PA) LAP. os Last 34 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. cold arctic current meets the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream, and that they are not West Indian hurricanes cross- ing the Atlantic from shore to shore.—16 A, April, 1871, 282. STORM-SIGNAL STATION IN THE AZORES. Dr. Buys Ballot, the eminent director of the Meteorological Observatory of Utrecht, has been lately urging the Portu- guese government to establish a station in the ‘Azores, to be connected with the general system of European meteorolog- ical observatories by a submarine cable which will shortly be laid in that direction. By the reports of southwestern gales that can be obtained in this way, it is expected that an am- ple premonition of their approach can be given to the British Islands and Western Europe. This will greatly improve the system of weather forecasts as now attempted in Europe, and make them approach more nearly in accuracy to those of the United States Signal Corps, which have astonished ev- ery one by their reliable indications? This accuracy is due to the fact that most changes in the weather begin in the west and extend eastward; and the greater the distance to the westward over which such observations can be made, the more time will be given, of course, toward the east to pre- pare for the impending changes.—12 A, June 22,1871, 156. DETERMINATION OF HEIGHTS BY THE BAROMETER. Professor J. D. Whitney, in a recent communication to the Academy of Sciences of San Francisco upon the use of the barometer in determining altitudes, remarked upon the effect which temperature exerts upon the instrument, and stated that the difference between the cold of winter and the heat of summer wauld sometimes, in the same instrument, involve a difference in the estimate of a given height of as much as seventeen feet, He hoped in time to have tables prepared which should give the allowances that must be made for each day of the year, and for different times in the day, an obser- vation at 9 A.M, sometimes giving a different result from one taken at 2 P.M, at the same altitude on the same day. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the aneroid barometer as a means of measuring altitudes, although he had experi- mented with the best that were offered in the market. He found them reliable for a certain time only, and they appeared B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 35 to have spells of irregularity from which they recovered very slowly. He did not find any upon which he could rely for heights above 1000 feet.—Proceedings Cal. Academy. ANEROID AND MERCURIAL BAROMETERS. In a comparison of the aneroid and mercurial barometers, made throughout a recent voyage across the Atlantic, it was ascertained that the ordinary indications were the same in both instruments, but that the aneroid was to be considered as more sensitive to atmospheric changes. It always indi- cated the approach of foul weather, or the change to fair, in advance of the rival instrument.—8 A, December, 1870, 224. COMPARATIVE FREQUENCY OF THUNDER-STORMS. From a table by Dr. Klein, showing the mea annual fre- quency of thunder-storms in different localities, Java appears to be the most favored in this respect, one locality being credited with 159 storms, and another with 110. Beyrout, in Syria, can count only four, while Sitka has an average of only one and a half per annum, as shown by a period of nine years.—17 C,no date. METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA IN CHILE. An unusual phenomenon was witnessed lately at Serena, in Chilé, on the 7th ult., due to the reflection of the sun on some masses of clouds which extended in the form of ezrro cumuli along the Bay of Coquimbo. The sun’s disk was seen some- what opaque in the centre of a great cloud of a fine golden color, along the edges of which were seven more disks of a brighter golden tint appearing as satellites around the set- ting orb: In the lower part of the cloud the image of part of the Bay of Coquimbo was reflected, as if seen in a gigantic mirror. The phenomena were visible for the space of seven- teen minutes, when they sank gradually below the horizon, like fugitive stars in the ocean.—Panama Star and Herald, November 2,1871. CLIMATE OF MICHIGAN. Professor Winchell, in a late magazine article upon the climate of Michigan, adduces figures to show that while the July climate of Michigan is cooler than that of Wisconsin 36 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. and Minnesota, the growing season begins on the western side of the state thirteen days earlier in the spring than it does at Milwaukee, nearly opposite, and continues from five to eight days later in the autumn; a still greater contrast be- ing appreciable if localities in the interior of Wisconsin be se- lected. The extreme cold of Grand Haven, Michigan, too, is 14° higher than that of Milwaukee, the difference, according to Professor Winchell, being all that distinguishes between a fruit-bearing region and one in which fruits fail. . DOES THE MOON EXERCISE ANY INFLUENCE ON THE WEATHER ? A paper has been recently published by Streintz upon the question whether the moon exercises any appreciable influ- ence upon meteorological phenomena, based upon a discus- sion of twenty years’ observation at the Greenwich Observa- tory. He gives it as the result of his investigations that the moon, in our latitude, exercises 7o influence upon the barom- eter, upon rains, nor upon the wind, which can be appreciated by the most careful observation within the last twenty years; and that if any such influence occur, it must be extremely slight.—18 C, xxxu1, August 16,1871, 513. SALT AND PYRITES IN HAIL-STONES, The transportation of sand from’ Africa to Italy, France, and the Canaries by means of hurricanes has frequently been observed and referred to in scientific journals; but a transfer of salt, as recently reported to have taken place in Switzer- land, is perhaps a more unusual phenomenon. ‘According to Professor Kenngott, of Zurich, a hail-storm lasting five min- utes occurred at eleven o’clock in the morning of the 20th of August, 1870, the stones from which were found to possess a salty taste. Some of them weighed twelve grains. They were found to consist essentially of true salt, such as occurs in Northern Africa on the surface of the plains, mainly in hexaedric crystals or their fragments, of a white color, with partly sharp and partly rounded grains and edges. None of the crystals were entirely perfect, but appeared as if they had been roughly developed on some surface. There seems little doubt but that their source was precisely the same as that of the sand, having been taken up and brought over the Mediterranean Sea from some part of Africa. B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 37 A still more remarkable phenomenon has been recently re- corded by Professor Eversmann, of Kasan—namely, the oc- currence of hailstones each containing a small crystal of sul- phuret of iron. These crystals were probably weathered from some rocks in large quantity, and were then taken up from the surface of the ground by a storm, and, when carried into the hail-forming clouds, served as a nucleus for the for- mation of hailstones.—3 C, June 26, 1871, 618. TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH IN THE MONT CENIS TUNNEL. Advantage has recently been taken of the borings in the Mont Cenis Tunnel to ascertain the interior temperature of the earth, the experiments being instituted at a point in the tunnel which was situated five thousand four hundred feet from the surface. Here special borings were made to a depth of ten feet in lateral excavations, which were closed for a con- siderable period of time after the instruments were inserted. The temperature obsermmaat this point was a little over 823° Fahr.—7 C, 1871, 304. INFLUENCE OF BAROMETRIC PRESSURE ON TIDES. Dr. Carpenter, in a late communication to ature, calls at- tention to the neglect, in the late discussions upon the ocean currents, of published observations made upon the influence of variations of barometric pressure upon the sea-level. In this connection he remarks that, according to one author, a fall of one inch in the barometer is pretty uniformly accom- panied by a rise of the sea-level to about thirteen times this . amount, or thirteen inches; and another makes the ratio to be about one to thirteen and a half inches, this being subse- quently corrected to about twelve and three fourths inches. Dr. Carpenter thinks that this relationship of barometric press- ure to the height of the tides may serve to explain a number of anomalous “phenomena that have perplexed observers, es- pecially with reference to unusual rises of tide, and ‘ies re- tention at a high level longer than customary.—12 A, April 20, 1871, 481. RELATION OF RADIATION IN THE TROPICS TO ZODIACAL LIGHT. M. Galliard, of Guadaloupe, states, as the result of numer- ous and exact observations, that between the tropics radia- 38 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. tion appears to exist in a constant relation to the density of the zodiacal light ; or, in other words, that its light is a screen, which, by its relative opacity, arrests a portion of the heat emitted by the sun. This fact is, he says, placed beyond a doubt by a long series of thermometrical observations com- pared with the observations of the density of the zodiacal light.—3 B, September 7, 1871, 524. BLUE COLOR OF LAKE WATER. We have already made some reference to the observations of Professor Tyndall in regard to the cause of the blue color of the Lake of Geneva, and to his ascribing it to the presence of solid particles of extreme fineness suspended in the water. The researches of Professor Tyndall, and of Professor Loret on the same subject, have been reproduced by Professor De- lafontaine, of Chicago, and lately presented before the Acad- emy of Sciences of that city. As the result of his observa- tions, he stated that common water, when crossed by a beam pr Leht, becomes illuminated, and assumes a blue color, polar- izing the light in the same way that air does, and that it loses this property on having undergone a complete purification by the removal of solid matter suspended in the liquid. His ex- periments were tried upon the Chicago River water in its natural state, which exhibited great illuminating power even after a rest of several weeks. By first filtering and then care- fully distilling the same water, with the aid of permanganate of potash, for the purpose of removing the organic matter, he found that it lost almost the whole of its power of illumina- tion.— Chicago Times, December 14,1870, PHYSICAL ATLAS QF FRANCE. An important work has just been commenced in France, under the direction of Messrs. Delaunay and Marié Davy, with the title of “ Physical Atlas of France,” a specimen num- ber having been issued by these gentlemen for the criticism of their friends and correspondents. The scale on which most of the maps are to be executed is two millionths of an inch, which is thought to be sufficiently large to allow a represen- tation of the different elements to be included. The subjects treated of in this atlas will be classified under six different heads: first, the political administrative condition of France, B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 39 such as the ancient and modern divisions into provinces, de- partments, judicial districts, university and military districts, _ ete. ; second, the soil and the waters of France, such as maps of the bottom of the sea, of the flora and marine fauna of the coast, relief maps of the soil and water-courses, general and special geological maps, etc. ; third, the climatology of France, showing the lines of equal temperature, rairi and wind maps according to the season, maps of storms, hail, ete.; fourth, the agronomy of France, such as maps of geographic botany, of the leafing, flowering, and fructification of plants, maps showing the condition of culture, the portions oceupied by woods, sterile patches, meadows, etc., maps of natural and artificial irrigations, etc.; fifth, the industry, commerce, and navigation of France, including maps of telegraphic and post- al lines, of railways and canals, and showing the distribu- tion of the different industries, as well as maps of the mineral and manufacturing productions. The sixth and last division is that of population, including ethnology and archeology, maps of the density of the population, of the price of daily labor, maps of primary, secondary, and superior instruction, of the prisons, the endemic maladies, the size of the conscripts, ete. The specimen number of this work relates to the navigable waters, and how far they are navigable from the sea for war or other vessels, the amount of water at the different seasons, their industrial utilization, the amount disposable for agricul- ture and the amount actually used for irrigation, the mineral composition of the waters, etc. Also the relief of the bottom of the sea, and the composition of its bottom in reference to navigation ; and the mineral, animal, and vegetable produc- tions found at the bottom of the sea, and the places of their production ; the sedentary and nomadic population, who oc- cupy their time in fishing; the position of light-houses and life-saying stations, etc.—3 B, xxv1., October 26, 1871, 213. PENDULUM EXPERIMENTS IN INDIA. We have already referred to the pendulum experiments carried on by Captain Basevi in India, having for their spe- cial object the determination of the mass of the earth in that region, and we regret to hear of the untimely interruption of these important observations by the death of this accomplish- 40 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ed physicist. As far as the results of his labors are known, it would appear that the local variations of gravity which are superposed on the great law of increase from the equator to the poles, though apparently irregular when examined singly, are subject to laws which are highly interesting and curious, and are well worthy of investigation. At the northern ex- tremity of the arc the results indicate a deficiency of density as the stations approach the Himalayan Mountains, while at — the southern extremity they show an increase of density as the stations approach the ocean: thus both groups of results point to a law of diminution of density under mountains and continents, and an,increase under the bed of the ocean. While this applies to altitudes of seven thousand feet and under, it remained to determine the conditions at greater heights, and arrangements were made to experiment on some of the table-lands of the interior of the Himalayas fourteen thousand to seventeen thousand feet in height. After this was done, the pendulums were to be taken back to England, and swung at thé base stations of Greenwich and Kew, stop- ping at Aden, on the Suez Canal. In this way the gravity at Aden would be directly compared with that at certain points of the coast and ‘continental stations of the Indian pen- insula, while the plains of Egypt would be compared with the Himalayan Mountains. In the prosecution of this research, Captain Basevi reached a spot in Ladak where, at an altitude of fifteen thousand five hundred feet, he completed a satisfac- tory series of observations, which show a very gross deficien- cy of density. After applying the usual reductions ‘to sea- level, etc., it was found that the force of gravity at that point did not exceed the normal amount for the parallel of six de- grees to the south, as determined by previous observations with the same pendulums. Wishing to have one more independent determination at a high altitude, Captain Basevi continued his journey to a point on the borders of the Chinese territories at an altitude of about sixteen thousand feet. Here, however, his labors were abruptly closed by disease, which had been impending for some time, and but a short period elapsed before his death occurred. C. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, AND SOUND. 4] C. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, AND SOUND. PHOTOGRAPHING MAGNETIC CURVES. Professor A, M. Mayer, of Lehigh University, has devised an ingenious method of fixing, photographing, arfd exhibiting the magnetic spectra. For this purpose he takes a clean plate of thin glass and coats it with a film of shellac, formed by flowing over it an alcoholic solution of this substance just as the photographic print is coated with collodion. After the plate has remained a day or two in a dry atmosphere, it is placed over a magnet or magnets, with the ends resting on slips of wood so that.the under surface of the plate just touches the magnet. Fine iron filings are now sifted uni- formly over the film of lac by means of a fine sieve. The spectrum is then produced, on vibrating the plate, by letting fall vertically upon it, at different points, a light piece of copper wire. The plate is now cautiously lifted off the mag- net, and brought quite close to the under surface of a cast- iron plate which has been well heated. Here the shellac is softened uniformly, and the iron filings sink into the film, and are fixed. The heat should be allowed to continue until the metallic lustre of the filings has disappeared by sinking into the shellac, and the film appears quite transparent. After the plate is cooled, any superfluous filings are knocked off by inverting and gently tapping it. These plates may then be used either as permanent objects of exhibition, or as nega- tives from which to print, in the usual way, an accurate rep- resentation of the foci, lines of direction, etc. They can also be used as slides for a magic lantern.—Am. Jour. Sci., April, 1871, 260. DUCHEMIN’S ELECTRIC PILE. M. Duchemin has recently presented to the notice of the French Academy of-Science a new electrical pile, which is so arranged that, on being placed in contact with the sea, it instantly becomes a source of electricity, by means of the oxidizing of the liquid which surrounds it, as well as by agi- tation and perpetual renewal. His model consisted of a per- 42 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. forated vase, placed on a cross-piece of wood and supported on a float. This vase is protected by a cylinder made of thick zine, and pierced with holes, the stem of which repre- sents the negative pole. In this vase is placed a piece of carbon, on top of which the positive conductor pole is placed. This piece of carbon is surrounded by fragments of coke and perchloride of iron, and the top of the vase is suitably closed. Under the influence of the salt water the zinc decomposes the liquid, the hydrogen passes to the perchloride, and the elec- tricity is thus exhibited in a very appreciable form.—7 A, June 15, 535. NEW SALT FOR ELECTRICAL BATTERIES. A French chemist, M. Etéve, has patented a composition of the double acetate of iron and potassa, for the purpose of pro- ducing very intense electrical currents, and intended espe- cially as a substitute for nitric acid, which, as is known, pro- duces very disagreeable nitrous vapors. For this purpose, one part, by weight, of the sulphate of iron, and the same quantity of the nitrate of potassa, are dissolved in a proper quantity of the acetic acid of commerce, the solution being aided by a slight degree of heat. The crystals which form on cooling are to be collected, washed, and dried in the stove. —4 B, August 1, 747. GALVANIC ELEMENT WITH ONE LIQUID. A galvanic element with one liquid, as recently announced, consists of a galvanic cell, composed of zinc and carbon, placed in a fluid made up of 40 parts of water, 4.5 of bichro- mate of potassa, 9 parts of concentrated sulphuric acid, 4 parts of sulphate of soda, and 4 parts of the double sulphate of potassa and iron, this producing a very regular current.’ It is said that the zinc need not be amalgamated, and that no gas is evolved.—5 A, October, 1870, 446. ELECTRO-DEPOSITED IRON. According to Dr. Klein, iron obtained by galvanic deposit is not the pure metal, as generally supposed, but is a mixture of iron and hydrogen, which, when heated to redness, gives off an enormous amount of the gas, and, while greatly in- creasing in bulk, becomes a silver white, very soft, ductile, C. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, AND SOUND. 43 and malleable metal, which decomposes water readily below the boiling point, and oxidizes very rapidly. — 1 A, Septem- ber 23, 155. IMPROVED ELECTRIC AMALGAM, It is well known that a deposit of moisture greatly inter- feres with the action of electrical machines, experiments often wholly failing from this cause, especially in the winter sea- son. Mr. F. Dietlen, of Klagenfurt, has devised a method by which he obviates this difficulty, consisting simply in a modi- fication of the amalgamation of the rubber cushion. For this purpose he pours petroleum over zine filings, and adds an equal quantity of mercury (though an excess of mercury fa- cilitates the process). The mixture is then brought, by work- ing together in a mortar, to the condition of a homogeneous: paste, and pressed between a double cloth. A soft mass is thus obtained, which, however, soon hardens; but which, be- ing finely pulverized and mixed with a proper quantity of grease, is spread upon the rubber cushion. This makes the surface quite glossy, and, when the glass disk has previously been wiped with a piece of cotton slightly impregnated with petroleum or benzine, will act even in damp localities where the usual arrangement fails.—9 C, 1871, 111., 20. DEVELOPMENT OF OZONE BY THE BATTERY. Professor Boettger informs us that if a solution of nitrate of bismuth be decomposed by the galvanic current, an un- commonly large amount of ozone is developed at the pole connected with the platinum element, while the platinum it- self becomes coated with a layer of superoxide of bismuth at the same time. By a similar treatment of a silver or lead salt there is a like deposit of superoxide of these metals, but with- out any special development of ozone.—15 C, 1871, xx., 320. CELESTIAL ORIGIN OF POSITIVE ELECTRICITY. M. Becquerel has recently presented a memoir to the Acad- emy of Sciences of Paris upon the celestial origin of atmos- pheric electricity, or rather of the positive electricity distrib- uted in enormous quantities in the planetary spaces. This he finds in the hydrogen electrized positively which escapes continually from the sun. According to modern observa- 44 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. tions the solar spots are in reality cavities, by which the hy- drogen, and the various substances composing the solar at- mosphere, escape from the photosphere, this hydrogen being the result of a decomposition, bringing with it positive elec- tricity, which is distributed in the planetary spaces, diminish- ing in intensity more and more toward the earth, in conse- quence of the poor conducting power of the more and more dense strata of the air, and of the superficial crust of the earth, this latter being negative only because it is less posi- tive than the air. For this electricity to be propagated in any medium, some substance is necessary as a vehicle; and it is established, in fact, that the luminous properties of electricity belong in a great degree, if not entirely, to the ponderable matter across which the electric discharges are transmitted. The auroras result from the discharges of this electricity, thus explaining, according to M. Becquerel, the rustling or crackling sound heard by the inhabitants of the polar regions. This occur- rence, although apparently well attested, has been denied by some; but the experience of M. Rollier, the intrepid aeronaut who was carried in his balloon last December from Paris to Norway, and landed upon a snow-covered mountain 10,000 feet high, confirms this view. This gentleman remarks, in his report of the voyage, that while passing through a thin fog he perceived the brilliant rays of an aurora tinging every thing with its strange light. Very soon a curious and incom- prehensible roaring was heard; but this, after a time, ceased entirely, with the development of a decided odor of sulphur, which was almost suffocating.—3 B, 1871, August 10,172. DURATION OF VISION, Professor Ogden N. Rood, of Columbia College, in a late number of Silliman’s Journal has an article upon the amount — of time necessary for vision, and refers to an experiment of Wheatstone, which seems to show that distinct vision is pos- sible in a period of less than one millionth of a second. He, however, refers to experiments of his own, by which electric sparks were produced whose duration was only the forty bil- lionth part of a seeond; and yet, during their continuance, the letters on a printed page were plainly to be seen; and in polariscope observations the cross and rings around the axis -C. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, AND SOUND. —~ 45 of crystals could be appreciated, with all their peculiarities. He thinks, however, that while this period is sufficient for the production of a strong and distinct impression upon the reti- na, a smaller interval will suffice for many purposes, and that four billionths of a second, and, perhaps, even a shorter time, -may be sufficient. This, according to the Professor, is not so wonderful, if we accept the doctrine of the undulatory theory of light, as, according to it, in four billionths of a second nearly two and a half millions of the mean undulations of light reach and act upon the eye.—4 D, September, 1871, 155. INFLUENCE OF LIGHT ON PETROLEUM. According to recent researches, petroleum, when exposed to solar light, absorbs oxygen and changes it into ozone, al- though this does not combine with the oil, the ozone remain- ing free, and oxidizing every thing with which it comes in contact. Petroleum oils impregnated with ozone have a to- tally altered smell, burn with more difficulty, and attack the cork stoppers of the vessels very strongly. Ifthe vessels are of glass, their color exercises much influence upon the absorp- tion of oxygen by the petroleum. Thus petroleum oils, when exposed in white glass to solar and daylight, become yellow and impregnated with ozone, assuming a greater specific gravity, and losing their ready combustibility. This is said to be especially the case with American petroleums. The practical inference may therefore be deduced that petroleum intended for burning should be kept in stone or metal vessels, or, if in glass, protected as much as possible against the influ- ence of daylight.—13 C, 1871, August 11,1151. SPECTRUM ANALYSIS OF BLOOD. Mr. H.C. Sorby, well known for his skill in spectrum anal- ysis, in reply to certain expressed doubts, maintains that there is no better way of determining the existence of blood, -under any given circumstances, than its examination by means of the spectroscope. The absorption bands are perfect- ly distinct and well defined, and, indeed, so marked that a stain containing less than one hundredth of a grain can be recognized even after the lapse of fifty years. In this asser- tion he does not wish to be understood as stating that human blood can be thus definitely distinguished from that of other 46 | ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. animals, but simply blood as compared with other animal and vegetable coloring substances.—20 A, June 10, 658. DIFFUSION OF LIGHT BY FUCHSINE. Mr. Christiansen was the first to ascertain that the disper- sion of light by fuchsine is different from that of other bodies. Mr. Kundt has since discovered that nearly all bodies which in the solid state show a well-defined surface color have an abnormal dispersion spectrum when examined in the form of a concentrated solution. In fuchsine, aniline blue, aniline green, indigo, indigo carmine, carthamine, murexide, cyanine, hyper-manganate of potash, and in carmine, the red light is more dispersed than the blue; and in bodies with green in their surface color, the green in the spectrum is least deflect- ed. Thus cyanine, aniline violet, aniline blue, and even in- digo carmine, give the colors as follows: green, blue, red— the green being least deflected.—19 C, xx., 162. THE SPECTROSCOPE FOR TESTING THE PURITY OF WATER. Professor Church, of Cirencester, has lately applied the spectroscope to excellent advantage in determining the ques- tion of infiltration of sewage into water. In one instance, where several cases of typhoid fever had been developed in a particular neighborhood, which it was suspected had been caused by the use of water contaminated by drainage from a urinal, a few grains of a lithium salt were introduced into the urinal. Two hours after, a spectroscopic examination of the well-water referred to showed unmistakably the presence of lithium, while previously no traces of its existence had been found under the same treatment.—1 A, December 30, 322. ILLUSTRATION OF FLUORESCENCE. Professor Fliickiger, of Berne, has recently detailed a method of preparing a liquid which exhibits the phenomenon of fluo- rescence to a very remarkable degree. If one drop of nitric” acid be added to about seventy of the essential oil of pepper- mint, and the two thoroughly shaken together, the fluid turns to a faint yellow color, and then becomes brownish. After an hour or more it assumes a brilliant blue-violet, or green- ish-blue, when examined by transmitted light. ‘Seen by re- flected light, the liquid is of a copper color, and not transpa- rent.-—6 A, April 29, 527. C. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, AND SOUND. 47 BLUE COLOR OF LAKE AND SEA WATER. Professor Tyndall has recently been investigating the cause of the blue color of the water of the Lake of Geneva, speci- mens having been transmitted to him for the purpose. He finds that this color is caused, as had previously been sug- gested, by the presence of small mineral particles, probably derived from glacier dust (brought into the lake by drain- age from glacier streams), of such extreme minuteness as not to settle even when the water is allowed to stand for a long time. Professor Tyndall furthermore states that not only is the light mainly blue from the first moment of its reflection from the minute particles, ®ut the less refrangible elements which always accompany the blue are still further abstract- ed during the transmission of the scattered light by true molecular absorption. These two causes, scattering and ab- sorption, he considers sufficient to account satisfactorily for the exceptional blueness of both the Lake of Geneva and of _ the Mediterranean Sea.—12 A, October 20, 487. BOILING POINT OF UNMISCIBLE LIQUIDS. Mr. Kundt announces in Poggendorft’s “Annalen” that where two liquids having different boiling points are brought together, that do not combine with each other, as, for exam- ple, water and benzole, water and oil of cloves, water and sulphide of carbon, etc., they will boil at a lower tempera- ture than when the more volatile of these liquids is brought to ebullition by itself. This fact may be placed side by side with that lately published, that a liquid having a boiling point higher than that of water can be brought to boil by steam applied through pipes in a suitable manner.—1 A, October 14,191. ACOUSTIC PHENOMENA ON MOUNT SINAI. Captain Palmer gave an account to the British Association of a remarkable acoustic phenomenon on a certain mountain in the peninsula of Mount Sinai, from which loud and myste- rious noises are frequently known to proceed. This mountain is a peculiar sand-slope, about two hundred feet high, and nearly triangular in shape, eighty yards wide at the base, narrowing toward the top, where it runs off into three or four 48 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. small gulleys. Sandstone cliffs bound it on each side. The © sand is of a pale yellowish color, and is so pure and fine, and so perfectly dry, and at the same time lies at so high an angle (nearly 30°) with the horizon as to be set in motion by the slightest cause. When any considerable quantity is thus in motion, rolling slowly down the slope like some viscous fluid, then the singular acoustic phenomenon is heard, from which the mountain derives its name—at first a deep, ‘swelling, vi- bratory moan, rising gradually to a dull roar, loud enough when at its height to be almost startling, and then as gradu- ally dying away till the sand ceases to roll. Captain Palmer states that it is difficult to describe this sound exactly. It is not metallic, nor like the soundsof a bell, nor yet that of a gong ; pethaps the very hoarsest note of an Atolian harp, or the sound produced by rubbing the wet rim of a deep-toned finger-glass most closely resembles it, except that the rolling sand has less music in it. It may be likened to the noise pro- duced by air rushing into the mouth of an empty metal flask or bottle, sometimes almost approaching the roar of thunder, and then resembling the deeper notes of a violoncello or the hum of a humming-top. In the course of two days’ experi- ments, Captain Palmer ascertained that the hot surface-sand was always more productive of sound than the cooler layers underneath, the hot particles appearing to run more quickly than the cold.—15 A, August 19, 246. NEW FORM OF SENSITIVE FLAME. Some of our readers are familiar with the interesting phys- ical fact that certain flames are exceedingly sensitive to sound, and have seen notices of the experiments of Professor Tyndall and Professor Pepper, in London, upon this subject. Quite recently, according to Watwre, a new form of sensitive flame has been devised by Mr. Barry, of Cork, which is said to be the most easily affected one known, possessing the ad- vantage that the ordinary pressure in a gas-main is quite suf- ficient to develop it. The method of producing it consists in igniting the ordinary coal-gas, not at the burner, but some, inches above it, by interposing between the burner and the flame a piece of wire gauze of about thirty-two meshes to the inch. A pin-hole burner is used, so as to produce a conical flame. C. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, AND SOUND. 49 The gauze should be held steadily about two inches above the burner, by means of a retort-stand. The flame is a slen- der cone about four inches high, the upper portion giving a bright yellow light, the base being a non-luminous blue flame. At the least noise this flame roars, sinking down to the sur- face of the gauze, becoming at the same time almost invis- ible. It is very active in its responses, and being rather a noisy flame, its sympathy is wise ghia to the ear as “well as to the eye. To the vowel sounds it does not seem to answer so dis- criminately as the vowel flame of Professor Tyndall. It is extremely sensitive to a, very slightly to e, more so to 2, en- tirely insensitive to 0, but slightly sensitive to vw. It dances in the most perfect manner to a small musical snuff-box, and is highly sensitive to most of the sonorous vibrations which affect the vowel flame, though it possesses some points of dif- ference.—12 A, November 9, 1871, 30. ; HEAT OF COMBUSTION OF STONE-COAL. In a careful inquiry upon the heat of combustion of stone- coal by Scheurer-Kestner and Meunier, the conclusion was reached that during the formation of coal a certain quantity of heat must have been absorbed, since the theoretical heat of combustion was always less than that actually observed. In our entire ignorance of the constitution of coal, it is im- possible, however, according to the authors, to determine the nature of this absorption. It would furthermore appear that, from our want of knowledge of the composition of coal, we can not calculate the heat of combustion. Two coals of pre- cisely the same chemical composition may and do afford very different degrees of heat in combustion.—18 C, xxx11., Aug- _ ust 16,1871, 523. ON HEAT EVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF AQUEOUS SOLU- TIONS. In a memoir by Mohr upon the heat evolved in the forma- tion of aqueous solutions, it is stated that the fall of temper- ature occasioned by the solution of salt in water, or by mix- ing salt with snow, is to be ascribed to a change in the state of. aggregation. Referring, however, to the fact that a fall of temperature is observed when an aqueous solution of com- C 50 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. mon salt is mixed with an additional quantity of water, when no liquefaction takes place, he remarks that this explanation does not account for the loss of heat, but that part of the heat disappears and becomes latent, or enters the body in such a manner as to give rise to a new and permanent qual- ity, namely, lower freezing-point.—21 A, [X., July, 1871, 475. OPPOSITE CURRENTS OF ELECTRICITY. It is stated by the London Athencewm that Mr. C.F. Var- ley, the well-known electrician, has devised a method by which four currents of electricity can be delivered simulta- neously by a single wire, even in opposite directions. ACTION OF MAGNETISM ON GASES TRAVERSED BY ELECTRICAL CURRENTS. Ina paper by MM. A. de la Rive and E. Sarasin, in the Bid- liothéque Universelle, the following conclusions are announced as the result of a Lae series of experiments upon the action of magnetism on gases traversed by electrical currents: 1 The action of magnetism exerted upon a portion only of an electric jet traversing a rarefied gas causes an augmentation of density in this portion. 2. This action exerted upon an electric jet placed eguatorially between the poles of an-elec- tro-magnet produces in the rarefied gas an augmentation of resistance proportional to the conductivity of the gas itself. 3. On the contrary, it causes a corresponding diminution of resistance when the jet is axially between the two magnetic poles. 4. When the action of the magnetism is to impress a athe movement of rotation upon the electric jet, it has no influence upon the conductivity if the rotation be in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the iron cylinder detaining the rotation, and diminishes it considerably if the rotation takes place so that the jet describes a cylinder round the axis. 5. These effects do not seem to be due to variations of density, but to perturbations in the arrangement of the par- ticles of the rarefied gas.—12 A, July 20, 236. D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. — 51 D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. ALUMINIUM FOR SMALL WEIGHTS. Dr. Phipson recommends very warmly the employment of aluminium in the manufacture of very small weights. The advantages, as set forth by him, are their immunity from the inconvenience attaching to the use of brass weights in a chemical laboratory, in retaining their brilliancy untarnished, and in not losing their value by oxidation. The much great- er bulk occupied by a given weight, as compared with brass or other metal, enables one to handle them much more read- ily, and a considerably smaller weight can be used, without inconvenience, than has been generally thought practicable in such cases. A set used by Dr. Phipson contains fourteen weights, from half a gramme to one and a half milligrammes, the latter (less than the one fortieth of a grain) not being very easily handled when made of any other metal.—1 A, October 14, 187. RUSTING OF IRON. Professor Calvert, after repeated experiments, has found that pure dry oxygen does not determine the oxidation of iron, and that moist oxygen has but feeble action; also that dry or moist pure carbonic acid has no action, but that when moist oxygen containing traces of carbonic acid is brought into contact with iron, the latter rusts with great rapidity. He concludes, therefore, that carbonic acid is the agent which determines the oxidation of iron, and that it is the presence of carbonic acid in the atmosphere, and not its oxygen or its watery vapor, that produces the oxidation of iron exposed to common air. In one experiment he found that if clean biades of the best quality of iron be placed in water which has been well boiled, and deprived of its oxygen and carbonic acid, they will not rust for several weeks; and that if a aiming blade be half immersed in a bottle containing equal volumes of pure distilled water and oxygen, the portion dipping 1 in the water becomes rapidly oxidized, while the upper portion remains unaltered. But if to the abnibe pore be added some 52 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. carbonic acid, chemical reaction on the exposed portion, with rapid oxidation, takes place immediately. In reference to the fact, first published by Berzelius, that caustic alkalies prevent the oxidation of iron, he remarks, as the result of special experiments on this subject, that the car- bonates and bicarbonates of the alkalies possess the same property as their hydrates; and that if an iron blade be half immersed in a solution of such carbonates, they exercise such a preservative influence on that portion of the bar which is exposed to the atmosphere or common air (oxygen and car- bonic acid) that it does not oxidize even after a period of two years.—1 A, March 3, 98. HYDRATE OF CHLORAL FOR REDUCING METALS. Hydrate of chloral may in many cases, according to a Ger- man pharmaceutical journal, be conveniently applied to the reduction of precious metals. For this purpose a solution of gold, platinum, etc., is mixed with hydrate of chloral and an excess of caustic potash or soda, and the whole heated to- gether. After boiling for about one minute the reduction is complete, and the precipitate is easily washed. In the case of silver the action is especially satisfactory, but solutions of salts of mercury are not reduced.—14 C, 1871, v1, 513. REDUCTION OF NATIVE SULPHIDES. Native sulphides of metals often occur of much value in a metallurgical point of view, but which can not be reduced in consequence of the great scarcity of fuel. Dr. Kopp, in a re- cent paper, mentions the results of a series of experiments upon such substances, for the purpose of ascertaining wheth- er certain cheap and abundant chemical reagents can be made to act upon the minerals in question (without at the same time affecting their gangue), so as to bring them into a con- dition fit for being readily converted into metals. The re- agents named as suitable for the purpose in question are common salt, chloride of iron, and hydrochloric acid. In this paper it is stated that the most economical method of ex- tracting the small quantity of copper present in previously burned pyrites consists in first exposing the burned substance to heat and moisture, and then pouring over the material a solution of common salt. A small addition of hydrochloric D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 53 acid is useful, and the copper in this way becomes converted into a soluble chloride.—5 A, October, 1870, 424. REDUCTION OF ORES BY CHLORIDE OF IRON. A method of reducing ores by means of chloride of iron has recently been patented, which is specially adapted to the ex- traction of metals alloyed with sulphur, arsenic, or antimony. The process depends upon the fact that chloride of iron, in the presence of air and water, readily decomposes sulphur, arsenic, and antimonial combinations, iron or copper pyrites, the sulphurets of cobalt, nickel, sulphuret of antimony, lead, silver, ete. The chloride of iron is reduced to chloruret of iron, and the metals transferred into chlorides, the chloruret of iron being again changed to chloride by the influence of the oxygen of the atmosphere, etc. If among the ores to be manipulated there be too little sulphur, it is well to add, from time to time, a little free acid, such as nitric, in order to assist the reconstitution of the chloride of iron. With iron or copper pyrites it is only necessary to add common salt, since the sulphur of the ore is oxidized by means of the chlo- ride of iron and atmospheric air, with the result of producing sulphate of iron or sulphate of copper.—13 C,1871, June 1, I1., 714. COLOROMETRIC DETERMINATION OF GOLD IN QUARTZ. A process for the colorometric estimation of the quantity of gold in quartz has been submitted by Mr. Skey, of the gov- ernment laboratory, to the Philosophical Society of, Welling- ton, New Zealand, which is ‘said to meet all requirements without the necessity of using quicksilver. The stone to be estimated, after having been thoroughly crushed and calcined, is immersed in a bath of iodine or bromine, and permitted to stand for some time. Slips of Swedish filtering-paper are then dipped in the fluid and dried alternately until the paper is thoroughly -saturated, after which they are burned in a muffle. If no gold be present the ashes will be white, but one pennyweight to the ton will give them a beautiful pur- ple color. It is believed that further experiments, with io- dine or bromine baths, of known contents of gold, will enable the exact proportion of gold to be tested by the colorometric method.—8 A, October 1,181. 54 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. NON-AMALGAMABLE GOLD. The attention of Mr. Skey, of the Geological Survey of New Zealand, was called to a reported loss of gold during the process of extraction by mercury, and he found, on care- ful examination, that numerous samples of bright, clean-look- ing gold of two degrees of fineness refused to amalgamate on any part of their natural surfaces, and he ascertained by ex- periment that on such surfaces sulphur is always present. He also found that native pure gold will readily absorb sul- phur from moist sulphuret of hydrogen or sulphide of ammo- nium, and that surfaces so treated refuse to amalgamate, al- though exhibiting no apparent change in their surfaces. He shows, however, that by roasting in an open fire, or by bring- ing it in contact with cyanide of potassium, chromic and ni- tric acid, and chloride of lime acidified, gold-so affected is rendered amalgamable, unless copper be present to the ex- tent of seven per cent., or perhaps less.—1 A, 1870, 282. THIRD SILVER ALLOY. An story: known as the Alliage tiers argent, or third silver alloy, has been assayed, and has been ascertained to be com- posed of copper, 59.06 parts; silver, 27.56; zine, 9.57; nickel, 3.44, making a total of 99.63 parts. Its external color is pre- cisely similar to that of pure silver, but on the fracture, which is finely granular, the color is light yellow, with a shade into reddish.—13 C, August 11,1222. TESTING SILVERY COATING OF METAIS. It is sometimes a matter of interest to be able to determine, by means of a simple test, the nature of a silvery coating to a metal, whether it be pure silver or some other substance. This is said to be readily accomplished by the use of a cold saturated solution of bichromate of potash in pure nitric acid, of one and two tenths specific gravity. The: surface of the article to be tested is to be first washed with strong alcohol, so as to remove any lacquering, and then a drop of the solu- tion applied by means of a glass rod, the place affected being immediately after rinsed off with water. Ifthe substance in question be silver, a distinet blood-red spot of chromate of silver will be perceived. - The spot is brown on German sil- D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 55 ver, and after rinsing shows no trace of red. With Britannia (composed of tin, antimony, and a little copper) a black spot will be developed, but no effect will be seen with platinum. Upon a surface amalgamated with mercury a reddish-brown deposit will be perceived, which is completely washed away on rinsing. With lead and bismuth a yellow deposit remains. Zine becomes strongly etched, the liquid, however, disappear- ing completely on rinsing. Tin is attacked also very decided- ly, but the test liquid imparts a brownish color, and an addi- tion of water produces a yellow deposit which readily attach- es itself to the metal.—8 C,1870, 411. ‘EXTRACTION OF COPPER FROM REFUSE PYRITES. The copper-mining industry of Cornwall is said, according to the Atheneum, to be suffering from a new form of compe- tition. Iron pyrites, it is stated, is now imported in immense quantities from Sweden and Norway for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, and, after the sulphur is extracted,is operated upon for the two per cent. of copper which it contains. About 4000 tons of metal were obtained in 1869 from this source, while the entire yield from the native ores the same year was only about 8000 tons.—14 C, CC., 242. PHOSPHORUS IN BRONZE. An improved method of manufacturing bronze consists in introducing phosphorus in some form during the process of melting the copper, tin, or other metals which form the basis of the compounds, the effect being to very greatly improve the quality as regards elasticity, hardness, and toughness.— 8 A, January, 1871, No. 6. FLUID ALLOY OF SODIUM AND POTASSIUM. It is stated that if 4 parts of sodium are mixed with 23 of potassium, the alloy will have exactly the appearance and consistency of mercury, remaining liquid at the ordinary tem- perature of the air.—1l A, August 5, 72. MALLEABLE BRONZE. It is said that, in consequence of the announcements made some months ago before the Academy of Sciences of Paris in reference to the subject of malleable bronze, this substance is 56 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. now likely to come into practical use in European and Amer- ican art. The existence of such a substance has long been known from specimens of very ancient origin, and from its use by the Chinese in the construction of their tom-toms. It may be prepared from bell-metal bronze, to which twenty per cent. of tin has been added, and heating to a dark red. This generally brittle metal thus becomes malleable, and can be readily forged and rolled out from a thickness of three or four millimetres to that of a half to a quarter of a millimetre. In the operation the density of the metal is increased, and it can be welded easily, preserving its entire homogeneity. The whole secret rests in giving the bronze the proper degree of heat, since without this it remains brittle—8 C, xxvu., July 6, 214. COATING FABRICS WITH METAL. For the purpose of coating fabrics and tissues with metal, such as copper, silver, and gold, the material is first to be im- pregnated with a solution of sulphate of copper in ammonia, and then dried. After drying, the whole is immersed in a warm solution of grape sugar, which develops oxide of cop- per, upon which silver or gold can be electroplated in the usual way.—13 C,1870, 367. COATING ZINC WITH IRON. According to C. Puscher, of Nuremberg, zinc utensils may be durably coated with iron in the following manner: Five ounces of pure sulphate of iron and three ounces of sal am- moniac are first dissolved in five pounds of boiling water, and the objects to be treated immediately immersed. After from one to two minutes, the loose black deposit is removed by brushing it off with water. The principal effect of this opera- tion is a perfect cleaning of the surface. The immersion in the hot iron solution is then repeated, with the difference that the objects when taken out are heated, without rinsing, over a pan of live coals as long as the ammoniacal vapors are evolved. When, after several immersions, the coating is con- sidered thick enough, it is polished by brushing, and will ever afterward be a perfect protection against oxidation. It im- parts a fine black lustre to the coated surfaces.—14 C’ CC., 47. D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 57 ELECTROPLATING WITH NICKEL, An important improvement in the electroplating of metal- lic objects with nickel has been patented by Mr. Adams, of Boston, and is now worked in several of our cities with much success, the result being to give to » great variety of articles, such as knives, forks, surgical and dental instruments, stair- rods, andirons, students’ lamps, plumbers’ materials, ete., a coating resembling polished steel, and quite as hard, and which is proof against ordinary oxidizing or other influences, retaining a high polish for a long period of time. The special feature of Mr. Adams’s invention, and that upon which the patent mainly rests, consists in the exclusion of the smallest quantity of potash, soda, or other alkaline earth from the bath containing the nickelizing preparation; pure double chloride of nickel and ammonium, or the perfect- ly pure sulphate of nickel and ammonia, and perfectly pure nickel being also required, as one of the electrodes, the nickel adhering regularly and strongly in consequence, and only needing polishing after the metal coated over is taken from the bath. ) It seems, however, that this precaution, as indicated by Mr. Adams, is not necessary, and that the general process may be prosecuted by any one without infringement of the patent, - as, according to M. Becquerel, potassa in no way affects in- juriously the deposition of nickel, since the double sulphate of nickel and potassa.can be applied as well as the double sulphate of nickel and ammonia; but if the positive electrode is not made of nickel, it is necessary to add free ammonia in order to saturate the sulphuric acid which is set free.—8 A, October 1, 185. NICKEL AND COBALT PLATING IN THE WET “WAY. Professor Stolba, of the polytechnic laboratory of the Poly- technicon of Prague, a chemist who has been the first to an- nounce to the world several important technical discoveries, especially in reference to the plating of metals, has just pub- lished, in Dingler’s Polytechnic Journal, an article upon the method of coating metals of all kinds with nickel and cobalt in the wet way, or by boiling; and he thinks that it will be quite possible to imitate the effect of, and even to furnish a C2 58 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. satisfactory substitute for, the method by electroplating, which has lately come so generally into use. The value of nickel plating is, of course, well understood, and it is now very much used wherever polished iron or brass is liable to corrode, as is particularly the case in the vicinity of salt water. In large-yachts, where expense is no consid- eration, all the metal work, as also the machinery of sea-going steamers, is often treated in this way; a notable instance of which may be seen in the yacht Resolute, a splendid vessel lately built for Mr. A. 8S. Hatch, of New York. The details of Professor Stolba’s process are too compli- cated for our pages; but we may say, in general terms, that it depends upon the action of salts of nickel in the presence of chloride of zinc and of the metal to be coated. The sub- stances required are: first, a suitable vessel for conducting the operation, which may be of porcelain or metal; second, a suitable salt of nickel, which may be either chloride, sulphate, or the sulphate of nickel and potassa; third, a solution of chlo- ride of zinc; fourth, clippings of sheet zinc or zine wire and powdered, zinc; fifth, pure hydrochloric acid. Cobaltizing, as Professor Stolba terms it, is conducted in very much the same way—a salt of cobalt being used in place of the salt of nickel.—14 C, CCL, 145. } ELECTROPLATING METAL WITH NICKEL OR COBALT. A process devised by Mr. Nagel, of Hamburg, for coating iron, steel, and other oxidizable metals with an electro de- posit of nickel or cobalt consists in taking 400 parts, by weight, of pure sulphate of the protoxide of nickel by crys- tallization, and 200 parts, by weight, of pure ammonia, so as to form a double salt, which is then dissolved in 6000 parts of distilled water, and 1200 parts of ammoniacal solution, of the specific gravity of 0.909, added. The electro deposit is effected by an ordinary galvanic current, using a platinum positive pole, the solution being heated to about 100° Fahr- enheit. The strength of the galvanic current is regulated according to the number of objects to be coated. For coat- ing with cobalt, 138 parts, by weight, of pure sulphate of co- balt are combined with 69 parts of pure ammonia, to form a double salt, which is then dissolved in 1000 parts of distilled water, and 120 parts of ammoniacal solution, of the same spe- D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 59 cific gravity as before, are added. The process of deposi- tion with cobalt is the same as with nickel. — 3. A, August 12,112. RAPID METHOD OF TINNING. A valuable recipe for tinning copper, brass, and iron in the cold, and without complicated apparatus, has recently been published by Prof. Stolba, of Prague. A prerequisite is that the article to be tinned be perfectly free from oxide or grease of any kind, it being necessary that the surface be cleaned in the most careful manner, although it is immaterial whether this be done by mechanical or chemical means, so that the desired object be effected. The substances used in the process are, first, powdered zine, which may be the ordinary zine dust, called sometimes zine gray, but that which is prepared expressly for the purpose will be best. For this it is only necessary to melt some pure zinc, and pour it into a previously warmed iron mortar. As soon as it has become hardened it can be readily pulverized, and should then be freed from its coarser grains by sifting. The proper fineness is that of ordinary writing-sand. The next ingredient is a five to ten per cent. solution of the salt of tin (simple chloride of tin), to which is to be added as much powdered cream of tartar as can be taken up on the point of aknife. Next is required a piece of sponge, or a pad of some kind. The process of tinning is extremely simple. The pad is first to be dipped in the solution of salt of tin, and applied to the object to be tinned, so as to moisten it thor- oughly. A small quantity of the zinc powder having been spread out on a glass plate, a portion of this powder is then to be taken up by the pad, and quickly and firmly rubbed upon the article in hand. The tinning makes its appearance almost immediately, and, in order that the surface may be coated uniformly, it is ail necessary to dip the pad alter- nately into the solution of tin (which is to be kept in a little dish) and into the zinc powder, and then to apply it. After the operation is completed, which, for small objects, requires only one or two minutes, the article is to be washed off in water, and then cleaned with Tripoli, or polishing powder. The effect of this application upon polished brass or copper is extremely beautiful, the surface resembling silver, and keep- 60 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ing its lustre for a long time. .The author of the process has applied it to great advantage in his laboratory for the pur- pose of coating articles of iron, steel, and copper, thereby pro- tecting them against rust. One difficulty in the process re- sults from the fact that only a very thin layer of tin can be applied. Should it become practicable to impart a thicker coating, it will probably acquire great importance. Experi- ments upon nickelizing metallic substances in a similar man- ner are in course of progress by the author, although thus far without satisfactory result.—14 C,CXCVIIL, December 4, 308. We learn that Professor Stolba’s experiments have been re- peated with much success. The tinning of cast-iron, wrought iron, steel, copper, and brass is found to be very satisfactory, the tin adhering very firmly, even when in-very thin layers. Diluted sulphuric acid, however, it is said, generally produced dark spots and removed the coating. Experiments have been made to apply the same process for the ornamentation of me- tallic objects. 'These were tried especially upon cast-iron ar- ticles electroplated with copper, where the projecting edges were tinned, with excellent effect. As greasy spots can not be tinned, it is only necessary to apply very thin layers of oil to the places where no deposit is desired in order to coat the remainder of the article with tin, thus producing a striking contrast.—6 C, v., 49. GALVANOPLASTIC COPIES FROM ORGANIC MATRICES. The usual method of obtaining galvanoplastic plates from matrices of an organic nature consists in either coating the surface with graphite or a powdery deposit of silver, or else imparting conductivity by sulphide of silver. These methods are only suitable for rough work, since the delicate gelatine reliefs produced in the operation are decidedly affected by the sprinkling of the substances mentioned, which destroy the sharpness of the detail. It is, therefore, much better to prg- duce a deposit of silver directly upon the gelatine in the sun- light, which, in consequence of the presence of an organic substance, will be in a state of purity, and attached uniformly and continnously upon the surface. For this purpose the gelatine relief sheet is to be fixed to a glass plate by means of copal varnish, and allowed to remain for an hour in a con- centrated solution of tannin, in order to render it insoluble in D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 61 water. It is then immersed in a silver bath until the entire surface of the relief is moistened. A copper wire, bent at right angles, is now to be moved over the horizontal surface of the object so as to touch the surface when placed in the sunlight. The silver is then deposited in the form of little rays upon the copper wire, and becomes a lustrous continuous coating upon that portion of the object touched by the cop- per. The plate is next to be taken out as horizontally as’ pos- _ sible from the solution, and laid in the sunlight to dry. The superfluous silver is then to be washed off with water, leaving behind a silvery layer, which is an excellent conductor of the. - galvanic current, so that a satisfactory result will be obtained with a small amount of electricity.