in operation. With this,
since the researches of Darwin, has become connected the ques-
tion, whether, in a geological formation unmistakably continu-
ous, the different characters of the fossils represent absolutely
permanent varieties, or may be explained by gradual modifying
changes. It is quite possible that many modifications of size and
form, regarded as permanent, and on which specific differences
have been assumed, may be due to changes in the conditions of
existence. The opponents of Darwin’s theory have a strong
point in the fact that, with the present knowledge of fossil forms, the
physical breaks in the strata make it impossible to fairly trace the
order of succession of organisms ; but, notwithstanding the imper-
fection of the geological record, the belief widely prevails among
geologists that the succession of species bears a definite relation
to the succession of strata.

Since Sir John Herschel, more than thirty years ago, proposed
to explain the climatal perturbations on the earth’s surface, with
the attendant geological phenomena, by changes in the eccen-
tricity of the earth’s orbit, cosmical studies have been more inti-
mately associated with geology. Mr. Croll has recently shown
reason to believe that the climate in the frigid and temperate
zones of the earth would depend on whether the winter of a given
region occurred when the earth at its period of greatest eccen-
tricity was in aphelion or perihelion —if the former, the annual
average of temperatare would be lower, —if the latter, it would
be higher than when the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit was less,
or approached more nearly to a circle — he calculates the differ-
ence in the amount of heat, in these two positions, as nineteen to
twenty-six. He thus explains the glacial, carboniferous or hot,
and the normal or temperate periods, which we observe in geo-
logical records; he estimates that it is certainly not less, and
probably much more, than one hundred thousand years since the
last glacial epoch.

The progress of physiology during the last two years has been
great, principally owing to microscopical and chemical investiga-
tions. The discovery of development by cells, evincing a simple,
uniform law, underlying and working out the very different forms

Vill NOTES BY THE EDITOR

and structures of vegetable and animal life, marked a new era in
physiological science. Says Prof. Huxley, ‘‘ Surely the knowl-
edge that the tough oak plank, the blade of grass, the lion’s claw,
the contracting muscle, and the thinking brain, all emanate from
simple forms which, so far as we can tell, are perfectly alike, —
and further, that the entire plant or animal also emanates from a
single form or cell which is undistinguishable from the rudiments
of its several parts, is as full of interest, and as suggestive of high
thought as any one of the fragments of knowledge which man
has worked out for himself in the whole range of physical science ;
and what better exercise can there be than teaching the operation
of the great law of uniformity ?”

Organic chemistry has accumulated a vast array of facts which
its professors are bringing to bear upon some of the most impor-
tant questions in physiology, and their habits of investigation and
knowledge of the nature of the forces acting within the body have
made them umpires in many of the sanitary and even medical
questions of the day. Such is the rapid advance of the chemical
knowledge of common things, that physicians must be chemists to
that degree as to be able to answer questions arising regarding
the air, water, food, drink, and medicine which, by means of
forces that exist in them, act upon the forces within the human
body, and give rise to the phenomena of health and disease.
From the researches of Traube, Playfair, E. Smith, Fick and
Wislicenus, Frankland, and others, we know that the amount of
labor which a man has undergone in twenty-four hours may be
approximately arrived at by an examination of the chemical
changes which have taken place in his body; ‘‘ changed forms in
matter indicating the anterior exercise of dynamical force.” All
will admit that muscular action is produced at the expense of
chemical changes, but until recently it was generally believed
that muscular power is derived from the oxidation of albuminous
or nitrogenous substances; but more recent researches, detailed
in the text, show that the latter is only an accompaniment and
not the cause of the former, and that muscular force is supplied
by the oxidation of carbon and hydrogen compounds. Messrs.
Fick and Wislicenus, from their experiments in ascending the
Faulhorn, state that ‘‘so far from the oxidation of albuminous
substances being the only source of muscular power, the sub-
stances by the burning of which force is generated in the muscles
are not the albuminous constituents of those tissues, but non-

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. Ix

nitrogenous substances, either fats or hydrates of carbon, and that
the burning of albumen is not in any way concerned in the pro-
duction of muscular power.”

The theory of Darwin, that species are not rigidly limited, and
have not been created at various times complete and unchange-
able, but have been gradually and indefinitely varied, from exter-
nal circumstances, from natural efforts to accommodate them-
selves to surrounding changes, and from the necessity of yielding
to force in the struggle for existence, has continually gained
ground, and now numbers among its advocates many of the first
naturalists of Europe and this country. The opponents of this
theory have their strong points in accommodating definitions of a
species, the phenomena of hybridity, and the non-occurrence of
these changes before our eyes. If species were created as we
now see them, the more we subdivide them by extended obser-
vation the more we increase the number of the supposed crea-
tions; and yet we have no well authenticated instance of a new
creation, and in no other operations of nature such a want of con-
tinuity, such a perpetually recurring creative miracle. The ten-
dency seems to be to the belief that there are no such natural
divisions as species, genera, families, etc., but that they are merely
convenient terms for subdivisions, having a permanence which
may outlive many generations of man, and yet which are not ab-
solutely fixed. Such is the length of geological periods now
admitted, that the phenomena of hybridity may be legitimately
explained on the theory of the continuity of succession; the infe-
cundity may just as well be due to physical differences arising
from long-continued variation, as to an original organic constitu-
tion; indeed, the acknowledged degrees of hybridity are best
explained on Darwin’s theory. Darwin insists upon time for the
changes by natural selection ; and no one will pretend, at the pres- ©
ent day, to date back the earth’s history only a few thousand years.
Geology teaches that hundreds of thousands of years do not limit
the period of the earth’s existence as an abode for living organ-
isms. In the early days of geological science, the numerous gaps
in the record of fossil forms would have been a strong argument
against the theory of Darwin; certain species seemed to become
extinct and new ones to appear without connecting links; but, as
page after page of this geological record has been discovered, the
gaps become less numerous and less abrupt, and the intermediate
forms are gradually being added to form the continuous series.

‘

-

x NOTES BY THE EDITOR

The more the gaps between species are filled up by the discovery
of intermediate varieties, the stronger becomes the argument for
transmutation, and the weaker that for successive creations; be-
cause the former view then becomes more and more consistent
with experience, and the latter more and more inconsistent with
it. The investigations of Mr. Bates on the butterflies of the Am-
azon region, of Mr. Wallace on those of the Malay Archipelago,
of Mr. B. D. Walsh on the effect of food in insects, —Sir John
Lubbock’s diving hymenopterous insect; the discovery of Eozoén
at a period inconceivably antecedent to the pre-supposed intro-
duction of life upon the globe; the published opinions of De Can-
dolle and Hooker, in botany; the phases of resemblance to infe-
rior orders which the embryo goes through in its development;
the metamorphosis of plants, and the occurrence of rudimentary
and useless organs, —all supply strong evidence in favor of the
derivative hypothesis. The present more quiet and uniform rate
of physical changes would involve a greater degree of fixity in
living forms than in the earlier periods of rapid transition. It
must also be remembered that only a very small portion of the
extinct forms have been preserved as fossils; were the series
complete, the question would be solved, and, in the opinion of
many good judges, most likely in favor of the derivative hypoth-
esis. The opponents of continuity lay all stress upon the lost links
of the palzeontological chain, and none upon the few existing and
altogether exceptional ones; and the worst of it is, that the
chance of filling up the missing links, from the operation of de-
structive causes, is very small.

The controversy of MM. Pasteur and Pouchet on spontaneous
generation had ended in the general belief that the latter was in
error, but more recent experiments of Mr. Child again opened the
question; the weight of opinion, however, continues to be against
the theory of spontaneous generation, or, if heterogeny obtains
at all, that it is confined to the most simple structures, such as
vibrios and bacteria, the more highly-developed and progressive
forms being generated by reproduction.

Meteorites are now acknowledged to be cosmical bodies moy-
ing in the interplanetary spaces by gravitation around the sun,
and some perhaps around the planets, showing that the universe
has not the empty spaces formerly attributed to it, but is studded
with smaller planets between the larger and more visible masses.
Such as have fallen upon the earth give on analysis metals and

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. xI

oxides similar to those which belong to our own planet. M.-Dau-
brée, before the French Academy, has given the chemical and
mineralogical characters of meteorites, and finds that their sim-
ilarity to terrestrial rocks increases as we penetrate into the crust
of the earth, and that some of our deep-seated minerals, as olivine,
serpentine, etc., are almost identical with meteoric constituents.
When we consider that the exterior of the earth is oxidated to a
eonsiderable extent, there is no cause for wonder that its deox-
idated interior should possess a higher specific gravity than the
crust.

The asteroids and planets now number ninety-two, and proba-
bly the next half century will demonstrate that the now seeming-
ly vacant interplanetary spaces are occupied by many others of
these bodies.

Our own satellite has been the subject of rigid scrutiny, yet the
question whether the moon possesses any atmosphere cannot be
regarded as solved; if there be any, it must be exceedingly
small in quantity and highly attenuated. It is believed that there
is not oxygen enough in the moon to oxidate the metals of which
it is composed, and that the surface which we see is metallic, or
nearly so. M. Chacornac’s recent observations lead him to the
belief that many of the lunar craters were the result of a single
explosion, which raised the surface as a bubble, and deposited the
débris around the orifice of eruption. The lunar eruptions evi-
dently did not take place at one period only, as in many parts one
crater is seen encroaching on and displacing others.

It is to be hoped that the achromatic telescope will ere long be
freed from its old and great defect, ‘‘ the inaccuracy of definition,
arising from what was termed the irrationality of the spectrum, or
the incommensurate divisions of the spectra, formed by flint and
crown glass.”

The improvements of Mr. Alvan Clark, of Cambridge, Mass.,
in the construction and local correction of lenses for the telescope,
for which the Rumford Medal has recently been awarded by the
American Academy, mark a new era in astronomical observation.
- Recent discoveries in paleontology prove that man existed on
this earth at a period far anterior to that commonly assigned to
him. The chipped flints of the earliest races show that their con-
dition was not that of civilization; to these rude implements suc-
ceeded more carefully shaped and polished stone weapons, then
bronze was used, and, the last, before the historic period, iron.

XII NOTES BY THE EDITOR.

Civilization, even to the extent of that of the Egyptians and the
Central Americans, must have been of very slow growth; as in-
vention is said to march with a geometrical progression, the earli-
est steps must have been exceedingly slow.

Time is the great element, both in the development of vegeta-
ble and animal life, and also in the progress of man from
barbarism to civilization; and this must be a primary idea in the
consideration of the theory of Darwin. In this relation we will
conclude by quoting from the Inaugural Address of Mr. Grove,
before alluded to. ‘‘The prejudices of education, and associa-
tions with the past, are against this (Darwin’s theory of the origin
of species by natural selection, etc.), as against all new views;
and while, on the one hand, a theory is not to be accepted be-
cause it is new and primd facie plausible, still, to this assembly, I
need not say that its ranning counter to existing opinions is not
necessarily a reason for its rejection; the onus probandi should
rest on those who advance a new view, but the degree of proof
must differ with the nature of the subject. The fair question is,
Does the newly-proposed view remove more difficulties, require
fewer assumptions, and present more consistency with observed
facts, than that which it seeks to supersede? If so, the philoso-
pher will adopt it, and the world will follow the philosopher —
after many days.” He is strongly in favor of the new theory, dis-
believing in per saltum or sudden creations, and maintains that
continuity is a law of nature, the true expression of the action of
Almighty Power, and that we should cease to look for special in-
terventions of the creative act — ‘‘ we should endeavor from the
relics to evoke their history, and, when we find a gap, not try to
bridge it over by a miracle.”

The readers of the ‘‘ Annual of Scientific Discovery” will be
gratified to possess the fine Portrait of Hon. Davip A. WELLS,
U. S. Commissioner of Revenue, and late editor of this work,
presented in the present volume.

THE

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS.

ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

THE greatest achievement, in a scientific point of view, which
has occurred during the present year, is the successful laying of
the Atlantic Telegraph Cable, from Valentia, on the coast of Ire-
land, 2,000 miles across the bed of the Atlantic Ocean, to Heart’s
Content, Newfoundland, electrically uniting Europe and America.
This is not only a marked epoch in the progress of science, and a
triumph over physical obstacles deemed insurmountable, but it is
an event of great international interest, and an inestimable com-
mercial boon — reflecting honor alike upon the skill of the me-
chanic, the science of the physicist, the intelligence of the sea-
man, and the liberality of the merchant.

Foremost among the names of those who have contributed to
this successful result, is our countryman, Cyrus W. Field, who
for nearly thirteen years has labored, through good and evil re-
port, with indomitable energy, not resting till his cherished idea
had become a reality.

From his remarks on various occasions, and from scientific
journals of England and this country, the following account of
the Atlantic Telegraph is condensed by the Editor.

Mr. Field, at a banquet given in his honor at New York, Noy.
15, 1866, gave a brief history of this great undertaking, reported
in the ‘‘New York Times” of Nov. 16th, from which the fol-
lowing are extracts. Says Mr. Field: —

‘*It is nearly thirteen years since half a dozen gentlemen of
this city met at my house for four successive evenings, and,around
a table covered with maps and charts, and plans and estimates,
considered a project to extend a line of telegraph from Nova
Scotia to St. Johns, in Newfoundland, thence to be carried across

13

14 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the ocean. It was easy to draw a line from one point to the
other — making no account of the forests and mountains and
swamps and rivers and gulfs, that lay in our way. Not one of
us had ever seen the country, or had any idea of the obstacles
to be overcome. We thought we could build the line in a few
months. It took two years anda half. The arduous and costly
work was accomplished. A road was cut through 400 miles of
wilderness, and after two attempts in 1855 and 1856, a cable, pro-
cured in England, was laid across the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Yet we never asked for help outside our own little circle. In-
deed, I fear we should not have got it if we had —for few had
any faith in our scheme. Every dollar came out of our own
pockets. Yet I am proud to say no man drew back. No man
proved a deserter; those who came first into the work have stood
by it to the end. Of those six men, four are here to-night— Mr.
Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts, and myself.
My brother Dudley is in Europe, and Mr. Ch: andler White died
in 1856, and his place was supplied by Mr. Wiison G. Hunt, who
is also here. Mr. Robert W. Lowber was our Secretary. ‘To
these gentlemen, as my first associates, it is but just that I should
pay my first acknow ledgments.

‘From this statement you perceive that in the beginning this
was wholly an American enterprise. It was begun, ‘and for two
years and a half was carried on, solely by American capital. Our
brethren across the sea did not even know what we were doing
away in the forests of Newfoundland. Our little company raised
and expended over a million and a quarter of dollars before an
Englishman paid a single pound sterling. Our only support out-
side was in the liberal character and steady friendship of the Goy-
ernment of Newfoundland, for which we were greatly indebted
to Mr. E. M. Archibald, then Attorney-General of that colony,
and now British Consul in New York. And in preparing for an
ocean cable, the first soundings across the Atlantic were made by
American officers in American ships. Our scientific men had
taken great interest in the subject. The U.S. ship ‘ Dolphin,’ dis-
covered the telegraphic plateau as early as 1853; and the U.S.
ship ‘Arctic ’ sounded across from Newfoundland to Ireland in 1856,
a year before H. M.’s ship ‘ Cyclops,’ under command of Captain
Dayman, went over the same course. This I state, not to take
aught from the just praise of England, but simply to vindicate the
truth of histor Vy.

“« Tt was not till 1856 —ten years ago —that the Suteusiee had
any existence in England. In that summer I went to London,
and there, with Mr. John W. Brett, Mr. Charles Bright, and Dr.
Whitehouse, organized the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Sci-
ence had begun to contemplate the necessity of such an enter-
prise ; and the great Faraday cheered us with his lofty enthu-
siasm. Then for the first time was enlisted the support of English

capitalists ; and then the British Government began that generous
course which it has continued ever since — offering us ships to
complete soundings across the Atlantic, and to assist in laying the
cable, and an annual subsidy for the transmission of messages.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 15

The expedition of 1857, and the two expeditions of 1858, were
joint enterprises, in which the ‘ Niagara’ and ‘Susquehanna’ took
part with the ‘ Agamemnon,’ the ‘ Leopard,’ the ‘ Gorgon,’ and the
‘Valorous’; and the officers of both navies worked with generous
rivalry for the same great object. The capital of the Atlantic
Telegraph Company (£350,000) — except one-quarter, which was
taken by myself — was subscribed wholly in Great Britain. The
directors were almost all English bankers and merchants, though
among them was one gentleman whom we are proud to call an
American— Mr. George Peabody — a name honored in two coun-
tries, since he has showered his princely benefactions upon both.

«* With the history of the expedition of 1857-8 you are familiar.
On the third trial we gained a brief success. The cable was laid,
and for four weeks it worked, —though never very brilliantly, —
never giving forth such rapid and distinct flashes as the cables of
to-day.

«Tt spoke, though only in broken sentences. But while it lasted
no less than 400 messages were sent across the Atlantic. You all
remember the enthusiasm which it excited. It was a new thing
under the sun, and for a few weeks the public went wild over it.
Of course, when it stopped, the reaction was very great. People
grew dumb and suspicious. Some thought it was all a hoax; and
many were quite sure that it never worked at all. That kind of
odium we have had to endure for eight years, till now, I trust, we
have at last silenced the unbelievers.

< After the failure of 1858 came our darkest days. When a thing
is dead, it is hard to galvanize it into life. It is more difficult to
revive an old enterprise than to start a new one. The freshness
and novelty are gone, and the feeling of disappointment discour-
ages further effort.

«Other causes delayed anew attempt. This country had become
involved in a tremendous war; and while the nation was strug-
giing for life, it had no time to spend in foreign enterprises.

«But in England the project was still kept alive. The Atlantic
Telegraph Company kept up its organization. It had a noble
body of directors, who had faith in the enterprise, and looked be-
yond its present low estate to ultimate success. I cannot name
them all, but I must speak of our Chairman,—the Right Hon.
James Stuart Wortley, —a gentleman who did not join us in the
hour of victory, but in what seemed the hour of despair, after the
failure of 1858, and who has been a steady support through all
these years.

«* All this time the science of submarine telegraphy was making
progress. The British Government appointed a commission to
investigate the whole subject. It was composed of eminent scien-
tific men and practical engineers—Galton, Wheatstone, Fair-
bairn, Bidder, Varley, and Latimer, and Edwin Clark — with the
Seeretary of the Company, Mr. Saward—names to be held in
honor in connection with this enterprise, along with those of other
English engineers, such as Stephenson, and Brunel, and Whit-
worth, and Penn, and Lloyd, and Joshua Field, who gave time
and thought and labor freely to this enterprise, refusing all com-

16 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

pensation. This commission sat for nearly two years, and spent
many thousands of pounds in experiments. The result was a
clear conviction in every mind that it was possible to lay a tele-
graph across the Atlantic. Science was also being all the while
applied to practice. Submarine cables were laid in different seas
—in the Mediterranean, in the Red Sea, and in the Persian Gulf.
‘*When the scientific and engineering problems were solved,
we took heart again, and began to prepare for a fresh attempt.
This was in 1863. In this country — though the war was still rag-
ing—I went from city to city, holding meetings and trying to
raise capital, but with poor success. -Men came and listened, and
said ‘it was all very fine,’ and ‘ hoped I would succeed,’ but did
nothing. In one of the cities they gave me a large meeting, and
passed some beautiful resolutions, and appointed a committee of
‘solid men’ to canvass the city, but I did not get a solitary sub-
scriber! In this city I did better, though money came by tbe
hardest. By personal solicitations, encouraged by good friends, I
succeeded in raising £70,000. Since not many had faith, I must pre-
sent one example to the contrary, though it was not till a year later.
When almost all deemed it a hopeless scheme, one gentleman
came to me and purchased stock of the Atlantic Telegraph Com-
pany to the amount of $100,000. That was Mr. Loring Andrews,
who is here this evening to see his faith rewarded. But at the
time I speak of, it was plain that our main hope must be in Eng-
land, and I went to London. There, too, it dragged heavily.
There was a profound discouragement. Many had lost before,
and were not willing to throw more money into the sea. We
needed £600,000, and with our utmost efforts we had raised less
than half, and there the enterprise stood in a dead lock. It was
piain that we must have help from some new quarter. I looked
around to find a man who had broad shoulders, and could carry a
heavy load, and who would be a giant in the cause. It was at
this time I was introduced to a gentleman, whom I would hold
up to the American public as a specimen of a great-hearted Eng-
lishman, Mr. Thomas Brassey. I went to see him, though with
fear and trembling. He received me kindly, but put me through
such an examination as I never had before. I thought I was
in the witness-box. He asked every possible question, but my
answers satisfied him, and he ended by saying it was an enterprise
which ought to be carried out, and that he would be one of ten
men to furnish the money to do it. This was a pledge of £60,000
sterling! Encouraged by this noble offer, I looked around to
find another such man, though it was almost like trying to find
two Wellingtons. But he was found in Mr. John Pender, of
Manchester. I went to his office one day in London, and we
walked together to the House of Commons, and before we got
there he said he would take an equal share with Mr. Brassey.
‘The action of these two gentlemen was a turning-point in the
history of our enterprise ; for it led shortly after to a union of the
well-known firm of Glass, Elliot & Co. with the Gutta Percha
Company, making of the two one grand concern known as ‘ The
Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company,’ which in-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 17

eluded not only Mr. Brassey and Mr. Pender, but other men of
great wealth, such as Mr. George Elliot, and Mr. Barclay of Lon-
don, and Mr. Henry Bewley of Dublin, and which, thus rein-
forced with immense capital, took up the whole enterprise in its
strong arms. We needed, I have said, £600,000, and with all
our efforts in England and America we raised only £285,000.
This new company now came forward, and offered to take the
whole remaining £315,000, besides £100,000 of the bonds, and to
make its own profits contingent on success. Mr. Richard A.
Glass was made Managing Director, and gave energy and vigor
to all its departments, being admirably seconded by the Secretary,
Mr. Shuter.

** A few days after half a dozen gentlemen joined together and
bought the ‘Great Eastern,’ to lay the cable; and at the head of
this company was placed Mr. Daniel Gooch, a member of Parlia-
ment, and Chairman of the Great Western Railway, who was with
us in both the expeditions which followed.

«* The good fortune which favored us in our ship favored us also
in our commander. Many of you know Capt. Anderson, who was
for years in the Cunard line. How well he did his part in two
expeditions the result has proved.

“Thus organized, the work of making a new Atlantic cable was
begun. The core was prepared with infinite care, under the able
superintendence of Mr. Chatterton and Mr. Willoughby Smith,
and the whole was completed in about eight months. As fast as
ready, it was taken on board the ‘Great Eastern’ and coiled in
three enormous tanks, and on the 15th of July, 1865, the ship
started on her memorable voyage.

‘¢T will not stop to tell the story of that expedition. For a week
all went well; we had paid out 1,200 miles of cable, and had
only 600 miles further to go, when, hauling in the cable to remedy
a fault, it parted and went to the bottom. That day I can never
forget —how men paced the deck in despair, looking out on the
broad sea that had swallowed up their hopes; and then how the
brave Canning for nine days and nights dragged the bottom of
the ocean for our lost treasure, and, though he grappled it three
times, failed to bring it to the surface. The story of that expe-
dition, as written by Dr. Russell, who was on board the ‘ Great
Eastern,’ is one of the most marvellous chapters in the whole his-
tory of modern enterprise. We returned to England defeated,
yet full of resolution to begin the battle anew. Measures were
at once taken to make a second cable, and fit out a new expedi-
tion ; and with that assurance ‘I came home last autumn.

**In December I went back again, when lo, all our hopes had
sunk to nothing. The Attorney-General of England had given
his written opinion that we had no legal right, without a special
act of Parliament (which could not be obtained under a year), to
issue the new 12 per cent. shares, on which we relied to raise our
capital. This was a terrible blow. The works were at once
stopped, and the money which had been paid in returned to the
subscribers. Such was the state of things only ten months ago.
IT reached London on the 24th of December, and the next day was

*

18 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

not a ‘merry Christmas’ to me. But it was an inexpressible
comfort to have the counsel of such men as Sir Daniel Gooch and
Sir Richard A. Glass; and to hear stouthearted Mr. Brassey tell
us to go ahead, and, if need were, he would put down £60,000
more! It was finally concluded that the best course was to
organize a new company, which should assume the work, and so
originated the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. It was
formed by ten gentlemen who met around a table in London, and
put down £10,000 apiece. The great Telegraph Construction
and Maintenance Company, undaunted by the failure of last
year, answered us with a subscription of £100,000. Soon after
the books were opened to the public, through the banking-house
of J. S. Morgan & Co., and in fourteen days we had raised the
whole £600,000. Then the work began again, and went on with
speed. Never was greater energy infused into any enterprise.
It was only the Ist day of March that the new company was
formed, and was registered as a company the next day; and yet
such was the vigor and dispatch that in five months from that day
the cable had been manufactured, shipped on the ‘Great East-
ern,’ stretched across the Atlantic, and was sending messages,
literally swift as lightning, from continent to continent.

** Yet this was not a ‘ lucky hit "—a fine run across the ocean in
calm weather. It was the worst weather I ever knew at that
season of the year. We had fogs and storms almost the whole
way. Our success was the result of the highest science com-
bined with practical experience. Everything was perfectly or-
ganized, to the minutest detail. We had on board an admirable
staff of officers ; such men as Halpin and Beckwith; and engineers
long used to this business, such as Canning, and Clifford, and
Temple; and electricians, such as Prof. Thomson, of Glasgow,
and Willoughby Smith, and Laws; while Mr. C. F. Varley, our
companion of the year before, who stands among the first in
knowledge,in practical skill, remained with Sir Richard Glass at
Valentia, to keep watch at that end of the line; and Mr. Latimer
Clark, who was to test the cable when done. Of these gentlemen,
Prof. Thomson, as one of the earliest and most eminent electri-
cians of England, has received the distinction of knighthood.
England honors herself when she thus pays honor to science ; and
it is fit that the government which honored chemistry in Sir
Humphry Davy, should honor electrical science in Sir William
Thomson.

‘*But our work was not over. After landing the cable safely at
Newfoundland, we had another task—to return to mid-ocean and
recover that lost in the expedition of last year. This achievement
has perhaps excited more surprise than the other. Many even
now ‘don’t understand it,’ and every day I am asked ‘how it
was done?’ Well, it does seem rather difficult to fish for a jewel
at the bottom of the ocean, two and a half miles deep. But it is
not so very diflicult— when you know how. You may be sure
we did not go a-fishing at random, nor was our success mere
‘luck ;’ it was the triumph of the highest nautical and engineer-
ing skill. We had four ships, and on board of them some of the

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 19

best seamen in England, men who knew the ocean as a hunter
knows every trail in the forest.

** There was Capt. Moriarty, who was in the ‘ Agememnon’ in
1857-8. He was in the ‘Great Eastern’ last year, and saw the
eable when it broke; and he and Capt. Anderson at once took
their observations so exact that they could go right to the spot.
After finding it, they marked the line of the cable by a row of
buoys; for fogs would come down, and shut out sun and stars, so
that no man could take an observation. These buoys were
anchored a few miles apart. They were numbered, and each had
a flag-staff on it, so that it could be seen by day; and a lantern
by night. Thus having taken our bearing's, we stood off three or
four miles, so as to come broadside on, and then casting over the
grapnel, drifted slowly down upon it, dragging the bottom of the
ocean as we went. At first it was a little awkward to fish in such
deep water, but our men got used to it, and soon could cast
a grapnel almost as straight as an old whaler throws a harpoon.
Our fishing-line was of formidable size. It was made of rope,
twisted with wires of steel, so as to bear a strain of 30 tons. It
took about two hours for the grapnel to reach bottom, but we
could tell when it struck. I often went to the bow, and sat on the
rope, and could feel by the quiver that the grapnel was dragging
on the bottom two miles under us. But it was a very slow busi-
ness. We had storms and calms and fogs and squalls. Still we
worked on, day after day. Once, on the 17th of August, we got
the cable up, and had it in full sight for five minutes, a long, slimy
monster, fresh from the ooze of the ocean’s bed, but our men
began to cheer so wildly that it seemed to be frightened, and sud-
denly broke away, and went down into the sea. This accident
kept us at work two weeks longer; but, finally, on the last night
of August, we caughtit. We had cast the grapnel thirty times. It
was a little before midnight on Friday night that we hooked the
cable, and it was a little after midnight Sunday morning when we
got it on board. What was the anxiety of those twenty-six hours!
The strain on every man’s life was like the strain on the cable
itself. When finally it appeared, it was midnight; the lights of
the ship, and in the boats around our bows, as they flashed in the
faces of the men, showed them eagerly watching for the cable to
appear on the water. At length it was brought to the surface.
Ail who were allowed to approach crowded forward to see it.
Yet not a word was spoken; only the voices of the officers in
command were heard giving orders. All felt as if life and death
hung on the issue. It was only when it was brought over the
bow and on to the deck that men dared to breathe. Even then
they hardly believed their eyes. Some crept toward it to feel of
it, to be sure it was there. Then we carried it along to the elec-
tricians’ room, to see if our long sought for treasure was alive or
dead. A few minutes of suspense, and a flash told of the light-
ning current again set free. Then did the feeling long pent up
burst forth. Some turned away their heads and wept. Others
broke into cheers, and the cry ran from man to man, and was
heard down in the engine-rooms, deck below deck, and from the

20 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

boats on the water, and the other ships, while rockets lighted up
the darkness of the sea. Then with thankful hearts we turned
our faces again to the west. But soon the wind rose, and for
thirty-six hours we were exposed to all the dangers of a storm on
the Atlantic. Yet, in the very height and fury of the gale, as I sat
in the electricians’ room, a flash of light came up from the deep,
which, having crossed to Ireland, came back to me in mid-ocean,
telling that those so dear to me, whom I had left on the banks of
the Hudson, were well, and following us with their wishes and
their prayers. This was like a whisper of God from the sea, bid-
ding me keep heart and hope. The ‘Great Eastern’ bore herself
proudly through the storm, as if she knew that the vital cord
which was to join two hemispheres hung at her stern; and so, on
Saturday, the 7th of September, we brought our second cable
safely to the shore.

‘** Having thus accomplished our work of building an ocean tel-
egraph, we desire to make it useful to the public. ‘To this end, it
must be kept in perfect order, and all lines connected with it.
The very idea of an electric telegraph is, an instrument to send
messages instantaneously. When a dispatch is sent from New
York to London, there must be no uncertainty about its reaching
its destination, and that promptly. ‘This we aim to secure. Our
two cables do their part well. There are no way-stations between
Ireland and Newfoundland where messages have to be repeated,
and the lightning never lingers more than a second in the bottom
of the sea. To those who feared that they might be used up or
wear out, I would say, for their relief, that the ‘old eable works a
little better than the new one, but that is because it has been
down longer, as time improves the quality of gutta percha. But
the new one is constantly growing better. To show how delicate
are these wonderful cords, it is enough to state that they can be
worked with the smallest battery power. When the first cable
was laid in 1858, electricians thought that to send a current 2,000
miles, it must be almost like a stroke of lightning. But God was
not in the earthquake, but in the still, small voice. The other
day Mr. Latimer Clark telegraphed from Ireland across the ocean
and back again, with a battery formed in a lady’s thimble! And
now Mr. Collett writes me from Heart’s Content: ‘I have just
sent my compliments to Dr. Gould, of Cambridge, who is at
Valentia, with a battery composed of a gun-cap, with a strip of
zine, excited by a drop ‘of water, the simple bulk of atear!? A
telear aph that will do that, we think nearly perfect. It has never
failed for an hour or a minute. Yet there have been delays in
receiving messages from Europe, but these have all been on the
land lines or in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and not on the sea
cables. It was very painful to me, when we landed at Heart's
Content, to find any interruption here ; that a message which
came in a flash across the Atlantic should be delayed twenty-four
hours in crossing 80 miles of water. But it was not my fault.
My associates in the Newfoundland Company will bear me wit-
ness, that I entreated them a year ago to repair the cable in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and to put our r land lines in perfect order.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 21

But they thought it more prudent to await the result of the late
expedition before making further large outlay. We have there-
fore had to work hard to restore our lines. But in two weeks our
cable across the Gulf of St. Lawrence was taken up and repaired.
Tt was found to have been broken by an anchor in shallow water,
and, when spliced out, proved as perfect as when laid down ten
years ago. Since then a new one has been laid, so that we have
there two excellent cables.

“On land the task was more slow. You must remember that
Newfoundland is a large country; our line across it is 400 miles
long, and runs through a wilderness. In Cape Breton we have
another of 140 miles. These lines were built twelve years ago,
and we waited so long for an ocean telegraph that they have
become old and rusty. On such long lines, unless closely watched,
there must be sometimes a break. A few weeks ago, a storm
swept over the island, the most terrific that had been known for
twenty years, which strewed the coast with shipwrecks. This
blew down the line in many places, and caused an interruption of
several days. But it was quickly repaired, and we are trying to
guard against such accidents again. For three months we have
had an army of men at work, under our faithful and indefatigable
Superintendent, Mr. A. M. Mackay, rebuilding the line, and now
they report it nearly complete. On this we must rely for the
next few months. But all winter long these men will be making
their axes heard in the forests of Newfoundland, cutting thousands
of poles, and as soon as the spring opens will build an entirely
new line along the same route. With this double line complete,
with frequent station-houses, and faithful sentinels to watch it, we
feel pretty secure. At Port Hood, in Nova Scotia, we connect
with the Western Union Telegraph Company, which has engaged
to keep as many lines as may be necessary for European business.
This we think will guard against failures hereafter. But to make
assurance doubly sure, we shall in the spring build still another
line by aseparate route, crossing over from Heart’s Content to
Placentia, which is about 100 miles, along a good road, where it
can easily be kept in order. From Placentia a submarine cable
will be laid across to the French island of St. Pierre, and thence
to Sydney, in Cape Breton, where again we strike a coach-road,
and can maintain our lines without difficulty. Thus we shall
have three distinct lines, with which it is hardly possible that there
ean be any delay. A message from London to New York passes
over four lines: from London to Valentia; from Valentia to
Heart’s Content; from there to Port Hood; and from Port Hood
to New York. It always takes a little time for an operator to
read a message and prepare to send it. For this allow five min-
utes at each station; that is enough, and I shall not be content
till we have messages regularly from London in twenty minutes.
One hour is ample (allowing ten minutes each side for a boy to
carry a dispatch) for a message to go from Wall Street to the
Royal Exchange, and to get an answer back again. This is what
we aim to do. If for a few months there should be occasional
delays, we ask only a little patience, remembering that our

22 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

machinery is new, and it takes time to get it well oiled and run-
ning at full speed. But after that, I trust we shall be able to
satisfy all the demands of the public.

‘A word about the tariff. Complaint has been made that it was
so high as to be very oppressive. I beg all to remember, that it
is only three months and a half since the cable was laid. It was
laid at a great cost and a great risk. Different companies had
sunk in their attempts $12,000,000. It was still an experiment,
of which the result was doubtful. This, too, might prove a costly
failure. Even if successful, we did not know how long it would
work. Evil prophetsin both countries predicted that it would not
last a month. If it did, we were not sure of having more than
one cable, nor how much work that one could do. Now these
doubts are resolved. We have not only one cable but two, both
in working order; and we find, instead of five words a minute,
we can send fifteen. Now we are free to reduce the tariff. Ac-
cordingly, it has been cut down one-half, and I hope ina few
months we can bring it down to one-quarter. Iam in favor of
reducing it to the lowest point at which we can do the business,
keeping the lines working day and night. And then, if the work
grows upon us so enormously that we cannot do it, why, we must
go to work and lay more cable.”

In addition to the preceding remarks of Mr. Field, a few addi-
tional details may well be added to complete the history. Four
attempts were made to lay a cable across the Atlantic before suc-
cess was attained. In the first attempt, in 1857, the cable gave
way owing to a strain being put on the paying-out machinery, by
the sudden dip of the Irish bank, which the apparatus was neither
strong enough nor flexible enough to withstand. The second
attempt was made in 1858, when the ‘‘ Agamemnon” and the
‘* Niagara’? met in mid-ocean, effected a splice, and steering in
opposite directions ultimately laid the cable, which in a few
weeks transmitted about 400 messages, and then failed. The
attempts of 1865 and 1866 have been sufficiently described by Mr.
Field. The great fact that a cable could be laid between Europe
and America, and that messages could be sent and received
through its length, was practically demonstrated in 1858; the
failure of the cable of 1865 was due to mechanical causes, evident
enough and easily remedied, as the success of the cable of 1866
fully shows.

The cable of 1858 had for a conductor a copper strand of,seven.
wires, six laid around one; weight, 107 lbs. per nautical mile.
The insulator was of gutta percha, laid on in three coverings;
weight, 261 lbs. per nautical mile. The outer coat was composed
of 18 strands of charcoal iron-wire, each strand made of seven
wires, twisted six around one, laid equally around the core, which
had previously been padded with a serving of tarred hemp.
Breaking strain, three tons five ewt.; capable of bearing its own
weight in a trifle less than five miles depth of water. Length of
cable, 2,174 nautical miles; diameter, five-eighths of an inch.
In the cable of 1865, the conductor was a copper strand of seven
wires, six laid around one; weight, 300 lbs. per nautical mile ;

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 23

embedded in Chatterton’s compound. Insulation was effected
with gutta percha and Chatterton’s compound. Weight, 400 lbs.
per nautical mile. The outer coat was 10 wires drawn from
Webster and Horsfall’s homogeneous iron, each wire surrounded
with tarred Manila rope, and the whole laid spirally around the
core, which had previously been padded with a serving of tarred
jute yarn. Breaking strain, seven tons, 15 cwt.; capable of
bearing its own weight in 11 miles depth of water. Length of
cable, 2,300 nautical miles; diameter, one inch.

The cable of 1866 has for a conductor a copper strand of seven
wires, six laid around one; weight, 300 Ibs. per nautical mile;
embedded for solidity in Chatterton’s compound, The insulator
is four layers of gutta percha laid on alternately with thinner lay-
ers of Chatterton’s compound; weight, 400 lbs. per nautical mile.
The outer coat is 10 solid wires drawn from Webster and Hors-
fall’s homogeneous iron and galvanized, each wire surrounded
separately with five strands of white Manila yarn, and the whole
laid spirally around the core, which had previously been padded
with a serving of tarred hemp. The breaking strain is eight
tons two ewt., and it is capable of bearing its own weight in 12
miles depth of water. The length of this cable is 2,730 nautical
miles, part of which was to be used for completing the cable that
parted in 1865. Diameter, one inch.

In laying the Atlantic cables, four main risks had to be encoun-
tered, all of which in the present one have been successfully
passed through; Ist, the successful and rapid laying of the shore
end; 2d, passing down the tremendous submarine incline known
as the ‘Irish bank;” 3d, passing over a short steep valley,
where the water sinks to almost as great a depth as in mid-ocean;
4th, and greatest, the laying of the cable for a distance of more
than 100 miles through a depth of 2,400 fathoms, or 15,000 feet of
water; this passed over, the ocean begins gradually to shallow to
100 fathoms on the Newfoundland coast. The present cable was
landed on the American coast in 50 fathoms in Heart’s Content
Bay, one of the most easterly spurs of rocky headland on the
south of Newfoundland; the place chosen for its landing is a
deep, rocky inlet, similar to but much larger than Foilhommerum
Bay, on the Irish end of the cable; this is more sheltered than
Bull’s Bay, where the cable of 1858 was successfully landed.

The European shore end of the cable of 1866 was landed at
Foilhommerum Bay, on the coast of Ireland, J uly 7, 1866, at
noon; by 3 4. M. of the 8th, the full length of 30 miles was paid

out, signalled through, and its insulation and conductivity found
perfect. On July 12th, the ‘‘ Great Eastern” commenced making
the splice with buoyed shore end: as soon as that was completed
and found perfect, the great work of laying the cable commenced.
For the first 250 miles, that is till over the ‘‘ Irish bank,” the cable
made in 1865 was used, after that the new cable only; the reason
for making this difference was that the new cable is more strongly
made than that of 1865, and was therefore reserved for the deepest
water. The route taken was 30 to 35 miles south of the broken

24 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

cable of last year, so that in grappling for its recovery, there
would be no danger of picking up the new one.

One of the the most remarkable circumstances connected with
the laying of the cable of 1866 is the directness of the route taken
by the Great Eastern, and the small percentage of slack of the
cable paid out, compared with the distance run.

The log of the steamer shows:

Saturday, 14th. — Distance run, 108 miles; cable paid out, 116
miles.

Sunday, 15th. -—Distance run, 128 miles; cable paid out, 139
miles.

Monday, 16th. —Distance run, 115 miles; cable paid out, 137
miles.

Tuesday, 17th. — Distance run, 118 miles; cable paid out, 139
miles.

Wednesday, 18th. — Distance run, 105 miles; cable paid out, 125
miles.

Thursday, 19th. — Distance run, 122 miles; cable paid out, 129
miles.

Friday, 20th. — Distance run, 117 miles; cable paid out, 127
miles.

Saturday 21st.— Distance run, 122 miles; cable paid out, 136
miles.

Sunday, 22d.— Distance run, 123 miles; cable paid out, 133
miles.

Monday, 23d.— Distance run, 121 miles; cable paid out, 138
miles.

Tuesday, 24th. — Distance run, 121 miles; cable paid out, 135
miles.

Wednesday, 25th. — Distance run, 112 miles; cable paid out, 130
miles.

Thursday, 26th. — Distance run, 128 miles; cable paid out, 134
mniles. ®

Friday, 27th. — Distance run, 112 miles; cable paid out, 118
miles; which, with shore end off Valentia, distance 27 miles,
cable paid out 29 miles, makes distance run 1,669 miles, and paid
out, 1,864 miles.

On the 29th of July, the New York papers were supplied with
the news from Central Europe only 30 hours old.

One of the most remarkable feats of engineering of any age
was the picking up of the cable of 1865, lost at sea, August 2d; at
the time of parting, 1,213 miles of cable had been paid out, and
all attempts to regain it had been useless on account of the ineffi-
cacy of the apparatus used. Having laid the new cable, the ‘‘ Great
Eastern ” sailed Aug. 9th, to pick up the old. The dragging for the
cable commenced Aug. 12th, resulting in bringing it to the sur-
face on the 17th; it slipped from its fastenings and sunk, four
times; but on the fifth trial, after casting the grapnel 50 times, a
permanent union was made with the coil on board the *¢ Great East-
ern,” on September 2d. It was found uninjured and in perfect
working order. The grappling ropes were 20 miles long, seven
and a half inches in circumference, of the same strands of the

X

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 25

cable; the wire being of steel running through the Manila
covering.

The new cable is superior to the old in strength and conductiy-
ity, from its enlarged copper wire, and especially by its increased
and more carefully guarded insulation. In consideration of these
qualities, of the delicate instruments for detecting faults and for
working through them when detected, and of the high degree of
perfection to which electrical science as applied to telegraphy has
now attained, it may be confidently asserted that the new Atlantic
cable will be permanently successful.

Says the ‘*‘ New York Independent:” ‘*On Monday, July 30,
Mr. Field received a message of congratulation from Mr. Ferdinand
de Lesseps, the projector of the Suez Canal. It was dated at
Alexandria, in Egypt, the same day, at half-past 1 Pp. M., and re-
ceived in Newfoundland at half-past 10 A. mM. Let us look at the
globe, and see over what a space that message flew. It came
from the land of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies; it passed along
the shores of Africa, and under the Mediterranean Ocean more
than a thousand miles, to Malta; it then leaped to the continent
of Europe, and shot across Italy, over the Alps and through
France, under the English Channel to London; it then flashed
across England and Ireland, till from the cliffs of Valentia it
struck straight into the Atlantic, darting down the submarine
mountain which lies off the coast, and over all the hills and val-
leys which lie beneath the watery plain, resting not till it touched
the shore of the ‘New World.’ In that morning’s flight it had
passed over one-fourth of the earth’s surface, and so far outstrip-
ped the sun in its course that it reached its destination three hours
before it was sent! To understand this, it must be remembered
that the earth revolves from west to east, and when it is sunrise
here it is between 8 and 9 o’clock in Alexandria, in Egypt; and
when it is sunset here, it is nearly 9 o’clock in the evening there.”

THE NORTH ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

The magnitude and serious nature of the transmitting difficul-
ties existing in all long unbroken sea lines, has led to the con-
struction of what is known as the Russian-American line, —a land
line of telegraph intended to reach New York from St. Peters-
burg by wires through Siberia and on to San Francisco, with a
short sea section across Behring’s Straits, a total distance of about
12,000 miles. This Russian-American line is already far advanced
towards completion. But by far the most important line of tele-
graphic communication between England and America is that to
be immediately carried into effect via Scotland, the Faroe Islands,
Iceland, Greenland, and the coast of Labrador; and known as the
North Atlantic Telegraph. A glance at the map in the direction
pointed out will at once show that convenient natural landing
stations exist, breaking up the cable into four short lengths or sec-
tions, instead of the necessitous employment of one continuous
length, as between Ireland and Newfoundland. It will also be
found that the aggregate lengths of these sections is within a very
few miles the same as that of the Anglo-American cable. Not

3

26 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

only will this subdivision of the cable reduce mechanical risks in
submerging, but, what is of far more importance, the retardation
offered to the passage of the current through the several short
sections is almost as nothing when compar ed with that of the un-
broken length of 2,000 miles. Speed of transmission is obtained ;
and by that means a reduced tariff for public transmissions over
the wire. Indeed, such will be the advantages gained in this
respect that the present rate by the Anglo-American line of 20s.

er word, will be charged on the new route at 2s. 6d., or even a
ess sum. In examining more closely the nature of this intended
- northern line, it will be found that’ the lengths of the several
sections of cable between England and America are as follows :
Scotland to the Faroe Isles, 250 miles; ; Faroe to Iceland, 240
miles; Iceland to Greenland, 750 miles; Greenland to Labrador,
540 miles; or, in round numbers about 1,780 miles. The several
lengths of cable will be connected together by special land lines
through the Faroes (27 miles), and in Iceland (280 miles), and a
length of about 600 miles of land wire to be erected in Labrador,
will complete the circuit, with the existing American system, on
to New York. The average depth of the ocean between Scotland
and the Faroe Isles is only 150 fathoms, the greatest depth 683
fathoms. Between the Faroes and Iceland, 250 fathoms, with
about the same maximum depth. Between Iceland and Julian-
shaad, the intended landing-place of the cable in Greenland, the
greatest depth is 1,550 fathoms, and between Greenland and Lab-
rador rather over 2,000 fathoms. These lengths of cable and
depths of ocean are both not only navigable, but practicable; and
no difficulties in the working exist that are not already known by
reference to the practical working of existing cables under the
conditions of similar lengths and depths. As regards the presence
of ice, it must be remembered that it is only at certain seasons of
the year that the southwest coast of Greenland is closed by the ice ;
at other times this ice breaks up, and the coast is accessible to the
Danish and other trading vessels frequenting the port and harbor
of Julianshaad, the pr oposed station and landing-place of the
cables, and at ‘such times the cables will be laid. Reference to
the depth of the soundings up the Julianshaad fjiord will at once
indicate the security of the shore ends of the cables from inter-
ference from ice when submerged. The landing-places of the
cable in Iceland are likewise in no way liable to be disturbed by
ice of such a nature as to cause damage to the cable; and on the
Labrador coast, the risk of injury to the cable cannot be consid-
ered greater than that to which the Anglo-American shore ends
are exposed in the vicinity of Newfoundland Bank.—J. Homes,
in Reports of British Association for 1866.

TUNNEL UNDER LAKE MICHIGAN AT CHICAGO, ILL.

The following account of one of the most remarkable and suc-
cessful feats of American engineering is compiled from various
sources, principally the Reports of the Board of Public Works,
Chicago, the ‘* Scientific American,” and the Boston ‘‘ Common-
wealth.” This work is now virtually completed, and for boldness

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. dg

of conception and engineering skill can compare with the proudest
achievements of any age or country. The growth of the city of
Chicago has been marvellous, even for America, and its water
supply, always insutflicient, and of late years unwholesome from
the filth poured into the lake near the shore by the sewers, had
become a source of great anxiety to its citizens, when it was pro-
posed to take water from the lake two miles from shore, and con-
duct it to the city through a tunnel under the bed of the lake.
Many engineers doubted the practicability of the undertaking, and
the estimates of its probable cost varied from $250,000 to $6,000,-
000. Surveys of the lake bed by means of an auger inclosed
in a tube, revealed the favorable circumstance of a continuous
underlying stratum of hard blue clay. ‘The contract was awarded
to Messrs. Dall and Gowan in October 1863, for $315,139. They
have expended, it is said, more than double that amount, and the
total cost will probably be not far from a million dollars. Work
Was commenced on the shore end of the tunnel, March 17, 1864;
and its completion in so short a time is due principally to the skill
and energy of the City Engineer, Mr. E. S. Chesbrough, formerly
connected with the Cochituate Water Works at Boston.

The shore-end shaft consists of sections of great cast-iron tub-
ing, about 36 feet long and 9 in diameter, let into the earth by
simply excavating beneath them, and allowing them to sink as
the earth was removed. Having in this way worked through the
sand and into the blue clay, which forms the bed of the lake, the
shaft was narrowed to 8 feet, and carried down over 40 feet
lower, with brick walls a foot thick. This shaft was sunk four
feet lower than the lake shaft, causing a descent of two feet per
mile in the tunnel to facilitate emptying when required. From
the shore end the tunnel extends two miles in a straight line, at
right angles to the shore.

At the lake end of the tunnel the greatest engineering difficulty
and triumph occurred. Many engineers believed that it would be
impossible to make a permanent structure at this point, on ac-
count of the violent storms on the lake. It was, however, effected
by a huge wooden crib or coffer-dam, built, like a ship, on the
shore, launched, and towed to its destined location.

This immense crib was launched July 26, 1865; it is 40 feet 6
inches high, pentagonal, in a circumscribing circle of 98 feet 6
inches in diameter. It is built of logs one foot square, and con-
sists of three walls, at a distance of 11 feet from each other, leay-
ing a central pentagonal space having an inscribed circle of 25
feet, within which is fixed the iron cylinder, 9 feet in diameter,
to run from the water line to the tunnel, 64 feet below the surface
and 31 feet below the bed of the lake. The crib is very strongly
built, containing 750,000 feet of lumber, board measure, and 150
tons of iron bolts, and weighs about 1,800 tons. It was towed to
its position, two miles from the shore, on the same day, and the
process of sinking began by opening sluices and placing some 600
tons of stone in the bulkheads. The crib will hold 4,500 tons of
stone when filled, giving an extra weight of 3,900 tons for steady-
ing against the waves. As built it will stand about seven feet

28 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

above the water line, but, when filled, another five feet will be
added.

The angles of the crib were armored with iron two and a half
inches thick. The three distinct walls or shells, one within an-
other, were each constructed of 12-inch square timber, caulked
water-tight like a ship, and all three braced and girded together
in every direction, with irons and timbers, to the utmost possible
pitch of mechanical strength. Within these spaces were con-
structed fifteen caulked and water-tight compartments, which were
filled with clean rubble stone, after the crib was placed in posi-
tion. By this means the crib was sunk to the bottom, where it
was firmly moored by cables reaching in every direction to huge
screws forced ten feet into the bed of the lake. The water in
which it was sunk was thirty-five feet deep, leaving five feet of the
structure above the surface. This was in June, 1865. The crib
had cost $100,000,

The crib stands 12 feet above the water line, giving a maximum
area of 1,200 feet which can be exposed at one sweep to the action
of the waves, reckoning the resistance as perpendicular. The
outside was thoroughly caulked, equal to a first-class vessel, with
three threads in each seam, the first and last being what is called
*“*horsed.” Over all these there is a layer of lagging,which will
keep the caulking in place,and protect the crib proper from the
action of the waves. A covered platform or house was built over
the crib, enabling the workmen to prosecute the work uninter-
rupted by rain or wind, and affording a protection for the earth
brought up from the excavation, and permitting it to be carried
away by scows, whose return cargoes have been bricks for the
lining of the tunnel. ‘The top of the cylinder will be covered
with a grating to keep out floating logs, fish, &c. A sluice made
in the side of the crib will be opened to let in the water, and a
lighthouse will be built over all, serving the double purpose of
guarding the crib from injury by vessels,and of showing the way
to the harbor of Chicago.

The next thing was to sink a water-tight shaft within the well
of the crib and into the bottom of the lake some 30 feet further,
making 66 feet in all below the surface of the water. Seven great
iron cylinders, each nine feet long, nine feet in diameter, two and
a half inches thick, and weighing 80,000 pounds, were cast for
this purpose. The seven iron cylinders, making the iron part of
the shaft, and 63 feet of it in height, were one by one connected
by bolts, and lowered to the bottom of the lake within the 30 feet
open space in the centre of the crib. In the next to the upper of
these cylinders are the gates or valves by which the water will
be let in to and shut out from the tunnel. The cylinders were
then, after having been brought to exactly the right position,
forced downward into the stiff, hard clay of the bottom some 25
feet, the water being wholly excluded.

The water was now pumped out, the top of the shaft was closed
as nearly as possible air-tight, and a powerful air-pump, driven by
steam, commenced to exhaust the air also. As fast as a vacuum
could be created, the atmospheric pressure, added to its own

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 929

weight of over 100 tons, forced the huge shaft downward into the
bed of the Jake with inconceivable force. Thus a depth was
reached and secured, at which it became perfectly safe to carry
forward the excavation, and complete the shaft to the level at
which the tunnel was to begin. The loose rubble-stone is finally
to be taken out of the water-tight compartments, one at a time,
and they will be re-filled with piers of solid masonry, laid in hy-
draulic cement, and united above the surface in some manner, so
as to present an immovable front on all sides against the force of
storms.

Both shafts having been completed, the excavation of the tun-
nel was commenced from both ends. The work was commenced
at the lake end about October, 1865; and the tunnel was finished
about Nov: 25, 1866. One-third of the length from the shore end
at the rate of about 17 feet a day, or about 3,200 feet, was com-
pleted before the commencement of the boring from the lake end.
About four-fifths of the tunnel was made from the shore side; the
three intermediate cribs and shafts, at first proposed, were omit-
ted, and all the work carried on by the shafts at each end; the
floor of the crib at the lake end was made of 12-inch timber in-
stead of plank.

The clear width of the tunnel is five feet, and the clear height
five feet two inches, the top and bottom arches being semi-circles.
It is lined with brick masonry eight inches thick, in two rings or
shells, the bricks being laid lengthwise of the tunnel, with tooth-
ing joints. The bottom of the inside surface of the bore at the
east end is 66 feet below the water-level, and has a gradual slope
towards the shore of two feet per mile, falling four feet in the
whole distance, to admit of its being thoroughly emptied in case
of repairs, the water being shut off at the crib by means of a gate.
The work has been laid in brick eight inches thick all round, well
set in cement. The lower half of the bore is constructed in such
a manner that the bricks lie against the clay, while in the upper
half the bricks are wedged in between the brick and the clay,
thus preventing any danger which might result from the tremen-
dous pressure which it was feared might burst in the tunnel.

The work was continued night and day, with but slight inter-
ruption, and at all seasons. ~A narrow railway was laid from the
foot of each shaft, as the work progressed, with turn-out cham-
bers for the passage of meeting trains; and small cars, drawn by
mules, conveyed the excavated earth to the hoisting apparatus,
and brought back at every trip a load of brick and cement. The
men worked in gangs of five, at the excavation; the foremost
running a drift in the centre of the tunnel, about two and a half
feet wide, the second breaking down the sides of the drift, the
third trimming up the work to proper shape and size, and oe last
two loading the earth into the cars. The bricklayers followed
closely, only a few feet behind the miners. About 125 men were
employed in this work, in three relays, working eight hours each ;
the only cessation being from 12 o’clock Saturday night, to 12
o'clock Sunday night. A current of fresh air was constantly
forced through the tunnel by machinery. It is remarkable that

3*

30 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

no serious accident from earth, gas, or water, occurred in the
whole course of the work. — -

The soil has been found to be so uniform ‘that only one leakage
of water through the tunnel ever occurred, and that only distil-
ling through a crevice at the rate of a bucketful in five minutes.
This occurred in September, 1865. The workmen left in dismay,
but soon returned and repaired the crevice. From that time no
accidents of any importance have occurred to hinder the progress
of the work, with the exception of one or twoslight escapes of gas,
which resulted in nothing serious. Several stones, varying from
the size of an egg upwards, have been met with, but very few in
comparison with the great mass of clay. The only fault to be
found with the clay was, that it contained too much calcareous
matter to make good bricks. The contractors claim that they
have Jost money on this account. The bricks formed of the clay
found in the tunnel would not burn solidly, so that they were
obliged to get bricks elsewhere.

The lining of the shore-shaft consists of twelve inches of the best
brick and cement, in three shells; about 4,000,000 bricks were
used in its construction.

On the 16th of November, 1866, the opposite gangs of work-
men were within two feet of each other, and this partition was
broke through on the following day in a formal manner by the
Board of Public Works. The accuracy of the measurements of
the engineer was such, that the two lines of excavation coincided
in the centre within nine and one-half inches, and the floors joined
with a difference of only one inch.

Water is to be let into the lake-shaft by three gates, on differ-
ent sides, and at different heights. ‘The lowest is five feet from the
bottom of the lake ; the next ten feet, and the highest fifteen feet.
Flumes through the surrounding masonry, also closed by gates
and gratings at their outward ends, will conduct the water to the
shaft gates. All the gates can, of course, be opened and closed
at pleasure. w

The tunnel, as now constructed, will deliver, under a head of
two feet, 19,000,000 gallons of water daily ; under a head of eight
feet, 38,000,000 gallons daily, and under a head of eighteen feet,
57,000,000 gallons daily. The velocities for the above quantities
will be one and four-tenths miles per hour, head being two feet;
head being eight feet, the velocity will be two and three-tenths
miles per hour; and the head being eighteen feet, the velocity will
be four and two-tenths miles per hour. By these means it will be
competent to supply one million people with fifty-seven gallons
each per day, with a head of eighteen feet. With regard to the
character of the work, the material met with in the process of
excavation has been stiff blue clay throughout, so that the antici-
pations of the contractors have, in this respect, been fulfilled.

The crib, since it was sunk and loaded, has been thoroughly
tested by violent storms, and, during the winter, by the moving
fields of ice. It withstood the shocks, both of the ice and the
storms, without injury, and the least movement of it, since it was
fairly loaded, has not been discovered.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 31

TUNNEL UNDER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

Mr. Hawkshaw has been engaged in making trial borings with
a view to develop a project for a railway tunnel under the chan-
nel between Dover and Calais, and communicating on the Eng-
lish side with the Chatham and Dover Railway, and on the
French side withthe Northern Railway of France. He proposes
to carry on the excavations for the tunnel from both ends, and
also from shafts in the channel, at the top of which powerful en-
gines will be erected for pumping and winding up the excavated
material, and for supplying motive power to the machinery by
which the excavation is effected.

On the other hand, Mr. George Remington is of opinion that a
tunnel on the site proposed by Mr. Hawkshaw is impracticable,
on account of the dithiculty he anticipates in keeping down the
water in a chalk excavation of that magnitude. He therefore
proposes another line for the tunnel between Dungeness and
Cape Grisnez, which, entirely avoiding the chalk, passes through
the Wealden formation, consisting chiefly of strong clay. The
tunnel would be twenty-six miles in length from shore to shore.

_On this route in mid-channel, there is an extensive shoal, with

only eleven feet of water upon it at low-water spring tides, where
Mr. Remington proposes to construct a shaft protected by a
breakwater.

CHICAGO RIVER TUNNEL.

A tunnel has recently been commenced at Washington street,
on the south branch of the Chicago river. It is to consist of three
passage-ways, the centre one to be used by foot-passengers and
the two side ways to be used for vehicles. The middle passage
will be 15 feet high and about 10 feet wide, each of the outer pas-
sage-ways being 11 feet in width by 15 feet at the highest point.
The width of the river at Washington Street is about 180 feet,
while the whole length of the tunnel, after providing for a suita-
ble inclined plane at each entrance, will be about 945 feet. The
floor of the tunnel at the centre of the river will be about 32 feet
below low-water mark.

The tunnel is to be constructed by means of coffer-dams, which
are to be placed, with their protections, up and down the river,
within a space, north and south, of not over 150 feet, and, east
and west, of not over 100 feet, so as to have a space of nearly 50
feet for the passage of vessels entirely unobstructed. Upon the
completion of the work, such portions of the dams as may remain
will be entirely removed, so as to leave the river as unobstructed
as at present. ‘The tunnel proper is to be formed of the most
perfect brick and stone masonry, backed with concrete, while the
floor of roadways will be neatly paved with Nicholson pavement.
The work is to be completed in March, 1868.

Should this latter work prove a success, we may look for the
general adoption of the tunnel instead of the bridge plan at all
our river crossings; and, as a consequence, the absolute freedom

32 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

of the river to sailing craft of all descriptions, thus avoiding the
almost interminable ‘delays now caused by the constant swinging
of the various bridges during the season of navigation, as well as
the many accidents which are sure to result from our present
bridge system.

The longest tunnel in England is the Box Tunnel on the Great
Western Railway, which is 9,680 feet long, 39 feet high, and 35
feet wide.

SAND-PATCH TUNNEL.

The miners working in the middle section of the Sand-Patch
Tunnel, on the Pittsburg and Connellsville Railroad, have met,
thus piercing once more the ae mountain barrier between the
Ohio valley and the sea-board. The Sand-Patch Tunnel is 4,750
feet long, or 1,000 feet longer than the Alleghany-Mountain Tunnel
of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was commenced some ten
years ago, is to accommodate a double track of rails all through,
being 22 feet wide, and 19 feet high. The greater portion of it
goes through solid red sand- stone, not requiring wd brick arch-
ing for that distance. The grade of the tunnel is 2,200 feet above
the level of the sea, or 1, 500 feet higher than low- water mark of
the Ohio river at Pittsburg.

THE MONT-CENIS TUNNEL.

Tt is estimated that the number of holes which have to be
drilled by the rock-boring machines in the Mont-Cenis Tunnel,
before that work is completed, is about 1,600,000. The total
depth of all these holes when bored will amount to about 4,265,-
890 feet, which is 105 times the length of the tunnel. Nearly 13,-
000,000,000 blows will be struck by the perforators, to do this
work. The entrance to the tunnel, on the French side, is 3,946
feet above the level of the sea, and its termination, on the Italian
side, 4,380 feet, so that the actual difference of level between the
two extremities is about 454 feet.

The total length of the Mont-Cenis Tunnel is 12,220 metres; of
this, 7,977 remain to be made. Having been begun in 1858, and
with new methods and energy in 1863, 4,423.4 metres were fin-
ished on the first of April, 1865; of which, 1,646 metres were ac-
complished by the old methods of tunnelling, and 2,777.4 by the
new mechanical methods, since the commencement, of 1863 — 802
metres in 1863; 1,088 in 1864; and 337.4 in the first quarter of
1865. The rate of progress in 1862 was 2.02 metres per day; in
1864, 2.92 metres, and in 1865, thus far, 3.75. At the last rate, it
will take 5 2-3 years to complete the tunnel.

Air is compressed by water-power outside, and is conveyed by
pipes into the excavation, where it gives motion to the chisels
that perforate the rock, forming cavities for the gunpowder used
in blasting. Small perforators “travel on a carriage, each of them
being a kind of horizontal air-pressure engine, the prolonged
piston- -rod of which carries a jumper, that makes 250 strokes a
minute. The excess of pressure on each jumper, above that of
the air-spring which brings it back, is 216 lbs., thus bringing a
very considerable power into action.

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MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 33

THE FRENCH CANAL AT SUEZ.

It is announced that in 1867 the long-projected canal through
the Isthmus of Suez, will be opened to the world. In this great
enterprise, the French have once more shown their extraordinary
control of persons of totally opposite characters and habits of life,
and have, moreover, exhibited the business faculty in a degree
rarely shown by other than Englishmen. There are now work-
ing at the canal nearly 19,000 men, of whom 8,000 are Euro-
peans, and the remainder Arabs, Egyptians, or Syrians. The
crews of the dredging-machines are often composed of French-
men, Italians, Greeks, Germans, Egyptians, and Maltese; and we
are assured that they are in no way inferior to the more homo-
geneous crews which are seen at home. ‘The Orientals even ex-
hibit a zeal and ardor which almost equal the activity of French-
men. The arrangements for the housing, feeding, and sanitary
welfare of the workmen are, seemingly, very complete. There
is free trade in provisions, and 1,490 traders have established
along the line of works, hotels, canteens, warehouses, and shops,
Where almost everything can be obtained. The medical, postal,
and telegraphic services are under the control of the company.
At great expense, a water supply has been obtained, which yields
2,000 cubic metres per day. The district is destitute of water-
courses, and this arrangement was, therefore, of the highest im-
portance. By these means, cholera and other maladies have been
warded off. From the measures taken by M. de Lesseps and his
colleagues, for the comfort and health of the workmen, we might
learn a lesson. In India, China, and the colonies, we have army
** stations,” which are regularly occupied during certain seasons
of the year, and which are yet without proper house-room and
pure water.

But beyond these things, the mechanical contrivances which
have been invented, and are now used, for the several different
kinds of work, are worth consideration. Conspicuous among
them are the dredging-machines. To cut a channel through a
certain piece of land, the plan adopted has been to dig by hand
until sufficient depth and width has been secured to float a dredg-
ing-barge, when the water has been let in, and the machine set
in motion. Instead of emptying the mud into another barge, to
be taken out to sea and there discharged, each dredge has aflixed
to it a long spout, the upper end of which begins on the dredge
itself, as high as possible, where it receives the earth raised by
the buckets. At the same time, pumps worked by the steam-
engine of the dredge raise a torrent of water which carries the
earth off beyond the bank, and spreads it over a wide surface.
In this country, where we are just now about to reverse our sys-
tem, and keep our rivers clear instead of filling them with depos-
its, a modification of this machine would be of great service. By
its means we might at once deepen and clear the beds of our
rivers, and add materially to the fertility of the adjacent fields.
Few things are more fertilizing than what is called ‘* warp,” and
by the means thus pointed out, this could be obtained artificially.

84 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

In many places in England, a plan not unlike that by which the
valley of the Nile is made fertile, is carried out. In Yorkshire,
for example, it is a regular practice to open the banks of the
Dutch river, and allow its turbid waters, which contain much soil
in suspension, to spread over the fields. When the gap is closed,
and the water drawn off, a rich alluvial mud remains, on which
splendid crops are raised. The system of opening the banks of
the river is, however, awkward and expensive. The Suez canal-
dredge does away with its necessity, and applies scientifically
what is now obtained by a very clumsy system. — London Star.

The Malta ‘‘ Observer,” of a late date, says: ‘‘ By reliable infor-
mation, recently received, we learn that the works of the Isthmus of
Suez Canal are being very actively carried forward by M. de Les-
seps. An average depth of from seven to nine feet has been ob-
tained from Port 8: aid, along the salt-water canal; and the rest of
the distance to Suez is traversed temporarily by a fresh-water one
about seven feet deep, connected with the other by means of locks
and powerful pumps. As far as sixty stations the full width of
the proposed ship-canal has been excavated to sixty metres; but
from that point to the seventy-fifth station and Ismalia, the width
is incomplete. All that has been done is done well, and reflects
the highest credit on the science, skill, and persevering energy
of the French engineers. The real difficulties of dredging i in a
constantly dissolving sand are now commencing; but “well in-
formed persons ente ‘rtain but little doubt that these and all others
may be overcome by time and money.”

FRITH OF FORTH BRIDGE.

Parliamentary sanction has been obtained for a bridge over the
Frith of Forth, of a magnitude which gives it great scientific inter-
est. It is to form part aof connecting link between the North
British and Edinburgh and Glasgow Railways. Its total length
will be 11,755 feet, and it will be made up of the following spans,
commencing from the south shore: First, fourteen openings of
100 feet span, increasing in height from 65 to 77 feet above high-
water mark; then six openings of 150 feet span, varying from 71
to 79 feet above high-water level; and then six openings of 175
feet span, of which the height above high-water level varies from
76 to 83 feet. These are succeeded by fifteen openings of 200 feet
span, and height increasing from 80 to 105 feet. Then come the
four great openings of 500 “feet span, which are placed at a clear
height of 125 feet above high-water spring tides. The height of
the bridge then decreases, the lar ge spans being followed by two
openings of 200 feet, varying in height from 105 to 100 feet above
high water; then four spans of 175 feet, decreasing from 102 to
96 feet in height ; then four openings of 150 feet span, varying in
height from 95 to 91 feet; and, lastly, seven openings of 100 feet
span, 97 to 92 feet in height. The piers occupy 1,005 feet in
aggregate width. The main girders are to be on the lattice
principle, built on shore, floated to their position, and raised by
hydraulic power. The ‘total cost is estimated at £476,543. —
Engineering, Jan. 5, 1866.

= 7

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 35

WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT.

At a meeting held December 6, 1866, Mr. Edward C. Pickering
called the attention of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
to one of the greatest of American engineering works, and, at the
same time, one of the least known, viz., the aqueduct by which
the city of Washington is supplied with water.

The plan accepted by Congress was to erect a dam across the
great falls of the Potomac, conducting the water about thirteen
miles through two reservoirs to the city. Gen. Meigs, who had
the work in charge, instead of reports, prepared photographs of the
working drawings and of the aqueduct itself; a set of these rare
photographs he exhibited and explained to the Institute. The
supply thus obtained for the city of Washington is 67,000,000 g@al-
lons daily, twice as much as the Croton, and five and a half times
as much as the Cochituate supply. The greatest engineering
work in the Cabin John branch is the bridge over Cabin John
Creek, which has one stone arch with a span of 220 feet, making
the largest arch now in existence; the Chester arch being only
200 feet, London Bridge 152, Neuilly 128, and the Rialto 99 feet.
When the centre scaffolding was removed the arch did not settle,
the key-stone having been set in winter and the centre struck in
summer. Other great arches have settled more or less, according
to the excellence of the workmanship of the arch and centre.

From the distributing reservoir the water is conveyed in two
30-inch pipes. There were two streams to be crossed, College
Branch and Rock Creeks. In spanning these creeks the structure
is remarkable, not only for size, but for the ingenious principle
of construction. Instead of building a bridge and laying pipes
on it, the pipes themselves were cast in the form of an arch, and
constitute the bridge. The Rock Creek bridge has a span of 200
feet, with two 48-inch pipes; the College Branch bridge has a
span of 120 feet, with two 30-inch pipes. The arch is so strong
over the Rock Creek that a roadway is placed upon it, continuing
Pennsylvania Avenue to Georgetown. The pipes were at first
lined with wood. The diurnal rise and fall of the bridge is about
two inches; this constant motion produced slight leakage from
droppings ; the wooden lining was then taken out, as it was shown
there was no danger of freezing, and now there is no leakage, the
pipes remaining at the temperature of the water.

It was commenced in 1853 and finished in 1863.

SUSPENSION BRIDGE AT CINCINNATI, OHIO.

Another great triumph of American engineering is the suspen-
sion bridge over the Ohio River at Cincinnati, from Front Street,
in that city, to Second Street, Covington, Ky. It is said to be
the longest single-span bridge in the world. Its cost was about
$2,000,000. It is strong, ornamental, and affords an easy road
of communication between the States. Railroad tracks are to be
laid over its span. The following are its dimensions, &e. ;

36 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Length of main span from centre to centre of towers, 1,057 feet.

Length of each land span, 281 feet.

Total length of bridge, including approaches from Front Street in Cincinnati
and Second Street in Covington, 2,252 feet.

Height of towers from foundation, without turrets, 200 feet.

Height of turrets, 30 feet.

Height of bridge above low water, 100 feet.

Width of bridge in the clear, 36 feet.

Number of cables, 2.

Diameter of cables, 124 inches.

Amount of wire in the cables, 1,000,000 pounds.

Strength of the structure, 16,800 tons.

Deflection of cables, 88 feet.

Masonry in each tower, 32,000 perches.

Masonry in each anchorage, 13,000 perches,

Masonry, total amount, 90,000 perches.

Towers at base, 86 by 52 feet.

Towers at top, 74 by 40 feet.

Strands in each cable, 7.

Wires in each strand, 740.

Wires in cables, total, 10,360.

Weight of wire, 500 tons.

Feet of lumber, 500,000.

GREAT VIADUCTS.

At a meeting of the Society of Engineers, in January, 1866, a
paper was re aud by Mr. W.H. Mills, on the Craigellachie Viaduct.

This viaduct was constructed for the purpose of carrying the
Morayshire Railway over the River Spey, at Craigellachie, Bantt-
shire, the engineers being Mr. Samuel (M. Inst. C. E. ) and the
author. It consisted of three spans of 57 feet each on the north
bank, and one span of 200 feet over the main channel of the river;
ordinary boiler-plate girders constituting the former, and the lat-
ter being of wrought-iron on the lattice principle. The piers and
abutments were of solid ashlar masonr y, and the works were ar-
ranged for a single line of railway. It appeared that the excava-
tion for the foundations was commenced in May, 1862, and that
the viaduct was opened for public traffic in July, 1863. The total
cost had amounted to £12,199, or equal to £29 10s. per lineal foot.

A paper was also read at the same meeting by Mr. Ridley, giv-
ing some details concerning the Grand River Viaduct, Mauritius
Railway.

It was stated that the length of this viaduct, from abutment to
abutment, was 620 feet, and that this distance was divided into
five openings of 116 feet each in the clear. The height from the
level of the rails to the surface of the water was 129 feet 9 inches.
Each pier was composed of two cast-iron cylinders, each ten feet
in diameter, resting upon masonry foundations, and filled with
concrete ; the works being for a single line of railway.

GREAT BRIDGES.

The Victoria Bridge over the St. Lawrence, at Montreal, has a
total length of one and three- quarters miles, and a length of iron
tubing of one and one- quarter miles, with 25 spans, one of 330

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 37

feet and the rest of 242 feet, with a headway of 60 feet. The
Britannia Bridge over the Menai Straits is 1,487 feet long with-
out the abutments, with two spans of 230 feet each, one “of 458
feet 8 inches, and one of 459 feet; and the Saltash Bridge 468 feet.
The Forth Bridge has a length of 10,550 feet; and ‘the Severn
Bridge nearly 12,000 feet. The bridge of the Hartford, Spring-
field and New Haven Railroad, over “the Connecticut, at Ware-
house Point, replaces a wooden structure on stone piers, and was
built on the old piers with the addition of several new ones in the
same line, so that the present structure occupies the exact site of
the former one ; i and during the seven months of its construction
no delay of trains was caused by the work. This is remar sabe
when the magnitude of the work is considered. The bridge

1,524 feet in “length, composed of 624 tons of Pate Ate
the flooring only being of wood. In its construction, 175,000,
rivets were used. The cost was $264,784. 63, and it is capable of
bearing a strain of two anda half tons to the foot. ‘The iron-
work was made in England, by Fairbairn & Co. of Manchester,
and the London Engineering and Iron Ship-Building Company.
The plans and designs were Dy James Laurie, Civil Engineer, of
Hartford, Conn. — ‘Scientific American.

STEEL BRIDGES.

At a late meeting of the Literary and Philosophical Society,
Mr. 8. B. Worthington, C. E., stated that he had lately con-
structed a swing bridge for carrying a railway over the Sankey
Canal, in which the girders were made of Bessemer steel plate.
The object of using steel instead of wrought-iron was to reduce the
weight of the girders ; these are four in number, about 56 feet
long, with bearings varying from 30 to 40 feet, and 2 feet deep.
They were manufactured from steel tubes made by the Bolton
Steel and Iron Company; and were tested with loads of a ton to
the foot, or more than double the weight which they could possi-
bly be called upon to bear. The deflection varied from one-half
to one inch, according to the length of the girder, and there was
no permanent set on removal of the testing load. The plates
used varied from one-quarter to seven-sixteenths of an inch in
thickness; and the average tensile strength of a considerable
number of plates tested was upwards of 36 tons to a square inch.
The weight of the girders was about five-eighths of the weight
which they would have been if wrought-iron had been used.

CONCRETE BLOCKS FOR BUILDING.

An ingenious application of the well-known process of mould-
ing blocks of concrete for building purposes was patented some
time back. The inventor, a Mr. “Pall, proposes to erect walls,
houses, and other structures, by literally casting them of concrete,
in the place they are intended’ to occupy. An ordin: wy concrete
foundation is first laid, and upon the foundation horizontal frames,
constructed of boards lined with zine or other metal, are set up
on edge, so as to form a kind of trough for receiving the concrete.

4

38 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

By the insertion of suitable cores, holes for the insertion of the
joists, or for other purposes, may be moulded in the concrete as
the work proceeds.

LIME CONCRETE IN CONSTRUCTIONS, |

Mr. F. Ingle communicated to the British Association, in 1866,
a paper in which he pointed out what he considered a radical
defect of concrete formed from lime as ordinarily used, viz., that
by the action of fire it becomes reconverted into lime, which,
when the water from the engines is brought to bear upon it,
expands greatly, and forces out the walls, to the destruction of
the building. He advocated the use of a concrete formed from
gypsum, which is not liable to this defect. The gypsum, which
is of a coarse and inexpensive character, is formed into plaster of
Paris by roasting, and mixed with a peculiar kind of clay found
in connection with the beds of gypsum.

HYDRAULIC CEMENTS.

M. Frémy communicated, in May, 1865, an important paper on
this subject to the French Academy of Sciences. Vicat assumed
the formation of a double-silicate of alumina and lime, which, by
absorbing water, was the cause of the setting of hydraulic ce-
ments, and this view seemed to be confirmed by finding in the
calcined cements a silicate which formed a gelatinous precipitate
with an acid, which silicate did not pre-exist in the stone before
calcination. MM. Rivot and Chatonay suggested that the calci-
nation of the argillaceous limestone gave rise to an aluminate of
lime having the formula Al? 03 3 Ca O, and to a silicate of lime
represented by Si O83 Ca O, which salts brought into contact
with water form hydrates, each with six equivalents of water, and
thus cause the setting. ;

The result of the experiments of M. Frémy is, that the setting
of cements is due to two different chemical actions: first, to the
hydration of the aluminates of lime; and secondly, to a puzzu-
olanie action, in which the hydrates of lime combine with the
silicates of lime and alumina. He found that alumina is even a
better flux for lime than silica, and he suggests that the very
basic compounds of these two substances —those, for instance,
containing from 80 to 90 per cent. of lime — may be useful in the
iron furnace, owing to their disposition to absorb sulphur and
phosphorus, and thus free the metal from these noxious impuri-
ties. He also finds that no substance is capable of acting as a
puzzuolana except the simple or double silicates of lime, con-
taining only from 30 to 40 per cent. of silica, and sufficiently
basic to form a gelatinous precipitate with acid.

INSOLUBLE SILICATE.

M. Ch. Guerin called the attention of the French Academy to
a new method of obtaining, by a cold process, a silicate com-
pletely insoluble, which can be applied either as an external coat-
ing, as in the case of glass or iron, or made to penetrate through
the interior of the substance, as tor the preservation of wood and

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 89

other vegetable matters. The process is very simple: a thin
coating of slaked lime made into paste with water, or whitewash,
is laid on the object to be silicatized, and, when this has been al-
lowed to dry, silicate of potash is applied over the coating; the
effect, it is asserted, being that all the portions touched by the
solution of potash become completely insoluble, and of very great
adherence. In order to obtain an insoluble silicate in the interior
of a substance, all that is necessary is to impregnate it by im-
mersing it in whitewash or lime-water, and, when it is dry, to
steep it in a solution of the silicate of potash.

By this means it is proposed to prevent the decomposition of
vegetable substances by petrifying them; also, to protect po-
rous building-stones and brick against air and damp; iron, by a-
coating of paper, pulp, or other finely-divided woody matter,
mixed with slaked lime.

Again, letters, characters, or any other device, can be traced
with the silicate on any surface spread with lime; and those por-
tions touched by the silicate will alone adhere and become insolu-
ble. Or, if they be traced with a solution of gum arabic, and the
whole be washed over with the silicate, the parts protected by the
gum can be washed off, the rest remaining in relief, as the let-
ters, ete., do in the first place.

The process seems to be substantially the same as the Eng-
lish process known as Ransomie’s. — Scientific American.

A NEW CEMENT.

A late number of the ‘‘ London Engineer” announces a new
cement of great value, which is introduced under the euphonious
title, «« The zopissa iron cement,” which, it is claimed, is capable
of joining any two solid substances, however dissimilar. Wood,
brick, iron, stone, or glass, can be inseparably united with equal
facility. A series of experiments, witnessed by the ‘‘ Engineer,”
gave the following results : —

Plates of glass were firmly joined, edge to edge; ordinary
bottles stuck upon the wall resisted all attempts at separation, till
the stone yielded. Champagne bottles, cemented bottom to bot-
tom, sustained a weight of 250 pounds. Two bricks remained
joined under a tension of 525 pounds, till the brick itself frac-
tured, but the cement remained firm. Brick-work cemented with
this has the solidity of a granite slab.

With paper treated with this preparation in solution, the in-
ventor has made air and water-tight tubes, ammunition cases,
coffins, and even constructed a house, one story and a half in
height, perfectly wind and water tight, which he has now on
exhibition.

Of the constitution of this cement, or the expense of manufac-
turing it, the ‘‘ Engineer” makes no intimation.

HARD HYDRAULIC CEMENT.

The following receipt is given fora cement, which, it is said, has
been used with great success in covering terraces, lining basins,
soldering stones, etc., and everywhere resists the filtration of

40 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

water; it is so hard that it scratches iron. It is formed of ninety-
three parts of well-burned brick, and seven parts of litharge, made
plastic with linseed oil. The brick and litharge are pulverized; the
latter must always be reduced to a very fine powder; they are
mixed together, and enough of linseed oil added. It is then ap-
plied in the manner of plaster, the body that is to be covered
being previously wet with a sponge. This precaution is indis-
pensable, otherwise the oil would filter through the body and
»yrevent the mastic from acquiring the desired hardness. When
it is extended over a large surface, it sometimes happens to have
flaws in it, which must be filled up with a fresh quantity of the
cement. In three or four days it becomes firm. If its advan-
tages have not been overrated it must be a very excellent cement
for making the joints of aquaria water-tight. — Druggist’s Circular,
1866.

At the meeting of the Paris Academy of the 4th of December,
1865, H. St. Claire Deville showed that magnesia, kept for some
weeks in pure water, sealed up so that the air is excluded, com-
bines with water, and forms a hard and compact, crystalline,
translucent substance, consisting of magnesia 68.3, water 31.7, or
a simple hydrate of magnesia. He has made copies of medals,
like those of plaster, from magnesia thus hardened under water,
Balard’s magnesia, calcined at a red heat, he says, has hydraulic
qualities which are manifested with a rapidity that is admirable,
though, when calcined at a white heat, this property is almost en-
tirely lost. A mixture of powdered chalk, or marble and magne-
sia in equal parts, furnishes with water a paste which is slightl
plastic, but which, after being some time in water, affords prod-
ucts of very great solidity ; and he proposes to make busts of arti-
ficial marble from the mixture. Plaster mixed with the magne-
sia diminishes the hydraulic properties. On calcining dolomites
rich in magnesia, the same rule as to hydraulic properties is re-
marked in regard to temperature, the higher the heat the less the
hydraulic properties. He thus believes that this substance, now
so cheaply and abundantly furnished by M. Balard’s processes,
will come into extensive use in subaqueous structures. — Les
Mondes, Dec. 7, 1865.

A cement, capable of uniting into a solid mass stones, pebbles,
&c.,so as to form artificial pudding-stone, conglomerates, &c., of
extraordinary strength and tenacity, impervious to moisture, and
capable of being moulded into statues, bas reliefs, &c., may be
made by finely triturating iron sponge, and mixing it with sand
which has been moistened with slightly acidulated water. The
iron is oxidized at the expense of the water, and the silex forms
with the oxide silicate of iron, which possesses a very great
tenacity, and is not affected by atmospheric changes, nor even by
acid or alkaline liquids at a boiling temperature. — Intellectual
Observer, Feb., 1866.

CEMENT WITH A GYPSUM BASIS.

The plaster is first burned in the usual way, in an appropriate
furnace, to drive off the water; after this it is broken into small

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 41

fragments, which are immersed in a solution of alkaline silicate,
containing an alkaline carbonate. The solution which answers
best is composed of silicate of potash, containing a suflicient
number of equivalents of carbonate of potash to avoid the pre-
cipitation of the silica, in the following proportions: 0.880 kilog.
(1.94 Ibs.) of silicate of potash containing 0.255 kilog. (.56 lb.)
of carbonate of potash, in 4.54 titres (a gallon) of water, a
solution having a specific gravity of 1,200, but which may vary
according to the use for which the cement is intended. As, for
example, it can be employed of the strength above indicated in a
great many cases where the best quality is required; and, if an
ordinary cement is only necessary, it can be diluted with two
parts of water to one of the solution. If a cement be required
to harden slowly, sulphate of potash may be added to the car-
bonate, so that the indurating action of the silica upon the plaster
may thus be varied at pleasure. After having left the plaster
steeped in the solution for twenty-four hours or so, it is taken out
and left to drain in a compact mass, in order that the diffusion of
the solution through the plaster may take place more effectually ;
the cement is then taken back to the furnace, and reheated to
150° or 250° C. (302° to 482° Fahr.) to drive off all the water,
after which it is ground to powder, and can be colored to any
desired hue by mixing with a pigment.— London Builder, No.

1210.
NEW MORTAR.

The mortar used by the Romans has, in the course of ages, set
so strongly as to be equal in hardness to the stones it was used to
cement, and its analysis shows that this is due to the abundant
formation of silicate of lime throughout the mass. Modern mor-
tar, on the contrary, usually hardens slowly, cracks while harden-
ing, has but little adhesion, and its useful effect is simply as a bed
for the proper support of the stone or brick upon its whole
surface, and the consequent distribution of the pressures properly
over the sustaining masses. Analysis shows little or no formation
of silicates, and the carbonate of the quicklime (for it absorbs
carbonic acid itself very slowly) is soluble in the rain to which
it is exposed, and rapidly dissolves out. Dr. Artus proposes a
method of preparation by which the process of silication is much
favored; by which, it is said, a mortar may be prepared which
becomes as hard as cement, does not crack in setting, and may be
used as a hydraulic cement under water. This process is as
follows: Take good slacked lime and mix it with the utmost care
with finely sifted sand; mix the sand thus prepared with finely
powdered quicklime, and stir the mixture thoroughly ; during the
process the mass heats, and may then be employed as mortar.
Of course, the mixture must be made just as it is to be used.
One part of good slacked lime was mixed with three parts of
sand, and to this was added three-fourths of its weight of finely
powdered quicklime. The mortar thus made was used in a
foundation wall, and in four days had become so hard that a piece
of sharp iron would not attack it. In two months it had become
as hard as the stones of the wall.

4*

42 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

It might be worth while to try this for laying the bricks of our
chimneys, which are so rapidly destroyed and rendered dangerous
by the gases from burning anthracite. — Journal of the Franklin
Institute, July, 1866.

S. P. RUGGLES’S DYNAMOMETER.

At the meeting of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
held January 9, 1866, Prof. Charles W. Eliot exhibited and
described a new kind of dynamometer, invented by Mr. S. P.
Ruggles of Boston :

‘** This new and admirable invention accomplishes two objects ;
first, it measures the exact amount of power which is being
consumed in driving a single machine, or any number of ma-
chines, at any instant of time, indicating every change in the force
required, as the work done by the machines varies from instant to
instant; secondly, the apparatus adds up and registers the total
amount of power which has been used by any machine, or set of
machines, during a day, a week, a month, or any desired time.
The apparatus may be thus described. The pulley from which
the power is taken, is attached to the shaft by the intervention of
a spiral spring. One end of this spring is secured to the shaft,
and the other end to the hub of the pulley. The lateral motion
of the pulley upon the shaft is prevented by a collar on either
side of the pulley. On the inside of the hub is cut a screw of
about three-inch pitch, that is, a screw which makes a complete
turn within a distance of about three inches measured on the axis
of the hub. A rectangular slot is cut out of that part of the shaft
which lies within the hub of the pulley, and in this slot slips back-
wards or forwards a piece of metal which precisely fits the slot.
From each side of this small piece of metal, there projects beyond
the surface of the shaft a small portion of the male screw which
exactly fits into the screw cut in the interior of the hub of the
pulley. If there be no resistance at all to the motion of the pul-
ley, shaft, spring, and pulley will all start together, and revolve
together. But if a resistance be offered to the motion of the
pulley, the shaft, and with it the piece of metal which slips in the
slot, will start first, and the pulley will move only when the strain
caused by the twisting of the spring is sufficient to overcome the
resistance applied to the circumference of the pulley. But if the
piece of metal in the slot begins to turn while the hub of the pul-
ley is stationary, the piece must move laterally within the slot,
being forced by the screw. Ifthe pulley starts a quarter of a turn
later than the shaft, the piece will move laterally three-quarters
of an inch; if the pulley starts a half a turn later than the shaft,
the piece will move laterally an inch and a half. The lateral
motion of the piece in the slot is proportional to the retardation
of the pulley, and this retardation is proportional to the strain
upon the belt which passes over the pulley, and conveys the power
to be used. To the movable piece in the slot is connected a small
round rod, which runs out through the centre of the main shaft
and projects some little distance beyond it. On the end of this
rod is a circular rack of teeth, in which plays a pinion, on whose

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 43

shaft is a hand moving over a dial-plate. By applying strains,
measured by standard scales, to the belt which passes over the
pulley, —as a strain of ten pounds, fifty pounds, one hundred
pounds, —it is easy to graduate the dial-plate into pounds, so that
the number of pounds of strain upon the belt may be read off at
any instant by a mere inspection of the dial. The mode of oper-
ation of this part of the apparatus is then as follows: When no
power is being conveyed from the pulley, shaft and pulley start
simultaneously ; there is no lateral motion of the piece within the
slot and its connected rod, and the hand on the dial points to zero.
But the moment that power begins to be expended in driving-the
machinery, the strain upon the belt will be first felt by the spring
which connects the pulley to the main shaft, and the spring will
yield in proportion to the strain; the effect is to let the shaft make
asmall part of a revolution in the hub of the pulley before the
pulley begins to turn and keep pace with the shaft; the rod within
the end of the shaft is thus drawn in a little, the hand moves over
the dial-plate, and points to the exact number of pounds of power
which the belt is conveying from the pulley at the instant of
observation.

The registering of the total amount of power delivered from
the pulley is effected by means of two small belts running over
the round rod, which projects beyond the end of the main shaft
and carries the index-hand above described. These two small
belts communicate the motion of the shaft to two parallel and
equal wheels, one of which bears a dial-plate, and the other an
index-hand which moves over the dial-plate. When there is no
strain upon the main belt going over the pulley, the two wheels
revolve at the same rate, neither gaining upon the other, and
the hand remains constantly over the same figure on the dial-
plate; but when a strain is put upon the belt, and the round rod
moves laterally, as above described, the lateral motion brings a
conical enlargement of the rod under the little belt which moves
the wheel bearing the dial. The dial-wheel now goes faster than
the wheel carrying the hand, and begins to count up the power
used. The greater the lateral motion of the rod, or, in other
words, the greater the power transmitted to the working-ma-
chines, the larger the diameter of the cone which comes under
the belt of the dial-wheel, and the greater the gain of the dial
upon the hand. The wheels of both dial and hand are constantly
revolving in the direction opposite to that of the motion of the
hands of a watch. The belt of the hand-wheel runs always upon
the rod where its diameter is constant, and as the rod moves later-
ally under the little belts, guides are necessary to keep the belts
themselves from moving laterally also. The proportions of the
cones on the rod and of the two wheels which carry the dial and
the hand, can be so adjusted as to make a difference of one com-
plete revolution between the motions of the hands and of the dial,
indicating a delivery of ten thousand foot-pounds, or of ten million,
or of any other convenient number, and by a system of gearing
analogous to that used in gas-metres, any desired amount of
power could be consecutively registered. It is obvious that the

44 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

registering apparatus takes account of both the strain and the
speed, while the simple index first described measures only the
strain.

This instrument is at once elegant in design, simple and there-
fore cheap in its construction, easily verified and proved at any
moment when in operation, and of very easy application to any
machine, or set of machines, driven by hired power, whether the
power used be constant or variable in amount. The instrument
admits of a great variety of forms; the one described above is
meant for the end of a shaft; another form is so arranged as to
be attached at any part of a running shaft, while in the propor-
tions and dimensions of the several parts there would be the same
variety as in common scales, which are large or small, coarse or
fine, according as they are meant to weigh coal or pills, hay or
coin. The instrument meets a pressing want. Tea and sugar
are sold by the pound, gas by the thousand feet, cloth by the yard,
but steam-power and steam and air engines are sold by guess-
work, or by rough and uncertain rules, on whose application
buyer and seller can seldom agree.

Hereafter steam-power can be sold by the thousand or million
foot-pounds.

Mr. Ruggles does not patent his valuable invention.

RUGGLES’S SHAFT-COUPLING.

There are some mechanical powers, which, because of not being
of universal or general application, are seldom used and recog-
nized, but which are of a most important and valuable character.
Such is the differential screw, which is rarely used, but which, in
certain instances, is the strongest grip known in mechanics. ‘This
has been applied in the above improvement very effectively.

It is a differential screw-bolt having two threads, that on the
upper portion being ten to the inch, and that on the lower part
nine tothe inch. The head of the bolt is six-sided, and is flush
with the surface of the box. It is seated in a circular recess,
which is large enough to receive on the end a cylindrical or
socket-wrench. Threads corresponding with those on the two
portions of the bolt are tapped in the boxes made to fit the shaft.

The above is sufficient to explain to any practical man the
operation of this device. It will readily be seen that a few turns
of the screw will be sufficient to clamp the shaft-ends in a grip,
the power of which is limited only by the strength of the mate-
rial. ‘Two steady-pins are inserted in the shaft, and project into
holes drilled into the coupling-boxes, to provide against negli-
gence in setting up the screw, thereby allowing the shaft to turn,

This is evidently a valuable and efiicient coupling. It presents
no nuts or bolt-heads to catch belts or clothing, obviates the neces-
sity of keys and splining, cannot get out of order, and presents a
neat appearance, when turned and polished looking nearly like
the enlargement of the shaft.

This invention was patented April 24, 1866, by S. P. Ruggles,
Boston, Mass. — Scientific American.

i

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 45

WICKERSHAW’S NAIL MACHINE.

Before the year 1807, nail-making was a very slow and labori-
ous process, each nail being cut from the bar by shears, and then
screwed into a vice where the head was struck on by a hammer.

About this time, Mr. Jesse Reed, of Massachusetts, invented a
machine by which the cutting and heading of the nails were
performed by one continuous operation in the same machine.
This Reed Machine, though it cut but one nail at a time, has, with
but slight alteration, been the only nail-machine in use up to the
present date.

By a reasonable estimate, Mr. Reed, by his machine, reduced
the cost of cutting and heading nails to one-tenth that of the
process used before his invention, and those who availed them-
selves of rights under his patent have thereby realized large
fortunes.

The machine now brought to public notice by Mr. William
Wickersham cuts the nail with head ready formed at less than
one-tenth of the cost by the machines now in use, and at the
same time it produces a nail which, from being pointed like a
chisel, and gradually tapered its whole length, is much better for
use, being more easily driven and holding much more firmly, as
it breaks the grain of the wood so little that it clings tightly and
firmly the whole length of the nail.

The universal plan has hitherto been to make the plate from
which the nails are cut wide enough for the length of the nail,
and then commence cutting from one end, and continuing the
operation until it is all cut into nails, the machine cutting only
one at a time.

In the Wickersham Machine a sheet of metal from 20 to 25
inches square is placed, and a series of nails cut from its edge at
each stroke of the knives. To do this, there are two series of
cutters, viz., bed and moving cutters, so arranged that by shifting
the nail-sheet laterally the distance equal to the length of two
nails, each time a series of nails is cut, the nails being alternately
reyersed as to heads and points. The motions of the machine
are reduced to their greatest simplicity, there being only three
motions, viz., the crank-motion of the cutter jaw, the cam-motion
for shifting the nail-plate, and the feed-motion which moves the
nail-sheet towards the cutters each time it is shifted and a series
of nails cut.

In cutting half-inch patent brads or shoe-nails from a twenty-
inch plate, there is a series of 40 nails cut at each stroke of the
knives, or 160 per second, the machine driving the knives four
times per second; of patent brads from three-eighths to two
inches long, and shoe-nails of all sizes, one machine will cut
3,600 lbs. per day. Of the larger size nails, say six to twelve-
penny nails, one machine will cut 5,000 lbs., and of ship-spikes,
of one quarter to three-quarter lbs. each, one machine will cut
25,000 lbs. per day of ten hours.

From the best authority it appears that there are 3,000,000 kegs
of nails made annually in the United States; of these three-

46 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

tenths are finishing nails; besides, there are 200 to 300 tons of
shoe-nails, and about 1,500 tons of ship-spikes and nails made
of yellow metal.

ON THE UTILIZATION OF PEAT AS FUEL.

Aun invention of considerable practical importance for the con-
densing and moulding of peat for use as fuel, has recently been
brought to public notice by Mr. T. H. Leavitt. In a pamphlet
compiled by him, and published in Boston in 1866, the whole sub-
ject of peat fuel is thoroughly treated, showing its economy as a
substitute for wood and coal, especially where fuel is required in
large quantities.

The discoveries of the more important uses of peat are recent,
though its use, in an imperfectly prepared form, has for a long
time been known in various parts of Europe and in this country.
It is found to contain a rich supply of the carboniferous oil of
which our common illuminating gas is made, and is pronounced
equal in that respect, pound for pound, to gas coal. It also pro-
duces rosin and some paraffin. Its analysis shows but five per
cent. of ashes, and 55 of carbon.

The experiments made last year on some of the railroads in
Great Britain prove very conclusively that peat can be advan-
tageously substituted for coal on the locomotive. That it is also
actually equal, if not really superior, to the best charcoal itself
for smelting iron ore and for puddling iron, has been demon-
strated with equal certainty. The iron thus produced is tougher,
finer, more malleable, freer from flaws, than any other. By this
use of peat, iron from English mines of admitted inferiority to
the famous Old Hill mine in Salisbury, Connecticut, and the
equally celebrated Swedish charcoal iron, has been produced of a
quality equal to either.

In all cases where it has been properly prepared, it is found to
burn equally well in a coal-stove, wood-stove, or fire-place, and to
make a very pleasant fire, with more flame than coal makes; and
it leaves no cinders. Its freedom from sulphur renders it far less
destructive than anthracite coal to the iron bars of the grate. A
stove lasts much longer with peat. This freedom from sulphur, a
point of the first importance in the selection of fuel for the reduc-
tion of iron ores, is also a weighty consideration with the railroad
men, whose experiences with the destructible action of anthracite
on their engines have made them shy of that fuel.

It comes in good time. Coal has been unreasonably expen-
sive; and a good article of peat, that can be used in the stove,
the grate, the old ‘‘fire-place,” or under a steam boiler, at prices
far below those for coal, after making every allowance for the rel-
ative capacity of the two articles, will be likely to be generally
used. Peat keeps a live coal till all is consumed, and is said to be
superior for cooking. Its importance in mechanic arts is likely to
be extensive. It already finds favor for the process of melting
gold; itis pronounced a success in working steel; while its use
in annealing is proved by the superiority of the wire made by
means of peat.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 47

The paper read last year before the British Association by Civil
Engineer Clark, of London, contains important facts relative to
peat. A large establishment is engaged in making it in England,
and its trial on two of the British railways proved that it main-
tained a higher and better head of steam than coal did, that better
time was made, and that, pound for pound, it was a saving both
of time and money to use peat in locomotives.

The machine of which we have spoken may be worked by
steam or other power. It receives the crude peat just as it is
taken from the bog, condenses it, and ina very few minutes de-
livers it in the form of bricks, which may then be exposed in the
open air or under shelter, to dry or cure.

There are vast beds of peat in New England and New York,
and it behooves our farmers to avail themselves of it, and thus,
while turning ‘‘ unprofitable” land to account, preserve their
forests, which are now rapidly used up for fuel, till better uses can
be found for them.

IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR WORKING GOLD AND SILVER ORES.

Messrs. Whelpley and Storer, of the Boston Milling and Manu-
facturing Company, have introduced machinery for the pulveriza-
tion of gold and silver ores, in which mechanical principles are
applied that have never before been employed for such a purpose.

The ores are broken, in the first instance, by the rapid
movement of a circular iron table, a mass of metal 34 feet in
diameter, weighing 800 pounds, making 1,025 turns per minute.
The table itself forms the bottom of a cast-iron tub, 18 inches
in depth, of which the sides are grated, or perforated with small
openings. The entire structure, except the upright shafts upon
which the table revolves, is of cast-iron, the Wearing parts
being of what is called Franklinite iron, which is so hard that
it cuts glass. The upper surface of the whirling-table, or bot-
tom of the tub, is furnished near its circumference with several
blocks, called cutting or splintering blocks, also of Franklinite.

The material to be broken, being fed into the tub through the
hopper, drops until its lowest point receives a shivering blow
from the upper edge of the rapidly-revolving blocks, by which it
is constantly thrown upward and outward against the sides of the
cylinder, being reflected back upon the blades until it is-sufficiently
comminuted to pass through the perforations into the surrounding
box or chamber.

The weight of the table, with its case, shaft, frame, cutters,
etc., complete, and packed ready for transportation, is about
3,600 pounds.

An average of twelve-horse power is allowed, in practice, for
the full work of a whirling-table.

The whirling-table is more rapid in its action than any other
machinery for cutting or breaking. It is capable of reducing
more than 200 tons of ordinary quartz, in pieces from three or
four inches in diameter, to coarse gravel size, in twenty-four
hours. It has reduced eighteen tons of quartz into gravel, in one
hour, through three-quarter-inch holes.

48 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The broken fragments are swept through the holes or grating
of the tub the instant they are produced, by the immediate action
of the advancing faces of the cutting blades. Thus it happens
that no part of the work of reduction is performed by the sides of
the tub, but solely by the blades. The table is made strong
enough to bear 1,500 revolutions per minute, without rupture ;
but any speed above 1,025 turns per minute is wasteful of steam
power, and does not much increase the yield.

In general, the higher the velocity of the whirling-table, the
less it wears, according to the amount of work done.

The whirling-table is intended to reduce ores, from a diameter
from three to six inches, to the condition of mixed sand and small
gravel, chiefly the latter, with a small per centage of dust.

The pulverizer is constructed solely for the pulverization or re-
duction to dust of sand, gravel, or the small work of stamping
machines, and cannot be used itself as a crusher or breaker. It
consists of four parts or elements, all of which are necessary to
its use. The first is an automatic feeding-mill, which furnishes a
regular and constant supply of the material to be pulverized.

The second element is an iron drum or cylinder, containing an
air-wheel, which converts the sand or gravel into dust by the
action of rotary currents of air, created by the wheel. No air
enters or escapes from this cylinder, unless by the aid of other
machinery. ‘The material can be retained in the cylinder until
it is completely reduced.

The third element is a fan-blower, —placed near, or at a con-
siderable distance from, the pulverizing cylinder, —by which the
dust is drawn from the latter as fast as it is generated. The
gravel, sand, auriferous earth, or other material, is pulverized in
the first cylinder by the action of currents of air generated by
the air-wheel; the dust is then drawn out, in company with air,
by the exhaustive force of the fan-blower. The fourth element is
a chamber, or series of chambers, to receive and collect the dust
generated by the pulverizer. The dust-chambers are variously
constructed to suit the nature of the material which is to be re-
duced, and are adapted either for dry or wet grinding, as may be
required. A single pulverizer, applied to the reduction of gold
ores, accomplishes with a smaller consumption of steam or water
power, the work of forty stamps, and the quality of the work pro-
duced is beyond all comparison finer. In a pulverizer theoreti-
cally perfect, the principle of its working is the movement of one
particle on another, or mutual attrition, promoted by vortices of
air.

Three pulverizers will give the work, in quantity, of ninety
stamps; and the quality of this work will be so much superior
that the miner may safely estimate his profits at twenty dollars
per ton, instead of ten dollars, from quartz assaying thirty dollars.

In ordinary practice, but one element of an ore —that of most
prominent value—is sought for; the other elements being re-
jected in slags or escaping in fumes from the furnaces. Refer-
ence may be had to the loss of iron and sulphur from copper ores ;
the loss of copper, iron, and sulphur in working nickel ores and

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 49

most of the gold ores of Colorado, California, ete.; and the loss
of silver in working many of the copper and lead ores. Besides
these are many ores that cannot be worked by any of the present
methods; or, at least, oniy where labor and fuel cost but little.
Of these are the low-grade copper ores, with which our country
abounds; the mixed ores of galena and blende ; of nickel, copper,
and cobalt; and of galena and silver.

To work an ore properly, every useful element should, if pos-
sible, be converted into a saleable commodity; and the expense
of working the ore should be paid by the sale of those parts that
are now rejected as refuse.

The first step in our system is to reduce the ore to an impal-
pable powder.

For this purpose we have designed the breaker or whirling-
table, for splintering the ores by percussion, and the pulverizer
for reducing them to dust.

It will not be questioned that an ore in the state of powder is
in the best condition to be acted upon by chemical reagents.
Having, then, accomplished this first step, the next is the use of
the water furnace, which consists of a hollow tower or upright
flue of masonry, in the form of a truncated cone, and a horizontal
flue starting from its base. The bottom of the tower and flue is
formed by a water-trough, in which is a horizontal shaft, furnished
with paddles, which is made to revolve to keep the burned ore in
motion, that it may be thoroughly lixiviated. Around the head
of the tower are four fire-boxes, together forming a cross with a
voided circular centre.

Their tops are arched so as to form a flue inclining downward,
to approach the tower-head. Resting upon the tops of these
arches is a dome, which has a central opening, through which the
ores and reagents are fed into the furnace. At the extreme end
of the horizontal flue is a draft and spray-wheel revolving ina
chamber. A wooden flue or conductor leads from this to a second
wheel of the same character. We fill the trough with water,
kindle the fires, and set the draft and spray-wheels in motion.
The action of the wheels draws the converging flames from the
fire-boxes down the tower. These flames extend down but a
short distance, depending upon the kind of fuel used, and but
slowly heat the tower; resort is therefore had to the use of pul-
verized fuel, in order to obtain the desired heat. There are two
fan-blowers; one to supply air, the other to force powders of any
kind into the head of the furnace.

These blowers are now put in motion, the second one forcing
pulverized tan bark, or coal of any kind, into the flames pro-
ceeding from the fire-boxes.

The minute particles of pulverized fuel, each surrounded by
its atmosphere of oxygen, ignite with intense combustion. Both
equivalents of heat are applied at the point of work. By this
method, in the furnace we have now in operation, fifty pounds of
charcoal will create an intensely hot flame twenty feet long and
three feet in diameter, and lasting an hour.

The walls of the tower now radiate an intense heat inwardly,

5

50 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

which is, of course, greatest at the point of the intersection of the
rays, which is the centre of the tower’

If the ore to be worked be a sulphide of copper or iron, for ex-
ample, containing sulphur sufficient for its own complete combus-
tion, the supply of pulverized fuel is now cut off, and.the pulver-
ized ore fed into the furnace by the second fan-blower. Falling
into the focus of radiation, with a sufficient supply of oxygen from
the fan-blower, the oxidation of each element of the ore is almost
instantaneous.

_ Most of the ore falls at a bright red or white heat into the water
of the tank.

Many ores furnish their own fuel in the sulphur they contain.

When ores containing but little sulphur are to be burned, the
supply of pulverized fuel must be constant.

In working ores containing copper, this metal is found in solu-
tion with some iron, as a soluble salt, the nature of which will be
according to the character of the bath.

We have introduced important economies over the ordinary
methods of separating the two metals, and obtaining the precip-
itates. ‘The separation and refining of the metal is effected in the
solution.

In working the mixed ore of sulphides of lead and zine, the
lead is found as a sulphate in the bottom of the water-tank, and
the zine as sulphate in solution.

Not the least interesting features in our system are the applica-
tion of the pulverized fuel and its economies. ‘There is not only
a large economy of heating force, but other consequences which
are found to be valuable.

It is a fair estimate, that, in working copper ores, this method
requires not more than one- -eighth as much fuel as is required by
the so-called English or German methods.

The effect of the spray-wheel, which should perhaps be called a
water-pulverizer, in wetting down or condensing dust and fumes
that would otherwise escape, should not be overlooked, The
general use of it will convert many losses into profits, —the
losses made in the ordinary methods of working copper, zinc,
and antimony ores for inst and by it many serious nuisances
will be abated.

HORSE-POWER.

Horse-power is a unit of force introduced by Watt, to enable
him to determine what size of engine to send to his customers, to
supersede the number of horses which the new power (steam)
was to replace. He ascertained, at a London brewery, that the
average force exerted by the strongest horse was sufficient to
raise 33,000 pounds one foot high in a minute; thus, an engine
of 200 horse-power would be a force equal to that of 200 horses,
each lifting 33,000 pounds one foot high per minute. Watt had
two methods of estimating and comparing his engines, viz., by
the power, and by the duty. By the power is meant the quantity
of work which an engine can effect in a given time; by the duty
is meant the quantity of work which it can effect by a given ex-
penditure of fuel. Now, it is evident that, without any chan ge in

% MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 51

the size of an engine, but simply by increasing the pressure of the
steam, the power of an engine may be greatly increased ; that is,
the load remaining constant, the speed of the piston may be in-
creased, the number of strokes may be increased, and consequent-
ly the work done per minute will be increased also. Hence it is
difficult to apply a limit to the power obtainable from the smallest
cylinder, provided the boiler be large enough to evaporate the
increased quantity of water, and strong enough to resist the
increased bursting pressure. In fact, no size of cylinder can be
reckoned as having a particular power, since the power depends’
not on size buton strength. Nevertheless, in modern engineering,
the term horse-power refers rather to the size of the cylinder than
to the power exerted; and the value of this unit has undergone
many changes, so that in a modern engine a horse-power may
imply 52, or 60, or 66,000 pounds, one foot high, per minute.

The plan now adopted for ascertaining the performances of dif-
ferent engines, is by an instrument called an indicator. This con-
sists of a small cylinder, fitted with a piston, which is pressed
down by a spring. By the height to which this piston rises
against the spring the steam pressure within the cylinder is indi-
eated; and the number of pounds pressure on the square inch,
multiplied into the number of square inches in the area of the
eylinder, and by the number of feet travelled through by the
piston per minute, gives the impelling power; deduct, in large
engines, about one-tenth for friction, and the remainder is the effi-
cient moving power, which, divided by 33,000, gives the actual
horse-power.

ADVANTAGES OF SUPERHEATED STEAM.

Mr. H. W. Bulkley of New York makes the following com-
munication in the ‘“‘ Journal of the Franklin Institute” for Octo-
ber, 1866. ‘* Superheated” steam, or steam which has received
an inerease of temperature without increase of weight, by the
direct application of heat, has enemies who stoutly maintain that
no benefit can be derived from the superheating, as the steam has
its maximum efficiency as soon as generated.

The fallacy of such statements is evident on reflection, and
plainly shows that those advancing and upholding them have
neither practical acquaintance with the subject, nor have given it
serious thought. It is clear that, as the greater part of the steam
generated in boilers is obliged to pass through the water above it,
on its way to the steam-pipe, it must unavoidably carry with it
much water in the form of spray, mechanically combined, and held
in suspension. When boilers ‘‘ foam,” this operation is greatly
increased by unnatural causes, the delivery of spray becoming so
great as to seriously inconvenience the engine, and endanger its
safety, as well as that of the boiler. And, in boilers properly con-
structed and carefully operated, which may be supposed to work
dry steam, much more water than is generally conceived is con-
stantly carried over with the steam; and this defect cannot be en-
tirely remedied, even by the most judicious arrangement of ‘* dry
pipes,” steam-drums, etc. What, then, becomes of this water

52 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. e

mixed with the steam, and which has been heated at the expense
of the fuel? It is evident that it is useless for power, and, as it
has no latent heat, it is very unavailable for heating or drying
purposes. It cannot act otherwise than as a ‘ clog, ” causing
more friction in the steam by its presence, inconveniencing the
operation of the engine, and tending to condense the steam ) with
which it is associated. Now, by superheating this wet, saturated
steam, it is converted into an elastic vapor, by the complete and
instantaneous vaporization of its surplus moisture, while its tem-
perature is raised suflicient to preserve it from premature con-
densation in passing to the cylinder, or to the heating or drying
coils. The volume and elasticity of the steam is thus increased
to a wonderful extent by a very moderate degree of superheat-
ing, and its subsequent operation in the cylinder is highly satis-
factory. But another advantage in the system should not be
overlooked, and that is the expansion of the steam as a gas, by
the heat imparted to it after its surplus moisture has been evap-
orated. Although the greatest gain must ensue from the addition
of the first few degrees (say fifty) of heat, when the expansion of
the steam from its previous saturated condition is very great, yet
the highest authorities agree, that, after it is thoroughly dried, the
steam follows the laws of gases, and its volume may be doubled
by the addition of 480 degrees of heat. It isa fact proved by
most accurate experime nts, that the higher the degree of super-
heating, the greater is the economy ; and if steam could be used
at a temperature of 1,000 degrees, its efficiency would be very
largely increased. Inasmuch as it is not practicable or conven-
ient with engines, as at present constructed, to use steam at such
extreme temperatures, we are unable to realize the greatest econ-
omy of superheating ; but, if ordinary steam of 50 pounds pressure,
at a temperature of 301 degrees, be. superheated to 400, the addi-
tion of this 99 degrees of heat will augment. its volume (or pres-
sure) more than 20 per cent., and w ill not render it at all injuri-
ous to the lubrication or packing. Where this superheating is
effected by the waste products of combustion, the increase re-
ferred to is all clear gain; but when acquired, as is frequently
done for convenience, at the expense of the fuel, a simple calcu-
lation shows that even then the economy from the expansion as a
gas is from 10 to 15 per cent., independent from that realized in
the vaporization of its surplus moisture, and which is as much
more. Saturated steam cannot part with any of its heat without
becoming condensed; and this loss, by premature condensation,
is often a very large percentage of the total amount of steam

used. In every unit of the steam thus condensed, there are lost
1,000 units of heat, which have been supplied by the fuel, but
have not been utilized. Superheated steam, under the same Cir-
cumstances, might lose all of its surplus heat, but would still exist
as steam.

In England, where the practical advantages of superheated
steam are more thoroughly understood and generally acknowl-
edged, its employment is common, and is attended with the most
satisfactory and économical results. ‘The steamers of the “ Penin-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 53

sular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company” have used super-
heated steam for many years, and its Directors*certify that it has
saved them many thousand tons of coal. In this country, the
steamers of the ‘‘ Bay Line,” running between Baltimore and For-
tress Munroe, employed superheated steam with an economy of
30 per cent. in their fuel. The steam, which was superheated by
means of an arrangement of tubes in the uptake, was maintained
at a temperature of 400 degrees in the cylinder; yet a subsequent
inspection of its interior surface, after using this steam for several
months, showed it to be as smooth and polished as a mirror. The
writer’s experience in the practical application of superheated
steam with stationary boilers has shown that where the steam
was superheated by the fuel about 100 degrees above the tem-
perature due to its pressure (giving a temperature of 400
degrees in the cylinder(, the saving in feed-water, or steam, was
nearly one-third, and the economy in fuel was one-quarter,
showing that from five to eight per cent. of the fuel was required
for superheating the steam generated by the remainder, thereby
increasing its efficiency nearly one-third. With this temperature
maintained in the cylinder, by a judicious arrangement of the
superheating apparatus, the operation of the engine was highly
satisfactory, no water being present to necessitate the opening of
water-cocks, or bring undue strains upon the cylinder-heads or
connections. It is hardly necessary to add that no appreciable
action could be observed upon the lubricants, packing, or working
surfaces of the engine.

The full economy due to the use of steam expansively cannot
be realized when it is employed in the saturated condition, owing
to its partial condensation during expansion. As heat and power
are correlative terms, steam cannot perform work without the
diminution of a portion of its heat, besides that lost by radiation.
This heat, corresponding to the work done, may be taken from
superheated steam without destroying its efficiency; for it will
still remain in the cylinder, pure and dry, to the end of the stroke.
It can be confidently asserted, that no steam engine is entitled to
that name, if it employs a mixture of water and vapor instead of
the genuine article. The objections sometimes advanced on the
seore of ‘* want of durability” in superheating apparatuses may
be entirely removed by the exercise of a proper care in their
construction and application, and by the aliowance of a liberal
amount of heating surface; so that it is not necessary to subject
the superheaters to an undue degree of heat, which would natu-
rally tend to their destruction. These particulars faithfully com-
plied with, it will be found that no tangible objections can be
opposed to the employment of moderately superheated steam ;
and, when such economical results obtain from its use, it seems
unaccountable that it is not more generally appreciated, and that
the manufacturing public still adhere to the old saturated article,
wasting by it both their time and money. The practical advan-
tages attending the use of superheated steam, either when used
as power, or for heating and drying purposes, are immense; and
it is to be hoped that, with the increased diffusion of knowledge,

*

54 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the old prejudices against it may be removed, while its true
merits are openly and universally acknowledged.

