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ANNUAL RECORD

OF

SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

FOR 1872.

EDITED BY

SPENCER F. BAIRD,

WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF EMINENT MEN OF SCIENCE.

NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,

FRANKLIN SQUARE.

1S73.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by

Harper & Brothers,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

The present volume is the second of a series in which
it is proposed to present, year by year, the most important
discoveries in the various branches of science, theoretical
and applied the selection of subjects being made, prima-
rily, on the ground of their absolute importance, as marking
the stages of scientific advancement ; and, secondarily, as
being of interest to the general reader. A general sum-
mary of progress for the year in the different departments,
prefixed to the volume, is intended to give a connected
sketch of what has actually been accomplished.

It will, of course, be readily understood that, in the com-
pass of a single duodecimo volume, it is impossible to do
more than touch very briefly upon what appear to be the
more noteworthy subjects. As far as the specialist is con-
cerned, he must necessarily have recourse, for full informa-
tion, to the Journals or Year-Books devoted to his partic-
ular department, of which scarcely any branch of science
is at present destitute.

As no person, however learned in any one direction, is
competent to decide upon the relative importance of facts
and discoveries in departments other than his own, the ed-
itor would be far from arro^atinsr to himself even an av-
erage ability in this respect. He has, however, been so
fortunate as to secure the collaboration of some of the
most eminent men of science in this country ; and among
those to whom he has been indebted for the communica-
tion of original discoveries, abstracts of what has been done
by others, or summaries of progress in their respective
departments, he is permitted to mention the names of Pro-
fessors Henry, Gill, Harkness, Abbe, Newcomb, and Hay-
den, of Washington ; Professors Cope and Leidy, of Phila-

iv PREFACE.

delphia ; Professors Newberry, Joy, and Wm. A. Hammond,
of New York ; Professors G. F. Barker, Yerrill, Marsh, and
Dana, of New Haven ; Professors Agassiz, Gray, and Wat-
son, of Cambridge ; Professor T. S terry Hunt, of Boston ;
Professor Langley, of Pittsburg ; Professor Himes, of Car-
lisle, Pa. ; and Dr. Alfred W. Bennett, of London ; while
others prefer to remain unnamed for the present.

In addition to the large number of scientific serials enu-
merated at the end of the volume as received regularly by
mail, expressly for service in preparing the Record, free
access has been allowed to the unrivaled library of publi-
cations of learned societies belonging to the Smithsonian
Institution, by permission of its Secretary.

The plan adopted in printing the Record, and the mul-
tiplicity of subjects sometimes contained in a single article,
has prevented a satisfactory systematic arrangement. By
means, however, of the analytical table of Contents, with
cross references, and a copious alphabetical Index, it is
hoped that any subject or name can readily be found.

SrE^CER F. Baird.
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, April 10, 1873.

TABLE OF CONTENTS/

3fr

PREFACE Page iii

GENERAL SUMMARY OF PROGRESS xix

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY 1

ASTRONOMY.

Interstellar Space : Nature of its Medium, 7. The Stars : Movement in
Space, 7, 27 ; Spectroscopic Phenomena of Argus, 8. The Sun : Its true
Temperature, 1 ; Physical Condition, 2; Protuberances, 3, 5 ; Yellow bright
Line of Spectrum, 6 ; Magnesium in its Flame, 30 ; Bright Lines of Chro-
mosphere, 34; Eclipse of December, 1870,4,0,31,32; Future Eclipses, 7;
Relation to Magnetic Disturbances, 34 ; Spectroscopical Society, 3 ; Lecture
on, 32. The Planets: Leverrier on the larger, 9; Influence of, on the
Sun's Spots, 9 ; One supposed anterior to Mercury, 3 ; Transit of Venus in
1874, 11, 12, 39; Asteroids, 24, 33, 36; Saturn's Rings, 33; Spectrum of
Neptune, 38; of Planets generally, 9. The Moon: Photographs of, 24;
Change of Spots in Craters, 33. Meteoroids : Their Nature, 19, 27 ; of So-
lar Origin? 22; Fall of Aerolites, 22; Maskelyne on, 23. Comets : Planta-
mour's, 21; Encke's, 35; Biela's, 38; their Nature, 21, 27. The Aurora:
Its Nature, 13 ; its Spectrum, 14, 18 ; its Height, 16, 17 ; of February 4, 1872,
14, 17, 18. Observatories : Site for, 25 ; Sherman Station, 28 ; Report of
Washington, 26 ; of Dudley, 32 ; Telescope for Edinburgh, 25 ; Lexington,
Ya., 26 ; Proctor on, 29. Miscellaneous : Longitudes in the United States,
23 ; Proper Geographical Meridian, 158 ; late Advances in Astronomical
Knowledge, 24 ; Cable Announcements of Discoveries, 36.

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY 41

TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS.

The Land. Earthquakes: In California, 123 ; Self- regulating Indicator,
44 ; Volcanoes : Volcanic Sand in Chile, 56 ; Exhalations, 122 ; Change of
Level: In Northern Seas, 64, 122; near the North Pole, 115 ; on the Pata-
gonian Coast, 131; in the Andes, 155. The Ocean. Tides: Relation to
Height of Barometer, 41 ; Currents : Croll on, 41, 42 ; of the Black Sea, 57 ;
Depths : Steel Wire for Gauging, 56, 62 ; Temperatures : In the Atlantic
near the Equator, 43 ; between Cuba and Yucatan, 44 ; of Deep Seas gener-
ally, 57, 59 ; Apparatus for Recording, 71 ; Constituents : Amount of Car-
bonic Acid, 58, 59.

* In the arrangement of articles in the body of the work, it was found difficult to
place them in systematic sequence. The effort has been made in the Table of Con-
teuts to rectify any misplacement of paragraphs, so as to bring together those most
nearly related, and in proper order.

v i TABLE OF CONTENT

METEOROLOGY.

General Climatology : Peculiarities of different Regions, 50 ; Comparative
Climate of Hills and Valleys, 51 ; Unusual Weather in the Arctic Regions
in 1871, 51 ; European Winter of 1871-72, 52 ; Relation of Weather to Col-
liery Explosions, 53 ; Meteorology of the Future, 68 ; Extension of Ameri-
can Weather Telegraphy, 82 ; Atmospheric Electricity, 55 ; Carbonic Acid
in the Atmosphere, 97. Atmospheric Pressure and the Winds : Influ-
ence on Tides, 41 ; on Colliery Explosions, 53 ; the great Barometric Wave,
69 ; Laws of the Winds in Europe, 46 ; Cyclones in the Pacific, 54 ; Unva-
rying Course of Cirrus Clouds, 67. Temperatures. Of Land : In South
America, 43 ; Change in Northern Hemisphere, 54 ; of Ocean : See Terres-
trial Physics. Moisture : Do great Fires produce Rain ? 61 ; Course of
Cirrus Clouds, 67. Observations and Instruments: Storm - signals in
New South Wales, 44 ; British and American Storm Warnings, 45 ; British
Weather Map, 46 ; American Weather Telegraphy, 82 ; Steel Sounding-
lines, 56, 62 ; Recording Deep-sea Temperatures, 71.

C. GENERAL PHYSICS 71

ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM.

Magnetism. Terrestrial: Adjustment of Ships' Compasses, 71; Variation
of the Magnetic Pole, 72 ; new Theory of, 72 ; concurrent Observations, 73 ;
General : Action of the Magnet on Electric Light, 74 ; of Diamagnetic
Body on Electric Current, 80 ; Magnetism of Petroleum, 81. Electricity.
General: Apparatus for recording Deep-sea Temperatures, 71 ; Develop-
ment by Friction, 72 ; Electric Pyrometer, 81 ; Weather Telegraphy, 82 ;
Atmospheric : Palmieri's Law, 55. Light : Action of the Magnet on Elec-
tric, 74 ; Boyden Premium, 75 ; Eliminating Oxygen from Plants, 75 ;
Spectroscope, Young on the, 75 ; the Microscope : Nomenclature of Object-
ives, 76 ; Refraction of, 76 ; Duration of Visual Impressions, 75 ; Polarizing
Action of Tartaric Acid, 79 ; Identification of Lights at Sea, 81 ; of Hydro-
gen Flame, 87 ; Action on Olive-oil, 90 ; Chemical Action of Daylight, 90.
Heat : Hydrogen Flame, 87 ; Action of Gas Jet on Water, 78 ; Ice Ex-
periment, 78 ; Electric Pyrometer, 81. Sound : Transmission in Water, 80.
Physics : Change of Volume in Solutions, 100 ; Mensbrugghe's Law, 101 ;
Valson's Law, 102.

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY 83

Elementary Bodies. Hydrogen : Phenomena of its Flame, 87 ; Reduci
Power when Nascent, 114; Action of Nitric Acid on Metals, 91; Sulphur:
Amount in Coal, 86 ; Sulphuric Acid in Vinegar, 103 ; Native Sulphuric
Acid in Texas, 114 ; Carhon : Carbonic Acid of the Atmosphere, 97 ; of the
Ocean, 58, 59 ; direct Oxydation of, 105. Gold: Friable Coin, 83 ; Silver:
Formation of Nitrate from Silver Alloy, 84 ; Iridium : Sensibility to Mer-
curial Vapor, 102; Mercury: Relation to Iridium, 102; Nickel: Plating,
84; Potassium: Metallic, 84 ; Potash from Corn-cobs, 99 ; Iron: Electric
Deposit of, 82 ; Nature of burnt, 85 ; Combustibility of, 109 ; Action with
Charcoal on Carbonic Acid, 110 ; Native, in Greenland, 134; from the Iron
Sand of New Zealand, 85 ; of California, 133. Reduction of Metals : New
Agent for the, 83 ; by Nascent Hydrogen, 114 ; Rivot Process, 86 ; of Iron

TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii

by Electricity, 82; Nickel Plating, 84. Compound Bodies: Ammonium:
Synthesis of, 113; Cupro- Ammonium, 91 ; Alcohol: Reaction of, 87; An-
hydrous, 88 ; Detection of, in Water, 103 ; Chloral Hydrate, 105 ; Distilla-
tion, 108 ; Fermentation, 111; Sugar: Of Milk, 98; Conversion of Cane into
Glucose by Light, 98; Milk: Galactine, 99; Albumen, 99. Other Sub-
stances: Glycol -Strychnine, 91; Noctilucine, 111, 334; Chinamine, 93;
Cathartine, 92 ; Carbazol and Carbazoline, 92, 96 ; Abietine, 92 ; Indigo-
tine, 95 ; Indigophan, 95 ; Orcine, Synthesis of, 96 ; Tetronerythrin, 96, 97 ;
Chlorophyl, 94 ; Purpurophyl, 107. Coloring Matters : From Aldehydes
and Phenols, 95 ; of Aphis, 95 ; Blue, of Boletus, 106 ; of Red Spots of
Grouse and Fish, 96, 97. Chemical Tests : Guaiacum for Blood-stains, 104 ;
to distinguish Barley from Wheat Starch, 104 ; Animal Fluids, 107 ; Alco-
hol in Water, 103 ; Sulphuric Acid in Vinegar, 103. Miscellaneous : Clas-
sification of Odors, 87 ; Spontaneous Combustion of Charged Silk, 88 ;
Chemical Inventions in the London Exhibition of 1871, 89 ; Action of Light
on Olive-oil, 90 ; Fat found in Beer Yeast, 98 ; Gases in the Swimming
Bladders of Fishes, 104 ; Effect of Pressure on the Evolution of Gases in
Fermentation, 105 ; Solubility of Salt and Gases in Water, 106 ; Produc-
tion of certain Metals in 1866, 110 ; Stassfurt Chemical Works, 105 ; Chem-
ical Composition of Clean and Foul Salmon, 106.

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY 115

MINERALOGY.

Iron : Native, in Greenland, 115, 134. Silica : Trimorphous State of, 132.
Corundum in North Carolina, 117. New Species, 116, 117 ; Rosthornite,
116; Syngenite, 140 ; Coorongite, 134. Diamonds : In Xanthophyllite, 118 ;
of Meteoric Origin, 118; in Arizona, 132. Meteorites in Greenland, 115,
134.

GEOLOGY.

General : Post-pliocene, of Canada, 138 ; of the Rocky Mountains Hay-
den, 126, 197 ; King, 127 ; Marsh, 153, 187 ; of the Yellowstone Park, 125 ;
of California, 128; Ohio, 125; Indiana, 125 ; Bermudas, 137 ; West Inches,
135. Change of Level: Northern Seas, 64; near the North Pole, 115;
Sweden, 122 ; Patagonian Coast, 131 ; Andes, 155. Supposed Change of
Pole, 122. Glaciers: In Chile, 123; Montevideo, 124 ; South America, 130;
Northern Hemisphere, 139 ; Algeria, 124. Earthquake in California, 123.
Volcanoes : Exhalations from, 122 ; Temperature of Lavas, 122 ; Vol-
canic Sand in Chile, 56.

Coal and Bitumen : Bituminous Shales, 119 ; Asphaltum, 131 ; Origin
of Coal, 120 ; Coal in Chile, 120.

Miscellaneous : Bed of Glauber's Salt, 118 ; Salt in Lakes, 120 ; Mille-
pora Limestone, 118; Microscopical Structure of Slate, 119; Iron Sand on
the Pacific Coast, 133 ; Phosphate Beds of the Dniester, 121 ; Origin of
Phosphates, 134.

F. GEOGRAPHY 141

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

The Red Sea, 64 ; Proper Meridian for Reference, 158 ; Venezuelan Mount-
ains, 178; Instructions for Research, 193.

viii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

EXPLORATIONS.

The Ocean and its Depths. By the United States : U. S. Hydrographic
Office, 145 ; Florida Seas, 154 ; Pacific Ocean, 169, 180, 196 ; Voyage of the
Hassler, 204 ; Bay of Fundy and Georges Banks, 201 ; by Great Britain :
the Yacht Noma, 150 ; the Challenger, 169, 180, 196 ; New Hebrides and
Santa Cruz, 166 ; Iceland, 183 ; by Russia : the Witjas in the Pacific, 167 ;
by Germany: the Pommerania in the Baltic, 189.

The Arctic Regions : In general, 142, 146, 148, 149, 171, 195, 203 ; A mer-
ica : Octave Pavy, 141 ; Long on, 142 ; Captain Hall, 142, 143 ; A ustria :
Payer and Weyprecht, 144, 172 ; Markham on, 186 ; Great Britain : Pro-
posed British Expedition, 149, 195; Greenland, 188; Russia: Seas north
of Siberia, 146 ; Sweden : Spitzbergen, etc., 148, 170 ; Germany : Polar Ex-
pedition, 184. The Antarctic Regions : Neumayer's proposed Expedition,
170.

North America : Greenland (Whymper), 186 ; Alaska (Dall), 175 ; Alas-
ka Boundary, 185 ; Rocky Mountain Region : Hayden, 197 ; Wheeler, 152,
173; Marsh, 153, 187; Powell, 152, 192, 212; Northern Boundary of the
United States, 176, 186 ; Torrey and Gray Peaks, 186 ; Bay of Fundy, 176,
201; Mount Seward, New York, 151. Middle America : Nicaragua Ship-
canal, 155, 156, 185 ; Resolution of General Banks, 211. South America :
The Hassler, 204 ; Mountains of Chile, 156 ; of Brazil, 157 ; -Hartt's Explo-
rations in Brazil, 157 ; Mountains of Venezuela, 178.

Polynesia : Challenger Expedition, 166 ; New Hebrides and Santa Cruz,
166 ; Cruise of the Witjas, 167 ; New Guinea, 167, 168.

Asia : Siberia, 146 ; Palestine, 159, 160, 177, 187 ; Asia Minor, 160 ; An-
cient Troy, 190; Mantchooria, 161; Beloochistan, 161; Ceylon, 161; In-
dian Ocean (Brenner), 166 ; Japan (Blakiston), 165.

Europe : The German Seas, 189.

Africa : Buchholz, Li'ihder, and Reichenow, 162 ; Schweinfurth, 162 ;
Mauch, 162 ; Stanley and Livingstone, 163 ; Livingstone Relief, 163, 177,
178 ; Congo Exploration, British, 179 ; German, 196 ; Rohlf, 212.

G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 213

NATURAL HISTORY IN GENERAL.

Microscopy: Meteoric Sand, 119; Microscopic Forms in Chicago Water,
292 ; Pedalion mira, a new Rotifer, 325. Darwinism : Origin of Spe-
cies, 292. Miscellaneous: Relation of Medusas to Potato Blight, 303;
The Lens, 310 ; Bacteria, 347, 348 ; Ferment Fungi, 350 ; Cryptococcus,
350.

ZOOLOGY IN GENERAL.

Museums : Publications of Cambridge Museum, 219, 309. Menageries :
Sale of Wombwell's, 217. Aquaria : At Brighton, 218 ; Naples, 219, 298 ;
Berlin, 219; Manchester, 298 ; Vienna, 325. Zoological Stations : Naples,
219, 298.

Zoological Explorations. See Explorations under F.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY.

The Nervous System : Excised Brain in Pigeons, 275 ; Sensibility in the
Snout of the Mole, 280 ; Action of Anaesthetics on, 286 ; Origin of Nerve
Force, 287 ; Mind in Lower Animals, 288.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix

The Blood : Effect of Quinine on White Corpuscles, 276 ; Variation in
Size of Corpuscles, 276 ; Modification of Blood Globules, 277 ; Iron in the
Blood, 314; Influence of Colored Rays on Respiration, 313; Respiration of
Fish, 261.

The Skeleton : Effect of Interment on the Structure of Bone, 295; Trans-
plantation of Periosteum, 280 ; Teeth in Young Sturgeon, 264 ; Growth of
Finger Nails, 282 ; Carpal and Tarsal Bones of Birds, 336.

The Muscles : Transversely Striated Muscular Fibre in Acari, 278 ; Re-
lation of Glycogen to Muscular Action, 281; Left and Right Handedness,
237, 296.

Animal Heat : Effect of swinging Rabbits in lowering, 279 ; new The-
ory of, 323.

Miscellaneous: Haemoglobin, 264; Cellulose in Animal Tissues, 276;
Chondrine in Tunicates, 301 ; Bloody Secretion from the Eye of the Horn-
ed Toad, 256 ; Metamorphoses of Frogs, 257 ; Generation of Eels, 299 ;
Chemical Composition of Gases in the Air-bladder of Fish, 104 ; of Clean
and Foul Salmon, 106; Absorption of Insoluble Matter through Membranes,
279 ; Transplantation of the Periosteum, 280 ; Development of Fibrine from
Albumen, 281; Starvation and the* Secretion of Milk, 282; Physiological
Action of Coffee, Tea, etc., 283 ; of Quinine, 284 ; of Tobacco, 285 ; Phos-
phorescence of Marine Animals, 289 ; of Pyrosoma, 290 ; Left and Right
Handedness, 237, 296 ; Noctilucine, 334.
FAUNAS.

Madagascar (Grandidier), 213 ; Thibet (David), 213, 318 ; Discoveries of
Agassiz in the Deep Seas, 214, 215 ; Mixture of Marine and Brackish, 217 ;
Comparison of the Fauna of Europe and Massachusetts, 304 ; Birds of New
Zealand, 309 ; North American (Coues), 310 ; of Galapagos, 312 ; of Florida,
320 ; of Kansas, 321 ; of the British Islands, 320.

ANIMALS IN GENERAL.

Curious Animal dredged on the Australian Eclipse Expedition, 275 ; Fossils
from the Nevada Shales, 308.

VERTEBRATA IN GENERAL.

The '-Sea-serpent," 220, 296 ; Fight of a Cobra and Mongoose, 255; Phos-
phoresence of Marine Animals, 289 ; new Bone Cave in Germany, 222 ; Fos-
sils of Nevada Shales, 308 ; new Fossil Vertebrates, 305, 306.

MAMMALS.