—14 C, C., 315. GILDING AND SILVERING SILK. According to a formula published by Griine for silvering or gilding silk, the silk is to be soaked with a five per cent. ‘solution of iodide of potassium, and dried; then (in non-ac- tinic light) dipped in a five per cent. solution of nitrate of silver, containing a few drops of nitric acid, and well drain- ed; next exposed for a few minutes to sunlight, and then dipped in a two per cent. solution of sulphate of iron. It immediately becomes gray from reduction of metallic silver, and, after washing and drying, only requires burnishing in order to acquire the metallic lustre. By repeating this treat- ment, varied, however, by adding a little free iodine to the solution of iodide of potassium, the silver deposit becomes stronger. By laying the silvered silk in a very weak solution of chloride of gold the silver becomes chloride, and gold is deposited; and by then removing the chloride of silver by a solution of hyposulphite of soda, washing, drying, and bur- nishing, the appearance of gilding is produced, if the deposit of metal be sufficiently thick. The purest chemicals must be used in order to secure satisfactory results.—Jour. Chem. Soe. Lond., 1871, June, 450. MICROSCOPIC CHARACTER OF IRON AND STEEL. According to Mr. Schott, the different qualities of iron and steel can readily be distinguished by means of the micro- scope. Thus the crystals of iron are double pyramids, in which the proportion of the axes to the bases varies with the 62 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. quality of the iron. The smallness of the crystals, and the height of the pyramids composing each element, are in pro- portion to the quality and density of the metal, which are seen also in the fineness of the surface. As the proportion of the carbon diminishes in the steel, the pyramids have so much the less height. In pig-iron, and the lower qualities of hard steel, the erys- tals approach more closely the cubic form. Forged iron has its pyramids flattened and reduced to superposed parallel leaves, whose structure constitutes what is called the nerve of the steel. The best quality of steel has all its crystals disposed in parallel lines, each crystal filling in the interstices between the angles of those adjoining. These crystals have their axes in the direction of the percussion they undergo during the working. Practically, good steel, examined under » the microscope, has the appearance of large groups of beau- tiful crystals, similar to the points of needles, all parallel and disposed in the same direction.—8 A, September 1, 168. PURIFICATION OF IRON BY SODIUM. A method recently suggested for freeing iron from its del- eterious impurities consists in first forming an alloy of the iron with one of the alkaline metals, either sodium or potas- sium, which is done by forcing the vapor of either into a mass of molten iron. To do this with the pure metal would, of course, be inexpedient, on account of the expense; but the same result may, it is said, be obtained by saturating the coal or coke used to reduce the iron with a solution of carbonate of soda, and drying it before it goes into the furnace, or by adding common salt to the fluxing materials. Sodium will, it is asserted, enter into combination with the iron in either case. This, perhaps, is somewhat questionable. The alloy, when prepared, is to be melted, and a current of moist air, or moist carbonic oxide, sent through it. Decomposition en- sues, and the alkaline metal combines readily with any met- alloid, such as silicon, sulphur, or phosphorus, removing them from their mixture, and leaving a pure iron under some cir- cumstances, and pure steel under others.—8 A, July, 129. D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 63 HEATON STEEL. A French investigator, in the course of certain experiments upon steel prepared by the Heaton process — which, it ap- pears, contains a rather larger proportion of phosphorus than the Bessemer steel—concludes that phosphorus, in a quantity of from two to four thousandths in steel, causes the metal to be rigid, and, while tending to increase the elasticity and re- sistance to breaking, does not modify the hardness. Such steel, however, he thinks, is wanting in real strength and toughness, being brittle, and not sustaining sudden shocks. His general conclusion is that even very small quantities of phosphorus, when present in steel, not only do not improve it, as has been asserted, but actually deteriorate it. The best method of estimating the percentage of phosphorus in steel is said to be the examination of the spectrum produced by the combustion of hydrogen obtained by the action of chlo- rohydric acid upon the metal.—1 A, March 25,142. PREPARATION OF BAR-IRON FROM PHOSPHURETED CAST-IRON. In view of the great eminence of the Mining Academy at Freiburg as a school for instruction in practical metallurgy and mining, it may be of interest to know that one of its pro- fessors, T. Scheerer, has lately announced that he has discov- ered a method by which an excellent bar-iron may be pre- pared from cast-iron containing any amount of phosphorus. The expense of the process (which is not at all complicated nor very peculiar) is said to be trifling, and the discovery must be considered of the utmost value to workers in iron. Although it has been patented in various countries, the dis- coverer is quite willing to place it at the service of iron-mas- ters throughout the world at a very moderate rate. With- out as yet announcing his terms, he invites all persons inter- ested to visit the establishment in Germany, where iron is at present being manufactured according to the new method.— 14 C, CC., 242. BERARD PROCESS FOR MAKING STEEL. Many methods have been indicated of late years for man- ufacturing steel direct. from pig-iron, that of Bessemer being well known, and worked in a great many establishments in 64 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. Europe and America. According to the Mechanics’? Maga- zine, a rival to this method is to be found in the system of Berard, as adopted at the steel-works in Givors, in France. The principal features of this are, first, the employment of gas, acting at once as a heating and reacting agent in im- proving the quality of the iron by a partial purification, be- fore throwing off such injurious bodies as sulphur, phospho- rus, arsenic, etc.; second, the ability to employ iron of a sec- ondary quality to obtain steel for certain special purposes, as rails, tires, etce.; third, by the combined action of air and gas, in being able to act alternately by means of oxidation and reduction in keeping the waste at a minimum, and by decarbonizing and recarbonizing, to regulate at will, and with certainty, the nature of the product to be obtained. The details of the method are too technical to be given here, although the results are recommended by their excel- lence and the economy in cost in obtaining them. The op- eration requires from an hour to an hour and a half, and the process is so conducted that the manipulation can be arrested at any moment, and any desired quality of steel obtained.— 3 A,1871, April 7, 233. THEORY OF BESSEMER AND HEATON STEEL PROCESSES. In the course of certain remarks respecting the production of artificial charcoal iron, Mr. Berthault observes that both Bessemer and Heaton base their systems upon the purifica- tion of the pigs by oxidizing reaction, either of nitrate of soda or of nitrate of potash; but, referring to the quantities of alkaline salts contained in various fuels, Mr. Berthault re- marks that the results appear to prove that soda or potash salts, thrown into the blast-furnace at the same time as the ore and fuel, would give with coke or other mineral fuel a metal closely resembling charcoal iron, and even a steely pig. Every thing will depend upon the quantity of soda or of pot- ash added, ‘and he contends that the best salt to employ is the neutral carbonate of potash, such as is obtained from vegetable sources, and commonly known as pearlash. To obtain iron of uniform quality in the blast-furnace, it is de- sirable to mix the salt with some glutinous liquids, such as blood and water, and dampen the coke with it.—8 A, April 1, 65. D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 65 GRAPHITE IN GRAY OXIDE OF IRON. From recent investigations of Sneller, we are informed that the graphite segregated in gray oxide of iron consists of pure carbon, but that there is no free graphite-like silicon associ- ated with it, although some occurs in combination. -The quantity of carbon which remains enveloped in the harden- ing of a fluid cast-iron appears to be dependent on the pro- portion in which the carbon was dissolved in the liquid iron, and upon the rapidity with which the transformation took place from the liquid to the solid state, rather than upon the quantity of foreign elements, such as manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, silicon, etc., thus not upon the height of the tem- perature at which the iron was treated. While in puddling, nearly all the silicon is burned before the carbon becomes oxidized, this process of oxidation in the Bessemer method comés on about equally with the two elements, if not even more rapidly with the silicon. The remarkable fact that the same amount of silica which makes the Bessemer and cast steel cold-short does not affect the quality of wrought iron under all conditions appears to depend upon the circumstance that steel contains the silica in a state of chemical combina- tion, while in wrought iron it only occurs as a slag.—18 C, x1, August 2, 493. FORMATION OF PLUMBAGO. The presence of plumbago in gneiss, mica slate, clay slate, granular limestone, etc., according to Dr. R. Wagner, is de- pendent upon the chemical reaction of the decomposition of » cyanogen and its combinations. This is illustrated, and in a measure proved, in Dr. Wagner’s opinion, by the formation ‘of graphite, as has been seen to take place in Le Blanc’s soda manufactory. Ata certain stage of the transformation of the soda into caustic soda cyanogen undergoes a decomposition, and graphite, or plumbago, is developed in abundance upon the surface of the lye. The amount produced is so great as ‘to have suggested a source for graphite in the manufacture of lead-pencils, should the mines of the natural material ever* fail. Quite large masses of this graphite are obtained as a secondary product of the soda-works in a chemical establish- ment at Aussig, in Bohemia.—14 C, CXCVIIL., 176. 66 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. DETERMINATION OF CARBON IN STEEL, Mr. Hermann considers that the usual method of determin- ing carbon in steel by the colometric process of Eggertz is not reliable, especially when the amount of carbon is large and needs to be ascertained with accuracy, but comes to the conclusion that the direct burning of iron in a stream of oxy- gen is the most expeditious and accurate method.—15 A, June 24, 841. ACETATE OF ZINC A PRECIPITATE FOR HMIN, Gunning has discovered in acetate of zinc a reagent that precipitates the slightest traces of the coloring matter of blood from solutions, even where the liquids are so dilute as to be colorless. Blood washed from the hands in a pail of water can readily be detected in this way. The flocculent precipitate thrown down by acetate of zinc must be washed by decantation, and finally collected on a watch-glass and allowed to dry, when the microscope will readily reveal he- min crystals if any blood be present.—16 A, July, 1871, 401. HYDROGEN GAS. A new process, it is stated, has recently been ‘disvareuch for obtaining hydrogen gas in large quantities. Alkaline earths are heated with coke or Paranal to a red heat, when carbonic acid hydrogen are freely eliminated. The carbonic acid is absorbed by water, and the pure hydrogen.’ is collected in a separate reservoir. ABSORPTION OF GAS BY IRON. According to M. Jacobi, of St. Petersburg, iron obtained by galvanic deposit possesses the peculiarity of being so hard as to scratch glass and to be very brittle; but when heated, its color becomes deeper, its hardness and brittleness are lost, and its specific gravity considerably increased. This fact led the experimenter to believe that the iron, as at first deposited, might contain gas in its substance, and on heating a small’ * quantity carefully nearly eighteen volumes of gas, chiefly hy- drogen, were driven off and collected.—5 A, 1870, 101. D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 67 ABSORPTION OF GAS BY CHARCOAL UNDER INCREASED PRESSURE. Mr. Hunter, of London, has lately shown that the quantity of gas absorbed by charcoal increases with the amount of pressure to which it is exposed, and that equal variation in pressure produces nearly equal variation in the quantity of the absorbed gas.—16 C,1871, 118. ABSORBENT POWERS OF CHARCOAL. Dr. Hermann Vohl, of Cologne, has lately published an elab- orate paper in the Archiv der Pharmacie upon the absorbent power of charcoal and its application for disinfectant and de- odorizing purposes, replete with suggestions of great impor- tance. ; Among other deductions from his experiments, he states that the carbonic acid gas obtained by heating charcoal is not derived from the coal itself, but has been absorbed from the atmosphere, and is held with such tenacity that it can not be driven out by boiling in water, but that a temperature much below that of ignition is sufficient to expel it. This conclusion is the same as that which had been reached by an- other experimenter, to which we have previously made refer- ence. Among other facts proving this statement, Dr. Vohl remarks that when charcoal has been once freed from its car- bonie acid and saturated with pure oxygen, no trace of car- bonic acid is appreciable, even when heated to a temperature of 680° Fahrenheit.—2 C, June 8,177. ALKALINITY OF CARBONATE OF LIME. According to Mr. Skey, of the Geological Survey of New Zealand, carbonate of lime is alkaline rather than neutral, as shown by the fact that when prepared by igniting pure oxa- late of lime in a close crucible, at a dull red heat, it gives an intense alkaline reaction with reddened litmus paper, after moistening with water, or after reignition with pure carbon- ate of ammonia; carbonate of lime, prepared directly from chloride of calcium and bicarbonate of soda, giving the same reaction with test-paper. Other experiments are specified, all tending to substantiate the same general proposition.— 5 A, October, 1870, 423. 68 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. MANGANESE IN BLOOD AND MILK, ° According to Professor Pollatti, human blood contains man- ganese as one of its essential elements; and, concluding that ' the same metal would be found in milk, he examined various specimens of human milk, as also that of cows, goats, and oth- er animals, and in every case he found unmistakable evidence _of the presence of this metal, the quantity in milk appearing to be greater than that in an equal quantity of blood.—13 A, June 11, 237. AQUEOUS SOLVENT FOR SULPHUR. Various experiments have been made for the purpose of finding an-aqueous solvent for sulphur, this being considered avery great desideratum in facilitating the use of this sub- stance as a medicine. Dr. Pole announces that if flowers of sulphur, previously well washed and dried at 212° Fahrenheit, are mixed with an aqueous solution of pure anhydrous car- bonate of soda, and the whole digested together at a temper- ature of 212° for ten hours, an appreciable quantity of sulphur will be taken up. Linseed oil is another solvent for sulphur, the amount increasing with the increase of temperature.— 1 A, October 28, 214. SOLIDIFICATION OF MELTED ROSIN. Mr. Vincent, in remarking upon the readiness with which broken ice resolidifies at temperatures above the freezing point, calls attention to the same general principle seen in other cases. Among these he cites rosin, which, when freed from turpentine, and subjected to pressure in a melted condi- tion, or otherwise, at ordinary temperatures, becomes com- pletely pulverized, its particles showing no cohesive pow- er whatever. If, however, the temperature of the rosin be raised considerably above the melting point, on pressure be- ing applied, a different result ensues, the mass becoming at once solid at the core, the outside alone showing signs of liquefaction. When rosin is melted for manufacturing pur- poses, and the workmen neglect to stir it for even a few min- utes, the whole mass becomes completely solidified, and lique- faction takes place only at the exterior. From this and oth- er instances stated by Mr. Vincent, he comes to the conclusion D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 69 that the disintegration produced by liquefaction of one por- tion of the bodies referred to causes them to exert a greater power of aggregation in the parts less exposed to heat.— 1 A, December 30, 313. : GUN-COTTON IN BISULPHIDE OF CARBON. According to Dr. Bleekrode, if gun-cotton be first wet with bisulphide of carbon (a highly inflammable liquid), and an electric spark be passed through it, instead of producing an explosion of the cotton, the bisulphide alone is set fire to, the gun-cotton apparently remaining intact among the burning bisulphide, presenting. almost the aspect of a mass of snow slowly melting away. The experiment may be varied by using either benzine or alcohol instead of the bisulphide, and igniting it afterward with any flame. All these liquids yield the same result, and there is no danger in the experiment, even if large quantities are used. This curious phenomenon is explained by Dr. Abel, who says that “these results indi- cate that if, even for the briefest space of time, the gases re- sulting from the first action of heat on gun-cotton upon its ignition in open air are impeded from completely enveloping the burning extremity of the gun-cotton twist, their ignition is prevented; and as it is the comparatively high tempera- ture produced by their combustion which effects the rapid and more complete combustion of the gun-cotton, the mo- mentary extinction of the gases, and the continuous abstrac- tion of heat by them as they escape from the point of com- bustion, render it impossible for the gun-cotton to continue to burn otherwise than in the slow and imperfect manner, un- dergoing a transformation similar in character to destructive * distillation.” As a practical application of these facts, it is suggested that if gun-cotton be kept in a flask in a layer of benzine or bisul- phide of carbon, the danger of explosion in case of a fire is obviated, since, if the liquid is ignited by any means, the gun- cotton will burn slowly and gradually. When required for use, a brief exposure to the air restores its explosive quali- ties. — London, Edinburg, and Dublin Philosophical Maga- zine, January, 1871, 40. 70 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. CHROME ALUM. Much has been said, of late, of a substance known as chrome alum, Which has been used in the Albert and Edward process of electrotype printing, for the purpose of hardening the gelatine film and rendering it insoluble in water. In- quiries have been pressed in various quarters for the recipe for preparing this substance, and we find in the Mechanics’ Magazine a reply, in which it is stated that if three ounces of bichromate of potash be dissolved in as little boiling water as possible, and then four ounces of strong sulphuric acid be added, and afterward alcohol, drop by drop, be introduced, a pure green tint will be developed. The liquid should be stirred frequently during this process, and then boiled down to a small volume and set aside. After a few days violet crystals separate, which, when washed with pure water, are said to be sufficiently pure for ordinary purposes.—18 A, May 12,190. IMPROVED TEST-PAPER. A new test-paper of extreme sensitiveness can be prepared, it is said, from the leaves of the ornamental plant known as the Coleus verschaffeltt. The fresh leaves of the plant are to be steeped for twenty-four hours in absolute alcohol, to which some drops of sulphuric acid have been added, and the liquid afterward filtered. Into this are to be dipped strips of Swed- ish filtering-paper, which are then allowed to dry in the air. A test-paper of a beautiful red color will thus be obtained, which will pass more or less into a fine shade of green by the action of alkalies or alkaline earths. This paper will keep for a long time if preserved in well-closed jars, and will be found much more sensitive than the ordinary tests. It is not affected by carbonic acids, but indicates the least trace of the carbonates or alkaline earths that may be dissolved in water. If a band of this paper, slightly moistened, be exposed to an open gas jet, it will change rapidly to green, in consequence of the ammonia contained in the gas.—2 Bb, May 14, 539. ACTION OF WATER-GLASS. In a communication by Fltickiger upon certain reactions of water-glass, some important technical applications are sug- D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. T gested as the result of the chemical relationship dwelt upon. Thus many of the practical applications of this substance depend especially upon the separation of silicic acid, and are more efficient in proportion to the amount and completeness of this separation. If, therefore, surfaces which are to be silicified are coated alternately with water-glass and a solu- tion of common salt, they will ultimately be found to possess a harder and more uniform exterior. By first saturating stone or wood with a solution of sal ammoniac, or common salt, and adding the water-glass before the former application is completely dry, the result will be found to be very satis- factory.—2 C, Vov., 1870, 105. IODINE FROM CHILE SALTPETRE. Iodine is said to be now manufactured on a large scale from Chile saltpetre (nitrate of soda), over thirty thousand pounds per annum being obtained. The process consists in treating the liquids resulting from the manufacture of salt- petre with a mixture of sulphurous acid and sulphite of soda, in proper proportion, when the iodine falls to the bottom as a black precipitate. This is allowed to drain on layers of quartz sand, and is then removed, and finally purified by sub- limation.— Panama Star and Herald, Jan. 17. ‘RESTORING SPENT SULPHURIC ACID. A patent has lately been taken out in England for restor- ing spent sulphuric acid, and the inventor of the process claims that by its means he can revivify the acid so cheaply that the same weight can be obtained for one cent that now eosts seven in new acid. The method consists essentially in heating the spent acid in a vessel of peculiar construction with dry steam to a temperature of about 120°, after which six or seven pounds of black oxide of manganese are to be sprinkled into it, and more steam is turned on. The tank is then covered, and care must be taken to prevent its foaming over; should any thing of this kind be threatened, the steam must be turned off for a short time, and the foam will sub- side. The heating is kept up six or eight hours, and then the liquid allowed to cool, after which any oil or tar that has come to the surface is to be skimmed off, leaving the restored acid behind.—8 A, Jan., 1871, 12. 72 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND4NDUSTRY. CERIUM A TEST FOR STRYCHNINE. The oxide of cerium is recommended as a valuable test of strychnine, since when concentrated sulphuric acid is poured over strychnine, and oxide of cerium added to the mixture, a beautiful blue color makes its appearance, a similar result also taking place when the bichromate of potash is used in- stead of cerium. The combination first mentioned, however, with the same intensity of color, is much more durable, so that when the chrome reaction has long since disappeared, that produced by the cerium is persistent and easily recog- nized. The blue tint passes gradually into a cherry-red, and then remains unaltered for several days. It is stated that the one hundred thousandth of a grain of strychnine can be readily recognized by this test. Other vegetable alkaloids give a totally different reaction with cerium, and can not, therefore, be confounded with the strychnine.—15 C, xv1., 256. TESTING THE PURITY OF HYDRATE OF CHLORAL. The purity of hydrate of chloral may, it is said, be tested by means of a concentrated solution of potash. . The pure hydrate does not color this at all, or at most only a feeble yellow, and gives forth the pure smell of chloroform. Should the liquid assume a brown color, and the smell of chloro- acetic acid be combined with that of chloroform, or should gases of a pungent odor be developed, which is not seldom the case, the product is impure and unfit for use.—15 C, 1870, 94. TEST FOR BENZOLE. For distinguishing genuine benzole, or that made of coal tar, from that prepared from petroleum, Brandberg recom- mends us to place a small piece of pitch in a testing tube, and pour over it some of the substance to be examined. The genuine will immediately dissolve the pitch to a tar-like mass, while that derived from petroleum will scarcely be col- ored.—12 C, v., May, 1871, 39. : DETECTION OF BUTYRIC ACID IN GLYCERINE. The presence of butyric acid in glycerine may be detected, according to M. Perutz, by mixing the concentrated glycerine D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. "3 with strong alcohol and sulphuric acid of sixty degrees. If the acid in question be present, butyric ether will be imme- diately formed and readily recognized by its smell, which strongly resembles that of the pine-apple.—2 B, Jan. 22, 1870, 95 . ‘ SYNTHESIS OF CONIIN. Dr. Schiff is said to have accomplished the first synthesis of a vegetable alkaloid, namely, coniin. The process by which this is effected is too technical for our pages, but the result obtained is stated to be entirely similar in its reaction and physical peculiarities to the natural alkaloid, and to possess like poisonous qualities.—1 C,1871, 1v., 64. POTASSIUM IN TOBACCO-SMOKE, A spectroscope analysis has, it is said, revealed the pres- ence of potassium+in tobacco-smoke; and as small quantities of potash increase the nervous excitability, while larger quan- tities diminish it, it is suggested that the percentage of this substance in tobacco-smoke may produce, at least in part, the peculiar sensations which are experienced in the cavity of the mouth after long and extreme smoking.—1 C, 1871, 1v., 64. RESEARCHES UPON TOBACCO-SMOKE. Some recent investigations by Doctors Vohl and Eulen- berg upon tobacco-smoke are likely materially to modify existing views in regard to the physiological action of the weed. Their paper is divided into three parts, the first of which treats of the chemical composition of commercial to- bacco for smoking, for chewing, and snuff; the second con- tains the results of an examination of the products generated by the combustion of tobacco during smoking ; and the third describes the physiological effects of the bases extracted from tobacco-smoke. Commercial tobacco for snioking purposes was invariably found to contain nicotine, amounting sometimes to four per cent. or more, while in tobacco used for chewing and snuff only minute traces of that alkaloid could be detected, so that nicotine poisoning from chewing or snufling would appear to be very problematical. The authors state that, as a fact, no such cases are on record. D 74 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. Among the gaseous products given off during the smoking of good tobacco and cigars, there were found oxygen, nitro- gen, marsh gas, and car -ponic oxide, besides the more readily condensible gases and vapors—sulphureted hydrogen and -hydrocyanic “acid, and occasionally ,sulphocyanic acid, this case being pr oduced at a later stage by the action of sulphur- eted hy are ogen on hydrocyanic acid. The acid and non-basic products formed are formic, acetic, metacetic, butyric, valeric, and carbolic acids, creosote, ‘perhaps cyprylic and succinic acids also, the latter from forrientation of the malic acid well known to exist in the green tobacco plant. There are also a solid hydrocarbon and a liquid sy Seas Pa of the benzole series. F The most interesting fact in the inquiry was that no nico- tine could be detected among the basic products of the dis- tillation, proving that the inj urious effects of tobacco-smoking are not to be attributed to this substances on the contrary, . it was in the alkaloids of the pyridin or picolin series, well known to be produced during the destructive distillation of wood and other vegetable products, that the poisonous influ- ences were found. These were tested upon pigeons and Guinea-pigs, and were found to produce tetanic spasms, irreg- ular action of the heart, and death. The same bases, obtained from other sources than tobacco, produced similar effects. As the same pyridin bases are among the products of the distil- lation of opium, the authors are inclined to attribute the ef- fects produced by smoking this drug, not to morphia, but to the picolin series of alkaloids.—20 A, September 2, 285, REGIANINE. According to Dr. Phipson, the English walnut (Juglans regia), and probably the American species also, contain, among other substances, one which he calls regianine (ob- tained by treating the green husk of the fruit with benzole), which appears in the form of a yellowish substance erystal- lizing in groups of feather-like crystals. These are easily decomposed, and, when treated with alkalies or ammonia, yield a splendid and durable red solution, which, by a subse- quent treatment, becomes the jet-black, amorphous, pure re- gianic acid.—2 A, September 8,119. e D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 15 A NEW CINCHONA ALKALOID. A new alkaloid has, it is said, been, detected in the mother liquor obtained in the manufacture of sulphate of quinine, distinguishable from the cinchona alkaloids by the solubility of its salts, which renders it very difficult of separation from the uncrystallizable quinoidin. It has not yet been deter- mined whether it is contained in all the species of cinchona, or, if not, in which of them; nor have its physiological prop- erties been experimented upon.—16 A, July, 1871, 405. REMOVAL OF ODOR FROM TANNIN, It is said that the peculiar odor of commercial tannin may | be entirely removed, and thus better fitted for officinal ‘ad- ministration, by first dissolving six parts in twelve parts of warm water, placed in a porcelain vessel, then pouring the solution into a flask after adding from one half to one part of ether, and shaking it up thoroughly. The mixture at first appears of a dirty green and very turbid, but settles in a few hours, the coloring matter sinking to the bottom in the form of a flocculent coagulum. The liquor is then to be filtered, and the filtrate evaporated. Tannin thus prepared has no odor, and gives a perfectly clear solution with water.—Ding. Poly. Journ., CXCVIL, 1., 98. COMBUSTION OF SMOKE. It is generally understood that the cause of smoke, in the case of burning wood and other forms of carbon, is due essen- tially to an insufficient supply of air, which prevents the combustion from being complete. This may seem strange when we are assured that the gases produced by combustion, of coal especially, contain an excess of air. This apparent inconsistency, however, is explained when we are informed that by a deficiency of air is simply meant that this is the case in each volume or stratum of air in which combustion has taken place; but the gases which pass into the chimney may be regarded as a collection of such volumes or strata mixed with others rich in oxygen, and these, in most instan- ces, being too little heated to admit of their entering into combination. From these theoretical considerations, it follows that, for 76 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. the purpose of avoiding or diminishing smoke, it will be suf- ficient, to cause an intimate admixture of the gases the mo- ment they quit the fire, even without introducing a frésh volume of air. This principle has been applied in several forms. In one, two fireplacés are built side by side, running parallel, and separated by a wall. The fires in these two fireplaces are fed alternately, and, the currents of gas being directed one against the other at the back of the furnaces, the strata are thus broken up and mixed, so as greatly to di- minish the amount of smoke. Another application for the same purpose consists in introducing a little air, in a finely divided state, behind the bridge of the furnace. This air supplies the requisite oxygen at the moment when the com- bustible gases are still sufficiently heated for them to become ignited; and the admixture is readily effected, but with some loss of combustible matter. Still a third process, that of Thierry, consists in introducing a jet of steam over the sur- face of the fire. The steam does not exert any chemical ac- tion, but operates mechanically by mixing gases, and thus diminishing the amount of smoke. By means of these, and other applications that will readily suggest themselves, much may be done not only in preventing the escape of smoke from furnaces, locomotives, and hearths, but also in economizing the fuel by securing an appreciably greater intensity and amount of heat.—14 1A, 1870, July 9, 22. HYGRAFFINITY. In a paper on the “ Estimation of Antimony,” published in the Chemical News, Hugo Tamm calls the attention of chem- ists to a new phenomenon, which the author describes under the name of “ hygraffinity.” This phenomenon was discov- ered in a peculiar compound of antimony—bigallate of anti- mony—which is totally insoluble in water, and yet possess- es a powerful affinity for moisture, which it absorbs rapidly from the air, after being dried at the temperature of 212° F. Most powders and precipitates, dried at that temperature, as is well known, absorb moisture on exposure to the atmos- phere, but this is a purely physical phenomenon, due to po- rosity. On the contrary, in the case of gallate of antimony, chemical affinity is at work, and this precipitate, after expo- sure to the air for two or three hours, actually absorbs two D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. ny equivalents of water. In a word, this insoluble substance has as much affinity for moisture as deliquescent salts. But one of the most curious features in connection with this extra- ordinary phenomenon is that, on being dried at 212° F., bigal- late of antimony loses the two equivalents of water which it had absorbed from the air, and that, on being left exposed once more to the atmosphere, it reabsorbs the same amount of moisture. This interesting experiment may be repeated indefinitely. —15 A, November 11,1871, 628. ACRIDINE, A NEW ANTHRACENE DERIVATIVE. A basic substance has lately been separated by Graebe and Caro from crude anthracene, to which, on account of its irri- tating action upon the skin and mucous membranes, they have given the name of acridine. This body is obtained by heating the semi-solid portion of coal naphtha, which boils between 300° and 360°, with dilute sulphuric acid, and pre- cipitating the acid solution with potassium dichromate. A dirty brown precipitate is obtained, which dissolves on re- peated treatment with boiling water. The solution thus ob- tained yields, after filtration and cooling, orange-yellow crys- tals of the chromate of the base; these ‘crystals, freed from the mother-liquor by washing, yield the free base when warm- ed with’ammonia. Thus obtained, the body is not quite pure; but it may be rendered so by recrystallizing its hydrochlo- ride. Acridine substance crystallizes, as determined by Dr. P. Groth, in small, four-sided, rectangular prisms of the rhom- bic system, whose edges are often, but narrowly, truncated by the vertical prism, while the ends are formed by obtuse domes. Acridine melts at 107°, and distills without alteration at a temperature above 360°. It sublimes, even below its melt-. ing-point, in Jarge, broad needles. It is almost insoluble in cold, and but little soluble in boiling water. On the other *hand, it dissolves readily in alcohol, ether, carbon-bisulphide, and hydro-carbons. The dilute solutions show*a beautiful blue color by reflected light. It exerts a slight but distinct alkaline reaction on litmus. When inhaled, either in dust or vapor, it causes sneezing, and, in large quantity, coughing. It is exceedingly stable, and may be distilled unaltered over either ignited zinc or soda-lime, although most readily at- 78 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. tacked by sodium amalgam. © Two series of salts of acridine have already been prepared by the authors, and numerous compounds with other substances examined by. them.—21 A, August, 1871, 708. ACTION OF LIGHT ON PETROLEUM. According to recent investigations, when petroleum oils are exposed under certain conditions to the sunlight, they absorb from the air oxygen, which is converted into ozone. No chemical combination takes place between the oil and the ozone, but the latter remains free, and oxydizes any substance with which it comes in contact. In oils containing ozone the smell is materially modified; they burn with difficulty, and attack rapidly the stoppers of the vessels containing them, especially if the stoppers be composed of cork. When glass vessels are used it has been found that the color of the glass exercises a great influence over the absorption of oxygen. Decolorized oils exposed in white glass vessels to the action of sunlight turn yellow, become charged strongly with ozone, and burn with difficulty. This is principally the case with the American petroleums. They should, therefore, be kept | in metallic vessels, or, if glass be used, it should be shaded as much as possible from the sun.—13 C, August 11, 1870,1151. BRITTLE SILVER. Attention has lately been directed to the change which alloys of silver experience by long burial in the earth, and several articles have appeared in scientific journals on the subject ; one based upon the examination of ancient Roman vases found buried in the Black Forest of Germany; and another, by Professor Church, in reference to the specimens lately exhumed in the island of Cyprus by Mr. Di Cessnola, the resident American consul. These latter were found upon the site of the ancient city of Idalium, and lay claim to an antiquity of at least 1500 years, during which time they hav e become covered externally, to the depth of about one thirti- eth of an inch, with a crust, which proved, upon analysis, to be composed principally of finely divided silver, mixed with the chloride and sulphide of that metal, and a little basic car- bonate of copper. Beneath this layer the substance of the metal appears white, metallic, and uniform, but very brittle, D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. "9 the objects being readily snapped by a very slight pressure. It was found, however, that by gentle hammering, or rolling, the brittle mass could be easily restored to its original mal- leable condition, while its density gradually rose fiom 9.06. to 10.2. From this it would appear that the change is mo- lecular, and not chemical, the extreme portions alone being modified.—21 A, July, 1871, 498. DAMBOSE, AN INGREDIENT OF BORNEO CAOUTCHOUC. M. A. Girard, in a late communication to the Academy of Sciences of Paris, presents a notice of a new volatile and sac- charine principle discovered some time ago by him in the caoutchoue of Borneo, and which is remarkable for ats de composition in the presence of hydriodic acid. This, when heated in a closed vessel to a certain temperature with an ex- cess of the acid, separated into a methyl-hydriodic ether, and a new substance, likewise saccharine, crystalline, and of great stability, having the composition of dried glucose, and havy- ing much analogy with inosite. This substance he names dambose.—3 Lb, xvui., August 24,1871, 337. CHARACTERS OF PURE GLYCERINE. According to Koller, among the characteristics of pure glycerine, as compared with an impure article, are the fol- lowing: Pure glycerine has a neutral reaction, and om evap- oration in a porcelain dish leaves only a very slight carbona- ceous crust, while the impure has a much greater percentage of coaly matter. The pure article does not become brown when treated, drop by drop, with concentrated sulphuric acid, even after several hours; the impure becomes brown even when but slightly adulterated. Pure glycerine, treated with pure nitric acid and a solution of nitrate of silver, does not become cloudy, while the impure exhibits a decidedly milky appearance. Sometimes the impure article becomes black- ened with the sulphide of ammonium. Oxalate of ammonia produces a black clouding; lime-water sometimes causes a milky discoloration. Pure glycerine, however , constantly re- mains perfectly uncolored, and clear as water, the impure be- coming colored to a greater or less extent. If a few drops are rubbed between the fingers, pure glycerine causes no fat- ty smell; the contrary is the case with the impure, especially 80 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. if a few drops of dilute sulphuric acid be introduced.—18 A, October 4,1871, 631. ARTIFICIAL PREPARATION OF MILK. One of the latest enterprises in organic chemistry consists in the preparation of artificial milk, which has been attempt- ed by Dubrunfaut, and which he claims to have accomplished by emulsifying fatty matters with an artificial serum. This is done as follows: 40 or 50 grams of saccharine matter (lac- tin, cane-sugar, or glucose), 20 or 30 grains of dried albumen ~ (the dried white of egg, as met with in Paris), and 1 or 2 grams of crystals of soda carbonate, are dissolved in a half litre of water, and the whole is emulsified with 50 or 60 grams of olive-oil, or other comestible fatty matter. The emulsification takes place best at a moderate temperature, that of-50° or 60° being sufficient. The liquid thus prepared has the appearance of cream, and requires to be mixed with twice its volume of water to acquire the consistence and as- — pect of milk. To prepare a fluid approaching cream in its qualities, gelatin is substituted for albumen; 100 grams of fat are emulsified in a litre of serum, containing 2 or 3 grams of gelatin. Artificial cream prepared in this way shows no tendency to separate into fat or serum. . Gaudin, in discussing the preceding suggestion, gives his — testimony as to the depriving fats of all unpleasant odor by mere subjection to an appropriate temperature. He also states that very good artificial milk can be prepared from bones rich in fat, by purifying this fat by means of superheat- ed steam, and combining the fat thus obtained with gelatin. This milk is, he says, almost like that of the cow; and, when kept, acquires first the odor of sour milk, then that of cheese. The gelatin in it represents the caseine; the fat, the butter ; the sugar, the sugar of milk. It serves for the preparation of coffee and chocolate, of soups and creams of excellent fla- vor, and its cost is but trifling. E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 81 E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. HOMERIC IRON. It has been suggested that wherever iron is mentioned as occurring in the earlier Scriptures, as well as in the ancient Greek authors, such as Homer and Hesiod, in all cases it is to be considered as referring to meteoric iron, the period when mankind was able to reduce the metal from its ores not yet having arrived. This view is supported by Professor Haidinger, of Vienna, in a very elaborate and learned disqui- sition; and he also suggests that the iron found on the sur- face of the earth in Southern Africa for a time, and used by the natives, as well as that employed by the Esquimaux in making implements before their association with the whites, is due to the same origin.— Witth. Anthrop. Soc. Uren, 63. IRON IN GUAYAQUIL. Accounts from Guayaquil report the discovery of iron in great abundance on the banks of the River Doull, occurring in the form of masses weighing hundreds of pounds of an hy- drated peroxide of iron in crystals of micaceous iron, and a red hematite. As the surrounding forests will produce wood enough for making the necessary charcoal, it is proposed to start an iron furnace on the spot.—Pan. S. and H., Jan. 17. XANTHOPHYLLITE A MATRIX OF DIAMOND. Much inquiry has been prosecuted as to the matrix of the diamond, and various suggestions have been pronounced in regard to it, itacolumite, or the so-called flexible sandstone occurring in Brazil, the United States, and elsewhere being assigned this honor by many authors. From a communica- tion by Professor Léonhard we are informed that the xantho- phyllite of the Ural Mountains shares with the itacolumite in this respect, since in certain localities where this substance abounds a microscopic examination of its laminz reveals to a magnifying power of thirty times the existence of large num- bers of minute crystals of the diamond, while with a power of two hundred their crystalline form and relative position D2 82° ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. can be distinctly traced. Most of these crystals are colorless and completely transparent; a few of them are brown. The mineral xanthophyllite above referred to is a micaceous sub- stance occurring with magnetic iron in talcose slates.—3 C, June 26, 621. GEOLOGY OF SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMOND-FIELDS. Professor Morris, in a communication to the Geological So- ciety of London upon the geology of South Africa, referred to the fact that the diamonds of South Africa came from cer- tain stratified beds containing, besides reptilian remains (such as the Dicynodon), numerous plants and much fossil wood. He then suggested a query as to whether the diamonds them- selves may not be of vegetable origin, and similar in charac- ter to the small crystal quartz found in the stems of bamboo. —13 A, December, 1870, 70. GEOLOGY OF MISSOURI. The first annual report of the State Geologist of Missouri, under the new organization, has just been made to the Legis- lature by Professor A. D. Hagar, chief of the survey. This gentleman is well known to the scientific men of the country in connection with his work upon the survey of Vermont, of which a very valuable report was issued by him. In his preliminary examination of the mineral resources of Missouri he was gratified to find the amount of lead greater than was supposed. In reference to the much vexed question whether Missouri contains tin, he remarks that although an assay of the ore furnished a button of tin at the bottom, yet . he is not entirely satisfied that this was not the result of some attempt to deceive him, as he could find no evidence in the rock itself of its being tin-bearing. He evidently considers the case as not proved, and awaits the result of farther care- ful experiments on the subject.— Paper. ARTIFICIAL VOLCANOES. Mr. Von Hochstetter has made some interesting experi- ments illustrating the phenomena of volcanoes. For this purpose he melted sulphur in water under a-steam pressure of two to three atmospheres, during which a certain amount of water was taken up by the sulphur. Professor Plateau has published some investigations as to the effect of placing fresh-water articulates in salt water, and salt-water articulates in fresh, the observations having been directed more particularly to the crustaceans. Among the conclusions arrived at are, that sea water has but a slight in- fluence upon the aquatic coleoptera and hemiptera in the perfect state, but that it produces injurious effects upon fresh-water articulates with a delicate skin, or furnished with branchiz. Among crustaceans some species of Gammarus G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 227 and Asellus resist the action of sea water for several hours, while others perish in a few minutes. The fresh-water artic- ulates that can live with impunity in sea water are those in which no absorption of salt takes place by the skin; those which die in it in a comparatively short time having absorbed * chlorides of sodium and magnesium, which the experimenter found to be the most injurious salts, the sulphates having no special effect. When the fresh-water articulates pass, by a slow transition, from fresh to sea water, and reproduction has taken place during this transition, the new generation resist the action of the sea water longer than the ordinary individ- uals of the species. | In the investigations upon the marine crustacea of the Belgian coast the conclusions arrived at were, first, that the commonest species die in fresh water after the lapse of a va- riable time, which, however, does not exceed nine hours; second, that the marine crustacea, when immersed in fresh water; give up to this the salts, especially the chloride of sodium, with which their tissues were impregnated. The converse of this observation was also true, that the fresh- _ water articulates immersed in sea water absorb these salts; third, that in most cases the presence of chloride of sodium forms one of the indispensable conditions of resistance for the marine crustacea; but this salt appears to be the only one necessary; fourth, the smaller individuals, and those which, having just moulted, have the integuments delicate, present less resistance than the others to the influence of liquids of exceptional composition; fifth, the difference between the densities of sea water and fresh water can not be regarded’ as the cause of the death of marine crustacea in fresh water. As a general conclusion, applicable to both groups, Profess- or Plateau states that the idea of endosmose enables us to explain the absorption of salts by the delicate skin or the branchial surfaces of fresh-water articulates when immersed in sea water. The fact that diffusion and dialysis take place with more energy in the case of the chlorides of sodium and magnesium than in that of sulphate of magnesia explains why it is that the chlorides of sea water are alone absorbed. Dialysis explains why marine crustacea, when placed in fresh water, lose the salts with which they were impregnated.—10 A, May, 1871, 362: from Mém. Acad. de Belgique. 998 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. FEET IN A TRILOBITE. R Much interest was excited some time ago by the announce- ment on the part of Mr. E. Billings, of Montreal, of the dis- covery of a specimen of trilobite which, in his opinion, exhib- _ ited unmistakably the possession of legs, and thus solved what was considered an interesting problem in the economy of that animal. Professor Dana, however, assisted by Pro- fessor Verrill, has made a critical examination ‘of the original specimen of Mr. Billings, and both came decidedly to the con- clusion that these organs are not legs, but the arches in the membrane of the ventral surface, to which the foliaceous ap- pendages of the abdomen were attached. Professor Dana calls attention to the fact that similar arches exist in the un- der surface of the abdomen of the macrourous crustaceans, to which the abdominal appendages are articulated. From a careful examination of the subject, Professor Dana con- cludes that, with the exception of these arches, the under surface of the belly of the trilobite must have been delicately membranous, like that of the abdomen of the lobster and other long-tailed crabs. . NEW FOSSIL CRUSTACEANS. According to Mr. Woodward, twenty-three new species of fossil crustaceans have been discovered and described within the last year, one of them, of a very extensive distribution, occurring in Upper Silesia, in Turin, and in three distinct lo- calities of England. He gives in his adhesion to the views of Mr. Billings in regard to the possession of feet by trilo- bites, and thinks that this fact, if established, would carry the isopod class back in time to the earliest palzeozoic rocks. He dissents from the views of Dr. Packard, who, from the ex- amination of their embryos, proposes to bring the king-crab, or common horseshoe-crab of the United States, near to the trilobites.—15 A, August 12, 210. CLEANING DIATOMS. An improved method of cleaning and bleaching diatoma- cere is stated by Dr. Maddox to consist in dissolving forty grains of crushed chlorate of potassa in water, with the addi- tion of one and a half drams of hydrochloric acid, the whole G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 999 to be placed in a three-ounce vial, and closed with a wax cork.: The diatoms are to be immersed in this for a suitable length of time, and subsequently washed out with clean water. | P COCCOLITHS OF VEGETABLE, NOT ANIMAL ORIGIN. The question of how the lowest forms of animal life which abound in the deep sea obtain their food where no vegetable life is present has long presented great difficulties to natural- ists. Mr. H. J. Carter, in a paper in the “ Annals and Maga- zine of Natural History,” cuts the Gordian knot by the hy- pothesis that the coccoliths and coccospheres found in such enormous numbers in deep-sea dredgings, and recently iden- tified by Giimbel and others as entering largely into the com- position of some very ancient rocks, are not, as held by Pro- fessor Huxley and others, animals of low organization, but are referable in fact to the vegetable kingdom. His conclu- sion has not, however, been generally accepted by natural- ists. HERMIT CRABS CLIMBING TREES. Most of our readers accustomed to the sea are familiar with the so-called hermit crabs, and their habit of taking possession of dead-univalve shells, into which they retreat when dis- turbed, and which they carry around with them from place to place. In the United States these crabs are seldom of large size, on our Northern coast the largest finding their homes in the winkle or Pyruwla ; but in the East Indies they occupy still larger abodes, and are said to be in the habit of climbing stunted trees and devouring the eggs and young of the gannets and frigate pelicans.—2 A, 1870, August 10, 133. . EOZOON NOT OF ORGANIC CHARACTER. In a communication to Wature, Mr. John B. Perry, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, ranges him- self among the number of those who oppose the theory of the organic origin of the Hozoon canadense, as maintained by Dr. William B. Carpenter, Dr. Dawson, of Montreal, etc. In reference to the so-called eozoon limestone in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Mr. Perry states that this is not a sedimenta- ry rock, but that it occupied pockets or oven-shaped cavities 230 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. once plainly overarched by gneiss, and that it is foliated, there being a regular succession of leaf-like layers from the walls toward the centres of the cavities, witness to which is borne by a like succession of different minerals; that in some places it ramifies through the surrounding rock in a vein-like way, while in others it exactly conforms with the most ab- rupt irregularities of the surface; that in one locality which he had repeatedly examined it conforms with the uneven por- tions of a mass of syenite, with which it is so associated as to reveal its more recent origin; and that, therefore, it is not of nummulitic derivation, but was deposited in a vein-like form, the materials having been probably forced up into the cavi- ties from below while in a vaporous state.—12 A, May 11, 28. PELOBIUS, A NEW FRESH-WATER RHIZOPOD, Of the discoveries in natural history within the past few years, scarcely any are considered of greater importance than that of Professor Huxley, of the occurrence, in the depth of the ocean, of a living, organized mass of an animal nature, termed Bathybius, its relationships to other forms of animal life, both recent and fossil, having proved to be of the highest interest. This has’ recently been supplemented by the dis- covery, on the part of Dr. Greeff, of a somewhat similar sub-. stance existing in fresh water, which he characterizes as a shell-less fresh-water rhizopod, remarkable for its gigantic stature in comparison with all previous-known organisms of the kind. This substance, which he calls Pelobius (a name which Natwre, from which we borrow this account, states to have long been preoccupied), occurs in many standing waters with a muddy bottom, especially such as have continued in that state for a long time without having dried up. This substance never disappears from these waters, but remains throughout the year, great masses appearing sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, in their external form presenting the appearance of more or less spherical lumps, varying from one or two millimetres in diameter down to the most minute points, scarcely perceptible by the naked eye. These are said to be so densely filled with mud particles, di- atomacee, etc., that by transmitted light they can scarcely be distinguished from the actual mud without experience and careful examination; they may, consequently, be compared e De Se ee, ee G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 231 to a living mud. By direct light, on the other hand, they appear as grayish-white, yellowish, or brownish bodies. Their movements consist in an ameeboid and often lively creeping, by means of processes which are usually broad and lobate, during which the transparent body-substance often protrudes at the margins in elevations and undulations. This funda- mental substance of the body consists of a hyaline protoplasm of irregularly frothy or vesicular consistency, containing, be- sides the above-mentioned ingested particles, a great number of very peculiar elementary particles. . Among these there may be distinguished round or roundish oval nucleiform bod- ies and fine bacilliform structures. Of the former by far the greater number consist of shining pale bodies without any special structural characters, but of great firmness, and pre- senting considerable resistance to reagents (acetic acid and caustic potash). These bodies may possibly be correlated with the coccoliths, etec., of Bathybius. Besides these, how- ever, there are less numerous roundish nuclei of softer con- sistency, and with more or less finely granular contents, which, from their whole nature, must undoubtedly be regard- ed as equivalent to the ordinary cell-nuclei. Hence, in spite of its great simplicity in other respects, Pe- lobius represents a pluricellular organism, and is not to be referred to the so-called monera, like Bathybius haeckelii, ac- cording to the investigations of Huxley and Haeckel. Ney- ertheless, in connection with its possible relationship to Ba- thybius, it must be noticed that the cell-nuclei of: Pelobius may occur in very variable quantity, often in so small a num- ber as almost to disappear altogether; and farther, that they can be detected only in the perfectly fresh state. This latter statement applies also to the frothy vesicular arrangement of the body-substance, which disappears immediately after death or the application of reagents. The second kind of the chief elementary parts of Pelobius consists of fine, clear, shining bacilli, which are scattered through the whole body, and likewise present great resist- ance to the action of acetic acid and caustic potash. These were mentioned by Dr. Greeff in a former publication, when he expressed the opinion that they originate in certain nu- clei, which, however, he has since seen reason to doubt. Weare promised farther details in regard to this substance, 232 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. as much yet remains to be done for its proper elucidation.