HOLLOW STAY-BARS FOR STEAM-BOILERS.

The safety often of many persons depends on the efficiency of
the stay-bars of a steam-boiler; but too often their importance is
not sufliciently recognized, or they are weaker or less numerous
than they should be, that a little additional profit may be made by
the boiler-maker. A still greater source of danger exists when
they have been used, but have become so corroded as to be prac-
tically worthless; which, from their position, is very likely to be
the case, and without its being probable, or perhaps possible, to
discover the change they have undergone. <A very simple and
effective way of making them proclaim their own inefficiency is
now in use on the Northern Railway of France. They are made
with a small bore from end to end, and thus when one of them
gives way, or is seriously corroded, the steam or water escapes
through in such a way as infallibly to attract attention. To pre-
vent their being stopped up by dust, ete., their extremities, where
not otherwise protected, are loosely closed with wood, ete., which
is easily biown out by the escaping steam or water. From the
smallness and position of the bore, which is exactly in the centre,
the rod is scarcely at all weakened by it, but the necessary strength
may be secured by a very slight augmentation of its diameter. —
Intellectual Observer, April, 1866.

MONT CENIS RAILROAD.—CENTRE-RAIL SYSTEM.

On account of the long time which must yet be consumed be-
fore the Mont Cenis Tunnel is finished, —four and a half miles yet
remaining to be executed, —it is proposed to place a temporary
track over the summit of the mountain. An experimental line of
one and a fourth miles has been constructed on the most difficult
portion of the route. By the report of Capt. Tyler, of the Royal
Engineers, this distance is ascended in eight and a half minutes
with a load of sixteen tons, though the average grade is as steep
as one in thirteen, and at a maximum of one in twelve. The
plan adopted to-obtain adhesion is an arrangement of horizontal
drivers biting on a central rail. This plan, though regarded as
new in Europe, was long ago patented and used in America. —
Journal of the Franklin Institute, Nov., 1865.

A paper on the same subject was communicated to the British
Association, in 1866, by Mr. J. B. Fell. After alluding to the
various difliculties presented to the advance of railways by moun-
tain ranges, and the efforts made to overcome them, it was stated
that the use of the centre-rail was first thought of by Messrs.
Vignolles and Ericsson, in 1830, and proposed to be applied to the
inclines on the Manchester and Liverpool Railway ; but it was not
put into operation. In ignorance of what was then done, Baron
Leguir, in France, the writer, and others, also applied their minds
to a solution of the problem of constructing railways over steep
gradients. It was not till Mr. Brassey and the writer built a
centre-rail engine, and laid down a length of line on that plan on

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 55

the Cromford and High Peak Railway for experimental purposes,
in 1863, that the system was put into practical operation, the
experiments being entered into in order to satisfy the Italian Goy-
ernment as to the feasibility of laying down a line on a similar
principle over one of the Alpine passes. The mean gradient of
the first twenty-four miles of line, from St. Michael to Lausleburg,
is one in sixty, with a maximum gradient of one in twelve; the
other twenty-four miles, the mean is one in seventeen; and over
the whole length there are at intervals curves of two chains radius.
The line rises to an elevation of seven thousand feet, and is ex-
posed in places to avalanches and heavy snow-drifts ; but it will be
suitably protected. The system of locomotion adopted was that
of a third or traction rail, on which adhesion could be obtained by
horizontal wheels, worked by the engine in conjunction with or
independently of the ordinary driving-wheels, which admitted of
the weight of the engine being reduced to a minimum, while the
pressure upon the middle rail could be carried to any required
amount, and gradients of one in twelve worked with as much
certainty and safety as those of one ina hundred. The centre-
rail also furnishes the means of applying most powerful brakes
for controlling the descent of the trains, and greatly diminishes the
frictional resistance in passing round sharp curves. Besides this,
the centre-rail rendered it almost impossible for the train to leave
the rails. The first experiments were tried in the Cromford and
High Peak Railway from September, 1863, to February, 1864.
The weight of the engine and load was from sixteen to seventeen
tons. It never failed to take loads of from sixteen to twenty-four
tons up gradients of one in twelve, or in working round curves
of two and a half chains radius on that incline, the brakes having
perfect control over the train on the ascent. Certain improve-
ments suggested themselves, — the boiler-power was insufficient,
the inner machinery too crowded and inaccessible, and the con-
necting-rods, working at too great an angle, by an irregular,
impulsive movement, diminished the adhesion of the horizontal
wheels. The improvements were made and further experiments
conducted with special reference to the requirements of the Italian
Government, which included three trains a day each way, the mail
train to perform the journey at an average rate of twelve miles
an hour, including stoppages, the speed up the steepest incline
being seven and a half miles an hour, while the gross weight of
the train was to be sixteen tons. The mixed and goods trains
were to carry forty and forty-eight tons each, with two engines.
The traffic on these trains represented a return of £100,000 an-
nually. The writer described the official trials in Italy in the
presence of the representatives of the English, Italian, Russian,
and Austrian Governments. The result of the trials exceeded the
estimate both as to speed and weight of the trains, and Captain
Tyler, who represented the Board of Trade, reported ‘‘ that this
scheme for crossing the Mont Cenis is, in my opinion, practica-
ble, both mechanically and commercially, and that the passage of
the mountain may thus be effected, not only with greater speed,
certainty, and convenience, but also with greater safety, under

oa

56 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the present arrangements. . . . There is no difficulty in so ap-
plying and securing that middle-rail, and making it virtually one
continuous bar, as to preclude the possibility of accident from its
weakness or from the failure of its fastenings; and the only ques-
tion to my mind is whether it would not be desirable still further
to extend its application to gradients less steep than one in twenty-
four, with a view to greater security, especially on curved portions
of the line.” Similar favorable reports were quoted from the
French Imperial Commissioner, while it was stated that those of
the Italian, Russian, and Austrian Commissioners were equally
favorable and conclusive. In November and December last, the
French and Italian Governments granted concessions, authorizing
the railway on the Imperial postal road over the Mont Cenis with
a width of about thirteen English feet; and a company has since
been formed to carry out the undertaking. The works were com-
menced in March, and the line is expected to open in May next.

Attention was directed at some length to the conditions essen-
tial to the success of the system, the first of which was the em-
ployment of different types of engines, according to the heaviness
of the gradients; of each of which full descriptions were given,
with the aid of colored diagrams. ‘The carriages, as well as the
engines, are each furnished with four horizontal wheels, which
have flanges underlapping the centre-rail. These act both as
guide and safety wheels, preventing the carriages from leaving
the rails, and, by guiding them round the curves, greatly dimin-
ish the frictional resistance and the tractive power required,
thereby rendering it easy to reduce the weight of the engine to
that which was necessary for producing and carrying the power
required for the traction of the train. The economy of weight
has been effected by a simpler arrangement of the machinery, and
by using an improved quality of material. For the making of
mountain lines, which are exposed at certain seasons to an unfa-
vorable climate, from the effects of snow, frost, and fogs, it was
desirable to devise some means of cleaning the surface of the rails,
and for improving the state of adhesion as the trains advanced, so
as to dispense with the use of sand. This might be done at speeds
from five to ten miles an hour; ice and snow might be cleared off
by cutters attached to the engine; and, in seasons of mist, new
machinery could be probably contrived for removing that almost
imperceptible film of mist which diminishes the adhesion to nearly
the same extent as ice. The adhesion was best in the winter,
when the snow remained for months in a state of dry powder; but
the places where it accumulated were protected by covered ways,
and the rails were always in good condition.

He said that the centre-railway system was never intended to
be worked on any except the steepest inclines, where no other
engines could work. It would be only necessary to have a cov-
ered way for fourteen kilometres, which would cost £40,000. One
kilometre in the avalanche district, which was well known, would
have to be protected by stone; but the remainder would be pro-
tected by wood, which was amply strong enough to resist the weight -
of from twenty to thirty feet of accumulated snow. — Reader, 1866.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 57

PNEUMATIC RAILWAY.

The Pneumatic Dispatch Company have successfully applied
the principle of atmospheric pressure to the conveyance of letters
and merchandise, and thus afforded an opportunity of showing
that human beings may continue without inconvenience in a closed
tube. This removal of an apparently insuperable objection to
atmospheric propulsion is very important, since, with a pneu-
matic railway, the danger of accident is reduced almost to nothing.
Collisions are impossible ; and, as the train cannot get off the line,
the greatest velocity is unattended with danger. The view of
external objects is excluded; but this privation is little greater
than that experienced on ordinary railways, where there are many
cuttings, tunnels, and interposed objects. With an atmospheric
railway, the expense of construction and maintenance are greatly
diminished ; steep gradients and sharp curves cease to be objec-
tionable, since an ascent of one in fifteen, or a curve of eight
chains radius, causes no inconvenience, and great facilities are
afforded by it for passing under rivers.

The tubes of the Pneumatic Dispatch Company have been in
operation for more than three years, in conveying parcels ; and the
applicability of the system to carrying passengers has been amply
demonstrated. The line of the Waterloo and Whitehall Railway
is to cross the river just above Hungerford Bridge. The tube is
made in four sections of two hundred and thirty feet length each.
The ends of these will be connected by being introduced into
junction chambers formed in the brick piers on which they rest,
the joint being made water-tight. These piers do not rise as high
as the present river bottom, and a channel will be dredged across
the river to receive the tubes, though the principal weight will be
supported on the piers. One of the tubes is now completed at
the ship-building yard of Messrs. Samuda, at Poplar, five miles
below its intended situation. It is twelve feet nine inches in diam-
eter inside, and is of three-quarter-inch boiler-plate, surrounded
by four rings of brick-work, which is firmly held by cement and
flanged rings riveted to the plates. Its weight, as it lies, is nearly
one thousand tons. To convey it to its destination, the ends are
to be closed by bulkheads, and then, having a buoyancy when
in the water of about three hundred tons, it will be floated up the
river and brought into position over its piers. An inner ring of
brick-work will then be built inside it, and just enough water
admitted to sink it upon its foundation. The joints between the
tubes and piers will then be made water-tight, and the bulkheads
removed from the ends of the tubes. The four tubes will thus forma
great sub-aqueous bridge of four spans of two hundred and twenty-
one feet each, the tubes resting in a channel dredged across the
bottom of the river, but being chiefly supported upon massive
piers which do not rise even to the river bottom. The coffer-dam
at the Whitehall end of the line is no less than fifty-three feet
deep.

When the underground tunnel was finished from Holborn to
Easton Station, a distance of two miles, a train of goods with an
attendant was sent through the whole distance in five minutes.

58 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

It appears from recent experiments conducted by the London
Pneumatic Company, that one hundred and twenty tons of goods
can be sent through their eighteen miles of tubes every hour, at
a cost less than one penny a ton per mile. — Intellectual Observer
and Scientific American.

AERIAL LOCOMOTION.

A pamphlet has lately been published on this subject by Mr.
Boulton, from which may be gathered many interesting facts.
After giving it as his opinion that balloons will never permit us,
safely and at pleasure, to navigate the air, on account of the vast
surface they present to the action of the wind, he proceeds to
show that if the problem of aerial navi gation is to be solved, the
encumbrance of balloons must be altogether dispensed with, and
an engine must be devised capable of lifting its own weight and
that of an aeronaut into the air, and of continuing to exert the
power requisite for this purpose for a considerable time. There
is no difficulty in devising mechanical instruments for aerial pro-
pulsion and guidance. Earlier projectors principally aimed at
imitating the wings of birds; but since the use of the screw for
the propulsion of steamers, the employment of a similar propeller
for aerial locomotion naturally suggests itself. The action of such
a contrivance is illustrated by a small toy called the Stropheore,*
sold for the amusement of children; when a string pulled by the
hand, giving a rapid rotation to a miniature propeller, causes it
to rise in the air. It is also illustrated by fire-works called the
Chinese turbine, which fise similarly in the air when caused
rapidly to revolve by the combustion of the explosive mixture.
There is no reason to apprehend any particular difficulty in the
mechanical adaptation of this principle to the purpose under con-
sideration. The real difficulty lies in obtaining a suitable motive
power, 7. e., one capable of furnishing a sufficiency of power with-
out weight. In the case of the steam-engine, which first occurs
to the mind as the possible agent of the propulsion, the chief ob-
jection is the weight of the boiler, coals, and water; that of the
cylinder, piston, and moving parts being comparatively trifling.
The ecaloric-engine, although dispensing with the weight of water, .
does not on the whole offer prospect of advantage. Another
source of motive power is offered by the combustion of gas, 7. e.,
by exploding a mixture of inflammable gas with atmospheric air.
In a gas-engine constructed on this principle, the weight of the
boiler, coals, and water necessary to the steam-engine is alto-
gether dispensed with; the place of these being supplied by a
receptacle of gas, a source not of weight but lightness. There is
one difficulty, however, viz., that if the receptacle of gas be
large, without which long journeys would be impossible, diffi-
culty of propulsion and guidance, as in the case of a balloon,

* In the Stropheore we have a few light wings placed obliquely around a central
stem; by the action of the hands with a string, as in a humming-top, rotation is
imparted to those wings, and immediately the machine rises, and pierces its way
through the air. So long as the motion continues, this ascent is continued, because
the air, subject to great compression, yields to impulsion before it has time to veer.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 59

would be created. This evil would be remedied, though not
without sacrifice of lightness, if a stock of petroleum were carried
instead of a receptacle of gas, and the vapor of petroleum used
instead of gas for explosion, with a due admixture of atmospheric
air. Another source of motive power is afforded by solid Pxplo;
sive substances, 7. e., by compounds which on combustion gener-
ate a large volume of gaseous products. Such are ounpow vder,
gun-cotton, the mixture used for rockets, ete. In ease of an en-
gine worked by such power, the weight of boiler, fuel, and water
necessary to the steam-engine is replaced by that of the supply
of explosive material, whereby for short journeys a great reduc-
tion in weight is effected. There are some further considerations
which seem to show that these powers are capable of achieving,
to some extent, the desired result, which the steam-engine, prob-
ably with justice, is pronounced incapable of effecting. Ifa very
diminutive steam-engine could be made capable of raising itself
into the air, a powerful steam-engine could be made to do so
likewise ; for the ratio of weight to power is greater when the
steam-engine is small than when it is large; and this holds good
in the case of most machines or engines. Now, rockets are actu-
ally made capable of lifting themselves into the air, and if small
rockets can do this, s surely, i in accordance with the above princi-
ple, large rockets can do so too, and in proportion to the size of
the rocket, its power of lifting a load will increase ; and if this be
so, it must be possible to construct a rocket, or a combination of
rockets, capable of lifting from the ground and transporting to
some distance the weight of aman. The weight actually lifted
by the larger Congreve rockets is not inconsiderable; but it is
proper to consider that this would be greater wer e the power of
the gas brought differently into play. For the rising gas acts
much more adv antageously when the rocket is moving at a high
velocity than when it is stationary,—a large proportion of its
power being wasted in the latter case. Could the power act as
advantageously when the rocket is stationary as when it is
moving at full speed, it would be capable of lifting from the
ground a greater weight than it actually does; and a greater
supply of material. being lifted, an increased range of flicht could
be obtained. For this reason, a rocket, however great its power,
would be wholly unsuited to the purpose of aerial navigation; it
being impossible to retard its speed without diminishing the
power exerted by it. But no such objection exists if we conceive
the gas to produce motion, not directly, but by means of a pro-
peller. For the propeller may revolve at full velocity, and thus
the maximum of available power be brought into play, while the
engine itself is moving through the air slowly or notatall. The
same reasoning holds in reference to the Chinese turbines—z. e.,
that the ratio of weight to power would be greater when they are
small than when they are large. And in this case, if a small tur-
bine can lift itself into the air, a fortiori, a large one can do so.
Such considerations seem to show that, though the steam-engine

may be wholly incapable of accomplishing the feat in question,
yet that other powers now known to us are capable of ellecting

60 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

it to some extent. Suppose, however, that this be so, the ques-
tion still remains: ‘* What range of flight could be attained by
means of any power now known tous?” This would of course
be limited by the quantity of material (whether petroleum, gun-
cotton, or any other substance) which it would be possible to lift
into the air; ; and experiment alone would determine this point.
It does not seem very bold to anticipate that a range of flight
equal to that of a cannon-ball might be found attainable without
much difficulty ; and if once such a beginning be made, improve-
ments might be expected to follow, enabling greater distances to
be performed. Another question is that ‘of, cost; this would,
of course, mainly depend on the nature of the material available
for the purposes. Could the desired object be achieved by the
use of petroleum, the cost would be comparatively moderate ;
while if it were necessary to employ gun-cotton, the mixture used
for rockets, or similar explosive compounds, the cost would be
very great. It is obvious that in any case such a means of loco-
motion would be far more costly than those now practised on
land and water, and wholly unfitted to compete with them for
ordinary purposes. At the same time, it is manifest that there
are numerous occasions, especially in warfare, where the power
of moving in any desired direction through the air, even for very
moderate distances, would be of great service ; and cost for the
‘accomplishment of such an object would not be grudged.

ON THE USE OF STEEL FOR RAILWAY PURPOSES.

The application of steel to many of the purposes for which iron
had been and is now generally used, had been limited by the
difficulty in producing steel in sufficiently large masses, at a com-
pavativ ely low cost, and free from flaws, with a perfect homoge-
neousness of material, —this seemed to present an almost insu-
perable difficulty to its general employment. Cast-stecl made by
cementation, while possessing superior hardness, lacked tenacity ;
if tough, it was soft; if hard, it was brittle. In 1851, however,
Krupp, of Essen, Prussia, showed, in the London Exhibition, an
ingot of cast-steel weighing 4,500 Ibs., the heaviest then known.
In 1862, he exhibited another one weighing twenty tons, in the
form of a solid cylinder, nine feet high and three feet eight in-
ches in diameter. It had been broken across to show its fracture ;
under a good microscope it would not exhibit a single flaw.
Since then he has repeatedly produced masses of forty tons
weight.

There can be no reason, at this late day, and in view of the ex-
periments made in England and on the continent, for doubting
the superior durability, and the ultimate superior cheapness, of
steel rails and tires over those of iron. On our railroads it is
theoretically correct to say that the weight of a load rests on a
point; but it is not practically correct. There is compression ;
much of it in the road. itself, or the rail, but some of it in the
wheel or tire. Yet, notwithstanding that it can be demonstrated

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 61

that, this compression makes what would otherwise be a level
road one continually up-hill, there are persons who advocate a
yielding foundation, as there are those who insist on a springing
or yielding tire. The mere fact that our ordinary locomotive tires
must be occasionally re-turned is a sufficient refutation of their
position.

A perfectly rigid bed or road-way, and as rigid wheels, is the
rule that is found by experience to be the best. Soon as a wheel
or tire gets ‘* out of round,” it becomes, in operation, a hammer,
destroying the rail. Mr. Bessemer, at a recent meeting of the
British Association at Nottingham, gave an exceedingly elaborate
and interesting account of his own system of manufacturing
Steel, and showed the vast importance that branch of industry
had assumed since his patent had come into working operation.
By the old system, forty pounds of steel was the largest mass of
metal operated upon; but by his process as much as twenty-five
tons could be converted into steel in one heating. It had super-
seded iron wherever large castings were required, such as ord-
nance of large size, locomotive and marine engine-eranks, rails,
etc. He mentioned, as showing the superior durability of steel
rails over those of iron, that at the station at Camden Town, at a
part of the line over which all the traffic passed, a steel rail was
placed on one side of the line, and an iron rail on the other, and
that seventeen faces of the iron were worn away, while the first
face of the steel rail was still in working order. Steel rails put
down four years ago were still in working order. The first cost
of steel rails was, of course, much greater than that of iron, but
compensation was found for this in the greater durability.

The superintendent of one of our most successful railroads in-
forms us that iron rails on that road average about seven or eight
years of life. Steel rails have been recently introduced, but the
test is not considered suflicient to afford proper data for an opin-
ion. Steel tires have been used on the road several years, some
of them having already run 70,000 miles, and, while costing
double the price of iron, their durability has proved that they are
superior to iron ones. No such performance, we are certain, can
be recorded for iron tires. The ‘ best iron tires” — according to
Thomas Prosser, C. E., who has lately issued a pamphlet on this
subject, which should be a satisfactory exhibit to our railroad men
—‘‘average only 60,000 miles, during which time four of them
will grind up one ton of rails.”

It appears to be evident that our railroad companies will event-
ually save by replacing their iron rails, iron tires, iron wheels,
and iron locomotive axles, with those of steel, the rails to be laid
on an unyielding and permanent foundation. Certainly, this sub-
ject of the comparative value of iron and steel for these pur-
poses is worthy more general attention than has been given it in
this country, especially in the construction and ‘ plant” of new
lines of railways. ;

The surprising results that have appeared where steel rails have
been laid alongside of iron rails, in places subject to very heavy
traflic, have already caused their adoption on nearly all lines for

6

62 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

use near stations, and at all places where the way is liable to
great deterioration. The great Northern Railway has adopted
them for use on all their inclines, while the London and North-
western Company have erected works of their own capable of
supplying three hundred and fifty tons of steel per week, three
hundred of which is worked up into rails. The question is merely
one of first-cost and interest, and it is now pretty generally con-
ceded that steel rails at £15 per ton, lasting forty years or longer,
are cheaper than iron at £7 10s., lasting eight years, especially
when it is considered that, on account of its superior strength and
stiffness, a steel rail weighing seventy pounds to the yard is more
than equal to an iron r il we eiching eighty pounds.

At first it was urged that steel rails, when worn out, would be
useless from the impossibility of piling and re-rolling them, while
old iron rails could easily be re-worked in any desired manner.
All fears on this ground have, however, proved quite unnecessary,
as numberless uses have been found for which the old steel rails,
as well as the crop ends formed in their manufacture, are desired,
so that these bring readily from £7 to £8 per ton. Among these
uses may be mentioned rolling into plates, to be used in making
kettles, by stamping, instead of charcoal plate; plates for nail
cutting, telegraph wire manufacture, and hundreds of other pur-
poses “for which the metal is extremely valuable. Or it may be
re-melted in the converter or otherwise, and be again produced as
rails. As stated in my last letter, the production of steel rails in
England already amounts to one thousand tons per week.

The form of rail in vogue on the Continent is the single headed,
but, like the English, five inches deep. Here, also, s steel i is ti ikings
the place of iron on many lines, with a corresponding decrease in
the expenses for renewals.

The ‘* London Railway News” says: ‘* Mr. Williams furnishes
some details which will serve to show the enormous wear and tear
to which the rails of our jean lines are subjected. On the section
between Hatfield and London, on the Great Northern line, 57,536
trains, carrying 17,760,926 tons, destroyed in three years the rails
laid down in 1857. Some heavier ‘ails, laid in 1860, were worn
down in three years by 65,529 trains, and 13,484,661 tons. Inthe
case, however, of a section of railway between Bury and Accring-
ton, 62,399 trains, and a gross tonnage of 12,451,784, passed over
rails which lasted seven and a half years, or two and a half times
as long as those of the Great Northern, with about an equal amount
of trafic. Again, at Bolton, it required 203,122 trains, and 38,-
803,128 tons, fo wear out the same description of rails in seven and
a quarter years. The cause of this rapid wearing out of the rails
of the Great Northern as compared with those of the other lines,
is due, apparently, to the greater speed of the trains. In the case
of iron rails, as in the delicately-constructed mechanism of animal
life, it is ‘the pace that kills.’

“Two stéel rails of twenty-one feet in length were laid on the
2d of May, 1862, at the Chalk Farm Bridge, s side by side with two
ordinary rails. ‘After having out-lasted s sixteen faces of the ordi-
nary rails, the steel ones were taken up and examined, and it was

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 63

found that at the expiration of three years and three months, the
surface was evenly worn to the extent of only a little more than a
quarter of an inch, and to all appearance they were capable of
enduring a great deal more work. These two rails had, during
the period of a little more than three years, been exposed to the
traffic of 9,550,000 engines, trucks, and carriages, and 95,577,240
tons. It is an amount of traffic equal to nearly ten times that
which destroyed the Great Northern rails above referred to in
three years. ‘The result of this trial was to induce the London
and Northwestern to enter very extensively into the employment
of steel rails; and we learn from Mr. Webb that in a short time
arrangements will be made at Crewe for the production of three
hundred and fifty tons of steel per week, of which three hundred '
will be used for rails; and that at the present time there are about
fifty miles of steel rails in use on the line, and three thousand tons
of steel-headed rails.”

An examination of the steel rails laid down two years and a half
since in the Woodhead Tunnel of the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire Railway, resulted in a striking illustration of the rel-
ative endurance of steel and iron rails. This tunnel is about three
miles long, with a station at each end, where trains generally stop,
and where the wear of the rails is extraordinary, from the starting
of heavy trains with the aid of sand on iron constantly wet with
drippings from the roof. The life of an iron rail at these stations
was but about five months on one head, and three or four months

_on the other, after turning. The new rails are seventy-five pounds
Bessemer steel, double-headed, two and a half inch face, five-
eighths inch stem, and five inches deep. Rails were taken out at
the places of greatest wear, at each end of the tunnel, and on
being carefully measured and compared with the original tem-
plates from which they were made, were found to have lost as
nearly as possible one-eighth of an inch in the thirty months’ use,
under at least 8,000,000 tons of traffic, as computed from the books
of the station. The rails were in admirable condition, and good
for five times as much further wear, both heads together; making,
in insurance phrase, an ‘‘expectation of life” equal to fifteen
years, or twenty times as long as that of iron. — Scientific Ameri-
can, 1866. °

CHILLED RAILWAY WHEELS.

The practice with Major Palliser’s shot against armor has shown
what are the qualities of chilled cast-iron; the chill, in this case,
extending quite through the casting. It has been demonstrated
that it is equal in hardness to hardened steel, and that it requires
even greater force to break or deform it. It may be that the
startling results obtained at Shoeburyness will serve, in some
measure, to account for the universal use of chilled railway wheels
in America, and for the leading wheels of engines, and often for
the driving-wheels themselves as well. It has always been the
belief in this country that those wheels were used because they
were cheap, and because the Americans could afford nothing bet-
ter. These wheels, before the war, cost about one and a half

64 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

pence per pound, or rather less than £14 per ton; and one favorite
pattern of two feet six inch wheel, weighing nearly four hundred
weight, was sold, ready for boring, for £2 10s. each. But so far
from their cheapness having alone maintained them in use, they
were long ago adopted on the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada,
because they were found, upon the whole, better than wrought
iron. We have before us a letter, written, in 1859, by the late Mr.
A. M. Ross, engineer to the Victoria Bridge, Montreal, upon this
subject, and which contains this statement, a statement which we
know to have been confirmed by the subsequent experience of the
engineers of the Grand ‘Trunk Railway. In the International
Exhibition of 1862 were a pair of chilled wheels, two feet nine
inches in diameter, which had run upward of 150,000 miles under
a heavy post-oflice van on the Grand Trunk Railway, and, although
worn, they were still in good condition. We need not dwell upon
the severity of a Canadian winter, nor explain how for months
together the road bed—and there is seldom much ballast — is
frozen as hard as rock.

This, if anything, would be expected to try chilled wheels; yet
they are regularly employed for the leading-wheels of passenger
engines; and breakages, although not absolutely unknown, are at
least as infrequent as those of the best makes of English railway
carriage-tires.

It requires good iron for chilled wheels. That used in America
for this branch of manufacture is mostly cold-blast charcoal iron ;
and it has to be selected and mixed with care to obtain the proper
qualities of strength and hardness of chill. The chill should be
from three-eighths to five-eighths of an inch deep, and should cover
the whole tread and the wearing face of the flange. Chilled
wheels require especial provision for cooling after being cast, so
as to avoid internal strain from contraction. The wheels do not
all come out of exactly the same diameter; but there is no diffi-
culty in mating them in pairs of equal diameter, the greatest vari-
ation in the diameters of a thousand two-feet-nine-inch wheels
hardly exceeding one-eighth of an inch. The machinery employed
for boring is such that the hole is necessarily in the centre, so that
no eccentricity is possible. The wheels wear evenly and very
slowly, until their diameter has been reduced by nearly half an
inch. American iron, of choice quality for chilled wheels, is now
being taken to St. Petersburg for casting there the wheels of all
the carriage and wagon stock of the St. Petersburg and Moscow
Railway. Heretofore the wheels for that line have been imported
largely from the States. Our own size of wheel has never been
adopted there; and as the weight of disk-wheels increases in a
higher ratio than that of the increase of diameter simply, we pre-
sume that a three-feet-six-inch wheel, instead of weighing but
five hundred weight, as in English practice, would reach six hun-
dred weight. We learn that iron of the proper quality for chilled
wheels is likely to be introduced into this country, and that they
will probably receive a fair trial. -

We believe that five American chilled railway wheels have

arrived in London, and that they will be broken experimentally,

~-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 65

and that further wheels of this kind will be sent over for trial
under English rolling stock. We have samples of the iron from
which these wheels are cast, and it is of magnificent quality.
The fracture is a rich dark gray, medium-grained, and shows
great toughness, the particles appearing to have been irregularly
torn, rather than broken short off. The specific gravity ranges
from 7.25 to 7.3185, and the tensile strength from 82,000 to 35,-
102 lbs., or, say, fourteen and one-half to sixteen tons per square
inch. The iron is that known as the Salisbury cold-blast charcoal
iron, and is worth about £10 per ton in New York. — Lngineer-
ing, 1866.

STEEL LOCOMOTIVE WHEELS.

Railway companies in England have for some time largely
employed steel as a substitute for ordinary iron, for the working
parts of locomotives, with most satisfactory results. On heavy
freight-lines it has been found that with the ordinary iron tires, or
the engine-wheels, the distance run was not more than 90,000
miles, -——in many cases not more than 60,000 miles,—and the
wheels require to be taken from under the engine for every 20,-
000 or 30,000 miles run, for repairs and ‘‘turning up.” In the
case of steel tires, however, the wheels will run 100,000 miles,
before they require ‘‘ turning up ” or repairing. The ‘ Railway
News ” states that the result of a very careful examination of the
effects of wear, lead to the opinion that these wheels will run
from 850,000 to 500,000 miles, or equal to some twelve or fifteen
years’ work of a daily average of about one hundred miles. The
difference of cost between the two metals is not great; in the one
ease it ranges from £40 to £45 per ton, while the steel is about
£55; the cost of labor in placing the tires being about the same in
each ease. It is confidently stated that a similar saving in point
of wear may be made by substituting steel for iron in boilers,
axles, cranks, eccentrics, and other portions of locomotives. —
Mechanics’ Magazine, April, 1865.

HIGH TEMPERATURES PRODUCED BY GAS.

There is no reason why the very highest temperatures should
not be produced by the combustion of gas; and in reality it has
been found that by regulating the supply of air and gas, and pre-
venting the caloric evolved trom being dissipated, a very great
heat may be obtained. For this purpose, it is only necessary to
combine a number of flames produced by Bunsen burners, but
without permitting them to completely penetrate one another,
and causing a draught by means of a sheet-iron tube about two
metres high. The heat, by a proper management of the flame,
and by the products of combustion being made to act on both
sides of the refractory envelope Within which the substance to be
operated on is placed, becomes extremely powerful. With such
an arrangement it was found that two square metres of gas, burned
under a pressure of five or six centimetres of water, fused six
hundred and seventy grammes of silver in fifteen minutes; and

6*

66 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

five hundred grammes of very infusible cast-iron in thirty min-
utes. — Intellectual Observer, March, 1866.

PETROLEUM AS A FUEL.

Mr. C. J. Richardson has so far succeeded in utilizing petrole-
um as a steam fuel for marine engines, that at a recent trial of
his improved petroleum boiler, at Woolwich Dockyard, the most
favorable results are said to have accrued. It is reported that
the boiler vaporized about three thousand pounds of water, at the
rate of thirteen and a half pounds to one pound of fuel, in about
three hours, the lowest class of English coal being used. Petro-
leum is the exact opposite of coal; it is slow burning, permitting
little waste, requiring a small fire-box and no ash-pit. An ash,
the petroleum coke, forms itself on the surface of the grate, and
is of great service to the combustion. After a few tons of the oil
are burned, this would become several inches in thickness, and
form a porous grate better than any that could be manufactured
for the purpose. — Mechanics’ Magazine, Jan., 1866.

SIEMENS’ REGENERATIVE GAS FURNACES.

Although this furnace has been described in the ‘‘ Annual of
Scientific Discovery” for 1864, the facts elicited are so important
and suggestive, that attention may be called to them again.
The points of special interest are, 1st, the extremely high tem-
perature which can be obtained, and which, in fact, is limited
only by the nature of the materials employed in the construction
of the turnace; and 2d, the possibility of employing at will
either an oxydizing or a reducing atmosphere. The furnaces
have been applied to puddling and re-heating, and, no doubt, will
soon be extensively used in metallurgical processes. It is well
worth while to determine by direct experiment, on a large scale,
whether the rich iron ores of Lake Champlain, Lake Superior,
and Missouri, cannot be directly reduced to the metallic state by
heating them to a sufficiently high temperature in the chamber
of a Siemens’ furnace, and then changing the gaseous mixture in
the furnace to a reducing condition. This would, in fact, be
blooming upon a large scale, and would perhaps avoid the incon-
venience and expense of blooming in the small way, which, in
spite of the superior quality of the iron produced, has been almost
wholly superseded by the cheaper process of puddling. Exper-
iment only can determine whether fluxes can be used with ad-
vantage in blooming in this manner, when poorer ores are em-
ployed. Ores of copper could doubtless be roasted and reduced
in furnaces of this construction, and, with some additions to the
original plan, the sulphurous acid formed during the roasting
might be directly converted into sulphuric acid in leaden cham-
bers. But it is for the metallurgy of iron that the new furnaces
will probably be found most advantageous. As the temperature
attainable is extremely high, it may even be found practicable to
melt the malleable iron formed by the direct reduction of the ore,

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 67

the walls of the fire-chamber being lined with lime, as more re-
fractory than fire-clay. But even if this should not be realized, it
is at least probable that the earthy impurities of the ore would be
reduced to a peculiarly fluid condition, so that the blooms could
be easily treated under the hammer and brought into the form of
malleable iron. There is hardly a branch of manufacture in
which heat is employed upon the large scale in which furnaces on
the regenerative principle would not find an application. Small
gas furnaces could be made upon the same principle, for labora-
tory use and for various processes in the arts, using ordinary city
gas as fuel, instead of gas produced by a special furnace. The
high temperature obtained in Gore’s gas furnaces appears to be
due to the heating of the air and gas before they mix in combus-
tion. — American Journal of Science, May, 1865.

SMOKE-CONSUMING APPARATUS.

M. Emile Martin, in a work published in London, in 1865, de-
scribes his improved steam-generating apparatus. The leading
idea is the use of two fire-places, and, therefore, double firing.
From the upper part of each fire-place tubular flues rise up to a
chamber within the boiler; from this chamber descend one or
more flues, at whose lower portion is a perforated grating of fire-
clay, on which there is constantly kept a quantity of glowing fuel ;
below this is a space communicating with a chimney into which
the products of combustion are exhausted by means of a fan or
other contrivance for producing a draught. In order to try the
plan, the Great Eastern Railway Company applied it to an old
locomotive, working as a stationary engine at the Stratford sta-
tion. This old boiler, with M. Martin’s apparatus, was able to
provide with steam an engine of a hundred horse-power, and
with an economy of thirty-three to forty per cent. over the fifty-
horse boilers close by. These boilers are still in good condition,
and the advantage over them, obtained by the old locomotive-
boiler furnished with this apparatus, seems mainly due to the
consumption of smoke obtained by the latter. The work also
contains a report from two engineers, showing that, by means of
this arrangement, ten pounds of water were evaporated by the
use of only one pound of fuel, exclusive of the fuel used for
getting up steam. A new locomotive on this plan was in process
of construction. — London Mechanics’ Magazine, Feb., 1865.

AMORY’S SMOKE-CONSUMING FURNACE.

Mr. Jonathan Amory, of Boston, Mass., who has devoted many
years to the perfection of a smoke-consuming furnace, has re-
cently issued a pamphlet on the subject, from which the following
are extracts : —

** The subject of the economical application of heat for the pro-
duction of steam may be said, without exaggeration, to be the
most important for the consideration of every large manufactur-
ing, agricultural, and mercantile community; and one, too, the

68 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

most neglected, as far as practice is concerned. The cost of fuel
annually required in the United States for mechanical and manu-
facturing purposes, and principally for the generation of steam
(leaving out of the calculation the immense amount used in do-
mestic economy), has been estimated at $60,000,000. Estimating
it at only $50,000,000, any improvement which would save even
one-quarter of this sum (or $12,500,000) would add so much to
the national wealth, by largely extending many branches of pro-
ductive industry, and rendering profitable many enterprises now
languishing and poorly remunerative. The many different kinds
of furnaces and boilers now in use, in this country and in Europe,
like the many infallible cures for dangerous diseases, only show
that all are imperfect, and that no one is entitled to the full confi-
dence of the public.

**No one can deny that the prevention and consumption of
smoke are very desirable, both from a sanitary and an economical
point of view. The principles of chemistry, and practical expe-
rience, show that the prevention of smoke and the perfect com-
bustion of fuel are synonymous; or, in other words, that smoke
is carbon escaping unconsumed from the chimney, and so much
lost fuel. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are thus annually
thrown away, at a time, too, when strict economy ought to be
the rule. It is not exaggerating to say that one-half of the fuel
used for generating steam in this country would, with the use of
proper furnaces, perform the same service now derived from the
whole, as at present used.

** The idea that we cannot have fire without smoke is not true
of a well-constructed furnace, after the fire is once well kindled.
Many attempts have been made to solve this smoke problem, but
all have failed, more or less completely, from inattention to the
laws of perfect combustion, the variable products according to
the fuel, the want of system in the management of the furnace,
and, above all, from the failure to bring the due proportion of
air into contact with the combustible gases. Various devices have
been employed, both in Europe and this country, to arrest or
delay the gases of imperfect combustion in their passage to the
chimney, by different kinds of bridges, generally of fire-brick,
behind and near the fire; and various imperfect attempts have
been made to admit a certain quantity of air behind these bridges,
to secure a more perfect combustion, diminishing, however, to a
certain extent, the heat by the admission of the cold air. Even
with these, in England, there has been secured a saving of thirty-
three per cent.

«* As a preliminary to perfect combustion, a proper amount of
erate-surface, and a boiler of sufficient size, are of the first neces-
sity ; as, with too small a fire-surface, and a boiler so small as to
require constant forcing, perfect combustion and its resultant
economy are out of the question.”

After showing the proper proportions of grate-bars to boiler-
surface, the heating properties of various kinds of fuel, and the
proper amount of air to be supplied for perfect combustion, he
goes on to say: —

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 69

‘* In the best double-flued and double-furnaced English boilers,
about one square inch of permanent air-opening, behind the
bridge, is necessary for every square foot of grate-bar, — air pass-
ing as usual through the grate-bars from the ash-pit, and often
through hojes in the furnace door. In the ‘Amory’ furnace, a
three to six-inch pipe is ample, conveying heated air to the cavity
of the curves, the ash-pit door (and the holes in the furnace
door, if necessary) being closed, after the fires have been well
kindled, —a very much less open air-space than in the best Eng-
lish furnaces. With an insufficient amount of air, if bituminous
coal or pine wood be used, the too-compact fire being supplied
only through the grate-bars, the gases pass quickly and uncon-
sumed through the flues, with a thick volume of dark smoke by
the chimney. Enough air only should be admitted to convert the
carbon of the fuel into carbonic acid by its oxygen, the hydrogen
being converted into water in the shape of vapor. In this con-
dition of a furnace, the products of combustion become invisible,
so that we may justly conclude that smoke is the measure and
gauge of imperfect combustion.

«¢Some turnace-makers admitted air through the furnace-doors
by a few large, or many small openings; others, behind the bridge ;
but, in every case, cold air. In the ‘ Amory’ furnace, at a proper
distance from the fire, is placed a combustion, or reverberating
chamber of concavo-convex hollow iron curves, concave toward
the fire, when a single one is used, and the length of grate-bars is
sufficient to admit the loss of so much fire-surface; the curve on
the level of and just behind the fire;—concave toward each
other when two are used, above and at a greater or less distance
from the fire. Between the curved iron plates (best made of
boiler-plate one-eighth or one-sixth of an inch thick) is a hollow
space, communicating underneath with each, into which air is
received, heated by passing through a pipe introduced through
the boiler, or otherwise, the air communicating with the fire-
chamber by several openings on the concave surfaces. It is also
necessary that the anterior curve be lower than the posterior,
to insure and facilitate the revolving of the gases in the chamber.

“The principles of this furnace have for several years been
applied to locomotive, stationary, house, and steamboat furnaces,
with the most satisfactory results, as the testimonials appended
will show; and it is confidently recommended to engineers, ma-
chinists, and builders, as meriting all that is claimed for it in
the saving of fuel and the consumption of smoke.

‘‘This furnace neither draws the air through the fuel by the
production of a partial vacuum behind it from high temperature
and rarefaction in the chimney, nor forces air through it by com-
pression, or other mechanical contrivance, before the fuel, —the
first exceedingly wasteful, and the second inconvenient and un-
necessary; but it secures a most perfect combustion and free-
dom from smoke, by the retention and reverberation of the gas-
eous products in a circular chamber, in which a due amount of
heated air is introduced, converting, in this way, much carbonic
oxide (usually escaping by the chimney) into carbonic acid gas,
and thus saving a great amount of caloric.

70 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

«“‘The three points of the patent are, — 1st, Retention of the un-
consumed gases. 2d, Reverberation by a circular chamber of
proper relative height in the two curves. 3d, A due supply of
heated air in the chamber, and between its plates, doing awa
with draft in front and from below, after the fire is once kindled,
affording safety from fire by closed furnace doors, freedom from
water which would put out the fires (by closed ash-pit), and pre-
servation of iron in locomotives by the constant current of the
burning gases in the chamber.”

It is claimed that, by this furnace, a saving of twenty to forty
per cent. in fuel is effected, and that with fuel even of the poorest
quality.

ON IRON SHIPS.

Mr. William Fairbairn communicates to the ‘‘ Quarterly Journal
of Science,” for April, 1866, a paper on the loss of the ‘* London”
steamship, which foundered at sea on a voyage to Australia, from
which the following are extracts :

«* The introduction of iron for the purposes of ship-building has
given greatly increased strength, and afforded facilities for obtain-
ing new forms, which, aided by the power of steam, have insured
a rate of speed in vessels never before attained in nayal history.
Jt has, moreover, furnished the naval architect with a material of
immense value as regards construction; and its careful distribu-
tion in the shape of ribs, frames, and the sheathing of vessels,
cannot be too highly appreciated. As compared with the best
English oak, it exhibits four times its power of resistance ; and it
has, in addition, the double advantage of being almost perfectly
homogeneous and tree from the defects of open joints, which, in
the case of the planking of wooden vessels, require to be caulked.
With all these advantages, iron constructions are surrounded with
many dangers, when entrusted to the care and superintendence of
incompetent persons. In such hands there invariably exists a
want of proportion in the formation of iron vessels, which exhibit
defective powers of resistance, and such other abnormal condi-
tions as might prove destructive to the efficiency and ultimate
security of the structure. It is of importance to take into account
the forms or lines of least resistance, such as a fine entrance at the
bows, and an equally clear run at the stern, if high speed is to be
obtained. The forms advantageous for vessels navigating rivers
and smooth water are not so in those intended for long sea-
voyages, and having to contend with the waves of the Atlantic. It
is questionable, in the latter, whether or not some slight sacrifices
should be made to speed, and some modification effected in the form
of the bows and stern, in order to meet all the requirements of a
safe and convenient vessel intended for the double purpose of
carrying passengers and cargo. The safety and success of a ves-
sel do not depend so much on its speed as upon its sea-going
properties and sound construction. If, for example, we take one
of the present iron clippers, with her sharp bows and fine propor-
tions, | am of opinion that she is neither the safest nor the best
description of vessel to contend with a heavy sea in foul weather.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 71

Tn the first place, she is a diver, which cuts into the sea and rises
with difficulty from a bath, which covers her decks with water as
she pitches from sea to sea. Repeated immersions of this kind are
exceedingly uncomfortable to those on board, and cause the ship
to lift some tons of water before her buoyancy is restored to meet
the next and every other succeeding wave into which she plunges
in a rolling sea. I think it is the duty of every ship-builder to
approximate as closely as possible to the lines of least resistance,
which, in my opinion, ought to be carried to the utmost limits in
smooth water, but in smooth water only. It may not be out of
place to suggest that all passenger and emigrant ships should be
modified in their construction, so as to give increased displace-
ment at the bows and stern, but more particularly at the bows,
where they require buoyancy, having to encounter the force of a
large Lody of water rushing over them and scouring the decks
from stem to stern. For several years ‘have endeavored to im-
press upon the minds of naval architects the necessity of increased
strength on the upper deck of sea-going vessels, in order to bal-
ance the forces of tension and compression, and the double bottoms
on the cellular principle of construction. The ultimate strength
of a vessel is the resistance of its weakest part, and this being the
case, it is evident that it is of little or no value to have a strong
double bottom if the deck is liable to be torn asunder by the alter-
nate strains of a vessel pitching at sea. That these strains, often
repeated, lead to fracture does not admit of a doubt, and it has
been proved by experiment, that, under these circumstances, time
is the only element in the endurance of the structure; and this
varies according to the intensity with which the strains are pro-
duced. I am convinced that heretofore the decks have been the
weakest parts, and that several iron vessels have broken right in
two from the constant working of alternate strains at midships
along the line of the decks.”

HYDRAULIC-LIFT GRAVING-DOCK.

Mr. Edwin Clark has described to the Institute of Ciyil Engi-
neers the plans adopted by him at the Victoria (London) Graving-
Docks. ‘The principle of these docks is to provide a single lifting
pit, out of which the vessels may be raised bodily on pontoons,
which afterward float them in shallow water to a convenient berth
for graying purposes. The ships are raised by hydraulic presses,
the idea of which appears to have been derived from the presses
employed in raising the Britannia and Conway Tubular Bridges,
designed under Mr. Clark’s superintendence. At the Victoria
Docks, the depth of water in the lift-pit is twenty-seven feet; that
over the rest of the dock is only six feet. In raising a vessel, one
of the pontoons is brought over the lift-pit, filled with water, and
sunk. The vessel is then floated in over the pontoon, and the
pontoon and vessel raised together by the hydraulic presses.
When at a sufficient altitude, the water is drawn off from the pon-
toon, which then. floats the vessel to its berth in the shallow water.
The whole operation of lifting occupies only about half an hour,

.
72 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

and the lifting-pit is then ready for the reception of another vessel.
At the Victoria Docks there are thirty-two presses, with ten-inch
rams, having a stroke of twenty-five feet. This, with a water
pressure of two tons per circular inch, gives a total lilting power
of 6,400 tons, less the weight of crossheads, rams, etc., amounting
to six hundred and twenty tons. — Popular Science Review, April,
1866.
CORK SPRINGS.

The use of cork instead of India-rubber as a support for freight
ears and similar heavy vehicles, would not, @ priori, seem very
promising, from ordinary impressions of its properties. The cork
used for such springs is of the commonest description, harsh, hard,
and full of fissures; it is cut into disks of about eight inches diam-~
eter, each pierced with a central hole. Previous, however, to cut-
ting, it is soaked in a mixture of molasses and water, which gives
it some softness, and renders it permanently moist. A number of
these cork disks are placed in a cylindrical cast-iron box, a flat
iron lid or disk is placed over them, and by hydraulic pressure is
forced down so as to reduce the thickness to one-half. <A bolt is
then run through box, corks, and cover, at the centre, and a nut
being screwed on this holds all in place, when the press is
relieved, and the box of compressed cork, disks, or cork spring, is
ready for use. One of these springs, placed in a testing machine,
under a weight of 20,000 pounds, showed an elasticity suggestive
of compressed air in a condensing pump. One would expect, from
the appearance of the material, that, under heavy pressure, it
would be pulverized or split into shreds, especially if this pressure
was assisted by violent shocks; but, in fact, no such action takes
place. A pressure which destroys India-rubber, causing it to split
up and lose its elasticity, leaves the cork unimpaired; and, with
the machinery in use, it has even been impossible, with any press-
ure attainable, to injure the cork, even when areas of but one
inch were acted upon, —Journal of Franklin Institute, May, 1866.

ON THE PRESERVATION OF WOOD, IN DAMP AND WET PLACES.

In 1846, 80,000 sleepers of the most perishable woods, impreg-
nated, by Boucherie’s process, with sulphate of copper, were laid
down on French railways: after nine years exposure, they were
found as perfect as when laid. We would suggest washing out
the sap with water, which would not coagulate its albumen: the
solution would appropriately follow. Both of the last named
processes are comparatively cheap; it costs less than creosoting,
by one shilling per sleeper, The unpleasant odor of creosote is
greatly against its use for lumber for dwellings; pyrolignite of
iron is offensive, and also highly inflammable ; the affinity of the
chlorides for water keeps the structure into which they are intro-
duced wet, and they also corrode the iron-work. Sulphate of
copper is free from these objections, and is cheaper than the
chlorides, and seems preferable for protecting wooden structures

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 73

against dry rot in damp situations, like mines, vaults, and the
basements of buildings.

The surface of all timber exposed to alternations of wetness
and dryness gradually wastes away, becoming dark colored or
black. This is really a slow combustion, but is commonly called
wet rot, or simply rot. Other conditions being the same, the
most dense and resinous woods longest resist decomposition.
Hence the superior durability of the heart wood, in which the
pores have been partly filled with lignin, over the open sapwood;
and of dense oak and lignumvite over light poplar and willow.
Density and resinousness exclude water; therefore our preserva-
tives should increase those qualities in the timber. Fixed oils
fill up the pores and increase the density ; the essential oils resin-
fy, and furnish an impermeable coating; but pitch or dead oil
possesses advantages over all known substances for the protection
of wood against changes of humidity. According to Professor
Letheby (‘‘ Civil Engineers’ Journal,” vol. 23), dead oil, 1st,
coagulates albuminous substances; 2d, absorbs and appropri-
ates the oxygen in the pores, and so protects from eremacausis ;
3d, resinifies in the pores of the wood, and thus shuts out both air
and moisture; and 4th, acts as a poison to lower forms of animal
and vegetable life, and so protects the wood from all parasites.
These properties specially fit it for impregnating timber exposed
to alternations of wet and dry states, as, indeed, some of them do
for situations constantly damp and wet. Dead oil is distilled from
coal tar, of which it constitutes about .30, and boils between 390°
and 470° Fahr. Its antiseptic quality resides in the creosote it
contains. One of the components of the latter, carbolic acid
(phenic acid, phenol) CY? H® 0?, the most powerful antiseptic
known, is able at once to arrest the decay of every kind of organic
matter. Professor Letheby estimates this acid at one-half to six
per cent. of the oil. Bethell’s process subjects the timber and
dead oil, enclosed in huge iron tanks, to a pressure varying from
one hundred to two hundred pounds per square inch, about
twelve hours: from eight to twelve pounds of oil are thus in-
jected into each cubic foot of wood. Lumber thus prepared is
not affected by exposure to air and water, and requires no paint-
ing. Four pence the cubic foot is estimated as the probable
expense of this process.

Though we have not to guard against decay, when timber is
constantly wet in salt water, the Zeredo navalis, a mollusk of the
family Tubicolaria (Lam.) soon reduces to ruin any unprotected
submarine construction of common woods. None of our native
timbers are exempt from these inroads. The teredo never perfo-
rates below the surface of the sea-bottom, and probably does little
injury below low-water mark ; its food is the borings of the wood.
Poisoning the timber does not protect from the teredo, the con-
stant motion of sea-water soon diluting and washing away the
small quantity of soluble poison with which the wood has been
injected. Thorough creosoting the wood, with ten pounds of
dead oil per cubic foot, is a complete protection against the
teredo.

7

74 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Another destroyer of submarine wooden constructions is Lim-
noria terebrans, another mollusk, resembling the sowbug. It
pierces the hardest woods, and its perforations seem merely to
serve as the animal’s dwelling-place. The only successful pro-
tection seems to be the mechanical one of studding the surface
thickly with broad-headed iron nails; oxydation rapidly fills up
the interstices between the heads, and the outside of the timber
becomes coated with an impenetrable crust, so that the presence
of the nails is hardly necessary.— Journal of the Franklin Insti-
tute, Nov., 1866.

METRICAL SYSTEM OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

The subject of a decimal system of measure resolves itself into
two parts,—the desirability of a decimal system, and the standard
of measure to be adopted as the unit; the first of which may now
be considered settled, and the principle definitely adopted in this
country, the use of decimal measures being now legalized by a
recent act of Parliament. But the second part of the subject, the
standard of measure, is still open, and is of very great impor-
tance; the consideration of it involves two preliminary scientific
questions, and two practical conditions to be fulfilled.

In respect to the first scientific question, — as to the standard
that can be replaced best in case of being lost, —there is no real
choice between the metre and the inch; for the metre having been
originally determined by measuring part of a quadrant of the
earth’s circumference, its length was also referred to the seconds
pendulum for facility of repeating the measurement; and the
inch being obtained from the seconds pendulum, both the metre
and the inch are thus verified by the same means: indeed, the
relation between them being once established, any means of
verification is equally available for both. In regard to the second
scientific question, —as to the standard that is most universal in
the character of its basis, —the supposed advantage of the metre,
as an even fraction of the quadrant, has been proved by the results
of more accurate measurement to be a mistake, its actual length
being an uneven fraction of the quadrant, just as the inch is an
uneven fraction of the pendulum; and the length of the quadrant
itself being different in different longitudes, there is therefore no
choice between the metre and the inch, in respect of universality
of its basis. The present legal standard of measure in this coun-
try is an individual metallic yard measure, independent of any
reference to another source ; and the metre is similarly a continu-
ation or copy of an original standard metre which is now known
to differ from the exact measure that it was intended to represent
of the quadrant. There is no practical advantage, however, as
regards accuracy, in depending upon copying for the preservation
of a standard; tor, by Mr. Whitworth’s process of contact meas-
urement, the accuracy in copying lengths can now be carried as
far as one millionth of an inch, which is a higher approximation
than can yet be attained in measuring the length of a pendulum
or an are of the earth’s circumference.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 75

The first practical condition to be fulfilled by the standard of
measure is that it shall be the one best suited for use in decimal
subdivision; and this point is to be determined by the relative
practical convenience or inconvenience of its principal subdivi-
sions and multiples. In connection with mechanical engineering
work, the inch has a special qualification for the standard of
measure, since its subdivisions and multiples predominate in the
dimensions of the parts of machinery; it is the basis on which
the various machines and engines made in this country have been
constructed, and on which are founded calculations of strength
of materials, sectional areas, steam pressure, power, velocity,
capacity, and weight; so that the mechanical engineer may be
said to think in inches, calculate in inches, and work in inches.
For the classes of work in which the finer measurements are
required, such as rifle-bores, wire and metal gauges, etc., the de-
sired degree of accuracy is readily and conveniently expressed in
thousandths of an inch; whilst the millimetre, the smallest subdi-
vision of the metre-scale, not being smaller than the one-twenty-
sixth of an inch, requires the addition of two places of decimals to
give the same degree of accuracy. This is a practical advantage
of importance in favor of the inch as the unit of measure, since
dimensions to one-thousandth of an inch are now required in
regular use in mathematical work. Moreover, by taking as the
unit the lowest of the present denominations, —the inch, — any
longer dimensions on the present scale can be exactly expressed
in the decimal system without fractional remainders. The second
practical condition attaching to the standard of measure is that it
shall be the one most extensively in use already, so as to involve
the least alteration of existing measures; and, in addition to a
preponderance in the population now using the inch over that now
using the metre, the former includes the great machinery produc-
ers, whose work already exists in such large quantities in all parts
of the world, in the form of engines, machinery, railway plant
and tools; and the difficulties in the way of a change to the metre
in this country appear, therefore, so insuperable, as to amount
practically to a prohibition of a decimal system, if it is to be based
on the metre.

For larger dimensions, the most convenient decimal change
would be the adoption of a ten-inch foot; and the larger measures
being already multiples of the inch, their decimal adaptation to
the inch would be at least easier than their entire alteration to the
metre standard. It is also very desirable that the present weights
and measures of capacity should be reduced to decimal systems ;
and it is considered that they can practically be based as readily
upon the inch, as the standard of measure, as upon the metre, in
the same way as with the definition of the metre or the inch.

In a discussion which followed the reading of this paper, the metre
as the standard unit of decimal measure, in preference to the inch,
was advocated by a deputation from the International Decimal
Association, who concurred in considering that the question of the
standard of measure depended upon the fulfilment of the practical
condition which had been stated; that the standard should be the

76 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

one best suited for use in decimal subdivisions, and the one most
extensively adopted already. As regarded decimal subdivision,
the results of inquiries made by the Association had led them to
recommend the metre as adapted for the greatest variety of mea-
surements, and for the most numerous cases likely to oceur in
daily life, and to conclude that the inch did not in itself offer any
advantage above the metre, even to mechanical engineers, since
accuracy of measurement depended not on the scale, but on the
measuring instrument employed, which ought to be applicable to
any scale; and the millimetre had been already tried to some
extent in this country, and was found convenient and suitable for
mechanical work. In reference to the extent of population adopt-
ing the metre or the inch, it was believed that the numerical pre-
ponderance was already in favor of the former, and was steadily
increasing by the more general adoption of the metre in other
countries ; and the simplicity and convenience of the metre system,
both for measures and weights, were urged, together with the
great importance of facilitating international communications,
which were now so much interfered with by the incongruity of
the systems in use. — Mr. JOHN FERNIE, of Leeds, in London
Mechanics’ Magazine, February, 1865.

At the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, held in
Washington, D. C., in January, 1866, the Committee on Uniform
Weights, Measures, and Coinage, made the following report,
which was adopted by the Academy, and ordered to be communi-
cated to the Treasury Department, and to the Congressional Com-
mittee having charge of the same subject: ‘‘ The committee are
in favor of adopting ultimately a decimal system, and in their
opinion the metrical system of weights and measures, though not
without defects, is, all things considered, the best in use. The
committee therefore suggest that the Academy recommend to
Congress to authorize and encourage by law the introduction and
use of the metrical system of weights and measures; and, with a
view to familiarize the people with the system, the Academy re-
commend that provision be made by law for the immediate manu-
facture and distribution to the custom-houses and States of metri-
cal standards of weights and measures; to introduce the system
into the post-oflices, by making a single letter weigh fifteen grains
instead of fourteen and seventeen-hundredths, or half an ounce ;
and to cause the new cent and two-cent pieces to be so coined that
they shall weigh respectively five and ten grams, and that their
diameter shall be made to bear a determinate and simple ratio to
the metrical unit of length.”

CONVERSION OF CAST-IRON INTO STEEL.

M. Galy-Cazalat, as reported in the ‘‘ London Chemical News,”
No. 320, has communicated a new process for quickly and eco-
nomically converting any mass of cast-iron into steel, which he
accomplishes by passing superheated steam into the fused iron.
In traversing the mass the steam is decomposed; the oxygen
burns progressively the carbon and oxide of iron, while the hy-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. Gd

drogen combines with and removes the sulphur, phosphorus, and
other metalloids which render the steel brittle. When the color
of the flame at the top of the mass indicates a proper amount of
decarburation, the steel is run out. He operates either in a cupola
or a reverberatory furnace of his own construction, in which the
waste heat from the furnace is utilized to produce the steam.
There has always been a difliculty in knowing when to stop the
decarburating current, the process often being carried too far;
but this author says common steel can always be regularly pro-
duced by completely decarburating the cast-iron and then adding
ten per cent. of spathic cast-iron, which restores to the iron the
amount of carbon necessary to effect the conversion into steel.
By a peculiar contrivance, the author shuts off the current of su-
perheated steam from the metal and passes it into the chimney,
where it serves to increase the draft, and thus leaves the steel in
a state of tranquil fusion for about fifteen minutes, by which he
gets a perfectly homogeneous mass. To remove bubbles in his
castings he has a very ingenious device. A cannon, for example,
being cast, while the metal is still hot and soft, he covers the mould
hermetically with a sort of hat, from the top of which rises a pipe,
in which is placed six or ten grammes of a mixture of eighty parts
of saltpetre and twenty parts of charcoal. By opening a stop-
cock the powder is allowed to fall on the metal, where it gets
ignited, producing a large quantity of gas which exerts pressure
on all parts of the casting, removing the bubbles and increasing
the tenacity of the metal.

HARD AND TUNGSTEN IRON.

M. Gaudin reports, that while experimenting in an ordinary
cupola furnace, by melting iron at a very high temperature with
phosphate of iron and peroxide of manganese, he succeeded in
obtaining a species of iron, very hard and forgeable, but turning
well, and applicable to the manufacture of pieces which require
great strength and hardness. The metal is remarkably sonorous,
and might perhaps be applied to the casting of bells. A still
harder metal may be produced by the addition of tungsten to
ordinary cast-iron; this tungsten-iron is said to surpass every-
thing previously known as a material for cutting rocks, and that
crystals of it will cut glass as easily as the diamond. — Jour.
Soc. Arts, No. 685, 1866.

SEPARATING PHOSPHORUS FROM METALS.

It is well known that phosphorus is a substance which prevents
the production of pure qualities of iron and other metals, and all
attempts to remove the same have hitherto failed. Mr. Carl H.
L. Wintzer, of Hanover, has found that chlorine gas and chloride
of calcium are adapted to obtain the desired result. Chlorine
gas, as a simple element, does not decompose, and chloride of
calcium is the only combination thereof, which, at the different

We

78 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

degrees of temperature which occur in practical metallurgy,
neither volatilizes nor decomposes unless another agent be intro-
duced. Other known combinations of chlorine, as chloride of
magnesitim, decompose even at the boiling-point of water;
chloride of sodium becomes volatile at a comparatively low tem-
perature.

Mr. Wintzer therefore employs chlorine gas and chloride of
calcium for the removal of phosphorus, in processes of melting
ores and in the treatment of metallurgical products. He makes
use of this gas and the salt in blast furnaces, as well as in the
process of puddling, refining, and re-casting, and in any kind of
furnace and in all processes of melting, applying the gas direct
or adding the prepared salt (chloride of calcium) in any con-
venient form; or, employing solutions containing muriatic acid,
with the simultaneous use of lime or calcareous substances, by
which process chloride of calcium is formed at the moment of its
application. Through the effect of chlorine gas and chloride of
calcium on phosphatic ores and metals, volatile combinations of
phosphorus are formed, and thereby the phosphorus is removed.
The process is as follows: In smelting an ore of iron or other
metal containing phosphorus as an impurity, the operator charges
into the smelting-furnace, with the ore, chloride of calcium, in the
proportion of from five to twenty-five parts, by weight, for each
part of phosphorus found by analysis to be contained in the ore;
and, in other respects, the smelting operation, is conducted in the
ordinary manner. The resulting metal will be found much more
free from phosphorus than if the ore had been smelted without
the addition of chloride of calcium. In place of adding the
chloride of calcium direct, lime and muriatic acid may be mixed
separately with the ore, or may be otherwise applied in combina-
tion. It is more convenient, however, to employ chloride of
calcium ready formed. Or, in place of employing chloride of
calcium, chlorine gas may be used; the gas may be mixed with
air and forced as a blast through the ignited charge in the fur-
nace, or the gas itself may be blown through the melted metal
after it is tapped out of the furnace. The quantity of chlorine
thus applied should be from three to fifteen times the weight of
the phosphorus contained in the ore or metal. Chloride of calcium
or chlorine may be applied in a similar manner when remelting
iron or other metals, when it is desired to separate phosphorus
therefrom. Phosphorus can thus be separated from all metals
to which a strong red heat can conveniently be applied; more
especially, however, it is applicable to the treatment of iron and
copper. — Mechanics’ Magazine.

PURIFICATION OF IRON FROM PHOSPHORUS AND SULPHUR.

According to Dr. Adolphe Gurt, of Bonn, Prussia, iron may be
purified from phosphorus by means of silica. He asserts that if,
in smelting phosphoriferous iron ores, enough silica be included
in the furnace-charge to form a highly silicious slag, the phospho-
rus contained in the ore will have its condition changed from the

; MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 79
crystalline state, in which, he says, ‘‘ it exists originally in the ore,
to an amorphous state, in which it is readily eliminated from pig-
iron during conversion either into malleable iron or into steel.”
The same gentleman alleges that iron may be entirely freed from
sulphur by means of lead. The lead ‘‘ may be applied,” he says,
‘‘ either to pig-iron which is to be puddled, either before or during
the puddling process; or to iron which is to be refined, or in
process of being refined, in common refinery furnaces, or in re-
verberatory furnaces; or to pig-iron for casting; or to iron to be
treated by the pneumatic process, for the production of either
homogeneous iron or steel; or to the materials used in making
cast-steel by the pot or other process of melting.” In any case
the lead is to be added to the iron while the latter is in a molten
state, and is to be ‘‘brought by any suitable means as much as
possible into contact with the whole of the melted iron.”— Me-
chanics’ Magazine.

ON SODIUM AMALGAMATION.

Mr. Henry Wurtz publishes, in ‘‘ Silliman’s Journal” for March,
1866, a communication on the process of sodium amalgamation,
discovered and patented by himself, which is of great practi-
cal value in metallurgy and the arts. His invention consists in
imparting to quicksilver a greatly enhanced adhesion, attraction,
or affinity for other metals and for its own substance, by adding to
it a minute quantity of one of the highly electro-positive metals
sodium, potassium, ete. It is applicable in all arts and opera-
tions in which amalgamation by quicksilver can be made avail-
able to separate or extract gold, silver, or other precious metals
from their ores—in all operations in which amalgamation by
quicksilver, in conjunction with reducing metals, such as iron or
zine, can be made available in recovering metals from their soluble
or insoluble saline compounds; such as silver from its sulphate,
chloride, or hypo-sulphate; lead from its sulphate or chloride ;
gold from its chloride or other solution —in the mercurializa-
tion of metallic surfaces in general: for instance, in the amalga-
mation of the surfaces.of zinc in voltaic batteries; of the surfaces
of copper plates, pans, etc., used in the saving of gold from its
ores —in the more convenient transportation of quicksilver, by the
reduction thereof into solid forms.

From experiments made and reported by Prof. Silliman, this
discovery has proved of great value in the extracting of gold from
its ores. An interesting series of experiments with sodium-amal-
gam, in the treatment of auriferous ores, has been conducted under
the superintendence of Prof. Silliman, and the results obtained have
been highly satisfactory. He states that, having at his disposal a
considerable quantity of California gold quartz from a mine in Cal-
averas county, he proposed to Mr. Wurtz to subject these ores to
his method of amalgamation, under conditions subject to control,
both as expressing the actual value of the material experimented on,
as well as giving the value of the results and the loss in the process,
The crushing and grinding was effected in the apparatus of Mr.
Dodge, of New York; which, doing its work dry, gives unusual

80 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

facilities for exactness. The details obtained in these experi-
ments, as to the degree of comminution reached by this apparatus,
have been very carefully worked out, but are reserved for a
future communication, having no bearing on the subject now
before us, although believed to be of value to the art of ore-
dressing. After detailing the several experiments which were
actually concluded, Professor Silliman observes, that the exper-
iments are still in progress, but the results show that, with un-
aided mercury, the gold saved is less than sixty per cent. of the
whole quantity of gold known to be present. In one experiment
less than forty per cent. was saved, while, by the aid of the amal-
gam of sodium the saving is increased to eighty per cent., or an
increase of more than twenty per cent., leading to the reasonable
expectation that, in the large way, at least eighty per cent. of the
gold present in a given case may be saved, and, in many Cases,
where the gold is coarse and free, that even better results than
this may be attained. The first experiment detailed, in which a
different amalgamating apparatus was used, gave results surpris-
ingly close. He does not think the barrel as good a form of ap-
paratus for this description of amalgamation as some one of the
numerous forms of pan now in use. It was employed in these
experiments simply because it was a convenient means of treat-
ing small quantities of ore in making comparative experiments.
Expériments in California, under his direction, have been set on
foot upon a scale of magnitude adequate to test the value of this
discovery, in the metallurgy of gold, in a satisfactory manner, the
results of which may now be looked for at no distant day. With
regard to the mode in which the sodium acts, Professor Silliman
remarks that the action of the sodium in this case appears to be
in a manner electrical, by placing the mercury in a highly elec-
tro-positive condition towards the electro-negative gold, seeming
to give some reason for the term magnetic amalgam, adopted by
Mr. Wurtz, as the trade-mark of the alloy. The quantity of
sodium is entirely too small to allow of the supposition that it
acts by its chemical aflinities. It is well known to chemists that
the metallic sulphides are decomposed by amalgam of sodium;
but no one supposes that an inventor could be found so Quixotic
in his chemical notions as to seriously: propose the use of sodium
amalgam as a means of effecting the reduction of the sulphides
of silver, etc., since not less than one equivalent of sodium would
be required to set at liberty one equivalent of silver. The use of
the sodium amalgam for silver amalgamation must depend, if
found really useful in the large way in the silver reduction
process (which still remains to be proven), upon a like power of
electrical action to that seen in its action on gold, and also on the
well-known power of preventing the granulation (flouring) of
mercury, or on saving the mercury when thus changed. Indeed,
there is good reason for believing that a most important part is
played by the sodium amalgam in this last particular. The amal-
gam of gold or silver is very liable, as every mill-man knows to
his loss, to granulate and disappear from the plates of the battery,
or from the riffles, after it has been formed. If this granulation

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 81

takes place, it is almost impossible, by the existing modes of
amalgamation, to recover the minute particles which float off
with the currents of water, and are lost. The action of the sodium
in recovering the mercury which has passed into this condition is,
perhaps, its most remarkable property. — Mining Journal, 1866.

SODIUM AMALGAM.

This is now likely to be superseded by a far less expensive, and,
it appears, not less useful material. Caustic soda has not only
been found quite as effective as sodium amalgam, but it is contested
that the sodium in the amalgam actually assumes the form of
caustic soda before producing its effect. A very simple experi-
ment will show the efficiency of the soda. If a finely pulverized
metallic powder is thrown into water, no amount of stirring will
cause it to fall to the bottom of the vessel; it is rendered specifi-
cally lighter than the fluid by the coating of air which adheres to
it. Butif avery small quantity of caustic soda or potash is added,
it will soon descend from the surface to the bottom. It is sup-
posed that the minute particles of mercury also, and of gold, are
prevented from coming into contact by a coating of air, which the
alkali removes in a way not yet ascertained. The potash or soda
must not be allowed to lose its causticity by exposure to the air,
or it will be ineffective, having become a carbonate. — Intellectual
Observer, Sept., 1866.

SIMPLE MODE OF MANUFACTURING SULPHURIC ACID.

The necessity for large and costly leaden chambers has rendered
the manufacture of sulphuric acid both troublesome and expen-
sive. A method of producing it, in which the use of leaden
chambers is dispensed with, not only greatly facilitates the pro-
cess, but affords a product which possesses the important advan-
tage of being altogether free from contamination by lead. Should
it be found to answer for industrial purposes, it will constitute a
very important improvement on the method so long in use. It
consists in transmitting the acid fumes, formed in the ordinary
way, through a series of earthenware cylinders, which are piled
up and arranged in such a way as to form a number of columns,
filled with coke, and communicating with one another. Straw is
introduced into them as required; and the acid vapors being con-
densed by the coke, they trickle down into a reservoir placed
beneath for the purpose of receiving them. The acid liquid thus
obtained is concentrated in the usual way.

NEW SAFETY LIGHT FOR COAL MINES.

MM. Dumas and Benoit have been making some experiments
in the French collieries on the application of electricity as an
luminating power in ‘‘ fiery” coal mines. Voltaic electricity has
been proposed on several occasions, as a means of giving light to

82 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the collier in dangerous places; but, under the ordinary condi-
tions, it has not been found practicable to employ it. Dumas and
Benoit propose to apply Rhumkorff’s coil machine and Geissler’s
tubes; to use, indeed, those tubes, with their beautiful auroral
light, as a miner’s lamp.

The tube, it is now generally known, is filled with some highly
rarefied gas, and platinum wires are hermetically sealed into the
ends. When the discharges from a RKhumkorff’s coil apparatus
are passed through this tube, it becomes filled with a mild, diffusive
light, which lasts as long as the discharges pass through the rare-
fied medium. This light is unaccompanied by heat; it cannot,
therefore, under any circumstances, explode the fire-damp of our
coal mines.

This new ‘‘ safety lamp” consists essentially of a cylindrical zine
vessel about six inches high and four inches in diameter, which
encloses a porous vessel holding a cylinder of carbon. A solution
of the bichromate of potash is placed within the porous cell, and di-
lute sulphuric acid withoutit. This battery is secured by a wooden
cover, which is, by means of India-rubber packing, made to fit
closely. Then there are a Rhumkorff’s coil and condenser, and a
Geissler’s tube. This tube is arranged into a conical coil, so that
a large surface of light is secured within a small space. Of course,
the objection to this will be the cumbrous character of the machine
and its adjuncts. Dumas and Benoit think they have answered
this objection by the very ingenious arrangement which they have
secured. We are assured that the weight of the glass case does
not exceed two pounds, and that of the other parts of the appara-
tus is not more than twelve pounds. That there are many advan-
tages in this electrical lamp cannot be denied. But we doubt if
so delicate a machine can be entrusted to the hands of colliers.
Under circumstances of danger, such a lamp as this would prove
of the highest value. As Dumas and Benoit are making practical
trials of their ‘‘cold light,” as they call it, we shall, if they are
successful, hear more of this interesting application.

The Institute of France has given the inventors a prize of one
thousand franes for the ingenuity of their plan. We understand
that some trials have been made in the Neweastle collieries. The
objection raised by the miners is, that the light is a ‘‘ glimmer,” —
not a steady illumination. — Reader.

HYDRAULIC MACHINE FOR CUTTING COAL.

This machine, by W. E. Carratt, has now been at work for two
years. It does not dispense with labor, but it performs the under-
cutting, which was a most laborious operation, either in the end
or face of the coal, in a more efficient and economic manner
than the miner can do it himself. By it the size of the coal is im-
proved, the amount of slack reduced, and a single seam will
yield more by one thousand tons of coal per acre, than when
worked by hand-labor. The machine undercuts its ‘‘ holes,” or
‘*kirves,” with one man and one boy as attendants, and completes
the work, with once going over, at the rate of fifteen yards per

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 83

hour. Each machine uses thirty gallons of water per minute, at
about three hundred pounds pressure, according to the hardness of
the substance to be acted upon. The machine, when in operation,
fixes itself dead fast upon the rails during the cutting strike, and
releases itself at the back or return stroke, and traverses forwards
the requisite amount for the next cut without any manual labor.
No percussive action results from the machine, either against
the roof or into the coal, but simply a concentrated pressure, pro-
ducing a steady reciprocating motion, at fifteen strokes per minute.
There is, consequently, no dust nor noise, and little wear and
tear. For the same reason, when cutting pyrites, the tools throw
out no sparks, and the workmen can hear any movement in the
coal or roof. The price of a machine, a working model of which
is at the Industrial Exhibition, is stated to be £125.

STEAM FIRE-PROOF SAFE.

Rev. Rufus S. Sanborn, of Wisconsin, exhibited to the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology, in December, 1866, and described
a model of a steam fire-proof safe, of his invention. The nature
of this invention consists in placing one or more boxes, or unfilled
safes, one within the other, the outside case being filled or other-
wise in the ordinary way, and these inner boxes detached from
one another and the outside case by means of flanges or spurs, so
as to form air-chambers all around said inside box or boxes, and
into these air-chambers are inserted metallic vessels for holding
water, with simple steam-valves, which will be opened so as to
allow the steam to escape when the heat of the inside of the safe
shall become sufficient for that purpose.

This steam saturates the air-chambers, and its surplus escapes
by the doors, so as to keep the temperature of the inside of the
safe about that of boiling water, in which temperature none of the
papers of the inside box can either burn or char so long as any
steam can be maintained.

By a peculiar arrangement of a succession of these vessels, one
exhausts after another, and thus for a long time there is the most
complete protection, in addition to the other protection which the
filling and air-chambers afford. He gave a history of the experi-
ments which had led to the above result, and stated that the safe
was soon to have a public trial. In an ordinary-sized safe, the
moist filling would save an hour in absorbing heat before the heat
could penetrate to the interior. Such a safe would hold fifteen
gallons of water, which, under the arrangement described, would
take a very long time for the entire escape of the steam.

At a trial held soon afterward, this safe was submitted to a heat
so intense as to melt the knobs on the door; and was kept exter-
nally red hot for nearly four hours: papers in the interior were
taken out entirely uninjured, and only a gill of water vaporized ;
while those in a safe by one of the best makers, submitted to the
same trial, were badly charred, as well as the whole interior wood-
work, and in another hour would have been destroyed.

84 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

A REMARKABLE SOLVENT.

It is now discovered, it appears, that if a piece of copper be dis-
solved in ammonia, a solvent will be obtained, not only for lignine,
the most important principle of all woody fibre, such as cotton,
flax, paper, etc., but also for substances derived from the animal
kingdom, such as wool and silk. By the solution of any of these,
an excellent cement and water-proofer is said to be formed; and,
what is equally important, if cotton fabrics be saturated with the
solution of wool, they will be enabled to take the dyes, such as
the lac dye and cochineal, hitherto suited to woollen goods only.
Hydriodide of ammonia, we may also observe, was not long since
discovered to be an equally remarkable solvent of the most refrac-
tory, or, at least, insoluble mineral substances. Now it is an inter-
esting circumstance that ammoni: v, according to Van Helmont,
and other old chemists and alche mists, was one of the requisite
materials in the formation of the ‘‘ alkahest,” or ‘‘ universal sol-
vent,” of the ancient sages.

THE MAGNESIUM LAMP.

A lamp for the purpose of burning the wire has been invented by
Mr. A. Grant. He seeks to make m: ugnesium cheaper than the
best stearine, and states that by burning a strip of zinc in conjunc-
tion with two strips of magnesium, he is able to reduce the cost
of the light two-thirds. He even predicts that magnesium will
become as cheap as zine, and that in the course of time it will be
possible to illuminate a street a mile long at the rate of a half-
penny an hour. It is not a small thing to be able to record that
photography is no longer dependent upon the action of the sun.
The value of magnesium as an illuminator for the purpose of
‘* signalling ” is obvious. The portable nature of the contrivance,
and its perfect immunity from risk of explosion, together with
some other evident advantages, render its vivid light all the more
practically valuable. It may be used with advantage on the
stage. — Civil Engineers’ and Architects’ Journal, Jan., 1865.

Four wires, weighing three grains per foot, each burning at the
rate of eight inches per minute, or eight grains in that time, give
a light equal to two hundred and eighty -eight sperm candles, or
twenty -one and one-quarter Argand gas- burners. At this rate of
consumption, one ounce of wire, costing six dollars and fifty cents,
would last an hour. — Franklin Journal, Nov., 1865.

Several arrangements have been devised, more or less ingen-
ious, to burn the metal in the form of wire or ribbon ; but the
great difficulty in all such arrangements has been, that it required
clockwork to feed it forward. “In order to avoid this difficulty,
Mr. Larkin, after many trials, has succeeded in constructing a
magnesium lamp, a specimen of which we describe. The dis-
tinguishing peculiarity of these lamps is, that they burn magne-
sium in the form of powder, instead of ribbon or wire; and “that
they do not depend on clockwork or any similar extraneous mo-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 85

tive-power for their action. The metallic powder is contained in
a large reservoir, having a small orifice at the bottom, through
which the powder falls simply by its own gravity, like sand in an
hour-glass. In order that a suflicient orifice may be used, and to
facilitate the steady flow of the powder, it is mixed with a quan-
tity of fine sand or other diluting material, the proportion of pow-
der to sand being varied according to the amount of light re-
quired. After leaving the orifice of the reservoir, the stream of
metallic powder and sand falls freely through a metal tube, into
the upper end of which a small stream of ordinary gas is also
introduced. The mingled streams of powder and of gas thus flow
down the tube and escape together at its mouth, where they are
ignited, and continue burning with a brilliant flame as long as
the supply of gas and metal is maintained. As the metal becomes
consumed, the sand with which it was mixed falls harmless into
a receptacle provided for it, while the fumes are entirely carried
away by a small tube-chimney into the outer atmosphere. Im-
mediately below the orifice, there is a valve, to either regulate the
quantity, or entirely arrest the flow of the metallic powder, which
valve may be opened and shut at, pleasure. When it is desired
to light the lamp, the gas is first turned on, just sufficiently to
produce a very small jet at the mouth of the tube, which small jet,
being once kindled, may be allowed to burn any convenient time,
until the moment the magnesium light is required. All that is
then needed is to turn on the metallic powder, which instantly de-
scends and becomes ignited as it passes through the burning gas.
This action of turning on and off the metallic powder may be re-
peated, without putting out the gas, as often and as quickly as
desired; so that, in addition to the ordinary purposes to which
Jamps are applied, an instant or an intermittent light of great
brilliancy, suitable for signals or for light-houses, may be very
simply produced with certainty of effect, and without the smallest
waste of metal. Mr. Larkin explained that the lamp could be
made to suspend from the roof, in place of an ordinary gas sun-
light, and arrangements could also be made for its use in signals
and for light-houses. The greatest difficulty was the price of the
metal; but only about four years had elapsed since the produc-
tion of the metal in any quantity by Mr. Sonstadt, and the
demand for it hitherto had been a fancy one. Mr. Larkin said
that the cost of burning magnesium in the lamp which he exhib-
ited would, at its present price, be about £1 an hour, and that no
difficulty whatever was experienced in reducing the magnesium
to powder. — British Association Report, 1866.

PARAFFIN FOR WATER-PROOFING.

About three years ago, Dr. Stenhouse took out a patent for ren-
dering leather and various textile and felted fabrics water-proof,
by means of paraffin; it was found, however, that paraffin alone,
especially when applied to fabrics, became, to a considerable ex-
tent, detached from the fibre of the cloth after a short time, owing
to its great apes to crystallize. The presence, however, of

86 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

even a small quantity of drying-oil causes the paraffin to adhere
much more firmly to the texture of the cloth, from the oil gradu-
ally becoming converted into a tenacious resin by absorption of
oxygen. Paraflin is now first melted with the requisite quantity
of drying oil and cast into blocks; it can then be applied to fab-
ries, by rubbing them over with a block of it, either cold or
gently warmed; or the mixture may be melted and laid on with a
brush, the complete impregnation being effected by subsequently
passing it between hot rollers. When applied to cloth thus, it
renders it very repellant to water, though pervious to air. Cloth
paraflined in this manner forms an excellent basis for such arti-
cles as capes, tarpaulins, etc., which require to be made quite
impervious by subsequently coating them with drying-oil, the
paraflin, in a great measure, preventing the injurious influence of
drying-oil on the fibre of the cloth. The mixture can also be
very advantageously applied to the various kinds of leather; one
of the most convenient ways of effecting this is to coat the arti-
cles with the composition, and then to gently heat them until it is
entirely absorbed. When leather is thus impregnated, it is not
only rendered perfectly water-proof, but also stronger and more
durable; boots and shoes are ‘rendered very firm without losing
their elasticity; it therefore not only makes them exceedingly
durable, but does not interfere with their polish, which, on the
whole, it rather improves. The superiority of paraffin over most
other materials, for some kinds of water-proofing, consists in its
comparative cheapness, in being easily applied, and in not mate-
rially altering the color of fabrics, which, in the case of light
shades and white cloth, is of considerable importance. — Practical
Mechanics’ Journal, April, 1865.

LINOLEUM MANUFACTURE.

The manufacture of this new and interesting material, which
threatens to rival the India-rubber trade in the multiplicity and
utility of its application, is based on the invention of Mr. Fred-
erick Walton, whose patents are now worked by the Linoleum
Manufacturing Company at Staines, and 45 Cannon Street, West.
The word linoleum is derived from linuwm (linseed) and oleum
(oil), from which products the new substance is made. The lin-
seed oil of commerce is solidified or ‘‘ oxydized” by the absorp-
tion of oxygen, by which process it becomes changed into a semi-
resinous substance. It is then combined, at a strong heat, with
resinous gums and other ingredients; and the substance thus
obtained has all the appearance and many of the properties of
India-rubber.

Those who are conversant with the uses of the pliable elastic
gums readily perceive the wide field of usefulness that any
material possessing such properties is designed to occupy, more
especially as the price of the new substance is much lower than
India-rubber or gutta-percha. Linoleum can also be dissolved
into a varnish or cement in the same manner as India-rubber, and
in this form can be employed in the manufacture of material for

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 87

water-proof clothing. Asa varnish or paint for protecting iron
or wood, or for coating ships’ bottoms, it is said to be admirably
adapted, as it dries rapidly, in fifteen or twenty minutes, and ad-
heres with singular tenacity. As a cement for uniting substances,
such as wood with iron, or wood with wood, it is very effective,
and has similar properties to the marine glue made from India-
rubber and shellac. Singularly enough, linoleum can also be
vulcanized or hardened by exposure to heat. By this means it is
made as hard as the hardest woods, and rendered capable of re-
ceiving a high polish without the aid of varnish or any other
extraneous substance. In this condition it can be filed, planed,
or turned as easily as wood, and employed in many of the vari-
ous ways for which wood is used. Or it can be moulded in heated
dies to any desired form, as, for example, flax-spinners’ bosses,
sheaves for ships’ blocks, surgical-instrument handles, picture
frames, mouldings, veneers to imitate marble, ivory, ebony, and
other woods. Combined with emery, it forms a grinding-wheel
having extraordinary cutting or abrasive power. Very dissim-
ilar are some of the uses to which the new substance can be
applied. Carriage-aprons, cart-sheeting, sail-covers, reticules,
tarpauling, printers’ blankets, gas-pipes, telegraph supports,
washable felt carpets, table-covers, paints for carriages or for
printing floor-cloth, or enamels of any color for enameling pa-
pier-maché or metals. These are only some of the many uses to
which linoleum may be applied.

The manufacture has, however, hitherto been chiefly confined
to the development of the floor-cloth trade, for which the new
material has proved itself well adapted. Linoleum floor-cloth is
produced by combining the linoleum with ground or powdered
cork, which is rolled on to a stout canvas, the back of the canvas
being afterward water-proofed with a cement or varnish made
from the solidified or oxydized oil, before referred to. The com-
bined fabric so manufactured is then printed by means of blocks,
in every variety of pattern, in the ordinary way. The floor-cloth
thus produced is pliable, and comparatively noiseless to walk upon.
Tt washes well, preserves its color, and can be rolled up like any
ordinary carpet. Besides being very durable, —the component
parts being almost indestructible except by fire, —it will not de-
compose by heat or exposure to the sun or air, as is the case with
India-rubber. It is therefore better adapted than that substance
for hot climates. To the chemist, engineer, and manufacturer,
linoleum offers quite a new substance for experiment; and, no
doubt, as it becomes better known, the various uses to which it
may be applied will be more fully developed and appreciated.
The patentees, we understand, are prepared to grant licenses for
the manufacture of some of its applications, such as varnishes,
cements, and the hard compounds above mentioned. Important
results may, therefore, follow the introduction of this new and
valuable substance.” — Mechanics’ Magazine.

°

88 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

PARKESINE.

While considerable attention is being given to gun-cotton and
nitroleum, a somewhat similar substance is gradually making its

yay as an article of ordinary domestic use, entirely free from
danger, and possessing such advantages as are likely to secure its
gene eral adoption. Int the manufacture of Parkesine, fibrous veg-
etable matter of any and every kind— cotton and flax waste, and
old rags, being, from their cheapness, the favorite materials —
may be employ ved. These are first dissolved by acids, and they
then yield what chemists call pyroxyline. Pyroxyline, however,
as its name implies, is highly inflammable, and indeed explosive,
like gun-cotton; and this dangerous qualification has to be neu-
tralized. Mr. Parkes effects this by the introduction of either of
various chemical ingredients, as iodide of cadmium, tungstate of
soda, chloride of zinc, gelatins, several carbonates, sulpha ites, and
phosphates. Collodion (as used by photogr: wphers), when evap-
orated so as to leave a solid residue, has been employed in the
production of Parkesine; but it was found by far too expensive,
The substances which have given the best results with the pyroxy-
line are nitro-benzole, aniline, and glacial acetic acid. By the
use of various proportions of these substances s, all consistencies
of Parkesine, from the solid to the fluid form, may be obtained.
The applications of Parkesine are, of course, as numerous as its
forms are various. In the fluid form, it is available for water-
proofing fabrics; and in this way it is very serviceable. In a
plastic state, Parkesine is useful in making tubes, ete., and for
insulating telegraph wires. Where hardness and toughness are
required, these desiderata are arrived at by the admixture of oils
prepared with chloride of sulphur, which latter solidifies and
makes them (the oils) non-adhesive. Again, by the use of resins,
gums, stearin, tar, etc., modified preparations of the invention
may be made to suit special applications. Parkesine, indeed, is a
most accomodating material ; and may be made as hard and brittle
as glass, or as fluid and yielding as cream, and of every interme-
diate consistency. It may have elasticity imparted to it to almost
any extent or degree, and in this state it is likely to become a
dangerous rival to India-rubber and gutta-percha, inasmuch as it
will become, if it be not now, far cheaper than those useful arti-
cles of commerce, and answer almost all their uses equally well.
Vulcanized India-rubber will find a sturdy competitor in Parkes-
ine, for it may be manufactured with ‘less of brittleness, quite as
much hardness, and at a lower cost than that tediously manipu-
lated substance. There is no refuse in the manufacture, the chips
and cuttings being capable of re-manufacture with the greatest
facility. Parkesine will take any color, and may be given any
degree of hardness; it may be made ‘to imitate tortoise- shell,

marble, malachite, or amber; and can be cut with a saw, turned
in the ‘lathe, planed, carved, engraved, stamped between dies,
rolled into thick or thin sheets, worked into screws, shaped into
mouldings or cornices, etc. It is susceptible of a high polish,
agreeable to the touch, ‘and not disagreeable in smell. “At a tem-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 89

perature of 340° Fahr., it is consumed, without flame, being decom-
posed and passing off as dense smoke, leaving but a dark colored
ashy residue behind. It is now being manufactured for a variety
of purposes, and is daily becoming more extensively known.—.
Mining Journal.

At the 1865 meeting of the British Association, Mr. Owen Ro-
land read a paper on Parkesine. This substance derives its name
from its inventor, Mr. Alexander Parkes, of Birmingham, Eng.
It is used for a great variety of purposes, and possesses properties
akin to gutta-percha and India-rubber, and may be made easily
into any shape and of any color. Gun-cotton is used in its manu-
facture as a basis; but many other materials are also introduced,
solvents, oils, cotton-waste, etc. Cotton, not readily explosive, is
the most desirable ; chloride of zinc is also used to prevent rapid
combustion. The solvent, invented by Mr. Parkes is applicable
chiefly for India-rubber solutions, gutta-percha, and a number of
gums. The several varieties of Parkesine are made by mixing
these substances in definite proportions. Mr. Roland considered it
more valuable as an insulating material than India-rubber, gutta-
percha, or any other combination hitherto used for this purpose.
Jt is enormously strong, being capable of supporting a mile of its
own weight, while it possesses the great qualification of being
joined, in case of fracture, with a strength equal to the original
substance. It is not affected even by acids; and immersion in sea-
water four years did not deteriorate its qualities. In dry heat, at
212° Fahr., it remains electrically perfect, and it is not softened at
even a higher temperature.

INDIA-RUBBER FOR MARINE CABLES.

At the Nottingham (1866) meeting of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science (Section of Physical Science),
Mr. Hooper read a paper on the electrical and mechanical prop-
erties of his India-rubber for submarine cables. He reduces the
general coatings of India-rubber by means of heat to one perfectly
homogeneous coating, separated by a film of vulcanized India-
rubber. The advantages claimed are, durability and resistance to
mechanical injury, permanency of insulation at high temperatures,
impermeability under long immersion and pressure in water, free-
dom from defects in manufacture, and high state of insulation
with diminished induction. One hundred and fifty miles of this
wire have been sent to India, and the insulation per nautical mile
is about forty times better than that of the Persian Gulf core.

PAPER FROM WOOD.

The manufacture of white paper from wood is now quite a
success at the Manayunk Wood-pulp Works, Pennsylvania. The
wood used is that of the Liriodendron tulipifera, Linn., in Tulip
poplar, and Abies canadensis, Michx, or Hemlock spruce. It is
brought to the works as ordinary cord-wood, and is cut into chips

by means of two immense machines having cutters attached to
8*

90 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

rotatory dises, capable of cutting thirty to forty cords of wood in
twenty-four hours. These chips are conveyed in wagons to the
boiling-house, and placed in boilers, where the reduction to pulp
is effected. The pulp thus reduced is then conveyed to pulp-
engines, is worked in these engines, and run through cleaning-
machines. From the cleaning-machines, the pulp is taken to the
bleaching-house. After having been bleached, it is then ready to
be made into paper, in the same way as other pulp. Excellent
white printing paper, very good for newspapers, and at a price of
three cents per pound less than is charged for the same quality
of paper made from rags, is manufactured from this pulp at the
Flat-rock Paper Mills, adjacent to the pulp-works. ‘The wood-
pulp must, however, be mixed with about twenty per cent. of
straw-pulp, this mixture improving the quality of the paper.
These works have been so successful that the price of paper for
newspapers has declined three cents a pound since they have been
in operation. This is a very great step in the progress of those
arts which contribute so greatly to our comfort and civilization,

PROCESSES FOR PRESERVING MEAT.

In an official report laid before Parliament on the preparation
of beef in South America, for the English market, three methods,
proposed by Prof. Morgan of the Royal College of Surgeons in
Dublin, Baron Von Liebig of Munich, and Mr. Sloper of Lon-
don, are to effect this end.

Mr. Morgan’s process is based on forced infiltration, using the
circulatory system of the body as a means of introduction into the
tissues of the animal, by injection, as detailed in the ‘‘ Annual
of Scientific Discovery” for 1865, pp. 52-53. The process is simple
and efficacious ; by it an ox can be preserved in ten minutes, using
from twelve to fourteen gallons of the fluid.

Liebig’s process differs essentially from the former ; for the meat,
instead of being preserved whole, is reduced to an essence, to be
used in making soups. The concentration is carried to such an
extent that thirty-three pounds of meat are reduced to one pound
of essence, and the alimentary matter of an entire ox is contained
in eight pounds of this preparation, making over one thousand
basins of good strong soup.

It is a question of some importance whether cattle driven to the
pen in a semi-wild state, which are thrown into a violent state of
excitement on the approach of man, can afford nutritious meat,
and can be salted without parting with by far the greater portion
of such nutriment as they contain, and becoming almost valueless
as food, if not altogether unwholesome.

Another attempt is being made to bring to Europe the immense
supply of good meat wasted in South America. Mr. Liebert of
Hamburg has attempted the manufacture of Liebig’s ‘* extractum
earnis” at Fray Bentos, in Uruguay, and sends home about 4,000
pounds yearly. He is now increasing his establishments, has con-
cluded a contract with the British Admiralty, and hopes soon to

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 91

supply the extract at sixteen shillings a pound. Each pound is
the equivalent of one hundred and thirty pounds of meat, and will
furnish broth for one hundred and twenty-eight men. The ex-
tract in its best state is absolutely free from fat or gelatine, and is
now used very largely in continental hospitals.

The process for preparing ‘‘extractum carnis,” given in Lie-
big’s ‘‘ Familiar Letters on Chemistry,” is as follows: Chopped
meat, deprived of all fat, is boiled for half an hour with eight or
ten times its weight in water, which suffices to dissolve all the
active ingredients. The decoction must, before it is evaporated,
be most carefully cleansed from all fat (which would become ran-
cid), and the evaporation must be conducted in the water-bath.
The extract of meat is never hard and brittle, but soft; and it
strongly attracts moisture from the atmosphere. The boiling of
the meat in the first instance may be carried on in clean copper
vessels ; but for the evaporation of the soup, vessels of porcelain
should be used. Liebig’s process for making beef-tea is as follows:
Raw beef (recently killed) one-half pound, distilled water twenty-
two and one-half ounces, common salt fifty grains, dilute hydro-
chloric acid sixteen drops; macerate the beef, chopped very fine,
in the water, etc., for an hour and a half; strain off through a fine
hair-sieve ; take two tumblers daily.

The following letter from Baron Liebig is taken from the ‘‘ Lon-
don Lancet” : —

‘«Srr, —I see that rather contradictory views are expressed by
different English writers on the value of the extract of meat, some
taking it to be a complete and compendious substitute for meat,
whilst others assert that it has no nutritive value whatever. The
truth, as is usually the case, lies in the middle; and as I was the
first who entered more fully into the chemistry of meat, I may be
allowed shortly to state the results of my investigations, as far as
the extractum carnis as a nutriment is concerned.

‘““Meat, as it comes from the butcher, contains two different
series of compounds. The first consists of the so-called albumi-
nous principles (7. e., fibrin and albumen), and of glue-forming
membranes. Of these, fibrin and albumen have a high nutritive
value, although not, if taken by themselves. The second series
consists of crystallizable substances, viz., creatin, creatinin, sarcin,
which are exclusively to be found in meat; further of non-crys-
tallizable organic principles and of salts (phosphate and chloride
of potassium). All of these together are called the extractives of
meat. ‘To this second series of substances beef-tea owes its flavor
and efficacy ; the same being the case with extractum carnis, which
is, in fact, nothing but solid beef-tea, — that is, beef-tea from which
the water has been evaporated. Besides the substances already
mentioned, meat contains, as a non-essential constituent, a vary-
ing amount of fat. Now, neither fibrin nor albumen is to be found
in the extractum carnis which bears my name; and gelatine (glue)
and fat are purposely excluded from it. In the preparation of the
extract, the albuminous principles are left in the residue. This
residue, by the separation of all soluble principles, which are
taken up in the extract, loses its nutritive power, and cannot be

92 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

made an article of trade in any palatable form. Were it possible
to furnish the market at a reasonable price with a preparation of
meat combining in itself the albuminous together with the ex-
tractive principles, such a preparation would have to be preferred
to the extractum carnis, for it would contain all the nutritive con-
stituents of meat. But there is, I think, no prospect of this being
realized. Happily, the albuminous principles wanting in the ex-
tract of meat can be replaced by identical ones derived from the
vegetable kingdom, at a much lower price. Just the reverse is
the case in regard to the extractive matters of meat, for (their
salts excepted) it is impossible to find any substitute for them.
On the other hand, they may be extracted from the meat, and
brought into the market in a palatable and durable form. In con-
junction with albuminous principles of vegetable origin they have
the full nutritive effect of meat. From the extractive matters, then,
contained in extractum carnis in a concentrated form, the latter de-
rives its value as a nutriment for the nations of Europe, provided
it can be produced in large quantities and at a cheap rate from
countries where meat has no value.

‘*The albuminous principles of vegetable origin are principally
to be found inthe seeds of cereals; and the European markets are
sufficiently provided with them. On the other hand, the supply
of fresh meat is insufficient ; and this will get worse as the popula-
tion increases. For an army, for example, it will not be difficult
to provide and store up the necessary amount of grain or flour.
Sugar, too, as well as fatty substances and the like, will be procur-
able, their transport ‘and preservation offering scarcely any difli-
culty. But there may easily occur a deficiency of fresh meat.
Salted meat but inadequately replaces fresh meat, because, in the
process of salting, a large quantity of the extractive principles of
the meat is lost; besides, it is well known that those who live on
salt meat for a continuance become subject to different diseases.
Dried meat generally means tainted meat, scarcely eatable. Ex-
tractum carnis, combined with vegetable albumen, enables us to
make up the deficiency ; and that combination is the only one at
our disposal. What was said of an army also holds good of those
European nations in general that do not produce a sufficiency of
meat. By making the most of the herds of South America and
Australia, in using them for the preparation of extractum carnis,
and by the importation of corn from the West of the United States
and other corn-growing countries, the deficiency may be made
up, although not to the full extent. For, supposing ten manufac-
tories, producing together ten million pounds of extract of meat
from a million oxen or ten millions of sheep, that whole quantity
would provide the population of Great Britain only with one
pound yearly for every three persons; that is, one pound a day
for every eleven hundred persons.

«‘T have before stated that, in preparing the extract of meat,
the albuminous principles remain in the residue: they are lost for
the nutrition, and this certainly is a great disadvantage. It may,
however, be foreseen that industrial ingenuity will take hold of
this problem and solve it, perhaps by a circuitous road. For if

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 93

this residue, together with the bones of the slaughtered beasts,
be applied to our fields as manure, the farmer will be enabled to
produce a corresponding quantity of albuminous principles, and
to better supply our towns with them, either in the shape of corn
or of meat and milk. Made into a marketable state, it may here-
after replace the Peruvian guano, which very soon will disappear
from the market.

‘*On the value of extract of meat as a medicinal substance, it
is unnecessary to say a word, it being identical with beef-tea,
about the usefulness and eflicacy of which opinions do not differ.
At the same time, I may remark that it is a mistake to think that
beef-tea contains any albumen, that there ought to be any gela-
tine or drops of fat to swim on its surface. Beef-tea does not
contain any albumen, and, if rightly prepared, ought to be free
from gelatine (or glue), whilst the supernatant drops of fat form
a non-essential, and, for many, an unwelcome addition.

‘J should be glad if these lines could assist in clearing up pub-
lic opinion on the value of extract of meat as a nutriment; my
aim being, on the one hand, to reduce to their right limit hopes
too sanguine ; on the other, to point out the true share which the
extract of meat can have in the nutrition of the people of Europe.
In doing this, I know full well that whatever may be said for its
recommendation would be in vain, if the extract of meat did not
supply a public and generally felt necessity, and if it could not
stand the test of our natural instinct, — a judge not to be bribed.

“‘T am, sir, your obedient servant,
‘Justus LIesiG.
‘‘ Munich, November, 1865.”

In a letter to the ‘London Journal of Pharmacy,” written by
Liebig, the following remarks occur :—

‘* It has been observed that the color and taste of the Fray Ben-
tos Extract vary; this is owing to the difference of sex and. age
of the animals.

** The meat of oxen always yields an extract of darker color
and stronger flavor, reminding somewhat of the flavor of fresh
venison — pleasant when diluted. The extract of cows’ meat is
of lighter color, and a mild flavor, and is preferred by many per-
sons. The meat of animals under four years cannot be used for
the manufacture of extract; it yields a pappy extract of weak
taste, like veal, and without flavor.

‘* According to the predominance of ox or cows’ meat, the color
and taste of extract varies, which is by no means a fault of the
manufacturing process, and is fully explained by the preceding
remarks. The extract of ox meat is, however, richer in creatinin
and sarcin than the cows’ meat extract.

‘It is extremely difficult, as regards extracts of meat, — the
genuineness and purity of which are not discoverable by the eye,
—to protect the public against fraud. All manufacturers prepare
their extract according to what they call ‘ Liebig’s process;’ but
since I have given only general, and not special, directions for
manufacture, it so happens that every one fills in the details after

94 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

his own fashion, and the consequence is that not one of these
extracts is, in its composition, like another.

** There exist only two special directions for the manufacture
of extract of meat,—the one in the ‘‘ Bavarian Pharmacopeeia,” the
other in the ‘‘Pharmacopeia Germanica”; but these directions are
not mine.

“‘Munich, 22d October, 1866.”

The remaining process, patented by Messrs. McCall & Sloper,
professes to preserve meat in its fresh or raw state, arriving at
’ market in the exact condition of butchers’ meat just killed, but
with an additional advantage of keeping twice as long as ordi-
nary meat, after being exposed to the air.

The following is a copy of the specification taken from the
English Patent Office, and published in the ‘‘ Scientific Amer-
ican”: —

‘‘Our improvements relate to preserving fresh meat, poultry,
game, and fish. We treat such food in one or other of the fol-
lowing methods: We immerse in or surround the meat for a
short ‘time, say from ten to fifteen minutes, more or less, with a
solution of bisulphite of soda or potash, in the case or vessel in
which it is to be preserved, and which must be capable of being
made air-tight. By this immersion we remove the air which
filled the vacant spaces in the case; we then withdraw the solu-
tion and replace it by carbonic acid gas. We repeat these immer-
sions and supplies of gas occasionally, as required. We introduce
into the ease containing the food a regulated quantity of dilute
sulphurous acid, and an Pequiy alent quantity of carbonate or bicar-
bonate of soda, or potash, separately. The acid and alkaline salt
do not come into contact until the case is hermetically closed,
when they are brought into contact by agitation, and the liquid
resulting, charged w vith carbonic acid, bathes the surface of, and
impregnates the meat; or the acid and salt may be brought into
contact before the case is closed; or we place the meat in a case
provided with two stop-cocks, one in or near the bottom, the other
in the lid. By the lower stop-cock we introduce a solution of
bisulphite of soda or potash, filling the vacant spaces in the case ;
we then close the stop-cock in the lid, and exhaust the case of its
liquid contents by powerful hydr aulic suction, or by the action of
an air-pump. We leave the meat under this exhausting suction,
and thus draw out from the meat as much air as it will yield up,
which we then expel from the case by the introduction of a solu-
tion of bisulphite of soda or potash, which we afterward with-
draw and replace-by carbonic acid gas. We repeat, at intervals,
these alternate introductions of the alkaline solution and carbonic
acid gas.

“When metallic cases are used either for preserving or packing
the food, we use a lining both for the top, bottom, and sides, of a
non-metallic nature, such as thin matting, wickerwork, veneers of
wood, cloth, or other suitable materials.

“We preserve poultry, game, and fish, in the same manner as
that described for meat.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 95

*¢ And having now described the nature of our said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
we claim as our improvements in preserving fresh meat, poultry,
game, and fish, —

‘* First, the employment of bisulphites of soda and potash, sub-
stantially in manner hereinbefore described.

‘« Second, the process hereinbefore described, whatever the anti-
septic salt employed.

‘* Third, the employment of an alkaline salt, together with car-
bonic acid, or the substances producing the same, sulphurous acid
and carbonate or bicarbonate of soda or potash, acting in manner
hereinbefore described.

«* And we claim as our improvement in the vessels employed in
preserving fresh meat, poultry, game, and fish, by any of the
methods hereinbefore described, the lining of the same with mat-
ting, wickerwork, or other like suitable material, to protect the
substance being preserved from contact with the vessels.”

ON PAPER FROM CORN FIBRE.

Chevalier Von Welsbach, Director of the Imperial Printing ‘and
Paper-Making Establishments at Vienna, Austria, has brought the
process of paper-making from corn fibre to great perfection. Itis
claimed that the paper thus made is stronger than cotton or linen
paper of the same weight; that in hardness and fineness of grain
it exceeds the best hand-made English drawing-paper; that it is
more durable than any other paper, and is not, like parchment,
subject to be destroyed by insects, thus rendering it peculiarly
valuable for documents, records, etc. ; that it is unsurpassed for
tracing-paper, and can be made extremely transparent, and is
specially adapted for photography. It is also claimed that all
papers ordinarily made from cotton and linen rags can just as well
be made from this material; that it can be easily converted into
the finest writing and printing paper, and almost as advantage-
ously into superior stout wrapping-paper. It readily receives any
tint of color.

GELATINE FROM MARINE PLANTS.

M. Natalis Rondot made to the Society for the Encouragement of
National Industry, at Paris, a communication on the subject of the
marine plants from which the Chinese procure gelatine, either as an
article of food or for use in the arts. The subject seems to demand
attention from us, both as a means of reducing the price of a valu-
able article of diet, and as a means of introducing cheaper substi-
tutes for materials of which the large consumption in the arts is
raising the price seriously. The same families of plants inhabit
our coast, and doubtless gelatine, as delicate in flavor, and as
strong, could be easily and cheaply prepared from them.

96 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

IMPROVEMENTS IN DYEING.

.

New Application of Tannin. —Not only are new aniline dyes
constantly discovered, but new and more convenient or effective
modes of applying them are obtained. Silk and wool are easily
dyed by means of them; vegetable matters, the affinities of which
for colors of all kinds are much weaker, not so easily nor so
effectively. It has been discovered, however, that brilliant colors
may be imparted to flax or cotton by means of the aniline,dyes, if
they are first impregnated with an alkaline solution of tannin.
Vegetable parchment, which acts like silk or wool with reference
to the aniline dyes, does not require the use of tannin. When ordi-
nary paper is to be colored, the tint obtained is wonderfully im-
proved if it is coated with albumen before being subjected to the
action of tannin.

Utilization of Aniline Dyes. — The beautiful colors derived from
aniline have already received a very general application ; but they
have been, hitherto, unsuitable to one purpose, which would be most
likely to benefit by the brilliant effects they produce, — oil paint-
ing. They are now very likely to become extremely useful in
this branch of art. It has been found that a solution of aniline is
capable of dissolving caoutchouc, and all the resins which have
acid properties, and also the aniline dye-stuffs. The solution of
shellac, for example, in aniline, may be colored by the addition of
the concentrated solution of aniline dye-stuff; the result being a
transparent paint, which answers admirably for glass, porcelain,
ete. This shellac solution may be mixed with any oil paints that
contain no lead; and thus an oil paint of extraordinary brilliancy
may be obtained. With the exception of fuschine, all the aniline
dyes may be dissolved in the aniline solution of shellac itself.

Aniline. —It requires as many as two thousand tons of coal to
produce a small circular block of aniline twenty inches high by
nine inches wide. This quantity is sufficient to dye three hundred
miles of silk fabric.

Aniline Black. — The discovery of a fine black, produced from
aniline, may almost be considered as completing the series of
magnificent colors obtained from that substance. This new dye
is the more valuable, since it may be associated with any kind of
madder color, and may be treated in subsequent processes like
logwood. It is obtained by dissolving hydrochlorate of aniline
in an aqueous solution of hydrofluosilicic acid (spec. gray. 8° B.)
which has been properly thickened, and then adding chlorate of
potash, and printing or preparing the tissue with chlorate of pot-
ash, and afterward printing. On raising the temperature from
32° to 35° C., a beautiful and permanent black is produced. The
hydrofluosilicic acid required may be obtained by decomposing
a mixture of fluor-spar and sand with sulphuric acid. The
decomposition which takes place during the process consists in
decomposition of the chlorate by the hydrofluosilicic acid, silicate
of potash being formed and chloric acid set free. A part of this
chlorie acid acts on the hydrochloric acid of the hydrochlorate of

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 97

aniline, forming a mixture consisting of free chlorine and inter-
mediate oxygen acids of chlorine; and the remainder unites with
this mixture, forming the black dye.

NITROGLYCERINE.

Nitroglycerine is the product of the reaction which ensues when
glycerine is slowly poured into a mixture of concentrated nitric
acid, with twice its bulk of oil of vitriol. The glycerine loses
three equivalents of water, which are replaced by three of nitric
acid. It has been called also trinitrine, trinitro-glycerine, etc.

It is a liquid of specific gravity 1.6, nearly insoluble in water,
easily soluble in alcohol and ether. It has great stability, and
keeps indefinitely ; foreign bodies do not favor its decomposition ;
at ordinary temperatures it even remains unchanged in presence
of phosphorus and potassium. It does not explode by flame;
burns by contact with an ignited body, but ceases to burn as soon
as the contact is at an end. It explodes only at 360° Fahr. It
detonates by a violent blow of a hammer, but only the part sub-
mitted to the blow explodes, without action on the surrounding
liquid. Its principal advantages in blasting in mines are, Ist.
Being insoluble in water and heavier than it, it can be used in
wet mines and under water. 2d. Not exploding by contact of
an ignited body, unless strongly compressed, it may be carried,
kept, and handled without danger. 3d. Its expansive force
being ten times greater than gunpowder, it economizes labor.
4th. The rapidity of its explosion renders tamping of no im-
portance, and thus renders the miner perfectly safe. 5th. It is
as efficient in a soft and crumbling stone as in a hard and com-
pact one; it leaves no residuum. — Annales du Genie Civil.

It is an oily fluid of a light yellow cojor, and of 1.6 specific
gravity. It consists of 3 atoms of nitric-acid, or 3 NOs, com-
bined with an atom of glycerine, C® H5 O®, so that its ultimate |
composition may be represented by C¢ H® O13 N. The changes
which occur during explosion convert each volume of it into 469
volumes of carbonic acid, 554 volumes of steam, 39 volumes of
oxygen, and 236 volumes of nitrogen, being a total of 1,298 vol-
umes of gas for each volume of the liquid oil, being thus five
times more effective than its bulk of gunpowder; but from the
greater amount of heat generated, and the consequent higher
tension of the gases produced by the explosion, the new agent is
really thirteen times more effective, bulk for bulk, and eight times
more effective, weight for weight, than gunpowder, resulting, for
blasting purposes, in very great economy of labor. — London Me-
chanics’ Magazine, September, 1865.

The explosive properties of nitroglycerine C® H5 (N O)1 O8, and
the accounts of experiments made with it in different parts of
Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland, determined MM. Schmitt
and Dietsch, the proprietors of the great quarries of sandstone in
the valley of Zorn, Lower Rhine, to try to use it in their works.

The trial proved so successful, both as regards economy and
the ease and rapidity with which the work was performed, that,

9

98 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

for the time, at least, they have abandoned the use of powder, and
the quarries have been entirely worked by nitroglycerine for six
weeks.

From the first, we have considered that the nitroglycerine should
be prepared on the spot. It always seemed to us the transportation
of an explosive compound of such frightful power ought not to be
allowed either by land or water. The terrible accidents which
have happened at Aspinwall and at San Francisco justify these
fears; and the transportation of nitroglycerine should be posi-
tively forbidden,

After having, with M. Keller’s assistance, studied in my labora-
tory the different processes of the preparation of nitroglycerine
(mixtures of glycerine with concentrated sulphuric acid and
nitrates of potash and soda, or with nitric acids of different concen-
trations), we have determined on the following method of manu-
facture, which is performed in a wood cabin, constructed in one
of the quarries : —

Preparation of Nitroglycerine.—We begin by mixing in an
earthenware vessel placed in cold water some fuming nitric acid
at 49° or 50° Baumé (1.51—1.53) with twice its weight of the
strongest sulphuric acid. These acids are purposely prepared at
Dieuze, and sent on to Saverne. At the same time, we evaporate
in a pot some commercial glycerine free from both lime and lead,
until it makes 30° or 31° Baumé (1.26—1.27). This concentrated
glycerine should, after cooling, have a syrupy consistence.

The workman then throws thirty-three hundred grammes of a
mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids, well cooled, into a glass flask
(a pot of earthenware or a capsule of porcelain might equally be
employed) placed in a trough of cold water, and then he slowly
pours into it, stirring it continually, five hundred grammes of @ly-
cerine. The thing to be observed is the avoidance of any sensible
heating of the mixture, which would determine a tumultuous
oxidization of the glycerine, and the productionof oxalic acid.
For this reason it is, that the vessel in which the transformation of
the glycerine into nitroglycerine takes place should be constantly
cooled externally by cold water.

When the materials are thoroughly mixed, the whole must be
left for five or ten minutes; then pour the mixture into five or
six times its volume of cold water, to which a rotatory movement
must first be imparted. The nitroglycerine precipitates very
rapidly, under the form of a heavy oil, which is collected by
. decantation into a vessel; then wash it with a little water, which
is in its turn decanted; pour the nitroglycerine into bottles, and it
is ready for use.

In this state, the nitroglycerine is still slightly acid and watery ;
but this is of no importance, since, as it is employed soon after
its preparation, these impurities in no degree prevent detonation.

Properties of Nitroglycerine. —Nitroglycerine is a yellow or
brownish oil, heavier than water and insoluble in it, but soluble
in ether, alcohol, ete.

Exposed to a prolonged but not intense amount of coldness, it
crystallizes in long needles. A violent shock best causes it to

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 99

detonate. The handling of it is now easy, and only slightly
dangerous. Spread upon the ground, it is only with difficulty
fired by a body in combustion, and then only burns partially; a
flask containing nitroglycerine may be broken upon stones with-
out its detonating; it may be volatilized without decomposition
by a regulated heat ; but if it boils, detonation becomes imminent.

A drop of nitroglycerine falling on a metal place moderately
heated volatilizes quietly. If the plate be red-hot, the drop is
immediately fired and burns like a grain of powder, only noise-
lessly ; but if the plate, without being red-hot, is hot enough to
make the drop boil immediately, it decomposes suddenly with a
violent detonation.

Nitroglycerine, especially when impure and acid, decomposes
spontaneously after a certain time, with an escape of gas and the
production of oxalic and glyceric acid.