Modern Man: Phoenician Inscriptions, 230; Tanis Stone, 230; Egyptian An-
tiquities, 231 ; German Ethnological Museum, 232 ; Stranding of a Japa-
nese Junk on the Aleutians, 232 ; Esquimaux Settlements in East Greenland,
233, 234 ; Dwarfed Head, 235 ;- Anthropological Institute of New York, 236 ;
Collection of Indian Relics, 236 ; Preferential Use of the Right Hand, 237,
296 ; International Congress, 293 ; American Oriental Society ; Traces of
Indian Races in Europe, 313; Relation of Indians to Game, 234; Educa-
tion in Japan, 233 ; Defective Brain and Deformed Features, 237 ; Use of the
Boomerang in America, 235 ; in the Old World, 316 ; present Population of
the Globe, 329.

Prehistoric Man : Prehistoric Corpse in Holstein, 220 ; Prehistoric Man
in America, 295, 329 ; in Wyoming, 330 ; at Soloutre, 331 ; in Alaska, 327 ;

1*

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Lacustrine Villages on Lake Bienne, 223 ; on Leman, 224 ; Viking Boat
in Norway, 225 ; Prehistoric Beads, 221 ; Perforated Sharks' Teeth, 224 ;
Chipped Flints in India, 229 ; Nephrite Axe on the Amoor, 229 ; Man in
the Post-tertiary of Hungary, 224 ; Cave Skeleton, 227 ; Skeleton of Lau-
gerie-Basse, 227, 228 ; of Baousse-rousse, 229, 294 ; Megalithic Monument
at Avebury, 224 ; British Stone Implements, 225 ; Shell Mound, Newbury-
port, 236 ; Mound Crania, 331.

Other Mammals : Higher Groups (Gill), 238 ; Fur-bearing Animals in
New Jersey, 240 ; Synthetic Types, 244 ; Wyoming Fossils, 246 ; Fossil Pro-
boscidians, 307; the Metalophodon, 308 ; Fossil Lemuroid in North America,
326 ; Apes in Thibet, 239 ; Fossil Monkey in Italy, 239 ; Mammals of Thib-
et, 318 ; Bassaris in Ohio, 240 ; Killing Buffalo, 241 ; Jumping Mouse, 241 ;
Belgian Bats, 242 ; new Mastodon, 242 ; Siberian Mammoth, 243 ; American
Mammoth, 303, 333 ; Bathmodon and Pterodactyls, 244 ; Birth of Hippopot-
amus, 245, 333 ; of Hairy Rhinoceros, 246 ; Fossil Sirenian, 246 ; new Whale,
247 ; California Gray Whale, 331 ; Whale, 437 ; Fur Seal, 435 ; the Fabled
Unicorn, 299; Fossil Deer, 301; West Coast Cetaceans (Scammon), 312;
Origin of the Domestic Dog, 317.

BIRDS.

General : Occurrence of American, in Europe, 247 ; Birds of New Zealand,
253, 309 ; of Florida, 320 ; of Kansas, 321 ; of the British Islands, 326 ; Fos-
sil Birds of France, 250 ; of the Mascarene Islands, 251 ; from Queensland,
252 ; Raptorial Fossils in New Zealand. 252 ; American Fossil, 253, 254 ;
Coues on American, 310 ; on the Birds of the United States, 336 ; new Or-
nithological Periodical, 311 ; Carpal and Tarsal Bones, 336.

Special : A Swimming Hen, 249 ; King Penguin, 249 ; New Zealand
Duck, 249 ; Ejection of Young Birds from Nests by Cuckoos, 249 ; the Moa,
326 ; Eggs of Moa, 253 ; Bill of the Huia Bird, 324.

REPTILES. AMPHIBIANS.

Number in the British Museum, 254 ; new North American, 254 ; Cope on
Pythonomorpha, 254 ; Antagonism between Poisonous and Harmless Ser-
pents, 255 ; Bloody Secretion from the Eye of the Horned Toad, 256 ; Me-
tamorphoses of Frogs, 257 ; Viviparous Frogs, 258 ; new Fossil, 256 ; new
Pterodactyls, 256 ; Hadrosaurus, 257 ; Mosasauroid Reptiles, 258 ; North
American Serpents, 334.

FISHES.

General : Fossil Fish of the Kansas Cretaceous, 258 ; Parasites of Fish, 272 ;
Use of the Pectoral Fins of, 259 ; Respiration of, 261 ; Blue Color in, 302 ;
Change of Color in, 319.

Special : Nest-building Fish (Chironectes), 259, 260 ; Genesis of Hippo-
campus, 261 ; Chinese Cyprinidce, 262 ; Aged Carp, 262 ; Gigantic Pike, 301 ;
Generation of Eels, 299, 434 ; Teeth in Young Sturgeons, 264 ; Sterlet, 442 ;
Salmon (see Fisheries, 403 et seq.) ; Trout, 409, 415, 420 ; Smelt, 405, 423 ;
Whitefish, 421, 435 ; Shad (see Fisheries) ; Herring, 422, 425, 426 ; Men-
haden, 425 ; Black Bass, 409, 414 ; Cyprinus orfus, 431 ; Cod, 264, 424, 436 ;
Stones in the Stomachs of Cod, 264 ; Mackerel, 437 ; Tunny, 442 ; Bluefish,
265, 414 ; Worms in Trout, 275 ; Venomous Fish in the Mauritius, 463.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. x [

INVERTEBRATES IN GENERAL.

The King-crab not a Crustacean, 268 ; Parasites of Fish, 272 ; Phosphores-
cence of Marine Animals, 289, 290; Microscopic Forms in Chicago Water, 392.

ARTICULATES.

Insects : Genesis of Insects, 265 ; Cry of the Death's-head Moth, 266 ; new
Butterflies, 266 ; Uremia leilus, 167 ; Edwards on North American Butter-
flies, 267, 311 ; Parasite of the Beaver, 300 ; Bark-louse of the Apple-tree,
302 ; Habit of Bees, 304. Crustaceans : Tomocai'is Peircei (Agassiz), 216;
Smith on, 216 ; have Trilobites Legs ? 268 ; Early Stages of American Lob-
ster, 269 ; Close Time for Lobsters, 305. Entozoa : Embryology of Gordius,
315; Filaria in the Brain of Anhinga, 324; Worms in Trout, 275; Parasites
and Commensals of Fish, 272. Rotifer : Pedalion mira, 325.

MOLLUSKS.

Gill's Classification, 269 ; Embryology of certain Forms, 271 ; Protective
Coloration, 271 ; American Oysters in England, 270 ; Green Color of, 432 ;
American Fisheries, 432, 433 ; Origin of Pearls, 270 ; Achatinellas of the
Sandwich Islands, 271; Position of the Brachiopods, 315.

RADIATES.

Preservation of Jelly-fish, 290 ; Bate of Growth of Coral, 321.

H. BOTANY 339

Floras : of the Canaries, 341 ; Ancient and Modern North American, 352.
Seasons : Variation of Seasons, 342. Vegetable Physiology : Preferen-
ces of Climbing Plants, 342 ; Influence of Light on Plants, 352 ; Effect of
Red Rays on the Assimilation of Green Plants, 346 ; Influence of Heat on
Plants, 343 ; Effect of Germination on the Fat in Seeds, 345 ; Absorption of
Moisture by Leaves, 346 ; Absorption of Nitrogen by Plants, 345. Compo-
sition : Change in the Composition of Herbaceous Vegetables, 344 ; Differ-
ence in the Ash of Grape and other Fruit Wines, 346 ; Mineral Matter in
Plants, 351. Medicinal and Useful Plants: Cundurango, 341, 355; Co-
lombian Guaco, 340 ; Esparto Grass, 362 ; Ink Plant, 352 ; Uses of the
Water Pest, 354 : Prickly Comfrey, 364. Other Species : Parasite of the
Spruce, 343 ; Alga in a Dicotyledonous Plant, 342 ; Algae of Rhode Island,
342 ; Characters of Bacteria, 347, 348 ; Ferment Fungi, 350 ; Nature of
Cryptococcus, 350.

General : New Journals, 339 ; Hooker's Flora of British India, 340 ; Ad-
ditions to the Collection of the British Museum, 339 ; Visitors to Kew Gar-
dens in 1871, 340 ; Death of A. J. Spring, 353 ; new Species of North Amer-
ican Plants, 355.

I. AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY 357

GENERAL.

Lawes's Experimental Farm, 357 ; Massachusetts Entomological Report for
1871,377; Missouri Entomological Report, 378 ; N. Y. State Agricultural So-
ciety, 373 ; Destroying Mould in Cellars, 360 ; Rusting of Garden-tools, 373.
THE SOIL.

Source of its Nitrogen, 367 ; Function of Potassium in, 367 ; Absorbent
Power of, 376 ; Action of Soils in Absorbing Gases, 375.

xii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

MANURES.

Huano Manure, 865 ; Comparative Value of Guanos, 395 ; Sewer-water as
Manure, 374 ; Powdered Coal for Unhealthy Plants, 368 ; Converting Weeds
into Manure, 360 ; Fish-manure, 426 ; Nitrous and Nitric Acid in Rain-
water, 374 ; Sulphate of Iron as a Manure, 393 ; Function of Nitrogen in
Vegetation, 375 ; Action of Salts of Potash on Vegetables, 368.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

Food of : Influence of Food on Poultry and Eggs, 359 ; on the Quality of
Pork, 860 ; Prickly Comfrey as Fodder, 364 ; Beet-leaves for, 364 ; Albu-
minous Food for Ruminants, 394. Management : Delprino's Mode of
Treating Silk- worms, 379 ; Hatching Silk-worm Eggs at Will, 378. Dis-
eases and Treatment : International Council on the Cattle-plague, 889 ;
Report on Cattle Diseases, 381 ; Inoculation for Rinderpest, 382 ; Murrain hi
Cattle, 385 ; Typhus in Cattle, 386 ; Enteritis in Horses, 387 ; Enzootic Mis-
carriage in Cattle, 387 ; Preventing Sows from Devouring their Young, 388.
Particular Species : Origin of British Cattle, 380 ; Scarcity of Small
Birds in France, 359 ; Number of Eggs from a Hen, 388.

NOXIOUS ANIMALS.

Destroying Caterpillars, 370 ; Remedy for Grape-vine Insect, 370, 393 ; new
Vermin Destroyer, 392 ; Chloride of Lime for Vermin, 458.

PLANTS.

Test for the Specific Gravity of Potatoes, 362 ; Proper Method of Storing,
362 ; Preventing Germination of, in Cellars, 363 ; Wilting Seed, 363 ; Es-
parto Grass, 362 ; new Cucumber, 370 ; Causes of the Rotting of Fruit, 369 ;
Rust in Wheat, 360 ; Test for Mushrooms, 371 ; Useful Palms in Florida,
361 ; Water-glass for Budding Trees, 373 ; Grafting Wax, 367 ; Physiology
of Grafting, 367 ; Liming Fruit Trees, 369 ; Increasing the Vigor of Growth
in Plants, 858.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Sun Spots and the Wine Crop, 357 ; Spectroscopic Test of Wines, 357 ; Heat-
ing of Grain-stacks, 366 ; Keeping Grain in Vacuo, 374 ; Potash from Corn-
cobs, 99.

J. PISCICULTURE AND THE FISHERIES 397

THE FISH&RIES.

In General : Cutts on Sea Fisheries, 397 ; French Fisheries of 1870, 397 ;
British, of 1870, 443 ; Comparison of American and French, 398 ; of the
North Carolina Coast, 414 ; of the Gulf of Naples, 399 ; of the Coast of Nor-
way, 423, 424.

Special. Herring : In England, 422, 425 ; Salmon : In Northwest Amer-
ica, 262 ; Columbia River, 440, 441 ; Cod: In Norway, 424 ; Shumagin Isl-
ands, 436; Bluefish, 414; Mackerel, 437; Tunny, 442; Whale, 1871, 437;
Fur Seal, 435 ; Oyster, 432, 433.

Products of the Waters. Manures : Fish as Manure in England, 426 ;
Utilization of Refuse Fish, 444 ; Oils : Oil Works in Unalaschka, 436 ; Ex-
position of at Gothenburg, 400.

F!SH CULTURE AND PROTECTION.

Associations: Deutsche Fischerei-Verein, 398; American Fish-culturists'

TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii

Association, 400 ; Prizes of the State Agricultural Society of Massachusetts,
40G.

Commissioners. The General Government, 401 ; The States : Maine, 403 ;
New Hampshire, 405 ; Vermont, 447 ; Massachusetts, 40G ; Connecticut,
409 ; New York, 412 ; New Jersey, 413 ; California, 407.

Fish-breeding Establishments : In France, 399.

Food- and Useful Fishes. Salmon : Cost of Eggs, 413 ; Treatment of the
Young, 488 ; Rate of Growth, 446 ; Feeding in Fresh Waters, 440 ; Capture
with the Hook, 441 ; Capture in Holland, 446 ; Winter Quarters, 446 ; Pe-
riod of Maturity, 439 ; Reproduction of California Species, 445 ; General
Habits, 407, 418 ; Australian Salmon, 442 ; Fisheries of the Columbia River,
440; Artificial Culture in Maine, 403; in the Delaware, 421; in England. 418;
in Germany, 419 ; Breeding in Inclosures, 415 ; Trout: Culture of, 409 ;
in France, 420 ; Breeding in Inclosures, 415 ; Smelt : Artificial Culture, 405 ;
Breeding of, in Europe, 423 ; Whitefish (Coregonus) : Marking, 435 ; Rais-
ing Otsego Bass, 423 ; Destruction of Spawn by Menobranchus, 421 ; Shad,
Multiplication of: On part of the United States, 410 ; by the States : New
York, 411, 412, 428, 429 ; Vermont, 429 ; New Jersey, 413 ; California, 430 ;
Food, 426 ; Occurrence in Alabama, 427 ; in Red River, Arkansas, 428 ; of
Young, in Sacramento, 447 ; Herring : Spawning of, 422 ; Fisheries in En-
gland, 422, 425 ; Peculiar Species, 426 ; Menhaden : Spawning of, 425 ; Black
Bass: Culture, 409; Transfer to England, 414 ; Sterlet: Spawning of, 442 ;
Cod-Jish: Spawning in Alaska, 436; Names in Different Localities, 424;
Cyprinus orfus, a New Food and Ornamental Fish, 431 ; Eels : Spawning
of, 299, 434.

Other Objects. Oysters : Green Color in, 432 ; Virginia Fisheries, 432 ;
Maryland, 433 ; Baltimore Trade, 433 ; Leeches: Culture of, 441 ; Lobsters:
Close Time for, 305.

K. DOMESTIC AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY 449

BUILDING MATERIALS.

See Mechanics and Engineering.

LIGHTING, HEATING, AND VENTILATION.

Safety Matches, 449; Extinguishing Flame, 449; Extinguishing Kerosene
Lamps, 449 ; Report on Kerosene, 450 ; Improved Stove (Meidinger), 450 ;
Fires caused by Iron Rust, 466; The Calorigen, a new Heating Apparatus,
487; Non-explosive Kerosene, 488 ; Purification of Coal-gas, 488; Galvanic
Lamp-ligbter, 489; Oxygen Illumination, 489 ; Dispensing with Smoke-
stacks, 478.

THE LAUNDRY.

Disinfecting Washing Powder, 457 ; Compound for Washing Linen, 458 ;
Improved Starcb, 459, 472 ; Removal Of Perspiration from Linen, 477 ; Re-
moving Spots from Clothing, etc., 468.

FOOD.

Preparation : Meidinger Stove, 450 ; Proper Temperature for Cooking,
451 ; Platinum Bronze for Cooking Utensils, 529. Preservatives : Asep-
tin, 456 ; Borax for Milk, 463 ; New Preservative for Meat, 467 ; New Pickle
for Meat, 463 ; Pasteur Process for Wines, 464. Adulterations : Of Ground

xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Coffee, 460 ; Alum in Bread, 462 ; Abnormal Coloration of Rye-bread, 464;
Sulphuric Acid in Vinegar, 103.

Animal Substances: Substitute for Cream, 452; Artificial Butter, 465;
Fish and Sauce, 452 ; Prepared Meat Juice, 456.

Vegetable Substances : Preparation of Fruit Juices, 453 ; Preserving
Fruit, 453; Decoloration of Fruit Sirups, 454; Ammonia in making Pre-
serves, 454 ; Sea-water in making Bread, 460 ; Bread from Entire Wheat,
460; Vienna Yeast, 461 ; Abnormal Coloration of Eye-bread, 464 ; Cooking
Potatoes, 454 ; Treatment of Fresh Vegetables, 455 ; Pasteur Process for
Wines, 464; Brandy from Sawdust, 504 ; Recovery of Waste Caffein, 465.
MISCELLANEOUS.

Anaesthetics in Butchering, 455 ; Chloride of Lime for Vermin, 458 ; Bat-
catching, 459 ; Labels on Bottles, 458 ; Keeping Flowers Fresh, 461 ; Pre-
venting Wigglers in Water, 462 ; Meidinger Ice-cream Freezing Apparatus,
463 ; Poisonous Vanilla Cream, 465 ; Paper and Fire, 466 ; Emptying Bot-
tles Rapidly, 471 ; Destroying Mould in Cellars, 363 ; Preventing Mould in
Gum, 548 ; Cleaning Sewing-machines, 521 ; Improved Syphon, 499 ; Liquid
Glue, 500, 547 ; Fastening Rubber to Metal, 506 ; Preservation of Paste and
Size, 507, 508 ; Glycerine for Leather, 507 ; Glycerine Blacking, 547 ; Pe-
troleum for Pegged Shoes, 507 ; Preservation of Wood, 525, 528 ; Rubber
Corks, 536 ; Safety Lamp, 547.

L. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING . . . 473

MATERIALS.

Stone : Furnace Slag for Road Ballast, 475 ; Imitation Marble, 486. Metal :
Rupture of Iron Wire by a Blow, 475 ; Antiquity of Manufacture of Iron,
477 ; Russia Sheet Iron, 477 ; Height of Blast Furnaces, 478 ; Dank's Pud-
dling Furnace, 479, 480 ; Manufacture of Pure Wrought Iron, 489 ; Dor-
moy's Puddling Apparatus, 489. Wood : Preservation of Timber, 485, 525,
528. Cement and Mortar: Non-conducting Composition for Roofs, 474;
Fire-proof Composition. 486 ; Cement for Masonry, 526.

CONSTRUCTIONS.

Vessels : New Life-boat, 494. Canals : Between the Rhine and Weser,
473 ; Between the Black and Caspian Seas, 473 ; Florida Ship-canal, 493.
See also Geography. Tunnels : Under the Gut of Canso, 473 ; Perforation
of Hoosac Tunnel, lxi. Light-houses : In United States, 493 ; on Sable
Island, 493; Identification of Lights at Sea, 81. Water Works: Water
Supply of Nismes, 491. Wells : Deepest known Well, 491. Telegraphs :
Preservation of Poles in Norway, 485.

MOTORS.

Coal : Exhaustion of British Supply, 474 ; Fuel from Fine Coal, 479 ; Im-
proving Quality of Poor Coal f 494 ; Relation of Weather to Colliery Explo-
sions, 53. Tides and Currents : Flux Motors, 475. Steam : Boiler Coat-
ing, 476 ; Asbestos for Piston Packing, 476 ; Improved Boiler, 490. Rail-
roads : Indicating Stopping-places of Trains, 480 ; Registering Apparatus
for Passenger Cars, 481. Balloons : Manageable, 481.

EXPLOSIVES.

New Detonating Mixture, 482 ; New Combination of Nitro-glycerine, 483 ;

TABLE OF CONTENTS. xv

Litkofracteur, 483 ; Explosion of Gun-cotton at Stowmarket, 484 ; Fulmin-
itine, 484.
MISCELLANEOUS.

Thawing Frozen Ground, 473 ; New Fire Engine, 486 ; Indication of Heat-
ing by Friction, 492 ; Leather Belt for Machinery, 519 ; Safety Lamp, 547.

M. TECHNOLOGY 495

THE LIBERAL ARTS.

Printing : On Glass, 501. Engraving and Lithographing : Substitute
for Lithographic Stone, 514 ; Photo-lithographic Process, 518. Writing,
Drawing, and Copying : Liquid India Ink, 500 ; Safety Ink, 472 ; Re-
production of Manuscript, 518 ; Indestructible Ink, 525 ; Zuccator Copy-
ing-machine, 533 ; Reproducing Drawings, 471. Photographing : Trans-
parent Stereoscopic Pictures, 503 ; Window's Process, 515 ; New Wood-
bury Process, 517; Mercurial Process, 524. Modeling and Casting: Gel-
atine Moulding, 501. Painting and Interior Decorations : Glazing for
Frescoes, 502 ; Ground fur Stereochromic Pictures, 502 ; New Mode of Paint-
ing, 531.
THE MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL ARTS.