— 12 A, May 18, 50. CATTLE-PLAGUE ENTOZOA IN CEYLON. In the course of an examination of the muscles of animals dying at Ceylon of the cattle-plague disease of that country, Mr. Boyd Morse discovered certain remarkable organisms, of which he has lately published an account in the London Mi- croscopical Journal. He suggests the inquiry as to their re- lationship to the entozoa, described by Dr. Lionel Beale as found in the muscles of animals dying of the same disease, and thinks they may be their ova. They lie loose among the muscular fibres of the heart, sometimes in great numbers and at other times singly. There are several characteristic forms, all well figured in the article referred to.— Quart. Jour, Mic. Soc., December 1, 1870, 312. — RICHARDSON’S HYPOTHESIS OF A NERVOUS ETHER. In a late number of the Popular Science Review Dr. Rich- ardson again brings forward his favorite theory in regard to a nervous ether, namely, that between the molecules of the animal matter, solid or fluid, of which the nervous organisms, and, indeed, of which all the organic parts of the body are composed, there exists a fine, subtile medium, vaporous or gaseous, which holds the molecules in a condition for motion upon each other, and for arrangement and rearrangement of form; a medium by and through which all motion is convey- ed, and by and through which the one organ or part of the body is held in communion with the other parts, and by and through which the outer living world communicates with the living man; a medium which, being present, enables the phe- nomena of life to be demonstrated, and which, being univer- sally absent, leaves the body dead—that is, in such condition that it can not, by any phenomenon of motion, prove itself to be alive. According to the doctor, the evidence in favor of the exist- ence of an elastic medium pervading the nervous matter, and capable of being influenced by simple pressure, is perfectly sat- ” isfactory. Numerous experimental facts suggest that there exists in the nerves an actual material mobile agent—a some- thing more than the solid matter which the eye can see and G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 233 the finger touch. He therefore is led to believe that there is another form of matter present during life, which exists in the condition of vapor or gas, which pervades the whole per- sonal organism, surrounds, as an enveloping atmosphere, each molecule of nervous structure, and is the medium of all mo- tion communicated to or from the nervous centres. The source of this refined matter in the body he considers to be the blood, and he looks upon it as a vapor distilled from the blood, as being persistently formed, so long as the blood circulates at the natural temperature, and as being diffused into the nervous matter, to which it gives quality for every function performed by the nervous organization. In the closed cavities, containing nervous structure, the cavities of the skull and spinal column, this gaseous matter, or ether, as he terms it, sustains a given requisite tension ; in all parts of the nervous structure it surrounds the molecules of nervous matter, separates them from each other, and yet is between them a bond and medium of communication. In estimating and defining the physical properties of this nervous ether he suggests that it is a gas or vapor, having in its elementary construction carbon, hydrogen, and possibly nitrogen. He thinks that it is condensable under cold, mov- able under pressure, diffusible by heat, insoluble in the blood, and holding, at the natural temperature of the body, a ten- sion requisite for natural function. In his opinion it is re- tained for a longer time after death in cold-blooded than in warm-blooded animals, and longer in warm-blooded animals that have died in cold than in those that have died in heat. It is not, according to his idea of it, in itself active, nor an excitant of animal motion in the sense of a force, but it is essential as supplying the conditions by which the motion is rendered possible; as serving as a conductor of all vibrations of heat, light, sound, electrical action, and of mechanical fric- tion. It holds the nervous system throughout in perfect ten- sion during perfect states of life. By exercise it is disposed of, and when the demand for it is greater than the supply, its deficiency is indicated by nervous collapse or exhaustion. It accumulates in the nervous centres during sleep, bringing them to their due tone, and thus rousing the muscles. to awakening or renewed life. The body, fully renewed by it, presents capacity for motion, fullness of form, and life. The 234 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. body, bereft of it, presents inertia, the configuration of “shrunk death,” the evidence of having lost something physical that was in it when it lived.—5 A, October, 1871, 379. INFLUENCE OF HEAT ON THE HUMAN BODY. Dr. Craig, of the Medical Service of the United States Army, prosecuted some experiments during the hot summer of 1870, as published in the American Journal of Science, in referencé to the influence of external physical conditions upon the tem- perature of the human body. The highest bodily tempera- ture observed by him during that time was 99.7° Fahr. He states that below 99° he did not feel uncomfortably hot; but when 99.2° was reached, then the sensation of suffering from heat came on. By the prolonged use of the shower-bath he was able to reduce his temperature to 97.7° in the hottest weather, which constituted a very great amelioration of his sensations. He concluded that the discomfort we feel in hot weather is not from the heat on the surface, but from the sec- ondary effect of heating the whole body. Should the inter- nal heat of the body be raised above 100°, he thinks that ap- - oplexy and sun-stroke would be quite likely to supervene. Judging from some experiments recorded elsewhere, Dr. Craig thinks that a reduction of the temperature as low as 88° Fahr., by external application of cold, is as great.as it is safe to ven- ture upon.—4 D, November, 1871, 330. EFFECT OF HEAT ON ANIMALS. Professor Bernard,-of Paris, has lately published a report of a series of experiments instituted by him in regard to the effect of heat upon animals, in the course of which he shows that in all cases exposure to high temperature produces an increase in the rapidity of the action of the heart; that the animal’s breathing becomes hurried ; and that, after a certain period, which is more quickly attained in birds than in mam- mals, the heart, if the temperature be sufficiently high, stops suddenly, the whole temperature of the animal being at the same time raised several degrees above its standard temper- ature. On placing a bird or rabbit in the cage used for the exper- iments, the air of which was about 150° Fahr., and dry, anxie- ty was quickly manifested, the respirations became tumultu- * G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 235 ous, and death speedily ensued (in four minutes for the bird, and in twenty for the rabbit). The temperature in the rectum rose from 104° to 122° Fahr. (bird), or 115° F. (rabbit), and the heart in both animals was absolutely quiescent, while cadaveric rigidity was established with extraordinary rapidity, and the arteries as well as the veins contained black blood. The professor also verified the experiments of Bichat in reference to the behavior of the muscles of organic life and the striated muscles in regard to temperature, showing that the former are actually more sen- sitive than the thermometer to slight variations of heat, any increase of temperature actually calling forth peristaltic move- ments in the intestines of a rabbit which had become quies- cent after exposure to the surrounding air. This action is di- | rect, and is not communicated through the nervous system. The exciting action of heat, of course, has a limit, and this is shown in the case ofan animal exposed to a gradually ris- ing temperature by the heart beating faster and faster, till at length it stops, dead, with complete loss of irritability. The cause of this cessation is, as Professor Bernard thinks, partly chemical, and due to the coagulation of the santonin or my- elin; though, when life is prolonged for several days, other causes, as yet undetermined, and affording a field for investi- gation, co-operate.—13 A, September 15,1871, 441. EFFECT OF DIMINISHED PRESSURE ON ANIMALS. In a memoir by Bert upon the influence exercised upon vi- tal phenomena by variations in barometrical pressure, it is stated that if the atmospheric pressure to which a warm- blooded vertebrate is exposed be suddenly reduced to fifteen or eighteen centimetres of the barometrical scale, the animal jumps about convulsively, is attacked with cramps, and dies very quickly, with bloody foam in the bronchia. Death oc- curs with equal suddenness whenever the receiver under which the animal is placed is closed, or is cut off from the external atmosphere. In the first case the surrounding air is scarcely changed, but in both cases the blood in the left cavity of the heart is dark. On the other hand, should the pressure be diminished grad- ually, and the air be continually renewed in the apparatus, the animal can be kept alive for a long time. Should the 236 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. receiver be closed, however, the animal dies with asphyxia. The composition of the air in which animals die varies with the pressure. Birds can be kept living when the pressure is reduced below eighteen centimetres. Mammals can sustain a reduction to twelve centimetres, but under these circum- stances their temperature diminishes by several degrees. | Cold-blooded, and some new-born animals, can sustain a still greater diminution of pressure. The less the pressure at which the animal suffocates, the more oxygen and the less carbon are found in the remaining air. The animals which, at the same pressure of the atmosphere, leave most oxygen— that is, form least carbonic acid—are falcons, owls, and grown cats; then come the sparrows, and afterward frogs and new- born cats. —18 C, August 15,1871, 517. — BERT ON THE INFLUENCE OF INCREASED ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE. We have already referred to the observations by M. Bert upon the effects produced upon animals by diminished atmos- pheric pressure, and we now have a report from him upon the phenomena presented when this pressure is increased. The animals experimented upon were sparrows, rats, and frogs, placed in a vessel of the capacity of one quart, in which about fifteen minutes were required to obtain a pressure of nine atmospheres. This increase, however rapidly produced, ap- peared to exercise scarcely any effect upon the animal, the respiration only becoming feeble at about the time when the phenomena peculiar to asphyxia commenced, the animal ex- piring with convulsions, with an internal temperature of 80° to 92° Fahrenheit—that is to say, scarcely above that of the surrounding air. After death, under a pressure greater than two atmospheres, very red blood was found not only in the arteries, but in the veins; and with a pressure above five at- mospheres numerous bubbles of gas appeared in the right Savities of the heart, which were not disengaged by the re- turn to the normal pressure. Sparrows could not bear with impunity a pressure of over seven or eight atmospheres, and in some instances, if the asphyxia was very decided, they seemed to perish suddenly by an abrupt decompression. In this case they were found to have free gas in the right side of the heart.—3 B, xrx., September 7,1871, 524. G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 937 PECULIAR EFFECTS OF CURARE POISON. In the course of some late experiments by Glase upon the effects of administering small quantities of curare in succes- sive injections, it was ascertained that the animal becomes at each injection more and more sensitive to the poison, and finally reaches a state in which an extremely small quantity produces immediate convulsions, and even death. The injec- tions may be intermitted for days, and yet the animal remain as sensitive as before. The author believes that the system becomes adapted to the poison in such a way as to absorb it more rapidly, and that an actual change in some of the nerv- ous centres occurs. This can not be considered as a case of so-called cumulative poisoning, since the animal remains per- fectly healthy between the doses.—12 A, Sept. 21,1871, 403. REFRIGERATION OF WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS. In a series of experiments upon the refrigeration of warm- blooded animals by Dr. Horvath, a young dog was cooled to such a degree that the temperature in the rectum descended to 40° Fahrenheit ; yet the animal, on the application of heat, revived, perfectly uninjured. In another experiment, where the same region in a rabbit indicated 45°, and in a cat 49°, neither the action of the heat nor of the respiratory movement could be perceived. On the ‘restoration of warmth by pouring warm water over these an- imals (which had remained for an hour in a state of appa- rent death), spontaneous contractions of the heart, which had ceased for an hour, were observed. The electrical current ap- plied directly to the muscles induced energetic contractions in the same muscles which, before the warmth was applied, were insensible to the strongest electrical action. Another interesting and important fact was, that in an animal which was first refrigerated and then warmed, it was not possible to excite the action of the muscles of the skeleton by even the strongest electrical stimulus when applied to its nerves, while the same muscles, on the direct application of the cur- rent, contracted energetically. The fact that we can sepa- rate nervous and muscular energy from each other by this agency, which hitherto it has only been possible to do by the employment of curare, promises to be of good service in fu- 238 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ture researches concerning the physiology of the muscular and nervous systems.—20 A, 1871, 355. DE XTRAL PRE-EMINENCE, Dr. William Ogle has recently made a communication to the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London upon what he calls “dextral pre-eminence,” in which he takes ground against the most generally accepted doctrine that the use of the right hand is based on conventional agreement, enforced by educational influence, without the existence of any natural tendency in physical formation. In support of his views he remarks that the preferential use of one side is not limited to the arm, but extends to the leg, which is not subjected to education like the arms. The tendency to use one side preferentially manifests itself before education be- gins, and often persists in spite of efforts made to overcome it. Left-handedness resembles many physical malformations in being hereditary, in running in families, and in attaching itself rather to the male sex than to the female. Statistics are given of its relatively frequent tendency in the two sex- es. The author also gave an account of his observations in this matter upon other animals than man; monkeys and par- | rots especially showing that they also have a tendency to use one side preferentially: Having shown that there must be some one or other struc- tural foundation for right-handedness, he next considers what this may be, and states as the result of his inquiries that an actual structural difference has been detected in many cases betweén the two hemispheres of the brain, and that while the left is the more complex in right-handed individuals, the con- trary is the case with those who are left-handed. He also remarks that in most cases of the normal condi- tion, namely, when the right-hand is used habitually, the left hemisphere of the brain is larger, in consequence of receiving a freer supply of blood than the right, the left arteries being, as a rule, slightly larger than the right ones; and independ- ently of the size of the vessels, the stream of blood is less on the left side than the right. This explanation is corrobo- rated, according to the author, by the peculiarities of the cer- ebral blood supply in those animals which manifest a tenden- cy to use one side rather than the other, as in the case of G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 239 parrots.— Proc. Royal Med. and Chir. Soc. London, V1., 1871, VIII., 392. MODE OF COPYING ROCK INSCRIPTIONS. Among objects of great ethnological import are the abo- riginal inscriptions or carvings upon rocks, which are met with in North America and elsewhere, and are sometimes of -a very remarkable character. Ordinary copies of such in- scriptions, unless they be photographs, are rarely of sufficient accuracy to be of much value; and those of our readers who . are likely to come across such inscriptions may like to know a method by which an absolutely perfect fac-simile can be madg. This process has been applied with much success in copying carvings in Egypt and other places, and it will be equally serviceable in our own country. For this purpose the inscription is to be first well cleaned from dust or mud by means of a hard, stiff brush; stout, unsized paper is then to be wetted rapidly, but uniformly, in a tub of water, and ap- plied to the inscription, and forced into the irregularities by repeated and forcible strokes with a hard brush—an ordinary clothes-brush being as good as any for the purpose. Ifthe stone be clear of dust the paper adheres, and, when dry, falls off, forming a perfect mould of the inscription. Ifthe carv- ing be deep or broad it is sometimes advisable to apply sev- eral sheets of paper, one after the other, brushing over the surface of one with glue or gum before applying the next, so as to obtain, when dry, a firm body. By making a plaster cast of the paper relief thus prepared, a fac-simile of the in- scription will be obtained.—13 A, May 15,1871, 275. DECOMPOSITION OF ANIMAL SUBSTANCES CONTAINING PHOSPHORUS. It has been a question whether vegetable and animal sub- stances containing phosphorus give off phosphureted hydro- gen when indicating putrefaction. If answered aftirmative- ly, it would show either that phosphorus exists in the organ- ' ism in some other form than that of phosphoric acid, or that, under the influence of putrefaction, reducing substances are formed of so energetic a nature that even phosphoric acid is deprived ofits oxygen. Itis difficult to conceive that either of these things could happen. In the animal organism ener- 240 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. getic processes of oxidation go on; hence lower degrees of Oxidation can not arise, nor combinations of phosphorus with _ other elements, for such combinations would be quickly oxi- dized into phosphoric acid. ‘In special experiments in regard to this subject by Plosz, fishes were used as best adapted for the purpose, not only on account of the large proportion of leucithine which they con- tain, but-also because it is probable that they contain anoth- er phosphorized body in the nuclei of their blood corpuscles. The fishes were beaten to a pulp, and laid aside with a little water, for putrefaction to set in. The external air was ex- cluded, so that only that air which was contained in the flask - could act as an oxygenant. A disengagement of gas quickly took place. The gas given off was conducted through a so- lution of silver nitrate, in which it produced a dark brown precipitate. The generation of gas ceased after some time, but was renewed as soon as air was admitted into the appa- ratus. In this manner four parallel experiments were made, and the whole precipitate formed during a period of five weeks was employed in the examination for phosphorus and sulphur. For this purpose the precipitate was acted upon with nitro-hydrochloric acid, every precaution being taken, and tested for sulphuric and phosphoric acids. Sulphuric acid was found in abundance, but no phosphoric acid could be de- tected.—21 A, August, 1871, 734. DIFFERENCE OF BRAIN IN MAN AND OTHER MAMMALS. Professor Theodore Meynert, in a late number of the Me- moirs of the Anthropological Society of Vienna, presents an elaborate discussion of the differences in the structure of the brain of nran from that of the other mammalia. His remarks are too technical for our columns, but the general conclusion arrived at is that differences exist which are of a fundament- al character, and by which even the most closely allied an- thropoid apes can be distinguished from man. SMALL-POX IN THE NORTH. By late advices from the extreme north of the continent, we learn that small-pox and measles have continued to make fearful ravages among the natives. Entire bands of Esqui- maux, in the region between the mouths of the Mackenzie and G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 241 the Coppermine, have been exterminated by measles; and in a settlement of 500 half-breeds, near Fort Edmonton, on the ‘Saskatchewan, 180 have already died of the small-pox, the dis- ease being still in full activity. ANCIENT PAINTINGS BY BUSHMEN. Mr. Rupert Jones has lately published extracts from a let- ter written by a friend in South Africa, containing a reference to certain old paintings found upon the walls of caves, and made by the Bushmen. These pictures are said to be very varied, and to constitute a faithful representation of the man- ners, customs, modes of warfare, weapons, etc., of the race mentioned. Three different series of paintings were met with, one over the other; and as the most recent were believed to be upward of fifty years old, it was inferred that the under- most were very ancient. The colors are permanent, being de- rived from the ochreous concretions abounding in some of the sandstones of the interior of Africa, which, when broken open, are found to contain various shades of yellows, browns, reds, etc., the broken concretions themselves serving as paint- pots. The importance of copying these paintings, and ren- dering them available for ethnological investigations, is urged on account of the fact that the Caffres are constantly destroy- ing them, so that in the course of a few years they will prob- ably become entirely obliterated.—12 A, Dec. 8,1870,101. ANCIENT CITY IN NEW. MEXICO. An examination has recently been made by an officer of the United States Army of an old pueblo situated about twen- ty-five miles from the town of Socorro, on the Rio Grande. The walls of the buildings of this pueblo are composed of thin sandstone, heaped one layer upon another, without mor- tar, and without any traces of beams or timber of any kind. The edifices seem to have been but one story high, and to have consisted of four separate buildings, arranged so as to form a hollow square, with a fifth a little outside of these. The longest range was over two hundred feet in length, and the whole five contained about two hundred rooms. Near the pueblo extensive silver mines have recently been discovered, and a town is to be laid out during the present year, the ma- terial for the houses to be derived from the ruins. There are L 242 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. evidences of ancient workings of these mines in the form of shafts now entirely filled up with earth, although it is prob- able that these do not antedate the period of the occupation’ of the country by the Spaniards. PRE-HISTORIC MODES OF SEPULTURE. In a paper by Mr. Petrie on ancient modes of sepulture in the Orkneys, presented to the British Association, he states that sepulchral mounds were very frequent there, generally on elevations. The skeletons were often discovered in a sit- ting posture. Mr. Flower considered this an interesting an- nouncement, as it had been observed in every country in Europe, as well as in Peru, India, and Africa. Herodotus, in his account of the Aztochthones, a people who lived in the vicinity of what is now called Tunis, says that they always placed their dying friends in a sitting posture to await their - last hour; and it seems that they so buried their dead. In reference to this, it may be remarked that among the North American Indians it was generally customary to dig the graves on the southern slope ofa hill, and to bury the dead in a sitting posture, with their faces toward the south.—12 A, August 24, 1871, 335. PLATYCNEMIC SKELETONS IN THE DENBIGHSHIRE CAVES. Mr. Boyd Dawkins, an expert in such matters, has lately discovered some interesting pre-historic caves, of the neolith- ic period, in Denbighshire, England. One of these extended horizontally into the rock, and was blocked up with earth and large masses of stone, and contained numerous broken bones of animals that had been eaten, such as the dog, fox, badger, horned sheep, Celtic short-horn, roe, stag, horse, wild boar, domestic hog, etc. With these were associated a number of polished stone instruments and scrapers, fragments of pottery, etc., and a number of human skeletons, which appeared to have been buried originally in a sitting posture, varying in age from infancy upward. The most interesting peculiarity of these skeletons con- sisted in the fact of their possessing the peculiar flattened conditions of the forward portion of the shin now known as the platycnemic, and found in great development in our mound-builders, according to Professor Wyman. The cranial G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 243 ‘capacity of these remains appears not to be inferior to that of civilized man of the present age, although the ridges and processes for muscles indicated a greater physical power.— 12 A, September 14, 1871, 388. EXPLORATION OF THE “GROTTO OF THE DEAD” IN FRANCE. ‘The committee appointed to explore the “Grotto of the Dead,” near Alois, in France, report that from their latest researches, this cavern, so interesting in an ethnological point of view, seems to be a “ fault,” occupied originally by a vein of lead ore, and that this had been taken out, and the cavity subsequently utilized, first as a dwelling-place, and then as a place of sepulture for the race which has been found therein. Much interest is attached to the further exploration of this deposit.—1 Lb, October 22, 1871, 48. ANTIQUITIES FROM PERU. Mr. Harris has recently presented to the Anthropological Institute of London a collection of wood-carvings, pottery, and cotton rags from Macabi Island, off the coast of Peru. The rags extended over a bed of many hundred yards in area, with an average thickness of five feet, and below a deposit of several feet of guano. The wood and pottery were dis- covered at a depth, in the guano, of from fifteen to forty-five feet.—15 A, July 1, 1871, 21. NEW DISTINCTION BETWEEN MEN AND ANIMALS. At the late annual dinner of the Royal Academy of En- gland, Professor Huxley, in returning thanks for the Royal Society, stated that he was at last able to present a tangible distinction between men and animals. The old differences so constantly relied upon have one by one proved to be un- satisfactory. Thus other species besides man walk on two legs, and have no feathers; caterpillars make themselves clothes, while kangaroos have pockets; the dog reasons and loves much as one’s neighbors do; parrots, again, utter what deserves the name of sense as much as a great deal of that which it would be rude to call nonsense; and beavers and ants engineer as well as the members of the noblest of pro- fessions. After all, however, man alone can draw, or make unto himself a likeness. This, then, should be considered the 244 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. great distinction of humanity; and the most pre-eminently human of creatures are those that possess this distinction in the highest degree. Consequently the most eminent of the artists of the day is to be considered the highest specimen of mankind !—20 A, May 6, 1871, 517. OSTEOLOGY OF THE MAMMALIA, AND SERIAL HOMOLOGY OF THE LIMBS. The accomplished anatomist, Professor W. H. Flower, to- ward the end of last year published “ An Introduction to the Osteology of the Mammalia, being the substance of the course of lectures delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of En- gland in 1870,” which is one of the most valuable and satis- factory compendiums hitherto published. Combining in an eminent degree great anatomical knowledge, and that acute appreciation of relations which mark the systematic zoolo- gist, he has produced a work which is addressed to both classes. Commencing with a summary of the classification of the mammalia, he makes known, in successive chapters, the general characters of the skeleton and vertebral column, and its modifications in the various orders, considering in separate chapters the cervical, the thoracic and lumbar, and the sacral and caudal vertebrae, as well as the sternum and the ribs, and in succeeding chapters the modifications, in the various orders, of the skull, the shoulder girdle, the fore limb, the pelvic girdle, and the hind limb; and a concluding chapter is given on “the correspondence between the bones of the an- terior and posterior extremity, and the modifications of the positions of the limbs.” The subject-matter of the last chap- ter has excited much interest among American anatomists, some of whom claim that there is an antero-posterior sym- metry in animals, and that in the posterior members the hom- ologue of the thumb is found, not in the great toe, but in the outer or smaller one. Professor Flower, however, contends that “it is necessary to place the limbs (at least in imagina- tion) in an exactly corresponding position—one, in fact, which is often impossible in the adult animal, on account of the mod- ifications of the articular surfaces to suit the posture best adapted for the habits and mode of life of the individual, but which is the position of all limbs when they first appear as budlike processes from the side of the body of the embryo.” G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 9245 This primordial condition is most approximated, among mam- mals, by the flying lemur ( Galeopithecus) and sloths, and is very nearly the normal position of some reptiles, especially the tortoises. The chief modifications consist in the rotation backward, from its primitive position, of the humerus, and the rotation forward of the femur. Finally, “there can be no question but that the carpus and tarsus, the metacarpus and metatarsus, and the various digits, beginning at the pollex (thumb) in the one, and the hallux (great toe) in the other, are really homologous: the circumstance of the constant ab- sence of one of the bones of the preaxial digit in both fore and hind limbs is most significant.” SKULLS OF HINDOOS. At the meeting of the Boston’ Society of Natural History for March 1,a communication was presented by Mr. George Sceva, in which attention was called to the fact of the short- ness of the upper jaws in the skulls of the Hindoos, and the frequent absence of the third molar. This generalization was based upon the examination of a number of crania; and it was found that about fifteen per cent. of the whole exhibit this peculiarity, while in an extensive series of skulls of Eu- ropean races only about one per cent. showed the same feat- ure. RELATION OF MAN TO THE GIBBONS. Mr. St. George Mivart, an eminent English comparative an- atomist, and one of the few first-class naturalists of the pres- ent day who positively oppose in their writings the views of Mr. Darwin as to the modus operandi of evolution, has late- ly called attention, in Vatwre, to the omission, on the part of that gentleman, to cite the species of monkey actually most nearly related to man, in his opinion. According to his view, it is in'the gibbons, or long-armed apes, of the genus Hylo- bates, that the closest affinities to the human structure are to be met with; and although there are, perhaps, more points of apparent relationship between man and the chimpanzee, gorilla, or orang, than between man and the gibbon, yet there are certain points in which the latter genus resembles Homo in a more striking and significant degree. Although the enormous length of the arms of the gibbon apparently dis- 246 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. countenances the idea of relationship, yet Professor Huxley has shown that these are singularly human. Among the marked resemblances, the length of the leg as compared with the trunk, and the form and proportion of the bony thorax, are especially noteworthy. Furthermore, one species of gibbon (the siamang) is the only ape that possesses a true chin, together with a slight prominence of the nose, The power, quality, and compass of voice in the gibbons are dwelt upon by Mr. Darwin as re- markably related to man, and also the gentle, yet quick and active nature. While making these suggestions, however, Mr. Mivart takes especial occasion to renew the expression of his antagonism to Mr. Darwin’s theory of natural selection, taking into consideration the totality of man’s being, and re- marks that, so considered, science convinces him that a mon- key and a mushroom differ less from each other than do a monkey and a man.—12 A, April 20, 481. GAY-HEAD INDIANS. A report has recently been made to the Legislature of Massachusetts by Mr. Richard L. Pease, of Edgartown, upon the numbers and present condition of the Indians now occu- pying the southwestern point of Martha’s Vineyard, known as the district of Gay Head, prepared with special reference to the change in the policy of the state concerning these In- dians, as well as several other remnants of the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants. This change consisted in the abolition of the original condition of wardship, or their con- version into citizens having equal privileges with other mem- bers of the commonwealth. This was determined upon not merely on account of the former political anomaly, but be- cause these people are not really Indians in any sense of the word, since, by repeated intermarriages with whites, negroes, Sandwich Islanders, etc., they have been transformed into a mixed race, totally different from the aboriginal inhabitants. The whole number of the so-called Indians at Gay Head, according to the report, is 237, most of the men being sea- men, farmers, and laborers, and a few engaged in mechanical pursuits. They are an industrious, hard-working community, living in comfortable houses, and as anxious to make money as their * G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 247 neighbors of purer blood. In the original political condition of these people the lands were all held in common, but meas- ures are now being taken to divide them, under the provi- sions of the act by which Gay Head is made a township.— Report of R. L. Pease to the Massachusetts Legislature. GIGANTIC FOSSIL RODENTS AND REPTILES. No recent paleontological announcement has been of more interest than the discovery in the small island of Anguilla, in the West Indies, of fossil remains of extinct species of verte- brate animals, among them rodents of enormous size. These are closely allied to the chinchilla, which furnishes the well- known South American fur; but instead of being of about the size of a small rabbit, the largest fully equaled a cow in its dimensions, constituting the largest rodent on record, and considerably exceeding in bulk the castoroides, or fossil bea- ver of the United States. Of the remains thus far identified by Professor Cope there are five rodents, one deer, and two birds. In the same communication Professor Cope announces the discovery, in the collections of the Smithsonian Institu- tion, of a new fossil lizard from New Mexico, which must have been about one hundred feet in length, being probably the lon- gest known reptile.—Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., December, 1870. FOSSIL WALRUS IN NEW JERSEY. At a meeting of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, held during last autumn, Professor Newberry, the president, exhibited the anterior portion of the cranium of a walrus which had been found during the summer at Long Branch, by a gentleman whose foot struck against it while bathing. It was strongly silicified, but exhibited no appreciable differ- ence from modern specimens. The precise age of this fossil could not, of course, be ascertained, although it is well known that its range was formerly much south of its present habitat. It is not unfrequently brought down on fioating ice off the coast of Newfoundland; and although Labrador is at*present the southern limit of its residence, it was once very abundant in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and its remains have been found in the shell-heaps of the Bay of Fundy. It is probable that the specimen exhibited by Professor Newberry is a relic of the glacial period, although it was suggested that it might 248 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. have been of the tertiary age, which probably can not be verified. Other specimens of similar character are recorded as having been found on Martha’s Vineyard; in Monmouth County, New J ersey ; and in Accomac County, eee ginia,— Proc. New York Lyceum, October, 1870, 75. FOSSIL FISHES OF WYOMING. In the course of a critical examination by Professor Cope of certain fossil fishes found on the Green River, in Wyoming, he discovered specimens of a species of Osteoglossum of large size, and previously undescribed. A specially interesting feature connected with this discovery lies in the fact that the genus is at present represented by living species in New Zealand, Borneo, and Brazil; but it has not hitherto been found in North ‘America, nor is it any where known as a fossil.— Proc, Am. Phil. Soe. CEPHALASPIS IN AMERICA, Promisior Dawson, of Montreal, has lately discovered in the Siluro-Devonian beds on the nor th side of Gaspé Bay the first known American species of the genus Cephalaspis, a kind of fossil fish especially familiar to all readers of Hugh Miller’s works, as one of the forms which he was particularly sue- cessful in procuring. It has been recently described by Mr. E. ht. Lankester, and called Cephalaspis dawsoni, after its dis- coverer. MASTODON REMAINS. The last number of the American Journal of Science records the discovery of a large part of the skeleton of a mastodon near Illipolis, Illinois. One of the tusks proved to be nearly ten feet in length, and twenty-nine inches in circumference three feet from the lower end. All the bones were in a fair state of preservation, and of a dark, spongy, and porous ap-. pearance. It is probable that the specimens will be added to the collections of fossils now being gathered together by Professor Worthen for the state cabinet. NEW SPECIES OF LOPHIODON. At the meeting of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, January 8, inst., Professor O.C. Marsh, of Yale Col- = —— G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 9249 lege, exhibited a tooth of a new species of Lophiodon (a tapir- like animal), from the miocene marl of Cumberland County, New Jersey, which is the first indication of the remains of the tapir family on the Atlantic coast, or of the genus Lo- phiodon in this country east of the Rocky Mountain region. This species, which was named Lophiodon validus, was prob- ably a contemporary of the Rhinoceros matutinus, described by Professor Marsh, from remains found at the same geolog- ical horizon in Monmouth County New Jersey. PORT KENNEDY BONE CAVE. The discovery of an ancient bone cave near Pheenixville, Pennsylvania, about twenty-five miles northwest of Phila- delphia, has excited the greatest interest among naturalists. Professor Cope has been actively engaged in the investiga- tion of the collection, and already reports the existence of about thirty species of vertebrates, together with numerous plants and insects. All of these, so far as known, are probably . of extinct species, although their precise relationships have not yet been fully worked out. Among the reptiles were tor- toises and serpents, and of birds there was a turkey and a snipe. The mammals, as Professor Cope anticipated, were most numerous, these including two carnivorous animals of large size, one of them a cat, and the other a bear, previously described by Dr. Leidy, of a remarkable type, and totally dis- tinct from the cave bear, or any living species of either Eu- rope or America, At least three species of sloths were discov- ered, mostly of gigantic size, one of them a species of Mega- lonyx, and two of the Mylodon. Besides these there were some ruminating animals, tapirs, and a small horse. With the other remains were the teeth and tusks of the mastodon. The fissure in which the bones were found was forty feet deep and fifteen feet wide; the length as yet has not been deter- mined. Above the deposit of bones the cave was filled with washings of the triassic age from the neighboring hills. PORT KENNEDY BONE CAVE AGAIN, In the recently published proceedings of the American Phil- osophical Society we find a more detailed account than has yet appeared of the contents of the remarkable post-pliocene bone cave of Port Kennedy, near Philadelphia, of which we 2 250 .ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. have already made repeated mention. This, as may be re- membered, was first explored by Mr. Charles M. Wheatley, of Phenixville, and part of the material collected placed in the hands of Professor Cope for elaboration. In the present pa- per we have fuller indications of the results than heretofore, and we learn that thirty-four species of mammals, in all, have been obtained, nearly all of them extinct species, and a large proportion of them new to science. Of birds there are two species, a turkey and a snipe; also two species of tortoises, three or four of serpents, and a few batrachians. Of insects there are thirteen species of coleoptera, and two or three of other orders. In summing up the results obtained from these | investigations, Professor Cope calls attention to the inference already drawn by himself and Professor Leidy as to the great difference in character between the post-pliocene fauna of North America and that of previous portions of the tertiary period; and the fact that, while the miocene mammalia are _more or less similar to those of miocene Europe and Asia, and the pliocene vertebrata have a corresponding resemblance to those of the same period of Europe and Asia and the present one of Africa, the post-pliocene resemble, in many particulars, those of South America. As, therefore, the difference in these faunas is too great to have been produced in so comparatively short an interval of time by evolution, if this be admitted as an element, we must look to marked changes in the relative distribution of land and water for the cause. It is therefore supposed that dur- ing the pliocene period, when the geographical affinities of America were westward, especially with Asia, a continent ex- isted in the region now occupied by the Northern Pacific, which formed a connection between the two lands, over which the migratory movements could take place. The difference from the South American fauna, at the same time, indicates also a separation by water, and the probable absence of any connection between Costa Rica on the one side and the higher lands of Colombia on the other. The oc- currence then of the glacial epoch brought about the destruc- tion of the pliocene fauna, while, at the same period, the con- nection with Asia was severed by the submergence of this Northern Pacific continent. At the time of the northward retreat of the ice-sheet, mammalian life was probably extinct G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 251 in North America, and a renewal could not be obtained from either Asia or Europe, as these were cut off by water, but the concomitant elevation of Panama and other portions of Mid- dle America furnished a bridge over which travel could be accomplished. In this view is explained the preponderance of South American types in the post-pliocene period, since, of the remains from the Port Kennedy cave, out of thirty-four we have eleven belonging to purely South American forms, eleven genera common to both hemispheres, and nine of doubtful position. Again, a further modification of the fauna has been effect- ed by the change of level which took place between the time of the introduction of the post-pliocence fauna and the pres- ent period, this consisting in an extensive submergence of land, especially in arctic latitudes. This, according to Pro- fessor Dana, as quoted by Professor Cope, near Montreal was 450 feet or more, and in the arctic regions 1000 feet. This descent of level Professor Dana considers to have been the cause of the melting of the glacial ice, the stratification of the drift, the deposition of gravels, and elevation of temper- ature, all these changes naturally preceding the introduction of post-glacial fauna from a warmer region. The Champlain epoch is regarded as opening the post-pliocene, and its fauna . to be represented by the walrus, which extended its range to Virginia, the reindeer, reaching to New Jersey, and by the white whale,—Proc, Amer. Phil, Society, 1871, 75. FOSSIL MAMMALS OF CALIFORNIA. In a recent communication to the Academy of Natural Sci- ences, by Professor Leidy, attention was invited to certain teeth of fossil mammals forwarded to him for examination by Professor Whitney. One of these was a fragment belonging to the Mastodon americanus, obtained from a depth of eighty feet beneath the basaltic lava of Table Mountain, Tuolumne _County, California, where it was found associated with the re- mains of human art. There was also a molar of a large fossil horse found sixteen feet below the surface on Gordon Gulch. Two other teeth, somewhat similar in character, were deter- mined as belonging to the species of Protohippus. In other specimens Dr. Leidy found evidences of the existence of a gigantic animal of the camel tribe, allied to the llama.—2 D, 1871, £0. 252 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. REMAINS OF THE WOLVERINE. An interesting discovery has lately been made in England of the detection in a bone cave of the remains of the wolver- ine, or glutton. This, according to a correspondent in Wa- ture, is of the greatest interest, as occurring in a region where bones of the reindeer, moose, etc., had previously been found, and upon which this animal in pre-historic, as now in more modern, times was accustomed to feed. —12 A, March 30,. 1871, 425. | NEW FOSSIL MAMMALS, Professor Leidy has lately announced to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences the existence of some new fos- sil mammals from the tertiary formations of Wyoming Terri- tory. One was. a lower jaw, discovered by Dr. J. Van A. Carter, in the vicinity of Fort Bridger. The animal to which it belonged was as large as a hog, but was more nearly allied to the rhinoceros or tapirs. It was especially remarkable for the possession of a large pair of front teeth, resembling, both in form and construction, the incisors of the beaver. The name proposed for it was Z’rogurus castoroideus, or the bea- ver-toothed gnawing-hog. Another of the fossils indicates a carnivorous animal, a contemporary of the former, and about - the size of the gray fox. The animal was related to the wea- sel and canine families, and was called Sinopa rapax, the former name being that applied by the Blackfeet Indians to a small fox. Professor Leidy also exhibited photographs of the lower part of the jaw of the American mastodon, recently received from Professor W.C. Kerr, state geologist of North Carolina. The jaw was found in Lenoir County of that state. It be- longed to a mature male, and was of special interest from its retaining both tusks, as well as the molar teeth.—2 D, May 16,1871. . ON THE EXTINCT BATRACHIAN FAUNA OF OHIO. At a late meeting of the American Philosophical Society Professor Cope made a communication upon the extinct ba- trachian fauna of the carboniferous formation of Linton, Ohio, based upon material obtained by Professor J.S. Newberry, di- G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 253 rector of the Geological Survey of Ohio, and professor in the School Mines of Columbia College. Up to the present time twenty-seven species have been discovered, most-of them pre- viously described by Professor Cope, although some of them are new species, announced now for the first time. It would appear from Professor Cope’s statement that no true reptiles have yet been obtained in the coal measures, all of them belonging unmistakably to the Batrachia, although species were met with closely resembling serpents, lizards, and crocodiles.—Proc. Am. Phil. Soe. | DISAPPEARANCE OF WISCONSIN ANIMALS. Dr. Hoy, in a paper before the Wisconsin Academy of Sci- ences, Arts, and Letters, remarks, in reference to the mammals of Wisconsin, that the elk existed in that state as late as 1863, but is now probably extinct. The moose is still found in con- siderable numbers. The last buffalo was killed in 1832. An- telope were also found in Wisconsin in the time of Father Hennepin, although now, of course, driven far to the west. Most of the wild animals are diminishing very rapidly in number, the panther and deer being almost exterminated. The otter and beaver, however, are very persistent. The last wild turkey was killed in 1846 near Racine.— Bull, Wisc. Nat. List, Soc., 1871, 62. DARWIN’S *‘ ORIGIN OF SPECIES.” It is understood that Mr. Darwin is now preparing a new edition of his “ Origin of Species,” in which he will answer the objections of weight which have been urged against the theory of natural selection. FOSSIL IVORY IN ALASKA. The San Francisco papers are calling attention to specimens of fossil ivory brought from Alaska, and parties are said to be about entering upon the business of collecting it on a large scale. This ivory consists of the tusks of the mammoth or fossil elephant (Hlephas primigenius), the remains of which are extremely abundant in Alaska, but much more so in Si- beria, from which latter country, as is well known, an appre- ciable percentage of all the ivory now used in the arts is ob- tained. 254 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. SUMATRAN ELEPHANT. The existence of two species of elephants has long been es- tablished—the African and the Indian, the former differing from the latter in having much larger ears, which cover the greater part of the shoulders, as well as the whole neck, and often touch each other upon the nape. This difference is so striking as to be appreciable at once, although there are still other characteristics, such as the more arched and less flat- tened forehead of the African, the more stoutly developed tusks which are often found in the female, while, as is well known, the female Indian elephant is entirely destitute of these weapons. More recenily, the fact that the island of Sumatra is the only one in the Indian Ar chipelago where the elephant occurs in a wild state suggested the inquiry wheth- er this might not be a distinct species, and the investigations - of Dr. Schlegel, the eminent director of the Leyden Museum, have led him to this conclusion. Like the elephant of the main land of India, the ears of this animal are very small, and the form of the skolli is somewhat the same; but the number of dorsal vertebree, as well as of pairs of tee differs decided- ly, there being twenty-one in the African elephant, twenty in the Sumatran, and nineteen in the Indian. The Sumatran ele- phant seems to be more slender and delicate in its farm, and to have a longer and thinner snout. It is also said to mani- fest decidedly greater intelligence than the elephant of Ben- gal.—Zoologische Garten, I1., 1870, 333, GAME-TRADE AT CHICAGO, An interesting article appeared lately in the Chicago Times in regard to the game-trade of that city. This contained an elaborate account of the different kinds of game, both flesh and fowl, brought into Chicago, with the names of the dealers, and the statement of the receipts and sales. According to this article, there have been two new features of the market of that city in the past season. First, the shipment of a great many grouse and quail direct to England, where they arrive in about eighteen or twenty days, and where they brought good prices; second, the canning of prairie chickens, which has been done to the extent of three hundred dozen on one single Baltimore order. The cans are made large enough to A elllttine ty wiemalad.. G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 255 hold a single bird and the gravy, and the experiment was so successful that it is thought probable it will be continued on a large scale in the coming season. The names of about sev- enty firms are mentioned as the larger dealers in game, while those of the smaller ones are not enumerated. The following recapitulation of the principal varieties of game, and the ag- gregate number, weight, and average cost, and the sum total of the proceeds, will be scanned with interest by our readers: Articles. Number. Epes Amoutrt. Batinlotit iste i70212. 2 6h 160,000 | $ 07 | $ 11,200 PO ai ists says ds dice tye 94,300 10 9,430 PRIS aia gk oa oe vane «are 109,350 10 10,935 Eee or so. ek oe Se 7,700 08 616 rts das}: 2.35.4) sez tena) 42,800 3 50 149,800 on Se eC eae 88,595 2 00 117,190 PME AIGZ 2 ot ooo svc cee cn gs ea ac 63,840 3 00 191,520 eer SR TER 3 SE 4,650 80 3,720 Ln Ss a rr 1,990 40 793 PPSRUTIOROS, COZ c6.0 «oo. 6 «2 2 50% sie 104 4 00 416 STS alee i a es 1,120 2 00 2,240 Widodenck doz... 202.0a0eo50% 6 100 2 00 200 ECG 0) a a 33,333 1 25 41,666 POURS raters ce gma cinscessate | 1,532 2 00 3,064 Ferprts COs. oe. ee 15,362 1 00 13,360 eeguptels; dogs: $e 3350 Fens see 0s 300 60 180 I ie a a Aer lah Scie ua aE: $556,330 —Chicago Times. WHALES EAST OF EUROPEAN NORTH CAPE. However rare whales are becoming in the seas north of America and Eastern Asia, they are said to be extremely abundant at the present time to the east of the North Cape of Europe, ten or more having been found stranded on the shores in a single season. All the beaches in that region are said to be strewn with bones or partially decomposed car- casses, which can be scented at a great distance. The spe- cies of whale is not well ascertained, but it is said to attain sometimes the length of 110 feet.—17 C, 1871, 36. IMMUNITY OF THE PIG FROM INJURY BY SERPENT BITES. The impression is generally prevalent in the United States that the common domestic pig is an especial enemy of all kinds of serpents, and that it is capable of receiving the bite of the rattlesnake and copperhead without the slightest per- 256 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. sonal inconvenience or injury. This same immunity from harm would seem to exist in other countries, as a late writer in the London Field remarks upon the fondness of the pigs in India for the cobra de capello, and states that he has repeat- edly seen them in conflict, and has observed the pig to be bit- ten over and over again in the snout and about the face by the writhing reptile, and in no instance with the slightest ill result to the aggressor.—19 A, November 4,1871, 391. ORNITHOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS IN 1870. The October number of The Ibis, a quarterly journal of or- nithology published in London, contains a summary of the progress of ornithological science for 1870, enumerating the names of writers upon this subject, with the titles of their publications. The total number of such authors mentioned in the list is 164, while the number of separate works and of papers (in scientific memoirs, transactions, proceedings, etc.) reaches 316. Strange to say, only 22 new genera have been adopted, although 288 have been proposed. Figures of 270 species, together with numerous plates illustrating the anat- omy, the nests, and the eggs, have appeared. Due prominence and full credit are given to the comparatively small number of American writers whose names appear in the list.—JZdis, October, 1871. TRANSPORTING LIVING ENGLISH SPARROWS. A great demand for the English sparrow in various parts of the United States has induced their importation from En- gland and Germany in large numbers, but in many instances, where this has been done in large cages, most of the birds have died on the passage. In one instance in our recollec- tion, where four hundred were placed in two cages, only sev- en were safely landed in New York. Persons who have given this subject their attention advise that the importations be made in long low cages, known as store cages, which are two or three feet long, about nine inches high, and twelve from back to front, with perches within two inches of the bottom. In a cage of this kind three or four dozen can, it is said, be readily transported, provided they be supplied with proper food, as well as with sand, and fine gravel, and plenty of wa- ter.—2 A, June 3,1871, 398. G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 9257 BIRD-TRADE OF GERMANY WITH THE UNITED STATES. In a recent article upon the bird-trade of Germany with the rest of the world, we are informed that the single firm of Messrs. Reiche, of Alfeld, are in the habit of shipping immense numbers of living birds to the United States, consisting main- ly of canaries, but including also goldfinches, sparrows of ev- ery species, including the house-sparrow, larks, etc. Their shipments to this country during the year 1869 amounted to 26,000 canaries and 15,000 birds of other species—the total number of canaries exported by all the dealers to North America amounting probably to not less than 45,000 annual- ly. The shipments generally begin in the month of August, with the first spring brood, and are continued uninterrupted- ly until April. These, in nearly all instances, have been care- fully trained before shipment, and it is now possible for a few dollars to obtain birds that not many years ago would have cost more than ten times that amount.—1 C1870, xxx., 473. PECULIARITIES OF THE FLORIDA WILD TURKEY. A gentleman who has spent a good deal of time in Florida is decidedly of the opinion that the wild turkey of that state is quite different from that of the North, and that it main- tains a much closer relationship to the New Mexican turkey (Meleagris Mexicana). According to his statement, the head of the wild turkey of Florida is red, like that of the domestic, its color in the Northern species of wild turkey being blue. The flesh also is white, as in the domestic turkey, and the tip of the tail fulvous instead of chestnut. The hunters from Mississippi who visit lower Florida notice this difference in the color of the heads of the Florida and Mississippi turkey, and consider them distinct. The gentleman in question is not familiar with the wild turkey of Northern Florida, and con- fines his remarks to those on the southern portion of the Gulf coast of that state. CHANGE IN THE HABITS OF THE KEA PARROT OF NEW ZEALAND. Mr. Potts, a well-known ornithologist of New Zealand, calls attention, in a late number of ature, to a curious change that » has taken place in the habits of the kea parrot, belonging to 258 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. the Australian genus JVestor. When the island was first dis- covered, this bird was known to make use of its brush-like tongue in gathering honey from the various flowers, and in feeding upon the berries of the plants belonging to its neigh- borhood, this diet being varied by the capture of an occasion- al insect. It now appears that the first change consisted in its resorting to the scaffolds used by the settlers for drying meat, and then to the sheep-skins suspended in the air. Now it has become the veritable pest of the country, from its habit of lighting upon the backs of sheep and picking away the wool, and then tearing out the flesh, thus causing a peculiar sore, which was originally supposed to be a new kind of dis- ease, and not until quite recently was it ascertained that it was due to the attacks of the kea parrot.