Probably the spontaneous explosions of nitroglycerine, with
whose disastrous effects the papers have acquainted us, are owing
to the same cause. The nitroglycerine being inclosed in well-
corked bottles, the gases produced by its spontaneous combustion
cannot escape; they then excercise an immense pressure on the
nitroglycerine, and in this state the least shock and the slightest
movement will cause an explosion.

The flavor of nitroglycerine is at once sweet, piquant, and
aromatic ; it is poisonous, and taken in small doses it produces
bad headaches.’ Its vapor produces similar effects, and this reason
might well prove an objection to its use in the subterranean gal-
leries of mines, where its vapors cannot disperse as they do in
open-air quarries.

Nitroglycerine is not, properly speaking, a nitrated body, such
as nitro- or binitro-benzol, or mono-, bi-, and trinitro-phenisic
acids. Indeed, under the influence of reducing bodies, such as
nascent hydrogen, sulphuretted hydrogen, etc., the glycerine is
set at liberty, and the caustic alkalies decompose the nitrogly-
cerine into nitrates and glycerine.

Modes of Employing Nitroglycerine. —Suppose the object is to
detach a stratum of rocks. At 2.50 to 3 metres distance from the
exterior border, sink a mining hole about 5 or 6 centimetres in
diameter, and 2 or 3 metres in depth.

After having thoroughly cleared all mud, water, and sand out
of the hole, pour into it, through a funnel, from 1,500 to 2,000
grammes of nitroglycerine. Then immerse in it a little cylinder
of wood, pasteboard, or tin, about 4 centimetres in diameter, and
from 5 to 6 centimetres in height, and filled with ordinary pow-
der. This cylinder is fixed to an ordinary mining fuse, which
goes down a certain depth to insure the combustion of the pow-
der. The cylinder is lowered by means of the wick or fuse;
the moment the cylinder reaches the surface of the nitrogly-
cerine may easily be known by the touch. When it touches
the surface, hold it perfectly still, and pour sand into the hole
until it is quite full; there is no need to compress or plug the
sand. Cut the wick some centimetres from the orifice of the
hole, and then set fire to it. In about eight or ten minutes,

100 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the match burns down to the powder and fires it. Then ensues
a violent shock, which immediately causes the detonation of the
nitroglycerine. ‘The explosion is so sudden that the sand is not
even projected.

The whole mass of the rock rises, is displaced, then re-settles
without any projection; only a dull detonation is heard.

Only on examining the spot can an idea be formedof the power
of the force developed by the explosion. Formidable masses of
rock are slightly displaced and rent in every direction, and ready
to be removed me chanically.

The chief advantage is that the stone is only slightly crushed,
and there is very little waste.

In the manner we have shown, from forty to eighty cubic
metres of rock may be detached by charges of nitroglycerine.

We trust to have shown by this notice the possibility of recon-
ciling the employment of nitroglycerine with every desirable
guarantee for public safety. —M. Kopp, Comptes Rendus.

The following are extracts from a letter by T. P. Shaffner, in
the ‘Scientific American,” for Nov., 1866: —

‘“*When I visited the Hoosac Tunnel in August, I had not wit-
nessed the explosion of nitroglycerine in rock of the hardness of
the Hoosac Mountain. The tunnel is penetrating through solid
massed mica and quartz. The strata lie against the progress,
and there are but few seams and slips. It tears roughly, and in
no instance quarries. Every cubic inch must be blasted.

** The ‘ heading’ is 6 feet high and 15 feet wide. Below is the
‘bench,’ or bottom enlargement, 44 feet deep, the width of the
heading. In the west shaft it was about 500 feet in the rear of
the heading. The further enlargements are to be above and at
the sides. “My experiments were in the west shaft, ‘bench’ and
‘heading,’ proceeding eastward.

«Prior to my arrival, good miners had been making from 2 to
3 feet per day with the ‘bench.’ The holes had been ‘set from 15
to 20 inches back, drilling 4 holes to make the width of the
tunnel. These 4 holes were drilled 4 feet deep, charged with
powder and well tamped. After blasting the 4 holes, about 5
short holes, averaging 15 inches, had to be drilled in order to
make an even bottom. According to these figures, the number
of inches to be drilled to make 60 7-10 feet lineal, would be 9,612.
Two men ean drill about 100 inches per day of 8 hours, and
wages are $2.25 per day. The expense for miners, tools, and
incidentals, amounts to about $6 per 8 hours, for each 100 inches,
making a total of $566.72 for drillmg. The time required to make
60 7-10 feet would be at least 20 days. There would be about 144
long holes, 180 short holes, and at least 36 blasts. This is the
rate of progress that had been made with gunpowder.

‘* My first experiment was in the ‘bench,’ as above described,
and within 3 days I advanced 607-10 feet. I used nitroglycerine,
exploded by the aid of electricity. If the rock could be removed
after each blast, I can make 70 feet in that time. I had 9 blasts
and 28 holes, 5 feet deep; total inches drilled, 1,680. The cost
of the nitroglycerine was less than the price of gunpowder for the
same number of feet.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 101

*‘My next experiment was in the ‘heading,’ for a period of
3 days. The average speed per month with powder had been
64 feet, blasting every 2 hours holes 20 to 30 inches deep. When
I commenced my experiment, the rock was excessively hard, and
the trial was very severe against me. I blasted 15 holes every 8
hours; holes 30 to 36 inches deep. Within the 3 days I made
143 feet. The next 3 days the rock happened to be better for
blasting, and powder was used, making 6 4-10 feet. Number of
nitroglycerine holes 132, and about 4,356 inches for the 144 feet.
Number of powder holes 180, and about 4,500 inches drilling,
making 6 4-10 feet,

‘In the same class of rock, I am of opinion that‘I can make at
least 35 feet per week in the heading, and in a month of 27 days
about 158 feet; making 94 feet per month more than can be ac-
complished with gunpowder.

** From these figures, the Hoosac Tunnel ean be finished in less
than half the time and for less than half the expense by using ni-
troglycerine. From 8 to 10 years has been the estimated time for
completing the work, and the expense several millions of dollars.
From these economic considerations, the very able chief engineer
of that great enterprise is encouraged to belief in the early com-
pletion of the work by his adopting nitroglycerine.”

Though this substance possesses very important advantages
over gunpowder, as a blasting and destructive agent, the attempts
to introduce it as a substitute have been attended by most disas-
trous results, ascribable, in part, to some of its properties, and
too evident instability of the commercial product, but principally
to the thoughtlessness of those interested in its application, who
appear to have been induced, either by undue confidence in its
permanence and comparative safety, or from less excusable mo-
tives, to leave the masters of ships, or others who had to deal
with the transport of the material, in ignorance of its dangerous
character. , : . ‘

The precise cause of the fearful explosions of nitroglycerine
at Aspinwall and San Francisco will probably never be ascer-
tained; but they are likely to have been due, at any rate, indi-
rectly, to the spontaneous decomposition of the substance, induced
or accelerated by the elevated temperature of the atmosphere in
those parts of the ship where it was stored. Instances are on
record in which the violent rupture of closed vessels containing
commercial nitroglycerine has been occasioned by the accumula-
tion of gases generated by its gradual decomposition ; and it is
not improbable that a similar result, favored by the warmth of
the atmosphere, and eventually determined by some accidental
agitation of the contents of the package, was the cause of those
lamentable accidents. The great difficulties attending the purifi-
cation of nitroglycerine upon a practical scale, and the uncer-
tainty, as regards stability, of the material, even when purified
(leaving out of consideration its very poisonous character, and
its extreme sensitiveness to explosion by percussion, when in the
solid form), appear to present insurmountable obstacles to its safe

g*

102 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

application as a substitute for gunpowder. —Journal of Frank-
lin Institute, Oct., 1866.

GUN-COTTON.

M. Blondeau makes the following communication to the
Academy of Sciences, Paris. If gun-cotton of good quality be
exposed for about four hours to the action of the vapor of ammo-
nia, it will soon assume a yellow tint, indicating its combination
with the ammonia; and, after being dried, it furnishes a powder
which is unalterable at ordinary temperatures, and even unde-
composable at 212° (Fahr.), and possesses an explosive force
greater than that of ordinary gun-cotton.

Gun-cotton has not hitherto been received with much favor by
artillerists, but some recent experiments of Mr. Whitworth go
far to prove that, under certain circumstances, it may be used with
advantage. He finds that a charge made up of gunpowder and
gun-cotton, the former material being exploded first, gives a
lower trajectory, and will also admit of a lighter gun being used.
By this means, the great explosive power of gun-cotton is com-
bined with the advantages due to the gradual action of ordinary
powder.

GUN-PAPER.

Mr. G. S. Melland, of Lime street, London, who has distin-
guished himself among British makers of fire-arms, has recently
invented a ‘‘ gun-paper,” to supersede the old gunpowder. The
invention consists in impregnating paper with a composition
formed of chlorate of potash, 9 parts; nitrate of potash, 44;
prussiate of potash, 34; powdered charcoal, 3}; starch, 1-12th
part; chromate of potash, 1-16th part; and water 79 parts.
These are mixed, and boiled during one hour. The solution is
then ready for use, and the paper passed in sheets through the
solution. The saturated paper is now ready for manufacturing
into the form of a cartridge, and is rolled into compact lengths
of any required diameter. ‘These rolls may also be made of re-
quired lengths, and cut up afterward to suit the charge. After
rolling, the gun-paper is dried at 212° Fahr., and has the appear-
ance of a compact grayish mass. Experiments have been made
with it, and it has been reported favorably of as a perfect substitute
for gunpowder, superseding gun-cotton and all other explosives.
Itis said to be safe, alike in manufacture and in use. The paper is
dried at a very low temperature. It may be freely handled with-
out fear of explosion, which is not produced even by percussion.
It is, in fact, only exploded by contact with fire, or at equivalent
temperatures. In its action it is quick and powerful, haying, in
this respect, a decided advantage over gunpowder. Its use is
unaccompanied by the greasy residuum always observable in gun-
barrels that have been fired with gunpowder. Its explosion
produces less smoke than from gunpowder; it is said to give less
recoil, and it is less liable to deterioration from dampness. It is
readily protected from all chance of damp by a solution of xyloidin
in nitric acid.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 103

In experimenting with this new explosive substance, six rounds
were first fired with cartridges ‘containing 15 grains of gunpow-
der, anda conical bullet, at 15 yards range, which gave an average
penetration of 1 1-16 into deal. Six rounds were then fired with
10 grains of gun-paper and. a conical bullet, at the same range,
and gave an average penetration of 1 3-8 into deal. Here was
33 per cent. less of paper than powder, and greater penetration
with paper. Six rounds followed with an increased charge of 15
grains of gun-paper and a conical bullet, at the same range, and
at each shot the bullet passed through a 3-inch deal. At 19 yards
range, 12 grains of the paper, fired from a pistol of 54 gauge
(44-inch), sent a heavier bullet through a 3-inch deal. A fouled
revolver was preserved four days, but betrayed no symptoms of
corrosion after using gun-paper. It is expected that gun-paper
will be manufactured cheaper than gunpowder. — London Artisan.

NEW GUNPOWDERS.

Some interesting experiments were made in Paris recently
with a new kind of gunpowder, the invention of M. Neumann.
This composition appears to be very similar to that of ordinary
powder, but it has the property of not exploding unless subjected
to pressure. When laid upon the ground and ignited, the new
gunpowder burns slowly and leaves a thick crust. In the course of
the experiment, three barrels, each containing about three and a half
kilos. of powder,were placed in a temporary hut,and the powder was
ignited by means of afusee. Large volumes of smoke were seen
to issue from the crevices, but no explosion took place, the powder
being simply burned. When tried in a rifle, the strength, when
the ramrod was well used, was found to be equal to that of ordi-
nary gunpowder; but, when not rammed, it failed even to drive
the ball out of the muzzle. The composition of the powder re-
mains a secret for the present.

At a recent meeting of the British Association, a paper was
read upon the introduction of a new gunpowder for heavy ord-
nance, in which nitrate of barytes is substituted for saltpetre in
composition; the consequence being that the powder, when ig-
nited, consumes more slowly, and the gases are developed less
rapidly, while the same effect is produced upon the projectile as
regards its ultimate velocity. .

NEW GUNPOWDER.

A new and very powerful gunpowder has been patented by
Captain Schultze, of the Prussian Artillery, which possesses some
very valuable advantages. In composition and mode of manufac-
ture it bears more resemblance to gun-cotton that to ordinary gun-
powder ; but its form is that of gunpowder, and it has none of the
specially dangerous properties which have hitherto prevented gun-
cotton from coming extensively into practical use. Cotton fibre
consists of ‘‘cellulose,” a compound of six atoms of carbon, five ©
of oxygen, and ten of hydrogen; while gunpowder is, chemically

104 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

speaking, ‘‘tri-nitro-cellulose,” or cellulose which has had three
atoms of its hydrogen replaced by hyponitric acid. All kinds of
wood consist chiefly of cellulose ; the cellulose of wood, however, is
unlike that of cotton fibre, which is quite pure, being always com-
bined with more or less coloring matter, resin, and various earthy
and other substances. It is obvious, therefore, that if we could
remove from wood all the substances other than cellulose which
enter into its composition, and were to subject the pure cellulose
then remaining to the same chemical treatment that cotton fibre
has to undergo in order to be converted into gun-cotton, we should
obtain a substance of absolutely the same composition as gun-
cotton, and differing from it only in form. This is just what Capt.
Schultze does, with the result that he gets ‘‘ tri-nitro-cellulose,”
not in delicate filaments like gun-cotton, exploding almost instan-
taneously, but in hard, compact grains, of any desired size, and at
least as slow of combustion as the densest gunpowder of the same
size of grain. While gun-cotton, being, at least for gunnery pur-
poses, only three times as powerful as its weight of gunpowder,
costs, weight for weight, six times as much as gunpowder costs, and
can only be used safely by means of special methods, this new pro-
duct, while nearly four times as powerful as gunpowder, costs,
weight for weight, considerably less than gunpowder, and can be
used in precisely the same way, the only precaution necessary being
to use of the new powder only one-fourth as much as of the old.

Any hard wood is cut into sheets about one-sixteenth of an inch
thick, and punched into little cylinders, which constitute eventually
the grains of the powder, which is thus granulated at the begin-
ning instead of at the end of the process of manufacture. To remove
all constituents except cellulose, these granular cylinders are boiled
for about eight hours in strong solutions of carbonate of soda,
frequently changed; after twenty-four hours washing in running
water, they are next steeped for two or three hours in a chlori-
nated solution; after a second twenty-four hours’ washing in cold
running water, they are submitted for six hours to the action of a
mixture of forty parts, by weight, of concentrated nitric acid with a
hundred parts, by weight, of concentrated sulphuric acid, one part
of the grains, by weight, being placed with seventeen parts by
weight of the mixed acids in an iron vessel, which should be kept
cool. The grains then being carefully drained, they are exposed
to cool running water for two or three days, then boiled in a weak
solution of carbonate of soda, again exposed for twenty-four hours
to running water, and carefully dried. Up to this point the grains
are not explosive. The dried grains are now steeped for ten
minutes in a solution of some salt or salts containing oxygen and
nitrogen —the best appears to be for every hundred parts by weight
of the grains, two hundred and twenty parts of water, having dis-
solved in it twenty-seven and one-half parts of nitrate of potash
and seven and one-half parts of nitrate of barytes, at a tempera-
ture of 112° Fahr. After draining, they are dried in a chamber
at 90° to 112° Fahr. for about eighteen hours.

This new powder will be of use not only for small arms and
artillery, but for mining and engineering purposes; its great

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 105

advantage in the latter is that its explosion produces no smoke,
thereby avoiding the loss of time incurred by the workmen under
ground in waiting for the smoke of common gunpowder to clear
away; it has all the advantages of gun-cotton, without its danger
and other disadvantages. — London Mechanics’ Mag., March, 1865.

THE PRUSSIAN NEEDLE-GUN. °

The deciding argument of the recent European battles has been
the Zund Nadel-Gewehr, —the Prussian needle-rifle. The wonders
which the Austrian army have usually performed with the bay-
onet were completely estopped by this terrible weapon, as, load-
ing and firing it from five to seven times a minute, the Prussian
soldiery spent such a shower of bullets upon the advancing foe,
that, by the time they reached them, there were not enough left
living to do much harm. No men, however brave and deter-
mined, could stand the fire of these rifles; and nothing so dis-
heartens an army as the absolute knowledge that it is fighting
against a terrible superiority in arms.

The ‘‘ needle-rifle,” which has been in use in the Prussian army
since 1848, but which has never till now been fairly tested, has
proved to be a most formidable and dangerous weapon ; and as the
Prussians have succeeded in this war, they may in great part con-
sider it due to their superiority in the possession of this fearful
instrument of warfare. It is a breech-loading rifle, the cartridge
used being made of stiff card-board, the ball, powder, and explo-
sive composition being contained in one and the same cylinder.
Its great peculiarity is, that the detonating powder is placed im-
mediately in rear of the base of the ball, and between it and the
powder. The advantage of this is, that when the powder is
ignited, that portion next the ball, in which combustion is first per-
fected, exerts its full force upon the projectile, the powder in rear
also exerting its influence, as it becomes almost simultaneously
ignited. Under the present system, in which that part of the
powder next to the breech of the gun is first ignited, a portion of
the powder is frequently expelled from the gun with the ball, in a
condition of only partial combustion, the explosive force of the
powder first consumed being adequate to expel the ball and the
powder in its front, before the whole charge has time to become
entirely ignited. Thus, in the needle-gun, all the powder is con-
sumed and applied tothe best effect, and so as to obtain its fullest
force at the same instant and in the same direction.

The needle-gun is a breech-loader, and, when the trigger is
pulled, a stout needle or wire is thrust through the base of the
cartridge, parallel with its axis, into the detonating charge by the
ball, causing its explosion and the ignition of the cartridge. In
accuracy the needle-gun cannot be surpassed; and its effective
range is said to be about fifteen hundred yards. Soldiers can
load and fire five times a minute ; and, in the recent fighting, they
have been in the habit, when either charging themselves or re-
ceiving charges, to keep the gun at the hip, and simply continue
putting in cartridges and discharging them, literally keeping up

106 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

what my informant describes as a ‘ rain of bullets.” This mode of
firing accounts for the fact of so many of the Austrians being
wounded in the legs and feet. — Druggists’ Circular, 1866.

So much has been said about the Prussian needle-gun of late,
in the foreign journals, and the success of the Prussians with it,
that many suppose it to be a new invention. On the contrary, it
_ is tyyenty years old. We do not desire to depreciate it on this
ground, but, judging it solely by its intrinsic merit, it is not up to
the standard of American breech-loaders. All military men know
that an essential point in a fire-arm is simplicity and certainty in
fire. Neither of these qualities is found in the needle-gun, for the
mechanism is clumsy, compared with recent inventions, and the
ammunition is complicated, and costly to prepare. The principal
idea in this weapon is in firing the charge from the front instead
of behind, as in other weapons. ‘To do this, the percussion pow-
der is put into a cavity in the base of a paper sabot, between the
ball and the powder, the charge being exploded by a wire or
needle thrust through the cartridge.

The experience gained in the war of the rebellion shows us
that the ‘‘ magazine arm,” or that weapon where the charges are
contained in the breech, is most deadly, when in the hands of
skilful troops. Other breech-loaders have their good qualities, *
but all who remember the part the Spencer rifle bore in the con-
test will concede the point we make.

Breech-loaders have this disadvantage: troops must be trained
long and thoroughly, or in the heat of battle the charges will be
thrown away from heedless firing. The Prussian army have had
experience with breech-loading guns for fifteen years, and in
their recent battles did well. — Scientific American, 1866.

IMPROVEMENTS IN CANNON.

At the anniversary meeting of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, Boston, Mass., in May, 1865, the Rumford medal
was awarded to Prof. Daniel Treadwell, of Cambridge, Mass.,
‘‘for improvements in the management of heat made and put in
practice by him in constructing cannon of a series of coiled rings,
in the year 1842.”

The following are extracts from the address of Prof. Asa Gray,
the President, on the occasion of its presentation, in Noy., 1865 :—

**We in our day, within the last fifteen years, have witnessed a
change in the means of attack and defence greater than any made
in the two hundred years previous, — a change involving a com-
plete revolution in tactics, both on land and on sea. To take a
single illustration from heavy ordnance, in which the importance
of the change impresses us, when we are told that our strongest °
forts, armed with the best guns we had ten years ago, could op-
pose no effectual resistance to the entrance of such ships as are
now built, into any of our harbors; and that a ship could now be
built and armed, which, singly, would overmatch our whole navy
as it was in 1855.

‘Fortunately, the balance is redressed by equal improvement
in defence.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. LOW

‘*The improvement in fire-arms, both great and small, is in
their increased range and precision. When the effective range of
a musket-ball was extended from two hundred yards to fourteen
hundred or more, it became imperatively necessary that ordnance
should be improved in the same ratio, or it would be useless, as
gunners and horses would be picked off by small arms long before
they could effectively reach the enemy. This improvement in
guns of great calibre has been made, with consequences the
importance of which, present and prospective, cannot be over-esti-
mated.

‘«* But the point which we have to consider is, that this increased
range and precision are entirely dependent on the augmented
strength of the gin. ‘The weakness of the gun is the only thing
that imposes a limit to the range short of the absolute strength of
the explosive material used. It is the strength of the gun which
not only gives the range, but makes rifling possible, with preci-
sion and all the advantages of the elongated shot. All inventions re-
lating to the different modes of rifling, the form of the projectile,
and the devices for breech-loading, are necessarily subordinate to
the question of strength: with this sufficient, those become simple
problems, to be rapidly determined by the ingenuity of many
inventors.

“¢ Now the limit of strength of cast-iron and of bronze cannon
had long ago been reached. Excepting Captain Rodman’s im-
provement, and certain modern advantages in working and cast-
ing metals, no material advantages had been gained over guns
cast in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

«* But the most effective guns of the present day embody new
principles of strength. They are all built-up guns. With them
are associated the names of Armstrong, Blakely,,Whitworth, Par-
rott, and others. Whatever may be the relative merits of these
several varieties, our interest is confined to the question of their
strength, that is, to the principles of construction which have made
them stronger than common guns, and rendered their respective
subordinate improvements possible.

‘«These principles are two, and their introduction at different
times into the manufacture of cannon constitute two successive
steps, and the only steps, which give distinctive character to the
guns under consideration. Both originated with Mr. Treadwell.

*“These two inventions are often confounded, although more
than ten years elapsed between them. The confusion is doubtless
owing in some degree to the fact that the two are found combined
in nearly all the modern built-up guns. The first initiated a sys-
tem of construction which may be designated as the coil system ;
the second, what may be named the hoop system.

“The first was successfully applied to the making of cannon by
Mr. Treadwell in the year 1842, and a full account of it was pub-
lished in 1845; the gist of the invention being in so constructing
the gun that the fibres of the material shall be directed around the
axis of the calibre.

**This method of construction is described in Professor Tread-
well’s own language as follows: ‘Between the years 1541 and

108 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

1845 I made upwards of twenty cannon of this material (wroucht-
iron). ‘They were all made up of rings, or short hollow cylin-
ders, welded together endwise; each ring was made of bars
wound upon an arbor spirally, like winding a ribbon upon a block,
and, being welded and shaped in dies, were joined endwise when
in the furnace at a welding heat, and afterwards pressed together
in a mould by a hydrostatic press of one thousand tons’ force.

“*«Finding in the early stage of the manufacture that the soft-
ness of the wrought-iron was a serious defect, I formed those
made afterwards with a lining of steel, the wrought-iron bars
being wound upon a previously formed steel ring. Eight of these
guns were six-pounders, of the common United States bronze
pattern, and eleven were thirty-two-pounders, of about eighty
inches’ length of bore, and one thousand nine hundred pounds’
weight.’

** The soundness and value of this principle of construction were
fully confirmed in England by the experiments of Sir William
Armstrong in 1855, and attested by his evidence before a com-
mittee of the House of Commons in 1863. He there describes his
own gun as one ‘ with a steel tube surrounded with coiled cyl-
inders,’—as ‘peculiar in being mainly composed of tubes, or
pipes, or cylinders, formed by coiling spirally long bars of iron into
tubes and welding them on the edges, as is done in gun-barrels.’
His indirect testimony to the originality of Mr. Treadwell’s process
is equally clear, being that, within his knowledge, no cannon had
ever been made upon this principle until he made his own in
1855, he being, as we must suppose, ignorant of what Mr. Tread-
well had done thirteen years before. ‘The statement of Mr. An-
derson (witness before the Commons’ Select Committee), made
before the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1860, is equally explici¢
as to the nature and value of this method of constructing cannon.
And, finally, the high estimate of its importance abroad is shown
not only by the honors and emoluments conferred by the British
government on the re-inventor, but still more by the actual adop-
tion of this gun as the most efficient arm yet produced. For it
must be borne in mind that the faults or failures, complete or par-
tial, of the Armstrong and similar guns, are not of the cannon
itself, as originally constructed, but of breech-loading contriv-
ances, of the lead coating of the projectile, or of other subsidiary
matters.

‘That our colleague’s invention, the value of which is now so
clearly established, should have been so generally unacknowl-
edged by inventors abroad is his misfortune, not his fault. For,
not only were his guns made and tested here, and their strength
as clearly demonstrated before 1845 as they have been since, not
only was a full account of the process and of the results published
here-in that year, but a French translation of his pamphlet was
published in Paris, in 1848, by a professor in the school of artil-
lery at Vincennes; and Mr. Treadwell’s patent, with full specifi-
cations, was published in England before Sir William Armstrong
began his experiments.

*« The difficulties to be overcome in making such a gun, — great

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 109

at all times, as Sir William Armstrong and Mr. Anderson testify,
—were far greater in 1842 than in 1863. These difficulties were
mainly, if not wholly, in welding large masses of wrought-iron in
the shape of tubes or cylinders. It is for overcoming these difi-
culties that this medal is bestowed, and especially for the means
and appliances by which this difficult mechanical achievement was
effected in the furnace ‘ by the agency of fire.’

«« An incidental but noteworthy part of the improvement was the
welding by hydrostatic pressure, — an operation which is just now
coming into use in England, but has not yet attracted attention in
this country.

‘* We come now to the second improvement in the construction
of artillery, the invention of the hooped gun.

‘This is not always clearly distinguished, even by those occupied
with the subject, from the gun formed of coiled rings. But a
simple statement will bring into view distinctly the new principle
of strength here introduced.

‘* Tf an elastic hollow cylinder be subjected to internal fluid press-
ure, the successive cylindrical layers of the material composing
it, counting from within outwards, will be unequally distended,
and the resisting efliciency of the outer layer will be less than
that of any layer nearer the axis. And if the walls of the cylin-
der are thick, and the internal pressure surpasses the tensile
strength of the material, its inner layer will break before the outer
one has been notably strained. Hence the tensile strength of a
square inch-bar of the material is the measure of the maximum
pressure the cylinder can bear, when constructed as guns were
before the introduction of the improvement now under considera-
tion. The improvement does away with this limit, and enables
us to go indefinitely beyond it.

‘«« This isaccomplished by so constructing the gun that the inner
layers are compressed by the outer; whereby the internal press-
ure is first resisted by the outer layers, which must be distended
enough to allow the internal compressed portion to attain its
normal conditon before this internal portion (which is the first to
break in the common gun) is subject to any strain at, all. It will
be perceived, that, if this principle could be rigorously applied, a
cannon could be made so perfect, that, when subjected to a burst-
ing pressure, every fibre, from the internal to the external sur-
face, would be at that instant equally extended, each contributing
its full share of resistance to fracture. The whole resistance
would be proportional to the area of fracture.

‘This was supposed to be the case in common cylinders before
the error was pointed out by Barlow, and also by Lamie and Cla-
peyron. And it was this erroneous supposition that led Count
Rumford to his exaggerated estimate of the force of gunpowder,
as tested by its power of bursting gun-barrels. If he had used
the theory which gave origin to the hooped gun, his results would
nearly have agreed with modern observations.

“The demonstration of the superiority of the hooped gun, with
detailed directions for its construction, is contained in a paper
read before this Academy in February, 1856, and published at the

10

110 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

beginning of the sixth volume of our ‘Memoirs.’ This was the
first published account of the invention, which had been patented
nearly a year before. Captain Blakely’s pamphlet, published in
England in 1858, sets forth the advantages of this construction by
similar arguments; as also does an elaborate paper read by Mr,
Longridge before the Institution of Civil Engineers in February,
1860. Both these gentlemen, however, were engaged in researches
upon this subject at an earlier date, put not so early, it would
appear, as was Mr. Treadwell.

‘«The validity of the principle, and the soundness of Mr. Tread-
well’s views upon the whole subject, as set forth in his memoir,
have been amply confirmed by special experiments made in
England with the Blakely and Whitworth guns, and by experience
in this country, during the last four years, ‘with the Parrott and the
Blakely guns.

“Tt must not be supposed that the earlier invention is superseded
by the later one. That is used in forming the hoops of the Parrott
gun, and in most of the British guns. And the best gun which
could now be made, as experience has shown, would be composed
of a barrel of cast-iron or steel, inclosed and compressed by a
cylinder of coil.

‘*We need not discuss the question of priority of invention be-
tween Mr. Treadwell and others, competitars for a share in the
honor of producing the modern cannon. His independence of

each and all of them has never been called in question. Nor will
it ever seriously be thought that the previous futile attempts at
constructing wrought-iron and banded guns —foredoomed failures
both in theory and practice, and destitue of all pretension to a
knowledge of the guiding principles now clearly seen to be essen-
tial to suecess—should detract in the slightest degree from the
great honor which our associate has, by a ‘clear insight into the
conditions of the problem and the resources of physical science,
so fairly and completely won.

‘* Upon these two inventions has been set the seal of experience.
But there is another memoir, read by Professor Treadweil before
this Academy in April, 1864, and printed soon afterwards, which
promises to add a third important improvement in the construc-
tion of artillery.

** Perceiving that the body of a hooped gun, if made of unmal-
leable cast-iron, compressed by a soft wrought-ir on hoop, must give
way, by the fracture of the cast-iron hoop, before the hoop « can
approach the ultimate limit of its strength, and that this was, in
fact, a principal cause of the failure of so great a part of the large
guns of Blakely and Parrott, Professor Treadwell, as the principal
result of this third investigation, proceeds to show, that, to attain
with effect the end sought for by, hooping a cast-iron gun, it is
necessary to harden the wrought-iron hoop by cold hammering
and severe stretching before placing it upon the gun-body. He
computes that, by this simple means, a hooped gun may be made
more than twice as strong as those which have been constructed
by Blakely and Parrott, the materials being in both cases the
same.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 111

‘<Tn this important discovery, as also in other matters discussed
in his latest memoir, we are gratified to see, that, although now
carrying the weight of more than three-score-and-ten years, our
veteran colleague still keeps the lead, which he gained at the
start, of his competitors in this race of improvement.

««So completely do these three improvements cover the ground,
that, if the works of all other inventors who claim a share in the
great gun of the nineteenth century were lost, the gun could be
restored (rifling excepted) from Mr. Treadwell’s papers alone.”

CASTING OF A TWENTY-INCH CANNON.

Another twenty-inch gun was recently cast at the Fort Pitt Iron
Works, Pittsburg, Pa., being the third one of that size. This is
the first naval gun, however, and is intended for the ‘* Puritan,”
consort of the ‘* Dictator,” both ocean monitors. The two pre-
viously cast were army guns. They are Rodman guns, that is,
cast with a water-cooled core.

The quantity of metal melted at once was enormous; not less
than 140,000 pounds, and three furnaces were in use to accom-
plish it in time, the fires being started at 4.50 A. M. on the morn-
ing of pouring. The iron was in the following proportion:
101,000 Juniata, second fusion; 39,000 Juniata pig, from the
Bloomfield furnace: this is stated to be the finest quality of metal,
for gun founding, in the country. The furnaces were tapped at
12.10, and the mould was filled in a short time.

The length of the rough casting is 236 inches. The maximum
diameter is 654 inches, and the minimum 48 inches. When fin-
ished, the breech of the gun will measure 64 inches in diameter,
and the nozzle 354 inches. The length of the cylinder bore is
147 inches, depth of chamber 10 inches. The thickness of metal
outside the bore, at the breech, is 22 inches, and at the nozzle
7 9-10 inches. , Diameter of trunnion 18 inches. At 9.20, Sunday
morning, the water was turned off, at which the temperature was
97°. The core barrel was hoisted, when it came out perfectly
clean, there being every indication of perfect success in the cast-
ing. After the barrel was hoisted out, a very small stream of
water was allowed to flow into the bore, when it immediately
became steam. This was to be continued until 8 o’clock, when
a column of cold air would be forced in, and the cooling process
completed in this way. — Scientific American.

THE PALLISER GUN.

Last August, four Palliser guns were tested with perfect success
at the proof butt in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, under the
superintendence of Lieutenant-Colonel Freeth, Assistant Superin-
tendent of the Royal Gun Factories. These guns were formerly
cast-iron 32-pounders and 24-pounders, and have been converted .
into 64-pounders and 56-pounders, at Elswick. Twenty more of
these guns arrived the same day at Woolwich, and will at once
be sent to proof. A 64-pounder Palliser gun has also undergone

112 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

a most severe test of endurance. This was a 32-pounder, weigh-
ing only 58 ewt. According to the ‘‘ Times,” the test was as
follows: Two rounds, with charges of 16 lbs. of powder and 160
lb. cylinders; 10 rounds, with charges of 20 lbs. of powder and
100 Ib. cylinders; and, finally, 10 rounds, with 16 lbs. of powder
and 64 lb. shells. The shells were loaded with their fuse-holes
toward the powder, and, as the fuses had been taken out, the
flash of the discharge set fire to the powder in the shells and burst
them in the gun. It was generally expected that this test would
have burst the gun, or, at all events, that it would have blown
off the muzzle, or otherwise have rendered it unserviceable ; but
beyond the one fact of the bore being scratched by the splinter of
the shells, no injury was perceptible, and the gun was loaded with
the same facility and fired as before. It appeared from a subse-
quent examination that some of the shells had burst before they
had moved, and that others had burst close to the muzzle of the
gun. A number of 64-lb. shot were then fired with 16-lb. charges,
but, instead of the shot being rammed home, they were only
pushed down to certain positions in the gun, so as to leave vacant
spaces of 5 inches, 10 inches, 15 inches, 20 inches, and 25 inches
between the powder and the shot. To the astonishment of
every one present, the gun had not sustained the slightest injury.
It was therefore decided by the Ordnance Select Committee to
put the gun through a supplementary trial to ascertain its maxi-
mum or highest power of endurance, when it will have to fire
20-lb. to 25-lb. and 30-lb. charges, with cylinders of 150 Ibs.
weight. Major Palliser has expressed great confidence in the
strength of the gun, and states that he has no fear of the result
of any reasonable amount of proof, even beyond what is abso-
lutely necessary. The trial, it is admitted, has already borne out
the anticipations of the inventor and manufacturers, and has fully
justified the recommendation of the Ordnance Select Committee,
and their introduction of these guns for the consideration of the
War Department to use up the heavy stock of guns on hand. On
account of their weight, their service charges will be only 6 lbs.
or 8 lbs. of powder. Suflicient evidence, it is stated, has already
been obtained to prove that we have thus a most efficient and
reliable addition to our stock of rifled ordnance; a fact which, in
the present difficulties with which the government is embarrassed
for want of serviceable guns, will be hailed with much satisfac-
tion, more especially as the two new guns now pronounced suc-
cessful, —those of Major Palliser and Mr. Frazer,—will be
produced at a cost far below that of the present guns, in which
the country have long since ceased to have any confidence.
— Mechanics’ Magazine.

CHILLED SHOT.

Mr. Fairbairn, in his treatise on iron ship-building, which
appeared so recently as the close of last year, records his opinion
that cast and wrought iron were not materials calculated to make
a serious impression upon armor-plates, and that nothing had been
found to answer the purpose better than hardened steel. The

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 113

cast-iron prepared by Dr. Price, and the case-hardened shot pre-
pared by Major Palliser, Mr. Fairbairn considered, might answer
the purpose in some cases; but he questioned whether this mate-
rial, however well prepared, could be made to hold together, and
not break in pieces when the shot struck the plates. So he came
to the conclusion that steel shot and shell were the only projectiles
suited for attacking iron-plated vessels. Major Palliser, however,
has recently succeeded in demonstrating most thoroughly and
practically, that, by his method of chilling the shot when cast, he
obtains a metal possessing a hardness equal to that of steel anda
toughness approaching very closely to that of wrought-iron. He
has thus solved one of the most important questions of modern
gunnery, —that of penetrating armor with shells which do not
explode until they have passed through the plate and backing,
or, in other words, completely through a ship’s side. Major
Palliser is by no means the first to accomplish this object: the
credit of that is due to Mr. Whitworth, who effected his purpose
with comparatively small projectiles and low charges of powder.
Following the latter gentleman, others have done the same thing ;
but two serious drawbacks to success were always present. The
shells for the most part exploded backward on contact; and being
made of steel, were very expensive, their cost for large ordnance
ranging from £7 to £20 each projectile. So, on the score of im-
perfection and of costliness, absolute success was not attained by
any, nor, until Major Palliser had perfected his chilled shot, which
are both cheap and efficient, was it considered attainable. But
the question was set at rest by a series of experiments which
were carried out last week, at Shoeburyness, with various kinds
of shell. °

These experiments were instituted for the purpose of testing
Major Palliser’s chilled shells against those of the best steel pro-
jectiles, and in their results proved most valuable. The principle
upon which Major Palliser manufactures these shells is worthy
of notice, as being something more than the old process of chill-
ing. As the shells are required for a particular purpose, they
must have something more than a mere chilled surface ; a definite
and carefully determined hardness must be imparted throughout
the metal. This condition is attained by a selection and combi-
nation of those brands of iron which have been found by experi-
ment to chill to the exact extent required, a careful mean being
observed between iron which it is difficult to chill and that which
chills too hard. Added to the principle of manufacture, is the
principle of construction, which goes far toward the success of
the projectile. The form given by Major Palliser is such as will
convert the sudden shock of impact as muchas possible into a
uniformly increasing pressure. In other words, the projectile
has an elongated, pointed head, which is as essential an element
in it as is the perfect chilling of the metal. Upon the occasion In ©
question, the firing was from an ordinary seven-inch wrought-iron
muzzle-loader, with full battering charges of twenty-two pounds
of powder, and a range of two hundred yards. ‘The shells were
directed against a ‘‘ Warrior” target, which was built of the

10*

114 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ordinary four-and-a-half-inch plate, with eighteen inches of teak
backing, and an inner iron skin; the whole well braced and
strengthened. Half the target was bolted on Mr. Bascomb’s plan
of India-rubber pads, the other half of the bolts being secured
by Mr. Paget’s steel cup washers. At the conclusion of the ex-
periments it was found that Mr. Bascomb’s system had stood
better than Mr. Paget’s; but then it appears that the shots almost
invariably struck that part of the target bolted on Mr. Paget’s
principle, while that portion fastened with Mr. Bascomb’s washers
was scarcely touched. The experiments were commenced by
firing a steel shell on Major Alderson’s plan, having a screwed
base, and being charged with three pounds of loose powder.
The shell penetrated the four-and-a-half-inch plate, but did no
more, except to explode backward from the face of the target.

The next shell, which was of the best steel, of Mr. Firth’s, passed
through the plate and entered the wood backing, but it exploded
outward as the first had done. The third shell struck on the edge
of the hole made by the first, passing easily through and explod-
ing in the teak backing, which it set on fire. Other shells were
tried, with similar results, in some instances; in others they were
even less satisfactory, some of Mr. Firth’s shells bursting before
they reached the target: a few exploded ‘in the gun. Three of
Sir William Armstrong’s conical-headed shells, made on the Bel-
gian pattern, with a sharp cone, were fired, and produced a simi-
lar effect to those previously fired. After all the steel shells had
been tried, Major Palliser’s chilled-iron shells were tested, and the
first shot proved the superiority of the system over all the others.
The shell struck an uninjured portion of the target, and went
through the plate and backings so quickly as not to explode until
it had passed beyond. The backing where the shell had passed
through was splintered into fragments; and had the object been
the side of a ship, instead of a target, the results would have been
most damaging to a gun’s crew at quarters. The charge of the
second Palliser shell did not explode; but, after passing through
the target, the projectile broke itself up into fragments, which were
sent spinning about in all directions with a velocity nearly as dan-
gerous as an explosion would have imparted to them.

The results of these two shots were so conclusive that the charge
of powder was reduced to eighteen pounds, with which the third
shell was fired. This shell missed the target, and went away to
sea; the next, however, which was fired without a bursting
charge, went through the target, breaking up and scattering its
fragments as before. The charge was then further reduced to
sixteen pounds of powder, which was nearly equal to increasing
the range from two hundred yards to one thousand yards, while
the velocity of each shot, on striking, was less than thirteen hun-
dred feet per second. But for all this, the next shell penetrated
the plate and backing, and was only stopped by coming in con-
tact with one of the heavy struts which supported the target from
behind, and which it broke. At this stage of proceedings, the Ord-
nance Select Committee ordered the firing to cease, considering
a continuation would only be a waste of time and powder. This

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 115

will be the more apparent when we state that, a few weeks since,
Major Palliser’s projectiles were tried against the ‘‘ Bellerophon”
target, which has six inches of iron, with twenty-two inches of
teak, and an inch iron inner skin. ‘The results, however, were
precisely similar to those with the ‘‘ Warrior” target, the shells
passing through quite as easily. The results, therefore, constitute
a victory for guns over armor-plates, and this long-pending ques-
tion may be considered for the present as definitively settled. For
the present we say, because, although the ‘* Warrior’s” strong sides
afford but little more protection against Major Palliser’s shells than
would those of a wooden ship, it is possible that we may in time
find some means of neutralizing the damaging effects of these pro-
jectiles. It always has been so; throughout the history of the
question, victory has always alternated between the guns and the
plates. But, unquestionably, Major Palliser has gained such a
victory as will not easily be reversed, and has inaugurated such
a condition of things as will require a long time and a considerable
amount of scientific and engineering skill to render obsolete. —
Mechanics’ Magazine.

CHILLED SHOT AND THE SHOEBURYNESS EXPERIMENTS.

As the facts come to hand, it is apparent that the success of the
shots made by the nine-inch gun at Shoeburyness, on the 20th of
September, was due mainly to the character of the projectile, and
not to the gun nor the charge of powder. The Palliser shot and
shell are made of chilled iron, which has been pretty satisfactorily
proved to be superior in penetrating qualities to either wrought-
iron, ordinary cast-iron, or steel. Both steel and chilled shots were
used in these experiments, but while the hardened-steel shots
failed to penetrate through the target, and either broke in pieces,
or were compressed and bulged out of shape, every one of the
chilled-iron shots did effective service, never in one instance
changing in form.

The target used was about forty feet long by eight feet high,
built of single thickness of rolled wrought-iron, eight inches
through, bolted by the Palliser screws to a backing of eighteen
inches of teak timber and an inner plate of three-quarters of an
inch iron. The whole was sustained by heavy timber backs. The
face of the target was not in one plane, but half of its length was
inclined at an angle of thirty degrees to the other half, the line of
fire being the same in both cases; so that a shot against the in- |
clined face would make, with the target, an angle of sixty degrees.
The gun was a nine-inch muzzle-loading rifle, with increasing
twist of thread, throwing shot of two hundred and fifty pounds
with charges of forty-three pounds of powder. The distance fired
was two hundred yards.

The steel shot were cylinders having either pointed heads struck
on a circle the diameter of the shot, flat heads, or the Belgian or
ogee head. All of them were hardened in prussiate of potash and
oil, or water. Some of them were solid, others shells with the
head screwed into the body, or the base secured in the same man-

116 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ner. Out of twenty-four shots, twelve were of this character. Not
one of them passed through the target, and every one was either
broken into fragments or bulged out of shape.

The Palliser chilled shots in every case penetrated the iron plate,
and in one instance, on the square face of the target, went en-
tirely through plate, backing, and lining, and lodged in a pile of
iron plating, brick, and stone masonry, twelve feet in the rear of
the target. In no instance was the form of the shot changed. The
Palliser shots and shells have heads formed on a radius of one and
a half diameters of the cylindrical portion. Whenever the Palliser
shots struck the inclined face of the target they penetrated, while
the cast-stee] shots sometimes glanced off.

One circumstance in this trial is remarkable. The steel shots
were so hot after striking the target that they could not be handled,
while the chilled shots were barely warm. This, with the fact of
the change of form in the steel projectiles, proves that much of the
energy of the shot had been expended in this direction, instead of
in penetration.

While the velocity of the shots fired in our Fortress Monroe
experiments exceeded in no instance 1,155 feet per second, that
of those in this Shoeburyness trial ranged from 1,260 to 1,340 feet
per second. At such an initial velocity, with a distance of only
two hundred yards between the gun and target, it ceases to be
very surprising that it was possible to throw shot through such a
barrier. — Scientific American.

PENETRATION OF SHOT, AND RESISTANCE OF IRONCLAD
DEFENCES.

Captain Noble has lately carried out a series of experiments
under the direction of the Ordnance Select Committee, for the
purpose of determining various points connected with the resist-
ance of iron plates, and his paper forms part of a report which
he has submitted to the committee.

The above series of experiments were instituted for the purpose
of determining the foliowing points: 1st, To determine the rela-
tive penetrating effects of two steel shots on an iron plate, pro-
vided they strike with the same ‘*‘ work” or mechanical effect,
notwithstanding the one may be heavy, with a low velocity, and
the other light, with a high velocity. 2d, To determine the rela-
tive resistances of a plate to penetration, by two steel shot of
similar form of head, and striking with ‘‘ work” proportional to
their respective diameters. In order to determine the first point,
the committee fired a number of hemispherical-headed steel shot
from a muzzle-loading gun of 6.3-inch calibre, at 43 and 54-inch
unbacked plates, the weights of the shot being different, viz.,
35 lbs., 70 lbs., 106 lbs., and the diameters the same, viz., 6.22
inches. The charges with which these projectiles were fired
were arranged so that the ‘‘ work” was the same in each case, —
that is to say, the velocity on impact of the light shot was much
greater than that of the heavy shot, while the expression W v?,
weight of shot multiplied by the square of its velocity, was con-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 117

stant. The results of these experiments were very interesting,
and are fully detailed in the tables which accompany Captain
Noble’s report. i

The conclusions which have been drawn from these results will
be given when the second point has been considered. To deter-
mine this question, viz., the relative resistance of a plate to
penetration by two shot of similar form of head, and striking with
“* work” proportional to their respective diameters, the commit-
tee fired a series of steel hemispherical-headed shot, of various
weights and diameters, at 44 and 53-inch unbacked wrought-iron
plates, the velocities being so arranged that each projectile should
strike with a work proportional to its diameter. Thus, suppose
the comparison to be made between a 7-inch shot animated with
a ‘* work” represented by 1,000, and a 9-inch projectile, the latter
should strike with a ‘‘ work” represented by 1,286, or in the pro-
portion of 9 to 7. Having finished the details of these exper-
iments, Captain Noble proceeded to consider the effects of shot
striking a plate obliquely or at an angle. A small number of
experiments have lately been made in connection with this part
of the subject, and, although further trials are necessary, the
general results go to prove that the power of perforation pos-
sessed by the shot is diminished in the proportion of the sine of
the angle of incidence to unity.

The subject of cast-iron projectiles next claimed attention, and
Captain Noble explained the difference between the effects of
cast-iron and steel shot. With the former, much of the total
‘‘ work” is expended in breaking up the projectile on striking,
and hurling the pieces in different directions, whereas, when the
shot’are carefully manufactured of the very best steel, very little
‘*work” is done on the projectile, and, in some instances, the
maierial of the shot has been so perfect, that its alteration of form
after penetrating the plate has been almost inappreciable.

From this subject Captain Noble passed to the consideration of
the proper form and material of projectiles to be used for the
penetration of iron-clad defences. It has been clearly demon-
strated by numerous experiments, that ordinary cast-iron is
almost useless as a material for the manufacture of the above
projectiles. Steel is an excellent material for shot, but it is also
most expensive; and, as recent experiments have shown that Pal-
liser’s chilled iron is almost, if not quite, as good as steel, we
shall probably use this material for solid shot, and employ steel
for shells alone. Various forms of head have been proposed for
steel projectiles. Thus, we have had the flat head, relied on by
Mr, Whitworth, the round head, elliptical head, ete. The flat
head has gained a great reputation, from being the shape used by
Mr. Whitworth in his first experiments against the ‘* Warrior” tar-
get. Of all these forms, however, Captain Noble prefers the
pointed, or ogival head; and he described, by means of a dia-
gram, the difference in effect between the pointed and the blunt
form. The blunt, that is, flat-headed or round-headed shot on
striking an iron-clad structure, such, for instance, as the ‘‘ War-
rior,” punches a piece of armor out of the plate, and drives it into

118 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC, DISCOVERY.

the backing; the shot, however, has no means of ridding itself of
this piece of plate, and, consequently, has to push it in front of it
through the backing. It is needless to remark that this piece of
jagged armor-plate must greatly increase the resistance which
the shot meets in passing through the backing. When, however,
the shot is of the form of a pointed ogival, the results of its action
are far different; this projectile cuts, or rather tears, through the
armor-plate, and the pieces of broken plate are bent back and
forced into the backing round the edge of the hole; the shot then
passes through without carrying any jagged armor in front of it.
Captain Noble then proceeded to give a short detail of some late
experiments with pointed shot and Alderson’s solid-headed steel
shell, which goes to prove that this form is much superior to any
hitherto tried.

The subject of iron-clad ships was then entered on, and a brief
summary given of the experiments against targets representing
actual vessels. The conclusions which might be drawn from the
whole of the experiments were; 1st, Where it is required to perfo-
rate the plate, the projectile should be of a hard material, such as
steel or chilled iron. 2d, The form of head best suited for the
perforation of iron plates, whether direct or oblique, is the pointed
ogival. 35d, The best form of steel shell is that in which the
powder can act in’ a forward direction, and which is furnished
with a solid steel head, in the form of a pointed ogival. 4th,
When chilled iron can be made of the best quality, it is almost, if
not quite, as effective as steel for solid shot, and, where the pro-
jectile can perforate with ease, the chilled shot is more formidable
than steel, as it enters the ship broken up, and would act as
grape. Sth, To attack well-built iron-clads effectually, the guns
should be, if possible, not under 12 tons weight and 9-inches
calibre, firmg an elongated projectile of 250 lbs., with about 40
lbs. of powder. 6th, When the projectiles are of a hard material,
such as steel, the perforation is directly proportional to the ‘* work”
in the shot, and inyersely proportional to the diameter of the
projectile ; and itis immaterial whether this ‘‘ work” be made up
of velocity or weight, within the usual limits which occur in prac-
tice. 7th, The resistance of wrought-iron plates to perforation by
steel projectiles varies as the square of their thickness. 8th.
A plate at an angle diminished the effect as regards power
of perforation in the proportion of the sine of the angle of inci-
dence. 9th, The resistance of wrought-iron plates to perfora-
tion by steel shot is not much, if at all, increased by backing simply
of wood; it is, however, much increased by a rigid backing, either
of iron combined with wood, or of granite, iron, bricks, ete.
10th, Tron-built ships, in which the backing is composed of com-
pact oak or teak, offer much more resistance than similarly clad
wooden ships. 11th, The best form of backing seems to be that
in which wood is combined with horizontal plates of iron, as in
the ‘* Chalmers,” ‘‘ Bellerophon,” and ‘‘ Hercules” targets. 12th,
An inner iron skin is of the greatest possible advantage ; it not only
has the effect of rendering the back more compact, but it prevents
the passage of many splinters which would otherwise find their way

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 119

into the ship; therefore, no iron-clad, whether iron-built or
wooden-converted, should be without an inner skin. 13th, The
bolts known as ‘‘Palliser’s bolts” are the best for securing
armor plates. In these bolts the diameter of the shank is
reduced to that which it is at the screwed end. The author of
the paper preferred the English punching system of high charges
with small shot to the American racking system of heavy cast-iron
shot propelled with low charges, on the ground that by the former
method, a ship might be sunk, or some vital part injured, in much
less time than would be required to destroy her by the American
system. — Report of British Association, 1866.

NATURAL FPRILOS OPE .7..

THE NEW THEORY OF LIGHT.

Tue following are extracts from a letter to the ‘‘ Reader” by J.
G. Maevicar, on Professor C. Maxwell’s electro-magnetic theory
of light, of which he says: ‘A slight inspection is sufficient to
show that it sets the seal of mathemetical consistency and prestige
upon ideas which must modify profoundly all our popular ideas
on solar radiation. With regard to light, it sanctions the idea
that it is an electro-magnetic phenomenon, and such, therefore,
that it must observe the laws and produce the phenomena of what
is commonly known as polarized action. And does not this view
at once relieve speculative astronomy of some of its greatest
difficulties, and open the way for a happy explanation of some
of the most remarkable but still unexplained phenomena of the
heavens?

‘*Thus, our first physicists, taking for granted, as to the solar
action, the hypothesis of an universal and indiscriminate radiation
in all directions into space (or in accordance with modern science,
let us say into the ether) by such a body as the sun, just as if he
were a spherical gong poised in compressed air, and struck from
within simultaneously all round, have been bestowing of late
years infinite pains to explain how his brightness is kept up
during all time, without any loss, so far as can be discovered.
But, if not gross mechanical undulations to and fro in compressed
air, but a rhythmical action in ether— electro-magnetism, in short
—is to be the type to which light and radiant heat are to be re-
ferred, then there will be no waste of solar action at all, and there
need be no more concern about the permanence of the sun’s bright-
ness. For if the solar action, with respect to which, so far as ob-
servation goes, we know only that it illuminates the various mem-
bers of our planetary system, be of an electric or electro-magnetic
nature, then, after having induced a similar state of action in
the medium immediately surrounding him, —that is, after having
surrounded the central orb with a photosphere, —it will render
the ether immediately beyond almost, and soon altogether, non-
conducting in all directions, except those in which bodies in a
dissimilar state present themselves, —that is, the sun will be in-
sulated in the ether, except in the direction of planets, satellites,
meteorites, ete. In all other directions, his action will be con-
served. And even in the direction, in which he radiates to a
distance, he will receive back again as much as he gives away.
Such is the well-known phenomenon of electrical and magnetic
action. In exchange for the light and heat which the sun gives
to the planets, he will receive from them a negative, reciprocal

120

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 121

complemental or harmonic action, by which his own will be sus-
tained or increased or diminished, according as the amount of
dissimilarity existing between him and them is greater or less at
the time. The solar radiation proper to the same column of space
will be more intense in winter than in summer, and in the arctic
regions than in the torrid zone.

«« Again, it is a serious undertaking to explain on the hypothe-
sis of universal and indiscriminate radiation, diminishing as the
square of the distance increases, the brightness or even the visi-
bility to us of the distant planets. But what we observe in nature
is precisely what we should expect on the electro-magnetic theory
of light. ‘The remote planets, by being placed in positions which
would tend to involve them in coldness and darkness, are thereby
rendered in these respects more dissimilar to the central orb;
they will therefore be all the more illuminated and warmed by
him; and the climate of the most remote members of our system
may possibly be as genial, and their day as bright, as ours.

«* Again, since all the bodies between which and the sun, ac-
cording to this theory, action and reaction take place, circulate
in planes corresponding to low latitudes in the sun, a reason
appears why these regions of the solar disk should be peculiarly
the regions of storms in his photosphere; and the way is open
to a theory of sun-spots and faculze in a direction in which indeed
a step has been made already by Mr. Balfour Stewart, in con-
necting certain states of the solar illumination with the positions
of the planet Venus.”

VELOCITY OF LIGHT.

The observations of the eclipses of Jupiter’s first satellite, and
those of the phenomena of aberration, lead directly, although
with a different degree of approximation, to the determination
of the time light occupies to run over the mean distance of the
sun from the earth. To deduce from this the absolute value of
the velocity of light referred to our ordinary units of length, we
must know how many miles are contained in the distance from
the sun to the earth. The value of this distance is found by
means of the parallax of the sun; we designate thus the angle
under which, being at the sun’s centre, we would see the radius
of the earth. The sun’s parallax, calculated from the observa-
tions of the last transit of Venus over the disk of the sun, is fixed
at 8.57 seconds; hence the distance of the sun from the earth is
equal to 24,109 times the radius of the earth, or to 95,384,900
miles. As this length is run over by the light in 8 minutes 18
seconds, or in 498 seconds, we conclude that the velocity of light
is 191,391 miles in a second.

However, for some years, several circumstances have conspired
to make us believe that the determination of 8.57 seconds given
as the value of the sun’s parallax is too small, and that the parallax
ought to be augmented by a quantity not less than the thirtieth
of its value, which would elevate it to about 8.9 seconds. From

r 11

122 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

this increase in parallax results a diminution in the earth’s dis-
tance from the sun, and consequently in the distance gone over in
8 minutes 18 seconds by the light; the velocity of light. will
therefore be reduced to a little less than 186,420 miles in a second.
The next transit of Venus, which will happen in 1874, cannot fail
to set at rest all doubts which may yet remain on this point. —
DELAUNAY, in Scientific American.

MECHANICAL EQUIVALENT OF LIGHT.

Professor Thomsen of Copenhagen has ascertained that the
mechanical equivalent of light, of the luminous radiation as
distinct from the obscure radiation, from the flame of the French
standard bougie is as nearly as possible 1.74 kilogrammetres per
minute, being about 1-50 of the mechanical equivalent of the
total radiation from the same flame. A writer in ‘‘ Cosmos” has
calculated from this the mechanical equivalent of the total light
of the sun. He finds it to amount to something like that of 1,250
septillions of bougies, or to 35 billions of tons lifted a billion of
kilometres per second —the lifting of 35 billions of tons (French)
a billion of kilometres being about equal to lifting the weight of
the earth 20 feet.

COLOR OF SUNLIGHT.

M. Memorski, of Vienna, confirms M. Brucke’s observations,
that diffused solar light, instead of being perfectly white, is tinged
with red, just as the flames of gas or lamps are tinged with yel-
low. Diffused light, received at noon through a cloudy sky, de-
viates by one twenty-second part of the chromatic circle from the
extreme red of the spectrum toward the violet. The light of burn-
ing magnesium, which appears to be so like sunlight, has also a
tinge of violet.

COLORS IN THEIR RELATION TO ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.

Never select colors in the evening, is an old maxim, whose value
can be attested by many a disappointed purchaser, who, ignorant
or disregarding this advice, and deeming himself the favored pos-
sessor of some tint of rare excellence, discovers, on the return of
daylight, a color far from equalling his anticipations. The artist,
overtaken by darkness, hastens to apply the last touches to some
masterpiece ; but the morning light reveals how poorly his in-
tentions have been realized. The cause of this inconstancy is
explained, and a remedy suggested, in a late article in the ‘‘ Pho-
tographic News.”

From the spectral analysis, we learn that the flames of our
lamps or gas-lights contain sodium, which, in burning, yields a
yellow flame, as strontium gives a red, and iridium a blue flame.
Now, when the color blue is illuminated by the yellow light, it ap-
pears green; but if the flame strikes a color complementary to

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 123

yellow, it will appear white or black, according as the body has,
or has not, the power of reflection; which is equivalent to saying
that this flame alters the nature of colors, deepening the hues of
some, and extinguishing others.

Take a spirit-lamp and put into it a piece of common salt; the
wick will soon become saturated with sodium in solution; the
flame, in consequence, will be yellow, and all colors will assume
a monotonous white, black, or gray. It is only when this sub-
stance is in excess that we have the total extinction of colors, but
a flame less rich will produce a partial extinction, and this is the
reason why colors are at all visible by gas-light. It may be asked,
whence does illuminating gas derive this sodium? From the coal;
from the water with which the gas was washed; it comes also
from matters employed in its purification, and probably even from
the atmosphere.

The only hues which resist only slightly the yellow flame, are
furnished by the blue; all the other colors are profoundly modi-
fied. Fortunately, the flames which serve as sources of light are
never saturated with sodium, hence the effects are greatly mod-
ified.

The light from the burning of magnesium alone brings out the
various colors, both natural and artificial, in the same hues as they
appear by daylight. The services of chemistry render, then, to
painting, not only colors more or less rich, but also it has endowed
it with a mode of lighting, whereby the painter may be able to
work at night without incurring mistakes or illusions. — Scientific
American.

SPECTRUM OF AQUEOUS VAPORS.

M. J. Jannsen has just communicated to the Academy of Sci-
ences a memoir ‘‘On the Spectrum of Aqueous Vapor.” His
observations were made with an iron tube thirty-seven metres
long, filled with steam, under a pressure of seven atmospheres;
the light was furnished by sixteen gas jets. The spectrum showed
five dark bands, of which two, well marked, answered to D and
A (Fraunhofer), and reminded the observer of the solar spectrum
seen in the same instrument toward sunset. According to the
first comparisons made between the spectrum of steam and that
of solar light, it appeared that the group A, B (in great part, at
least), C, two groups between C and D, are due to the aqueous
vapor in the atmosphere. Another interesting result was given by
the spectrum. The spectrum was very dark at the violet end,
and brilliant in the red and yellow, showing that aqueous vapor is
very transparent to the latter rays, and suggesting that it will
appear orange-red by transmission, and redder, according to the
thickness of the layer. This result requires to be carefully veri-
fied, and, if established, will explain the redness always observed
at sunrise and sunset. He hopes soon to be able to pronounce
upon the existence or non-existence of aqueous vapor in the at-
mosphere of the planets and other stars: at present he can only
say, that it does not exist in the atmosphere of the sun.

124 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS.

The production, by M. Niépce St. Victor, of black in photogra-
phy, by means of complementary colors, has given rise to re-
searches on the subject by M. Chevreul, who found that, although
complementary radiations of the spectrum produce white, those
radiations which emanate from complementary coloring matters,
applied in succession or simultaneously to the cloth, ete., afford,
according to the accuracy of the proportions, black, brown, or

ay. Thus, a blue pattern printed on orange will appear black.

his subject, when fully developed, may have a most important
bearing on arts and manufactures.

NEW POLARIZING PRISM.

MM. Hartnack and Prazmowski recommend deviating from
the form of the Nichol prisms. The shape they recommend is
shorter, and has both ends normal to the incident and emergent
rays. According to the cementing substance employed, they give
the following angles: With Canada balsam, refracting index
1549, the faces of the Iceland spar make with the plane of sec-
tion an angle of 79°; with balsam of copaiba, index refr. 1507,
the angle is 76°.5; with linseed oil, index refr. 1485, the angle is
73°.5; rich poppy oil, index refr. 1463, 719.1. The two middle
ones give the largest angle of the field, viz., 35°.

WHY THE SKY IS BLUE.

It is generally supposed that the blue color of the sky is due to
moisture in our atmosphere; and the idea seems to be confirmed
by the intensity of the color during the moist weather of summer,
when compared with the sky of the more dry-weathered winter.
It has recently been shown by Prof. Cooke, of Cambridge, in a
paper read to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, that
this view is correct. He has found, by means of the spectroscope,
—a very delicate instrument of analysis, by which the most minute
substances, even when at a distance, can be detected, —that the
aqueous vapor of the atmosphere absorbs most powerfully the yel-
low and red rays emanating from the sun, leaving the blue rays to
be transmitted, and thus accounting for the color of the sky. The
instrument also proves that the color is due to simple absorption
of these rays by the water, and not to repeated reflections from
the surface of an infinity of drops, as has been supposed.

DEFECT IN THE POLARISCOPE, WITH A SIMPLE AND EFFECT-
IVE REMEDY.

The author stated, that, having been engaged in some experi-
ments with polarized light, projected on a screen by means of the
oxy-hydrogen lantern, he discovered that even the best instru-
ments which were constructed were ineflicient, inasmuch as none
but the axial rays transmitted through the condensers were polar-
ized, the main body of the luminous cone undergoing reflection »

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 125

from the polarizer without being really polarized. He remedied
this by intercepting the light with a flint concave lens before it
reached the polarizer, so that the whole mass of rays, being pro-
jected in a parallel direction, was completely polarized. On leay-
ing the polarizer, the rays were again converged, before passing
through the erystal, or other object to be exhibited, by a small
achromatic Jens, which thus acted as an achromatic condenser.
Tt was stated that this arrangement effected a most important
increase in the brilliancy of the object exhibited on the screen. —
J. TRAILL TAYLOR, in Reader.

COMPARATIVE INTENSITY OF THE LIGHT OF THE MOON
AND OF VENUS.

On June 20, 1865, at 3 A. M., the moon and Venus were in
conjunction, in the latitude of Lyons, France, so that both bodies
could be seen in the same field of vision. This afforded an oppor-
tunity of comparing the light received from them. The surfaces
taken for comparison were those affording rays at the same angle
of incidence; and, on the moon, the region was that between the
craters Rocca and Eirchstadt, over the very brilliant surface to the
southeast of Grimaldi. It was found that the light from this
brightest part of the moon was only one-tenth of that reflected by
the surface of Venus. —CHACORNAGC, in Comptes Rendus, 58.

TRANSPARENCY OF THE SEA.

Father Secchi has come to the following results, from experi-
ments made near Civita Vecchia, at from six to twelve miles from
the coast, the sea being clear and calm. It was found that the
maximum depth at which a white disk, ten feet in diameter, was
visible from the surface, when the sun was sixty degrees above
the horizon and the sky clear, was about one hundred and forty
feet. In descending, white disks appeared first of a light green
color, next of a clear blue, then the blue became gradually darker,
until, at the depth mentioned, they could not be distinguished.
Yellow or sand-colored disks, ceased to be visible much sooner
than white disks, becoming invisible at depths varying from fifty-
five to eighty feet, according to their tint.

CURIOUS EXPERIMENT.

The following good lecture experiment has been suggested by
M. J. Nicklés. With the following pigments, he paints a spec-
trum, which shows all the colors, either by gas or candle-light ; but
shows only black and white, with a soda flame (alcohol and salt).

Color by daylight. Pigment. Color by soda flame.
Hed wens ative es co Ochre, Sellen Teen ae eee, black.
Orange, . . . . Biniodide of mercury, :
Yellow, + « « « Chromate of lead, } “yy Wikites

reen, . .« « - Manganate of baryta
Blue, ye Fs a aniline blue, i ; Se a

Li

126 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

NEW INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING DISTANCES.

Dr. Emsmann, in a paper in ‘ Poggendorff’s Annalen,” de-
scribes a new instrument for measuring distances, which differs
from all previous arrangements, by being independent of the
measurements of angles, or of a base line. It consists, simply, in
an application of the well-known principle, that the image of an
object is brought to a focus by a convex lens at a distance from
the lens varying according to the remoteness of the object. ‘The
arrangement described by Dr. Emsmann consists of an object-
glass of thirty seconds and an eye-piece of one second focal length,
a screen of ground glass, upon which the image is received, being
placed behind the eye-piece. The instrument, it will be seen, re-
sembles in principle a photograph camera; the length, however,
is about five and one-half feet. In order to keep the indications
within certain limits, the screen is placed behind the eye-piece,
and the distance between the lenses is so arranged that a varia-
tion in the distance of twenty-five paces, at all ranges, requires, at
least, a movement of one line in the screen. Trustworthy readings
may be obtained up to two thousand paces. Dr. Emsmann sug-
gests that the instrument will be found useful in coast batteries, for
measuring the distance of a vessel out at sea. In siege operations,
the time generally admits of the measurement of a base line, the
distance of the enemy’s works being calculated by trigonometry.
Should there be no practical difficulties in the way, it might prob-
ably replace, with advantage, the stadiometer, which depends on
the principle of similar triangles, supplied the army for use in
judging distance-drill.

THE CYCLOSCOPE.

In places where railways are most needed, but where, owing to
disadvantages of the ground, and other hindrances, the transport
and use of large instruments is very difficult, an instrument at
once portable, and capable of replacing a theodolite in setting-out
railway curves, becomes a desideratum. An instrument called a
**Cycloscope,” or curve-tracing instrument, invented and patented
by Mr. H. Temple Humphreys, associate of the Institute of Civil
Engineers, is calculated to meet this want, by measuring angles
and setting out railway curves with increased facility. It may be
shortly described as an instrument combining the advantages of
a pocket-sextant with the principles of a kaleidoscope. When the
two plane mirrors of an ordinary pocket-sextant are turned toward
a distant object, so that by one combined reflection between both
mirrors a reflected image of the object is obtained, the angular
interval between the image and the object is twice the angle con-
tained between the mirrors. Repeated reflections of the same
kind would, of course, produce a series of images, growing dim-
mer, arranged at the same angle from each other as the first
image from the object. This is found to be the case when the
object is indefinitely distant. When the object is near, as in the
common kaleidoscope, and placed between the mirrors, it is seen

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 127

repeatedly reflected in the mirrors at equal intervals along the
circumference of a mathematically true circle, the centre of which
is the intersection of the mirrors. In all positions whatever, of
an object viewed by reflection with two plane mirrors, this actu-
ally remains true. The object appears the first of a series of
images arranged at equal intervals round the circumference of a
cirele, the centre of which is the point of intersection of the mir-
rors with each other, or of the images, if need be, produced.
Of the two plane mirrors with which the cycloscope is entirely
composed, the front mirror is half silvered, and it is brought into
any convenient inclination with the entire mirror behind it, by
turning a screw. The parts of a revolution of the screw corre-
spond to minutes of a degree of inclination. When the last
chained peg of the straight line immediately preceding a railway
curve is seen directly through an eye-hole in the centre of the
entire mirror, its successive combined reflections at the same time
mect the eye at equal tangential angles, and trace out a circle, the
direction of the intended curve. The curve can then be set out
by pegs placed at equal chained distances apart; in the direction
of the combined reflections. By this means several points of a
railway curve can be set out at one sight, and the necessity of
repeated removal and readjustment of a theodolite in the ordinary
mode of setting out railway curves is avoided. The instrument,
which is made by Mr. Stanley, London, resembles a pocket-sex-
tant in being also a small and portable construction for measur-
ing distances and angles of moderate width. — Intellectual Ob-
server, May, 1866.

OPTICAL DELUSION.

Many of our readers will, no doubt, recollect ‘‘ Eidos Aides,”
which was performed at Her Majesty’s Theatre during the win-
ter. It has been made the subject of a patent by the inventor,
Mr. Maurice, from whose specification we learn the manner in
which this clever delusion is produced. It is perhaps necessary
to say that it consists in causing an actor, or an inanimate object
which is in full view of the audience at one moment, to disappear
instantly, and then to reappear with-the same rapidity. The
means by which this is accomplished are very simple, and are, to
some extent, similar to those used in exhibiting ‘‘ Pepper’s Ghost.”
A sheet of plain unsilvered glass is placed upon the stage, either
upright or inclined at a suitable angle, at the place where the ac-
tor or object is to disappear. This glass is not perceived by the
audience, and it does not interfere with their view of the scenery,
etc., behind the plate. A duplicate scene, representing that part
of the back of the stage covered by the glass, is placed at the wing,
out of sight of the spectators. With the ordinary lighting of the
stage, the reflection of this counterfeit scene in the glass is too
faint to be observed; but when a strong light is thrown upon the
scene, the stage lights being lowered at the same time, the image
becomes visible. This duplicate scene being an exact fac-simile
of the background of the stage, the change is not noticed by the
audience, the only difference being that they now see by reflec-

128 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

tion that which they saw a moment previously by direct vision.
The actor, standing at a sufficient distance behind the glass, is
completely hidden from view, and he is again rendered visible by
turning down the light on the false scene, and allowing the stage
lights to predominate. When ‘Eidos Aides” was being per-
formed at Her Majesty’s Theatre, it was, however, possible, with a
good opera-glass, to distinguish the outline of the figure behind
the plate. The effects produced may, of course, be modified. An
actor may be made to appear walking or flying in the air, or
dancing ona tight-rope, by eclipsing or obscuring a raised platform
on which he may be placed. — Reader.

WHY BEES WORK IN THE DARK.

A life-time might be spent in investigating the mysteries hidden
in a bee-hive, and still half of the secrets would be undiscovered.
The formation of the cell has long been a celebrated problem for
the mathematician, whilst the changes which the honey undergoes
offer at least an equal interest to the chemist. Every one knows
what honey, fresh from the comb, is like. It is a clear, yellow
syrup, without a trace of solid sugar in it. Upon straining, how-
ever, it gradually assumes a crystalline appearance ; it candies, as
the saying is, and ultimately becomes a solid lump of sugar. It
has not been suspected that this change was due to a photographic
action; that the same agent which alters the molecular arrange-
ment of the iodide of silver on the excited collodion plate, and de-
termines the formation of camphor and iodine crystals in a bottle,
causes the syrupy honey to assume a crystalline form. This, how-
ever, is the case. M. Scheibler has enclosed honey in stoppered
flasks, some of which he has kept in perfect darkness, whilst oth-
ers have been exposed to the light. The invariable results have
been that the sunned portion rapidly erystallizes, whilst that kept
in the dark has remained perfectly liquid. We now see why bees
are so careful to work in perfect darkness, and why they are so
careful to obscure the glass windows which are sometimes placed
in their hives. The existence of their young depends on the liquid-
ity of the saccharine food presented to them, and if light were al-
lowed access to this, the syrup would gradually acquire a more
or less solid consistency; it would seal up the cells, and, in all
probability, prove fatal to the inmates of the hive. — Chronicle of
Optics, in the Quarterly Journal of Science.

NEW ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.

Mr. James Wilkinson, of Chelsea, is endeavoring to rival the
magnesium light for photographic purposes, by means of a mix-
ture of phosphorus and nitrate of potash. He recently burnt a
quarter of a pound of this mixture in his garden, at night, with a
view to obtain a photograph of a wind engine which was being
erected in an adjoining garden, and he states that ‘‘ the length of
time from when it was first lit until it was finally burnt out, was
nearly six minutes. The utmost cost was a fraction over four-

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 129

pence. The reflection of the light might be seen for two miles
round. So bright was it that the fire-engine authorities mistook it
for an ordinary conflagration, and hurried their engines to the
spot. On finding no trace of the fire they returned, rather cha-
grined ; not, however, without first satisfying themselves by a thor-
ough examination of the premises. All around appeared one blaze
of light; the sky looked like a mass of fire.” The picture taken
during this startling illumination ‘‘ came out,” we are told, ‘‘ with
great sharpness and vividness, the houses near being brought out
prominently. It, in fact, equalled any picture taken on a bright
day.” — Mechanics’ Magazine.

THE MICRO-SPECTROSCOPE,

The micro-spectroscope has received its first application to
medico-legal purposes, in the examination for blood stains of the
hatchet supposed to have been used in the Aberdare murder,
Dr. Bird Herapath, F.R.S., who was retained by the Crown,
placed sections of the handle in distilled water, and submitted the
solution obtained to an examination in this instrument. Within
the green, and on the border of the yellow rays, the well-known
characteristic dark bands of blood were produced. Only one
other substance was known to produce similar dark bands, —
cochineal dissolved in ammonia, —in which ease, however, their
position would be different. Dr. Herapath said he was satisfied,
from the evidence this test had afforded, that the hatchet had
been stained with blood.

INVISIBLE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE.

M. Carey Lea of Philadelphia communicates to the ‘‘ American
Journal of Science,” for July, 1865, the following paper : —

‘«Some experiments in which I have lately been engaged seem
to me to finally settle the long-contested question as to the nature
of the invisible photographic image, and I hasten to send a very
brief description of them.

‘The view that the change which takes place in an iodo-
bromized plate in the camera is a purely physical one, that no
chemical decomposition takes place, and neither liberation of
iodine nor reduction of silver, has obtained a pretty general
acceptance. But latterly it has been opposed by two distin-
guished photographers, Dr. Vogel and Major Russell. The for- .
mer ailirms that iodid of silver is never sensitive unless there is a
body present capable of taking iodine from it under the influence
of light; and Russell believes that the developed image is chiefly
produced at the expense of the silver haloid in the film. The
following experiments seem to me to decisively close this con-
troversy in favor of the physical theory.

‘* Hrperiment 1.—If the iodid or bromid of silver in the film
undergoes decomposition in the camera, and, still more, if the
developed image is formed at its expense, the film of iodo-bromid
must necessarily be greatly consumed in the development under

130 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the dense portions of the negative, which it has contributed to
form.

** To settle this point, I exposed and developed an iodo-brom-
ized plate in the ordinary manner. Then, instead of removing
the unchanged iodid and bromid by fixing in the ordinary manner,
I took measures to remove the developed image without affecting
the iodid and bromid. This I sueceeded in doing with the aid of
a very weak solution of acid per-nitrate of mercury. Now, if the
iodid, or bromid, or both, had been in any way decomposed, to
form or aid in forming the developed negative image, when this
came to be removed, there should have been left a more or less
distinct positive image, depending upon varying thicknesses of
iodid and bromid in the film, much like a fixed negative that has
been completely iodized. Nothing of this sort was visible ; the film
was perfectly uniform, just as dense where an intense light had
been, as in those parts which had scarcely received any actinic
impression, and looking exactly as it did when it first left the
camera, and before any developer had been applied. This ex-
periment seems sufliciently decisive. But the following is far
stronger.

‘* Dxperiment 2.— A plate was treated in all respects as in No. 1,
except that the application of the nitrate of mercury for removing
the developed image was made by yellow light. The plate, now
showing nothing but a uniform yellow film, was carefully washed,
and an iron developer, to which nitrate of silver and citric acid
had been added, was applied. In this way the original image
was reproduced, and came out quite clearly with all its details.
Now, as every trace of a picture and all reduced silver had been
removed by the nitrate of mercury, it is by this experiment
absolutely demonstrated that the image is a purely physical one ;
and that, after having served to produce one picture, that picture
may be dissolved off, and the same physical impression may be
made to produce a second picture by a simple application of a
developing agent.

‘‘T have repeated the experiment with a pyrogallic develop-
ment with similar results. Both the first and second develop-
ments may be made with an iron developer, or both with a
pyrogallic. The experiment succeeds without the least difficulty
in either way.”

The same author, in ‘‘ Silliman’s Journal” for September, 1866,
concludes a paper on this subject, as follows: ‘‘ [have endeavored
to show that the action of light upon pure iodide of silver isolated
eannot be a chemical reduction: 1. Because that effect, even
when carried many hundred thousand times further than in the
ordinary photographic processes, perfectly disappears in a few
hours, spontaneously, under circumstances which render it im-
possible to suppose that iodine could have been restored to replace
that which (had reduction taken place) must have been disen-
gaged. 2. Because, even where the action of light is prolonged
many hundred thousand fold the ordinary time, no reduced silver
nor sub-iodid can be detected as present. 3. I have shown that
another meta!, mercury, is capable of developing these images

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 131

as well as silver. 4. I have endeavored to show that a purely
physical cause, to wit, mechanical pressure, is capable of produc-
ing a developable impression, thereby answering the objection of
the inadequacy of a physical influence to create a basis of devel-
opment. And, finally, | may remark that although the chemical
theory is supported by some distinguished chemists of the present
day, [ am not aware that there is a single well verified experi-
ment which can be brought forward in support of that view. In
the absence of such, I have been necessarily obliged to confine
myself to the affirmative side of the question, in support of the
existence of a physical image, distinct from chemical reduction,
and though often accompanied by it, yet never necessarily.”

PHOTOGRAPHY IN NATURAL COLORS.

M. Poitevin has lately succeeded in producing photographs on
paper in their natural colors. He prepares his sensitive paper in
the following way : Having obtained a layer of violet subchloride of
silver on the paper, by the action of light on the white chloride in
the presence of a reducing agent, he applies to the surface of the
paper a liquid composed of one volume of a saturated solution of
bichromate of potash, one volume of a saturated solution of sul-
phate of copper, and one volume of a solution containing five per
cent. of chloride of potassium. This paper is dried and kept in
the dark: it will keep good for several days. In this mixture, the
bichromate of potash is the principal agent; the sulphate of cop-
per facilitates the action, and the chloride of potassium preserves
the whites which are formed. In copying paintings on glass, the
exposure to direct light need only last five or six minutes; but the
time must, to some extent, depend on the transparency of the pic-
ture to be copied, and it is easy to watch the development of the
image on the paper. The paper is not sufficiently sensitive for
use in the camera. ‘To preserve the pictures, it is only necessary,
first, to wash them with water acidulated with chromic acid, then
to treat them with water containing bichloride of mercury, after-
wards with a solution of nitrate of lead, and, lastly, well wash
them with water. After that they will not change in ordinary
light, but will, however, turn brown in direct sunlight.—Quart.
Journ. of Science, April, 1866.

PRINTING PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLORS.

Mr. J. A. Gatty read, on the 4th of October, at a meeting of the
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, the subjoined
paper, describing a process for obtaining colored photographs : —

‘* My process is based upon the property possessed by ferrocy-
anide of potassium, of forming clear solutions with certain me-
tallic salts, producing insoluble compounds when the mixture is
brought into contact with a deoxidizing agent; the rays of the
sun acting as such, a perfect precipitation takes place upon paper
or other material prepared with the above-named solution. In
producing the specimens sent herewith, I applied to the paper a

132 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

concentrated solution, formed of equal parts of ferrocyanide of
potassium and nitrate of lead, having found the latter to answer
very well, not only as a means of forming a precipitate, but also
for assisting in the production of numerous colors. After dryin
the paper, it.was exposed to the sun for about half an hour, ad
then washed in water in order to dissolve all the unaffected fer-
rocyanide of potassium and nitrate of lead. I have noticed that
the sun acts much quicker when there is a little moisture present.
I have, therefore, placed a damp cloth between two or three
thicknesses of paper behind the prepared paper. After washing,
the photographic image remains behind as a pale greenish pre-
cipitate, easily tr ansformed into the various colors, as the follow-
ing experiments will show:

% No. 1. (Blue.) Has been . steeped i in a weak solution of nitrate
of iron for about ten minutes, and then washed in water.

‘‘No. 2. (Green.) Same as No. 1, but steeped ina weak solu-
tion of bichrom: ite of potash after the nitrate of iron.

‘* No. 3. (Reddish Brown.) Has been steeped in a solution of
nitrate of copper, and then washed.

‘“*No. 4. (Brown.) Has been developed by steeping it in a
mixture of weak solution of nitrate of iron and nitrate of copper.

**No. 5. (Dark Brown.) Has also been treated with a solution
of nitrate of iron and nitrate of copper, but containing a larger
proportion of the former.

‘*These few experiments will show that a very large number
of shades may be obtained by using different salts and mixtures
thereof in developing the photograph. A further series of colors
may be obtained by destroying the blue with caustic-soda, which,
after washing, will leave behind oxides of iron and lead, which

may be dyed with vegetable coloring matters.

‘* All the above experiments were “made about four years ago,
which goes to proye that the colors are permanent. I hope
shortly to be able to resume my experiments, and work the
process out more perfectly.”

COLORED PICTURES BY PHOTOGRAPHY.

In 1838, Herschel was the first to publish a paper on the various
colors which chloride of silver is susceptible of taking under the
influence of certain colored rays of light. Mr. Robert Hunt also
published, in 1840, a paper referring to the subject; but the most
complete series of researches on the subject of the reproduction
of the colors of the spectrum, and which led to a process by
which several of the colors of the spectrum could be produced
on a sensitive surface, is due to Edmund Becquerel. The results
arrived at by this gentleman were so remarkable that they drew
the attention of the whole scientific world ; and the following is an
outline of the processes which were applied by him to obtain this
interesting result. He took a daguerreotype plate, ora silver-plated
one, and having dipped it in a weak solution of chlorine, or, what
was still better, “a weak solution of hydrochloric acid, by connecting
it with the poles of a battery, the brilliant silver surface acquired

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 133

different tints, passing gradually from an opaque white to a black
tint. He also observed that the tint best suited to obtain favorable
results was when the plate had acquired*a pearlish pink; and,
although he found that the plate so prepared, when placed in the
camera obscura, assumed the colors composing the spectrum,
still they were faint; but he remedied this defect of intensity of
tints .by heating for several hours to a temperature of 95° to 100°
the chlorinated plate, and then submitting it to the influence of
the various colors composing the spectrum. Further, in the
course of his studies, he made the important observation that he
could replace the peculiar action of heat on his prepared daguer-
reotype plate, by exposing it to the rays of the sun under a sheet
of paper which had been steeped in an acid solution of sulphate
of quinine. The effect of this was that the plate of silver as-
sumed an intense white color, nearly resembling that of paper;
while if the protective paper had not been used, the silver plate
would have gradually acquired a dark tint, and would have lost
the whole of its sensitive properties, the protective paper having
the power of arresting completely the most refrangible rays of
light, especially those which are beyond the line H of the spec-
trum. Notwithstanding M. Edmund Becquerel’s ardent hopes to
find a method which would enable him to fix on a sensitive sur-
face the various colors of the spectrum, still he failed; for they
faded as soon as they were exposed to the direct rays of light,
and could only be preserved in obscurity. But there is one gen-
tleman who deserves great praise for the extraordinary persever-
ance which he has shown in this class of investigation. I mean
the nephew of the discoverer of photography, M. Niépce de Saint
Victor. Although I will not enter here into the details of these
valuable researches, as they can be found in the ‘*‘ Comptes Rendus
de Académie des Sciences,” still I may just be allowed to state
that he has not only by the following process obtained far more
brilliant colors than those first produced by M. Becquerel, but
has succeeded in reproducing on sensitive plates the various
colors of colored surfaces, such as are presented by fabrics,
flowers, etc.; and, further, he has lately been so fortunate as to
reproduce on his plates yellow and black tints, which had resisted
all previous attempts. To give you an idea of the facts arrived
at by this gentleman, I may state that he has succeeded in so
fixing upon sensitive surfaces the various colors of the spectrum,
or of colored surfaces, that they will bear the action of diffused
light for several days. In fact, I have seen photographs which
reproduce faithfully a small doll dressed up in various colors, and
in which even the most minute ornament could be traced; and,
what is certainly not less interesting, was the reproduction of the
iridescent colors of the peacock’s feather. To obtain these mar-
vellous results, M. Niépee de Saint Victor takes a daguerreotype.
or silver-coated plate, and dips it into a weak solution of hypo-
chlorite of sodium, having a specific gravity of 1.35, until it has
assumed a bright pinkish hue. The plate is then covered with
a solution of dextrine, saturated with chloride of lead; it is then
dried, and subsequently submitted to the action of heat, as in M.
12

134 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Becquerel’s experiment, or under the screen of sulphate of qui-
nine, also referred to above. The plate is then ready to be placed
in the camera obscura, and to receive the colors of the spectrum,
or representations of nature, such as flowers, as well as certain
colors produced by man. Lastly, he succeeds in increasing the
stability of the colors developed on the sensitive surface by coy-
ering the plate with an alcoholic solution of gum benzoin; and
M. Niépee gives the name of Heliochromy to this branch of
photography.

During his lengthened researches, M. Niépce de Saint Victor
has made two series of observations, viz., that he can produce
with facility, on prepared plates, the binary colors of the spectrum,
viz., orange, violet, indigo, and green, if those colors are natural;
but, if they are artificially produced by the mixing of two of the
primary colors, as red and yellow, or orange and blue, or yellow
and blue, he cannot reproduce the binary color, but only one of
the two colors employed by the artisan to prepare them. Thus,
for example, he can reproduce the natural green of malachite, and
the beautiful color known as Scheele’s green, but he cannot do so
with a mixture of Prussian blue and yellow chromate of lead, the
blue only reappearing. These facts enable him to explain why, in
ordinary photography, the leaves of plants always appear black,
and why, when he attempts to fix on his plates the colors of leaves,
they have a bluish hue, the yellow portion of the color not being
reproducible.

M. Niépce has made another series of observations which de-
serve notice, viz., that when a plate, as prepared by his process,
is dipped in an alcoholic solution of substances susceptible of im-
parting a color to flame, such, for example, as strontia, which com-
municates a red hue to it, or baryta, which gives a yellowish-green
color, the prepared plates, when exposed in the camera, will as-
sume the same color as the salt which they have on their surface
would impart to the flame of alcohol; and, if a salt of copper be
used, which has the property of communicating a variety of tints
to the flame of alcohol, the plate also will assume a variety of tints
when exposed to the action of bight; and during a certain period
of his lengthy researches, M. Niépce availed himself of this curious
phenomenon to obtain colored plates in the camera.— Dr. Calvert’s
Cantor Lectures.

ARTISTIC COLORING OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS,

So difficult is the task of training a good colorist, that even the
accomplished artist feels his inability in endeavoring to impart the
information necessary to those he is wont to train in the knowledge
whereby he is enabled to produce almost inimitable results.

Without attempting to go deeply into the philosophy of color,
analytically or synthetically, it may not be out of place to give,
however slight, an idea of how to proceed in coloring a photo-
graph.

% it is indispensable that you wash the proof well with a sponge ;
or, better, as ever at your command, sweep your tongue across it
in order to remove any traces of grease or starch.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 135

To color a good, clean print, you must, in the first wash on the
face, use as much gum as will bring it nearly, although not quite,
to the same gloss as the albumen surface; this wash to be com-
posed of— for a person of ordinary complexion —a combination
of rose madder and Indian yellow, or Venetian red alone. With
these colors judiciously applied, you can produce any complexion,
from the highest glow of health to the most sallow; the shadows
to be warm, and in every case glazed even more than the albu-
men surface. Sepia, neutral tint, burnt umber, chrome yellow,
and ivory black, if properly used, will give that life-like brilliancy
which is characteristic of health or decay.

Should the photograph be clear and well defined, for draperies
and carpets use transparent, but, if the picture be deficient from
under-development, use opaque. Of transparent colors for such
purposes use the following: crimson lake and burnt sienna, Prus-
sian blue and Indian yellow. Chrome yellow and Prussian blue
also make an excellent wash for draperies, although not purely
transparent.

For backgrounds, which should ever be made to softly recede
from the figure, the following colors may be used with much pur-
pose: cobalt blue, and a little Chinese white, which give a good
effect and altogether a pleasing result, vignetting it to your own
taste with sepia, or other browns. By way of finish, or to relieve
an otherwise poor production, it is sometimes necessary to make
what is termed an introduction; that is, a side opening in the
background, where a neat landscape may be lightly sketched and
colored, comprised of water, land, and sky, or a bit of woodland.
These sometimes give a freshness to an otherwise dull picture, or
serve to exclude some of those hideous backgrounds so much dis-
played in cartes generally. But, in putting in draperies,. carpets,
plain or pictorial backgrounds, let them ever be subdued, and in
quiet harmony wath the figure, the head of which should ever be
the principal attraction to the eye. —Scorr ALEXANDER, in brit-
ish Journal of Photography.

DESTRUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS.

A suggestion of considerable value to photographers has been
made by Dr. Angus Smith, F.R.S. The cause of the destruction
of photographs, apparently by the action of time only, is gener-
ally considered to be due in reality to the presence of a minute
quantity of hyposulphite of soda remaining in the paper. Hither-
to, almost the only plan of getting rid of this agent has been long
and continuous washing in cold or hot water. Dr. Smith has sug-
gested oxidizing the hyposulphite of soda into sulphate of soda
(which is likely to be harmless), by means of dilute peroxide of
hydrogen. This has been little known to chemists, and even now
it is seldom obtained in its pure state; it is, however, to be had
in solution, and in a state sufliciently strong for many important
purposes in analysis. Oxides, such as in the case of manganese,
which will not fall till more highly oxidized, are, with advantage,
treated by it. The lower oxide may remain unobserved in a solu-

136 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

tion, and in a state of minuteness sufficient to keep it in suspen-
sion ; but, at the moment of contact with the peroxide of hydrogen,
it blackens and falls. When the peroxide is poured into a solu-
tion of hyposulphite of soda, the change is not observed, as there
is no colored oxide to be formed; but when a salt of barium is
afterward added, it is found that sulphuric acid has taken the
place of hyposulphurous. The strength of the solution does not
require to be great: that which is sold contains about nine vol-
umes of available oxygen; if diluted a thousand times, a solution
is obtained capable of oxidizing hyposulphites. It appears that
all the hyposulphurous acid is instantly converted. Peroxide of
hydrogen is in reality an oxide of water: when the oxygen leaves
it to do its work, nothing but water is left; nothing being added
to be washed out. The peroxide, as sold, contains a little acid
He abi ; when made alkaline, it does not keep so well. If a

rop is put upon a photograph, it very slowly bleaches; its use in
this undiluted state is not recommended. Again, if the peroxide,
as sold, is neutralized, the bleaching does not take place, at least
in an hour, —an ample time. For neutralization, soda may be
used. — Quarterly Journal of Science, July, 1866.

UNALTERABLE PHOTOGRAPHS.

The only mode hitherto known of producing unalterable photo-
graphs has been by vitrification. M. Penabert, however, recently
exhibited to the Academy of Sciences some which, though not
vitrified, are so indestructible that it is impossible to remove them
from the glass, so as to render it capable of being used a second
time. The opaline glass employed in the process, having been
well cleaned, is to be coated with ordinary collodion that is at
least a year old; it is then to be plunged for a few minutes in a
sensitizing bath, which contains seven grammes of nitrate of sil-
ver to one hundred grammes of distilled water, and sixteen
grammes of pure nitric acid to one thousand grammes of the sil-
ver solution, and afterward to be exposed for about fifty seconds
in the camera. The developing fluid consists of a solution of pro-
tosulphate of iron, containing two-thirds more water than that
ordinarily used, and one-fifth pyroligneous acid. ‘The positive
picture thus obtained is fixed by a weak solution of hyposulphite
of soda, and is intensified by a very weak bath of sulphuret of
ammonium. — Jntellectual Observer, February, 1866.

A NEW PHOTOGRAPHIC WASHING APPARATUS.

The majority of cases of photographic fading may be traced to
the hyposulphite of soda, which, by so intimately associating itself
with the fibres of the paper, is difficult of removal, and which, if
not perfectly removed, induces an action by virtue of which the
print eventually becomes destroyed. To remove the hyposulphite
of soda in the most perfect manner, and in the shortest time pos-
sible, is to insure to photographs a longer tenure of existence than
they would otherwise have held; and any means by which these
requirements can be met are entitled to the greatest consideration.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 137

An instrument, invented and patented by Mr. John E. Grisdale,
is capable of washing a full charge of prints in twenty minutes,
and that so perfectly, that at the end of this time some ordinary tests
for hyposulphite of soda fail to indicate its presence. ‘* My inven-
tion,” he says, ‘‘ relates to a peculiar construction and arrange-
ment of centrifugal machinery or apparatus for washing photo-
graphic prints, and consists, according to one arrangement, in the
employment of a peculiarly-constructed revolving drum in combi-
nation with a trough, in which such drum is partially immersed.
The prints to be washed are taken from the water in which they
have been placed on their removal from the fixing or other bath,
and are packed in one or more piles, which piles are placed round
the circumference of the drum, each pile being composed of alter-
nate prints and sheets of wire gauze, or other open or reticulated
fabric, so that no two prints shall be in contact with each other.
These piles are held in their places on the drum by means of open
frames or gratings, which bear against the opposite surfaces of
each pile, and are secured to the arms of the drum by screws or
otherwise, the whole or a portion of such frames or gratings form-
ing a part of the drum itself. Or, according to another arrange-
ment, the piles above described may be laid flat upon a disk, which
is made to revolve either vertically or horizontally in a trough or
cistern, provision being made in the horizontal arrangement for
allowing the piles to be brought in or out of contact with the wa-
ter as required; or, in lieu of the photographic prints’ being dis-
posed in the form of piles or packs round a drum or revolving disk,
they may be laid separately and individually round the surface of
a drum, a webbing of open or reticulated fabric being wound on
such drum simultaneously with the placing of the prints thereon,
so as to interpose a thickness of the fabric between each succeed-
ing layer of prints. The process of washing consists in alternately
driving out the moisture from the prints by the centrifugal action
of the revolving drum or disk, and saturating the prints again.
During the first part of the process, the prints are not immersed ;
but when the second part of the process, namely, the saturation, is
to be effected, the trough or cistern is to be supplied with water;
or the prints may be brought down into the water, and caused to
revolve therein and thoroughly saturated, when the water may be
run off from the trough again, or the drum or disk elevated, and
the moisture expelled by centrifugal force as before.”

Freshly-supplied water is forced through every pore of the
prints, the consequence being the elimination of every trace of
hyposulphite of soda in a very brief space of time. — British Jour-
nal of Photography.

PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHY WITH HALF-TONE.

The production of printing surfaces on stone, zinc, etc., by the
agency of photography, has occupied the attention of experimen-
talists for many years; and, in many respects, a high degree of
success has been obtained. The process of Mr. Osborne, for the
working of which a company has recently been formed in Amer-

12*

138 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ica, gives results in line and stipple, which leave little to he de-
sired. Mr. Ramage of Edinburgh, Mr. Lewis of Dublin, Colonel
James, and many others, have also attained great excellence in the
same direction. Messrs. Simonau and Toovey of Brussels, have
attained some success in the production of half-tone; and the
attempts of Col. James in the same direction have not been
Without promise. Still, the fact remains, that no process for the
actual production of photographs from nature by means of photo-
lithography is in practical working, or has hitherto established a
position, and that such a process remains an important desidera-
tum, any means of meeting which would be hailed with a glad
welcome by all concerned in the graphic arts.

Unless we are mistaken in our estimate of a series of specimens
before us, by Messrs. Bullock Brothers of Leamington, a process
which they have recently patented bids fair to meet the long-felt
want most successfully, and to render, with a fair amount of
delicacy, the true photographic gradation of negatives from na-
ture. The subjects before us, consisting of landscapes with
variety of foliage and architecture, are exceedingly excellent,
and present all the good points of a good photograph, perfect
gradation and half-tone, and great brilliancy, differing little in
general effect from good silver prints from the same negatives.

Messrs. Bullock have followed in paths already partially trod-
den, but have made such practical deviations and modifications
as have led them to success where others have only failed. Their
aim is to secure in the transfer a suitable grain, so as to obtain
the kind of gradation possible in lithography, without producing
a coarse or woolly effect. Among the various methods by which
they propose to effect this end, the plan used in producing these
examples seems to be at once the most practical and efficient.
A transfer paper is prepared with a plain solution of gelatin, and
when this is dry a grain is printed on it from an aquatint plate.
Paper so prepared can be kept in stock, and rendered sensitive
when required by immersion in a solution of bichromate of potash.
It is then ready for printing and transferring in the usual manner,
and produces on the stone a photographic image, the continuous
gradation of which is broken up into the stippled gradation of an
aquatint plate. This is the broad principle; but it admits of
much ingenious modification in practice, which is so far effective
that it produces the most successful and promising examples of
photo-lithography with half-tone which we have yet seen. — Lon-
don Photographic News.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE KALEIDOSCOPE.

About a couple of years ago, a writer in an excellent trans-
Atlantic cotemporary, the ‘*‘ Scientific American,” remarked: ‘“ Let
the photographer once combine the kaleidoscope with the camera,
and then see with what ease and rapidity he can produce the
most charming designs for dress goods, tapestry, oil-cloth, wall-
paper, and numerous other purposes. Such a thing is possible.”
Almost at the same moment that the American writer stated this,

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 139

M. VAbbé Laborde brought under the attention of the French
Photographic Society a method which he had adopted to effect the
preservation, by photography, of the changeful designs of the
kaleidoscope. As a means of preserving patterns for a variety
of decorative purposes, this application of photography is deserv-
ing of attention; and it may be interesting here to quote from the
communication of M. PAbbé Laborde on the subject. It is worthy
of remark, that the method of throwing the designs of the kalei-
doscope on a screen by the aid of the magic lantern has since
been adopted and exhibited at the Polytechnic Institution : —

**The variety of designs presented by the kaleidoscope, when
turned round, is familiarly known to every one; yet we are often
surprised at the appearance of very curious and unexpected forms
which we see disappear with regret.

‘*‘ The regular figures which result are depicted on the ground
glass of the camera of long focus, and the images are focussed
direct without being reflected. This portion is naturally more
lighted than the others. It requires several minutes of exposure
to obtain a picture on the collodioned plate. We cannot focus
the portions of the image which are several times reflected; for
they appear in the objective as if they came from greater dis-
tance: they lack distinctness, and they also exhibit the defect of
planitude in the mirrors.

‘* Notwithstanding these imperfections, I believe I have at-
tained the aim I proposed to myself, which is, to place before the
eyes of those who are occupied with stained glass, paper hang-
ings, and other kinds of ornamentation, very varied patterns,
which photography can supply by the hundred.” — Photographie
News.

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING PROCESS FOR PRODUCING COPIES OF
BOTANICAL AND OTHER SPECIMENS.

A paper, by Mr. Henry Brightman, was read at a meeting of
the Bristol Naturalists’ Society, December 7, 1865, proposing a
ready method of copying leaves, ete. He says:—

**'To lay plants, etc., upon prepared paper, and expose them to
sunlight, was a method which had been frequently practiced ;_ but
the pictures so obtained were, technically, negatives, the repre-
sentation of the object being white, on a dark ground. It oc-
curred to the author, that, if these could be rendered transparent,
positives might be printed from them. He found, however, that
this could be readily done without any previous preparation of
the negative ; and he exhibited a number of very beautiful photo-
graphs, produced in this way, of ferns, leaves, and even a butter-
fly’s wing, showing the wide applicability of the process.” Mr.
Brightman then described the process in detail; for the negatives,
the albumenized paper should be as thin and free from grain as
possible, and sensitized by floating on a sixty-grain solution of
nitrate of silver. An ordinary printing-frame was used; but a
very long exposure was requisite, especially for positives; and
this constituted the chief objection to the process, where many

140 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

copies were required, as for illustrating a book. The toning bath
contained half an ounce of acetate of soda to one pint of water,
and one grain of chloride of gold for each sheet toned. The
picture was fixed with hyposulphite of soda (eight ounces to the
pint), and well washed with water.

Much conversation then took place on this paper, in the course
of which Mr. Beattie urged the employment of waxed paper,
instead of albumenized, as likely to give a more transparent
negative, and spoke of the application of carbon-printing to this
process. Mr. Brightman suggested the use of a green instead of
a black pigment in that method, to give the natural color of the
plant.

PHOTOGRAPHING CANNON BALLS,

Some months ago, when on a visit to Woolwich Arsenal, we
were shown by Mr. M’Kinlay, Proof Master, some photographs
taken of guns while being fired, which not unnaturally excited
feelings of surprise. So rapid had been the exposure, and so
well had the proper moment for the exposure been seized, that
the projectile could be seen protruding from the cannon’s mouth
while in the act of proceeding on its distant mission. Mr. M’Kin-
lay kindly afforded us every requisite information relative to his
invention for securing such wonderful results; and, from the fact
that the comparative efficiency of certain kinds of small-arms, and
the influence they are now exercising in European affairs, are at
present receiving a large share of public attention, we think that
it may not prove uninteresting to bring before our readers some
matters of scientific interest in connection with our own ‘‘ great
guns,” and the means employed for ascertaining by photography,
and with the utmost possible precision, not only the path of a pro-
jectile in the air, but the time occupied in its progress between
two or more points anywhere in the course of its flight. It will
be obvious that, when it is desired to obtain a photograph of a
gun at the moment of discharge, the gun itself must be made sub-
servient to the exposing and covering of the sensitive plate. It is
impossible that any person, however delicate his eyes and ears
may be, can operate so dexterously as to stop the exposure when
the ball has been projected, say a few inches from the muzzle of
the gun, and when it is consequently travelling at its greatest
velocity. This can only be accomplished by automatic arrange-
ments, aided by electricity.

Let us now suppose that a stereoscopic camera, fitted with pow-
erful lenses of short focus, has a thin, light disk fitted up in front
of the lenses, revolving on an axis between the two lenses. Two
holes in this disk correspond with the apertures of the lenses, so
that if a circular spring— like that of a pair of snuffers— cause
the disk to make half a revolution with great rapidity, the holes or
apertures will, when flashing past the apertures of the lenses,
admit the light for an exceedingly brief period of time. This is
the means employed in the arsenal for effecting the exposure of
the plate.

We shall now enter into the details of the manner of discharg-

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 141

ing and arresting the circular exposing diaphragm. The opening
and shutting of the camera at the precise instant of time is, as we
have said, by far too nice an operation to be accomplished by
hand. It must be borne in mind that-a gun commences to recoil
as soon as the projectile is fairly clear of its muzzle. The picture
which we examined had been taken when the projectile was yet
emerging from the gun’s mouth, and before it had got quite clear
of it, and consequently before the recoil of the gun had com-
menced. The exposure was very rapid, but not so much so as to
show the front edge of the emerging projectile with a sharp out-
line. Aithough the gun, from the recoil not having commenced,
was quite sharp, the front edge of the projectile was, so to speak,
vignetted.

The gun is fired by means of the galvanic tube invented by Mr.
M’Kinlay, and such as is used in proving ordnance. Inside of
this there is a small platinum wire, which, when a current of elec-
tricity is passed through it, instantly becomes red hot, and melts.
Let us now see how this affects the operation of photographing.
the gun. When the gun is ready for firing, the disk in front of
the lenses is wound up so that the rotating force of the spring in
the centre is at its maximum. It is retained in this position by
means of a catch and trigger, the latter of which is operated on
by means of an electro-magnet. The following, then, is what
takes place: When the galvanic current is sent through the wire,
the fine platinum wire imbedded among the gunpowder of the
discharging tube or fuse immediately becomes red hot, and melts.
But, while in progress of melting, it accomplishes two things; it
transmits a current through it by which the electro-magnet be-
comes vivified and pulls the discharging trigger of the disk in
front of the camera lenses; and secondly, it ignites the gunpow-
der and discharges the gun. But were this all, the exposure
would be made before the powder had had time to ignite and
consequently discharge the gun; hence it is important that the
lenses be kept open until the gun really discharges its contents.
The means for effecting this are as simple as they are ingenious
and complete. When the trigger acts so as to release the disk
from its enforced pent-up condition, it is propelled forward by the
central spring until the apertures in the disk and those of the
lenses coincide, where, by means of a stop, the disk is retained
until the powder is ignited and the gun discharged, when, the
platina wire being ruptured, the passage of the electricity is
stopped, the electro-magnet simultaneously losing the power by
which it was enabled to arrest the rotatory progress of the disk,
which thus darts forward and closes up the camera as the con-
tents of the gun are in the act of being ejected from it. — British
Journal of Photography.

STATISTICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

The rapid growth of new and special industries, says the ‘‘ Brit-
ish Quarterly Review,” is a fact so characteristic of the present
day, that the statistics of photography can scarcely be regarded as

142 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

wonderful, viewed merely as a question of economies. Neverthe-
less, some of the facts are sufficiently startling. Twenty years ago,
one person claimed the sole right to practice photography profes-
sionally, in England. According to the census of 1861, the number
of persons who entered their names as photographers was 2,534.
There is reason, however, to believe that these figures fall short of
the real number. Since then it is probable the number has been
doubled or trebled, and that, including those collaterally associated
with the art, it is even four or five times that number. But these
figures fall far short of the number interested in photography as am-
ateurs. We are informed that eight years ago, in establishing a
periodical which has since become the leading photographic jour-
nal, a large publishing firm sent out twenty-five thousand circulars
— not sown broadcast, but specially addressed to persons known
to be interested in the new art-science. The number of professional
photographers in the United States is said to be over fifteen thou-
sand, and a proportionate number may with propriety be estimated
as spread over continental Europe and other parts of the civilized
globe.

But a more curious estimate of the ramifications of this industry
may be formed by a glance at the consumption of some of the ma-
terials employed. A single firm in London consumes, on an aver-
age, the whites of two thousand eggs daily in the manufacture of
albumenized paper for photographic printing, amounting to six
hundred thousand annually. As it may fairly be assumed that this
is but a tenth of the total amount consumed in this country, we
obtain an average of six millions of inchoate fowls sacrificed annu-
ally, in this new worship of the sun, in the United Kingdom alone.
When to this is added the far larger consumption of Europe and
America, which we do not attempt to put in figures, the imagina-
tion is startled by the enormous total inevitably presented for its
realization.

In the absence of exact data, we hesitate to estimate the con-
sumption of the precious metals, the mountains of silver and mon-
uments of gold, which follow as matters of necessity. A calcula-
tion, based on facts, enables us to state, however, that for every
twenty thousand eggs employed, nearly one hundred weight of
nitrate of silver is consumed. We arrive thus at an estimate of
three hundred hundred weight of nitrate of silver annually used in
this country alone in the production of photographs. To descend
to individual facts more easily grasped, we learn that the con-
sumption of materials in the photographs of the International Ex-
hibition of 1862, produced by Mr. England for the London Stereo-
scopic Company, amounted to twenty-four ounces of nitrate of
silver, nearly fifty-four ounces of terchloride of gold, two hundred
gallons of albumen, amounting to the whites of thirty-two thou-

sand eggs, andseventy reams of paper; the issue of pictures ap-—

proaching to nearly a million, the number of stereoscopic prints
amounting to nearly eight hundred thousand copies. — Scientific

American.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 143

ANILINE PROCESS OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING.

Mr. W. Willis of Birmingham has recently laid before the
Photographic Society an account of his aniline process of photo-
graphic printing. It consists of a new method of developing the
pictures produced by Hunt’s chromatype process, in which the
paper is prepared with a solution of bichromate of potash and
sulphate of copper. The difficulty of finding a suitable developer
for the prints so obtained has hitherto prevented the use of this
method. The employment of nitrate of silver or mercury, besides
being attended with some practical inconveniences, produces pic-
tures of a red color, which, although suitable for the reproduc-
tion of the red chalk sketches of the old masters, is inadmissible
for ordinary drawings. According to Mr. Willis’s process, the
paper is sensitized with a solution of bichromate of potash or
ammonia, containing a small quantity of sulphuric or phosphoric
acid, and, when dry, is exposed to light under a positive photo-
graph or drawing. It is then placed over a solution of aniline in
benzole, turpentine, or ether, preferably the former. The parts
forming the picture —7. e., those not acted upon by the light —
are developed of a mauve color, which is very permanent, not
being changed in tint by the application of acids or alkalies. The
process has already been introduced in Birmingham for the mul-
tiplication of engineers’ drawings, in cases where the number
required is not sufficiently great to admit of lithography being
used with advantage. The property possessed by bichromate of
potash of forming a black compound with a solution of logwood,
which has been used for the manufacture of cheap writing-ink,
has also been applied by Mr. Fox of Edinburgh to the develop-
ment of these chromatype pictures. Both these processes have
been secured by patent.

A new solvent for the greater part of the aniline colors has been
discovered by M. G. de Claubry, and communicated by him in a
paper to the French Academy of Sciences. In place of alcohol
and methylated spirit, which are high-priced or injurious to the
workmen, M. de Claubry proposes to substitute a decoction of
Panama bark (Quillaria), or of Egyptian soap-wort (Gypsophila).
Solutions of the coloring products can be easily obtained by pour-
ing the boiling decoction upon the powder, after stirring and
decanting the solution, the operation must be repeated, if any
part of the powder remain undissolved. It was found that the
red colors dissolved most readily, and the blues less so. If, there-
fore, the coloring matter be purple, it is necessary at the end to
mix the different solutions together in order to obtain a dye of

_ the right tint.

IMPROVEMENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY.

Photosculpture.— A process is now in use in London by which
busts, statuette likenesses, ete., may be produced in clay or plas-
ter at a small cost, by the aid of photography. The operation is
as follows: Eight photographs are taken of the sitter from eight

144 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

sides; from each of these, profiles are cut out in thin sheet metal ;
each pair of profiles is caused to plane away the sides of a block
of clay corresponding to the position in which their photograph
was taken. ‘Thus, the clay comes to have on each side the same
profile as that of the sitter, and is thus a likeness requiring but a
few touches from the artist to give it finish and exactness.

The ‘carbon printing” photographic process has been applied
to the permanent ornamentation of porcelain with success; any
material fit for burning into that substance being substituted for
the carbon or India ink of the original operation. — Franklin Jour-
nal, January, 1866.

Photographs of the Moon. — Mr. Warren De la Rue has obtained,
with his thirteen-inch telescope, photographs of the moon so per-
fect that they bear being enlarged to a diameter of three feet ; and
they are found so exact, when submitted to micrometrical exami-
nation, that they furnish correct data for the measurement of the
vibrations of the moon. They also serve as a foundation for the
lunar map, six feet in diameter, undertaken under the auspices of
the British Association.

New Artificial Light for Photography. —Mr. Sayers of Paris ob-
tains a light almost equal in power to that of magnesium, and
much cheaper, from the combustion of a mixture of twenty-four
parts of well-dried and powdered nitrate of potash with seven of
flowers of sulphur and six of red sulphuret of arsenic. The mix-
ture costs only twelve cents a kilogram.— Les Mondes, Jan. 4, 1866.

Light for Photographic Purposes. — A substitute for the yellow
glass, used by photographers to intercept actinic rays, has been
suggested by W. Sidney Gibbons of Melbourne. This is a mix-
ture of gelatin and bichromate of potash, spread as a varnish
over their cotton cloth or similar material.

In preparing a window for the illumination of a photographer’s
dark room, Obernetter mixes an acid solution of sulphate of qui-
nine with some gum or dextrine, and paints the mixture over a
thin sheet of white paper. With this he covers the window
panes, and he states that, on the brightest day, a window so pre-
pared will allow no actinic light to pass.

Varnish for Photographs. —M. Bussi first brushes the prints
over with a solution of gum arabic, and, when this is dry, applies
a coating of collodion. The following are the proportions re-
commended : —

1. Clear transparent gum arabic, 25 grammes; distilled water,
100 cub. cents.; dissolve and strain.

2. Gun-cotton, 3 grammes; alcohol, 60 grammes; ether, 50
grammes.

By this double varnish the inventor insures the preservation of
proofs. — Chemical News.

Magie Photographs.—The familiar experiments of the labora-
tory have in the present day a great tendency to become the
magic of the drawing-room. Magic photographs are among the
most recent of the scientific toys which take the public attention.
These are of various kinds. The first and most common mode
of producing them consists in placing an apparently common

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 145

piece of blotting-paper upon an apparently plain piece of white
albumenized paper, moistening the two, and producing at once a
photographic picture. The explanation of this is simple, and is
doubtless familiar to old photographic experimentalists ; we prac-
ticed the same feat a dozen years ago. It consists in bleaching,
until it is white and invisible, by means of bichloride of mercury,
a silver print; then, taking a piece of blotting-paper which has
been previously immersed in a solution of hyposulphite of soda,
and placing it in contact with the immersed print; this, when
moistened, at once darkens the bleached image, and a picture,
consisting chiefly of sulphide of mercury, is produced. We have
received some examples from Mr. Swan, and details will be
found in Dr. Vogel’s German letter in this number. We have
just received from Mr. Hughes’s establishment a still prettier
application of parlor magic, in which, by placing an apparently
blank piece of paper in a solution—the material for which is
inclosed in the packet —a beautiful blue print is produced. This
is doubtless the result of one of the applications of the Cyanotype
process of Sir J. Herschell, which may be made to produce many
beautiful transformations. — Photographic News.

The Magic Photograph is selling in Paris and London, in two
envelopes, one containing pieces of white albumenized paper;
the other, slips of white blotting-paper of a corresponding size.
One of the former is moistened with water, and a piece of paper
from the other envelope, likewise wetted, is laid thereon, when a
beautiful photograph is immediately developed on its albumenized
surface. Photographs have, of course, been printed in the usual
manner on the albumenized slips, and then decolorized with
bromic or iodic acid, or some such agent; the other pieces of
paper have been soaked in hyposulphite of soda, and the appli-
cation of this reducing agent to the hidden photograph instantly
brings it again to view.

SUBMARINE PHOTOGRAPHY.

A French artist, M. Bazin, has been experimenting lately, with
the design of obtaining photographs of sunken vessels, so that, in
attempting to raise the same, positive knowledge can be had of
their relative positions. To accomplish this, M. Bazin descends
to the necessary depth, in a strong sheet-iron box, which he ealls
his ‘‘ photographic chamber.” Thick glass windows afford every
facility for making the necessary preliminary observations, and
the picture is taken by the aid of a strong electrical light.

An unpleasant feature of the apparatus is, that the operator is
absolutely hermetically sealed, for no means are provided for sup-
plying air, the chamber being constructed of a proper size to con-
tain the quantity required during the ten or twelve minutes
occupied in obtaining a negative.

13

146 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

SUBTERRANEAN PHOTOGRAPHY.

A firm in Cincinnati have obtained the exclusive right of taking
views in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky for five years. ‘The
process successfully used in taking pictures of the interior of the
Great Pyramid is adopted, using the magnestum light. The
dampness of the cave, the smoke arising in the consumption of
large quantities of magnesium, the divergency of the artificial
light, and the magnitude and proximity of the objects to be pho-
tographed, present a number of serious difliculties. Powerful
reflectors are used to throw a flood of light upon the object, and
the plate is allowed about twice the exposure required by the
light of the sun.

PHOTOGRAPHING UPON SILK.