Netting and Weaving : New Netting-machine, 499. Water-proofing :
Gelatine Sizing for, 523. Sizing and Dressing : Casein for Cotton Goods,
516; Improvement in Sizing Fabrics, 527; New Size, 526 ; Size for Paper,
546 ; Barytes for Weighting Goods, 523 ; Antiseptics, 507, 508. Bleaching
and Discharging : New Process for, 508 ; by Permanganate of Potash, 509 ;
by Sulphurous Acid, 529 ; Chromate of Potash for Discharging Colors, 509.

Dyeing and Printing : New Mode of Printing White Goods, 535. Dyes
and Dye Stuffs used by Ancients, 509 ; Action of Starch on Anilines, 508 ;
Glycerine Solution of Aniline, 527 ; Aniline Colors for Tin-foil, 522 ; New
Colorimeter, 510; Saline Waters in Dyeing, 514; Collodion Lacquer, 522;
Iodine Green on Alpaca, 510; Non-poisonous Green, 511; Indulin Blue,
511; Indigoline, 511; Antimony Blue, 530; New Blue, 530; Indigo Blue
and Indigo White, 545 ; Hull of Walnut for Black, 512 ; New Aniline Black,
512; Campobello Yellow, 512; Pale Nankin Yellow, 531 ; Palatine Orange,
532 ; Scarlet on Wool and Silk, 513, 530 ; White for Woolens, 513 ; Night
Violet, 472. Fabrics : Wood Pulp for, 539 ; Japanese Felt, 528 ; Linoleum,
525.

Paints, Oils, and Varnishes : Coating Metals with Coal Varnish, 505 ;
Rapid Drying of Paints and Varnishes by Borate of Manganese, 506 ; by Bo-
rax, 545 ; Improved Paint, 507 ; Paints used by Ancients, 509 ; Extraction
of Oils by Gasoline, 503.

Antiseptics and Preservatives : Carbolate of Soda for Paste, 507 ; Pre-
vention of Mould in Size, 508 ; Objections to Use of Glycerine, 538 ; Egyp-
tian Embalming, 538 ; Glycerine for Leather, 507 ; Petroleum for Pegged
Shoes, 507 ; Fire-proofing AVood, 525 ; Preserving Wood by Paraffine, 528 ;
Protecting Zinc against Acid, 498 ; Mouldiness in Gum, 248 ; Keeping
Wines, 464.

Plating, Silvering, and Gilding : Silvering Glass Globes, 495 ; New
Mode of Silvering Mirrors, 540 ; Gold Powder, 531 ; Pyroplating with Sil-
ver, 495 ; Coating Zinc with Iron, 529 ; Nickel Plating, 84, 537. Welding

xvi TABLE OF CONTENTS.

and Soldering : Of Copper, 497 ; Improved Flux, 546 ; Solder for Silver
and Brass, 546. Alloys : Abyssinian Gold, 497 ; Platinum-bronze for Cook-
ing Vessels, 529 ; American Sterling, 544.

Sundry Chemical Processes. Sugar : Manufacture of, 505 ; Use of
Caustic Baryta in Refining, 405 ; Manufacture of Red Lead, 497 ; Utiliza-
tion of Tinned Iron Scraps, 537 ; Extraction and Utilization of Suint, 519 ;
Extraction of Oils by Gasoline, 503.

Miscellaneous : Uses of Refuse Tan, 532 ; Preparation of Chlorine, 532 ;
Absorption of Metallic Salts by Wool, 534 ; Rubber Corks, 536 ; Artificial
Leather, 527 ; Japanese Felt, 528 ; Mineral Sperm Oil, 536 ; Filing Appa-
ratus, 528 ; Buttons from Soap-stone, 498 ; Glazing Earthenware, 499 ; En-
amel for Cooking Vessels, 524 ; Mineral Cotton from Glass, 496 ; Mushet's
Special Steel, 495 ; Imitation of Mahogany, 519; Preparation of New Zea-
land Flax, 523 ; Spontaneous Combustion of Charged Silks, 88.

N. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE 549

MATERIA MEDICA.

Particular Substances : Chloral : Nature of, 105 ; Crotonate of, 550, 555 ;
Sulpho-hydrate of, 586 ; Use in Cholera, 564. Alcohol : Protest against its
Use in Medicine, 553 ; Elimination from the System, 554. Carbolic Acid :
Physiological Action, 587. Xylol for Small-pox, 561. Chloroform and
Morphine as an Anaesthetic, 556. Opium Alkaloids, Action of, 552. Apo-
morphia of no Therapeutic Value, 555. Cod-liver Oil Pills, 550. Camphor
and Bromine, 556. Strychnine : Action on Vaso-motor Nerves, 554 ; Na-
ture of Guarauna, 586. Physiological Action of Coffee, 283 ; of Quinine,
284; of Tobacco, 285-, of Bromide of Potassium, 593; of Delphinium. Glyc-
erine for Vaccine Lymph, 557. Sulphates as Remedies, 550. Anaes-
thetics : Nature of, 286 ; Chloroform and Morphine, 556 ; in Butchering
Animals, 455. Food : Milk from Diseased Cattle, 568. Cold Milk for In-
fants, 595. Value of Meat Extract, 551 ; of Beef Tea, 553.
DISEASES, ETC.

Epilepsy : Bromide of Potassium for, 549 ; Artificial, 549. Mercurial Poi-
soning : Remedy for Mercurial Vapors, 528. Cholera : Cholera Districts,
562 ; Immunity of Coppersmiths, 564 ; Chloral for, 564 ; Hypodermic In-
jections in, 564. Small-pox : Glycerine for Vaccine Lymph, 557 ; Xylol
for, 56*1 ; Revaccination, 561. Phthisis : MacCormac on, 579. Eczema :
Cure for, 5l?9. Measles and Scarlet Fever : Micrococci in, 560. Croup :
Nature and Cure, 582. Sciatica, 565. Skin Diseases from Bad Soap, 566.
Pyaemia and Bacteria, 578. Seasickness : Pollard on, 579. Defective
Vision : In Young, how Caused, 589. Malaria : Origin of, 573 ; Use of
Sulphites for, 550. Microscopic Organisms : Bacteria and Pyaemia, 578 ;
Mould, 560 ; Micrococci in Measles, 560. Poisons : Poisonous Reds and
other Colors, 581 ; Coralline not necessarily Poisonous, 583 ; Arsenic in
Wall Paper, 584 ; in Carpets, 596 ; Poisonous Vanilla Cream, 465 ; Action
of Noxious Salts on Lead, 584 ; Poisonous Serpents in India, 585. Virus :
Physiology of, 591 ; of Infectious Matter, 560. Injection of Septicemic
Blood, 595. Antidotes : Chloral and Strychnine, Mutual Antidotes, 583 ;
Atropia Injection for Opium, 587. Miscellaneous : "Weakening of Fatal
Maladies, 558 ; Use of Hot Sand-baths, 592.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. xvii

SANITARY SCIENCE.

Water : Pollution of, 572 ; Purity in Upper Hudson, 593. Sewage : Pol-
lution of Water, 572 ; Effect of Drainage and Sewerage on Mortality in Cal-
cutta, 575 ; Utilizing Liquid Sewage, 574 ; Lieurnur System, 583 ; Milan
System, 57G ; Scott Method, 577 ; Disposal of, 583 ; Sewage Committee of
Birmingham, 575 ; Preventing Noxious Decomposition of, 576.

Antiseptics, Disinfectants, and Deodorizers : Destruction of Infected
Germs in Cotton, 569 : Comparative Value of, 570 : Chromic Acid, 571 ;
Chloralum, 571 ; Protoxide of Hydrogen, 572 ; Iodine, 572 ; Theory of Dis-
infecting Powders, 572 ; Hydrate of Chloral, 570 ; Dry Earth, 573 ; Use of
Antiseptics, 580. Poisons and Antidotes : Mould in Cellars, 363. See
under Diseases and their Remedies.

Associations and Institutions : Brown Institution for Sick Animals,
567, 568 ; Massachusetts Board of Health, 554 ; American Health Associa-
tion, 575.

Miscellaneous : Climate of Mountains, 558 ; Cutaneous Absorption, 581 ;
Effect of Superoxygenated Atmosphere on Animals, 587 ; Effect of Bathing
on Weight of Body, 588 ; on Heat of Body, 594 ; Physiology of Sleep, 595.

O. MISCELLANEOUS 597

Institutions. A merica : New Building of Philadelphia Academy of Nat-
ural Sciences, 603. National Academy of Science : Washington Meeting,
604 ; Cambridge Meeting, 606 ; Twenty-first Meeting of American Associa-
tion, 607. Peabody Museum, Cambridge, 608 ; Peabody Academy of Sci-
ence, 608.

Europe: Second Report of Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction
m Great Britain, 600 ; College of Physical Science in Birmingham, 600 ;
Royal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 597 ; Operations of British
Museum in 1871, 602 ; Appropriation for, 603 ; Report of Council of Brit-
ish Association, 597; Report of Zoological Society of London, 1871, 601 ;
Damage to the Jardin des Plantes by Bombardment, 601 ; New Buildings
for, 597.

Individuals : Statue to Sir Humphrey Davy, 597 ; Memorial Hall to
George Stephenson, 597.

General : Neglect of Chemical Studies in Great Britain, 599 ; Penny
Lectures in Great Britain, 602 ; Relation of European Nations to Scientific
Progress, 602.

P. NECROLOGY 619

N. INDEX TO THE REFERENCES 624

ALPHABETICAL INDEX , 629

GENERAL SUMMARY

OP

SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS
DURING THE YEAR 1872.

The completion of another year imposes upon us the duty
of presenting a summary of progress in the sciences, and of
their practical applications to the needs and the tastes of
mankind. To fulfill the task so as to meet all requirements,
to criticise all announcements and discoveries in the various
departments of learning, and to select for mention the most
important in each, is a task that no one person can accom-
plish to the satisfaction of all, in the impossibility of thor-
oughly understanding throughout what points are really
most noteworthy. The real value, too, of many discoveries
is only appreciated after a considerable interval ; and we are
likely to overlook, in its apparent insignificance, the germ of
some important development, and only realize its character
long after the original announcement. If, therefore, some of
our readers fail to agree with us as to the comparative value
of the selections for a particular subject, both in the prelim-
inary summary and in the body of the Record, we can only
plead the fallibility of the human intellect in this, as in other
instances, and express the hope that we have been more suc-
cessful in other directions.

The most interesting revelations of Astroyiomy continue to
be those of the spectroscope. Among the great mass of ob-
servations with this instrument which are found in nearly
every journal in the world devoted to physical science we
may select those of Huggins and Young as examples of
what has been done. Our readers may remember that some
four years ago Mr. Huggins announced, as the result of
spectroscopic observations of great delicacy and difficulty,
that the star Sirins was receding from us at the rate of be-
tween thirty and forty miles per second. The evidence of
this motion was furnished by a displacement of one of the
hydrogen lines in the spectrum of the star; but the displace-

xx GENERAL SUMMARY OE SCIENTIEIC AMD

ment was so slight, and so difficult of measurement, that Mr.
Huggins could not speak with confidence of the velocity of
the motion. In 1870 the Royal Society supplied him with a
telescope of 18 inches' aperture, and of very short focus, to
continue his observations, and the result of his further re-
searches were communicated to that body last summer.
Observations of Sirius with this more perfect apparatus con-
firmed the fact of the motion of Sirius, but reduced nearly to
one half the first estimate. Observations were also made on
a number of other stars of the first and second magnitudes,
which were found to be approaching or receding from us
with various degrees of velocity. The following are some of
the velocities found by Mr. Huggins:

Sirius is receding 20 miles per second.

Betelgeux " 22 "

Rigel " 15

Castor " 25 "

Reffulus " 15 "

Arcturus is approaching 55 miles per second.
a Lyras " 50 "

aCygni " 39

Pollux " 49 "

a Ursse Majoris " 46 to*60 "

These observations of Mr. Huggins furnish an interesting
confirmation of the motion of the solar system in the direc-
tion of the constellation Hercules.

In the department of solar physics there are no brilliant
discoveries to report, the advances being rather in the direc-
tion of establishing a general system of solar meteorology
than in that of new discoveries. The Italian Society of
Spectroscopists, of which Secchi and Tacchini are active and
prominent members, keeps up as regular a system of obser-
vations on the sun as the weather will permit ; and we may
very soon hope, through their efforts, to know as much about
the laws of storms on the sun as we now do of storms on the
earth.

The most important step in the direction of new discovery
in this department is one made by Professor Young. A com-
mittee of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science has for some time past been endeavoring to secure
the building of an observatory at some elevated point on the

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxi

Rocky Mountains, where it was supposed that the position
would be extremely favorable for astronomical observation.
The selection of a coast survey station at Sherman offered
the desired opportunity, and Professor Young was sent thith-
er, with his 9-J-inch telescope and the necessary spectroscopes,
as member of a party of which Colonel R. D. Cutts of the sur-
vey was the chief. The result of getting rid of one fourth of
the atmosphere which is the great foe of solar spectroscopy
was that the number of bright lines in the spectrum of the
chromosphere was increased to 273 more than double the
number formerly known to exist. Among them have been
detected those belonging to the vapor of a number of metals
found on the earth, especially iron, magnesium, and tita-
nium ; and there are besides a great number not identified as
pertaining to any terrestrial substance.

Nothing positive has been done toward clearing up the
mystery which surrounds the constitution of comets, of the
solar corona, of the zodiacal light, and of the aurora. But
the theory which connects comets and meteors has received
a most striking confirmation. On the evening of November
27 a great meteoric shower Was seen, and the direction of
the meteors was exactly that of the lost Biela's comet, the
orbit of which the earth was passing at that very time. The
coincidence was such as to leave no room for doubt that the
shower arose from a cloud of meteoroids accompanying the
comet in its orbit.

The feature of most general interest in Meteorological Sci-
ence has been the assembling of the preliminary congresses
at Bordeaux and at Leipsic. These meetings have had for
their more especial object the preparation for the general In-
ternational Congress to be held in 1873 in Vienna. The
Leipsic Congress was attended by many men prominent in
their respective countries, and the desire for uniformity in
matters of measurements and reductions was so strongly ex-
pressed that we may expect no long time to elapse before
important reformations are effected.

The year 1872 has seen the. establishment of additional ex-
tended national systems of weather reports and storm sig-
nals those, namely, of Canada, Denmark, New South Wales,
and Sweden. Only through such national offices, and by
help of the telegraph, does it seem possible to hope for satis-

xxii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

factory investigations of the general features of atmospheric
movements. In the practical application of meteorological
science to the forewarning of storms, the highest perfection
has probably been attained by our own American system
the well-known Weather Bureau of the Army Signal Service.
The tri-daily bulletins of this office include weather forecasts
of all kinds, as well as storms, and are considered a daily ne-
cessity to a large class of our citizens.

The number of observers and stations has been constantly
increasing, and several new ones have, been quite recently
started at points on the coast as well as in the interior. At
the session of Congress for .1871-72 a resolution was adopted
instructing the War Department to do what it could in the
interest of agriculture, which has been responded to by di-
viding the United States into about seventy districts, with a
central station in each, to which the weather probabilities
are to be telegraphed as soon as made up in Washington,
and from which they are to be distributed by the mails, when
printed oif, to all the post-offices within the district acces-
sible before the close of the day. The postmasters, on the
reception of these notices, are to post them in a conspicuous
place, so that all who have a desire to know what the weath-
er is to be, can ascertain the fact by visiting or sending to
the office. A few of these stations are already organized,
and the arrangement will be extended throughout the United
States as soon as possible.

Still another development of the system consists in having
stations on the sea-coast, with special reference to indicating
the probabilities for the benefit of fishermen, to include in-
formation as to the occurrence of schools of fish along the
coast, so as to concentrate attention to them.

The meteorological work of the Smithsonian Institution,
and of the Medical Department of the Army, also to all light-
houses and life-saving stations on the coast, has also been
kept up. Here the phenomena of the weather are entered
upon blanks, and transmitted by mail each month. Although
not available for forecasting the weather, as in the telegraph-
ic system of the signal-office, these records are even better
adapted to determining the general climatology of the coun-
try, in consequence of the much larger number of stations
and the lengthened period of time over which they extend.

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxiii

The Smithsonian Institution alone had over six hundred sta-
tions in active operation during 1872, representing every
state and territory of the Union, as well as a large part of
British America and Mexico.

Among the publications of the year none will rank higher
in importance than the " Discussions of the Rain-fall Obser-
vations" in the United States published by the Smithsonian
Institution. This laborious work has been so thoroughly ac-
complished by Mr. Schott that it must for perhaps a genera-
tion to come be our standard authority. The promised vol-
umes on temperature and barometric pressure, and the new
discussion of the winds, will complete that great undertak-
ino 1 which the Smithsonian Institution has, with the very lim-
ited means at its disposal, so persistently and successfully
carried forward. As a foretaste of what may be hoped for
when these works are completed, Ave may instance the inter-
esting study of the temperature in the neighborhood of the
great lakes, as lately published by Professor Winchell.

Passing to the problem of physical meteorology, we notice
the observation by Professor Young of coincidences between
solar-spot outbursts and terrestrial magnetic disturbances,
confirmatory of the oft-cited observation of Carrington in
1859. On the other hand, Meldrum and Lockyer have pro-
claimed the increase of Indian cyclones (and, therefore, of
rain-fall) with the increase of solar spots. These are the first
fruits of the attention awakened by the previous publications
of Abbe, Smyth, and Stone on the solar-spot period in terres-
trial temperature. Some paper published in the Toronto
Leader in 1870 and 1871, by Mr.Elvins, appears to have -first
enunciated a connection between solar spots and rain-fall.

In the obscure field of Electricity much labor has been
spent, and with fair results. The splendid aurora of February
4th gave rise to very extensive essays on this subject, from
all of which it appears that, while the purely atmospheric ori-
gin of this phenomenon seems well established, its cosmical or
solar origin is rendered extremely doubtful. The great work
of Professor Lovering, containing, as it does, a critical and
exhaustive catalogue of all recorded auroras, has appeared
during the year, and must long mark an epoch in the litera-
ture of this subject.

The eruption of Vesuvius, ending in April, 1872, afforded

xxiv GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

Professor Palmieri opportunity for making more interesting
observations on the electric condition of the volcanic smoke,
confirming the results of his previous labors as to the origin
of the electricity displayed in thunder-storms, etc. The En-
glish translation of Palmieri's work has afforded Mallet op-
portunity to prefix, by way of introduction, a masterly sum-
mary of the present state of seismology.

The long-vexed question of the cause of the scintillation
of the stars lias received almost a complete elucidation at
the hands of Respighi its dependence upon the changes of
density in the upper strata of air seems to be completely es-
tablished by him.