—12 A, October 19, 1871, 489. EXISTING SPECIMENS OF THE GREAT AUK. According to a late paper by Mr. Victor Fatio, published in the Bulletin of the Swiss Ornithological Society, the total number of the skins of the (probably now extinct) great auk in Europe and in the United States amounts.to seventy-one, or possibly seventy-two. Of these, four are in the United States, namely, one in the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences; one at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie; one at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington; and one in the pos- session of Mr. Robert L. Stuart, intended for the New York Museum of Natural History. Seven skeletons are enumer- ated as existing in Europe, and two (one?) in the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Of egos, the author enumerates sixty-three specimens in Europe, and two in the United States, of which one belongs to the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the other is in the Muse- um of the Smithsonian Institution, having been presented to it by the Philadelphia Academy. This enumeration of the remains of this bird is believed to be very nearly accurate ; and although a few more specimens may yet be detected in local museums, it is not likely that the total can be much in- creased. The limited number extant will sufficiently explain the high price which specimens of both skins and eggs bring when offered for sale, the sums obtained for the former vary- ing from $500 to $1500, and for the latter from $250 to $350. « a G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 259 Detached bones of the skeleton of the great auk are not at all uncommon in American collections, the critical examina- tion of the shell-heaps of the New England coast and of the Bay of Fundy having brought to light quite a considerable number. The specimens collected are mainly in the museum of the Peabody Institute, Salem; the Peabody Museum, Cam- bridge; and of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. RELATION OF WEIGHT TO LENGTH IN CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS. Professor Phillips, of the Museum at Oxford, is very de- - sirous of learning the relationship between the length and weight of crocodiles and alligators of all sizes, and requests the friends of science to make as many experiments on this subject as possible, and to transmit the result to the Univer- sity Museum at Oxford. Mr. Buckland recommends that, if the living animal be experimented upon, it be first placed i In a bag. We commend the inquiry to such of our readers as may ‘visit Florida this winter, in hopes that the many oppor- tunities of answering the question there will be utilized. In- formation sent to the American Naturalist Magazine at Sa- lem, Massachusetts, or to the American Journal of Science at New Haven, Connecticut, will no doubt be at once published, and.thus made accéssible to Professor Phillips. —2 4A, Vovem- ber 12, 1870, 350. COD-FISHERIES OF ALASKA. As was foretold by sagacious prophets, the cod-fisheries in Alaska continue to increase in economical importance to the country, the catch during the present year having amounted to over 1,300,000, all the fish of large size. Should the cod- fisheries of the ‘Banks of Newfoundland fail in the course of time, as is feared by some, it is quite probable that we shall be obliged to depend upon the Alaska seas for our supplies. As the shoals frequented by cod in these seas vastly exceed in area all those of Newfoundland, and the fish themselves are of equal size and excellence, and in much greater relative abundance, we can look forward with equanimity to the trans- fer of that branch of the fishing interest from one side of the continent to the other, satisfied, as we may well be, that a plentiful supply will always be available for consumption. 260 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. OCCURRENCE OF THE POMPANO NORTHWARD. Attention is called in the New York Herald of September 2 to the occurrence in the vicinity of New York of the pom- pano, or crevallé (Zrachynotus carolinus), a favorite delicacy among the fish of the South Atlantic and Gulf coast of the United States, and its presence is connected with a supposed increase of temperature in the waters of our shores, conse- quent upon the driving inward of the Gulf Stream by the pre- vailing southerly winds of this season. The range of this fish for the present summer extends far to the east of New York, quite considerable numbers having been taken in Vineyard Sound and Buzzard’s Bay. Although previously unknown of so large a size, it was not entirely a stranger to these wa- ters, since it may be found in every season of moderate di- mensions; and as long ago as 1855, Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, in a report upon the fishes of New Jersey, states that he had seen them taken by thousands in the sandy coves of the outer beach near Beesley’s Point. These, however, were all rather small, scarcely exceeding a quarter to half a pound in weight. The Spanish mackerel, another fish to which the Herald article refers, has also been known much longer than is gen- erally supposed. Dr. Mitchill, in his work on the “ Fishes of New York,” published in 1817, gives it as of occasional oc- currence; and it may be, after all, a question whether the greater frequency with which it is now seen does not depend on the improved methods of capture rather than upon any great degree of difference in abundance. During the present season it is less abundant on the New England coast, from Newport to Vineyard Sound. and Buzzard’s Bay, than last year, although, to judge from the market price, it is taken much more lar oly nearer New York. We are informed that the price has ranged as low as ten cents a pound, while at New port it has retailed at a dollar and even more. It is worth in the New Bedford market at the present time aboas pile ip cents. INCREASE OF SALMON IN THE BRITISH PROVINCES. It will interest our American sportsmen, who are in the habit of visiting the British provinces for the purpose of G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 261 catching salmon, to learn that the last report of the Commis- sioner of Fish and Fisheries for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia announces a very decided increase in the number of salmon, in consequence of the protective measures that have been established by the Dominion government. He recom- mends, what will also be agreeable news to our fishermen, that the salmon rivers be freely leased to gentlemen, under proper regulations, as the best method of preventing illegal poaching, and the improper destruction of breeding and im- mature fish. Among the chief measures to which the increase in question is due is ascribed the introduction of ladders into the dams on the streams, both salmon and alewives, by their means, passing up waters from which they had for a long time been absent.—feport of Canada Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1869, 1870. USE OF THE PECTORAL FINS OF FISH. Mr. Hansen, in discussing the ntovements of the fins of fish- es in water, remarks that the propelling power of the pecto- ral fin is directed upward and forward, and is intended to as- sist the passage of the water into and out of the gills, and thus aid in respiration. When only one pectoral fin is moved, the body rotates around its longitudinal axis ; a more decided movement of both fins will raise the anterior extremity of the body in the water. When flying-fish ascend quickly to the surface by means of the active movement of the pectoral fins, they describe an are over the water, but ultimately fall back into it. For this reason they are scarcely to be included among flying animals.—1 C1870, xLv., 720. RELATIONS OF GANOIDS TO PLAGIOSTOMES. Dr. Albert Giinther, of the British Museum, has presented an elaborate communication in ature upon the relationships of the remarkable animal discovered not long since in Queens- land, known as the Ceratodus forsteri (or Dawson salmon), which is, in general characters, an amphibian-like fish, allied to Lepidosiren, etc. Considering Ceratodus as a form of ga- noid fishes, Dr. Giinther has been induced, as the result of his investigations, to unite the Plagiostomata (sharks and rays) with the ganoids, since they agree in having a third con- tractile chamber in addition to the ordinary two divisions of 262 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. the fish heart. This dwbus arteriosus is very different from the dulbus aorte of other fishes, where it is simply a swelling of the walls of the aorta, not contractile, without valves in the interior, and separated from the heart by two valves op- posite to each other. This character is also supported by. two others of great importance, viz., the presence of a spiral valve in the intestine, which is found in a more or less de- veloped state in all the ganoids, but entirely absent in other fishes; and by the optic nerves being placed side by side, and not decussating as in ordinary fishes. The occurrence of the chimeras as an intermediate rank between the plagiostomes and ganoids is considered as strengthening the view thus ta- ken, and accordingly Dr. Giinther proposes the name Pale- ichthyes for this sub-class; the remaining orders of fishes be- ing distinguished, as already indicated, by possessing a two- chambered heart with a rigid bulbus aorte, and decussating optic nerves, and in never exhibiting a trace of spiral valve in the intestine. Of the new sub-class indicated by Dr. Giinther there are now known 140 species of sharks, belonging to 34 genera, and 150 species of rays, of 25 genera, and inhabiting all the seas of the globe, but decreasing in numbers from the tropies to- ward the poles, very few of them entering, or at least living in fresh water. These constitute the order Plagiostomata. In the order Holocephala there are but four species, viz., three Chimeras and one Callocephalus, these being restricted to the seas of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, and ab- sent between the tropics. The order of Ganoidei is composed of fresh-water species ; one of Amia from North America; three of Lepidosteus ; two of Polypterus from Africa; two of Polyodon, or shovel- nosed sturgeon, one of them found in the Mississippi and the other in China; about twenty-five sturgeons from the north- ern hemisphere; two species of Ceratodus from tropical Aus- tralia; one of Lepidosiren from the Amazon River; and one of Protopterus from tropical Africa. As the total number of fishes known at present is about 9000, the sub-class of Paleichthyes forms only 3.6 per cent. of the number. Dr. Giinther is, however, of the opinion, from the extent of the regions hitherto unexplored in respect to their fishes, that perhaps we are scarcely acquainted with G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 263 more than one tenth of the kinds of fishes actually existing. —12 A, September 28, 1871, 434. THEORY OF THE SALMON-ELY. In reply to the question, Why does the salmon follow the artificial fly, and what -does it take it to be? Dr. Giinther, the well-known ichthyologist, says that if we catch a prawn (one of the principal articles of food of salmon) in the sea, swimming in jerks, we at once observe that by means of the rod we impart to the fly the peculiar motion of the prawn, while the iridescence of the real creature is reproduced by the colors of the fly, which must vary according to the phys- ical changes of the sky and water. No two things can be more unlike than a prawn and a dry, artificial fly; yet, ac- cording to Mr. Giinther, no two things are more alike than a swimming prawn and that same fly in the water, worked by a skillful hand. CAPTURE OF HORSE MACKEREL IN BUZZARD’S BAY., A somewhat interesting capture was made during the past summer in one of the fish-pounds in Buzzard’s Bay, near Wo0d’s Hole, Massachusetts, the strange visitor being a spec- imen of the tunny, Orcynus secundidor salis, sometimes call- ed horse mackerel and albicore in this country. The speci- men measured nine feet in length, and weighed five hundred pounds, although frequently found weighing five hundred, or even a thousand pounds more than this. The horse mackerel is not an unusual visitor to the eastern coast of the New England States, and is found as far north at least as the Bay of Fundy, where, and especially about Prov- incetown, it is sometimes harpooned in considerable numbers. It very rarely comes within the bays on our coast, the indi- vidual in question being the only one that has been captured within the memory of the fishermen in Buzzard’s Bay. The specimen has been skinned, and will, it is understood, be ex- hibited in due time as one of the treasures of the National Museum at Washington. The flesh of the horse mackerel is of excellent quality, be- ing more like butcher’s meat than like fish, and closely re- sembling tender pork in color and texture. It is, however, much less valued as food in the United States than in Eu- 264 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. rope, where this species, or a close ally, has long been a favor- ite in the market. DID HENDRIK HUDSON FIND SALMON IN THE HUDSON RIVER? * The authority of Hendrik Hudson’s journal is cited to prove the former existence of salmon in the Hudson River, and as an argument in favor of the feasibility of stocking its waters with this fish. Mr. J. Carson Brevoort, of Brooklyn,-a gentle- man of great research in such matters, maintains, however, the fish referred to by Hudson is really the weak-fish, or sque- teague (Otolithus regalis), as it was taken in large numbers by this early voyager in the middle of September, in seines, somewhere in the lower part of the bay, and at a time when and place where no true salmon could be thus captured. An inexperienced observer might very easily call a weak-fish a salmon, the general resemblance being so close that the name of salmon-trout is, even now, generally applied to the South- ern variety of the weak-fish. The pike-perch, or wall-eyed perch (Lucioperca americana), is also called salmon in the Susquehanna River, with much less resemblance to the genu- ine article than the weak-fish. BLACK BASS IN THE POTOMAC. It is well known to naturalists that the black bass, now so common in the Potomac River, and furnishing so much sport to the angler, as well as constituting so valuable an article of food, is not indigenous, but has been transferred from oth- er waters. The species of this genus (Grystes) belong to the waters of the Mississippi Valley and of the great lakes, but on the Atlantic coast were originally restricted to the region south of the James River—the Potomac, Susquehanna, Dela- ware, Hudson, and other great streams of the Middle and Northern States being without them. They have been trans- ferred to many localities, both streams and ponds, and it is likely that before a great while they will be well known throughout this country, as it is even proposed to carry them to California. Controversy has lately arisen as to the person to whom is due the credit of the first introduction of this fish into the Potomac, the honor being assigned by some to Dr. Eoff, of Wheeling, and by others to Mr. William Schriver. The question, however, can be readily determined by refer- G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 265 ence to the report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1854, where may be found a communication from Mr. Eoff himself on this subject, giving an account of the habits of the black bass, and stating that Mr. William Schriver, of Wheeling, thinking the Potomac River admirably adapted to the culti- vation of the bass, had, the preceding season, carried some twenty or more alive in a box, in the water-tank of a loco- motive from Wheeling to Cumberland, his former residence, and placed them in a canal basin at that place, where he hoped they would do well, and be a nucleus from which the stock might soon spread. This, of course, effectually settles the controversy in favor of Mr. Schriver. CAUSE OF DEATH OF FRESH-WATER FISH IN SALT WATER. In a communication by M. Bert to the Academy of Sciences of Paris upon the death of fishes living in fresh water when immersed in sea water, he stated that these fishes are literal- ly suffocated by a singular effect of desiccation, the exosmose being very active, especially when their skin is clothed with large scales. The phenomenon as observed in frogs is quite extraordinary, these losing the greater part of their weight, and becoming almost as much dried up as if they had been salted alive. In regard to the action of fresh water upon salt-water fish, he found that they are too heavy for this me- dium, and generally remain at the bottom of the water, while the fresh-water fish always swim at the top of salt water.— 12 A, August 24,1871, 339. PROPER FISH FOR STOCKING RIVERS. Ofthe many fresh-water fish characteristic of the continent of North America, comparatively few, with the exception of members of the salmon and trout family, are of sufficient eco- nomical value to make it expedient to introduce them into re- gions where they do not naturally occur. This transfer has been made to a very disastrous extent in the case of the pike (Esox), which, although multiplying rapidly, is at the same time the determined foe of all other kinds of fish, and soon almost exterminates them from the waters which it inhabits. For this reason some states have passed laws prohibiting, un- der severe penalties, except by direct permission of the Com- missioners of the Fisheries, any transfer of the species in ques- M 266 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. tion to new localities. Tbere is, however, one fish that is of great value, and which can be introduced without as much doubt of the propriety of the act as exists in regard to the pike. We refer to the black bass (Grystes of author s). This inhabits, in one variety or another, the basin of the great lakes, of the Mississippi Valley, and the upper waters of the streams of the South Atlantic coast as far north as the James River. Within a few years it has been transferred with suc- cess to streams previously uninhabited by it—to the Potomac, for one, where it is now extremely abundant. During the past summer some public-spirited gentlemen of Philadelphia - collected among themselves a fund to stock the Delaware with this noble fish, and obtained about seven hundred, prin- cipally in the vicinity of Harper’s Ferry. These were carried alive in large tanks to the Delaware, and deposited in that stream at Easton, about two hundred of the number dying by the way. The same party of gentlemen propose to use a surplus fund in their hands in experimenting upon the re- stocking of the river with shad and salmon. LIVING EYELESS FISH. Visitors to the Dublin Zoological Gardens have been much interested in some living specimens of the eyeless fish found in the Mammoth Cave, recently carried there, and now in perfect health. The small specimens are so transparent that the vertebral column, the heart, and optic bulbs may be dis- tinctly seen. In the largest there are dark red spots over the optic bulbs, which, it is suggested, are due to their having been kept in an iron tank, which may have given color to a ru- dimentary pigment of the membrane.—12 A, Oct. 6, 1870, 454. STOCKING WATERS OF NEW YORK WITH FISH. The Commissioners of Fisheries for the State of New York have lately announced, in the public papers, their readiness to furnish, free of expense, living black bass, catfish, white bass, rock bass, roach, perch, sunfish, and pike -perch, for stocking the waters in any part of the State of New York, provided parties desiring them will send an agent to receive and take charge of them. All of these are now bred at the state es- tablishment at Caledonia, and applications for them are to be made to Seth Green, Rochester. - G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 267 ‘ KILLING FISH WITH TORPEDOES IN FLORIDA. The use of torpedoes for killing fish for manure has lately been introduced on the coast of Florida. The business is carried on about six miles below New Smyrna, at Mosquito Lagoon, and the method adopted is said to consist in ex- ploding the torpedoes in the water, under the schools, as they pass by. In addition to the many that are killed outright, and float on the surface, large numbers are wounded, and go off elsewhere to die, without being caught. This practice, we are assured, has already resulted in a very marked dim- inution of the schools of fish in that vicinity, and has been greatly resented by the people of the state, who are endeay- oring to drive the operator from its waters. es Batter: FUNGUS GROWTHS ON FISH AND THEIR EGGS. In a recent article, Professor Willkomm, of Tharaudt, in Germany, discusses the subject of the cryptogamic growth which so frequently interferes with the business of artificial fish-breeding, by attaching itself to the eggs or to the young fish, and destroying them; and after considering in detail the various suggestions made by writers in regard to this parasite, endeavors to show that it is simply the alternate condition of the ordinary mould (Mucor mucedo) which de- velops itself, under favorable circumstances, in the air. This was proved by transplanting filaments of mould to fish or eggs, and finding them develop into the species in question ; and vice versa, by taking the filaments from the fish, and plant- ing them in the air, they produce genuine mould. The gen- eric name adopted by our author for the plant in question is Saprolegnia, as established by Nees von Esenbech, who called it S. molluscorum. Dr. Willkomm is even of opinion that the fungus which forms on dead flies and other insects in such large quanti- ties, and known as Achlya prolifera, as well as the Himpusa muscee, Which develops on living insects in the air, is merely a different form of the same polymorphous growth, and which, when taking root on perfectly sound, healthy animals, may impart disease to them, and even produce death. _ It is also suggested that the Zarichium of Dr. Cohn, which produces a new caterpillar disease, is a still different phase of the same 268 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. growth. He refers the origin of the fungus growth upon fish and their eggs to the sporules which are continually floating in the air, and which only require a favorable nesting-place for their development; and he makes an important practical suggestion in the interest of fish culture, especially that of trout and salmon. » He advises very earnestly that the water used for hatching eggs and raising young fish be derived, as far as possible, from springs, and at or near their source, and even urges the transportation of such water for a long dis- tance in closed pipes, for the purpose of securing that which will be measurably free from the danger mentioned. In this" way he thinks there is much less danger of having the fungus spores fall into the water, and producing disease. He him- self found, after adopting this plan at the fish-breeding es- tablishment in Tharandt, that for the first time the operations were not interfered with by the death of a large percentage of eggs and new-hatched fish from this disease, while for the twelve previous years a large number were annually lost. A loss ofnot over fifteen per cent. of the eggs is considered quite favorable, since sometimes fifty per cent. or more die, in spite of the utmost precaution. DIFFERENCE OF BACTERIA FROM FUNGI. Some researches by Dr. Sanderson upon the intimate pa- thology of contagion have led him to very careful investiga- tions into the conditions under which microzymes (bacteria) and fungi become developed in various solutions. The re-. sults at which he arrives are of great importance. Micro- zymes are not capable of being transmitted from one solution to another by means of air. On the other hand, fungi, as is well known, are capable of being so transmitted. If proper precautions in its preparation be taken, a solution (Pasteur’s, e. g.) may be exposed to the air for months in an open vessel without the development in it of a single bacterium, while fungi (i.e., Mycelium torula) will be developed in it in pro- portion to its amount of exposure to the air. In order to in- sure this result, all that is necessary is to boil the solution, and thoroughly rinse with boiling water the vessel that is to contain it. The addition of a drop of ordinary distilled water is suffi- cient to cause rapid development of bacteria in abundance in G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 269 such a solution. Ifthe distilled water be previously boiled, no such development ensues. These results show clearly that there is no developmental connection between microzymes and torwla cells, and that their apparent association is one of mere juxtaposition. There is also in this paper an account of a series of experi- ments with sealed tubes containing organic and other solu- tions, which were, as in Dr. Bastian’s well-known experiments, submitted to a high temperature, special experiments being also made with tubes in which more or less perfect vacuum was produced; Dr. Bastian, as it will be remembered, beliey- ing he had found that low organisms developed themselves more rapidly in fluids existing in an atmosphere of low ten- sion. Dr. Sanderson’s conclusions are entirely at variance with those of Dr. Bastian. In no case where proper precau- tions were taken to exclude and destroy germs did any devel- opment of life whatever take place.—13 A, November 1, 1870, 500. MICROSCOPIC FORMS IN THE ATMOSPHERE. According to a late communication by Ehrenberg to the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, he has succeeded in determin- ing the existence of five hundred and forty-eight species of organic forms, absolutely invisible to the naked eye, and held in suspension in the atmosphere.—15 A, October 21,1871, 531. LIVING INSECTS IN SALT WATER. Dr. Packard has lately announced the discovery, by Pro- fessor Verrill, of a dipterous larva of the genus Chironomus, at a depth of one hundred and twenty feet, in the vicinity of Eastport, Maine. He also describes a mite, or Acarus, as occurring at a similar depth. He hase not yet ascertained whether, like other species of the genus, the latter lives, in any of its stages, in the gills of the lamellibranchiate mollusca. WHITE ANTS IN ST. HELENA. A recent communication to the State Department from the United States Consul at St. Helena states the fact that the white ants, which have effected a lodgment in the island, are rapidly destroying every thing upon it. No wood but teak, and sometimes not even that, escapes their fangs, and num- 270 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. bers of houses in Jamestown have been fairly gutted by them —doors, window-sashes, floors, and roofs all being eaten up, leaving nothing but the bare walls.— Letter. SPREAD OF THE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY, According to Dr. Uhler, of Baltimore, the European cab- bage butterfly (Pontia brassice), the pest of the agriculturist, has reached Baltimore in its invasion of the United States. It has been known for some years more to the eastward, and has been slowly but surely creeping along, until it bids fair to involve the whole country in its ravages.—Letter from Dr. Uhier. OYSTER BEDS OF GERMANY. Professors Mébius and Hensen have been lately engaged in a careful investigation of the condition of the oyster beds of Schleswig, and have ascertained that a full-grown oyster can produce a million of young in a single season. They also ascertained that the Schleswig oysters at least have no de- cided manifestation of sex during the winter, but that, prior to the breeding season, in some the cells of the generative glands develop spermatozoa, while others develop only eggs, the numbers in the two divisions being about equal. This sexual development is later in the deeper beds than in the more superficial ones, probably because the stimulus of in- creasing heat acts earlier at shallow depths than at greater ones. They also found reason to believe that the egg-bear- ing generative glands, after discharging their eggs, appear to have spermatozoa to form in them.—19 C, October 21, 1871, XLII, 344. ENKMIES OF OYSTER SPAT. According to Mr. Buckland, among other enemies of young oysters in the English breeding parks or ponds are certain small fish, such as the gobies, sticklebacks, ete., which devour the spat with intense relish. He finds in these minute ene- mies the reason why such poor success has attended many of the experiments in oyster breeding, and advises that some fish be introduced especially addicted to destroying the young fish fry in question. A comparatively small number of young bluefish would probably very soon exterminate G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 27] these depredators, destroying them at the rate of several hundreds each per day.—2 A, September 9, 1871, 162. ALLEN ON THE BIRDS OF EAST FLORIDA, ETC. One of the most original and important contributions to the zoology of the day is that constituting the third number of the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, treating upon the mammals and winter birds of East Florida. The author, Mr. J. A. Allen, an assistant of Professor Agassiz, is well known for the thoroughness of his research into the vertebrata of America, and the critical at- tention paid by him to the proper limitation of species, both in their relationships to each other, and in their geographical distribution. In the present work he gives a summary of the views to which he has been led within a few years past by his studies of the immense collection in the Cambridge Muse- um, and makes numerous important generalizations. Among these he corroborates the conclusion previously announced by others of the diminution in size of the American birds in pro- portion as their birthplace is more southern, and also that there is a similar difference existing between the animals of the higher and lower altitudes. He also finds that with the more southern locality of summer abode there are correspond- ing differences in color and proportion, as well as in habits, notes, and song, the vivacity of the bird decreasing as its size _ increases. The principal difference in color with the more southern localities consist in the darker tints and the reduced extent of any white markings, with other features that our space will not permit us to give at the present time. The entire work is one eminently worthy of careful study, and is destined to exercise a very important influence upon the meth- ods of zoological research.— Bull. I. C. Z., IL, 3, 1871. INJURY TO THE FLORIDA CABLE BY SEA TURTLES. When ocean cables were first submerged, various apprehen- sions of probable injury were entertained, some of which have proved to be well founded, and others less so. It was sup- posed that worms or mollusks would burrow in the substance of the envelope, and ultimately penetrate to the centre of the wires; or, again, that the attachment of barnacles, mollusks, or other marine animals on the exterior would invite.the at- 272 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. tacks of the sharks, rays, and other fish of powerful jaws, and induce them to subject the bunch of matter to such a masti- cation as should produce serious harm to the cable. To what extent any accidents have happened from this source it is perhaps difficult to say; but we now learn that the Florida cable, between Punta Rosa and Key West, has been injured in numerous places, as supposed by sea turtles biting through or crushing it in their teeth, to such an extent as to destroy its continuity. It is, perhaps, a question whether the turtle be chargeable with these operations; and we think it is quite as probable that, under the circumstances, some ray or other fish has attacked it, and for the reasons already suggested. —8 A, August, 1871, 149. INJURY TO THE CHINA SUBMARINE CABLE. Attention has been called to injuries to the Florida subma- rine cable, supposed to have been caused either by the bites of the sea turtles or from some kinds of fish; and we now learn that in China a similar difficulty has been experienced in consequence of the attacks of a minute crustacean. This is so small as scarcely to be appreciable to the naked eye, but can be readily defined under the microscope. Various breaks have been satisfactorily referred to the agency of these ani- mals, which had imbedded themselves in the gutta-percha. It has become necessary, therefore, to envelop the cables in certain localities with an external supplementary layer of metallic wire, in order to prevent injury in this manner.—1 B, October 15,1871, 21. DARWIN’S COLLECTIONS IN NATURAL HISTORY. According to the Atheneum, Mr. Darwin has presented to the University of Cambridge a remainder of the collections in invertebrate zoology made by him during the celebrated voyage of the Beagle. ‘These will form a desirable addition to the treasures which the museum of the university is rapid- ly accumulating under the superintendence of Professor Al- fred Newton. The museum has for some time been in the possession of the collections of Mr. William Swainson, em- bracing a large number of types of his descriptions of new species of birds. The extensive collection of birds and eggs of Western North America of the late James Hepburn, a gen- G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 273 tleman well known to naturalists of the United States, has also lately come into the possession of the same establish- ment.—15 A, April 29, 1871, 530. EXPLORATIONS OF YACHT NORNA. Among other interesting communications to the late meet- ing of the British Association is one by Mr. Kent upon the zoological results of the dredging expedition of the yacht Norna, off the coast of Spain and Portugal, in 1870; great credit being given to her owner, Mr. Marshall Hall, for thus utilizing a summer’s excursion in the interest of science. Many interesting collections were obtained, embracing new forms of the group of silicious sponges, to which Huplectella, or “Venus’s flower-basket,” and Hyalonema, or the “ glass rope sponge,” belong. These were obtained at from 400 to 800 fathoms, off Cezimbra, at the mouth of the Sado River, and included specimens of Hyalonema scarcely to be distin- guished from the well-known Japan species. A species of Fusus (£ contrarius) was found, identical with a common fossil of the Norwich Crag, and other invertebrates obtained more nearly related to Japanese and Chinese species than to any known Atlantic or Mediterranean forms. The material obtained during the cruise was readily sep- arable into two portions: the first, that collected from the shore-line down to a depth of 100 fathoms, which presented an interblending of Mediterranean species with those inhabit- ing a more temperate coast of Europe; the second, embrac- ing those taken at a depth of more than 400 fathoms, remark- able for their northern or colder water character and affinities. It is much to be desired that some of the owners of the many powerful steam and sailing yachts in the United States may be induced to follow the example of Mr. Hall, as the field of exploration outside of a few miles from shore, along the Atlantic coast, is almost entirely unworked, with the excep- tion of what has been done by the United States Coast Sur- vey—and this, however rich in results, covering but a small portion of the ground. During the summer season a week or two might be spent off the coast, at a distance varying from twenty to a few hundred miles, with perfect ease and safety; and by means of apparatus costing but little, and with the companionship of some man of science, always read- M 2 274. ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ily obtainable, it would be a more rational occupation than that of junketing in harbors, or sailing races for the mere purpose of ascertaining which of several boats is the swiftest. —13 A, August 15,1871, 401. MOLLUSCA OF THE GULF OF SUEZ. Mr. R. M‘Andrew, a well-known English conchologist, has been occupied for a-considerable length of time in dredging in the Gulf of Suez, and has obtained no less than eight hun- dred and eighteen species of mollusca. Of these, three fourths have been determined. ‘These specimens show a remarkable difference from the forms belonging to the Mediterranean, and the existence is inferred of a barrier between the two seas from a very remote epoch, although it is thought that the two were united in the eocene and miocene periods. ZOOLOGICAL STATION IN THE GULF OF NAPLES. The Gulf of Naples has long been a favorite field of explo- ration for marine zoologists on account of the great variety of animal life to be found in its waters, but much inconven- ience has usually been experienced by foreign naturalists for want of the facilities necessary for prosecuting their research- es. To obviate this, Dr. Anton Dohrn, of Stettin, an eminent conchologist, has lately obtained permission from the author- ities of the city of Naples to erect in the Villa Reale, close to the sea, at his own expense, a large building, to contain a great aquarium for the public, and extensive and convenient apartments for the use of naturalists of every country, the whole to remain his absolute property for thirty years, and as long.after that as he may live. Dr. Dohrn proposes to es- tablish himself in the building, with several other German naturalists, and to conduct the administration of the entire establishment. _ He will ‘there, at all times, be happy to wel- come his scientific confréres, and to see that every facility for research is offered them. Some income will doubtless be de- rived from fees for admission of the general public to the aquaria, and all deficiencies will be made ‘up by Dr. Dohrn, who is understood to be that vara avis, a naturalist of means. An annual report of receipts and expenditures , as well as of the discoveries made in the establishment, is to be made to an international committee, of whom are already named G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 275 Helmholtz, Dubois- Reymond, Huxley, Darwin, Heckel, Leuckart, Von Beneden, etc. He has also invited Professor Agassiz to accept the representation in the committee for the United States, and thereby add the weight of his powerful name. Work on the building will begin forthwith under Dr. Dohrn’s direction, his address at Naples being to the care of Friedrich Stolte, Consul General of Germany, Piazza Me- dina. - In the Northern United States the richest marine fauna is to be found in the vicinity of Eastport, Maine, the adjacent region of the Bay of Fundy having become classic ground through the labors of Stimpson, Verrill, Packard, Morse, Web- ster, Hyatt, etc. It is whispered that Mr. J. E. Gavit, of New York, president of the American Bank-note Company, and at the same time an eminent microscopist, has it in contempla- tion, with some friends, to erect a building at Eastport, to be suitably endowed and maintained for the use of any natural- ists who may wish to avail themselves of the facilities it may afford. We can only hope that so excellent an idea may be realized at an early day. . DIVISION OF THE SEA-BOTTOM INTO FAUNAL REGIONS. Professor Mobius, in his “Fauna of the Bay of Kiel,” re- marks that the sea animals of that locality may be divided into those of the region of the sandy shore—the green sea- grass (eel-grass), the decayed, rotting sea-grass, the red alge, and the black mud; and he considers that this is a fair type of the physical character of similar bodies of water. It is in this black mud, resulting from the decomposition of the grasses, that the greater number of animals harbor, and upon which they feed, furnishing, in turn, subsistence to the various forms of carnivorous animals. The quantity of organisms occupying such a muddy bottom is perfectly startling, since single casts of the dredge will bring up almost living masses of cases of worms, crustaceans, etc., and it is upon these that large numbers of our coast fish feed almost exclusively.—19 C, August 19,1871, xxxtI1., 265. MOLLUSCA OF GASPR. In the course of an investigation during the season of 1870, the marine fauna of the peninsula of Gaspé, in the Gulf of St. 276 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. Lawrence, Mr. Whiteaves, of Montreal, added largely to the knowledge of the mollusca of that region, as he collected one hundred and eighteen species of marine shells, or nearly double the number previously supposed to exist in that vicin- ity.— Canadian Naturalist, V., 217. NEW GULF STREAM CRUSTACEANS, According to a recent report by Dr. Stimpson upon the crustaceans dredged in the Gulf Stream by Count Pourtalés, of the Coast Survey, 81 species, of 47 genera, were obtained, of which 52 of the species and 19 of the genera are to be con- sidered as new. Only a small proportion of the species were from great depths, 15 alone being recorded as coming from below 100 fathoms. The greatest depth at which any of the species were found was 150 fathoms, these belonging to the family of the Portunide. The portion of Dr. Stimpson’s re- port on the brachyurous crabs of this collection has just been published in the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zool- ogy at Cambridge, already so well known for the merit of its zoological memoirs, and the remainder will follow at no distant interval.—7 D, February, 1871, 144. VERRILL’S EXPLORATION IN NEW ‘JERSEY. Many of our readers are familiar with the names of Mr. Thomas Say, of Philadelphia, and Mr. C. A. Lesueur, as hav- ing been among the most prominent of.our naturalists during the earlier part of the present century, and as having added many new species to the lists. The labors of Mr. Say were di- rected largely toward the invertebrata, embracing more par- ticularly the insects, shells, and crustaceans. Many of his ex- plorations were in the vicinity of Beesley’s Point, New Jer- sey, where species were obtained by him that have ever since remained almost unknown to science. Several examinations have been more recently made on the New Jersey coast for the express purpose of recovering these forms, and one of the most successful was prosecuted last spring under the di- rection of Professor Verrill, of Yale College, who, with seve-» ral companions, spent a week at Somers’s Point and Beesley’s Point. The results of their‘labors were much greater than they had anticipated, as they not only obtained a large pro- portion of all the missing forms, but secured quite a number G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 977 of new species, and detected the occurrence, for the first time, of others previously known as belonging much farther south, among them two echinoderms, of which Cape Hatteras was the limit previously ascertained. Their “ catch” for the week summed up 175 species of marine animals—about 25 of fish- es, 50 of crustaceans, 25 of worms, 50 of mollusks, and 15 of radiates and sponges.— Letter. DR. STIMPSON’S EXPLORATIONS IN FLORIDA, Reference was made some time ago, under the head of “Explorations in Florida,” to the presence in that state dur- ing the past winter of Dr. William Stimpson, the well-known naturalist, and Secretary of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. This enterprise deserves more than a passing notice in con- sequence of its magnitude, and the thorough nature of the examination made of the marine fauna of the Southern coast. The work was instituted in the interest of the Academy of Sciences of Chicago, and the funds supplied by the liberality of Mr. Blatchford, of that city, who accompanied the expedi- ‘tion, and did all in his power to make it a success. A fast- sailing schooner, with three boats and seven men, were en- gaged at Key West, and the work began about the middle of February. The entire length of the Florida reef, and the Keys from Cape Florida to the Tortugas, a distance of two hundred miles, was thoroughly examined, and dredging was prosecuted both in the reef channel and in the Gulf Stream outside. H. BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 295 remain green,the subsequent development of more sombre tints being evidence of more complete death. This change may occur without the agency of frost, but is generally brought about prematurely when subjected to the influence of the latter.—1 A, March 31, 150, THE MOVEMENT OF CHLOROPHYL GRAINS. Dr. B. Frank contributes to the Botanische Zeitung some observations on this subject. He confirms the statement of Famintzin and Borodon as to the motion observed in the grains of chlorophyl in the leaves of plants under the action of light, and identifies it with the movements of the proto- plasm previously observed by Sachs. The protoplasm alone, he believes, possesses this power of motion, and carries the grains of chlorophyl along with it. It takes place not only in direct sunshine, but also under the diffused light of the sky. Colored rays, as blue and red, also produce decided though less energetic action. TRANSPIRATION OF WATER BY LEAVES. In a paper by Dr. MacNab on the transpiration of water by leaves, he states, as the general conclusions reached by his investigations, that the mean of several experiments gave about sixty-three per cent. as the quantity of water con- tained in the leaves, and that the quantity of water remova- ble by chloride of calcium or sulphuric acid was not equal to that transpired under the stimulus of the sun. About five per cent. of the water was determined to be fluid, in relation to the cell sap of the plant. About three per cent. per hour was given out under the sunlight, a little over half of one per cent. in diffused light, and less than half of one per cent. in darkness. About twenty-six per cent. per hour was trans- pired in a saturated atmosphere in the sunshine, and twenty and a half per cent. in a dry atmosphere, while in the shade none was transpired in a saturated atmosphere, and less than two per cent. in a dry atmosphere. Leaves immersed in water take up a little over four per cent. in an hour and a half, and it was established that plants absorb no moisture whatever in a state of vapor through their leaves. In light of any kind the under side of leaves was found to transpire much more water than the upper. The experiments of Dr. 296 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. . MacNab were made upon the laurel cherry "(Prunus lauro- cerasus), the liquid used for testing the rapidity of the ascent being the lithium citrate.—13 A, February 1, 120. INFLUENCE OF AMMONIA ON THE COLOR OF FLOWERS. An experiment was made by Vogel upon the influence of ammonia upon the colors of flowers, in which eighty-six spe- cies and varieties were exposed, under a glass bell, to a mix- ture of sal ammoniac and lime-water, the fresh flowers being placed at the same height in all the experiments. As a gen- eral result, a difference was appreciable between the action of the gas upon the colored matter deposited in granules and that forming a solution, the effect being much less in the former than in the latter. In most cases the changes pro- duced agreed closely with those which the coloring matter of the flowers passed through in the course of withering; and even in natural withering and fading there is the same differ- ence to be observed between the soluble colors and the gran- ules.—19 C, August 5, 260. ACTION OF ELECTRICITY ON THE COLORED TISSUES OF VEGETABLES. In a memoir by M. Becquerel the elder upon the action of electricity upon the colored tissues of vegetables, he remarks that electrical discharges, whether strong or weak, produce three distinct actions upon the colors of the leaves of plants and the flower: First, that by virtue of which the parts elec- trized allow the coloring matters, which are in a state of so- lution in the cellules, to be absorbed, or, rather, filtered in cold water, in which they are plunged after electrization. This effect takes place principally with red and blue colors, while the yellow shades, due to the solid granules situated in the cellules, do not appear to be modified. Second, a di- rect decolorizing action upon red and blue coloring matters, which are found in a liquid state in the cellules whenever the electrization of the plant is sufficiently prolonged, this effect being sometimes very rapid. Third, infiltration, so to speak, or a transfer of coloring matter sensible to the preceding in- fluences, and that found in the interior of the electrized or- gans. An example is seen in the effect produced in the red, found in the under surface of leaves of the Begonia discolor, H. BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 297 its color, during the electrization of the leaf, becoming grad- ually infiltrated toward the upper green surface, so as to mask the color of the chlorophyl. He farther remarks that the atmosphere and the earth are constantly in two dissimi- lar electrical conditions, the first possessing an excess of pos- itive electricity, the second of negative, these two excesses becoming neutralized by means of the conducting substances found at the surface of the earth, plants especially.—3 B, x11, July 20, 660. WATERING PLANTS WITH HOT WATER. Itehas been shown, by careful experiment, that sickly pot- ted plants, even some that have almost died out, can be greatly benefited, and sometimes, indeed, entirely restored to vigor, by applying warm water to them instead of cold. In certain cases, oleanders which had never bloomed, or did so only imperfectly, after being treated with lukewarm water, increasing the temperature gradually from 140° up to 170° Fahr., produced the most magnificent luxuriance of bloom. Similar results occurred with an old plant of Hoya, and also with an India-rubber-tree which had nearly withered away. In all these cases the application of water heated to about 110° Fahr., without any other precaution, caused a new and flourishing growth.—8 C, December 8, 1870, 391. INFLUENCE OF CONDITIONS OF HEAT ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS. A paper hasbeen published by Képpen upon the relation- ship of conditions of heat to the phenomena of growth in plants, his first inquiry being limited to the questions con- nected with the germination of the seed. The general con- clusion arrived at was that variations of temperature were in all cases prejudicial to the growth of the germ, even when amounting to but a few degrees, and these within limits fa- vorable to energetic growth; that is to say, the germination proceeds more rapidly at a low temperature of a uniform de- gree than at a higher where subjected to more or less varia- tion. From this we derive the inference that a nearly uni- form spring temperature, with a cloudy sky, is more favorable to rapid development of vegetation than the alternation of hot days and cool nights, it being of course understood that N 2 998 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. the mean temperature in each case is about the same.—19 C, Xxv1, July 1, 209. INFLUENCE OF HEAT OF SOIL ON GROWTH OF PLANTS, The result of an investigation by Bialoblocki, in regard to the influence of the warmth of soil upon the development of certain cultivated plants, is summed up by him in the follow- ing words: The influence of warmth of the soil is made man- ifest in two ‘directions: in the shortening or lengthening of the period of vegetation, and in affecting the external form of the plant, the acceleration of growth of vegetation occur- ring principally in the earlier periods. With an ascending temperature of the soil, vegetation is forwarded up to a cer- tain point. From the moment, however, when this point is reached, an increase of temperature in the soil actually retards growth. The maximum point of favorable temperature of the soil varies for different plants, but the maintenance of a constant temperature has for its result a more vigorous growth of the plant experimented on. The extreme limit of a con- stant temperature of the soil at which a growth of the roots can still take place we may assume to be below, but very near 104° Fahr. A ground temperature of 50° Fahr. barely allows plants to fulfill completely all their functions of life and conditions of development. An increased ground tem- perature has no special influence upon the absorption of nu- tritious matter through the roots, and the accelerated growth resulting from an increase of heat is usually accompanied by a greater percentage of water in the plant.—18 C, xxx1., Aw- gust 2, 486. - GROWTH OF PLANTS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS. Experiments have been prosecuted of late by German phys- iologists in regard to the cultivation of plants in aqueous so- lutions of different substances without the addition of any earth, and, as the general result, we are informed that a plant will grow, bloom, and ripen fruit without being insert- ed in soil of any kind, but simply in a liquid which contains eight different substances, namely, potash, lime, magnesia, iron, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, chlorine, and nitric acid, the nitric acid being capable of being replaced by ammonia or hippuric acid, uric acid, ete. It is furthermore stated that H. BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 299 neither the nitrogen compounds, iron, nor any other of these eight bodies can be omitted from the fluid in question if the plants are to pass through their various stages of develop- ment without becoming bleached or prematurely dwarfed. - It is also shown by the experiments that while only these eight bodies are necessary elements of our culture-plants, others, found in ashes, such as silicic acid, manganese, copper, fluorine, and soda, are to be considered, if not essential, at any rate useful. Finally, the experiments appear to show that a plant is capable of deriving the whole of the carbon necessary for its growth, for the increase of its foliage, for the formation of sugar, starch, etc., from the atmospheric air, in the form of carbonic acid, by means of the stomata of its leaves. This novel method of prosecuting investigations upon the growth of plants and the formation of their tissues and components, it is believed, tends much toward securing exact results in such researches, and in time may enable us to acquire a thor- ough knowledge of the phenomena involved. —6 C, 1871, June 1, 216. EXPERIMENTS ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS. Mr. Vogel, of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, has made a series of interesting experiments on the germination of seeds exposed to the action of different chemicals, either in a solid or a liquid condition. He found that many chemical combi- nations, though absolutely insoiuble in distilled water, injured or destroyed the germs of seeds, and inferred that the process of germination itself produces vegetable acids which then act as solvents. He was actually able to determine, by sprout- ing barley, clover, and water-cress, the amount of said acids, which, though differing with different seeds, was always quite considerable. He experimented with Prussian blue, carbon- ate of magnesia, oxide and carbonate of copper, chromate of mercury, sulphur, and antimonial preparations, and, more re- cently, with aniline and amorphous phosphorus, and found that all these insoluble substances prevented germination, either entirely or to a great extent, while the presence of sublimed indigo had not the least effect. Of solutions, he mentions chromate of potash (nitrate of silver) and arsenious acid as especially injurious, and states that other mineral acids, when very much diluted, are less obnoxious. Remark- 300 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. able for the anomaly is the destructive influence of acetic acid, so harmless to the animal organism, which, even in very small quantity, prevented germination as completely as the poison- ous oxalic acid; prussic acid, on the contrary, only retarded the development of the germ. Being volatile, it disappears from the solution, and a great proportion of the seeds germi- nated, while arsenic acid destroyed the germs entirely. Mr. Vogel also exposed his seeds to an atmosphere of coal gas, and found that, when thoroughly purified, its influence was not deleterious. Believing that the destructive action of the impure gas is due to the admixture of tar, he examined some of its constituents, and found naphthaline to be quite harmless to vegetation, while a minimum of carbolic acid was sufficient to kill every trace of germination.—WSitz. ber. A. Bayer. Akad. der Wiss. Miinchen, 1870, IL., 3, 289. RAISING FRUIT-TREES FROM THE SEED. Mr. A. Czerny, of Austria, states, as the result of long-con- tinued observations and experiments, that the strongest and best fruit-trees can be raised from seed, thus obviating a great deal of expense and disappointment to the pomologist. According to his observations, the extent and ramification of the roots of a healthy tree is to that of its crown in the ratio of three to two, so that the action of the roots is always pre- ponderating. In this relation he finds. the reason why fruit seeds from trees, budded or grafted upon indifferent stocks, have always been found unreliable, and he endeavors, as the first step, to obtain good trees grown upon their own stock, the seeds of which, he says, will reproduce their parents with certainty. To this end he layers a branch of a good tree, which, when well rooted, serves him as stock, into which he introduces buds or scions of such varieties as promise to im- prove the original fruit. By judicious cross fertilization he obtains fruit the seed of which will propagate, to a greater or less extent, the good qualities of the varieties used in hy- bridizing, and thus a new fruit is originated which, when suitable, can always be reproduced from its seed. Such trees, says Mr. Czerny, are more healthy and vigorous (having nev- er been wounded by the knife), bear earlier, and, when acci- dentally injured in the stem, throw out shoots identical with those of the original tree.—8 C,1871,101. H. BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. | 301 REMOVING MOSS FROM TREES. The Homatral of moss from fruit-trees, as well as their ju- dicious pruning, is of great importance: to their health, this growth being not only detrimental to the vigor of the tree, but also serving as a convenient hiding-place for injurious insects. Its eradication may be accomplished by first scrap- ing off carefully and then covering the places where it grew with a thin paste of equal parts. of plaster and potters’ clay, in water. The moss will disappear and the bark of the tree become smooth and healthy. Dead and broken limbs, suck- ers, etc., should also be removed annually, and the head of the tree always kept open to air and light. Pruriing is usu- ally done late in the fall or winter; but many horticulturists now recommend the latter part of the summer as the fitting time,—9 C,1871, Feb. 12. PRIZE OF BEET-SUGAR ASSOCIATION, The German Association for beet-root industry, at Berlin, has lately offered a prize of a thousand thalers for the solu- tion of the following problem: The yield of cr ystallized white . sugar from the different crude beet sugars is not in a direct ratio to their polarization. What investigations and caleu- lations can be suggested in order to determine theoretically, beforehand, the yield, in refined white sugar, which any beet- root sugar will furnish.—14 C., CCL, 279, EARLY VEGETABLES. According to Nature, Professor Decaisne has brought to the notice of the Academy of Sciences in Paris a scheme for the rapid growing of cabbages, radishes, etc., which are to be sown in richly-manured soil, and then used, stem, root, and all, as fresh vegetables. This diet is intended to protect the inhabitants of Paris against the SCUIVY, which may be ex- pected to make its appearance in time*in consequence of the necessity of using salted meats.—12 A, Dec. 15, 1870, 1382. SIMPLE MODE OF REARING MUSHROOMS, An ingenious method of forcing the growth of mushrooms, so as to furnish a constant supply, has been devised by a Baron De Tincal. This gentleman places a number of little 4 302 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. boxes in his stable, about three feet long and ten inches wide, _ arranged on shelves like those of a book-case, before which a thick curtain slides in order to keep out the light. He sows the spawn of the mushroom in a bed of compost of horse- dung, or dead leaves and vegetable earth well manured, and he has in this way a crop of mushrooms all the year round. The horses in the stalls are said to be none the worse for this process, and no unhealthy emanations have ever been re- marked in the stables.—2 A, August 6, 88. RAISING APPLES AND PEARS IN DRY SEASONS. An eminent pomologist in Brussels, De Johnghe, has suc- ceeded in obtaining well-grown apples and pears in dry sea- sons by watering the trees from time to time, and by making holes in the ground underneath them and occasionally intro- ducing some liquid, but not very highly concentrated, ma- nure. This application is stated to be particularly important at the time when the fruit is setting.—9 C, vin, July, 53. RUSSIAN METHOD OF PRESERVING FRUIT. A method of preserving fruit, quite frequently adopted in Russia, consists in slacking fresh lime by sprinkling it with water and adding a little creosote. The fruit is to be packed in wooden boxes, with a layer of the prepared chalk powder of an inch in depth at the bottom. This layer is to be first covered with a sheet of paper, and upon it the fruit is to be laid so as not to touch each other. On the first layer of fruit another sheet of paper is placed, with the lime powder sprink- led over it, and a sheet of paper over this; upon this another layer of fruit is spread, as before, and the process continued until the box is full. The corners may then be filled with charcoal. Ifa tight-fitting cover is put on the box, the fruit, it is said, will maintain its freshness for at least a year.