A process has been devised at Lyons, France, for photograph-
ing upon silk, linen, etc., so that persons instead of marking their
initials upon the corner of a handkerchief, can have their photo-
graphs taken upon the fabric. In the silk shops, various articles
are exhibited, photographed with names, portraits, and fanciful
devices. The pictures are not injured by washing, and the pro-
cess is said to be easily and rapidly effected.

PHOTO-MICOGRAPHY.

Dr. J. J. Woodward, U. S. A., in a paper communicated to
** Silliman’s Journal,” for September, 1866, on the subject of pho-
tography of microscopic objects, gives the following as the prin-
ciples involved: 1. To use objectives so corrected as to bring
the actinic ray to a focus. 2. To illuminate by direct sunlight
passed through a solution of ammonio-sulphate of copper, which
excludes practically all but the actinic extremity of the spectrum.
3. Where it is desired to increase the power of any objective, to
use a properly constructed achromatic concave, instead of an
eye-piece. 4. To focus on plate glass with a focussing glass
instead of ground glass. 5. With high powers, to use a heliostat
to preserve steady illumination. 6. Where an object exhibits
interference phenomena when illuminated with parallel rays, as
is the case with certain diatoms, and many of the soft tissues, to
produce a proper diffusion of the rays by interposition of one or
more plates of ground glass in the illuminating pencil. Strict
adherence to these principles is indispensable to success. The
most powerful objective with which photographs have been taken
for the Army Medical Museum, was 1-50, made by Messrs. Powell
and Lealand of London. The subject selected for the experi-
ment was Pleurosigma angulatum ; with 1-50, and 3% feet distance,
and without an eye-piece, a picture of a portion of a frustule was
obtained, magnified 2.544 diameters; this negative readily bore
enlargement to 19.050 diameters; the field in the picture is 6
inches in diameter, and is remarkably sharp in the centre, but
shows considerable curvature, and on the edges is quite out of

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 147

focus. These photographs confirm the opinion of Mr. Wenham
and Prof. Rood, as to the circular nature of the markings on P.
angulatum. It is remarkable that the markings appear hexagonal
in both the small pictures, if viewed with the eye at the visual
distance ; while on close inspection, or with a lens, they are seen to
be circular in the pictures; with 19.050 diameters, the circular
shape of the markings is very plain, but, if viewed from a con-
siderable distance or with a concave lens, they appear hexagonal.

NEW ILLUMINATORS FOR OPAQUE OBJECTS.

H. L. Smith, of Kenyon College, contributes a paper on this
subject to ‘‘ Sillimans’ Journal,” for September, 1865, from which
the following are extracts : —

“In attempting to study the structure of the diatomaceous frus-
tule, I found it impossible to view it with high powers as an opaque
object by any means hitherto devised. In a valuable paper on
the scales of the podura (‘ Mic. Jour.,’ N. S., vol. 2, p. 86), Mr.
Richard Beck has stated that there is no difficulty in viewing them
as an opaque object, with the one-eighth-inch objective and con-
densers rightly placed. Any illumination of diatoms thus ob-
tained is almost useless, from the great obliquity of the light,
and,with powers higher than the one-eighth-inch, is quite impos-
sible. Mr. Ross’s ingenious arrangement, suggested by Mr.
Brooke, of a plain reflector, flush with the front surface of the
objective and receiving light from a truncated ellipsoidal reflector
below, is so exceedingly difficult to use, and only with a special
mounting of the object, that it has never been generally adopted.
Mr. Wenham’s method is entirely inapplicable to diatoms, inas-
much as it depends upon the total reflection of the light from the
under surface of the glass cover of a mounted object, and in such
ease the diatoms, from their transparency, and the near coinci-
dence of refractive index of silex with that of the mounting fiuid,
throw back but a feeble light, and are nearly invisible. The use of
the well-known collimating eye-piece suggested to me the idea of
making the objective its own condenser ; and upon communicating
this idea to Mr. Wales, already well known for the excellence of
his objectives, he at once sent me a trial instrument. This first
illuminator proved so far successful that I was induced to perse-
vere; and, with his assistance, an ‘illuminator’ has been con-
structed which gives entire satisfaction, and answers admirably
with all objectives from four-tenths to one-fiftieth.

** Tt must be borne in mind that there are certain difficulties to be
overcome in this mode of illumination, the chief of which is the
reflection of the light from the posterior surface of the back com-
bination of the objective. All the difficulties are now surmounted,
and there is no trouble in viewing diatoms, or other objects,
mounted dry, and uncovered, with the highest powers of the mi-
croscope, and with abundant illlumination; and this without any
trouble in mounting the object on little disks or pins, but using
the ordinary three-inch by one-inch slide.

148 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

‘** As I do not intend here describing the instrument in detail, I
will only say that it consists essentially of a rectangular brass box,
having the ‘society screw’ at the top, to attach it to any micro-
scope tube, and at the bottom, to receive any objective; and so
constructed that it can be placed in any position with regard to the
light. A brass draw, moved by screw and milled head, slides into
the box, and carries a reflector of silver, also movable on its own
axis by means of small milled heads: the forward edge of the
reflector is curved, and it is concave, having a focus of about six
inches. By means of the screw, the curved edge of this reflector
can, when adjusted at an angle near forty-five degrees, be pushed
more or less over the opening at the back of the objective. Oppo-
site to the reflector, and attached to one side of the box, is a re-
volving circle of diaphragms, of great use in regulating the light,
so as to exclude all fog or glare; the apertures vary trom three-
twentieths to one-twenticth of an inch.

‘* As the ‘illuminator’ is already in the hands of many, I append
a few simple directions as to its use. The objective must be
adjusted for an uncovered object, though I find few are rightly
marked. An ordinary paper-covered slide, with bits of gold leaf
on it, answers admirably as an object to adjust the light. The
illuminator being screwed on to the tube, and the circle of dia-
phragms placed facing the light (I find the ordinary coal-oil lamp
with flat flame to answer admirably, the flat side being toward the
reflector), turn the reflector at an angle of about forty-five degrees,
and allow the light to enter the largest aperture of the diaphragm.
By means of the screw, push the retlector forward nearly as far as
it will go. Turn the reflector on the axis of the tube and on its own
axis, until the light, which may be placed ten or twelve inches to
the left of the microscope, and directly opposite the circle of dia-
phragms, is reflected down on the paper-covered slide, the tube
of the microscope being racked up to about the position it will
occupy when the objective is screwed on and in foeus. The light
thus reflected down should appear just at the curved edge of the
reflector, in the axis of the tube, when looking through the tube,
the eye-piece being removed. Now screw on the objective, and,
before replacing the eye-piece, bring it into focus. The field will
appear brilliantly illuminated, as in using a Jens with a Lieberkuhn ;
if not, a slight movement of the reflector, or diaphragm, or light,
will quickly accomplish this. Put in the eye-piece and adjust for
focus ; if the field is not clearly illuminated, say with one-fifth-inch
objective, a liftle fingering of the reflector, or diaphragm, will
suffice to effect this. The screw which moves the draw and
reflector may now be withdrawn, uncovering all but about a quar-
ter or one-half of one side of the posterior lens of the objective ;
and, if care has been taken to properly adjust the diaphragm and
reflector, a most brilliantly illuminated field, free from all fog and
glare, will reveal objects with a beauty and clearness inconceiv-
able by those who have never used high powers of the microscope
upon opaque objects. The most common objects appear with new
and hitherto unexpected beauty, brilliant not only with their own
proper colors, but reflecting iridescent tints from their membranes.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 149

The diatoms are especially beautiful; and no one can view, with-
out a sense of profound reverence and unspeakable emotion, the
elegant structure of Arachnoidiscus and Heliopelta; of Surirella
and Pinnularia.

‘«¢ On thus accomplishing the illumination of opaque objects under
the highest powers of the microscope, a powerful aid to investiga-
tion is furnished, which, I doubt not, will be rightly appreciated.

«¢ An inexperienced microscopist may find some difficulty at first,
but a few trials will ensure success; and, when properly used, there
is no want of light with the one-twelfth or even one-sixteenth
with the B or C eye-piece.”

Mr. Charles Stodder exhibited before the Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology, in December, 1866, a new illuminator of
opaque microscopic objects under high powers, the objective be-
ing its own condenser, —the invention of Mr. Tolles.

The principal difficulty met with in passing a beam of light
down through the objective of a microscope, and thus condensing
a strong light upon an opaque object is, in the case of high pow-
ers especially, the reflection back of a considerable portion by the
lenses of the objective. This causes fog and obscuration of the
image, though the object be well illuminated. This reflection
takes place principally at the interior front surface of the front
system.

To obviate this difficulty, a small rectangular prism, immedi-
ately above the front. system, is so far introduced into the side of
the objective mounting as to slightly encroach upon the extreme
margin of the upper surface of the combination. When parallel
rays are reflected by this prism down through the marginal parts
of the front covered by it, they will have their focus much beyond
the place of the object. As a medium case, their distance of con-
vergence would be ten times the focal distance of the objective ;
consequently, a much greater portion of the whole light incident
upon the front system would be transmitted, and whatever amount
experienced reflection would be dissipated by travelling back
through the objective in a path widely different from that of the
visual pencil.

Mr. Stodder also exhibited a small telescope, of seven-tenths
of an inch aperture, and magnifying thirteen diameters, equal to
any instrument of two-inch aperture and three or four feet long,
with which he had been able tocompare it. With this instrument,
which can be carried in the waistcoat pocket, he had been able to
distinguish the satellites of Jupiter, and similar astronomic ob-
jects. This was also made by Mr. Tolles; and, if his present
plans succeed, the cost of telescopes of large size will be dimin-
ished one-half by the great reduction in the size of the lenses.

FOUCAULT'S SHEATHED OBJECTIVES FOR THE TELESCOPE. .

The concentration of the luminous rays of light at the focus of
the telescope, when the sun is the object to be observed, renders
observations very difficult and sometimes even dangerous. M.
Leon Foucault has conceived the idea of utilizing the property

13*

150 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

which certain metals possess of arresting the calorific rays, while
they allow the luminous rays to pass through. Silver, when de-
posited by a particular chemical process in very thin layers, pos-
sesses this property in a high degree. M. Foucault has sheathed
the objective of a telescope with a layer of this metal, and there is
produced at the focus of the instrument an image perfectly clear
and agreeable to the eye. It exactly resembles one which a
violet-colored glass would produce.

This discovery of M. Foucault has been pronounced by M. Le
Verrier to be of the highest possible importance. M. Foucault's
experiment was mi: ide | upon a telescope with a very small objec-
tive. Since then, further experiments have been made on one of
nine inches, which were quite satisfactory. The solar rays re-
fracted by the objective sheathed with the metal have a very pecu-
liar bluish tint, which made M. Wolff imagine that a considerable
proportion of the calorific rays might possibly have been elimi-
nated. The rays were examined with a spectroscope, and were
found to be deprived of their extra redness, and inclined to be of
a very deep blue color. Clearly, the calorific rays had been
stopped in their passage. Theory thus afforded the most brilliant
conlirmation of experience.

A large objective at the Observatory of Paris, which was in
process of construction, afforded an excellent opportunity for ex-
periment. ‘The exterior surface of the glass was duly silvered,
and, on turning towards the sun, the image was presented devoid
almost entirely of its heat. The layer of silver in no way interfered
with the optical properties of the glass. All the numerous details
which the most experienced observers have detected in sun-spots
were at once visible. ‘The entire surface of the sun appeared
covered with an irregular stippling, the constituents of which
were of different sizes, and grouped in constellations of various
forms.” ‘*In proportion,” says M. Le Verrier, ‘‘ as we see the
image better, all idea of a regular structure vanishes; nor is
there any indication of such a one as would result from the ag-
glomeration of identical elements placed in juxtaposition or dove-
tailed with each other. At some moments, the clearness is such
as to promise the analysis of the shaded portions, and make us
long to have recourse to more and more powerful instruments.”
M. Flammarion, however, admits that the medium does throw
some kind of veil over the object investigated. — Reader.

TEMPERATURE AT GREAT ELEVATIONS,

Mr. Glaisher has given, in a lecture at the Royal Institution, a

resumé of his scientific experiments in balloons. ‘Tables, reeord-
ing the decline of temperature with elevation, show that when the
sky was clear, a more rapid decline took place than when the sky
was cloudy. Under a clear sky, a fall of 1° takes place within 100
feet of the earth; but at heights exceeding 25,000 feet, it is neces-
sary to pass thr ough 1,000 feet of vertical height to obtain a fall
of 1° in temperature e. At extreme elevations, in both states of the
sky, the air became very dry, but, as far as his experiments went,

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 151

was never quite free from water. From ascents made before and
after sunset, Mr. Glaisher concludes that the laws which hold
good by day do not hold good by night; indeed, it seemed prob-
able that at night, for some little distance, the temperature may
increase with elevation instead of decreasing. From experiments
made on solar radiation with a blackened bulb thermometer, and
with Herschel’s actinometer, it was inferred that the heat-rays
from the sun pass through space without loss, and become effect-
ive in proportion to the density or the amount of water present in
the atmosphere through which they pass. If this be so, the pro-
portion of heat received at Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn,
may be the same as that received at the earth, if the constituents
of their atmospheres be the same as that of the earth, and greater
if the amount of aqueous vapor be greater; so that the effective
solar heat at Jupiter and Saturn may be greater than at either the
inferior planets, Mercury or Venus, notwithstanding their far
greater distances from the snn. This conclusion is most impor-
tant, as corroborating Professor Tyndall’s experiments on aqueous
vapor. Experiments on the wind showed that the velocity of the
air at the earth’s surface was very much less than at a high eleva-
tion. A comparison of the temperature of the dew point, as
shown by different instruments, gave results proving that the tem-
perature of the dew point, as found by the use of the dry and wet
bulb thermometers, and Daniell’s hygrometer, is worthy of full
confidence as far as the experiments went. — Reader.

THE EFFECT OF SUNSHINE ON FIRE.

At the meeting of the Scientific Assotiation at Buffalo, Prof.
Horsford, of Cambridge, read a very interesting paper on the above
subject.

He commenced by alluding to the popular notion that sunshine
deadens fires ; mentioning that the fires in grates, in rooms having
southern exposures, burn briskly in the early part of the day,
slacken before noon, and revive again before sunset. Stoves and
ranges, that bake well in the autumn, winter, and spring, fulfil
their office but indifferently in the height of summer. Some fur-
naces, in which iron is generally smelted without difficulty, can-
not, in very hot terms, be brought to a working heat. While the
popular mind ascribes these effects to some agency of the sun,
scientific men are disposed to regard the effects as rather apparent
than.real.

The first recorded research bearing upon the subject was made
as long ago as 1825, by Dr. Thomas McKeever, who found, as he
conceived, the popular impression sustained. In his experiments,
a given weight of wax taper was consumed quicker in the dark
than when exposed to the sun. A given length of candle required
less time for combustion in the dark than in sunshine. A given
weight burned quicker in a painted lantern than in an uncoated
lantern, both alike exposed to the sun.

These experiments did not find acceptance with Gmelin, and
did not appear in the original ‘‘ Handbook of Chemistry,” doubt-

152 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

less from a conviction that some error must have occurred either
in the method or record of observation. Nevertheless, Dr. Mc-
Keever’s experiments appear as additions in the Cavendish Soci-
ety’s translation of the Handbook. The summary of his results
may be stated thus: It required eleven minutes to burn in the
sunshine the same weight of candle that burned in the dark in ten
minutes. “

Similar experiments were made at a later period by Dr. Morvill
Wyman of Cambridge, and reported to the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences. Ths result at which he arrived was exactly
the reverse of that reached by Dr. McKeever. He burned two
sperm candles, each alternately for half an hour in the sunshine
and darkness, and found the candle, during its exposure to sun-
shine, burned more rapidly than when in the dark.

In 1856, the subject was taken up by Prof. Joseph Le Conte of
Columbia, S. C. He concentrated, with the aid of a reflector and
burning glass, the sun’s rays upon the flame only of a wax
(sperm) candle in a large, dark room. At the same time another
candle was burning in the same room, under identical cireum-
stances, except that the flame was not exposed to the sun’s rays,
The result showed that the effect of the sun’s rays, though greatly
exaggerated by concentration, when confined to the flame, did
not appreciably increase the consumption of tallow.

Here, then, we have, apparently, all possible results of experi-
ment, to wit: Sunshine diminishing the rate of combustion, as
observed by Dr. McKeever; augmenting the rate, as observed by
Dr. Wyman, and producing upon it no effect whatever, as shown
by Prof. Le Conte.

Dr. McKeever ascribed the retardation to some peculiar effect,
as of interference,of the solar rays upon flame.

Dr. Wyman inferred that the sunshine, by warming the tallow
of the candle exposed to it, facilitated its melting, and by so much
spared, for destructive distillation and combustion, the heat of the
flame, which would have otherwise, in larger measure, gone to
liquefy the tallow.

Le Conte conclusively showed that, when the column of wax or
tallow is sheltered, and the sunshine directed solely on the flame,
the effect on the consumption of the tallow is too small to be
recognized.

The observations of the latter experimenters agree in throwing
doubt upon the inferpretation Dr. McKeever gives of his own
experiments.

Prof. Horsford ascribes the source of error in Dr. McKeever’s
investigation to the incidental greater flaring of the candle in the
dark. The experiments with the lantern he explained by the
well-known effect of dark paint in absorbing radiant heat, and
converting it into heat of conduction, by which the air in the
painted-glass lantern was more heated than in the lantern not
painted.

Prof. Horsford then gave an account of the diminished draft in’
the range flue of his dwelling-house during the recent hot term,
which rendered it impossible to bake meats or bread in the oven

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 153

of his range. This continued from eleven o’clock to about three,
within which hours bread could not be baked. With the decline
of the sun in the afternoon, as in the early morning, the oven per-
formed its office better. The chimney was fifty-four feet high;
the roof of the house was of dark slate, and it was all exposed to
heat before eleven; some of it began to pass into shade about
three.

In the effect of this greater exposure to the sun during the
hours when the sun is brightest, Prof. Horsford found the ex-
planation of the observed phenomenon. ‘The heated top and
sides of the house warmed the air in contact, giving rise to an
upmoving column from the top of the house and to an endless
shroud of air sweeping up the sides of the house. This ascend-
ing shroud draws the air from the cracks, doors, and windows of
the house, lessening the pressure of the air in the interior, and,
of course, diminishing the draft.

The following are his conclusions : —

1. That sunshine, falling on the flame only of a burning body,
does not affect its rate of combustion. 2. That, other things
being equal, neither light nor darkness exerts appreciable in-
fluence on the rate of combustion. 3. That, other things being
equal, of two samples of the same combustible, one burning in
sunshine will consume more rapidly than one burning in dark-
ness. 4. That combustion during the winter is more vigorous
than in summer, because a given volume of air contains more
oxygen, is denser and dryer. 5. That slight currents, by causing
a flame to flare and come in contact with more air in a given
time, cause more rapid combustion; and, by presenting greater
surface from which radiant heat issues to warm the combustible
about to burned, increase the rate of combustion. 6. That the
diminished draft of chimneys in very hot weather, when the
general atmosphere is at rest, and the sunshine intense, is due to
upward currents on the outside of the house, arising from the
heated surfaces.of the roof and walls, which currents draw out-
ward through cracks, and open doors and windows, the air from
the interior of the house, and so lessen the pressure within, and
overcome the draft of the chimney. 7. That the popular impres-
sion that intense sunshine lessens the draft of chimneys is founded
in fact. — Scientific American.

TRANSFORMATION OF MOTION INTO HEAT.

Mr. Rennie has demonstrated in the most satisfactory manner
that this transformation takes place, even in the case of fluids.
He boiled an egg in six minutes by merely placing it in a vessel
which contained about ten pounds of water, and which was made
to revolve two hundred and thirty-two times in a minute. In
this case, motion was the only possible source of heat; and the
result was the more striking, as the friction of fluids is so very
much less than that of solids. — Intellectual Observer, May, 1866.

154 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

DURATION OF THE SUN’S HEAT.

Professor Thomson assigns to the sun’s heat, supposing it to be
maintained by the appulse of masses of matter, a limit of 300,000
years; and to the period of cooling of the earth, from universal
fusion to its actual state, 98,000,000 years. These are the lowest
estimates sanctioned by any mathematician.

DIFFERENTIAL RHEOMETER.

In a note, on the employment of a double-wire rheometer in
experiments on radiant heat, sent to the Academy of Sciences by
M. P. Desains, the author states that he employs a kind of differ-
ential apparatus essentially composed of a single source of heat,
of two piles, of a double-wire rheometer, and finally of a rheo-
stat. The apparatus is so arranged that the equilibrium, once
obtained, remains uniform however the heat from the source
varies; but if the smallest variation takes place in one of the
radiations, the needle quits the zero point. M. Desains has ap-
plied this apparatus to the examination of the absorption of heat
by transparent gases, and finds that it gives very delicate and
certain indications. — Scientific American.

CONDUCTING POWER OF MERCURY.

M. Gripon has presented a note to the Academy of Sciences on
the conducting power of mercury for heat. Experiments made
after Peclet’s method showed that, if the conducting power of
silver equals 100, that of mercury equals 3.54. It stands, there-
fore, the last of the metals, and a little before marble and gas
coke. The author mentions that, in this case, the conducting
power for heat and for electricity are very different, the former
being 3.54, the latter 1.80.— Mechanics’ Magazine.

A NEW PYROMETER.

Messrs. St. Claire Deville and Trooste have invented a pyrome-
ter capable of measuring a temperature reaching as high as 1530°
C. At this heat, the inventors state, copper and silver are va-
porized, and feldspar perfectly fused.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE HYPSOMETER.

The boiling points of fluids depend on the pressure of the air;
the greater the altitude of any place above the ordinary level of
the earth’s surface, the lower the boiling point of a given fluid,
because the less the barometric pressure in that place; and hence
the height of any place may be found by means of the boiling
point of water in that place. With this object, a peculiar kind of
thermometer, termed a hypsometer, or, more correctly, a hypso-
thermometer, has been constructed. Itis marked not with degrees
of temperature, but with barometric pressure corresponding to these

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 155

degrees, or, better still, according to the latest improvements of
M. Abaddie, with the altitudes corresponding to the temperatures,
supposing them to be the boiling points of water. The hypso-
meter is, for several reasons, more suitable for the purposes of
travellers than the barometer: it is more easily carried, and less
easily injured, and it requires, not an observation, but an experi-
ment which is made with greater facility, and is less subject to
error. — Intellectual Observer, October, 1866.

THERMO-ELECTRIC ELEMENTS OF GREAT MOTIVE POWER.

Stefan has examined a variety of mineral substances, with rela-
tion to their thermo-electric power at high temperatures. The
mineral to be examined was placed upon one end of a strip of
copper, while the end of a copper wire rested upon the mineral,
the whole being pressed together to insure contact. The wire and
copper strip were connected with a galvanometer of great resist-
ance, and the copper strip was then heated by a spirit lamp. In
examining the mutual relations of the minerals, a copper strip was
placed between them, wires attached to the free ends of the frag-
ments of mineral, and the whole pressed together by a wooden
press. The free end of the copper strip was then heated, and the
heat conducted to the minerals. In the following enumeration of
the elements employed, the positive element is always placed first ;
and the number appended signifies how many of the elements give
an electro-motive force equal to Daniell’s cell: —

1. Foliated copper pyrites—copper; 26.
2. Compact copper pyrites—copper; 9.
3. Pyrolusite— copper; 13.
4, Compact copper pyrites— foliated copper pyrites; 14,
5. Copper — crystallized cobalt pyrites; 26.
6. Granular cobalt pyrites— copper; 78.
7. Copper —iron pyrites; 15.7.
8. Compact copper pyrites—iron pyrites; 6.
9. Foliated copper pyrites—iron pyrites; 9.8.
10. Copper—erubescite; 14.
11. Fine bleischweif—copper; 9.8.
12. Coarse bleischweif —copper; 9.
13. Galena in large crystals— copper; 9.8,
14. Bleischweif—erubescite; 5.5.

The great influence of structure upon the thermo-electric rela-
tions is seen in Nos. 1, 2, and 4, and still more in 5 and 6. A mass
of cubical crystals of galena was at some points negative, at oth-
ers positive, to copper. The densest, No. 14, has the greatest
electro-motive force yet observed in thermo-electric series; but
the substances employed are all bad conductors. The author con-
siders, and we think justly, the above results as of great import-
ance for the physics of the earth, and proposes to continue the sub-
ject. Ina note to Stefan’s paper, Poggendorff calls attention to
an observation of Marbach, made in 1857, according to which,
crystals of iron pyrites (Fe. 8.) and of cobaltine (Co. S:— Co. Ase),
which cannot be distinguished, either in crystalline form or in

156 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

composition, are divided, so far as their thermo-electrie relations
are concerned, into two groups. Calling the two forms of the
minerals a and 6, Marbach gives the following series, reckoning
from negative to positive: Iron pyrites, a; cobaltine, a; bismuth,
German silver, platinum, lead, copper, brass, silver, cadmium,
iron, antimony cobaltine, b; iron pyrites, b. — Pogg. Ann., April,
1865, as quoted in American Journal of Science, September, 1865.

A NEW AND POWERFUL THERMO-ELECTRIC BATTERY.

In a communitation to the Vienna Academy, dated March 16,
1865, S. Marcus described a new thermo-electric battery, which
possesses extraordinary interest, both in a theoretical and practi-
cal point of view. The properties of the new battery are as
follows: —

1. The electro-motive force of one of the new elements is equal to
1-25th of that of a Bunsen’s element of zine and carbon, and by
its internal resistance is equal to 0.4 of a meter of normal wire.
2. Six such elementsare suflicient to decompose acidulated water.
3. A battery of 125 elements evolved in 1 minute 25 cubic cen-
timetres of mixed oxygen and hydrogen, although decomposition
took place under disadvantageous circumstances, as the internal
resistance of the battery was much greater than that of the
voltameter in the circuit. 4. A platinum wire of 4 millimeter in
thickness, introduced into the circuit, melted. 5. Thirty elements
develop in an electro-magnet a lifting power of 150 pounds. 6,
The current is generated by warming only one of the contact
sides of the elements, and cooling the other, by means of water
of the ordinary temperature.

As positive metal in these batteries, Marcus employs an alloy
of 10 parts of copper, 6 of zine, and 6 of nickel. The addi-
tion of 1 part of cobalt increases the electro-motive force. For
the negative metal he uses an alloy of 12 parts of antimony, 5
of zine, and 1 of bismuth. The electro-motive force of the alloy is
increased by repeated fusion. In place of these alloys, a partic-
ular kind of German silver, known as alpacca, may be used with
the same negative metal; or, as the positive metal, an alloy of 65
parts of copper and 31 of zinc, and, as the negative metal, an
alloy of 12 parts of antimony and 5 parts of zinc. ‘The bars are
not soldered but screwed together. The mechanical arrangement
is such that only the positive metal is directly heated, the negative
metal being warmed by conduction; the former melts at about
1200° C., the latter at about 600° C.

An interesting fact in relation to the transformation of heat into
electricity in the thermo-electric battery, is, that the water which
serves to cool one of the contact sides of each element, becomes
very slowly warmer so long as the circuit remains closed, but is
heated pretty rapidly when the circuit is open. The alloys em-
ployed in this battery fulfil several conditions essential to the pro-
duction of powerful electrical currents by heat. These conditions
are, that the metals employed should be as far as possible from
each other in the thermo-electric series; that they should permit

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 157

great differences of temperature, so as to avoid the necessity of
using ice; that they should not be expensive; and that the insu-
lating materia] Should resist a high temperature, and possess suf-
ficient solidity «nd elasticity. The thermo-electric battery in
question was constructed in reference to the use of a gas flame.
The single element consists of bars of unequal dimensions, the
positive bar being 7” long, 7” broad, and 4” thick ; the negative,
6” long, 7” broad, and 6/” thick. Marcus puts together 32
elements in such a manner that all the positive bars are on one
side, and all the negative bars on the other, and have thus the
form of a grating. The battery consists of two such gratings,
which are screwed together in the form of a roof, and strength-
ened together by an iron bar, mica being used as an insulator.
The under sides of the elements are cooled by a vessel of water.
The whole battery has a length of two feet, with a breadth of six
inches, and a height of six inches. Marcus has constructed a fur-
nace, which is calculated for a battery of 768 elements, which
would correspond to a Bunsen’s battery of 30 pairs, and consume
240 lbs. of coal per day. The Vienna Academy, recognizing the
importance of the discovery, has voted to the inventor the sum of
2,500 guilders, the invention to be public property. Pogg. Ann.,
April, 1865; from ‘* Amer. Journ. of Science” for, Sept. 1865,
the Editor of which appends the following note : —

‘* The importance of Marcus’s invention, in a technical point of
view, can hardly be over-estimated, since it promises to furnish
the cheapest method of obtaining an intense light for light-houses
and public buildings; and even holds out a prospect, perhaps not
remote, of applications in domestic economy.

‘‘It must be remembered that the step taken by Marcus is, after
all, a first step in the right direction. Bunsen, E. Becquerel, and
Stefan, have shown that there are thermo-electric combinations
of much higher electro-motive force than those employed by
Marcus, although the internal resistance is too great to permit of
their use in constructing large batteries. If the progress of
science should make us acquainted with metallic alloys, which,
when combined and arranged as thermo-electric elements, de-
velop electro-motive force as high as one-tenth of that of a Bun-
sep cell, the thermo-electric battery will again become a new
instrument. In this connection, we suggest that the thermo-
electric relations of the highly crystalline alloy of iron, manganese
and carbon, known as ‘ spiegeleisen’ (that from the Franklinite
of New Jersey for example), deserve a careful study. The pos-
session of a galvanic battery in which coal is consumed in place
of zine and acids, can hardly fail to revive an interest in electro-
magnetic engines, like that of Page, even if only for cases in
which comparatively little power is required, since our best steam
engines do not yield ten per cent. of the work which the con-
sumption of the coal is capable of doing.”

14

158 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

WILDE’S MAGNETO-ELECTRIC MACHINE.

The principle is this: An armature wound round with insulated
wire is made to revolve rapidly in front of the poles of a large
permanent magnet. The currents of electricity, thus induced in
the insulated wire, are carried round a large electro-magnet, which
is thereby excited to a very high degree. In front of this electro-
magnet, a second covered armature is rotated; and the electric
current thus generated is carried round a third electro-magnet.
It is from a rotating armature in front of this third magnet that
the electric current, ultimately used for heating or lighting effects,
is produced. At each passage round the electro-magnets, and
induction in the rotating armatures, the electric current becomes
magnified to an extraordinary degree, until ultimately it is pow-
erful enough to melt iron bars in a minute or two, and to produce
a light surpassing that of the sun itself. The machine is driven by
means of a steam engine, and, as almost the only current expense
is for motive power, it is not an improbable supposition that ere
long electric lights of the most intense description will be as
common in large factories and public buildings, as gas lights are
at the present time.

The greats advantages of this over the old system of magneto-
electric machine appears to be that it is capable of amplification to
any required power, by a mere enlargement of the size of the dif-
ferent parts. His largest machine weighs about three tons. If,
instead of using the electric current generated by it to produce
dynamic effects, we pass it round a still larger electro-magnet,
we should at once produce a vastly greater development of force.
The only limit which we see to this multiplication of power is the
excessive heat which would be developed in the rotating arma~
tures. One very interesting practical application of this brilliant
and economical light is to photography, for which it is more con-
venient than the sun. By its aid more than two hundred nega-
tives can be exposed in a day, to secure gelatine reliefs. This is
the first practical application of the electric light to the commer-
cial working of photography, its constancy rendering it here more
valuable than an uncertain sunlight. — Quarterly Journal of Sci-
ence, 1866.

ELECTRICITY AS A MOTIVE FORCE,

Mr. Moses G. Farmer, who has paid great attention to the ori-
gin and measure of electro-motive force, and the resistance which
the current encounters in its passage through metallic wires and
plates, has pointed out the numerical rules for computing the
mechanical power derivable from a given consumption of metal
in the battery, as compared with that furnished by an equal
weight of coal; from which it appears that, until some much
cheaper mode of generating electricity shall be discovered, this
force cannot compete, as a motor, on a large scale, with the force
derived from ordinary combustion.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 159

PNEUMATO-ELECTRIC ORGAN.

Electricity has been very ingeniously and effectively applied to
form a connection between the keys of an organ and the valves
which permit air to pass to the pipes. Complicated mechanism is
thus got rid of, an extremely simple arrangement, whatever the
distance between the keys and the pipes, being substituted.
According to the ‘‘Scientifie Review,” when any key is depressed by
the finger, a small commutator under it completes communication
with a galvanic battery, by dipping its lower ends into minute
cups of mercury. Electricity then passes along a wire to a small-
electro-magnet, that immediately becomes excited, and, attract-
ing a keeper, opens a valve, allowing air to pass into the organ-
pipe, which sounds at once, and continues to do so as long as the
finger presses down the key. It is clear that, however powerful
the organ, or distant the pipes, the fingers are not in the slightest
degree distressed in playing. The battery used is simple, inex-
pensive, and permanent in its action. It consists of glass vessels,
arranged on the upper surface of the bellows, and each containing
a solution of sulphate of mercury ; into the latter plunges a plate
of zine, which is placed between two plates of gas retort graphite,
when the bellows is raised by the action of blowing. No effect,
therefore, is produced, except when required, which prevents
waste of battery power. The zine requires to be replaced, and
the mercury, thrown down by the zinc which is dissolved, to be
re-formed into sulphate, about every six months.

SUN-SPOTS VS. MAGNETIC VARIATION.

Father Secchi has just completed the reduction of the observa-
tions made during the years 1859 to 1865, inclusive, of the amount
of magnetic variation, on the one hand, and of the number of
groups of spots visible on the sun, on the other. The results are
very interesting, as showing the intimate relation between the
two phenomena, — a minimum of spots invariably corresponding
to a minimum of magnetic variation.

DEVIATION OF THE COMPASS.

Mr. E. S. Ritchie read a paper before the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, in February, 1865, on the deviation of the compass,
caused by the iron used in the construction of vessels, and the best
mode to correct it. The causes of the disturbance are: 1. The
presence of soft iron, which attracts equally each pole of the
needle, with a force nearly constant in all positions of the ship on
the earth’s surface, and for all time. 2. The magnetism induced
by the earth in iron placed in or near a vertical position, causing
in the Northern hemisphere the lower end to become a North
pole, while in the opposite hemisphere it becomes a South pole.
3. Magnetism induced in the iron by rolling, hammering, etc.,
during the building of the ship: this is more or less permanent
according to the hardness and quality of the iron; and, among

160 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

other changes, is liable to be increased by the often-repeated
strokes of the waves.

The method usually adopted to correct these deviations is, by
so placing bar-magnets as to counteract the magnetism of the ship.
But, as every vessel has its own magnetic peculiarities, — as in
some vessels the error is comparatively small, or nearly constant
for a considerable time, while in others the amount of deviation
changes greatly and suddenly, —the bar-magnets, remaining
constant in force, cannot be relied on to correct the deviation.
The prevalent idea among shipmasters, that the deviation was
necessarily of the same amount, and opposite in direction on op-
posite courses of the vessel, is erroneous, and the placing of the
local magnets for correction in consequence of no avail.

It is of great importance that masters of vessels should make a
table of errors for at least sixteen points of the compass, with a
proper allowance therefor, and frequently verify or correct this
table of errors, and test the course daily by means of the azimuth
compass. If this precaution were used by all masters of vessels,
not only would the list of disasters be very greatly reduced, but
the length and expense of voyages, and the premium of insur-
ance, would be diminished.

ACTION OF SULPHUR IN A NEW FORM OF VOLTAIC BATTERY.

M. Matteucci communicated to the French Academy of Sci-
ences a memoir on the above subject, the chief points of interest
in which are as follows : —

The author recently had his attention directed to the action of
sulphur in a new form of battery invented by M. Blanc Filipo.
This battery has for its positive electrode a plate of zine plunged in
a solution of common salt, and for the negative metala plate of lead
covered by electrolysis with a very thin layer of copper; enough
flowers of sulphur were then mixed with the liquid in the cell to
form a thin paste. The needle of a galvanometer, which had
been included in the circuit, immediately began to move upwards:
after some hours it reached nearly the same deflection as would be
shown by employing a Daniell’s cell of equal size, and remained
at the same degree for four or five days, the circuit being closed
during the whole of this time. At the end of this period, the
layer of copper was found to have changed into sulphide of cop-
per, and the liquid had become highly charged with sulphide of
sodium, mixed with traces of sulphide of copper. The only dis-
advantage at present connected with this battery appeared to be,
that, during its action, a small quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen
was liberated: notwithstanding this, it is likely to be a most valu-
able instrument for telegraphic purposes.

M. Matteucci found that plates of platinum, iron, copper, silver,
or any other electro-negative metal, when covered with a layer of
copper, which is absolutely necessary, gave a constant current,
similar to the coated plate of lead. When, instead of copper, the
plates were coated with silver or lead, the same action took place,
the metal being changed into its sulphide. With copper, how-
ever, the action was most prompt, intense, and permanent.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 161

The author then shows, by experiments, that to obtain the

proper effect of sulphur in the battery, it is necessary that the
sulphur should be mixed with a solution of common salt, or with
any other salt of soda, or probably with any alkaline base; it is
also essential that the sulphur should come in contact with the
copper. Experiments showed that this action of sulphur was
subject to the fundamental law of the battery; for, taking into
account the traces of sulphuretted hydrogen which are disen-
gaged, and the very small quantity of sulphur which is combined
with the copper, the conclusion was arrived at that the zine dis-
solved, and the sulphur combined with the sodium, as protosul-
phide, in the exact ratio of their equivalents. Summing up his
results, M. Matteucci arrives at the following conclusions : —
' 1. That finely-divided sulphur, placed in contact with the elec-
tro-negative metal of a battery composed of zinc, copper, and
solution of common salt, notably augments the electro-motive
force, the constancy and the duration of the battery. It is thus
hoped, that, by the employment of sulphur, a voltaic combination
may be obtained having many advantages over those batteries
which are ordinarily used in industry.

2. The sulphur, though insoluble, and uncombined, enters into
combination with the sodium set free by the electric current.

The action exercised by the small quantity of sulphide of cop-
per which is formed still remains to be explained. This action
appears to be essential to the battery. Instead, however, of offer-
ing any theory on this subject, M. Matteucci has undertaken fur-
ther experiments to elucidate this point.

INDUCTION COILS.

At a recent meeting of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, held
in their hall, George Street, Edinburgh, Sheriff Hallard presiding,
Dr. Ferguson read a paper on a new method of constructing
induction coils, an abstract of which will be interesting to our
readers. One peculiarity of the method consists in coiling the
secondary wire round the primary coil, in lengths proportionate
to the power of the primary coil at the point where the wire is
coiled, there being least at the ends and most in the middle. By
this construction, the length of the spark given by the induction
coil is not purchased, as it generally is, at the expense of its vol-
ume. Another peculiarity is, that the wire is wound in two parts,
separated by a diaphragm, and the poles stand at the same dis-
tance from the primary coil. Both poles are thus alike a power.
In the usual arrangement, one pole is weak and the other strong.
A coil constructed on this method by Mr. Hart, of College Street,
was exhibited, which gave readily dense sparks of eight inches in
length. The insulation of the coil has been so applied and pro-
tected as to secure the permanent power of the coil. The length
of the wire on the secondary bobbin is nearly seven miles.
Another paper on a new current interrupter for the induction coil,
also by Dr. Ferguson, was read. In this contrivance, a spiral of
copper wire, free to oscillate in the middle, is fixed at its end to

14*

162 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

a rod of iron asacase. <A wire, soldered to the coil, comes out
at right angles from it; and, being bent down at the end, dips
into a cup containing mercury. The battery connection is so
arranged, that when the dipping wire is in the cup the galvanic
circuit is closed. On the closing of the circuit, the dipper is
drawn out of the cup, and the circuit is thereby broken ; and the
coil, under the action of its electricity, returns to its for mer posi-
tion. The dipper is thus alternately lifted up, and plunged into
the cup, and a rapid series of inter ruptions is made. This inter-
ruption admits of a simple and perfect system of regulation, so
that it can be made to move at any speed. It does. away with
the armature and spring of ordinary self-acting brakes, is quite
continuous, and introduces almost no resistance into the primary
circuit. The interruption was used with the coil, and several
experiments illustrative of the merits of both were performed.

ELECTRIC SIGNALS ON RAILROADS,

Before the Institution of Civil Engineers, an interesting paper
was read by W.H. Preece, Associate, ‘On the best means of
communicating between the passengers, guards, and drivers of
trains in motion.” Mr. Preece explained that the essential prin-
ciple of the system he had introduced in the trains of the South
Western, the Midland, and the Great Northern, was the exten-
sion of a single isolated wire throughout the whole train, which
was maintained in a state of electrical equilibrium by having the
similar poles of every battery in each van and engine attached to
it, while their opposite poles were connected with the earth, so
that when this equilibrium was disturbed by placing the wire to
earth through the framework, wheels, and rails in any carriage
or van, the current from each battery acted upon the bell in its
own van, and upon a signal on the engine. Its peculiarity con-
sisted in this, that the commutators in each compartment of every
carriage were protected from the mischievous and idle by being
covered with glass, which had been found experimentally to be
the best material for the purpose, as any opaque substance excited
inquisitiveness and interference.

MUTUAL ACTION OF ELEMENTS OF ELECTRIC CURRENTS.

The law of Ampére —that commonly recognized as expressing
the action of two independent elements (or infinitesimal portions
of electric currents) — was based on a certain assumption, and on
four cases of equilibrium experimentally determined. The as-
sumption of Ampére was, that the direction of the action was
constant, independent of the relative direction of the elements,
and that the quantity or intensity of the action varied with the
direction of the elements. The new assumption is the reverse of
this, to wit, that the intensity of the resultant is independent of
the direction of the elements; but that the direction of the result-
ant varies with that of the elements. The latter view more closley

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 163

corresponds to the doctrine, now generally admitted as estab-
lished, of the correlation of the physical forcés. It is also, in
form, more closely analogous to the law expressive of the mutual
action of material masses under the influence of gravity.

In the case of gravity, the action was proportioned directly to
the product of the masses, and inversely to the square of their

‘distance. In the case of electrical currents, the direction of the
elements is to be taken into consideration ; and the resulting force
may be expressed as the product of the quotients of each element
(considered both as to strength of current and length and diree-
tion of the element), divided by their distance (also considered
both as to length and direction). The consideration of direction
involves the application of the newly-developed principles of the
mathematical science of quarternions.

The law above mentioned being assumed, all of the other ordi-
nary special laws of electrical action flow readily and necessarily
therefrom; as, for example, the mutual action of closed circuits,
and the action of magnets considered as solenoids.——E. B.
ELLIOT, in Proc. Am. Ass'n, for Adv. of Science, 1866.

INSTRUMENT FOR SHOWING MINUTE CHANGES OF MAGNETIC
DECLINATION.

Dr. Joule described, before the Literary and Philosophical Soci-
ety, an instrument he had constructed for rapidly showing minute
changes of magnetic declination. A column of small magnetic
needles is suspended by a filament of silk. Attached to the lower
end of the column is a glass lever with a hook at its end. A
second fine bent glass lever is suspended by another filament of
silk; its shorter arm being connected with the first lever by means
of the small hook. The whole is enclosed in a stout copper box.
Light is admitted into the box through a lens, cemented into an
orifice immediately under the object-glass of a microscope, placed
over the free extremity of the bent lever. The microscope mag-
nifies about three hundred linear, and has a micrometer in its eye-
piece, with divisions corresponding to one two-thousandth of an inch.
One division corresponds to a deflection of the needle of four and
one-half minutes, and, as a tenth of a division can be very readily
observed, the instrument measures deflections to within half a
second. So rapid is the action, that, on applying a small mag-
netic force, the index takes up its new position steadily in two
seconds of time. Besides being a damper to the motion of the
needle, the copper box, by its conducting power, equalizes the
temperature rapidly, so that the indications are not to any consid-
erable extent disturbed by currents of air. The success of the
present instrument encourages the hope that very much greater
delicacy may yet be obtained. Dr. Joule said that he had _ob-
served an extensive magnetic disturbance the preceding evening,
the index being driven entirely out of the field of view.

164 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ELECTRICAL FLYING FISH.

The experiment of the ‘flying fish” has excited attention in
Paris. M. V?Abbé Laborde and M. Salleron have both written to
**Les Mondes” on the subject. Each suggests making use of the
conductor of an electrical machine in place of a charged Leyden
jar. M. Abbé Laborde says, in the following manner the exper-
iment can be easily made by any who possess an ordinary electri-
cal machine: A piece of gold leaf or silvered paper is cut into the
shape of a kite; this is then placed on the conductor of a machine,
and a ball connected with the rubber slowly approached to the
blunt end of the leaf. Soon the leaf rises and springs from the
conductor, remaining hovering in the air between it and the ball.
The finger can be substituted for the ball, and the leaf led even ver-
tically round the conductor with a considerable intervening space.
The distance of the leaf from the rubber almost entirely depends
upon the size of the blunt angle, —the more obtuse this angle, the
nearer the leaf approaches to the rubber. The explanation given
by M. l’Abbé Laborde is, that the point presented to the electrified
body, receiving electricity of the same name, is repelled, which
it would be altogether, were it not that it parts with its elec-
tricity by the other point, can be again attracted to the electrified
body, and is again repelled. Thus repulsion takes place in ap-
proaching the conductor, because it receives more than it loses;
but immediately attraction ensues, because now it loses more than
it receives. The equilibrium between these two opposing forces
enables the gold leaf to maintain itself in the air at a distance from
both solid bodies.

ELECTRICITY IN DEEP-SEA SOUNDING.

In deep-sea sounding, the greatest difficulty is felt, even by ex-
perienced persons, in ascertaining the precise moment at which
the lead of the sounding-line touches the bottom, —a matter on
which the whole value of the sounding depends. An apparatus
invented in France, at Lyons, removes, it is said, every difficulty
on the point. The sounding-line contains within it, along its whole
length, two insulated conducting wires, the upper ends of which
are connected respectively with the poles of a galvanic battery in
the ship. The lead is in two parts, the lower one of which is partly
inserted into the upper, and is capable of a limited vertical motion
within that of the other, so that, when left to hang freely, a small
empty space is left within the upper portion by the spontaneous
descent for a short distance of the lower portion. To the upper
end of the lower portion, and within the upper portion, is attached
a commutator, which is contained in an insulating and water-proof
sheath, and which, when the lower portion of the weight is raised
by contact with the ground, comes in contact with the ends of the
conducting wires, so as to complete the circuit. Instantly, by
means of the ordinary electro-magnetic apparatus, a bell is rung
on board the ship to attract the attention of the sounder, and a
ratchet is thrown into action, which ‘arrests the unwinding of the

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 165

line from the drum on which it is coiled, so that no more ean run
out. This apparatus is applicable also when the lead is kept hang-
ing down at a certain distance from the ship, for the purpose of
indicating the presence of rocks or reefs, or that the water has be-
come shallow, so as to give timely notice of approaching danger.
— Scientific American.

LIGHTING OF THE CAPITOL DOME.

The efforts of Mr. Samuel Gardiner, of New York, in this en-
terprise have been crowned with triumphant success. For two
years and a half the arrangements have been quietly perfecting,
and on the evening of the 23d of January, 1866, the dome was
illuminated from three circles of burners, invisible from the floor,
and containing 1100 jets, from 6 to 12 inches apart, bringing out
in splendid relief the picture executed by Mr. Brumidi on the
ceiling of the inner dome, at a height of 180 feet from the floor of
the rotunda.

The means for operating the battery, turning on and off the
gas, and lighting each tier of burners, are brought within a space
of two feet square in a passage-way within a few feet of the
floor of the rotunda, and consists of a silver-mounted dial-plate
with keys, eleven in number, one in the centre, by which the
primary connection is made, and the required amount of’ bat-
tery brought into operation, the others being for the gas and
lighting connections of the respective tiers. These tiers, it may
~ be here mentioned, are three in number at present; the first,
containing 300 burners, at the lower cornice, 45 feet from the
floor; the second, of 325 burners, at a cornice 80 feet from the
floor; the third tier, 425 burners, 165 feet from the floor, sur-
rounding the balustrade, and near the margin of the picture on
the ceiling.

The first and second series of burners are entirely inaccessible,
all are invisible from any part of the floor, and every possible
manipulation is executed at the dial-plate on the floor by the ex-
ertion of a few ounces pressure on the appropriate key, the gas
stop-cock to each tier being operated by an electro-magnetic en-
gine in its vicinity, which receives its impulse from the battery,
the central heart of the concern, communicating light, heat, and
force, under the guidance of the brain which directs the current at
will through the five miles of wire. This heart of the apparatus,
whose impulses are thus directed, is housed in and fully occupies
an elliptical room 45 by 36 feet, and consists of 200 jars, arranged
on tables in concentric series, each jar being 13 inches in diame-
ter, 14 inches deep, and so arranged as to be thrown on or off in
sections of 20, by the key on the before-named dial-plate in a
passage remote from the battery. A vernier on the dial-plate, in
connection with a pointer on the central key, indicates the extent
of the battery which is brought into operation by the revolution of
the key. Openings in the dial expose dark and light segments
of the wheels on the gas keys, so as to indicate the shut or open
positions of the gas stop-cocks at the tiers 45, 80, 165, and the

166 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

cluster 264 feet above. Owing to the height, a gas regulator is
rovided at the stop-cock of each tier, which equalizes the flow.

o. 10 copper wires are used throughout; and, after bein
wrapped with linen, are inclosed in India-rubber tubing, and
ineased, or otherwise secretly laid, passages in the walls being
drilled therefor through a thickness of from 3 to 20 feet. The
return circuit is made through the gas pipes, saving a duplication
of the nine thousand yards of wire. The burners used have an
indestructible lava tip, which acts as an insulator, and each is
provided with an insulated coil of platinum wire on one side of
the orifices, so as not to interfere with the free exit of the gas,
while exposing one side of the jet to the action of the red-hot
metal when the electric connection is made.

The experiments have covered a period of nearly ten years, and
six patents cover the main features of the invention. The ex-
periments, on so grand a scale as the Capitol dome, with 1100
burners, at such distance and elevation, settle the question of
success; and the invention will come into general use for lightin
theatres, concert and public halls, and eventually, by large centra
batteries, will ramify over city districts, to afford to residents,
merchants, and manufacturers, a connection for the purpose of
instantaneous illumination to any extent desired. — Scient. Am.

PROTECTION AGAINST LIGHTNING.

The present summer, so far, has been remarkable for the num-
ber of accidents from discharges of electricity. We believe there
has been no storm this season, accompanied with lightning, which
has not resulted in damage to person or property. In view of
these facts, the importance of providing adequate protection to
buildings and ships, from lightning, can hardly be over-estimated.
The failure of lightning-rods, in some instances, to protect the
structure to which they were attached, has had the effect to im-
pair confidence in such means of protection; but it can be clearly
demonstrated that, when made on scientific principles, honestly
constructed, and properly applied, they are the only means which
can be relied upon for protection, and that they are deserving of
entire confidence.

The electric fluid does not always descend in a vertical path,
nor in a course approaching that direction. Many instances are
on record where the bolt travelled horizontally, and much dam-
age has occurred from ‘‘ earth strokes” or ascending discharges.
These facts have not always been recognized by constructors of
lightning-rods, their idea being that a building was sufliciently
insured against lightning by having the rods project above the
highest portion of the building, leaving all the other parts unpro-
tected. Experience has added its evidence to the instructions of
science in demonstrating the unreliability of such protectors.

From Lyon’s ‘‘ Treatise on Lightning-Conductors,” we copy the
following requisites of a good rod: —

‘*1. The conductor should be made of good conducting sub-
stance.

\
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 167

«©2. It should have great electrical capacities; a square rod
requires less metal than a round rod.

«¢3. It should be perfectly continuous, z. e., it should have no
breaks in the connections,—no links or hooks, but a perfect
metallic union of every part.

**4. It should be insulated from the building to be protected,
except from such masses of metal as are likely to offer other lines
of discharge.

*¢5, It should have numerous lateral points; one in six or seven
feet will answer. The more numerous these points are, the
greater the conducting power of the rod. Besides, these lateral
points provide for an oblique discharge, each being as good a
receiving point as the higher point at the chimney or other prom-
inences. They also guard against a lateral explosion, or a divi-
sion of the charge, which is liable to happen in case the rod is
overcharged, especially if it be fastened to the house with pointed
staples; and, in case of an upward stroke, the electric fluid being
discharged at so many different points, no harm can possibly
occur.

‘*6. Its upper extremity should project freely into the air,
should be pointed, and may be triangular, somewhat similar to a
bayonet, or it may have several branches. The only scientific
advantage in having a branching head or point for the superior
termination is this: all points are not likely to become blunt at
the same time. Some have supposed that the point should be
magnetized ; and little needles, called ‘‘ magnets,” have sometimes
been added. But it is difficult to see the practicability of this
recent discovery; for most are aware that magnetized iron or
steel soon loses its magnetic influence. But is there any truth or
science in this application of magnetism? If there is, we confess
that we have not been able to discover it in any experiments in
the laboratory; neither can we learn that the subject has even
been mentioned by any writer whatever on the subject of elec-
tricity. :

‘7, The upper termination should be plated with silver or
gold, to prevent corrosion.

“¢8, Every branch rod running to chimneys and other promi-
nences should have a perfect metallic union with the main rod.

‘*9. In cases where metallic vane spindles, or other points,
exist, the conductor may commence from these, and should be
applied immediately to the part to be protected, and not at a dis-
tance from it; and should be so applied that a discharge of light-
ning falling on the general mass could not possibly find its way
to the ground through the building by any circuit of which the
conductor did not form a part; that is to say, the conductor
should be so carried over the several parts of the building, that
the discharge could not fall upon it without being transmitted
safely by the conductor. Hence, the rod should run along the
whole length of the ridge, and down to the ground, at least on
two sides of the building. If the building is large, it should run
down on each corner.

‘**10. Every conductor running to the ground should terminate

168 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

sufficiently beneath the surface to insure moisture in the dryest
part of the season. If circumstances permit, it should connect
with a spring of water, a drain, or some other conducting

channel.” "
Numerous instances of the ascending stroke have occurred, the

records of which are extant. It must be evident that a single rod,
extending above only one point of the building, will not properly
protect the structure to which it is applied from one of these up-
ward strokes, neither is it eflicient against an oblique or divided
discharge. The whole building, top and sides, must be protected
by a continuous rod with numerous projecting points for receiving
and discharging the electric fluid.

Passing the rod through glass insulators does not seem to be
always effectual to protect the building. The interposition of a
glass knob between the rod and the building, appears to be
preferable. In cases where the rod has passed through a hollow
cylinder of glass, it has been found that the glass would burst,
and the fluid enter the building by the iron staple which held the
glass ring.

Some of the old-fashioned and erroneous notions entertained
and religiously believed by persons in relation to the effects of
lightning, and particularly the means of protection, have been
exploded by the occurrences of this season. That feathers afford
no protection against electricity is proved by the case of a woman
in St. Louis, who was killed by a stroke of lightning while lying
on a feather bed. An instance of one of three persons sitting
near a closed window being struck also dispels the illusion that
the interposition of window-glass is an effectual bar to the action
of the destructive element.

The only efficient protection is that of a good rod, properly put
up. The subject is too important to be lightly passed over; and
it is no less important that the confidence of the purchaser should
not be betrayed, and life and property endangered, by accept-
ing an inefficient conductor, or one improperly applied.

Many buildings are now constructed, both in this city and in the
country, with metallic-covered roofs, and very few are erected
without metallic eaves, troughs, and conductors. In all such
vases, the efliciency of lightning protectors is impaired by the pre-
ponderance of conducting surface on the roof and down the sides
of the building. This metallic covering, and these rain-conduc-
tors, whether of tin, zinc, or lead, are better conductors of elee-
tricity than the building of stone, brick, or wood, and should be
utilized as a means of protection against lightning. For this pur-
pose, strips of iron, zinc, or copper, should connect the lower
extremities of the water-spouts with the damp earth, a well, or
a running stream of water, and the eayes-troughs should have a
connection with the metal roofing and with the vertical conduc-
tors. Water is a good conductor of electricity; and when, in a
thunder storm, the rain is pouring down the conduits of a build-
ing, their conducting properties are largely increased. Properly
connected, these useful appliances can be madé doubly valuable
as harmless conductors of electricity.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 169

In cities and enterprising towns there are systems of water-
pipes and gas-conductors, of metal, ramifying in the interior of
dwellings and other structures. Such buildings should be care-
fully protected*outside. If the conducting medium, whether of
water or gas-pipes, preponderates in the interior of the building,
the electric fluid may leave the external conductor, and through a
thick wall seek that which facilitates its passage to the earth. In
such cases, it seems that nothing but a rod, having numerous
points for collecting the electricity and adequate means for convey-
ing it innocuously to the earth, would be an effectual protection.
Some authorities recommend a connection to be made between
the system of water and gas-pipes inside a building and the ex-
ternal conductor. — Scientific American.

ALL THINGS IN MOTION.

In imagining the ultimate composition of a solid body, we have
to reconcile two appareatly contradictory conditions. It is an
assemblage of atoms which do not touch each other, — for we are
obliged to admit intermolecular spaces,—and yet those atoms
are held together in clusters by so strong a force of cohesion as
to give to the whole the qualities of a solid. This would be the
case even with a solid undergoing no change of size or internal
constitution. But solids do change, under pressure, impact, heat,,
and cold. Their constituent atoms are, consequently, not at rest.
Mr. Grove tell us: ‘* Of absolute rest, nature gives us no evi-
dence. All matter, as far as we can. ascertain, is ever in move-
ment, not merely in masses, as with the planetary spheres, but
also molecularly, or throughout its most intimate structure.
Thus, every alternation of temperature produces a molecular
change throughout the whole substance heated or cooled. Slow
chemical or electrical actions, actions of light or invisible radiant
forces, are always at play; so that, as a fact, we cannot predicate
of any portion of matter, that it is absolutely at rest.”

The atoms, therefore, of which solid bodies consist are supposed
to vibrate, to oscillate, or better, to revolve, like the planets, in
more or less eccentric orbits. Suppose a solid body to be repre-
sented by a swarm of gnats dancing in the sunshine. Each gnat
or atom dances up and down at a certain distance from each other
gnat, within a given limited space. The path of the dance is not
amere straight line, but a vertical oval—a true orbit. Suppose,
then, that, in consequence of greater sun heat, the gnats become
more active, and extend each its respective sweep of flight. The
swarm, or solid body, as a whole, expands. If, from a cliill or the
shadow of a cloud, the insect’s individual range is less extensive,
the crowd of gnats is necessarily denser, and the swarm, in its
integrity, contracts.

Tyndall. takes for his illustration a bullet revolving at the end
of a spiral spring. He had spoken of the vibration of the mole-
cules of a solid as causing its expansion, but he remarks that, by
some, the molecules have been thought to revolve round each
other; the communication of heat, by augmenting their centrif-

15 .

170 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ugal force, was supposed to push them more widely asunder.
So he twirls the weight at the end of the spring, in the open air.
It tends to fly away; the spring stretches to a certain extent, and
as the speed of revolution is augmented, the spring stretches still
more, the distance between the hand and the weight being thus
increased. The spring rudely figures the force of cohesion, while
the ball represents an atom under the influence of heat

The intellect, he truly says, knows no difference between great
and small. It is just as easy, as an intellectual act, to picture a
vibrating or revolving atom as to picture a vibrating or revolving
cannon ball. These ‘motions, however, are executed within limits
too minute, and the moving particles are too small, to be visible.
Here the imagination must help us. In the case of solid bodies,
you must conceive a power of vibration, within ceitain limits, to
be possessed by the molecules. You must suppose them oscilla-
ting to and fro; the greater amount of heat we impart to the
body, the more rapid “will be the molecular v ibration, and the
wider the amplitude of atomic oscillation. — All the Year Round.

CORRELATION OF THE PHYSICAL FORCES.

There are signs of some reaction against that doctrine of the cor-
relation of the physical forces which, tor the last twenty years, has
so dominated scientific thought, or, at least, against that interpre-
tation of it which makes it teach that all forces are modifications
of one force, and are mutually convertible into each other. Thus,
in the last number of the ‘‘ Quarterly Journal of Science,” a men-
tion, in an article on “De La Rue and Celestial Photography,” of the
appearance in the photographs of the solar eclipse of 1860 of solar
prominences invisible to the human eye, calls forth the following
very noteworthy remarks: ‘* A curious question arises from the
consideration of the chemical power evidently possessed by these
prominences, be they flames or clouds. We never, as we have
already stated, under ordinary circumstances, obtain an impressed
image of the sun without finding the indications of a protected
circle — that is, one which proves a paucity of chemical power—
surrounding the photographie disk. Yet, when the light of the
solar disk is interrupted by the body of the moon, the radiations
proceeding from the edge, or rather, perhaps, from beyond it, have
a strong photographic power. What is the cause of this most
remarkable difference? W hy is it that the photographic tablet is
impressed during an eclipse by objects which do not give light
enough to be visible even at the period of totality, and that they
do not effect the required chemical change upon our sensitive
plates when the sun is unobscured? The only reply which we are
aut present ina position to give, is, that the diffused light when the
sun is shining is sufliciently powerful to overcome the weaker
chemical radiations of those solar clouds or flames. If this reply
approaches correctness, we have additional evidence confirming
the view that the two principles existing in the sunbeam, light or
luminous power, and actinism or chemical power, are not modifi-
cations of the same ‘ energy,’ to use the accepted term of the day,

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 171

but rather forces balanced against each other, acting indeed in
antagonism.”

THE PHYSICS OF ABSORPTION.

The curious fact pointed out by Pouillet, in 1822, that when a
fluid is absorbed by a porous substance a rise in temperature oc-
curs, has given origin to some strange explanations and discus-
sions. The subject has recently been taken up by Jungk, who
attributes the alteration in temperature to the formation around
each particle of the porous body of a thin layer of fluid, ‘‘in which
the individual molecules move with much less freedom ; thus point-
ing to a condensation of the fluid in those parts.” In support of his
theory, he quotes a paper by Rose,on the errors which arise in the
determination of the specific gravity, when the substance is weighed
in a state of fine subdivision. The finer the particles of the body
under examination, the greater will be the resulting specific gray-
ity. He proceeds by assuming that the temperature of a body rises
or falls when, by any external means, it is caused to assume the
condition induced by the subtraction or addition of heat respect-
ively. Applying this in the case of water, it would follow that,
when absorbed by a porous substance, the temperature should
either rise or fall according as the water is below or above four
degrees Centigrade, —the point of maximum density. This, in
fact, was found to be the case; and the results of his experiments
may be shortly stated as follows: 1. The temperature of water,
when absorbed by sand, is raised or lowered according as it was
previously either above or below four degrees C. 2. Water at
zero, When absorbed by snow, is lowered in temperature. 3. The
phenomenon may be regarded as a consequence of the condensa-
tion of the water on the surface of the absorbent body. — Poggen-
dorff’s Annalen, 1865.

LIFE-TABLES.

A paper entitled ‘‘ New and Compendious Method for the Con-
struction of Life and Annuity Tables from Returns of Population
and Mortality,” was read by Mr. E. B. Elliot at the 1866 meeting
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He remarked that life-tables assume various forms, the more
common form being that which gives the number surviving dif-
ferent ages out of a given number of persons living at some
earlier age specified.

The population of any community is usually a fluctuating one ;
it varies with the excess of births over deaths, and of immigra-
tion over emigration.

A stationary population is one unaffected by migration, and in
which the births are equal in number to the deaths, the number
of persons annually entering upon any age being equal to the
number of deaths which annually occur at and over that age.
Hence, if we have either the number of annual deaths or the
number of the living at different ages in a stationary population,
we have in desirable form life-tables for that population.

172 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The problem then is, given the annual number of deaths at
different ages in a fluctuating population, and the numbers of the
population at the same ages at the middle of the year; required,
the corresponding relative number of deaths and of living in a
stationary population governed by the same law of mortality.

The usual modés of affecting this conversion are indirect and
tedious; the method now proposed is direct and brief, reducing
the Jabor of weeks to that of hours.

This important result is accomplished by observing that the
rates of annual mortality at different intervals of age are equiva-
lent to the derivative (or differential co-efficient) of the Napierian
logarithm — taken negatively —of the proportionate numbers of
the living at those ages, in a stationary population.

Taking advantage of this fact, Mr. Elliot showed how, by very
simple processes, desirable forms of the life-table might readily
be computed. .

THE PHILOSOPHY OF A TOP.

The reason why a top stands in an erect position when it is ina
spinning motion is explained by the ‘‘ Scientific American” in the
following manner : —

«« The same explanation that we gave, some time since, of the
gyroscope, applies toa top. If you tie a stone to-the end of a
string and swing it about your finger, then, while it is whirling,
if a sheet of thin paper be held so that the stone will strike it at
a sharp angle in a way to turn the stone from the plane of its
revolution, the stone will resist this effort to turn it from its course,
and will pass through the paper. Ifa suflicient number of stones
are united to form a complete wheel, and the wheel is put in rota-
tion, each one of the stones will resist any effort to change the
plane of its revolution; and thus the whole wheel will resist any
effort to change the plane of its rotation. When a top is rotating
in an upright position, it cannot lean toward any side without
changing the plane of rotation of all its parts; consequently, so
long as it is rapidly rotating it stands upright.

‘When the axis of the top is inclined, the force of gravitation
tends to draw it downwards, and thus to change the planes of rota-
tion of all its parts. If you will take a wheel, and incline its axis,
you will see that the struggle to resist this change will move the
wheel forward, and will thus give to it a revolution around an
imaginary vertical axis. Even in this revolution the planes of
rotation are constantly changed, but the change is the less the
more nearly the axis of the top coincides with the imaginary
vertical axis about which it is revolving; hence it is subjected to
a constant tendency to assume an upright position, and the more
rapid its rotation, the stronger is this tendency.

“The resistance offered by a rotating wheel or disk to any
change in the plane of its rotation is worthy of consideration in
many applications of mechanism.’ This resistance tends to make
a fly-wheel run true, and, consequently, to so wear its bearings,
as to correct any slight error in its original hanging. It increases
the resistance of locomotive and car wheels to the change in the

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 173

direction of their motion in passing round a curve. It precludes
the employment of Avery’s engine for driving locomotives, and
suggests that, if his engine should be used for this purpose, it
should be run on a vertical, instead of horizontal, axis.”

WORKING STEAM EXPANSIVELY.

The following is a letter from Prof. Rankine, of Glasgow, to
the editor of the ‘* Scientific American,” in 1866 : —

*«The circumstances under which steam undergoes expansion
‘may be classed under five heads: 1. When the steam expands
without performing work. 2. When it expands and performs
work, the temperature being maintained constant by a supply of
heat from without. 3. When it expands and performs work,
being supplied from without with just enough of heat to prevent
any liquefaction of the steam, so that it is kept exactly at the sat-
uration point. 4. When it expands and performs work in a non-
conducting cylinder. 5. When it expands and performs work in
a conducting cylinder, not supplied with heat from without.

*©1. When steam expands without performing work (asin rush-
ing out of a safety-valve, or through a throttle-valve), it becomes
superheated, as is well known; the temperature falling very
slightly in comparison with the boiling-point corresponding to
the diminished pressure. ‘The precise rate at which the temper-
ature falls is not yet known; but it will probably be soon ascer-
tained through some experiments by Prof. Thomson and Mr.
Joule.

«©2. When steam expands and performs work, the temperature
being maintained constant by supplying heat through the cylin-
der, the law of expansion at first deviates from Marriotte’s law by
the pressure falling less rapidly than the density ; but, as the ex-
pansion goes on, the law approaches more nearly to that of Mar-
riotte, as recent experiments by Messrs. Fairbairn and Tate have
shown.

‘© 3. When the steam expands and performs work, being main-
tained exactly at the temperature of saturation, the law of expan-
sion, as you observe, is perfectly definite. In the treatise to which
you have referred, I have shown what it is; and also that it is ex-
pressed, nearly enough for practical purposes, by taking the press-
ure as being proportional to the seventeenth power of the six-
teenth root of the density; a function very easily calculated by
means of a table of squares and square roots. In many actual
steam-engines, the circumstances of this case are practically
realized, as is shown by the agreement of their performance with
the results of calculation.

«¢4. When steam expands and performs work in a non-con-
ducting cylinder, it was shown by Prof. Clausius and myself, in
1850, that the lowering of the temperature, through the disappear-
ance of heat in performing work, goes on more rapidly than the
fall of the boiling-point corresponding to the pressure, so that
part of the steam is liquefied. This result was experimentally
verified by Mr. G. A. Hirn, of Mulhouse, a few years afterward

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174 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

(see his ‘‘ Treatise on the Mechanical Theory of Heat”). The
mathematical law of the expansion in this case can be given with
perfect precision ; but its circumstances are not accurately realized
in practice, because the cylinder is always made of a rapidly-con-
ducting material.

**5. When the steam expands and performs work in a conduct-
ing cylinder, which receives no supply of heat from without, but
is left to undergo a great alternate rise and fall of temperature
through its alternate connection with the boiler and the con-
denser, the law of expansion becomes very variable, and the
problem of determining it extremely complex. It is certain, how-*
ever, that a great waste of heat occurs in every case of this kind,
as Mr. Isherwood’s experiments have shown. In a paper read
to the Institution of Engineers in Scotland, about two years ago,
I discussed some of Mr. Isherwood’s earlier experiments, and
showed that they gave proof of a waste of heat increasing with
the fall of temperature due to the expansion of the steam, with
the extent of conducting surface of the cylinder, and with the
duration of the contact between the hot boiler steam and that
conducting surface.”

NEW DETECTOR OF FIRE-DAMP.

Mr. G. F. Ansell, of the Royal Mint, has proposed a novel
application of Professor Graham’s law of gas diffusion for the pur-
pose of ascertaining and giving warning of the presence of accu-
mulations of fire-damp in coal mines. The apparatus described
by Mr. Ansell is a glass U tube, having one aperture closed with
a plate of graphite, or equivalent porous diaphragm, and a few
inches of mercury in the bend. If such an arrangement, filled
in the first instance with air, be placed under the influence of an
atmosphere containing five per cent., or even less, of light carbu-
retted hydrogen or marsh gas, the presence of such admixture
will be instantly detected by the passage of the gas through the
interstices of the graphite, and the consequent expansion in vol-
ume of the gaseous contents in the tube; the column of mercury
then rises in the opposite limb of the apparatus, and is made to
record itself either by completing the circuit of a voltaic alarum,
by deflecting a galvanometer needle, or, lastly, by the adaptation
of the simpler mechanism of a wheel barometer. We understand
that the invention has been patented by Mr. Ansell, and, inasmuch
as it gives great promise of successful employment, the apparatus
must be deemed well worthy of immediate trial. — Reader.

CONTROLLING CLOCK.

Mr. Lang, C.E., in a paper read before the Royal Scottish Soci-
ety of Arts, proposes a new method of adjusting a clock to within
asmall fraction of a second, which may perhaps be found useful
in the case of a controlling clock, where it is important not to
throw the controlled clocks out of time. It consists essentially in
varying the virtual length of the pendylum by a yery small

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 175

amount for a known time, according to the quantity the clock is
fast or slow. ‘The suspending spring passes through a fine slit in
a piece of steel, which is capable of being raised or lowered by a
cam toa certain extent. An index in the axis of the cam, moving
over a dial, shows the extent to which the pendulum has been
shortened or lengthened. Suppose the clock to be thirteen-hun-
dredths of a second fast; the index is to be turned so as to point
to the word losing on the dial, and allowed to remain there for
five minutes twelve seconds, in the example given by Mr. Lang.
At the end of this time it must be turned back so that the index
points to mean rate. By this operation the clock is put back to
true time.

DEPTHS OF THE SEA.

A French journal says that the soundings for the new trans-
Atlantic cable have enabled comparisons to be made of the depths
of the different seas. Generally speaking, they are not of any
great depth in the neighborhood of continents. Thus, the Baltic,
between Germany and Sweden, is only 120 feet deep; and the
Adriatic, between Venice and Trieste, 130 feet. The greatest
depth of the channel between France and England does not ex-
ceed 300 feet, while to the southwest of Ireland, where the sea is
open, the depth is more than 2,000 feet. The seas to the south of
Europe are much deeper than those in the interior. In the nar-
rowest part of the Straits of Gibraltar the depthis only 1,000 feet,
while a little more to the east it is 3,000 feet. On the coast of
Spain the depth is nearly 6,000 feet. At 250 miles south of Nan-
tucket (south of Cape Cod), no bottom was found at 7,000 feet.
The greatest depths of all are to be met with in the Southern
Ocean. To the west of the Cape of Good Hope, 16,000 feet have
been measured, and to the west of St. Helena, 27,000. Dr. Young
estimates the average depth of the Atlantic at 25,000 feet, and of
the Pacific at 20,000.

FRACTURING CAST-IRON WITH WATER.

Advantage has recently been taken of the non-compressibility
of water, to effect the reduction of large masses of cast-iron in
France. The method, which is simple and ingenious, consists in
drilling a hole in the mass for about one-third of its thickness, and
filling the hole with water; then closing it with a steel plug which
fits very accurately, and letting the ram of a pile-driver fall on
the plug. The first blow separates the cast-iron into two pieces.

AMSDEN’S HYDROSTATIC SCALE.

The simple principle of this scale, viz., that a floating body
sinks in water until it has displaced a quantity of water equal in
weight to itself, is as old as Archimedes; the scale of Mr. Amsden
therefore acts by the displacement of the water, and not by
hydraulic pressure. It claims to supply the very important desid-

176 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

eratum of correctly ascertaining, in a minute or less, the exact
weight of vessels of all descriptions, with their cargoes, at all
times when at rest in the water, whether salt or fresh. It indi-
cates not only any diminution or addition to the cargo, thus pre-
venting frauds in transportation, but also reveals at a glance the
condition of the vessel as to leakage on the voyage, thus con-
tributing, by an ‘‘alarm” easily adapted, to the safety of passen-
gers, and the preservation of freight. It is of great value in
cheapening freight, increasing accuracy of measurement, and
avoiding damage to boats by the racking in the old-fashioned
weigh-locks, the last item being often a quarter of the worth of
the cargo.

RESISTANCE OF WATER TO FLOATING AND IMMERSED BODIES.

At the Nottingham meeting of the British Association, Prof.
Rankine read the report of the committee appointed to make
experiments on this subject, giving the results of two hundred
and twenty experiments. ‘The committee have deferred for the
present deducing any general laws of resistance; but he stated
that the results of the experiments led to the following general
conclusions: 1. That, agreeably to what was previously known of
the behavior of small bodies at low speeds, the resistance in-
creased on the whole somewhat more slowly than as the square
of the velocity. 2. That, when the velocity went beyond the
maximum velocity suited to the length of the model, as ascer-
tained by Mr. Scott Russell’s well-known rules, the resistance
showed a tendency to increase at a more rapid rate. 3. In all
cases the resistance seemed to be much more nearly proportion-
ate to the main girth than to the midship section.

Mr. Bailey and Admiral Belcher having spoken with disap-
proval of hollow lines or wave-lines at the bows of sea-going
vessels, Prof. Rankine pointed out, that the wave-line theory con-
sisted of two branches, one relating to the form of the bows, the
other to the relation between the length of the vessel and the
speed at which she was to be propelled through the water. He
did not attach much weight to the hollow bow, but thought that
much was to be said in favor of the theory that the length should
have a certain relation to the speed.

NON-RECOIL GUN.

Mr. G. P. Harding has recently experimented on a gun on a
principle so new, that, if his expectations are fulfilled, the manu-
facture of fire-arms will be revolutionized. His gun isa simple
cylindrical tube, without any breech. The shot is placed at the
centre, the charge behind it confined by a wad, and a second wad
is introduced at such a distance as to leave an air-space behind
the charge. The extraordinary fact developed by Mr. Harding's
experiments is this: That, although the gun is equally open in
both directions, almost the whole force of the explosion takes
effect on the shot, which attains the same velocity as if fired from

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 104

an ordinary gun, and is followed by the gases generated in the
gun, a very small part only escaping at the breech. Mr. Har-
ding’s theory of the action of his gun is this: That compression
of the air in’ the air- -space behind the charge occupies an appre-
ciable time, during which the force of the explosion has been
communicated to the shot. But it is obvious that his results, if
confirmed, will require a new examination of the action of pow-
der in close chambers, our present knowledge being insufficient
for their adequate explanation. In the meantime Mr. Harding
has made several hundred experiments, which are certainly inter-
esting and probably important. Of course, in such a gun, there
is no recoil; and hence the name he has given it. — Popular
Science Review, July, 1866.

PRODUCTION OF ICE CYLINDERS BY PRESSURE THROUGH
ORIFICES.

The experiments of M. Fresca were made by acting on ice con-
tained in a cylinder 0.16 metre (about 6 inches) in diameter, with
the pressure necessary to drive it through a central opening in its
base 0.05 metre (nearly 2 inches in diameter). The plates, pre-
pared in Tyndall’s method, in some cases colored at the joints,
acted like plates of lead or of porcelain paste, as before explained
by the author to the French Academy. ‘The surfaces of the
planes of division or joints, originally flat,were transformed into
tubes concentric and perfectly distinct from each other, thus indi-
cating the movement of each point of the mass during the change.
The ice cylinders were longitudinally furrowed, the furrows
appearing to proceed from fractures produced at the moment
when a portion of the cylindrical block leaves the orifice, and
when, consequently, it ceases to be subjected to pressure at the
outer extremity. The evenly bedded structure of the cylinder of
ice shows that the origin of these fractures is subsequent to the
formation of the cylinder. Fora block of the dimensions above
given, the pressure required for the flow cf the ice is 10,000 kilo-
grammes, one-fifth of that required for lead; this pressure cor-
responds for the square centimetre to 126 kilogrammes, or to a
column of water 1,300 metres high.

The phenomena attending the formation of these ice cylinders
seem to throw light on the question of the movement of glaciers.
The relative displacement of the layers of ice in the process, the
change of form in the flat faces, the curved form of the beds at
the end of each partial tube, the lar ge cavities formed toward
these ends, and the fissures or fractures at the moment of escape
from the pressure, are so many points of resembiance to the
phenomena of glaciers. Though there is not the mass of material
forming moraines, the traces of coloring matter, deposited in
parallel threads and reunited toward the axis, compiete the
analogy.-— Les Mondes, Feb., 1865.

178 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

EXPANSION OF ICE.

The Rey. Frederic Gardiner contributed a paper to the ‘* Amer-
ican Journal of Science,” vol. 40, 1865, on the formation of ice in
the Kennebec River, in the town of Gardiner, Me., in February
aud March, 1865. The river here is about 700 feet wide; the
water is entirely fresh for many miles below, and the average ebb
and flow of the tide is 5 feet; the depth of the water varies, ac-
cording to the locality and the state of the tide, from 17 to 25 feet.
In the course of the winter the ice is always observed to crowd
ashore, crumpling up in ridges on the flats and near the edge of
the channel. ‘This process was well advanced when his observa-
tions were begun, Feb. 6. A row of stakes was planted in the
ice, by boring holes through to the water, at distances of about
100 feet apart, avoiding a very near approach to the shore. The
distance between the eastern and western stakes was 500 feet.
March 18, the easternmost stake had advanced to the eastward
123 inches; a stake 200 feet west of this had not sensibly changed
its position; the westernmost stake had moved to the westward
124 feet. There was thus a total expansion of the ice of 13 feet
2% inches in a breadth of 500 feet, — 2.646 per cent., nearly, in 40
days. Of course this motion is entirely independent of the action
of gravity, and is possibly due to variations in the temperature of
the air, that of the water having been nearly constant. The tem-
perature observed at his house, 120 feet from the river, was as
follows: From Feb. 6 to 28 inclusive, mean temperature 22.37°
Fahr.; mean of extreme heat each day 32°; mean of extreme
cold 12.74°; extreme heat 45°; extreme cold 17°. March 1 to
18 inclusive, mean temperature 33.158°; mean of extreme heat
41.33°; of extreme cold 24.944°; extreme heat 50°; extreme cold
7°. These temperatures are each that of the shade. His observa-
tions show that the ice expands without reference to the tempera-
ture of the water, and that the temperature of the ice itself varies
considerably, its changes having little reference to the water be-
low. It also appears that the rays of the sun at these depths are
absorbed largely by an enclosed object, even of a light color. In
the uniform temperature of the water, at various depths, there is
evidence that the sudden disintegration of the ice, and its disap-
pearance, is not in this instance due to the action of the water.
This occurs constantly on the large ponds in the neighborhood,
but rarely on the river. It never takes place until the ‘‘snow
ice ” is entirely melted, and is believed to be due to the action of

the sun.
AFRICAN TELEGRAPH.

Tt has been stated in a report to the British Association, that the
negro had never shown ingenuity enough to invent letters, sym-
bolic or phonetic. That this is untrue is shown by the ‘ Elliem-
bie” or African telegraph, an instrument which has been in exist-
ence for time immemorial to the oldest inhabitant in the Came-
roons country, on the west coast of Africa. By the sounds produced
on striking this instrument, the natives carry on conversation with

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 179

great rapidity, and at several miles distance. The sounds are
made to produce a perfect and distinct language, as intelligible to
the natives as that uttered by the human voice. The instrument
is in universal practice about the Cameroons, and up in the inte-
rior, in the Abo and Budi countries, a part of Central Africa not
yet visited by Europeans. ‘In visiting this part of Africa in 1859,
my coming was generally announced beforehand to the different
villages by the ‘ Elliembic.’ I questionedsome of the oldest in-
habitants as to the inventor; but none of them could tell me further
than that they supposed ‘it must have been some of their great-
grandfathers.’ This ‘ Elliembic,’ therefore (which is a most in-
genious invention), must have been in existence in Africa before
telegraphs were dreamed of in England.” — Mr. INNEs, in Athe-
neum, October, 1865.

ACOUSTIC PHENOMENA,

Prof. Page, of Washington, to whom we are indebted for the
curious observations that a bar, when magnetized, emits a musi-
cal sound, has recently published a paper on the cause of the
unpleasant jingle sometimes heard in pianofortes and other
stringed musical instruments. It frequently happens that an in-
strument is partly taken to pieces, and searched for some loose
screw or fragment of foreign matter which may have fallen on
the wires, but without success. Prof. Page shows, however,
that, in most cases, the noise is not in the instrument at all, but
is really due to the sympathetic vibrations of some object in the
apartment, —often a loose pane of glass. He gives an account
of a piano, two notes of which had an intolerable jingle. ‘The
room was very small, and while I continued to strike one of these
notes, Mr. W. went about the room touching everything with his
finger, and at last he touched a pane of glass in the window near
the piano, and the jingling ceased at once. On removing his
finger it recommenced. On applying the finger-nail very deli-
cately to the pane, it was found to vibrate, and on approaching
the ear it was heard distinctly to give out the precise sound of the
note on the piano.” The pane was wedged up, and search made
for the confederate of the other jingling note, which was found
to be a loose pane in another window. It often happens that the
jingle is transferred to different notes without any apparent cause.
This is explained by variations in the tension of the objects in the
apartment, caused either by a difference in the temperature, or an
alteration in the arrangement of the furniture. This explanation
of a very common and very irritating phenomenon appears to us
to be extremely ingenious. It may be objected, that the sound
cannot come from anywhere else but from the piano; but the ear
is remarkably defective in the power of judging of the origin and
direction of sounds, as is shown by the extraordinary effects pro-
duced by a clever ventriloquist.

Sondhauss (‘‘ Pogg. Ann.,” March, 1865) details some experi-
ments on the sounds produced by water flowing through orifices
in plates cemented at the bottom of upright tubes, in order to
compare the resulting musical tones with those produced by a

180 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

blast of air under the same circumstances. He found, if the plate
was thick in proportion to the diameter of the orifice, no tone
eould be heard. With small orifices in thin plates, air would
produce no sound, while water flowing through the same orifice
produced a distinct note. Another difference between the musi-
eal capabilities of air and water was, that, by increased pressure,
air would produce’ several successive harmonic tones, while with
water the quality only of the tone changed. He found, as Savart
had previously, that the sound depended on the tube as well as
the orifice. Sondhauss believes that a musical sound can be
produced by filling the mouth with water, and squirting it out
through a small opening between the lips; but he could not as-
certain if any one had ever successfully practiced this desirable
accomplishment. He states, in conclusion, that, from the readi-
ness with which sounds are produced by liquids, there is great
probability that the depths of the sea are not the silent abodes
which we usually suppose. The fish, by squirting out or sucking
in water through orifices in their mouths or in their opercula,
might readily produce great varieties of tones. The genera
Cottus and ‘Trigla, which are known to produce sounds, are
probably by no means the only vocal fish ; and, in fact, the saying,
** Mute as a fish,” should be discarded from the company of un-
impeachably true proverbs. — Leader.

FOG-SIGNAL.

A novel fog-signal has recently been erected on the island of
Ushant, near Brest, for the purpose of warning sailors of the
proximity of the land during foggy weather. The apparatus
consists of a large trumpet fixed vertic: illy on a reservoir of com-
pressed air, supplied by a blowing engine worked by two horses.
The bell of the trumpet is bent at Tight angles, and can be moved
horizontally through an angle of 180°, so as to throw the sound
in any direction. ‘Communication may be made with the reser-
voir by means of a stop- -cock, so that a continuous or intermittent
sound may be produced at pleasure. The sound is so powerful
that it may be heard at a distance of three or four nautical miles.
It is stated that the authorities intend placing these trumpets on
several of the most dangerous parts of the French coast.

NATURE OF SOUND.

At the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, in 1866,
Prof. Henry gave an interesting paper on some recent experi-
ments with ‘foe-bells. The board of officers, which has charge of
the lighthouse system, consists of six persons, three of whom are
members of this academy. Before the war, they met once a
month; but for the last five years they had met every Saturday,
to consider various questions of management. They had recently
been trying fog-signals at New Haven. A steam-gong, which
consisted of two whistles, from fourteen to twenty inches in
length, and one foot across, set mouth to mouth, blown by a

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NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 181

steam-engine, had been heard thirty miles. He went to Provi-
dence to hear it; and other experiments were tried with trumpets
and whistles. Sound was sent with the wind, against the wind,
and at right angles with it. Strange to say, it was heard farthest
at right angles. Prof. Henry would have been almost afraid to
report this last conclusion, but that he afterwards found it had
been observed in 1813. These instruments were blown with a
definite amount of power and a definite amount of air. The
problem was to get most sound with least expenditure of power
and air.. A trumpet blown by a Roper engine was finally adopted.
It seemed probable now that sound was not a mere transfer of
vibrations. The body remains at rest, the waves pass by, but a
positive effect of some kind seems to be produced. Prof. Henry
tried further experiments as to the relative intensity and exten-
sion of sound. He strained a delicate test-paper over the mouth-
piece of a horn, which received the vibrations at the broad end,
and on this he scattered fine sand. It became a test of extreme
delicacy. A change of distance as small as a single inch fre-
quently indicated that vibration had wholly ceased. What be-
comes of the old theory of the propagation of waves of motion or
sound if this experiment be conclusive? Prof. Frazer asked if
any experiment had been tried on the comparative worth of
sounds of a different pitch. A steam-whistle not having been
heard in Holland, another was added, the pitch being two octaves
anda half apart. No Holland ear could bear the sound! Prof,
Henry replied that the steam-gong was constructed in reference
to that. The best effect was produced by differences of one-fifth
and one-tenth. The thickness of the metal seemed to make no
difference. Each whistle was only a resounding cavity.

NEW ACOUSTICAL APPARATUS.

M. Koenig has recently issued a catalogue of acoustic appara-
tus, in which are figured and described many new instruments
that will be highly prized by the lovers of experimental science.

In the first place may be noticed —

Riess’ Telephone. — This is an apparatus for the transmission of
sound by means of electricity. A light platinum point rests upon
a stretched membrane, which, when vibrating, causes the platinum
nipple to make and break contact with an adjacent metal band,
through which the intermittent current is transmitted to the dis-
tant station. There it passes round a bar of soft iron, which,
being rapidly magnetized and demagnetized, emits a continuous
sound. ‘Thus, a person speaking in Edinburgh can, without any
other effort, produce a sound in London.

Seebeck’s Syren.— This instrument consists of nine circular
metal plates, pierced with holes systematically arranged. By
means of powerful clockwork, the disks can be turned, while
their velocity of rotation, which can be varied at pleasure, is
recorded in the usual manner. The current of air from a bellows
is distributed at will, with greater or less intensity, through twelve
pipes, which can be fixed in any position before the turning disk.

16

182 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The different disks are intended to represent different acoustical
phenomena, as interference, beats, the harmonics, etc.

Among the instruments is a complete apparatus for resonance.
This consists in a series of nineteen hollow copper globes,
arranged according to certain notes. Each of the globes is fur-
nished with two openings, one of which establishes a communica-
tion with the air, whilst the other is connected with a little tube
to be placed in the ear. If any of the harmonics accompanying
the fundamental sound contain the proper note, a powerful res-
onance is heard.

Especially worthy of notice is a large apparatus for the artificial
composition of different kinds of sound, by the simultaneous pro-
duction of a series of simple notes. Eight tuning-forks are fixed
vertically between the arms of eight horizontal electro -magnets,
round which passes an intermittent current. The interruption in
the current is produced by a fork making a certain number of vi-
brations between the poles of an electro-magnet. In front of each
tuning-fork is a resonant tube, the opening into which can be more
or less elosed by means of a movable stop. When the opening
is entirely closed, the tuning-forks can be scarcely heard; but
any desired note can be obtained by withdrawing the key which
closes the resonant box. ;

Singing Flames.—There is a pretty modification of one of
Count Schaffgotsch’s experiments on singing flames. Two little
jets of gas issue from two tapering burners. Over the flames are
placed two glass tubes nearly in unison. When the flames begin
to sing, beats are heard corresponding to the vibratory movement
of the flames; a phenomenon first explained by Professor Tyn-
dall, in the ‘* Philosophical Magazine,” for July, 1857. So far,
the experiment is old; but now M. Koenig causes one of the
burners to be rapidly rotated along with a revolving mirror. The
broken luminous circle given by the singing flame when unmoved
i¢, when it rotates, changed into a discontinuous crown of light,
which appears to be formed of luminous pearls as soon as “the
flame in the other tube is made to vibrate. By another arrange-
ment, the flames can be made to take the appearance of a double
spiral.

Phonautograph. —Uitherto we have mainly trusted to the ear
to inform us of the existence of vibrations. M. Koenig now
details apparatus by which observations can be made without the
use of that organ.

For this purpose, by far the most important instrument is the
phonautograph, which writes in the form of a curve not only in-
strumental notes, but also some of the simpler vocal sounds.
Experiments on the phonautograph have recently been made by
Mr. Donders, who has sent a preliminary note on the subject to
** Poggendorff’s Annalen,” from which we have obtained the fol-
lowing particulars : The instrument, as used by Mr. Donders,
consists in a delicate stretched membrane, to which is attached a
light weight, and of a pen for writing the motions of this mem-
brane. ‘The pen employed consists “of several elastic tongues
springing from a bent holder, and so fixed that the teeth of the

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 183

pen rest on the surface of a blackened cylinder which can be
caused to rotate. Among other results, Mr. Donders found that,
when a simple note was sounded, a simple sinuosity was traced
on the rotating cylinder. The form of the curve varies with the
pitch of the voice.

A treble voice gives for the same note and the same vowel a
simpler curve than a bass voice. The three ‘‘ sounding” conso-
nants produced almost as simple curves as the vowels, differing
slightly, however, from them. Many consonants, which preceded
or followed a vowel, produced a characteristic modification at the
beginning or at the end of the curve given by the vowel. M.
Koenig has also been able to obtain writings of the human voice
with his phonautograph, and has traced with correct differences
the four notes, ut, mi, sol, ut; finally, M. Koenig has succeeded
in recording an air, composed on eight notes of the gamut.

After this there is a most elegant apparatus for comparing the
vibrations of two sounding columns of air by means of gas flames.
This does for organ-pipes what Lissajous’ experiments did for
tuning-forks; the composition of vibrations in both cases are now
rendered visible. Two jets of gas, placed over each other, are
made to communicate by branch tubes with the nodal points of
two organ-pipes. In front is a turning mirror in which the gas-
jets can be viewed. When the two organ-pipes are in perfect
unison, the flames appear in the rotating mirror no longer as two
parallel series vertically superposed, but are seen to alternate
with each other. If the pipes are arranged so as to give beats,
the images of the two series will be sometimes superposed and
sometimes alternating. If two pipes be taken which sound utgs
and sols, in the mirror two images of one series are seen to cor-
respond with three of the other. By simple arrangements the
effects can be varied in a most instructive manner.

In another apparatus, somewhat similar in principle, the quality
of a sound can be visibly separated into its elementary notes by
means of gas flames. ‘Ten resonant spheres are fixed one over
the other, in a series gradually diminishing in size. Each com-
municates by a tube with a box, which forms a pressure case, and
from which spring ten jets of gas, also placed in a line one over
the other. A revolving mirror parallel to this line shows which
flames are put in vibration by the resonant globes; the flames in
communication with the spheres in which there is no resonance
appearing simply as a line of light.

An apparatus for the study of the simple and composite vibra-
tory movement in cords was suggested by M. Melde, in ‘‘ Pog-
gendorff’s Annalen.” This, as made by M. Koenig, is as follows:
A cord is stretched between two tuning-forks, which are fixed
upon an upright support. When the forks are caused to vibrate,
the cord will be observed to show the co-existence of the harmon-
ics with the fundamental note, or the co-existence of two harmon-
ics, The beats can also be shown, either with the fundamenal
note or with one of its harmonics. By simply varying the tension
of the cord, and using different tuning-forks, an immense number
of vibratory forms can be produced at pleasure. With this inter-

184 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

esting apparatus, other simple experiments can also be executed.
— Reader.

«FALL OF RAIN.

The last weekly return of the Registrar-General gives the fol-
lowing interesting information in respect to rain-fall: ‘‘ Rain fell
in London to the amount of 0.43 inch, which is equivalent to 43
tons of rain per acre. An English acre consists of _6,272,640
square inches; and an inch deep of rain on an acre yields 6,272 640
cubic inches of water, which, at 277,274 cubic inches to the gallon,
makes 22,622.5 9: allons ; and as a gallon of distilled water weighs
10 lbs., the rain- “fall on an acre is 226,225 Ibs. avoirdupois; con-
sequently an inch deep of rain weighs 100.99 tons, or nearly 101
tons per acre. For every 100th of an inch, a ton of water falls per
acre.” If any agriculturist were to try the experiment of dis-
tributing artificially that which nature so bountifully supplies, he
would soon feel inclined to ‘* rest and be thankful.”

M. Petit, the director of the Observatory at Toulouse, speaking
of the late heavy rains, says: ‘‘ The quantity is not so unusual as
at first sight would appear. The average annual fall is about 60
centimetres, rather more than 2 feet English, spread over about
100 rainy days, thus giving an average fall of about 6 millimetres
for each day, or about 6 litres, 10 to 11 pints English, per square
metre. The average of the heavy rains of the 15th, 16th, and
17th of January, in ‘the present year, rose to about 9 millimetres,
Greater falls have often occurred in France. On the 19th of
September, 1844, 35 millimetres of rain fell at Toulouse in 30
minutes; and on the 10th of August, 1859, there fell 59 milli-
metres in two successive storms of about 40 minutes each in dura-
tion. In recalling the impression of terror created by the sight
of a precipice, one is inclined to ask how it is that we are not
terrified at such enormous quantities of water being suspended
over our heads. But the question appears under a still more
extraordinary aspect, when we consider the amount of heat re-
quired to vaporize all the water which we receive in the form of
rain. When we remember that in the tropics there fall about 2
metres of water per annum, that in our climate we have never
less than 50 or 60 centimetres, and that the masses of snow in
the polar regions must also furnish a great quantity of water, it
will be readily admitted that the annual rain-fall must be, at
least, equal to a stratum of water all over the gtobe of 50 centi-
metres, upwards of 193 inches English. It is easy, with these
facts given, to see that the evaporation caused by the heat of the
sun must render to the atmosphere about 175,000,000,000 cubic
metres of water per day, or rather more than 2 ,000,000,000 of
litres a second. And yet the furnace is 38 millions of leagues
distant from us.” — Journal of the Soc. of Arts, Nos., 639; 640, 1865.

CHEMICAL SCIENCE.

ISOMERISM.

Berthelot, in a memoir on a new kind of isomerism, proposes
the following subdivision of this subject: Isomeric bodies — that
is to say, bodies formed of the same elements united in the same
proportion — can be separated into a certain number of classes or
general groups : —

1. Equivalent composition. — Substances which appear to have a
purely accidental relation to each other; for instance, butyric
acid, Cs Hg O4, and dialdehyde (Cy Hy Or):

2.’ Metamerism. — Bodies formed by the union of two distinct
principles, so that in their formule a kind of compensation is
established; for example, methylacetic ether, C. H». (Cy Hy O04),
and ethylformic ether, Cy Hy (Cy Hz Ox).

3. Polymerism. — Compounds arising from the union of several
molecules to form one; this is shown in the case of amylene
(Cyo Hi) and diamy lene’ (Cio Hho)e.

4. Isomerism, properly so called. — There are bodies that, differ-
ing in their properties, retain these distinctive features in their
passage through certain compounds, the properties of which
result from the internal structure of the compound molccule
taken as a whole, rather than the diversity of the components
which have produced it. This is observed in the cases of essence
of terebenthine and citron, the sugars, the symmetrical tartaric
acids, and the two classes of ethyl-sulphates.

5. Physical Isomerism.— By which is meant the different states
of one and the same body, the diverse nature of which vanishes
when the substance enters into combination. To these five
classes, Berthelot proposes to append a new one, called keno-
merism, distinct from all the others, though allied to
metamerism.

6. Kenomerism.—Two different compounds may lose, by the
effect of certain reagents which bring about decomposition, dif-
ferent groups of elements, and the remainders be identical in
composition ; these two derivatives, however, may yet be distinct
the one from the other, both in phy sical and chemical properties.
They retain to some extent the structure of the compounds from
which they take their origin. To take examples: alcohol, by los-
ing 2 equivalents of hydrogen, is turned into aldehyde : —

Cy, Hg O2 — He = Cy Hy Orv.
Glycol, on the other hand, by g giving up 2 equivalents of water,
is conv erted into glycolic ether (oxide of ethylene) : —
Cy Hg Oy — He Oo = Cy Hy Ov.
Glycolic ether and aldehyde are isomeric; their composition is
16* 185

186 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the same, but their properties, both physical and chemical, are
extremely different. This is a good case of kenomerism. Again,
essence of terebenthine combines with hydrochloric acid under
different conditions to form two distinct hydrochlorates, the
monohydrochlorate, C2 His H Cl, and the dihyodrochlorate, C20
His 2 H Cl. From the first body the crystalline compound C2» His,
camphene, is obtained, and from the latter Cop His, terpilene two
hydrocarbons of very different properties. — Reader.

MECHANICAL ENERGY OF CHEMICAL ACTIONS,

A suggestive paper, by Dr. Van der Kolk, on the mechanical
energy of chemical actions, appeared in ‘* Poggendorff’s Anna-
len” some time since. Mr. Foster gives a translation of this
paper, adding some critical notes in the April number of the
** Philosophical Magazine.” Dr. Van der Kolk endeavors to show
that there is a connection between the experiments of Deville on
dissociation, and those of Favre and Silbermann on evolution,
and, in a few cases, absorption, of heat by chemical combination.
Starting from the point that every substance raised to a certain
temperature above zero has received a given amount of heat, or,
as termed by Thomson, contains a definite quantity of energy,
the author proceeds to examine the different cases presented in
chemical union, when the body, after combination, possesses
either more or less energy than its constituents. He thus arrives
at the following law: Bodies which evolve heat, when decom-
posed by elevation of temperature, are not reproduced by subse-
quent cooling. Interesting examples confirming this law are
quoted from Favre and Silbermann’s results, from which a second
theorem is established, namely, that when a body on heating
passes from one condition to another with evolution of heat, it
does not return to its first condition upon subsequent cooling ;
plastic sulphur, barley-sugar, phosphorus, etc., follow this law.
The converse to this theorem, though not proved, yet is shown to
be frequently confirmed. From these laws it is stated that, in
order to produce a chemical compound, not only must there be
the chemical force or affinity sufficient for combination, but there
must also exist the necessary energy. To illustrate this, exam-
ples are adduced of phenomena which have hitherto stood as
enigmas in chemical science. Thus the electric spark, it is known,
can cause the combination of an unlimited quantity of some gases,
as, e.g., oxygen and hydrogen, whilst other gaseous mixtures
can only be gradually combined along the path of the spark itself,
as, e. g., nitrogen and oxygen. In the first case, the energy of
the constituents exceeds that of the compound; combination of
the mass therefore occurs as soon as the power of aflinity is in-
creased by the spark; the union of a few atoms of hydrogen and
oxygen developing suflicient heat to cause others to combine, and
thus of the rest. In the second case, however, as the energy of
the constituents is less than that of the compound, the electric
spark has not only to increase the affinity, but at the same time to
add the needful energy. Hence, as no heat is evolved by the

CHEMICAL SCIEYCE. 187

union of a few atoms of nitrogen and oxygen, the combination
cannot extend throughout the mass, but occurs only along the
line of the spark, which, i in this case, has to increase both ailinity

and energy.
IS NITROGEN AN ELEMENT?

Chemistry and astronomy at the present day seem to be twin
sisters in science, as their independently obtained results remark-
ably confirm each other in many recent instances. A late exam-
ple of this is in reference to the constitution of nitrogen, and is
afforded by Mr. Huggins’ observations of the spectra of some of
the nebula, taken in connection with observations of the nitrogen
spectrum made in the laboratory of Mr. Waltenhofen. Both
these observers have been led to the suspicion that nitrogen is
not an elementary substance, but a compound of more simple
forms of matter, —the former, by observing in the spectra of some
of the nebulz some, but not all, of the lines of the nitrogen ee
trum, as if nitrogen were a compound body, and those nebule
contained, among the materials of which they are composed, one
of its constituents and not the other: and tie latter, by the dis-
covery that, in a highly rarified nitrogen atmosphere the violet
rays disappear before the blue and~ green rays. — Mechanics’
Magazine, Oct., 1865.

Mr. Henry Kilgour, of Edinbureh, maintains that nitrogen is
.carbonic oxide in an allotropic state, having had its activ ity
diminished by heat, electricity, or some other force at present
unknown. His chief points are that carbonic oxide and nitrogen
have exactly the same atomic weight and atomic volume, and
very nearly the same specific gravity and specific heat; that both
are neutral, and capable in only a very few instances of entering
directly into combination with other bodies; that neither of them
has either color, taste, or odor, or can support combustion or
respiration, or can combine with acids to form salts, but that both
can combine with oxygen to form acids. He draws many other
equally striking parallels, for which see Mechanics’ Magazine,
Nov., 1865.

DISSOCIATION OF GASES AT HIGH TEMPERATURES.

Some interesting researches on this subject have recently been
made by M. L. Cailletet, in developing the discovery of M. St.
Claire Deville, that at a high temperature the constituents con-
tained in a mixture of gases will separate. As it is necessary to
cool the dissociated elements rapidly, it was necessary to devise
an apparatus suited to the purpose. By means of this apparatus
some important facts were observed. Thus, that oxygen has no
action whatever on hydrogen, carbon, or carbonic oxide, placed
within a mass which is at a temperature higher than the melting
point of platinum; and the conclusion arrived at was, that all
bodies would most probably be dissociated by a temperature suf-
ficiently high. — Intellectual Observer, 1866.

188 ANNUAL OF, SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

REDUCTION OF ALUMINIUM BY ZINC.

The largest item of the cost of aluminium has hitherto been
that of the sodium used in its reduction; but we are now told
that M. Basset, of Paris, has succeeded in reducing it from the
chloride by means of the much cheaper metal, zinc. His plan is
to fuse chloride of aluminium with an excess of zine, and he states
that the results are chloride of zine and an alloy of zine and
aluminium, from which all the zine may be driven off by a white
heat. If this process be practicable on the large scale, there will
be no reason why aluminium should not speedily become cheap
enough for employment in the many mechanical applications for
which it is so admirably fitted, instead of being confined, as at
present, to ornamental uses only. — Mech. Mag., Jan., 1865.

INGREDIENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC ATR.

H. Reinsch stretched eighteen square feet of carefully washed
linen cloth upon poles, so as to form a sort of roof. Over one such
roof he allowed very dilute hydrochloric acid to trickle for four-
teen days, and over another a one-per-cent. soda solution for the
same time. The collected liquors were then evaporated and ex-
amined. The acid liquor was first distilled. A beautiful violet-
colored (an aniline?) compound passed over first, then sal ammo-
niac, and, last, some pyrogenous products arising from the organic
substances absorbed by the acid. The residue was then com-
pletely carbonized, and the ash examined. It contained traces
of metals precipitable by H,S (Pb, Sn, or Cu?). The aqueous
extract of the ash contained Na, considerable traces of Ca and K,
and doubtful traces of Mg. The hydrochloric solution of the ash
contained Ca, Fe, Mn, Al, and traces of SOs. Silica remained
behind insoluble. In the collected soda liquor the author found
much Cl and COs, with decided traces of PO; and SOs. There
were also traces of Ca, and much organic matter, with Fe, Mn,
and SiO,.— NV. Jahrb. f. Pharm., 24, 193.

CRYSTALLOGENIC FORCE.

According to M. Kuhlmann’s researches on the Crystallogenie
Force,—on the artificial crystallization of mineral substances and of
metals by humid means, — when crystals of carbonate of soda were
placed in a solution of sulphate of copper, a layer of carbonate of
copper was precipitated on them; by degrees the whole of the
carbonate of soda changed into a solution of sulphate of soda,
whilst the slowly-formed crystals of carbonate of copper produced
artificial minerals, closely resembling azurite and malachite. In
the same way, crystals of carbonate of soda placed in a solution
of sulphate of nickel formed blue and green carbonate of nickel,
and placed in a solution of nitrate of cobalt produced magnificent
ruby-red crystals of carbonate of cobalt. The author states that
the reduction of metals to the crystalline state can be produced
by the action of water and acids; especially is this the case with
alloys, and he shows that a lead alloy can thus be crystallized. Sul-
phate of copper placed in a solution of polysulphide of potassium

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 189

became covered with sulphide of copper, upon which were depos-
ited fine rhombohedrice crystals of sulphur. Gold has been pro-
duced in the form of a beautiful crystalline gold-sand, by placing
chloride of gold, contained in a porous vessel, in the midst of a
solution either of sulphate of iron, hyposulphite of soda, or oxalie
acid. M. Kuhlmann then mentions another remarkable result he
obtained, by placing crystals of sulphate of copper in a solution of
monosulphide of potassium, and concludes by showing that wood
has a true deoxidizing effect upon the salts of copper and iron,
transforming the sulphates into sulphides.

SEDIMENTS OF WINES.

M. Pasteur states that he has carefully examined these sedi-
ments, and has found they can all be classed under three heads.
The first are crystals of bitartrate of potash, neutral tartrate of
soda, or a mixture of the two salts. These adhere to the sides of
the bottles, and have but little influence upon the composition and
quality of the wine. The second kind, also covering the sides of
the bottles, are brown coloring matters, which, originally dissolved
in the wine, are gradually rendered insoluble by oxidation. This
sediment, therefore, is caused by the presence of oxygen existing
in the air which is over or dissolved in the wine. By several ex-
periments upon different wines enclosed in tubes, the author proves
this fact, and shows that the deposit takes place more rapidly when
the tubes are exposed to the light. The wine becomes of a lighter
color, and acquires the peculiar odor and flavor of old wines which
have returned from a voyage. He attributes the good effect of a
tropical voyage upon wine, not, as has been recently supposed, to
the increase of temperature, but to the continual changing of the
vitiated air over the wine through variations in the pressure from
constant shaking and evaporation. Accordingly, wines hermeti-
eally sealed in bottles without oxygen have no sediment; indeed,
do not sensibly change in any way. ‘The third class of sediment,
by far the most injurious, is composed of various cryptogamic
vegetations, which, acting as ferments, are the sole cause of the
“diseases” of wine. The author infers that wines would be im-
proved by leaving them in the cask until ripe, and then bottling
them.

UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE.

At the meeting of the London Chemical Society, February 1,
1866, Dr. Gilbert read a lecture ‘*‘ On the Composition, Value, and
Utilization of Town Sewage,” of which the following were the
conclusions: 1. It is only by the liberal use of water, that the
refuse matters of large populations can be removed from their
dwellings without nuisance and injury to health. 2. That the
discharge of town sewage into rivers renders them unfit as a
water-supply to other towns, is destructive to fish, causes deposits
which injure the channel, and emanations which are injurious to
health, and is also a great waste of manurial matter. 3. That
the proper mode of both purifying and utilizing sewage-water is
to apply it to land. 4. That, considering the great dilution, con-

190 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

stant daily supply, greater amount in wet weather, and cost of
distribution, it is best fitted for application to grass, although it
may be occasionally applied to other crops under favorable circum-
stances. 6. That the direct result of the general application of
town sewage to grass-land would be an enormous increase in the
production of milk (butter and cheese) and meat, whilst by the
consumption of the grass a large amount of solid manure, appli-
cable to arable land and crops generally, would be produced.

METHOD OF OBTAINING THE ODORIFEROUS PRINCIPLES
OF FLOWERS.

The means used hitherto for obtaining the odorous elements of
flowers are troublesome and more or less wasteful. A volatile
essential oil, obtained from well-purified Pennsylvania petroleum,
and termed petroleum ether, is now used very successfully for
this purpose. It absorbs the odorous principle of the flowers,
new quantities of which are added continually to it, until it
becomes saturated. It is then separated from the odorous prin-
ciple by evaporation, but little of it being lost. The fatty and
other matters associated with the perfume, which is left behind,
may be separated from it by means of alcohol, in which they are
nearly insoluble, but which dissolves the odorous principle with
great facility. This method may be used for extracting any
aroma, especially when contained in flowers. — Jntellectual Obser-
ver, April, 1866. oe}

PROCESS FOR STAINING WOOD.

In the ‘* Journal of the Franklin Institute ” for November, 1866,
is described the process of Barton H. Jenks for staining woods.
The wood to be treated is placed in a close vessel, which is con-
nected with an air-pump, and the air is removed. The coloring
fluid is then allowed to enter and permeate the wood, which it
does in a very thorough and even manner, on account of the
removal of all air from the fibre. The excess of fluid is then
pumped out, or the wood is removed and allowed to dry in the
usual way. Specimens of white pine were stained with the fol-
lowing substances : —

i> Nitrate of iron’ “io. sos. 5) sees Warteray iris
2. Nitrate of iron and paraffin . . . . . . Warm gray, dark.
5. sulphateof irom 8. ia 6% . Colder gray, light.
4. Sulphate of iron and paraffin . . Cold gray, dark.
5. Sulphate of ironand logwood . . . 2... . . Like 3.
6. Sulphate of iron, logwood, and paraffin . . .. . . Like 2.
ifeechromatacot potash c. |. lel) opus) suite . Yellow gray, light.
8. Chromate of potash and paraffin. . . . . Yellow gray, dark.
9. Bichromate of potash . . . . Yellow gray, between 7 and 8.
10. Bichromate of potash and paraffin . . Very rich yellow gray.
WV ehopwood Sees ho teh ay gs er fo ee Ot ee i Ona e.
12. Logwood and paraffin .... . . =. . . #£=Dark orange.
132 Aniline blue: ex, Vis (46) ote is il tor ts. ee ose od ee Bl oishslsite:
14. Aniline blue and paraffin . . . “uk Bluish slate, dark.
IS: cAmilinemede pes tse 3) ses Violet, with yellow shade.
16. Aniline red and paraffin . A little darker than 15.
17. Aniline solferino piniaie of “et ish a) tie eich purples
18. Aniline solferino and paraffin . . . . . Rich purple, darker.

Cy i vO
.

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 191

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF PYROTECHNICAL COMPOUNDS.

The following are extracts from a communication of Mr. Thomas
Arnall to the ‘‘ London Pharmaceutical Journal,” of September,
1866: ‘*The compositions which are liable to this spontaneous
action all contain chlorate of potash and sulphur, with nitrates of
strontia and baryta, oxide of copper, etc., as coloring agents. The
cause of this action I believe to be, in most cases, acidity, either
of the sulphur or some other ingredient used. It is well known
that most of the flour of sulphur, as met with in @ommerce, has a
slightly acid taste. This acidity has been attributed to atmospheric
oxidation from long exposure, but more probably is caused by
partial combustion during sublimation. Now, supposing sulphur
containing a slight trace of sulphuric acid to be mixed with chlo-
rate of potash, it will liberate a corresponding quantity of chloric
acid; this at once oxidizes more sulphur, and so the mutual reac-
tion goes on until the mixture ignites. But we have also nitric
acid in combination, and the nearly anhydrous vapors of these two
acids will sufficiently account for the heating and ignition of the
compounds in which they are evolved.

**T have been informed by practical pyrotechnists that they
never use sublimed sulphur, but buy it in roll, and powder it for .
use when wanted ; and I believe that latterly the sulphur has been
superseded for indoor uses by a mixture of shellacand resin. This
has the merit of comparative safety, although the brilliancy of the
colors will not bear comparison with those formule where sulphur
is used.

“«These remarks do not apply to a most dangerous compound
for purple fire, which contains chlorate of potash, sulphur, nitrate
of strontia, and anhydrous sulphate of copper. Although the color
is exceedingly beautiful, I can enumerate five deaths from explo-
sions, in addition to other cases not fatal, where this formula wa:
in use; and [have had it ignite four times in my own experi-
ments. In this case no acidity of the ingredients seems requisite.

**T am disposed to attribute the ignition, first, to the anhydrous
sulphate of copper attracting moisture from the air; next, to double
decomposition of the eopper salt and chlorate, ultimately forming
chloride of copper (possibly bichloride), with evolution of chlorie
oxides or chloric acid. I have substituted black oxide of copper
for the sulphate, and the mixture has not shown any tendency to
ignition.

‘*T believe that disaster may be frequently averted by first mix-
ing a few drachms of the ingredients in a mortar. If the ingre-
dients are pure, no smell should be perceived; but if acid be
contained either in the sulphur or other ingredients, a peculiar,
somewhat ozonic odor will arise, which may be considered as
indicative of danger.”

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF COAL ON BOARD SHIPS.

The committee of Lloyd’s Salvage Association has issued the
subjoined report upon this subject, which has caused the destruc-
tion of so many vessels : —

192 “ ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

There are a great many opinions afloat relative to the cause of
spontaneous combustion, some ascribing it to the chemical com-
position of the coal, others to the absence of ventil: ution, either

natural or artificial, while others, again, consider it is caused by
moisture.

1. As to the chemical composition of coal. Q@wners know that
one kind of coal is more liable to heat than another, and some
will not ship that which is dangerous; but others are less scrupu-
lous, and ship all kinds. This mieht he partially checked by
obliging owners to deposit at the Customs an an: lysis of the coals
sent by them; they would be afraid of having any fire traced to
their coal. But a better method is suggested by Mr. R. Hunt,
F.R.S., of the Museum of Practical Geology, i in England. A ma-
chine has for some time been employed for washing away the iron
pyrites, or bisulphuret of iron, from the small coal at the pit’s
mouth, previous to converting it into coke. While the coal is in
transit, the oxygen acts upon the bisulphuret of iron, and evolves
great heat; consequently, if the iron pyrites were excluded, a
great source of danger would be obviated. The cost is only about
sixpence a ton for the washing, and would be amply set off by
the lower rate of insurance consequent on greater security.

2. As to natural ventilation. It is chiefly small coal which
heats; there being room in large kinds for the air to circulate be-
tween the lumps; but as the Chilian consumer requires small
coal for smelting purposes, the only remedy is for shippers to send
as large coal as can be used.

3. Artificial ventilation. Mr. Hunt proposes a method of se-
curing this; but its efficacy has not yet been proved. It is to let
down a pipe in the after part of the ship well into the coal, and to
let down one in the fore part, with the top communicating with
the chimney of the cook’s galley; this would produce ‘an up
draught, and keep down the temperature of the coal.

4. Moisture. Coals are in every way liable to get wet. At the
pit’s mouth they lie uncovered; in the wagons they are not in any
way protected, the expense of tar paulins being too great. While
being shipped, the hold is open to the weather ; and at sea the.
hatches are frequently taken off, and the spray and sea air must
necessarily dampen them.

On the whole, the committee commended to those connected
with shipping coal —

That coal of undue fineness or damp coal should not be shipped.

That a rod similar to those used in British ships should be used
every twelve or twenty-four hours, to ascertain the temperature
of the coal.

That the proposition of Mr. Hunt for artificial ventilation should
be tried.

That the coal should be washed previous to shipping. — Scien-
tific American.