In Theoretical Chemistry the past year has witnessed very
few changes of importance. The science seems at last to
have reached a stage of comparative equilibrium. Kekule,
however, in a noteworthy paper, has given us his views upon
the meaning of the term " atomicity," or " equivalence," when
applied to atoms. He supposes a kind of intramolecular mo-
tion %mong these atoms, and divides atoms into monatomic,
diatomic, etc., according to the number of contacts made in
a given time. In w T ater, for example HOH the oxygen
atom strikes against both hydrogen atoms in the same time
that each hydrogen atom strikes one blow ; or, in other
words, oxygen makes two vibrations while hydrogen makes
one. He applies this conception to his theory of the benzol
nucleus of the aromatic series, and ingeniously explains away
some objections which had been raised against it. Another
thins; deservino; mention here is Professor Cannizzaro's Far-
aday lecture before the Chemical Society of London upon
" The Theoretic Teaching of Chemistry." Accepting fully the
theory of atoms and molecules, and believing that "this the-
ory affords the clearest, shortest, most exact, and most ac-
cessible summary of all that relates to the origin, meaning,
value, and use of empirical formulas and of equations," he
naturally concludes that " it ought to be introduced into the
teaching of chemistry at an early stage." " I do not hesitate
to assert," he says, " that the theory of atoms and molecules
ought to play, in the teaching of chemistry, a part analogous
to that of the theory of vibrations in the teaching of op-
tics." He affirms that " the solid base, the corner-stone of
the modern theory of molecules and atoms, is the theory of

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxv

Avogadro, Ampere, Konig, and Clausius on the constitution
of perfect gases." He would " found upon this theory," there-
fore, " the demonstration of the limits of the divisibility of
elementary bodies ; that is to say, the existence of elementa-
ry atoms." With his own students, Cannizzaro starts with
proclaiming the invariability of the material mass in chemi-
cal changes, pointing out " that the only constant property
of matter is its ponderability." He then passes to the Dalto-
nian theory, establishes the correctness of the atomic weights
by the Gay-Lussacian law of combining volumes, and easily
demonstrates the molecular condition of simple matter. He
thus places the fundamental notions of atoms and molecules
upon a solid basis, freed from every thing not necessarily
connected with them. Then it is that the instructor is in " a
position to attack the difficulties encountered in the applica-
tions of these notions to particular cases." The assistance
of specific heat, of isomorphism, and of chemical analogy in
fixing the size of molecules, and the true meaning and value
of the theory of atomicity, may then be taught, the student
being made to recognize the dynamic as well as the ponder-
able phenomena of chemical change.

The researches of Berthollet, of Thomson, and of Favre in
Thermo-chemistry during 1872 are most promising. While it
can not be doubted that the dynamic equation of a given re-
action would be fully as valuable as the chemical equation
of the same reaction, the dynamics of chemical changes have
only just begun to be studied. If, for example, the amount
of heat given off by the union of each of two bases with one
given acid be known, and the heat in the case of the union
of these bases with a second given acid be also known, then
it is evident that any double decomposition occurring upon
the mixture of these salts must be accompanied by a thermal
disturbance proportional to the difference given in the two
cases. Hence the fact and direction of chemical decomposi-
tion may be solved dynamically, & priori. It is by methods
of this sort that Berthollet has established the previously
received assumption that it is the most powerful base in ev-
ery case which unites with the strongest acid. Thus, if zinc
acetate and sodium sulphate be mixed in solution, there is no
exchange ; but if zinc sulphate and sodium acetate be mixed,
the production of heat proves that an exchange takes place.

2

xxvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

Much light, it is to be expected, will be thrown upon chem-
ical constitution and chemical changes by accurate determi-
nations of the heat produced or absorbed in these changes.

In General Chemistry the ozone question has received much
attention. A. W. Wright has devised a most efficient form
of ozonizing tube for use with the Holtz machine, and M.
Houzeau, also, an excellent ozonizing tube for use with the
induction coil. By means of this apparatus of Houzeau's, it
is possible to obtain from 60 to 120 and once even 188
milligrams of ozone in a litre of oxygen ; more than quadru-
ple the amount given by previous methods. This ozonized
oxygen is exceedingly active, oxidizing alcohol to aldehyde
and acetic acid almost instantly, forming, at the same time,
hydrogen peroxide. Great care is needed in experimenting
with it, since, when breathed, it causes serious irritation of
the lungs, often with bloody expectoration. The deodorizing
power of pure ozone is estimated to be forty times that of
chlorine. Houzeau estimates that the air of the country,
two metres from the ground, contains 45U 1 (M)U of its weight
of ozone. Carius has observed that a litre of water dissolves
four or five cubic centimetres of ozone. He states that the
ozonized water sold in Berlin contains about four centime-
tres of ozone in a litre. The oxidizing power of ozonized
air is well illustrated by an observation of Professor Wright.
He noticed that the sulphur of the vulcanite casing of his in-
duction coil became converted, when the coil was in action,
into sulphuric acid, which even accumulated in drops upon
this casing. The commercial preparation of chlorine by Dea-
con's process having been proved a success, the inventor has
made a most elaborate scientific investigation of it, the ex-
periments extending over four years, and being made witli
the greatest care. This process, as is well known, consists in
passing a mixture of hydrochloric acid gas and oxygen over
copper sulphate, or other copper salt, heated to 700 or 750
Fahr. The copper salt is obtained in the best condition by
soaking pieces of brick in it and then drying them. The ac-
tion of the copper salt being of the kind called catalytic, an
action of presence simply, the precise character of that ac-
tion it became of importance to ascertain. Deacon finds that
the amount of hydrogen chloride decomposed, other things
being equal, depends upon the number of times the mole-

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. X xvii

cules of the mixed gases are passed through the sphere of
action of the copper salt. With tubes of the same diameter,
the opportunity of action is the same at all velocities; if the
diameters differ, the number of these opportunities is the
same when the velocity is inversely as the square of the di-
ameter of the tube. The percentage of hydrochloric acid gas
decomposed varies with the square root of the proportionate
volume of oxygen to hydrogen chloride. The cupric chloride
formed bears no definite proportion to the chlorine evolved.
Since molecules not in contact with the copper salt are in-
cluded in the field of action, hydrogen chloride must be de-
composed also as a result of the forces engaged. M. Merget
has made some remarkable observations upon the volatility
of mercury, and has made a curious application of it. He
finds that this metal gives off vapor continually, even when
frozen solid ; that this vapor may be condensed upon the sur-
faces of certain solids ; that it passes readily through porous
bodies like wood or porcelain ; and that it readily reduces
salts of the noble metals. If an ordinary silver negative - ,
therefore, be exposed to the action of mercury vapor, this va-
por will be condensed upon the metallic portions of this neg-
ative ; and now, if this negative be laid upon a piece of sen-
sitized paper, the mercury condensed upon the negative re-
duces the silver in the paper, producing, entirely without
light, a fac simile in reverse of the original, which may be
fixed and toned in the usual way of treating photographic
prints. Davenport has investigated some points in the man-
ufacture of malleable iron. He shows that the silicon, the
phosphorus, and the manganese are not affected by the an-
nealing process ; that the sulphur is not diminished by it, and
may be increased ; and that the carbon may be reduced to a
mere trace. In the centre of a thick castinsr there is a dark
core, which contains uncombined or graphitic carbon.

The field of Organic Chemistry has been marked by great
activity the past year ; though much more has been done in
working out old methods than in originating new theories.
Young and Thorpe have succeeded in breaking up or " crack-
ing" paraffin, converting it into liquid products. These con-
sist of a mixture of hydrocarbons of the marsh-gas and the
olefine series, thus proving paraffin to belong to the former
series, which are known thus to break up. Wurtz and Vogt

xxviii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

have clearly traced the successive stages in the formation of
chloral, and have shown that its hydrate is really the glycol
of ethylidene. O'Sullivan has examined the conditions un-
der which dextrine is produced from starch, and has prepared
it pure for the first time. He acted upon the starch both by
diastase and by acids. He has also shown that the pro-
longed action of malt upon starch really does produce the
sugar called maltose by Dubrunfaut. It has a specific rota-
tory power of +150, and reduces only two thirds as much
copper oxide as dextrose, into which it is converted by the
action of acids. It has the composition of a simple sugar.
Musculus using an ingenious method of dehydratation by
means of alcohol has succeeded in abstracting a molecule of
water from one of dextrose, and in producing a substance
closely resembling dextrin, though it has a less rotatory pow-
er. When we remember that the removal of one molecule
of water from two molecules of a simple sugar like dextrose
produces a compound sugar like cane sugar a synthesis of
vast importance, which is yet unaccomplished any steps
taken in this direction deserve notice. Kekule's remarkable
theory of the constitution of the aromatic series of organic
bodies, has received important verification in the discoveries
of the year. He, himself, has added to the idea of position
contained in it, and Hubner has fully confirmed the supposi-
tion that the six atoms of carbon in the nucleus are of equal
value. As a direct outgrowth of this theory, Graebe and
Liebermann produced alizarin from anthracene. And now
Emmerling and Engler have succeeded in the synthesis of in-
digotin, the coloring matter of indigo. Though by the proc-
ess of these chemists the yield is inconsiderable, yet their
solution of the true constitution of indi^o-blue will undoubt-
edly soon lead to other and, commercially, more valuable syn-
theses. The coloring matter of cochineal, also, has received
attention. Liebermann and Van Dorp have succeeded in re-
ducing ruficoccin a coloring matter obtained from carmine
by the action of sulphuric acid by the agency of zinc-dust.
They thus obtained a crystallized hydrocarbon melting at
183 to 188 C, and yielding a quinone on oxidation. Though
this hydrocarbon has some resemblance to anthracene, it dif-
fers from it in composition and properties. As soon as it
can be identified, the synthesis of the colored derivatives of

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xx i x

cochineal may be looked for. The most striking results which
have been obtained during the year in reference to coloring
matters, however, are those developed by the researches of
Baeyer. It has long been known that by the action of oxalic
and sulphuric acids upon phenol (carbolic acid) a red color-
ing matter known as corallin is produced. Baeyer finds that
this is a general reaction, and that whenever dibasic organic
acids act upon any of the phenols, a coloring matter is pro-
duced. By the action of phthalic acid upon pyrocatechin,
for example, a brilliant coloring matter is obtained, which,
being remarkably fluorescent, he calls fluorescein. Using
some others of the polyatomic phenols, he has succeeded in
preparing in this, way coloring matters which very closely
resemble the natural coloring matters of dye-stuffs, such as
Brazil-wood and logwood, though they are not identical with
these. The road seems open, however, to the synthesis of
these natural coloring matters in the near future. The con-
stitution of the glucosides has received the attention of chem-
ists. Many new ones have been discovered, the constitution
of old ones has been established, and some of them, as sescu-
lin, have been synthetically produced. Tannin has been re-
moved by Hugo Schiff from the glucosides, since he has re-
peated and confirmed Vogt's synthesis of it from gallic acid
by the action of arsenic acid. He regards it as digallic acid,
as it is formed by the condensation of two molecules of gal-
lic acid. This chemist, by the introduction of ammonia res-
idues into butyric aldehyde, has succeeded in producing the
vegetable alkaloid conine, the active principle of Conium
maculatum. This is the first synthesis of a true natural al-
kaloid ; and the certainty with which it was done is another
proof, if any were wanting, of the fact that its synthesis is easy
after the constitution of a substance is understood. Hence
we may confidently look for a speedy synthesis of morphine,
quinine, strychnine, and all the other vegetable alkaloids.
The remarkable results, obtained first by Drs. Crum-Brown
and Fraser of Edinburgh, of the action of the methyl deriva-
tives of these alkaloids, have been increased by others the
past year, particularly on the Continent. When the consti-
tution of these alkaloids shall be understood, and their syn-
theses be effected, it seems clear that it will be possible to
form, by replacement, a series of derivatives which in itself

xxx GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

will form an almost complete materia medica. The action
of phenol as an antiseptic is due, without doubt, to its de-
structive action upon the organisms which always accom-
pany putrefaction. Plugge has examined the relative val-
ue of phenol for this purpose, and finds that from 1 to
1^ per cent, suffices to kill all the vegetable and animal or-
ganisms in a highly putrid liquid. The alcoholic fermen-
tation was arrested by 4 per cent., the butyric by ^^j of
its weight of phenol. He believes phenol takes rank far
above ferrous sulphate, chloride of lime, chlorine, permanga-
nates, mineral acids, or even quinine. In its physiological
action, phenol is similar to strychnine. Its vapor even is act-
ive. The best antidote to poisoning by it is, according to
Husemann, sugar-lime, made by agitating a solution of 16
parts of sugar in 40 of water, with 5 parts of slaked lime, fil-
tering and evaporating at 100. Chalk is less efficacious, and
oils are of no use.

In Physiological Chemistry much excellent work has been
done. Bert has investigated most carefully the influence of
pressure-changes on life. When animals die under a pressure
of only 18 centimetres of mercury, he finds that this effect is
due entirely to a want of oxygen ; under a pressure of from
1 to 2 atmospheres, from a want of oxygen and the presence
of carbon dioxide ; of 2 to 6 atmospheres, from the presence
of carbon dioxide alone; of 6 to 15 atmospheres, from the
presence of carbon dioxide and an excess of oxygen ; and of
15 to 25 atmospheres, from the excess of oxygen alone. Mam-
malia will die when the oxygen in their arterial blood will
not balance a pressure of 3^ per cent, of this gas in the at-
mosphere, or when the carbon dioxide in their venous blood
is sufficient to balance 28 to 30 per cent, of it in the air. In-
asmuch as the pressure of oxygen depends, first, on its per-
centage, and, second, on its pressure, the latter may be re-
duced to 6 centimetres with safety, if the amount of oxygen
be increased; or may be raised to 23 atmospheres if jn'operly
diluted with nitrogen. Bert thinks aeronauts might go high-
er if they would take oxygen to inhale, and divers go deeper,
without danger, if they would add nitrogen to their air.
Aubert has investigated the caffeine question again. By an
improved method of extraction, he shows that raw Java beans
contain 0.709 to 0.849 per cent, of caffeine. By much roast-

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. X xxi

ing a loss of caffeine by sublimation is sustained ; but a de-
coction made from strongly roasted coffee by percolation
contains more caffeine than when made from the slightly
roasted bean, since the roasting makes it easier to extract.
Prepared as usual, by pouring 6 to 10 times its weight of
boiling Avater over ground coffee 3 or 4 times, nearly the
whole of the caffeine is extracted. In such a cup of coffee,
prepared from 16f grammes of dry coffee,*there is from 0.10
to 0.12 gramme of caffeine; the same amount is found in a
cup of tea prepared from 5 or 6 grammes Pekoe tea. Caffeine
acts directly on the spinal cord, and causes tetanus ; in frogs,
injected subcutaneously, in doses of 0.005 gramme ; in rab-
bits, injected into the jugular vein, 0.12 gramme ; and for cats
and dogs, 0.2 gramme. It quickens the heart's action, and re-
duces the pressure of the blood. Zuntz shows that carbonic
oxide, when in the blood, is not separated all at once, but is
evolved at intervals. He believes, therefore, that in poisoning
by this gas, artificial respiration should be kept up for a long
time, in hope of resuscitating the victim. Komensky has ob-
served that trichlorhydrin is an anaesthetic when taken by the
stomach. Owing to its irritating action on the stomach, how-
ever, it can not be used in this way. Schultzen and Nencki
have made some experiments which prove that the products
which albumin gives when decomposed by alkalies namely,
glycocin, leucin, and tyrosin are excreted as urea when in-
gested into the organism the latter less readily than the oth-
ers. This suggests that a similar metamorphosis of albumin
goes on normally in the body. The liver-sugar question has
received its share of attention. Dock has proved that the liv-
er can form glycogen (liver-starch) from ingested cane-sugar,
even in a few hours. Puncture of the floor of the fourth
ventricle causes sugar to be excreted, but no glycogen is
formed in the liver. The same effect is produced by curara
injections. Hence it might seem that diabetes was due to
the direct excretion of the ingested sugar, owing to its non-
conversion into glycogen. But as curara causes the excre-
tion of sugar when none has been ingested, Dock thinks the
muscles themselves must have the power of retaining sugar
or glycogen. Wanklyn has found that the ratio of the am-
monia evolved from an animal fluid by evaporation, with
potassium hydrate at 150 C, is, to that obtained by subse-

xxxii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

quently boiling the same portion with permanganate, a def-
inite one for each animal fluid tested. He can thus discrim-
inate between a spot of milk and one of white of egg upon a
cambric handkerchief.

In Agricultural Chemistry a vast store of material has
been accumulated. Pfeffer has apparently settled the vexed
question which of the colors of the spectrum was most act-
ive in the decomposition of carbon dioxide in the leaves of
plants. He exposed the leaves in a tank of water to a spec-
trum 230 millimeters long, and measured the action by count-
ing the bubbles evolved in a given time. He ascertained that
the maximum decomposition takes place at the maximum of
light-intensity near D toward E. Calling the decomposition
in the yellow 100, that in the red was 25.4, in the orange 65,
in the green 37.2, in the blue 22.1, in the indigo 13.5, and in
the violet 7.1. The curve of these members closely agrees
with Kerordt's curve of the intensity of light. These results
entirely confirm those of Draper published many years ago.
An important experiment in practical agriculture has been
carried on for two years and more at the Massachusetts Agri-
cultural College, under the direction of Dr. C. A. Goessmann,
Director of the chemical departments. This experiment is
the cultivation of the best European varieties of the sugar-
beet upon the experimental farm, and their subsequent anal-
ysis in the laboratory, in order to settle the question of the
profitable manufacture of beet-root sugar in the Northern
States. The best variety for different climates and soils, the
best methods of cultivation, the time of harvesting, and the
most suitable methods of extracting the sugar all these are
questions which Dr. Goessmann seems likely to solve in a
manner at once satisfactory and profitable.

In Mineralogy we have the usual announcements of new
species, and new determinations of the chemical composition
and crystallographic peculiarities of the old ones. The na-
ture and character of the immense meteorites found in Green-
land several years ago by the Swedish expedition continue
to invoke the attention of scientific men ; and numerous me-
moirs have been published upon the nature of the iron and the
other constituents, the amount of occluded gases and their
peculiarities.

In economical mineralogy a most important announcement

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxxiii

has been that of the existence of tin, in immense quantity,
in Queen's Land, and extending over so large an area, and in
such richness of percentage of the metal, as to promise a
very large addition to the resources of the world as regards
this substance. The alleged discovery of tin ore on the
shores of Lake Superior is now pronounced to be entirely
false.

The increased demand for mica has resulted in the devel-
opment of new mines in North Carolina ; and in connection
with this have been found large deposits of corundum, some-
times in immense masses. Owing to various causes, partly
the anticipation of a future scarcity, and partly to combina-
tions of capitalists, the price of coal has gone up to a rather
high figure in England, which is involving important changes
in manufactures and their export, as far as Great Britain is
concerned, in consequence of the increased price of iron and
most other articles. This has naturally redounded to the
benefit of the manufacturing interest of the United States.

In American Geology, much new light has been thrown
upon the history of the Palaeozoic strata, which make up so
large a part of the rocks east of the Rocky Mountains. The
question as to the age of the copper-bearing strata of Lake
Superior has long been one in dispute; for while Hall, Whit-
ney, Logan, and many others had claimed them to belong
to the lower part of the palaeozoic series, there were not
wanting; those who asserted their mesozoic a<je. This was
grounded on the lithological resemblances between these bed-
ded amygdaloidal traps, as they were called, with rocks be-
longing to that period in Europe and in eastern North Amer-
ica. Now, although certain crystalline strata of aqueous or-
igin may, and doubtless do show such characteristics that
their geological age and sequence may be determined from
their general mineralogical composition, this can scarcely be
looked for in rocks which, like the copper-bearing traps of
the Keweenaw series, are eruptive in their, origin. The late
researches of Brooks and Pumpelly seem to show conclusive-
ly that the copper-bearing traps of Keweenaw are a very
ancient series, and lie unconformably beneath the nearly hor-
izontal sandstones of the vicinity, which occupy a position
beneath the Trenton limestone of the New York series.
This limestone, with its characteristic fossils, is, in fact, found

2 *

xxxiv GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

in many places resting upon these sandstones, which, in their
turn, inclose in conglomerate -beds fragments of the older
copper-bearing amygdaloids.

The age of the series of dark-colored sandstones and argil-
lites, which carry the silver-lodes of Thunder Bay and its vi-
cinity, has been noticed by Dr. Sterry Hunt in a very recent
paper, where it is shown that these strata, to which he gives
the name of the Animikie group, are overlaid in slight un-
conformity by the red and white sandstones and marls of the
region, which have been hitherto regarded as the same with
those just described as overlying the Keweenaw group. This
latter is however wanting in the silver region, where the
Animikie group rests directly upon the old crystalline schists
of the Huronian, into which also the silver-lodes pass. It
would thus seem to be a formation unknown to the south
and east of the Thunder Bay region, whose real age and rela-
tions can only be fixed by further study.