— 10 C, June, 1870, 87. CULTIVATION OF ASPARAGUS. The culture of asparagus was lately the subject of discus- sion by the members of the Horticultural Society in Dessau, and among the views expressed were the following: That ~ the old method of burying large quantities of manure deep under the surface was objectionable, since asparagus does not 7 H. BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 303 derive its nourishment from a great depth, and the plants often become too deeply imbedded when the thick substratum of manure collapses by rotting. The preference often given to old plants, in making selections for a new bed, was also considered a mistake. Plants become sickly and less vigor- ous in the seed-bed, so as to be much more sensitive to the change in transplanting. Southern exposure, shelter from cold winds, a porous soil, and the total absence of trees, were - recommended as essential conditions to the highest success. The soil is to be turned to the depth of from two to three feet, and then manured to the depth of one foot. This is most conveniently done in autumn, during dry weather. Spring is the best time for planting, and the best direction of the trenches for the reception of the plants is from north to south. The earth taken from the trenches is “ walled up,” as it is termed, between the rows, and upon these other vege- tables may be cultivated while the asparagus bed is young, but they are eventually absorbed in filling up the ditch around and between the plants. Well-rotted manure, or suitable compost, is combined with the earth of the walls for this purpose. Besides giving constant attention to stirring the soil and weeding, the young plants need to be watered regularly whenever the state of the weather requires it.—10 C, 1871, 28. PROPAGATION OF THE GRAPE BY EYES. A German agricultural journal informs us that the grape- vine can be propagated by means of eyes, so as to save three years’ time in the growth, each eye furnishing a new shoot. Each grape-vine will furnish as.many shoots as it has sound eyes, and they are to be cut off about a quarter of an inch from the eye on each side, so as to leave a cylinder of wood about half an inch long, with the eye in the centre. If pre- pared in the autumn, these eyes may be put in a cellar in winter. In April they are to be laid down at a depth of two or three inches in furrows about six inches apart, and covered with a little manure, watered in dry weather, and the earth about them occasionally loosened.—9 C, Lebruary, 1870, 12. 304 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. REARING GRAPE-VINES IN POTS. A horticulturist in Stuttgardt has devised an ingenious method of rearing grape-vines in pots so as to obtain grapes with very little trouble in a room or other sheltered place. For this purpose a vigorous, healthy cutting of the late growth of the wood is taken, from three to five feet in length, having at the upper end two fruit-buds. The cutting is to be en- tirely enveloped with moss, and bound with bast, but so as ~ to leave the extremity bearing the fruit-buds uncovered. The cutting thus prepared is to be inserted spirally into a suffi- ciently large flower-pot, leaving the fruit-buds projecting above the edge of the pot, which is then to be filled with rich hot-bed earth well moistened, and placed in the sun behind a window and kept uniformly moist. The water applied should never be cold, but rather lukewarm, so as to stimulate to the utmost the development of the young roots. When the weather is such that there is no danger from night frosts, the pot may be placed outside the window or against a sunny wall, or even inserted in the ground in order to secure a more uniform moisture and temperature. When the two fruit- buds have produced branches, having bunches of grapes upon them, these shoots are to be trimmed so that two sound leaves remain over each grape-shoot, in order to keep up the cir- culation of the sap, since without this the grapes would not develop. . KEEPING FISH FRESH WITH SUGAR. A method adopted in Portugal for preserving fish consists in removing the viscera and sprinkling sugar over the inte- rior, keeping the fish in a horizontal position, so that the sug- ar may penetrate as much as possible. It is said that fish prepared in this way can be kept completely fresh for a long time, the savor being as perfect as if recently caught. Sal- mon thus treated before salting and smoking possess a much more agreeable taste, a table-spoonful of sugar being suffi- cient for a five-pound fish.—10 C,vu., July, 1871, 91. CARBOLIC ACID FOR PRESERVING MEAT. Dr. Baudet, in the Moniteur Scientifique, communicates the result of some experiments made with a weak solution of carbolic acid in preserving meat. For this purpose he took four wide-mouthed stoppered bottles, and placed in each half a pound of raw horse-flesh, slightly moistened with solutions of carbolic acid varying in strength from five parts to one part in a thousand. In each bottle he put a few small pieces of charcoal for the purpose of absorbing any gaseous matter evolved from the meat. After keeping these bottles three months.in a room constantly heated to a temperature of about 70 degrees, he found, at the end of that time, that no decom- a- “a 360 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. position had occurred, and that the flavor of the meat was fully preserved—to such an extent, indeed, that it was con- sidered excellent by himself and his friends who partook of it. No taste was imparted to it by the acid different from that which attaches to ordinary smoked meat, and the ex- perimenter was of the opinion that this substance may be used with great advantage for the preservation of flesh on a large scale for a considerable period of time. He thinks, how- ever, that this should be kept in well-closed vessels, although it is not necessary, perhaps, that they be hermetically sealed. —1 A, March 31, 148. » SOUP TABLETS. The Chemical News gives us from the German Manuals of Pharmacy the following receipt, by Reinsch, for making the soup tablets so much in use in the German army during the late war. The formula is as follows: Take eleven parts by weight of good suet, melt it in an iron pan, and make it very hot, so as to become brown; add, while keeping the fat stirred, eighteen parts of rye meal, and continue heating and stirring so as to make the mass brown; add then four parts of dried salt and two parts of coarsely pulverized caraway seed. The mixture is then poured into tin pans somewhat like those used for making chocolate into cakes. The cakes have the appear- ance of chocolate, and are chiefly intended for the use of sol- diers while in the field. A quantity of about one ounce of this preparation is sufficient to yield, when boiled with some water, a ration of good soup; and in case of need, the cakes, being agreeable to the taste, may be eaten raw.—1 A, March 3,107. TAPIOCA BEEF BOUILLON, According to the Scientific Review, a London firm, entitled the “ Tapioca Beef Bouillon Company,” manufactures a very palatable and nutritious compound which, by the mere addi- tion of water, is converted into soup. It is the invention of Mr. Geyelin, and consists of granulated Brazil tapioca satu- rated with Liebig’s extract of beef, and thoroughly dried. Each canister contains the quantity necessary for a pint of good soup; and as five of these canisters are sold for a shil- ling sterling, this “ tapioca beef bouillon” is obviously within J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 361 the means of all. Having tasted both that which was un- seasoned and that seasoned with vegetables, the writer in the Review expresses his preference for the former, which, in his opinion, makes a soup fully equal to that supplied by many confectioners at six times the price. As a summer food for those who dislike semi-putrid meats, and can not afford to waste any thing, the new food is recommended as worthy of general use. It is stated that this bouillon was largely fur- nished to both the French and German armies and ambu- lances, and that it gave the greatest satisfaction both to the medical men and their patients.—8 A, May 1, 89. PRESERVATION OF MILK IN RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION. Among the precautions taken by an extensive milk com- pany near London to insure the safe transportation of milk and cream by railway, that to which the most importance is attached consists in the cooling of it to the temperature of 50° to 59° Fahr. before filling the cans. Should the milk be placed in the cans at a higher temperature, as from 70° to 82°, the motion of the cars will cause the butter to separate as well as to produce a deposit of casein, which change need not be apprehended when milk is at the lower temperature indicated. A farther requirement is to have the vessels com- pletely filled with the milk, and closely fastened. Sometimes a small proportion of bicarbonate of soda is added to the milk in hot weather, with important results in preventing it from turning sour.—9 C, June, 1870, 43. PRESERVING THE FLAVOR OF BUTTER. The German Agriculturist says that a great portion of the fine flavor of fresh butter is destroyed by the usual mode of washing, and he recommends a thorough kneading for the re- moval of the buttermilk, and a subsequent pressing in a linen cloth. Butter thus prepared, according to our authority, is pre-eminent for its sweetness of taste and flavor, qualities which are retained a long time. To improve manufactured butter we are advised by the same authority to work it thor- oughly with fresh cold milk, and then to wash it in clear wa- ter; and it is said that even cold and rancid butter may be rendered palatable by washing it in water to which a few _ drops of a solution of chloride of lime have been added.—10 C, 1871, 1v., 47. Q 862 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. COLORING FOR BUTTER. According to the Moniteur Scientifique, a coloring matter much superior to the annotto for coloring butter may be pre- pared from carrots. For this purpose the roots are to be cut ’ in slices and dried, and afterward ground to powder, and sub-’ jected to the action of sulphide of carbon. An extract can be obtained in this way which, rapidly crystallized, furnishes pure carotine, an insipid, inodorous substance, resembling aliz- arine in appearance.—1 A, March 17, 130. EGG-OTL. Few of our readers are aware, we presume, that an oil can be made from the yolk of eggs, or that this is manufactured or used in any quantity. We are informed, however, that such is the case in Russia, and that a large quantity is there prepared for various purposes. The better qualities are used for salad-dressing, and considered very much superior to olive- oil; while from the more common kinds is manufactured the well-known Kasan soap. Both articles are too expensive for ordinary use, the soap especially, which is only employed among the cosmetics and toilet articles of the wealthy Rus- sian ladies.—7 C, G 71, v., 304. PRESERVING EGGS. The French Journal de Pharmacie contains an account of various experiments made in France on the best method of preserving eggs—a subject of much importance there. - Among the different processes, the best, and at the same time one of the simplest, was found to consist in rubbing some vegetable oil (linseed especially) on the egg, this preventing any alteration for a sufficient time, and proving to be much more satisfactory than any other plan hitherto recommended. —17 A, October,1870,151. EFFECT OF KEEPING FLOUR IN BARRELS. As is well known, flour kept in barrels for a long time oft- en acquires a peculiar odor, supposed to be derived from the barrel. Professor Poleck, of Silesia, has lately made a care- ful examination of such flour, and has ascertained that this smell actually indicates an incipient decomposition prejudi- J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. . © 363 cial to bread-making, the gluten of the flour having in part become changed into a soluble body. Thus, while sound flour preserved in sacks contained 11.06 per cent. of gluten and 1.44 per cent. of soluble albuminous matter, four other specimens of flour taken from different barrels were severally composed of 8.37 per cent. gluten to 2.14 per cent. soluble albumen; 7.40 per cent. to 6.90 per cent.; 7.23 per cent. to 4.44 per cent.; and 6.54 per cent. to 6.46 per cent. Two samples with more than 6 per cent. of soluble matter had an acid reaction, while the others were neutral. Professor Po- leck believes this chemical change of the flour to be induced by the fact that the barrel prevents communication with the atmospheric air and the equalization of temperature. This view is confirmed by the oft-repeated observation that flour in sacks keeps fresh for a much longer time, and that the mustiness in barrels always develops first, and exists in the highest degree in the centre, viz., that portion most remote from the outer air.—19 C, xx., 193. BREAD. A German scientific journal contains the results of an elab- orate series of experiments on the effects of feeding dogs and man on bread alone, and on bread mingled with meat and other articles of diet. These experiments, it is stated, prove that a bread diet alone is very expensive, as a large quantity must be given to supply the daily waste of the fleshy tissues. On the other hand, the addition of a small quantity of meat reduces the cost of support and keeps up the strength of the body. Insufficient food, it is demonstrated, causes the tissues of the body to become more watery, and renders the entire organism less capable of resisting injurious influences. In the experiments on man, the attempt was made to ascertain which of the several kinds of bread in ordinary use was ab- sorbed in the greatest amount in its passage through the ali- mentary canal. It was found that white wheat bread was absorbed in the greatest amount, then leavened rye bread, then rye bread raised by chemical processes, and, lastly, the ‘“‘pnumpernickel,” or German black bread. The great nutri- tious value attributed to bran is denied by the experimenter. —12 A,1871, April 20, 497. 364 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. FRENCH PRESERVED BREAD, A new article called preserved bread has lately been intro- duced in Paris as a substitute for biscuit, or hard-tack, for travelers, and for naval and military commissary stores gen- erally. Bread prepared in the ordinary way is first submit- ted to a drying process for from eight to fifteen days, until every particle of moisture is eliminated. It is then com- pressed to the utmost, so as to occupy the least possible bulk, having been previously exposed for a short time to the action of steam in a suitable vessel. The loaves are then piled up upon iron plates with rims, which serve as moulds during the operation. These plates are then placed under a hydraulic press, subjected to great pressure, and allowed to cool there during twenty-four hours. The cakes thus obtained are placed in boxes, sealed up, and, if kept from moisture, can be preserved for many years. This bread has a vitreous frac- ture, but the teeth penetrate it without effort. It softens readily in soup, and for many purposes is very much superior to the preparations usually employed under the same cir- cumstances, especially on account of being leavened.—2 B, June 11, 663. COLORING MATTER OF WINE. A method of distinguishing genuine red wine from the false, according to Cotteni, consists in mixing fifty parts of the liquor to be tested with six parts of nitric acid of 1.40 specific gravity, and heating the mixture to 190° or 200° F. Under these circumstances natural wine experiences no change after the lapse of an hour, while that which has been artificially colored loses its tint in five minutes.—14 C,CC., IiI., 242. PRESERVATION OF BEER. The method of preserving wine devised by Pasteur, which consists in heating it, after having been bottled up or put up in casks, to a temperature sufficient to destroy the vitality of any existing spores of the wine fungus, and thereby to prevent their development, marked a new era in the business of wine-making, the treatment recommended having been fol- lowed with great success, and coming more and more into J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 365 use. Quite recently the same principle has been made use of in regard to beer, which is still more liable than wine to become sour. In this case, too, the success has been complete, and immense quantities of malt liquors of various kinds, after having been subjected to the process, are now shipped from Germany to all parts of the world. The bottles, after being filled and well corked, are kept for about half an hour in a water-bath having a temperature of 122° Fahrenheit, after which the warm water is gradually replaced by cold, so as to prevent too rapid cooling. In one of the experiments in- stituted for determining the feasibility of the operation, four bottles of the same kind of beer were well corked, and two of them were submitted to the process in question, after which all were introduced into a heated room in the vicinity of a stove, and kept at a temperature of between 70° and 80° for four weeks. At the end of this time the prepared beer was found to be perfectly clear and of a golden tint, with only a slight deposit of granular matter at the bottom. The unpre- pared beer, however, was found to have passed into an active state of fermentation, turning completely sour, and one of the bottles had burst in consequence. It is requisite, how- ever, in preparing beer by this method, that the corks be per- fectly tight, and for this purpose the best Champagne corks must be selected, and, if possible, soaked in a hot solution of paraffine and some resin (as colophony), a composition which melts only at a temperature of 120°. In this way the entire percentage of carbonic acid of the beer will be retained in the bottle, and the beer will be found capable of preservation for an indefinite period of time. It is said that beer of any quality can be kept in this way, the lightest and weakest be- ing as susceptible of preservation as any other.—9 C, October, 1870, 77. RESTORING SOUR BEER. It is said that beer or ale that has been soured by the con- version of a portion of its alcohol into acetic acid may be restored by passing it through a column of vegetable matter, packed in a suitable vessel. Dried grains, wheat chaff, bran, or other vegetable substances may be used as the filtering material, and will be found, it is asserted, to retain the acid. —8 A, October 1,185. 366 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. RICE BEER. The practice of brewing beer from rice is rapidly coming into use in Germany. This beer is said to be of a very clear, pale color, of an extremely pleasant, mild taste, foam- ing strongly, and yet retaining well its carbonic acid.—1 A, December 23, 311. CLEANING OF BEER BOTTLES, It is said that the hard crust or deposit that forms in beer and wine bottles, adhering sometimes with extreme tenacity, may be very readily removed by washing them in a solution of permanganate of soda; or, if necessary, allowing this to stand for a time in the bottle. The separation will be facili- tated by the free use of the ordinary bottle brush.—13 C, July 15,1007. TANNIN IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BEER. Tannin-as obtained from the grape is now much used in the treatment of wine, for the special object of arresting fer- mentation and preventing change beyond a desired point. A similar application has also been made with much success in the preparation of beer; and the result, according to critical authority, has been to establish a new epoch in this manufac- ture. It is to the presence of tannin in the leaves of the hop that its preservative peculiarities are due; and in the tannin of the nut-gall we have the same agent in greater intensity, 75 grains of tannin exerting as positive an action upon beer as a pound of the best hops. By taking tannin dissolved in ten times its weight of warm water and adding it to the wort, a complete clarification will take place, and on cooling a de- posit will be thrown down. In all cases where the peculiar aroma and bitter substance of hops are not desired, but a sweet wine or beer is to be produced, the hops can always be replaced completely and with advantage by the tannin. The use of this new material allows the manufacture of sev- eral new kinds of beer, and obviates the necessity of using any other modes of clarifying.—5 C, xxv1., 208. _J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 367 PASTEUR’S MODE OF PREPARING VINEGAR. The researches of Pasteur, in regard to the microscopic growths that affect the silk-aganah the vine, wine, etc., are well known to many of our readers, but they may not be: so famil- iar with one of his many important practical applications of science to the economical manufacture of an excellent qual- ity of vinegar. His method has been practiced in an extens- ive establishment in Orleans, France, for some time past, un- der his direction, although it is but recently that the details of the process ee been made known. The apparatus em- ployed consists of as many tubs, holding about thirty gallons each, as can conveniently be accommodated i in one room, kept heated to a temperature of 70° to 80°. These are filled with a mixture of vinegar and wine, and the vinegar fungus is planted, or sown, upon the surface. This is an application of the fact, established by Pasteur, that the conversion of wine into vinegar is caused by the development in the liqnid of the so-called vinegar fungus, or Mycoderma aceti. This plant- ing, or sowing, is accomplished by the use of thin wooden spatulas, previously moistened to prevent adhesion, and then laid on the liquid covered by the fungus, so as to take off a thin layer, and afterward immersing this carefully in the un- changed liquid, and stirring round so as to carry the fungus to the bottom. This soon rises to the surface, which is com- pletely covered by it in about eighteen hours. With the de- velopment of the plant the manufacture begins, accompanied _ by a considerably concomitant development of heat. In the course of nine or ten days, and sometimes in eight, the entire liquid is transformed into vinegar, the completion of the oper- ation being shown by the tearing apart of the fungus layer, _ and its falling to the bottom. The vinegar, which by this time has become cold, is drawn off through an opening near the bottom of the tub, ninety-five parts of vinegar being ob- tainable from one hundred parts of the wine. When the vine- gar is drawn off the tubs are to be well scrubbed out with clean water, so as to be entirely free from all particles of fun- gus; they are then ready for a new mixture of wine and vine- gar. The advantage of this method consists in its simplicity and in the ease with which the work can be prosecuted; the first results being obtained in ten days, and the whole com- 368 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. pleted in twelve or fourteen. In the old methods it was nec- essary to add a very large proportion of vinegar to the wine in order to transform a small quantity of the latter, so that from one tub of one hundred quarts only nine quarts of vine- gar were furnished weekly; while by the new method nine and a half quarts can be furnished daily, or sixty-six in a week, being seven times as much as by the old method. | In conse- quence of the more rapid preparation by the new process, the vinegar is less aromatic when completed, but very soon ac- quires this important quality.—6 C, xx1v., June 15, 234, GREEN COLOR IN PICKLES. It is said that, to impart an excellent green color to pickles, they must be first covered with boiling hot salt water, and aft- er a short time the water poured off and the pickles drained. - They are then to be placed in an earthen pot and covered with boiling vinegar, the top put on, and the whole kept at a lukewarm temperature for a long time, the vinegar being poured off every day, heated to boiling, and turned again upon the pickles. This is to be continued until the color is a bean- tiful green. The vinegar used in this process is then to be poured off and replaced by fresh, and the jar closed tightly. This method of coloring is perfectly harmless, although the result is as bright a green as that of verdigris.—5 C, v1, 48. VINEGAR FROM UNRIPE FRUIT. Unripe fruit, especially apples and pears, as is well known, is much used in the manufacture of vinegar, but the process usually adopted is defective in many important points. We therefore give, for the benefit of our readers, the substance of an article, from Graeger’s Manual of Vinegar Making, just published in Germany, which may, perhaps, serve a useful pur- pose. The principal fault of the old process consists in throw- ing away the pulp after the juices are expressed. As this, however, contains a large percentage of starch, excellently adapted for conversion into vinegar, it 1s necessary to pre- pare the fruit so as to save this portion of its substance. With this object it is to be grated, exactly as potatoes are prepared in the manufacture of starch, and the pulp passed through a moderately fine sieve, or through a coarse and open meshed cloth. There is thus nothing left behind but the pom- J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. "369 ace proper, or cellulose, all the starchy matter having been passed through the sieve with the juice. This is next to be diluted with water, in proportion to the quantity of starchy matter thus obtained, and the whole is then placed in a clean copper kettle, one or two per cent. of concentrated sulphuric acid being added, and heated long enough to transform the starch into grape sugar. The sulphuric acid is to be neu- tralized by means of carbonate of lime; the gypsum or the sulphate of lime thus produced allowed to settle, and the liq- uid to become clear, and then poured off. The liquid is to be left for fermentation to take place, either with or without the use of yeast. . A liquid having eight or ten per cent. of sugar can easily be made to have four or five per cent. of al- cohol after fermentation, which, by its subsequent acidifica- tion, will yield a vinegar of five to six per cent. of acetic acid. —8 C, Feb. 16, 54. — NEW ARTICLE OF CONCENTRATED FOOD. A concentrated preparation of food, somewhat similar in composition and character to the celebrated “ peas pudding” used in the late French and German war, is made by Mr. Batty, of England, by first reducing peas to a fine state of di- vision, either by boiling and then rubbing them down, or by grinding into meal. - To this meal he adds a quantity of Lie- big’s extract of beef and a small quantity of the concentrated essence of meat. He then introduces a mixture of fresh veg- etables, such as carrots, turnips, onions, etc., reduced toa pulp. Mint may be introduced in the form of dry powder, and cel- ery may be used in the form of an essence. Pepper and oth- er condiments are added to suit the taste, and salt as may be required.—8 A, June 1,118. TIN-FOIL FOR PRESERVING LEMONS. Tin-foil has long been used with excellent effect as a pre- servative from the air of various substances that require such exclusion, especially such as chocolate, tobacco, cocoa-butter, efflorescent and deliquescent salts, ete. Quite recently a new application has been made of it in the preservation of lemons, which, as is well known, soon become dry and hard when ex- posed to the air, and ultimately parchment-like and covered with mould. The foil, however, has the effect of preventing Q2 370 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. such drying up, and of keeping the lemons fresh for an indef- inite period of time. In one experiment, after an interval of two months, the lemons had only lost one and a half per cent. of their weight, and in three months little over three per cent., and in some cases even less than this. Oranges, similarly treated, lost only about five per cent. in two months, and on the removal of the metal covering both kinds of fruit were found to be as fresh and fragrant as when the experiment commenced.—18 A, ov. 18, 1870, 194. PREPARATION OF DESICCATED VEGETABLES. A convenient method of preparing desiccated vegetables, as practiced largely in some countries, consists in drying them for a short time and then exposing them to a slow heat in ovens. When soaked for cooking, peas, roots, potatoes, beets, corn, and other substances, swell out and show very lit tle change in their esculent properties. A modification of the process consists in placing the substances, after being sun- dried, in paper bags, which are pasted up at thé mouth, and then covered with sind and heated until perfectly crisp, but not burned nor materially changed in color.—18 A, June 16, 307. PUTTING UP PRESERVED FRUITS. A convenient method of closing up prepared fruits consists in placing them in stone pots somewhat narrowed at the up- per end, pieces of paper being laid over the fruit in such a manner that when the top is applied there will be no opening into the interior.. Some gypsum is then to be mixed with water, and poured in a liquid form over the cover to a depth of half an inch. In a few moments the gypsum hardens, and the jar becomes air-tight, and the contents, it is said, will re- main unchanged for years, the exclusion of the air being much more perfect than by the ordinary methods of closing with India-rubber or with tin.—9 C, January, 1871, 5 APPLICATION OF THE GERM THEORY TO MAKING PRESERVES. Miss Lydia Becker, although best known as a writer on political economy and social science, gave a valuable hint during a recent discussion of the British Association upon the “Germ Theory,” in which she showed its bearing upon J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 371 the making of preserves, and keeping mould from settling on the jam. According to the old practice of leaving the pots uncovered for several days, time was allowed for the germs in the atmosphere to descend and settle on the jam, which was a capital soil, and the result was.a plentiful crop of mould. She therefore advised the ladies in the section, when making preserves, to cover up the pots while the sweetmeats were in a heated condition.—18 A, August 25, 562. METHOD OF PREPARING FRUIT SIRUPS. Some rules for preparing fruit sirups given by a German expert are perhaps worth a trial by our readers. To have fruit juices fit for preservation, it is necessary, in the first place, to select fully ripe and undecayed fruit, and after mash- ing the fruit it should receive an addition of five to ten per cent. of sugar, and then be left to undergo a slight fermenta- tion. Pectine is precipitated in consequence of the produc- tion of alcohol, and the juice, after filtration, becomes perfect- ly clear, and is much improved in flavor and color. Raspber- ries, whortleberries, currants, cherries, etc., may be thus treat- ed, but the delicate flavor of the strawberry requires some modification of the process. In this, two pounds of carefully picked strawberries (the wild strawberry of the woods is the best) are put into a glass jar with two and a half pounds of white powdered sugar, and occasionally shaken. The sugar extracts the juice, and the berries shrivel to a dry pulp, and, after filtering, the sirup is ready for use. Heating must be carefully avoided, as it would at once destroy the fragrance of the fruit. As to cherries, the so-called Morello is recom- mended, and, by leaving the cracked stones in the pulp, a fla- vor like that of bitter almonds will be imparted. To make sirup of the fruit-juice prepared as above indicated, our author advises us never to make use of any metallic vessels or spoons, and always to take best refined loaf-sugar in lumps, five parts of juice to eight parts of sugar constituting a good propor- tion. The lumps of sugar are moistened with just enough’ water to cause them to dissolve readily, when the remaining Juice is added, and the whole is to be rapidly heated to boil- ing, which, howev er, must only be continued for a few min- utes. With good sugar no skimming is necessary, and filter- ing through flannel or other woolen cloth, previously wetted 372 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. in water containing a few drops of sulphuric acid, and well wrung, will make the sirup perfectly clear. It is best to fill the preserve jars with the sirup when cold, but if it has been done when hot, the vessel must be filled up after cooling, as the vapor condenses on the portion of the vessel left empty, and, running down, dilutes the upper stratum of the sirup, thus making it more liable to spoil.—8 C,1871,14,109., IMMENSE GAS COOKING-STOVE. The London Mechanics’ Magazine gives an account of a gas cooking-stove, manufactured for the Earlswood Lunatic Asy- Jum, and capable of preparing a dinner for one thousand per- sons. It measures sixteen feet in length, six and a half feet in height, and two and a half feet in depth, weighing about three tons, and is so constructed as to perform every variety of cooking required under any circumstances, with the excep- tion of boiling or steaming, for which other provision is made in thé asylum. The gas, when used, is mixed with atmos- pheric air,.and the stove is calculated to consume one hundred and fifty feet of gas per hour. Many advantages are claimed for this stove, both on the score of economy and convenience. It is stated, as the result of experiment, that the loss of weight in cooking one hundred and eighty-four pounds of meat was only eighteen pounds, while the loss in cooking the same amount by a coal fire was thirty-four pounds.—3 A, June 17, 437. . SUGAR-CUTTING MACHINE. We can all remember when ordinary loaf-sugar was broken up at home, frequently by means of a knife and a flat-iron, or less frequently, perhaps, by means of a chisel and hammer or mallet. After a time the operation was performed either at the manufactory or by the grocer, as a means of alleviating the labors of the housekeeper, although it was not until after a considerable interval that the sugar, thus treated, was fur- *nished in cubical blocks of uniform size, as we now see it. Various forms of apparatus have been suggested from time to time for accomplishing this result, the principal object be- ing to secure an equal division, and, at the same time, cause as little waste of the material as possible. An improved form of apparatus has recently been devised, in which the loaves J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 373 are first cut longitudinally into seven plates, and then into various broad and narrow strips, and ultimately into many cubical blocks of any desired dimensions, so that a given number—torty, fifty, or sixty, or more—shall weigh exactly a pound. The same machine sorts out the perfect cubes from those that are imperfect, and sifts the sugar filings into a re- ceiver, and grinds up all the imperfect blocks into grained sugar of any desired degree of fineness, the whole being ac- complished in the course of a few minutes.—13 C, August 11, 1219. USE OF THE SKIN OF THE OPOSSUM FOR GLOVES. The Australian papers are congratulating the people of that country upon the demand that has lately sprung up in England for opossum skins, to be manufactured into gloves, as they appear to furnish excellent material for this purpose. As the opossum is considered a great nuisance in Australia, by its destruction of trees and injury to orchards, gardens, etc., it is anticipated that the very great call for them will do much toward keeping these animals in subjection. It is hardly necessary to say that the species in question is very different from the well-known opossum of the United States. —17 A, 1871, 89. LEATHER BOARDS. Within a few years past, refuse leather, in the form of cut- tings, scrapings, etc., from shoe and harness factories, has been utilized by being converted into leather boards, which are ex- tensively employed at the present time in the United States and Europe for the manufacture of inner soles of shoes, and for other purposes where the material is not likely to be ex- posed to the wet. The process of preparing these boards consists in first cleaning the scraps, so as to free them from all foreign substances, and then softening them for a time in water, to which is added some adhesive substance, such as elue or gelatine. After being sufficiently softened, the scraps are laid upon tin plates of the proper size, having a rim all around, and arranged longitudinally and transversely, so as to make the strata nearly even, until the required thickness is obtained. A number of these plates are then placed one upon another, and subjected to a hydraulic pressure until the ! 374 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. separate fragments are united into a nearly uniform mass. After these layers have dried sufficiently they are passed un- der a roller, so as to smooth them off and give to them the external appearance of the original leather.—6 C, June 1, 216, SIMPLE WASHING AND IRONING MACHINES, An English contemporary describes a simple apparatus, to be used in washing, that certainly has the merit of great sim- plicity. It consists of a neat hand frame, about nine inches long by five inches wide, weighing about one and a half pounds, and having one plain and two corrugated rollers, or one corrugated and two plain rollers, between which are about three dozen patent knuckle rubbers. The clothes, be- ing well soaked in a tub or machine, are spread upon the side of the tub, or upon a washing-board, and the machine drawn quickly over them until the dirt is washed out. The clothes are then taken out of water, and the operation repeated, by which means they are pressed dry and made ready for hang- ing out. No hand-rubbing is needed, and it is stated that any one can use it. There is said to be no noise made in the operation, nor any strain or violence to the linen. Another article of similar utility is a simple contrivance, consisting of an under frame about sixteen inches long, having two plain rollers, to be used on a board or table as a smoothing and mangling apparatus.—18 A, October 14, 80. REMOVAL OF GYPSUM FROM WATER. An easy method of removing gypsum from water consists in the application of the native carbonate of baryta, ground to a fine powder, in the proportion of about half a pound to a large pailful. After the addition of this substance the wa- ter is well stirred, and left at rest for twenty-four hours to deposit the sediment, after which it is to be poured off, and may be used.—1 A, February 11,1870, 70. IMITATION OF HUMAN HAIR. In an article upon the trade in human hair the author states that a patent has recently been taken out for convert- ing goat’s hair into hair for ladies’ use, and that the experi- ment is so successful as to render it almost impossible to distinguish the real article from the imitation. This will be J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 375 good news not only to the dealers in hair, who might appre- hend the exhaustion of their source of supply, but also to the ladies who depend upon art to compensate the deficiencies of nature. The same article states that in 1868 over 22,000 pounds of hair were imported into Great Britain, represent- ing the clip of about 45,000 women. Much of this is ob- tained from the large communities of sisterhoods scattered throughout France and Belgium.—17 A, October, 1870, 149. USE OF SULPHATE OF BARYTA IN WHITEWASHING. Sulphate of baryta, or the so-called “fixed white,” is strong- ly recommended as a substitute for lime in whitewashing. For this purpose an ounce of glue is to be softened for some hours in cold water, and afterward heated in a water-bath with a quart of water, until completely dissolved. At the same time, six or eight pounds of fixed white are to be stirred up with warm water in another vessel to a kind of milk, and the two poured together, and applied warm with a white- wash-brush or otherwise.—13 C, August 1, 1067. PETROLEUM IN DRY ROT. According to Herbst, petroleum may be applied with ex- cellent advantage in the extirpation of the dry rot, it being only necessary to paint the surface of wood thus affected with the petroleum. A solution of carbolic acid, however, answers the same purpose, and involves much less danger from fire.—15 C, xx., 1870, 336. RENDERING FABRICS UNINFLAMMABLE, Mr. A. Patera, of Vienna, recommends the application of a mixture of borax and Epsom salts, or a mixture of sulphate of ammonia and sulphate of lime, as the best method of ren- dering woven fabrics and clothing generally uninflammable. eer hy s71 118: RENDERING STARCHED ARTICLES LESS COMBUSTIBLE, If a solution of sal ammonia and gypsum be added to the starch used in doing up linen or cotton clothing, these become considerably less inflammable, according to the experiments of Mr. Patera, and, though not rendered incombustible, the danger from fire is greatly diminished.—8 C, 1871, xv, 137. 376 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. RENDERING WOOD LESS COMBUSTIBLE. Mr. A. Patera recommends the solution of the following substances in water for the purpose of application to wood to render it incombustible, experiments with all being equal- ly satisfactory: 1. One third part of sulphate of ammonia, and two thirds of sulphate of lime (gypsum). 2. Equal parts of borax and Epsom salts. 3. A concentrated solution of soluble glass, without any admixture. Wood supplied with a coating of any of these solutions, according to Mr. Patera, will be measurably protected against the spread of fire.— 18 C, 1871, xvi., 127. CLEANING SOILED MARBLE SLABS, Much annoyance is frequently experienced by the soiling of marble table-tops or other marble objects, and a perfectly satisfactory method of removing such stains is still a deside- ratum. It is said that if slacked lime be mixed with a strong solution of soap into a pasty mass and spread over the spot in question, and allowed to remain for twenty-four to thirty hours, then carefully washed off with soap and water, and finally with pure water, the stain will be almost entirely re- moved, especially if the application be repeated once or twice. Another preparation consists in mixing an ox-gall with a quarter of a pound of soap-boiler’s lye, and an eighth of a pound of oil of turpentine, and adding enough pipe-clay earth to form a paste, which is then to be placed upon the marble for a time, and afterward scraped off; the application to be repeated until the marble is perfectly clean. It is quite pos- sible that with all our endeavors a faint trace of the stains may be left; but it is said that this will be almost imappre- ciable, Should the spots be produced by oil, these are to be first treated with petroleum for the purpose of softening the hardened oil, and the above-mentioned applications may be ~ made subsequently. Ink spots may be removed by first washing with pure wa- | ter, and then with a weak solution of oxalic acid. . Subse- quent polishing, however, will be necessary, as the lustre of the stone may become dimmed. This can be best secured by yery finely powdered soft white marble, applied with a linen cloth first dipped in water and then into the powder. J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 377 If the place be subsequently rubbed with a dry cloth the lus- tre will be restored.—13 C, May, 1x., 596. REMOVAL OF SPOTS AND STAINS FROM CLOTHING, ETC. In an elaborate article published in the German Muster Zeitung upon the eradication of spots of different kinds from clothing, we are informed that benzine is undoubtedly by far. the best and cheapest substance for removing grease, resin, stearine, paraffine, tar, wagon-grease, etc., the purest kind to be applied to the more delicate fabrics. Ether and petroleum ether are said to be of almost equal efficiency in this respect. Such spots are often complicated by the adhesion of dust or other matters, which, even if insoluble themselves, readily fall off when the substance with which they are combined is removed. For spots of oil it is best to add a little alcoholic ether. Silver spots and indelible ink can be removed, even after a long time, by means of cyanide of potassium or iodide of potassium applied in a concentrated solution. Rust spots can be made to disappear by treatment with a weak solution composed of one part nitric acid and twenty-five of water, and afterward rinsing with water and ammonia; copper spots by diluted sulphuric acid and ammonia, and subsequently with water and ammonia. Spots of paint, when not soluble in water and alcohol, can almost always be removed by oil of turpentine. For complete removal, it is necessary to wash the spot afterward in a good deal of turpentine. Fruit, wine, and similar spots are to be treated by sulphurous acid, which may be replaced sometimes, but not always, by chlorine. The acid may be applied either in the form of gas or dissolved in water; in the first case the substance to be treated is to be stretched at the proper height over burning sulphur, and in the latter moistened with the solution and then washed with pure water. For fine white table-cloths the dilute acid is preferable. Printing-ink can be readily taken from any arti- cle by means of ether or oil of turpentine. Pure benzine will also have a similar effect. Spots produced by alkalies, such as soap-boiler’s lye, soda, ammonia, etc., can generally be made to disappear completely by the prompt application of dilute acetic acid and a good deal of water. Spots produced by hydrochloric or sulphuric acid can be removed by the ap- plication of concentrated ammonia, while spots from nitric acid can scarcely be obliterated. 378 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. For removing the stain of perspiration, a strong solution of soda is first to be applied, with a subsequent rinsing with water. Spots from sulphur and phosphorus, caused by luci- fer-matches, can be extracted by sulphide of carbon. Ink spots are to be treated with oxalic acid, nitric acid, or chlo- rine, according to the composition of the ink. As a general rule, a solution of oxalic acid applied, and then rinsed off Ww ith water, will answer the purpose. The removal of actual coloring matter, such as the aniline dyes, ete., is more diffi- cult, in consequence of the adhesion of the colori ing matter to the pabcinmee of the fibre.—25 C, xx., May 24, 166. WHITENING FLANNEL. It is said that flannel, which has become yellow ie age, may be restored to its Saasetaiel whiteness by the use of a solution of one and a half pounds of white Marseilles soap in fifty pounds of soft river water, to which is added two thirds of an ounce of spirit of aqua ammonia, and the whole thor- oughly mixed. The flannel is to be immersed in this solution and well stirred around, and afterward washed off in pure water. The same result may also, it is said, be obtained still more quickly by immersing the flannel for an hour in a dilute solution of acid sulphate of soda, and then stirring in dilute hydrochloric acid in the proportion of one part of acid to fifty of water. The vessel is then to be covered over and allowed to remain for a quarter of an hour, when the articles are to be removed and thoroughly washed.—8 C, April 21, 127. REMOVAL OF GREASE SPOTS. In removing grease spots from fabrics by means of ben- zine or petroleum, it often happens that a colored and stained outline of the portion moistened is left. This can be prevent- ed by the application of a layer of gypsum extending a little beyond the moistened region. When dry, the powder is to be shaken and brushed off, when no trace of the spot will re- main.—6 CO, xxviu., July 13, 272. CLEANING STRAW MATTING AND OIL-CLOTH. It is said that straw matting may be kept new-looking and bright by washing it twice during the summer with a warm solution made by dissolving a pint of salt in half a pailful of J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 379 soft water, the object of the salt being to prevent it from turning yellow. After washing, the matting should be quick- ly dried with a soft cloth. It is also said that by wiping oil-cloth all over, after being scrubbed and dried, with a cloth dipped in milk, the colors will come out clear and bright, and remain distinct through- out the year. This does not “track off” like oil used for the same purpose.—18 A, June 2, 271. REMOVAL OF WALNUT STAINS FROM THE HANDS. The removal of walnut stains from the hands may be ac- accomplished simply by rubbing with slices of apple or of pear; the cleansing power being due, it is: supposed, to the présence of the acid, which therefore may, perhaps, be ad- vantageously replaced by citric acid or lemon-juice. If, how- - ever, the stains be at once thoroughly washed in fresh water, without using soap, they may be made to disappear almost entirely ; but soap is unadvisable, since its alkali acts as a mordant, and fixes the color.—8 A, December, 1870, 223. REMOVAL OF MOULD FROM LINEN. Spots of mould on fabrics can, it is said, be removed from cotton or linen by first rubbing them over with butter, and afterward applying potassa moistened with a little water, and then rubbing the spot, when all traces of it will disap- pear.—9 C, December, 1869, 95. REMOVING IRON-MOULD FROM FABRICS. A writer in the Chemical News advises, as the best method of removing stains of iron-mould from fabrics, that the mark be first wet with yellow sulphide of ammonia, by which it will be immediately blackened. After allowing it a minute or two to penetrate, the excess of sulphide is to be washed out, and the black spot treated with cold dilute chlorohydric acid, by which it is at once removed. Finally, wash well with water. This method is said to avoid the serious objec- tion of weakening and rotting the fibre.—1 A, June 24, 300. INK-PLANT OF NEW GRANADA. Among vegetable substances useful in the arts is one that has long been known in New Granada under the name of the ‘ t 380 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ink-plant, as furnishing a juice which can be used in writing without previous preparation. Characters traced with this substance have a reddish color at first, which turns to a deep black in a few hours. This juice is said to be really less lia- ble to thicken than ordinary ink, and not to corrode steel pens. It resists the action of water, and is practically in- delible. The plant is known as Coryaria thymifolia,.—s A, July, 313. COLORS FROM WILD PLANTS. A German writer shows that a great variety of colors and dyes can be readily obtained from common plants found al- most every where, the method consisting principally in boil- ing them in water at a high temperature, so as to produce a strong decoction. Thus, for instance, the well-known huckle- berry, or blueberry (Vaccinium), when boiled down, with an addition of a little alum and a solution of copperas, will de- velop an excellent blue color. The same treatment, with a solution of‘nut-galls, produces a clean dark brown tint, while with alum, verdigris, and sal ammoniac, various shades of purple and red can be obtained. The fruit of the elder (Sam- bucus niger), so frequently used for coloring spirituous liq-— uors, will also produce a blue color when treated with alum. The privet (Ligustrum vulgare), boiled in a solution of salt, will furnish an excellent color, while the overripe berries yield a scarlet red. The seeds of the common burning-bush (Euonymus), when treated with sal ammoniac, produce a beautiful purple red, while the juice of the currant, pressed out and mixed with a solution of alum, will furnish a bright red color. The bark, treated in the same way, produces a brown. Yellow can be obtained from the bark of the apple- tree, the box, the ash, the buckthorn, the poplar, elm, ete., when boiled in water and treated with alum. 394 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. EFFECT OF COLD ON IRON AND STEEL. For many years it has been almost an axiom among-civil engineers that great cold tended to produce a brittle condi- tion of iron and steel, and that by this hypothesis might be explained the alleged increase in the percentage of railway accidents by the breaking of tires and axles during the cold season as compared with the warm. A communication be- fore the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, by Mr. Brockbank, maintained the view just stated; but in the discussion which followed several eminent engineers entered their protest against it, and adduced facts which tend to an entirely opposite conclusion. According to Dr. Joule, numer- ous experiments by himself and others proved that, so far from iron and steel being weakened by cold, they are actual- ly made positively stronger, resisting shocks and strains be- fore which they yielded when brought to a higher tempera- ture. While not denying the fact of the greater frequency of fractures during the cold weather, Dr. Joule refers these to the increased hardness of the ground by freezing, by which the iron is subjected to a greater strain or shock than under ordinary circumstances.—12 A, January 26, 253. INFLUENCE OF COLD ON THE STRENGTH OF IRON. We have referred to the experiments of Mr. Brockbank in regard to the influence of cold upon the elasticity and strength of iron, and to the theory of M. Joule and others that cold, instead of weakening iron, actually adds to its strength. Mr. Peter Spence has lately presented to the Phil- osophical Society of Manchester a further communication on this subject, in which he expresses his adhesion to the opin- ions of M. Joule, and has no hesitation in stating it as a law, that a specimen of cast-iron having at 70° Fahrenheit a given power of resistance to transverse strain, will, when reduced to the temperature of zero, have that power increased by three per cent. After the reading of this paper, Mr. James Garrick queried whether the results were legitimately dedu- cible from the experiments mentioned by Mr. Spence, and thought that, for reasons adduced, the iron must have been of an inferior quality, and unfit for the purpose of reliable experiments. The impression, however, at the present time .. K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 395 is gaining ground that cold at least does not increase the tendency to fracture of iron, and that the greater amount of breakage is probably due, as previously suggested, to the diminished degree of elasticity of the road-bed, in conse quence of the freezing of the soil.—1 A, March 17, 124. ZINC ROOFING, A great objection to the use of zinc as a covering for the roofs of houses, in spite of its cheapness, and the ease with which the sheets can be laid on, is found in the ready oxida- tion of the metal during wet weather, as well as in the un- pleasant glare proceeding from it in the sunlight. Both of these defects may, however, be obviated by the application of a certain substance which gives to it a permanent slate color, and at the same time prevents decomposition. This is prepared by heating in a porcelain dish one part, by weight, of copper scales; with a mixture of three parts of hydrochlo- ric acid, and one part of sulphuric acid, and continuing the operation until the red vapors cease to be evolved and the copper is dissolved. After this, sixty-four parts of water are to be added to the green solution, and the whole filtered. The sheets of zinc to which the application is to be made are to be thoroughly cleaned, and then immersed for a few moments in this liquid. Afterward they are to be washed with water and allowed to dry in the open air. When dry they are to be dipped in a solution made by dissolving one part of black pitch and two parts of natural asphaltum in twelve parts of benzine or light coal-oil. After drying, a dull lustre may be imparted to the zinc by rubbing it with cotton or a cotton cloth.—16 C, m1., 287. METHOD OF WARMING RAILROAD CARS. For the purpose of warming and ventilating railway car- riages, it is proposed by Mr. Grandjean, of Paris, to use a res- ervoir of suitable capacity, divided into any number of com- partments, in which are placed sponges saturated with the essence of petroleum, mineral essence, or any other carburet of hydrogen of a volatile nature. In the middle of these compartments spaces are left so as to introduce wicks, which should touch the bottom of the receptacle, the number of the same being as large or as limited as desired; the upper part 396 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. of the wicks enter burners placed at the top of the reservoir. When these burners are lighted they constitute a regular stove, by means of which the warming of the carriage is ef- fected.—8 A, October 1,193. » ' SINGLE-RAIL TRAMWAY IN INDIA. A new form of single-rail tramway has lately been intro- duced in India with a satisfactory result. The vehicles used, in addition to the ordinary wheels, have a pair of flanged wheels, one behind the other, running on the single rail which is laid at the centre of the track. The flanged wheels are adjusted by a screw, so as to take all the weight off the or-— dinary wheels, without lifting them from the roadway. An experimental line has been laid, in part at an incline of 1 in 40, and along this a pair of bullocks draw a load of three tons. The advantages are, first, a very great diminution of power expended in hauling, as compared with traction on common roads; secondly, that the cost of construction is only one half that of an ordinary tramway with two lines of rails. —5 A, October, 1870, 431. SIZE OF NARROW-GAUGE RAILWAYS. The subject of the proper dimensions of narrow-gauge rail- ways was fully discussed in the mechanical section of the British Association, and Mr. Fairlie, to whom the introduction of this important principle is largely due, presented a report, in which he concludes in favor of the 3-foot gauge rather than one of 3 feet 6 inches, as admitting the use of stock of ample size and of less weight. This will be about two thirds the size of the gauge heretofore generally in use, namely, 4 feet 84 inches to 4 feet 10 inches.—15 A, August 12, 219. EXTER RAILWAY BRAKE, We find in a recent German journal an account of a new self-acting brake, invented by a German named Exter, which has been put in very successful and satisfactory operation on the Bavarian railroads. For the purpose of experiment, it has been applied to cars of different sizes, large and small, and on roads of a greater or less degree of inclination; and it has been found that, whatever be the rate of speed, a train can be stopped by means of these brakes in a very short dis- K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 397 tance. The steam of the locomotive can be shut off and the brake of the tender applied, and this acts immediately-upon all the other brakes of the train. In cases where the loco- motive was detached from the train and moved off from it, the same result was accomplished.—6 C, xxxvV1., 282. EXTER LOCOMOTIVE OR WAGON REGULATOR. We have already referred to a steam brake invented by Exter, the general superintendent of railroads in Munich, and we now present a notice of a very simple arrangement lately devised by him for determining the velocity of locomotives, by which the engineer is in a condition to ascertain the rate at which he is moving at any moment, and to appreciate any variation, and thus be enabled to maintain any given rate of speed without the slightest difficulty. Without figures for illustration it will be difficult to give a satisfactory account of the apparatus in question, which is contained in a small tin box immediately in front of the en- gineer, and is set in motion by means of a cord extending to the locomotive axis. This indicates, by means of a pointer upon a dial-plate, the rate of movement in miles per hour, and draws at the same time, by means of a lead-pencil upon a moving paper roll visible to the engineer, and receiving its rotation from the motion, a line corresponding to the velocity of movement at any point of the journey. The authorized rate of velocity for any given train is indicated upon this paper disk by means of a line, and any deviation from such rate is appreciable to the engineer, as well as to any other official. The sheets of paper are to be removed at the end of each trip, and held subject to the inspection of the superin- tendent of transportation. The apparatus thus furnishes a graphic representation of the exact rate of the speed of every train at any point in its path; and these indications being beyond the control of the engineer, an unerring check is held upon his movements, by which he can be brought to account for any improper dereliction of duty. By a special adjustment of the apparatus, a second pencil shows how long the locomotive has remained at any given station, being set in motion while the engine is at a stand- still,and ceasing when it is again started. A somewhat similar arrangement has been made by the 398 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. same gentleman for measuring the rate of travel in carriages or wagons, indicating, as before, the time and rate of move- ment, and the stoppages made in the journey. This appa- ratus is contained in a small iron box fastened to the wagon, and prov ided with a glass door in front, through which - the paper is visible. The advantages of the application of such an apparatus as a check upon the improper use of carriages by servants, or for determining the rate and distance traveled in a livery vehicle, will readily suggest themselves.