PROTECTION OF VESSELS’ HULLS.

The Jouvin composition for protecting the hulls of ships has
been tried on the French armor-plated vessel, the ‘*‘ Helene,” which

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 193

was launched in December, 1863. Previous to that, her hull was
covered with two coats of paint, the base of which consisted of
metallic zine in powder, and then with minium paint containing
ten per cent. of M. Jouvin’s poisonous composition. After re-
maining fifteen months in the water, she was placed in the dry
dock, when her hull was found to be covered with a gray, mud-
like matter, to the surface of which a few mussels had attached
themselves by their byssus, thus being isolated from immediate
contact with the poisonous composition. A slight touch was suf-
ficient to detach them. They were principally collected on the
spots at which the struts had been fixed, which were only painted a
few moments before the vessel was launched. There were no
marine plants, and no barnacles. These results seem to be highly
satisfactory, since neither plants nor mollusks can attach them-
selves, and the bottom may be cleaned by brushes, or even by
rubbing with a piece of wood, without the necessity for scraping.

SULPHURETTED HYDROGEN.

This gas, which, for experimental purposes, is usually obtained
by means of sulphuret of iron, may be procured more conveniently,
and in a state of great purity, by the use of sulphuret of calcium.
The latter is formed very easily by mixing uncalcined powdered
gypsum with one-fourth of its weight of calcined gypsum, and pow-
dered pit coal equal to one-third of the whole of the gypsum used,
and working up the mixture to astiff dough with water ; next form-
ing it into pieces four inches long, two wide, and one and a-half
thick, sprinkling them with powdered coal, and drying them; then
placing them with coke in a wind furnace, and keeping them at a
very high temperature for two hours. When cold, they will be
found, externally, to consist of oxysulphuret of calcium; but, in-
ternally, of pure peach-colored sulphuret of calcium, which may
be broken in pieces about the size of nuts, and preserved in well-
stoppered glass bottles. If water is added to these, and then sul-
phuric acid in small quantities at a time, sulphuretted hydrogen
is given off with great uniformity. — Scientific Review. °

ACTION OF SEA-WATER UPON METALS.

In a paper by Messrs. Calvert and Johnson, in the London
‘*Mechanics’ Magazine” for March, 1865, are given the results
of experiments in which twenty square centimetres of various
metals, carefully cleaned, were immersed in equal volumes of
sea-water for the space of one month; the conclusions are as
follows: 1. That the metal now most in vogue for shipbuilding,
. hamely, iron, is that which is most readily attacked. 2. That
this is most materially preserved from the action of sea-water
when coated with zinc, and, therefore, in our opinion, it would
amply repay shipbuilders to use galvanized iron as a substitute
for that metal itself. The above facts fully confirm those pub-
lished in a previous paper, in which it was shown that when iron
was in contact with oak they mutually acted upon each other,

17

194 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

producing a rapid destruction of the two materials, whilst little
or no action took place between galvanized iron and the wood.
8. The extraordinary resistance which lead offers to the action of
sea-water naturally suggests its use as a preservative to iron
vessels against the destructive action of that element; and, al-
though we are aware that pure lead is too soft to withstand the
Wear and tear which ships’ bottoms are subject to, still we feel
that an alloy of lead could be devised which would meet the
requirements of shipbuilders. These results are yet more remark-
able when the metals are exposed to a strong tide and a rough
sea. Sea-water acts very differently upon different brasses, ac-
cording to the existence in them of a very small proportion of
another metal; thus, in pure brass the zine is most rapidly dis-
solved (the contrary to what takes place in galvanized iron),
whilst it acts as a preservative to the copper. ‘Tin, on the other
hand, appears to preserve the zinc, but to assist the action of sea-
water upon the copper. The great difference between the action
of sea-water upon pure copper and upon Muntz metal seems to
be due not only to the fact that copper is alloyed to zine, but to the
small proportion of lead and iron which that alloy contains; and
there can be no doubt that shipbuilders derive great benefit by
using it for the keels of their vessels. An alloy of lead, tin, and
antimony has been found by Mr. J. Robinson to resist the action of
sea-water better than any other metal or alloy.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WATERS OF THE DEAD SEA
AND THE RED SEA.

The Water of the Dead Sea.—The Due de Luynes has recently
found fishes in the southern portion of the Dead Sea, around the
ruins of Sodom, apparently multiplying their species comfortably.
M. Daubrée has analyzed several specimens of the water from
various localities and at different depths, and has presented his
results to the Academy of Sciences of Paris, as follows : —

1. The density of the Dead Sea increases with the depth.

2. The composition of the water is not identical throughout its
extent, even when those localities near the mouth of the river and
the small streams which enter it are excepted. The water taken
five miles to the east of Ouadi Mrabba contains four times more
lime than that taken five miles east of the Ras Feschkah; but the
latter contains twice as much sodium as the former.

3. The concentration of the water is also very variable in dif-
ferent localities.

4. The water collected to the north of Sodom, in the part
which forms a lagoon, contains more chloride of sodium than
chloride of magnesium, which is the reverse of the ordinary char-
acter of the waters of the Dead Sea, and explains the possibility
of fishes living there.

5. The proportion of the saline matters remains the same at
all depths; except that the bromides appear to concentrate at
depths of 500 metres. 5

6. The water of the Dead Sea appears to contain no iodine nor
phosphoric acid.

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 195

7. The spectroscope detects in the dried salts neither lithium,
ealcium, nor rubidium. They contain but little sulphuric acid;
but are composed almost exclusively of chloride of magnesium,
sodium, calcium, and potassium, and of a certain quantity of the
bromides of these bases. Their relative richness in bromine and
potassa is such as to deserve the attention of manufacturers of
these articles.

8. The waters of the rivers and springs around the Dead Sea
are composed of chlorides, sulphates, and carbonates of lime,
magnesia, soda, and potassa, and contain no bromine appreciable
to analysis.

Water of the Red Sea.—MM. Robinet and Lefort have just
submitted to the Academy of Sciences of Paris an analysis of the
water of the Red Sea. It shows that in a litre there are 45.38
grammes of fixed salts, of which 30.30 are chloride of sodium,
2.88 chloride of potassium, 4.04 chloride of magnesium, .06435
bromide of sodium, 1.79 sulphate of calcium, and 2.74 sulphate’ of
magnesium. Except in being a little more intensely saline, the
composition of the water of the Red Sea is thus just the same
as that of average sea-water, but very different indeed from that
of the Dead Sea, so that this analysis quite disproves the hypoth-
esis that between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea there exists a
subterraneous communication.

The following table, by MM. Robinet and Lefort, from the
** Comptes Rendus,” gives the percentage composition of the res-
idue obtained by evaporation from the waters of the Mediterra-
nean, Red Sea, and Dead Sea: —

Mediterranean. Red Sea. Dead Sea.

Ohilorines 4 daigersrsvar ts si 10H 2N92 50.33 65.78
Bromine Skies iatieiohay ehaterwh tone Wt a: ap 1.25
GAMMA Ora” ert hein st ener Pees coded 30.92 122
POtassiaM, oS tio efit tet ont 1200 3.33 3.71
Calcium oS ON aa 1.18 1.16 5.67
MACMESIUM e's ss se ls O02 3.54 12.59
Sulphuric Acid. .-.-. 1°. 6:42 6.35 1.05

From this we perceive that while the Mediterranean has a much
larger quantity of potassium than either of the others, and both it
and the Red Sea have nearly three times as much sodium as the
Dead Sea, the latter has more chlorine, more calcium, more mag-
nesium, and less sulphuric acid than either of the former.

AN ADVANTAGEOUS METHOD OF PREPARING OXYGEN.

Fleitmann’s method of preparing oxygen from bleaching-pow-
der depends on the complete decomposition of a concentrated
solution of hypochlorite of lime, when warmed, with a trace of
freshly-prepared moist hyperoxide of cobalt, into oxygen and a
solution of chloride of calcium; no chlorate of lime is formed,
and the whole of the active oxygen is given off, at a temperature
of 70° to 80° C., in a regular current, with a gentle foaming of
the liquid. His explanation of the process is that a lower hyper-

196 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

oxide constantly takes oxygen from the hypochlorite of lime, and
passes into a higher oxide, which is decomposed into oxygen and
the lower oxide, and the process is then repeated. One-half to
one-tenth of one per cent. of hyperoxide is suflicient to decompose
an indefinite amount of the hypochlorite. According to him, the
advantages of this method are: 1. The evolution of the gas is
very regular and easily managed, so that the process may be
used for lecture experiments in which a gas bladder cannot be
employed. After the heat is once applied, the lamp may usually
be removed, the decomposition going on to the end. 2. All the
oxygen of the material is obtained, which is not the case when
peroxide of manganese is heated. 3. It ismuch cheaper than that
by means of chlorate of potash.—Ann. der Chemieund Phar., 134, 64.

OXYGEN OBTAINED FROM ATMOSPHERIC AIR,

Our ordinary modes of obtaining oxygen, for experimental and
other purposes, are very costly or very troublesome. It may,
however, be procured with great facility through the medium of
permanganate of soda, which, as it may be used over and over
again for the purpose, will entail but a trifling expense. Atmo-
spheric air is passed over a solution of the permanganate, which,
after a while, becomes saturated with the oxygen it has absorbed,
the nitrogen having passed off. To separate the oxygen from
the solution, a current of vapor at a proper temperature is substi-
tuted for the current of air; this, almost without producing any
change in the permanganate solution, further than dilution,
causes the oxygen to be evolved. Concentrating the solution by
heat renders it again fit for use, especially if a very small quan-
tity of the permanganate is added to it. — Intel. Observer, 1866.

JAPANESE HAND FIREWORKS,

Dr. Hoffmann lately exhibited to the London Chemical Society
some small paper fuses brought from Japan. They burn with a
small, scarcely luminous flame, a red-hot ball of glowing saline
matter accumulating as the combustion proceeds. When about
half of the fuse is consumed, the glowing head begins to send
forth a succession of splendid sparks, assuming the character of a
brilliant scintillation very similar to that observed in burning a
steel spring in oxygen, only much more delicate, the individual
sparks branching out in beautiful dendritic ramifications. His
first idea was to look for a finely-divided metal in the mixture ;
but examination in the laboratory showed that it was quite free
from metallic constituents, and contained only carbon, sulphur,
and nitre; these were present in the following proportions: car-
bon, 17.32; sulphur, 29.14; nitre, 53.64. Each fuse contained
about 40 milligrammes of the mixture, folded up in fine paper,
He had easily imitated them. A mixture of carbon, 1 (powdered
wood charcoal), sulphur 14, and nitre 53, produced the phenom-
enon in even a more striking manner. Ordinary English tissue
roe might be used, but the genuine Japanese paper was far

etter.

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 197

COLORATION OF GLASS.

M. Pelouze having observed that the glasses of commerce were
colored yellow by carbon, sulphur, silica, boron, phosphorus,
aluminium, and even by hydrogen, was led to make a series of ex-
periments for ascertaining the cause of the identity of the results
with such different reagents. His conclusions, verified beyond a
doubt, have a considerable importance in reference to the possible
perfection of glass manufacture. His first conclusion is, that ‘all
the glasses of commerce contain sulphates.” These salts (sul-
phates of soda, potassa, or lime) render the glass more or less
alterable by atmospheric agency, and come into the glass from
two sources, either directly from the use of these sulphates as a
flux, or from the presence of the sulphate of soda as an impurity
in the commercial carbonate. The effect of their existence may
be seen by examining many of the panes of glass in our windows,
which have been for some years exposed to the air, when the sur-
face of the glass will be found to be corroded and partially opaque
like ground glass, and by examination under a magnifier will be
found to be covered with crystals. He found these sulphates
present from one to three per cent. in all the commercial glasses,
window, plate, table, bottle, and Bohemian glass; he also found
two per cent. of sulphate of soda in a glass from Pompeii. The
coloration is now easily explained; the reagents named above
reduce the sulphates and produce an alkaline sulphuret, which has
the property of giving the yellow color. He proved this by show-
ing, first, that when the glass materials were carefully purified
from sulphates, no color was produced by carbon, hydrogen, bo-
ron, silicon, phosphorus, or aluminium; and, secondly, that an
alkaline sulphuret added to the pure materials produced the color.
— Acad. des Sciences, Paris, 1865.

CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE BRAIN.

Liebreich has discovered in the fresh brain of man and animals
a crystalline substance which he has called protagon. After free-
ing it from blood and membranes, the brain should be rubbed in a
mortar to a fine paste, and the mass agitated in a flask with water
and ether. Cholesterine and soluble substances being thus re-
moved, after filtering, the mass is treated with 85 per cent. aleohol
at 45° C. in a water bath, and then filtered through a water-bath
filter. The filtrate being cooled to 0° C., an abundant flocculent
precipitate falls, which must be filtered and washed with cold
ether to free it from cholesterine; the mass being then dried un-
der an air-pump over sulphuric acid, moistened with a little water
and dissolved in alcohol at 45° C., the solution, after filtration, is
to be cooled gradually upon a water bath to the mean tempera-
ture of the air, when it will be found filled with microscopic crys-
tals, —these differ somewhat in form according to the quantity of
alcohol used. The pure protagon thus obtained was found to have
the formula Cy:2 Hoy Ng POw. Dried, it is a light flocculent pow-
der, soluble in hot alcohol and ether, but with difficulty in cold.

Le

198 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

It possesses a very complex structure, and its products of decom-
position separate it remarkably from other known substances. He
considers that the glycerin-phosphoric and oleo-phosphorie acids,
cerebrin, etc., of the books are secondary products of the decom-
position of protagon. — Ann. der Chemie und Pharm., 134. 29.

CHEMICAL ACTION OF THE PANCREATIC JUICE.

The study of the function performed by the pancreatic secretion
in the animal economy has led to the discovery of properties pos-
sessed by it, which, in a chemical point of view, are of great inter-
est. In ordinary circumstances, fat is incapable of mixing with
water. After having been heated along with that fluid, it will
separate perfectly from it, even before cooling. Such is not the
case if it has been previously heated with fresh and acid pancre-
atic juice. It will then form an emulsion by mere mixture with
water, a circumstance which is remarkable, as its constitution has
undergone no change that our present chemical knowledge will
enable us to detect. That a change has taken place in it is, how-
ever, certain ; and itis equally certain that this change is not sapon-
ification, as the fat globules remain perfectly distinct, and of nearly
uniform size. ‘The researches of chemists will, no doubt, ulti-
mately throw light on the circumstance, which may lead to impor-
tant results in more departments than one of practical science. —
Intellectual Observer, 1866.

PROTECTION OF IRON.

It has been ascertained that sheet-iron may be protected from
oxidation by coating it with a thin fused layer of magnetic oxide.
For this purpose it is embedded in hematite, or some other native
oxide of iron, reduced to a fine powder, and kept for several hours
at a red heat, and then is allowed to cool gradually. The black
coating produced in the same way by a combination of the oxides
of zinc and iron is probably still more effective. It may be found
very advantageous to cover in this way the iron used in ship-
building. Z

DISINFECTANTS.

As an illustration of the want of general knowledge of the laws
of disinfection, and of combined action between local authorities,
the author said he might refer to what is being done in London,
The drainage of 1000 acres, saturated with a powerfully oxydiz-
ing disinfectant, mingles in the sewers with that of another 1000
acres, to which a powerfully deoxydizing agent has been applied.
The result is, that an enormous amount of money is expended
with but very inadequate results, and many valuable agents may
fallinto discredit from the want of discrimination in their applica-
tion. Disinfectants of great value are being used for purposes
for which they are totally unfit; useful, but incompatible, disin-
fectants are recommended in the same paper of instructions, and
chemicals of the most potent description are given to ignorant

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 199

persons without warning as to their application. The best plan
of disinfection should, therefore, be definitely settled, and its
adoption made uniform. Disinfectants should always supplement
eacn other, so as to pervade the whole mass on the meeting
of the contents of various sewers. The opposite, however, is
now taking place in London. Oxydizing disinfectants are by
far the best known and most used, as they appeal directly to
popular prejudice by destroying foul odors; whilst antiseptics
have little or no action on these gases. This fallacious mode of
estimating relative value is an injustice to antiseptics. In prac-
tical work, oxydizing disinfectants are always very inadequate,
except for a short time after application. At other times the oxy-
dizing agent has more noxious material than it ean conquer; and,
being governed in its combinations by definite laws of chemical
affinity, the sulphuretted and carburetted hydrogen, the nitrogen
and phosphorus basis, and other vapors, all have to be burnt up
before the oxydizing agent can touch the germs of infection,
whilst the renewal of the gases of putrefaction will constantly
shield the infectious matter from destruction. Oxydizing disin-
fectants destroy infectant substances; antiseptics act by destroy-
ing its activity. Of all antiseptics, tar and acids are most
powerful; and, of these, carbolic acid. By the latter, embryotic
life is rendered well nigh impossible, and all minute forms of
animal life perish inevitably. If the infectious matter of cholera
possesses, as is now almost universally admitted, organic vi-
tality, it will be destroyed beyond revival when brought into
contact with this vapor. The addition of permanganate of
potash to water will destroy the cholera virus. The oxydizing
powers of this agent, although very energetic on dead organic
matter, are successfully resisted by living organisms. The sci-
entific prosecution of accurate experiments and observations in
reference to the cholera, similar to those in respect of the cattle
plague, are highly important, as the third report of the commis-
sioners on the latter subject has given us more insight into that
pestilence than we possess of any human zymotic disease, and
there is no reason why a similar plan should not be carried out in
this instance. —W. CrooKEs, in Reader.

The Hastings Prize Essay on this subject, by Dr. Thomas Her-
bert Baker, is published in the number of the ‘ British Medical
Journal” for January 6, 1866, The following is a summary of
the author’s conclusions : —

1. For the sick-room, free ventilation, when it can be secured,
together with an even temperature, is all that can be required.

2. For rapid deodorization and disinfection, chlorine is the most
effective agent known.

3. For steady and continuous effect, ozone is the best agent
known.

4. In the absence of ozone, iodine exposed, in the solid form,
to the air is the best.

5. For the deodorization and disinfection of fluid and semi-
fluid substances undergoing decomposition, iodine is best.

6. For the deodorization and disinfection of solid bodies that

200 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

cannot be destroyed, a mixture of powdered chloride of zine, or
powdered sulphate of zinc with sawdust, is best. A mixture of
carbolic acid and sawdust ranks next in order; and, following
on that, wood-ashes.

7. For the deodorization and disinfection of infected articles of
clothing, ete., exposure to heat at 212° Fahr. is the only true
method.

8. For the deodorization and disinfection of substances that
may be destroyed, heat to destruction is the only true method.

COMPOSITION OF ANCIENT MORTARS.

The composition of ancient mortars has been examined by Dr.
Wallace, and the results given in the ‘*‘ Chemical News.” The first
specimen was from the great pyramid, and presented the appear-
ance of a mixture of plaster, of aslight pinkish color, with gypsum.
It did not appear to contain any s sand, the place of which was taken
by coarsely-ground gypsum. Large quantities of this material and
of alabaster are stated by Prof. Smy th to be found in the vicinity.
Analysis showed this mortar to contain 82 per cent. of hydrated
sulphate of lime, and 94 per cent. of carbonate of lime, besides
smaller quantities of other bodies. A very ancient mortar, sup-
posed to be the most ancient in existence, was obtained from the
ruins of a temple near Larnaca, in Cyprus. The temple is now
wholly below the ground; still the mortar was exceedingly hard
and firm, and appeared to have been made of a mixture of burnt
lime, sharp sand, and gravel. This mortar contained chiefly 26.4
per cent. of lime, 20.2 of carbonic acid, 16.2 of silica, and nearly
29 per cent. of small stones, the lime being almost completely
carbonated. Ancient Greek mortars showed somewhat the same
composition. Ancient Roman mortars differed, however, being
evidently prepared by mixing with burnt lime, not sand, but
puzzeolana, or what is commonly, although improperly, called
voleanic ash. From all his analyses, Dr. Wallace deduces the
following conclusions: That in the course of time the lime in
plasters and mortars becomes completely carbonated ; that where
the mortar is freely exposed to the weather, a certain proportion
of alkaline or earthy silicate is formed, which probably confers
hardness, as those mortars are the hardest which have been long
below gr ound. It is known that those walls are strongest which
are built during the rainy season, as then a small proportion of
silicate of lime is formed, which not only makes the mortar itself
harder, but causes it to unite more firmly with the stone. The
mortar which is probably the most ancient is by far the hardest,
appearing like concrete. Its excellence seems to indicate that a
large-grained sand is best for building purposes; and that even
small ‘gravel may, in certain cases, be used with advantage.

COMPOSITION OF CAST-IRON.

Not only as a curiosity, but as a matter of profound interest to
chemical and technical science, Prof. Remigius Fresenius of Wies-

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 201

baden has lately published a minute analysis of a black variety
of cast-iron, which, besides a small amount of slag which was in
mechanical combination, showed the following composition in 100
parts : —

Per cent.
Mata liiasinon Jit 2. pepiieth siile: ies Meuieed tess seu) a. uevice nose DSG2N9
MotalincpAlumininm(:14iie:'sl) arity cei se #01 @ er cphenes, OLOR8
Motallicy Man eines! is) )slten wie fe: svi ‘sien veulee' a O88
Metallic Chromium Maar el her tote ott a Mee ements a renee! OMI
Mctallie Wanadiumiie! ser ses) os elke Je? -o) (altel chteaen its OvON
Coppenatn ter lee were a eee ne ek ae 1c OLOOS
VAS SOHVENE ag oe at ey fetes cig arene, OF See Sica bite) epee ha ire
ANIL OMY ale elton el cad site? Getto liseli aye Mey Beee Men cer OLOiE
CobalitanduNickeh | ute otis. oh le greipi oh mien se tap) .ialkael aiey cts OsO3bs
YALA Ree welt Gaia teheiesuetlet-ced stke | ‘st=iviilapehet, ULaCoues
OIC Tee og etic te tase reheat te Teer, at ee en ee ONO
RU ANOSTOIN o's, eh He ta eos Noe Ste Ga state SRE eee AOTC O
PETA eee a ew Caen) Bo he le he ese te Pe ha eM (NI) Das
MED OSPHOTUS Yeh tee A ioik oe) Lest Fellas Mobs faa Shh het aan, Shr gt MOAB
Sulphur SP oth Hehy feb: epee, y.0'd tat Lele} Mae woman (ath. sees sw O-C RG
Silicium tote .te ay ik eheiol ia}. init esis lb iis “lab: peucmin Zoe
Carporin( GEM .COMD.) i's, so ce atguisiy sais “sh: s\\, die teike o OSG
Crick ioe eee Cem eR ie phck Oke?) Cf |

TAPS Mears sees s

MANUFACTURE OF WHITE-LEAD.

A recent number of the ‘‘ Bulletin de la Société d’Encourage-
ment” contains the text of a report by M. Barreswil on M. Ozout’s
process for the manufacture of white-lead. It resembles in the
main that proposed by Thenard many years since, in which car-
bonic acid gas is passed through a solution of subacetate of lead.
The novelty consists in the manner of producing the carbonic
acid, which is as follows: The gases proceeding from coke burnt
in a specially-constructed furnace are, after having been washed,
led through a series of vessels containing a solution of carbonate
of soda, which thus becomes converted into bicarbonate. This
solution is pumped into a cylinder, where it is raised to a boiling
temperature. The effect of this operation is to drive off half the
carbonic acid, which is then passed into a vessel containing a so-
lution .of basic acetate of lead, as in the ordinary method. M.
Ozouf states that by proportioning the quantity of carbonic acid
gas to the composition of the subacetate operated upon, he is able
to produce at will white-lead of any definite composition, —a
point of some practical importance. A specimen furnished by
him showed on analysis a composition represented by the formula
3 (PbO, Coz) +- PbO, HO. Several ingenious contrivances for
preserving the health of the workmen engaged in M. Ozout’s
manufactory at St. Denis are described in the report.

NEW PROCESS OF MAKING SODA,

Mr. A. G. Hunter of Rockcliffe Hall, near Flint, has achieved
a discovery, which seems likely to lead to a most valuable modifi-
cation in the process of making soda. It has long been known

202 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

that caustic baryta will separate the sulphuric acid from a solution
of sulphate of sodium, forming therewith an insoluble precipitate
of sulphate of barium, and leaving caustic soda in solution. The
decomposition of sulphate of sodium by caustic baryta is thus a far
simpler and readier process than its decomposition by Leblane’s
method; but caustic baryta has hitherto been, and is still, far too
costly to permit of its use for the decomposition of sulphate of
sodium on the great scale. Many attempts have been made to
obtain it ata cheap rate from sulphate of barium, or ‘* heavy spar,”
which is a sufficiently abundant natural product, but they have all
been utter failures; and hence inventors have sought sedulously
for some other and cheaper reagent, capableof acting, as regards
sulphate of sodium, in the same way. Mr. Hunter has founda very
cheap one, indeed. He has discovered that lime, by far the cheap-
est of all alkaline bodies, will separate the sulphuric acid from sul-
phate of sodium in solution, provided that the solution, after the
lime has been added to it, be subjected to a pressure considerably
exceeding that of the atmosphere. He states that ‘‘ either hy-
draulic, steam, or mechanical pressure,” will answer equally well.
Unless the application of the necessary pressure, on the large
scale, should prove to be attended with greater difficulties than
there seems any reason to anticipate, his discovery will revolu-
tionize the soda manufacture ; and, by and by, all the carbonate
of sodium produced will be obtained by the direct combination of
caustic soda with carbonic acid, the caustic soda being obtained
by a process embracing only two operations: (1.) the decomposi-
tlon of chloride of sodium, or common salt, by sulphuric acid, as
in Leblane’s process; and (2.) the decomposition of the resulting
sulphate of sodium by lime. -— Mechanics’ Magazine.

PHENIC OR CARBOLIC ACID.

Phenic acid, or phenylic alcohol, is usually accompanied by its
congeners, xylic and cresylic alcohols, which adhere to it with
great tenacity, and give it the property of becoming brown in
contact with the air. For its purification, M. Muller has recourse
to a partial neutralization, and afterwards to the fractional distil-
lation of the product.

The crude tar cedes to soda or lime water a mixture of the mat-
ters before mentioned, as well as naphthaline, which is soluble in
concentrated solutions of the alkaline phenates. Water is added
to this until it ceases to cause a precipitate, when the liquid is
exposed in wide vessels, to facilitate the formation of the brown
bodies and their deposit. After filtering, the approximative quan-
tity of organic matter held in solution is determined, formed
principally of phenic acid and its congeners, which are easily
displaced by acids.

The phenic acid is always the last to separate, so that it is easy
to disembarrass it of its associated matter and brown oxidized
products by adding carefully the proportion of acid determined by
calculation, so as to precipitate at first only these matters; and,
by means of several trials, it is easy to arrive at the proper point

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 203

to stop, so as to retain the phenate nearly pure. The acid is now
separated and rectified, and soon crystallizes. As a little water
prevents its crystallization, Mr. Muller removes it by passing a
current of dry air over the phenic acid nearly boiling.

The crystallization is facilitated by cooling, or by the introduc-
tion into it of a small quantity of the crystallized acid.

He insists on the necessity of exposing the alkaline solution of
the acid for a long time, to favor the resinification and deposition
of the brown matters; phenic acid is always impure when it is
colored.

It should be quite pure when employed to make picric acid,
because the impurities waste the nitric acid.

Phenic acid often contains a fetid substance, which appears to be a
sulphuretted compound of phenyl or cresyle. It is removed by
rectification from oxide of lead. — rom Zeitsch. fur Chem., in
Journ. de Pharm., Nov., 1865.

It was first christened carbolic acid by Runge, a German chem-
ist, who discovered it in 1834. But it is not properly an acid; it
is not sour, does not redden litmus paper, nor does it combine
with alkalies any sooner than with acids ; hence the names phenol,
etc.

Phenic acid, when pure, occurs in beautiful transparent needle-
form crystals. If the crystals be exposed to the air, in a few min-
utes they absorb a very small quantity of moisture, and are trans-
formed into an oily liquid, which is slightly heavier than water.
Although the solid acid is so eager for water, it is satisfied with a
very little, and is but slightly soluble in water. It has a burning
taste, and a powerful and persistent odor, which people call
smoky. It dissolves freely in alcohol, ether, and oils, and is
itself a powerful solvent of gum, resins, sulphur, and phosphorus.
We cannot more briefly indicate its more useful properties than to
say it is often called creosote, and that it is as like the genuine
creosote as two peas. It is a poison to all animals and plants,
and is especially destructive to insects and their eggs. All ver-
min hate the smell of it, and get away from it as fast as they can.
But, although it is certain death to the animal, it is kind to the
dead body, for it may preserve that forever; any kind of flesh
which has been impregnated with phenic acid refuses to decay
and return to dust. When decay has commenced, by putrefac-
tion or fermentation, phenic acid will stop it instanter, and pre-
vent its recurrence.

The chief source of phenic acid is gas tar, while the genuine
ereosote is found in wood tar. Both are separated in substan-
tially the same way. Phenic acid is probably as powerful an
antiseptic as creosote, and for many purposes is a cheap substi-
tute.

When nitric acid and phenic acid are brought together, picric
acid, a splendid dye for yellow and green on silk and wool, is the
result. Phenic acid, in the very crude form of gas tar and dead
oil, has been used for preserving timber, and by the farmers for
killing vermin. In the pure state it is generally known to physi-
cians, and is used by many of them.

204 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Phenic acid is now much talked about as a disinfectant, and
especially in connection with the rinderpest. But its virtues as a
disinfectant are doubtful. It promptly prevents the decomposi-
tion of matter which generates foul odors, but it acts slowly and

oorly on the odors already existing. If it destroys an odor, it
eaves itself in the splace of it, and, to most people, will smell
quite as bad. ‘The first odor of phenic acid is tolerable, but when
' continued, it becomes exceedingly unbearable. — Scientific Amer-
ican.

HOW TO MAKE NITROGLYCERINE SAFE.

Prof. C. A. Seeley makes the following communication to the
‘** Scientific American ” : —

In an article on this subject in the ‘‘ Scientific American” of
May 5, I made the assertion that the dangers from nitroglycerine
are preventable, and that sure means were known by which its
transportation and storage could be made safe. I shall now
describe the most perfect of the plans proposed, and I ask that
those who are interested in the subject will carefully weigh them.

1. Mr. Nobel proposes to dilute the nitroglycerine with wood
naphtha. These two liquids mingle in any proportion, and the
explosibility of the mixture may be reduced to any desired extent.
Probably a mixture containing about twenty-five per cent. of
naphtha could not be made to explode by percussion, or gradual
heating. When the nitroglycerine is required for use, water is
added to the mixture, and takes from it the naphtha, while the
pure nitroglycerine sinks to the bottom. ‘This plan is, however,
liable to serious objections. (1.) The expense of the naphtha and
loss of nitroglycerine in washing with water. (2.) The volatility
of the naphtha: whenever the mixture is exposed to air some of
the naphtha escapes, and the nitroglycerine might be left unpro-
tected. (3.) It is probable that there would be a chemical action
between the substances. (4.) The naphtha and the vapor from it
are very combustible. The vapor mixed with air would be an
explosive mixture.

2. It has been proposed by several persons, quite independently
of each other, to keep the nitroglycerine mixed with sand, or other
inert substance, which would serve as a conductor of heat, in the
same way as the glass powder in Gale’s gunpowder mixture. This
plan would greatly increase the weight and bulk of packages, and
great loss would be sustained by reason of the adhesion of the
nitroglycerine to the sand.

3. Dr. Henry Wurtz proposes to make a thorough mechanical
mixture or emulsion of the nitroglycerine with a saline solution of
the same specific gravity. A solution of nitrate of zinc, lime, or
magnesia, will probably be found to be suitable. When the nitro-
glycerine is needed for use, water is added to the mixture, when
the oil subsides and may be drawn off. Further experience seems
to be needed to determine how long the mixture may be main-
tained without spontaneous separation.

4. | have proposed to prepare the nitroglycerine more carefully,
in order that it shall be pertectly freed from acid; and, to prevent

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 205

any future accumulation of acid, I propose to keep suspended in
the oil a small quantity of a substance in powder which shall neu-
tralize any acid which may be generated, and which of itself shall
have no action on the oil. This method is offered as an efficient
prevention of spontaneous decomposition. .The amount of neu-
tralizing powder required is very little, — sixty grains to the pound
of oil might be sufficient. The quantity is so small that it would
not interfere with the use of the oil, and need never be removed
from it.

Tn actual practice, one or more of these plans may be combined.
The fourth is compatible with all the others, and should be used
with all the others. Nitroglycerine should not be kept in storage
unless it is free from the danger of its most formidable property,
— the liability to spontaneous change.

In conclusion, I can say that I have as yet had no reason to
modify the opinions which | expressed in my communication of
May 5; and that I still hold that the manufacture, transportation,
and use of nitroglycerine may be carried on with safety.

COLORS FROM COAL TAR,

Aniline, or coal-tar colors have now been extended in number,
so that all the colors of the rainbow, and all the shades, can be
obtained from coal tar. Aniline was discovered by Unverdorben
in 1826, who procured it by the destructive distillation of indigo.
It is now obtained in small quantities directly from the destructive
distillation of coal, as in gas-works, but is generally manufactured
from the lighter coal-tar naphtha. When the naphtha is rectified,
the portion which distils over at a temperature of 180° Fahr. is
benzole, and this substance was discovered by Faraday in 1825.
By the action of strong nitric acid, the benzole is converted into
nitri-benzole; and this latter, when agitated with water, acetic
acid, and iron filings, becomes aniline. By the action of oxidizing
agents, such as chloride of lime, bichromate of potash, chloride of
mercury, etc., the aniline, which is colorless by itself, can be trans-
formed into all shades of violet, mauve, magenta, etc. By the
researches of Hofmann, the number and beauty of the aniline col-
ors have been increased. While numberless shades of reds and
purples can be obtained, there is a splendid green, called ver-
dine, discovered by Eusebe, and which remains a true, pure green
even by candle or gaslight ; a blue which is as clear as opal, a good
yellow, and a fair black. In short, dyes of all hues can be obtained
from aniline, which, in its turn, is procured from the coal tar. The
intensity of these aniline colors may be indicated by the fact that
one grain of magenta in a million of water gives a good red; one
grain in ten millions of water exhibits a rose pink; one grain in
twenty millions communicates a blush to the water; and one grain
in fifty millions tinges the water with a reddish glow. — Mining
Journal. ‘

18 :

206 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

PRECIPITATION OF METALS BY MEANS OF MAGNESIUM.

M. Roussin has published a paper on the action of magnesium
on metallic solutions, and on its application to toxicological re-
searches, which shows that magnesium is particularly well. adapted
for the precipitation of other metals from solutions of their salts,
It is a general principle, that one metal will precipitate from a

saline solution any other which is less readily oxidable than itself;

but some metals, by no means among the most oxidable known,
had, neverthe less, when M. Roussin ‘began his researches on this
subject, resisted all attempts to precipitate them by the contact of
another metal with their saline solutions. With two exceptions,
however, all the metals alluded to are precipitated in the metallic¢
state by magnesium, the two exceptions being chromium and
manganese, which appear to be precipitated as oxides. Among
the metals which M. Roussin has precipitated in the metallic state,
by means of magnesium, from slightly acidulated solutions of
their salts, are gold, silver, platinum, bismuth, tin, mercury, cop-
per, lead, cadmium, thallium, iron, zinc, cobalt, and nickel. The
precipitated metals, when washed from the saline liquid, and then
dried and compressed, possess a very remarkable degree of bril-
liancy. Iron, cobalt, and nickel, so precipitated, are highly mag-
netic; zine takes the form of a large spongy mass, which the
least compression renders brilliant. “Magnesiam does not precipi-
tate aluminium at all, and chromium and manganese, as already
mentioned, it precipitates as oxides. It does not precipitate
arsenic or antimony, though it decomposes their salts, the arsenic
or antimony flying off in combination with hydrogen. M. Rous-
sin shows that great advantages result from the substitution of
magnesium for the metals ordinarily employed in toxicological
researches for the detection of these and other metallic poisons;
but into that part of his subject it would be beyond our province
to follow him. His only further statement respecting magnesium,
calling for mention here, is one relating to its use as a voltaic
element. ‘‘ The foregoing qualities,” he says, ‘‘ encouraged the
hope that a substitution of magnesium for zine in ordinary piles
would offer a great electro-motive force; and experiment con-
firmed this theoretical inference. A small plate of magnesium,
0.1 grain in weight, placed beside a plate of copper in a small
tube of glass of six centimetres cube, filled with acidulated cop-
per, produced i in less than ten minutes an electro-magnetic ap-
pearance, and illuminated a Geisler’s tube ten centimetres long.
If magnesium should ever become cheap, this would decidedly
be the best way of producing electricity.”

In a note to his paper, M. Roussin states that he has observed
a a sodium amalgam, shaken up with an acidulous solution of

salt of chromium or of a salt of manganese, changes to an
sin alreac of chromium or of manganese, as the case “may pe;
and that an amalgam of either of these metals, obtained in the
manner indicated, when distilled in a current of hydrogen, after
having been first carefully washed in acidulated water, leaves the
pure metal in the form of a pulverulent sponge. ‘‘ The amalgam

G

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. | 207

of manganese,” he adds, ‘‘is opalescent and crystalline; that of
chromium more fluid, and less variable at ordinary temperatures.
When the latter is heated in a small porcelain capsule in the air,
as the mercury flies off in vapor it carries off mechanically with
it particles of chromium, which take fire, producing a singular
scintillation, which is best observed in a darkened room. At
length the chromium remaining in the capsule suddenly becomes
incandescent, and burns to oxide.” — Mechanics’ Magazine.

BURNING OF A FRICTION MATCH.

Among the varied operations of the arts there is perhaps no
other involving so many chemical and physical changes, and so
many philosophical principles, as the burning of a friction match.

First in importance is the intense affinity of phosphorus for
oxygen, as it is this property which makes a friction match possi-
ble. ‘This affinity is so strong that when phosphorus is exposed
to contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere at ordinary tem-
peratures, the two substances combine slowly, generating light
which is visible as a faint glow in the dark; and if the temperature
is raised to about 120°, the combination goes on with that rapidity
which we call combustion. It is easy to produce this degree of
temperature of friction,— hence the possibility of the friction
match.

It is necessary, indeed, to modify the inflammability of phos-
phorus for its use in a friction match, and this is done by mixing
it with a little gum. The gum also protects it from slow combus-
tion in the atmosphere.

The flame of phosphorus, though intensely hot, will not set fire
to pine wood; it is, therefore, necessary to interpose some sub-
stance more readily inflammable than wood: the substance usu-
ally employed is sulphur. Pine wood ignites at a temperature of
about 600°, and sulphur at 450° to 500°. The phosphorus, in
burning, kindles the sulphur, and the sulphur flame sets fire to
the wood.

The refusal of the phosphorus flame to kindle wood is fruitful
of suggestions, The quantity of heat generated by the burning
of any substance is in proportion to the quantity of oxygen with
which the substance combines. One atom of phosphorus, in
burning, combines with five atoms of oxygen, producing phos-
phorie acid, P Os. The atom of phosphorus weighs 82, and the
atom of oxygen 8, so the proportion by weight is 32 pounds of
phosphorus to 40 of oxygen. Sulphur, in burning, combines with
oxygen in the proportion of one atom of sulphur to two of oxy-
gen, 5 Oz, and, as the atomic weight of sulphur is 16, the propor-
tion by weight is 32 of sulphur to 32 of oxygen; consequently
phosphorus should generate more heat in burning than sulphur.

Again, this law is modified by either the oxygen or the com-
bustible undergoing a change of form in combining. If a sub-
stance is changed from the gaseous to the solid state, heat is
evolved; if from the solid to the gaseous, heat is absorbed. Now,
phosphoric acid is a solid, while sulphurous acid is a gas. Phos-

208 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

phorus, in burning, changes the oxygen, with which it combines,
from the gaseous to the solid form, thus increasing the quantity
of heat generated; while sulphur, in burning, is changed from
the solid to the gaseous state, thus absorbing heat, and diminish-
ing the quantity produced by the combustion.

These theoretical views have been confirmed by careful experi-
ment. The results obtained by Andrews from his elaborate
investigations were, that 1 pound of phosphorus in burning to
phosphoric acid generates suflicient heat to raise the temperature
of 5,747 pounds of water 1° C.; while 1 pound of sulphur, in
burning, raises the temperature of only 2,220 pounds of water 1°,

But it is not the quantity of heat that is to be considered in this
ease, but the intensity; which is in proportion to the quantity
contained in a cubie inch or other given volume. This, however,
only increases the difficulty, for the phophorus flame being con-
densed to a solid, while that of sulphur is diffused as a gas, the
intensity of heat ought to be still more in favor of the phosphorus
than the quantity.

The usual explanation given for the failure of wood to ignite in
a phosphorus flame is, that the surface of the wood is instantly
covered by a film of phosphoric acid, which protects it from com-
bustion.’ As we have no better explanation to offer, we raise no
objections to this.

The products of combustion, then, in the burning of a match,
are, first, phosphoric acid from the burning of the phosphorus;
then sulphurous acid, from the burning of the sulphur; and,
finally, carbonic acid and water from the burning of the wood.

This is far from being an exhaustive examination of the sub-
ject. The hydrogen and carbon of the wood do not combine
directly with the oxygen of the air, but the wood first undergoes
destructive distillation, with the production of several hydrocar-
bon gases, which rise in the air and produce the flame by their
combustion; and, after the wood is burned, the ash that is left
behind is made up of some sixteen elements, combined with oxy-
gen in various proportions. The activity of the burning, also, is
increased by adding to the paste some substance containing
oxygen which is held by feeble affinity, and which is, therefore,
readily given up to the sulphur, phosphorus, and wood. Among
the substances employed for this oflice are saltpetre and the per-
oxides of lead and manganese. In a complete examination of
the reactions of the combustion, the decompositions of these oxi-
dizing agents, with the resulting compounds or elements, would
demand consideration. All that might be said in relation to the
burning of a friction match would fill a large volume. — Scientific
American.

OXIDATION OF VEGETABLE OILS.

In a memoir upon this subject, read to the Academy of Sciences
of Paris, M. Cloez announces the following results of his experi-
ments and observations : —

1. That all the fat oils absorb oxygen from the air, and increase
in weight by quantities which differ, for different kinds of oil

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 209

placed under the same circumstances, and for the same oil under
different circumstances.

2. That the height of the temperature exercises a very marked
influence on the rapidity of the oxidation.

3. That the intensity of the light also manifestly influences the
phenomena.

4. That light transmitted by colored glasses checks more or
less the resinification of the oils by the air. Starting from color-
less glass as the term of comparison, the decrease of oxidation
is in the following order: Colorless, blue, violet, red, green,
yellow.

5. That, in darkness, the oxidation is considerably retarded ; it
starts later and progresses more slowly than in light.

6. That the presence.of certain materials, and the contact with
certain substances, accelerate or retard this effect.

7. That, in the resinification of oils, there is both a loss of ear-
bon and hydrogen of the oil, and an absorption of oxygen.

8. That the different oils, in oxidizing, furnish in general the
same products, —volatile acid compounds, liquid and solid fat
acids not altered, and an insoluble solid material, which appears
to be a definite proximate principle. Oils oxidized in the air no
longer contain glycerine.

9. The drying and non-drying oils are not chemically distinguish-
able. All contain the same glyceric proximate principles, but in
different proportions.

PEROXIDE OF HYDROGEN.

Professor Schonbein has discovered a new and very ready
method of procuring the peroxide of hydrogen. It consists
simply in agitating, in a large flask, to which air has access,
amalgamated zine, in powder, with distilled water. Oxygen is
then absorbed by both the zine and the water, with formation of
oxide of zinc and peroxide of hydrogen. The peroxide of hydrogen
obtained by this method, unlike that obtained by the ordinary
process, is quite free from acid, and so may be kept for a long
time without decomposition. It does not contain, moreover, a
trace of either zinc or mercury, but is absolutely pure. This new
process has therefore great advantages over the old process of
preparing peroxide of hydrogen, both as being far simpler and
more expeditious, and as yielding a much purer product; but it
is almost as far as the old process from yielding peroxide of
hydrogen cheaply enough for use in the arts.

OZONE.

The Paris correspondent of the ‘‘ London Chemical News”
writes as follows :—

‘¢ The rumor which you helped to spread abroad that Schonbein
has succeeded in isolating ozone and antozone, attracted, it
seems, the notice of the Scientific Association of France, and that
learned pay invited Schonbein to come to Paris and exhibit his

1

210 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

experiments to the wondering gaze of Parisian savans. Sechon-
bein’s reply gives us the exact state of his knowledge or belief on
the subject, and is worth communicating to English chemists.
He says that he has been engaged almost exclusively, and with-
out interruption, in the study of oxygen for thirty years, and
during this time he has discovered a number of facts which allow
of his drawing the following conclusions: 1. That oxygen may
exist in three different allotropic states. 2. Two of these states
are active, and opposed one to the other: he designates one of
them ozone, and the other antozone. 38. Equal quantities of
ozone and antozone neutralize each other to form ordinary
neutral or inactive oxygen. 4. Ordinary neutral oxygen may be
split up or transformed, half into ozone and half into antozone.
The experimental demonstration of the truth of these conclusions,
however, he admits, is not so simple, — as, for example, the com-
position and decomposition of water; and he adds that the exper-
iments necessary for their logical deduction would occupy more
time than could be devoted to a single lecture. ‘Some scientific
journals,’ says Schénbein, ‘ have been badly informed, when they
asserted that I had succeeded in isolating ozone and antozone in
a state of purity. The assertion is without foundation. Itis true,
that, for a long time, I have made a great number of attempts to
arrive at this desirable end; but always without complete success.
Ozone and antozone are always mixed with neutral oxygen, from
causes closely associated with the generation of the two active
modifications.’ The Professor concludes his letter by offering to
come to Paris, should it stil! be desired, and if his health permit,
and give a short course illustrative of the whole subject. It is to
be hoped he will be invited, and, while here, perhaps he might be
induced to go on to London, which I do not think he has visited
since the year he announced his discovery of ozone.”

Dr. Daubeny, before the British Association, 1866, made a com-
munication on ozone. He considered, first, the dependence of the
amount of ozone present in the atmosphere on the direction of the
wind, and proved, by tables registering the quantity during a pe-
riod of eight months, that in Devonshire it abounded most during
those winds which blew from the sea. He then proceeded to show
that the ozone present in the air was derived partly, at least, from
plants, the green parts of which generate ozone when they emit
oxygen. By observations made on fifty-seven species of plants,
representing forty-seven natural families, it was concluded that a
certain amount of coloration was produced upon Schonbein’s paper
by leaves during the continuance of solar light, beyond what could
have been brought about by light alone, but that this coloration
did not go on progressively at any definite rate, and even in cer-
tain cases diminished after a longer exposure. Precautions were
taken to exclude from the air of the jar any ozone that might come
from without. Then the effects produced upon the paper placed
in tubes exposed to different light, and in entire darkness, were
noted. It was shown that ozone was generated by the leaves only,
and not by the flowers of plants; and, on the whole, it seemed to
be fairly presumable that plants are the appointed agents, not
only for restoring the oxygen which animals consume, but also

‘CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 211

generating ozone for removing those noxious effluvia which arise
from the processes of animal life and putrefaction.

Mr. Glaisher then proceeded to relate the results of experiments
in ozone, made by him in London at the time of the cholera, 1854,
which were, that where the test-papers were discolored, there
death was extremely rare, and vice versa.

Does ozone exist in the atmosphere? That is the question asked
by Admiral Berigny, of the French Academy of Sciences, who,
after having patiently made what he conceived to be ozonometric
observations for the last ten years, and assisted M. Le Verrier in
selecting stations for similar observations all over Paris,and in every
department of France, has been brought at last to doubt whether
the observations are good for anything ; so he beseeches the Acad-
emy to appoint a commission to settle definitively, — 1. Whether
ozone exists in the atmosphere? 2. Whether Schonbein’s or any-
body else’s papers prove the presence of electrized oxygen? and,
lastly, whether an easy and reliable method of detecting it could not
be devised? The Academy appointed a commission composed of
Chevreul, Dumas, Pelouze, Pouillet, Boussingault, Le Verrier, Val-
liant, Fremy, and E. Becquerel, whose report will no doubt scat-
ter popular notions on atmospheric ozone to the winds.

To say the truth, the evidence in favor of the presence of ozone
in the atmosphere is, as M. Frémy showed to the Academy, of
the most doubtful character. M. Frémy said that he knew of only
one certain test for ozone in the air, and that was the oxidation
of silver, by passing a current of moist air over the metal; and
this test he. had applied many times without any indication of
ozone. We are very far from being acquainted, he said, with all
the bodies held in suspension in the air, and, consequently, igno-
rant of the action they may exert on iodide of potassium. May
not, he asked, this salt become alkaline, or set free iodine under
other influences besides that of ozone? He did not deny the fact
of its presence, but he asked a positive proof of it. Such a proof
is required; for, seeing that ozone is instantly destroyed by or-
ganic matters, and absorbed by nitrogen, it is difficult to under-
stand how such a body can continue to exist in the air, which con-
tains precisely the elements which would at once change the
ozone. As regarded the test-papers he asked, what use there
could be in a reagent which was affected not only by ozone, but
by the oxygen compounds of nitrogen, by oxygenated water, by
ammonia, by formic acid, by essential oils, by the acid products
of combustion, by dusts, —in a word, by all sorts of things which
are held in suspension in the air. — Druggists’ Circular, 1866.

Our actual knowledge of the volumetric relations of oxygen,
says M. Soret in a note presented to the French Academy, is lim-
ited to the following facts: 1. That ordinary oxygen diminishes
in volume when a part is converted into ozone. 2. That when
ozonized oxygen is treated with iodide of potassium or other oxi-
dizable matter, the ozone disappears without any alteration in the
volume of the gas. 8. That under the influence of heat, ozonized
oxygen undergoes an expansion equal to the volume that the part
absorbable by iodide of potassium would occupy. Regarding a
molecule of ordinary oxygen as composed of two atoms of 00,

212 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the author considers the molecule of ozone as consisting of three
atoms of OO,O occupying the same space as the two. Treated
with iodide of potassium, ozone loses one atom of O without any
change of volume; submitted to heat, the volume is increased by
one-half. Thus the theoretical density of ozone should be one
and a-half times that of ordinary oxygen, or 1.658; and the au-
thor considers he has experimentally demonstrated that such is
the fact.

Dr. B. W. Richardson, in a paper read before the British Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, at its late meeting,
observed that the following are the reliable facts known up to this
time respecting ozone: 1. Ozone, inanatural state, is always pres-
ent in the air in minute proportions, viz., one part in ten thousand,
2. It is destroyed in large towns, and, with special rapidity, in
crowded and filthy localities. 3. Ozone gives to oxygen prop-
erties which enable it to support life. In this respect it acts like
heat; its effects are destroyed by great heat. 4. Ozone, diffused
through air in minute quantities, produces, on inhalation, distinct
symptoms of acute catarrh. 5. When animals are subjected to
ozone in large quantities, the symptoms produced, at a tempera-
ture of 75°, are those of inflammation of the throat and mucous
membranes generally, and at last congestive bronchitis, which, in
carnivorous animals, are often rapidly fatal. 6. When animals
are subjected for a long period to ozone in small proportions, the
agent acts differently, according to the animal. The carnivora
die, after some hours, from disorganization of the blood separa-
tion; but the herbivora will live for weeks, and will suffer from
no acute disease. 7. The question whether the presence of ozone
in the air can produce actual disease, must be answered cautiously.
Science has yet no actual demonstrative evidence on the point.
But the facts approach to demonstration that catarrh is induced
by this agent. All else is as yet speculative. 8. During periods
of intense heat of weather, the ozone loses its active power. 9.
On dead organic matter undergoing putrefaction, ozone acts rap-
idly ; it entirely deodorizes by breaking up the ammoniacal pro-
ducts of decomposition. At the same time it hastens the organic
destruction. 10. There is an opposite condition of air in which
the oxygen is rendered negative in its action, as compared with
the air when it is charged with ozone. Air can thus be rendered
negative by merely subjecting it, over and over again, to animals for
respiration. The purification of such air from carbonic acid and
other tangible impurities does not render it capable of supporting
healthy life ; but ozone restores the power. Ina negative condition
of air, the purification of the organic matter is greatly modified, and
the offensive products are increased. Wounds become unhealthy
and heal slowly in such negative air. 11. There isno demonstrative
evidence, as yet, that any diseases are actually caused by this neg-
ative condition of air; but the inference is fair, that: diseases
which show a putrefactive tendency are influenced injuriously by
a negative condition of the oxygen of the air. Itis also probable that,
during this state, decomposing organic poisonous matters become
more injurious. 12. As ozone is used up in crowded localities,
and as it is essential that ozone should be constantly supplied in

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 213

order to sustain the removal of decomposing substances and their
products, no mere attention to ventilation and other mechanical
measures of a sanitary kind can be fully effective, unless the air
introduced be made active by ozone. Fever hospitals and other
large buildings in towns should be artificially fed with ozonized
air.

ANTOZONE.

The vapors accompanying the slow combustion of phosphorus
have, by certain chemists, been regarded as phosphorous acid.
M. Schonbein considers them to be nitrate of ammonia; while M.
Meissner, again, sees in them antozone. With a view of clear-
ing up this point, M. Osann has passed these vapors into solutions
of ammoniacal nitrate of silver and alkaline solutions of oxide of
lead. In the first place, a black precipitate was obtained; this
precipitate contained, on an average, 97.28 of silver to 2.72 of
oxygen, which composition corresponds to the formula Ags0O.
The author at first thought that the oxygen contained in this pre-
cipitate was ozone, which, having more powerful affinities than
ordinary oxygen, had displaced the latter in the oxide of silver;
but the oxidizing nature of ozone has caused him rather to attrib-
ute the formation of this body to a deoxidizing action such as
produces antozone. He afterwards passed the same vapors, first
into an alkaline solution of pyrogallic acid, to retain the ozone ;
then, partly into one of Woolf’s bottles containing a little water ;
partly into an ammoniacal solution of nitrate of silver. In this
case the same precipitate was obtained, though all the ozone must
have been absorbed by the pyrogallic acid.

The water in Woolf’s bottle, which had remained in contact
with the vapors from the phosphorus, was shaken with blued
tincture of guaiacum, which immediately lost its color. ‘The
same thing happened with nitrate of ammonia and oxygenated
water, but much more slowly with the latter, though it was highly
concentrated. Hence the author does not hesitate to say, that, in
his experiment, the decoloration was due to nitrate of ammonia;
and, consequently, he attributes the vapors produced during the
slow combustion of phosphorus to the formation of this body. —
Journal fiir Praktische Chemie.

Mr. Alfred R. Catton, after stating the reasons which have
induced him to adopt the hypothesis of Prof. Odling on the na-
ture of ozone (‘‘ Chemistry Manual” of 1861), mentions the exper-
iments which establish the existence of antozone. He then
considers its properties in detail, so far as they have been hitherto
observed by Schénbein and Meissner, and shows that they all lead
to the conclusion that antozone is peroxide of hydrogen, in which
the hydrogen is replaced by oxygen, or representing peroxide of
hydrogen by the formula

H. O O (O = 16), in accordance with the views of Sir Benjamin
Brodie (‘‘ Phil, Trans.,” 1850),

Antozone is $ Oo ‘ a 3 as
Prof. Odling represents ozone by the formula O O O.

214 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The production of ozone and antozone by the passage of elec-
tric sparks, or the silent discharge through dry oxygen, is thus
represented by the following equation : —

Free Oxygen. Ozone. Antozone.

ob+0d40b6=0601000
SUMMARY OF CHEMICAL NOVELTIES.

Transformation of Nitrate of Soda into Nitrate of Potash. —M.
Condurie has patented the following processes: He makes con-
centrated and equivalent solutions of nitrate of soda and chloride
or sulphide of barium, and mixes the solutions. Nitrate of baryta,
which is but sparingly soluble, is precipitated. It is well washed,
and then boiled with sulphate of lead, whereby nitrate of lead and
sulphate of baryta are produced. The nitrate of dead is now boiled
with sulphate of potash, and so nitrate of potash is formed, and
sulphate of lead reproduced.

Preduction of Oxalic Acid. —Three French chemists, MM. Laur-
ent, Castheler, and Basset, have succeeded in obtaining oxalic
acid from the waste of shoemakers’ and saddlers’ shops, and oth-
ers, Where leather is used; also from woollen rags, horn, hair, ete.
For this purpose, these residues are treated with one part of sul-
phuric acid and four of water; and the mass thus obtained is sub-
jected to the action of one part of nitric acid and three of water,
at a temperature of 80° C. From the digestion of this, oxalic acid
is easily extracted.

Process for the Condensation of Ammoniacal Gas.—Knab has
found that chloride of calcium absorbs its own weight of ammoni-
acal gas, which is again evolved on the application of heat. The
chloride will serve an indefinite time. M. Knab considers that his
discovery will be found very useful. 1. Because chloride of cal-
cium saturated with ammonia is dry powder, easy of transport.
2. Because chloride of calcium is of very little value. 3. While
water will only hold in solution 20 per cent. of ammonia, the
chloride will hold 50 per cent., so that the cost of sending am-
monia about will be greatly diminished.

On the Action of Metalloids upon Glass, and on the Presence of
Alkaline Sulphates in Glass. — M. Pelouze, finds that, 1.
All commercial glass contains sulphates. 2. Glass made from
materials not containing sulphates is not colored by carbon,
boron, ete. 3. Sulphur and sulphurous minerals impart a yellow
color to pure glass. 4. The color produced in glass by metalloids
is entirely due to their reducing power.

Black Color of Tea. — A black color is often communicated to tea
by moist brown sugar; this is produced by the presence of a mi-
nute quantity of iron in the sugar, which combines with the tannic
acid of the tea, forming the very black tannate of iron. This iron
is obtained during the manufacture in iron vessels, and is rather
wholesome than otherwise.

Analysis of Hailstones.—The results of Professor Reichardt’s
analyses of hailstones are published in No. 6 of the ‘*‘ Chemisches

’

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. JS

Centralblatt.” The specimens examined weighed from 1.86 to
4-65 grains, the specific gravity, which was ascertained by floating
them in alcohol of known density, varying between 0.9285 for the
transparent and 0.9234 for the opaque hailstones. Tested for
nitrous acid with Schonbein’s iodide of starch papers, a negative
result was obtained, in spite of the great sensitiveness of the pa-
pers. 1,000,000 parts of hail were found to contain 3.247 of am-
monia and 0.526 parts of nitric acid. This agrees tolerably well
with Boussingault’s analyses, which gave in 1,000 parts of rain-
water 2.16 parts of ammonia.

To Detect Sulphuric Acid in Vinegar.—If into pure vinegar
starch is introduced, then the adding of a minute portion of iodine
will change its color to a blue tint ; but, if sulphuric acid is pres-
ent, no such reaction will take place, for the resultant of starch in
its presence is glucose, a substance not affected by iodine.

Rubidium and Cesium. —Schrotter has devised a new process by
which both the above metals, and lithium as well as thallium, may
be readily extracted from the lepidolite of Moravia and the mica
of Zinnwald. It consists in transforming and separating them in
the form of alums, by their difference of solubility in water. By
this method, the first trials, on a large scale, yielded, from a ton
of mica, 62 lbs. of carbonate of lithia, and 13 lbs. of the mixed
chlorides of rubidium and cesium, together with an appreciable
quantity of thallium.

Excellent and Cheap Ink.—Dissolve in about 4 gallons of hot
water 3 ounces of solid extract of logwood; to this add 4 ounce
of bichromate of potash, dissolved likewise in a little hot water.
As soon as the liquids are mingled, they assume an intense purple-
ish-blue color, and the ink thus prepared may be used at once; it
acquires a black color on the paper while drying, and does not
corrode steel pens, and does not fade. The cost of materials is
about three cents per gaHon.

New Green Pigment.— Vogel describes a new color, ‘‘ Green
Cinnabar,” which is prepared in the following way: Prussian
blue is dissolved in oxalic acid; chromate of potash is added to
the solution, which is then precipitated with acetate of lead.
The precipitate, well-washed, dried, and levigated, gives a beau-
tiful green powder. By varying the proportions of the three
solutions, various shades of green may be procured. Chloride of
barium or nitrate of bismuth may be used in place of sugar of
lead.

Solution of Silk. —A solution of silk may be made by boiling
it with a concentrated solution of chloride of zinc over an excess
of oxide of the same metal, until it no longer discolors the tinct-
ure of litmus. By dialysis, the silk may be obtained again in a
colorless inodorous form.

Test for Cane Sugar.—H. Leplay observes that the sugar of
grapes blackens bichloride of carbon, while cane sugar does not.
— Les Mondes, Dec. 14, 1865.

Artificial Cold. —Mr. Clowes finds that when sulpho-cyanide of
ammonium is dissolved in water, intense cold is produced in a
short time, the atmospheric moisture being deposited like hoar

216 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

frost on the sides of the vessel. From trials with different pro-
portions, he found that the mixture of equal parts by weight gave
the most intense cold. By mixing 1368 grains of the salt with its
weight of water at 17° C. a cold of — 12° C. was obtained; the
temperature of the atmosphere at the time of the experiment was
the same as that of the water employed. — Quarterly Journal of
Science, April, 1866.

Chemical Poisoning. —M. Melsens states, in ‘* Comptes Rendus,”
that chlorate of potash and iodide of potassium may be adminis-
tered in considerable quantities in succession to dogs, without
injuring them; while, if they are given simultaneously, the ani-
mals are poisoned, apparently by the formation of iodate of potash.
He observes that the two salts do not react in this way under ordi-
nary circumstances, but they do so in strong acid solutions, or
when in fusion, and when mixed and decomposed by the electric

ile.

. Orange-colored Dye from Aniline. —Mr. Jacobsen makes red
aniline in the usual way by the action of nitrate of mercury on
aniline. The residue is then purified by boiling the resinous de-
posit, crystallizing the solution. The mother liquor of the erys-
tals contains small quantities of dyes of different colors, and a
large proportion of orange dye. The orange is isolated by means
of common salt, which precipitates the other colors and leaves
the orange in solution. The dye is afterward extracted with
alcohol. ‘The color is a golden orange, which readily dyes silk
and wool, and Mr. Jacobsen speaks of using it as a sort of varnish
for optical instruments and on tinfoil. — Cosmos.

Chrome Avanturine Glass.— Under this name, M. Pelouze de-
scribes a beautiful variety of ornamental glass, composed as
follows: sand, 250 parts; carbonate of soda, 100 parts; carbonate
of lime, 50 parts; bichromate of potassa, 40 parts. This glass
melts with greater difficulty than that without the bichromate, is
of a deep green color, and full of small spangles, crystals of
oxide of chrome, which sparkle with a brilliancy inferior only to
the diamond.

Tests for Carbolic Acid. —Carbolic acid is now largely used as
a disinfectant, for which it is pre-eminently fitted, especially in
cases of cattle disease. It appears that a spurious article, com-
posed of oil of tar, utterly valueless as a disinfectant, is now
being imposed on the public. Mr. W. Crookes directs attention
to this fraud, as well as to the following means by which it may
be detected. Commercial carbolic acid is soluble in from 25 to
70 parts of water, or in twice its bulk of a solution of caustic
soda, while oil often is nearly insoluble. To apply these tests:
1. Put a teaspoonful of the carbolic acid in a bottle, pour on it
half a pint of warm water, shake the bottle at intervals for half
an hour, when the amount of oily residue will show the impurity.
2. Dissolve 1 part of caustic soda in 10 parts of warm water, and
shake it up with 5 parts of the carbolic acid; as before, the resi-
-due will indicate the amount of impurity. "These tests are not
scientifically accurate, but sufliciently so for common use.—
Mech. Mag., April, 1866.

+

CHFMICAL SCIENCE. 217

Ancient Stained Glass. —It has been found that the colors of
ancient stained glass may be completely restored by leaving it
immersed for several days in a solution of carbonate of soda,
which dissolves away the organic matter to which in part the
dimness produced by age is due, and then immersing it for several
hours in dilute muriatic acid to remove the mineral substances,
which also impair the brilliancy of the colors.

Magnesium. — Magnesium light contains an extraordinary pro-
portion of ultra-violet or chemical rays, this part of the spectrum
between the extreme violet and the extreme red being six times
as large as usual, and it is particularly efficient for producing
fluorescent and photographic effects. Very remarkable fluor-
escence may be obtained by exposing to the light a paste made
of powdered platino-cyanide of barium and gum arabic.

Nature of the Diamond. — Goeppert, in his published essay on
the *‘ Organic Nature of the Diamond,” shows that it cannot be of
igneous origin ; for it turns black when highly heated. Moreover,
it contains sometimes, beside other crystals, germs of fungi, and
vegetable fibres of higher organizations.

American Sienna. — A valuable repository of this precious pig-
ment exists in the town of Whately, Conn., which will soon be
brought into extensive use.

Passive State of Metals. — The so-called passive state of metals
has been proved by Dr. Heldt to result from the formation of an
insoluble film, differing in different cases, but always protecting
the metal from the attack of the acid or other solvent.

NEW AND RARE MINERALS.

Laurite; a New Mineral. — Wohler has discovered among the
fine-grained platinum ore from Borneo, a new mineral, a sulphide
of ruthenium and osmium, to which he had given the name of
Lauritee It occurs in small grains of a dark iron black color and
high lustre. Most of the grains are true crystals, and Sartorius
has recognized the mineral to have the form of the regular octo-
hedron, in some instances showing cubic, tetrahexahedral, and
other planes. It is brittle, yielding a dark gray powder on pul-
verization ; hardness above that of quartz; specific gravity 6.99;
decrepitates when heated; infusible before the blowpipe. Analy-
sis gave ruthenium 65.18, osmium 3.03, sulphur 31.79 (approxi-
mate). Formula Rug $3 91.8, Os S, 8.2. This is the first instance
of the occurrence of a natural sulphide in the group of platinum
metals. — Ann. Chem. Pharm., 139, 116.

Pachnolite. —Knop has recently discovered in the decomposed
and weathered cryolite a new mineral, to which he has given the
name of Pachnolite, from its resemblance to hoar frost. He gives
the chemical composition as FI. 50.79, Al. 13.14, Na. 12.16, Ca.
17.25, H. 9.60 = 102.94. Dr. G. Hagemann, of the Alkali Works
at Natrona, Penn., has examined this mineral, and fully confirms
M. Knop’s results. Cryolite is now largely imported to Natrona
from Greenland, for the purpose of manufacturing soda-ash,
alumina salts, and other products. — American Journal of Science.

19

218 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Rare Minerals. —Ceesium, from cesius ‘* sky-colored,” owing to
two blue lines which it produces in the spectrum ; rubidium, from
rubidus, ‘*dark red,” owing to the existence in its spectrum of
two red lines of remarkably low refrangibility ; thallium, discov-
ered by Mr. William Crookes, which derives its name from thallos,
“‘a budding twig,” symbolizing the green tint of budding vegeta-
tion; indium, discovered by Reich and Richter of Freiburg. All
of these are due to the introduction into science of a mode of
investigation known as the spectrum analysis.

Position of Thallium in Classification. —Mr. Crookes persists in
arranging thallium near Jead, while Mr. Lamy is equally decided
in placing it among metals of the first section. In a review of all
the facts and considerations in the ‘‘ Journal of Chemistry and
Pharmacy” (Noy., 1865), I have shown the possibility of resoly-
ing the question by placing thallium with the alkali metals, but
also including with it lead and silver. ‘This opinion confirms a
theory brought forward twenty years since by Mr. Baudrimont,
who even then ranked lead with barium. Now that we have an
alum with a base of oxide of silver, isomorphous with the alum
of thallium, that of potassium, etc., there is less objection to put-
ting in the same group all these metals, although in other respects
they are quite dissimilar. The facts mentioned tend to show that
thallium should be considered as establishing a point of union be-
tween the alkali metals on one side, and lead and silver on the
other.— J. Nickles, in Silliman’s Journal, Jan., 1866.

Spectrum of Didymium.— Prof. Bunsen has announced a new
fact relating to the spectrum of the. rare metal didymium. He
has found that when the spectrum of this metal is examined by
polarized light, the position of its well-known black absorption
lines varies with the direction in which the light passes through the
crystal, —a proof that the position of absorption lines is influencd
by the physical structure of the bodies through which the light
passes.

Indium. —Reich and Richter have obtained enough of this new
element, to determine its physical properties. Itis a white metal,
soft, ductile, not easily tarnished, melts at about the same point
as lead, and gives a blue color to flame when combined with
chlorine or sulphur. Its specific gravity is 7.277, and equivalent
37.07, that of hydrogen being one.

Kachler has shown that in the zincblende of Schonfeld, near
Schlaggenwald, the new metal indiwm is associated with tin and
other metals in sufficiently large quantity to be extracted there-
from to the extent of several grammes. The blende is calcined;
it is dissolved in sulphuric acid, and the solution is treated with
metallic zine; the indium is then precipitated, mixed with other
metals, which are afterward separated.

Alloclase. —We learn from ‘* Cosmos” that a new mineral has
been discovered at Oravieza, in the Banat, to which M. T’schermak
has given the name Alloclase. The mineral is composed of sul-
phur, arsenic, bismuth, and cobalt, in the mode expressed by the
formula Cog As® So, in which it is supposed that one-fourth of.
arsenic may be replaced by an equal quantity of bismuth. It

CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 219

forms rhombohedric crystals of a copperish gray color, found in
ealcite, and accompanied with acicular arsenical pyrites. Breit-
haupt has confounded alloclase with glaucodote. — Reader.

NATIVE LEAD FROM LAKE SUPERIOR.

On the American continent—apart from its occurrence in the
meteoric iron of Tarapaca, in Chili—native lead has hitherto been
noticed only at one spot, viz., in a galena vein, traversing lime-
stone (of unstated geological age), near Zomelahuacan, in the
province of Vera Cruz, in central Mexico. The specimen from
the locality now under consideration, was obtained at a spot near
the celebrated Dog Lake of the Kaministiquia. The lead occurs
in this specimen—the only one discovered—in the form of a
small string in white, semi-opaque quartz. The quartz, which
forms a narrow vein, does not appear to contain the slightest
speck of galena, or any other substance, except a small quantity
of specular iron ore; and the unaltered appearance of the latter is
such as to preclude the supposition of the lead having been de-
rived from galena, or other lead compound, by artificial heat. The
lead, when cut, presents the ordinary color, softness, ductility, and
other physical and chemical properties of the pure metal.

This discovery is interesting, not only from the extreme rarity
of native lead, but from the fact that, in the few undoubted Euro-
pean localities in which the metal has been found, the latter is
generally accompanied by gold. ‘The quartz in which this speci-
men occurs, has, curiously enough, the somewhat waxy aspect and
other characters of the gold-bearing quartz of California and other
auriferous districts; and the geological position of the bounding
rock, immediately above that of the Huronian strata, is in a meas-
ure identical with the horizon of the gold-bearing rocks from which
the auriferous deposits of Eastern Canada have beenderived. No
gold has hitherto been met with, however, in the sands of the
Kaministiquia and other streams of Thunder Bay. — Canadian
Journal, November, 1865.

BORAX IN CALIFORINA.

Clear Lake is about sixty-five miles northwest of Suisun Bay,
and about thirty-six miles from the Pacific Ocean. Borax Lake
occupies a depression on the east side of the narrow arm of Clear
Lake, from which it is separated by a low ridge of loose volcanic
materials, consisting of scorizx, obsidian, and pumice. Borax Lake
is of variable dimensions, according to the season of the year and
the comparative dryness of the season. In September, 1863, the
water occupied an area about 4,000 feet long and 1,800 feet wide
in the widest place, irregularly oval, its longer axis turned in the
direction of east and west, magnetic; the water was about three
feet deep; it has been known to extend over twice this area, and
has also been at times entirely dry. The water from this lake, in
September, 1863, contained 2,401.56 grains of solid matter to the
gallon, of which about one-quarter was borate of soda, there being

220 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

281.48 grains of the anhydrous biborate, equal to 535.08 of erys-
tallized borax to the gallon. The borax, being the least soluble
substance contained in the water, has, in process of time, erystal-
lized out to a considerable extent, and now exists in the bottom
of the lake in the form of distinct crystals of all sizes, from micro-
scopic dimensions up to two or three inches across. These crys-
tals form a layer immediately under the water, intermixed with
blue mud of varying thickness. It is believed by those who have
examined the bottom of this lake that several million pounds of
borax may be obtained from it by means of movable coffer-dams,
at a moderate expense.

According to the San Francisco papers, during the year 1865
this lake supplied the local demand for borax to the amount of
thirty to forty tons, and afforded two hundred tons for shipment to
New York. The borax is collected from the mud at the bottom
of the lake, during the dry season, the yield in 1865 averaging
about two and one-half tons per day. The crude borax, thus ob-
tained, is so pure that the mint and assayers of the city use it in
preference to the refined article brought from abroad. — American
Journal of Science, March, 1866.

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY.

SPECTRUM ANALYSIS.

The Spectroscope and its Revelations. — Within the last few years
a new form of chemical analysis has arisen, which ascertains sub-
stances by observation upon the color and properties which they
impart to flames during combustion. It has been long known
that the combustion of certain bodies gave certain colors to
flames; strontia, for example, affording the beautiful crimson so
well known in pyrotechny. But no sure method existed of using
the facts of combustion for chemical investigations, until the in-
vention of the spectroscope. Spectrum analysis enables us to
detect the minutest trace of the constituents of substances burnt.
It has already discovered several unsuspected new metals; has
given us the power of analyzing bodies whose eomposition we
had not the means of ascertaining, and has proved to us that many
of the elements of the earth are present in the inaccessible sun,
and even in those more remote stars whose distance the most
refined researches of astronomy cannot determine.

The spectroscope is merely a prism to which light can be
admitted through a slit one-thirty-second of an inch wide, with
apparatus for examining microscopically the spectrum or de-
composed ray beyond the prism. When this is done, the spec-
trum is found to be crossed by an infinite number of lines perpen-
dicular to its length. These lines are called, from the name of
the distinguished optician who discovered them, Fraunhofer’s
lines.

When the light coming from a white-hot mass of metal is
examined by the spectroscope, its spectrum is found to be perfectly
continuous and unbroken by any Fraunhofer lines. What is the
cause of the lines in the solar light, and in what does that
luminary differ from the incandescent mass ?

In order to fathom this question, we must investigate for a few
moments the case of artificial lights, such as ordinary flames, and
those in which there are purposely introduced various elementary
or compound bodies. The construction of the spectroscope must
also be described.

The spectroscope is sometimes a very complicated instrument,
but, for ordinary analysis, quite a simple form may be used. It
consists of a prism, supported onastand. ‘Two telescopes, of low
magnifying power are attached by suitable supports. One of
these is furnished with an eye-piece like any common spy-glass,
but the eye-piece of the other is removed, and in its place is put
a vertical slit. Opposite this slit the flame to be examined is
placed. The light coming through the slit from the flame falls

19* 221

222 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

upon the object-glass of the first telestope, and its rays are ren-
dered parallel; it then passes through the prism, is refracted and
decomposed, and enters the second telescope, whence it falls upon
the eye. Any flame may be put opposite the slit, and its peculiar-
ities examined, or, by the aid of a reflector, the sunlight may be
cast on part of the slit, so that we can see a solar spectr um along-
side of the flame spectrum. Or, we may have the spectra of the
two flames at once, and compare them. The third telescope
carries a scale.

The use of a spectroscope merely involves placing the substance
to be examined in a spirit or gas flame, and then looking through
the telescope to examine the spectrum. The number, position,
and color of the transverse lines are always the same from the
same substance. A person soon becomes experienced enough to
state in a moment what bodies are present.

Understanding, then, that various elementary bodies, when
volatilized in a flame and examined by a spectroscope, give spec-
tra distinguished by bright-colored lines, soda by yellow, strontia
by red, ete., the reader is ready to grasp the next idea in the
inv estiation.

If the light coming from such a source as a mass of white-hot
iron, which is free from all Fraunhofer lines, be passed through a
flame where soda is volatilizing, before it is analyzed by the prism,
instead of seeing the bright yellow lines characteristic of the soda,
we shall find in their place two dark lines. In other words, the
soda flame has interfered with the continuity of the spectrum of
the white-hot body, and produced therein two Fraunhofer lines.
If a number of substances are burning in the flame at once, we
shall get in the spectrum an increased namber of lines. <A flame
refuses to permit the passage of rays of the same kind as it emits.
White light passing through a soda flame has the yellow rays
sifted out of it.

It is obvious at once, from such considerations, that we can
ascertain the constitution of the sun, both as regards his physical
character and chemical composition. From the fact that the lines
in his spectrum are dark, we infer that he has an intensely hot
solid or fluid nucleus, emitting light, and surrounded by an atmos-
phere of flame in which there are many volatilized bodies. If he
were solely an ignited gas or flame, the lines of his spectrum
would be bright instead of dark.

As regar ds chemical composition, it is only necessary to ascer-
tain what elementar y substance can produce lines. corresponding
to those in the solar spectrum. We can then at once be sure that
those bodies exist in the luminary. The presence of iron,
sodium, and a variety of other materials familiar to us here, has
thus been proved.

The reader will at once perceive what an important bearing
these facts have on the construction and unity of the solar system.
We have shown that on two members of it—the sun and the
earth —the same substances are found, and we may, therefore,
infer that all the rest are similarly composed — for no other two,
at first sight, seem more unlike. The sun, and all his attending

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 223

planets, with their satellites, are composed of the self-same
elements.

In this place, it is interesting to refer to a theory by which such
facts may be accounted for, and the reason of the similarity
shown. The nebular hypothesis assumes that our solar system
was at one time a gaseous mass, extending beyond the orbit of the
farthest planet, Neptune. Its composition was necessarily uniform
throughout, forthe tendency of gases to diffuse into one another, or
intermingle, would have free play. In this nebula the tempera-
ture was very high, for the elementary bodies were in a vaporous
state in it, just as they are at present in the sun. But as soon as
the mass commenced to lose its heat, there were established cur-
rents and a general movement of rotation, and on the exterior a
shell, or, rather, equatorial band of condensed materials began to
form. The cooling and consequent contraction still continuing,
the band was left behind, but it sooner or later broke, in one or
more places, and aggregated into one or more globular masses,
which continued their rotation as planets.

The same thing occurring several times in succession, and rings
of molten matter being left behind by the contracting gaseous
mass, as it lost its heat, eventually all the planets, as we now see
them, were formed, and the remainder of the nebula is the sun,
still preserving the form partly of ignited gas, and partly, prob-
ably, of a liquid or solid. It is, however, even now radiating its
heat away and cooling, though slowly. After, perhaps, giving
off a few more planets, whose orbits will not exceed in diameter
his present size, the sun, according to the hypothesis, will be no
longer visibly hot, and life on the planets will come to an end.

This celebrated hypothesis has been very freely discussed, and
has received much adverse criticism. Many strong objections ‘have
been urged against it, but the spectroscope confirms it. The
reader will not be able to appreciate the full value of this support,
until the constitution of the nebulz visible in the heavens has
been spoken of. It will, therefore, be reserved for that place.

But let us not confine ourselves in these observations to our own
solar system. Let us see whether this little instrument, which is
scarcely anything more than a small triangular piece of glass,
will not enable us to establish a relationship with more distant
bodies than the sun and planets, — with other solar systems far
away in the abysses of space.

To the naked eye, there appear scattered over the sky at night
a multitude of stars of various colors. Even in our best tele-
scopes they are only glittering points, and no glimpse of their
chemical constitution could be presented before the spectroscope
was applied to investigate them. We were satisfied that they
shone by their own light, that they were suns, that they presented
many analogies to our solar system, and also many dissimilari-
ties.

The stars, both single and double, when examined by the spec-
troscope, are observed to contain substances well known to us.
One of them, Arcturus, closely resembles our sun, as has been
shown by Rutherford. At once we perceive afellowship between

224 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

them and our own earth, and are led to the noble idea that Nature
constructs everywhere out of the same materials. Bodies, so dis-
tant that the astronomer fails to give us an idea of their remote-
ness, are brought, as it were, into our grasp, and are analyzed
with certainty. We recognize the same elements in them that
compose the soil we tread, the water we drink, the air we breathe.

And what are these materials? Chemists enumerate to us
sixty-eight elementary bodies, that is, substances not composed
of anything else, and that cannot be further decomposed. Such
are the gases: oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, ete.; the liquids:
mercury, bromine, etc.; the solids: sulphur, iron, gold, ete. One
is fifteen times lighter than the air, another twenty-one times as
heavy as water. Truly, Nature has variety enough to choose
from, for out of sixty-eight elements how many combinations
may not be made? But this very variety creates at once a sus-
picion that the ultimate elementary bodies are not in fact so
numerous.

Among the reasons for doubting the multiplicity of elementary
bodies, it may be stated: 1. That many of them are so nearly
identical that it requires a good chemist to distinguish one from
another. 2. That in our own times a number of elements have
been stricken from the list, having been found to be compound
bodies. 3. That by quite trivial means one elementary substance
may be made to assume a form having properties totally distinct
from those it originally possessed. 4. That we can form, from
two or more elements, bodies which have the attributes of ele-
ments, a case in point being cyanogen. 5. That the infinite variety
of organic substances, such as the various tissues of the bodies
of animals and plants, diverse as they are, all are formed princi-
pally from four elementary bodies. A multitude more of such
arguments might be advanced; but the general conclusion which
they indicate can be summed up inaline. All the sixty-eight
elements may be compounds of perhaps only two or three ele-
ments, —may even be modifications of a single type of matter.
But any further consideration of this part of the subject would -
lead us into an examination of the nature of matter, and its atomic
constitution, and with that we have not room to deal.

But we will penetrate yet a step further into space. The stars,
it has been stated, are exceedingly remote. Let us examine bodies
so distant that the stars are near neighbors compared with them.
Clusters, resolvable nebulz, true nebule, shall carry us as far from
the earth into space as the eye can see.

To the naked eye, or in a telescope of low magnifying power,
there are visible in the sky certain patches of diffused light, differ-
ing in appearance from the glittering stars. Some, when examined
with a higher power, are seen to be resolved into an aggregation
of stars; some, by the use of the highest attainable magnifying
power, on the finest nights, are with difficulty resolved, while
some resist everyattempt. It is with the last that we are more
particularly concerned.

The great reflecting telescope of Lord Rosse is wellknown. It
is six feet in aperture, and fifty-four feet in focal length. By its

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 225

aid, nebuls that had, up to his time, been unresolved, were sepa-
rated into stars; and from this circumstance the argument was
advanced that all nebuls: would yield to a sufficient increase of
power, and be demonstrated to consist of stars, which, while in
reality separated by immense distances, yet seem so closely
packed together that their light is blended into one mass.

We have spoken of solar systems; there are, according to
these statements, also stellar systems, where, instead of a sun and
planets, there are groups of suns. Our sun belongs to sucha
group of resolvable nebule, the stars that we see individualized,
and those of the milky way, being his companions.

Seen at a great enough distance, our nebular or stellar system
would presenta flattened or lima-bean-like shape, somewhat ellip-
tical from one point of view, and like a narrow band from another.
Is this group arrangement the only form in which luminous
matter is found in the universe?

Here, again, the power of means apparently trivial, but rightly
applied, is shown. Once more the prism of glass solves a ques-
tion, which hundreds of thousands of dollars expended in tele-
scopes could not have settled. On applying the spectroscope to
the investigation of the irresolvable nebule, Huggins finds that
some of them present the spectra characteristic of an ignited gas,
that is, of a flame. The Fraunhofer lines in that case are, as we
have said, bright instead of dark, as in the solar spectrum, and
the evidence is of a very tangible and unmistakable kind.

There are, then, in space, masses of ignited gaseous matter of
prodigious extent, shining by their own light, containing no star,
and resembling the nebulz, which the nebular hypothesis declares
to have been the original state of our solar system.

Now we can appreciate the assistance which the spectroscope
has lent in establishing that noble conception of Herschel and
Laplace. It has demonstrated the unity of the solar system by
establishing the existence throughout it of the same elements; it
has shown ‘the same unity in the materials of the universe; and
lastly, it fortifies us in the belief that the theoretical conception is
. in process of realization before our eyes; that we may see worlds
in the act of formation. The spectroscope has also a bearing on
a great geological hypothesis: the former heated state of our
globe. Geologists assert, from the presence in high latitudes of
fossil remains of tropical plants, that the earth was once in a
molten condition; that it cooled gradually, and at one time
reached such a temperature that the internal heat sufficed to main-
tain a warm climate on every part. The polar regions were not
then dependent on the sun for their supply of heat, but needed
that luminary only for light. Vegetation was somewhat like that
of a hot-house in the north in winter, with plenty of heat, but
lacking light for part of the year.

By this hypothesis, a great variety of facts, such as the forma-
tion of some mountain ranges, may be satisfactorily explained.
For example, when the heated mass of the earth was cooling it
was also shrinking, but as soon as an inflexible crust had formed
over the liquid ball, that exterior could no longer gradually

226 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

diminish in circumference, but was forced to pucker into ridges,
just as we see in the case of an apple drying up. The apple
assumes a wizened appearance; so did the earth. The wrinkles
are mountain chains. .

The spectroscopic confirmation of these ideas, though indirect,
follows necessarily from the support which that instrument lends
to the nebular hypothesis. If the earth was once an ignited gas,
it is certain that it also presented subsequently a molten form.
And its geometrical shape, that of an oblate spheroid, the figure
naturally assumed by a rotating liquid mass, is an important link
in the chain of evidence.

Another reflection naturally suggests itself to any one thinking
about these matters. We know that heat was the force con-
cerned in keeping the materials of our solar system in the gase-
ous state, for by its aid we can again bring most of them into that
form. The escape of heat was the cause of the solidification of
the present crust of the earth. Where has all that immense
amount of heat gone to?

It escaped altogether as radiant heat, moving in straight lines.
Ts it lost in the abysses of the universe, or is it somewhere col-
lected together to melt worn-out worlds into nebuls again, and
cause them to run again the course they have before pursued?
Can we discover the scheme by which perishing systems are re-
placed by new ones, and the grand East Indian idea, of a multi-
plicity of worlds in an infinity of time, realized? How, when the
light of our sun has faded out, shall our solar system be revivi-
fied, and re-supplied with the force it has lost? These are ques-
tions that remain to be solved. We are satisfied that matter and
force are eternal; but what their laws of distribution and opera-
tion in space and time are, the intellect of man has yet to
discover.

And if there has been a gradual formation of planets within our
solar system, beginning at its confines, one after another losing
its internal heat and becoming dependent on the sun for warmth,
does not another thought occur to us? Has not life followed the
inward march of heat? Is it not possible that there was a time .
when plants and animals, such as we have here, were able to
exist on the exterior planets, favored by their genial heat? The
last traces may not have disappeared from them. And may not
the types of low forms of organized things, that inhabited this
earth in early geological times, have passed inward toward the
sun, where surrounding physical conditions favored them in a
manner that has ceased here? Are there on Venus the radiata,
mollusca, etc., belonging to our planet ages ago? Do types of
life exist in the more distant planets, of some grade higher than
our own? We see on the earth the migrating animals, that
cannot stand the vicissitudes of summer and winter, follow the
sun southward in winter, and driven before him northward in the
summer. Is there in the solar system a similar obedience to heat
and its effects, and an ever inward flowing tide of life ?— Galaxy.

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 227

SPECTRUM OF THE NEBULA IN ORION.

At the meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society, March 10,
1865, Mr. Huggins observed that ‘‘ the recent examination of the
great nebula in Orion shows that this large and wonderful object
belongs to the class of gaseous bodies. The light from this
nebula resolves itself, under the refractive power of the prism,
into the same three bright lines. With a narrow slit they appear
exceedingly thin and well-defined. The intervals between them
are dark, and in the light from no part of this nebula was any
indication detected of a continuous spectrum, such as is charac-
teristic of incandescent solid or liquid matter. Different portions
of this great nebulous mass were brought successively upon the
slit, but the results of minute examination showed that the whole
nebula emits light, which indicates a constitution identical
throughout the body. The light from one part differs from that
of another in intensity alone.

‘« The four bright stars of the trapezium, and other stars distrib-
uted over the nebula, gave a continuous spectrum. According
to Lord Rosse and Prof. Bond, the brighter parts near the tra-
pezium consist of clustering stars. If this be the true appearance
of the nebula under great telescopic power, then these discrete
points of light must indicate separate and probably denser por-
tions of the gas, and that the whole nebula is to be regarded
rather as a system of gaseous bodies than as an unbroken vapor-
ous mass. Since the usually received opinion of the enormous
distances of the nebule has no longer any foundation to rest upon,
in respect of the nebule which give a gaseous spectrum, it is
much to be desired that proper motion should be sought for in
such of them as are suitable for this purpose. If the gaseous
matter of these objects represented the ‘nebulous fluid,’ out of
which, according to the hypothesis of Sir William Herschel, stars
are to be elaborated, we should expect a spectrum on which the
groups of bright lines were as numerous as the dark lines due to
absorption found in the spectra of the stars. If the three bright
lines be supposed to indicate matter in its most primary forms,
still we should expect to find in some of the nebulz, or in some
parts of them, indication by a more complex spectrum, of an
advance in the formation of the separate elementary bodies which
exist in the sun and in the stars. A progressive formation of
some kind is, however, suggested by the presence in many of the
nebulz of a nucleus, the spectrum of which indicates that it is
not pure gas, but contains solid or liquid matter. It may, there-
fore, be, that nebulz which have little indication of resolva-
bility, and yet give a continuous spectrum, such as the Great
Nebula in Andromeda, are not clusters of suns, but gaseous
nebulz, which, by the gradual loss of heat, or the influences of
other forces, have become crowded with more condensed and
opaque portions.

‘*So far as my observations extend at present, they suggest the
opinion that the nebulz which give a gaseous spectrum are sys-

228 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

tems possessing a structure, and a relation to the universe, alto-
gether distinct from the great group of cosmical bodies to which
our sun and the fixed stars belong.” — Astron. Soc. Notices.

THE GREAT NEBULA OF ORION,

It does not always happen that a celestial object, the physical
characteristics of which are being discussed by scientific men,
lends itself so admirably to our inquiry as does the great nebula
of Orion at the present moment, while astronomers are —or
should be —subjecting it to a searching scrutiny. And this for
more reasons than one, for nebulze we now know are by no means
the very-easily-to-be-understood bodies we considered them some

ears ago; and Mr. Hind’s announcement of their variability has
ately been quite eclipsed by Mr. Huggins’ discovery of their real
nature.

Thus we must now at once discard the notion—a very pardon-
able one when we consider how it came to be held —that the

lorious cluster in Perseus, or that somewhat more typical one in
Tercules, may be taken as an exemplar of all our nebulz, could
we bring suflicient optical power to bear upon them. The as-
tonishing variability of some nebulzx, to which we have before
alluded, was certainly enough to set astronomers to work with
their telescopes, if the spectroscope had not been brought to bear
on the inquiry; and indeed the magnificent refractor of Pulkowa
had already revealed to Dr. Winnike’s practiced eye indications
in this very nebula, which led him to infer that their physical con-
stitution differed widely from that heretofore assigned to them.

But, in our own country, evidence has not been altogether want-
ing on the point. About this time last year, we drew attention to
a communication made to the Astronomical Society, by Messrs.
Stone and Carpenter, relative to two of the best drawings extant
of the glorious object now more particularly in question. From
Prof. Bond’s rejoinder to this and other telescopic observations
with which we are acquainted, we can scarcely come to any other
conclusion than that changes to a greater or less extent are actu-
ally going on in the position of different portions of the nebula,
if not even in its brightness.

We have referred in a former article to Mr. Huggins’ first
paper presented to the Royal Society on the gaseous nature of
nebulz,.in which, out of eight nebulz examined, six present
little indication of resolvability. In a subsequent paper, to which
we now wish to call attention, this question of resolvability is
further discussed.

The other two nebule which gave a spectrum indicative of mat-
ter in the gaseous form are 57 M, the annular nebula in Lyra, and
27 M, the Dumb-bell nebula. The results of the examination of
these nebulz with telescopes of great power, is regarded by some
to be in favor of their consisting of clustering stars. It was
therefore of importance to determine, by the observation of other
objects, whether any nebulz which have been certainly resolved
give a spectrum which shows the source of light to be glowing

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 229

gas. The examination of easily resolved clusters by spectrum
analysis was a sure means of doing this.

2 and 15 M, and 4678 and 4670 in Sir John Herschel’s cata-
logue, both bright clusters, were chosen. Both these clusters
gave a continuous spectrum.

The Great Nebula in the Sword-handle of Orion was next ex-
amined. The telescopic observations of this nebula seem to
show that it is suitable for observation, as a crucial test of the
correctness of the usually received opinion that the resolution of
a nebula into bright points is a certain and trustworthy indication
that the nebula consists of stars. Would the brighter portions of
the nebula adjacent to the trapezium which have been resolved,
according to Sir John Herschel and others, present the same
spectrum as the fainter and outlying portions? In the brighter
parts, would the existence of closely-aggregated ‘‘ stars” be re-
vealed to us by a continuous spectrum, in addition to that of the
true gaseous matter? These are suggestive questions, which it
was desirable to answer.

The light from the brightest parts of the nebula near the trape-
zium was resolved into the three bright lines, to which we have
before drawn attention. These three lines, indicative of a gaseous
constitution, appeared,when the slit of the apparatus was made
narrow, very sharply defined, and free from nebulosity; the in-
tervals between the lines were quite dark.

When either of the four bright stars of the trapezium was
brought upon the slit, a continuous spectrum of considerable
brightness, and nearly linear (the cylindrical lens of the appara-
tus having been removed), was seen, together with the bright
lines of the nebula, which were of considerable length, corre-
sponding to the length of the opening slit. A fifth star 7’ and a
sixth e@ are seen in the telescope, but the spectra of these are too
faint for observation.

The positions in the spectra of «, 8, y, 0 trapezii, which corre-
spond to the positions in the spectrum of the three bright lines of
the nebula, were carefully examined, but in no one of them were
dark lines of absorption detected.

The part of the continuous spectra of the stars «, 8, y, near the
position in the spectrum of the brightest of the bright lines of the
nebula, appeared, on a simultaneous comparison, to be more bril-
liant than the line of the nebula, but in the case of y the difference
in brightness was not great. The corresponding part of 0 was
perhaps fainter. In consequence of this small difference of bril-
liancy, the bright lines of the adjacent nebula appeared to cross
the continuous spectra of y and 0 trapezii.

Other portions of the nebula were then brought successively
upon the slit; but, throughout the whole of those portions of the
nebula which are sufficiently bright for this method of observa-
tion, the spectrum remained unchanged, and consisted of the three
bright lines only. The whole of this great nebula, as far as it lies
within the power of an eight-inch achromatic, emits light identi-
eal in character. The light from one part differs from the light of
another in intensity alone.

20

230 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The clustering ‘‘ stars” of which, according to Lord Rosse and
Professor W. C. Bond, the brighter portions of this nebula con-
sist, cannot be supposed to be invisible in the spectrum apparatus
because of their faintness, an opinion which is probably correct of
the minute and widely separated ‘‘stars” seen in the Dumb-bell
Nebula. The evidence afforded by the largest telescopes appears
to be, that the brighter parts of the nebula in Orion consist of a
**mass of stars;’ the whole, or the greater part of the light from
this part of the nebula, must ther efore be regarded as the united
radiation of these numeyvous stellar points. “Now it is this light
which, when analyzed by the prism, reveals to us its gaseous
source; and the bright lines indicative of gaseous constitution
are free from any trace of a continuous spectrum, such as that
exhibited by all the brighter stars hitherto examined.

The conclusion is obvious, that the detection in a nebula of
minute, closely associated, points of light, which observation has
hitherto been considered as a certain indication of a stellar consti-
tution, can no longer be accepted as a trustworthy proof that the
object consists of true stars. These luminous points, in some
nebulz, at least, must be regarded as themselves gaseous bodies,
denser portions, probably, of the great nebulous mass, since they
exhibit a constitution which is identical with the fainter and out-
lying parts which have not been resolved. These nebulz are
shown by the prism to be enormous gaseous systems; and the
conjecture appears probable that their apparent permanence of
general form is maintained by the continual motions of these
denser portions, which the telescope reveals as lucid points.

Mr. Huggins, in his very suggestive paper, does not stop here ;
he points out that the proper “motion of this nebula has not yet
been inquired into, because everybody, looking upon them as irre-
solvable clusters, thought them infinitely remote. Now, however,
that we know that they are not clusters of ‘‘ stars,” properly so
called, it is possible that they may be much nearer to us than we
imagine. The strange variability of the fifth and sixth stars in
the trapezium should not here be “passed over in silence, while we
remark that Bond’s latest observations tend to show that the proper
motion of the nebula cannot be different from that of the stars in
the trapezium.

At all events, it is to be hoped that the present favorable position
of Orion will secure for the glorious nebula a searching scrutiny
with the largest instruments. This can scarcely fail to supply us
with new facts. In the meantime, what of the various shapes as-
sumed by the gaseous nebul, from the brilliant and most irregu-
lar one of Orion to the faintest and most perfectly rounded plane-
tary one? Must we look upon them as other evidences of celestial
dynamics ?

M. Otto Struve, the eminent director of the Pulkowa Observa-
tory, and Father Secchi, have recently been examining the nebula
with the magnificent nine-inch Merz of the Roman College. The
fact of changes having taken place is put beyond doubt by their
observations. — Reader.

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 231

SPECTRUM OF COMET I., 1866.

Mr. William Huggins, F.R.S., examined the light both of the
nucleus and of the coma of the small telescopic comet which was
visible during a part of January last, and which is catalogued by
the astronomers as Comet I., 1866, by the aid of the spectrum
apparatus with which he made his well-known observations on
the spectra of the nebulxe. His observations have led him to the
conclusions that the nucleus of that comet is self-luminous, and
that it consists of gaseous matter in a state of incandescence, but
that the coma is not self-luminous, and that the reflected light by
which the coma was rendered visible to us was the light of the
sun. The spectrum of the nucleus, like the spectra of several of
the nebule previously examined by Mr. Huggins, consisted of
but one bright line, corresponding in refrangibility with the
brightest of the lines of nitrogen. The exact similarity between
the spectrum of this comet and spectra of the nebulz in question,
implies the existence of some very close relation between comet-
ary and nebulous matter, while the identity of the single line
presented by these spectra with one of the nitrogen lines would
seem to suggest the hypothesis that nitrogen is not an elementary
substance, but a compound one, and that it is of some one of the
several constituents, which thus go to make up what we know as
nitrogen, that this nebulous and cometary matter consists. — Me-
chanics’ Magazine, March, 1866.

SPECTRUM OF SIRIUS.

Father Secchi has just announced that the space in the spec-
trum of Sirius, which is included between the extreme red and
the first band, is ‘‘ divided by small bands, sensibly equi-distant,”
which small bands are of such extreme regularity as to give to
the spectrum a ‘‘channelled” appearance. He counted twenty-
eight of these small bands, nothing similar to which has yet been
observed in any other spectrum.

SPECTRUM OF SHOOTING STARS.

Mr. A. 8. Herschel has recently observed the spectrum of a
shooting star. It appeared near Capella, and was almost as
brilliant as that star. He followed it for more than a second in
its rather slow motion, and ascertained that its spectrum was as
continuous a spectrum as that of Capella, and a little more ex-
tended, and, therefore, that it consisted of a solid or liquid sub-
stance, and not of a gas or incandescendent vapor, as Mr. Huggins
has suggested with regard to some nebule.

He has observed seventeen meteors, coming to the conclusion
that ‘‘if the problem of chemically analyzing the substance of
luminous meteors by means of their light spectra is not yet fairly
solved, it is at all events pretty certain that the metal sodium
produces the most enduring light of the much admired trains of
the August meteors; and that at least one other mineral substance

232 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

(either potassium, sulphur, or phosphorus) lends its aid, but in a
much less remarkable degree, to produce the same luminous
trains.” — Reader.

RESULTS OF SPECTRUM ANALYSIS APPLIED TO THE
HEAVENLY BODIES.

The following are extracts from a lecture delivered before the
British Association, at Nottingham, Aug. 23, 1866, by William
Huggins, F.R.S.: —

‘*T bring before you some additions to our knowledge in the
department of astronomy, which have followed from a compara-
tively recent discovery. The researches of Kirchhoff have placed
in the hands of the astronomer a method of analysis which is spe-
cially suitable for the examination of the heavenly bodies. So un-
expected and important are the results of the application of spee-
trum analysis to the objects in the heavens, that this method of
observation may be said to have created a new and distinct branch
of astronomical science.

** Physical astronomy, the imperishable and ever-growing mon-
ument to the memory of Newton, may be described as the exten-
sion of terrestrial dynamics to the heavens. It seeks to explain
the movements of the celestial bodies on the supposition of the
universality of an attractive force, similar to that which exists upon
the earth.

“The new branch of astronomical science, which spectrum
analysis may be said to have founded, has for its object to extend
the laws of terrestrial physics to the other phenomena of the heay-
enly bodies; and it rests upon the now established fact, that matter
of a nature common to that of the earth, and subject to laws simi-
lar to those which -prevail upon the earth, exists throughout the
stellar universe.

«« The peculiar importance of Kirchhoffs discovery to astronomy
becomes obvious, if we consider the position in which we stand to
the heavenly bodies. Gravitation and the laws of our being do
not permit us to leave the earth; it is therefore by means of light
alone that we can obtain any knowledge of the grand array of
worlds which surround us in cosmical space. The star-lit heavens
is the only chart of the universe we have, and in it each twink-
ling pointis the sign of an immensely vast, though distant, region
of activity.

‘* Hitherto the light from the heavenly bodies, even when col-
lected by the largest telescopes, has conveyed to us but very mea-
gre information, and in some cases only of their form, their size,
and their color. The discovery of Kirchhoff enables us to inter-
pret symbols and indications hidden within the light itself, which
furnish trustworthy information of the chemical, and also to some
extent of the physical, condition of the excessively remote bodies
from which the light has emanated.

«*We are indebted to Newton for the knowledge that the beau-
tiful tints of the rainbow are the common and necessary ingredi-
ents of ordinary light. He found that when white light is made

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 233

to pass through a prism of glass, it is decomposed into the beauti-
ful colors which are seen in the rainbow. These colors, when in
this way separated from each other, form the spectrum of the
light. Let this white plate represent the transverse section of a
beam of white light travelling towards you. Let now a prism be
interposed in its path. The beam of white light is not turned
aside as a whole, but the colored lights composing it are deflected
differently, each in proportion to the rapidity of its vibrations.
An obvious consequence will be, that, on emerging from the prism,
the colored lights which formed the white light will separate from
each other, and in place of the white light which entered the prism
we shall have its spectrum, that is, the colored lights which com-
posed it, in a state of separation from each other. Wollaston and
Fraunhofer discovered that when the light of the sun is decom-
posed by a prism, the rainbow colors which form its spectrum are
not continuous, but are interrupted by a large number of dark lines.
These lines of darkness are the symbols which indicate the chem-
ical constitution of the sun. It was not until recently, in the year
1859, that Kirchhoff taught us the true nature of these lines. He
himself immediately applied his method of interpretation to the
dark lines of the solar spectrum, and was rewarded by the discov-
ery that several of the chemical elements which exist upon the
earth are present in the solar atmosphere.

**T present the results of the extension of this method of analy-
sis to the heavenly bodies other than the sun. These researches
have been carried on in my observatory during the last four years.
In respect to a large part of these investigations, — viz., those of
the moon, the planets, and fixed stars,—I have had the great
pleasure of working conjointly with the very distinguished chem-
ist and philosopher, Dr. William A. Miller. Half a century ago,
Fraunhofer recognized several of the solar lines in the light of the
Moon, Venus, and Mars, and also in the spectra of several stars.
Recently, Donati, Janssen, Secchi, Rutherford, and the Astronomer
Royal, have observed lines in the spectra of some stars. Before I
describe the results of our observations, I will state, in a few words,
the principles of spectrum analysis upon which our interpretation
of the phenomena we have observed has been based, and also the
method of observing which we have employed.

**When light which has emanated from different sources is de-
composed by a prism, the spectra which are obtained may differ
in several important respects from each other. All the spectra
which may present themselves can be conveniently arranged in
three general groups.

**1. The special character which distinguishes spectra of the
first order consists,in that the continuity of the colored band is un-
broken either by dark or bright lines. We learn from such a spec-
trum that the light has been emitted by an opaque body, and
almost certainly by matter in the solid or liquid state. A spectrum
of this order gives to us no knowledge of the chemical nature of
the incandescent body from which light comes.

«2, Spectra of the second order are very different. These con-
sist of colored lines of light separated from each other. From

20*

234 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

such a spectrum we may learn much. It informs us that the lumi-
nous matter from which the light has come is in the state of gas.
It is only when a luminous body is free from the molecular tram-
mels of solidity and liquidity, that it can exhibit its own peculiar
power of radiating some colored rays alone. Hence substances,
when in a state of gas, may be distinguished from each other by
their spectra. Each element, and every compound body that can
become luminous in the gaseous state without suffering decompo-
sition, is distinguished by a group of lines peculiar to itself.

*«3. The third order consists of the spectra of incandescent solid
or liquid bodies, in which the continuity of the colored light is
broken by dark lines. These dark spaces are not. produced by the
source of the light. They tell us of vapors through which the
light has passed on its way, and which have robbed the light, by
absorption, of certain definite colors or rates of vibration. Such
spectra are formed by the light of the sun and stars.

** Kirchhoff has shown that, if vapors of terrestrial substances
come between the eye and an incandescent body, they cause
groups of dark lines; and, further, that the group of dark lines
produced by each vapor is identical in the number of the lines and
in their position in the spectrum with the group of bright lines of
which its light consists when the vapor is luminous.

** Tt is evident that Kirchhoff, by this discovery, has furnished us
with the means of interpreting the dark lines of the solar spec-
trum. For this purpose it is necessary to compare the bright lines
in the spectra ofthe light of terrestrial substances, when in the state
of gas, with the dark lines of the solar spectrum. When a group
of bright lines coincides with a similar group of dark lines, then
we know that the terrestrial substance producing the bright lines
is present in the atmosphere of the sun; for it is this substance,
and this substance alone, which, by its own peculiar power of ab-
sorption, can produce that particular group of dark lines. In this
way Kirchhoff discovered the presence of several terrestrial ele-
ments in the solar atmosphere.

** Methods of Observation. — I now pass to the special methods
of observation by which, in our investigations, we have applied
these principles of spectrum analysis to the light of the heavenly
bodies. I may here state that several circumstances unite to
make these observations very difficult and very irksome. In our
climate, on few only even of those nights in which the stars shine
brilliantly to the naked eye, is the air sufficiently steady for these
extremely delicate observations. Further, the light of the stars
is feeble. This difficulty has been met, in some measure, by the
employment of a large telescope. The light of a star falling
upon the surface of an object-glass of eight inches aperture is
gathered up and concentrated at the focus into a minute and
brilliant point of light.

«* Another inconvenience arises from the apparent movement of
the stars, caused by the rotation of the earth, which carries the
astronomer and his instruments with it. This movement was
counteracted by a movement given, by clockwork, to the telescope,
in the opposite direction. In practice, however, it is not easy to

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. _ 235

retain the image of a star for any length of time exactly within
the jaws of a slit only the 1-300th of an inch apart. By patient
perseverance these difliculties have been overcome, and satis-
factory results obtained. We considered that the trustworthi-
ness of our results must rest chiefly upon direct and simultaneous
comparison of terrestrial spectra with those of celestial objects.
For this purpose we contrived the apparatus which is represented
in the diagram.

‘« By this outer tube the instrument is adapted to the eye-end of
the telescope, and is carried round with it by the clock motion.
Within this outer tube a second tube slides, carrying a cylindrical
lens. This lens is for the purpose of elongating the round point-
like image of the star into a short line of light, which is made to
fall exactly within the jaws of a nearly-closed slit. Behind the
slit, an achromatic lens (and at the distance of its own focal
length) causes the pencils to emerge parallel. They then pass
into two prisms of dense flint glass. The spectrum which results
from the decomposition of the light by the prisms is viewed
through a small achromatic telescope. This telescope is provided
with a micrometer screw, by Which the lines of the spectra may
be measured.

‘*The light of the terrestrial substances, which are to be com-
pared with the stellar spectra, is admitted into the instrument in
the following manner : —

«Over one-half of the slit is fixed a small prism, which receives
the light reflected into it by the movable mirror placed over the
tube. The mirror faces a clamp of ebonite, provided with for-
ceps to contain fragments of the metals employed. These metals
are rendered luminous in the state of gas by the intense heat of
the sparks from a powerful induction coil. The light from the
spark, reflected into the instrument by means of the mirror and
the little prism, passes on to the prisms in company with that from
the star. In the small telescope, the two spectra are viewed in
juxtaposition, so_that the coincidence and relative positions of
the bright lines in the spectrum of the spark with dark lines in
the spectrum of the star, can be accurately determined.

“* Moon and Planets. —I now pass to the results of our observa-
tions.

«IT refer, in a few words only, to the moon and planets. These
objects, unlike the stars and nebulz, are not original sources of
light. Since they shine by reflecting the sun’s light, their spectra
resemble the solar spectrum; and the only indications in their
spectra which may become sources of knowledge to us are con-
fined to any modifications which the solar light may have suffered,
either in the atmospheres of the planets, or by reflection at their
surfaces.

“¢ Moon. —On the moon, the results of our observations have
been negative. The spectra of the various parts of the moon’s
surface, when examined under different conditions of illumina-
tion, showed no indication of an atmosphere about the moon. I
also watched the spectrum of a star, as the dark edge of the moon
advanced towards the star, and then occulted it. No signs of a
lunar atmosphere presented themselves.

236 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

‘* Jupiter. —In the spectrum of Jupiter, lines are seen, which
indicate the existence of an absorptive atmosphere about this
planet. In this diagram these lines are presented as they ap-
peared when viewed simultaneously with the spectrum of the sky,
which, at the time of observation, reflected the light of the setting
sun. One strong band corresponds with some terrestrial atmos-
pherie lines, and probably indicates the presence of vapors similar
to those which are about the earth. Another band has no counter-
part amongst the lines of absorption of our atmosphere, and tells
us of some gas or vapor which does not exist in the earth’s atmos-

here.

are Saturn. — The spectrum of Saturn is feeble, but lines similar
to those which distinguish the spectrum of Jupiter were detected.
These lines are less strongly marked in the anse of the rings,
and show that the absorptive power of the atmosphere about the
rings is less than that of the atmosphere which surrounds the
ball. A distinguished foreigner, present at the meeting, Janssen,
has quite recently found that several of the atmospheric lines in
this part of the spectrum are produced by aqueous vapor. It
appears to be very probable that ‘aqueous vapor exists in the
atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn.

‘* Mars. —On one occasion some remarkable groups of lines
were seen in the more refrangible part of the spectrum of Mars.
These may be connected with the source of the red color which
distinguishes this planet.

** Venus. —Though the spectrum of Venus is brilliant, and the
lines of Fraunhofer were well seen, no additional lines affording
evidence of an atmosphere about Venus were detected. The
absence of lines may be due to the circumstance that the light is
probably reflected, not from the planetary surface, but from clouds
at some elevation above it. The light which reaches us in this
way, by reflexion from clouds, would not have been exposed to
the absorbent action of the lower and denser strata of the planet’s
atmosphere. 2 ,

‘* The Fixed Stars.— The fixed stars, though immensely more
remote, and less conspicuous in brightness than the moon and
planets, yet because they are original sources of light, furnish us
with fuller indications of their nature.

‘« The stars have indeed been represented as suns, each uphold-
ing a dependent family of planets. This opinion rested upon a
possible analogy alone. It was not more than a speculation.
We possessed no certain knowledge from observation of the true
nature of those remote points of light. This long and earnestly-
coveted information is at last furnished by spectrum analysis.
We are now able to read in the light of each star some indications
of its nature. I will take first the spectra of two bright stars
which we have examined with great care.

‘*The upper one represents the spectrum of Aldebaran, and
the other that of Betelgeux, the star marked ain the constella-
tion of Orion.

‘« The positions of all these dark lines, about eighty in each star,
were determined by careful and repeated measures. These

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. PE |

measured lines form but a small part of the numerous fine lines
which may be seen in the spectra of these stars.

‘«* Beneath the spectrum of each star are represented the bright
lines of the metals which have been compared with it. These
terrestrial spectra appeared in the instrument as you now see
them upon the screen, in juxtaposition with the spectrum of the
star. By such an arrangement, it is possible to determine with
great accuracy whether or not any of these bright lines actually
coincide with any of the dark ones. For example : —

‘* This closely double line is characteristic of sodium. You see
that it coincides, line for line, with a dark line similarly double
in the star. The vapor of sodium is therefore present in the
atmosphere of the star, and sodium forms one of the elements of
the matter of this brilliant but remote star.

‘‘These three lines in the green are produced, so far as we
know, by the luminous vapor of magnesium alone. These lines
agree in position exactly, line for line, with three dark stellar
lines. The conclusion, therefore, appears well founded, that
another of the constituents of this star is magnesium.

«Again, there are two strong lines peculiar to the element
hydrogen; one line has its place in the red part of the spectrum,
the other at the blue limit of the green. Both of these corre-
spond to dark lines of absorption in the spectrum of the star.
Hydrogen, therefore, is present, in the star.

‘‘In a similar way, other elements, among them bismuth, anti-
mony, tellurium, and mercury, have been shown to exist in the
star.

“« Now, in reference to all these elements, the evidence does
not rest upon the coincidence of one line, which would be worth
but little, but upon the coincidence of a group of two, three, or
four lines, occurring in different parts of the spectrum. Other
corresponding lines are probably also present, but the faintness
of the star’s light limited our comparisons to the stronger lines of
each element.

«‘ What elements do the numerous other lines in the star repre-
sent? Some of them are probably due to the vapors of other ter-
restrial elements, which we have not yet compared with these
stars. But may not some of these lines be the signs of primary
forms of matter unknown upon the earth? Elements new to us
may here show themselves, which form large and important
series of compounds, and therefore give a special character to the
physical conditions of these remote systems. In a similar
manner the spectra of terrestrial substances have been compared
with several other stars. Five or six elements have been de-
tected in Betelgeux. Ten other elements do not appear to have
place in the constitution of this star.

“8 Pegasi contains . . . . sodium, magnesium, and perhaps barium;
Sirius contains . . . . . sodium, magnesium, iron, and hydrogen;
a Lyre (Vega) contains . . sodium, magnesium, iron;
e Pollux contains - » » + sodium, magnesium, iron.

About sixty other stars have been examined, all of which appear

238 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

to have some elements in common with the sun and earth, but
the selective grouping of the elements in each star is probably
peculiar and unique.

** A few stars, however, stand out from the rest, and appear to
be characterized by a peculiarity of great significance. These
stars are represented by Betelgeux and 8 Pegasi. The general
grouping of the lines of absorption in these stars is peculiar, but
the remarkable and exceptional feature of their spectra is the ab-
sence of the two lines which indicate hydrogen, one line in the
red, and the other in the green. These lines correspond to
Fraunhofer’s C and F. The absence of these lines in some stars
shows that the lines C and F are not due to the aqueous vapor of
the atmosphere.

‘*We hardly venture to suggest that the planets which may
surround these suns probably resemble them in not possessing
the important element, hydrogen. To what forms of life could
such planets be adapted? Worlds without water!

**Tt is worthy of consideration, that, with these few excep-
tions, the terrestrial elements which appear most widely diffused
through the host of stars are precisely some of those which are
essential to life, such as it exists upon the earth, — namely, hy-
drogen, sodium, magnesium, and iron. Besides, hydrogen, so-
dium, and magnesium represent the ocean, which is an essential
part of a world constituted like the earth.

“We learn from these observations, that, in plan of structure,
the stars, or at least the brightest of them, resemble the sun.
Their light, like that of the sun, emanates from intensely white-
hot matter, and passes through an atmosphere of absorbent va-
pors. With this unity of general plan of structure, there exists a
great diversity amongst the individual stars. Star differs from
star in chemical constitution. May we not believe that the indi-
vidual peculiarities of each star are essentially connected with the
special purpose which it subserves, and with the living beings
which may inhabit the planetary worlds by which it may possibly
be surrounded ?

‘* When we had obtained this new information respecting the
true nature of the stars our attention was directed to the phe-
nomena which specially distinguish some of the stars.

“‘ Colors of the Stars.— When the air is clear, especially in
southern climes, the twinkling stars do not all resemble dia-
monds; here and there may be seen, in beauteous contrast,
richly-colored gems.

**The color of the light of the stars which are bright to the
naked eye is always some tint of red, orange, or yellow. When,
however, a telescope is employed, in close companionship with
many of these ruddy and orange stars, other fainter stars become
visible, the color of ‘which may be blue, or green, or purple.