The study of the paleozoic rocks in Ohio by Professor
Newberry shows clearly that the great movement which
gave rise to the so-called Cincinnati axis, along which the
Trenton limestone is exposed between the Silurian, Devonian,
and Carboniferous rocks found on either side, was not, as has
been conjectured by some, simultaneous w 7 ith the movements
which have folded these later strata in Pennsylvania, but
much earlier. This is shown by the fact that at the base of
the Medina sandstone occur beds of a conglomerate made up
of the ruins of the older formations, and, moreover, by the
fact that the Medina and its overlying formations thin out
as they approach, on either side, this central axis, which must
thus have been dry land from the time of the Medina forma-
tion. This agrees with what we might expect from the phe-
nomena seen along the eastern border of the palaeozoic basin,
where it is clear, as Hall has shown, that at the same period
namely, between the time of the Hudson River group and
the Medina sandstone a great stratigraphical and paleon-
tological break took place, uplifting the rocks of the Trenton,
Utica, and Hudson River groups (which together make up
the Cincinnati group of the West). One of the consequences
of this movement is shown in the formation of local deposits
of conglomerate the Oneida and Shawangunk grits at the
base of the Medina; and, as a further result, it is seen that

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxxv

the latter, together with the Clinton, Niagara, and Salina
groups, all thin out to the eastward, in which direction they
were limited by the barrier of dry land composed of the rocks
of the Cincinnati group. The Clinton, Niagara, and Salina
formation, as Hunt has shown from their chemical composi-
tion, were all deposited in an inland basin cut off from the
open sea, and consist of magnesian limestones, with salt and
gypsum beds. This order of things was terminated by a
great movement of depression, as a result of which the free
ocean waters flowed over the former eastern barrier, so that
the limestones of the Lower Helderberg period are resting
unconformably on the different members of the Cincinnati
group along the valleys of the Hudson and the St. Lawrence,
and even among the ancient crystalline rocks of the Appa-
lachian region in New England and the British provinces.
This depression was the beginning of a new order of things,
whose continuation is seen in the Corniferous limestone and
the Hamilton shales, the rocks of the Erie division of the New
York system the so-called Devonian, to which Dawson has
proposed to give the more appropriate name of Erian. The
flora of this period, brought to light by Hall in New York
and Newberry in Ohio, has been carefully studied by Dawson,
and gives us a most important chapter in pala3ophytology.

The great geological revolution which marks the break
between the rocks of the second and third faunas in Ohio
and in New York is, as Hunt has shown, but a repetition of
a similar process which took place at a still earlier period,
and gave rise to the break between the strata of the first
and second faunas along the eastern part of the great palaeo-
zoic basin. The Potsdam, and Calciferous, and Chazy forma-
tions of northern New York and Canada are the thinned-
out representatives of the great series of strata designated
the Taconic by Emmons, the Quebec group by Logan, and
the Primal and Auroral by Rogers, and include the first pa-
laeozoic fauna. The Calciferous sandrock was evidently form-
ed under conditions similar to the Niagara and Salina forma-
tions, and is, like these, a magnesian limestone with gypsums
and brine-springs. The succeeding Chazy limestone is a local
formation marking a passage to the new order of things,
when, by a great change of level, the open ocean of the Tren-
ton period invaded the region, and, extending far beyond the

xxxvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

old sea-limits, spread its limestones not only over the Chazy,
Calciferous, and Potsdam (which in some parts of New York
it overlies unconformably), but over the surrounding more
ancient crystalline rocks, and extended far over these to the
northward of Lake Ontario and up the valley of the Sag-
uenay. As regards the relations of these formations of the
first and second faunas in the valleys of Lake Champlain and
the St. Lawrence, they were supposed by Logan to be due
to movements which succeeded the deposition of the latter ;
but according to Hunt we must admit that the principal
movements were anterior, and that the rocks of the second
fauna rest unconformably on those of the first.

Further contributions to our knowledge of the fauna of
these older rocks, as seen in the valleys just named, have been
made by Billings and by Ford. Hunt has lately pointed out
that we can not, with correctness, apply the name of Silurian
to these rocks, which correspond to the Middle and Lower
Cambrian of Sedgwick, and to the first palaeozoic fauna of
Barrande. He therefore proposes to retain for these the name
of Cambrian, in which the Quebec group, and the Potsdam
and Calciferous, and perhaps the Chazy of the New York se-
ries, are to be included. The rocks of the second fauna the
Cincinnati group, which represent what was originally the
debated ground between Sedgwick and Murchison he pro-
poses to call Siluro-Cambrian, reserving, with Sedgwick and
Rogers, the name of Silurian for the rocks of the third fauna
only. In this he is but returning to the old distinctions es-
tablished by Hall and Rogers in their comparisons of Amer-
ican and British rocks, in conformity with the results of Sedg-
wick, Salter, and others, which were, without good reason, set
aside by Murchison and his followers. The whole subject
will be found in Hunt's recently published "Essay on the
History of Cambrian and Silurian." In it he has moreover
given a concise notice of the Cambrian fauna of our eastern
sea-coast as seen in Massachusetts, New Brunswick, and New-
foundland ; and he agrees with Hartt, Dawson, and Selwyn
in referring to this horizon the gold-bearing rocks of Nova
Scotia. In this connection he has discussed again the age
of the crystalline rocks of New England, and, in opposition
to the former generally received view, maintains that these
are all pre-Cambrian, and assigns the Green Mountains to the

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxxvii

Huronian series. Hitchcock, who is carrying on a geologic-
al survey of New Hampshire, also adopts this view as the
only one consonant with the facts there observed. It may
be remarked that the notion of the conversion of great masses
of palaeozoic, mesozoic, and even camozoic rocks into series
of crystalline schists, which so long found favor both in Eu-
rope and in America, is now found to be a hypothesis based
on very slender grounds, and that the late researches in the
Alps by Favre and others show that it must be abandoned
there in its stronghold, as well as in Great Britain and New
England.

In the study of the magnesian limestones of the Permian
age in Great Britain, Professor Ramsay has reached the con-
clusion that they were deposited in a great inland sea cut oif
from the ocean, and that their formation marked a period of
evaporation, showing a climatic condition of great dryness.
The same conclusion he shows, holds good in the case of oth-
er European formations of magnesian limestone. He is thus,
he tells us, led to adopt the view put forth in 1859 by Hunt,
that dolomites or magnesian limestones necessarily require
for their formation isolated evaporating basins, from which,
by special chemical reactions, which he has studied, the mag-
nesian carbonate is deposited. This view, as the latter has
shown, corresponds to the physical and paleontological his-
tory of our great magnesian limestone regions in the palaso-
zoic area of North America.

Great progress has been made in the investigation of the
fauna of the more recent geological formations in the west-
ern portions of the-Contincnt, but the discussion of these be-
longs rather to paleontology.

In Geological Dynamics, Mallet has made an important
contribution in establishing, by experiment, the amount of
heat developed in the crushing of the strata which must at-
tend the great movements producing corrugation in the
earth's crust. This source of heat had already been pointed
out by Vose, but the researches of Mallet give to it a quan-
titative value. He endeavors to show that the amount of
heat thus generated as a result of the contraction of the en-
velop around a cooling nucleus is more than sufficient to
account for that manifested in volcanic phenomena. Mallet
adopts the view, now generally received, of a solid rather

xxxviii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

than a liquid nucleus to the globe; and Leconte has just re-
hearsed the many arguments in favor of this view, adopting
the conclusions long since formulated on this subject by-
Hunt, who for the past fourteen years has maintained this
theory, and endeavored, in accordance with it, to explain all
volcanic and plutonic phenomena, on the supposition that
they have their seat in the lower regions of the stratified and
water-impregnated deposits of stratified rocks, and not in un-
stratified regions below. The great question of the origin
of mountains, which has been discussed recently by Dana and
by Whitney, is resumed by Leconte, who puts forth a new
explanation, according to which the elevation is due to later-
al pressure producing a vertical extension of the compressed
sediments. Hunt, however, has shown that such a process of
lateral compression is but an accident in mountain elevation,
and insists upon the view which regards mountains as but
the results of erosion of strata raised by continental move-
ments, as originally maintained by Montlosier, by Lesley,
and by Hall, the latter of whom long since ably expound-
ed the view, and illustrated it by reference to our American
rocks. The cause of continental oscillations is still obscure ;
but it is clear that it is to upward movements of this. kind,
and to the partial erosion of the areas thus uplifted, that
mountains are due, and that the nearly horizontally stratified
Catskills of New York have not had a different origin from
the far older and almost vertically bedded Highlands of the
Hudson.

The continued researches throughout the year of Professor
Hayden in the Yellowstone region, of Lieutenant Wheeler in
Arizona and Nevada, of Professor Powell in the Colorado,
of Mr. Clarence King and his party in various parts of the
West, and of numerous other specialists, including also the
various state geological surveys, have greatly added to the
information at our command, resulting not only in an im-
proved knowledge of the stratification, structure, and geo-
graphical distribution of the rocks in general, but also of the
animal and vegetable remains included in their beds. An im-
portant discovery by Professor Powell is that of the occur-
rence of a system of gigantic faults in the Colorado region,
where the slip of the strata in places amounts to 2000 feet.

Most remarkable discoveries have been made by Professor

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xxxix

Marsh, Professor Cope, and Dr. Leidy in the Rocky Mount-
ains in the way of fossil forms of mammals, reptiles, and birds,
which will be referred to hereafter.

Important additions to our knowledge of the Bermudas
and the West Indies are also indicated, especially in refer-
ence to very remarkable changes of level within a compara-
tively recent period. The evidence of a continued change
of level in various parts of the earth's surface has been multi-
plied during the year, the facts observed relating to Spitz-
bergen, Greenland, Sweden, Patagonia, and the Andes. Pro-
fessor Agassiz himself, when in the Straits of Magellan, found
shells living in brackish ponds elevated some 50 or 100 feet
above the level of the sea, precisely identical with species
having living representatives in the waters below them.
The interval of time has been so short since the occurrence
which caused the elevation took place, as not to involve the
dying out of the animals thus cut off from the ocean by the
upheaval.

To Professor Agassiz we also owe the announcement of
important indications in reference to the glacial condition
of South America, especially in the vicinity of Montevideo
and Chile. Striking glacial phenomena, too, have been brought
to light in regard to Algeria and elsewhere in the Old World.
The discovery of glaciers by Mr. Clarence King and others
in the high mountains of Washington Territory, Oregon, and
Northern California w T as announced during the year 1871 ;
and they have also been detected, in 1872, by Mr.Muir in the
Merced Mountains, not far from the Yosemite region.

The announcements of discoveries in the field of Geography,
as us\ial, are quite full, as compared with many other branch-
es of science, numerous explorations, both by sea and land,
prosecuted by nearly all the civilized nations of Europe and
America, having been prosecuted, with scarcely any intermis-
sion, from the beginning of the year to its end. We have
nothing, so far, from the expedition of Captain Hall, which
left the United States in 1871 for the North Pole, by way
of Greenland and Smith's Sound. This, however, is not a
subject of particular solicitude, as, except by very good for-
tune, the first news was not to be expected till the summer
of 1873. The proposed expedition of Mr. Octave Pave to-
ward the North Pole appears not to have been actually un-

xl GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

dertaken, although the newspapers for a time were filled with
alleged discoveries made by him in WrangelPs Land.

We are lacking in details of most of the great European
expeditions in the line of North Polar research during the
year 1872; one of the most important of these that sent
out by the Swedish government under Professor Nordens-
kjold was prematurely inclosed in the ice, and exposed to
much danger, particularly from the lack of food.

From the Austrian expedition of Payer and Weyprecht a
few notices have been received, but nothing of great impor-
tance. Russia, it is said, has sent out a preliminary explor-
ing party to Northern Siberia, in anticipation of a larger ex-
pedition during the coming year, which will be provided
with every means of research, and accompanied by some em-
inent men of science. The detailed history of the celebrated
voyage of the Hansa and Germania is in course of prepara-
tion, and a first part actually published, embracing the re-
markable adventures of the Hansa, ending in her destruction,
and the survival of the crew on a block of ice over an eigrht
hundred miles' journey.

Efforts have been made in Great Britain to induce the gov-
ernment to send out a polar expedition by way of Smith's
Sound ; but, so far, the response has not been such as to sat-
isfy the scientific men of that country.

The Antarctic regions are even still less known than the
Arctic ; but inquiry has lately been again directed to them
by the efforts of Dr. Neumeyer to fit out an Austrian expedi-
tion to that part of the world. It is probable that the move-
ments in connection with the observations of the transit of
Venus in 1874 will also invite further attention to thfs re-
gion, as some of the best stations for observation are w r ell to-
ward the South Pole.

A great deal has been done in the way of deep-sea explora-
tions, as well by the United States as by her sister govern-
ments in Europe. The American Hydrographic Office has
fitted out two vessels for exploration in the Pacific Ocean, pro-
viding them with the necessary apparatus to cover all branch-
es of the inquiry during the voyage. One of the most impor-
tant of the efforts of this kind has been brought to a close by
the safe arrival of the .Hassler, after a lengthened voyage begun
from Boston in December, 1871, and ended at San Francisco

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. x li

in the summer of 1872. This vessel, as already stated, was
fitted out by the Coast Survey, with a view of hydrographic
work on the California coast ; and the occasion was em-
braced by Professor Agassiz, with experienced assistants, to
make observations and collections throughout the voyage.
Owing to various causes beyond the control of the expedi-
tion, less was done in the way of deep-sea research than was
hoped for by them; but the collection of natural history spec-
imens was continued unintermittingly, with the result of en-
larging the Cambridge Museum by the addition of the con-
tents of several hundred barrels of alcoholic specimens and
other objects.

Extensive explorations were also carried on during the
year in the Bay of Fundy, by the parties connected with the
United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, as also in
conjunction with the Coast Survey, by the same parties, in
the vicinity of George's Banks. Reports have already been
published in Silliman's Journal and elsewhere of this work,
which is believed to be scarcely inferior in importance to that
of any of the more modern explorations of a similar char-
acter.

Great Britain has distinguished herself by the special equip-
ment of a large steamer, the Challenger, for deep-sea work,
this vessel having already started for a three years' cruise,
to include the Bay of Biscay, the Madeiran seas, the coast
of the United States, various parts of the South Atlantic and
of the Pacific Ocean. It is commanded by Captain Nares,
of the British navy ; but the scientific work is under the di-
rection of Professor Wyville Thompson, one of the most emi-
nent of British naturalists.

The Russian corvette, Witjas, has also been distinguished
for valuable work in the Pacific Ocean, especially in the vi-
cinity of New Guinea.

The work of the German steamer, the Pommerania, in the
Baltic and adjacent waters, under the direction of Dr. Meyer
and Professor Mobius, has been prosecuted with vigor, re-
sulting in the discovery of important facts in reference to
the natural history and physical condition of the seas off the
German coast.

In the way of land explorations in America, we may men-
tion those in Greenland under the direction of Mr. Edward

xlii ANNUAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

Whymper, if it be proper to include that country in the New
World. Important facts have been brought to light by this
gentleman in regard to the great glacial sheet covering the
land, the altitudes of various peaks, the natural history, re-
cent and fossil, and the ethnology of the country.

Alaska has also been explored by Mr. Wm. H. Dall, in con-
nection with his labors on the United States Coast Survey,
while engaged in making surveys of the shores and harbors
of the Aleutian Islands. He has used the leisure at any time
at his command in gathering a very rich collection in nat-
ural history and ethnology. Other explorations have also
been made, by Mr. Henry W. Elliot, in the adjacent group of
the Fur-Seal Islands.

We have already referred to the geological work prose-
cuted in the Rocky Mountains by different parties ; and the
same expeditions have been equally noteworthy in their rela-
tionship to geographical science. A large unknown or pre-
viously unexplored region has been plotted down and brought
within the scope of our geographical knowledge, so that the
terra incognita of the great West is rapidly diminishing.
The renewed explorations anticipated for the coming year
w T ill tend to relieve us still more from the opprobrium of ig-
norance in regard to our own country.

The survey of the boundary between the United States and
British America, west of Lake Superior, was prosecuted till
the close of the season, after which the parties went into
winter quarters. It is expected that in the coming season
they will carry the line of demarkation many miles to the
West.

The labors of the United States government in reference
to the establishment of practicable routes for ship canals in
Central America have been continued industriously during
the year, Nicaragua, Tehuantepec, and the Isthmus of Darien
all receiving due attention. Although no very practicable
route has been discovered, or, at least, none pre-eminently su-
perior to all the rest, it is hoped that the labors of the com-
ing season will tend to narrow the choice to be made, and to
concentrate attention upon that which will prove to be most
available under the circumstances.

Professor Hartt during the past year returned to Brazil
for the third or fourth time, to prosecute investigations in

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. xliit

certain regions that appeared to him eminently worthy of at-
tention. The most important results obtained by him have
reference to the earlier inhabitants of the country, for whose
history he collected a large amount of material. A note-
worthy fact in South American geography has been the as-
cent of Mount Cotopaxi by a German savant (Dr. Reiss), who
was enabled to make the eifort under specially favorable cir-
cumstances.

As regards Asia, considerable attention has been drawn to
expeditions from both the United States and Great Britain,
each of which has sent out agents in the form of Palestine
Exploration Societies, the special region to be investigated by
each being amicably determined. It is hoped that before
long some important information may be secured that will re-
pay all the labor and outlay in this service.

Dr. Schleimann announces interesting discoveries at what
he considers the seat of ancient Troy, as developed in the
penetration through various strata, and which contain re-
mains extending from the most modern time down to that
of the inhabitants of the country in the time of Priam.

The most popularly appreciated geographical fact of the
year is in connection with Africa consisting in the penetra-
tion into its wilds by Mr. Stanley, the agent of the New York
Herald, in a successful effort to discover the long-lost Dr.
Livingstone. The results of this expedition have been to
give Mr. Stanley a deserved reputation, which he shares witli
the Herald, on account of which the enterprise was conduct-
ed, and which was induced to contribute so large a sum of
money toward this apparently irrelevant object. The stim-
ulus caused by Mr. Stanley's success has led to the departure
of an expedition under Sir Bartle Frere, having for its object
the suppression of the East African slave-trade ; and the dis-
patch of an expedition with similar objects, on the part of
Egypt, under General Purdy ; also, in the fitting out of two
expeditions for the investigation of Western Africa by way
of the Congo one of them under British auspices, Lieuten-
ant Grandy in command, already in the field ; and the other,
German, being in an advanced stage of preparation for start-
ing. Other notes in regard to African discovery are furnished
by Dr. Schweinfurth, Gerhard Rohlfs, Mr. Edward Blyden, Sir
Samuel Baker, Carl Mauch, and others.

^liv ANNUAL SUMMAKY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

This latter gentleman has attracted very great attention
on account of his supposed discovery of the ancient land of
Ophir, a region showing traces of extensive and ancient ex-
cavations, evidently made in the search for gold.

Natural History , as usual, claims a large share of attention,
in view of its importance as a study, and the increasing fa-
cilities that are furnished by civilized nations for acquiring
the necessary training for successful work in its prosecution.
Although the new facts brought to light during the year in
regard to the existence of species, their relationships to each
other and to external circumstances, their anatomy, physiolo-
gy, and development, are very numerous, it is difficult to se-
lect what may be considered of greatest importance. We
may, however, mention as extremely interesting the discovery
of certain remarkable fossil vertebrates in the Rocky Mount-
ains, to which reference will be made hereafter. An im-
portant aid to zoological research, esj)ecially among marine
animals, consists in the establishment of aquaria, in which
they can be examined to advantage and at leisure, in the
exercise of all their various functions. Beginning several
years ago on a small scale, they have, more lately, been con-
structed of considerable magnitude in different parts of the
world. The most extensive of these is now in operation at
Brighton, England, and far surpasses all others in dimensions
and scope. This, but recently erected, is now in working
order, and already important facts have been ascertained in
regard to fishes and certain crustaceans that have heretofore
eluded detection. Another aquarium of note is that at Ber-
lin ; while others to be erected at Manchester and at Vi-
enna promise to become very conspicuous. The zoological
station started by Dr. Dohrn at Naples is another important
establishment of a similar character. This is intended to
embrace aquaria on a large scale and in great numbers, ar-
ranged in a building thoroughly fitted for research, situated
on the Bay of Naples, and with the accompaniment of all the
necessary collecting apparatus. Here, scientific men of any
nationality can prosecute their studies, at the least possible
cost and under every possible advantage. The expenses are
to be borne in part by the fees received for the admission of
the general public to view the aquaria. This institution
promises to assume an international character, and the gov-

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. x lv

ernments and institutions of all parts of the world are invited
to take shares, which will entitle them to nominate incum-
bents for working tables in the establishment, and by whom
every facility can be claimed as a right in virtue of the en-
dowment.