—14 C, CXCIX,, 152. JACKET FOR STEAM BOILERS. The practice of insulating steam boilers with a loose jacket of wood or tin, and filling in the cavity between the two sur- faces with plaster of Paris, is now coming into use extensive- ly, and with marked results. Independent of economy of fuel, the radiation of the heat is greatly reduced, and conse- quently applied more directly to the formation of steam, while there is much less inconvenience and annoyance to the fireman from the heat. When the gypsum has hardened, the exterior casing may be removed if it is considered expedient. Quite recently cork has been used for a somewhat similar purpose, especially for coating tubes for conducting hot air or water, and for locomotives.—6 C, January 20, 28. REMOVING DEPOSITS IN STEAM BOILERS. Every day adds to the number of methods recommended as efficient for removing deposits in steam boilers. One of the latest of these has been invented by Mr. Weiss, of Basle, and is called by him Litho-reactive, and is claimed to possess the property of extracting old deposits and preventing the formation of new ones, converting into soap the grease com- ing from the condenser, and finally neutralizing all the acids. The formula for the preparation is as follows: Five parts of molasses or beet sirup, fifteen parts of milk of lime, three parts of water, and eighty-four parts of soda-lye of thirty-four degrees Beaumé. The compound is said to precipitate at once all the bicarbonates, the sulphates, and the silica, to con- vert the grease into soap, and neutralize all the acids, remov- ing all old deposits of whatever kind and however thick, and at the same time not attacking either iron or copper. It acts K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 399 not only at an elevated temperature, but precipitates and neu- tralizes in cold water all these foreign bodies. For this rea- son the water may be made to undergo a preliminary purifi- cation before passing into the boiler. Our space will not allow us to give the details of the chemical theory by which the different substances referred to play their parts in pre- venting or removing the deposits in question, although fully set forth in the original communication of Mr. Weiss. We may state, however, that two pounds of the preparation are said to be suflicient for eighteen hundred quarts of water.— 1B, July 4, 16. | PREVENTING THE SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF COAL. With the view of preventing, as much as possible, the chances of spontaneous combustion of coal on board ships, and in coal-bunkers on steam vessels, Dr. Lachmann recom- mends that coal as free as possible from iron pyrites be se- lected, and that the coal be loaded rapidly and in as dry a state as practicable. It should be stowed on board not too closely, and, as far as may be, all access of air and water is to be prevented. A sprinkling of coal-tar will, it is said, add to the security against spontaneous ignition.—1 A, ov. 4, 225. WEATHERING OF COAL. An important communication has been made by Dr. Rich- ters to a German journal upon the influence of atmospheric agencies on stone coal exposed to the air in coal-yards and other localities. In this memoir he states that the property which coal las of taking up oxygen when heated gently (as to 375° Fahr.) is modified essentially by its percentage of dis- posable hydrogen. This first of all becomes oxidized, togeth- er with a certain portion of the carbon, since, on the one hand, water is formed, and, on the other hand, the oxygen enters directly into combination with the coal. Also, that the car- bon of stone coal possesses, at a temperature of about 375° Fahr., a variable affinity to oxygen, as the smaller portion (five or six per cent. of the total amount) combines with it and forms carbonic acid, while the rest, at the given tempera- ture, shows little or no affinity for oxygen. While these two propositions respecting the oxidation of coal when heated can be established, our author adduces experiments to show 400 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. that they apply equally well at the ordinary atmospheric temperatures. The so-called weathering of coal he ascribes to the absor p- tion of oxygen, which in one case oxidizes a portion of the carbon and hydrogen of the coal, converting it into carbonic acid and water; in the other, entering directly into the com- position of the coal. If, then, the coal becomes heated in any way, a more or less energetic chemical action, varying in pro- portion to the elevation of the temperature, takes place upon the combustible substance of the coal; but, on the other hand, the process of oxidation proceeds so slowly that the changes occurring within the period of a year can scarcely be estab- lished with certainty, either technically or analytically. Moisture, as such, seems to have no accelerating influence upon the weathering of coal, the positive effect being gener- ally appreciable in coal containing a large amount of sul- phuret of iron or pyrites, the decomposition of which is ac- celerated by the water. Another proposition of our author is, that pure coal vheaped up for nine months or a year, unpr otected from the weather and not allowed to become heated, is changed no more than it would have been in a perfectly dry locality. As long as any increase of temperature does not exceed certain bounds, as from 340° to 375° Fahr., there is no appreciable loss of weight by the weathering; and, in fact, there should be a slight i increase, in consequence of the absorption of oxygen. The decrease in value for combustible purposes, and for other technical applications, which coal experiences by the weath- ering, is produced by a slight decrease of carbon and hydro- gen, “and an absolute increase of oxygen in consequence of the exposure.—3 DB, June 9,1870, 248. CURING DAMPNESS IN WALLS. A Russian preparation for curing moisture in the walls of houses consists in the use of a mixture made by adding two pounds of white resin to a boiling solution of three and three fourths pounds of green vitriol in one hundred pounds of wa- ter. To this, ten pounds of sifted red ochre (or other color), eight pounds of rye meal, and six and a half pounds of linseed oil are to be added, and the whole stirred together until it forms a completely homogeneous mass. Two coats of this K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 401 mixture are to be applied successively, while hot, but only in dry, warm weather.—s C, vu, 64. PREVENTION OF MOISTURE IN TUNNELS. By a system of tubes and pipes laid between the masonry of a subterranean tunnel and the mountain wall, and connect- ing with other drain-tubes leading to the exterior, an Austrian engineer has’ succeeded in rendering the tunnel completely dry.—6 C, August 11, 322. COMBUSTION OF COAL-DUST. An enormous amount of coal in the form of dust and small fragments is every year wasted in our coal mines, and, al- though many propositions have been made to utilize it by consolidating it into bricks, it has been found that the expense of this is greater than that attendant upon the extraction of large coal, and consequently the waste has still continued. It has been ascertained, however, that by taking fine coal-dust and placing it in a furnace, with the exact quantity of air which is requisite to effect the combustion of the coal, a mass of flame is obtained of the highest temperature, which does its work effectually, and emits no smoke whatever from the chimney. The results promised from this method of using fuel are so striking as almost to render it probable that, when dust can not be obtained, the coal itself will be reduced to powder for the purpose before being placed in the furnace.— 15 A, Jan, 28, 117. CONCRETE FOR BUILDING PURPOSES. Such of our readers as are unacquainted with the value and importance of a new concrete, invented by a French engineer —M. Coignet—and bearing his name, will probably be sur- prised to learn that, at a comparatively small cost, works of the greatest magnitude are now made, as well as those pos- sessing the utmost durability. An elaborate report on this subject has lately been printed by the State Department among its series of reports on the Paris Exposition of 1867, and, if no other service had been rendered in return for the expenditures made by the United States in connection with the Exposition, this one work alone would be more than an equivalent in bringing to our notice so important a material. 402 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. The process of preparing this concrete, or Béton Coignet, con- sists simply in mixing a large quantity of sand with a small quantity of hydraulic lime, to which has been added a mi- nute portion of Portland cement. This mixture, slightly moistened with water, is subjected to an energetic trituration, with compression, so as to produce a pasty or pulverulent powder. This pasty powder is then thrown in thin layers into moulds, where it is agglomerated vigorously by the blows of a hammer, causing it to set almost instantaneously. In less than Echt days | the concrete becomes so hard as to al- low of the removing of the centering from arches twelve feet in diameter, a thing which could not be properly done in the same time with the best masonry. This new concrete is now applied in France to a great va- riety of subjects—palaces, private residences, churches, arch- ways, reservoirs, sewers, water-pipes, etc.—all capable of be- ing formed out of a single piece; of the greatest solidity; of perfectly smooth exterior, and susceptible of embellishment with every variety of adornment; impervious to water; se- cure against the action of frost; and all at an.expense Wing appr eciably less than that of ordinary masonry. Our space does not permit us to go into further detail on the subject, for which we would refer to the report in ques- tion, but simply to suggest that in this substance, requiring only sand in large quantities for its preparation, we may find the practical solution of the difficulties in engineering in many portions of the Southern States and elsewhere, where natural rock suitable for building purposes is not to be obtained ex- cept by transportation from great distances.—4 B, 1870, 25. SOREL CEMENT. According to the Quarterly Journal of Science, the sorel cement, which has attracted so much attention of late by its permanence and close imitation of various natural tones, is made by diluting or tempering magnesia, which may be more or less hydrated and carbonated, with a solution of chloride of magnesium in a.dry state, and employing water to form the cement. The cement thus produced is especially white and hard, and may be used with advantage in place of some of the best cements. It possesses the same hardness, and will receive the same polish as marble, mosaic pavements, and K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 403 statuary. Imitation ivory can be made from it for forming billiard balls and other similar articles, medallions, buttons, etc. By combination with mineral colors the cement may be made to assume any desired tint, may be moulded like plas- ter, and be employed in the manufacture or imitation of in- numerable objects of art and ornament. In practice the ce- ment is never used in a pure form, but in combination with other materials, which, being incorporated with it while in the moist condition, are in the subsequent setting mechanically bound together into a solid mass. For this purpose the mag- nesia, in fine powder, is mixed with mineral substances, such as sand, gravel, dust, or chips from marble or other stones, or with emery, quartz, or other grits of various kinds, in va- rying proportions, according to the result desired. This mix- ture is then moistened with a solution of the chloride of mag- nesium, or with the bittern from salt-works. In some cases it is made sufficiently wet to form a mortar, and in others only enough to produce a state of dampness, like that of moulding sand. The mixture may be effected in troughs by hand la- bor, the material being worked over with shovels or hoes, or more expeditiously in mixing machines designed expressly for the purpose, and worked by horse or steam power. The materials of which this cementing substance is com- posed are abundantly distributed over the surface of the globe. Magnesia sufficiently pure for the purpose is obtained by simply calcining mineral magnesite, large deposits of which are known to exist in Prussia, Greece, Canada, Califor- nia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Deposits will doubtless be found in other places when the demand is made for the ma- terial. The chloride of magnesium is readily obtained by con- centrating sea-water, the bittern of salt-works being suffi- ciently pure for the purpose. Sea-water concentrated to 30° B. precipitates nearly the whole of its chloride of sodium.— 12 A, July, 1871, 412. SCOTT’S SELENITIC MORTAR. According to the London Mechanics’ Magazine, a very im- portant invention has lately been made by Colonel Scott, of the Royal Engineers, of a new kind of mortar, having the properties of setting very rapidly and becoming exceedingly hard on account ofits great cohesiveness, This—termed se- 404 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. lenitic mortar by the colonel—is made by mixing a small portion of sulphate of lime or sulphuric acid with the water used, to which the lime is added, and the mixture ground to a thin paste in a mortar-mill. After having been ground four minutes, the remaining ingredients, which may be sand or burned clay, are introduced, and the whole ground together for ten minutes more. The sulphate of lime may be in the form of plaster of Paris (gypsum), or sulphuric acid alone may be employed. The best results, however, are obtained with the acid, and Colonel Scott therefore uses it in prefer- ence to the other substance, although this will answer effect- ually for all ordinary purposes. The secret of the extraordi- nary results obtained with this mortar lies simply in the fact that the acid prevents the lime from slacking, and thus ena- bles it to take in twice as much sand as when slacked, its fieriness being controlled or brought into subjection. By Colonel Scott’s process any lime can be made selenitic, and the more hydraulic it is the better are the results it gives. The great value of this invention consists not only in the ex- traordinary tenacity of the mortar thus obtained, but in its great resistance to pressure. Thus it is stated that a block oF ordinary mortar, composed of one part of lime and two%f sand, with a br alin gs area of two and a quarter square inches, usually breaks at seventy pounds’ strain after being kept six months. With Colonel Scott’s mortar, however, a block of the same dimensions, made of one part of Portland cement and four parts of sand, and kept for one hundred and sixty- seven days, required a strain of two hundred and six pounds for breakage. Again, mortar one hundred and sixty-six days old, made of one part gray lime, rendered selenitic, and three of sand, required two hundred and forty-five pounds for breakage, and another sample sustained a breaking force of two hundred and fifty-five pounds. This mortar has been applied with great advantage for imbedding tiles, which, as is well known, frequently break loose in consequence of their want of adhesion to the cement. In one experiment with the selenitic cement the joint was broken only after a pressure of one hundred and fifty-eight pounds, while with ordinary Port- land cement fifty-eight pounds were sufficient to produce the separation. The Mechanics’ Magazine regards this as one of the great- K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 405 est inventions of the day, in having so many important appli- cations, being used for concrete bricklayer’s work, as stuff for plastering, mortar for pointing, stuccoing, ete. It is said that ceilings can be floated immediately after the application of the first coat, and set in forty-eight hours. Bricks can be made of one part lime to eight or ten parts burned clay or sand, pressed in a semi-dry state without burning, and ready for use in about ten days.—3 A, July 8, 5. IMPROVED MORTAR, According to a recent writer on the subject, it is stated that the disadvantages of the ordinary kinds of mortar at present in use arise chiefly from their being made of an infe- rior kind of sand, and the great difficulty of obtaining good sand at a moderate price. He therefore suggests an improved material, which requires no sand, and which only needs to be mixed with water. To prepare one ton of this mortar, two hundred and twenty-eight pounds of lime (either quicklime or slacked), seventeen hundred and twenty-eight pounds of slag, and two hundred and twenty-four pounds of calcined coal-shale clay are to be ground by machinery, and when brought to a powder, or a proper degree of fineness, are to be mixed with water, and the mortar will be ready for use.— 9 A, 1870, 104. VICTORIA STONE. In a communication upon artificial stone made to the Brit- ish Association by the Rev. Mr. Highton, the well-known fact was adverted to that certain forms of natural silica occurring in various parts of Europe, especially in England and Ger- many, can be dissolved, under proper precautions, even when cold. An important application has been made of this solu- ble silica in the preparation of an artificial stone, which is harder than any natural stone, except the hard granites and primitive rocks. The process indicated for utilizing this con- sists In first making a concrete of any good hydraulic cement. When this is dry it is steeped in an alkaline solution of silica, in which is placed a quantity of free silica. The following chemical process then takes place: the lime in the concrete extracts the silica from the solution, leaving the alkali free, which immediately attacks the free silica, and conveys it in 406 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. its turn to the concrete. This process goes on continually till the lime in the concrete is saturated with silica. In this way, within a week, the strength of the concrete is increased from fifty to one hundred and fifty per cent., and to a still greater degree by a longer immersion. As the alkali acts only as a carrier of the silica, it is used over and over again, and it is in this that the economy of the manufacture consists. The substance thus formed is known as silicated concrete, or the patent Victoria stone, and it has been manufactured on a grand scale in London, and several large edifices have been built entirely from it. The economy of its construction is such that it promises to supersede natural stone, except where the latter is very cheap and abundant. In London it can be put into place in building at a: much less cost than natural stone.—1 A, October 21,195. APENITE, A NEW BUILDING MATERIAL. A new building material, called apeenite, has lately been brought to notice as manufactured by the Patent Concrete Stone Company at East Greenwich, England. This, an arti- ficial granite or marble, is concreted in a mould by the action of chloride of calcium and water-glass, combined with a body of Derbyshire spar or other material. It hardens quickly, and attains an ultimate crushing strength of three tons per square inch, equaling that of granite. It exhibits perfect sharpness and delicacy of moulding, besides admitting an ex- quisite degree of polish. It is also said to be unaffected by exposure to the weather or by acids, and to be produced at a less cost than scagliola or enameled slate. The same compa- ny manufactures a silicious paint, consisting of water-glass, or silicate of soda, combined with steatite, clay, or other incom- bustible element, and a coloring medium. This dries quickly, with a hard surface, and good, clear body color, and possess- ing extraordinary power of resistance to fire. In one experi- ment, the boarding and roofing of the wooden structures which were set on fire had been covered with the silicious paint, which was exposed to the full force of the flames twenty minutes, and, though the paint blistered and perished, it effectually preserved a large extent of wood-work from in- jury.—3 A, July 29, 69. K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 407 VICTORIA STONE. A new artificial stone, known as Victoria stone, is now be- ing manufactured in England by a process perfected by Mr. Highton. ‘This consists in mixing broken granite, the refuse of granite quarries, with hydraulic cement, and steeping the mass in silicate of soda. For this purpose the concrete mass- es to be silicified are immersed in a tank of silicate of soda, in which are placed pieces of a peculiar silicious stone ob- tained at Farnham, possessing the property of having its sili- ca in such a state as to dissolve in cold caustic soda. The lime of the concrete mass takes silica from the silicate, and the soda set free redissolves silica from the Farnham stone. Hence the process is continuous.—5 A, July, 1870, 317. PORTLAND CEMENT. According to recent extensive experiments, it appears that a sewer constructed of concrete composed of one part cement and six parts sand, and lined inside with cement, is the cheap- est form of sewer, combining strength with soundness. The experiments also proved that the strength of Portland ce- ment increases with its specific gravity, its more perfect pul- verization, and its thorough admixture with the minimum quantity of water in forming mortar. Heavy and pure ce- ment, weighing 123 pounds to the bushel, it is stated, will take about two years to attain its maximum of strength, and the admixture of sand or gravel reduces the strength of the concrete, which sets less rapidly than the pure article. Ro- man cement, though setting quickly, deteriorates in strength after exposure to air before use about twice as much as Port- land cement. HARD CEMENT. A cement which becomes excessively hard in time may be prepared by mixing two parts of silica, one part of silicate of alumina, and nine or ten parts of carbonate of lime, all in powder, and then roasting in a puddling furnace. The re- maining mass is then to be ground and again roasted with two or three parts of carbonate of baryta. In practice, very pure sand will answer for the silica and chalk for the carbon- ate of lime, the remaining ingredient being supplied by min- 408 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. eral witherite or natural carbonate of baryta.—5 C, xivm., 1870, 380. RENDERING WALLS WATER-TIGHT, It is proposed by Mr. F. Ransome, of London, to render stone and brick walls water-proof by coating them to satura- tion with a solution of silicate of soda, which is superficially decomposed by the further application of chloride of calcium. The surface thus obtained consists of silicate of lime, which is perfectly insoluble, while it does not alter the appearance of the wall.—10 C,1v., 1871, 28. ASPHALT FOR PAVING. The subject of the best material for paving streets is, of course, one of great importance to all the larger towns and cities, and the favorite at this time in London seems to be as- phalt. The London Mechanics’ Magazine is inclined to be- lieve that experiments now being made in London will have a satisfactory result, although it thinks that a heavy bed of concrete, of at least six inches or more in thickness, should : be first laid in the more frequented streets of the city. Over : this a thickness of two or three inches of asphalt is thought to be sufficient. For small towns both the layer of asphalt and of subjacent concrete may be considerably less in thick- ness—perhaps not more than half of that suggested.—3 A, March 24, 205. UTILIZATION OF IRON SLAG, The utilization of the slag of iron furnaces, which is pro- duced in such immense quantity, has long been a problem, although of late years many attempts have been made to solve it. Methods have been suggested for extracting vari- ous substances of value in the arts; and in some countries, Belgium especially, the material is cast into moulds of a defi- nite shape, and used, without farther preparation, for build- ing purposes. All persons familiar with the iron districts where this substance is produced are aware of the excellent Macadamized roads it makes in the neighborhood of the iron furnaces; and it is now transported to considerable distances “in England for a similar purpose. The best method of ap- plying it is said to be by breaking it up into cubes of about K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 409. six inches, laying the roadway with them, and then covering the whole with fragments, broken to about two inches in size, to a depth of about four inches (making ten inches in all), after which the road is to be well watered, and crushed with a heavy roller. In this way an almost solid bed is made, which is entirely free from mud, almost:so from dust, and of uncommon durability. Indeed, this method seems to have given so much satisfaction lately in England that prep- arations are being made to use it for paving certain portions of London, with the anticipation that it will answer much better than the asphaltum rock heretofore imported from France, and applied there to a similar purpose.—8 A, March 1, 50. — ARTIFICIAL PORPHYRY. Messrs. Sepulchre and Ohresser have lately published an account of a method of treating furnace slag so as to obtain a kind of artificial porphyry scarcely inferior in durability or strength to the natural substance. For this purpose they dig furrows in the slag pit having the shape of an inverted trun- cated cone, and from twelve to fifteen feet wide, so as to receive the entire amount of slag produced in one or more furnaces at any one drawing off. The melted slag is to be emptied in this by means of suitable channels, and the cavity can be divided up by partitions, so as to cast the mass either in one continuous block, or in a number of blocks of any giv- en shape. Care must be taken to have the slag run under the thickened glassy covering which forms at the beginning of the operation, the object of such a coating being to retain the heat; and it is even necessary sometimes to protect the mass against too rapid cooling by a covering of ashes, as this cooling should occupy several days, varying with the amount of the slag. When the operation is completed a dense homo- geneous block or blocks will be found underneath this glassy covering of the character of natural porphyry, as stated. | This material has been tested by suitable methods, and has been found to bear a pressure of about 700 pounds to the cu- bic centimetre (a cube of about four tenths of an inch), while for complete crushing a pressure of about 1100 pounds was required. In other experiments with this artificial stone, fracture never occurred under a pressure of less than 600 Ss 410 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. pounds, and complete crushing only with a pressure of 1000 pounds, while some blocks resisted a pressure of 1300 or 1400 pounds.—18 C, x1x., May 10, 303. CEMENT FROM FURNACE SLAG. Furnace slag can be made to furnish an excellent cement by selecting’ such portions of it as are readily dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid. On subjecting it to the action of the acid silica is thrown down, which is afterward to be washed, dried, and pulverized. One part of this is next to be mixed with nine parts of powdered slag and the necessary quantity of slacked lime. This matter soon hardens, and ri- vals the best cement in its durability.—9 C, January, 1871, 3. BLACKENING STONE. A method of rendering stone completely black, to serve as a foil to some other color, or to protect it against the weath- er, consists in heating it in an oven to about 140°, and then removing it and dipping the side to be colored into a vessel filled with melted tar. After removal the surplus is allowed to drain off, and laid not far from the stove to dry. When it is half dried, it is placed in the air and allowed to become completely dry, after which a wisp of straw is used to rub off the blackened side, which gives to the stone a brilliant lustre, and prepares it for farther use.—9 C, March, 1870, 17. PROTECTION OF STONE BY SALTS OF COPPER. Dr. Robert, of Paris, recommends earnestly the use of salts of copper as the best preservative against the weathering of stone in a moist climate, and endeavors to prove that the wasting away of sandstone and granite is due to various causes, one of the most important of which is the develop- ment of a minute lichen (the Lepra antiquitatis). This plant is so destructive that the beautiful marble sculptures in the park at Versailles would be completely destroyed by it in the space of fifty years unless precautions were taken to ar- rest its ravages. Dr. Robert states that the amount of weath- ering away of rocks of all kinds, granite not excepted, is much greater than the public generally are aware of, especially when subjected to the influence of a moist atmosphere. Thus the obelisk of Luxor, which was brought to Paris from Egypt K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 411 forty years ago, has become completely bleached out, and full of small cracks, while for the previous forty centuries during which it stood in Egypt no change had been produced.—8 C, June 23,199. NATIVE HYDRATE OF SILICA. An interesting mineral substance, capable of many import- ant practical applications, found in the department of Ar- dennes, in France, has been brought to the attention of the Academy of Sciences in Paris. This is known in the country as gaize or dead stone, and lies at the base of the cretaceous formation, covering the clay of the Gault, and forming beds in some places of over one hundred yards in thickness. The material is soft and very light, of a specific gravity of only about one and a half, grayish in color, and has been found by analysis to contain more than one half its weight of gelatin- ous or hydrated silica, the remainder being composed of sili- cate of iron, alumina, potassa, and magnesia, as also some clay and fine quartzose sand. Many important industrial applica- tions have already been made of this material, and others have been suggested. It can be cut readily with a knife or saw into thin plates or slabs of any desired size or shape, and can easily be fashioned into any pattern. Exposed to the air for a time it gradually becomes harder, and finally attains a condition of great durability, especially if subjected to a red heat, which increases its density to some extent without con- tracting the material very greatly, and makes it very suita- ble for the manufacture of crucibles, fire-brick, and other sub- stances intended to resist the action of heat. It can also be used in the preparation of certain valuable cements and mor- tars, as also in making soluble glass. A somewhat similar mineral, found in large quantity in the south of France, called Bauxite, is likewise a hydrate of alumina, and is used largely as a refractory material. It is also worked in large quantity | in the manufacture of aluminium, aluminate of soda, and pure sulphate of alumina.—6 B, March 21,1870, 581. KILLING WHALES BY CANNON. The inventive genius of America has of late years been di- rected very largely toward improved modes of capturing fish, in which, not satisfied with the comparatively rude methods sa 412 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. of hooks and lines, spears, and even nets, an effort is made to destroy them in a much more wholesale manner. Even the whale fishery, which for so long a time has been carried on by means of the harpoon, has, as is well known, lately been prosecuted by firing explosive substances into the body of the animal with shoulder-guns or with cannon, and thus disabling it very quickly. This method has been adopted by many whalers in the Greenland seas, and has been especially ap- plied of late to’ the taking of the large finback whales of the Norwegian coast. These animals have hitherto been but lit- tle disturbed by whalers, as, although of enormous size (from sixty to ninety feet), they possess comparatively little blub- ber, and are so active as to be rarely, if ever, successfully at- tacked by the harpoon. A recent writer in Land and Water recounts a late visit to the establishment of Herr Foyen, in the Varangar Fiord, where, from a small island, the fishery is prosecuted by means of two small steamers of about seventy tons each. The spe- cial apparatus employed consists of a harpoon, inclosing in its head half a pound of gunpowder, and with jointed or hinged barbs containing some percussion powder between them. When the whale is within gunshot, this harpoon, at- tached to the end of a long cord coiled around a drum, is fired into the animal from a cannon about the size of a four- pounder. As the flukes penetrate the side of the whale they are naturally brought together or pressed down toward the shaft, and, in so doing, ignite the percussion powder, which sets fire to the gunpowder, causing an explosion in the body of the animal that usually produces a mortal wound. The whale, of course, starts off under the stimulus of the pain, and the rope is carried out for a time, being uncoiled from the drum precisely like a fishing-line from the reel of a fish- ing-rod, the steamer following after so as to prevent any un- due strain. If necessary, a second discharge takes place, which almost invariably produces death. The steamer then tows the animal back to the station, where the blubber is taken off in a long strip by means of properly constructed apparatus, after which the flesh is re- moved in a somewhat similar manner, and finally the bones are separated and hauled out. It is the intention of the pro- prietor to prepare a fertilizer by drying the flesh and redu- K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 413 cing it to powder, and a brisk trade has already sprung up in Germany in this article. The bones are likewise to be ground and utilized in various ways, so that the entire animal—blub- ber, flesh, and bones—will be put to economical purposes, The carcasses of over thirty whales were heaped up on the island at the time of the visit referred to, forming a red hill of very considerable magnitude, visible at a great distance. The proprietor stated that the factory would not answer its expectations unless fifty whales could be taken every summer, It was thought, however, that there would be comparatively little difficulty in securing this number; and, in fact, as we learn from later advices, over sixty in all were captured dur- ing the season.—2 A, December 24, 464. A NEW GUNPOWDER. Among the many practical applications of phenic or car- bolic acid, not the least important is its use in the prepara- tion of picric acid, a substance which, in combination with potash and other bases, promises to’ be of great value in the arts. Although readily produced from other substances, car- bolic acid appears to be the most desirable source of supply, and only requires to be treated with concentrated nitric acid. A combination takes place with a hissing noise, and results in the formation of picric acid, in long lamellar crystals of a beautiful lustrous yellow color, and of an intensely bitter taste. Already used extensively in the preparation of dyes, it is as an explosive, of peculiarly valuable properties, that we now call the attention of our readers to it, as, when heated suddenly to the proper degree, it decomposes with explosion, and this peculiarity is iacreased when combined with an al- kaline base. The picrate of potash is the most important in this respect, and has lately been the subject of extended ex- periment on the part of an eminent French chemist. This is a salt of a beautiful golden yellow color, crystallizing in pris- matic needles, and, while insoluble in alcohol and nearly so in cold water, dissolves readily in fourteen parts of boiling wa- ter. Heated carefully, it acquires an orange-red color at 572° Fahr., which it loses on cooling ; heated rapidly to 620° Fahr., or brought in contact with red-hot bodies, it explodes vio- lently. It is most readily prepared by the double decompo- sition of a soluble picrate of soda, magnesia, or lime, and a 414 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. salt of potash, or by the direct action of picric acid upon the carbonate of potassa. The explosion of the picrate gives rise to an immense volume of gaseous matter, as nitrogen, car- bon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and the only solid residuum is a little carbon and carbonate of potassa. The smoke pro- duced is very light and easily dissipated, and the gaseous products are totally destitute of the corrosive and poisonous action of those of gunpowder, with their thick, heavy, stifling smoke. Nearly insoluble in cold water, there is no absorp- tion of moisture from the atmosphere to deteriorate its qual- ity or destroy its utility, as with gunpowder, so that it may be used in the dampest mines and other localities, where also the almost total absence of smoke and of noxious products after explosion is a great recommendation. Two varieties of the picrate powder are now manufactured, one for blasting, the other for fire-arms, each made of various grades of strength and adapted for special applications. For the first purpose, nitrate of potash is used with the picrate; for the seéond, an additional ingredient, charcoal, is employ- ed, the latter being added to diminish the rapidity of the combustion and increase the projectile force. This can be reculated so as to be greater or less than that of gunpowder, while the blasting power is much greater than that of the latter substance. Our space will not permit us to go into more detail respect- ing this new powder, which is so easily made and kept un- changed, and can be made of any desired degree of strength, and in its explosion yields no deleterious or corrosive gases, blinding smoke, or acrid and troublesome residuum. It is nearly as cheap, and less easily ignited by carelessness or ac- cident than gunpowder. Of much greater blasting power than gunpowder, and quite equal to nitro-glycerine in this respect, it seems destined to play a very important part in mining operations, while the comparative absence of solid de- posit renders its use in gunnery highly advantageous. The color is a brilliant yellow, and thus it is easily distinguished among other substances. It is also of varied application i in pyrotechnics. In conclusion, we may state that the picric powder is the subject of extensive and secret experiment with the French government, which will probably use it before long as a sub- es oar = K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 415 stitute for the old-fashioned black gunpowder in its military and naval service.—4 B, July 15, 1869, p. 651. DUALIN AND DYNAMITE. In the course of a careful investigation on the part of a committee of engineers in regard to the comparative merits of dualin and dynamite (the two more recent blasting pow- ders), it is stated that the former has advantages over ordi- nary gunpowder in cases where the blasting is to be done in soft stone or coal; but where the labor of boring is difficult, or where the gaining of time is of much importance, and where the blasting is carried on in very hard and solid rock, such as in most forms of tunneling, it is said that dynamite is to be preferred. Our readers probably will remember that dualin consists principally of nitrate of ammonia and very fine sawdust, which has been acted upon by nitro-sulphurie acid, and is said not to be decomposed by accidental contact with acids, and not to lose any of its properties in cold or heat. Its explosion does not produce any noxious gases, and it will burn in the open air without exploding. Dynamite, on the other hand, consists essentially of infusorial earth, pre- pared in a particular way with nitro-glycerine.—5 C, xxiv.,187. DYNAMITE AND GUN-COTTON. A recent comparison between the two best known and most readily used explosives, dynamite and compressed gun- cotton, gives the palm decidedly to the latter as much the safest and more manageable. It is stated that while a bullet fired at a box of dynamite exploded it at once, the gun-cotton was simply inflamed and burned in a steady manner; and that, while it is dangerous to apply a flame to dynamite, gun- cotton simply burns, occupying some time in doing so. It is well known that, to secure the highest explosive effect of gun-cotton, it is necessary to set it off by means of a percus- sion fuse or percussion cap, and that no other treatment will do more than to cause it to burn harmlessly.—12 A, Decem- ber 29, 1870, 169. DYNAMITE IN ARTESIAN-WELL BORING. Dynamite, so extensively used for blasting in mines, tun- nels, etc., has lately been applied in Denmark to a new pur- 416 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. pose of great utility, viz.,as an aid in boring artesian wells. The owner of a large estate wanted water for his dairy, and commenced boring for it. For 80 to 90 feet no difficulty oc- curred, when a stratum of flint was struck, so unyielding that it appeared advisable to give up the enterprise; but, as a last resort, dynamite was tried with the best possible result. Two pounds of dynamite, in a flask provided with isolated conducting wires, were lowered down the well-cleaned bor- ing to its bottom, upon the impenetrable flint, and then ex- ploded. The percussion was barely perceptible at the sur- face of the ground, but the water in the bore was thrown up many yards. The bore, however, filled again immediately, and it became evident that not only the flint layer was pierced, but also that strata rich in water were opened, so as to render further boring unnecessary. Two more charges were exploded, and the flint at the bottom was found to be broken into fragments, while the tubing was entirely unin- jured. The well now yields daily an ample supply of water. —14 U,CG.,1, 47. COMPARISON OF FORCE OF STEAM AND GUNPOWDER. In comparing the power of steam and of gunpowder, it is said that the force exerted by the expanded gas in the ex- plosion of a charge of powder, in a three hundred pound Woolwich gun, is equal, at some instant during the two hun- dredth part of a second, to nearly three million horse power. —12 A, November 10, 35. EXPERIMENTS WITH COMPRESSED GUN-COTTON. The remarkable experiments by Mr. Abel, of Woolwich, in regard to the effect produced by compressed gun-cotton, when simply laid on or pressed against the surface of bodies, and the various applications suggested of this new explosive agent, are doubtless familiar to our readers. A series of ex- periments has lately been made by the officers of the Royal Engineers, at Chatham, to determine more particularly the comparative effect of gun-cotton and gunpowder, and it was found that’ when two hundred pounds of gunpowder were laid against a double stockade of beams of timber four- teen inches square, three feet six inches apart, and sunk three feet in the earth, a large gap was made in the front stockade, a K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 417 while the second was but little damaged, and would have sufficed to prevent the passage of an attacking party. Eighty pounds of gun-cotton were next treated in the same manner, and fired, as required, by a detonating fuse. In this case the explosion was terrific, and an almost perfectly clear breach was made through both rows of timber, making it practicable for an attacking party to go through. In another experiment four beams of timber about sixteen inches square were sunk in the ground, pressed together, and encircled successively by necklaces of disks of the compressed gun-cotton. These were exploded one after the other, and the beams were en- tirely cut in two. Other experiments of much interest were tried in the same connection, and all tended to prove the im- portant applications of which the gun-cotton is capable-—— 3 A, May 20,370. TORPEDOES AS MEANS OF DEFENSE. Experiments with torpedoes as a means of defense of har- bors and coasts continue to be made, and it is now rendered extremely probable that in future they are destined to play a most important part in this connection. Elaborate inves- tigations have lately been prosecuted by the military author- ities of Great Britain, and the operators have succeeded in determining with great precision the distances at which the explosion of one torpedo is likely to disturb others set in the vicinity ; and they have been able to arrange torpedoes so as to permit of their being exploded at the instant of time that an approaching vessel reaches a given spot, as shown by sighting it through two telescopes at a certain distance apart. —3 A, October 28, 307. PALE YELLOW FOR SIGNALS. It is stated, as the result of recent experiments, that pale yellow is to be preferred to all other colors for signal lights, as being the tint most quickly and readily recognized at a distance.—3 B, August 8, 739. INDUSTRIAL NOVELTIES IN THE LONDON EXHIBITION OF 1871. Some industrial novelties displayed in the London exhibi- tion of 1871 attracted much interest. Among the articles in the wool department upon which 2 '418 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. much commendation is bestowed is an arrangement for wash- ing sheep to cleanse the fleece. For this purpose the sheep is placed inside of a cage of water-pipes, perforated through- out, and connected with a head of water, through which, on turning a cock, innumerable jets of water pass with consider- able force, all playing from every direction upon the animal. The washing is much more thorough than could be done by hand labor, and the aid of the man usually required to hold the sheep is thereby saved. Another machine is intended for shearing the sheep, which it does in the most satisfactory manner. Among the miscellaneous articles of the museum, Admiral Inglefield’s steering gear is mentioned with approbation, and it is stated that this has been applied to some of the larger iron-clad ships with great success. In rough weather, from thirty to forty men are required at the tiller of these huge monsters, and even then the force of the waves will some- times be too much for them. The gear in question utilizes the great hydrostatic pressure due to the twenty or thirty feet of water in which the ship swims, the water being al- lowed to come into cylinders and to work pistons within them, much after the manner steam would do in an ordinary engine, and thus a motive power is secured equal to one thousand pounds to the square inch, in small hydraulic rams attached to the tiller. A single man can by this method steer the largest ship in the roughest weather. Another machine exhibited is a model by Mr. Tommasi for utilizing the tides as a source of power for machinery. This, however, is considered rather curious than useful, as long as coal is held at any thing near its present price. Some of the other articles mentioned are Thompson’s road-steamer, with India-rubber tires; Hodgson’s wire tramway, with the sad- dles of the buckets clinging on to the wire rope by simple adhesion; Girdwood’s copper wire steam-packing, the con- densation of water within which forms the lubricant; Sie- mens’s electrical pyrometer, for measuring the degrees of very high temperatures; Michele’s cement-testing machine, in which the bent lever is most ingeniously applied; Captain Scott’s selenitic cement; and other practical inventions wor- thy of close investigation and consideration.—5 A, July, 284. K. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 419 EXPLOSIVE BALLOONS. An interesting and amusing philosophical experiment may be made by filling the new-fashioned collodion balloons with a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gases, and, after closing the mouth of the balloon tightly with a string, allowing it to rise into the atmosphere. GILDERS’ GLUE. A very superior article of the so-called gilders’ glue is ob- tained by cutting rabbit-skins into fine shreds, and boiling in water, then turning the mixture into a basket, through which the liquid passes, leaving the refuse behind. About fifteen hundred grains of sulphate of zinc and three hundred and seventy-five of alum are then to be separately dissolved in pure boiling water, and poured into the first-mentioned liquid, and the whole well stirred together while hot. The mixture is then to be passed through a sieve into a rectangular box, in which the jelly remains twenty-four hours in winter, or about forty-eight in summer. The mass, now having become solid, is to be separated from the box, and cut into slices of proper thickness, and laid upon nets to dry either in the open air or by means of some kind of artificial heat.—14 C, CXCIV., 516. CEMENT FOR BOTTLE-CORKS. An excellent material for sealing wine-bottles is said to consist of two parts of wax, four parts of colophony, and two parts of pitch—15 A, 1870, 107. PREPARATION OF GELATINE FROM BONE. A new process of obtaining gelatine from bones, for the purpose of making glue, consists in exposing them to the ac- tion of benzine.—4 B, 1870, 24. PRESERVATION OF PLASTER AGAINST VINEGAR FUMES. Much difficulty is experienced in vinegar factories, and oth- er establishments where acid fumes are disengaged, in pre- venting the plastering or whitewash from falling off. This may, however, be prevented, it is said, by washing the walls L. TECHNOLOGY. 461 with dilute sulphuric acid (one part to three of water). are ~~ 4 ete £s L. TECHNOLOGY. 525 and brought across the country to the East.—Wew York Ship- ping List, April 15,1871. ~ DETECTION OF FUSIL OIL The existence of fusil oil in alcoholic liquids can, it is said, be readily recognized by placing a portion in a glass tube, and shaking up in it a piece of iodide of potassium. Should there be even one fifth of one hundred per cent. of fusil oil contained in the liquid, a distinct light yellow color will be developed, the change taking place with still greater rapidity if the tube be heated.—18 C, xxu., Way, 1871, 352. UTILIZING OLD VULCANIZED RUBBER. It is announced that a method has lately been devised by which old and refuse vulcanized rubber can be mixed with the fresh, in certain proportions, so as to convert the whole into one homogeneous and useful mass.-—16 A, July, 1871,410. PURIFYING CARBONIC ACID GAS. An excellent method of purifying carbonic acid gas, ob- tained from limestone, consists in conducting it through ol- ive-oil, and an increase in the number of the points of contact with the out-streaming gas is effected by the introduction of pieces of pumice-stone.—18 C, xLu1., 657. _ FRENCH SILVER LAC. This consists of very finely divided tin precipitated from its solution by means of zinc. Applied by means of some ad- hesive substance to wood, paper, and metals, it communi- cates to them a metallic silvery appearance.—5 C, 1871, 384. ANTIDOTE TO CARBOLIC ACID. A strong solution of saccharate of lime, it is asserted, is a thoroughly reliable antidote against the poison of carbolic acid, when by accident taken internally.—1 A, November 24, 1871, 252. REMOVING THE ODOR OF CARBOLIC ACID. The value of carbolic acid for many applications is now well established, but for medical purposes is greatly dimin- ished by the odor, which is extremely offensive to many per- 526 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. sons. It may, therefore, be interesting to know of a method which, according to Professor Church, will entirely remove this odor, substituting for it a delicate trace of geranium leaves, which may, perhaps, be improved upon by adding a few drops of that oil. The process, as recently published by Mr. Church, consists in pouring one pound of the best carbolic acid of commerce (the white crystallized) into two gallons of cold distilled water, taking care not to permit the whole of the acid to enter into solution. With a good sample, if, after shaking repeatedly at intervals, between two and three ounces of the acid remains at the bottom of the vessel used, this will be a sufficient residue to hold and contain all the impurities; with bad samples, less water must be used, and more acid. The watery solution is to be siphoned off, and filtered, if nec- essary, through fine filter-paper till perfectly clear. It is then placed in a tall cylinder, and pure powdered common salt added, with constant agitation, till it no longer dissolves. On standing for a time, the greater part of the carbolic acid will be found floating as a yellow oily layer on the top of the saline liquor, and merely requires to be removed to be ready for use. As it contains five per cent. or more of water, it does not generally crystallize, but it may be made to do so by dis- tilling it from a little lime. The portion collected, up to about 365° Fahr., has, at ordinary temperatures, scarcely any odor save a faint one resembling that of geranium leaves. The addition of about four drops per fluid ounce of the French oil of geranium will still further mask the slight odor of the acid, and has an additional advantage of liquefying the pure crystallized product. The pure acid may be dissolved in 230 parts of water and used as a gargle, or in 25 parts of water for painting the throat, or in 50 parts for the carbolic spray. —20 A, October 21, 1871, 502. INTERMITTENT ELECTRIC LIGHT FOR SIGNALS. Mr. Felix Lucas, a French engineer, proposes to obtain a very powerful electric light for coast service at a compara- tively small cost, by making the light intermittent, with in- tervals of two seconds. By this means it is said that only one ten thousandth part of the electricity for a constant light will be required. A simple arrangement of clock-work causes the charcoal points to come in contact every two seconds, : + : L. TECHNOLOGY. 527 and then separates them sharply, so as to break the current instantaneously. It is thought that this system will be found useful not only for piercing fogs at sea, but also for railway signals. HOLMES’S INEXTINGUISHABLE SIGNAL-LAMP. An inextinguishable and self-igniting signal-lamp lately in- vented by Holmes has some important peculiarities which render it likely to be of practical application under many cir- cumstances, especially in view of the fact that it is self-ignit- ing, that its flame can neither be extinguished by water nor other means, and that it is incapable of setting fire to objects, while, at the same time, its light is extremely brilliant and of long duration. The new lamp consists of a cylindrical ves- sel of tin with a conical point, and provided below with a tube six inches in length. The vessel is to be filled entirely with fragments of phosphide of calcium, and the tube solder- ed up air-tight, so that the preparation can be kept for many years without change. When the lamp is to be used the tip of the cone is to be cut off, and an opening made at the end of the narrow tube referred to, and the lamp inserted in a wooden float and thrown into the water. The water pene- trates through the lower end of the tube and comes into con- tact with the phosphide of calcium, and is decomposed, with the formation of a phosphureted hydrogen gas, which is de- veloped in great quantity, and which, escaping through the open tube of the cone, becomes ignited and burns in contact with the atmospheric air. The phosphide of calcium can be prepared by heating pieces of chalk with amorphous phosphorus in a crucible to a white heat. At this temperature the chalk takes up the vaporized phosphorus, and combines with it to form the phosphide of calcium. Another method of preparing this substance consists in heating small fragments of freshly-burned lime to a white heat in a Hessian crucible, and throwing upon it, from time to time, small dry pieces of phosphorus, covering up the cru- cible tightly immediately after each introduction of the phos- phorus. The lime is changed into the “ liver of phosphorus” (a mixture of phosphide of calcium and phosphate of lime), while a considerable quantity of phosphorus vapor is burned. The resultant substance is dark brown or almost black. “~. 2 528 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. “ An experiment was lately made with this signal-light, in which the lamp was thrown overboard from a steamer, and drawn along behind, by means of a string, at a short distance from the stern. When the lamp touched the water a bril- liant flame shot out immediately from the opening, and, al- though it was continually dragged under water by the mo- tion of the vessel, the light remained unextinguished, even after the lamp was submerged. After a time the string was cut, and the lamp allowed to float behind, and it was visible for a long distance from the light disseminated around it. PREPARATION OF HIDES. The following method is recommended for preparing leath- er. Begin by soaking the skin or hide eight or nine days in water, then put it in lime; take it out, remove the hair by rubbing, and soak again in clear water until the lime is en- tirely out. Put one pound of alum to three of salt, dissolve in a vessel sufficiently large to hold the hide; soak the hide in it three or four days; take it out, let it get half dry, and then beat or rub until it becomes pliable. Leather prepared by this process will not do well for shoes, but answers for ham-strings, back-bands, and other purposes on the farm.— 18 A, November 3, 1871, 184. GREASING LEATHER, In a recent article in a German journal it is stated that the idea that leather must be perfectly dry in order to take up grease or fat is entirely erroneous; the fact being, on the contrary, that wet leather can be much more readily satura- ted with these substances. This, it is said,is due to the fact that the pores of dry leather are almost completely closed, so that the absorption is very slow, while wet leather is expand- ed, flexible, and the pores wide open. When warm grease or oil is applied to leather in this condition, it is taken up su- perficially, and as the moisture evaporates the oily matter oc- cupies the space vacated, and penetrates through the entire substance. For this reason it is that when wet leather is dried without any application, it often becomes brittle and unser- viceable, a condition which is prevented by a previous coat- ing of grease. The same writer advises very strongly to have the flesh side of the leather soles of boots and shoes outside. $ L. TECHNOLOGY. 529 This facilitates very greatly the application of grease for the preservation of the leather, since the pores are so much lar- ger, and also permits the introduction of fine sands or iron filings, which increase the resistance to wearing. Further- more, if the more compact portion of the leather be outside, when the outer layer is worn away it leaves the interior in a soft and tender state, which abrades very rapidly; whereas, if the soft side be first exposed, it may be protected as above mentioned, and when removed leaves a compact layer, even when worn down almost to the thinness of paper. It is also stated in the article quoted that the neck part of the skin of sole leather, contrary to the common opinion, forms the most durable soles for shoes, especially when the flesh side is ex- terior, and suitably saturated with wax or grease. The prin- cipal fault that this leather has is the slipperiness which it often acquires when worn on the grass. Shoe-soles prepared and treated in this way are not only more soft and flexible, but are said to be cooler in hot weather.