“* Now, it appeared to us to be probable that the origin of these
differences of color among the stars may be indicated by their
spectra.

«Since we had found that the source of the light of the stars is
incandescent solid or liquid matter, it appeared to be very prob-

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 239

able that, at the time of its emission, the light of all the stars is
white alike. ‘The colors observed amongst them must then be
caused by some modification suffered by the light, after its
emission.

‘¢ Aoain, it was obvious that if the dark lines of absorption
were more numerous, or stronger, in some parts of the spectrum,
then those colors would be subdued in power, relatively to the
color in which few lines only occur. These latter colors, remain-
ing strong, would predominate, and give to the light, originally
white, their own tints.

«« These suppositions have been confirmed by observations.

‘*We have shown that the colors of the stars are produced by
the vapors existing in their atmosphere. The chemical constitu-
tion of a star’s atmosphere will depend upon the elements exist-
ing in the star, and upon its temperature.

‘“* Variable Stars. — The brightness of many of the stars is found
to be variable. From night to night, from month to month, or
from season to season, their light may be observed to be contin-
ually changing, at one time increasing, at another time diminish-
ing. The careful study of these variable stars, by numerous ob-
servers, has shown that their continual changes do not take place
in an uncertain or irregular manner. The greater part of these
remarkable objects wax and wane in accordance with a fixed law
of periodic variation, which is peculiar to each.

‘* We have been seeking, for some time, to throw light upon this
strange phenomenon, by means of observation of their spectra.
If, in any case, the periodic variation of brightness is associated
with physical changes occurring in the star, we might obtain
some information by means of the prism. Again, if the diminu-
tion in brightness of a star should be caused by the interposition
of a dark body, then, in that case, if the dark body be surrounded
with an atmosphere, its presence might possibly be revealed to
us by the appearance of additional lines of absorption in the
spectrum of the star when at its minimum. One such change in
the spectrum of a variable star we believe we have already
observed.

** Betelgeux is a star of a moderate degree of variability.
When this star was at its maximum brilliancy in February last,
we missed a group of lines, the exact position of which we had
determined with great accuracy by micrometric measurements
some two years before.

‘* Temporary Stars. — With the variable stars, modern opinion
would associate the remarkable phenomena of the so-called new
stars which occasionally, but at long intervals, have suddenly ap- ~
peared in the sky. But in no case has a permanently bright star
been added to the heavens. The splendor of all these objects
was temporary only, though whether they died out or still exist
as extremely faint stars is uncertain. In the case of the two
modern temporary stars, that seen by Mr. Hind in 1845, and the
bright star recently observed in Corona, though they have lost
their ephemeral glory, they still continue as stars of the tenth and
eleventh magnitudes,

\

240 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

“The old theories respecting these strange objects must be re-
jected. We cannot believe with Tycho Brahe that objects so
ephemeral are new creations, nor with Riccioli that they are stars

brilliant on one side only, which have been suddenly turned
round by the Deity. The theory that they have suddenly darted
towards us with a velocity greater than that of light, from a re-
gion of remote invisibility, will not now find sup porters.

**On the 12th of May last, a star of the second magnitude sud-
denly burst forth in the constellation of the Northern Crown.
Thanks to the kindness of the discoverer of this phenomenon,
Mr. Birmingham, of ‘Tuam, [ was enabled, conjointly with Dr.
Miller, to examine the spectrum of this star on the 16th of May,
when it had not fallen much below the third magnitude,

“The spectrum of this star consists of two “distinct spectra.
One of these is formed by four bright lines. The other spec-
trum is analogous to the spectra of the sun and stars.

“These two ‘spectra represent two distinct sources of light.
Each spectrum is formed by the decomposition of light, which is
independent of the light which gives birth to the other spectrum,

**The continuous spectrum, crowded with groups of dark lines,
shows that there exists a photosphere of incandescent solid or

liquid matter; further, that there is an atmosphere of cooler
vapors, which give rise by absorption to the groups of dark lines.

**So far, the constitution of this object is analogous to that
of the sun and stars, but in addition there is the second spec-
trum, which consists of bright lines. There is therefore a second
and distinct source of light, and this must be, as the character of
the spectrum shows, luminous gas. Now the position of the two
principal of the bright lines of ‘this spectrum informs us that one
of the luminous gases is hydrogen. The great brightness of
these lines shows that the luminous gas is hotter than ‘the photo-
sphere. These facts, taken in connection with the suddenness of
the outburst of light in the star, and its immediate very rapid
decline in brightnes s from the second magnitude down to the
eighth magnitude in twelve days, suggested to us the startling
speculation that the star had become suddenly enrapt in the flames
of burning hydrogen. In consequence, it may be, of some great
convulsion, enormous quantities of gas were set free. A large
part of this gas consisted of hydrogen, which was burning about
the star in combination with some other element. ‘This flaming
gas emitted the light represented by the spectrum of bright lines,
The increased brightness of the spectrum of the other part of
the star’s light, may show that this fierce gaseous conflagration
had heated to a more vivid incandescence the solid matter of the
photosphere. As the free hydrogen became exhausted, the flames
gradually abated, the photosphere became less vivid, and the star
waned down to its former brightness.

‘* We must not forget that light, though a swift messenger, re-
quires time to pass from the star tous. The great physical con-
vulsion, which is new to us, is already an event of the past with
respect to the star itself.. For years the star has existed under the
new conditions which followed this fiery catastrophe.

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 241

‘* Nebule. —I pass now to objects of another order.

‘¢ When the eye is aided by a telescope of even moderate power,
a large number of faintly luminous patches and spots come forth
from the darkness of the sky, which are in strong contrast with
the brilliant but point-like images of the stars. ‘A few of these
objects may be easily discerned to consist of very faint stars
closely aggregated together. Many of these strange objects re-
main, even in the largest telescopes, unresolved into stars, and
resemble feebly-shining clouds, or masses of phosphorescent
haze. During the last one hundred and fifty years, the intensely
important question has been continually before the mind of
astronomers, ‘ What is the true nature of these faint, comet-like
masses ?’

“The interest connected with an answer to this question has
much increased since Sir William Herschel suggested that these
objects are portions of the primordial material out of which the
existing stars have been fashioned, and, further, that in these ob-
jects we may study some of the stages through which the suns
and planets pass in their development from luminous cloud.

‘<The telescope has failed to give any certain information of
the nature of the nebulx. Ht is true that each successive increase
of aperture has resolved more of these objects into bright points ;
but, at the same time, other fainter nebule have been brought into
view, and fastastic wisps and diffused patches of light have been
seen, which the mind almost refuses to believe can “be due to the
united glare of innumerable suns still more remote.

‘Spectrum analysis, if it could be successfully applied to ob-
jects so excessively faint, was obviously a method of investigation

‘specially suitable for determining whether any essential physical

distinction separates the nebulz from the stars.

“‘T selected, for the first attempt, in August, 1864, one of the
class of small but comparatively bright nebulz.

‘¢My surprise was very great, on looking into the small tele-
scope of the spectrum apparatus, to perceive that there was no
appearance of a band of colored light, such as a star would give;
but, in place of this, there were three isolated bright lines only.

“This observation was sufficient to solve the long-agitated
inquiry, in reference to this object at least, and to show that it was
not a group of stars, but a true nebula.

‘A spectrum of this character, so far as our knowledge at
present extends, can be produced only by light which has ema-
nated from matter in the state of gas. The Tight of this nebula,
therefore, was not emitted from incandescent solid or liquid

matter, as is the light of the sun and stars, but from glowing or
luminous gas.

“‘It was of importance to learn, if possible, from the position
of these bright lines, the chemical nature of the gas or gases of
which this nebula consists.

** Measures taken by the micrometer of the most brilliant of the
bright lines showed that this line occurs in the spectrum very
nearly in the position of the brightest of the lines in the spectrum
of nitrogen. The experiment was then made of comparing the

1

242 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. ¥
spectrum of nitrogen directly with the bright lines of the nebula.
I found that the brightest of the lines of fhe nebula coincided with
the strongest of the group of lines which are peculiar to nitrogen.
It may be, therefore, that the occurrence of this one line only
indicates a form of matter more elementary than nitrogen, and
which our analysis has not yet enabled us to detect.

‘““In a similar manner, the faintest of the lines was found to
coincide with the green line of hydrogen.

‘*The middle line of the three lines which form the spectrum
of the nebula does not coincide with any strong line in the spectra
of about thirty of the terrestrial elements. It is not far from the
line of barium, but it does not coincide with it. Besides these
bright lines, there was also an exceedingly faint continuous spec-
trum. The spectrum had no apparent breadth, and must there-
fore have been formed by a minute point of light. The position
of this faint spectrum, which crossed the bright lines about the
middle of their length, showed that the bright point producing it
was situated about the centre of the nebula. Now this nebula
possesses a minute but bright nucleus. We learn from this ob-
servation that the matter of the nucleus is almost certainly not in
a state of gas, as is the material of the surrounding nebula. It
consists of opaque matter, which may exist in the form of an in-
candescent fog of solid or liquid particles.

** The new and unexpected results arrived at, by the prismatic
examination of this nebula, showed the importance of examining
as many as possible of these remarkable bodies. Would all the
nebule give similar spectra? Especially it was of importance to
ascertain whether those nebulew, which the telescope had certainly
resolved into a close aggregation of bright points, would give a
spectrum indicating gaseity.

‘** The observation with the prism of these objects is extremely
difficult, on account of their great faintness. Besides this, it is
only when the sky is very clear, and the moon is absent, that the
prismatic arrangement of their light is even possible. During
the last two years, I have examined the spectra of more than
sixty nebule and clusters. These may be divided into two great
groups. One group consists of the nebulz which give a spec-
trum similar to the one I have already described, or else of one or
two only of the three bright lines. Of the six objects examined,
about one-third belong to the class of gaseous bodies. The light
from the remaining forty nebulz and clusters becomes spread out
by the prism into a spectrum which is apparently continuous.

«The most remarkable, and possibly the nearest to our system,
of the nebulz presenting a ring formation, is the well-known
Annular Nebula in Lyra. The spectrum consists of one bright
line only. When the slit of the instrument crosses the nebula,
the line consists of two brighter portions corresponding to the
sections of the ring. A much fainter line joins them,which shows
that the faint central portion of the nebula has a similar constitu-
tion.

‘* A nebula remarkable for its large extent and peculiar form,
is that known as the Dumb-bell Nebula. The spectrum of this

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 243

nebula consists of one line only. A prismatic examination of the
light from different parts of this object showed that it is through-
out of a similar constitution.

**The most widely known, perhaps, of all the nebulz is the
remarkable cloud-like object in the sword-handle of Orion.

‘‘This object is also gaseous. Its spectrum consists of three
bright lines. Lord Rosse informs me that the bluish-green matter
of the nebula has not been resolved by his telescope. In some
parts, however, he sees a large number of very minute red stars,
which, though apparently connected with the irresolvable matter
of the nebula, are yet doubtless distinct from it. These stars
would be too faint to furnish a visible spectrum.

‘‘T now pass to some examples of the other great group of
nebule and clusters.

** All the true clusters, which are resolved by the telescope into
distinct bright points, give a spectrum, which does not consist of
separate bright lines, but is apparently continuous in its light. .
There are many nebule which furnish a similar spectrum.

“‘T take as an example of these nebule, the great nebula in
Andromeda, which is visible to the naked eye, and is not seldom
mistaken for a comet. The spectrum of this nebula, though
apparently continuous, has some suggestive peculiarities. The
whole of the red and part of the orange are wanting. Besides
this character, the brighter parts of the spectrum have a very
unequal and mottled appearance.

** It is remarkable that the easily-resolved cluster in Hercules
has a spectrum precisely similar. The prismatic connection of
this cluster with the nebula in Andromeda is confirmed by tele-
scopic observation. Lord Rosse has discovered in this cluster
dark streaks or lines, similar to those which are seen in the nebula
in Andromeda.

««In connection with these observations, it was of great interest
to ascertain whether the broad classification afforded by the prism
of the nebuls and clusters, would correspond with the indications
of resolvability furnished by the telescope. Would it be found
that all the unresolved nebule are gaseous, and that those which

ive a continuous spectrum are clusters of stars?

‘* Half of the nebule which give a continuous spectrum have
been resolved, and about one-third more are probably resolvable ;
while of the gaseous nebulz none have been certainly resolved,
according to Lord Rosse.

“* Comets. —There are objects in the heavens which occasionally,
and under some conditions, resemble closely some of the nebulee.
In some positions in their orbits some of the comets appear as
round vaporous masses, and, except by their motion, cannot be
distinguished from nebulee. Does this occasional general resem-
blance indicate a similarity of nature? If such be the case, if the
material of the comets is similar to that of the nebulz, then the
study of the wonderful changes which comets undergo in the
neighborhood of the sun may furnish useful information for a
more correct interpretation of the structure and condition of the
nebule. In 1864, Donati found that the spectrum of a comet,
visible in that year, consisted of bright lines.

244 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

‘‘ Last January a small telescopic comet was visible. It was a
nearly circular, very faint, Vaporous mass. Nearly in the centre,
a small and rather dim nucleus was seen. When this object was
viewed in the spectroscope, two spectra were distinguished : —a
very faint continuous spectrum of the coma, showing that it was
visible by reflecting solar light: —about the middle of this faint
spectrum a bright point was seen. This bright point is the spec-
trum of the nucleus, and shows that its light is different from that
of the coma. This short bright line indicates that the nucleus of
this comet was self-luminous, and, further, the position of this line
of the spectrum suggests that the material of the comet was
similar to the matter of which the gaseous nebulz consist.

‘« Measures of the Intrinsic Brightness of the Nebule.—It ap-
peared to me that some information of the nature of the nebulez
might be obtained from observations of another order. If physi-
cal changes, of the magnitude necessary for the conversion of the
gaseous bodies into suns, are now in progress in the nebulz,
surely, this process of development would be accompanied by
marked changes in the intrinsic brightness of their light, and in
their size.

‘* Now, since the spectroscope shows these bodies to be continu-
ous masses of gas, it is possible to obtain an approximate measure
of their real brightness. It is known that as long as a distant
object remains of sensible size, its brightness remains unaltered.
By a new photometric method, I found the intrinsic intensity of
the light of three of the gaseous nebule, in terms of a sperm
candle burning at the rate of 158 grains per hour : —

1
Nebula No. 4,628 5 0st part of the intensity of the candle.
1
Annular Nebula Lyra ¢ ——d “ “ “
6032:
Dumb-bell Nebula ore “ “ “
19604

‘These numbers represent, not the apparent brightness only,
but the true brightness of these luminous masses, except so far as
it may have been diminished by a possible power of extinction
existing in cosmical space, and by the absorption of our atmos-
phere. It is obvious that similar observations, made at consider-
able intervals of time, may show whether the light of these objects
is undergoing increase or diminution, or is subject to a periodic
variation. *

** Tf the Dumb-bell Nebula, the feeble light of which is not more
than the one-twenty-thousandth part of that of a candle, be, in
accordance with popular theory, a sun-germ, then it is scarcely
possible to put into an intelligible form the enormous number of
times by which its light must increase, before this faint nebula,
feebler now in its glimmering than a rushlight, can rival the
dazzling splendor of our sun.

** Measures of the Nebula. — Some of the nebulz are sufficiently

CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY. 245

defined in outline to admit of accurate measurement. By means
of a series of micrometric observations, it will be possible to ascer-
tain, whether any considerable alteration in size takes place in
nebule.

“* Meteors. — Mr. Alexander Herschel has recently succeeded in
subjecting another order of the heavenly bodies to prismatic anal-
ysis. He has obtained the spectrum of a bright meteor, and also
the spectra of some of the trains which meteors leave behind
them. A remarkable result of his observations appears to be that
sodium in the state of luminous vapor is present in the trains of
most meteors.

** Conclusion.—In conclusion, the new knowledge, that has been
gained from these observations with the prism, may be summed up
as follows : —

**1. All the brighter stars, at least, have a structure analogous

‘to that of the sun.

Zs The stars contain material elements common to the sun and
earth.

‘**3. The colors of the stars have their origin in the chemical
constitution of the atmospheres which surround them.

**4. The changes in brightness of some of the variable stars
are attended with changes in the lines of absorption of their
spectra.

‘5. The phenomena of the star in Corona appear to show that,
in this object at least, great physical changes are in operation.

“6. There exist in the heavens true nebulsx. These objects
consist of luminous gas.

**7. The material of comets is very similar fo the matter of the
gaseous nebulze, and may be identical with it.

**8. The bright points of the star-clusters may not be in all
cases stars of the same order as the separate bright stars.

** It may be asked, What cosmical theory of the origin and rela-
tions of the heavenly bodies do these new facts suggest? It
would be easy to speculate, but it appears to me that it would not be
philosophical to dogmatize, at present, on a subject of which we
know so very little. Our views of the universe are under going
important changes. Let us wait for more facts, with minds unfet-
tered by any dogmatic theory, and therefore free to receive the
obvious teaching, whatever it may be, of new observations.”

21*

GEOLOGY.

ON THE RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND PALZZONTOLOGY.

The following are extracts from the ‘‘ Reader” of June, 1865,
on the occasion of the publication of Mr. T. H. Huxley’s cata-
logue of the Jermyn-Street collection : —

Paleontology, as a science, should enable us to determine the
position of unfamiliar forms, and the age of the strata in which
they occur, in the sure hope that observation will verify the pre-
diction. Mr. Huxley says that a science of geology could not
exist, that we should only have a number of local chronologies,
did not palzontology combine the separate results, and deduce
from them general laws. When the fossils are identical at two
distant places, it should follow that paleontologists are agreed aa
to the age they indicate. But, twenty-seven years ago, Mr. R. G.
Austen threw doubt on the comfortable doctrine that two sets of
identical fossils are necessarily contemporaneous and this seem-
ing paradox has never since been quite lost sight of. It was
further developed three years ago by the author of this essay, who
went so far as to hint the possible coincidence in time of two or
more of the great formations. These views geologists pronounced
to be errors. It would have been safer to have called them only
extreme. This condemnation starts from the assumption that the
so-called formations represent epochs in time rather than geo-
graphical areas. This idea is perhaps a.natural result of the
nearly complete sequence, found to exist in the small portion of
the globe as yet carefully examined. But to apply it to other
parts of the earth’s surface is virtually to abandon the law of
uniformity of physical processes, and to revive, in a modified form,
the doctrine of cataclysms. For, if identity of species proves that
the beds containing them are, however far apart, necessarily of
the same age, that therefore the same conditions prevailed over
areas whose size finds no modern analogy (which are, in fact, now
marked by great diversities), it follows that conditions so general
could only have been terminated by some cause equally general,
though not necessarily violent, in its operation, before a new state
of things, marked by distinct organic forms, commenced. Hence
unconformities, which have been demonstrated to represent longer
periods than the formations which they separate, would cease to
be of local import. It would be impossible to avoid regarding
those separating contemporaneous strata as simultaneous, or to
escape the consequent dilemma. For, the axiom that changes are
gradual is admitted on both sides, and implies that the alteration
of conditions, and accompanying modification of structure among

246

GEOLOGY. 247

living beings, began prior to those geologica, enanges which gave
rise to the unconformity, and prove the gap; implies, further, that
all this went on in some area not necessarily adjacent, but so
situated as to ensure the continuity by descent of the organic
forms. ‘To admit this, seems to concede the chief point at issue ;
and the concession seems involved in the uncontradicted belief
held by geologists, that further research will disclose more and
more strata requiring to be ‘‘ intercalated” between those of exist-
ing classifications. Geologically this phrase is unfortunate, though
zoologically correct. The organic remains in such intercalated
beds will, of course, fall naturally into their places in the animal
series; but the insertion of the strata themselves in our tabular
lists can only be done, save for limited areas, by assigning undue
weight to artificial arrangements. It may not perhaps be neces-
sary to go so far as to consider the Devonian or Permian forma-
tions as the arctic conditions coincident with a tropical Carbonifer-
ous aspect of life; but the overlap, so to speak, of physical con-
ditions, which it seems impossible to evade, admits of no precise
limitation ; it must either be denied, or accepted along with all
it involves.

But if the simple case, when the fossils are identical, presents so
many difficulties, paleontology must, a fortiori, be still less relia-
ble as alawgiver, where distant formations yield dissimilar fossils.
For zoology knows no law by which structural modifications can
be so classified, that their relative ages may be determined by in-
spection; nay, those best qualified to speak with authority shrink
even from asserting a progression of types from higher to lower,
in time. The very theory, which sees in these modifications in-
creasing adaptation to external conditions, deprives paleontology
of all power of prediction apart from physical observation. The
important caution given by Mr. Huxley (p. 40) against the assump-
tion of identity of habits from similarity of form, points in the
same direction. Lyell (‘‘ Elements,” chap. ix.) points out the difli-
culties arising from differences of contemporaneous deposits, as,
for instance, in the Levant and Red Sea, but sees no means of
fixing their relative age, save where they are not far apart, and
belong to the same province of terrestrial distribution ;. in which
case, members of the common fauna and flora, accidentally pre-
served, might fix the relative age. A striking instance of the un-
certainty in dealing with organization is offered by the Miocene
formation. Its flora, as seen in Switzerland, finds its nearest liv-
ing representative in the vegetation of the Southern States, and
the resemblance is very strong. It must, therefore, have lived
down to, co-existed with, and survived as a flora, the glacial era.
Yet the most accomplished botanists vary so widely in their opin-
ions, that the plants are by some traced eastward, by others west-
ward from America; by others have been supposed to radiate
from a centre lying between Switzerland and Western Asia. This
unanimous difference, be it noted, is found after decisions have
been limited to those species only, whose preservation leaves no
uncertainty in their identification.

The conclusion is, that these and similar difficulties will best

248 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

be cleared up after the construction of many local chronologies,
determined neither by geology alone nor by fossils alone, but
with their mutual aid and correction. The generalized results
of these may, probably will, lead to the discovery of laws which
will render possible greater precision in the correlation of strata ;
but it seems more likely to anticipate this result from increased
knowledge of the facts of distribution, than from any rule govern-
ing the order of structural change.

Ir. Huxley avoids the acceptance of any theory of progression
founded on fossil evidence ; and his reasons for so doing well illus-
trate the acute criticism given by Lyell (‘* Antiquity of Man,” p.
405). Since this essay was written, Sir W. Logan’s discovery, in
the lower Laurentian series of Canada, of the Eozodn Canadense,
and the subsequent discovery of a similar organism in Connemara,
necessitate some modification of the statement that the Protozoa
and Ceelenterata are unrepresented in the lowest British rocks.
That fossil seems to be structurally allied to both sub-kingdoms,
The negative evidence it gives does not seem to affect the progres-
sion argument. We are justified in assuming it to represent a
small part only of the life, to which the enormous mass of lime-
stone containing it is due. The other members of the series, of
which we have no evidence for assuming this to be the first, exist,
if at all, in some unexplored region, but more probably are lost to
us by metamorphosis and resorption into the interior of the earth.

LENGTH OF GEOLOGICAL PERIODS.

All the facts of geology tend to indicate an antiquity of which
we are beginning to form butadimidea. Take, for instance, one
single formation, — our well-known chalk. This consists entirely
of shells, and fragments of shells, deposited at the bottom of an
ancient sea far away from any continent. Such a process as this
must be very slow; probably we should be much above the mark
if we were to assume a rate of deposition of ten inches in a cen-
tury. Now, the chalk is more than 1,000 feet in thickness, and
would have required, therefore, more than 120,000 years for its
formation. The fossiliferous beds of Great Britain, as a whole,
are more than 7,000 feet in thickness, and many, which with us
measure only a few inches, on the Continent expand into strata
of immense depth; while others of great importance elsewhere
are wholly wanting with us, for it is evident that during all the
different periods in which Great Britain has been dry land, strata
have been forming (as is, for example, the case now) elsewhere
and not with us. Moreover, we must remember that many of the
strata now existing have’ been formed at the expense of older
ones; thus, all the flint gravels in the south-east of England have
’ been produced by the destruction of chalk. This again is a very
slow process. It has been estimated that a cliff 500 feet high
will be worn away at the rate of an inch ina century. This may
seem a low rate; but we must bear in mind that along any line of
coast there are comparatively few points which are suffering at
one time, and, that even on these, when a fall of cliff has taken

GEOLOGY. 249

place, the fragments serve as a protection to the coast until they
have been gradually removed by the waves. The Wealden Val-
ley is twenty-two miles in breadth, and on these data it has been
calculated that the denudation of the Weald must have required
more than 150,000,000 of years. — Lubbock’s Pre-Historic Times.

SUCCESSION OF DEPOSITS.

A paper was read before the Cambridge Philosophical Society,
by Mr. H. G. Seeley, F.G.S., on the laws which have determined
the distribution of Life and of Rocks. The author observed that
in all denudation, whether marine or subaerial and fluviatile, the
crystalline rocks which underwent this process, were again de-
posited in the following order: (1) Sand, (2) Clay, (3) Lime-
stone; the second overlapping and appearing at the junction to
be superposed on the first, and the third on the second. Hence
these desposits, which at first sight appeared to be successive,
might in reality be contemporaneous. Again, deposits were com-
monly assumed to be contemporaneous when they contained the
same fossils; but upheaval and depression would cause the fauna
of any locality to move, so that remains of the same species
might be deposited necessarily in different deposits. He also
considered species to be re-transmutable, and to be affected by
the physical conditions under which the animal was living. There-
fore, he maintained that strata could not be identified by these
means, but by discovering the physical conditions under which
they were deposited, and by other methods.

EPOCHS OF DEPOSIT OF GOLD.

Mr. David Forbes, in the ‘‘ Geological Magazine,” has a paper
on the geological periods at which gold has made its appearance
in the crust of our globe. He designates the two epochs of auri-
ferous impregnation as, 1. The older or auriferous granite out-
burst. 2. The younger or auriferous diorite outburst. The first
occurred some time between the Silurian and Carboniferous
periods. The gold formations belonging to this period present
themselves in Australia, Bohemia, Bolivia, Brazil, Buenos Ayres,
Chili, Cornwall, Ecuador, Hungary, Mexico, New Grenada, Nor-
way, Peru, Sweden, Ural, Wicklow; and also such deposits of
gold as are found intruded as quartz nodules and veins, as if
interstratified in the Cambrian and Silurian systems, which he
believes to have been rendered auriferous solely from their prox-
imity to invisible or now superficial granites. The newer outburst
cut through strata containing fossils of decided Post-o6litic forms,
and possibly may be as late as early Cretaceous. If Mr. Forbes
is correct with respect to this comparatively recent creation, so to
speak, of gold, we may hope that, whatever is the case with coal,
the supply of gold may possibly be inexhaustible ; as there seems
no reason why fresh ‘‘outbursts” of the igneous diorite should
not recur at any period.

250 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

THE SEA THE GREAT AGENT IN DENUDATION.

Mr. D. Mackintosh, in a paper on ‘‘ The Sea against Rain and
Frost,” attempts to show the relative power of the two sets of
agencies in modifying the surface of the globe. One set of
observers, at the head of which stands Professor Ramsay, con-
siders that the present form of the ground is due to sub-aerial
influences; the other, led by Sir Roderick Murchison, considers
that the sea has been the principal denuding or excavating agent.
He adduces many facts to prove, 1. That the sea is not simply a
levelling agent. 2. That rain and frost are incapable of produc-
ing cliffs. 3. That the débris under cliffs is due to the action of
the sea. 4. That rain is incapable of abrading hard rocks.
5. That the presence and permanence of glacial markings show
the limited power of atmospheric denudation. He then, in con-
clusion, remarks that rain and frost can only justly be regarded
as supplementing the denudation effected by the sea; that their
capacity to lower the earth’s surface is comparatively small, unless
immediately assisted by streams of sufficient transporting power ;
that the sea, by its laterally excavating agency, and ‘ by uniting
in itself at the same time and on the same spot a power of detach-
ing and removing, can alone prove equivalent to the production
of such a series of escarpments, cliffs, rocky pillars, terraces,
headlands, ete., as those comprising the more abrupt inequalities
of the earth’s surface.

THE ATMOSPHERE AS A DENUDING AGENT.

Mr. J. B. Jukes and Mr. Scrope are still at issue on this point,
the former contending that aqueous atmospheric agencies have
most to do with the outline form of the earth, while the latter relies
on volcanic influence as the most powerful and most general
agency. In a letter, recently published, Mr. Jukes lays down two
conclusions which, he says, are in our islands specially applicable
to palzozoic districts, but which, mutatis mutandis, apply to rocks
of all ages. They are as follows: 1. The sea has removed vast
masses of rock, and left undulating surfaces, the highest points of
which ultimately become the summits of mountains. 2. When
these undulating surfaces are raised high into the air, they are
attacked by atmospheric agencies, and hills, valleys, and plains,
are gradually carved out of the rock mass below, their particular
features depending on original varieties in the nature of that mass,
and variations in the action of the atmospheric agencies. The
latter depend largely on the variations of temperature, by which
water is made to assume the different forms of vapor, water, snow,
and ice. It must be recollected that the forms of our palxozoic
grounds are of very ancient date, anterior to the period of the new
red sandstone, and that the great denudation of the older palseozoic
rocks took place even before the deposition of the old red sand-
stone. The time, then, during which the atmospheric agencies
have been modelling the minor features, is inconceivably great.
The recent temporary depression beneath the waters of the glacial

GEOLOGY. 251

sea did little or nothing in the way of denudation, the principal
effect then being the tr ansport of blocks, or the washing about of
materials already loose on the surface. — Geolog. Mag. for May, in
Popular Science Review, July, 1866.

DATE OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

Mr. Joseph Prestwich, in June, 1865, in a paper before the Geo-
logical Society, expressed the opinion that the English Channel
was not the result of the last geological change, but that it existed
at the time of the formation of the low-level cravels of the Somme
and the Thames valleys, and probably at that of the high-level
gravels. During a recent visit to the raised beach of Sangattee,
he found fragments of chert in the shingle and sands, which he
believed were derived from the lower cretaceots strata. Associ-
ated with them are fragments from the odlitic series of the Boulon-
nais, and two pebbles of red granite, probably from Cotentin. From
these facts he inferred the existence of a channel open to the west,
extending between France and England, anterior to the low and
perhaps to the high level gravel period. Above the raised beach
is a mass of chalk and flint rubble, with beds of loam, twenty to
eighty feet thick, and containing land shells. He regarded this
accumulation as analogous to the loess, which it resembles in its
general character ; and the shells found in it belong to species
common in that deposit.

LOUISIANA ROCK-SALT.

The ‘‘ New Orleans Times” of a recent date has the following
interesting account of the wonderful deposits of salt on Petite Anse
Island : —

‘«* Perhaps the purest and most important natural deposit of salt in
the world is that found on our coast, at Petite Anse Island. This
deposit was referred to in French’s ‘ Historical Recollections of
Louisiana.’ He quotes from the papers left by an English voyager
who visited the Mississippi, or as it was then spelt, Mechacebe, in
1698-99.

‘Strange as it may appear, all knowledge of this salt mine was
lost among our people till after the commencement of the recent
war. At that time, the residents of the interior, who were unable
to procure a supply of salt otherwise, resorted thither for the pur-
pose of boiling down the briny waters which gurgled from the
base of the island elevation. This, after some investigation and ex-
periments in well-boring, resulted in the discovery of the fact that
a great portion of the island, with the exception of an upper layer
of earth, was a complete crystal mass of salt. For two years,
nearly the whole of the trans-Mississippi was supplied from this
mine, no less than 21,000,000 pounds being taken from it in the
course of three months.

‘‘Borings have extended over a great number of acres, and the
salt rock is found everywhere, from fifteen to twenty-two feet be-
low the surface. At the point where the principal excavation wa‘,

252 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOYERY.

made, the pits have been sunk through the salt to the depth of over
forty feet, without any indication of reaching the bottom. It is
supposed that the mine covers at least one hundred acres, and
there is at present no means of ascertaining the depth of the de-
posits. In one week ten inexperienced hands recently got out
200,000 pounds of salt,—nearly four tons per day to each hand.
What will be the product when all the contemplated mechanical
agencies are put into effective operation ?

** An analysis, made by the late Dr. J. L. Riddell of New Orleans,
gives the following result. In one hundred parts by weight:

«Chloride of sodium (common salt) ofa o> je phew ge econo onesies
Sulphate of lime (wypsum)) «45.0 m6 ey Sune, plan, OFLG
CHLOrIde Of MBPNesIUM «oie «ee © is eufee cle BU sen
Chioride’of cileipm . <<. 8) we ew tt lw le wl lw ew OS

Total . © . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00

‘‘ Nothing else present in quantity to be appreciated. This salt
is white, or colorless, and visibly consists of aggregations of
irregular cubical crystals of common salt, averaging a quarter
of an inch in diameter. It attracts no moisture from the atmos-
phere.”

SALT IN IDAHO AND NEVADA.

A correspondent of the ‘* San Francisco Bulletin,” writing from
Soda Springs, Idaho, says : —

«« This community are at present deeply interested in the work-
ings of the Oneida Salt Company. The grounds of this company
are situated upon the Lander Cut-off Emigrant Road, about two
hundred and fifty miles north from Salt Lake City, and about sixty
miles north from this place. Upon their land is situated a num-
ber of large springs, with a flow of about one hundred and fifty
inches of water, which, after a thorough test, have been found to
yield one-third pure, fine table salt, when boiled. The company
have erected works to produce 100,000 pounds per month. The
expense which will necessarily accrue in the manufacture of this
amount will not exceed one-quarter cent per pound, and for it
there is a natural market in the mines of our sister territory, Mon-
tana, with a net profit of not less than ten cents per pound. These
springs have been known for years, — emigrants passing over that
road having spoken of them in the highest terms, —and a mere lack
of energy has permitted them to be unappropriated. The con-
sumption of salt in mining countries is very great, and the produc-
tions of the springs will supply the demand.”

THE BASIN OF THE DEAD SEA,

M. Lartet has recently communicated to the French Academy
of Sciences the results of a careful study he has made of the
entire basin of the Dead Sea, in which work he has had the
advantage of the direction of the Duke of Luynes. ;

The saltness of many Asiatic lakes, and of the Dead Sea, among

GEOLOGY. 253

them, M. Lartet considers to be caused by the proximity of large
quantities of rock-salt, or of earths containing rich saliferous
deposits. Especially is this the case around the Dead Sea, where,
from time immemorial, there has been known to exist the Moun-
tain of Salt, in the Arabic of which it is believed that the name
of Sodom may be recognized.

M. Lartet has carefully examined the formation of the basin of
the Dead Sea, and finds that it was formed at the end of the
ceocene epoch, as is shown by the character of the superficial
marine deposits in neighboring countries. But before this period,
dislocations were produced in the submarine strata; a fracture
opened in a north and south direction, which, by consecutive
convulsions, prolonged itself northwards, determining, upon the
shores of the Mediterranean, the formation of the mountainous
ridges of Palestine, and also producing a narrow and lengthened
depression which separates the high table-lands of Arabia. From
this depression has sprung the commencement of the hydrograph-
ical system of thisregion. Thus, the Dead Sea, or Lake Asphaltites,
was formed, from its origin, without any communication with the
ocean.

The level of this lake, as shown by the great extent of horizon-
tal layers of marl which have evidently been deposited at a
former time, ought at a certain epoch to have been one hundred
metres above its present altitude. The consequent extension of
the waters of the lake is clearly shown by the sediments, which
cover vast surfaces to the north and south of its actual limits. <A
great change must, therefore, have since occurred in the hydro-
graphical arrangement of the country. Owing to the absence of
fossils in the sediments above mentioned, it is impossible to assign
the exact age of the elevation of the waters of the lake. Never-
theless, by reckoning the probable duration of the phenomena
which have preceded and followed this important phase in the
history of the Dead Sea, the time of its occurrence can be fixed at
about the end of the tertiary or the beginning of the quaternary

eriod.
5 In the diminution of the extent of the lake, M. Lartet imagines
he can discover an evidence of the disappearance of former glac-
icrs. This he thinks well accords with those traces of ancient
glacier moraines, upon which Dr. Hooker believes the cedars of
Lebanon now grow.

During a later period, phenomena of a different nature have
otherwise altered the physical aspect of this country. At the
north-east of the Dead Sea, volcanic eruptions have produced im-
mense flows (coulées) of basaltic rock, portions of which had even
overflowed into the valley of the Jor dan. These eruptions made
Eastern Syria at one time a voleanic district equal to that of Au-
vergne. Among other smaller basaltic streams, three were found
bordering on the eastern edge of the Dead Sea, to the south of
the little “plain of Zarah.

Thermal springs, minerals similar to those bituminous emana-
tions which have ‘accompanied or followed the volcanic eruptions,
and earthquakes still felt in i country, were stated to be the

22

254 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

last important phenomena, of which the basin of the Dead Sea has
been the theatre. The progressive lowering of the level of the
waters of the lake might be the result either of a diminished sup-
ply from the atmosphere, or of evaporation becoming more rapid,

ut more probably it was owing to the combined effect of these
two causes.

M. Lartet concludes his paper by saying: ‘‘ That the most an-
cient sediments in the basin of the Dead Sea do not contain any
traces of fossil marine organisms, and it is therefore evident that
this depression has been, from its commencement, nothing more
than a reservoir of atmospheric waters, whose saltness, obtained
from surrounding circumstances, is continually increased under
the influence of excessive evaporation.”

An idea was thrown out by M. Elie de Beaumont, which gives
additional value to this statement of M. Lartet. M. Elie de Beau-
mont thinks that the large proportion of different salts found in
the Dead Sea, Lake Van, and the Caspian Sea, appear to show
that none of these sheets of water had, at any rate, derived the
whole of their saltness from the ocean. He believes their saline
character to proceed from local emanations of subterranean ori-
gin, and that perhaps the ocean itself owes more or less of its own
saltness to a mixture of products from similar emanations,

ON THE COPPER MINES OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.

Mr. H. Bauerman described briefly, before the Geological Soci-
ety, the different conditions under which native copper is found in
the trappean belt of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on Lake
Superior. The district in question is a narrow strip of ground,
about 140 miles long, and from two to six miles in breadth, made
up of alternations of compact and vesicular traps, with subordinate
beds of columnar and crystalline greenstones, conformably inter-
bedded with sandstones and conglomerates. Three different
classes of deposits are known,— namely, transverse or fissure
lodes in the northern district, cupriferous amygdaloids and con-
glomerates following the strike in the central or Portage district,
and irregular concretionary lodes, also parallel to the bedding, in
the southern or Ontonagon district. In the fissure-veins copper
occurs either spotted through the vein-stuff, or concentrated in
comparatively smooth plates, or lenticular masses, of all sizes up
to 500 tons. In the Ontonagon lodes, the masses are also large,
but of much more irregular forms. In the Portage district, on
the other hand, only small masses are found, the great production
of the mines of this region being derived from the finely-divided
spots and grains interspersed through the amygdaloids and con-
glomerates. The author proceeded to notice the various hypoth-
eses that may be framed for elucidating the occurrence of native
copper in the Lake Superior traps. Two principal sources were
indicated, the first on the supposition that protoxide of copper may
have originally formed part of the felspathic component of the
trap, or that the same rock may have contained sulphuretted com-
pounds of copper mechanically intermixed; while, according to

GEOLOGY. 255

the second view, the overlying sandstones may have contained
small quantities of copper-bearing minerals, in a similar manner to
the Kupferschiefer and other Permian and Triassic rocks in
Europe. Supposing the trappean rocks to have been percolated
by solutions carrying the products of the alteration of such min-
erals, it was suggested that the reduction to the metallic state was
mainly produced by the action of substances containing protoxides
of iron, which, by higher oxidation, have given rise to the dark-red
color and the earthy ochreous substances found in the vein-matter.
The causes producing the metalliferous deposits in the trap were
stated to have evidently acted throughout the whole system, and
the absence of copper from the compact beds is probably rather
due to the absence of cavities fit for the reception of such masses,
than to any difference in chemical composition.

GEOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST CATARACT,
UPPER EGYPT.

At the first cataract, the Nile flows over crystalline rocks con-
sisting principally of quartz, felspar, and hornblende, combined in
various proportions, and then appearing under the forms of syen-
ite, greenstone, hornblende, and mica-schists, or else occurring in
separate masses. In the bed of the river the surface of the harder
portions of these rocks is beautifully polished. The whole district
is traversed by dykes of greenstone, of which the prevailing direc-
tion is E.and W. The crystalline rocks forming the bed of the river
are overlaid by a sandstone, sometimes coarse and gritty, and at
other times fine-grained and compact. The prevailing color is
light-yellow, but in places it is dark-purple and even black, owing
to the presence of iron. As yet no organic remains have been
discovered in it. This sandstone rests on the uneven surface of
the syenite in slightly inclined strata, dipping N.N.E. Itis no-
where altered at its junction with the syenite, nor is it anywhere
penetrated by dykes. To the eastward of the first cataract is a
wide valley, commencing opposite the Island of Phils, and join-
ing the Nile valley again about three miles below Assouan.
Through this valley the Nile may have formerly flowed, as fresh-
water shells and deposits of Nile-mud are found at a considerable
height above the present level of the river. To the westward of
the first cataract, the crystalline rocks disappear below the sand-
stone, and the country is almost entirely covered with sand of a
rich yellow color, composed of fine rounded grains of quartz. —
J.C. HAWKSHAW, in Reader.

ON THE ORIGIN OF PRAIRIES.

The origin of prairies has recently formed the subject of three
papers in the ‘‘ American Journal of Science,” 1865, by Prof.
Winchell, Mr. Lesquereux, and Prof. Dana, in the order men-
tioned. Prof. Winchell believes that the prairies are of lacustrine
origin and of post-glacial date; that all seeds contained in these
lacustrine deposits would perish, and that the vegetation which

256 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

afterward appeared ‘‘ was more likely to be herbaceous than
arboreal,” because the seeds must have been brought from dis-
tant regions. Mr. Lesquereux considers that the prairies were
formed by a process of natural reclamation from the borders of
lakes, mouths, and banks of large rivers, and coasts of seas
(fresh water and salt), and cites, in illustration, the cases of the
Mississippi, Lake Michigan, ete. He thinks that the nature of
the soil formed under these circumstances would be such as to
favor only the growth of sedges and grasses; and he endeavors
to show that his explanation will account for the existence of all
known prairies and large flat tracts of land, including ‘‘ the nat-
ural meadows of Holland,” ete. Prof. Dana advances an explan-
ation of a totally different nature, namely, that the absence of
forests and presence of prairies are caused by the dryness of the
climate, while conversely the presence of forests is caused by its
‘moisture. Prof. Dana’s facts are indisputable and generally re-
ceived, for every one acknowledges the intimate relation of the
moisture of the climate to the existence of forests; the only ques-
tion is, which is the cause and which the effect. Experience has
shown that the moisture of a climate may be increased by plant-
ing forests, and diminished by clearing them. — Quarterly Journal
of Science, April, 1866.

ARTESIAN WELLS OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

These wells, now discharging 1,250,000 gallons per day of the
purest water, are located near the city limits, about three miles from
the City Hall; they are 700 feet deep, and discharge an immense
amount of clear cold water. In several respects these wells are
anomalies; first, the water which rises to the surface stands at
57° Fahr., which is below the mean temperature of the locality,
while in all other deep wells the temperature increases in pro-
portion to the descent, so that no water is found at a greater
depth at much less than 75°; and in the great wells at Charles-
ton and in the basin at Paris the range is up to 85° and 90°. Then
this water is free from the unpleasant and disagreeable mineral
taintsso common to Artesian wells. Itis certified, under chemical
analysis, to be the best article of drinking water inthe world; and
from the force and power with which it comes to the surface, it
has a head of 125 feet above the level of Lake Michigan. There
seems to be no doubt but that, by an enlargement of one of the
wells to a diameter of 20 inches, a sufficient supply, estimated at
17,000,000 gallons per day, could be obtained to meet the de-
mands of the city for years to come, and that this would flow into
the reservoirs without the aid of expensive engines, steam-pumps,
and fuel. Another curious feature in regard to these wells, and
one which geologists have not yet explained, is found in the fact
that they are located in no great valley or depression, like the
basins of Paris and London, but are out on the level prairie, sur-
rounded for hundreds of miles by country of a like character.
This fact, taken in connection with the low temperature of the
water and the great head of the fountains, seems to indicate that

GEOLOGY. Zoe

it has a source far in the north or north-west, beyond Lake Supe-
rior, and beyond the Mississippi, perhaps away off in the Rocky
Mountains. — Mechanics’ Magazine, Feb., 1866.

MINERAL RESEMBLING ALBERTITE, FROM COLORADO.

Prof. William Denton, when on an exploring trip west of the
Rocky-Mountain Range, in July, 1865, found, near the junction
of White and Green Rivers, a series of tertiary beds of brown
sandstone, passing occasionally into conglomerate, and thin beds
of bluish and cream-colored shale alternating with the sand-
stones.

These beds dip to the west at an angle of about 20° ; and, cropping
out from beneath them on the east are beds of petroleum shale,
a thousand feet in thickness, varying in color from a light cream
to inky blackness. One bed, ten feet in thickness, which he traced
for six miles, is scarcely distinguishable from the best cannelite
of New Brunswick. In the sandstone overlying the shales, he
found a perpendicular vein of bitumen, resembling in lustre, frac-
ture, and other physical characters, pure Albertite. This vein has
a width of from two feet six inches, to three feet four inches; it
lies between smooth walls of sandstone, and was traced for a
distance of five miles in a nearly direct line, due west. Two
more small veins were discovered parallel to the first, one south,
and the other north, and each distant about a mile.

The sandstone has been eroded by water into ravines and can-
ons to a depth of from eight hundred to one thousand feet, and
the principal vein can be traced from the top of the mountain to
the bottoms of these caions, retaining its width, but not appar-
ently increasing it. Im the sandstone he found fossil wood of
deciduous trees, fragments of large bones, most of which were
solid, and turtles, some of which were two feet in length, and
perfect. The sandstone is probably of Miocene age.

In the petroleum shale, underlying the sandstones, are innumer-
able leaves of deciduous trees ; among them he thought he recog-
nized the willow, the maple, and the oak. Dipterous insects,
resembling the musquito, and their larve, abounded; they are in
a wonderful state of preservation.

The story that these beds tell seems to be this: A large fresh-
water or brackish lake existed, covering a considerable portion
of western Colorado and eastern Utah. Streams carried down
fine sediment and free petroleum, from numerous springs in the
surrounding country, for ages; the petroleum increased in flow
until the sediment of the lake became thoroughly charged with
it, and the cannelite was the result. A change in the level of the
country and the course of the streams is indicated by the overly-
ing sandstones and conglomerates, nearly destitute of petroleum,
and at least one thousand feet in thickness. During the time that
this immense amount of sediment was being deposited, willows,
maples, oaks, and many strange trees grew on the land, palzo-
theres and turtles swam in the waters, and clouds of insects
sported over its surface. The bitumen seems to have flowed from

22*

258 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the shales as petroleum, after their upheaval, filling crevices per-
haps formed by that upheaval, and to have hardened in time into
its present form.

Analysis of this Bitumen by Aug. A. Hayes, M.D.— The physi-
cal characters of this mineral connect it with the variety of cannel
coal called Albertite; a fact which gives great interest to the
discovery, apart from economical considerations,

In chemical composition, relation to heat and solvents, it differs
from Albertite remarkably, and falls within the class of true bitu-
mens, of which it is an important member, well characterized.

When the cannel coal of New Brunswick was discovered and
described, geologists and mineralogists were unwilling to class it
with known coals of the cannel kind, on account of its general
resemblance to some known bitumens. Jet, from the tertiary
formation, seemed to be its nearest relative but so strong was the
impression of its physical characters, that it received a distinctive
name, by which it is now known. Meantime,observations have
multiplied over a larger surface, and in this country two discov-
eries have been made which render the reception of a new fact
less difficult.

1. The discovery, some seven years since, of the bitumen of
Ritchie County, Va. This is a true bitumen, filling a chasm in
the sandstones of the coal formation, without shales or clay, and
the deposit is extensive above the surface, and continuous more
than one hundred feet below it.

The physical characters of this bitumen do not differ from those
of bituminous coal of the prismaticform. Geologists and mineral-
ogists have carefully examined and pronounced it coal. In place,
it is a bitumen, and all its chemical characters and composition
fix it firmly in the class of bitumens.

Here we have a bitumen with the external characters of coal,
so distinct as to place it among the more common coals on in-
spection.

2. Prof. Denton has made known a most valuable deposit of
oil-producing bitumen, whose external characters are exactly
those of the so-called Albertite, while the mineral in place fills a
fracture in the rocks, without shales or clay. Either in its bed, or
in the laboratory, it is a true bitumen, differing from Albertite as
bitumens differ from coal.

These discoveries seem to diminish the apparent objections
urged to receiving the Albertite as a cannel coal, in the way of
presenting a coal on the one hand which is bitumen, and an Al-
bertite on the other, which is also a bitumen. They show, too,
the important aid which may be derived from chemical inquiries,
connected with geological observations.

In physical characters, this mineral resembles the Albertite of
New Brunswick. The same variety of fracture is observed, and
hand specimens side by side hardly differ. Specific gravity varies
from 1.055 to 1.075; electric by friction.

When heated, it loses 0.33 per cent. of moisture, and at 340°
Fahr, begins to emit vapors of hydrocarbons, soon melts and in-
tumesces. It expands about five times its volume in decompos-
ing, and affords a porous brilliant coke,

, GEOLOGY. 259

It partially dissolves in the lighter hydrocarbons from coal and
petroleum. In petroleum naphtha, of 39.67 per cent. of dark
brown bitumen separated from residuary humus, one hundred
parts afforded when distilled —

Moisture) its eral elita, Crate Pert et eithie MM agite Aualawst sp ter B0.06
Bitumens and Gas eee Fel Teer ete: fe) 2 eh, vee as? sai 8, ee) ne. ile) 77.67
Carbon as Coke ei abureWb ebb alntsiaijenl ie ku silt en (es) eudiel wielils. sen LO-Ou
Ash Ruan Ole A Mov: ah, Momaselee ee 6, 8) die -.6)1 640.0) pans.) .8., (8,16. ene

100.00

— Proc. of Boston Society of Natural History, 1866.

FORMATION OF COAL FROM PETROLEUM.

One of the more generally accepted theories respecting the
formation of petroleum, supposes that substance to be a pro-
duct of the destructive distillation of coal by means of the earth’s
internal heat. There is being discussed just now, however, a
theory which is the exact converse of this, —a theory, according to
which, instead of petroleum being formed from coal, coal was
formed from petroleum. It is well known that ‘all organic sub-
stances which are not themselves volatile, such as wood, flesh, and
other vegetable and animal matters, yield, when subjected to the
influence of heat below dull redness, tarry oils, having in all cases
the general character of petroleum, and differing only according
to the specific differences in the materials from which they may
have been obtained;” and the new hypothesis supposes that the
materials from which our coal-beds were formed were converted
in the first instance into such ‘tarry oils,’’ and that these oils,
under the long-continued action of heat, gradually lost nearly all
their oxygen and the chief part of their hydrogen, the residuum
gradually becoming solid. The advocates of this theory point in
support of it to the phenomena presented by the celebrated ‘‘ Pitch
Lake” of Trinidad. This lake covers an area of ninety-nine
square miles, and is of very great depth. ‘‘ The bitumen is solid
and cold near the shores of the lake, and gradually increases in
temperature and softness towards the centre, where it is boiling.
The ascent to the lake from the sea, a distance of three-quarters
of a mile,is covered with a hardened pitch, on which trees and
vegetables flourish ; and about Point la Braye the masses of pitch
look like black rocks among the foliage.” Mr. G. P. Wall
describes the lake as yielding three kinds of asphaltum: ‘1. As-
phaltum glance, which is hard and brittle, of an intensely black,
brilliant lustre, and conchoidal fracture. 2. Ordinary asphaltum,
of a brownish-black color, containing 20 to 35 per cent. of earthy
admixture and a considerable proportion of water, and possess-
ing the property of plasticity, which it gradually loses on long
exposure to the sun and atmosphere. 3. Asphaltic oil, occurring
associated and diluted with water, but appearing, when concen-
trated, as a dense black fluid with a powerful bituminous odor.
If collected in an open vessel, the more volatile part of this oil
evaporates after a few months, leaving a solid black substance,

260 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

of similar appearance and analogous properties to asphaltum
glance.” It is alleged that the theory of coal having been con-
densed from a liquid, in the same way as this ‘‘ asphaltum glance,”
accounts better than any other for its purity, seeing that ‘all
impure or foreign substances which did not decompose would
most likely be of greater specific gravity than oil, and conse-
quently sink to the bottom.”

The high state of preservation in which plants frequently occur.
in our coal-beds, and the fact of trees being found erect in them,
are easily accounted for upon this theory. ‘Trees grow on the
hardened pitch of the Trinidad lake, within a short distance of
other pitch in a state of ebullition, and one can readily conceive
of the hardened pitch, in any similar case, being softened by the
eruption of the boiling pitch, and of the trees growing on it being
thus ingulfed, or of the lake overflowing its banks and so sub-
merging adjacent vegetation. The new theory also furnishes a
simple explanation of the ‘‘ exceeding minuteness of many coal-
seams, which thin out into mere filaments over extensive areas of
solid rock,” and might well be due to an oily liquid haying over-
flowed the rock when it was at the surface, and having then, in
process of time, in part evaporated and in part solidified. The
shape and dimensions of many other coal-seams are equally con-
sistent with the idea of the seams in question being the solid resi-
duum of what once were lakes of oil, and indeed the great majority
of all the known coal-formations are basin-shaped, ‘‘ with long
and sloping sides dipping down to a common and profound
centre ;” a fact which certainly tells with great force in favor of
the new hypothesis. On the whole, it must be admitted that the
theory that the first step in the formation of coal was the produc-
tion of ‘tarry oils,” by the destructive distillation, at a compara-
tively low heat, of vegetable and perhaps animal matter, and
that cual consists of the less volatile portions of these oils, solidi-
fied and hardened by heat and pressure, is not without plausi-
bility, at least in respect of certain kinds and formations of coal.
There are some coal-beds which present phenomena which could
scarcely, so far as we can at present see, be accounted for on this
theory; but further researches will doubtless throw additional
light on the whole matter; and it is not necessary that we should
suppose that all the coal that exists was formed precisely in the
same way. — Mechanics’ Magazine.

ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM.

In ‘Silliman’s Journal,” for July, 1866, is an article on ‘‘ Pe-
troleum and its Geological Relations,” by Prof. E. B. Andrews, of
Marietta, Ohio, from which the following are extracts: ‘Of the
origin of petroleum there are different opinions. All agree, how-
ever, that it must ultimately be traced to vegetable or animal sub-
stances, the primary combinations of hydrogen and carbon being
the product of vital force. It is the opinion of Dr. J. S. Newberry
and others that petroleum in its present form is the product of a
slow distillation of bituminous strata. From this theory Mr. T. 8.

GEOLOGY. 261

Hunt, of the Canada Survey, in the ‘Geology of Canada,’ p. 526,
dissents, and quotes approvingly the views of Mr. Wall, who
investigated the bitumens of Trinidad, and who writes that the
bitumen ‘has under gone a special mineralization, producing a
bituminous matter instead of coal or lignite. This operation is
not attributable to heat, nor of the nature of a distillation, but is
due to chemical reactions at the ordinary temperature and under
the normal conditions of climate.’ It would appear to be Mr.
Hunt's opinion that the bitumens, of which petroleum is the liquid
form, are the product of chemical reactions changing the original
organic materials directly into oil and kindred hy drocarbons. . . .
There is no doubt that, at the original bituminization of organic
matter, vast quantities of bitumen were formed. The ereater
portion of this was absorbed by the sediments which now consti-
tute bituminous strata. For example, the black shales of the Ohio
Devonian rocks are two hundred and fifty feet thick, and in them the
bitumen is uniformly distributed throughout the whole mass. This
distribution would imply that the bitumen was once in such astate
of fluidity as to allow it to diffuse itself. . . . All the oil that
I have ever seen, except very insignificant quantities in isolated
cavities in fossiliferous limestones, has evidently strayed far from
its place of origin. It is seldom, indeed, that we find any oil in
juxtaposition with bituminous strata of any kind. It is more often
found in fissures in sand-rocks, rocks in which no oil could ever
have been generated; for whatever organic matter they might
have contained was too much exposed to atmospheric oxygen 1 to
admit of the possibility of any bituminization. It is not only im-
possible that the oil could have originated in these sand rocks, or
in the arenaceous shales which underlie them in western Pennsyl-
vania, but it is most probable that the oil ascended from the still
lower rocks, in the form of vapor, which condensed in the superior
cavities. In other words, the oil which, according to the theor Ys
was formed far below in the original bituminization of organic
matter, must have undergone a process of distillation.

“In favor of the other theory, that petroleum, as now generally
found, is the product of a distillation of bituminous shales, ete., as
suggested by Dr. Newberry and others, the following arguments

may be urged: 1. Oil may be artificially produced ‘by distilling

such shales and other bituminous materials. . . . 2. The phe-
nomena of oil and gas exhibited in our oil fields greatly resemble
those observed in the artificial distillation of oil from bituminous
materials. . . . 3. It is believed that some petroleum has
been actually produced in the earth by distillation. . . . 4.
There is an abundance of oil-making material in the earth. . .
5. A comparatively low temperature is believed to be adequate to
set free the oil vapors. 6. By this theory there might be produced
an almost indefinite quantity of petroleum, since bituminous strata
are found widely distributed. . . . Finally, the agency which
would volatilize the liquid bitumen, or petroleum formed by direct
bituminization, and bring it up and distribute it through the pres-
ent oil horizons, would certainly be adequate to distil the bitumin-
ous shales, etc., and bring up the oil to the same elevations.

262 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

** Tt may, however, be objected, that, if this theory of distillation
be true, we ought somewhere to find the residuum, or debitumin-
ized shales, ete., remaining after the oil had been extracted. Such
discovery could. not justly be expected in surface rocks, because,
according to the theory, the heat agency would at best be small,
and could be scarcely felt near the ‘surface. ‘The question, then,
would be reduced to this, viz., Do the borings in deep wells ever
show that the deep bituminous strata have lost any of their origi-
nal and normal quantity of bitumen?”

After presenting some facts bearing upon this point, he con-
cludes as follows: ‘Such facts are not conclusive as to any
positive loss of bitumen, but they are not without significance.
Should I find many similar cases where strata, which are highly
bituminous at their outcrop, are found to contain little bitumen at
great depths, and, at the same time, the rocks above these
buried str ata containing in their fissures much oil, [ think the in-
ference, that the oil was derived from the bituminous shales, not
unwarranted.” .

ACTION OF ICE IN FORMING LAKE BASINS,

“Mr. Thomas Belt has published an essay, in which he main-
tains the action of glaciers in forming lake-basins. Supposing,
he says, the existence of a depression in the pathway of a glacier
which has reached such a depth that the ice simply fills it, what
would happen? At the bottom and sides of the hollow, the ice
would be slowly melted by the earth’s heat, increasing with the
depth of the basin. As the ice at the lower end of the basin
melted, the whole mass would be pushed along by the thrust of
the moving glacier above it. Into the crevice ‘at the upper end
would pour “the w ater, coming down the bottom of the glacier,
from above the basin, which would pass underneath and be
forced out at the lower ‘end, carrying with it the mud produced
by the crushing down of the ice as it melted at the bottom, and
by the erinding along its floor as it melted at the lower end of
the basin. The water coming from above would assist in melt-
ing the ice, especially in summer; but its most important effect
would be the scouring out of the bottom of the. basin, so that an
ever-clean face of rock would be presented to the huge natural
tool operating upon it. Such an action would, in some measure,
resemble that of a hollow drill, which has been prepared for
- boring holes in rock, through which a current of water is foreed
to carry off the ground stone. Mr. Belt accounts for the differ-
ence in depth of the lake-basins of Switzerland and Nova Scotia
by stating that, in one case the ice-chisel operated on hard gran-
ites, and in the other, on soft, easily-worn materials. — Transac-
tions of the Nova Scotia Institute of Natural Science, Vol. II., No. 3.

ORIGIN OF THE SALTS WHICH COMPOSE THE EARTH.

Mr. T. Sterry Hunt gives the following theory of the origin of
salts, metallic veins, and other deposits, starting with the idea

GEOLOGY. 263

that, at the commencement of the earth’s history, the various sub-
stances in ignition reacted on each other: ‘* The quartz, which
is present in such a great proportion in many rocks, would de-
compose the carbonates and sulphates, and, aided by the presence
of water, the chlorides both of the rocky strata and of the sea;
while the organic matters and the fossil carbon would be burned
by the atmospheric oxygen. From these reactions would result a
fused mass of silicates of alumina, alkalies, lime, magnesia, iron-
oxide, ete.; while all the carbon, sulphur, and chlorine, in the
form of acid gases, mixed with watery vapor, nitrogen, and a
probable excess of oxygen, would form an exceedingly dense at-
mosphere. When the cooling permitted condensation, an acid
rain would fall upon the heated surface of the earth, decompos-
ing the silicates, and giving rise to chlorides and sulphates of the
various bases, while the separated silica might take the form of
crystalline quartz. In the next stage of the process, the portions
of the primitive crust not covered by the ocean would undergo a
decomposition, under the influence of hot moist atmosphere
charged with carbonic acid, and the felspathic silicates become
converted into clay, with separation of the alkali. This, absorb-
ing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, would find its way to
the sea, where, having first precipitated from its highly-heated
waters various metallic bases then held in solution, it would de-
compose the chloride of calcium, giving rise to chloride of sodi-
um on the one hand, and to carbonate of lime on the other.” —
Canadian Naturalist, Vol. II., note 4.

GNEISS WITH IMPRESSION OF EQUISETUM. .

In the Museum at Turin is a fragment of gneiss from an erratic
block, apparently from the Valteline, from the crystalline rocks
underlying the infra-liassic group of Sismonda, containing an im-
pression of an Equisetum. Sismonda regards this fossil as proof
of the metamorphic character of the fundamental gneiss of the
Alps, and as affording a fact bearing on the age of the vegetable
impressions accompanying the anthracite-bearing beds of the
Western Alps.

ERUPTION OF ETNA.

M. Fouqué, in ** Les Mondes,” April 6, 1865, writes that at
half-past 10 Pp. M., January 21, 1865, there was a severe earth-
quake, and immediately afterward the eruption commenced. It
broke out at the north-east side of the mountain, 1,700 metres
above the sea, and 500 from the foot of the old cone of Fru-
mento; in two or three days the lava had flowed 6 kilometres,
with a breadth of 3 to 4, and a thickness of 10 to 20. There are
7 craters. There are four kinds of fumaroles there; the dry, on
the incandescent lava; the acid, where the temperature is above
400° C.; the alkaline, where the temperature is below this, but
mostly above 100° C.; and the carbonic, in an old crater near by,
where there is the ordinary temperature. There was a remark-

264 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

able absence of sulphur and its compounds, its odor not being
perceptible, and paper containing acetate of lead not being black-
ened by the fumes. Muriate of ammonia was detected in the
acid fumaroles, and, in small quantity, even in the dry, as well as
the alkaline. The four lower craters detonated differently from
the other three; the detonations of the latter were two or three
per minute, resembling thunder, while those of the former were a
continuous series, too rapid to be counted, like the blows of a
hammer on an anvil.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION AT MAUNA LOA, HAWAII.

A jet of lava, of more stupendous proportions than any ever
conceived of, is described by Mr. Coan in the Honolulu ‘* Friend”
of February, in his account of the eruption of Mauna Loa, on the
Island of Hawaii, in 1865-1866.

‘« The eruption commenced near the summit of the mountain, and
only five or six miles south-east of the eruption of 1843. For two
days this summit crater sent down its burning floods along the
north-eastern slope of the mountain ; then suddenly the valve closed,
and the great furnace apparently ceased blast. After thirty-six
hours the fusia was seen bursting out of the eastern side of the
mountain, about midway from the top of the base.

‘* It would seem that the summit lava had found a subterranean
tunnel; for, half-way down the mountain, when coming to a weak
point, or meeting with some obstruction, it burst up vertically,
sending a column of incandescent fusia one thousand feet high
into the air. This fire jet was about one hundred feet in diam-
eter, and was sustained for twenty days and nights, varying in
height from one hundred to a thousand feet. The disgorgement
from the mountain-side was often with terrific explosions, which
shook the hills, and with detonations which were heard for forty
miles. This column of liquid fire was an object of surpassing
brilliancy, of intense and awful grandeur. As the jet issued
from the awful orifice, it was at white heat. As it ascended
higher and higher, it reddened like fresh blood, deepening its
color, until, in its descent, much of it assumed the color of clotted
gore.

‘‘In afew days it had raised a cone some three hundred feet
high around the burning orifice, and as the showers of burning
minerals fell in livid torrents upon the cone, it became one vast
heap of glowing coals, flashing and quivering with restless action,
and sending out the heat of ten thousand furnaces in full blast.

“The struggles in disgorging the fiery masses, the upward rush
of the column, the force which raised it one thousand vertical
feet, and the continuous falling back of thousands of tons of
mineral fusia into the throat of the crater, and over a cone of
glowing minerals, one mile in circumference, was a sight to inspire
awe and terror; it was attended with explosive shocks which
seemed to rend the mural ribs of the mountain. From this fountain
a river of fire went rushing and leaping down the mountain with
amazing velocity, filling up basins and ravines, dashing over preci-

GEOLOGY. 265

pices and exploding rocks, until it reached the forests at the base
of the mountain, where it burned its fiery way, consuming the
jungle, evaporating the water of the streams and pools, cutting
down the trees, and sending up clouds of smoke and steam and
murky columns of fleecy wreaths to heaven.

** All Eastern Hawaii was a sheen of light, and our night was
turned into day. So great was our illumination that one could
read without a lamp, and labor and travelling and recreation
might go on as in the daytime. Mariners at sea saw the light at
two hundred miles distance.

‘*In the daytime the atmosphere for thousands of square miles
woukl be filled with a murky haze, through which the sunbeams
shed a pale and sickly light. Smoke, steam, gases, ashes, cin-
ders floated in the air, sometimes spreading out like a fan, some-
times careering in swift currents upon the wind, or gyrating in
ever-changing colors in fitful breezes. The point from which the
fire-fountain issued is ten thousand feet above the level of the sea,
thus making the igneous pillar a distinct object of observation
along the whole eastern coast of Hawaii.

‘*PDuring the eruption the writer made an excursion to the
source. After three days of hard struggling in the jungle and
over fields, ridges, and hills of bristling scoria, he arrived near
sunset at the scene of action. All night long he stood as near to
the glowing pillar as the vehement heat would allow, listening to
the startling explosions and the awful roar of the molten column,
as it rushed upward a thousand feet, and fell back in a fiery ava-
lanche which made the mountain tremble. The fierce, red glare,
the subterraneous mutterings, the rapid explosions of gases, the
rushes and roar, the sudden and startling bursts, as of crashing
thunder —all were awe-inspiring, and all combined to render
the scene one of indescribable brilliancy and of terrible sublimity.
The rivers of fire from the fountain flowed about thirty-five miles,
and stopped within ten miles of Hilo. Had the mountain played
ten days longer it would probably have reached the shore.”

ASCENT OF MOUNT HOOD.

A correspondent of the ‘‘ Springfield Republican” gives an ac-
count of the ascent of Mount Hood, Oregon, recently, by Prof. A.
Wood, and a party of gentlemen. It would seem that Mount
Hood is really a volcano, and that it is the highest mountain in
the United States, 17,600 feet high. He says: —

The summit area is of very limited dimensions —a crescent
in shape, half a mile in length, and from three to fifty feet in
width. It is a fearful place, as it is the imminent brow of a preci-
pice on the north, sheer down not less than a vertical mile of bare
columnar rock. This height is lifted so far above all other heights
(except the four distant snow-clad peaks to the north, and Mount
Jefferson on the south), that the country beneath seemed de-
pressed to a uniform level, and the horizon retreated to a distance
of more than two hundred miles, including nearly all Oregon and

23

266 ° ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Washington Territories. The sublimity and grandeur of that
view I must leave to the imagination of the reader.

- © A canon of enormous depth plunges down along the south-
east bank, and is filled in part by a glacier evidently in motion, and
having below a very abrupt termination. Terminal and lateral
moraines mark its course, and a torrent of water issues from
beneath. While we delayed here, an avalanche of rocks, an im-
mense mass, started by the wind, thundered down the left wall
of this canon several thousand feet, and its track was marked by
a trail of white smoke. On the west side of the ancient crater,
at the base of a vast craggy pinnacle of rocks (a portion of the
ancient rim of the crater), is still an open abyss, whence issue
constantly volumes of strongly sulphurous smoke. ‘That there is
also heat there, is evident from the immense depression of the
snow about this place,—depressed not less than one thousand
feet below the snows which fill to the brim other portions of the
ancient crater.”

MUD VOLCANOES.

Prof. Ansted communicated a paper to the Geological Society
on the mud volcanoes and salt lakes of the Crimea, giving an
account of his recent explorations of the seat of the great Russian
campaign. He thinks that mud volcanoes are due to causes not
different in their nature from those of ordinary volcanoes, though
far less powerful in degree. He concludes that the facts, 1,
That the volcanic axis is identical with the great elevation axis;
2, That the axis of the smallest and most recent action of mud
volcanoes is, in like manner, parallel to the most important move-
ments that have aifected the surface of the globe; 3, That chem-
ical changes and results, mineral waters, naphtha, and eruptions
of various gases, are all connected very directly with similar lines
of action ;—are all sufficiently indicative of a general causation.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN THE BAY OF THERA (SANTORIN).

From Greece, intelligence has arrived that a new island began
to rise above the level of the sea in the Bay of Thera (Santorin)
on the 4th of February, 1866, and in five days attained the height
of from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty feet,
with a length of upwards of three hundred and fifty feet, and a
breadth of one hundred feet. It continues to increase, and consists
of a rusty black metallic lava, very heavy, and resembling half-
smelted scoria which has boiled up from a furnace. It contajns
many small whitish semi-transparent particles disseminated
through the mass like quartz or felspar.

The island of Santorin, or Thera, is of a crescent shape, and is
apparently part of the crater of an enormous volcano, eighteen
miles in circumference. The islands of Therasia and Aspronisi
were separated from Calliste, the Beautiful, as Santorin was then
called, by an earthquake, described by Pliny. Three small
islands, thrown up at different periods, are situated nearly at the
centre of the crater, and it is to the south of one of these, Neo-

GEOLOGY. 267

Kaimeni, that the new island has just made its appearance, which
phenomenon has been fully described by the Athens correspond-
ent of the ‘* Times.” It will probably form a junction with Neo-
Kaimeni, which was raised in 1707 and the following years. The
best account of the island of Santorin and the surrounding islets
is perhaps that contributed by Lieut. Leycester to the twentieth
volume of the ‘*‘ Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.”
Those of our readers who care to know more of this interesting
volcanic group, in which, as Humboldt says, we may trace the
perpetual efforts of nature to form a voleano in the middle of a
crater of elevation, will do well to refer to it. The paper is ac-
companied by an Admiralty chart, on which the soundings are
laid down.

The new island was named ‘‘ Aphroessa” by the Greek com-
missioners. It was stated to be one hundred yards long by fifty
wide, and to be daily increasing in size. Volcanic eruptions had
taken place in two localities, one in the new island, and the other
in what was called Mineral Creek, which is about two-fifths of a
mile distant, and which had been completely filled up with lava.
Considerable concussions were experienced at Patras and other
parts of Greece, which were by some attributed to an earthquake,
and by others to voleanic explosions; but, with these exceptions,
no earthquake had attended the eruptions or the formation of the
island.

The results of a long letter by M. Fouqué are thus summed
up: 1. A fissure in the soil lying 20° N.E. exists in the southern
part of Neo-Kaimeni; Georges, Aphroessa, and Reka, being the
three principal points. At their level there issue from this fissure
currents of lava, which diverge from every side towards the south
and north; that is, very nearly at right angles to the direction of
the fissure. 2. The dimensions of the three centres of eruption
become larger every day, much more owing to the development
of these currents than to the upheaval of the soil. 3. There has
been a considerable upheaval of the floor of the sea between
Reka and the southern point of the Paleo-Kaimeni. 4. There has
also been very lately a very marked upheaval of that portion
of Neo-Kaimeni comprised between Georges and Aphroessa. 5.
The sinking of the south extremity of Neo-Kaimeni, which seemed
to have come to an end, has again commenced. 6. Georges,
Aphroessa, and Reka are completely reunited with Neo-Kaimeni.

Since the eruptions at Santorin earthquakes have become much
less violent in the surrounding country, and the fears of the in-
habitants have been unnecessarily great. A new fissure has been
opened between Georges Island and Aphroessa; and lava and tor-
rents of steam have issued from this vent, as well as much gas.
The non-existence of a crater was considered by M. Fouqué to be
due to the small quantity of ejected matter and the feebleness of
the eruption. M.St. Claire Deville has shown that there exists a
certain relation between the degree of intensity of a volcano in
action and the nature of the volatile elements ejected; and M.
Fouqué has been enabled to establish the truth of this law. Thus,
in an eruption of maximum intensity, the predominant volatile

268 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

product is chloride of sodium, accompanied by the salts of soda
and potash; an eruption of the second order gives hydrochloric
acid and chloride of iron; in the third degree, sulphuric acid and
salts of ammonia; and, in the fourth or most feeble phase, steam
only, with carbonic acid and combustible gases. The eruption at
Neo-Kaimeni has never exceeded the third degree of intensity ;
and, when it excited the greatest alarm, it gave off only sulphuric
acid, steam, and combustible gases.

The active volcano now forming part of the Neo-Kaimeni Island
continues to increase in size by the addition of volcanic matter
ejected from the crater, and the rate* of increase of the new
island sitaated to the south-west, near St. George’s Bay, is con-
siderably less than at first. The new island contains the crater
of a second yolcano, thirty feet in height, with a circular base of
three hundred yards; and, judging from the soundings obtained
at Paleo-Kaimeni and St. George’s Bay, it is probable that the
island will eventually fill up the bay.

_THE STRUCTURE AND AFFINITIES OF EOZOON CANADENSE.

This object has been the cause of much discussion among geol-
ogists, some maintaining it to be an inorganic substance assuming
an animal-like form, while others have decided that it is a fossil.
Messrs. King and Rowney, of Queen’s College, Galway, in Janu-
ary, 1866, maintained, before the Geological Society, that it is the
result of what they term mineral segregation. The following had
been communicated to the ‘*‘ Reader” as early as June 3, 1865:—

‘*For several weeks past we have been engaged in investiga-
ting the microscopic structure of the serpentine of Connemara, in
comparison with that of a similar rock occurring in Canada, which
has attracted so much attention of late. For a considerable por-
tion of the time, we entertained the opinion, in common with Sir
William Logan, Doctors Dawson, Sterry Hunt, Carpenter, and
Professor Rupert Jones, that the Canadian serpentine is of organic
origin, the result of the growth of an extinct foraminifer, called
Eozoon Canadense. It was also our belief for a while that the Con-
nemara rock had originated from a similar organism. Gradually
of late, however, we have been reluctantly compelled to change
our opinion.

‘¢Tt is now our conviction that all the parts, in serpentine, which
have been taken for the skeleton-structures of a foraminifer, are
nothing more than the effect of crystallization and segregation.”

Dr. Carpenter followed with a paper showing that it is a foram-
iniferous fossil. In this paper Dr. Carpenter stated that a recent
siliceous cast of Amphistegina from the Australian coast exhibited -
a perfect representation of the ‘‘asbestiform layer,” which had pre-
viously led him to infer the nummuline affinities of that ancient
foraminifer, —a determination which has since been confirmed by
Dr. Dawson. This ‘‘asbestiform layer” was shown to exhibit in
Eozoén a series of remarkable variations, which can be closely
paralleled by those which exist in the course of the tubuli in the
shells of existing nummuline foraminifera, and to be associated

GEOLOGY. 269

with a structure exactly similar to the lacunar spaces intervening
between the outside of the proper walls of the chambers and the
intermediate skeleton, by which they become overgrown. He
stated that, even if the remarkable dendritic passages hollowed out
in the caleareous layers, and the arrangements of the minerals in
the Eozoic limestone, could be accounted for by inorganic agen-
cies, there still remains the nummuline structure of the chamber
walls, to which no parallel can be shown in any undoubted min-
eral product. —Popular Science Review, April, 1866.

DRIFT IN BRAZIL.

According to Prof. Agassiz, as reported by his son in * Silli-
man’s Journal,” for Nov., 1865, at Tijuca, a cluster of hills about
eighteen hundred feet high, and about seven or eight miles from
Rio, there is a drift hill with innumerable erratic boulders, as
characteristic as any ever seen in New England. He had before
seen unmistakable traces of drift in the Province of Rio and in
Minas Geraes; but there was everywhere connected with the
drift itself such an amount of decomposed rocks of various kinds,
that it would have been difficult to satisfy any one not familiar
with drift, that there is here an equivalent of the Northern drift.
There is found at Tijuca the most palpable superposition of drift
and of decomposed rocks, with a distinct line of demarcation
between the two.

This locality afforded an opportunity of contrasting the decom-
posed rocks, which form a characteristic feature of the whole
country, with the superincumbent drift, so as to be able hereafter
to distinguish both, whether found in contact or separately.
These decomposed rocks are quite a new feature in the structure of
the surface of the country. Granite, gneiss, mica slate, clay slate, in
fact all the various kinds of rocks usually found in old metamorphic
formations, are reduced to the condition of a soft paste, exhibiting
all the mineralogical elements of the rocks as they may have been
before they were decomposed, but now completely disintegrated,
and resting side by side, as if they had been accumulated artifi-
cially. Through this loose mass there were here and there larger
or smaller veins of quartz rock, or of granite or other rocks, equally
disintegrated ; but they retain the arrangement of their materials,
showing them to be disintegrated veins in large disintegrated
masses of rocks. The whole passes unmistakably to rocks of the
same kind, in which the decomposition or disintegration is only par-
tial, or no trace of it is visible; and the whole mass exhibits, then,
the appearance of a set of ordinary metamorphic rocks. It is plain
that such masses forming everywhere the surface of the country
must be a great obstacle to the study of erratic phenomena; and
it is not wonderful that those who seem familiar with the country
should entertain the idea that the surface rocks are everywhere
decomposed, and that there is no erratic formation or drift here.
But, upon close examination, it is easy to see that, while the de-
composed rocks consist of the small particles of the primitive
rocks, which they represent, with their veins and all other charac-

22*

270 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

teristic features, there is not a trace of larger or smaller boulders
in them; while the superincumbent drift, consisting of similar
parts, does not show the slightest sign of the indistinct stratifica-
tion characteristic of the decomposed metamorphic rocks below
it, nor any of the decomposed veins, butis full of various kinds of
boulders of different dimensions. The boulders have not yet
been traced to their origin; the majority consist of a kind of
greenstone, composed of nearly equal amounts of a greenish black
hornblende and felspar. This greenstone is said by mining engi-
neers to be found in the Entre Rios on the Parahiba, where iron
mines are worked in a rock like these boulders. Thus far, evi-
dence has been furnished of the action of glaciers only in the
extensive accumulations of drift similar in its characteristies to
Northern drift; but no trace has been found of glacial action,
properly speaking, such as polished surfaces, scratches, and
furrows.

The decomposition of the surface rocks to the extent to which
it takes place here is very remarkable, and points to a geological
agency thus far not fully discussed in our geological theories.
It is obvious that the warm rains, falling upon the heated soil, must
have a very powerful action in accelerating the decomposition of
rocks; it is like torrents of hot water falling for ages in succession
upon hot stones; and, instead of wondering at the amount of de-
composed rocks, we should rather wonder that there are any rocks
left in their primitive condition.

GEOLOGY OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.

The Basin of the Amazon. — Prof. Agassiz, in his lectures before
the Lowell Institute, in Boston, in October and November, 1866,
made the following statements in regard to the geology of the val-
ley of the river Amazon, from his personal observation. The forma-
tion of this basin is the same fora distance of three thousand miles.
It consists: 1. Of a horizontal bed of white thinly-laminated clay,
on which the river flows, and exposed at low water, this water-level
showing that the basin has not changed its relative position with
the ocean since its formation. 2. Over this is a ferruginous sand-
stone, in horizontal stratified layers, forty to eighty feet thick,
later than the old red sandstone, and even than the trias, to which it
had- been referred respectively by Humboldt and Martius. 3.
Over this, on the slopes near the water, and on the top of the flat
mountains seen from time to time, is an ochre-colored, very rich
loam, constituting the fertile lands of the valley. These flat-
topped hills, once a continuous mountain range, have assumed
their shape of rounded hills by denudation from the weather,
heavy rains, etc., — the only instance known of mountains made
by simple denudation, as these are generally the result of up-
heaval or subsidence. These strata must have been deposited
perfectly horizontal, in a walled basin; in this valley we have the
Andes on the west, the mountains of Bolivia and the table-land
of Brazil on the south, the high land of Guiana at the north; but
nothing on the east, toward the ocean.

GEOLOGY. 271

Erosion of the Coast of Brazil. — He said that there had taken
place on the coast of Brazil the most extraordinary encroachments
in the annals of geology, that there had also been great displace-
ment in the whole Amazonian valley, and that all these changes
had occurred within a comparatively recent geological period.
It had become an axiom in geology that the highest mountains
were the most recent; and, therefore, the table lands of Guiana
and high lands of Brazil are older than the Andes. It had
been ascertained, by scientific explorations fifteen years ago,
that the slopes of the mountains dipping toward the north con-
tain deposits belonging to the transition period. The recent
upheaval of the Andes showed that the trough now formed by
them was once open to the Pacific. This valley, in its formation,
had many of the characteristics of the valley of the Mississippi,
which was formed, first, by the upheaval of the Laurentian hills
to the north, trending east and west; next, the upheaval of the
Alleghanies, trending north and south, and leaving the plain of
the Ohio open to the Pacific; and, last, the upheaval of the Rocky
Mountains. It became therefore an interesting question, how far
the Mississippi trough was lined with cretaceous deposits. By
the discovery of fossil fishes in the Ceara region, its age had been
determined as belonging to the cretaceous period. He was free
to admit that the basin had its present outline since the cretaceous
period, and that whatever was now found within that trough was
younger than the cretaceous beds. It had since been filled with
deposits before described, and was now losing ground by the
eneroachments of the sea.

He gave the results of his examination of the coasts of Para
River, and other localities farther south, proving, by the existence
of fragments of peat and stumps of trees on the coasts below
highwater mark, that ‘solid land once existed where now the sea
flows. There was evidence that there was a time when the bay
of Narajo, now sixty miles wide, did not exist. Great changes
had taken place even within three years. Encroachment was
going on everywhere at the mouth of the Amazon, by the conflict
of the tidal currents with the waves of the sea. There could be
no doubt that all the islands on the coast owed their existence to
this cause, and that the coast was once a continuous line. If so,
the question arose, Through what channel did the Amazon then
discharge its waters? He answered this question by giving his
opinion that the river formerly found its way through what is now
the island of Narajo.

In considering the question how far these encroachments had
gone, Professor Agassiz stated his belief that the coast formerly
extended three hundred miles beyond its present boundaries, from
the promontories of Ceara to Eastern Guiana. It was also prob-
able that some of the streams, now flowing into the ocean south
of the Amazon, were tributaries of that river before the coast was
encroached upon by the sea; and he was inclined to believe that
the coast in the vicinity of the Orinoco had been similarly denud-
ed, and that the continent was once joined with the West India
Islands. How far the Gulf of Mexico owed its existence to the
same origin was a question for geologists to decide.

272 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

IIe commented at some length upon the difference in the
appearance of the glacial materials in the valley of the Amazon
and in more Southern parts of Brazil. In the valley, he observed,
these materials were regularly stratified, while in other localities
they were blended. He had drawn from the first-mentioned fact
the conclusion, that the valley was once barred to the sea and
formed into a lake by the accumulation of a moraine; and, upon
investigation and inquiry, he had found evidence to sustain this
theory, in the existenee of extensive remains of the moraine.

On the Drift and Glaciers of the Amazon Valley.— Taking the
regions about the provinces of Ceara and Rio for illustration, he
said the whole country within the former province is flat; but from
this plain rise hills of considerable height, some reaching as high
as three thousand feet. These mountain masses are composed of
metamorphic rock, and present a remarkable degree of disintegra-
ion. This disintegration can be seen, in the neighborhood of Rio,
penetrating at least three hundred feet, even where the rock is con-
tinuous from the surface downward. The solid rock is not only
affected by this disintegration, but the loose materials show it, so
that it is difficult to recognize their primitive condition, and to
trace their relation to the original material on which they rest. He
was satisfied that large masses of what we call drift rest on the
tropical solid rocks, as well as upon the rocks in the northern re-
gions; and that these are erratic is plain from the fact that they
are not of the same mineral character as the rocks underneath
them. In this connection he stated thatit was a curious fact, that
wherever rocks have been moulded by the power of ice they pre-
sent a rounded, dome-like shape. This condition of these rocks
and loose material is proof of the former existence of glaciers.

But we have more direct evidence of the existence, at one time,
of local glaciers. In the vicinity of Mangouva he had been struck
with the character of the loose material, and upon examination
had found that on both sides the valley, on the steep slope of the
mountains, there were large accumulations of boulders. These
boulders were firmly fixed on the slopes, but none were at the bot-
tom of the mountains. Inquiring of the inhabitants of this region
concerning these boulders, he had learned that they existed no-
where in the depressions, but were suspended along the valley on
the sides of the mountains. He had moreover found this to be the
case throughout the chain. Now, if these had been brought by
water they would have slid to the bottom, and could not have
fastened themselves upon the sides of the mountains. He said that
in his mind these were proofs, beyond the possibility of a doubt,
of the existence of local glaciers descending from the summit of
the hills to the plains, posterior to the great extension of ice over
the continent.

Again alluding to these boulders, he said that he had found these
perch rocks, on the summit of the mountains, of an entirely differ-
ent character from the rocks on which they rest. And these must
have been brought by an agency none other than ice. If they
had been brought by flood, they would have been thrown over the
side of the hills. But if the boulders had been carried on the back

GEOLOGY. 273

ofa sheet of ice, they would have’ been placed as they are; for
when in course of time the ice began to wane, it would lessen in
thickness nearest the prominent points underneath, and would
gradually melt away from them, and drop the boulders on their
summit, and in time leave them firmly stationed, away from its
action. He concluded, then, from these facts that, at one time, in
that now tropical region, there was an immense sheet of ice mov-
ing over the valleys and mountain peaks, and that gradually it had
melted away, leaving its marks and tracks behind.

On the supposition that the valley of the Amazon was once filled
by an immense glacier, the horizontality of the strata would be
well explained. At first the ice melted slowly, with still water
underneath, with a deposit of the finest materials ; as the ice melted
more rapidly, the under-current became stronger, with a more
disturbed deposition of coarser materials. A moraine was also
found on the southern side. These deposits could not have been
made by the sea, nor in a large lake, as they contain no marine
nor fresh-water fossils.

From the facts developed, the conclusion had been reached,
that there was a time when not only the northern and southern
hemispheres, and the temperate zones, were covered with fields of
ice, but when the phenomena extended over the tropical regions.
It might be said that one proof of the phenomena was wanting,
for nowhere had he been able to trace the polished rocks. But
then, nowhere had he seen rocks which had not been more or less
decomposed, owing to the action of moisture and heat; so he
could not say that he had in any case seen the natural surface of
the rocks, and therefore it could not be wondered at that the evi-
dence of attrition was wanting. The other collateral evidence is
full, and as extensive as in the northern and more temperate

regions.

BIOLOGY;

OR, PHYSIOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, AND BOTANY.

PROGRESS OF PHYSIOLOGY.

Prof. Huxley delivered an address to the ‘‘ Section of Biology”
of the British Association, in 1866, from which we extract the fol-
lowing: ‘*The microscope has lately been to physiology much
what the steam-engine has been to manufacture and transit. It
has opened up new regions for observation, and given an entirely
new direction to our thoughts. The structure of the several tis-
sues and organs has probably been made out as far as the present
means permit, and we are occupied now in investigating their
mode of formation and connection with each other. There seems
much reason to think that they are more closely related, more
continuous, than we have been in the habit of regarding them.”
He goes on to speak of the probable continuity of the nerve
fibres and nerve vesicles — of the other parts of the nerves with
the tissues among which they ramify — of the areolar tissues with
serous, fibrous, and mucous membranes, and with the structure
of the various organs, and with blood vessels. _‘‘ We are thus re-
minded of the fact that, in their embryonic period, the several struc-
tures, or the potential rudiments of them, were all blended ina
homogeneous germinal mass; and we learn that, though the
have become differentiated, they have not become separated,
but retain, in their own mode of connection, the traces of their
common parentage and of their early continuity. Such a blend-
ing of ultimate tissue, as a remnant of embryonic condition, assists
us to explain many things, such as the transfer of impressions
and what we call sympathy.

‘‘We perhaps scarcely realize and appreciate the bearings of
the fact, that all the various tissues are formed from a primitive
homogeneous and continuous plexus, by the formation and sep-
aration from one another of ‘portions,’ ‘ centres,” ‘masses,’
‘cells,’ or whatever we please to call them, and their develop--
ment into structure. Attention has been directed almost exclus-
ively to the formation and development of these masses, and too
little to their separation ; though the latter is a process little, if at
all, less important than the former, and must be effected by some-
thing analogous to what we call abruption. Indeed, the work of
abruption, or hollowing out, during the embryonic state, is little
less active than that of secretion or building up. We are familiar
with its work in the formation of the areolar tissues and cavities
of bone, in the removal of the parts of the iris and eyelids that do
not become developed into permanent structure ; but we are not
perhaps sufficiently impressed with the fact that the various cayi-

274

BIOLOGY. 275

ties, canals, and spaces, in the interior of the body are due to the
same progress, and that the failure or arrest of it may be the cause
of many of the so-called adhesions of seams and other surfaces, of
the imperforate condition of canals, and the union of parts that
should be free.”

“It is quite clear that what we call ‘Chemistry,’ with its
attendants, heat and eleetricity, plays a most important part in the
animal machine ; and, probably, more information as to the nature
of the organic processes is to be expected from their chemical
study than in any other way. We have found out that there is a
very close relation between a complete atomic formula and the
vital processes, the amount of chemical tension which is expressed
by the former being commensurate with the character of the lat-
ter, and the amount of chemical change which takes place in the
textures being commensurate with the activity of the vital pro-
cesses. There seems good reason to believe thata muscular fibre
is the container of a given amount of chemical force compressed by
the medium of a high chemical formula, and existing, therefore,
ina high state of tension; that during its contraction the com-
pressed force is set free by the decomposition of its structure —
that is, by the resolution of its component elements, chiefly by a
process of oxidation, to a lower formula or a state of lower ten-
sion, at the same time that heat is evolved and electrical changes
take place; though the latter are not yet distinctly defined. It
is impossible, therefore, to avoid the application here of the doc-
trine of contractile force, which is being so clearly worked out in
the organic world, and which seems to be the greatest advance
that has for some time been made in our knowledge of the laws of
matter. We can scarcely doubt that the chemical force which is
set free during the decomposition attendant upon muscular action is
the equivalent of the contractile force that is evinced, and of the
heat that is evolved. In other words, a muscle may be regarded
as the medium by which force is accumulated, rendered latent, or
condensed in a condition of high chemical tension, and is, from
time to time, as occasion may require, set free and converted into
muscular or contractile force and heat.”

Change from Life to Death. —In relation to the transition from
life to death, a change which takes place under ordinary circum-
stances in the most delicate, insensible manner,—so that it is
impossible to say when and how life ends and death begins, — he
@weferred to the mode in which the parts of the ultimate tissue of
the body become changed and cease to exist. Even in the in-
stance of the cuticle, a structure comparatively under the eye as
we watch the transition of the spherical deeper components to
the flattened forms of the superficial strata, and the disintegra-
tion of the latter, we are at a loss to decide where living force
ends. Clearly, it is not by an abrupt disintegration or solution,
but by some slow insensible process, which savors rather of ato-
mic change than of destruction. ‘* Then one is inclined to ask,
if the passage from the living to the unliving condition be of this
insidious, inappreciable nature, may there not be a converse of
a like kind, an insensible origination of, or conversion into life

276 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

and life’s forms, going on somewhere in the far recesses of Na-
ture’s womb? ”

THE BRAIN OF THE IMPLACENTAL MAMMALIA.

In a paper published in the ‘‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society,”
by Mr. W. H. Flower, ‘*On the Commissures of the Cerebral
Hemispheres of the Marsupialia and Monotremata,” is given the
progress of cerebral anatomy, arising from the controversies of
the last few years. It also demonstrates that all those animals
which agree in the physiological character of suckling their
young, and are separated thereby from every other creature, also
agree in possessing the remarkable transverse band of fibres
which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, and is called
the corpus callosum, while neither bird, reptile, amphibia, nor
fish, have hitherto disclosed a trace of that structure.

Thus the progress of cerebral anatomy, while it has destroyed
the distinctions feigned to exist between man and the speechless
higher mammals, has also annihilated the resemblances imagined
to obtain between the lowest mammals and the ovipara.

At the outset, a confirmation is afforded of the important fact,
first observed by Prof. Owen, that the brains of animals of the
orders marsupialia and monotremata present certain special and
peculiar characters, by which they may be at once distinguished
from those of other mammals. The appearance of either a trans-
verse or longitudinal section would leave no doubt whatever as
to which group the brain belonged. In the differentiating char-
acters to be enumerated, some members of the higher section
present an approximation to the lower; but, as far as is known at
present, there is still a wide interval between them, without any
connecting link,

The differences are manifold, but all have a certain relation to,
and even a partial dependence on, each other. They may be
enumerated under the following heads : —

1. The peculiar arrangement of the folding of the inner wall
of the cerebral hemisphere. A deep fissure, with corresponding
projection within, is continued forwards from the hippocampal
fissure, almost the whole length of the inner wall.

2. The altered relation (consequent upon this disposition of the
inner wall) and the very small development of the upper trans-
verse commissural fibres (corpus callosum). ,

3. The immense increase in amount, and probably in function,
of the inferior set of transverse commissural fibres (anterior com-
missure).

But is not the main part of the ‘corpus callosum” of the pla-
cental mammals also represented by the upper and the anterior
part of the transverse band which passes between the hemispheres
of the marsupial brain, and radiates out in a delicate lamina above
the anterior part of the lateral ventricle? The most important
and, indeed, crucial test, in determining this question, is, its posi-
tion in regard to the septum ventriculorum, and especially the
precommissural fibres of the fornix. Without any doubt, in all

BIOLOGY. QF

marsupial and monotreme animals examined (sufficient to enable
us to aflirm without much hesitation that the character is univer-
sal), it lies above them, as distinctly seen in the transverse sections.
This is precisely the same relationship which obtains in man and
all other mammalia, and this is one of the chief points in which
not only the interpretation of facts, but the observation of them
recorded in the present paper, differs from that of Prof. Owen.

The defective proportions of the part representing the great
transverse commissure of the placental mammals, which appear
to result from or to be related to the peculiar confirmation of the
wall of the hemisphere, must not lead to the inference that the
great medullary masses of the two halves of the cerebrum are by
any means ‘‘ disconnected.” The want of the upper fibres is
compensated for in a remarkable manner by the immense size of
the anterior commissure, the fibres of which are seen radiating
into all parts of the interior of the hemisphere. There can be
little doubt that the development of this commissure is, in a cer-
tain measure, complementary to that of the corpus callosum.
This is, moreover, a special characteristic of the lowest group of
the mammalia, most remarkable because it is entirely lost in the
next step of descent in the vertebrated classes.

After a description of the brain of a bird, the conclusion is
arrived at, that, great as is the difference between the placental
and implacental mammal, in the nature and extent of the connec-
tion between the two lateral hemispheres of the cerebrum, it is
not to be compared with that which obtains between the latter
and the oviparous vertebrate.

SOURCES OF THE FAT OF THE ANIMAL BODY, BY J. B. LAWES
AND DR. J. H. GILBERT.

In 1842, Baron Liebig had concluded that the fat of Herbivora
must be derived in great part from carbo-hydrates of their food,
but might also be produced from nitrogenous compounds. Du-
mas and Boussingault had at first opposed this view; but subse-
quently the experiments of Dumas and Milne-Edwards with bees,
of Persoy with geese, of Boussingault with pigs and ducks, and
of the authors with pigs, had been held to be quite confirmatory
of Liebig’s view, at any rate, as far as the carbo-hydrates were
concerned. But at the Bath meeting of the British Association,
in 1864, Dr. Haydon expressed doubt on the point; and at the
Congress of Agricultural Chemists, held at Munich last year,
Prof. Voit, from the results of experiments with dogs fed on
flesh, maintained that fat must have been produced from the nitro-
genous constituents of the food, and that these were probably
the chief, if not the only, source of the fat of the Herbivora.
Baron Liebig disputed this conclusion; and his son, Hermann V.
Liebig, has since sought to show its fallacy by reference to cows.
The authors agreed with the conclusions of these latter authorities,
but pointed out the inadequacy of the data relied upon by Her-
mann V. Liebig. They showed that, owing to the much less
proportion of alimentary organs and contents, the higher charac-

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278 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ters of the food, the much larger amount of fat produced, both in
relation to a given weight of animal within a given time and to
the amount of food consumed, the much less proportion of the
solid matter of the food that passed off in the solid and liquid ex-
cretions, and finally the larger proportion of fat in the increase,
results obtained with pigs must be much more conclusive than
those with either cows, oxen, or sheep. Numerous tables were
exhibited, showing the results which had been obtained by the
authors in experiments with pigs, from which the following con-
clusions were drawn: 1. That certainly a large proportion of the
fat of the Herbivora, fattened for human food, must be derived
from other substances than fat in the food. 2. That when fed on
the most appropriate fattening food, much of the stored up fat
must be produced from the carbo-hydrates. 3. That the nitro-
genous constituents may also serve as a source of fat, more espe-
cially in defect of a liberal supply of the non-nitrogenous ones. .

VELOCITY OF NERVOUS IMPRESSIONS.

Mr. W. F. Barrett communicates to the ‘‘ Intellectual Observer,”
for June, 1866, a paper ‘‘ On the Velocity of Nervous Impressions,”
from which the following are extracts : —

What, then, is the result of the investigations of Helmholtz on
the velocity of the nerve force? It is one which, at first sight, is
most astonishing; for the rate of propagation, compared with
other forces, is extremely slow. The velocity of light is about
190,000 miles a second, and of electricity even more; but the ve-
locity of the nerve force is only ninety feet a second, one-twentieth
of the velocity of a cannon ball, about one-thirteenth of the veloc-
ity of sound in air, and about equal to the speed of an express
train. No sensible difference was found between the velocity in
the nerves of a man, and in those of a frog and other animals. In
a creature so long as the whale, the rate of nervous transmission
becomes very perceptible when the extremities have to be moved.
The fact of a harpoon having been thrust into the tail of a good-
sized whale would not be announggd in the brain of the creature
till a second after it had entered; and, as it would take a little
more than another second before the command to move its tail
would reach the appropriate muscles, a boat’s crew might be far
away before the animal they had pierced began to lash the sea.
The nervous force travels more slowly when the nerves are sub-
mitted to a low temperature than when they are influenced by a
high one. Besides the time required for the transmission of a
stimulus through the nerves, the mind takes a certain period to
form a conception, and then to prompt the limbs to act accordingly.
This time, measured by a similar method, has been found to be
about one-tenth of a second. The passage of a rifle-bullet through
the brain would not occupy more than one-thousandth of a second ;
a stroke of lightning would pass through the body in much less
time; and thus a person killed by either of these means would die
without consciousness having time to be produced. The placid
aspect of those who have thus died goes to prove that no pain was
felt prior to the insensibility which followed the act.

BIOLOGY. 279

LIMBS OF MAMMALIA,

Dr. Burt G. Wilder, in the ‘‘ Memoirs of the Boston Society of
Natural History,” has brought prominently to view the remarkable
relations existing between the anterior and posterior regions or
poles of the vertebrate body, both as exhibited in the structure of
the bones and muscles of the limbs, and the more general rela-
tions found in the body itself and the internal organs. The prin-
ciple of antero-posterior symmetry or ‘longitudinality ” seems to
be characteristic of vertebrates, and has not been observed among
other animals. According to this law, the anterior and posterior
poles of the vertebrate body have organs and parts that are hom-
ologous and morphologically identical, although teleologically
very different, while the corresponding parts on opposite sides are
both morphologically and teleologically repetitions of each other.
The body is divided into four regions, the thorax and head cor-
responding to the abdomen and pelvis. Some of the correspond-
ing parts are as follows: ‘In the anterior region, enumerating
from above, that is from the vertebral column downward, the nose
or anterior nares, the upper lip, the mouth, the tongue, and the
chin; posteriorly, the anal opening, the perineum, the vaginal
opening, the penis or clitoris, and the pubes.” There are two
principal diverticula of the alimentary canal, the lungs and the
urinary bladder; the former open forward and the latter back-
ward, and their outlets are between the pharynx or mouth and the
tongue anteriorly, and the vaginal opening and the clitoris poste-
riorly. ‘*The thyroid gland is in relation with the larynx much
as the prostate gland is with the neck of the bladder.” ‘The heart
is considered only a more or less complicated enlargement and
convolution of the great arterial trunk. The anterior limbs are
shown to be appendages of the basal segment of the skull, thrown
backward by growth in the higher vertebrates, but occupying their
morphological position in fishes and some young animals.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMAL LIFE.

Prof. H. J. Clark, in his work entitled <‘ Mind in Nature,” has
fully discussed the various modes of reproduction, and increase
among animals, the origin and early condition of ovarian eggs,
and the changes they ungergo as development proceeds. The
egg, considered as the lowest condition of animal life, is shown
to consist at first of a mere spherical aggregation of albuminous
and oily matters, like a simple cell, but with a bipolar character ;
z. e., the albumen concentrates at one side of the spherical mass,
and the more oily portion of the yolk on the opposite side.
While the eggs of infusoria never attain a more complicated
structure than this, in those of higher animals a further change
takes place, resulting in the formation of the so-called germinal
vesicle and germinal dot, which is to be considered only a con-
tinuation of the process commencing with the imperfect separa-
tion of the albumen from the oily portion in the lowest form of
the egg, the difference being only in degree, and not in kind,

oD?

280 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The egg is regarded as an animal from the first, but comparable
only to the lowest forms of infusorial life. The continued devel-
opment of the egg, or embryo, is shown to depend more or less
upon secondary causes, — most so in the lowest animals, — and
in this respect « comparison is made with those germ-like forms
supposed to originate and develop wholly through secondary
causes.

He adopts the four grand divisions of Cuvier, with modifica-
tions; and, with many others, believes that the Protozoa consti-
tute a fifth div ision, as distinet from the others as those are among
themselves; but he regards them as merging gradually into each
other, as clouds that touch and mingle somewhat at their borders.
The bipolar relations in the organization of all animals, and the
bilaterality which is equally a fundamental feature of all, are
illustrated; and it is shown that this is as characteristic of Radi-
ata as of the higher groups; and it is claimed that the more or
less radiated appearance is subordinate to bilaterality. The char-
acteristic feature of Protozoa is stated to be spirality or obliquity,
superimposed upon bilaterality. The Radiata are said to have
‘*a type of organization in which the various organs repeat them-
selves, more or less, between the back and the abdominal mid-
line of the body; that is to say, they are laterally repetitive on

each side of an imaginary plane which divides the body exactly
into right and left halves.” The Mollusca are compared in a
similar way to the other croups, thus: ‘* The Zodphytes are from
back to front, dorso-ventrally, polymerous; the Articulata are
from tail to head, uro-cephally, polymerous; and the Mollusca
are monomerous.” By detailed comparisons, it is shown that there
are no actual transitions from one of the five great divisions to
another; and that each has a distinct and characteristic mode of
development and growth. — Amer. Jour. of Science, May, 1866.

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION.

A contest has been long going on between French savants on
the question of spontaneous generation, some of the points of
which have been alluded to in the ‘‘ Annual of Scientific Discoy-
ery,” for 1865, page 330, —those on the one side maintaining the
questionable doctrine of spontaneous generation, whilst the cham-
pions on the other side hold that, under existing conditions, no
organism comes into being without the previous existence of some
other organism.

The French Academy appointed a Commission to endeavor to
arrive at some settlement of the question, either by establishing
heterogenesis (as the old doctrine is now called by its advocates)
on the ‘footing of an acknowledged fact, or finally consigning it to
the grave of ‘exploded theories. From an elaborate report, com-
municated in 1865, by M. Balard, to the French Academy, on the
proceedings of this Commission, it would appear that, owing to
certain difficulties raised by the partisans of heterogenesis, ‘this
desirable consummation has not been attained, at least, so far as
they are concerned; although the experiments made in support

BIOLOGY. 281

of the opposite opinion, under the inspection of the Commission,
will abundantly suffice to satisfy most unprejudiced minds. But,
as M. Balard observes in his report, ‘‘ as nothing is so abundant
as vague and inexact observations, conclusions deduced, at least
apparently, from direct experiments, have never been wanting
to support this doctrine of spontaneous generation.”

On the 22d of June, M. Pasteur commenced his series of experi-
ments, in presence of the Commission and of his antagonists,
MM. Pouchet, Joly, and Musset. He first exhibited to the meet-
ing three glass flasks, filled with air collected on the Montanvert
in 1860, and showed that, even after the lapse of four years, the
solution of yeast contained in them had undergone no alteration,
and was perfectly transparent. The analysis of the air of one of
these flasks showed that it contained no carbonic acid, and that
the normal quantity of oxygen (21 per cent.) was still present in
it. Another flask was broken at the neck in sucha manner that its
orifice, directed upward, was less than one square centimetre. °
On Saturday, the 25th, five loose flakes of mycelium had already
made their appearance in it, and these subsequently became con-
siderably developed. Thus, to the single flask which MM. Joly
and Musset had declared would suffice to convince them, M. Pas-
teur might have added many others, for of the seventy-three ves-
sels which he brought from the Montanvert and the Jura, he has
still a great number untouched, none of which exhibit any altera-
tion.

We now come to the description of M. Pasteur’s series of experi-
ments for the establishment of his view. Sixty glass flasks, each
capable of containing from two hundred and fifty to three hundred
cubic centimetres, were filled up to about one-third with a fer-
mentescible liquid, prepared by boiling yeast in water in the pro-
portion of one hundred grammes to each litre. The necks of the
flasks were then drawn out into a fine tube, the liquid was boiled
for about two minutes, and then each of the balloons was hermet-
ically sealed. Fifty-six of the flasks bore this treatment without
damage, four others were charged with the same liquid, and
treated in the same way, except that their necks were merely
drawn out and twisted, without being closed.

The next step in the experiments consisted in the fracture of the
narrow necks of the flasks, so as to allow the air to rush into the
interior, which it did with a whistling sound. This operation was
performed by M. Pasteur, with all the precautions which he has
always particularly insisted on. One of the flasks was found to
have been imperfectly closed in the first instance, so that it had
been gradually filled with air; it forms one of the first series of
nineteen filled in the amphitheatre of the Museum. A second
series of nineteen was filled with air on the outside of the dome of
the amphitheatre, at its highest point; and the remaining eighteen,
forming a third series, were opened at Bellevue, in the middle of
a grass plot, near a clump of large poplars. After the access of
air, the slender tubes of the necks were closed by the zolipyle.
The whole of the flasks were then arranged in a convenient place
in the Museum, together with three test-glasses, filled with the

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282 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

limpid liquid employed by M. Pasteur. The very next day the
liquid in these three glasses already showed indications of numer-
ous Bacteria, and its muddy appearance contrasted with the
perfect transparency of that contained in the flasks.

The results of the observations of the three series of closed
vessels, up to the 20th of July, and again in November, are given
by M. Balard, in three separate tables, and the final results are
summed up as follows: —

‘« Of nineteen flasks of the first series, filled with air taken in the
amphitheatre, there are only five in which some organic develop-
ments were manifested ; fourteen remained unaltered.

“The second series of flasks, full of air taken on the dome of
the amphitheatre, presents thirteen which remained without alter-
ation, whilst only six gave origin to living beings. But the
Ds atdnoin changes considerably in the flasks filled with air at

ellevue; out of the eighteen of these vessels, sixteen were
altered.”

«« If we regard germs as the cause of the developments produced
in these experiments,” says M. Balard, ‘‘ we might be led to think
that near a meadow, under trees, in the midst of these numerous
sources for the production and dissemination of minute seeds of all
kinds, the air would be more charged with them than in the heart
of a town; and, as we have just seen, the results of our experi-
ments are in accordance with this supposition.” He adds the
curious fact that, whilst nothing but vegetation was produced in
the flasks filled with air in Paris, seven of the Bellevue vessels
also contained infusoria.

The four flasks, with their necks drawn out and bent, but left
open, were exhibited to the Academy in a perfectly unaltered
condition at the time of the presentation of M. Balard’s report.
That gentleman calculates that, from the effect produced by
changes of temperature upon these vessels, the air contained in
them must have been renewed at least seven times in the course
of the experiment. But as the entrance of the air would be
effected slowly, it could deposit in the flexures of the tube any
matters which might cause the development of organisms in the
fluid. To ascertain whether this was really the case, the follow-
ing experiment was made: The bent tube of a similar flask, which
had been kept for three years by M. Pasteur, was sealed at its
extremity with the blow-pipe. The flask was then violently
shaken, so that the liquid contained in it moistened some parts of
the tube. Within two days, numerous organisms made their
appearance in the liquid, and especially in that retained in the
tube.

“* Thus,” says M. Balard, ‘‘the facts observed by M. Pasteur,
and disputed by MM. Pouchet, Joly, and Musset, are perfectly
exact. Fermentescible liquids may remain without alteration
either in contact with confined air, or in contact with air which is
frequently renewed, and when, under the influence of this fluid,
living organisms are developed in it, this development must not
be attributed to the gaseous elements, but to solid particles of
which the air may be freed by various means, as M. Pasteur has
asserted.”

BIOLOGY. 283

The Commission also commenced some experiments with an
infusion of hay, the liquid recommended by MM. Pouchet, Joly,
and Musset, but as the period of the year declared by those gentle-
men to be most favorable for such operations was already passed,
their further prosecution has been postponed until the coming
spring and summer. M. Balard states, however, that such results
as were obtained last year seemed to be confirmatory of those of
M. Pasteur’s experiments. — Reader, 1865.

Dr. George Child read before the Royal Society a paper on the
production of organisms in closed vessels, in which he states that
Bacterians are produced ‘‘exactly under the circumstances in
which M. Pasteur asserts that they do not exist. M. Pasteur, in
his Memoir, speaks of examining his substances with a power of
350 diameters. Now my experience throughout has been that it
is impossible to recognize these minute objects, with any degree
of certainty, even with double that magnifying power. I can
now have no doubt of the fact that Bacterians can be produced in
hermetically sealed vessels, containing an infusion of organic
matter, whether animal or vegetable, though supplied only with
ir passed through a red-hot tube, with all necessary precautions
for insuring the thorough heating of every portion of it, and
though the infusion itself be thoroughly boiled. It seems clear
that either the germs of Bacterium are capable of resisting the
boiling temperature in a fluid, or that they are spontaneously gen-
erated, or that they are not ‘organisms’ at all. I was myself
somewhat inclined to the latter belief concerning them at one
time ; but some researches in which I am now engaged haye gone
far to convince me that they are really minute vegetable forms.
The choice, therefore, seems to remain between the other two
conclusions. Upon these I will not venture a positive opinion,
but remark only, that, if it be true that ‘germs’ can resist the
boiling temperature in fluid, then both parties in the controversy
are working upon a false principle, and neither M. Pouchet nor
M. Pasteur is likely at present to solve the problem of spontane-
ous generation.”

The September and October numbers of the ‘‘ Journal de l’Anato-
mie et de la Physiologie” contain the results of some experiments
on spontaneous generation, by M. Al. Donné, which appear to
the author favorable to this theory, although for along time he
has been one of its opponents. He has examined the result of
exposing eggs to spontaneous decomposition during some weeks.
He argued that, having thus an organized matter highly complex
and naturally free from all floating atmospheric germs, — and as
this matter contained in itself a certain amount of pure air, —it
was in the best possible state to give rise, in its alteration, decom-
position, and putrefaction, to infusoria, or animalcules, the ordi-
nary result of the putrefaction of animal matter freely exposed
to the air. With a substance naturally free from all foreign mat-
ter, and protected from exterior contact, like the egg in the shell,
the conditions of a crucial experiment would be realized. Tried
in this manner, the results were against the theory of spontaneous
generation.

284 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

But the small quantity of air enclosed in the egg was not con-
sidered sufficient to determine the phenomena, and the experi-
ments were tried again with certain modifications. The eggs
were carefully washed, well dried, and then enclosed in a thick
coating of cotton wool, taken out of a stove at 150°C. A fine
sharp rod, previously heated to redness, was then inserted ob-
liquely through the cotton, and the tip of the egg was pierced
with a hole. The eggs were then put ina safe place, and covered
with a bell-glass. In afew weeks’ time the surface of the con-
tents of the egg was covered with velvety-looking mould, white,
gray, yellow, or green. Under the microscope, this was seen to
consist of organized filaments and beautiful globules of different
sizes. There was, however, no trace of living animalcules. Sup-
posing that the presence of water was needed, as the viscosity of
the conteuts of the egg might hinder their development, a little
boiling water was put into the egg, covered with cotton. In two
days, the substance was swarming with vibrios. The same experi-
ments were then tried with hard-boiled eggs. The result, there-
fore, appears to be, that we can produce at will vegetable or ani-
mal beings in pure organic matter, without the intervention of

erms from without. Water is necessary to the development of
infusoria; and air is indispensable to the development of living
beings of either kingdom.

During the year 1866, arguments, more or less convincing,
have been accumulated on both sides of this question, so that it is
impossible, at present, to decide in favor of or against the theory
of spontaneous generation.

NATURE OF MUSCULAR IRRITABILITY, BY RICHARD MORRIS, M.D,

The subject was discussed before the British Association in
1866, under the following propositions: 1. That the property
of irritability in muscle is capable of a high degree of exaltation
above the normal standard, and that the highest degree of sus-
ceptibility is attained in cold bloods, long after death, or under
conditions tantamount to death. 2. That the forces of the nerve
and muscle, the neurility of the former, and the irritability of
the latter, are not only independent of each other for their exist-
ence and maintenance, but actually possess an antagonistic rela-
tion, — that is to say, nerve tissue, instead of producing, is, when
in action, constantly concerned in maintaining a condition of
things which diminishes muscular irritability, and that not simply
when it is engaged in the production of motion. 3. Conversely,
that muscular tissue, relieved from the operation or influence of
nerve tissue, gradually acquires exalted contractile powers either
in the presence or absence of the blood. 4. That the blood, or
the nutritional plasma derived therefrom, not only furnishes the
materials by which muscular irritability is maintained, but is like-
wise the determining cause of that polar arrangement of the
muscular molecules, which maintains or restores the elongated or
relaxed state. These propositions were sustained by constant
reference to experiment, much consideration being devoted to the

BIOLOGY. 285

proof that the principle of volition, when in operation, exhausted
the muscular and nervous forces, and produced the condition
which, in common parlance, is recognized as fatigue; and that, in
the absence of volition, —or, what amounted to the same, nerve
in action, —the forces of the system were considerably increased ;
hence the use of sleep was obvious. The nervous system was
not only concerned in exhausting the muscular during the pro-
duction of motion, but constantly while maintaining the normal
position of the animal. He said that profound etherization, sleep,
fainting, and death, were different degrees of what might be
called functional neural paralysis, in contradistinction to purely
muscular, a form in which the special life of muscle was dimin-
ished or destroyed. The best condition for the exaltation of the
peculiar life of muscle was the absence of nerve, as then thé
forces were not expended as fast as the chemical reactions be-
tween the muscular tissue and the blood led to their generation.
In support of the final proposition, many experiments were ad-
duced which clearly showed that the relaxed or elongated condi-
tion of the muscles was maintained by the blood, and that the
blood, under all circumstances, opposed the state of contraction
which it was the special function of nerve to bring about. The
various affections of muscular fibre, as they had been observed in
the author’s experiments, were then described. 1. A muscle may
exist in the elongated or uncontracted state, with all its dynamical
powers perfect; this is its normal condition, in the absence of voli-
tional effort. 2. It may exist in this state, when deprived of all
dynamics, or, in other words, in the absence of irritability. Both
these conditions of relaxation may be associated with softness or
flaccidity of the muscular structure ; the former necessarily so, the
latter not, as the fixity of rigor may prevail. Again, a muscle
may exist in a state of complete contraction, both in the presence
and absence of its dynamics; in a state of softness, or in a hard,
coagulated state. As with the state of elongation, so with that
of contraction, the truly dynamical state is one of softness. Prop-
erly speaking, irritability is no more the tendency which a muscle
exhibits to contract than the disposition it exhibitsto elongate, sub-
sequently to contraction ; in fact, a comprehensive definition must
include both these conditions; neither are either of these states to
be considered, as far as muscle alone is concerned, as conditions
of rest, for they are both active states, so long as the muscle is a
vital structure, and both inactive when the dynamics of muscle
are absent. The attractive state of the muscular molecules, which
represents contraction is the condition in which force is exhausted
by the apposition of unlike polarities; while, in the state of elon-
gation, being that in which every molecule is opposed to every
other, force may be accumulated. In proportion to the amount
of force accumulated in the molecules will be the intensity of their
contractive or elongative energy, and also in the ratio of their
charge will be their proclivity to disturbance, or, in other words,
susceptibility to stimuli. The author combated the view of Dr.
Radcliffe, who regarded the contraction of a muscle as taking
place simply on the withdrawal of some elongating force, and

286 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

showed, by an analysis of the various conditions under which
muscle existed, that no theory met the case so well as that of Du
Bois Raymond, in which the molecules of muscle were regarded
as centres of electro-motor action, arranged in a dipolar series, —
in a word, one fluid, two forces or poles, —the repulsive polar
attitude maintained by the blood, and the attractive inducible by
nerve and external stimuli.