A fact of much interest in the line of embryology has been
detected in the very young sturgeon. This animal, as is well
known, when mature, is destitute of teeth, and secures its
food by means of suction. It was, therefore, with no little
surprise that some gentlemen engaged in breeding a small
species of sturgeon, the sterlet, eminent for the excellence of
its flesh, found that the young, for some time after emerging
from the egg, had the mouth armed with well-marked teeth,
by means of which they were enabled to secure their prey.
These disappeared, however, in a short time, leaving a form
much like that of the adult fish.

An important fact has been brought out by Professor Pan-
ceri in regard to the luminosity of marine animals, and the
conditions under which this peculiarity is exercised made in-
telligible ; the separation by Dr. Phipson of this same phos-
phorescent material, under the name of noctilucine, has also
tended to give precision to our views of the general subject
of phosphorescence.

The investigation of the faunas of various parts of the globe
has been prosecuted to a considerable extent. Among these,
perhaps the most interesting and important results obtained
are those from the labors of Grandidier in Madagascar, and
of the Abbe David in Thibet. Both these gentlemen have
brought to light many forms of vertebrate animals, having
marked peculiarities, which have excited the attention of zo-
ologists.

The special classes of vertebrates have received, perhaps,
even more than the usual share of attention in respect to, at
least, systematic work.

The Mammals have been re-examined, with reference to
their mutual relations, by Gill and A. Milne-Edwards the
former adopting, with Huxley and other late therologists,
the sub -classes Monodelphs, Didelphs, and Ornithodelphs,
and dividing the first into two primary sub-divisions charac-
terized by cerebral characters (see Record, p. 238) ; the lat-
ter isolating man as the type of a distinct sub-class, and then

xlvi ANNUAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

separating successively, from the higher mammals, the Ich-
thyomorphs, the Implacentals, and the Edentates, and divid-
ing the remainder according to the structure of their feet,
whether unguiculate or ungulate. Recent species have been
described as new, or further illustrated, especially by Ed-
wards, Elliott, Flower, Gray, Krefft, Macallister, and Murie.
Edwards, especially, has added to our knowledge by the de-
scription of new forms, and has made known numerous in-
teresting species of Thibet (see Record, p. 318). As has been
the case for some years past, the cetaceans have received
more attention than any other order. Among extinct mam-
mals, the discoveries have been of far more than ordinary
interest and importance. Many new types have been dis-
covered by Professors Cope, Leidy, and Marsh (see p. 305), in
the western portions of the United States, and especially in
the State of Kansas and Wyoming Territory : chief of these
are (l) the forms which have been referred to the order of
Primates by Marsh and Cope (see p. 326), and supposed to
be related to the lemurs; (2) several forms related to Pro-
boscidians (see p. 307, 337); (3) bats obtained from the eo-
cene of Wyoming ; (4) a remarkable type referred by Cope
to the order Edentata, and named Pseudotomus by him ;
(5) various remains discovered by Cope and Marsh, indica-
ting, apparently, genera representing a previously unknown
family related to the opossums. These various types have
been indicated or described chiefly in the Proceedings of the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the Proceed-
ings of the American Philosophical Society, and the Ameri-
can Journal of Science and Art (Silliman's). A work infe-
rior in value to no other publication of the year, on the Ver-
tebrates, is a list of the families of Mammals, with diagnos-
tic tables of all the families and sub-families of Educabilia,
and lists of genera, by Professor Gill, published by the Smith-
sonian Institution.

Among the mammalia, the species most interesting to all
is, of course, man himself; and although comparatively few
years have elapsed since systematic investigations were com-
menced into his condition in what has been aptly termed the
prehistoric period, or the times anterior to authentic records,
the amount of tangible knowledge accumulated has already
become very great, and the study appears year by year to

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. x l\ ii

briner forth richer fruit. Several new lacustrian villages in
Switzerland have been discovered, some of them furnishing
remains of very great interest ; and the detection of a Vi-
king boat, many centuries old, in Norway, has excited much
attention among the Scandinavians. A prehistoric corpse,
clothed in grave wrappings, and in a remarkable state of
preservation, was discovered in a peat-bog in Holstein, and
has furnished the means not only of determining the cranial
peculiarities of the people, but of the actual nature of the
dress of that period.

In America, interesting remains have been brought to light
in various mounds of the West, and especially in Alaska,
through the untiring efforts of Mr. William H. Dall, of the
Coast Survey. Dr.Leidy records also the occurrence of flint
implements of very great antiquity in Wyoming Territory.
The discovery of a well-preserved skeleton of post-tertiary
formation in Hungary, and of skeletons of undoubted antiq-
uity, perhaps even of the reindeer period, at Laugerie-Basse,
in France, and nearMentone (Baousse-Rousse), in Italy, have
also attracted great attention.

A paper by Dr. Schmidt, of Essen, upon prehistoric man,
takes the ground that man is of greater antiquity in America
than in any other part of the world, the remains of his bony
frame-work, as also of the implements fashioned by his hand,
occurring in this country apparently in undoubted connec-
tion with the pliocene period, while the earliest known in
Europe belong to the post-pliocene. It must be always re-
membered, however, that such evidence is only the expres-
sion of actual discovery, and that, judging from analogy, man
must have originated in the Old World.

In the remaining mammalia, the quadrumana have been il-
lustrated by the discovery of a new species of monkey in
Thibet, and by a fossil species in Italy, and a fossil lemuroid
in Wyoming, Professor Marsh being the fortunate discoverer
of the latter object.

A new species of mastodon, from New Mexico, has been
characterized by Professor Leidy, probably superior in size
to the better known Mastodon americanus ; and remains of
the mammoth, both European and American, have been de-
tected during the year.

The birth of a young hippopotamus and of a young rhinoc-

xlviii ANNUAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

eros in London, has excited much attention in view of the
great rarity of such an occurrence in menageries.

Several new species of cetacea of the west coast have been
described by Captain Scammon and Mr. Dall ; and the work
of Captain Scammon upon this group, now in a state of prep-
aration, it is expected, will throw a great deal of light upon
the species themselves, and the modes of capture of the more
important kinds, such as the whale, the porpoise, grampus, etc.

The discoveries among the extinct cetaceans have been
numerous and of unusual interest. Cope, Flower, and Ger-
vais have described certain extinct forms, but it is especially
to Van Beneden and Du Bus, of Belgium, and to Brandt, of
St. Petersburg, that we are indebted for more or less insight
into new types.

By far the most interesting discoveries among the mam-
malia are the fossil forms brought to light during the past
summer by Professors Cope, Marsh, and Leidy. Among these
may be mentioned a proboscidian of gigantic size, and pro-
vided with four horns, each possibly incased in a horny
sheath, as in the hollow-horned ruminants. It is understood
that these gentlemen are busily engaged in preparing elabo-
rate memoirs upon these and other interesting forms, and
that they will soon be published to the knowledge of the
world at large.

Among the animal's of uncertain position, or even of exist-
ence, is the gigantic marine animal popularly termed a " sea-
serpent ;" and of this we have had the usual number of an-
nouncements during the year. One of these accounts refers
to its occurrence in a Highland loch during the past summer.
Most of the statements concur, as usual, in describing the
animal as serpent-like in shape, with a so-called mane along
the back of the neck, and capable of erecting its head above
the surface of the water, and with the body thrown into
vertical coils that appeared at intervals like humps, or like
balls along a string. What the true character of this animal
may be, it is impossible to say ; or how far the appearance of
a serpent may have been simulated by a string of floating
sea-weed, a school of porpoises, or other manifestation, all of
which have been proposed as solutions of the problem.

The Birds have not received any specially noteworthy ad-
ditions. American species have been further considered by

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. x lix

Allen (see p. 321) and Ridgway, with respect to certain coin-
cidences of physical characters and geographical range pre-
viously indicated in part by Baird. New works have been
published or commenced by Coues (see p. 310) and Maynard
(see p. 320). Morse has contributed an important mono-
graph on the condition of the carpus and tarsus in embryonic
birds, and has discovered four bones in each (see p. 336). The
anatomy of several forms has been examined by Murie. The
important work on the fossil birds of France by A. Milne-Ed-
wards (see p. 250), replete also with information respecting
recent forms, and data for the amelioration of the system,
lias been completed. The fossil birds of this country have
been the object of study by Marsh, and a very remarkable
form (Ichthyomis) has been announced by him, which, in his
opinion, constitutes a new sub-class (Odontornithes). In this,
the vertebra} are bi-concave, and the tail was probably length-
ened like that of the Archmopteryx. Another noteworthy
feature is seen in the skull, which, although possessing the
cranial characteristics of normal birds, is provided with armed
jaws with conical teeth, as in the pterodactyl. Another spe-
cies of fossil birds of the same or an allied genus is also an-
nounced by Professor Marsh, together with some that are less
peculiar, and more nearly related to more recent types.

Papers upon the fossil birds of France and of the Masca-
rene Islands have been published; and the researches of Dr.
Hector in New Zealand have revealed a new fossil from that
country, which is supposed to have been one of the Rapa-
cious group, of very large size, and fitted, perhaps, for pursu-
ing the gigantic moa and its congeners.

Numerous publications upon birds of various parts of the
world, of greater or less extent, have been published dur-
ing the year, among them a valuable memoir upon the North
American species by Dr. Coues. Several monographs of groups
have also been presented to the public, and the average prog-
ress has been made generally in this fascinating branch of
natural history.

Among the -Reptiles, important work has been done by Gray
for the chelonians, and by Fayrer for the poisonous serpents
(Thanatophidia) of India. A memoir by Leydig on the rep-
tiles of Germany is also of value. The most interesting fossil
type has been made known by Cope, as Protostega yigas, a

Q

>

1 ANNUAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

type of marine turtles referred to the family Sjyhargididce,
but distinguished by remarkable characters. Another inter-
esting form is Agathaumas sylvestris, a genus of the order
Dinosauria, and supposed by its discoverer, Cope, to deter-
mine the cretaceous age of the Wyoming formation, in which
it was found. Researches on the Pythonomorpha, certain gi-
gantic fossil serpents (see p. 256, 258), and the discovery of
the remains of pterodactyls by Marsh and Cope in the cre-
taceous formation of Kansas, deserve to be signalized (see p.
244, 338).

The Fishes have been the subjects of study from an ana-
tomical stand-point, and with a view to the improvement of
their classification by Cope, Dareste, and Gill, although at
first sight appearing to differ radically from each other, the
differences of their several systems are not really as great as
they seem to be. The anatomy of some interesting forms
has been examined by Gunther and Gegenbaur, the former
having made known the structure and relations of Ceratodus
in a very full monograph, and the latter having illustrated
the craniology of the sharks. A valuable memoir has been
published by Putnam on the Hypsmidw, a family of which the
blind fish of the Mammoth Cave is the type. Several inter-
esting fossil forms found in the cretaceous and tertiary forma-
tions of the United States have been described by Cope (see
p. 258, 368), and some interesting carboniferous types in En-
gland by Hancock and Attley.

The announcement made by Professor Agassiz in regard
to the habit of the Chironectes (a pelagic fish) of building an
artificial nest of sea-weed, in which the eggs are intertwined
and allowed to float in the open ocean, has also attracted
much attention.

Gill has reopened the question of the homologies of the
scapular arch, agreeing with Gegenbaur and Parker in respect
to the constituents of the scapular series as a whole, but in-
terpreting entirely otherwise the several elements of which
it is composed.

The much-vexed question as to the mode of generation of
eels has been elucidated by the publication of a work by an
Italian author, who takes the ground that the animal is real-
ly a hermaphrodite, and that during the winter season both
sets of sexual organs are brought to their functional activ-

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. \[

ity, and that the eggs are developed and impregnated in the
same individual. This is a remarkable fact, if it be true, and
will doubtless be critically inquired into.

The Insects have received a fair share of attention during
the year, especially in the United States, where two very im-
portant descriptive works have been published ; namely, one
by Mr. Edwards on the North American Butterflies, and that
by Mr. Glover on the Orthoptera, the latter forming the be-
ginning of a series of illustrated monographs of our more
conspicuous insects in general. Mr. G. R. Crotch, an accom-
plished English entomologist, has commenced the publication
in the United States of a catalogue of North American Cole-
optera.

A curious variety of insect is described by Dr. Le Conte as
Platypsylla castor is, which, although in his opinion belong-
ing to the Coleoptera, is yet so modified in form as to render
it extremely difficult of assignment to its proper position.
The ravages of the Phylloxera, or grape-vine louse, in various
parts of Europe, especially in France, continue to excite the
gravest apprehension ; and it is feared that the result will be
the entire destruction of the vineyards in that part of the
world, excepting where the roots can be covered during win-
ter with water, so as to kill the terrestrial form of the a'nimal.

According to Professor A. Milne-Edwards, the king-crab
(Limulus) is neither a crustacean nor an arachnid, but con-
stitutes a distinct class of animals, which Professor Edwards
proposes to call the Merostomata.

A paper by Professor Smith, upon the embryology and
early stages of the American Lobster, has added to our knowl-
edge of the peculiarities of this species, the work having been
prosecuted by him in the summer of 18V 1 on the New En-
gland coast, and the result published during the past year.

The inquiry as to whether Trilobites are in the possession
of legs or not has also been continued, Professor Dana and
Professor Verrill insisting that they must have been desti-
tute of these appendages, in view of certain peculiarities of
their structure.

Perhaps the most important fact in reference to the Anne-
lids is the demonstration that the form known as Tomaria
is the embryo form of the singular worm called Balanoglos-
sus, it having previously been supposed to be the embryo of

lii ANNUAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

an Echinoderm, which it very much resembles. A special
interest attaches to this discovery, as it will by many be re-
garded as confirming the opinion originally promulgated by
Huxley that the Echinoderms and Scolecids form together a
peculiar natural group (" sub-kingdom Annuloida") of the an-
imal kingdom; the evidence, however, is not yet regarded as
conclusive by those who have heretofore advocated an oppo-
site view, the resemblance being claimed to be superficial,
and not based on true homological similarity.

A valuable paper has been published on the embryology
of the Gordius, or hair-worm, in which the obscurity in re-
gard to the successive transformations of this animal has
been measurably cleared up. The announcement made a
year or two ago by Professor Wyman that the cerebral cav-
ity of the water-turkey (Plotus) is always inhabited by a mass
of entozoa worms belonging to the genus Filaria is con-
firmed by him in later communications.

The Mollusks have received the customary share of atten-
tion from students and describers of new species, but nothing
of special interest seems to have been published. We may,
however, allude to the researches of Morse on the embryology
of the Brachiopods (see p. 271). Among the fossil "forms, not
the least interesting made known are two species obtained
from the carboniferous rocks of Illinois by Braclley, and re-
ferred by him to the Pulmonates, under the names Papa Ver-
milionensis and Anomphalus Meekii the last, originally re-
ferred to the EotellldcB by Meek, has been transferred to the
Helicidce by Bradley. If these forms have been correctly
identified, the addition is important,' as only two species have
been previously described from the Nova Scotian carbonifer-
ous ; it is right to add that the discovery has not yet been
verified by other naturalists, and is open to suspicion in con-
nection with the' type of Anomjihalus.

The question lately raised by Professor Morse as to the
systematic position of the Brachiopods has also continued to
be discussed, this gentleman maintaining that they are in
reality worms, while nearly all other writers insist on keep-
ing them among the mollusks.

An important work on the American east coast Mollusks
is announced as about to be commenced by Mr. Tryon, of
Philadelphia, to embrace colored figures of all the species.

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. Htf

The Radiates have had several unusually important works
devoted to their illustration, the first part of Alexander Agas-
siz's long-looked-for work on the Echinoids having appeared,
Allmann's great work on the Gymnoblastic Hydroids having
been completed, and a work by Dana on the Corals and Cor-
al Formations, and one by Kulliker on the Alcyonaria, hav-
ing been published.

The Protozoa, as represented by the Sponges, have been
the objects of study by Bowerbank, Carter, H. J. Clark, Gray,
and Kent; and one group especially has been finely illustrated
in an excellent monograph published by Hackel. The Fora-
minifera have been the subject of articles by Parker and
Jones, and the Vorticellce have been further elucidated by
Greef.

In Botany, the most important work that has appeared in
this country is the " Genera Lichenum" of Professor E. Tuck-
erman. Dr. Gray, besides his address at Dubuque upon the
origin of the North American flora, has published, in the Pro-
ceedings of the American Academy, notes on several genera
of Labiatce, and an enumeration of an interesting collection
of Oregon plants made by Elihu Hall. Leo Lesquereux has
given a report on Fossil Botany, supplementary to the Fifth
Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey of the
Territories. The report, also, of C. H. Peck to the Regents
of the New York State University is a valuable contribution
to cryptogamic botany.

In England, the first volume of a " Flora of British India,"
by J. D. Hooker, has appeared, and the second volume of
Bentham and Hooker's " Genera Plantarum" is in course of
publication. M. A. Cooke, whose recent work on Fungi is
now the best authority on that subject for American species,
has undertaken a monthly journal, the " Grevillea" devoted
to cryptogamic botany. On the Continent, Decaisne has com-
pleted an extended monograph of the genus Pyrus ; Bois-
sier has issued a second volume of his "Flora Orientalis,"
a work which is to be a Flora for all Western Asia, from
Greece and Egypt to the borders of India ; Baillon's " His-
toire des Plantes" has been continued, as also the "Flora Bra-
siliensis," edited by Professor Eichler since Martius's death.
Pritzel has nearly completed a revised edition of the " The-
saurus Literatura) Botanical ;" Dr. Pfeifter lias commenced a

Hv GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

" Nomenclator Botanicus," to contain the synonomy of all
grades of plants higher than the specific ; Dr. A. Engler has
published a monograph of the genus Saxifraga; Regel, a re-
vision of Crataegus and other genera ; and Maximowicz has
continued his investigation of Japanese species and their re-
lations to allied American ones. In the botanical journals
there have been more or less extended revisions, as of some
liliaceous genera, by J. G. Baker ; of the Caryophyllacew, by
Rohrbach (posthumous) ; of Marsilia and JPilutaria, by A.
Braun ; and of the Cyperacew, by Bockeler ; and also contri-
butions to morphology and biology by Hegelmaier, Brongni-
art, Cohn, and others. In physiological botany, however, the
most important production has been an able morphological
treatise by Strasburger upon the Coniferce and Gnetacece.

As an instance of the use of paleontological botany, and
its application to a more perfect understanding of the rela-
tion of surviving plants, we may refer to the address of Asa
Gray, delivered as retiring president of the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science. In that discourse
he traced the history of the genus /Sequoia, embracing the
giant trees of California, back to the tertiary period; and the
data thus obtained necessarily led to the inference that the
species in question were the last survivors of a group abun-
dantly represented in previous ages, but whose representa-
tives have successively disappeared, till the straggling and
rather rare species now living stand out in bold relief against
the predominant flora of our own times.

Botany has suffered in the deaths of Hugo von Mohl; Pro-
fessor A. S. Oersted, of Copenhagen ; Dr. F. Welwitsch, the
African explorer and botanist; and, in this country,Rev. M. A.
Curtis.

In the field, collections have been made to some extent by
W. H. Dall, in Alaska ; E. Hall, in Texas ; C. C. Parry, in Col-
orado ; Dr. Hayden, in Montana ; and by Lieutenant Wheeler
in Arizona. Many new American phenogamous species have
been published, besides numerous species of Fungi by C. H.
Peck and M. A. Cooke, in the publications mentioned, and in
the London Journal of Botany.

Among fossil plants, many new and interesting species
from the tertiary, cretaceous, and carboniferous beds of the
Western territories have been made known by Lesquereux.

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. l v

They were obtained by the collectors connected with the
United States Geological Survey of Territories, of which Dr.
Hayden is the chief. We may also mention, in connection
with fossil plants, the "Introduction to the Study of Paleon-
tological Botany," lately published by Balfour.