—10 C, June 1,187], 73. NEW PRESERVATIVE FLUID. The following are the ingredients of a liquid by means of which the organs of the body that have become absolutely offensive from decay may be treated so that they can be examined for marks of injury or signs of disease. The fluid consists of a mixture of iodine one drachm, methylated ether (of specific gravity .720) ten fluid ounces, absolute alcohol one fluid ounce, and strong sulphuric acid four fluid drachms. The action of the solution seems to be that the iodine deo- dorizes, while the sulphuric acid engages the water and the alkaline products of decomposition, and produces the neces- sary firmness of structure. The ether escapes, being simply the fluid dissolvent for the other agents——20 A, December 9, 1871, 701. WALNUT DYE FOR WOOD. A solution of equal parts of permanganate of potash and sulphate of magnesia, applied to whitewood by means of a brush, will produce an excellent brown color resembling that of the walnut. A second coating should be applied as soon as the first is dry.—6 C, xxvur., 232. Z 530 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. IMITATION OF MAHOGANY, A method of treating ordinary wood, so as to produce an almost undistinguishable imitation of mahogany, as practiced very extensively in France at the present time, consists in first planing the surface so as to render it perfectly smooth, and then rubbing it with diluted nitrous acid, which prepares it for the materials subsequently to be applied. Afterward, one ounce and a half of the gum called dragon’s blood, dis- solved in a pint of alcohol, and one third of that quantity of carbonate of soda, are to be mixed together and filtered, and the liquid in this state is to be rubbed, or, rather, laid upon the wood with a soft brush. This process is repeated with but little alteration, and in a very short interval afterward the wood assumes the external appearance of mahogany. When this application has been properly made the surface will re- semble that of a mirror, and if the polish should become less brilliant, rubbing the wood with a little cold-drawn linseed — oil will restore the former lustre.-—18 A, WVov. 3, 1871, 165. IMPROVED STAMPING INK. An excellent red or blue stamping ink can be prepared by making a saturated solution of fuchsin, or sublime blue, with pure glycerine, and adding afterward, for the red color, mad- der cake, and ultramarine for the blue, thickening with enough dextrine to give the desired consistency. This color possess- es all the peculiarities which are required for good stamping ink.—14 C, CCL, 278. SIMPLE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCAVE AND CONVEX MIRRORS. The German journals speak with approval of the invention of Nesmith, of Manchester, for the ready preparation of con- cave and convex mirrors, which usually constitutes an expen- sive and tedious branch of the glass manufacturer’s art. For this purpose a flat plate of glass, about forty inches in diam- eter and three sixteenths of an inch thick, is first cemented to an iron mould, hollowed out hemispherically. By means of a tube attached to this mould all the air can be removed from the hollow space beneath the glass. The simple act of sucking away the air by means of the mouth will cause the disk to bend under the pressure of the external air, so as to ea. L. TECHNOLOGY. 531 acquire a concavity in the middle of three fourths of an inch. If air be blown into the cavity, on the other hand, the plate becomes convex. It is expected that the process can be made so perfect as to render the convexity uniform for two plates, which, when cemented around by their edges, and filled with some strongly refracting liquid, will serve the purpose of a cheap and powerful lens. Indeed, an inventor in Baltimore has realized this expectation, and succeeded in producing lenses of great power and unusual cheapness.—6 C, Septem- ber 28,1871, 389. AMMONIA ENGINES. The Abbé Moigno claims for France the discovery of the applicability of ammoniacal gas as a motive power, and cites a communication of Tellier, the well-known inventor of the ice machine, to the Academy of Sciences at Paris, made some time ago. In this article it is stated that the availability of ammonia for the purpose consists, first, in its great solubility in water; second, in its ready liquefaction; third, in the facul- ty which it possesses of furnishing industrial pressure at the ordinary temperature ; fourth, in the possibility of superheat- ing its vapor without reaching too high a temperature; and, fifth, in the possibility of collecting the vapors expended by _ their solution in water, and then recovering them again, to be used anew in the operation. The more important applica- tions of this gas, he thinks, will be in railroad traveling, for the purpose of working high grades, and as a motive power in tunnels, where smoke and burned air would not be desira- ble; also in mines, and in the minor industries, where a cheap and safe motive power is needed.—3 B, Sept. 14,1871, 525. TINNING METALS. A bath can be prepared for coating any metallic substances with pure tin by dissolving ordinary tin in hydrochloric acid and precipitating the pure metal by means of an alkaline lye. The deposit is to be washed, and then introduced into a solu- tion of cyanide of potassium or caustic potash. When com- pletely dissolved, some hydrate of lime is to be added to the solution. Into this bath plates of tin and the articles to be coated are to be immersed, and the two connected in the or- dinary manner.—13 C, July 1,1871, 58. 532 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ALLOY FOR JOINING BRASS TO IRON. The difficulty of uniting iron to brass is created by the unequal rate of expansion in the two metals, which destroys the unity when the temperature is changed. There is an alloy of copper for which the inventor claims that its ex- pansion by heat is so similar to that of iron and steel, that the surfaces may be regarded, when joined, as permanently united for all practical purposes. The formula is as follows: Tin, three parts; copper, thirty-nine and a half parts; and zinc, seven and a half parts.—18 -A, October 13, 1871, 107. PHOSPHORUS BRONZES. A great advance has lately been made in the construction of bronzes by the addition of a small percentage of phos- phorus, although the precise function of this substance has not been hitherto well understood. According to Levi and Kunzel, however, one cause of the inferiority in bronze con- sists in the constant presence of traces of tin in the state of an oxide, which acts mechanically by separating the molecules of the alloy, thus interposing a substance which in itself has no tenacity. The addition of phosphorus reduces this oxide, and renders the alloy much more perfect, improving its color, its tenacity, and all its physical properties. The grain of its fracture resembles more that of steel, its elasticity is much augmented, and its resistance to pressure sometimes more than doubled. Its durability is greater, and, when melted, it is of greater fluidity, and fills the mould in its finest de- tails. —3 B, September 14, 1871, 602. INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION AT VIENNA IN 1873. Arrangements are now making for an international exhibi- tion at Vienna in 1873, one great feature of which will be the classification of the products of all countries in groups cor- responding to their geographical positions. It is also ex- pected that selections from the various museums of London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Lyons, Munich, ete., will be exhibited and compared, while it is also intended to represent a history of prices, a history of industry, and a history of natural pro- ductions, so that the world’s progress in art, science, industry, and natural products will thus be brought in contrast. Dur- L. TECHNOLOGY. 593 ing the exhibition international congresses will be held for the discussion of important questions, to which either the exhibition itself may give rise, or for which it may furnish materials for illustration.—12 A, September 28, 1871, 434. ARTIFICIAL GRINDSTONES, A new application of the method of manufacturing arti- ficial stone by the Ransom process, lately introduced, con- sists in substituting emery for sand, by means of which emery disks of great hardness are now constructed, which are doing excellent service in sharpening saws and other implements. —15 A, November 11, 1871, 628. COLORING OF CEMENTS. The ordinary coloring matters used in cements or plaster- ing usually injure the setting power more or less, and fail to produce pure tints. According to a German chemist, how- ever, cheap and permanent color washes may be made by mixing equal volumes of the dry pigment and burned and waslied flint with milk of lime, a little water-glass being ad- vantageously added. The tint produced is very agreeable, and, if stable mineral colors be used, as durable as the cement itself. Surfaces of great beauty are produced by finely pow- dered marble and flint, with the faintest tint of chrome green. The wash should-be applied as soon as possible after the ce- ment has set, and, if practicable, in one coat only; but, if two are necessary, the second must be made with the addition of water-glass. Itis indispensable that the work be freely wetted for a week after laying on the color.—21 A, June, 1871, 451. CEMENT FROM SOLUBLE GLASS, A cement of great hardness, and of great applicability, it is reported, is made by mixing different bases with soluble glass. Combined with fine chalk and thoroughly stirred, it will produce a hard cement in the course of six or eight hours; with fine sulphide of antimony, a black mass is pro- duced which can be polished with agate, and then possesses an excellent metallic lustre. Fine iron dust gives a gray- black cement. Zinc dust produces a gray mass exceedingly hard, with a brilliant metallic lustre, so that broken or de- fective zine castings can be mended and restored. A white 534 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. cement of great beauty and hardness is obtained with soluble glass and chalk alone.—3 A, July 29, 1871, 70. IMPROVED GLYCERINE CEMENT. A cement of great value for many purposes, and capable of being used where resistance to both the action of water and to that of heat is required, is composed by mixing ordi- nary glycerine with dry litharge, so as to constitute a tough paste. For uniting the joints of steam pipes and other sim- ilar applications, this preparation is said to be very satisfac- tory.—1 Lb, November 12, 1871, 95. 4 TENACIOUS CEMENT. A cement of great tenacity, and possessing the qualities of being colorless and transparent, and capable of fastening wood, paper, porcelain, glass, marble, alabaster, and stone, when not exposed either to moisture or a high degree of heat, is prepared by mixing together two parts of nitrate of lime, twenty-five of water, and twenty of powdered gum arabic, and rubbing them well together in a mortar. The nitrate of lime is prepared by placing small fragments of white mar- ble in 25 per cent. of nitric acid, allowing a slight excess of the marble, then heating and filtering it. The solution con- tains 333 per cent. of the nitrate. In using this cement the fractured surfaces are simply to be united and held together by wrapping a cord tightly around them. The operation of drying is completed in from one to four days, according to the state of the atmosphere.—15 C, xm, 304. CEMENT TO RESIST SULPHURIC ACID. A cement to resist sulphuric acid, it is reported, may be made by melting caoutchouc by a gentle heat, and adding from 6 to 8 per cent. of the weight of tallow, keeping the whole well stirred. Then mix in enough dry slacked lime to make the whole of the consistency of soft paste, and finally add 20 per cent. of red lead, whereby the mass, which would otherwise remain soft, becomes hard and dry. This cement, it is asserted, resists boiling sulphuric acid. A solution of caoutchoue in twice its weight of raw linseed oil, aided by heating, and the addition of an equal weight of pipe-clay, yields a plastic mass which also resists most acids.—1 4A, October 20, 1871, 194. lla teed le M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 535 M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. WATER KEPT SWEET BY THE IMMERSION OF IRON. It is stated that if a piece of polished iron be immersed in water its surface becomes rusty, owing to the absorption of oxygen from the water. If, however, a second piece of iron be introduced after a time, this will not rust, and the water will be found to retain its sweetness and purity for a long time unchanged.—10 C, January 14, 12. FUNGI IN POTABLE WATER. Professor Frankland has lately been renewing the experi- ments of Dr. Heisch in regard to the development of fungi in drinking-water, in the course of which he found that when sugar is added to waters contaminated with sewage a fer- mentation ensues, with a rich growth of fungi. Meeting some unexpected exceptions, however, in the course of his investi- gations, to the result indicated above, he instituted a series of experiments, and finally deduced the following general re- sults, according to the Chemical News: 1. Potable waters mixed with sewage, urine, albumen, and certain other matters, or brought into contact with animal charcoal, subsequently develop fungoid growths when small quantities of sugar are dissolved in them, and they are ex- posed to a summer atmosphere. 2. The germs of these organisms are present in the atmos- phere, and every water contains them after momentary con- tact with the air. 3. The development of these germs can not take place without the presence of phosphoric acid, or a phosphate, or phosphorus in some form of combination. Water, however much contaminated, if free from phosphorus, does not pro- duce them.—1 A, February 10, 68. SEWAGE WATER. Dr. Letheby continues his crusade against the use of sew- age water for manure, maintaining, as he does, that it is a most prolific source of entozoa in man and the lower ani- 536 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. mals. He considers that in every instance of the occurrence of entozoa, whether in the form of trichina, hydatid, ete., the cause is directly traceable to the food we eat, the water we drink, or the air we breathe; and that it is probable that the majority of cases originate from the first two causes. He therefore urges that sewage matter should first be precipi- tated and collected in the solid mass before being applied as a fertilizer, thereby permitting the water thus purified to es- cape into the ordinary drainage of the country, without in- volving the terrible consequences referred to above.—20 A, March 4, 253. PURIFICATION OF GYPSUM WATERS. The water of many springs and streams, otherwise com- paratively useful, is found to contain so large a percentage of gypsum as to render it unfit for ordinary purposes. Dr. Reinsch informs us that if finely ground witherite, or native carbonate of baryta, be added to the water in the proportion of about half a pound to forty gallons, and the whole well stirred together and allowed to settle, the superincumbent water will be found entirely free from gypsum, and to con- tain only a slight percentage of carbonate of lime, which, as is weil known, when in a moderate quantity, is rather bene- ficial than otherwise to the health.—8 C, June 23,1870, 197. TYNDALL ON THE PURITY OF WATER, Our readers will remember the interest excited by a lec- ture given by Professor Tyndall before the Royal Institution upon Dust and Disease, in which he presented some startling facts as to the impurity of the atmosphere, and made some important suggestions as to the method of improving the quality of the air we breathe. The Professor has lately delivered a lecture upon the col- or of water, and the scattering of light in water and in air, which will probably be of equal practical value with that first referred to. Tis subject was illustrated, as before, by passing a beam of light through the liquid in a darkened room, by means of which the existence of the minute parti- cles of impurities can be readily detected. Lately engaged as one of the savans of the eclipse expedi- tion, he embraced the opportunity to gather samples of wa- M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 537 ter in various localities and at different depths, and these were secured and sealed up with the utmost care, so as to avoid the possibility of the introduction of any additional im- purities. In the case of all the specimens of water obtained within a few miles of the shore, the beam of light revealed more or less impurity, and it was only in the indigo water of the sea (as distinguished from the green) that he found a de- cided reduction of the amount of foreign ingredients. He assures us that the prevalence of one or the other of these tints in sea-water is always expressive of a greater or less degree of purity, as depending upon suspended matter. He advises the use of an experiment similar to that referred to for determining the purity of water of any kind, especially that used for drinking, as, notwithstanding a careful filter- ing through porous paper, and even through a charcoal filter, there may be left in suspension matter almost too fine for detection by the microscope, and yet clearly indicated by the beam of light. He stated in his lecture that the purest water that he was able to find was obtained by melting a block of pure ice, but that even this required extreme caution to insure suc- cess. He called attention to the remarkable purity of the - water from the chalk districts of England, and remarked that, but for the hardness of the water, or the amount of carbon; ate of lime held in solution, it would be the most desirable for drinking and other purposes. He said, however, that at Canterbury and elsewhere the water is subjected to a special preparation that causes a deposit of the lime. This is ac- complished by adding clear prepared lime-water to the chalk- water, thereby causing a precipitate of carbonate of lime to the bottom of the reservoir. By this means the percentage of this salt in the water is reduced from 17 to 3, leaving a water of extraordinary beauty and purity.—3 A, June 27, 60. HARD WATER Wersus SOFT. The curious proposition has recently been enunciated by Dr. Letheby, of London, that moderately hard water is better suited for drinking than that which is soft. He states that a larger percentage of French .conscripts are rejected from soft-water districts than from neighborhoods supplied with hard water, and also that English towns with water of more Z 2 . 538 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. than ten degrees of hardness have a mortality of four per thousand less than those whose inhabitants use softer water. This assertion, so contrary to the usual theory in the matter, is, as might be expected, sharply contested by other sanita- rians, and the final result of the controversy will be looked for with much interest by the general public.—6 A, March 5, 303. HARD WATER Wé7'SUS SOFT. Dr. Letheby, at a recent meeting of the medical officers of health of Great Britain, took occasion to renew his statement, already referred to in our pages, of the superiority, in a san- itary point of view, of a hard-water supply to towns over that of soft water. Basing his arguments first upon physio- logical considerations, he maintained that the earthy matters in the hard waters were essential for the construction of the osseous tissues, and that they supplied much of the calcare- ous salts necessary for the nutrition of the frame, and that, by repudiating their use, we should be throwing away one provision of nature for this purpose. No one could say that a hard water was not far more agreeable to drink than a soft water. He maintained, in the second place, that the finest specimens of the English race were to be found in regions where the waters were hard, from flowing out of, or over calcareous strata. The same was the case with cattle and horses; witness those reared in such counties as Durham and Leicester, and the horses of Flanders, while the Shetlands only produced a race of ponies. But his principal argument was that, on classifying the towns of England, so far as their water-supply was known, according to the degrees of hard- ness of the waters, the average of the death-rate was least in those towns supplied with hard water, and increased as the waters became softer and softer, until it was highest in those where the water supplied was most soft. These state- ments, however, were met with much vigor by several speak- ers, among the most eminent of whom was Mr. Wanklyn, who endeavored to show that the deductions of Dr. Letheby were based upon incorrect premises, and that the case was very far from being proved.—20 A, May 27, 605. M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 539 DANGER FROM USING THE WASTE GAS OF FURNACES. Attention has just been called by Dr. Percy, an eminent metallurgist, to the danger of using waste gas from the blast furnace. A principal ingredient of this gas, as is well known, consists of carbonic oxide, the inhalation of which in very small quantities, whether pure or mixed with air, is sufficient to destroy life. The employment of the waste gas of blast furnaces for heating steam-boilers, etc., is extending daily, and Dr. Percy fears that deaths from its inhalation may be- come frequent, unless those who use it are fully aware of its physiological action. Numerous cases of poisoning of this kind are already on record.—6 A, July 16, 1870, 80. CONSUMPTION OF NOXIOUS GASES. In nothing has the truth of the adage, “ Where there is a will there is a way,” been more clearly manifested than in re- gard to the consumption of smoke and noxious products in manufactories, especially where these were discharged into the water or the air, polluting the former, and often injuring health in the latter, or at least causing great annoyance to persons in the neighborhood. We are all aware of the effect of the law passed by the British Parliament, requiring facto- ries to consume their own smoke, and giving a certain num- ber of months in which to make the necessary arrangements for the purpose—the allotted time, on its arrival, finding many of the establishments in a condition to fully obey the law. More difficulty was experienced in regard to the arrest of noxious gases, although this problem has in many cases been solved, and the waste products converted into a source of revenue instead of being a direct loss. Quite recently the subject of the gases produced in locomotive engines has oc- cupied the attention of humanitarians, especially from their action upon the system when passing through underground tunnels, the surplus carbonic gases evolved being not only extremely disagreeable, but exciting a very irritating effect upon the mucous membrane of the eyes and nose. It has been lately suggested as a satisfactory method of accomplishing this object to make use of certain metallic oxides, either in solution or otherwise, with which the gases in question are brought into contact, and are thereby absorbed or decom- 540 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. posed. Caustic soda, among other substances, is said to be best adapted to the purpose. A solution of the soda is made, and lumps of coke moistened with it, which are then placed in vessels so arranged that the smoke of the furnaces passes through them, and the gases, in their passage, enter immedi- ately into combination with the soda, forming a carbonate and sulphite.—16 A, July, 331. INHALATION OF DUST BY WORKMEN. The injurious effect of exposure to the dust of various man- ufacturing establishments has not unfrequently been dwelt upon with more or less force, but we are hardly prepared for the result of certain specific investigations on this subject. It has long been a disputed point whether the particles of iron, silica, ete., merely lodge within the air-cells of the lungs, or penetrate through their walls into the tissue before them. But Professor Zenker informs us that, on examining the lung of a woman who had been exposed to the dust of iron oxide, used in preparing books of gold leaf, he found the powder in the tissue between the air-cells and in their walls, as well as in their cavities. From less than two ounces of this lung over twelve grains of iron oxide were obtained by chemical methods; so that, if equally distributed through both lungs, there must have been at least three quarters of an ounce in- haled. In another case—that of a workman exposed to the dust of a mixture used in preparing ultramarine substances —he found a quantity estimated at fully an ounce.—21 4A, June, 424, DUST AS A FERMENT, The lectures by Professor Tyndall upon atmospheric dust have stimulated much research on that and kindred subjects, and they have been very productive of good in the attention that has been drawn to the relationships of dust to the con- ditions of health and disease. In a late paper Mr. Tichborne furnishes some suggestions in regard to dust and ferment, and gives the result of numerous experiments with atmos- pheric dust taken from the bed of the street-way in Dublin, the gallery and upper seats of certain theatres, the top of Nelson’s Pillar, at a height of one hundred and thirty-four feet, and other localities. He found that from one third to M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 541 one half of such dust consisted of organic matter, this being the case from whatever place it was taken. He details the result of experiments in regard to the power of this dust as a ferment, the process being based upon the reduction of the ni- trate of any base to a nitrite, in the presence of substances un- dergoing fermentation. Due precautions were taken against error in every instance, and it was found that dust possessed the power of an active ferment; and, furthermore, that the dust taken from a great height, as that from Nelson’s Pillar, appeared to have as great or greater activity than that from a building quite crowded to suffocation, this being due, prob- ably, to the extreme lightness of the spores, almost approach- ing to volatility.—1 A, October 21,197. TYNDALL’S RESPIRATORS. Professor Tyndall, in continuation of valuable applications of the highest principles of science to questions of practical moment bearing upon health and domestic economy, has late- ly given a lecture before the Royal Institution upon the influ- ence of dust and smoke. In this he renewed the suggestions already made by him on a previous occasion as to the value of the so-called respirators in excluding dust and other nox- ious substances from the lungs. Such a respirator, in its sim- plest form, consists of a small wad of raw cotton, which is either to be taken into the mouth or bound over it. By this simple application exhalations and emanations produced in many branches of labor, such as grinding metals, spinning, winnowing grain, etc., and including smoke and certain gases, may be almost entirely arrested and rendered harmless. If the cotton be moistened with a little glycerine, its serviceable properties are materially increased—so much so that it is pos- sible to remain in quite dense smoke for a number of minutes without inconvenience. Respirators of a more complicated character were suggest- ed by Professor Tyndall in his lecture, to consist of a vessel containing layers of cotton, charcoal, and slacked lime, pro- vided with an aperture forthe mouth, and so arranged that the air can be first drawn through the apparatus, and then discharged from the lungs by a side aperture, and without passing again through the packing. In this way he obviates the evil of having the cotton, etc., saturated with the moist- 542 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ure and animal matter from the lungs, thereby rendering it foul and offensive in a short time. By means ofthe charcoal all decomposing animal vapors are completely absorbed, while the lime also answers the purpose of arresting and con- densing acid exhalations, especially those of carbonic acid, hydrochloric acid, ete. In conclusion, the lecturer remarked that the subject of respirators for the use of firemen was one that had been brought into practical application, the London Fire Brigade having been provided with a certain kind, by means of which they were able to go into a room filled with stifling smoke and remain there for any length of time witb- out the slightest inconvenience.—12 A, June 15,124. OPPOSITION TO TYNDALL’S THEORY OF DISEASE. In a previous number we have given an abstract of certain views of Professor Tyndall in regard to the germ theory of disease. These, however, have not passed unchallenged by very eminent medical authority, and a late number of the British Medical Journal contains a sharp article on the sub- ject. After taking up the different points of Professor Tyn- dall’s theory in regular order, the Journal sums up by stating that the tendency of modern research is not as favorable as Professor Tyndall believes it to be respecting the theory of the parasitical origin of contagious diseases, and that the pre- dominance of belief is to the opposite view; also, that the theory of the permanency of unrelated, individual, or zymotic types is not an undisputed or unquestioned theory.—12 A, June 29,165. VENTILATING ROOMS. An ingenious and elegant arrangement for ventilating rooms consists in inserting in one of the windows a pane of glass having four round holes cut into it. Upon this pane a second round plate, having also four round holes of the same size, is so attached that it may be easily made to rotate in close contact. To admit fresh air, the rotating disk is turned so that both sets of openings coincide; to reduce the amount, or to exclude it, it is only necessary to make a slight turn of the plate.—15 C, xx111., 368. M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 543 PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSQUITO CURTAINS. A suggestion that musquito curtains in tropical countries, besides keeping off these pests, also serve as screens against miasma, has elicited various corroborating statements from travelers and others; and we find in a recent number of Wa- ture an indorsement by Mr. E. L. Layard, the eminent natu- ralist of South Africa, as to a beneficial action in this direc- tion. He finds that even so slight an obstruction as the fibre of the net causes a great difference in the temperature be- tween the interior and exterior air, this difference amounting in some instances to eight degrees, the increased temperature of the inside tending to dissipate the malaria, and prevent the cold and damp of the tropical night from acting upon the system when relaxed in sleep, and with the pores of the skin wide open.—12 A, June 23, 143. BALESTRA ON THE MIASM OF THE PONTINE MARSHES. Mr. Balestra, in a series of investigations upon the nature and origin of the miasma of the Pontine Marshes, found the stagnant waters filled with organisms of various species, and among them one in particular, which was abundant in pro- portion to the degree of putrefaction in the water. This is a small alga, which floats on the surface of the water, and presents the appearance of drops of oil. At a low tempera- ture these germinate very slowly; but during the warm weather, and when exposed to the air, they reproduce very rapidly. The author, finding that the addition of a small quantity of arsenious acid, or sulphite of soda, or, still better, of the neutral sulphate of quinine, destroyed the vitality of this plant, infers that the miasma of the marshes is due to its existence and propagation, and that the well-known agency of these medicaments in curing fever depends upon their chemical action upon the plant which causes it, especially as its spores are found to be disseminated every where through the atmosphere.. The plant is not developed in a dry season, although it makes its appearance in great quantity during moderately rainy weather occurring in a warm season. The non-occurrence of the fever in the winter, according to the author, is due less to the cold, which prevents the vegetation of the plant or retards the decomposition of organic sub- 544 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. stances, than to the abundance of the rain, which covers the places where these spores exist, their dissemination into the atmosphere being thereby prevented, and only facilitated by the drying up of the soil, which allows the spores to float readily.—1 B, August 20, 245. FUNGUS THEORY OF DISEASE. The cause of the so-called infectious diseases has always been an unsolved problem in medical science, and whether it be miasma or contagion, or both, is yet an undecided ques- tion. Indeed, the disputants differ as to whether contagion itself is purely chemical in its nature or organic—that is, of animal or vegetable origin. The latter opinion is at present supported by many eminent physicians, and the idea that the spreading of such diseases as cholera, typhus, small-pox, etc., is due to specific fungi, the minute spores of which propagate within the animal organism, has been received with great favor. Professor Grohe, of Greifswald, assisted by Dr. Black, has instituted a series of apparently decisive experiments on this subject, and they have come to the conclusion that the the- ory of the vegetable nature of infection has not yet been fully demonstrated. Two species of parasitic fungi, Aspergillus glaucus and Penicillum glaucum, were, after suitable prepara- tion, introduced into different organs of living animals, such as rabbits, dogs, sheep, etc., and from a critical examination of their action the following facts were ascertained: 1. The spores of some fungi develop into mycelia within the animal organism. 2. This development occurs not only with spores brought directly into the circulation, but these will also be taken up when introduced into the abdominal cavity. 3. The mycelia thus developed from the spores are the same in all the organs, and only differ in their terminal ramifica- tions from those grown otherwise. 4, Aspergillus and Penicillum have, in the tissues, the same form. 5. The most extensive pathological alterations, which occa- sion the destruction of the organism, are induced by the veg- etation of fungi. 6. Spores taken up into the circulation from the abdominal M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE.545 cavity produce most intense pathological effects, but finally disappear entirely, and without leaving a trace, whenever the organism does not succumb.—Jnaugural Dise. of Dr. Black, Stettin, 1870. TEMPERATURE REQUIRED TO KILL MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS, The discussion of experiments made in regard to spontane- ous generation has proceeded upon the assumed basis that live germs are destroyed by exposure to a heat of 212°, or that of boiling water. Suspecting that this might not be true in all cases, Mr. Crace Calvert has lately instituted a series of investigations on the subject. Different substances were employed by him, particularly such as have generally formed the basis of experiments—namely, solutions of sugar, infusion of hay, solutions of gelatine, and water that has been in con- tact with putrid meat. Small tubes were selected of very thick and well-annealed glass, each tube about four centi- metres long and five millimetres in diameter of bore. The substances to be operated upon were introduced into them, and left exposed to the atmosphere long enough for the germ life to be developed. Each tube was afterward hermetically sealed, and wrapped in wire-gauze to prevent any accident to the operator in case of the bursting of the tube. They were then placed in oil baths, and gradually heated to the required temperature for half an hour. Without going into the de- tails of experiment, we may mention, as the general result, that protoplasmic life was found to be only slightly affected by a temperature of 212°, and that even at 300° it is not en- tirely destroyed, except in the case of gelatine. In another case the temperature of 400° Fahr. was required to destroy life. These experiments, therefore, show that the life found by previous experimenters in boiled-liquid was not due to spon-: taneous generation, but to life which had remained in the fluids, as in none of the experiments on record, as made by the advocates of the spontaneous generation theory, was heat raised above a temperature of 300°. Proceeding to the other extreme of temperature, Mr. Cal- vert subjected some putrid meat liquor, containing a large quantity of animalcules, for twenty hours to a temperature ranging between that of the freezing point of water to 17° 546 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. below it. When the ice was melted animalcules were found to have maintained their vitality, and in two hours they re- sumed their original activity. This corroborates the experi- ments of Professor Melsens, who ascertained that the most in- tense cold does not destroy the active power of vaccine lymph. —1 A, XXIV., July 28, 37. SANITARY CONDITIONS OF CERTAIN GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS, Dr. Moffatt, in discussing the relation of health to certain geological formations at the late meeting of the British As- sociation, remarked that the district-in which he lived con- sisted geologically of the carboniferous and of the new red sandstone system; that the inhabitants of the former were engaged in mining and agriculture, and those of the latter in agriculture chiefly. Anzmia, with goitre, was very preva- lent among persons living on the carboniferous system, while it was almost unknown among those on the new red sand- stone; and phthisis was also more prevalent among the for- mer than the latter. He then gave some statistics as to the diseases prevalent in the counties of Chester, Flint, and Den- bigh, and stated that the practical deductions to be drawn from the inquiry were that all young persons living on a carboniferous formation, having symptoms of incipient goitre and anemia, ought to be moved to a soil of red sandstone, and persons of strumous habit ought to reside upon sand- stone at an elevation of at least 800 to 1000 feet above the sea. In the discussion which followed the reading of this paper, Mr. G. A. Latour mentioned a carboniferous district in North- umberland containing a thin bed of-limestone, where the peo- ple suffered from goitre. Sir Richard Griffith remarked that goitre was unknown in Ireland, although they had plenty of carboniferous rocks. Professor Hall agreed with Dr. Moffatt respecting the healthful character of the new red sandstone. —12 A, August 24, 332. WATERING STREETS WITH SALINE SOLUTIONS. The subject of watering the streets of cities with saline solutions, which, by their hygrometric properties, shall reduce the amount of evaporation, and consequently the frequency of application, is one that has excited much interest; and M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE.547 while the earlier experiments were rather unsatisfactory, later experiences have been more favorable. Quite recently the subject has been investigated in Hamburg, where 2500 pounds of water were combined with 125 pounds of chloride of calcium and 125 pounds of common salt; and this was distributed carefully in two applications over a surface of 1500 square yards, so as to make the entire surface moist. The first result was simply a positive inky smell, unaccompa- nied by the development of any saline crust, such as had been noticed previously. As a question of economy, it was found that the cost of this amount of saline material for one application was at least thirty times as great as one of pure water; or, in other words, thirty waterings with pure water could be made at the same expense. In reference to the use of ordinary sea-water for streets, it is thought that this is advantageous only where it is cheaper than fresh water, the development of an unpleasant smell being quite marked in most cases. The city of Newport, Rhode Island, is watered by contract with sea-water, and it is said that the odor rising from the streets thus watered is sometimes almost insupport- able.—14 C, CCL, 86. WHEAT Versus FLOUR. In Dr. Moffatt’s paper on “ Geological Systems and En- demic Disease,” before the British Association, after pointing out that anzemia, goitre, and phthisis were more prevalent among the inhabitants of the carboniferous districts than among those living on the new red sandstone, he stated that analysis showed that the wheat grown upon the carbonifer- ous system was deficient in phosphates or nutritive salts; and that a man who consumed a pound of Cheshire wheat per day took in nine grains more of phosphoric acid than one who took a pound of wheat grown upon the carboniferous system. The deficiency also of the nutritive salts in the bread compared with those in the wheat was very remarka- ble, and it was no doubt owing to the removal of the bran from the flour with which the bread was made. Medical men, he said, could not too much impress upon the minds of the public the importance of using flour made from the whole of the wheat, or “ whole grain.” Professor Church, of Ciren- cester, has lately found*in entire wheat 2.12 per cent. of ni- * 548 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. trogen, equivalent to 13.40 per cent. of albuminoids, or flesh formers.—18 A, August 25, 562. TESTING ADULTERATION OF MILK. In a recent report by Professor Chandler, of Columbia Col- lege, upon the quality of the milk supply of New York, it is stated, as the result of numerous experiments made in his official capacity as chemist to the Board of Health, that the milk used is generally free from injurious adulteration and untainted with disease, but mixed with water in the propor- tion of one quart to every three quarts of milk. The quan- tity of water thus paid for as milk, at ten cents per quart, costs consumers about $12,000 a day, or over four and a quar- ter millions of dollars annually. In view of this fact, it is important to have some simple method of testing the amount of this adulteration, which, according to Professor Chandler, may be done by taking the specific gravity of the milk and determining the amount of water it contains by evaporating a weighed sample to dryness. Assuming the specific gravity of pure milk to be from about 1.029 to 1.032, whenever the gravity falls much below this the milk may be considered as adulterated with water. Dr. Davies, however, dissents from this statement, and asserts that the specific gravity can not be relied upon as a test either of freedom from adulteration or of natural richness. A sample known to him as perfectly pure and of excellent quality, rich in the solid constituents of milk, and especially butter, possessed a specific gravity of only 1.0246. He therefore concludes that the specific gravity test does not indicate whether the milk is naturally poor or has been rendered so by the addition of water. Cases have even been known of pure milk containing 90 per cent. of wa- ter. Dr. Davies therefore recommends as a test to show whether the milk has been purposely diluted with water, and if so to what extent, to take the specific gravity of the serum, or the liquid portion of the milk from which the case- ine and fat have been removed by coagulation and straining. The gravity of this he finds to be remarkably constant, and ranging, in that obtained from pure milk, from 1.026 to 1.028. By carefully ascertaining the specific gravity of the serum of thin milk, diluted with various quantities of water, we may obtain a standard of comparison which will enable us to M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE.549 say within a few per cent. what quantity of water has been added to any given sample of milk that may come to our notice.—1 A, July 29,55; August 5, 61. PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COFFEE. An interesting communication was made at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris in regard to the value of coffee as an article of food. Attention was called to a state- ment of Mr. Gasparin, in 1850, that the miners of Charleroi preserved their health and great vigor of muscular force by the use of less than half of the nutriment indicated as neces- sary by theory and daily observation. Using food contain- ing less nitrogen and carbon than the daily ration of the monks of La Trappe, whose countenances are pale, and who exercise scarcely one fifth as much as an ordinary workman, these Belgian miners were most industrious and energetic in their labors. The secret of the difference was stated by Mr. Gasparin to consist in the use every day by these miners of a pint of an infusion of about an ounce of coffee prepared in two quarts of water, which served the purpose of counteract- ing the injurious effect of an insufficient supply of food. Reference was also made to an experiment in 1860, by Mr. Jousand, in which, by the use of a decoction of about an ounce and a half of powdered coffee, a young man was kept, with no other food whatever, in good health and strength for seven days, during which time he took more active muscular exercise than usual, without any special inconvenience. The particular deduction from these experiments appears to be that coffee has an important action in preventing denu- trition and emaciation. An illustration of this is seen, ac- cording to the author, in the effect upon the urea. In one ex- periment about half a grain of caffeine was consumed daily, and the amount of urea was diminished twenty-eight per cent., while an infusion of about two ounces of roast coffee diminished it by twenty per cent. This is asserted to be the result of very careful experiments of a physiologist upon himself, proving that caffeine and roast coffee diminish the oxidation of the system and temper the process of denutri- tion. The excessive frequency and intensity of the beating of the heart was also found to be reduced in several in- stances. It is probable, according to the author, that a sim- 550 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. ilar action is exerted by some other substances—the Para- guay tea, especially, which, it is well known, enables the na- tives of the Andes to subsist for a long time on an incredibly small amount of food.—6 Lb, September 12, 1870, 426. RIGIDITY OF THE JAWS IN DROWNING PERSONS NOT A SIGN OF DEATH. A recent writer assures us that the rigidity of the jaws in a person taken out of the water after long immersion, instead of being a sign of death, is really an indication that life is still present, as it disappears only when life is actually ex- tinct. This, of course, is not to be confounded with the stiff- ening of the entire body after death, but refers entirely to the local symptom. We are therefore advised, under the circumstances indicated, not to lose hope, but to continue to make use of all the methods that present themselves as ap- propriate for the restoration of suspended animation, whether by the injection of air into the lungs, or by other means.—1 B, September 4, 163. CONTRACTION IN RIGOR MORTIS. In an abstract in The Academy of an article by Mr. E. Walker, lately published in Pfliiger’s Archiv, it is stated that in the rigor mortis of muscle produced by heat there is a diminution in the volume of the muscle. He shows, also, from another series of experiments, that the force of contrac- tion in rigor mortis may equal or even exceed that excited in the living contraction of the muscle. In experiments ‘in which muscle was frozen and thawed, sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly, he found that when slowly frozen and slowly thawed it preserved its contractility, but when these operations were quickly conducted this was soon lost. In no instance did the mere act of freezing cause the muscle to pos- sess an acid reaction. Rigor mortis will take place even at a temperature of 32° Fahrenheit.—13 A, June 15, 316. DISTINGUISHING REAL FROM APPARENT DEATH. A new mode of distinguishing between real and apparent death has been recently submitted to the consideration of the Academy of Medicine in Paris. It consists in the insertion of a bright steel needle into the body; and it is said that a i a i M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 551 when life is present the needle soon becomes tarnished by oxidation, while on the other hand, if death has taken place, the needle will retain its brightness for half an hour or more. According to Dr. Laborde, the author of the communication, oxidation, with its attendant electrical phenomena, indicates that death is only apparent, and the entire absence of oxida- tion is a sign of real death.—6 A, August 20, 240. SPONGY IRON AS A DEODORIZER. By calcining a finely divided iron ore with charcoal, the species of iron known as spongy iron is obtained, which, ac- cording to Dr. Voelcker, is a deodorizer of greater potency than animal charcoal. By filtering sewage water through this material it becomes thoroughly purified, a much smaller quantity than is required of animal charcoal answering the purpose. Water treated in this way, and kept from exposure to the atmosphere, has remained perfectly fresh and sweet for many months without any indications of cryptogamic vege- tation.—13 A, February 15,141. STYPTIC COTTON. Dr. Ehrle prepares an excellent styptic cotton by boiling it first in a solution of soda, and then saturating it with a so- lution of chloride of iron. This is to be dried and kept for use, and is applied to a wound like ordinary lint, either di- rectly or in coarse gauze fastened on by means of a compress. —1 C, xxim1., 363. REMOVING WAX FROM THE EAR. From careful experiments made by a physician of Lyons, it-has been ascertained that the old remedy of warm water is the best solvent of accumulated wax in the ear, being su- perior to olive-oil, glycerine, ete.—14 A, November, 1870, 360. SPONGE PAPER. For the fabrication of an article called sponge paper, lately patented in France, evenly and finely divided sponge is added to ordinary pulp, and this is worked, as in the common paper- making apparatus, into sheets of different thicknesses. It is said to have all the peculiarities of sponge, absorbing water readily and remaining moist a long time. It has been used 552 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. as a dressing for wounds with considerable advantage, and is capable of several important technical applications.x—6 C, April 28, 156. LEAD-FOIL FOR DRESSING WOUNDS. The use of lead-foil in the place of lint as an application for wounds and burns has been lately recommended in a com- munication to the Paris Academy of Sciences. The lead is made to adhere to the flesh by some glutinous substance, and it is said to have been highly beneficial in many cases where workmen were injured in factories, Lead is both cool and safe to the skin, and the sulphide of lead which is formed pre- vents putrefaction. One great recommendation is that the wound may be cooled without removing the lead by simply wetting the bandage with water, thus preventing the en- trance of infected air and morbid germs.—15 A, Awg. 6, 180. ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE OF THE ARCH OF THE AORTA. Among the novelties of surgical science may be mentioned the use of electro-acupuncture for the relief of aneurism of the arch of the aorta, as practiced in Italy. Experiments in this direction have been quite successful, involving no dan- ger, and giving the patient relief from great suffering.—s5 A, July, 329. GLYCONIN, A mixture of five parts of glycerine and four parts of yolk of egg, under the name of glyconin, has been used to some advantage for the healing of wounds, the mixture forming a varnish over the skin impenetrable to air and moisture.—5 C, 1871, xxIx., 232. PEGGING LOBSTER CLAWS. Humanitarians in England have lately been considerably exercised on the subject of pegging the claws of lobsters in the fish-market, to prevent their injuring the incautious by- stander; and it has been claimed that such a practice tends not only to give great pain to the animals, but also, by the laceration of the flesh, to induce a morbid condition of the system, and thus cause disease to persons eating them. It is asserted, in this connection, that many of the cases of poison- | | M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 553 ing from eating the flesh of these animals are traceable di- rectly to this condition. To this statement a rejoinder is made, however, that when a crab or lobster finds one of its members injured, it has the power of shedding it at will, and that if much disturbance or distress were caused by the peg- ging in question, the remedy referred to would be applied. Formal complaint against the practice has been laid before the Lord Mayor of London, who has promised to have a care- ful investigation made, upon which he will issue his decision as to the legal practice for the future. The same custom ex- ists largely in the United States, although we are not aware that the suggestion has been made that any unwholesome condition is thereby produced in the flesh. In further reference to this subject, we are informed that in the city of Boston lobsters are never brought to market alive, but are always boiled on the shore almost immediately after being caught, and in that state offered for sale. The practice, however, is very different in New York, where they are brought in alive with the claws pegged. Careful inquiry has, it is said, revealed the fact that cases of disease from eating lobsters in Boston are extremely rare, and, indeed, are almost unheard of, while the contrary is the case in New York, many instances being known of sickness resulting from the use of lobsters as food.—2 A, July 23, 62. REMOVAL OF FRECKLES. Freckles, so persistently regular in their annual return, have annoyed the fair sex from time immemorial, and various means have been devised to eradicate them, although thus far with no decidedly satisfactory results. The innumerable remedies in use for the removal of these vexatious intruders are either simple and harmless washes, such as parsley or horse-radish water, solutions of borax, ete., or injurious nos- trums, consisting principally of lead and mercury salts. If the exact cause of freckles were known, a remedy for them might be found. A chemist in Moravia, observing the bleaching effect of mercurial preparations, inferred that the growth of a local parasitical fungus was the cause of the dis- coloration of the skin, which extended and ripened its spores in the warmer season. Knowing that sulpho-carbolate of zinc is a deadly enemy to all parasitic vegetation (itself not AA 554 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. being otherwise injurious), he applied this salt for the pur- pose of removing the freckles. The compound consists of two parts of sulpho-carbolate of zinc, twenty-five parts of distilled glycerine, twenty-five parts of rose-water, and five parts of scented alcohol, and is to be applied twice daily for from half an hour to an hour, then washed off with cold wa- ter. Protection against the sun by veiling and other means is recommended, and, in addition, for persons of pale com- plexion, some mild preparation of iron.—8s C, 1871, 90. PINCUS ON HAIR DISEASE. Dr. Pincus, of Germany, has just published the results of ten years’ observation upon the rise and progress of the chron- ic diseases of the human hair. Among other conclusions, he informs us that, in most cases, all these diseases begin with a shortening of the typical length of the hair, this generally taking place in such a manner that in each single cluster of hairs (hair circle, as he calls it), whenever one hair is attacked by the disease the other hairs in the group follow at a great- er or less interval. If the hair first attacked is shortened to the amount of one half its original length, a thinning of the hair immediately follows. In single cases, especially at the beginning of an attack of sicknegs shortly after puberty, both a shortening and thinning of the hair may occur simultane- ously. This period of the course of the disease, in which the hair only fails in typical length, Dr. Pincus calls the first stage of chronic hair sickness. The first stage has hitherto remained completely unnoticed, and disease of the hair has only been appreciated when a considerable falling out or a reduction in the diameter of a portion of the hair has taken place. In the treatment of chronic diseases of the hair, examina- tion of the daily loss furnishes the most important means of determining whether the evil is increasing or diminishing. Without this guide it is difficult to appreciate the changes, excepting at intervals of three months, while the daily fall of hair furnishes an.indication from week to week. According to our author, the principal constants, from the practical examination of which satisfactory deductions can be made of the rise and progress of chronic disease of the hair, are, first, the daily falling out, especially the number of : M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE.555 hairs, and their length; second, the number of these that ex- hibit a distinct tip; third, the number in which a distinct root is wanting; fourth, the number of hairs with thinner and lighter roots; fifth, the number of hairs in which the di- ameter is less than the average. In the case of a lady of 35, of average health, the daily loss of hair was found to amount to about 73, or 220 in 3 days; of which 162, or 74 per’cent., exhibited distinct tips. In 10 hairs there was no distinct root; and the ends of the root were unchanged in color and thickness in 27 hairs under six inches in length, and in 37 over 6 inches long.—1 C, xxvit., 420. CURE OF BONE-FELON. Professor Hiiter, of Berlin, cures bone-felon, or whitlow, by first carefully probing the swelling of the finger, and making a small incision where the pain appears greatest. The pain of the operation, which may be lessened by the local applica- tion of ether, or by the inhalation of chloroform, can not be compared with the relief given to the patient after a few minutes. The after-treatment is equally simple. The small wound is to be covered with lint and carbolic acid, and bath- ed morning and evening in tepid water, and after a very few days is perfectly healed.—8 C, xviz., 132. THE SEWING MACHINE ON THE HEALTH OF FEMALES. Dr. Decaisne, in the Union Médicale, after.a careful inves- tigation of 661 female operatives upon the sewing machine, reaches the conclusion that these persons are not, as has been alleged, more subject than other working women to diseases peculiar to their sex, and that the cases which have been re- ported are evidently simple coincidences, and the results of a labor too severe for woman’s strength.—3 b, May 26,175. CURE OF CHRONIC SOMNAMBULISM. “A foreign medical journal mentions two instances in which chronic somnambulism was cured by administering bromide of potassium, the dose given in one instance varying from 30 to 100 grains per day, and in the other case 15 grains were given both morning and evening. The attacks in each case gradually became less and less frequent, and in a short time entirely ceased.—3 B, August 8, 705. 556 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. DESTROYING THE TASTE “OF COD-LIVER OIL. An Italian physician, referring to the objectionable taste of cod-liver oil, and the many methods adopted to render it less obnoxious to sick persons, states that its peculiar smell and taste can be completely removed by digesting it with roasted coffee and ivory-black. For this purpose, one part of good roasted coffee and one and a half parts of ivory-black are to be mixed with twenty parts of cod-liver oil, and the whole placed for a quarter of an hour in a retort heated by steam to a temperature of 120° to 140° Fahr., after which the liquid is allowed to settle, and is then filtered. The oil, it is ‘said, then tastes and smells precisely like coffee. As iodine is said to lose not only its taste and odor, but also some of its chemical and physiological properties after being mixed with an infusion.of coffee, it may be necessary to add a certain quantity of free iodine to the mixture thus prepared in order to restore that element to the oil.—21 C, September, 1870, 164. NEW AFFECTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. A peculiar and hitherto undescribed affection of the nerv- ous system is mentioned by Dr. Fieber, of Vienna, as being * characterized by an impossibility of executing moderately fast movements through the agency of the will, while ex- tremely slow or very rapid movements can be executed with- out any difficulty.x—20 A, May 27, 622. SIGN OF HYSTERIA. According to a French memoir, an infallible sign of hyste- ria consists in the insensibility of the epiglottis. This, as stated, may be readily determined by introducing the finger gently into the mouth, so as not to disturb the patient, and placing it upon the base of the tongue. In case of hysteria, the epiglottis may be displaced and scratched with the fingér- nail without producing the least regurgitation.