THEORY OF MUSCULAR ACTION,

Professor Heidenhain, of Breslau, has recently published a little
work on ‘* The Production of Heat, ete., during Muscular Action,”
an account of which may perhaps prove not uninteresting to our
feaders, since it bears closely on the application to physiology of
the doctrine of the conservation of force. A few words of intro-
duction, however, will be needed.

A piece of dead flesh represents, by virtue of its chemical ele-
ments, a certain amount of ‘‘ latent energy,” which, in the natural
process of decay, is gradually set free as ‘‘ actual” force in the
form of heat. The living muscle, in like manner, also represents
a certain amount of ‘‘ latent” energy. During life, a metamor-
phosis (oxidation) of the muscular tissue is continually going on,
and, consequently, a quantity of ‘‘latent” energy is continually
becoming ‘‘ actual.” As long as the muscle is inactive, is at rest,
does not contract, the forms assumed by the liberated energy are,
as far as we know, those of electricity and heat. In every living
muscle there are ‘*‘ muscle-currents,” and there is a certain amount
of heat given out. But when the muscle enters into a state of
activity, when it contracts, anotber element is introduced, viz.,
the mechanical work effected by the shortening of the fibres. In
every muscular contraction there are, therefore, four things to be
considered, —the chemical action, and the production of electric-
ity, of heat, and of mechanical work. Any comprehensive theory
of muscular action must be able to show how these are related to
each other.

Is the chemical action natural to the muscle increased, or not,
during contraction ?

If so, what becomes of the surplus of ‘‘ actual” energy thus lib-
erated? Does it all go over into mechanical work, or partly into
heat and electricity ?

If not, is there any evidence of the direct conversion, during the
act of contraction, of heat or of electricity, or of both, into mechan-
ical work, or of the diversion to the same end of some part of the
force arising from chemical action, at the expense of some amount
of heat or electricity ?

That, during contraction, there is really an increase of chemical
action, has been generally admitted since the well-known experi-
ments of Helmholtz. Some, indeed, have spoken as if they thought
that chemical action occurred during contraction only; clearly an
erroneous conception. Voit has adopted what may fairly be called
an error of the opposite kind, in concluding that there is no in-
crease of chemical action during contraction, because no notable

BIOLOGY. 287

increase takes place in the excretion of urea after even violent
exercise. Whatever may prove to be the fate of the nitrogenous
elements of muscular tissue, there can be scarcely any doubt but
that there is a large extra consumption of hydro-carbonaceous
material during muscular action. It is just possible to conceive
that the increase of waste products which can be observed in a
muscle, after a series of contractions, may belong not to the time
of contraction itself, but to the stage immediately following,— may
indicate, as it were, a kind of reaction following the shock of the
stimulus; but there is ngt the shadow of a proof that such is really
the case. It may be taken for granted that muscular contraction
means increase of chemical action, and, therefore, increase in the
total amount of ‘‘ actual energy ” issuing from the muscle.

With regard to one of the forms of energy proper to muscles,—
viz., electricity, — we have known for some time past, that during
contraction, a remarkable change occurs in the ‘‘ muscle-current.”
It is generally spoken of as ‘‘the negative variation,” and has
been made the basis of Voit’s, as well as of Dr. C. B. Radcliffe’s,
views on the subject we are dealing with.

The production of heat during muscular contraction has re-
ceived much attention during the last few years. We need not
specify the various observations here; and Heidenhain contends
that the delicacy of his own arrangements have enabled him to
detect and avoid the errors of his predecessors. Frog's’ muscles
were used for the experiments. His results are briefly these : —

1. During a contraction (that is, a single contraction, not a
tetanus), heat is always given out, the index of the apparatus
showing a rise of temperature varying from .001° C to .005° C.

2. When a muscle (suspended by one end, and with a weight
attached to the other) is stimulated by a stimulus of constant
strength, and loaded with a variable weight, both the heat given
out and the work done (weight + heat) increase with an in-
crease of the weight up to a certain limit (determined by the
condition of the muscle), beyond which they both sink.

3. When a muscle is stretched by a weight hung at one end,
but is prevented from contracting by being fixed at both ends,
the amount of heat given out (on the application of a stimulus of
the same strength) varies directly as the extending weight, up to
a certain limit.

4. When a muscle, excited by the same stimulus and bearing
the same weight, is in one case allowed to contract freely, but in
another prevented from so doing by being fixed at both ends, the
amount of heat given out on the stimulus being applied is much
greater in the latter instance than in the former.

5. When a muscle is connected with a small constant weight
and a large variable one, in such a way that it always bears the
strain of the former, but that of the latter only at such times as it
contracts, both the heat given out and the work done (with the
stimulus of same strength) vary directly as the larger weight.

6. When the experiment is repeated with the alteration that the
smaller weight, whose strain is continually borne, is made variable,
and the larger one constant, both heat and work vary directly as
the variable weight.

288 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Leaving electricity on one side, and dealing, therefore, only
with heat and work as the ‘‘ actual” forces set free during con-
traction, the above experiments clearly lead to the conclusion that
the sum total of the forces becoming ‘‘ actual” during contraction
depends on, is a function of the tension of the muscular fibre
(before and) during that act. Heidenhain obtained similar re-
sults in experimenting with tetanus. To say that the sum total
of forces set free during contraction is influenced by the tension
of the fibres, is, of course, to say that the quantity of latent energy
consumed, the amount of chemical action concerned in the act, is
influenced by the same means.. We ought, therefore, to find an in-
crease of waste products in muscles which are made to contract
under tension. Taking one such waste product as an index of the
others, Heidenhain satisfied himself not only that there was a pro-
duction of carbonic acid during contraction, but also, that the
amount of it was in proportion to the sum total of force becoming
** actual,” and was a function of the tension of the fibres.

That the mere, so to speak, physical extension of a muscular
fibre should have a marked influence on the metamorphosis of its
substance, has been for a long time practically admitted, though
the matter had never been rigidly ascertained before the investi-
gations of Heidenhain. The subject is not lacking in practical
importance; but it is chiefly of interest, inasmuch as it bears
very closely on the general theory of muscular action. — Reader.

SOURCE OF MUSCULAR POWER.

Twenty years ago, physiologists would have attributed the
source of muscular power to something peculiar, developed by
living animals, and termed vital force. The progress of scientific
discovery, however, rapidly dissipated the very crude notions
which then existed regarding this mysterious agency. We now
know that an animal, however high its organization may be, can
no more generate an amount of force capable of moving a grain
ef sand than a stone can fall upward, or a locomotive drive a
train without fuel. All that such an animal can do is to liberate
that store of force, or potential energy, which is locked up in its
food. It is the chemical change which food suffers in the body of
the animal that liberates the previously pent-up forces of that
food, which now make their appearance in the form of actual
energy,—as heat and mechanical motion. From food, and food
alone, comes the matter of which the animal body is built up; and
from food alone come all the different kinds of physical force
which an animal is capable of manifesting.

The two chief forms of force thus manifested are heat and mus-
cular motion, or mechanical work. ‘These have been almost uni-
versally traced to two distinct sources, — the heat to the oxidation
of the food, and the mechanical work to the oxidation of the
muscles. This doctrine, first promulgated by Liebig, has been
within late years adopted by most physiologists, and has been
taught in all the text-books treating of the subject. The proxi-
mate constituents of food have been frequently divided into two

BIOLOGY. 289

groups, — carbonaceous or non-nitrogenous, such as fat, starch,
sugar; and the nitrogenous, such as fibrin, albumen, and casein, —
the former class being regarded as comprising simple heat-givers,
that is to say, substances that furnish material for oxidation in the
process of respiration, and thus maintain the temperature of the
body; the nitrogenous constituents being the flesh-formers, or
substances building up the muscles of the body, through which
motive force is exerted. The exercise of a muscle being accom-
panied by a proportionate destruction or oxidation of its tissue, it
follows that the plastic or flesh-forming constituents of food should
bear a relation to the amount of muscular work performed. This
theory, namely, that mechanical work, 7. e., muscular exertion, is
dependent on the destruction of muscular tissue, has been sup-
ported by Ranke, Playfair, Draper, and others; and, as we have
already stated, it has been generally taught up to the present
time. Nevertheless, it has not escaped challenge. Immediately
after its promulgation, Dr. J. R. Mayer wrote, ‘‘ A muscle is only
an apparatus by means of which the transformation of force is
effected, but it is not the material by the chemical change of which
mechanical work is produced.” This assertion he supported by
several cogent arguments. Other physiologists also expressed
similar opinions. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert advocated a like
view, basing their opinions on their own elaborate and carefully-
executed experiments on the feeding of cattle.

Some very important researches upon this subject have been
recently published by Drs. Fick and Wislicenus, Professors at the
University of Zurich, and also by Dr. Frankland in London. An
account of these experiments was given in a lecture delivered at
the Royal Institution by the latter chemist during last session.

It is probable that these investigations will very materially
affect the present condition of physiological science, tending, as
they do, to entirely change the ideas hitherto entertained respect-
ing the relation of food to the requirements of the animal body.

The question is to determine whether the muscle is merely the
apparatus by which animal motion is produced, or whether it fur-
nishes both the apparatus and the force to work it. In order to
solve this problem by experiment, there are three things neces-
sary to be determined. First, the amount of force or energy
generated by the oxidation of a given amount of muscle in the
body; secondly, the amount of mechanical force exercised by the
muscles of the body during a given time; thirdly, the quantity of
muscle oxidized in the body during the same time.

It follows that if the amount of mechanical force exercised by
the muscles be greater than the amount of the substance oxidized
could furnish, the force of the muscles is not exclusively derived
from their own substance. When muscle is consumed in the body,
its nitrogen appears principally in the form of urea. Hence the
amount of energy derived from the oxidation of muscle in the
body will be expressed by the heat of combustion of the muscle
itself, minus the heat of combustion of that amount of urea which
the muscle would furnish when consumed in the body. This dif-
ference of heat was determined by Frankland, who found that to

25

290 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

convert one gramme of dry muscle into urea, as much heat was
evolved as would, when converted into mechanical force, be suf-
ficient to raise a hundred weight to the height of one hundred and
thirty-two feet.

The second of the required data, viz., the actual work performed
in a given time by the muscles, was ingeniously determined by
Fick and Wislicenus by the elevation of the body itself. For this
purpose they ascended the Faulhorn, a mountain of the Bernese
Alps, 6560 feet high, near the lake of Brienz, whose regular slopes
rendered it well adapted for their experiment. The height of the
mountain, multiplied by the weight of the body of each experi-
menter, gave the amount of external work performed, and to this
was added the estimated internal work of the circulation and res-
piration.

The third datum —the amount of muscle consumed — was given
as amaximum by the amount of nitrogen excreted by the kidneys.
This amount being determined by analysis, the amount of muscle
consumed is readily calculated, since every 15.6 parts of nitrogen
indicate 100 parts of muscle destroyed. The excreted nitrogen
was determined in the experiments of Fick and Wislicenus with
every possible care; and in order that there might be no source
of loss, the amount excreted for six hours after the ascent was
taken into account.

As a final result of their investigations, they found that the mus-
cle consumed, even with the most liberal] allowance for all possi-
ble chance of error, would not account for the work performed.
Even under the most favorable interpretation, and neglecting all
the internal and external work that could not be accurately meas-
ured, it was found that the combustion of the muscles themselves
would not account for a third of the work performed.

The calorimetrical determination of the actual energy evolved
by the combustion of muscle and of urea in oxygen have been
made by Dr. Frankland; and the results show that the amount of
muscle destroyed by the former gentlemen during their ascent
would not account for one-half of the force required to lift them to
the summit of the mountain, Taking the average of the two ex-
periments, and making several necessary allowances, Dr. Frank-
land calculates that scarely one-fifth of the actual energy required
for the work performed could be obtained from the amount of
muscle consumed.

Examining a number of previous experiments of a like kind,
Dr. Frankland finds them al} confirmatory of the same thing. Thus,
he gives a summary of three sets of experiments made by Dr, E.
Smith, by the Rev. Dr. Haughton, and by Playfair, in which in
each case the force expended is in excess of that derivable from
the muscle oxidized.

The following are the conclusions deduced by Dr. Frankland
from his experiments : —

*¢1. The muscle is a machine for the conversion of potential
energy into mechanical force.

‘©2. The mechanical force of the muscles is derived chiefly, if
not entirely, from the oxidation of matters contained in the blood,
and not from oxidation of the muscles themselves.

BIOLOGY. 291

«©3, In man, the chief materials used for the production of mus-
cular power are non-nitrogenous; but nitrogenous matters can
also be employed for the same purpose, and hence the greatly in-
creased evolution of nitrogen under the influence of a flesh diet,
even with no greater muscular exertion.

«*4. Like every other part of the body, the muscles are con-
stantly being renewed; but this renewal is not perceptibly more
rapid during great muscular activity than during comparative
quiescence.

**5, After the supply of sufficient albumenized matters in the
food of man to provide-for necessary renewal of the tissues, the
best materials for the production, both of internal and external
work, are non-nitrogenous matters, such as oil, fat, sugar, starch,
gum, etc.

‘¢6, The non-nitrogenous matters of food, which find their way
into the blood, yield up all their potential energy as actual energy ;
the nitrogenous matters, on the other hand, leave the body with a
portion (one-seventh) of their potential energy unexpended.

**7, The transformation of potential energy into muscular power

is necessarily accomplished by the production of heat within the —_

body, even when the muscular power is exerted externally. This
is, doubtless, the chief and probably the only source of animal
heat.”

Dr. Lyon Playfair, at the 1866 meeting of the British Associa-
tion, gave the results of experiments which had been tried with
feeding rats and dogs for a considerable time on meat totally free
from fat, showing that nitrogenous substances could be made into
muscular force. With regard to the amount of nitrogenous
matter naturally consumed in food, it appeared that in the fare
of soldiers of all countries the amount was 4.2 oz. for each man.
The ordinary amount of work that a soldier performed might be
estimated as raising 48,000 kilometres to the height of a metre.
There had been much more done by the soldier, more especially
during the late Prussian war, and the forced marches of Sherman.
In the discussion that followed, Dr. Edward Smith contended, 1.
That there was no prima facie ground for the division of foods by
Liebig into heat-formers and flesh-formers, since the latter con-
tain carbon and hydrogen like the former, which must be available
for the production of heat. 2. That his experiments, as well as
those of Voit, had proved conclusively that the emission of nitrogen
Was no measure of muscular waste, since with the most severe ex-
ertion the excretion of ured scarcely at all increased. 3. That the
emission of carbonic acid is the true measure of muscular action,
since he had proved in 1860 that the finger could not be kept in
motion without increasing the emission of that product, and the
emission increased as the exertion increased. He had in the same
year called attention to this as the true measure of muscular action,
and was the first to do so. 4. That whilst the experiments quoted
by Prof. Frankland, to show that the consumption of carbon
and hydrogen was the source of muscular power — those of Fick
and Wislicenus—were inconclusive, there was much reason to
believe that the conclusions were not far wrong. ‘They were

292 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

inconclusive, because the experimenters had taken the period of
emission of urea to represent that of its formation; because the
emission is at all times dependent upon the excretion of water by
the kidneys, and must in these experiments have been lessened
during exertion by the fact of much of the fluid passing out by
the skin and so much less by the kidneys; because no accurate
basis of comparison was obtained; and because the duration of
the whole inquiry was too short.

This view, that in the combustion of the carbon and hydrogen
derived from the food is the source of muscular power, suggests
radical changes in the diet necessary for laboring persons. The
function of nitrogenous food being doubtless that of providing
fresh muscular tissue to replace that constantly lost by waste and
decay, it is estimated that this would be furnished by about four
ounces of dry albumen in the twenty-four hours; and, this amount
being supplied, the remainder of the food necessary to supply
the body with its working fuel may be either of the starchy or
fatty classes. Animal flesh is disadvantageous as working food,
being incompletely burned in the body, with a consequent loss
of energy, as the waste urea it produces is really a combustible
body ; fats, sugars, etc., are, on the contrary, completely consumed
within the body.

From a table given by Dr. Frankland, it appears that the dry
farinaceous cereals possess, in a striking degree, advantages, as
a source of muscular power, over the animal foods; and both
are very greatly surpassed by the fats and fatty substances, such
as cocoa or cheese. This explains the remarkable strengthening
power of cod-liver oil. Alpine and Arctic travellers well know
the nourishing properties of fat and sugar. The extensive use of
oat-meal, as a cheap source of muscular power, is founded on
true physiological principles; and the high-priced animal foods,
having comparatively small force-value, are very uneconomical
articles of diet. But, as the labor of digestion is of itself a con-
siderable source of internal work, it may happen that the ready
digestibility of an article of food may more than compensate for
its otherwise inferior value as a source of force.

Those interested in this subject are referred to the Reports of
the British Association for 1866, ‘‘ American Journal of Science”
for November, 1866, ‘‘ Franklin Journal” for November, 1866,
and the “ Intellectual Observer” for July, 1866.

SUGAR PREVENTING THE GENERATION OF ANIMALS.

Mr. Henry Tanner, Professor of Rural Economy in Queen’s
College, Birmingham, says: ‘‘ I have every reason to believe that
the action of sugar, in its various forms, is most important in its
influence on the generative system; and I think there is just cause
for considering that any animal may by its use be rendered
incompetent for propagating its species. Since my attention has
been drawn to this fact, numerous instances have come under my
observation tending to confirm this opinion. From among the
cases which I could mention, it will probably be sufficient for me

BIOLOGY. 293

to state that of a breeder of some eminence, who, with a view to
an improvement in the condition of his herd, added molasses to
the dry food he gave to his stock. It certainly produced the result
he anticipated, for their appearance and general condition were
most satisfactory; but this was accompanied by an influence he
had never expected, for his stock, which had always realized high
prices as breeding stock, now, with very few exceptions, proved
to be valueless for that object, male and female being alike
sterile. As soon as this was discovered, the supply of molasses
was stopped. But while the animals which had not been under
its influence maintained the original character of the herd, as
being good breeding stock, it is very doubtful if any of the stock
which had been fed for any length of time upon food mixed with
molasses ever regained their breeding powers. It is more than
possible that a fatty degeneration of the ovaries took place, from
which they would but slowly recover under any ordinary treat-
ment. In another case, where molasses had been used forsome
heifers which were fattening, it had the effect of suppressing those
periodical returns of restlessness which prevent heifers feeding as
well as steers; and it kept them steadily progressing during the
whole period of their fattening, and the result was highly satis-
factory. If, therefore, upon further trial, we find sugar influential
in checking the reproductive functions, we can, at any rate, exer-
cise a proper discretion in its use; and, while avoiding it for
breeding animals, we may encourage its employment when cows
or heifers have to be fattened.”

DIGESTION OF ANIMAL FOOD.

Recent discoveries tend to prove that gastric juice does not
simply liquefy fibrin and casein, but that it acts also on albumen
in such a way as to modify its molecular condition, and thereby
its chemical properties. If the albumen of an egg be injected
into the jugular vein, it passes unaltered to the blood, for it is
found in the secretions of the kidneys. It follows that albu-
men of the egg must undergo a molecular change to render it fit
to become assimilated; and we may assume, therefore, that it
experiences the same change in the stomach under the influence
of the ferment, called pepsin. Until recently, scientific men
had assumed that there must be an identity between albumen,
fibrin, and casein, which are the chief elements representing
animal food, still they have not been able to demonstrate their
convertibility one into the other. Mr. Smee has accomplished
this, and has reversed the theory previously entertained as to what
takes place during digestion; for he has established that fibrin,
or the clot of blood; casein, or the curd of milk; and albumen,
the serum of blood, are convertible into one fluid, which he has
called albuminose, or pectose. Mr. Smee has succeeded, then,
in reversing the problem, and has shown that albumen may be
converted into fibrin, and probably casein. To effect this inter-
esting change, he proceeds as follows: He passes a current of
pure oxygen gas through a solution of albumen of blood or egg,

20*

294 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

slightly acidulated with acetic acid, and at a temperature of blood
heat, or of 98° to 100° and after several hours, a mass of fibrin
appears, the production of which is facilitated by bringing into
play the action of an electric current. If, instead of an acid solu-
tion of albumen, Mr. Smee employed a weak alkaline solution of
the same substance, it became transformed into a peculiar sub-
stance, known under the name of chondrin.

THE RAPIDITY OF ABSORPTION. BY DR. H. BENCE JONES.

Tt occurred to the author that it might be possible to trace the
passage of substances from the blood into the textures of the body
by means of the spectrum analysis; and, with the assistance of Dr.
Dupré some very remarkable results have been obtained.

Guinea-pigs have chiefly been used for the experiments. Usu-
ally, no lithium can be found in any part of their bodies. When
half a grain of chloride of lithium was given to a guinea-pig for
three successive days, lithium appeared in every tissue of the body.
Even in the non-vascular textures, as the cartilages, the cornea,
the crystalline lens, lithium would be found.

Two animals of the same size and age were taken ; to one was
given three grains of chloride of lithium, and it was killed in eight
hours; another had no lithium; it was also killed, and when the
whole lens was burnt at once, no trace of lithium could be found.
In the other, which had taken lithium, a piece of the lens, one-
twentieth of a pin’s head in size, showed the lithium; it had
penetrated to the centre of the lens.

A patient who was suffering from diseased heart took fifteen
grains of citrate of lithia thirty-six hours before her death, and
the same quantity six hours before her death. The crystalline
lens, the blood, and the cartilage of one joint were examined for
lithium; in the cartilage it was found very distinctly; in the
blood exceedingly faintly; and when ‘the outer lens was taken,
the faintest possible indications of lithium were obtained.

Another patient took ten grains of carbonate of lithia five hours
and a half before death; the lens showed very faint traces of
lithium when half the substance was taken for one examination ;
the cartilage showed lithium very distinctly.

Dr. Jones expects to be be able to find lithium in the lens after
operation for cataract, and in the umbilical cord after the birth of
the foetus.

APPEARANCES OF GOOD AND BAD MEAT.

Dr Letheby, in a report on the cattle plague, gives the following
characters of good and bad meat, which are especially interesting :
**Good meat is neither of a pale pinkish color, nor of a deep
purple tint. The former is indicative of disease, and the latter is
asign that the animal has died from natural causes. Good meat
has also a marbled appearance from the ramifications of little
veins of intercellular fat; and the fat, especially of the internal
organs, is hard and suety, and is neyer wet; whereas that of the

BIOLOGY. 295

diseased meat is soft and watery, often like jelly or sodden
parchment. Again, the touch or feel of healthy meat is firm and
elastic, and it hardly moistens the fingers; whereas that of dis-
eased meat is soft and wet—in fact, it is often so wet that the
serum runs from it, and then it is technically called wet. Good
meat has but little odor, and this is not disagreeable; whereas
diseased meat smells faint and cadaverous, and it often has the
odor of medicine. This is best observed by cutting it and smell-
ing the knife, or by pouring a little warm water upon it. Good
meat will bear cooking without shrinking, and without losing
very much in weight; but bad meat shrivels up, and it often boils
to pieces. All these effects are due to the presence of a large
proportion of serum in the meat, and to the relatively large
amount of intercellular or gelatinous tissue; for the fat and true
muscular substance are to a greater or less extent deficient. If,
therefore, 100 grains of the lean or muscular part of good meat
are cut up and dried at a temperature of boiling salt water (224° F.),
they lose only from 69 to 74 grains of their weight; but if diseased
meat is thus treated, it loses from 75 to 80 per cent. of its weight.
I find that the average loss of weight with sound and good beef is
72.3 per cent., and of mutton 71.5 per cent., whereas the average
loss of diseased beef is 76.1 per cent., and of diseased mutton 78.2
percent. Evenif it be dried at a higher temperature, as at 266° F.,
when all the moisture is expelled, and when good meat loses
from 74 to 80 per cent. of its weight, the proportion of loss in bad
meat is equally as great. Other characters, of a more refined
nature, will also serve to distinguish good from bad meat. The
juice or serosity of sound flesh is slightly acid, and it contains an
excess of potash salts, chiefly the phosphate; whereas diseased
meat, from being infiltrated with the serum of blood, is often
alkaline, and the salts of soda, especially chloride and phosphate,
abound in it. Lastly, when good meat is examined under the
microscope, the fibre is clean and well defined, and free from
infusorial creatures; but that of diseased meat is sodden, as if it
had been soaked in water, and the transverse markings are indis-
tinct and far apart; beside which, there are often minute organ-
isms, like infusorial bodies. These are very perceptible in the
flesh of animals affected with the cattle plague, and Dr. Beal has
described them as entozoa-like objects. They differ altogether
from the parasites which constitute the trichina disease, and the
measles of pork. How far the use of diseased meat affects the
huinan constitution is unknown. Inthose cases where certain par-
asite diseases exist in animals, there is no doubt of its injurious
nature; for the tape-worm, the trichina, and certain hydatid or
encysted growths are unquestionably produced by it. Experience
also points to the fact that carbuncle and common boils are in some
degree referable to the use of the flesh of animals affected with
pleuro-pneumonia; and occasionally we witness the most serious
diarrh@a and prostration of the vital powers after eating diseased
meat. It is, therefore, safest to forbid its use; and it is at all
times best to guard against the possibility of injury by having
meat well cooked. It should be so cooked that the very centre

296 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

of the joint should be exposed for some time to the temperature
of 212° Fahrenheit. The instructions of Liebig in this particular
are hardly safe ; for although a temperature below that of nae
water may coagulate albumen and develop the flavors of cooke
meat, it may not insure the destruction of dangerous parasites,
It is therefore better to have the meat a little overcooked than
otherwise.” — London Journal of Pharmacy.

HORSE-FLESH AS FOOD.

The experience of the last five years on the continent of Europe
proves conclusively that horse-flesh is a wholesome and desirable
article of food. The taste for horse-flesh is increasing in Paris.
There are at present in the capital seven butcheries for the sale
of that commodity, and which dispose of about forty thousand
pounds weight per week. The annual consumptiom may there-
fore be estimated at one thousand tons, or more than ten times
the quantity of meat distributed to the poor in the twenty bureaux
de bienfaisance. So, far horse-flesh has been exempt from the
octroi duty, and sells at from five sous to one franc the kilogram,
of two pounds.

Recently a mart for horse-flesh as human food was opened at
Orleans. A similar establishment in Paris has now gone on for
some time past with increasing success ; and by applying the same
precautionary measures which have succeeded in the metropolis,
the use of horse-flesh may be expected to attain popularity as
human food in Orleans equal to that which it is alleged to hold in
the great capital for culinary science. It is admitted on all hands
that all the horses offered for slaughter as human food are not fit
for that purpose, and that the absence of strict supervision in this
matter on the part of the authorities might lead to dangerous
consequences. It appears that this is well understood both by
the hippophagists and the police of Paris. The meat, before ap-
pearing for sale, has been examined and marked as sound by
veterinary experts appointed for the performance of that duty.
The Parisian public evidently place some faith in the security
afforded by this system of certification, for it is not the very poor
only who buy the horse-flesh in Paris, but well-to-do working
people, and even latterly the middle classes. It is on the score of
cheapness that horse-flesh is offered to the Orleans public at forty
centimes the kilogram. Beef, mutton, and veal are now sold
here at an average price of one hundred and forty centimes the
kilogram. Omitting fractional parts, therefore, it may be stated
that the price per English pound of horse-flesh is two pence; and
of beef, mutton, and veal, seven pence.

THE PHENOMENA OF DEGLUTITION.

Prof. Krishaber, who has been experimenting with the auto-
laryngoscope with a view to discover the method by which swal-
lowing is effected, has arrived at several conclusions, the most
important of which may be tabulated as follows: —

BIOLOGY. 297

1. In the act of deglutition, the alimentary mass passes through
one of the pharyngeal arches, over one of the sides of the epiglot-
tis; by this means it reaches the esophagus at the very moment
when, by the contraction of the muscles, the pharynx is con-
tracted.

2. The deglutition of liquids is effected in a somewhat similar
manner, these passing very often over the epiglottis, in which
they differ from solids.

3. A very small quantity of the liquid passes over the edge of
the epiglottis, and thus moistens the mucous membrane of the
larynx and the cords of the voice.

4. In gargling the throat, the larynx being then much opened,
a large quantity of liquid escapes into the vocal organ.

5. One may easily bear a piece of food in the air-passages, that
is to say in the larynx, near the vocal cords, and even in the inte-
rior of the windpipe.

6. The sensibility of the windpipe to the touch of foreign bodies
is far less than that of the larynx.

7. Hard and cold bodies, such as a probang, are never tolerated
by the respiratory passages, although soft bodies which adhere to
the mucous membrane, and have the same temperature as it, may
remain in the trachea for several minutes without producing any
repulsive effect.

The contraction is automatic, and produced by reflex action.
This, in turn, is due to the sensation caused by the contact of the
foreign substance with the membrane lining the regions of the
glottis, but more especially under the epiglottis ; this membrane,
therefore, appears to play the part of a special sensory organ.

EXECUTION BY HANGING.

Prof. Haughton communicates a paper to the ‘‘ Philosophical
Magazine” **On Hanging, Considered from a Mechanical and
Physiological Point of View” :—

“*In hanging, death is either caused by pressure on the jugular
veins, by asphyxia, caused by stoppage of the windpipe, or by
shock of the medulla oblongata, caused by fracture of the verte-
bral column. In the latter case only is death instantaneous.
According to the original form of death punishment in England, the
hanging was used as an anesthetic, preparatory to the drawing
and quartering of the criminal. The ‘short drop’ of three or four
feet, as used in this country, is quite insufficient to cause instanta-
neous death, and is, moreover, often productive of some very
painful ‘ scenes at the scaffold.” Prof. Haughton has ascertained,
from his own observations, that the shock of a ton dropped through
one foot is just sufficient to fracture the anterior articulating sur-
faces of the second vertebra at their contract with the atlas; and
that this fracture allows the shock to fall upon the medulla ob-
longata so as to produce instantaneous death. Thus, a criminal
weighing 160 lbs. should be allowed a 14 feet drop (160 X 14 =
2,240 lbs.). It is the practice in Ireland to use a drop of nearly
this length. Although death takes place immediately that the

298 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

criminal arrives at the bottom of the drop, yet the second or so
which he takes to fall is, doubtless, one of extreme mental an-
guish, to avoid which the author gives a rule for producing instan-
taneous death by the American method. This consists in suddenly
lifting the criminal into the air by means of a great weight at-
tached to the other end of the rope fastened round his neck; the
rope passes over a pulley placed vertically over the patient, and
at a given signal the weight falls through a regulated height,
lifting him suddenly into the air. By properly proportioning the
weight and the distance through which it is allowed to fall, the
‘chuck’ produces instant death.”

CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES,

M. Rambosson communicated to the French Academy, in 1866,
a paper on this subject : —

There are two very different opinions on this subject. One
set of observations goes to show that the offspring of such mar-
riages are, by that fact alone, condemned to an almost inevitable
degeneracy, and that the union of individuals of the same blood
may lead to the extinction of families. According to another
set, such marriages entail no deterioration at all on the offspring ;
on the contrary, they preserve and ameliorate races. Hence
some have deduced the fact that consanguinity in itself is per-
fectly innocuous, and can only help to perpetuate heredity. Sup-
posing the two parents to be perfectly sound, their union will
have no more tendency to produce disease in the offspring than if
they were perfect strangers in blood to each other. Others again
assert that in man, as in other animals, the intermarriage of blood
relations increases the heredity both of good and bad qualities to
the highest point possible; so that if any weakness exists in a
family, the intermarriage of its members will multiply that weak-
ness in an alarming degree. A third party observe that particular
tendencies, when once developed, by diet, or by any other cause,
in individuals, may be multiplied and perpetuated in a family, and
then in a race by consanguineous marriages. So that a tendency
in individuals becomes thus a realized fact in their offspring.
The author proceeded to call attention to some facts which he
thought had been lost sight of by these partisans. Man, he ob-
served, was infested with more maladies than all other animals
put together; so that even the very healthiest carry along with
them always the seeds of some disease, or the tendency to some
affection. When a man has recovered from any malady, he is
likely to transmit it to his posterity. Now a malady is often the
consequence of those daily conditions which give individuals who
live together a sort of family air; so that it would be very diffi-
cult to find the members of any one family, or even very near
relations, who are not liable to have tendencies to common dis-
orders. Those, therefore, who have argued in favor of consan-
guineous alliances from the example of animals, have omitted
important elements in the calculation. The instinct of animals is
also a surer guide in matters of diet, and more readily followed,

BIOLOGY. 299

than the taste or caprice of man. We must, therefore, be very
careful in applying to man the principles of zootechny. — Reader.

COLOR OF MAN,

Dr. John Davy read a paper on this subject, before the British
Association, in 1866.

After enumerating the varieties of color of the human races,
and their connection with latitude and climate, he considered the
probable causes to which the difference of color may be referred.
Of these he placed first, exposure to the sun’s rays; it being an
established fact, expressed in ordinary term by ‘‘ sun-burn,” that
the sun’s rays acting on the skin have a darkening effect; next,
warmth of climate and an average high temperature throughout
the year, under the influence of which there appears to be a ten-
dency to accumulation of carbon in the system, as indicated by
the little difference of color of the arterial and venous blood under
exposure toa high temperature. An explanation of certain ex-
ceptional instances was next offered; as of the darker hue of the
Esquimaux, to exposure to the sun’s rays during that portion of
the year that the sun in the Arctic regions is constantly above the
horizon ; and during the other portion, their winter, to their living
shut up in a close impure air, and to their food being chiefly of a
kind abounding in carbon and hydrogen; or, taking an opposite
instance, as that of mountaineers, who, though much exposed to
the sun, are commonly fairer than the latitude they inhabit would
seem to warrant, to their blood being better aerated from the
purer air inhaled and the active exercise they take, producing an
accelerated action of the heart, and a more rapid flow and circu-
lation of the blood. Further, he adverted to hereditariness on
atavism, as deserving of attention in considering the color of
races, and more especially its importance as to the great question
of unity or difference of races ab origine; for, if climate should
be found to have greater effect than blood in modifying color,
unity might be inferred, and vice versa. In conclusion, he dwelt
on the connection of good color and a fine complexion with
health, to which nothing can contribute more than pure air, and
exercise in the open air.

PHENOMENA OF FREEZING IN ANIMALS,

The following are the results of a long series of experiments by
M. Pouchet, in reducing the bodies of animals to the temperature
at which freezing takes place. 1. The first phenomenon produced
by cold is a contraction of the capillaries to the degree that a blood
globule cannot enter. 2. The blood globules are completely dis-
organized. 3. Every completely frozen animal is entirely dead,
and cannot be reanimated. 4. When only a part is frozen, it is
destroyed by gangrene. 5. If the part frozen be not extensive,
and only a few disorganized blood globules pass into the circula-
tion, the animal may recover. 6. If, however, the part frozen be
of considerable extent, the mass of altered globules thrown into

300 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the circulation, when the part is thawed, soon kills the animal.
7. A half-frozen animal, therefore, may live a long time if kept in
that state, as the altered globules do not get into the circulation ;
but it quickly dies when the frozen part is thawed. 8. In all cases
of death from freezing, the fatal result is due to the alteration of
the blood globules, and not to any effect on the nervous system.
9. The less rapidly, therefore, a frozen part is thawed, the more
slowly the altered globules enter the circulation, and the greater
are the chances of the animal’s recovery.

PERIOD OF GROWTH IN MAN.

Prof. B. A. Gould, from statistics derived from the register of
two and a half millions of men in the United States Army, has
brought out the remarkable fact that men attain their maximum
stature much later than is generally supposed. ‘This takes place
commonly at 29 or 30 years of age; but there are frequent in-
stances of growth until 35, not very noticeable, —a yearly gain of
a tenth of an inch perhaps, still a growth. After 35 the stature
subsides in similar proportions, partly perhaps from the conden-
sation of the cartilages, partly because of the change in the angle
of the hip-bone. The age for maximum stature comes earliest to the
tallest men, as if it were the necessity of unusual development. For-
eigners were shorter than men of native birth. The heights of
men seemed to depend on the place of enlistment. A Massachu-
setts man enlisting in Iowa was an inch taller than if he had staid
at home.

As we go west, men grow taller. One man measured more
than 6 feet 10 inches. Out of one million, there were five hundred
thousand who measured more than 6 feet 4inches ; but men of such
stature do not wear well. In Maine, men reached their greatest
height at 27,in New Hampshire at 35, in Massachusetts at 29, in
New Jersey at 31. The tallest men, of 69 inches, come from
Iowa. Maine, Vermont, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and Missouri,
give us men a little over 68; and the average of all shows the
Americans to be ‘‘ a very tall people.”

THERAPEUTICAL ACTION OF MINERAL WATERS.

Though the remedial property of mineral waters be established,
their modus operandi is as yet hardly ascertained, and is at present
the subject of a very animated controversy in the French Acad-
emy, between M. Scoutetten and certain other savants. M. Scou-
tetten details a number of experiments and conclusions, from
which we extract the following: 1. When platinum-electrodes are
placed in ordinary water, contained in vessels of glass or porce-
lain, no trace of dynamic electricity is apparent. 2. When the
same experiment is tried with mineral water, the deviation of the
needle is considerable. 3. When the same mineral water is ex-
amined at various periods subsequent to the date at which it was
drawn from its source, and at different temperatures, it is found
that the higher the temperature is the greater is the electric mani-

BIOLOGY. 801

festation, a result which is due to the greater amount of chemical
change which takes place during high degrees of temperature.
From the conclusions, it will be observed that M. Scoutetten be-
lieves rather in an electric than a chemico-physiological action of
these waters. In some minor experiments he discovered that
even the partial immersion of the body in a mineral bath produces
an amount of electrical excitation, which occasionally extends so
far as to produce feverish symptoms.

. EFFECTS OF TOBACCO ON HEALTH.

M. Jolly has presented a paper to the French Academy of Med-
icine, in which he takes the opposite ground from that of Dr. B.
W. Richardson (see ‘‘ Annual of Scientific Discovery” for 1865,
page 229). Starting from the fact that there has been of late years
an enormous increase of smoking in France, and stating that six-
teen pounds of tobacco, equivalent to fifty or sixty grammes of
nicotine, are annually consumed by each smoker, he says that
‘* statistics show that in exact relation with this increased consump-
tion ef tobacco is the increase of diseases of the nervous centres
(insanity, general paralysis, paraplegia, ramollissement) and cer-
tain cancerous affections. Now, although Orientals, Turks, Greeks,
Brazilians, and Hungarians, smoke to an excessive extent, they
do so with almost impunity, from the fact that the indigenous to-
bacco which they use contains very slight proportions of nicotine,
and sometimes none at all; while other nations, such as the Eng-
lish, the Swiss, French, Americans, etc., suffer much more severely.
Up to the present time, no case of general or progressive paraly-
sis has been discovered in any of the numerous localities of the
East, where tobacco of so eminently mild a character, or some
succedaneum, is employed. M. Moreau, in a careful investiga-
tion which he has made in the hospitals of Constantinople, Smyrna,
Malta, and all the Mediterranean islands, has not been able to de-
tect a single case of this kind. ‘The cause,’ he remarks, ‘is plain
enough, and eminently physiological. In all the regions of the Le-
vant they do not intoxicate themselves with nicotine or alcohol,
or the ambition of fortune or glory, but saturate themselves with
opium and perfumes, sleeping away their time in torpor, indolence,
and sensuality. They narcotize, but do not nicotinize themselves ;
and if opium, as has been said, is the poison of the intellect of the
East, tobacco may one day prove in the West the poison of life
itself.” ‘

M. Melsens has found, upon the average, a proportion of seven-
tenths per cent. of nicotine held in suspension by tobacco smoke.
The mischievousness of such an atmosphere is dwelt upon by M.
Jolly, who also holds that general or progressive paralysis— a
disease scarcely met with thirty years ago —is making rapid ad-
vance under the increased abuse of alcohol and tobacco. Insanity
and affections of the nervous centres have enormously increased
in France, and this increase is found to be, in men, almost entirely
made up of cases of progressive paralysis (now forming more than
sixty per cent. of the total vases) ; and whenever, in the asylums,

26

502 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the history of such cases has been investigated, their dependence
on the abuse of tobacco has been rendered obvious. In contrast
with this is the rarity with which this form of the disease is met with
in female lunatics. Among these paralytic lunatics, soldiers and
sailors, who so much abuse tobacco, are found occupying the first
rank. M. Jolly’s investigations have led him to the conclusion
that this abuse of tobacco is far more operative in the induction of
this paralysis than alcohol or absinthe.

CAUSE OF INTERMITTENT AND REMITTENT FEVER. *

Prof. J. H. Salisbury communicates to the ‘* American Journal
of Medical Sciences” an elaborate article, giving an account of
numerous observations and investigations regarding the origin
and cause of intermittent fever. Dr..Salisbury found, on micro-
seopical examination of the salivary secretion and expectoration
of those laboring under intermittent fever, and who resided upon
ague levels, and were exposed to the evening, night, and morning
exhalations and vapors arising from stagnant pools, swamps, an
humid low grounds, that there occurred in these secretions a great
variety of zoésporoid cells, animalcular bodies, diatoms, desmidiz,
algoid cells and filaments, and fungoid spores. Constantly and
uniformly found in all cases, and usually in great abundance, were
minute oblong cells, either single or aggregated, consisting of a
distinct nucleus, surrounded by a smooth cell-wall, with a highly
clear, apparently empty spice between the outside cell-wall and
the nucleus. They were not fungoid, but cells of an algoid type,
resembling strongly those of the palmellz. In persons residing
above the summit plane of ague, these bodies were invariably absent.

By aseries of carefully conducted experiments and observations
the following facts were ascertained : —

1. That cryptogamic spores and other minute bodies are mainly
elevated above the surface during the night. That they rise and
are suspended in the cold, damp exhalations from the soil, after
the sun has set, and fall again to the earth soon after the sun rises.

2. That in the latitude of Ohio, these bodies seldom rise above
from thirty-five to sixty feet above the low levels. In the north-
ern and central portions of the State, they rise from thirty-five to
forty-five feet; in the southern, from forty to sixty feet.

3.-That at Nashville and Memphis they rise from sixty to one
hundred feet and more above the surface.

4, That above the summit-plane of the cool night exhalations,
these bodies do not rise, and intermittents do not extend.

5. That the day air of malarial districts is quite free from these
palmelloid spores, and from causes that produce intermittents.

Palmellze belong to the lowest known vegetable organisms.
The several forms of this type, which are constantly attendant on
intermittent malarial disease, have received the generic name
gemiasma (earth miasm), of which Dr. Salisbury enumerates six
species.

In another series of extended observations, the local effects pro-
duced in the mouth and air-passages by inhaling these celis are

BIOLOGY. 303

minutely described. They cause a dry, feverish, constricted feel-
ing in the mouth, fauces, and throat, increasing until the fauces
become parched and feverish, normal mucous discharges become
checked, and the feeling soon extends to the bronchial and pul-
monary surfaces, which also become dry, feverish, and constricted,
with a heavy, congested sensation and dull pain. These peculiar
symptoms generally last several hours after leaving the bog.

The author has made experiments relative to the production of
intermittent fever in localities entirely free from malarial influ-
ence, by carrying boxes filled with surface earth from a malarious
drying prairie bog, covered with the palmelle, to these localities,
and exposing persons to their emanations. Attacks of intermit-
tent were the result.

The investigations of Dr. Salisbury must be considered highly
important, as they seem to establish positively the fons et origo
of malarious fever.

Dr. E. Holden of Newark, N. J., late of the U. S. N., commu-
nicates a paper to the same journal, entitled, ‘‘ An Inquiry into
the Causes of Certain Diseases on Ships of War,” in which he ex-
presses his opinion that fever of an intermittent type is produced
by the growth of mould on board ship, under the action of hydro-
sulphuric acid of the bilge.

ANAESTHETIC AGENTS.

New and Ready Mode of Producing Anesthesia.—Dr. B. W.
Richardson has been for some years engaged in researches for the
production of local anzesthesia. Snow maintained that all narcotics
produce anesthesia by the process of arresting oxidation. Dr.
Richardson has come to the conclusion that arrest of oxidation
means arrest of motion, and that anesthesia, in truth, means the
temporary death of a part, i. e., inertia in the molecules of the
put. This led him to the conclusion that Dr. Arnott’s plan of
using extreme cold was the first true step in the progress of discov-
ery; and that if it could be made easier of application, and at the
same time could be combined with the use of a narcotic fluid, an
important advance in therapeutics would necessarily follow.

By a simple apparatus, which divides an ether jet into a very
fine spray, he can produce local anesthesia at any time, with a
cold six degrees below zero. He can distribute this spray into
any of the cavities of the body.

When the ether spray thus produced is directed upon the outer
skin, the skin is rendered insensible within a minute; but the
effects do not end here. So soon as the skin is divided, the ether
begins to exert on the nervous filaments the double action of cold
and of ethefization; so that the narcotism can be extended deeply
to any desired extent. Pure rectified ether used in this manner is
entirely negative ; it causes no irritation, and may be applied to
a deep wound, without any danger. Its chief application is in
the production of superficial local anzesthesia; and it is admirably
adapted for a large class of minor operations, for which chloro-
form has been generally used. The ether must be pure.

804 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Rhigolene. —Prof. H J. Bigelow, in a communication in the
**Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, ” 1866, speaks of this
agent as follows: ‘* The above name is proposed as convenient
to designate a petroleum naphtha, boiling at 70° Fahr., one of the
most volatile liquids obtained by the distillation of petr oleum, and
which has been applied to the production of cold by evaporation.
It is a hydro-carbon, wholly destitute of oxygen, and is the light-
est of all known liquids, having a specific gravity of 0.625. It
has been shown that petroleum, vaporized and carefully con-
densed at different temperatures, offers a regular series of pro-
ducts, which present more material differences than that of their
degree of volatility; and that the present product is probably a
combination of some of the known products of petroleum, with
those volatile and gaseous ones not yet fully examined, and to
which this fluid owes its great volatility. When it was learned
here that Mr. Richardson of London had produced a useful anses-
thesia, by freezing through the agency of ether vapor, reducing
the temperature to 6° below Zero, “Fahr. ., if occurred to me that a
very volatile product of petroleum might be more sure to con-
geal the tissues, besides being far less expensive than ether. Mr.
Merrill having, at my request, manufactured a liquid of which
the boiling point was 70° Fahr., it proved that the mercury was

easily depressed by this agent to 19° below zero, and that the
skin could be with certainty frozen hard in five or ten seconds.
A lower temperature might doubtless be produced, were it not
for the ice which surrounds the bulb of the thermometer. This
result may be approximately effected by the common and familiar
‘spray-producer,’ the concentric tubes of Mr. Richardson not
being absolutely necessary to congeal the tissues with the rhigo-
lene, as in his experiments with common ether. Freezing by
rhigolene is far more sure than by ether, as suggested by Mr.
Richardson, inasmuch as common ether, boiling only at about 96°
instead of 70°, often fails to produce an adequate degree of cold.
The rhigolene is more convenient, and more easily controlled
than the | freezing mixtures hitherto employ ed. Being quick in its
action, inexpensive, and comparatively odorless, it will supersede
general or local anzesthesia by ether or chloroform for small oper-
ations, and in private houses.” Both the liquid and the vapor of
rhigolene are highly inflammable.

New Anesthetics. —Two new substances, which bid fair to rival
even chloroform, have lately been introduced as anesthetics, by
an English physician. At the meeting of the British Medical
Association, Dr. Nunneley exhibited some bromide of ethyl, and
chloride of elayl (olefiant gas), both of which for some time past
he had used as anvesthetics. He stated that he had_not lately
performed any serious operation, either in private practice or at
the Leeds General Infirmary, without the patient being made in-
sensible by one or the other of these agents, each of which he
believed to possess important advantages over chloroform. They
were among the many analogous bodies experimented on by him,
and favorably mentioned in an essay on anzesthesia, published by
him in 1849. At that time the difficulty and cost of their prepa-

BIOLOGY. 305

ration .were too great to allow of their being commonly employed.
This difficulty, however, has been overcome; and, should their
use become general, they can be made at a cost not exceeding
that of chloroform. They both act speedily, pleasantly, and well.
The patient may be kept insensible for any length of time, while
the most serious and painful operations were being conducted.
No disagreeable symptoms had in any case resulted from their use.

Chimogene. — In experimenting with the highly volatile and gas-
eous products of distillation, Dr. P. H. Vanderweyde succeeded
in producing a liquid boiling at any desired degree of tempera-
ture, say at 60°, 50°, 40°, or even at 30° Fahr., causing by its eva-
poration the most intense cold. He proposes, therefore, to call it
Chimogene (cold generator).

The desired degree of its boiling point depends only on a
slight modification in its preparation; in fact, it may be made so
volatile, that it requires very strong bottles and careful stopper-
ing to hold it, as by lifting the stopper it foams like champagne,
boiling at the common temperature. Pouring it from the bottle in
drops or in a small stream, it will be evaporated before reaching
the floor.

PHYSIOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

On the Production of Sexes.—M. Coste has been led to doubt
the truth of the hypothesis, propounded by M. Thury, which sup-
poses that every egg passes, during the period of its maturation,
through two successive, but continuous, phases, during each of
which it has a different sexual character. If fecundated in the
first half, it would be a female; if in the latter, a male. From
experiments on fowls, the author shows that the sexes are pro-
duced indifferently from eggs taken at the beginning, middle, or
end of the laying. With regard to rabbits, M. Coste finds the
same irregular, result; in fact, altogether a larger number of
males were born at the commencement of maturation. M.
Thury’s law is, therefore, not applicable to such mammals or to
birds. The author is continuing his experiments to determine
whether it holds good even in the bovine mammals, which M.
Thury made the subject of his investigation.

Cause of the Redness in Inflammation. — Drs. Estor and St. Pierre
(Memoires de la Société de Biologie, 1865) have made investiga-
tions on the pneumatology of the blood coursing though inflamed
parts, as the foot of a dog seared with the actual artery. They
estimated the amount of oxygen present by treating the blood
with carbonic oxide, as recommended by Bernard, and obtained

the following results ; — ¢
Experiment. Inflamed Side. Sound Side.
Amount of 0. in 100 parts Amount of O. in 100 parts
of (venous) blood. of (venous) blood.
1. . e e e se e e ° 6.01. . ° e e e . . . 2.41.
2. ° ° e e . e e e 6.04. ° e e e e e e e 2.40.
SePepsuheh fot ely cab epak satomme a an cupeecia tel oi feiies: shy Deas
Mariott versie)” site clt ei eline asOURt es, To et) oe | os; ebtie taeaOs
6. e . ° . . ° 4.80. . . ° ° . . . e 2.40,

26*

3806 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

They conclude from these and other experiments : —

1. That the venous blood returning from an inflamed part con-
tains more oxygen than the blood of the sound side, the propor-
tion being as 1: 1.5 or 2.5.

2. That the venous blood of the inflamed side contains more
carbonic acid; and

3. That it is to the excess of oxygen inthe venous blood, render-
ing it of brighter tint, that the increased redness of an inflamed
part is due. ;

Engrafted Tissues. —The experiments of M. Bert are of the
highest interest, as they show that the tissues of one animal may
not only be engrafted on those of another, but that after a time
they become supplied with blood-vessels, ete. The following case,
which has just been published, is very instructive: The tail of a
full grown rat was removed from the body, and then inclosed in
a glass tube, and maintained for seventy-two hours at a tempera-
ture of from + 7° to + 8° centigrade. It was afterwards deprived
of portions of its skin, and introduced into the subcutaneous cellu-
lar tissue of another adult rat. Three months afterwards the
second animal was killed, and coloring matter was injected into
its aorta. This coloring substance absolutely penetrated the mar-
row of the engrafted vertebrae, thus showing that the tail had
been supplied with vessels communicating with those of its host’s
body.

Jodine. — Iodine is almost entirely wanting in young sea-weed,
and it has reached its maximum quantity when the plant is thrown
off in drift. Fermented liquors and wines contain iodine, but
milk is richer in that substance than wine. The proportion of
iodine in milk is in the inverse ratio of the quantity yielded. Eggs
also contain iodine ; a fowl’s egg weighing 50 grains contains more
iodine than a quart of cow’s milk.

Creasote and Ferment. —A letter of M. Béchamp to M. Dumas
mentions that creasote appears to be the agent which most strong-
ly opposes the development of organic ferments, but adds that it
does not interfere with the life of ferments or animalcules when
they are once developed.

Beating of the Heart. —In ascending into the air, the heart-heats
increase 5for the first 3,000 feet, 7 for the next 1,500 feet, 8 for
the next 1500, and 5 for each 1500 feet of ascent after that.
This is an average increase of one beat for each 100 yards of
ascent.

Sixth Sense in Man.— Dr. Hughes Bennett, in a paper before
the British Association (1865), announced that the tendency of
modern physiology was to ascribe to man a sixth sense. If there
be placed before aman two small cubes, the one of lead and the
other of wood, both gilded so as to look exactly alike, and both
of the same temperature, not one of the five senses could tell the
man which is lead and which is wood. He could tell this only by
lifting them ; and this sense of weight was likely to be recognized
as a sixth sense.

Iron in the Blood. —M. Pelouze finds that the blood of birds
contains, per 10,000 parts by weight, from 3 to 4 parts of iron;

BIOLOGY. 307

and that the blood of man, and the mammalia generally, contains
from 5 to 6 parts of iron per 10,000 parts of blood.

Copper in the Animal Body.— Dr. G. L. Ulex, of Hamburg, has
published the result of extensive researches, showing that copper
is one of the most widely disseminated substances in nature. It
had been long known that copper existed in the blood of mollusks
and others of the lower animals; but Dr. Ulex found it in mam-
malia, birds, batrachians, reptiles, fishes, and articulates also;
in man, the horse, the ox, the lynx, the common fowl, the teal,
the tortoise, the lizard, the adder, the frog, the eel, the haddock,
etc. He concludes that it is found in the bodies of all animals,
and says: ‘‘ As animals live, directly and indirectly, upon plants,
it follows that it must occur in all plants; and as plants derive
their mineral constituents either from the soil or from sea-water,
copper must be generally diffused through both these media.”

Mortality of Paris. — As far as can be judged from: historical
documents, the annual mortality in Paris at the commencement of
the last century was 1 in 28; 50 years later, 1 in 30; in 1836, 1 in
36; in 1846, 1 in 387; in 1851, 1 in 88; in 1856, 1in 39. These
numbers apply to old Paris. In 1860, the time of annexation, the
population was increased by the addition of an area less favorable
for the health than the interior of Paris. Still, the proportion of
deaths in 1861, with 1,696,141 inhabitants, was 1 in 39; in 1862
and 1863, it was 1 in 40.

This improvement in the public health may be attributed to the
great works carried forward in the capital, —that is, the opening
of avenues, improved supply of water and drainage, the super-
vision over crowded and unwholesome tenement houses, and the
organization of hospitals ; also to the general prosperity of the work-
ing classes, who take better care of themselves, dress more warm-
ly, and eat more wholesome and abundant food.

The Sphygmograph. — This is an instrument invented by Dr. E.
J. Marey, a Paris physician, for producing a self-written record
of the swellings and contractions of the arteries, known as the
pulse. The main features of the instrument are the following:
A principal beam, of light construction, is fastened on the arm by
carefully-padded straps; to this is attached a lever of nearly the
length of the fore-arm; the shorter arm of this lever rests gently
but firmly on the pulse; at each rise of the artery and subsequent
fall, the motion is exactly imparted to the lever, and the end of the
longer arm performs the same movements as does the shorter, but
on a much larger scale. To the end of the longer arm is attached
a fine-pointed pencil, in contact with which a smooth strip of
paper is made to move by clockwork in a horizontal direction.
The effect of this arrangement is that a straight line would .be
drawn on the piece of paper were it not for the rhythmic perpen-
dicular movement caused by the pulse, which results in the pro-
duction of an undulated line, the waves in which represent the
separate expansions of the artery. It is evident that since the
movement of the paper is invariably uniform, the variations in the
pulse will be distinctly indicated by the height, length, and form
of the waves; and accordingly we have a most accurate and

308 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

valuable means of comparing the pulse in various individuals and
under various cireumstances.. Some interesting results have been
obtained by studying the pulse of diseased persons, and the in-
strument has been found to exhibit phenomena in the pulse which
it was quite impossible to detect by the fingers. The ‘‘ sphygmo-

ram” of a person afilicted with a certain disease of the heart,
for example, is found to exhibit a series of undulations, the ascend-
ing line of which is very long and tremulous, and but slightly
oblique, while the descending is abrupt and nearly perpendicular.
From this description it will be seen that this promises to bea
valuable assistance to medical men in reducing their observations
to something like exactness. — Quart. Journ. of Science, July, 1866.

Myograph. —M. Marey has invented an instrument, on the plan
of his sphygmograph, which he calles a myograph, and which
makes a drawing to indicate the movements of muscular fibres
in their céntractions. A muscular shock imparts a wave motion
to the fibres; if a shock is prolonged till the muscle is fatigued,
the waves lose their amplitude, and finally become extinct. A
slow succession of shocks is marked by long ascending lines, and
short descending ones; a quick succession leads to equality in the
ascending and descending lines; and when the shocks are too
quick for healthy action,— more than thirty-two per second, —
a tetanic condition supervenes, and a straight line replaces the
waved line.

Stomatoscope. — This is an instrument invented by Prof. Burns,
of Breslau. A platinum spiral wire (inclosed in a box-wood eup,
to prevent the transmission of heat), brought to a red heat by the
passage of an electric current from two of Middeldorps’ ele-
ments, is placed in the mouth behind the teeth. The light re-
flected by a very small mirror is sufficiently intense to render the
jaw transparent, so as to allow of the vessels proceeding to the
roots of the teeth, the smallest specks of caries, etc., becoming
visible. By reason of the transparency, even the labial coronary
artery may, in some subjects, be seen at the level of the commis-
sure, and its course followed. The instrument is therefore likely
to form a useful means of exploration in dental affections.

Tridoscope. — A new instrument produced by M. Houdin, by the
aid of which an individual is able to see all that is going on in
his own eye. It is simply an opaque shell to cover the eye,
pierced in the centre with a very small hole. On looking through
steadfastly at the sky, or at any diffused light, the observer may
watch the tears streaming over the globe, and note the dilatation
and contraction of the iris, and even see the aqueous humor
poured in when the eye is fatigued by a long observation. It is
needless to say, that with the aid of this instrument, a man can
easily find out for himself whether he has a cataract or not. If
he has, he will only see a sort of veil covering the luminous disk,
which is seen by a healthy eye. The instrument is simple and
curious, and will no doubt excite attention in those who are anx-
ious to know more of themselves. An ‘iridoscope” may be
readily extemporized by making a hole in the bottom of a pill-
box with a fine needle.

BIOLOGY. 309

TRANSMUTATION OF SPECIES.

Prof. Huxley, in an address before the British Association, in
1866, makes the following statement in regard to the question of
the transmutation of species, so ably defended by Mr. Darwin,
and which now claims as its supporters, as one of Nature’s agen-
cies, at least, some of the most eminent zodlogists, botanists, and
palzontologists of Europe and this country.

Much observation must be made, and much evidence acenmu-
lated, before we can see our way to a theory of transmutation of
species. The only valid, though cardinal, objection to such a
theory, is the want of evidence that a change of the kind inferred
really takes place, and that so little proof of it is forthcoming, in
spite of the attention which has, for many years, been anxiously
directed to the subject. The nearly allied species tantalize us by
a certain flexibility of type, and "by their near approach to one
another; but they seem rigidly to abstain from the boundary
lines; and the variations that take place seem to have no special
reference to an approximation to those lines, but rather to a cer-
tain power of accommodation to external circumstances, neces-
sary for the preservation of the species. We find considerable
varieties in the human species. We do not yet clearly know how
to connect even these with one another, or with a common origin.
Some of these ‘are more, some less, allied to the monkey; but
between the lowest of the human and the highest of the monkey,
there is a gap, the width of which will be differently estimated by
different persons, but so wide that there has never yet been any
doubs to which side any specimen should be referred. Now, if
the one has been transmuted from the other, how comes it that
the series has been broken, and the connecting links ceased to
exist? The conditions are still favorable to the existence of the
man and to the existence of the monkey; why are they not still
favorable to existence of the species that have connected the one
with the other? We may wonder, not only that the traces of
Species in past time are not forthcoming, but that the species are
not now living. Moreover, we do not know that any conceiy-
able conditions, operating through any number of years, will
bring the gorilla or chimpanzee one whit nearer to man, would
give them a foot more capable of bearing the body erect, a brain
more capable of conceiving ideas, or a larynx more capable of
communicating them. He did not think that much direct assist-
ance has been given, by the theory of natural selection based
upon the struggle for existence, ably propounded and ably de-
fended asit has been; it has dispersed some of the fallacies and
false objections which beset the idea of transmutation of species,
and has so placed the question in a fairer position for discussion ;
but it reminds us forcibly of some of the real difficulties and
objections. Though artificial selection may do much to modify
species, it is rather by producing varieties, than by drawing away
very far from the original stock. To the former there seems no
limit; but the latter is stopped by the increasing unproductive-
ness and unhealthiness of the individuals, by the susceptibility to

310 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

disease, and the tendency to revert to the original type. So that
increasing departure requires greatly increasing care; and we do
not know that any amount of care and time would be sufficient to
produce what might fairly be called a new species. The bring-
ing about any marked change, by Nature’s selection, is shown to
be very hard of proof, and has opposed to its probability the fact
that the members of a species which are most unlike have the
greatest tendency to pair, and are the most fertile; so that we
have here, in addition to the ready reversion of modified breeds to
the original stock, a law by which the growth or perpetuation of
peculiarities is prevented, and a constancy given to the characters
of the species. This law is more striking from its contrast with
the bar that exists to the pairing of different species, and the
infertility of hybrids. Within a given range, dissimilarity pro-
motes fertility. Beyond that range, it is incompatible with it.

These, and other considerations, have always inclined him to
the opinion that modifications of animal type, occurring in nature,
are more likely to be the result of external influences operating
upon successive generations, influencing their development, their
growth, and their maturity, than of ‘‘ natural selection” and the
** struggle for existence.”

The slight variability of animal types through long periods, the
clear manner in which many of them are worked out from one
another, and which increasing investigation seems to render more
and more apparent, make the prospect of proving that they are
educed from one another by any of the hitherto supposed processes
grow more and more distant, and the feeling arises that there must
be some other law at work which has escaped our detection.

Whatever be the law and forces which effect and regulate the
evolution of species, they are probably of the same kind as those
which are operating in the inorganic world. The orderly and
definite manner in which forms and features and specific charae-
ters are given and preserved in one instance, may be assumed to
be of the same nature as in the other; and we must probably
refer the fixed animal and vegetable types to influences identical
with, or similar to, those by which the forms are assigned to erys-
tals, and the stratification is given to rocks, by which the geologi-
cal epochs have been determined, and the boundaries of our plan-
etary and solar systems have been set. One cannot but think that
it may be within the power of man to work out and to compre-
hend, in some degree at least, the principles by which these breaks
in the organic and inorganic worlds, constituting as they clearly do
an important feature in the plan of creation, are brought about and
regulated.

In connection with this subject may be mentioned a paper pre-
sented to the same Association by Mr. A. kh. Wailace,

On Reversed Sexual Characters in a Butterfly, and their Interpre-
tation on the Theory of Modifications and Adaptive Mimicry.— In
this paper, the author, who is an independent originator of the
theory advanced by Darwin, gave the result of some of his own
and Mr. Bates’s observations on the origin of species in Lepidop-
tera. ~The Heliconidz, a group of butterflies with a powerful

BIOLOGY. 311

odor, such as to cause birds to avoid eating them, were simulated
by the females of another group, which had no smell, and might
otherwise fail ready victims to birds. By their great resemblance
to the obnoxions butterflies, the scentless females were enabled
to escape pursuit and deposit their eggs. In different regions
there were different species, thus imitating and being imitated.
Mr. Wallace conceived that this case was a crucial test of the
truth of the Darwinian doctrine. The females least like the Heli-
conidz had always been more subject to destruction, and conse-
quently by this process of natural selection the present state of
very close resemblance had resulted.

Prof. Huxley cautioned Mr. Wallace against considering this as
a decisive case. It was explained quite as completely by the
teleological doctrine of the late Dr. Paley.

Mr. Herbert Spencer thought he could show that the case de-
scribed by Mr. Wallace could not be satisfactorily explained by
Dr. Paley’s teaching. He understood Mr. Wallace that the imita-
tion was not complete, and varied in different individuals. This
incompleteness was not to be explained were we to assume that
the one butterfly was made in imitation of the other by the Crea-
tor; but it was readily accounted for by the law of evolution.

THE DIFFICULTY OF TRACING ORIGINS.

Mr. Grove, President of the British Association, in his Inaugu-
ral Address, August 23, 1866, favored the theory of Darwin,
while upholding the doctrine of continuity in the universe. He
said :—

«There is nothing, as Prof. Huxley has remarked, like an ex-
tinct order of birds or mammals, only a few isolated instances.
It may be said the ancient world possessed a larger proportion of
fish and amphibia, and was more suited to their existence. I see
no reason for believing this, at least to anything like the extent
contended for; the fauna and flora now in course of being pre-
served for future ages would give the same idea to our successors.
Crowded as Europe is with cattle, birds, insects, ete., how few
are geologically preserved; while the muddy or sandy margins
of the ocean, the estuaries and deltas are yearly accumulating
numerous crustacea and mollusca, with some fishes and reptiles,
for the study of future paleontologists. If this position be right,
then, notwithstanding the immense number of preserved fossils,
there must have lived an immeasurably larger number of unpre-
served organic beings, so that the chance of filling up the missing
links, except in occasional instances, is very slight. Yet, where
circumstances have remained suitable for their preservation,
many closely-connected species are preserved; in other words,
while the intermediate types in certain cases are lost, in others
they exist. The opponents of continuity lay all stress on the lost,
and none on the existing links. But there is another difficulty in
the way of tracing a given organism to its parent-form, which,
from our conventional mode of tracing genealogies, is never
looked upon in its proper light. Where are we to look for the

312 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

remote ancestor of a given form? Each of us, supposing none
of our progenitors to have intermarried with relatives, would
have had, at or about the period of the Norman conquest, up-
wards of a hundred million direct ancestors of that generation ;
and if we add the intermediate ancestors, double that number.
As each individual has a male and female parent, we have only
to multiply by two for each thirty years, the average duration of
a generation, and it will give the above resalt. Let any one
assume that one of his ancestors at the time of the Norman con-
quest was a Moor, another a Celt, and a third a Laplander, and
that these three were preserved while all the others were lost, he
would never recognize either of them as his ancestor; he would
only have the one hundred millionth part of the blood of each of
them, and, as far as they were concerned, there would be no per-
ceptible sign of identity of race. But the problem is more com-
plex than that which I have stated. At the time of the conquest
there were hardly a hundred million people in Europe. It follows
that a great number of the ancestors of the propositus must have
intermarried with relations ; and then the pedigree, going back to
the time of the conquest, instead of being represented by diverg-
ing lines, would form a net-work so tangled that no skill could
unravel it. The law of probabilities would indicate that any two
people in the same country, taken at hazard, would not have many
generations to go back before they would find a common ances-
tor, who probably, could they have seen him or her in the life,
had no traceable resemblance to either of them. Thus two ani-
mals of a very different form, and of what would be termed very
different species, might have a common geological ancestor, and
yet the skill of no comparative anatomist could trace the descent.
From the long-continued conventional habit of tracing pedigrees
through the male ancestor, we forget, in talking of progenitors,
that each individual has a mother as well as a father, and there is
no reason to suppose that he has in him less of the blood of the
one than of the other. The recent discoveries in palseontology
show us that man existed on this planet at an epoch far anterior
to that commonly assigned to him.”

ORIGIN OF SPECIES IN INSECTS

The following are the conclusions of Dr. D. B. Walsh, in a
paper on ‘‘ Phytophagic Varieties and Species of Insects.” This
name is given to those otherwise identical insects which differ, as
varieties or species, according to the species of plant they feed
upon. Difference of food, even when the food-plant belongs to
widely distinct botanical families, is accompanied by no difference
whatever, either in the larva, pupa, or perfect state, in many species
of insects. On the other hand, difference of food is in others ac-
companied by a marked difference in the color of silk-producing
secretions, in the colors, markings, size, structural differences,
and chemical properties of gall-producing secretions, in one or
both sexes, and in all stages of growth. From the long catalogue
of facts enumerated by the author, he says: ‘‘ For my own part,

BIOLOGY. 313

as, on the most careful consideration, Iam unable to draw any
definite line in the above series, and to say with certainty that
here end the varieties and here begin the species, I am therefore
irresistibly led to believe that the former gradually strengthen and
become developed into the latter, and that the difference between
them is merely one of mode and degree. — Amer. Journ. of Sci-
ence, Sept., 1865.

NATIVE AMERICAN RACES.

At the meeting of the Anthropological Society, April, 1866, Mr.
W. Bollaert read a paper on the ‘‘ Anthropology of the New
World.” The author, in embodying his experiences of the Red
Man, noticed the erroneous statement which had been made, that
the physical configuration of American natives was the same all
over the continent. This was not quite the case, even as regards
color; while as to form, feature, physical and mental develop-
ment, there are marked differences and peculiarities, resulting
from causes investigated in detail. He gave minute descriptions
of the various theories which had been propounded to account for
the population of America, especially of the known facts regard-
ing the colonization of the northern parts by the Icelanders in the
tenth century. He condemned the theory which Rivero and
Tschudi had advocated, that such originators of American theo-
cracies as Quetzalcoatl of Mexico, Bochica of Bogota, and Manco
Capac of Peru, were Buddhist priests. His own researches on
this subject were not confirmatory of this hypothesis. The native
traditions of the aborigines were not confirmatory of this theory
of Monogeny. He gave a minute description of the materials he
had been able to collect concerning the Red Man, before and after
the discovery of America by Columbus, adopting as examples the
inhabitants of the Russian possessions in America, British North
America, Newfoundland, the United States, West Indies, Texas,
Mexico, Central America, New Granada, Quito, Brazil, Chili, the
Pampas, and Peru.

The native population of America at the period of its discovery
was estimated as over 100,000,000; at present there may be from
10 to 11,000,000. ‘They are said to have some 400 languages, and
2,000 dialects. He considered the time required for the evolution
of each of these to have been vast. He commented on the evi-
dence which had been afforded of ancient human remains at
Guadaloupe, in the West Indies (probably recent), the Florida
coral reef, Natchez on the Mississippi, and the Brazilian bone-
caves. Pottery had been found in Ecuador, under circumstances
which showed that it had been submerged for an unknown time
under the sea, and again upheaved. He pointed out some impor-
tant differences between the physiological characters of the White
and Red Man, and concluded by affirming that his inquiries into
the subject of species and varieties led him to abandon the unity
or monogenistic view, for the plurality or polygenistic theory of
separate creations.

27

314 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ZOOLOGY OF BRAZIL.

The following information concerning the animals of Brazil is
condensed from the lectures of Prof. Agassiz before the Lowell
Institute, Boston, Mass., in October, 1866.

Fishes ‘of the Amazon. —He alluded to the astonishing variety
of fishes found in the Amazon, very far surpassing what was
before known on the subject, and most astonishing in comparison
with other rivers. The Mississippi had yielded but one hundred
varieties, and the rivers of the old world not so many, though of
larger size. He is reported to have collected over eighteen hun-
dred varieties in the Amazon. The Amazon contained no cyprin-
ids or suckers, no perch, no pickerel, no trout; but goniodonts
teemed in its waters, in many species. The kinds varied in the
different places in the valley, no two localities yielding the same
kind. They were also found in other rivers in Brazil, and even
north of that country in South America. They were to be found
in the mud and in hollow trees in the water. One of the species
took care of its young as no other fish did, being provided with
apron-like appendages on the jaws, which extended along half
the length of the abdomen. On these they deposit their eggs, and
carry them about until the young are hatched. Another kind
bored holes in the river bank, three or four feet in depth, and
deposited their eggs therein in round bunches.

The family of “Callichthys, characterized by two rows of scales
upon their sides, with a depression between them, have the pecu-
liar habit of leaving the water at times, and he said he had fre-
quently found them on dry land three miles from the water.
They deposit their eggs in a cavity, after the manner of the stickle-
back, and hatch them by sitting upon them. They will ascend
trees.

The Dorades are mainly distinguished by a single row of scales
on each side, though some of the genera have two and three rows.
Another family, the Aspherides, lay their eggs and then pass over
them, the eggs becoming agglutinated to the under sides of their
bodies, and re maining held there by a filament until hatched.

He described sever ral other families of this order, with their
peculiarities of form, color, and habits, remarking that several of
these families have hitherto been unknown to naturalists. The
Characiynes represent in the tropic waters our salmon. The pecu-
liar construction of the mouth marks the different families of this
order, some of them being entirely toothless, others having teeth
only in the upper jaw, and others having both jaws armed with
teeth. These families also differ so much in color that the com-
bination of lines seems almost endless, though there is a general
plan in the colors as much as in the form. One of these families
is a most formidable fish, having a wide mouth, armed on both
sides with pointed, serrated teeth. A horse or cow falling into
the river would be devoured in one hour by these greedy fish.

He had a curiosity to ascertain how the marine scates compared
with the scates found in the rivers, and had made comparisons as
he proceeded up the Para river. The first scate he found atter

BIOLOGY. 315

entering fresh water belonged to no marine genus ever found in
the sea, and the next six or seven which he obtained exhibited
the same dissimilarity. This was a fact against the theory of
migration. It was a general fact, that, within a certain circum-
scribed area each fresh water tract has its distinct species; and it
was remarkable how certain families, or even genera, prevail over
others. In comparing the fishes of the northern and southern
rivers of Brazil, the difference was found to be still greater, each
basin having its special distribution.

He drew one general inference from these general statements,
namely, that all these fishes are in their natural home, and have
not migrated, but have originated where they are found.

Brazilian Reptiles. — Though serpents of great size, power, and
virulence, abounded in Brazil, he said he had met with but few;
and there was not much danger to travellers, who could penetrate
the woods, or recline among the vegetation with impunity. If
serpents were met, it was only as an accident to which men are
liable everywhere.

Though there are many frogs and toads, there are no salaman-
ders in Brazil. The tree-toad rivalled in beauty the brilliant
plumage of some of the native birds. Then there were barking
and erying frogs, whose voices might be mistaken for sounds
uttered by large animals or by human beings. There were many
varieties of reptiles ; and the same localization prevailed as among
fishes. This also prevailed among insects.

There were in the rivers, he said, a great abundance of turtles,
congregating in some localities in masses of hundreds of thou-
sands, all endeavoring to get on shore to lay their eggs, of which
each turtle deposits from eighty to one hundred. There were
also terrestrial tortoises. The alligators differed from the croco-
diles of the old world in the arrangement of their teeth, and in
other respects ; and the lizards, which were numerous, were chiefly
tree-lizards.

Birds and Mammals.— Of the varieties of the aquatic class of
birds found in northern regions, he remarked, there are but few
representatives in the Amazonian region. There are of the
swimming birds, some ducks, and a variety of small geese, sev-
eral species of the latter being unknown at the north. Of the
wading birds, there are none resembling our plovers or sand-
peeps ; but the red ibis abounds in such numbers as to obscure the
air, and the white herons and the large storks crowd the surfaces
of the pools in the forest, or congregate along their margins. The
birds allied to our gailinaceous fowls present a striking feature.
One of these, called the unicorn, is as as large as a turkey, and
has a horn-like appendage upon its head. There the gallinaceous
birds proper do not resemble those of our own country, or of the
countries of the East, their characteristic being a heavy build.

One of the glories of South America, he said, was the family of
humming-birds. They are found not only in low lands, but in all
the valleys of the Andes, in hundreds of varieties.

He observed that, as with other animals, whatever variety of
birds was noted, it was seen that they were specially circum-

316 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

scribed in their localization. Their powers of locomotion, instead of
facilitating their distribution over a wide surface, only ‘seemed to
allow them to remain ina genial clime. W ith reference to the
mammalia, the localization of the different species was still more
striking. He described several families of aquatic mammalia
found in Brazil, both cetaceous and pachydermatous—the tapir
and the peccary being the only genera of the latter. The exist-
ence of the fossil remains of mammalia, both in Brazil and in the
United States, was next spoken of at some length, and the impor-
tance of the study of these remains, in determining the origin and
distribution of animals, was alluded to. There were evidences,
the lecturer said, that the rhinoceros, the elephant, and the
megatherium, once had representatives in this country; and a
Dutch naturalist had discovered a larger number of extinct species
of animals in Brazil than now exist there of living species.

He next passed to the families of rodents, ruminants, and car-
nivorous animals, in all of which was manifested the same dissim-
ilarity to the families existing at the north, and a similar peculiar
circumscription of types. In the tropical regions, the only rodents
which approach ours in appearance are the squirrels, and these
are few in number. Inthe family of ruminants there are no bulls,
cows, sheep, or antelopes. Even the deer, so numerous in North
America, Europe, and Asia, are in Brazil reduced to a few small
species, not exceeding the size of the common goat. The whole
host of fur animals, char acterizing northern regions, are wanting,
and they are replaced by many varieties of skunks.

CLASSIFICATION OF MOLLUSCA.

In the proceedings of theEssex Institute, Salem, Mass., vol. iv.,
p. 162, is an article by Edward S. Morse on ‘* A Classification of
Mollusca, based on the Principle of Cephalization.” He adopts
the name ‘‘Saccata,” proposed by Mr. Hyatt, as more fully ex-
pressing the type of the division than the term ‘‘ Mollusca;” this
name not only expressing the plan, but being equivalent to the
titles Vertebrata, Articulata, and Radiata, and being in no way a
qualitative appellation. The gradual morphological changes of
the contents of the sac, and all other relations, are based on the
principle of cephalization. ‘* According to this principle, cephalic
power is manifested either as a mechanical, sensorial, or psychical
force. Thus the Cephalopods possess, in the greatest measure,
all three; while Gasteropods, not indicating, to any great extent,
aggressive action, may be said to manifest but little psychical
power; and the Lamellibranchiates manifest essentially only
mechanical action. We have cephalic power manifested in the
mechanical action of the foot, thus : — s

**1. Lamellibranchs — locomotion.

“*2. Gasteropods— locomotion, prehension.

«¢3. Cephalopods— locomotion, prehension, and aggression.

‘* The characters may thus be stated : —

** Saccata. —1. Animals of varied forms, without a radiate struc-
ture and without articulations.

BIOLOGY. 317

«*2. Stomach and viscera enclosed by a fleshy sac, which may be
closed or open, at either one or both ends.

*©3. Principal nerve masses consisting of ganglia, which are
adjacent to or surround the cesophagus.

«4. Intestine bending inward, or having an outward flexure.

‘© 5. Heart on the outer bend of intestine.

Holozoic, Sac open at Cephalopoda.

or Typic. anterior end, 5 Gasteropoda.

Mouth opens Sac open at

anteriorly. both ends. § Lamellibranchiata.
“SACCATA.

Phytozoic or Sac open at *

Hemitypic. posterior end. EL ay

Mouth opens ~ Brachiopoda,

posteriorly. Sac closed. Polyzoa.”

The paper is also published entire in the ‘‘ American Journal of
Science ” for July, 1866.

SILK-PRODUCING SPIDER.

Dr. Burt G. Wilbur has brought to the notice of the scientific
world a silk-producing spider, Nephila plumipes, which he believes
may become useful in the arts as a source of silk. Those inter-
ested in the discovery and habits of this spider will find full details
in the ‘‘ Atlantic Monthly,” and in the publications of the Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of Science, Boston Society
of Natural History, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He described the formation of the very large web at the meeting
of the American Association. In the first place, the Nephila
erects her scaffolding, afterwards consumed, and running about
on that she stretches out her radii, converging to a point four
times as near the topof the web as the bottom. Instead of wast-
ing time by trying to work round and round like the common
spider, impossible to do with the functional centre of her web
where she places it, she goes back and forth drawing up each
thread at the point where she attaches it to the radius with a sort
of loop, which inclines it a little toward the centre. This web is
perfectly dry and inelastic, — would never catch a fly. She begins
again where the work stopped, and covers the whole web with a
viscid and elastic gum, which arranges itself in drops, according
to the attraction of cohesion, along the web. She will not spin a
vertical web, but insists on an angle of seventy degrees, and
hangs at the functional centre, on the under side of the web. Al-
though her vignette shows eight eyes, Dr. Wilder is confident the
Nephila is blind to objects, and can only distinguish light from
darkness. When a fly is entangled, the spider goes out on a ra-
dius to devour it; but if off her radius she cannot see it, and returns
to the centre to shake the web and ascertain from the vibration
where its weight drags. He has seen two of these enormous
spiders approach each other, entirely unconscious of each other’s
presence till their legs interlocked without touching. If they
touched, ever so slightly, both would turn and run away. The

27*

’

318 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

male is to the female in weight as 1 to 125, sometimes as 1 to 150,
He seems to have only a generative function, and she carries him
about on her shoulder. They change their skin strangely; the
hard head and thorax divide evenly across the front; the soft
body is dragged out through two wounds which one might say
were across the shoulders. For some days it eats voraciously and
becomes sluggish. The top of the head snaps up; the head shows
and enlarges; it splits across the shoulders; the abdomen is drag-
ged through; the old skin is off, but it still holds the jaws, palpi,
and legs. This happens slowly at first, but he had had spiders pull
their own legs off. ‘They hang thirty minutes to harden their
membranes.
MICROSCOPIC LIFE.

Shall we consider the universe more wonderful from its vast-
ness, or its array of the minute? Shall we consider the far-off
orb, whose light is thousands of years in traversing the space
which separates it from our vision, a more impressive phenomenon
than the monad, five hundred millions of which may exist in a
drop of water? Shall we consider the revelations of the tele-
scope of the immeasurably great, more glorious evidence of the
divine order, than those of the microscope of the immeasurably
little? The terms great and small, in this world we inhabit, are
indeed relative, and we grievously err in considering that posi-
tively little which seems so to our relative forms of perception.

Under the highest magnifying powers of the microscope we
still perceive organized beings possessed of life. We find them
everywhere, in our bodies, our food, our water, our flowers, in
our gardens, in the air we breathe, in snow and in ice. ‘In
vain,” says Bory St. Vincent, ‘‘has matter been considered as
eminently brute, without life. Many observations prove that if it
is not all active by its very nature, a part of it is essentially so,
and the presence of this, operating according to certain laws, is
able to produce life in an agglomeration of the molecules; and
since these laws will always be imperfectly known, it will, at
least, be rash to maintain that an infinite intelligence did not
impose them, since they are manifested by their results.”

Ehrenberg found a few species of infusoria in the subterranean
water of mines; he met with several in some silver mines in
Russia, at the depth of fifty-six fathoms below the surface; but
he never detected them in atmospheric water, such as dew. He
also discovered that the yellow dryfog—which has often been
attributed to the tails of comets, and so alluded to by Humboldt
and Arago— observed from time to time advancing from the Cape
Verde islands towards the east, covering parts of North Africa,
Italy, and Central Europe, is composed of myriads of silicious
animalcula, carried away by the trade winds. Similar animalcula
have been found in fixed or floating icebergs at twelve degrees
north latitude, while numerous forms of the same group have been
detected in hot mineral springs.

If a few flower-stalks or a handful of green leaves be placed in
a glass of water, and allowed to remain there from two to four

BIOLOGY. 319

days, exposed to the air and to the light, at the end of that time
the water will have assumed a green, or brownish-green tinge,
and, on being submitted to examination under the microscope,
will be found to swarm with many descriptions of infusoria. How
did they come there? Some say their eggs, or ‘‘ buds,” are con-
stantly present in the air, driven about» everywhere by the wind,
and develop themselves whenever they happen to fall upon an
appropriate medium, such as putrefying vegetable substances.
Others say that the eggs form spontaneously in water containing
vegetable matter, as the eggs of other animals in the womb.

Naturalists, such as Lamarck, Oken, Geoffroy St. Hilaire, Dar-

“win, and others, consider infusoria (Monads) as the fundamental
organic substance from which all higher organisms have been pro-
gressively developed. Nature created Monads, the most simple
form of infusoria, from the gradual perfection of which, through
myriads of centuries, and amidst all kinds of physical changes,
all the higher classes of animals have been produced. On such
points, while we may persistently investigate, we may reserve our
judgment.

The Monad, the simplest form of infusorial life, consists of a
fine pellucid membrane; it forms a very minute sphere or cell,
having a few green or colored spots in its interior. It requires to
be magnified 640 times to be seen at all. Some authors say it
varies from 124,000 to 1-500th of an inch in size, according
to the species. According to Humboldt, the true monad uever
exceeds 1-3,000th of a line indiameter. It effects its locomotion
by means of cilia, fine hair-like processes which cover the whole
surface of the body, and which are constantly vibrating.

Some of the infusorial animalcula secrete a covering of hard
flint; so that the covering of infusoria is of two kinds: the one
soft and apparently membranous; the other rigid and hard, hav-
ing the appearance of a shell, though, from its flexibilty and trans-
parent nature, it is more like horn. The microscopic beings be-
longing to the class of Rhizopoda—a class higher than infusoria
— present also the latter peculiarity. This hard covering consists
sometimes of silica, and sometimes of carbonate of lime. To it
we owe the preservation of infusoria and foraminifera which have
lain for centuries upon centuries in a fossil state, in the strata of
the earth. It has been calculated that eight million individuals of
Monas crepusculum can exist within the space that would be occu-
pied by a grain of mustard-seed, the diameter of which does not
exceed one-tenth of an inch. The rapid and mysterious transition
of color which is observable in lakes, and which has often created
alarm in the minds of the superstitious, has been attributed to
infusoria. A lake of clear, transparent water will assume, for
instance, a green color in the course of the day, it will become
turbid or mud-colored about noon, when the sun brings the infu-
soria to the surface, rapidly develops them, and where they die
by millions before night. Microseopie vegetables may produce
similar results. Infusoria and rhizopoda play an important
part in the phosphorescence of the sea. The luminosity of the
waves is supposed to be entirely due to them,

820 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Fossil infusoria have been detected in great numbers. They
were first discovered in certain silicious deposits, near Berlin, but
have been since recognized in all parts of the world. The silicious
and imperishable envelop, before alluded to, enables them to be
minutely investigated. These shell-like integuments, visible only
under the microscope, constitute masses of white powder, known
as mountain meal (berg mehl, German ; farine de montagne, French).
In Swedish Lapland, under a bed of decayed moss, is found an
immense stratum of this substance. These fossil infusoria do not
of themselves constitute an aliment of sufficient nutriment to sus-
tain life; but in China, where ‘‘ mountain meal” abounds in some
districts, it is made use of to mix with other food. Infusorial earth
has been found in America at West Point, and in different locali-
tiesin New England. Some of the deposits are fifteen feet in
thickness. Richmond, Virginia, reposes on a bed composed
almost entirely of such earth.

The city of Berlin is built upon such a deposit, consisting of
microscopic animals and plants, some of which are still living and
propagate daily with great rapidity. Their existence is doubtless
maintained by the waters of the Spree, situated on a higher level,
and which filter through the deposit. It is feared that a period
will arrive when a portion of the town will fall in, on account of
the rapid development of these creatures, some of which, accord-
ing to Ehrenberg, form in the space of four days no less than
two cubic feet of new movable earth.

The polished slate of Bilin in Prussia, which is used for polish-
ing metals, glass, marble, etc., is entirely composed of the sili-
cious shells of infusoriaand other animalcula, and forms a stratum
fourteen feet thick. One cubie inch of this polished earth has
been shown by accurate measurement and calculation, to contain
forty-one millions individuals of gallionella distans, and 1,750,000,-
000 of gallionella ferruginea.

The material chalk appears to owe its origin in great part to
remains of myriads of animaleula, principally foraminifera. They
secrete a calcareous shell or covering, similar to that of the sili-
cious infusoria.

The calcareous bed of the tertiary formation, known as num-
mulite limestone, is an interesting study, on account of the enor-
mous quantity of nummulite shells — larger foraminifera — which
it contains. This limestone can be traced from the Pyrenees,
through the Alps and Apennines, into Asia Minor, and further,
through northern Africa and Egypt, into Arabia, Persia, and
northern India. A similar deposit occurs in the Paris tertiary
basin, and in that of Brussels. The fine-grained and easily
worked limestone, which affords such an excellent material for
the decorated buildings of the French capital, is almost entirely
formed of accumulated masses of the minute shells of foramin-
iferous animaleula. In this nummulite limestone, the matrix in
which the nummulites are imbedded, is itself composed of the
more minute foraminifera, and of the broken and cemented frag-
ments of the larger pieces. — Druggists’ Circular. 1866.

BIOLOGY. 821

ZOOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

Vitality of the Salmonide.— Mr. Miller has given the following
important results from his own experiments on the circulation i in
young Salmonidze, such as the European salmon, trout, grayling,
and coregonus. In the earlier state, the vitality of the Salmon-
idee has as its inferior limit— 2° C., and as the higher -- 30° C.
With trout, and with the Salmonidee in general, the necessities of
respiration increase with the temperature. Water in which the
fish live should be much more aerated, or more frequently re-
newed, when the temperature is above de 15° C., than when it
remains below + 10°C. The transportation of embryonic eggs,
and of young Salmonidez, requires much less air, or less water. 3 “at
a low temperature, than at a high temperature. The.fertilized
eggs will bear long journeys, and may be carried great distances,
if kept moist at a temperature a little above zero. The most
favorable temperature for the development of the young Salmon-
ide is between 10° and 15° C.— Amer. Journal of Science, vol. 41,
1866.

Functions of the Air Cells in Birds. —Dr. Drosier read a paper,
in 1866, before the Cambridge Philosophical Society, in which he
maintained that the air-chambers in birds are not employed to
lessen the specific gravity of the body. The floating power of
the air in the sacs and bones of the bird, when raised to the aver-
age temperature of the bird’s body, he calculated to be in a
pigeon less than a grain; therefore he maintained that the bird
Was supported in the air solely by the muscular effort exerted in
the downward stroke of the wing. Nor are the air cells designed
for aerating the blood, because ‘the vessels in them are very fine,
and spar sely scattered. He considered their true functions to be,
that, since the thoracic cells expand when the abdominal contract,
and vice versa, during the expansion and contraction of the chest,
a constant current of air is kept up through the lungs, and so
fresh air plays constantly over the capillaries i in the lungs, which
are naked.

Parturition in the Kangaroo.—M. Alix claims for M. Jules
Verreaux the discovery of the mode of parturition in the kanga-
roo. M. Verreaux kept a large number of these animals in cap-
tivity, and by attentive care day and night he was able to ascertain
the following facts. When the female feels that she is about to
expel an embryo, she applies her anterior paws to each side of
the vulva, so-as to open its lips; then she introduces her muzzle,
and receives the embryo into the buccal cavity. The aperture
of the marsupial pouch is then opened by the paws, and the em-
bryo dropped into it from the mouth, when it soon attaches itself
to the mammary gland. Both Owen and Bennett had guessed
these facts, but M. Verreaux was the first to observe them. —
Quart. Journ. of Science, 1866.

Incubation of Eggs in some of the Chromida.—In a letter from
Prof. Agassiz, dated from Brazil, Sept. 22, 1865, he says: ‘‘I have
observed a species of Geophagus, which [ have described under
the name of G. Pedroinus, the male of which carries on its Snout

822 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

a very prominent knob, which is entirely wanting in the female
and young. This same fish has a most extraordinary mode of
reproduction, The eggs pass —TI don’t know how —into the
mouth, the bottom of which they cover, between the internal
appendages of the branchiw, and especially in a pocket, formed
by the superior pharyngians, which they completely fill. There
they are hatched, and the young, free of their shell, continue to
pated until they are in a fit state to take care of themselves. I
don’t know how long this takes, but I have already met with
examples, in which the young were no longer provided with the
vitelline sae.”

Degrees of Domestication. — There are in animals three recog-
nized and distinct degrees of capacity for domestication. The first
class are animals of a ‘*‘ domesticated nature,” being those which,
when once thoroughly domesticated, continue habitually with man,
will not willingly leave him, and, if they do so accidentally, will
probably return ; among these are cows, horses, sheep, and poultry.
The second are animals capable of only an imperfect domestica-
tion. They breed freely in the homestead, and are useful to man;
but, if they escape from him, will probably not return; among
these are tamed deer, hawks and pheasants bred at home, and gold
and silver fish in private waters. A third class, sometimes called
domesticated, such as hares, rabbits, monkeys, parrots, canaries,
etc., is altogether incapable of domestication; for, whatever an
eccentric member of the species might do, they will, as a rule,
escape to savage life at the first opportunity, unless coerced by
climate or hunger. Some species require to be semi-domesticated
for centuries, before they become completely so. Without atten-
tion to these distinctions, experiments in domestication are liable
to be failures, or only partially successful.

Animality of Sponges. — Prof. H. J. Clark, in “ Silliman’s Jour-
nal” for November, 1866, communicates a paper on the animality
of the ciliate sponges, which he regards as belonging to the Pro-
tozoa. He examines specially the marine species Leucosolenia
(Grantia) botryoides, Bowerbank. He concludes as follows:
** What are the diversities of other genera of the Spongiz ciliate
I cannot more than conjecture; but seeing that one of the genera
is so closely related to the monociliate Flagellata, it can hardly be
possible that the others are very far removed; and I shall feel
warranted, therefore, in assuming, upon the premises, that the
whole group of Spongie cilate is as intimately allied with the
monociliate Infusoria Flagellata as is possible for it to be without
actually constituting, with the latter, a uniform family.”

Temperature of Birds. — Dy. Davy has a paper on this subject in
the ‘‘ Proceedings Royal Society,” No. 78. He thinks that the res-
piration of birds is less active than is commonly supposed, and that
their high temperature is maintained by their warm clothing, and
by the small loss of heat they experience through pulmonary or
cutaneous evaporation.

Muscular Power of Insects. —M. Felix Plateau has made many
experiments on the muscular force exerted by insects. By attach-
ing 4 wire to the legs of insects, he ascertains the weight they

' BIOLOGY. 323

draw on a given surface, and finds that a beetle, Donacia nym-
phea, can pull 42.7 of its own weight. If a horse were equally
powerful, he would be able to draw 25,000 kilogrammes, or more
than double that number of pounds.

On the Pterodactyle. —Mr. Seely adduces reasons for supposing
that the ‘‘ Pterodactyie was a quadruped, and, when not flying,
carried its wings folded up in front of the fore limbs.” From a
consideration of various points of structure, he concludes that the
“« Pterodactyle’s place in nature appears to be side by side with
the birds, between the reptiles and the mammals.”

New Mammal from China. — A French missionary, M. Armand
David, having sent home skins, etc., of the mi-lou, or sseu-pou-
siang, a large sort of stag, M. Alph. Milne-Edwards describes it
to the French Academy. The second Chinese name signifies ‘‘ the
four discordant characters,” the creature resembling a stag in its
horns, a cow in its feet, a camel in its neck, and an ass in its tail.
The horns, which belong only to the male, are large and branched,
but differ in some important particulars from the antlers of the
stag. The fur is rough and gray, with a black line on the back
and breast. The tail, instead of being short and thick, as is com-
mon with stags, is very long, and terminates in a tuft of long hair.
The mi-lou is as big as a large stag. Herds of them live in an im-
perial park some distance from Pekin; but the Chinese do not
know where they came from, or on what date they first arrived.
M. David thinks that Huc and Gabet spoke of the mi-lou in de-
scribing ‘‘ reindeer,” which they saw beyond Koukou-noor, about
lat. 36°. M. Milne-Edwards proposes to call the animal Hlaphu-
rus Davidionis. — Intellectual Observer, July, 1866.

Historie Age of the Dog. —M. Quatrefages states that in China
the exact period of the introduction of the dog is known, viz., in
the year B. C. 1122, about 3,000 years ago, or, about the period
of the siege of Troy. The dog appears, from what he asserts, to
be a domesticated jackal, and the jackal a savage dog.

Chinese Beauty's Foot. — On examination, no toe was visible but
the big toe; the others had been doubled under the sole, with
which they had become incorporated, and could not be distin-
guished from it except by the white seams and scars that deeply
furrowed the skin. The instep was marked by the vestiges of
large ulcers, consequent on the violence used to bend it into a
lump, and in form, as well as in color, was like a dumpling ; the
limb from the foot to the knee was withered and flaccid as that of
one long paralyzed. — Travels in Mantchou Tartary.

Voices of Fish. —M. Dufossé summed up a memoir on this sub-
ject before the French Academy with these general conclusions :
«* Anatomy, physiology, and the history of the manners of animals
all agree in demonstrating that nature has been far from refusing
to all fishes the gift of expressing by sounds their instinctive sen-
sations; but she has not accorded to these beings that unity of
mechanism in the formation of sonorous vibrations which she has
done in the first three classes of the vertebrates. There are in
the organization of fishes at least three essentially distinct mech-
anisms, of gradually diminishing physiological value. Many

324 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

species have the power of emitting commensurable sounds,
musical, and engendered by a mechanism of which muscular vi-
bration is the principal motive-power; others can give birth to
breathing sounds like those which many reptiles emit; and finally
others have only the power of making stridulent noise s, the effect
of a coarse mechanism, such as is found in a great number of in-
sects. It would be a misconception of the phy siological defini-
tion of the word voice, to use that word for the purpose of desig-
nating sounds so very different one from another; and especially
the commensurable sounds which fishes produce by means of
three organic mechanisms which have no resemblance to each
other.”

Vision of Fish and Amphibia.—M. Plateau, of Ghent, has
recently published a sketch of his researches on this subject. His
investigations were only extended to fresh-water fish, owing to
the difficulty of procuring others in a fresh state. He finds that
the cornea is flattened in the centre, but that a curvature is ver
apparent at the border. The crystalline lens is always spheri te
and the liquid which fills the cavity of the eye is of the same, or
nearly the same specific gravity as water. For purposes of com-
parison he has examined the eyes of aquatic birds, and of frogs,
and of some aquatic mammalia, and he finds that in all the cornea
is sensibly flattened in the centre, and the crystalline lens ap-
proaches the form of a sphere. In order to show that in the fish
vision is as distinct in air as in water, and that this distinction is
independent of any power of accomodation, he prepared a recently
removed eye in such a manner as to show the formation of the
image of external objects. He found that the distances of distinct
vision were sensibly the same, whether the organ was in air or
immersed in water. These experiments were made upon the
eyes of two or three kinds of fresh-water fish and frogs. He did
not extend them to the eyes of aquatic birds and mammals, but
instances the similarity of structure with the eyes of fishasa proof
that the same principle prevails in bothcases. “The paper was pre-
sented to the Belgian Academy.

The Polynesians and their Migrations. —M. Quatrefages has just
published a book on this subject. His conclusions are these :
‘*The Polynesians were not created on the spot, nor are they the
last remains of pre-existing populations. Voluntary migrations
have brought them into the archipelago of Oceanica. From their
type, we may gather their origin; it is to be found in the Asiatic

archipelago, “In some of these micrations, they would fall in
with some families of the black race, who might have been cast
away on the same islands by the chances of the sea. He consid-
ers that none of these migrations are of a date anterior to the first
Olympiad; and the great majority occurred about the commence-
ment of our epoch. me

Preservation of Zoblogical Specimens with their Natural Colors. —
Mr. A. E. Verrill thus writes to ‘‘Silliman’s Journal”: ‘* Star-
fishes may be dried, so as to retain their natural colors almost
unimpaired, by immersing them in alcohol of moderate strength
for about a minute, or just long enough to destroy the life and

BIOLOGY. 825

produce contraction of the tissues, and afterward drying them
rapidly by artificial heat. The drying is best effected by placing
them upon an open cloth stretched tightly upon a frame, and sup-
ported a few feet above a stove. Care should be taken not to
raise the heat too high, as the green shades change to red at a
temperature near that of boiling water. By this process I have
succeeded in preserving the delicate shades of red, purple, and
orange, of the species found on the coast of New England, speci-
mens of which are in the Museum of Yale College. The same
process is equally applicable to Echini and Crustacea.”

Silk from Eggs of Fish. — A French savant has lately discovered
that certain fish contain eggs enveloped in veritable silk cocoons.
Each egg measures thirty-five centimetres long by thirteen broad,
and weighs two hundred and forty grammes, and is covered with
silky filaments, which may be employed in weaving.

The Little Folks of Africa.—'The small people of Equatorial
Africa, recently discovered by Du Chaillu, about 1° and 2° south
latitude and 12° east longitude, are described as of migratory
habits, and as changing their temporary shelter under trees from
one place to another. While the inhabitants of this mountain
region are lighter in color than those of the sea-shore, these
Obongo are still less dark. They have only short tufts of hair
upon their heads, and are thus strikingly distinguished from the
settled inhabltants, who wear large turrets of hair upon their
heads. ‘The following are the measurements I was enabled to
make: The only adult male measured four feet and six inches,
but as one of the women reached five feet and one quarter of an
inch (she being extraordinarily tall), I have no doubt some of the
men are equally tall, and some perhaps taller. The other women
I measured had the following height: four feet one inch, four
feet seven and one-quarter inches, four feet feet five inches, and
the smallest, four feet and one-quarter of an inch.”

PALZONTOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

Gigantic Dinosaurian in the Oretaceous of New Jersey. —E. D.
Cope exhibited the remains of a gigantic extinct Dinosaurian-from
the cretaceous green sand of New Jersey, viz., portions of the
under jaw with teeth, of the scapular arch, including supposed
clavicles, two humeri, left femur, right tibia and fibula, numerous
phalanges, lumbar, sacral, and caudal vertebrz, and numerous
undetermined fragments. Remains were found about two miles
south of Barnesboro,’ Gloucester County, N. J. The bones were
taken from about twenty feet below the surface in the top of the
“chocolate” bed, which immediately underlies the green stratum,
which is of such value as manure.

The discovery of this animal fills a hiatus in the cretaceous
fauna, revealing the carnivorous enemy of the great herbivorous
Hadrosaurus. as the Dinodon was related to the Trachodon of the
Nebraska beds, and the Megalosaurus to the Iguanodon of the
European Wealden and Oolite. In size this creature equalled the
Megalosaurus, and with it and Dinodon constituted the most for-

28

326 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

midable type of rapacious terrestrial vertebrates of which we have
any knowledge. In its dentition and huge prehensile claws it
resembled closely Megalosaurus ; but the femur, resembling in its
proximal regions more nearly that of the Iguanodon, indicated the
probable existence of other equally important differences, and its
pertaining to another genus. He proposed the name of Lelaps
aquilunguis. — Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philad., 1866.

Discovery of a Mastodon at Cohoes, N. Y.— During some recent
excavations (September, 1866) made by the Harmony Mills Co.,
Cohoes (about one thousand feet below Cohoes Falls), a number
of pot holes were discovered in an ancient bed of the Mohawk
River, one of which contained the lower jaw of a mastodon imbed-
ded in peat and drift wood. These pot holes are worn in the Hud-
son River shale, about a hundred feet above the present bed of the
Mohawk, and about a mile from where it enters the Hudson. The
one containing the remains was about two hundred and fifty feet
from the south bank of the Mohawk. The jaw, which was in an
excellent state of preservation, measured about twenty-eight
inches in length and twenty-two in breadth between the condyles:
on the right side there was one molar, and on the left two, one of
which was four inches and the other six and one-half inches in
length. A considerable portion of the skeleton has been found, in
a good state of preservation, and evidently belongs to the common
mastodon of North America. The imperfect ossification of the
epiphyses shows that the animal was comparatively young, though
afemale. The pit in which the remains were found was about
forty feet deep; the arrangement of the materials showed that
they had been deposited rapidly, and a part of a beaver dam, found
near the bottom, would indicate that the whole had been swept in
by a freshet. No other animal remains were found except those
already mentioned, although the ‘‘ beaver sticks” probably indi-
cate one contemporary of the mastodon.

Ichthyosaurian Skin. — A specimen of the J. tenuwirostris, re-
cently obtained at Barrow-on-Soar, shows a large extension of the
dermal covering upon the surface of the slab, seeming to indicate
that the animal had a prominent ridge along the dorsal region,
similar in appearance to that which the males of the pond-newt
( Triton crisiatus) present in the spring.

New Fossil Reptile. —M. D’Archiac has recently described, be-
fore the French Academy of Sciences, a new fossil reptile found
by M. Frossard in the bituminous schist neaa Autun, Saone et
Loire. There were found with these remains some fish, coprolites,
and plants, at a depth of two metres below a quaternary deposit,
in a stratum five to six metres thick, two and a half of which are
now worked for the manufacture of mineral oil. The new reptile
belongs to Prof. Owen’s Ganocephali, strange vertebrates, with
ill-defined characters, apparently representing the embryo age of
reptiles, just as the Ganoids, with incompletely ossified vertebra,
represent the embryo age of fishes. The new fossil has been called
Actinodon.

Dinosaurian Reptile from the Stromberg Mountains, So. Africa. —
Prof. T. H. Huxley exhibited the specimen to the Geological So-

BIOLOGY. 297

ciety, in November, 1866. It is a portion of a right femur, twen-
ty-five and a half inches long, so that the entire bone may be safely
assumed to have exceeded thirty inches in length. The peculiar
form of the bone, and the characters and position of the trochanters,
leave no doubt of the Dinosaurian affinities of the reptile to which
it belonged, which must have been comparable in point of size to
its near allies, the Megalosaurus and the Iguanodon. To the
former of these it possesses the closest affinity, but differs in the
proportional size and form of its trochanters, and in its much
heavier proportions; and the author proposes for it the name of
Euskelosaurus Brownii.

Anthrakerpeton, a New Fossil Reptile. — Prof. Owen has described
a new fossil reptile, under the above name, from the coal beds of
Llantrissent, Glamorganshire, Wales, from the lower part of the
*‘middle,” if not from the upper of the ‘‘ lower” coal measures.
It is intermediate in size between Baphetes and Dendrerpeton ;
the ribs are longer than in any known Labyrinthodont, and with
the bones of the limbs indicate that the animal belonged to that
low air-breathing type which, with developmental condition of the
bones like those in some fishes, and very common in Devonian,
showed forms of the skeleton more like those in Saurian reptiles
than in the modern air-breathing Batrachians. — Reader, Jan.7, ’65

New Dinosaurian. — A new dinosaurian has been found in the
Wealden Formation, Isle of Wight, by Rev. W. Fox. The ani-
mal, for which Prof. Owen has proposed the name of Polyacanthus,
was over 6 feet long from the shoulder to the rump, had a massive
tail 5 feet long, legs about 4 feet long, and a broad short foot.
It had a bony armor of plates 4 an inch to 4 inches broad and $
inch thick, excepting along the back, over which there was a
great bony shield; and along the sides of the body and tail there
were spine-like bones, some of which are 15 inches long and
weigh 7 pounds.

Archeopteryz. —On one of the two slabs from Solenhofen con-
taining remains of the Archeopteryx, there is a ‘‘ crescent shaped
protuberance, which is pronounced by Mr. Evans to have been
due to the remains of the cranium of the Archzeopteryx, and even
the form of the brain cavity and position of the brain, ~ both orni-
thic in character, —are supposed to be made out.”

Quadruped Birds. — In a supplementary volume to Prof. Hitch-
cock’s Work ‘*On the Ichnology of the Connecticut Valley,” fur-
ther considerations are adduced in favor of the bird-like and quad-
rupedal character of the foot-marks. Reptilian birds and _ bird-
like reptiles will probably be discovered, filling out the class
Saurornia, lately proposed by Mr. Seely for the Pterodactyles.
Evidence is now accumulating of many links between the reptile
and the bird, already considered as most closely related. We
have a bird with teeth, and a long tail and hooks on its wings in
the Archeopteryx ; we have a reptile with wings and probably
plumage in the Pterodactyle; and now it appears, from the evi-
dence of the Connecticut sandstones, that there existed strange
four-footed birds, the wings probably provided with feet-like
extremities, also possessing tails, and covered with feathers.

328 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

CLIMBING PLANTS. BY CHARLES DARWIN.

**Plants become climbers in order to reach the light, and ex-
pose a large surface of leaves to its action and that of the free air.
Their advantage is, that they do it with wonderfully little expendi-
ture of organized matter in comparison with trees, which have to
support a heavy load of branches by a massive trunk. Of the
different sorts of climbers, hook-climbers are the least efficient, at
least in temperate climates, as they climb only in the midst of an
entangled mass of vegetation. Next are root-climbers, which
are admirably adapted to ascend naked faces of rock; but when
they climb trees, they must keep much in the shade, and follow
the trunk, for their rootlets can adhere only by long-continued
and close contact with a steady surface. Third, spiral-twiners,
with leaf-climbers and tendril-bearers, which agree in their power
of spontaneously revolving and of grasping objects which they
reach, are the most numerous in kinds, and most perfect in mech-
anism; they can easily pass from branch to branch, and securely
ramble over a wide and sun-lit surface.” . . . ‘Why have
nearly all the plants in so many aboriginally twining groups been
converted into leaf-climbers or tendril-bearers? Of what advan-
tage could this have been to them? Why did they not remain
simple twiners? We can see several reasons. It might be an
advantage to a plant .to acquire a thicker stem, with short inter-
nodes, bearing many or large leaves ;"and such stems are ill-fitted
for twining. Any one who will look, during windy weather at
twining plants, will see that they are easily blown from their sup-
port; not so with tendril-bearers or leaf-climbers, for they quickly
and firmly grasp their support by a much more efficient kind of
movement. . . . From possessing the power of movement
or contact, a tendril can be made very long and thin; so that
little organic matter is expended in their development, and yeta
wide circle is swept.” — Journal of Linnean Society, 1866.

VEGETABLE PARASITES OF MAN.

At a recent meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Society, a
paper was read by Dr. Tilbury Fox, on the “‘ Vegetable Para-
sitism of Living Beings,” of no little interest, as bearing upon the
‘*blue mist” question raised by Mr. Glaisher. It has been sug-
gested that the blue mist may be due to the presence in the
atmosphere of the spores of low forms of vegetable life. Dr.
Fox’s paper embraced an account of the life and influence of
minute fungi in general; showed that the presence of cell-struc-
tures was to be expected in all situations to which the air has
access, their discovery hitherto having been delayed by the
absence of ebservation and the want of a sufficiently high-pow-
ered microscope. They are especially prevalent at such seasons
as the present, in which rusts and mildews have abounded.
These germs are very light, and can be easily waited by the air
from place to place. They seem not only to be found in spots acces-

BIOLOGY. 329

sible to the external air, but also deep in the tissues of living
things, being carried inwards bodily by the growing tissues, in
the same way that particles of charcoal get into the interior of the
intestinal vessels running to the liver. In ordinary ‘‘ring-worm,”
the fungi which are the cause of the disease, according to Dr. Fox,
get into the hair follicle, reach the root, and are carried up by the
growing shaft into the body of the hair. In like way, rusts effect
an entrance within the leaves of grown-up plants, but at a very
early date, through the first cotyledonous leaves. We are led to
suppose that the entrance of mildews and rusts is oftentimes at a
very early date, and that the germs lie dormant, often for a long
time, till the favorable opportunity arrives for their development.
Fungi never appear to flourish on healthy surfaces, but always
on those which belong to devitalized beings, and only constitute
disease when they are developed to an excessive amount. The
author entered into the question of the polymorphism of fungi, and
the effects they produce in disease, showing that these are chemi-
ical, mechanical, and vital. After speaking especially of ring-
worm, he concluded — and this is the interesting point in reference
to the ‘“‘blue mist’”—that the prevalence in undue amount of
microscopic fungi is always coincident with that of epidemic dis-
eases; that the two could not be regarded as cause and effect, but
were both helped out by the same influence. Whatever debilitates
man renders him more liable to epidemic disease, and whatever
induces an unhealthy state of vegetation favors the rapid devel-
opment upon it of fungi such as constitute rusts, moulds, and
mildews ; but these do not seem to be capable of producing any-
thing like epidemic poison, which is probably not vegetable in
nature. The existence, then, of the ‘ blue mist,” supposing it to
be due to vegetable germs, can only be looked upon as a coinci-
dence as far as cholera is concerned. — Reader, 1866.

IN WHAT PARTS OF PLANTS THE POTASH RESIDES.

On this subject some curious chemico-agricultural inquiries have
recently been reported to the French Academy by Mr. Isidore
Pierre. The object of this savant’s researches was to discover
in what parts of cereal plants, and during what seasons, potash is
most abundant. In carrying out his investigations, the greatest
care was taken to insure the examination of the corresponding
parts of several specimens of corn. The plants were analyzed
before flowering, in bloom, and in the fruit-time. From a great
number of experiments the author draws the following conclusions :
1. That in the various parts of the plant (leaves, nodes, and inter-
nodes), the proportion of potash increases in a well-marked man-
ner as we pass from the lower to the upper parts. 2. That in
parts of the same name and position this proportion tends to
diminish as the plant advances towards the period of ripening.
Sometimes this diminution is much less marked in the leaves than
in the nodes and internodes. It seems that potash salts play a
more important part in the life of plants than soda salts ; in fact, it
is seen that the former predominate in those parts, while soda is

ai

330 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

generally found most abundant in the structures which are eavrli-
est developed, and whose office is rather temporary, or, at least,
of secondary importance. From these facts, it will be seen that
the adversaries of the employment of common salt as a manure
have a new argument in their favor, so far as relates to the culti-
vation of corn. The nodes of cereals contain an enormous quan-
tity of potash, more than 4.5 per cent. of their entire weight, and
nearly half that of their ashes.

THE VINEGAR PLANT.

The term Vinegar Plant is applied to a tough, leathery forma-
tion, which under certain circumstances makes its appearance in
saccharine solutions, undergoing the acetous fermentation. It is,
no doubt, essentially the same plant as that which occurs in a less
compact form in the French vinegar vats, and which encrusts the
brush-twigs or shavings used in the German process.

Vinegar plants are frequently employed in domestic economy,
for the manufacture of vinegar; and a well-grown specimen bears
considerable resemblance to a piece of buckskin leather that has
been soaked in water. If a young vinegar plant is placed ina vessel
containing half a gallon of brown sugar and water, to which a
little treacle may be added, and is kept in a dark, warm place, it
grows rapidly, chiefly by accession to its lower surface, and it ex-
tends laterally until it reaches the sides of the vessel, the form of
which it assumes. In a month or six weeks, the saccharine solu-
tion ‘will be converted into strong, well-flavored vinegar. The
plant is then removed, and the vinegar is boiled to kill the spores
it contains.

At the close of this process of vinegar-making, the plant will be
found to have increased greatly in thickness, and the under or
newly-formed portions will be of a softer and looser texture than
the upper layers. Inthis condition the plant is readily divided by
horizontal splitting into two or more layers, one of which, if
placed in a fresh solution, will soon excite the vinegar fermenta-
tion, and increase in bulk, while the acetic acid is being formed.
— Microscopic Quarterly, April, 1865.

THE EUCALYPTUS.

The Eucalyptus of Australia, recently introduced into the ‘ Jar-
din d’Acclimation” of Algiers, will become of much importance
in the French colonies of Algiers.

In less than three years it has attained a height of ten ‘* metres,”
whilst in Australia it often reaches that of one hundred and five
“* metres”? and above, and its diameter, at one ‘‘ metre” from the
ground, is about seven ‘‘metres” and more. The boards made
out of it are without any imperfection, and their length is of about
sixty ‘‘metres.” The wood, whichis very hard, and of a density
superior to that of oak, is worked with great facility when it is yet
green. As it is of different shades, and will take a beautiful
polish, it is of great use in cabinet-work.