The next subject that claims our attention is that of Agri-
culture and Rural Economy, a department in which a restless
activity has been manifested ; as usual, evinced by the pub-
lication of numerous essays and communications to the agri-
cultural and scientific journals. Much of this is, of course,
mere repetition of facts already well known, or the crude
views that carry their own refutation on their face. Real ad-
vance has, however, been embodied in the memoirs of agri-
cultural societies, and particularly in the reports of the exper-
imental stations in Germany and elsewhere.

An important aid in the future progress of agriculture
will, it is hoped, result from the action of Mr. Lawes, the em-
inent agricultural chemist of England, who has given half a
million of dollars for the endowment of an experimental farm,
providing also for a corps of investigators, whose labors will
be duly presented to the world.

Various agricultural societies in the United States have
been diligently engaged in carrying on their work; and, by
means of annual fairs and experiments, have done much to-
ward introducing improved machinery and methods into va-
rious parts of the country.

The Department of Agriculture of the United States con-
tinues its useful labors in the dissemination of valuable infor-
mation through its monthly and annual reports, and in the
distribution of seed and roots of useful plants. It also con-
tinues to exercise, to the acceptance of the public, the function
of reporter upon the state of agricultural products during
their season, so as to give timely notice of the probabilities
of a harvest.

The subject of manures, both animal, vegetable, and miner-
al, as heretofore, occupies special attention (the rapid exhaus-
tion of the soils consequent upon wasteful modes of culture
making such restoratives and stimulants absolutely necessa-
ry) ; so that the exhaustion of the guano of South America
will probably be met by the manufacture of artificial substi-
tutes. Many of these consist of fish mixed with sea-weeds

lvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

and the mineral phosphates from South Carolina and else-
where.

The subject of the diseases of animals and plants is, of
course, an important one to the agriculturist, and the threat-
ened destruction of the vine in Europe, and especially in
France, by the ravages of the Phylloxera vastatrix, or grape-
vine louse, has caused the gravest apprehension. This insect
is believed to be originally a native of America, and to have
been transferred to Europe, where, as in its native home, it
exhibits itself in two forms, one living among the roots of
the vine, and the other on the stems and leaves. Numer-
ous remedies have been proposed, but apparently with little
success the only practical one being flooding the roots dur-
ing the winter with water, whenever this is practicable, so as
to destroy the animal.

The silk-worm disease, at one time so prevalent in Europe,
is now, according to Guerin-Meneville,in process of disappear-
ance so much so that partially diseased eggs have been
known to produce perfectly healthy worms, a fact of much
moment to silk-culturists.

Among the diseases of domestic animals, the most preva-
lent during the past year was the so-called epizootic, which ap-
peared, for the most part, to be confined to horses, and which,
beginning in Canada in September, rapidly spread south-
ward and westward, until the whole country was involved.
At the present time it appears to be raging in Arizona, and
Montana, where, as elsewhere, it has produced the greatest in-
convenience.

Other diseases have been, perhaps, less common in this
country; although we have the customary announcements in
the papers of hog and chicken cholera, of pleuro-pneumonia
among cattle, etc.

The potato has experienced one of its great seasons of epi-
demic in Europe in Great Britain, especially, where the crop
gathered has formed but a very small percentage of the ex-
pected harvest.

Having thus briefly considered the subject of Agriculture,
or the questions connected with the culture of the soil and
the rearing of terrestrial animals, we proceed to the consid-
eration of a kindred department, or, indeed, a subdivision of
the same general science, which has not inaptly been termed

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. l v ii

Aquiculture, or that which relates to the capture, protection,
management, increase, and marketing of the products of the
water, both fresh and salt, namely, Pisciculture and the Fish-
eries. Agriculture itself is scarcely superior in importance
to Aquiculture as a question of economy whether we con-
sider the extent of its products, its bearing upon the health
and vigor of the nation, or the very large yield from a small
investment, which, in most cases, is less that of capital than
of labor and skill.

The increasing interest in this department is sufficient war-
rant for devoting some portion of our space to its elucida-
tion. The rivalries and jealousies between American fisher-
men and those of the British Provinces in North America,
which at one time threatened to brino- on serious collisions,
have been measurably removed by the establishment of a
treaty, which only requires a few formalities on the part of
the United States and of Canada to go into effect. These
have been, in fact, for the most part supplied ; and on the 1st
of July next the provisions of the treaty will be in actual
force. Under these the American fishermen will have a rigfht
in British waters equal to those of the natives of the prov-
inces, while the latter, on the other hand, will enjoy free fish-
ing on the coast of the United States nearly as far south as
Cape May. Indeed, although the treaty does not actually
become operative until July, it is understood that no obsta-
cle will be interposed by the Dominion authorities to Anier-
can fishermen entering British w T aters at any time during the
present season.

The special fisheries on the American coast during the
year have been of average excellence. The catch of mack-
erel was inferior to that of other species, however, partly in
consequence of the scarcity of the fish, and partly because
the surplus from 1871 was so great as to render the market
inactive. It is expected that, with the removal by treaty of
any restrictions, the favorite fishing-grounds of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence and elsewhere will be occupied by large num-
bers of Americans ; and it is to be hoped that the catch may
be proportionally great.

The American Herring fishery has been more productive
than usual, the w T aters of the Bay of Fundy having been per-
fectly alive with this fish during the fall and winter, so much

3 *

lviii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

so that they were sold as low as one dollar per hogshead at
the weirs. A new trade that in frozen herring in Passa-
maquoddy Bay, and in the vicinity of Eastport, was prose-
cuted during the winter with much vigor, fish to the value
of over $100,000 being taken and marketed. These fish are
taken in winter in gill-nets, and soon become frozen by ex-
posure to the air, and are carried in that condition to the
principal ports to the westward and sold as fresh fish.

The Menhaden fishery continued to produce abundantly,
millions having been captured, and converted into oil and
guano.

The Cod fisheries, both on the Atlantic and Pacific, have
been productive, and have given occupation to a large num-
ber of persons.

The Salmon fisheries of Maine, the only state on our At-
lantic coast where they are caught in abundance, were quite
satisfactory during the past season, and it is hoped that the
measures now being taken for the increase of the supply will
soon result in a great addition to the number. The fisheries
of the Columbia River and on the Sacramento have also been
prosecuted with diligence, and immense numbers have been
preserved for domestic use and for exportation.

The Shad fisheries were less productive than usual in most
of the states. In those only where artificial means of increas-
ing the young had been taken were they captured in abun-
dance. Their numbers were so great in Connecticut River,
where this work has been carried on most vigorously, as to
render the fish a drug in the market, ready sale not being
found at eight or ten dollars per hundred.

The Hair-seal fisher ies on the coast of Newfoundland were
quite profitable, and those of the Fur-seals on the islands
of St. Paul, St. George, and Alaska were fully up to the limit
of the capture allowed by law. Owing to the judicious
measures adopted by the "United States government, second-
ed by the Alaska Commercial Company, who have leased the
islands from the United States, these animals are increasing
so rapidly that it is probable that an extension of the limit
of capture and destruction will have to be made to keep
them within reasonable bounds.

The Whale fishery in America continued to decrease, as it
has done for many years past, the number of vessels employ-

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. H x

eel diminishing year by year the sea-port towns of New En-
gland, which were formerly supported by this trade, now
showing the most evident indications of a fallin<^-off in the
business.

In view of their great value to a nation, as an article of food
and trade, the great decrease in the numbers offish in many
parts of the w T orld has, as is w T ell known, invoked the atten-
tion of governments, as well as of private associations, to-
ward restoring the supply, this being capable of accomplish-
ment in two ways : first, by protection of the fish during the
critical season of spawning or migration, and by removing
the obstructions to their passage up the rivers, or elsewhere,
to their spawning-grounds ; and, secondly, by their artificial
propagation, securing the eggs and hatching these out, and
then rearing the young fish to a certain condition of matu-
rity, or else turning them at once into the water. The util-
ity of the second method depends, in a considerable measure,
upon. the fact that when fish spawn naturally, the eggs, in
large part, are improperly fertilized, and, consequently, do
not come to maturity, or else they are covered too deeply by
mud or gravel, or are devoured by the inhabitants of the wa-
ters ; and when the young actually succeed in escaping from
the egg, they are equally liable to attack and destruction.
But in the case of artificial hatching this result is measura-
bly avoided, the impregnation of the egg being accomplished
much more completely, and the eggs and young protected,
during the critical period, from their enemies.

"While, therefore, it is estimated that only five per cent, of
the spawn naturally deposited by a fish in the water ever
pass beyond the stage of helpless infancy, in the case of arti-
ficial propagation the total loss up to the same stage should
not exceed five per cent. ; thus giving ninety-five per cent,
of the whole stock, instead of five per cent. The theory and
practice of fish-culture rests largely upon this consideration,
as also upon the fact that fish almost invariably return to
the spot where they first saw the light to lay their own eggs,
this making it possible, while introducing certain of the ana-
dromons fish into a stream, to calculate upon completely
stocking it after a few years.

To carry out this desirable object of increasing the fish
supply, an appropriation was made by Congress to enable the

lx GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

United States Fish Commissioner to take steps for stocking
such of the fresh waters of the United States as were national
in their character, and common to. several states ; and, avail-
ing himself of the advice and counsel of practical fish-cultur-
ists, and of the fish commissioners of several of the states, his
first operations were commenced in regard to the introduction
of shad and salmon. The services of Mr. Seth Green were
obtained for transferring young shad to the Alleghany River,
and the Mississippi at St. Paul, while Mr. William Clift, also
an eminent fish-culturist, took charge of their transportation
to the waters of White River at Indianapolis, and to those
of the Platte at Denver. It is expected that this branch of
the work will be continued during the year 1873.

As regards salmon, the Commissioner dispatched an assist-
ant to California for the purpose of obtaining eggs of the
Sacramento sj)ecies, and co-operated with the Fish Commis-
sioners of the New England States in the support of the es-
tablishment of Mr. Atkins at Bucksport, Maine. He also en-
o-ao;ed a larofe number of es^s from the salmon-breeding es-
tablishment at Freiburg on the Rhine, to which were added
a large supply presented by the German government from
the state establishment at Htinino'en. A considerable num.-
ber of Sacramento eggs was received, and the young hatch-
ed out at the establishment of Dr. J. H. Slack, of Bloomsbury,
N. J., and placed in the Susquehanna River. The eggs from
Bucksport were placed in charge of the State Commissioners,
for introduction, when hatched, into the waters of their re-
spective states. Such of the German eggs as survived the
unexpectedly severe experience of their journey have been
introduced into the Delaware.

The Commissioner has also continued during the year the
inquiries ordered by law into the condition of the food-fishes,
beo-un in 1871, carrying them on upon the coasts of Maine
and New Brunswick, special reference being had to the her-
ring, cod, and mackerel.

His Report upon explorations made in 1871, as presented
to Congress, is in press, and contains much valuable informa-
tion.

The Commissioners of fisheries of the several states have
also been industriously engaged in carrying out their work,
nearly all the New England and Middle States, excepting

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. \ x i

Delaware and Maryland, having officers of this character; as
likewise Alabama and California. Very gratifying results
have followed their labors ; for the details of which, however,
we have not at present the space, and must refer our readers
to the pages of the Record for fuller information.

The year 1872 has shown the usual amount of activity
in the way of prosecuting great Engineering enterprises, al-
though we have nothing to record equal in importance to
the completion of the Suez Canal. This continues to be a
success, and is gradually realizing, in reference to its effect
upon the world's commerce, if not as a pecuniary invest-
ment, the anticipations of its projectors. The example of this
work has stimulated similar efforts elsewhere; and measures
have already been taken looking toward the construction
of canals between the Rhine and the Weser, between the
Black Sea and the Caspian, etc. The idea has also been
broached of a ship -canal across the peninsula of Florida.
The effort in favor of a canal across Cape Cod, to connect
Buzzard's Bay with Cape Cod Bay, does not appear to have
made definite progress.

Renewed investigations have been conducted by the
United States Government in reference to surveys for canals
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by w r ay of the
Isthmus of Darien, Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec. How soon
any one of these works will be actually constructed it is, of
course, at present impossible to predict.

In the United States, the most important engineering fact
of the year is the perforation of the Hoosac Mountain (a
railway tunnel), which was successfully accomplished on the
28th of December. Some time must necessarily elapse be-
fore the completion of this work, so as to admit the passage
of trains an event Avhich will mark an era in the history of
railroad enterprise in New England.

A tunnel has also been proposed under the East River,
another under the Niagara ; and others are in contemplation
in different parts of the United States, as also one under the
Gut of Canso, which divides Cape Breton from Nova Scotin.

The great suspension bridge across the East River, con-
necting New York and Brooklyn, is in an advanced stage of
construction, moving steadily onward to completion.

The engineering operations, under the direction of the

lxii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

United States Government, for the removal of obstructions
at Hell Gate, are also well advanced, the work under the bed
of the river being already honey-combed by the removal of
immense quantities of solid material ; and at the proper time
all these submarine galleries will be charged with immense
masses of explosive material, the discharge of which it is ex-
pected will shatter the remaining rock walls, and reduce
them to a level that will carry the whole below the reach of
any passing vessel in any state of the tide.

Official reports as to the present stock of workable coal in
Great Britain has had the effect of creating a panic, which,
aided by combinations of a few capitalists controlling the
coal-interest, has increased the price of that necessary of life
very materially, so much so as to involve in peril the future
of the manufactures of Great Britain. So far from exporting
coal hereafter, it is expected that large quantities will be im-
ported from the United States and elsewhere, this change in
the state of affairs necessarily resulting in favor of the Amer-
ican manufacturers and manufactures produced ; and both
the iron and coal trades have already experienced its stiffen-
ing; influence.

Imj^rovements continue to be made on railroads, looking
toward the safety and security of life ; the introduction of
new forms of breaks and of platforms, as well as the more
extended use of the telegraph in running the trains, all tend-
ing to this end.

The introduction of mechanical methods of puddling in
iron forges has, it is said, more than realized the expecta-
tions of the inventors. The methods of Danks and Dormoy
are especially recommended. The increased economy and
efficiency consequent upon the use of these inventions is of
special moment at the present time in connection with the
enhanced cost of manufacturing, resulting from the rise of
the price of coal just referred to.

The use of new explosive materials in engineering contin-
ues to increase, the employment of the old-fashioned gun-
powder having been in a great measure superseded in cer-
tain connections. Nitro-glycerine, Dynamite, Dualin, Giant-
powder, Fulminatine, Lithofracteur, etc., are terms applied to
the various preparations, each of which is claimed by its in-
ventor to be superior to all others, or, at any rate, safer and

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. Jxiii

more applicable in certain connections. Gun-cotton, how-
ever, still continues to hold its own as an explosive; and the
recent discovery that a combination with 20 per cent, of its
weight of water does not materially affect its explosive pow-
er when set off with a fulminate, while it protects it against
accidental ignition, will probably give to it the preference,
in manv cases, over its rivals.

Our limitations of space will not permit us to go into detail
in reference to Technology, although the chemical branch of
the subject has been referred to under the head'of Chemistry.

For information in this department, the special journals
in America, more particularly The Scientific American and
The American Artisan, may be consulted with great profit.
A few points, however, may be touched upon as being of gen-
eral interest.

In the department of the liberal arts, progress continues
to be made in the application of photography for purposes
of illustration, numerous new processes having been an-
nounced, and improvements in the older ones. At the pres-
ent time, the favorite methods of auto-type printing are those
of Albert, as modified by Edwards of London, and that of
Mr. Woodbury. Both of these have lately been applied suc-
cessfully in illustrating natural history objects, and in the
same work, that by Mr. Alexander Agassiz upon the Echini.
The extreme volatility of metallic mercury as ascertained by
Merget, has already been used by him in the production of
pictures, and seems likely to receive an extended application
hereafter.

The usual number of new dyes has been introduced during
the year, many of them anilines, and others of a different
composition.

The subject of pyro-plating, or the coating of one metal by
another by first depositing a layer of the latter by electricity
or otherwise, and then burning it in by the application of
heat, has received much attention during the year, and has
been applied very successfully to the plating of knives and
other objects exposed to a great amount of friction.

Economy in the manufacture of paper has been advanced
by improved methods of converting wood into pulp, this sup-
plying a basis for printing papers especially, at a much less
cost than those from linen or even cotton.

lxiv GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

There are few subjects more interesting to the general
public than those relating to questions of Health and Dis-
ease, and consequently we have given considerable space in
the Record to matters connected with new remedies and the
best methods of maintaining the health of the household, the
city, and the nation. As usual, the Materia Medica has been
enlarged by the introduction of various new remedies ; and
the old ones have become better understood, some that for-
merly occupied a prominent position in the favor of the Fac-
ulty having fallen into disrepute. Chloral hydrate continues
to retain its place as a valuable remedy, sometimes single,
and sometimes combined in the form of a crotonate, sulpho-
hydrate, etc. Its use has been warmly recommended in cases
of cholera.

Alcohol, which, in the form of spirituous liquors of one
kind or another, has long been used as a remedy, has been
recently denounced as unworthy of its reputation by a large
number of the most eminent physicians in London, Avho, in
the form of a protest, have taken strong ground against it, as
in most cases actually doing more harm than good, and, at
any rate, as imparting a thirst for intoxicating drinks, which
is likely to do, on the whole, more injury than its benefits as
a remedial agent can recompense.

The employment of carbolic acid has also increased very
greatly, not simply as an antiseptic in preventing the spread
of disease, or destroying any active lingering germs, as small-
pox, cholera, etc., and an application to diseased surfaces, but
also as a remedy in the way of an internal application. A
hypodermic injection of this substance is considered by Dr.
Declat as a most valuable antagonist to malarial and febrile
diseases, and as producing a change for the better, in certain
cases, in a much less time and more efficiently than any other
remedy known.

A mixture of chloroform and morphine as an ana3Sthetic
continues to be highly recommended by some, the combina-
tion producing a given effect with less evil results than a
sufficient quantity of either substance taken separately.

Xylol, one of the coal-tar derivatives, has been warmly
urged by the physicians of Berlin and elsewhere as more or
less a specific in cases of small-pox. Its trial, however, in
this country does not appear to have confirmed that opinion.

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. lxv

Apomorphia, which was brought forward some time ago
by Dr. Richardson as an anaesthetic, has been declared of lit-
tle or no value in that connection; while the assertion of Dr.
Liebreich as to an antagonism between chloral hydrate and
strychnine, such that either is a perfect remedy for the other,
has been disproved, in a measure, by experiments in France.

Bromide of potassium continues to be manufactured by
the ton for medicinal purposes; although, according to Dr.
William A. Hammond, of New York, it may be replaced in
many cases, to great advantage, by bromide of calcium,
which is less stable in its nature, and more readily gives up
its bromine (the essential remedial element) on being taken
into the stomach.

Professor Polli, an eminent Italian physician, continues to
urge the use of various sulphites in cases of malarial disease.

A great many communications have been published during
the year in reference to the precise nature of the action upon
the system of different substances, such as tobacco, quinine,
coffee, delphinium, guarauna, etc., some of them being of much
practical importance.

The use of nitrite of amyl as a remedy for epilepsy and
any ina pectoris, etc., has been warmly recommended. The
discussion as to whether the various beef extracts, beef tea,
etc., are actually nutritious or not, has been continued dur-
ing the year, and a tendency is manifesting itself to consider
them rather as stimulants than as articles of food.

Various parts of the world have been scourged by the
ravages of the small-pox, which has been an epidemic during
the year in many parts of the United States, and involving
many deaths. The disease, however, appears to have run its
course in many localities, as in Philadelphia, where it caused
great mortality in 1871, but which has been measurably free
from it during the past year. The subject of protection
against that exceedingly distressing malady known as sea-
sickness lias occupied the public mind to a considerable ex-
tent, and several vessels are being constructed, and will be
soon ready for use, intended to prevent its inconveniences.
Among others, Mr. Bessemer is preparing a steamer for the
route between England and France, in which the cabin is ar-
ranged to swing freely inside of the vessel, so that, in what-
ever position the latter may be, the floor of the cabin will,

lxvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND

to a great extent at least, remain horizontal. The same re-
sult, on quite a different plan, is aimed at by a Continental
engineer.