—6 A, May 13, 591. CAUSE OF SUN-STROKE. According to a late writer, sun-stroke is due to the action of light upon the brain, exerted through the eye, and not, as ' M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE,557 generally believed, to an elevation of temperature; and it is asserted that, if the eye be properly shaded from the glare of the sun, any extra or unusual precaution in the way of pro- tecting the head and back of the neck may be dispensed with. —12 A, December 29, 1870, 168. PREVENTION OF SEA-SICKNESS, It is said that the nausea and vomiting produced by swing- ing and sea-sickness can be resisted by applying to the epi- gastrium a layer of wadding dipped in collodion. This, we are informed, should extend over the xiphoid cartilage to the umbilicus, and be left until it falls off. Ifthe adhesion be im- perfect, the application should be renewed. According to the discoverer, the action of the peripheral nerves is interrupted by this application, just as the pain of calculi in the bile pas- sages or ureters is sometimes mitigated by the application of castor-oil and collodion.—6 A, October 22, 527. PROTECTION AGAINST SEA-SICKNESS. Mr. Bessemer, the well-known inventor of the process for manufacturing steel bearing his name, has lately been en- gaged in completing his plan, already announced, of securing a comfortable passage at sea, in the most stormy weather, by constructing a cabin, the floor of which, under all circum- stances, remains horizontal, no matter what motion may be given to the vessel. This cabin is circular in shape, and hung on gimbals at the centre, the point of suspension in the ship being so chosen that the cabin, as a whole, shall have as little vertical motion as possible. A vessel is now being construct- ed to test the plan, and, if the actual experiment result satis- factorily, it is believed that sea-sickness will be practically unknown during a voyage in a cabin of the new arrangement. ‘—5 A, October, 1870, 431. PHOSPHATE OF LIME IN MEDICINE. A French author has recently written a work to impress upon physicians the importance of administering phosphate of lime in their practice. He professes to prove that this substance is, above all others, the natural supplement of the function of nutrition; that by its action the albuminous mat- ter is made to take the form of cellular, and that it presides 558. ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. over the organization of the tissues—that is to say, it is pre- eminently the agent of nutrition. The lacto-phosphate of lime is also recommended very strongly as an active agent in medicine ; and in the distinctness of its action, and the posi- tiveness of its effects, it claims to be ranked with bromide of potassium and chloral as one of the most valuable contribu- tions of chemistry to the healing art made during the present century.—3 Bb, June 9, 248. CURE OF ST. VITUS’S DANCE. Among the more recent triumphs of medical science may be mentioned the method of treatment of chorea, or St. Vi- tus’s dance, originally discovered in Europe, and first prac- ticed in this country, we believe, by Dr. W. A. Hammond, of New York. This consists in the application, by means of a special apparatus, of ether-spray to the spine, the current be- ing directed from the occiput to the sacrum, backward and forward for about six minutes each time, the treatment being renewed at proper intervals. Cases previously considered entirely hopeless have, it is said, been cured by a dozen ap- plications of the kind referred to, although great care is nec- essary, as, if carried beyond a certain point, the treatment may prove injurious rather than beneficial. TREATMENT OF CROUP BY INHALATION OF GLYCERINE. A German physician, Dr. Stehverger, recommends the treat- ment of croup by the inhalation of pure glycerine through one or other of the well-known forms of atomizing apparatus. He was led to try this remedy for croup from observing its good effects in cases of hoarseness and loss of voice. After application the cough becomes more free and moist, and chil- dren are enabled to sleep almost immediately upon being re- lieved by the inhalation. It is, however, believed to be of: importance to make use of the remedy early and frequently, as, if delayed, it may have no effect whatever. If the glyce- rine be pure, it may be used unmixed; if not, it should be di- luted with a little water. The inhalations are repeated, ac- cording to the necessity of the case, at intervals of from half an hour to an hour and a half, and for about fifteen minutes atatime. The effect of the glycerine in this case is supposed to be due to the fact that the secretions of the mucous mem- M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE.559 brane are thereby increased, and tumefaction reduced.—6 A,: February 4, 143. PERMANGANATE OF POTASH FOR COLD IN THE HEAD. We find continued mention made in the foreign journals of the value of permanganate of potash as a remedy in cases of cold in the head attended with severe sneezing. For use in such cases, a solution is prepared of about one and two thirds grains of permanganate in two fluid ounces of water. Of this solution, twenty to sixty drops are to be poured into a tumblerful of water, and a table-spoonful is to be snuffed up the nostrils every two hours; and, if there be any soreness in the throat, the same liquid is to be used as a gargle. It will, perhaps, be better to apply this solution by means of the fountain syringe, or some other of the methods adopted for injecting salt and water, as a cure for catarrh.—5 A, Janu- ary, 1871, 100. COD-LIVER OIL BUTTER. An ingenious pharmaceutist has lately adopted the method of making cod-liver oil into a butter, for the purpose of being administered to such patients as find an objection in the taste of the oil itself. This is done by combining the oil with a concrete or butyraceous fat, thus bringing it into a form in which it can be used as butter on bread, or made into pills. It is also suggested that, by mixing cod- liv er oil with mustard, egg, and the “other i ingredients usedsj in making salad dressing: the taste can be so disguised as to render it a palatable arti- cle for putting upon various articles of food.—8 A, February 1, 30. HYPODERMIC INJECTIONS. A committee appointed by the Royal Medical arte Chirur- gical Society of London to investigate the hypodermic meth- od of administering medicine reports as follows: 1. That, as a general rule, only clear neutral solutions of drugs should be injected. 2. That, whether drugs be injected under the skin, or ad- ministered by the mouth or rectum, their chief physiological and therapeutical effects are the same in kind, though Tay ing in degree; but, 560 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 3. That symptoms are observed to follow the subcutaneous injection of some drugs which are absent when they are ad- ministered by other methods; and, on the other hand, certain unpleasant symptoms which are apt to follow the introduc- tion of the drugs by the mouth and rectum are not usually experienced when such drugs are injected under the skin. 4, That, as a general rule, to which, however, there are many exceptions, neutral solutions of drugs, introduced sub- cutaneously, are more rapidly absorbed and more intense in their effects than when introduced by the rectum or mouth. 5. That no difference has been observed in the effects of a drug subcutaneously injected, whether it be introduced near to or at a distance from the part affected. 6. That the advantages to be derived from this method of introducing drugs are—rapidity of action, intensity of effect, economy of material, certainty of action, facility of introduc- tion in certain cases, and, with some drugs, avoidance of un- pleasant symptoms. It is farther stated that “we may safely take as a broad guide in practice the rule that the physiological activity of nearly every substance which can thus be used is three if not four times greater when it is given by the skin than when it is swallowed.” The proper hypodermic dose of strychnine to begin with is said to be +4, grain of the sulphate. The dose of atropine is also +4, grain at first. The dose of mor- phine is 7 grain to 3 grain. The circumstance that the action of medicines adminis- tered hypodermically is very rapid, and often instantaneous, renders the method invaluable in certain cases, as, for in- stance, in cases of poisoning by opium, where the application of atropine or belladonna is indicated.—14 A, July 9, 22. AMMONIA INJECTION IN CHLOROFORM POISONING. An application has lately been made of Dr. Halford’s meth- od of ammonia injection in another case of medical practice than as a remedy for the bite of poisonous serpents. In this instance a man had been suffering from delirium tremens, brought on by a long course of drinking, and under its influ- ence procured and swallowed an ounce of chloroform. In- sensibility immediately supervened, and his eyelids could be opened and the pupils touched without his showing the slight- Ch tt M. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 561 est indication of irritation. When the man was apparently dying, an injection of two drams of ammonia was made in the veins of the arm, with the most promising effect. Sensi- bility returned, and the patient was able to sit up and talk for five hours. The next day, however, he died, apparently from congestion of the brain; but it was thought that if his habits had not been so intemperate he probably would have entirely recovered from the effects of the chloroform.—20 A, May 27,607. VARYING EFFECT OF POISONS ON DIFFERENT ANIMALS. It is a well-known fact that what is poisonous to one ani- mal may be taken by another with entire impunity. In illustration of this proposition, we are informed that strych- nine, so fatal to most animals, may be eaten by certain spe- cies of monkeys with perfect safety. In the case of an East India monkey known as the Lungoor (Presbytis entellus), one grain was first concealed in a piece of cucumber, which was eaten by the animal with no apparent effect. Three grains were afterward given, and with the same result. To test the strychnine used, three grains were administered to a dog, which proved almost immediately fatal. Another Indian mon- key, known as the pouch-cheek monkey, has been found to be more susceptible than the Lungoor, but not so much so as the dog. | It is also stated that pigeons can take opium in large quan- tities with no injurious consequence; goats, tobacco; and rab- bits, belladonna, stramonium, and hyoscyamus.—14 A, June 15,570; July 2,6, 1870. PRESCRIBED DYES FOR CANDIES. A police regulation has been recently established in some parts of Germany prescribing the substances that may be used for coloring candies and other edible articles. The va- riety is very great, and would seem to meet all necessary requirements. All the aniline colors, without exception, are prohibited.—6 C, February 16, 66. CORROSION OF LEAD PIPES. Most of us are aware of the danger incurred by the use of water which has passed through lead pipes, especially after — AaAa2 562 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. remaining in them for any considerable length of time, and various devices have been adopted, so that, while retaining the use of lead pipe, to prepare it in such a way as to render it harmless. . MISCELLANEOUS. - 604 REMOVAL OF TATTOO MARKS FROM THE SKIN. Inquiry is frequently made for methods for the successful removal of tattoo marks in the skin. While these are gen- erally asserted to be indelible if produced by the insertion of some carbonaceous matter, a correspondent of the Chemi- cal News says that, in one attempt, the marks disappeared after being first well rubbed with a salve of pure acetic acid and lard, then with a solution of potash, and finally with hy- drochlorie acid. For further details the inquirer is referred to Casper’s “ Hand-Book of Forensic Medicine,” vol. 1., p. 108. —1 A, March 24,1871, 143. . INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES OF HOLLAND. As is well known to many of our readers, the Smithsonian Institution, for a number of years past, has conducted a very extended system of international exchanges, by means of which all the scientific establishments in America have been kept in communication with sister institutions abroad, with no trouble and no expense to themselves beyond that at- tendant upon the delivery at Washington of the packages to be forwarded. At the present time it is understood that by far the greatest percentage of material interchanged between the two worlds passes through the hands of the Smithsonian, the packages being sent to different agents abroad and dis- tributed by them, who, in turn, receive and transmit to Wash- ington the returns from foreign countries. Quite recently the learned societies and public libraries of Holland have undertaken to co-operate with the Institution in this enterprise by forming a Central Scientific Bureau of the Netherlands, at which the packages intended for trans- mission to America are to be collected, and forwarded from time to time to the Smithsonian Institution, which will dis- tribute them to the parties addressed. The Bureau also pro- poses to establish special agencies in different parts of Europe, and has already announced the firm of Mr. J. B. Bailliere and Son, of Paris, as the agents for France, to whom all French institutions are requested to address such copies of their works as may be intended for the Netherlands.—3 B, Au- gust 3,1871, 16. 608 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. RETURN OF MR. GWYN JEFFREYS TO ENGLAND. The safe return of Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys from his visit to North America is mentioned in the English papers, with some account of his experiences, which were extremely pleas- ant to him. Every facility was given to him by the natural- ists of this country for the examination of their collections, or those in their charge, and free permission was given him to carry back with him for study any specimens desired for that purpose. Quite fortunately, this has been the means of preserving a number of them to science, since, among the collections belonging to the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Cambridge, as well as to the Academy of Sciences at Chicago, some of the more valu- able types of the mollusca lent to Mr. Jeffreys had scarcely been removed from the city by him before the remainder of the collections, then in charge of Dr. Stimpson, were destroyed by the Chicago fire. CELZBRATION OF THE 400th BIRTHDAY OF COPERNICUS. The society of the friends of science in Posen proposes, on the 19th of February, 1873, to celebrate the 400th birthday of the eminent astronomer, Nicholas Copernicus, at his birth- place in the village of Thorne. In addition to the festivities of the occasion, they propose to publish an accurate biogra- phy of their countryman, and to prepare a monumental al- bum, as also to strike an appropriate medal. Decomposition of Animal Substances con- taining Phosphorus, 239. Deformities, Hereditary, 163. Delafontaine, Prof., 38. Delaunay, M., 38. Delhi Boil, 171. Demerara, Great Waterfall in, 148. Denbighshire, Caves in, 242. Deodorizer, Spongy Iron, 551. Descent of Man, Darwin on, 156. Desort, Mr., 179. Dextral Pre-eminence, 238. Dextrine, 451. and Gum Arabic, 457. Diamond cutting hot Glass, 455. Fields in South Africa, 82. 621 Diamond in Xanthophyllite, 81. Diatoms, Cleaning of, 228. Di Cessnola, Mr., 78. Dicynodon, 82. Didunculus Strigirostris, 192. Diegoan Province, 152. Dietlen, F., 43. Dinas Stone, Fire-proof, 421. Dingler, Dr., 457. Dinornis, 152. Diptera, Parthenogenesis in, 221. Discoveries of Payer and Weyprecht, 120. Disease of Caterpillars, New, 223. Distomata, 171. Doane, Lieut., 136. Dodo Pigeon, 192. Dog, Esquimaux, 172. Dohrn, Dr. Anton, 274. Doull, River, 81. Dove, Prof., 27. Dragon’s Blood, Gum, 530. Draining with Fascines, 314. Draper, Prof. Henry, 148. Drawings, Fixing of, 497. Drying Woolens, 497. Dualin and Dynamite, 415. j Dubois, Mr., 93. Dubost, Mr., 219. Dubrunfaut, Mr., S0. Du Chaillu, M., 177, 563. Duchemin, Mr., 41. Duchemon, Mr., 458. Duckham’s Weighing Machine, 465. Ducks and Hens, Fecundity of, 332. Dufour, Prof., 25. Duncan, Prof., 180. Duns, Prof., 189. D’Urville, Admiral, 110. Dust as a Ferment, 540. Inhalation of, 540. Dutrochet, Mr., 219, 290. Dyer, Prof., 326. Dyes for Candies, 561. Dynamite and Gun-cotton, 415. for Artesian Wells, 415. * E. Earth, Temperature of, 37. Earthquakes re Magnetic Currents, 98. Eastman, Prof., Ebony from Sea- dat 463. Echinus, Rare, 225. Ecuadorian Province, 153. Ecuador, Physical Phenomena, 99. Edhil’s Saccharometer, 491. Edwards, Mr. Ernest, 500. Egg and Chick, Ratio in Size of, 192. Eggerty, Mr., 66. Egg-oil, 362. Eggs, Cooling of Brooding, 335 Marks of Sex in, 191. Preserving, 362. Rancid Taste in, 332. Ehrenberg, Prof., 269. Ebrie, Dr., 551. Eikocalanus, 209. Elasmognathus Bairdii, 278. Elasmosaurus, 134. Electric pmalgary, Improved, 43. Lig ht, Intermittent, 526. Pile, Duchemin’ Ss, 41. Electricity not in the Human Body, 175. on Colored Tissues, 296. opposite Currents of, 50. 622 Electricity, Positive, Celestial Origin of, 43. Electroplating with Nickel, 57. with Nickel or Cobalt, 58, Elephant of Ceylon, 221. Sumatran, 254. Elephas Primigenius, 253. Elliott, Mr. R.8., 279. Ellis, Mr., 583. Ellis Station, Pacific Rail-road, 279. Elodea Canadensis, 285. Elsner, Mr., 447. Emetic, Sub-cutaneous, 568. Empusa, 223, 267. Mycelium of, 221. Emsman, Dr., 467. Enamel, New, 458. Engines, Ammonia, 531. Engravings on Bone, Pre-historic, 183. Entomology of Madeira, 218. Entozoa, 232. Envelope, Improved, 381. Eoff, Dr., 264. Eozoon Canadense, 229. not Organic, 229. Equatoria Garciana, 596. Erato, Planet, Rediscovery of, 13. Eriosoma Lanigera, 354. Espy, Prof., 22, 24. Etéve, M., 42. Etheridge, Mr., 97, 603. Ether-spray against Cholera, 558. Ethiopian Region, 151. Eucalyptus a Febrifuge, 589. Gtobulus, 589. tree, 311. Eulenberg and Vohl, Drs., 562. Drs (ae Euplectella, 273. Evans, Dr., 179. Everett, Prof., 27, 28, 599. Eversmann, Prof., 37. Expedition of Rosenthal, 11S. of the Ice-bear, 121. of the Porcupine, 127. of Williams College, 142. Expeditions in the Rocky Mountains, 130. Exploration in New Jersey, Verrill’s, 276. of Eastern Asia, 117. of the great Lakes, 140. of the St. Lawrence, 139. of the White Sea, 121. on the Peréné River, 145. Explorations by the Russian Geographical Society, 107. in 277. Florida, Dr. Stimpson’s, in Madagascar, 128. in South Africa, 130. in the Baltic, 128. in the West Indies, 141. in Vineyard Sound, 140, of Dr. Habel, 142. of Prof. Cope, 133. of Prof. Hartt, 146. of Prof. Powell, 132. of Yacht Norma, 273. Explosiveness and Moisture, 599. and Oxalic Acid, 599. Exposition at Vienna in 1873, 5382, Exter, Mr., 396. F. Fabrics, Uninflammable, 375. Fahnestock, Mr., 293, INDEX. Fairlie, Mr., 396. Faraday, Mr., 473, 603. Fascines for Draining, 314. Fats, Extraction of, 475. Faunal Peculiarities of the Azores, 149. Regions of the Sea-bottom, 275. ; Faye, Mr., 15. ; Fayrer, Dr., 577. . Ferrel, Mr. William, 9. é Fertilizer from Fish, 412. . Fever, Intermittent, new Remedy for, 586. Scarlet, Treatment of, 586. Fibre, a New, 483, 484. Cattell’s Method of preparing, 484. from Cotton-seed, 486. in Mollusca, Muscular, 224. Fieber, Dr., 556. Filtering Alcohol, 505. Fins, Pectoral, of Fish, 261. Fire-proof Material, 523. Solution, 523. Fish and Chloralum, 569. and Sugar, 359. for Stocking Rivers, 265. for Stocking Waters of New York, A Rite” 266. Fresh-water, in salt Water, 265. Gourami, 214. Guano from Loffoden, 342. Killing freshly-captured, 387. Killing, with Torpedoes, 267. Living Eyeless, 266. New Lophioid, 214. Nutrition of Young, 350. Offal, Utilization of, 322. Phosphorescence of Dead, 211. Steamer, 606. Fish-breeding at Troutdale, N. J., 217. Fish-packing in Ice, 355. Fishes, Catalogue in British Musenm, 206, Confusion of Names, 207. Ganoid, Liitken on, 214. of Algeria, Fresh-water, 211. of Cuba, 211. Fitch, Dr., 353. Flame, Sensitive, 48. Flannel, Whitening, 378. Flatulency, Cure of, 590. Flax, Green, injurious to Cattlé, 335. New Zealand, 483. Fleck, Prof., 521. Fletcher, Mr., 389. Florida, East, Birds of, 271. Flour in Barrels, 362. Potato, 454. Flowering of Plants in Europe aud Amer- ica, 311. Flower, Prof. W. H., 242, 244. Flowers, Artificial, Coloring, 51T. Drying of, 293. Fliickiger, Prof., 46, 70. Fluor-aniline, 524. Fluorescence, Illustration of, 46. Fodder, Grinding of, 335. Fodder of Preserved Beet-leaves, 316. Fodder-plant, New, 283. Foliage, Autumnal, Tinge of, 294. Tints of, 307. Fonvielle, Mr. De, 33. . Food, Concentrated, New, 369. Forbes, Mr. David, 83, 92. Forchhammer, Prof. G., 32. Forel, Prof., 25. ! Forest Fires of natural Origin, 280. eee et ee Forster, Prof., 94. Fossil Alga, Huge, 286. : Cetaceans in Holland, 189, Crustaceans, New, 228. Fishes of Wyoming, 248. Forest in California, 102. Ivory in Alaska, 253, Mammals in California, 251. Mammals, New, 252. Mammals, Seguin Collection of, 189. Rodents and Reptiles, 247, Shells, Color of, 224. Walrus in NewJ ersey, 247, Whale in Canada, 189. Fossils, New Invertebrate, 223. Yestern Tertiary, 86. Foster, Mr., 575. Fox, Mr. Robert Were, 306. Foyen, Herr, 412. Franc, Dr., 588, France, Physical Atlas of, 38, Frank, Dr. B., 295. Frankland, Dr., 160, 606. Freckles, Removal of, 553. Freezing Mixtures, 509. of Water, 29. Fritsch, Mr. Carl, 311. Frog, Effect of Brain-removal on the, 204. Frogs in New Zealand, 203. Frost, Mr. Charles C., 604, Frihling, Mr., 344. Fruit, Russian Mode of preserving, 302. Unripe, for Vinegar, 368, Fruit-preserving, 370. -sirups, Preparing, 371, -trees, Potash on, 322. Fuchsine, Adulteration of, 517. Diffusion of Licht by, 46. in Glycerine, 530. Fucus Serratus in North Fuegian Province, 153. Fulmar Petrel, 191. Fungi generate Heat, 290. in Water, 535. Fungus of Bread, Orange, 286. on Fish and their Eggs, 267. on Insects, 221. Theory of Disease, 544, Furrows in Plowing, Long, 313. uscin, a New Brown, 515. Fusil Oil, Detection of, 525. Fusus Contrarius, 273. G Gabbro Mass, Plastic, 457. Galapagos Province, 153. Galena for White Lead, 472. Gales, Prediction of Easterly, 31. Galezowski, Mr., 580. Galgula, Joshua’s Tomb at, 178. Galliard, Mr., 37. America, 287. INDEX, 623 Gas and Vegetation, 292, Cooking-stove, 372. for heating Iron, 391. of Furnaces, 539, Gases, Noxious, 539, 592, Gasparin, Mr., 549. Gaspé, Peninsula, Mollusca of, 275. Gasteropoda, 224. Gaudin, Mr., 80. Gavit, Mr. J. E., 275, Gee, Dr., 568, Gelatine from Bone, 460. Generation, Spontaneous, 160, 162. Geography, 103. Geoluss of Jamaica, 97, of Missouri, 82. of South Africa Diamond Fields, of the Alps, 99, Use of the Microscope in, 83. Germ Theory and Preserves, 370. Tyndall’s, 542. Germs, Theory of Atmospheric, 161, Gesoriacum of the Romans, 126, Geyelin, Mr., 360. Gilding and Silvering Silk, 61. Gill, Prof., 278, Girard, Mr. A., 79. Mr. Maurice, 219. Giraud, Capt., 147. Glacialization, Second, 1S0, Glaciers, Diminution in Size of, 98, Great Continental, 95, in New England, 94, in the White Mountains, 86. of Spitzbergen, 94, Glaisher, Mr., 27. Glase, Mr., 237. Glass and Stone cut by Sand-blast, 454, for Photographing, 498, Hot, on Diamond, 455. Polishing, best Powder for, 523. Soluble, for Floors, 383. Soluble, for Painting, 472, Glauber Salts for Dyeing, 519. Gloves from Opossum Skin, 373. Glue and Tungstate of Soda, 458, for Parchment Paper, 461. Gilder’s, 460. improved Manufacture, 521. Water-proof, 461. Glycerine against Croup, 558. and Arsenious Acid, 433, and Pepsin, 574. Cement, 462. Characters of pure, 79. Detection of Butyric Acid in, 72, Glyconin, 552. Glyptodon, 189. Glyptosaurns, 200. Godman, Mr. Frederick, 149. Galody, Mr., 141. Gold in Quartz, Colorometric Determina- Galvanic Element with one Liquid, 42. tion of, 53. Galvanoplastic Copies from Organic Mat- | Gold Lacker, Chinese, 449. rices, 60. Non-amalgamable, 54, Game-trade at Chicago, 254. Goltz, Prof., 204, 327. Gamgee, Prof., 569, Goumbe, Root of, 177. Ganoids and Plagiostomes, 261. Graebe, Mr., 77. Garbnutt, Mr., 502. Gardening, Sub-tropical, in England, 306. Garrick, Mr. J ames, 394. Gas absorbed by Charcoal under increased Pressure, 67. absorbed by Iron, 66. Graefe, Dr. G. A., 442, Graeger, Mr., 368. Grafting of Part of one Animal in anoth- er, 173. of Portions of Skin, 172, Grain and Insects, 331, 624 Grain, Unbroken, for Hogs, 334. Grandidier, Mr. M. A., 128. Grandjean, Mr., 395. Grape from Eyes, 303. Grapes, Chinese Method of preserving, 304, Preserving, by Tremellat, 305. Grape-vine Disease, 353. ; -vines in Pots, 304. Graphite in gray Oxide of Iron, 65. Grass, various Manures on, 324. Gravity of Islands and Continents, 22. Gray, Mr., 188. Grease of Sheep’s Wool, 477. Removal from Wool, 477. Greasing Leather, 528. Great Salt Lake, Level of, 29. Greeff, Dr., 230. Green from Zinc, 447. Green, Mr. Seth, 266, 349. Greenland, 85. German Explorations in, 123, 124. Interior of, 96. Gréhaut and Duquesnel, Messrs., 590. Grés, Mr. A., 294. Griffith, Sir Richard, 546. Grindstones, Artiticial, 533. Grohe, Prof., 544. Groth, Dr. P., 77. Grotto of the Dead in France, 243. Ground-nut, Use of the, 317. Griine, Dr., 61, 520. Guano in the Argentine Republic, 342. in the Lobos Islands, 101. La Plata or Carno, 339. Guatemala as a Resort for Consumptive Persons, 593. Guayaquil, Iron in, $1. Gulf Stream, 114. New Crustaceans 1n, 276. Gull, Piratical Habits of South American, 196. Gum Arabic and Dextrin, 457. Gum Shellac in Aqua Ammonia, 459. Gumbel, Mr., 229. Gun-cotton and Alcohol, 69. and Benzine, 69. and Dynamite, 415. Compressed, 416. Explosion of, 420. in Bisulphide of Carbon, 69. Gundlach, Dr., 141. Gunnison, A. & Co., Messrs., 524. Gunpowder and Steam, 416. Yew, 413. Gunther, Dr. Albert, 152, 206, 216, 261, 263. Gurlitt, Mr. L., 31. Guyot, Mr., 565. Gymunotrix Latifolia, 283. Gypsum and Grease-spots, 378. for closing Fruit-jars, 370. removal from Water, 374. HH. Habel, Dr. A., 142. Haeckel, Prof. Ernest, 153, 163. Hemin precipitated by Acetate of Zinc, 66. Hagar, Prof. A. D., 82, 94. Hager, Dr., 457. Haidinger, Prof., 81. Hail-stones with Insects in, 218. with Salt, etc., in, 36. Hair Disease, 554. Human, Imitation of, 374 INDEX. Hair of the Goat, 374. Halford, Dr., 175, 176, 560, 577. Hall, Mr. Marshall, 273. Prof., 3, 14, 546. Hall’s, Captain, Expedition, 125. Hallier, Dr., 584. Hamblett, Mr. James, 454. Hammond, Dr. W. A., 558. Handles, Non-conducting Heat, 512. Hansen, Mr., 261. Harkness, Prof., 3, 17. Harris, Mr., 243. Hartig, Dr., 315. Hartlaub and Finsch on the Birds of East- ern Africa, 193. Hartmann, Dr., 350, Hartt, Prof., 146. Harvey, Dr., 287. Hasskarl, Prof., 2S1. Hassler, Expedition of the, 104. Haughton on Animal Mechanics, 153. Rev. Samuel, 389. Havrez, Mr., 427. Hay, Mr., 488. Hayden, Dr., 131, 135, 136. Heat from Stone-coal, 49. generated by Fungi, 290. in Aqueous Solutions, 49. of Soil on Plants, 298. on Animals, 234. on Steel, 63. on the Human Body, 234. Pre-glacial, caused by’ a Meteoric Body, 85. Heating by circulation of Petroleum, 503. Cars by Sand, 512. Hector, Dr., 197. Heights determined by Barometer, 34. Hellwald, Fr. von, 103. Helmholtz, Prof., 174. Henneberg, Mr., 346. Henry, Prof., 30, 32. Hens and Ducks, Fecundity of, 332. and Nettles, 333. Food for, 332. Moulting, Treatment of, 333. Hensen, Prof., 270. Herbarium, Oldest, in Europe, 311. Herbst, Mr., 375. Hermann, Mr., 66. Hermit-crabs, 229. Herring-fisheries and Steam, 34S. Herring, Sea, Food of, 208. Spawning of, 207. Hesiod, Iron mentioned by, §1. Heuglin, Mr. Von, 117, 118, 122. Hides, Preparation of, 528. High North, News from the, 119. Highton, Rev. Mr., 405, 407. Hill, Pres., 105. Hindoos, Skulls of, 245. Hipparion, 187. Hippopotamus, New-born, 187. Hitchcock, Dr. E., 94. Prof. C. H., 94. Hochstetter, Mr. Von, 82. Hoffmann, Prof., 524. j Hogs fed with unbroken Grain, 334, Holland, International Exchanges, 607. Holmes, Mr., 527. Home, Mr. D. D., 608. Homer, Iron mentioned by, $1. Hope, Dr., 339. Horn, Dyeing Black, 449. INDEX. Horn of Rhinoceros, Deciducus, 1S7. Horse-mackerel, 207. in Buzzard's Bay, ae Horse, Pre-historic, 186. Horse-shoe, Charlier, 314. Horse’s Hoof, Monstrosity i In, 186. Horses fed with Nettles, 334. fed with Potatoes, 319. Horticulture, 279. Horvath, Dr., 237. Hoy, Dr., 253. Hudson, Mr., 196, 264. Huggins, Mr., 3, 17. Hunter, Mr., 173. Hiiter, Prof. , 555. Huxley, Prof., 126, 158, 160, 163, 229, 230, 243, 246, 286. Hyalonema, 273. Hyatt, Mr., 101. Hydramyle, 566. Hydrangia Flow er, Change of Color, 290. Hydrobromate of Codeia, etc., 576. Hydrochloride Acid and Silk, "481. Hydro-extractor, 494, Hydrofugine, 5i7. Hydrogen Gas in large pre 66. Hydro-geology, 88. Hygrafiinity, (6. Hysteria, Sign of, 556. is Ice, Action of, on the North American Coast, 84. Artificial, Cost of, 514. for packing Fish, 355. from the Tosselli Machine, 514. Natural and Artificial compared, 355, Ice-bear, Expeditions of the, 121. Idolocoris, a New Parasite, 221. India, Pendulum Experiments in, 39. Indian Races of the Isthmus of Darien, 1438. Indians of Gay Head, 246. Indigo, Dyeing with, 445 Improved regiment of, 429. Plants and Frost, 291. Solvents for, 487. Test for, 445. Indigotine, Separation of, 428. Industrial Nov elties, 41T. Inglefield, Admiral, 418. Injection, Ammonia, 560. Injections, Hypodermic, 559. Ink, improved Stamping, 530. Writing, 495. -blotches, Removal of, 495. -plant, 379. Insects as Food for Birds, 219. in Hailstones, 218. injuring Grain, 331. Living, in Salt Water, 269. Temperature of, 219. Fungus on, 221. Intellectual Qualities, Transmissibility of, in England, 183. International Exchanges of Holland, 607. Iodine from Chilé Saltpetre, 71. Green, 519. Tron absorbs Gas, 66. and Steel affected by Cold, 394. and Steel, Microscopic Character of, G1. . Bar, from Phosphureted Cast-iron, 6 D | Iron, Cause of Rusting, 392. Electro-deposited, 42. for coating Zinc, 56. Forging large Masses, 391. Guayaquil, 81. Homeric, 81. Phosphureted Cast, for making Bar- iron, 63. Prevention of Oxidation of, 391. Purification of, by Sodium, 62. Rusting of, 51. Slag, Use of, 408. Slates, Enameled, 457. Spongy, as Deodorizer, 551. Sulphate of, in the Soil, 329. Tanks for Whale Oil, 524, Iron-rust prevented, 380. -soap, 478. Jeans of Darien, Indian Races of the, Ivory, Fossil, in Alaska, 253. J. Jacobi, Mr., 66. Jacobsen, Brothers, 461. Jamaica, Cinchona i in, 282, 310. Jaramillo, Dr., 596. Jardin d’Essai in Algiers, 305. Java, Cinchona in, 281. Meat Extracts i in, 357. Jeffreys, Mr. Gwyn, 197, 224, 608. Jelinek, Dri, 23. Jettel, Dr., 514. Johnghe, Mr. De, 302. Johnson, Capt. P. C., 105. Mr., 501. Johnston, Mr. Keith, Jun., 103. Joly, Mr., 440. Jones, Mr. Rupert, 241, 356. Joule, Dr., 394. Jousand, Mr., 549. Jousset, Mr., 177. Juglans Regia, 74. Julien, Mr., 141. K. Kaieteur Falls in Demerara, 148. Kara Sea, Character of, 116. Katzenberger, Caspar, 311. Kayser, Mr., 224. Kea Parrot of New Zealand, 257. Kennedy, Lieut., 105. Kenngott, Prof., 36. Kennicott, Mr. Robert, 609. Kent Cavern Exploration, Seventh Re- port, 90. Mr., 2 eavnipeee 295. Kerr, Prof. W. C., 87, 252, 326. Kessler, Dr., 311. King, Mr. Clarence, 86, 137, 138. Prof., 223. Kirkwood, Prof. Daniel, 8. Kleffel, Mr., 497. Klein, Dr., 35, 42. Kneeland, Dr., 454. Koehl, Dr., 492. Koldeway, Capt., 94. Koller, Mr., 79. Kreffr, Dr., 149, 176, 202. | Kundt A6, 47. D 626 INDEX. L Labels for Plants, Wooden, 23, 382. Laborde, Dr., 551. Laccadive Islands, Rats in, 185. Lachmann, Dr., 399. . Lacquer removed from Tin, 467. Lacquering Varnish, 467. Lactarin, 435. Lake-dwellers and Weaving, 181. Lake Water, Blue Color of, 38. Lake Wetter in Sweden, 141. Lakes, Exploration of the great, 140. Lamprey, Development of the, 213. . Lande, Mr., 438. Land-slides, 98. Langford, Governor, 136. Langley, Prof., 5. Lankester, Mr. E. R., 248, 326. Laplace, 10, 179. Lartet, Mr., 91, 183. Larus Cirrhocephalus, 196. Latimer, Mr., 141. Latour, Mr. G. A., 546. Latterade, Mr. de, S5. Laughton, Mr., 22. Lawes, Mr., 336. Lawes & Gilbert, Messrs., 341. Layard, Mr. E. L., 543. Lead-foil for Wounds, 552. -pipes, Corrosion of, 561. Lead, White, Manufacture of, 464. from Galena, 472. Leather Band, Largest, 506. Boards, 373. Greasing of, 528. Paper, 487. the Grain of, copied, 507. Leaves, Transpiration of, 289, 295. Lee, Mr., 187. Le Franc, M., 318. Lehmann, Dr., 334. Leidy, Dr., 91, 249, 250, 251, 252. Lemons preserved in Tin-foil, 369. Lemuride, 158. Lemurian Region, 151. Lennox, Mr., 586. Lenormant, Mr., 184. Leonhard, Prof., $1. Lepra Antiquitatis, 410. Lesueur, Mr. C. A., 276. Letheby, Dr., 535, 537. Leucodore Ciliata, 210. Levi & Kunzel, Messrs., 532. Lewis, Dr., 584. Lichens for producing Alcohol, 504. Liebig, Baron von, 170, 285. Extract of Meat, 339, 360. Liebreich, Dr., 566, 574. Lieurnur, Mr., 587. Light for Signals, 417. Influence upon Petroleum, 45, 78. on Plants, 290. : on the movement of Chlorophyl, 295. Las and Creosote for preserving Fruit, UVUae Bisulphate of, for preserving, 387. Carbonate, its Alkalinity, 67. Hydrated, on Water-plants, 312. Nitrate of, 534. Phosphate of, 557. Limousin, Mr., 567. Lindley, Dr., 166. Lindsay, Dr. Lauder, 174. Lindsay, Lord, 3. Lingula, 87, 326. oe and Binoxide of Manganese, 471. Solvent for Sulphur, 68. Liodon, 134. Lithium, Citrate of, 292, 296. Lithofracteur, 419. Lizards, new Fossil Land, 200. Lloyd, Mr. W. A., 609. Lobster-claws, Pegging of, 552. Loch Tay, Salmon-tishing in, 215. Lockyer, Mr., 5. Logwood Dye in Wine, 489. Loom, Improved, 425. Universal, 426. Lophiodon, new Species of, 248, Lophius, Group of, Fish, 214. Loret, Prof., 38. Lorimer, Dr., 5S6. Lubbock, Sir John, 164, 179. Lucas, Mr. Felix, 526. Lucioperca Americana, 264. Liitken, Dr. C., 214. Lycopodium, Action upon Alcohol, 489. Lyell, Mr., 179. M. Machine for Sugar-cutting, 372. Machines for Washing and Ironing, 374. MacNab, Dr., 295. P Madagascar, Explorations in, 128. Madder in England a Failure, 317. Maddox, Dr., 228. Madeira, Peculiar Entomology of, 21S. Madelock & Bailey, Messrs., 387. Magnesia, Sulphate of, as Manure, 327. Magnetic Currents and Earthquakes, 98. Curves, Photographing of, 41. Variations and Sun's Rotation, 13. Magnetism on Gases, 50. Mahogany, Imitation of, 530. Maize, Origin of, 285. Major, Mr. John J., 138. Malta, 279. ememave for classifying Paleolithic Age, Mammals, Fossil, 189. Man and Animals, new Distinction, 243. and the Gibbons, 245. Antiquity of, 178, 180. in the Tertiary Period, 180. Mané, Mr., 484. Manganese in Beech-nuts, 2SS. in Blood and Milk, 68. Mantegazza, Prof., 164. Manure, Effect of, on Plants, 323. from dead Animals, 322. from Indian-corn, 325. of Sulphate of Magnesia, 327. Manures, Various, on Grass, 324. Manzanilla-tree, 289. Marble Slabs, Cleaning of, 376. Staining Yellow, 444. March, Mr., 141. Marey, Prof., 194, 195. Maritime Exposition at Naples, 347. Marsh, Mr. George P., 279. + Prof. O. C., 102, 131, 134, 200, 248. Marshall Islands, 108, eran few Remains of Upper Jaw, 188. Massaranduba, 283. INDEX. Mastodon Americanus, 251. Remains, 248. Matches of Phosphorus, 514. Matthiessen, Dr., 568. Mayer, Prof. A. M., 41. Mboundou Poison, 177, 563. M‘Andrew, Mr. R., 274. M‘Donald, Dr. Robert, 173. M‘Dougall, Mr., 212. M‘Leod, Dr., 222. Meat Extracts, 594. Extracts in Jaya, 357. Preservation of, 3ST. preserved by Carbolic Acid, 359. -preserving by Pelouze, 358. - Preserving, in Cans, 356. Mechanics, Animal, 153. Mediterranean Currerts, 111. Meehan, Mr., 222, 284, 285. Meek, Prof., 86, 223. Megalonyx, 189. Megatherium, 189. Mehay, M., 316. Méhn, M. M. C., 591. Melanesian Region, 151. Meleagris Mexicana, 207. Melsam, Capt., 118. Melsens, Prof., 546. Mental Transmission in a Nerve, 174. Metachloral, 567. Metal, Preserving of Polished, 453. Meteoric Shower in Sweden, 11. Stones, Velocity of, 18. Meteorological Publications, Smithsoni- an, 29. Meteorology of the North Atlantic, 33. Meunier, Mr., 49. Mexican Province, 153. Meyer, Mr., 125, 169. Meynert, Prof, Theodore, 240. Miasma of the Pontine Marshes, 543. Mice and Calomel, 564. Michigan, Climate of, 32. Microscope in Geology, 83. detects Wood-pulp in Paper, 482. Microscopic Organisms, 545. Microscopical Sections of Rocks, 92, Mikania Gnuaco, 595. Milk, Artificial, 80. and the Food of the Cow, 337. for cleaning Oil-cloth, 379. of different Animals, 336. Preserving, for Transportation, 361. -producing Tree, New, 283. Testing of, 548. Miller, Mr. Fritz, 225. Mind in the lower Animals, 174. Mineralogy and Geology¥s1. Mineral Oils, new Localities, 93. Mirrors, Concave and Convex, 530. with Platinum, 508. Missonri, Geology of, 82. Mitchell, Dr., 176, 260, 578. Mivart, Mr. St. George, 245. Moa, Extinction of the, 197. Footprints of the, 198. Mobius, Prof., 270, 275. Moffatt, Dr., 22, 546, 547. Mohn, Mr., 49. Moigno, Abbé, 178, 531. Moisture and Explosiveness, 599. Mole, Vision of the Young, 187. Mollusca, European, Work on, 224. 627 Mollusca, Muscular Fibre in, 224. of Gaspé, 275. of the Gulf of Suez, 274. Molybdenum, Blue Dye of, 437. Monera, 163. Mont Cenis Tunnel, 27. Montgomery, Captain, 132. Moon, its Influence on the Weather, 36. its Mass from Tidal Observations, 9, Morlot, Mr., 179. Morris, Prof., 82. Rev. F. O., 88. Morse, Mr., 87. Mr. Boyd, 232. Mortar for Damp Places, 462. Improved, 405. Scoti’s Selenitic, 403. Selenitic, 421. Mortillet, De, 179. Mortimer, Dr., 582. Mosasaurus, Structure of the, 200. Moser, Mr., 476. Moss, Remoyal of, from Fruit-trees, 301. Mould from Linen, Removal of, 379. prevented in Mucilage, etc., 461. Mount Sinai, 47, 17S. Washington, Temperature of, 32. Whitney, Ascent of, 137. Mountains of the Pacific Coast, 137. Mucilage, Preventing Mould in, 461. Mucor Mucedo, 267. Minhry, Dr., 24. | Mulberry-leaves, Nitrogen in, 288, Miiller, Mr. A., 489. Mungoose, 185, 202. Murchison, Sir Roderic, 97. Murray, Mr. Andrew, 287. Museum of Comparative Zoology, 206. Mushrooms, Rearing of, 301. Musophaga, 196. Musquito Curtains, Physiology cf, 545. Mycelium Tornla, 268. Mycoderma Aceti, 367. Myers, Mr. H. M., 142. N. Nagel, M., 5S. Naples, Maritime Exposition, 347. = Zoological Station in the Gulf of, 4, Narwhal, its Habits, 188. Natural History and Geology, 149. Nature’s Color on Cotton, 443. Nebular Hypothesis and Spectroscope, 8. Nees von Esenbeck, 267. Nereis, 215. Nerve, Mental Transmission in, 174. iy Ae Action, M‘Donald’s Theory of, 72. Nervous Ether, 232. Nervous System, a new Affection of, 556. Neslee, Dr., 321. Nesmith, Mr., 530. rs Nettles for Hens, 333. for Horses, 334, Neumann, Mr., 171. Neumayer, Dr., 110. Neuricity, 174. Newberry, Prof., 223, 247, 252. New Brunswick, Shell-heaps in, 182. New-England Coast, 101. New Mexico, Ancient City in, 241. Newport, Mr., 219. | Newton, Mr., 141, 628 Newton, Prof. Alfred, 272. New Zealand Flax, 488, Frogs, 203 ; Zool- ogy, 152. Nickel and Aniline, 516. and Cobalt Plating, Wet, 57. Night-soil, Removing of, 587. Niles, Mr., 101. Nitrate of Ammonia, 509. Nitrogen, Elimination of, in Fever, 589. Elimination of, 170. in Mulberry Leaves, 288. of Manure, 341. Nitrous and Nitric Acids in Soil, 341. Nobbe, Prof., 323. Norna, Yacht, Explorations of the, 273. North American Coast acted on by Ice, 84. America in the Pliocene Period, 91. Atlantic, Bed of the, 126. Meteorology of the, 33. Northwest Passage by a Whale, 125. Nova Zembla, 122. O. Ocean Currents, Carpenter on, 113. Ogle, Dr. William, 238. Ohio, Extinct Batrachian Fauna of, 252. Oidium Aurantiacum, 286. Oil-cloth, Cleaning of, 37S. from Birds, 466. from Eggs, 362. from Ground-nut, 317. from Sunflower Seed, 317. in Nova Scotia, 100. Lubricating, Test for, 467. of the Petrel, 191. Oils, Poisonous Vegetable, 565. Theory of Boiled, 472. Olbers, Mr., 16. Olive-oil, Purification of, 469. O'Neill, Mr., 486. Oneiroldes, 215. Opossum Skin for Gloves, 373. Oppolzer, Prof., 13. Orcynus Secundidorsalis, 263. Oregonian Province, 152. Organic Matrices, Galvanoplastic Copies from, 60. Ornithological Publications in 1870, 256. Ornithosauria, 199, Orton, Prof., 142. Osborne, Capt. Sherrard, 126. Osteoglossum, 248. Osteology of the Mammalia, 244. Ostrich Breeding in Captivity, 193, 194. : Geographical Distribution of the, 92. Otago, Province of, 197. Otolithus Regalis, 264. Owen, Prof., 186. Owsjannikow, Mr., 213. Oxalic Acid and Chloride of Sodium for Bleaching, 447. and Explosiveness, 599. Oxygen in Illumination, 510. Oyster-beds of Germany, 270. Fisheries, Irish, 352. -spat, Enemies of, 270. Ozone, Development of, 43. Ozonometry, 22. lie" Packard, Dr., 228, 269. Paint, Cleaning, 470. Silicious, 406. INDEX. Paint with Chloride of Zinc, 470. _ With Soluble Glass, 472. Paintings by Bushmen, Ancient, 241. Paleolithic Age classified by means of the Mammalia, 90. Palmer, Capt., 47, 48. Panaman Province, 152. Panceri, Mr., 211. Paper and Leather Scraps, 487. Burnt, 487. from Oat-refuse, 488. Parchment, 488. Pulp from Wood, 484. with Carbolic Acid, 571. -with Sponge, 551. Papillon, M., 164. Paraftine, Refining, 474. , Pe vues, Composition of the Bones of, 67. Parasite, New, on the Elephant, 221. Parchment Paper, Glue for, 461. Parent Process for Wine, 505. Parkes, Dr., ne aie of Diet, etc., 170. r ., 392. Parry, Dri. C7310: Partera, Mr. A., 375, 376. Parthenogenesis in Diptera, 221. Paste for Wall Papers, 355. Pasteur, Mr., 364, 367. Payer, Lieut., 124. Payer and Weyprecht, Messrs., 119, 120. Peale, Mr. Titian R., 192. Pearl-hardener, for Paper, 481. Pease, Mr. Richard L., 246. Peat, Preparation of, 340. Pelobius, a new Fresh-water Rhizopod, 230. Pelouze, Mr., on Meat-preserving, 312, 358, Pemphigus Vitifolia, 353. Pendulum Experiments in India, 39. Pengelly, Mr., 30, 90, 165, 179. Penicillium Glaucum, 544. Pentacrinus, a Living, 128. Pepper, Prof., 48. Pepsin and Glycerine, 574. Liebreich’s, 574. Percy, Dr., 539. Pereira, Dr., 310. Peréné River Exploration, 145. Perforating Machinery, 493. Permanganate of Potash, 529, 588. Perrin, Mr., 171. Perry, Mr. John B., 229. Peru, Antiquities from, 2438. Climate of, 24. Peruvian Province, 153. Perutz, Mr., 72. Peschel, Dr., 103. Petermann, Dra 116, 11S, 119, 121. Peters, Dr., 10, 15. Petis, Flesh Extract in Java, 357. Petrel Oil, 191. Petrie, Mr., 242. Petroleum against Insects, 331. Animal Origin of, 87. Deodorizer for, 469. exposed to Light, 78. in Dry Rot, 375. Influence of Light on, 45. New Rectifier for, 469. removing Smell from, 474. Petromyzon Fluviatilis, 213. Pettenkofer, Mr. Von, 289, Pfundheller, Mr., 450. INDEX. Phenyl Brown, 485. Phillipeaux, Mr., 173. Phillips, Prof., 199, 259. Phipson, Dr., 51, 74. Phosphate Beds of South Carolina, 87. Phosphates and Fungi, 535. in Medicine, 557. Mineral, 326. Phosphide of Calcium, 527. Phosphorescence by tearing Muslin, 603. of Dead Fish, 211. Phosphorus and Turpentine, 564. Bronzes, 55, 532. in Animal Substances, 239. Matches, 514. Photographic Processes, Improved, 501. Photographing Magnetic Curves, 41. on Wood, 496. Photographs, Recolorin, 503. Phrynosoma, 198. Phthisis on the Central American Plateau, 593. Phylloxera Vastatrix, 222. Pickering, Prof., 5. Pickles, Green Color in, 368. Picrate of Potash, 413. Picric Acid and Wool, 481. Pictet, Prof., 184. Pig and Serpent Bites, 255. Antiquity of the, 184. Pigeon, Dodo, 192. Pincus, Dr., 554. Pitch a Test for genuine Benzole, 72. Pith of Woody Matter, 294. Plane-tree, European, 283. Plant and Heat of Soil, 298. : -labels, Wooden, 293. Plants, Action on by Light, 290. and Variable Temperature, 297. Circulation in, 291. how are they killed by Frost? 291. in Aqueous Solutions, 298. watered hot, 297. Wild, Colors from, 380. Plaster and Clay against Moss, 301. Casts, 455. Preparation of Court, 3S4. Paris and Alkalies, 455. Platanus Occidentalis, 283. Plateau, Prof., 226, 227. Platinized Mirrors, 508. - Playfair, Colonel, 211. Pliocene Period, North America in the, 91. Plosz, Mr., 240. Plumbago, Formation of, 65. Poéy, Prof., 24, 30, 141, 211. Poison from Shade of Manzanilla, 289. Mbonndon, 177, 563. of the Scorpion, 177. Poisonous Acorns, 564. , Poisons, Effect on different Animals, 561. Polatti, Mr., 68. Pole, Dr., 68. Poleck, Prof., 362. Polycotylus, 134. Polynesian Region, 151. Pompano, Occurrence of Northward, 260. Pond Creek Station, Pacitic Railrvad, 279. Ponsard, Mr., 457. Pontia Brassice, 270. Porcelain, Restoring cracked, 382. Porcupine, Expedition of the, 127. Porphyry, Artifical, 409. Portheus Molossus, 134. Portland Cement, 407. Port Logan, 212. Portunide, 276. Potash applied to Plants, 323. ; a Test for Hydrate of Chloral, 72. Carbonate of, for drying, 293. on Fruit-trees, 322. Permanganate of, 559. | Potassium, Bromide of, 575, 576. in Tobacco-smoke, 73. Sulphide, and Lead Pipes, 562. | Potato-ash, Analysis of, 318. Disease, Report on, 321. Flour, 434. Giant Marmont, 320. | Potatoes as Horse-feed, 319. in Germany, new Varieties, 320. tested by Specitic Gravity, 320, Utilization of surplus, 319. Pott, Dr., 357. | Potts, Mr., 257. Pourtalés, Count, 97, 105, 224, 225, 276. Powder for polishing, Best, 454. (Pertuiset), 419. Powell, Prof., his Explorations, 132. Prairies, Tree-planting on, 279. Presbytis Entellus, 561. Preservative Fluid, New, 529. Preserves and Germ Theory, 370. Prestwich, Mr., 179. Printers’ Ink and Binoxide of Manganese, 473. Drying, 493. Printing on Tin, 493. -paper, Wetting of, 4ST. Pritchard, Mr. Andrew, 603. Proctor, R. A., Sun’s Corona, 1, 2. Proteles, 172. Protohippus, Species of, 251. Protostega Gigas, 134. Prunus Laurocerasus, 296. Prussian Blue, new Method, 442. Psychic Force, 603, 610. Pterodactyl, 134. Systematic Position of, 199. Puscher, Mr. C., 56, 441, 453. Putty, Window, 459. Puydt, Mr. De, 144. Pyrometer, Electrical, Siemens’s, 418. Pyrula, 229. Q. Quartz Crystals, Smoky, 93. Quass, Alcohol from Milk, 336. Quatrefages, Mr., 226. Quicksilver in a freezing Mixture, 510. Sublimate in Brass Kettles, 452. Quinine, Action of, 585. Sulphate of, as a preservative,461. i: Rabbits and Sulphur, 332. Radiation and Zodiacal Light, 37. Radishes, speedy Growth of, 324. Ragweed, Dwarf, 254. Railroad Cars, Warming, 395. Railway Brake, Exter, 396. Railways, Size of Narrow-gauge, 396. Rain, Amount of, in different Heights, 30. Ramie Fibre, Value of, 482. in California, 318. Ramsay, Prof., 603. Rankin, Prof., 19. 630 Ransome, Mrs. F., 40S. Ration of Food, 594. Rats in the Laccadive Islands, 185. Rattray, Dr., 167. Rauch, Dr., 320. Raulin, Mr., 180. Raymond, Capt. Chas. W., 138. Raynolds, Col., 134. Recklingshauser, Mr., 162. Red, African, 437. on Wool, 439. Reduction of Ores by Chloride of Iron, 53. Reduvius Novenarius, 222. Refrigeration of warm-blooded Animals, 237. Regianine, 74. Regulator for Locomotive or Wagon, by Mr. Exter, 397. Reichenbach, Dr., 288. Reiman, Dr., 427, 430, 480. Reinsch, Mr., 360, 536. Reliquize Aquitaniz, 183. Renan, M., 11. Respighi, Prof., 3. on Solar Protuberances, 6. Respirators, Tyndall's, 541. Rhea Fibre Machines, Price for, 4S7. Rhinoceros Horn, Deciduous, 187. Matutinus, 249. Rhodea Japonica, 294. Rhysimetre, Fletcher’s, 389. Rib in Man, an eighth, 171. Rice for Beer, 366. Richard, Abbé, 88, 178. Richardson, Drs, 232, 566, 567. Richters, Dr., 399. Rigor Mortis, Contraction in, 550. Riley, Lieut., 131. Mr., 353. Rinderpest and Carbolic Acid, 339. Rissoa, 210. Rivére, Mr. Auguste, 305. Road-steamer, Thomson’s, 41S. Robert, Dr., 410. Rocky Mountain Expeditions, 130. Rollier, Mr., 44. Rood, Prof. Ogden N., 44. Rosenihal’s Exploring Expedition, 11S. Rosin, Solidification of melted, 6S. Ross, Sir James, 110. Rosse, Lord, 8, 454. Rossi, Dr., 566. Rost, Mr., 344, Roxie, Mr., 5. Rubber, Artificial, 464. fastened to Wood, etc., 459. Hose and Carbolic Acid, 508. old Vulcanized, using of, 525. Russian Explorations, 117. Geographical Society, 107. Rust Spots on Linen, Removal of, 38s, Ss. Saccharate of Lime, 525. Saccharine Matter, Analysis of, 491, Saffranin, 436. Saline Solutions for Street-watering, 546. Salmo Eriox, 216. Gloveri, 216. Hardini, 216. Sebago, 216. Salmon-fishing in Loch Tay, 215. -fly, Theory of, 263. « in the British Provinces, 260. : INDEX. Salmon in the Hudson River, 264. Kelts, Peculiarities of, 215. Land-locked, 216. Preservation of Dead, 356. Salt and Pyrites in Hailstones, 36. for cleaning Matting, 37S. for Electrical Batteries, New, 42. Table, against White Aunts, 353. Samoan Islands, 192. Sand-blast for cutting Glass, eic., 454. Compost, 325. and Clover-seed, 316. Sanderson, Dr., 268. Sanitary Conditions of certain Zoological Formations, 546. Sansom, Dr., 161. Sarasin, Mr. E., 50. Sargasso Sea, The, 115. Sawkins, Mr. Jas. G., 9T. Say, Mr. Thomas, 276. Sceva, Mr. George, 245. Science and the British Government, 602, Scientific Inactivity in Great Britain, 606, Scheerer, T., 63. Scherzer, Dr., 479. Scheurer-Kestner, Mr., 49. Schiff, Dr., 73. Schlagintweit, Mr. H., 386. Schmid, Dr., 126. Schmied, Prof., 335. Schoodic Lakes, 216. Schoras, Dr., 318. Schott, Mr., 29, 61, 421, 455. Schrader, Mr., 280. Schriver, Mr. William, 264. Schwartz, Dr., 457. Schweinfurth, Dr., 130. Sclater, Dr., 142, 152, 600. Scorpion, Poison of, 177. Scorpio Occitanus, 177. Scotia Ilustrata, 190. Scotland, Arctic Ice in, S4. Scott, Colonel, 403, 421. Mr. Robert H., 30. Screws in soft Wood, 383. Sea-bottom at the Atlantic Coast, 97. a divided into Faunal Regions, 15. Sea-grasses, Distribution of, 311. Sealing-wax against Snake-bite, 573. Sea-sickness and Chloral, 567. Prevention of, 557. Sea-weed for making Ebony, 463. origin for Coal, 87. Sebago Lake, 216. Secret Writing, 496. Sée, Dr., 594. Seedlings of Fruit-trees, 300. Seeds, Germination of, 299. Seeley, Prof., 199. Seguin, Mr., 189. Selfridge, Captain, 143. Sensation, Undulatory Theory of, 174. Sepulchre & Ohresser, Messrs., 409. Sepulture, Pre-historic Modes of, 242. Serpent-bites and Pigs, 255. Poison-gland of an East Indian, 203. Serpents in Australia, Poisonous, 202. in India, Poisonous, 201. in Tropical America, 201. ‘ in the West Indies, Extirpation of, 202. Sewage, Utilization of, 588. INDEX. Sewer, of Cement, 407. Sewing-machine on Health, 555, 58S. Seyffarth, Dr., 492. Shagreen, Artificial, 597. Shaler, Prof., 84, 101. Sharpey, Dr., 603. Sheep-shearing, 418. -washing, 418. Shell-heaps in New Brunswick, 182. Shells, Fossil, color of, 224. Shering, Mr., 517. Shimer, Mr., 353. Ships’ Bottoms, Coatings for, 463. Sibbald’s List of Birds, 190. Sidebotham, Mr., 317. Sieboldia in China, new Species, 205. Signal Lamp, Inextinguishable, 527. Lights, pale Yellow, 417. Silesia, Upper, 228. Silica, Alkaline Solution of, 405, 408. Hydrate of, 411. in Paint, 406. Liquid, for lining Tin Vessels, 494. Natural, 405. Silk, Gilding and Silvering, 61. Goods, detecting Adulterations of,516. in Fabrics, Detection of, 481. Japanese Coloring, 443. Silk-worm Disease and Nitrogen, 288. in California, 330. Silphium Laciniatum, 285. Silver Alloy, Third, 54. Brittle, 7S. Lac, French, 525. Mine at Lake Superior, 92. Silvery Coating of Metals, Test of, 54. Siemens, Mr., 391. Simiade, 15S. Sismondi, Mr., 99. Sitchian Province, 152. Size for Cotton and Linen, 441. Sizing Materials, 450. Skeletons, Platycnemic, 242. Skey, Mr., 53, 54, 67, 565. Skin-grafting, 172. Skins of Animals, Removing, 386. Skulls of Hindoos, 245. Slack, Dr., 217. Slides of Land, 98. Small-pox in England, 582. in the North, 240. Subjects, 581. value of Revaccination, 581. Smith, Mr. J., 290, 426. Mr. Sidney J., 141. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 192, 224, 278, 60T. Meteorological Publications, 29. Smoke, Combustion of, 75. Smythe, Prof. Piazzi, 26. Snails and the Flowers of Rhodea, 294. Snake-bite and Sealing-wax, 573. -bites, Cure for, 175, 176. Dr. Fayrer on, 577. ~ Poison and Carbolic Acid, 573. Sneller, Mr., 65. 7 Soap, Improving, 385. Liquid, for Wool, 476. Metallic, 478. Kasan, 362. Yellow Color for, 517. Society of Physics and Natural History of Geneva, 597. 631 Soda, Nitrate of, on Plants, 323. Permanganate of, 366. Tungstate of, 433. Sodium for purifying Iron, 62. Soils, Productive Power of, discussed by Voelcker, 328. Solar Eclipse, December, 1870, 3. Protuberances, Respighi, 6. Baer Aqueous, for growing Plants, Solvent for Sulphur, Aqueous, etc., 68. Sombrerite, 326. Somnambulism, Cure of, 555. Sonoran Province, 152. Sorby, Mr., 294, 307. Soup Tablets, 360. South Africa, Explorations in, 130. Carolina, Phosphate Beds of, 87. Sparrows, Transportation of, 256. Speckled Fabrics, 446. ~ go eee for testing the Purity of Wa- er, 46. Spectrum Analysis of Blood, 45. Spence, Mr. Peter, 394. Sperm Candle, Novel, 510. Spiller, Mr., 481. Spinal Marrow and Brain, Ratio of, 164. Sponge Paper, 551. Spots of Grease, Removal of, 378. and Stains, Removal from Clothing, BCE Sprague, Mr., 604, Stains from Walnuts, Removal of, 379. Star, Parallax of, 10. Starch, Rice, 442. Water-proof, 47S. Steam and Gunpowder, 416. Boilers, Jacket for, 398. Boilers, removing Deposits from, - 398. in Herring Fisheries, 348. Packing, Girdwood’s, 418. Steamer for Fishing, 606. Steatornis Caripensis, 466. Steel, Bernard Process, 63. Bessemer, 63. Burned, Restoring, 390. Determination of its Carbon, 66. Heaton, 63. Heaton and Bessemer Process, 390. Making, Parkes’s Improvement,392. Siemens’s, 390. Type, 494. Steering Gear, 418. Stehverger, Dr., 558. Steindachner, Dr., 105. Stein, Prof., 429. Sterlet, 213. Stimpson, Dr., 224, 276, 277, 608, 609. St. Kilda Island, 191. St. Lawrence, Exploration of the, 139. Stockings with double Thread, 426, Stohmann, Mr., 344. Stolba, Prof., 57, 59, 474. Stone, Blackening, 410. Coal, Heat from, 49. and Copper Salts, 410. Marist. Mr. Livingstone, 21¢C. ~ Victoria, 405, 407. Storm Signals, 32. in the Azores, 34. Stove, Gas Cooking, 372. Strange, Col., 602. 632 Straw, Fischer’s Method of Bleaching, 448. Matting, Cleaning of, 378. Streintz, Mr., 36. Strontian for Lime in Bone, i64.. Struve, Prof.,10. . Strychnine, Cerium a Test for, 72. Stuart, Mr. Robert L., 258. Stubenrauch, Mr., 439. Sturgeon, Teeth of, 213. St. Vitus’s Dance, Cure of, 55S. Styptic Cotton, 551. Suez, Mollusca of the Gulf of, 274. Sugar-eane, Extracting, 490. -cutting Machine, 372. from fallen Cane, 491. for preserving Fish, 359. in Aniline, 440. in Fuchsine, 517. Refining, 492. Sulphides, Reduction of, 52. Sulpho-carbolate of Zinc against Frecixles, 553. Sulphur, Aqueous Solvent for, 68. and Rabbits, 332. Sulphuric Acid against Weeds, 513. Restoring of, 71. Sulphurons Acid for Sugar Refining, 492. Sumatran Elephant, 254. Sumichrast, Prof., 99. Sun, Explosion in the, 12. Protuberances on the, 12. Rotation and Magnetic Variations of the, 13. Temperature-of, Zéllner, 6. -dial, Ancient Pheenician, 11. -spots, Character of, Zéllner, 7. -stroke, Cause of, 556. Sun’s Corona, Proctor on_the, 1, Sunflower Plant, Value of, 316. Sutherland, Duke of, 213. Swan, Mr. J. W., 501. Swayne, Dr., 584. Sweet-oil against Carbolic Acid, 564. Swift, Mr., 141. Syrtensian Province, 152. JM Tablets of Soun, 360. Tacchini, Prof., 12. Tait, Prof., 16. Tamm, Mr. Hugo, 76. Tannin and Carbolic Acid, 506, 571. and Wine, 505. in Beer, 366. in Oak Bark, 597. Removal of Odor from, 75. Tapioca Beef Bouillon, 360. Paper in Photography, 498. Tapirs, American, 278. Tapirus Pinchaque, or Roulini, 27S. Tarichium, 223, 267. Tar Varnish, 468. ‘lattoo-marks, Removal of, 647. Telford, Mr., 428. Tellier, Mr., 531. Temperature at various Heights, 27. Cycles of, 26. Increase of, in Mont Cenis Tunnel, 27, 37. of the Earth Depths, 27. required to kill Microscopic Organisms, 545. s Waves of, 27. at different INDEX. Terebratula, supposed new Genus, 223. Tertiary Period, Man in the, 180. Test-paper, Improyed, 70. Thenard, Mr., 340. Thermo-dynamic Acceleration and Re- tardation of Streams, 19. Thermometer, Everett’s Self- regulating Maximum, 28. Thermometric and Sun-spot Curves, 7. Thierry’s Process, 76. Thompson, Prof., 189. . Thomson, Mr. William, on Darwinism, 160. Prof. Wyville, 163. Sir William, 15, 20, 21. Thunder-storms, Frequency of, 35. Maxima and Minima, 23. Tichborne, Mr., 540. Tidal Committee of the British Associa- tion, Report of, 20. Tides, Action of, on the Earth, 21. a Source of Power, 418. and Barometric Pressure, 37. Timber, Season for cutting, 315. Tincal, Baron De, 301. Tin-foil for preserving Lemous, 369. Tin, new Locality of, 93. Printing on, 493. Vessels lined with Silica, 494. Tinning Metals, 531. rapid Method of, 59. | Toad, Habit of Horned,19S. | Tobacco-smoke, Researches upon, 73. Tommasi, Mr., 418. Torpedoes for Defense, 417. Torquay, Cave of, 179. Tosselli, Mr., 513. Totten, Dr., 573. Touraco, red Color of, 196. Trachynotus Carolinus, 260. Tramway, Hodgson’s Wire, 418. Single Rail, 396. Transmissibility of Intellectual Qualities in England, 183. Transportation of Milk, 361. Tree for Cities, European Plane, 283. new Milk-producing, 283. -planting on the Prairie’, 279. Trees, Felling of, 340. Fruit, from Seed, 300. Fruit, Removal of Moss from, 301. Effect of, on Climate, 25, 279. Temperature varies slowly in, 280. Tremellat, Mr., 305. Trilobite, Feet in, 228. Trimethylamin, 289. Trogurus Castoroideus, 252. Trommer, Prof., 345. Trout, Food for young, 217. Tailless, in Scotland, 217. Troutdale, N.J., Fish-breeding at, 217. Tunnels, Prevention of Moisture in, 401. Turin, 228. Turkey of Florida, 257. Turpentine against Phosphorus, 564. Purification of, 46S. Turtles injurious to Florida Cable, 271. ’ of North and South America, 203. Tyndall, Prof., 3, 38, 47, 48, 161, 163, 536, 540, 541. Type of Steel, 494. U. Uhler, Dr., 270. | Ultramarine, Composition of, 429. INDEX. Units of Force and Energy, 599. Unruh, Dr., 589. avs Vaccination, improved Method of, 583. in Africans, 582. Vanellus Cayennensis, 197. Varley, Mr. C. F., 50, 98, 175. Varnish for Plants, 467. for Printing, Red and Violet, 498. Tar, 468. Transparent Green, 473. Vegetables, Desiccated, 370. Early, 301. Vegetation and Gas, 292. injured by great Battles, 314. Ventilating Rooms, 542. Venus, Transit of, in 1874, 14, 109. Verreaux, Mr. J ules, 196. Verrill, Prof., 140, 152, 224, 228, 269, 276. Vertebrates of Australia, 149. Vincent, Mr., 68, 472. Vinegar by Pasteur’s Mode, 367. from unripe Fruit, 368. Fumes, preventing their Action, 460. Vineyard Sound, Explorations in, 140. Vision, Duration of, 44. Voelcker, Dr., 328, 551. Veux, Mr. De, 142. Vogel, Dr. H., 499. Mr., 296, 299. Vogt, Mr., 179. Vohl, Dr., 67, 73, 475. Voit, Mr., 170. VY lcanoes, Artificial, 82. ve Wagner, Dr. R., 65. Wakatipu Lake, 198. Walker, Dr. D., 125. Mr. E., 221, 550. Wallace, Mr., 218. Mr. Alfred R., 156, 601. Mr. John, 198. Walls, curing Dampness of, 400. Waluut Dye for Woed, 529. Stains, Removal of, 379. Walsh, Mr., 353. Wanklyn, Mr., 538. Washburne, Gen. H. D., 135. Washing and Ironing Machines, Simple, 374. Powders, 477. Water and Fungi, 535. for washing Wool, 345. freed from Gypsum, 536, Freezing of, 29. Glass, Action of, 70. for washing Wool, 338. Hard versus Soft, 537, 538. its purity tested by Spectroscope, 46. Lake and Sea, blue Color of, 47. -pest Plant a Puritier, 285. -pipes, Wooden, 424. preserved by Iron, 535. -proof Glue, 461. Starch, 478. -proofing, Chinese, 479. Clothing, al 480. Walls, 40 Purification of, by ee Tron, 593. | Purity of, 536 Removal of Gypsum from, 374. 635 Water, Sewage, 535. Wa tering Streets with saline Solutions, 546. Watson, Dr., 486. Wax from the Ear, Remoying, 551. Weather-cock, new Form of, 31. Weaving among Lake- dwellers, 181. Weber Brothers, 153: Weddell, Mr., 111. Weeds and Sulphuric Acid, 313. Weidel, Mr., 593. Weigert, Dr, 181. Weighing Machine, Duckie: 465. WwW eichts ‘of Aluminium, 51. W ells, Mr. Spencer, 566. Wengen, Mr., 352. Werveirne, Mr. J. De, 429. West Indies, Explorations i in, 141. Wetherill, Dr., 163. Wetting Printing Paper, 487. Whale in Canada, Fossil, 189. Whalers in the Arctic Seas, 604. Whales east of European North Cape, 255. killed by Cannon, 411. Wheat versus Flour, 547. Whentley, Mr. Charles M., 250. Whiteaves, Mr. J. F., 139, 276. White, Dr., 105. from Barytes, 450. Mountains, Glaciers in, S6. Sea, Exploration of, 121. Whitewashing with Baryta, 375. Whitney, Prof. J. D., 29, 34, 138, 251. Whitworth, Sir Joseph, 393. Wiesner, Prof., 482. Wilkes, Capt., 110, 192. Williams College Expedition, 142. Willkomm, Pr of., 267. Wilson Station, Pacitic Railroad, 279. Winchell, Prof., Wine, Coloring Mutter of, 364. and Tannin, 595. Winlock, Prof., 3, 4. Wisconsin Animals, Disappearance of, 253. Wolf, Arctic, 172. Mi te Wolfram on Tungsten, 432. Wollaston Gold Medal, 603. Mr., 21S. Wolverine, Remains of, 252. Wood, Dr. George B., 322. -dyeing with Aniline Red, 439. Embossing, 452. etc., Bronzing of, 452. for Paper Pulp, 484. made less Combustible, £76. Preservation of, by Salt, 420. -pulp, Bleaching of, 448. -pulp in Paper, Detection of, 482. Seasoning of, 315. | Wooden Labels for Plants, 382. Water-pipes, 424. | Woodw ard, Mr., 228. | Wool, Adulteration of, 482. and Aniline Blue, 449. and Picric Acid, 481. -bleaching, 438. -dyeing, Red, 439. Water-glass in Washing, 338. Woorari, 177. W orthen, Prof., 248. Wounds treated with Carbclic Acid, 572. Wright, Dr., 576. Writing, Secret, 496. 634 Wyman, Prof., 182, 454. _ Wynne, Dr. James, 593. bs Xanthophyllite, Matrix of Diamond, 81. ae Yarn, Grége, 480. Yellowstone, Head Waters of, 134, 136. 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