BIOLOGY. 301

The astringent gum, known by the name of ‘“‘kina,” is obtained
by an incision in the bark of this tree. The flowers are white and
balsamic, and are much liked by the bees. The Eucalyptus is
tap-rooted; that is to say, its roots penetrate vertically into the
ground. It is an evergreen, and the leaves resemble those of the
laurel. When the tree has already the height of about forty
‘* metres,” the lateral branches develop themselves in a way which
is really extraordinary. Some of them measure about thirty -
‘*metres” in length. Imagine a tree higher than one hundred
‘‘metres,” the top of which has a circumference of nearly two
hundred ‘ metres,” as large as the roof of a church. The seed of
the Eucalyptus is very small, and looks like tobacco-seed. Its
lateral branches are very numerous, and closely collected around
the principal stem.

BOTANY OF BRAZIL.

The following facts are from notes taken of Prof. Agassiz’s lec-
tures before the Lowell Institute, Boston, Mass., in October, 1866,
from his personal examination in Brazil: —

In speaking of the extraordinarily profuse vegetation of the
valley of the Amazon, Professor Agassiz said it covered the whole
surface of the land, and encroached upon the water. Indeed, the
quantity of water plants is as remarkable as that of terrestrial
plants. The density of the land vegetation is so great that the
only means of traversing the country is by the water courses, and,
when the traveller leaves these, he must cut his way with the axe ;
so that, however civilization may extend here, there can never be
any extensive land communication, on account of the great
expenditure which would be required for bridges.

Words cannot express the variety, beauty, and combinations of
this vegetation. One of its most striking characteristics is its het-
erogeneity. There are not simply a few kinds found together,
presenting sameness and monotony, as at the north. On the con-
trary, there are hardly ever two trees of the same kind, or two
plants of the same species, found side by side. The trees do not
stand alone, in open spaces, but are clothed and interlaced with
vines, creepers, and parasites, hard to penetrate. This character
of the vegetation extends over the whole basin. In the lakes the
aquatic plants grow so thickly that the traveller, threading his
way among them with a boat, sails for miles without seeing either
water or earth.

He observed that the most prominent feature of the Amazonian
vegetation is the presence of innumerable palms, in the form of
trees, bushes, and creepers. We look in vain for pines, maples,
oaks, willow, and other trees familiar to us in the United States.
The aspect of vegetation, the character of the trees, and their
combinations, change as we travel. Of the palms, one variety
rises to the height of one hundred feet before sending out its
leaves, which crown its top like a dome. Another variety sends
out its leaves immediately from the root. The flowers and fruit
of the palms also vary. Some of them bear nuts of peculiar form,
others berries, and the fruit of some of them strongly resembles

332 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

peaches, cherries, and grapes. Each region produces its peculiar
fruit. The leaves of some of the species were so large, that he had
seen two men sitting in the axil of one of them. Some of these
leaves measure thirty to forty feet in length, and ten to fifteen feet
in width; and even when dry one of them was a heayy load for
one man to drag.

In examining the ground of the diversity of the palms, he said
he had found it to rest on the arrangement of the leaves. The
result of the investigation of this arrangement was the discovery
that the leaves occupy as much space as possible, and thereby get
as much of the surrounding influences as it is possible for them to
obtain. All palms might be divided into two groups, those hay-
ing fan-shaped leaves, and those having pinnate or feather-shaped
leaves. It had been his study to ascertain which of these was the
lower and which the higher order. Observing that the leaves
first germinating were fan-shaped, and that the youngest palms
bore fan-shaped leaves, and considering that the younger palm is
inferior to the adult, he had no doubt that the fan-leaved palms
were the lower order, and were the first to appear upon the earth.
This was an important fact to be known in the investigation of
fossils, and in comparing the embryonic with the later conditions.

Passing to other families of plants, he said there were other rep-
resentatives quite as abundant as the palms. One of the most
surprising features of the vegetation were the innumerable or-
chide, growing as parasites upon other plants, twining around
them, or hanging from them, in great variety of colors. Nearest
akin to these were the various species of the banana family. Of
plants allied to our own trees there were none. There was not a
single representative of the catkin family, except a small willow
growing in the mud-flats of the Amazon. Of the herbaceous plants
found in our latitude, such as the ranunculus and the mustard-
plant, there were no representatives. The pepper family had nu-
merous representatives, some growing to stately trees. There
were also numerous trees of the genus Laurus, such as sassafras,
camphor, and cinnamon.

He called attention to a very peculiar feature of Brazilian veg-
etation, namely, the stately forms of plants which with us are
but humble plants. These also have a marvellous diversity of
foliage and beauty of flowers. The papilionaceous plants have a
diversity of which our plants give us no idea. Another peculiar
feature, is that plants widely differing from our own have uses
similar to those of other families at the north, bearing fruits re-
sembling nuts, peaches, and plums of northern growth. There is
also an extraordinary diversity of timber and wood suitable for
cabinet work, delicious fruits, and great wealth of medicinal plants
and dyewoods.

BOTANICAL SUMMARY.

Sand Food-Plant of Sonora.— Dr. Torrey has described and
figured in the eighth volume of the ‘‘ Annals of the Lyceum of
Natural History,” New York, the Ammobroma Sonore, an extraor-

BIOLOGY. 333

dinary root-parasitic plant, of the region at the head of the Gulf
of California. It had been briefly noticed before as a new genus,
allied to the rare Mexican Corallophyllum (Kunth), or Lennoa
(Lexarza), and to the little-known Californian Pholisma (Nuttal).-
These strange plants, though justly regarded rather Monotro-
paceous than Orobanchaceous, are still obscure. Growing in a
sandy desert, almost covered by the sand in which it lies, this
plant was found by its discoverer, Col. A. B. Gray, to form a con-
siderable part of the sustenance of the Papigos Indians. It is said
to be very luscious when first gathered and cooked, resembling in
taste the sweet potato, but far more delicate.

Absorption of Carbonic Acid by Plants. —M. Boussingault has
recently made some experiments, reported in vol. lx., ‘* Comptes
Rendus,” on the absorption and assimilation of carbonic acid by
leaves exposed to sun-light. His results are as follows: 1. Leaves
exposed to the sun in pure carbonic acid do not decompose this
gas, or, if they do, it is with extreme slowness. 2. Leaves ex-
posed in a mixture of carbonic acid and atmospheric air rapidly
decompose the former gas; oxygen does not seem to interfere in
the phenomenon. 3. Carbonic acid is rapidly decomposed by
leaves when that gas is mixed with either hydrogen or nitrogen.
The author has pointed out some analogies of these phenomena to
the slow combustion of phosphorus under certain circumstances ;
thus, phosphorus placed in pure oxygen does not become lumin-
ous, and does not burn, or, if it does, burns with excessive slow-
ness ; ina mixture of oxygen and atmospheric air, it burns rapidly ;
it also burns when placed in oxygen mixed with hydrogen, nitro-
gen, or carbonic acid. Phosphorus, which does not burn in pure
oxygen at an ordinary pressure, becomes combustible when the
gas is rarefied; and M. Boussingault found that, similarly, a leaf
placed in rarefied pure carbonic acid decomposed the gas and
evolved oxygen. See also vol. lxi., ‘‘ Comptes Rendus,” for a con-
tinuation of his experiments.

The Gigantic Sequoia. —M. De Candolle, President of the Lon-
don International Horticultural Exhibition, held in May, 1866, an-
nounced that a recent very exact measurement had been made of
the diameter of the trunk of one of the gigantic Sequoias of Cali-
fornia. The tree was the base of the ‘‘ Old Maid,” the stump of
which now serves as a dancing floor; the measurement was made
by Mr. De La Rue and his assistant, on a slip of paper stretched
across the whole diameter of the section (26 feet 5 inches, at 6 feet
from the ground), and the rings were carefully counted and marked
on the slip, —on one semi-diameter 1,223, on the other 1245; the
mean 1,234, -— making the tree about 1,225 years old.

Rotting of Fruits. — M. C. Davaine has presented to the French
Academy of Sciences a note on the ‘ Rotting of Fruits,” in which
he states that the natural rotting of fruits is ordinarily due to the
development of the microscopic fungi, Mucor mucedo and Peni-
cillum glaucum. - The thicker the epidermis of a fruit, the longer
it will keep. The author points out the difference in the progress
of the change under the influence of the two fungi; that produced
by Mucor being much more rapid than that set up by Penicillum.

3834 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. :

Temperature at which Plants Germinate. — According to Alph. De
Candolle, in the ‘* Proceedings of the Société Helvetique des Sci.
Nat.,” 1866, white mustard seed will germinate below 32° FF
Trifolium repens at a little above 42° F.; Indian corn at 48° F.,
but not below 42° F.; sesamum at 55.4° F.; melon seed at 63° F.
Seeds will not germinate above certain temperatures, varying with
their species and the amount of moisture present; thus the greater
part of some 7’. repens seed did not germinate above 83° F. Thus,
seeds only germinate between certain limits of temperature, and
those which can only do so within narrow limits are least able to
extend themselves geographically.

The Change of Leaves. —The cause of the beautiful tints which
our foliage assumes during the autumnal months has long been
a subject of investigation, and many are the hypotheses that have
been put forth in explanation.

M. Frémy, who has devoted considerable attention to this sub-
ject, stated, as the result of a series of experiments, that he had
succeeded in resolving the green coloring matter of the leaf
(chlorophyll) into two components ; one, a yellowish substance, he
called phylloxanthin, the other, a blue matter, for which he pro-
posed the name pihyllocyanin. By considering the blue as more
evanescent, the different shades of yellow leaves might be pro-
duced.

These views were very generally accepted, till recently Frémy
has again appeared, essentially retracting his original views. He
now gives, as the result of subsequent experiments, the new sup-
position that chlorophyllis a simple green coloring matter very
unfixed, being influenced by vegetation, thus passing through
varied modifications.

M. Carey Lea, of Philadelphia, has lately advanced a theory in
which he considers light as the primary cause, producing photo-
graphic changes of color.

During the healthy state of the leaf, vitality counteracts this
influence, but as the fall approaches the frost begins its work;
the petioles dry up, the leaf gradually loses its firm hold upon the
branch, then the action of light, no longer held in check by the
vital principle, predominates, the leaf falls away, but in fading
acquires those brilliant hues that variegate our forests. — Scientific
American.

The Giant Radish of Java. —The Raphanus caudatus, the giant
radish of Java, where it is known as Mougri, has been recently
introduced into England, and is found to thrive extremely well in
common gardens, the seeds germinating easily, and the plants
producing a profusion of blossom in about eight weeks, the plant
often making a growth of five or six inches in twenty-four hours.
The root is not eaten, only the pods, which often attain a length
of three feet. The plants should be tied upright, as they produce
from fifteen to twenty pods each, growing in fantastic and irreg-
ular shapes. Eaten raw, the Raphanus has much the flavor of the
most delicate radish, and is a great addition toa salad. When
boiled, it should be served up on a toast like asparagus, which it
resembles in flavor, but with a dash of the taste of early green
peas added. The pods also make a good pickle.

BIOLOGY. 335

Sources of Theine.— The Kola-nut of tropical West Africa, the
seeds of which have from time immemorial been highly prized as
a tonic by the natives of that region, have lately been shown by
Mr. Daniell and Dr. Attfield, in two papers read by them before
the Pharmaceutical Society, to contain theine. The Kola-tree
(Cola acuminata, Robert Brown), also known by the name Ster-
culia acuminata, belongs to the natural order Sterculiacee. In
Soudan its seeds are called ‘‘ guru-nuts.” It is the fifth source of
the alkaloid theine or caffeine with which we are at present ac-
quainted. The others are the tea-tree Thea, the coffee-tree Cof-
fea Arabica, the Paraguay tree or maté Ilex Paraguayensis, and
guarana Paullinia sorbilis. ‘The seeds of the latter are extensively
used in Brazil for the preparation of a sort of cocoa. It has often
been remarked that theine is contained in the beverages in use
among three-fourths of the human race. The discovery of this
alkaloid in the kola-nut, which is mentioned by all African travel-
lers as being an important article of commerce, still further con-
firms the truth of this remark.

Number of Useful Plants. —‘‘Cosmos” states that, according
to a German author, the number of useful plants has risen to
about 12,000; but it must be remembered that these researches
have been completed only in certain parts of the earth. There
are no less than 2,500 known economic plants, among which are
reckoned 1,100 edible fruits, berries, and seeds; 50 cereals; 40
uncultivated edible graminaceous seeds ; 23 of other families ; 260
comestible rhizomes, roots and tubers; 37 onions; 420 vegetables
and salads; 40 palms; 32 varieties of arrowroot; 31 sugars; 40
saleps. Vinous drinks are obtained from 200 plants; aromatics
from 266. There are 50 substitutes for coffee; 129 for tea. Tan-
nin is present in 140 plants; caoutchouc in 96; gutta-percha in
7; resin and balsamic gums in 3889; wax in 10; grease and
essential oils in 330; 88 plants contain potash, soda, and iodine;
650 contain dyes; 47 soap; 250 fibres which serve for weaving;
44 are used for paper-making ; 48 give materials for roofing; 100
are employed for hurdles and copses. In building, 740 are used;
and there are 615 known poisonous plants. According to Endlicher,
out of the 278 known natural families, 18 only seem, up to the
present time, to be perfectly useless.

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

The following catalogue has been compiled expressly for the
“Scientific American,” and embraces all the members of the solar
system known up to January 1, 1866, except those comets whose
elliptical orbits have not been well ascertained. Although America

was late in the field of astronomical research, she has shared with
the old world the glory of some of the erandest discoveries in
ake ge We can claim a new ring and satellite to the planet
Saturn, eleven planets, and upwards of twenty comets : —

Name. By whom and when discovered. Period of revolution.
Mercury ., The ancients. .. . 2% 2 « «' 5) & \s ‘solhidayaa
Wenus.. + s)% J : ata! we baile, ABIES
Earth . ° “ ala et Sit ake ius ogra elSts fon ie
Mars . KE od » - Lyzdiign

Geres:- .... « . Piazza, at Palermo, Jan., ESODs, ots “
Pallas . . . ~- Olbers, Bremen, March 28,1802. . . .. . 4yrs7m

Si es Harding, Gottingen, Sept. 1, 1804. 56D 4 yrs 4m
Vesta . . ~ ~ Olbers, Bremen, Dec. 29,1807. . . . . . 3: yrs Tan
Watreas<) ., ~ -s Hencke, Driessen, March 8, TBhb we! Soft i 4 yrs lm
Bebo st A. .e.lis ec July 1, 1847. <jvis,| 9 3 Jeeps

Tris - « + «+ Hind, London, Aug. 13, 1847. * <ehjveh ~e, ve) 2, pV TBM
HOLOT ERs a) hoy sey 1m ne oe Oct. 18, 1 je tee ot yrs 3m
Metis . . . . Graham, Ireland, April 25, 1848. o «co Opts oy
Hygeia AF ahaa DeGasparis, Naples, April 12, 1849. . . . . 6 yrsivim

Parthenope . . aig May 11,1850. . . . . 3yrslOm
Victoria . . . Hind, London, Sept. 13, 1850. <p yl Nee, Lye yee
Egeria . . . . DeGasparis, Naples, Nov. 2,.1850... «. «. « Ayre
Irene . . . . Hind, London, May 19, 1851. Ss - 4yrs 2m
Eunomia .. . DeGasparis, Naples, July 29, 1851. . . 4yrs 4m

WAvOHA Ss) 4. 5. e - March Ii, 1852. : ; . 5 yrs
Thetis . . . . R. Luther, Bilk, Ger., April 17, 1852. ooo, Oo Yrs
Melpomene . . Hind, London, June 24, TB520 4) ss . . Syrs 6m

Fortuna ... “«< Aug: 22, 1852. Sin; so, 3 SySwoeaE
Massilia .. . ieteten Naples { Sept. 19, 1852. of spe, * Go yrs. oan
Lutetia . . . Goldschmidt, Paris, Naw 15,1852. . . . .. dyrsl0im
Calliope . . . Hind, London, Nov. 16, 1852. sy vite some DIES

JUCESITS, 8 as 3 “ Dee. 15, 1852. ob ss oud eyTapnt
Themis . . . DeGasparis, Naples, April 5, 1853. ote 6 et, O Toman
Phocea . . . . Chacornac, Marseilles, ‘April 6, 1853... 2 . . 3 yxssSim
Proserpine . . R. Luther, Bilk, March 5, 1853. 5 oes Ne a oy oh, eA
Euterpe . . . Hind, London, March 8, 1853. s) ceive, “shige od, VASMaeAED
Bellona . . . R. Luther, Bilk, May 1, 1854. oy fedhe.g 6 ctoy Sey LA Ane
Amphitrite . . Pogson, Oxford, Nov.1,1854. . ... . . 4yrsim
Urnia . .—. . Hind, London, July 22, 1854. >. * «. « Oise
Euphrosyne . . Ferguson, Washington, Sept. 1, 1854. . . . 5yrs7m
Pomona . . . Goldschmidt, Paris, Oct. 26,1854. ... . 4yrs2m
Polhymnia . . Chacornac, Paris, Oct. 28, 186d cick Cee yrs10m
Cited iuekb.ea Us 6 April 6, 1855. . ». . . 4yraim

336

.

Name.

Leucothea .
Atalanta.
Fides
Leda
Laetitia
Harmonia .
Daphne.
Isis é
Ariadne ,
Nysa .
Kugenia .
Thestia .
Aglia
Doris
Pales
Virginia
Nemansa
Europa .
Calypso .
Alexandra .
Pandora
Mnemosyne
Concordia .
Elpis
Danae
Echo
Erato
Ausonia .
Angelina .
Cybele
Maia 5
ASIA SS ha
Leto .
Hesperia .
Niobe ..
Feronia 5
Glytiarice
Galatea. .
Euridice
Freya .
Frigga . .
Diana
Eurynome .
Sappho .
Terpsichore
Alemene .
Beatrice
Clio .

Io

Jupiter .
Saturn .

, Uranus

*Neptune

Encke ..
DeVico. .

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.

By whom and when discovered.
R. Luther, Bilk, April 19, 1855.
Goldschmidt, Paris, Oct. 5, 1855,
R. Luther, Bilk, Oct. 5, 1855.
Chacornae, Paris, Jan. 12, 1856.
“S ) Heb:. 8; 1856.
Goldschmidt, Paris, Mareh 1, 1856.
«¢ May 22, "1856. .
Pogson, Oxford, May 23, 1856. :
ae April 15, LSD ye
Goldschmidt, Paris, May 27, 1857.
‘¢ June 28, 1857.
Pokéon: Oxford, Aug. 16, 1857.
R. Luther, Bilk, Sept. 15, 1857. «
Goldschmidt, Paris, Sept. 19, 1857.
“ee ae ing “ce

a? ef “Oh ey

Ferguson, Washington, Oct. 4, 1857.
Laurent, Nismes, Fr., Jan. 2, 1858.
Goldschmidt, Paris, Feb. 4, 1858. .
R. Luther, Bilk, April 4, 1858.
Goldschmidt, Paris, Sept. 11, 1858.
Searle, Albany, Sept. 10, 1858.
R. Luther, Bilk, Sept. 22, 1859.

os Marth 24, 1860.
Chacornac, Paris, Sept. 12, 1860.
Goldschmidt, Paris, Sept. 9, 1860.

Ferguson, Washington, Sept. 14, 1860.

Lesser, Berlin, Sept. 14, 1860.

DeGasparis, Naples, Feb. 10, 1861.

Tempel, Marseilles, March 4, 1861.
US 8, 1861.

337

Period of revolution.

H. P. Tuttle, Cambridge, Apr il 10, 1861.

Pogson, Madras, Ind., April 17, 1861.

R. Luther, Bilk, April 29,1861. .
Schiaparelli, Milan, April 29, 1861.
R. Luthers, Bilk, Aug. 18, 1861.

Peters, Clinton, N. Y., Jan. 29, 1862.

Tuttle, Cambridge, April 7, 1862.
Tempel, Marseilles, Aug. 30, 1862.
Peters, Clinton, Sept. 22, 1862.

D’ Arrest, Copenhagen, Oct. 23, 1862. :

Peters, Clinton, Nov. 12, 1862.

R. Luther, Bilk, March 15, 1863,
Watson, Ann Arbor, Sept. 14, 1863.
Pogson, Madras, May 3, 1864. . .
Tempel, Marseilles, Sept. 30, 1864.
R. Luther, Bilk, Nov. 27; ISEA0 0,
DeGasparis, Naples, April 26, 1865.
R. Luther, Bilk, Aug. 25, 1865.
Peters, Clinton, Sept. TOF USES

The ancients. . . cant
“cc

W. Herschel, Slough, March 13, 1781.

Galle, Berlin, Sept. 23, 1846. °

PERIODICAL COMETS. ~

Pons, Marseilles, Noy. 26, 1818. .
DeVico, Rome, Aug. 22, 1844. 5

a, 120 @ 6 ie

ese el fe) “e.

Bie (8, (0 (ae \e 10

.

5 yrs 2m
4 yrs 7m
4yrs 4m
4yrs 6m
4yrs 7m
4 yrs 5m
3 yrs 8m
3 yrs 10 m

OFF PF ROR ORO
SSS
c Siler Se sy WD itor Shey til oy FO cy HL Pat |
NANHARRANAHAR MN
ATH TU ATATAT OR ONDA DMNWoaos
BRBBEEBBEBEBBBEEBBEBEEBB

=

4 yrs

84 yrs 10m
164 yrs 8m

3 yrs 4m
5 yrs 5m

* Theoretically discovered by Le Verrier and Adams prior to this date,
29

338 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Name. By whom and when discovered. Period of revolution.
Winnecke . . . Winnecke, Bonn, March 8, 1858... . - Syrs 6m
Brorsen ..e Brorsen, Kiel, Feb. 26,1846. 9... . « « , b yra;6m
Biela . . . . Biela, Josephstadt, Feb. 26, 1826. ° 6 yrs 6m
D’Arrest . . . D’Arrest, Leipsic, June 27,1851. . i ais 5 yrs 3m
Faye .. . . Faye, Paris, Nov. 22, 1843. a a» T yrs 4m

Tuttle . . . . Tuttle, Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 4, 1858. - - ys Tm
Peters . . . . Peters, Constantinople, June 26, 1846. - «, L2ys9om
Halley. 2: .) « : A 3 : ere

Pons . . . . Pons, Marseilles, July 20, 1812. :
Olbers . . . . Olbers, Bremen, March 26, 1815. hie

~1
So
b |
w
ow:
B

Tuttle . . . . Tuttle, Cambridge, July 18, 1862.

Peters . . . . Peters, Albany, N. Y., July 25, 1857.
Tebbutt . . . Tebbutt, Australia, May 13,1861. . . . . 415 yrs
Bremiker » Bremiker, Berlin, Oct. 22,1840. . . . . . 344 yrs
Donati,. . . Donati, Florence, June 2, 1858. . . . . 1875 yrs

SATELLITES.

Earth.
Moon .. . . The ancicnts.

Jupiter.
l1Io .. . .« Galileo, Padua, Jan. 7, 1610.
2 Europa o s ae “ce “ce “e “
3 Ganymede. . oa ¢ ce eile S
4 Calisto . .. a x LAB ate

Saturn.
1 Mimas .. . W. Herschel, Slough, Sept. 17, 1789.
2 Enceladus . . gs «¢ Aug. 28, 1789.
3 Tethys . . . Cassini, Paris, March, 1684.
4.,Dion® . «+ » 4 # aa J
bewnen ©. se ce & «Dec. 23, 1672.
6 Titan . . . Huygens, Hague, March 25, 1655.
7 Hyperion . . G. P. Bond, Cambridge, Sept. 16, 1848,
8 Japetus . « Cassini, Paris, Oct. 25, 1671.

Uranus.
1 Ariel . . .« Lassell, Liverpool, Sept. 14, 1847.
2 Umbriel . . W. Herschel, Slough, Jan. 18, 1790.
3 Titania . ° < ce Bie
4 Oberon . ; ig “ce “ “ee ce “

Neptune.
Not named . . Lassell, Liverpool, Oct. 10, 1846.
Rings of Saturn.

1 Bright Ring Galileo, Pisa, Nov. 12, 1610.
*2 Dusky “ . G. P. Bond, Cambridge, Nov. 11, 1850.

Tn addition, have since been discovered : — Semele, by F. Tietjen,
Berlin, Jan. 4, 1866. Sylvia, by Mr. Pogson, May 16, 1866. ‘
Thisbe, by C. H. F. Peters, June 15, 1866, at Hamilton College.
Antiope, by Luther, at Bilk, the 90th of the series; and the 91st,
unnamed, since discovered at the Observatory at Marseilles.

* C. W. Tuttle, assistant at the Cambridge Observatory, first suggested, in 1850,
en eae dusky ring as a true explanation of the phenomenon discovered by
ond.

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 339

COMPOSITION OF THE SUN.

In a paper read before the Royal Institute, March 17, 1865, by
Balfour Stewart, the following ‘conclusions, based chiefly upon
evidence afforded by photography, are given in relation to the
composition of the sun.

1. The existence of an atmosphere around the sun, outside of
its luminous envelope or photosphere. This is proved by the fact
that photographs of the sun are less intense around the edges
than in the middle, which is only to be explained on the supposi-
tion that an absorptive atmosphere surrounds the sun, causing
more loss of power to the rays from the sides which must pierce
it obliquely, and thus pass through a great depth, than to those
from the centre, which penetrate it by the direct and shortest road
possible.

2. That the ‘‘ flames” or brilliant protuberances seen around
the edges of the moon, in a total eclipse of the sun, belong to the
central orb and not to the satellite. This was proved conclusively
by a series of photographs taken during the eclipse of 1860, by De
La Rue and others. In these, the flames are shown in the succes-
sive pictures to have suffered gradual occultation, and to have
been gradually exposed in like manner by the moving planet,
thus clearly being attached to or connected with the sun, and not in
any wise rel: ated to the moon. These flames, supposed to be in
fact detached portions of the luminous envelope, or extensions of
the same into the solar atmosphere, above mentioned, were also
shown to possess remarkable actinic power, their shapes being
more developed and better defined on the photograph than to the
eye, and one invisible portion producing a distinct image on the
sensitive film.

3. That there are markings of a regular character over the solar
disk, called, from their shape, willow- leaves, ripples, etc. These
are distinetly visible on some photographs by Mr. Nasmyth.

4. That the spots in the sun are openings in its photosphere,
through which itsrelatively dark mass is seen. This is fully dem-
onstrated by the order in which the spot and its penumbra (the
sloping sides of the opening) disappear as the luminary rotates.

SUN-SPOTS.

The different views of astronomers in regard to sun-spots are
well illustrated by the following opinions :

Mr. De La Rue and the Kew observer Sh Patter careful examina-
tion of the pictures of sun-spots, as observed by the heliograph
and from Mr. Carrington’s maps, have come to the following con-
clusions: 1, Sun-spots are cavernous; they lie below the general
level of the sun’s luminous matter, and extend into the regions
beneath it. 2. The faculz are portions of the sun’s luminous
matter elevated above the general level of the photosphere ; and
near the limb of the sun they appear relatively brighter than the
surrounding surface, because, on accoung of their ‘ore: iter eleva-
tion, the lig! ht which they emit is less subject to absorption by the

340 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

sun’s atmosphere. 3. The sun’s luminous matter is of the nature
of cloud. 4. The formation of spots on the sun is, in some way,
influenced by the planet Venus. — Ast. Notices, 1865.

Before the French Academy was read a memoir on ‘‘ An Ine-
quality of the Apparent Movement of the Solar Spots, caused by
their Depth,” by M. Faye. The writerconcluded as follows: 1.
The spots are not due to projections or clouds placed above the
photosphere. 2. They cannot be fairly compared to superficial
strata. 3. They are apertures occurring accidentally in a lum-
inous envelope, whose thickness, variable perhaps with latitude,
appears to be about from 0.005 to 0.009 of the sun’s radius. 4.
Many of the irregularities apparently so capricious, observed fre-
quently by astronomers, and attributed either to a gyration analo-
gous to our cyclones, or to a spontaneous tendency in the spots to
separate from each other, or to the mutual influence of neighbor-
ing spots, are explained simply, either by the new inequality or by
the continued variation of the proper movement from one parallel
to another. 5. The astonishing regularity observable in the
movements of the spots during entire months seems incompatible
with all hypotheses which place the photosphere under the abso-
lute dependence of currents developed external to the sun’s
nucleus. The progressive retardation of the rotation of the pho-
tosphere in proportion as the poles are approached, is so regular a
phenomenon, and exerts itself through such an enormous depth,
that it cannot be due to superficial agents, such as the cyclones.

The following is the remarkable opinion and theory of Sir John
Herschel with regard to the nature of those curious objects dis-
covered by Mr. Nasmyth, on the surface of the sun, and generally
called, from their peculiar shape, ‘* willow-leaves.” We believe
Sir John first propounded this theory in an article on the sun, pub-
lished in ** Good Words ;” but it does not seem to have been noticed
by many astronomers. However wild the hypothesis may appear,
it has just received a further sanction from its eminent author, by
its republication in his new book of ‘‘ Familiar Lectures.” Sir
John says: ‘* Nothing remains but to consider them [the so-called
willow-leaves] as separate and independent sheets, flakes, or
scales, having some sort of solidity. And these flakes, be they what
they may, and whatever may be said about the dashing of mete-
oric stones into the sun’s atmosphere, etc., are evidently the
immediate sources of the solar light and heat by whatever mech-
anism or whatever processes they may be enabled to develop,
and, as it were, elaborate, these elements from the bosom of the
non-luminous fluid in which they appear to float. Looked at in
this point of view, we cannot refuse to regard them as organisms of
some peculiar and amazing kind; and though it would be too
daring to speak of such organization as partaking of the nature
of life, yet we do know that vital action is competent to develop
both heat, light, and electricity.” Strange and startling as is such
an explanation, yet scientific men will remember that, when we
knew as little about the cause of the black lines seen in the spee-
trum of the sun, as weégnow know about these appearances on
the sun itself, Sir John Herschel suggested, in 1833, that very

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 341

explanation which was the foundation of the memorable law
announced by the German philosopher, Kirchhoff, in 1859; a law
now universally accepted as affording a perfect solution to the
long standing puzzle of Fraunhofer’s lines. — Reader.

BOLIDES.

A bolide is a planet in miniature; a small mass of matter, re-
volving round the sun in a longer or shorter elliptical orbit, obey-
ing the same laws and governed by the same forces as the greater
planets. Now, suppose the orbit described by a bolide to cross
the orbit of the earth, exactly as one road crosses another; and,
moreoyer, that the two travellers reach the point of junction or
crossing at the very same time. A collision is the inevitable con-
sequence. The bolide, which, in respect to size, is no more than
a pebble thrown against a railway train, will strike the earth with-
out her inhabitants experiencing, generally, the slightest shock.
Jf individuals happen to be hit, the case will be different. If the
earth arrive there a little before or after the bolide, but at a rela-
tively trifling distance, she will attract it, cause it to quit its own
orbit, dragging it after her, an obedient slave, to revolve around
her until it falls to her surface. Or it may happen that the bolide
may pass too far away for the earth to drag it into her clutches,
and yet near enough to make it swerve from its course. It may
even enter our atmosphere, and yet make its escape. But, in the
case of its entering the atmosphere, its friction against the air will
cause it to become luminous and hot, perhaps determining an ex-
plosion. Such are the meteors whose appearance at enormous
heights our newspapers record from time to time.

Be it remarked that bolides are true planets, and not projectiles
shot out from mountains in the moon, as has been conjectured. A
projectile coming from the moon would reach the earth with a
velocity of about seven miles per second. But the most sluggish
bolide travels at the rate of nearly nineteen miles per second, fast
goers doing their six-and-thirty miles in the same short space of
time. None of the inferior planets travel so rapidly as that. Mer-
cury, the swiftest of them all, gets over only thirty miles per sec-
ond. Mr. Tyndall states that this enormous speed is certainly
competent to produce the effects ascribed to it.

When a bolide, then, glances sufficiently close to our earth to
pass through our atmosphere, the resulting friction makes its sur-
face red hot, and so renders it visible to us. The sudden rise of
temperature modifies its structure. The unequal expansion causes
it to explode with a report which is audible. If the entire mass
does not burst, it at least throws off splinters and fragments. The
effect is the same as that produced by pouring boiling water upon
glass. The fragments, falling to the ground, are aerolites. It is
needless here to cite instances of their falling. They are of uni-
versal notoriety. Aerolites have no new substance to offer us. If
the earth, therefore, be made up of atoms, we may conclude that
the universe is made up of atoms. — All the Year Round.

29*

342 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ZODIACAL LIGHT.

The following letter from Chacornaec was published in the
‘*Reader,” 1865 :—

«The observation of the zodiacal light at the epoch of the win-
ter solstice, in latitude 45°, is not a very extraordinary fact; but
as I do not know any notice of it, it may be useful to mention how
it appears under circumstances when it can be well observed. On
the 23d December, 1864, we noticed here, at 6.45 P. M., that an
intensely luminous portion of the zodiacal light plainly detached
itself from the bottom of a gloomy sky. This could be traced to
abont the constellation Pisces. ‘The sky was but indifferently clear.
At the time of making this observation I sought to determine the
quantity of light which this portion emitted, compared with that
emitted by the stars. For this purpose I drew on paper several
black lines between white ones of the same breadth, all equally
distant. At seven in the evening, the zodiacal light appearing in
all its intensity, I distinguished, with difficulty, “the white lines,
which were about a millimetre distant from the others. This limit
of visibility was found even when precautions had been taken to
obtain a great sensibility of the retina. On the night of the 29th
and 30th December a diffused luminosity, which appeared to me
to paint the sky, was certainly more intense than that seen on the
23d of the same month. Indeed, on the 30th, at 10 P. M., it was
possible to distinguish white lines separated only the third of a
millimetre from black lines of equal dimensions ; it was impossible
to do so on December 23. I next examined how this diffused light
distributed itself, and saw that the most luminous part was above
a whitish phosphorescent veil, which covered the horizon with a
light and luminous mist; the intensity of the luminosity was there-
fore not uniformly distributed. Employing a photometric appa-

ratus, and designating by unity the luminous intensity of the sky
in the neighborhood “of the horizon, at 25° high we had 1.53 for
the expression of the intensity of the Jight of the sky at this point;
overhead, the heavens deprived of stars, we had 1.15 for the in-
tensity of the light in the region of the zenith. Thus, proceeding
from the horizon, the luminous intensity of the sky increased up
to a height of about 25°, and then decreased as we rose from this
point to the zenith. At least, so it was on the 30th of December,
1864.

“If we admit that it may be light from stars which thus illu-
minates our atmosphere during serene nights, we do not explain
why the stars should not be visible on a dark sky through a trans-
parent atmosphere. The fine divisions of the instrument used,
whilst they become visible when the atmosphere is less transpa-
rent, enable us to see a luminous veil interposing itself between
the light of the stars and the observer. We know that all light-
absor bing media radiate light; this medium, then, absorbing “the
light of the star s, radiates some light towar ds the earth. On the
30th December, from 10 to 11P. M. ., and from midnight to 1 A. M.,
the phosphorescent veil was so intense that the milky -way could
hardly be seen.

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 3843

“‘During the night of December 39, I compared the relative
brilliancy of two stars (a) and (e), marked on the map of M. Lia-
pounon, in the great nebula of Orion. It is well-known that as-
tronomers who have especially studied this nebula, have always
indicated the star 6 in Orion as the most brilliant of those within
the nebulosity.

During several nights of this last autumn I remarked that the
star (e) shone more brilliantly than 6, Orion, which it is near. In
order to determine this, I placed a bi-refracting prism in the inte-
rior of a prismatic telescope, one metre thir ty centimetres focal
length, in such a manner as to cause the double image of the two
stars to overlap each other. Successively alternating the ordinary
with the extraordinary image of one of these stars, a series of
comparisons was obtained, which plainly showed that (e) is more
brilliant than (a) or 6, Orion. As M. Otto Struye has stated that
there exists in this nebula a series of variable stars of feeble mag-
nitude, I mention the result of the preceding comparison as one
from which we should safely conclude that 6, Orion, was in another
epoch of superior brilliancy to that of (e), which is marked in all
our charts as being of the fifth magnitude. Indeed, another simi-
lar measure definitively established the fact that one of the two
stars is variable. We well know what interest attaches itself to
those variable stars of large magnitude which are surrounded by
the diffused light of nebulous matter.

“In the foregoing observations it was necessary to superpose
different regions of the nebula in order to eliminate the effects of
contrast, or of superposition of the luminous matter. It is almost
needless to say, that the intensity of the diffused light of the most
brilliant regions of the nebula did not attain to a hundredth part
of the brilliancy of 6, Orion, whilst the brilliancy of (e) surpassed
this last, by a quantity far greater than the value of the intensity
of the light emitted by the nebula.”

M. Liandier, in “ Comptes Rendus,” states that he watched the
zodiacal lightin 1866, from Jan. 19 to M: ay 5. He considers it to
have the shape of a perfect cone, varying in luminosity and color
from dull gray to silvery white, the changing aspect being proba-
bly due to the condition of our atmosphere. In February the
summit of the cone reached the Pleiades, and the Twins in May.
Between January and May he found it to follow the zodiacal move-
ments of the sun. He believes the luminous cone to be a fragment
of an immense atmosphere enveloping the sun on all sides. If so,
he says it may be expected to exercise an enormous pressure on
the sun, with great development of heat; and if local variations
occur, he thinks they may explain the occurrence of spots through
the reduction of temperature that would follow diminished pres-
sure.

WHAT IS A NEBULA ?

The following are the conclusions of Mr. Huggins:

1. The light from the nebulz emanates from intensely heated
matter, existing in the state of gas. This conclusion is corrobo-
rated by the great feebleness which distinguishes the light from

B44 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the nebule. A circular portion of the sun’s disk subtending 1/

would give a light equal to 780 full moons; yet many of the nebu-

lee, though they subtend a much larger angle, are invisible to the
naked eye.

2. If these enormous masses of gas are luminous throughout,
the light from the portions of gas beyond the surface visible to us
would be in a great measure extinguished by the absorption of the
gas through which it would have to pass. These gaseous nebule
would, therefore, present to us little more than a luminous surface.

3. It is probable that two of the constituents of these nebulee
are the elements hydrogen and nitrogen, unless the absence of
the other lines of the spectrum of nitrogen indicates a form of
matter more elementary than nitrogen. “The third gaseous sub-
stance is at present unrecognized.

4. The uniformity and extreme simplicity of the spectra of all
these nebulze oppose the opinion that this gaseous matter repre-
sents the ‘* nebulous fluid” suggested by Sir William Herschel,
out of which stars are elaborated by a process of subsidence and
condensation. In such a primordial fluid, all the elements enter-
ing into the composition of the stars should be found. If these
existed in these nebulae, the spectra of their light would be as
crowded with bright lines as the stellar spectra are with dark
lines.

5. A progressive formation of some character is suggested by
the presence of more condensed portions, and, in some nebule, of
a nucleus. Nebulz which give a continuous spectrum, and yet
show but little indication of resolvability, such as the great nebula
in Andromeda, are not necessarily clusters of stars. They may be

g@aseous nebulae, which, by the loss of heat or the influence of other
forces, have become crowded with portions of matter in a more
condensed and opaque condition.

6. If the observations of Lord Rosse, Prof. Bond, and others, are
accepted in favor of the partial resolution of the annular nebula in
Lyra, and the great nebula in Orion, into discrete bright points,
these nebuls must be regarded not as simple masses of ¢ gas, but as
systems formed by the aggregation of gaseous masses.

7. The opinion of the enormous distance of the nebulse from our
system, since it has been founded upon the supposed extent of re-
moteness at which stars of considerable brightness would cease to
be separately visible in our telescopes, has no longer any founda-
tion on which to rest, in reference at least to those of the nebulze
which give a spectrum of bright lines. It may be that some of
these are not more distant from us than the brighter stars.

8. As far as his observations extend, they appear to be in favor
of the opinion that these nebulz are gaseous systems possessing a
structure and a purpose in relation to y the univer se, altogether dis-
tinct from the great cosmical masses to which the sun and the fixed
stars belong. — Lecture before the Royal Institution.

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 345

LUMINOUS METEORS.

The following are extracts from the ‘‘ Reader,” 1865, in relation
to papers of M. St. Claire Deville, Newton, and Herschel, on the
subject of meteors : —

When we consider the observations of M. Quetelet, which indi-
cate a connection between the appearances of shooting stars and
aurore and those which correlate these latter with solar and mag-
netical phenomena, we can scarcely be surprised to hear that the
temperature of our atmosphere is affected by them.

In a paper recently presented to the Paris Academy by M. Ch.
Saint-Claire Deville, he attempts to show a most intimate con-
nection between these phenomena.

It is now generally held that these little bodies which we are
now weighing and numbering are not scattered uniformly in the
planetary spaces, but are collected into rings — tangible orbits —
round the sun, and that it is when our earth in its orbit breaks
through one of the rings or passes near it that its attraction over-
powers that of the sun, and causes them to impinge on our atmos-
phere, when, their motion being arrested and converted into heat,
they become visible to us as meteors, fire-balls, or shooting stars,
according to their size.

Thus we have one ring which furnishes us with the August
meteors, and another through which we pass in November. The
position of these rings in space is very different; for while the
November one lies almost in the same plane as that in which the

earth’s annual course is performed, that of the August shooting
stars is considerably inclined to it, and its nodes are situated at
the extremities of its major axis. There are also other points of
difference ; for while the nodes of the August ring are stationary,
those of the November one have a direct proper “motion. Now :
M. Deville has, in the most crucial manner, examined the temper-
ature of the months of August and November since 1806, and has
detected the fact that in both the months there is an increase of
temperature about the period of the star showers, and a decrease
of temperature in February and May, 7. e., in the mid interval
between these annual showers in both months. The existence of
anomalies in the temperature of these four months has long
puzzled meteorologists, and various causes have been assigned ;
but the curves which M. Deville has prepared enable him to af-
firm that the temperature which each day of those months should
possess, by virtue of the earth’s place in the ecliptic, is affected by
a certain coefficient depending upon cosmical causes. ‘To explain
this, he reproduces the theory. of Erman, that the lowering of the
temperature in February and May is eaused by the inter ‘position
of the meteor rings between us and the sun, causing an ‘ obfus-

cation” of that luminary , and that the inercase of temperature in
August and November is caused by their preventing the radiation
of heat from our globe, and possibly by radiating towards us part
of the heat they themselves receive from the sun. Since this the-
ory Was enunciated by Erman, there have been several objections

made to it, and M. Faye has shown, since M. Deville’s paper was

346 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

read, that it must be accepted with caution; but there are addi-
tional reasons that the subject should be well inquired into,

The next contribution to our knowledge of these subjects we
owe to Mr. Newton, in a paper read before the American National
Academy of Sciences. Among the questions dealt with are the
number of shooting stars that come into our atmosphere each day,
the number of telescopic shooting stars, and the distribution of
the orbits of the meteoroids in the solar system. He finds that
the average number of meteors which traverse the atmosphere
daily, and that are lar ge enough to be visible to the naked eye, ona
dark, clear night, is no less “than 7,500, 000; and applying the
same reasoning to telescopic meteors, their numbers will have to
be increased to 400,000,000! If allowance be made for the space
occupied by the earth’s atmosphere, we find that, in the mean, in
each volume of the size of the earth, of the space which the earth
is traversing in its orbit about the sun, there are as many as 13,000
small bodies, each body such as would furnish a shooting star,
visible under favorable circumstances to the naked eye. If tele-
scopic meteors be counted, this number should be increased at least
forty-fold.

Mr. Newton remarks with the true caution of a philosopher: —

There are at least three suppositions respecting the distribution
of the orbits of the meteoroids in the solar system which are nat-
urally suggested. Either of them may be considered as plausible,
and one does not exclude another.

1. They may form a number of rings, like the August group,
cutting or passing near the earth’s orbit at many points along its
circuit. The sporadic shooting stars may be outliers of such rings.

2. They may form a disk in or near the plane of the orbits “of
the planets.

3. They may be distributed at random, like the orbits of the
nea

According to the first of these suppositions, there should be a
succession of radiants corresponding to the several rings. Dr.
Heiss and Mr. R. P. Gregg believe that they have detected such a
series.

Observations show a mean velocity greater than that of a para-
bolic orbit. We must regard as almost certain (on the hypothesis
of an equable distribution of the directions of absolute motions),
that the mean velocity of the meteoroids exceeds considerably that
of the earth; that the orbits are not approximately circular, but
resemble more the orbits of the comets.

These bodies cannot be regarded as the fragments of former
worlds. They are rather the materials from which the worlds are
forming.

Mr. Herschel has also communicated a paper on the ‘‘ Progress
of Meteoric Astronomy during the Year 1863-4” to the Astron-
omical Society. He dwells especially on the very close corre-
spondence of the observations undertaken to determine their height.
It appears from this comparison that the heights of shooting stars
at Rome are sensibly the same as in those latitudes of Northern
Europe where shooting stars have chiefly been observed ; and these

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. O47

heights may be stated to be, respectively, 73 and 52 miles, at first
appearance and disappearance above the surface of the earth, with
a probable error of not more than two or three miles. The average
velocity of shooting stars in sixty-six instances is 34.4, or, in round
numbers, 35 miles per second. Fifty-six general radiant points of
shooting stars have now been shown to existin different seasons of
the year, which represent, with a considerable degree of accuracy,
the whole of the available observations recorded t up tothe present
time in existing catalogues. These general radiant points belong
to fifty-six annual star ‘showers, as well determined, in the major.
ity of cases, as to limits of their duration and positions of their
radiant points, as is the case with the older and better-known
showers of August and November. The currents, zones, or belts
of meteors which they indicate, encompassing the sun, are more
or less rich and long-enduring. They appear to give rise to occa-
sional star-showers ‘by par ticular concentrations of their materials
—perhaps even to fireballs — by a still closer compacting of their
particles.

M. Liandier has communicated to ‘*‘ Les Mondes” the follow-
ing conclusions, which embody the result of three years’ observa-
tion: ‘The shooting stars which leave no trace of their trajecto-
ries travel in the same direction as the dominant air currents of
the upper regions of the atmosphere at the time ; those with trains
in the opposite direction.”

PHYSICAL HISTORY OF METEORITES.

The following are extracts from a communication of Mr. H. C.
Sorby, F.1R.S., to ‘* Silliman’s Journal,” of January, 1866 : —

“* As shown in my paper in the ‘Proceedings of ‘the Royal
Society’ (xiii. 333), there is good proof of the material of meteor-
ites having bee to some extent fused, and in the state of minute
detached particles. I had also met with facts which seem to show
that some portions had condensed from a state of vapor, and ex-
pected that it would be requisite to adopt a modified nebular hy-
pothesis, but hesitated until I had obtained more satisfactory evi-
dence. The character of the constituent particles of meteorites,
and their general microscopical structure, differ so much from
what is seen in terrestrial voleanic rocks, that it appears to me
extremely improbable that they were ever portions of the moon, or
of a planet, which differed from a large meteorite in having been
the seat af a more or less modified volcanic action. A most care-
ful study of their microscopical structure leads me to conclude
that their constituents were originally at such a high temperature
that they were in a state of vapor, like that in which many now
occur in the atmosphere of the sun, as proved by the black lines
in the solar spectrum. On cooling, this vapor condensed into a
sort of cometary cloud, formed of small erystals and minute drops
of melted stony matter, which afterwards became more or less
devitrified and crystalline. This cloud was in a state of great
commotion, and the particles moving with great velocity were
often broken by collision. After collecting together to form larger

.

348 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

masses, heat, generated by mutual impact, or that existing in
other parts of space through which they moved, gave rise to a
variable amount of metamorphism. In some few cases, when the
whole mass was fused, all evidence of a previous history has been
obliterated ; and, on solidification, a structure has been produced
quite similar to that of terrestrial volcanic rocks. While these
changes were taking place, various metallic compounds of iron
were so introduced as to indicate that they still existed in free
space in the state of vapor, and condensed among the previously-
formed particles of the meteorites. I therefore conclude, pro-
visignally, that meteorites are records of the existence in planetary
space of physical conditions more or less similar to those now con-
fined to the immediate neighborhood of the sun, at a period in-
definitely more remote than that of the occurrence of any of the
facts revealed to us by the study of geology, —at a period which
might, in fact, be called pre-terrestrial.”

In the same journal will be found a paper, by the same author,
on the ‘* Mineralogical Structure of Meteorites.” See also, for the
same subject, ‘* Quarterly Journal of Science,” July, 1866.

METEORIC SHOWER OF NOVEMBER, 1866,

The meteoric shower predicted on the 15th of November, 1866,
though unobserved in America, was of extraordinary brilliancy in
Europe. A full account of the appearances, as seen in Great
Britain, France, and Spain, condensed from the London journals,
will be found in the ‘‘ New York Herald” of Nov. 28, 1866, and
the ‘‘ Boston Transcript” of the same date. We have only space
for the following extracts from a letter of Mr. T. L. Phipson, to
the ‘‘ London Reader,” from which an idea of the magnificence of
the display may be obtained : —

** Last night, November 13, 1866, will remain forever a period
of extraordinary interest to astronomers. The conjectures of
Humboldt and others, that the November period of falling stars
attains its maximum every thirty-three years, is now a certain fact.
The sight, indeed, will long remain stamped upon my memory. All
who are familiar with these wonderful phenomena, know that a
large fail of meteors was expected between the 11th and 14th of
November, 1866, — probably on the night of the 13th. The star-
shower has happened, as predicted, and a more extraordinary
sight it was not possible to witness.

**T began to observe early, knowing that the large meteors
generally show themselves shortly after sunset, and at twenty
minutes past nine I saw the first meteor. It rose directly from
the horizon (my windows looking N.N.E.), from the direction of
the constellation Leo, which had not yetrisen. It mounted rather
slowly at first, like an ordinary rocket, which I took it to be, but
it rose still higher and higher, and shot away to the other side of
the heavens, passing directly over my head. It was the finest
shooting star [ ever saw, and augured well for the expected
swarm, as it certainly was an out-lier of the November group,
differing rather, in color, from those of August, etc., and issuing

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 349

from that portion of the heavens directly above the constellation
leo. . . . Before I had finished observing, I saw meteors
at the rate of considerably more than 2,500 per hour! In fact,
from half-past twelve to half-past one, it was impossible to count
them, though two of us endeavored to do so.

‘© As a gross approximation only, it may be stated that about
one o’clock the stars fell at the rate of 2,550 per hour.

“Of the whole of these thousands of shooting stars which I
must have witnessed last night, only five issued from various por-
tions of the heavens, the rest all radiated from the constellation
Leo.

‘The weather was fortunately clear, but a strong wind was
blowing, which became quite boisterous during the most brilliant
period of the phenomenon. It was doubtless a storm-wind, for I
noticed the reflection or radiations of several flashes of lightning
from below the N.W. and N.N.E. horizon, namely, one flash at
twenty minutes past nine, two flashes about five minutes pastten,
one flash at half-past ten in the N., one flash at ten minutes to eleven,
and one flash at one o’clock. I should like to be sure that these
electric radiations emanated from a storm below the Northern ho-
rizon, or whether they must be considered identical with the lumi-
nous radiations formerly noticed in ‘* Cosmos” (1852 and 1853),
as accompanying, sometimes, the phenomenon of shooting stars.”

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION.

Prof. Rutherford, at the last meeting of the National Academy,
exhibited photographs of his inventions. He had seen, in May,
1865, that he could never succeed in taking photographs with the
achromatic objective ; the visual and actinic focus not colliding,
and it being impossible to correct the plate except very near to the
centre of the field. Tremors in the moist atmosphere of New York
city increased his difficulties, injuring silvered mirrors so that it
was necessary to coat them every two or three days. In 1863 he
had decided that it was useless to attempt a telescope which should
bring the visual and actinic foci to one plane; it would have been
a useless compromise, sacrificing the best qualities of both; and,
after many experiments, he had succeeded in producing a photo-
graphic telescope, useless for vision, but giving excellent results.
In this, the red, yellow, and green rays, which retard action, are
dissipated. The image is taken on a screen of collodion. He had
taken plates of the sun and moon; but the chief value of his work
was in its stellar application. He wished to show that something
was always lost in methods purely mechanical, the human eye
having a power of adaptation not conferred on any lens. Thus a
finder of four and a half inches would give to the eye what the
eleven and a half inch lens could not report. The atmosphere is
a great disturber. All observers know what it is to have stars
jump double their own distance on the field. Photography locates
exactly. Of the moon it furnishes a fine map, to be filled in by ac-
curate observation afterwards. He showed how the errors occa-
sioned by reducing the curves in the heavens to a plane surface

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350 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

were to be obviated. In this actinic telescope how can we find the
true focus? Only by a process of tentation which he explained.
It has no power of accommodation, and records changes of the
one-hundredth of an inch, which the visual telescope cannot; nor
will any two actual observers ever agree to within the one-hun-
dredth of an inch on any focus.

To show the advantages of this glass in stellar work, he showed
that it had taken images of stars of the ninth magnitude; stars of
the sixth being the smallest before recorded. He had begun to
work on the Pleiades, Bessel’s work on this constellation being so
accurate as to make it the best test of his own work. One plate,
exposed three or four minutes, gave him forty-three stars. On that,
Alcyone occupied twenty seconds, which was such an enormity
that it required examination. He found this extraordinary breadth
to proceed from her own light, increased by radiation within the
tube of the instrument, and showed how a bit of gauze removed
the difficulty. This breadth was filled up by repeated impressions,
not by an instant’s exposure and printing. The telescope follows
the star in a prolonged exposure ; if it is not quite prompt, it only
elongates the star in the direction of right ascension. He had at
first apprehended trouble from the shrinking of the collodion. It
had not come; if it did, he had still a resource in a certain tena-
cious varnish. Now, to ascertain the worth of his work, a microm-
eter was necessary. None in existence could be adapted to this
instrument, so this also he must make himself. He described this
achievement, and showed a photograph of it. The extraordinary
accuracy of the work done by it we can only measure by the
amazement of the authorities present, who pressed eagerly about
him. He described his eye-piece with its bisecting lines. He be-
lieved that, henceforth, no observatory would be complete without
a recording glass. He showed, in conclusion, how he had forced
the light into the right direction within the tube by a supplemen-
tary lens.

SECULAR INCREASE OF MEAN TEMPERATURE.

Before the London Meteorological Society, Mr. Glaisher read a
communication on the ‘‘ Secular Increase of Mean Temperature.”
He stated that the mean temperature of the seven years ending
1863 had been so high as to increase the mean temperature of the
year from forty-three years’ observations, viz., 48° 92/ to 49° O4.
He then remarked that the mean temperature of the first twenty-
five years ending 1838 was 48° 6/, and of the twenty-five years
ending 1863 was 49° 2’.. The author then became desirous to see
if this increase had been progressive, and found the mean of
twenty-nine years ending 1799 was 47° 7’, of thirty years ending
1829 was 48° 5/, and of thirty years ending 1859 was 45° 0/,
proving that the secular increase of the mean temperature was 2°.
This result he considered so important that he examined every
probable source of error, and concluded that no instrumental
errors would account for this increase. The questions he then
set himself to investigate were: Whether this increase had taken
place in every month in the year? or in some months or seasons

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. BSE

more than others? and he found a remarkable difference in the
winter months; the greatest in January, whose mean temperature
in the twenty-nine years ending 1799 was 34° 7/; the mean of the
next thirty years was 35° 7’, and of the last thirty years was 37° 5’,
and every season showed increase. The author then selected
every day of remarkably low and remarkably high temperature,
and divided the results into groups, and it appeared that in the
twenty-five years ending 1838 there had been seventy-two days
in January whose mean temperature had been below 25°, and
fourteen only of such low temperatures in the last twenty-five
years, whilst in the former period there had been seventy-five
days of temperature higher than 45°, and 109 days of temperature
exceeding 45° in the latter. He treated every month in the same
way, and discussed the early observations and descriptions of
years in the last century, and concluded, — that our climate in the
last hundred years has altered; that the mean temperature of the
year is now 2° higher than it was one hundred years ago; that
the month of January is nearly 3° warmer; that frosts and snow-
showers are of very much shorter duration and less in amount;
and he concluded his paper by expressing a hope that series of
observations in progress over the world will be patiently continued ;
— for other questions now open themselves, for instance, has any
part of the world lost 2° of annual temperature? or has the world
itself increased in warmth? Other questions also press, so as to
make it extremely desirable that similar determinations should be
made as soon as possible at other parts of the world.

CLIMATE OF BRAZIL.

According to Professor Agassiz, in his lecture before the Lowell
Institute, in Boston, Mass., in October, 1866, the climate of the
Amazonian basin differs from that of other regions in the same
latitude, by reason of the great moisture prevailing there. The
combination of heat and moisture, he observed, produces a more
luxuriant vegetation than is to be found anywhere else.

There are not four distinct seasons, as with us; but perpetual
summer reigns. There is more or less of rain throughout the
year, but no such special period of great prevalence as marks the
climate of other tropical regions, where a very dry season suc-
ceeds months of copious rain. The rains do not prevail over all
sections at the same time, but beginning at the south in Septem-
ber, they progress northward till they reach Guiana in March and
April. As a consequence, when the southern tributaries of the
Amazon are most swollen, the northern tributaries are at their
lowest ebb, and vice versa; and thus a balance is maintained
between the upper and lower parts of the basin.

Again, there is a difference between the course of the main
stream at its most western origin, and atits mouth. The swelling
waters of the Madeira reach the Amazon in November or Decem-
ber. The northern tributaries pour in their waters at a later
period. The great increase in the Amazon at its confluences, by
temporary coincidences in the flow of its tributaries, is in or near

352 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the month of March, when the water rises a foot in each twenty-
four hours, until it reaches a height of thirty-five feet above the
ordinary level. The Amazon is lowest in October.

Ile said that the temperature of the whole valley was remark-
ably even, varying from the minimum to the maximum not more
than fifteen degrees. The temperature of the water of the Ama-
zon is also even, the maximum being 84 degrees, and the mini-
mum 78. Other streams show as little variation in this respect.
In consequence of this evenness of temperature, there is a feeling
of comfort most agreeable to the inhabitants.

ASTRONOMICAL AND METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.

Stars of the Northern Hemisphere. —In the last edition of his
“*Wunder des Himmels,” Prof. Littrow gives a summary of the
number of stars that are in Argelander’s charts of the Northern
hemisp here.

From N. declination . . . . 0° to 20°, 110,987 stars.

co “ os « « 20° mau”, T0082
«“ « “ - » « « 20° TODU, LOB ion **

Classified according to magnitude, there are: —

Mag. No. of Stars. Mag. No. of Stars.
1-19 .. . 10 6—6.9 ... 4,328
Bg ee GE Sapy | ae 1s
3—3.9 . «. . 128 8—8.9 . . . 57,960
4—4.9 2... 810 9—9.9 . . . 237,544

hg BlesO suet erase

There are, besides these, sixty nebule, and sixty-four variable
stars.

Duration of the Flight of Shooting Stars. —Dr. Schmidt, direc-
tor of the Observatory of Athens, has recorded as the result of his
observations on shooting stars during the last eight years, and
especially on the duration of flight of 1,857 meteors out of about
16,000 seen. The mean duration of those of different colors was: Of
846 white shooting stars, 0s.709 ; of 361 yellow, 0s.947 ; of 101 red,
18.787 ; and of 49 green ones, 28.685. The mean of all was 0s.925.
As he has been accustomed to estimate small intervals of time, his
estimates are deserving of confidence.

Height of Auroral Arches. — Mr. B. V. Marsh has obtained data
for computing the approximate altitudes of three auroral arches,
observed in Pennsylvania, Maine, and Massachusetts, on January
16, February 20, and February 21, 1865; the estimated altitudes
were respectively 97, 80, and 57 miles, — or a mean altitude of 78
miles.

The Sky an Indicator of the Weather.— The color of the sky, at
particular times, affords wonderfully good guidance. Not only
does a rosy sunset presage good weather, anda ruddy sunrise bad
weather, but there are other tints which speak with equal clear-
ness and accuracy. A bright yellow sky, in the evening, indi-

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 345 )3)

cates wind; a pale yellow, wet; a neutral gray color constitutes
a favorable sign in the morning. The clouds are again full of
meaning in themselves. If their forms are soft, undefined, and
full feathery, the weather will be fine; if their edges are hard,
sharp, and definite, it will be foul. Generally speaking, any deep,
unusual hues betoken wind or rain; while the more quiet and del-
icate tints bespeak fair weather. These are simple maxims, and
yet not so simple but that the British Board of Trade has thought
fit to publish them for the use of sea-faring men.

The Climate of Southland, New Zealand — “The chief point of inter-
est noticed by Mr. Marten, treating of the climate generally, is
the remarkable example it affords of arule long suspected to exist,
and which the experience of each successive year seems more fully
to establish. ‘* Comparing the meteorological records of the tem-
perate zone in the two hemispheres, I was struck with the fact that
the meteorological characteristics of each season in the northern
hemisphere were invariably reproduced in the following year at all
places similar in geographical and isothermal position ‘and natural
features in the southern hemisphere. The question naturally
arises, ‘Is this mere coincidence?’ That, of course, I cannot
answer decisively ; but my impressions are in the negative.”

Meteorological Perturbations. — According to a paper recently
laid before the Royal Geographical Society of Vienna by Dr. Fried-
man of Munich, the meteorological perturbations are due to
** contact of the external air with the interior of the earth!” His
reasoning is in this wise: According to Humboldt, there exist 425
volcanoes, of which 207 are still active. The external atmosphere
is thus connected with the interior of the earth by 207 fiery throats.
It may be assumed that of these 207 volcanoes there is at least one
eruption daily, which thus causes important disturbances in the
upper layers.of the atmosphere. These movements being propa-
gated in a wave-like manner to a distance, produce the irregular-
ities in meteorological phenomena for which so many explana-
tions have been proposed.

The Appearance of the Sun from the North Pole. —'To a person
standing at the north pole, the sun appears to sweep horizontally
around the sky every twenty-four hours, without any perceptible
variation during its circuit in its distance from the horizon. On
the 21st of June, it is 23 degrees and 38 minutes above the horizon,
— a little more than one-fourth of the distance to the zenith, the
highest point it ever reaches. From this altitude it slowly de-
scends, its track being represented by a spiral or screw with a
very fine thread ; ; and in the course of three months it worms its
way down to the horizon, which it reaches on the 25d of Sep-
tember. On this day it slowly sweeps around the sky, with its
face half hidden below the icy sea. It still continues to descend ;
and, after it has entirely disappeared, it is still so near the horizon
that it carries a bright twilight around the heavens in its d: uly
circuit. As the sun sinks lower and lower, this twilight grows
gradually fainter till it fades away. On the 20th of December the
sun is 23 degrees and 38 minutes below the horizon, and this is
the midnight of the dark winter of the pole. From this date the

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354 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

sun begins to ascend, and after a time his return is heralded by a
faint dawn, which circles slowly around the horizon, completing
its circuit every twenty-four hours. This dawn grows gradually
brighter; and on the 20th of March the peaks are gilded with the
first level rays of the six months’ day. The bringer of this long
day continues to wind his spiral way upwards till he reaches his
highest place on the 21st of June, and his annual course is com-
pleted.

Power of Stars in Overcoming Twilight.— The following are
extracts from a letter from M. Babinet to Admiral Smyth, pub-
lished in the ‘* Astronomical Register ” : —

‘*Another sidereal quality I have observed with great interest
is, that some stars have more power of overcoming twilight than
others of the same magnitude. ‘The fact was published some years
ago. Now as to the cause: Let us suppose a star just sufficiently
bright to be perceived in twilight; its light, then, must be equal to
at least one-sixtieth of the uniform light of the sky. But if we
imagine that this star, preserving the same brightness, is smaller,
and thereby occupies only one-fourth of the space it did before,
then its light will be one-fifteenth of the general light of the sky,
and will consequently be very perceptible. One of the stars of
Cassiopeia possesses this power of conquering twilight; so does
y Draconis, ¢ Pegasi, and others. It is easy to prove this by ar
optical experiment.

GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFRICAN GEOGRAPHY.

At the meeting of the Geographical Section of the British Asso-
ciation, in 1866, Sir C. Nicholson, the President, alluded to the
discovery of the Lake Albert-Nyanza by Sir Samuel Baker, and
described the nature of the problem which now remained to be
solved in the geography of this part of Africa. This was the con-
nection or separation of the two great inland seas, the Tangany-
ika and the Albert-Nyanza. The difference of level between them —
eight hundred feet—militated against the supposition of their union ;
but a doubt existed as to the correctness of the levels given in the
case of the Tanganyika, the measurement having been made by
Burton and Speke, with a single and very imperfect instrument.
It was hoped that this point might be settled by Livingstone, the
last news from whom informed us of his arrival at the mouth of
the Rovuma River, on the East Coast, whence he was about to
travel by land into the interior. The road to the great southern
lake, Nyassa, was reported to be open, and this distinguished tray-
eller was, in all probability, now on his march.

Exploration of the Sources of the Nile. —Sir Samuel Baker said
that, from its extraordinary fertilizing capacity in Lower Egypt,
the Nile had, from the most ancient times, been looked on with
great interest as respected its source and the cause of its periodi-
cally overflowing. The White Nile, which was the true Nile,
issued from the Albert-Nyanza Lake, discovered by Speke and
Grant, and that from the Victoria-Nyanza, between which a true
river flowed. Flowing northward, the Nile, properly so called,
traversed an enormous tract of marsh; and for some months of the
year this tract was little more than a sandy, reedy plain. The
river was filled with vegetable matter; but the junction of the Blue
Nile with it at a lower point somewhat purified it. The regions
of Lakes Victoria-Nyanza and Albert-Nyanza received an immense
rainfall, as did the Abyssinian mountains, whence the Blue Nile
flowed. In a single night, at the commencement of the rainy
season, the river at particular points rose to aheight of thirty feet
in the course of a few minutes, so sudden and so copious is the
rainfall in those lofty regions. This was really the effective cause
of the periodical overflowing of the Nile.

Mr. Paul B. Du Chaillu, at the meeting of the Geographical
Society, Jan. 8, 1866, read a paper ‘On a Second Journey into
Western Equatorial Africa.” In 1864 he advanced eastward into
the Ashira country, which rises by successive steps fromthe coast.
First, there is the belt of low land near the sea; then a succession
of hilly ranges running north-west and south-east, with valleys

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between, the ranges increasing in altitude towards the interior,
and the passes over them ranging between 1,864 and 2,400 feet.
The greater part of the country is covered with dense forest,
through which are narrow paths leading from village to village ;
but from the Ashira country eastward there are three main lines
of path, — one to the north-east, another to the east, and the third
to the south-east. The tribes are divided into clans, and each vil-
lage has its own chief, the inhabitants always belonging to the clan
of the mother. The villages are more populous and Jarger than
those near the coast. In reading the works of Grant, Speke, and
Burton, he observed many w ords which were identical with, or
which closely resembled, words used in the district he had trav-
ersed, and he had no doubt that the tribes of Western and Eastern
Africa had formed originally one people.

From the accidental’ killing of two of the natives, he was obliged
to abandon his journey, losing a great part of his valuable collec-
tions and scientific observations.

At the meeting of the British Association, in 1866, Mr. Du Chaillu
made a communication on the physical ceography of this region,
from which the following are extracts :—

“There can be now no question that Equatorial Africa, from the
West Coast, forms a belt of impenetrable jungle as far as I have
been, to 13° 30 east longitude. This jungle did not stop there, but
could be seen as far as my eyes could reach, and the natives ‘had
never heard where it ended. The breadth of this gigantic forest
extends north and south of the equator, probably from two or three
degrees on each side. Now and then prairies, looking like islands,
are found in the midst of this dark sea of ever lasting foliage, and
how grateful my eyes met them no one can conceive "unless he has
lived in such a solitude. At a certain distance from the coast, the
mountainous region beyond rises almost parallel with it. This
range of mountains seems to gird almost all the West Coast. Be-
tween these mountains and the sea, the country I have explored is
low and marshy, and numerous rivers and streams are found. The
low land is alluvial, and has no doubt been formed in the course
of time by the washing of a deposit coming from the table-land.
Only two rivers seem to pierce through these mountains. These
are the Rembo Okanda and the Rembo N gouyai, the one coming
from a north-east direction, the other from the south-east. These
two rivers unite and form the Agobia, which discharges itself into
the sea, forming the delta which I have described in my book on
* Equatorial Africa,’ and for which I had proposed the name of
the Delta of the Agobia. Lieut. Labigot, of the French navy,
and M. Touchard, have visited in a steamer the junction of the
Okanda and Ngouyai. How far eastward this immense belt of
woody country “extends, further exploration alone can show. In
this great woody wilderness man is scattered and divided into a
gT eat number of tribes. I was struck by the absence of those spe-
cies of animals which are found in almost every other part of Af-
rica, and I wondered not at it, for the country was unlike those
parts which had been explored before. I found neither lion, rhi-
noceros, zebra, giraffe, nor ostrich. The great number of species

GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. Sane

of elands, gazelles, etc., found everywhere else, were not to be
seen. The forest, thinly inhabited by man, was still more scantily
inhabited by beast. Now and then, by the side of the wild man,
roamed the apes, among them the savage gorilla. There were no
beasts of burden, no horse, no camel, no donkey, no cattle; man,
or rather woman, was the beast of burden. Often miles were trav-
elled over without hearing the sound of a bird, the chatter of a
monkey, or the footsteps of a gazelle.”

For remarks on the climate and the condition of the people, see
Reports of the British Association for 1866.

GEOGRAPHY OF BRAZIL.

According to Prof. Agassiz, in his Lowell Lectures in Boston,
Oct., 1866, one great feature of the river is that it has no delta, or
projection of accumulated mud extending into the sea, like the
Mississippi, the Nile, and the Ganges. Yet it carries an immense
amount of mud in its waters. This is explained by the fact that
owing to a combination of circumstances not yet unravelled, the
ocean encroaches at a fearful rate on the continent north of the
eastern promontory of Brazil. Above that point the coast of
Brazil ran nearly north, so that a belt two or three hundred miles
wide has already disappeared. The Amazon once extended three
hundred miles beyond its present mouth. Whether it is owing to
the softness of the soil or the configuration of the coast, the lecturer
was unable to say. There is no subsidence at the ocean shore.

The waters of the Amazon, and the peculiarities of its physical
attributes, are very different from what we have been accustomed
to hear and read of them. The whole Amazonian basin is a vast
plain. There are no hills, but an immense expanse of woods and
water. The distance from the source of the Amazon in the Andes
to the Atlantic: Ocean, is two thousand miles in a direct line, but
by the course of the river four thousand miles. The plain through
which the river and its tributaries flow is twelve hundred miles
wide, and in some places eighteen hundred. It is so low that the
whole slope from the Andes to the Atlantic is not over two hun-
dred and fifty feet. It cannot be compared to an ordinary river
valley, and the river itself is different irom all others in the world.
Its mouth is one hundred and sixty miles wide, and its mud tinges
the ocean for a long distance. Lakes and lagoons are numerous,
In August and September the snow on the Andes begins to melt;
but its influence is very slowly felt by the Amazon, the lower sec-
tion not feeling the rise till the month of March. The river is
highest from June to October. The rise is not less than thirty,
and sometimes exceeds fifty feet. ‘By a singular operation of nat-
ural causes, the southern tributaries of the Amazon are fullest
when those on the northern bank are lowest, and vice versa.
There are times when the whole basin is under water, and the
dense forests may be navigated.

The color of the water in the streams flowing from the Andes is
turbid, a sort of cream color, while that in the tributaries from the

~plains is black. These latter carry along such immense amounts

358 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

of sediment, that the cream-colored streams produce no visible
effect on the color of the Amazon, which colors the ocean for fifty
miles from the main land, so dense is its blackness. The colossal
dimensions of this water system can hardly be conceived, and
surpass everything of the kind in the world.

ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC SHIP CANAL.

Rear-Admiral C. H. Davis, in response to a call from the Sec-
retary of the Navy, has recently presented a very full and inter-
esting report on the different routes of this great plan of inter-
oceanic communication across the Isthmus of Panama. Leaving
out of view, as impracticable, the Tehuantepee and Honduras
routes, he discusses at lemgth the Nicaragua, Panama, and Atrato
localities. Of these, he regards the most practicable route, that
across the Isthmus of Darien, from the Gulf of San Miguel to
Caledonia Bay. On this route, at both ends of the line, are spa-
cious harbors, admirable in every respect; and, on the south side,
there is a height of tide suited to the construction of docks for
repairs. This line cuts the Cordilleras at a depression at least
thirty feet below any that has ever been reported, and several
hundred feet lower than any that has been surveyed. The course
is direct, free from obstructions, healthy, while its outlets open
upon coasts where violent storms rarely occur. The Savana river
itself would form a part of the canal. No locks nor tunnels would be
required. The canal on this line would be about twenty-seven miles
long, only two of which would pass through hard rock. This
falls fax short of the Mont Cenis tunnel for diftic ‘ulty; and the
advantages of connecting the continents in this way are of incal-
culable importance. It is published in the ‘‘ New York Herald”
of Dec. 24, 1866.

THE BONE-CAVES OF BELGIUM.

The probable antiquity of man must be admitted on every hand
to be the great scientific question of the day. Whatever, there-
fore, tends to throw light on this subject is of first importance.
There can be no doubt that in our own Brixham cavern, beneath
stalagmites of enormous size, relics of human work were found
side by side with the bones of now extinct animals. Probably of
less remote antiquity, but still of high interest, are the remains
found in the Furfooz caves in the ‘Belgian province of Namur.
Their discovery was deemed of so ereat an importance that the
Archeological Academy of Belgium, : at the expense of the Govern-
ment, sent a commission to examine these caves. On March 26,
the commission issued their report, the substance of which we
subjoin.

The Belgian Commission were immediately struck with the
large number of reindeer horns, of which quantities have been
found in one of the caves called Trou de Nutons. It is obviously
important, though difficult, with precision to fix the exact epoch at
which the reindeer moved northwards, a migration which must
have been caused by some climatal change. According to the

fa)

GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 359

opinion of MM. Lartet, Christy, Milne-Edwards, and others, the
disappearance of the reindeer from the forests of Central Europe
took place in prehistoric times. MM. Lartet and Christy say the
migration undoubtedly took place before the introduction of do-
mestic animals and the employment of metals in Western Europe.
Thus, from the numerous horns and bones of the reindeer, the
probable age of the other remains in the caves may be inferred.

Only one of the reindeer horns showed signs of the contempo-
raneous existence of man. On this one was cut a deep notch.
But abundant evidence of the presence of man was otherwise
given. In the same cave with the horns, together with flint
knives, there had been found a kind of flute made from the tibia
of a goat; and in an adjoining cave a whistle, cut out of one of the
smaller bones of the reindeer: several of these whistles had pre-
viously been discovered in other caves. The most interesting
objects in this collection from the caves were a number of needles
made from pieces of reindeer horn. Great care had evidently
been bestowed on their workmanship, for they were well pointed,
and at the thick end pierced with a hole for the thread, which was
most likely made of fine strips of the tendons of the reindeer.
This animal was not the only one which had left its remains in
the caves, for, amongst the collection, bones of the bat, bear,
badger, stag, chamois, wild goat, beaver, and wild boar were
recognized. It is noticeable; however, that in all these bones
there are none belonging to any extinct animal.

The existence of man was shown not merely by articles of his
workmanship, but also by his actual remains. Thus, there were
two human skulls, a large number of molar teeth, jaws, and vari-
ous other bones belonging to men, women, and children, and
even to a foetus. One of the jawbones bore traces of a disease
which had eaten the bone away in different places. The two
skulls are braehycephalic; one, however, was pronounced to be
prognathous, and the other orthognathous. All the human bones
examined showed that the inhabitants of the caves were men of
small stature ; and this is also the general conclusion derived from
other ancient remains of man. The imaginary idea that the early
denizens of the earth were a race of giants, —a belief common
among many people, — must certainly be dismissed; for, so far,
we are sure that man has not in any way degenerated.

A quantity of black pottery and of ornaments made from shells
showed the commencement of human industry at this period; and
the existence of intercourse with remote peoples is evident from
the fact that the same species of shells are now found as fossils
in the tertiary strata of Paris. The bones when found in the dif-
ferent caves were mixed in utter confusion with earth and frag-
ments of stones, showing that some violent action had taken
place after the deposition of the remains. The flint implements
consisted chiefly of knives and arrow-heads, generally of small
size, and were usually found immediately under the human bones,
or sometimes associated with them.

from their examination of the ground, the instruments, and
the bones, the commission were able to state that the individuals

360 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.
s

found in the caves of Furfooz belong to a race succeeding that of
the dolichocephalic men of Engis, Moulin- Quignon, ete., and pre-
ceding that of the Celto- Germanic age. If this be correct, these
people were contemporaneous with ‘the men of Chanvaux, with
the troglodytes in the centre of France and the Pyrenees, and
with the most ancient dwellers in the lake habitations. Tacitus
calls this race the Fenni; they were the ancestors of the present
Japlanders, who in every respect greatly resemble be ancient
inhabitants of the Furfooz caves Possibly, to escape from some
danger, this race took refuge in cay es, where, owing to privation
and misery, their stature may have ‘been shortened, and their
features rendered uncouth. Skulls of the Reindeer period, from a
Belgian bone-cave, indicate a superior as well as an inferior
race of primitive men in Europe. Prof. Van Beneden has found
in caverns crania of two distinct prehistoric races, of the Rein-
deer period; and one of them, the least well preserved, is dis-
tinctly brachycephalous and prognathous, but with a fine cranial
development. ‘The cavern is in the carboniferous limestone, thirty
or forty meters above the level of the Lesse. A large number of
human remains were found. — Reader.

LAKE DWELLINGS OF SWITZERLAND.

In Mr. Lee’s translation of Dr. Keller’s work: on ‘The Lake
Dwellings of Switzerland,” are extracts from a work by Professor
Heer of Zurich, on the pl wuts found in these dwellings. The
latter states that the millets are undoubtedly spring crops; in fact,
all the other kinds of cereals appear to have been the same. Con-
sequently, the colonists must have prepared and sown their fields
in spring, not in autumn; and the corn was probably housed at
the end of summer, and no after-crops secured. Bread was made
only of wheat and millet; the latter, with the addition of some
grains of wheat, and, for the sake of flavoring it, of linseed also.
Barley bread has not yet been found, and it is probable that bar-
ley was eaten boiled, or more probably parched or roasted. The
small, six-rowed bar ley of the lake dwellings is the sacred barley
of antiquity. The small lake-dwelling wheat (Triticum vulgare
antiquorum) is probably the oldest sort ; it is the most prevalent
cereal in all the older lake dwellings, and was cultivated down
to the Gallo-Roman times. . .

Some of the weeds of the corn-fields were indigenous, and others
had been introduced with the cultivated plants, and been sown
with them. A fact of great interest is the occurrence of the Cre-
tan catchily (Silene Cretica, L.) in the remains of the lake dwell-
ings, as it is not found in Switzerland and Germany; but, on the
coutrary, is spread over all the countries of the Mediterranean,
and is found in the flax-fields of Greece, Italy, the south of France,
and the Pyrenees. The presence of the corn bluebottle (Centaurea
cyanea) is no less remarkable, for its original home is Sicily. As
it had already appeared in the corn-fields of the lake dwellings,
it indicates the way by which corn had come into the hands of the
colonists.

‘

GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 361

Peas, apples, pears, and some stone fruit have been found.

The apples are chiefly cut into two parts; seldom into three:
the smaller ones are left whole. The sour crabs must have been
of considerable importance as an article of food, as we may learn
from the large quantity of their remains, and their general diffu-
sion amongst the lake dwellings. Together with these wild
apples, there were found at Robenhausen a considerable number
of a larger kind, which probably were a cultivated variety. Pears
must have been less common, for only a few specimens have been
found at Wangen and Robenhausen. Remains of the cherry,
plum, sloe, grape, and variéus berries, were also found.

The lake colonists had therefore the same cereals as the Egyp-
tians. They were also clothed in the same manner, for in Egypt
flax took the first place amongst the plants used for spinning and
weaving. The cultivation of flax, and the art of weaving the
thread, may frequently be seen on the Egyptian mural paintings,
while hemp was unknown as a plant for making thread; and it is
also entirely unknown in the remains of the lake dwellings.

He thinks the antiquity of these dwellings is probably from
1,000-to 2,000 years B. C.

In any case, the remains of plants have a very high antiquity,
and they throw some light on the solution of the question whether
the species of plants have undergone any change in historic time.
With respect to the wild plants, the question must be answered in
the negative. The most careful investigation of them shows a
surprising agreement with the recent species, and even small
varieties of form have been retained, as we see in the water-lily,
the fir, the sloe, the bird-cherry, and the hazel-nut. Professor
Unger has come to the same result by investigating the Egyptian
plants. But the case is different with the cultivated plants,
although some kinds—as the dense compact wheat and the close
six-rowed barley —have undergone no perceptible change; yet
it must be confessed that most of them agree with no recent forms
sufliciently to allow of their being classed together. The small
Celtic beans, the peas, the small lake-dwelling barley, the Egyp-
tian and the small lake-dwelling wheat, and the two-rowed wheat,
form peculiar and apparently extinct races: they are distinguished
for the most part from the modern cultivated kinds by smaller
seeds. Man has, therefore, in course of time, produced sorts
which give a more abundant yield, and these have gradually sup-
planted the old varieties.

The following are the conclusions drawn by Professor Ruti-
meyer from the animal remains of these dwellings : —

This seems to be the first place where we can no longer strive
against the evidence of a European population who used as food
not only the urus and the bison, but also the mammoth and the
rhinoceros, and who left the remains of their feasts not only to be
gnawed by the wolf and the fox, but also by the tiger and the
hyzna. It is, in truth, an old psychological experience, that we
always consider that to be really primitive which we sce the far-
thest removed from us, and this in spite of numerous admonitions
which are continually pointing out to us stations lying farther and

a”

062 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

still farther behind. The investigation of the cammencement of
human history will hardly have the prerogative of being liberated
from the gradual advance which paleontology has followed up.
The discovery at Aurignac places the age of our lake dwellings
at a comparatively late period, although almost immediately under
our peat beds, with their rich treasures, similar antiquities are
rita. nay, still older remains are met with only a little deeper
(in the slaty brown-coal of Diirnten, perhaps forty feet under the
bed of the lake of Pfiflikon) than those of Aurignac, which have
there been gnawed by hyzenas, after having been despoiled of
their marrow (like the bones of Robenhausen) by human hands.
This last fact would also point out to us the place where we have
to look for the remains of the ancestors of the lake settlers,
namely, under the glacier moraines; for it is manifest that the
people who inhabited the grotto of Aurignac were older than the
extension of the glaciers, and consequently also witnesses of this
mighty phenomenon. But this fact, on the other hand, takes from
us every hope of still finding traces of human existence on places
over which the ancient glaciers have passed. Examples showing
this in later times are by no means wanting in our country. At
all events, the last gap between geological and historical time is
now filled up by the discovery at Aurignac. — Reader.

ETHNOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

Importance of Philology to Ethnology. —The President of the
Geographical Section of the British Association, in his address, in
1866, alluded to a tendency with many ethnologists in their
inquiries to disparage the force of the evidence afforded by lan-
guage, as a key to the history and the relationship of the different
sections of mankind to each other. Yet it was impossible to gain-
say the absolute co-relation that exists between certain organic
forms of speech and some of the great typical divisions of man.
Language, in his opinion, constitutes one of the most permanent
and indelible tests of race; and no system of ethnology could dis-
pense with the aid of philology. The early utterances of man
have become stamped with a certain degree of immortality. The
Celtic and the Hindoo, the early Persian, the Hellenic and Latin
races betray the community of their origin in the dialectic affini-
ties of the tongues they speak. On the bank of the Tigris and the
Luphrates, the Arab employs a language which is the. lineal de-
scendant, with few fundamental changes, of that spoken by his
forefathers in the days of the Hebrew patriarchs; whilst in the
Semitic names scattered along the shores of the Mediterranean
Sea and eastern coast of Africa, we have unerring indications of
the progress and settlements of early Semitic tribes. However
plastic and evanescent, under certain local conditions, character-
istic forms of speech may be, they still afford, in the history of
man, the key to many of the vicissitudes that have marked his
migrations. his conquests, his religion, his social polity, the meas-
ure of many of the attributes, by which, as an individual or a race,
he is distinguished from his fellow-men.

*

GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 363

Ancient Mining. — Interesting discoveries have lately been made
in the San Domingo mines of Spain, showing the methods of min-
ing adopted by the ancients. In some of the mines, the Romans
dug draining galleries nearly three miles in length ; ‘but in others
the water was raised by wheels to carry it over ‘the rocks that
crossed the drift. Eight of these wheels have recently been dis-
covered by the miners who are now working in the same old
mines. The wheels are made of wood, — the arms and felloes of
pine, and the axle and its support of oak ; the fabric being remark-
able for the lightness of its construction. Itis supposed that these
wheels cannot be less than fifteen hundred years old, and the
wood is in a perfect state of preservation, owing to its immersion
in water charged with the salts of copper and iron. From their
position and construction, the wheels are supposed to have been
worked as treadmills, by men standing with naked feet upon one
side. The water was raised by one wheel into a basin, from
which it was elevated another stage by the second wheel, and so
on for eight stages. — The Miner, San Francisco, Cal.

Ancient Bronzes. —M. Fellenberg, of Berne, as the result of a
long series of anaylses of ancient bronzes, in which he gives their.
composition and probable origin, sums up his opinions on the
subject as follows: The first knowledge of bronze might have
been brought to the tribes of the bronze period either by the
Phenicians or by some other civilized people living further towards
the south-east; but it then became a common property, and toa
certain extent the type of a whole epoch of civilization. It main-
tained and spontaneously developed itself, until, by the introduc-
tion and preponderant diffusion of iron, the general and exclusive
use of bronze, and at the same time the bronze period, came to an
end.

The Age. of Stone, in France.—M. Gervais has described the
bones found in a natural excavation, several yards long, in Bail-
largues, France, which had been used as a burial-place in the age
of stone. The bones were those of adults, and some indicated an
advanced age; in one case the femur was 0.465 metre long. A
cranium, presented to the Academy of Sciences, had the typical
form of the white race, it being brachycephalous, without a trace
of prognathism, and a well-developed forehead. The flint imple-
ments found indicated the age to which the people belonged. He
concludes, from the bones and other objects found,that during the
age of stone the country of Castries and much of Southern France
were inhabited by the race here indicated.

Lake Habitations. —The recent discoveries of M. Messikomer
of Zurich, in the large turf-bed near Robenhausen, though they do
not give the key to the chronological enigma of the pale buildings
and their inhabitants, throw considerable | light on their manner of
living and the condition of their civilization. It has been found
that on this curious spot there were three of these old settlements,
one on the top of the other. The two oldest settlements had been
destroyed by fire, but the third, the pales of which do not consist
of round wood, had been abandoned and not destroyed. All three
settlements belong to the stone period; not the slightest trace of

364 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

bronze or iron had been found, demonstrating very conclusively
the distinct separation and length of duration of the prehistoric
so-called stone and bronze periods. These settlements on the bor-
ders of Lake Constance are the largest and best-preserved of any
of the large lake villages of the stone period.

Those desirous of pursuing the subject of the early European
races are referred to a very full article on this subject in the
“Quarterly Journal of Science,” for July, 1866.

OBITUARY

OF MEN EMINENT IN SCIENCE. 1865, 1866.

a

Barth, Dr. Henry, the African Explorer, 1865.

Blunt, Edmund, an American Hydrographer, Sept. 2, 1866.

Brande, William T., English Chemist, Feb. 11, 1866.

Cuming, Hugh, English Conchologist, Aug. 10, 1865.

Dufour, Leon, French Entomologist, April 18, 1865.

Eastlake, Sir Charles, English Painter, 1865.

Encke, Johann Franz, German Astronomer, Aug. 26, 1865.

Fitzroy, Admiral, English Meteorologist, May, 1865.

Forchhammer, Dr., Danish Geologist, Dec. 1865.

Gibbes, Dr. Robert W., American Geologist, Sept. 1866,

Goldschmidt, Hermann, French Astronomer, noted as the Discoverer of Aster-
oids, Aug. 20, 1866.

Gould, Dr. Augustus A., American Naturalist, Sept. 15, 1866.

Gressly, A., Swiss Geologist, 1865.

Greville, Dr. Robert K., English Botanist, 1866.

Hamilton, Sir William Rowan, English Physicist, Sept. 12, 1865.

Harvey, William Henry, English Botanist, May 15, 1866,

Hooker, Sir William J., English Botanist, Aug. 12, 1865,

Kennicutt, Robert, American Naturalist, May 13, 1866.

Kupffer, S. Von, Russian Meteorologist, 1865.

Lereboullet, Dom. A., French Geologist, Oct. 6, 1865.

Lindley, Dr. John, English Botanist, Nov. 1, 1865,

Lubbock, Sir John W., English Geologist, June, 1865,

McLaren, Charles, English Geologist, 1866.

Montagne, J. F. C., French Botanist, Jan. 5, 1866.

Oppul, Prof., Bavarian Geologist, 1866.

Paxton, Sir Joseph, English Architect, June 8, 1865.

Porter, Prof. John A., American Chemist, Aug. 25, 1866,

Reeve, Lowell, English Conchologist, Noy. 18, 1865.

Remak, Prof., Prussian Anatomist, 1865.

Richardson, Sir John, English Naturalist, and Arctic Voyager, June 5, 1865.

Riddell, Dr. J. L., American Naturalist and Microscopist, October 7, 1865.

Rogers, Prof. Henry D., American Geologist, Professor in Glasgow University,
May 29, 1866.

Seman, Louis, French Mineralogist, August 23, 1866.

Schomburgk, Sir Robert H., German Botanist and Traveller, March 11, 1865,

Schott, Heinrich, German Botanist, Feb. 5, 1860.

Silbermann, M., French Physicist, July, 1865.

Smith, Admiral William H., English Astronomer, Sept. 9, 1865.

Uhler, Dr. William M., American Chemist, Nov. 27, 1865.

Valenciennes, Prof., French Zodlogist, and contemporary of Cuvier, April 12,
1865,

Whewell, Dr., English Physicist, March 10, 1866.

Woodward, S. P., English Geologist, July, 1865.

365

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Baird, Spencer F. American Birds. Sheets, 21-28 to p. 450.

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366

INDEX.

PAGE PAGE
Absorption, physics of . .« » « - 171 | Cannon, casting of atwenty-inch . 111
rapidity of. . . « » 294 Ce Prof. Treadwell’s improve-
Acoustic phenomena. . . . « - 17 INEVES UN ee, eer tet et hel rote 106
Acoustical apparatus. . . . - . 181 | Carbolicacid . +. 202, 216
Aerial locomotion. . .. . . + 98 | Carbonic acid, absorption of ‘by
Africa, pooptaphy of. fos Cisco ae plants. . . Sek
ittle folks o dimic - . 325 | Cast iron, com osition of . . g
Agassiz, L. Botany of Brazil | . 331 a b ptiorauae of f ts steel. fet
He Cee one fe a “od “fracture of by water . . 175
+ + 00 ataract, firs vi
ce Geology of “ 269, 270 of . Dee t oF Hapa pore aed 255
oo Zodlogy of ‘“ . . 341 | Celldevelopment .... . toa?
Age of stone . 363 | Cement, gypsum .. . a7)
Air, atmospheric, ingredients of . 188 iL ATGUS Cewt oh ates : sacn Mago
Air cells in birds, function of . . 321 Cements, hydraulic <nite 38, 39 40
Alloclase . . . 218 | Centre-rail system. . Shera
Aluminium, reduction of, by zine . 188 Chemical actions, mechanical ener-
American races. . . 313 gy of . Ee cer. 186
Ammoniacal gas, condensation of . 214 Chemical poisoning eae toa
Amory’s furnace . . 67 | Chicagolaketunnel . . ... . 26
Anesthetic agents, new. . ; 303, 304 “ river ‘ Fen 31
Mepibitbuonzes* 2 oc: 2 <2. se8 | Chilled tons | oe 63
Ancient mining ... . - 363 Ey SATO) OC Oe Por ee 112. 115
Aniline dyes, . c 96, 205, 216 | Chimogene . aifenea 2 ie 305
Animal food, digestion Ofreaa - 293 | Chinese beauty’s foot . le 5508
os ; aes origin, and develop- Chrome glass’. Hee cl eT
ment 0 Ree Oa eee ee fe OO hr ae
Antozone. . olin ound Ss} OEE. i , incubation of the mea 29
Aqueduct, Washington. . . . . 35 | Climatal changes... Re,
“Artesian Wells of Chicago. . . 256 | Climate of Brazil 2 IO 4
Associations, scientific . 5 ch op NewPealand’ nus aa8
‘Astronomical apparatus, improved. 349 | Climbing plants... . . . . 328
Atlantic telegraph, .- - 13 | Clock, controlling . ae aha ft
Atmosphere as a denuding agent . 250 Coal, formation of from petroleum . 259
Auroral arches, height of. . . . 302 ‘¢ “ spontaneous combustion of . 191
Cesium. ee 5216
Belgian bone-caves . . » « « - 398 Cold, artificial, production of. 2. 205
Birds, temperature of . . . . . 822 Color of man, cause of . 3°29. ~. 297
Bitumen, from Rolonada, mieuerc: Rog cOe. cS FOttne sky SAE AEE gt ited Loe
Bolides . Shemini (CS Of SHMLISIE MS at fos | enh eee
Bone-caves- of Belgium . . » « . 308 | Colors, complementary . ag rn 5) Led
Borax in California. . .. .- . 219 «in relation to light hs Cacia i 2-24
Botany of Brazil . . . . 331 | Compass, deviation of its beenecao
Brain, chemical constitution of. . 197 | Concretes for building . . . . 87, 38
“ of implacental mammals. . 27 Congelation, phenomena of . . . 299
Brazil, botany of . . ... . «331 Consanguineous gua Tizecs shel ie 2e8
“e elimatecof, 3 2506 any ay fo 351 Continuity, theory of Ri useeliee
“geography of. . . . . . 357 | Copper in the animal body Bec ally?
“ geology of. . . . . 269, 270 st mines of Michigan . . . 254
“<j Z001ORY, Of. fees | ss Ole Cork springs . ene
Bridge, Frith of Forth . . . . . 34 | Correlation of the physical ‘forces aialyi
ce suspension, Cincinnati,” 35 Creosote . . eh emAse teh eaesOUO
Bridges, GLEAG Nee Ash ee le 8 a) 80 Crystallogenic forces: 26 ated. ES
STEGI oe Pea oT. [MIC yGloscope = ve a) ta ste ti tiene merencO
Canal across vite Isthmus of Da- Darien, Isthmus of, canal across 358
TICs ghee ee See 308 oan’ s theory - - 7,9, 309
Canal, Suez. é eT) Po koe mras: Dead Sea, analysis ‘of W ater of .. 104
215 6G basin of. .°i. $e iaermeoc

Cane Sugar, test for Ao ieee eubriay tb

367

368
Deglutition, phenomena of . . .« 296
Denudation, the mime phen an
fgentin. . oimeay eeenU
Denudation, the sea an agent in . 250
Diamond, natureof ..... . 217
Didymium, spectrum of, . . . . 218
Dinosaurians, mew ..- © «© 32, 327
Disinfectants. . . » 198
Distances, new instrument for meas-
uring . Sec re eli)
Dog, historic age Shi os Be
Domestication, degrees ab: tials O22
Drift in Brazil... «+ « - 269, 272
Dyeing, improvementsin . . . « 96
Dynamometer, Ruggles’ « .« . . 42
Earth’s salts, etc., origin of . . . 262
Electric elements, mutual action of. 162
a signals on railroads . . . 162
Electrical ‘flying fish . » . 164
Electricity in deep- -sea sounding - 164
as amotive power . . 158
English channel, date of . . 9» » 261
Engrafted tissues » Svs » » « 306
Eozojn Canadense . « « « « « 268
Etna, eruption of . . « + « « « 268
Eucalyptus. Sa eT et 2? Me EROSO
Execution by hanging « « « + » 297
Extractum carnis. . + + « + « 90
Fat, sources of . . Siew er wire"
Fevers, malarial, cause of. . . . 302
Fire, eifect of sunshine on. .. . 151
Fire- ‘damp, new detector for. . . 17
Fish, vision of . . . - « « « » 324
‘Ss voices Of © «.c.s 2 « «© « om
Fogsignal .. ° Ha . 180
Fossil reptiles, new : 325, 326, 327
Freezing, in animals, physiology of, 299
Friction match, cee of its
burning . Ss 6 fe Us
Frith of F orth bridge’ File i Hoey Onicha: =
Fruits, rotting of . . .« + + « « 333
Gas, high Jemperatanes from burn- a
ing . 2 wa eye lite
Gas furnace, Siemen’ 3 e 66
Gases, dissociation of at high tem:
peratures. aly,
Gelatine, from marine plants . ond) ste OO
Geography of Africa. . « « » « 300
of Brazil . . 357
Geological deposits, succession of. 249
periods, length of. . . 248
Geology of Brazil. . i na weCO ed
of the first cataract of the
Nile. - 255
“« relations of to Palxon-
tology. «+ + + «+ + 246
Glass, coloration of . . . + + + 197
“ “compositionof . . . . - 2i4
“stained, ancient . . . - » 217
Gneiss, fossiliferous . . . + « «263
Gold, epochs of depositof. . . . 249
Growth in man, period of . . . . 300
Gun, non-recoil. . . » « . » » 176
Gun.cotton, x. «. o. «, spnesegseiae 102
eSGpaper's, =, «<0 ecles: pelaren tom
Gun powders,new «+ «+ «+ + + 103
Gypsum cement ... +++ + 40

INDEX.

Hailstones, analysis of . . « « « 214
Hanging, phy siology of «4. 134 cmt29oR
Heart, increased beating ee in as-

cending A « + » 306
Heat, dy namical ‘theory of. oF Sp ee
«from gas . ot Wel te. wl yet NGO
Horse-flesh as food; . . . . . 296
Horse power. . . - « 60

Huggins, William,
analysis . .
Huxley, TR. Progress of physiology. 274

on spectrum

“on transmutation of
species .. a ea) . 809
Hydraulic cements)... "38, 39, a

s¢ coal-cutting machine. .

4 GOck....\s#isvanten fei Mokae ot
Hydrostatic scale < js. a\)s/us, ei 100
Hypsometer, improved . . . . . 154
Ice, action of in forming lake

basins <« «2.» 1» » © (mt embe
Ice, expansion of . . 178
“cylinders, production of “by
ressure. . oo tieitie ary thle
Ichthyosaurus, skinof . « » #9 828
Illuminators, new, for opaque ob-
jects 149
India- rubber, for telegraph “cables: 89
Indium. 5, 5). 4.0. ay pees seen
Induction coils... . » 161
Inflammation, cause of redness in - 805
Ink, excellent. . - ois » 210
I nsects, muscular power Of se: area
MOGING! < c « cy a php eoiein Mole OUn,
Iridoscope . e 6 yerhel © Ja. et ouD
Iron in the blood ¢ wos got aL eee
‘« protection of. . . « « + « 198
“© purification of . . . »« « » 8
s§ cement . . <, 6. ie, en eR On
Tron clads, resistanceof . . . . 116
Iron ships . ot ia) te any QO
Island, new voleanic, i in Bayo of San-
FOYINO's, s, «> ©) Sissepae ej euhenenee
Isomerism.... «0 ») 3» «50 6 sulao
Japanese fireworks . . « « « + 196
Kangaroo, parturitionof . . . . 321
Lake dwellings of Switzerland, sa 363
Laurite . . 217
Lead, native, from ‘Lake Superior . 219
Leaves, autumnal change o o » oak
Life tables. . 0 8 ee cote
Light, new artificial»... 128, 144
effect of on honey. « 128
«© mechanical equivalent ‘of. 122
“ of the moon and Venus, com-
pared s' s » ‘3 ©) «| tol wmles
t+ theory of + ot) rie: Cae eee
“© velocity of . «ole
Lighting of the Capitol dome’ =) emp
Lightning, protection against . . 166
Limbs of mammalia . . . + » «279
Tinoleum™ 5 >.) "ss?" st) Yatton oy como
Magic photographs . . + + « « 144
Magnesium lamp ....- + «+ + 8
ee light 9.) < s aml?
Magnetic declination, instrument
for showing. .: > .° «. ve) ep ehbe

INDEX.

Magnetic variation vs. sun-spots . 159
Magneto-electric machine. . .
Malarial fevers, cause of . . .
Mammal, new, ‘from China . . 823

Man, pre- ‘historic . 11, 358, 360, 363
Marriages, consanguineous . - 298
Marsupials, brain of - 276

Mastodon, discovery of in “Cohoes,

Nieves yen
Match, friction, burning Ob” 8 - 207
Meat, good and bad, appearances

of ih se) 6 te ed
Meat, ‘preservation ermine, 3. 2°":
Mechanic arts, progressof . . .4,5
Mercury, conducting power of . .
Metals, positive state of ;

“precipitation of ed magne-

sium). 5 ar ral 2G
Meteoric shower of N ov., 1866. | 348
Metorites, physical history of 10, 347
Meteors, luminous. . wnotD
Meteorological perturbations | + + 300
Metricalsystem. . . CCC tat tari
Microscope illuminators. . 147, 149

Microscopic life. . .... . .318
Micro-spectroscope.. 129
Mineral] waters, medicinal action “of ¢

Mollusca, classification (0) REN bee 316
Monotremata, brainof. .. . . 276
Mont Cenis railroad - CEC y iC iC RonF 4
ECR SEIDEL roaster ats) el 82

Moon, SUCUCHUTEMOL Miele) ct et iy dd
Mortality of Paris'.° . 3) ./-<' % .< 807
Mortar, new . Bans. eed!
Mortars, ancient, composition o of . 200
Motion in all things Seno eh)
Ke transformed into heat els
Mount Hood, ascentof. .. . . 265
Mud volcanoes Shc 266
Muscular action, theory of. . + 286
ee irritability, nature of . . 284

ce power, source of. . . 8, 288
Miyorrapniadisiicy aah oes a Loar OUS
Nailmachine .. . a Bact s3)

Nebula in Orion, spectrum of 227,
Nebule, nature Gio ie (Sate. Oe an
Needle gun sieecele'e 1s) ke. ohikehirslaces yt OO
Nephila plumipes . . °
Nervous impressions, velocity of
Nitrate of potash from nitrate of
soda a silien
Nitrogen; is itan element? | | | 187
INITEGEIV CERNING sc Ws) etch smo ts

Objectives, telescopic, sheathed. .
Odors of flowers, method of Ooms

ing. - . 190
Oils, vegetable, oxidation of . + | 208
Optical Gelusionive: maa" Weaken?
Optical experiment 5 o « 125
Ores, machinery for working . enol
Origin of species c - 309, 312
Origins, difficulty of tracing sie ie Ole
Oxalic acid, production of . . . 214
Oxygen, ads vantageous method of

preparing 195

Oxygen, obtained from atmospheric
DIP ADRS ay. as ne hen ee entre LOO
OZONC oh sh ee. eh cr ieh etiwl le) ee 200:

369
Pachnollte.. 2 2% a ee Som
Palliser guy. . . Pile Sew ice U1):

Pancreatic juice, chemical action of 198
Paper from corn fibre . . . 9). 95

“ from wood , . 89
Paraffin, uses of, figaraetiersD
Parkesine }- 2 Sy i eee 88

Peat asfuel . . Seren ia
Peroxide of hy drogen am lh Lol yy ee US
Petroleum as fuel a Ser cane Ob

we origin GLU IEE ETT. Sh 260
Phenic acid . 202, 216
Philology, importance of. to eth-

nology . sit ota teh loca te OOe
Phon: autograph . 182
Phosphorus, separation of from

metals. 3 < cies ollie
Photographic image, invisible 129

sf DEOCESS) 2) 20s 143, 144

& statistics . . . 142

ne washing apparatus . 16
Photographing cannon balls . . . 140
Photographs, coloring of . . . . 134

e destruction of . . . 13,

unalterable . . . . 136
Photography and the Kaleidoscope, 138

applied to Natural
History . a eedso

se in colors - 131, 132

cs improvementsin . . 143

ce submarine. . . . . 145

es subterranean. . . . 146

sf UPOMISilkks seh h/at ote) 3146
Photo-lithography.. . . . . . . 13
Photo-micography. . .. . . . 146
Photo- -sculpture . ae » - 143
Physical forces, correlation of 36,120)
Physiology, progressof. . . . . 27
Pigment, new green. . . . . . 215
Plants, climbing ie» oes

«useful, number of... 33
Pneumatic railw ay erat. orem Oe
Pneumato-electric organ oh er are LOO)
Polariscope, improved . . . . 124
Polynesians, migrations of B24
Potash, in plants , parts where found 329
Prairies, origin obinis® Si WIC, icioo Cn oth 55)
Preservation of wood ; 2 2) ] 72
Prism, polarizing, new . ee ot
Processes for preserving meat | : 90
ipterodactylery jx vp iuten et eemtenr toes
Pyrometer,new .. s+. « « « 154

Quadruped birds) Pemrameita te | «Se

Radish, giant, of Java... ...
Rain, fall of ° A
Red Sea, analysis of water of | | 195

Reptiles, new fossil 325, 326, 327
Rheometer, difierential. . . . . 154
Rhigolene. . . : : . 304
Rock salt of Louisiana | | . 251
RUDIGLUM) «7 ae Oe Cum ae iam! 3)
Ruggles’ dy namometer. . . . . 42
#6 shaft-coupling. ... . 44
atemine-prool, sf sh sr eke ee te et OS

Satety lamp; new .'< i? ors, eer SL
Salmonide, vitality of . - d2l1

Salt springs of Idaho and Nevada . 252
Sandfood- splant)i0 lvet sc leeees

370 INDEX.
Sand Patchtunnel . . . 82, Sulphuric acid, manufacture of . . 81
Sandwich Islunds, voleanic eruption Sun, appearance of at North Pole , 352
ins. ‘ o 0-264 * composition of . . . « « « 339
Santorino, volcanic eruption in o 0 266 “duration of heatof . . . . 154
Sea, as adenuding agent . . . . 250 | Sunspots . « « 169, 339
ss depthsof . ... « « « » » 175 | Sunshine, effect of on fire *-9h Space hl
“transparency of. . . . . « 125 Superheated steam . a fo we tOk
Sea water, action of upon metals . 193 | Suspension bridge, Cincinnati} ) 35
Sense, sixth, imman. .. -« - 306
Sequoia, gigantic, size and age of . 333 | Tea, black colorof ..... » 214
Sewage, utilizationof . . . . . 189 Telegraph, African. . . « s » » 178
Sexes, on the productionof . . . 305 Atlantic aW e's vols :ee ea
Shatt- -coupling, Ruggles’ a) te; a ohh ss North Atlantic. . . . 25
Shooting stars ° . 345, 348, 352 | Telephone . olstetis, 284
ss spectrum of . . . 231 | Temperature at great ‘elevations | 150
Shot, penetrationof . . . . . . 116 bb at which plants germi-
Siebeck’s syren . . . % « e «= » 181 mate. . . 334
Siemen’s gasfurnaces .... . 66 e secular increase of . 390
Sienna, American. . « . « « « 217 | Thallium, positionof. . .. . . 218
Silicate, insoluble... ..« s ». 38 | Theine, sourcesof. « s » «=. S385
Silk, from eggs of fish . . . « . 825 The rmo- -electric battery. ow % 056
A¢ solutionof. . «s «is o @ -» 216 “ elements . . « » 155
Silk-producing spider... . . 317 Tobacco, effects of upon health . . 301
Singing tlames - « « 182, 183 | Top, the eoeraand ofa. §. sveeilz2
Smoke- ~consuming apparatus . « « 67 | Treadwell, Prof. D., improvements
furnace. . . . 67 im CADNON .. » «2 ss sw we 08"
Soda, new process for making . . 201 | Tungsteniron . a i Ld
Sodium aE Eenalon a wet, eB. Tunnel, Mont Cenis oe et
Solarsystem. . . wie «=: 4) ese x Sand Patch « % %s. « “s®stde
Solvent, remarkable. . . sas Cf ae under Chicago River. . . 31
Sound, natureof ..... 4 . 180 £6 « English Channel, . 31
Species, origin ofininsects . . . 312 af ‘« Lake Michigan .. 26
os trausmutation of . . . 9, 309
Spectroscope. . .... . . «221 | Vegetable oils, oxidation of . . . 208
Spectrum analysis . » 221, 232 sf parasites ofman . . . 328
Spectrum of aqueous vapors - « « 123 | Vessels’ hulls, protection of . . . 192
of comet J., 1866. . . . 231 | Viaducts, great. . bile te 30
fs of nebula in Orion . 227, 228 | Vinegar, to detect sulphuric acid in 215
- of Sirius ge | a plant ., s « # so0bs peOBD:
of shooting stars . . . 231 | Visionofiish ~ . 2 os « « e824
phygmograph ee then ec ew O07 f Moices onfish, Ss: 4.5 s + « 0 o2d
SP sr, Silk-producing . . . « «317 | Voltaic battery, sulphur - in} ise) vc:2 5. 180
Sponges, Sulaliey Of (his. atne «822
Spontaneous combustion of coal . 191 | Washington Aqueduct . . . « » 36
ag of pyro- Water furnace for ores... 47
technicalecompounds . . . . .191 | Water, resistance of to floating
Spontaneous generation . . 10, 280 bodies.
Stars of northern hemisphere . . 352 | Waters of the Dead "and Red Sea
Ws cid of, in overcoming twi- compared . . # paltie \hetipeam em eet
tig! ahs « a ol ewe ee SBRECT! Weather: signs of <=) iy al ee
Stay- baa olew: «. o)-<!.0 eer OE Wheels, chillediron. ....e. 63
Steam, superheated 3 haves eerie of BL % steel » 6 « 65
“« working of, expansively. . 173 | White lead, manufacture of - » 201
“ _ fire-proof safe... . . 83 | Wilde’s magneto- -electriec machine . 158
Dteel brdge =... 6% ej es =e OF) Wines; sediments of ¢ + Saber ise
RGEANS 22. sini? » » «-s» 60. | Wood, preservationof ... « is 2
a. WHeEIB TAS <6, ve oveita AsGo ‘¢ processes for staining. . . 190
“for railway purposes Salis ea KD
Biome nee, o eset a « « «6 308 | Zodiacal licht . al al ea . 342
Suez Canal . - » « 33 | Zodlogical specimens, preservation
Sugaras a cause of animal sterility 292 of colors of. . ose yo! econ toe
Sulphur i in a new voltaic battery . 160 | Zodlogy of Brazil . . . « » » » dlt
Sulphuretted hydrogen. . . . . 193

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MILLER’S POPULAR GEOLOGY; With Descriptive Sketches from a
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Among the subjects are: Recollections of Ferguson — Burns — The Salmon
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CHAMBERS’ CYCLOPZDIA OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. A
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This work embraces about one thousand Authors, chronologically arranged, and classed as
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ug~ Tue AMERICAN edition of this valuable work is enriched by the addition of fine steel and
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CHAMBERS’ HOME BOOK; or, Pocket Miscellany, containing a Choice
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ARVINE’S CYCLOPZDIA OF ANECDOTES OF LITERATURE
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This is unquestionably the choicest collection of Anecdotes ever published. It contains three
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VOLUMES OF THE SAME Work for years 1850 to 1864 (fifteen vols,), with the
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THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. A NEw EpITION. With a SUPPLE-
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TREATISE ON THE COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE AN-
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INFLUENCE OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE UPON INTEL-
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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. A view of the Productive Forces of Modern
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cloth, 1.75. ’
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Gould and Lincoln's Publications.

GOULD’S MOLLUSCA AND SHELLS. By Avucustus A. GOULD, M
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vf

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LIFE, TIMES, AND CORRESPONDENCE OF JAMES MAN=-
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A most important and interesting historical work.

MEMOIR OF GEORGE N. BRIGGS, LL. D., late Governor of Massa-
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THE LIFE OF JOHN MILTON, narrated in connection with the PoLit-
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LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF REV. DANIEL WILSON,
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yolume royal octavo, cloth, 3.50,

wg An interesting life of a great and good man.

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MEMOIR OF THE CHRISTIAN LABORS, Pastoral and Philan-
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DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OF AMOS LAWRENCE. With
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THE SAME WoRK. Royal 12mo, cloth, 1.75.

DR. GRANT AND THE MOUNTAIN NESTORIANS. By Rev. THom-
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8

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LYRA C@LESTIS. HYMNS ON HEAVEN. Selected by A. C. THOMPSON,
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FINE EDITION, TINTED PAPER. Square 8vo, cloth, red’ edges, 2.50; cloth, gilt,
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wz- A charming work, containing a collection of gems of poetry on Heaven.

GOTTHOLD’S EMBLEMS; or, Invisible Things Understood by Things that
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FINE EDITION, TINTED PAPER. Square 8vo, cloth, 250; cloth, gilt, 3.50; half
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THE EXCELLENT WOMAN, as Described in the Book of Proverbs,
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FINE EDITION, TINTED PAPER. Square 8vo. Newand greatly improved edition,
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MOTHERS OF THE WISE AND GOOD. By JABEZ BurRNs, D. D.
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MY MOTHER ; or, Recollections of Maternal Influence. By a New England
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OUR LITTLE ONES IN HEAVEN. Edited by the Author of the “ Aim-
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LITTLE MARY. An Illustration of the Power of Jesus to Save even the
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HEALTH; ITS FRIENDS AND ITS FOES. By R. D. MussEy, M.
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THE EVENING OF LIFE; or, Light and Comfort amidst the Shadows
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WILLIAMS’S LECTURES ON THE LORD’S PRAYER. By Wir
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The immense sale ofall this author’s works attests their intrinsic worth and great popularity.
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Gould and Lincoln's Publications.

THE PURITANS; or, The Court, Church, and Parliament of England, dur-
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It will be found the most interesting and reliable History of the Puritans yet published, narrating,
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THE PREACHER AND THE KING;; or, Bourdaloue in the Court of
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Translated from the French of L. F. BUNGENER, Paris. Introduction by the
Rey. GEORGE Potts, D. D. A new, improved edition, with a fine Likeness and
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THE PRIEST AND THE HUGUENOT; or, Persecution inthe Age of
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ea This is not only a work of thrilling interest, — no fiction could exceed it, — but, as a Protes-
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THE PULPIT OF THE AMERICAN REVOL UTION; or, The Po-
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THE LEADERS OF THE REFORMATION. LUTHER, CALVIN, LAT-
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A portrait gallery of sturdy reformers, drawn by a keen eye and astrong hand. Dr. Tulloch dis-
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THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS; their Progress and Condition under Mis-
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American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, With Maps, Illus-
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WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR in Persia. By a RETURNED MISSION-
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_ LIGHT IN DARKNESS; or, Christ Discerned in his True Character by a
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LIMITS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT EXAMINED, in Eight Lec-
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THE CRUCIBLE; or, Tests of a Regenerate State ; designed to bring to
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SATAN’S DEVICES AND THE BELIEVER’S VICTORY. By
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CRUDEN’S CONDENSED CONCORDANCE. <A Complete Concordance
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The condensation of the quotations of Scripture, arranged under the most obvious heads, while

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EADIE’S ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE OF THE HOLY
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and exhaustive heads. It differs from an ordinary Concordance, in that its arrangement depends
noton worps, but on suBJEOTS, and the verses are printed n full.

KITTO’S POPULAR CY¥YCLOPXDIA OF BIBLICAL LITERA-
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A Dictionary oF THe Bisve. Serving also as a COMMENTARY, embodying the products of
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America have been engaged.

KITTO’S HISTORY OF PALESTINE, fromthe Patriarchal Age to the
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oz A work admirably adapted to the Family, the Sabbath School, and the week-day School Li-
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WESTCOTT’S INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE GOS-
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duction by Prof. H. B. HACKETT, D. D, Royal 12mo, cloth, 2.00.

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Mrs. Knight's Life of Montgomevy. Xitto’s History of Palestine,

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AAA\\) Cyclop. of Bidle rit, YY
\\\\ Concord. of the Bible,
Analyt. Cone. of Bibl
Moral Science,
\\ The Great reel

rt Chambers,
‘tto. — Cruden.

BLL TAS ————

‘Williams’ Works. Guyot’s Works.

Thompson's Better Land. Kimball’s Heaven. Valuable Works on Missions,
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Cruden’s Condensed Concordance. Eadie’s Analytical Concordance,
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Valuable School Books. Works for Sabbath Schools.

Memoir of Amos Lawrence.

Poetical Works of Milton, Cowper, Seott. Elegant Miniature Volumes,
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Ripley’s Notes on Gospels, Acts, and Romans.

Sprague’s liuropean Celebrities. Marsh’s Camel and the Hallig.
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Hackett’s Notes on Acts. M’Whorter'’s Yahveh Christ.

Siebold and Stannius’s Comparative Anatomy. Marcou’s Geological Map, U.&
Religious and Miscellaneous Works.

Works in the various Departments of Literature, Science and Art.

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