CD

A suggestive and important paper by Dr. Liebreich bears
upon the cause of the very prevalent tendency toward im-
perfection of vision in the present generation, this, in his
opinion, being the result of the experiences of the school-
room, in having the windows improperly situated, so as to
involve the introduction of light from too many directions
at one time, or from an improper quarter. He recommends
that such apartments be so arranged that the light shall al-
ways come from one side only, and from over the left shoul-
der, so that when the pen is held in the hand the shadow
shall not interfere at all with drawing or writing.

O CD

No question is more important in reference to daily life
than that of sewage, and great attention has been given to it
in various parts of the world. An interesting contribution to
the history of this subject is announced in connection with
experiments in Calcutta, where, as the result of an improved
system of drainage and sewage, the great mortality hitherto
prevalent in that city has been reduced in a very great de-
gree, and it is hoped it may be still further prevented.

The Lieurnur system of sewage, from which so much was
hoped, does not appear to answer its purpose. This method
consists in the gathering into an air-tight chamber, by at-
mospheric pressure, the contents of a certain number of priv-
ies, and their removal in air-tight vessels. The impossibility
of cleaning the pipes which serve for the transfer of this mate-
rial gives rise to a very offensive odor, and it seems, in real-
ity, that the very evil is produced which it is intended to
remedy. An ingenious method of dealing with the question
is that of Captain Scott, mentioned on page 577.

As already stated, carbolic acid continues to occupy a con-
spicuous place as an antiseptic and disinfectant. Other sub-
stances recommended for the same purpose are chromic acid,
chloralum, protoxide of hydrogen, iodine, etc.

Among the noteworthy institutions connected with the
subject of health, we may mention the "Brown Institution,"
recently organized in London under a bequest made some
years ago. This provides for an establishment, officered by
competent veterinary surgeons, before whom may be brought

INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1872. lxvii

all such domestic animals as are diseased, and whose owners
are unable to call to their aid the services of the regular vet-
erinary profession. As. a further means of usefulness, the
officers are expected to make physiological experiments in
regard to questions connected with the health and disease
ofanimals. The institution is under the direction of Dr.
Burdon Sanderson, by whom some important memoirs have
already been published.

Reports of Boards of Health in this country and Europe
show continual activity on their part, and among the most
prominent in the United States we may mention the Massa-
chusetts State Board, which, by the publication of a number
of memoirs every year, spreads much needed information be-
fore the people. A movement has also been made toward the
establishment of a National Board of Health for the United
States, to take into consideration questions that concern the
whole nation.

Having thus considered in more or less detail the various
branches treated of in the Record, it only remains to bestow
a small share of attention upon such movements and opera-
tions as do not seem to be included in any of these; and in
this connection we may refer to some points in the history
of learned institutions both at home and abroad. The dis-
astrous experience of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, in
which a large and valuable library and museum were entire-
ly destroyed by fire in 1871, we mentioned in the Record for
1871. We are happy to announce that a new building has
been erected, and that the institution is likely to occupy a still
more prominent place than before. The death, however, of
Dr. Stimpson, its director, during the past year, has been a
serious calamity, not only to the Academy, but to American
science in general.

The National Academy of Science, organized during the
war, for the purpose of securing to the government the aid
and counsel of scientific men in all branches of its work, has
held two meetings during the year; one, the regular session
at Washington in April, the other at Cambridge in Novem-
ber. The first meeting was entirely for business, devoted
mainly to the adoption of new rules and the election of new
members; at the second, a number of interesting papers were
presented by Professors Agassiz, Vcrrill, Mayer, and others.

lxviii GENERAL SUMMARY, ETC.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science
held its annual meeting at Dubuque, with the usual variety
of communications. The Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia has at last actually commenced the erection of
the new building for which it has been collecting funds for
so many years past, and it is hoped that before long, by the
transfer to the new quarters, it will secure the accommoda-
tions which its rapidly increasing library and museum have
been denied in the edifice at the corner of Broad and Sansom
streets.

The other societies of the country have continued in their
useful work of aiding the investigations of specialists in dif-
ferent branches of science, and have published the usual num-
ber of memoirs and proceedings. Similar progress has also
been made by learned institutions abroad, to the list of which
large numbers have been added, so that at the present time
there is scarcely any town of a few thousand inhabitants in
Europe that does not possess a society devoted to science in
general or to some of its specialties. Of the Old World in-
stitutions of this character, we are informed that the Smith-
sonian Institution has over two thousand on its list of corres-
pondents.

The losses in the ranks of science by the death of its vo-
taries during the year, will be found detailed, as far as we
have been enabled to ascertain them, in the department of
Necrology ; and it is with great regret that we have to report
that this embraces some of the first names in physical and
natural science, and that the number is considerably greater
than that recorded in 1871.

Having thus completed, in however imperfect and partial
a manner, our summary of what appeared to us to represent
the principal stages of progress in the various branches of
science throughout the year, we have only to refer for details
to the pages of the volume, and to the systematic and alpha-
betical indexes accompanying it, by means of which any par-
ticular subject or fact can be reached, so far as any record
has been made in regard to it.

ANNUAL RECORD

OF

SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

187 2.

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY.

OX THE TRUE TEMPERATURE OF THE SUJST.

At a recent meeting of the French Academy Mons.Vicaire
called attention to the state of our knowledge in regard to
the temperature of the sun. The highest estimate of this
temperature is about 18,000,000 Fahr., by Father Secchi ;
the lowest from 2662 to 3201 Fahr., by Pouillet ; and other
physicists have given varying estimates, generally under
200,000 Fahr. Perhaps the most surprising feature con-
nected with these estimates is that the two extreme results
viz., those of Secchi and Pouillet have both been derived
from observations on radiation made by means of apparatus
which is essentially identical in principle. M.Vicaire showed
that the difference in these results has arisen, not from any
thing in the observations themselves, but from the fact that
Father Secchi has made his reductions by means of an erro-
neous formula. Correcting this error, he finds for the tem-
perature of the sun, from Father Secchi's observations, 2548
Fahr. a result almost identical with that of Pouillet; and
he finally arrives at the conclusion that the temperature of
the solar surface is entirely comparable with that of terrestrial
flames, and is certainly less than 5500 Fahr.

In the discussion which followed the reading of M.Vicaire's
paper, the president of the Academy called attention to Sir

A

2 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

William Thomson's very remarkable essay on the age of the
sun's heat (MacmiUari's Magazine, March, 1862), in which it
is shown that the sun's radiation amounts to about 7000
horse-power for each square foot of its surface, and that coal
burning at the rate of half a pound per second produces al-
most the same result. But Rankine has estimated that in
the furnace of an ordinary locomotive coal is consumed at
the rate of one pound per square foot of grate surface in from
30 to 90 seconds. Hence the force expended in radiation
from a square foot of the sun's surface is only from 15 to 45
times greater than that developed from an equal surface of
coal burning in the furnace of a locomotive ; and as the in-
crease of radiation is much more rapid than that of tempera-
ture, it would require an increase of temperature of less than
1000 Fahr. to make the radiation from the coals the same as
that from an equal area of the sun's surface.

Sainte-Claire Deville and Edmond Becquerel entirely con-
curred in the views expressed by M. Vicaire. M. Fizeau re-
marked that these conclusions were in perfect harmony with
photometrical experiments, which show that the intensity of
the Drummond light is 56 times less than that of the electric
light, which latter is only 2-J times less intense than sunlight
itself. It therefore follows that the two last-named sources
of light are in all respects comparable, and we must admit
that their temperatures can not differ so excessively as is in-
dicated by many of the recent estimates of the heat of the
solar surface. 6 B.

faye's view of the fhysical condition of the sun.

The 3Iechanics i Magazine gives a summary of an interest-
ing paper by Mr. Faye upon the physical condition of the sun,
deduced from the observation of the solar spots made by
Carrington. This is expressed in the following propositions:

1. That Zollner's theory, which views the sun as a solid
body covered with a layer of incandescent liquid, is entirely
improbable, and, indeed, impossible. 2. The speed of rotation
of any point whatever on the sun's surface is always expressed
by one and the same formula. 3. There do not exist on the
sun's surface any sensible currents which are at all analogous
to the " trade winds." 4. The absolute absence of currents
is only explicable by the presence every where of ascending

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 3

currents of great intensity, proceeding from the sun's centre
to its surface. 5. The existence of such currents is an im-
perative proof that the body of the sun must be in a gaseous
state, and is an immense sphere of aeriform matter of an
enormous temperature, but which is continually cooling by
the action of the ascending currents. 6. The sun is absolutely
spherical. 3 A, Nov. 25,1871,413.

SOCIETY OF ITALIAN SPECTROSCOPISTS.

A very vigorous society has been formed in Italy, under the
name of the Society of Italian Spectroscopists, whose special
object is to collate and compare observations made simulta-
neously at the different Italian observatories on the spots,
protuberances, and facula3 of the sun, especially with the
spectroscope, so as to arrive at a more accurate knowledge
of the scientific value of these phenomena. The society has
already published three numbers of its memoirs, containing
most valuable papers and records of observations by Secchi,
Respighi, Tacchini, and other eminent Italian astronomers
and physicists.

SECCHI ON SOLAR PROTUBERANCES.

The Italian astronomer Pere Secchi has published in the
Atti delV Accademia Pontificia de Nuovi Lincei his papers
" Sulle Protuberanze Solari e le Facole" and " Sulla Distribu-
zione delle Protuberanze intorno al Disco Solare," in which
the conclusions arrived at are thus summed up : 1. The south-
ern hemisphere of the sun is at present richer in protuberances
than the northern hemisphere. 2. In general terms, the pro-
tuberances are numerous in those regions where the faculte
are numerous. 3. The protuberances are highest in the re-
gions where they are the most numerous.

SUPPOSED PLANET INTERIOR TO MERCURY.

Mr. Denning, secretary of the Observing Astronomical So-
ciety of Bristol, invites the attention of observers of total
eclipses of the sun to the fact that there probably exists a
hitherto unknown planet, which revolves in an orbit interior
to that of Mercury, and remarks that such a body, if it does
exist, can be well detected during the progress of a total
solar eclipse, if the region of sky in the neighborhood of the

4 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

sun be carefully examined. He calls especial attention to
the fact that during the eclipse of August, 1869, a bright ob-
ject was seen in close proximity to the sun, and that it is
not improbable that it is the planet which Lescarbault wit-
nessed in transit March 26, 1859. He therefore urges observ-
ers to make a rigorous scrutiny of all objects visible in the
neighborhood of the sun at the time of totality, so that this
body may be rediscovered, if possible. 3 A, November 11,
1871,381.

THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF DECEMBER, 1870.

Preliminary reports of the observations of the recent total
eclipse in India have been received from most of the stations,
from which we judge that little has been added to the dis-
coveries made by the American observers of the last two
eclipses. The following extracts of letters from Janssen and
Lockyer include all of importance yet communicated. Mr.
Janssen says :

"The magnificent corona observed at Schooler showed it-
self in such a way that it seems to me impossible to admit
such causes as diffraction or reflection from the moon, or sim-
ple illumination of our atmosphere. The spectrum of the
corona, as seen in my telescope, was not continuous, as here-
tofore found, but remarkably complex. I found in it the bril-
liant rays of hydrogen gas, which forms the principal element
of the protuberances and the chromosphere, but much more
feeble ; the brilliant green ray remarked during the eclipses
of 1869 and 1870, and some others more feeble; some dark
rays of the ordinary solar spectrum, especially that of sodium
(D) : these rays were much more difficult to see."

From these observations Janssen concludes that :

"Besides the cosmical matter independent of the sun which
must exist around this body, the observations indicate the
existence of an excessively rare matter, mainly of hydrogen,
extending far beyond the chromosphere and protuberances,
and fed in the same way with these by matter projected out
with great violence, as we see every day. The rareness of
this atmosphere at a short distance from the chromosphere
must be excessive, so that its existence is not inconsistent
with the observed passage of some comets near the sun."

Mr. Lockyer saw the same bright lines in the corona that

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 5

Janssen did, but the green line was much fainter than he had
expected. He glanced at the corona through a six-inch tel-
escope. Its structure was exquisite and strongly developed.

"I at once exclaimed, ' Like Orion!' Thousands of inter-
lacing filaments, varying in intensity, were visible ; in fact, I
saw an extension of the prominence structure in cooler mate-
rial. This died out some 5' or 6' from the sun, and then there
was nothing."

Both Mr. Lockyer and Professor Respighi, of Rome, ob-
served the corona and chromosphere through a telescope
without a slit, as proposed by Professor Young. Thus four
images, one corresponding to each of the principal lines, were
distinctly seen, and the effect is described as very beautiful,
though nothing especially new was brought out.

Several observers tried to reproduce Professor Young's ob-
servation of the reversal of all the lines of the spectrum at
the moment when the sun was just covered, but Major Ten-
nant, so far as we have yet heard, was the only one who suc-
ceeded.

SECCIII ON SOLAR PROTUBERANCES AND SPOTS.

Professor Secchi, the well-known astronomer, who has de-
voted a great deal of his time for some years past to the study
of the sun and its phenomena, communicates to the Academy
of Sciences a summary of his observations for the year 1871.
As general conclusions he remarks, first, that during the pe-
riod mentioned the law has been confirmed that the maxi-
mum of solar protuberances corresponds, in the region of the
spots, to a feeble minimum in relation to the equator. The
maximum in reference to the polar zones is scarcely sensible.
Second, in the field in question a habitual absence of polar
prominences w T as observed, these being only replaced by very
sensible elevations of the chromosphere. Third, with refer-
ence to protuberances, the height of which attains or surpass-
es five units, or forty seconds, these were found to be very
rare near the poles. Fourth, this absence of polar protuber-
ances is in harmony with the appearance of the granulations,
and of more brilliant bands, circumscribing the polar zones
of the sun, which are now very difficult to recognize, while
during the past year they were very visible. Fifth, the in-
tensity and number of the faculse have also diminished. Sixth,

6 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

in dividing the protuberances into three classes, according to
their direction in relation to the poles, the following figures
may be given :

Indifferent 398

Directed toward the poles 342

Directed toward the equator 67

Total 807

6B,May 20,1872,1315.

YELLOW BRIGHT LINE OF THE SOLAR PROTUBERANCE

SPECTRUM.

Professor D' Arrest, of Copenhagen, calls attention to the
circumstance that, although the origin of the yellow bright
line D 3 of the solar protuberance spectrum is entirely un-
known, still that line is never seen except in company with
the lines C and F, or, in other words, Ha and H/3. From a
consideration of this fact, and bearing in mind that D 3 is sit-
uated between Ha and H/3, while Hy is situated between H/3
and H<), he has been led to the discovery that, in respect to
the number of vibrations made by the light wave in a given
time, D 3 is related to Ha and H/3 in the same manner that the
logarithm of Hy is related to the logarithms of H/3 and He).

In the case of nebulae giving a spectrum consisting of three
bright lines, the same relation holds between the middle line
and the two outside ones ; but in the case of comets, many
of which also give a spectrum consisting of three bright lines,
the relation does not hold. Astronomische Nachrichten.

REPORT OF THE U. S. NAVAL OBSERVATORY ON THE ECLIPSE

OF DECEMBER, 1870.

The long-expected report of the United States Naval Ob-
servatory upon the total solar eclipse of December 22, 1870,
has just been published, as prepared under the direction of
Admiral Sands, the superintendent. As is known to most
of our readers, this eclipse was not visible in the United
States; but several professors from the Observatory were
sent abroad to assist in the investigation of the phenomena in
Europe. Of these, Professor Simon Newcomb was stationed
at Gibraltar, and Professors Asaph Hall, William Harkness,
and J. R. Eastman at Syracuse, in Sicily. The foreign savants
associated with these gentlemen bore honorable testimony to

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 7

their zeal and ability ; and, indeed, the honors of the occasion
were fairly shared with their European brethren by the offi-
cers of the observatory and their American companions. The
present report is accompanied by two plates, exhibiting the
appearance of the sun during the eclipse. The general ty-
pography of the work does the fullest credit to the national
printing-office, from which it emanated.

FUTURE ECLIPSES OF THE SUN.

Mr. Robert T. Paine communicates to SUUmarCs Journal a
list of eclipses visible in the United States during the re-
mainder of this century. The first central eclipse will be
that of September 29, 1875, which will be annular in part of
the State of New York and in four of the New England
States. The duration of the ring on the central line will be
three minutes thirty-nine seconds. At Boston it will be only
two minutes twenty-nine seconds. The belt of country over
which the annular eclipse will extend will be 110 miles wide.
Within it are situated the observatories of Hamilton College,
Albany, Harvard University, Amherst College, and Dart-
mouth College. The first total eclipse will be that of July
29, 18 78, when the shadow of the moon will pass over British
Columbia, Montana, Colorado, Texas, and Cuba. At Denver,
Colorado, the eclipse will be total nearly three minutes.

MOVEMENT OF STARS IN SPACE.

General Dufour, of Switzerland, in the course of a recent
investigation, attempts to show that in the case of the move-
ment of two stars around a point supposed fixed, this point
must be in motion. He also concludes that the curve is plane,
and that the stars remain in the same plane during their
translation ; and the inference is that these stars have both
received one impulse and a parallel movement ; also that the
movement of the apsides proves that the centre of gravity of
the system is displaced, not according to a straight line, but
a curved one. Mem. Soc. Phys. de Geneve, XXL, 1870, 344.

IS THERE A RESISTING MEDIU.M IN SPACE ?

Professor Asaph Hall, at a late meeting of the Philosoph-
ical Society of Washington, presented a communication (since
published in Sillimarts Journal) on the astronomical proof of

8 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

a resisting medium in space. In this he referred to the op-
portunities offered by the return of Encke's comet, during
the present year, for determining the accuracy of Professor
Encke's views as to the causes of the successive retardation
of the periods of this comet. It may be known to some of
our readers that in comparing the observations of 1&10 upon
this comet with those of 1786, 1795, and 1805, the periodic
times were found to be diminished by an appreciable fraction
of a day ; this being due, as supposed, to the existence of a
resisting medium in space, assuming the fact of retardation
to be established. Professor Hall now thinks it likely that
an error may have been made by Encke in his computations,
especially as corrections in the calculation respecting Faye's
comet, supposed to be subjected to a similar retardation, as
the observations lately made by Professor Moller prove, are
satisfied within the limits of their probable error by a strict
adherence to the law of gravitation, and without any extra-
ordinary hypothesis. At the present time, then, it is only the
Encke comet of which the movements are in doubt. Indeed,
as far as the motions of comets have been determined, the ev-
idence, according to Professor Hall, is against the theory of a
resisting medium in space ; and he sums up the w T hole case
by saying that thus far observations of the planets lead to
the conclusion that their motions are in strict accordance
with the law of gravitation, and that it is quite possible that
Encke's comet, when its movements are properly understood,
will be found to be no exception to these conclusions. 4 Z>,
December, 1 871, 408.

SPECTROSCOPICAL PHENOMENA OF ARGUS.

Not long since, Lesueur, in applying the spectroscope to
the great telescope at Melbourne, ascertained the existence
of light lines in the spectrum of Argus, one of which was
probably identical with C, and the other w T ith F, and the
third with a light nitrogen line, while a yellow line near D
remains to be determined more positively. The presence of
hydrogen can thus scarcely be doubted, while the occurrence
of nitrogen, magnesium, and sodium is rendered at least prob-
able. 7 C, 1871,620.

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY.

MEMOIR BY LE VERRIER.

Professor Le Vender has presented a memoir to the Acad-
emy of Sciences, Paris, upon the superior planets Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, in which he demonstrates the
extent of the motions experienced by each in consequence of
the action of the other three. In the work in question he
gives the perturbations of Jupiter by Uranus and by Neptune,
and those of Saturn by Uranus and Neptune, to be followed
by the notice of the perturbations of Uranus produced by
Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, and another of the perturba-
tions of Neptune caused by Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. G
B, Maij 20, 1872, 1303.

INFLUENCE OF THE PLANETS ON SUN SPOTS.

Messrs. De La Rue, Stewart, and Loewy presented to the
Royal Society of London the result of investigations made
by them on planetary influences upon solar activity, and give
as one of several conclusions reached that, in examining the
tables for the planets Mercury and Venus, they find in them
indications of a behavior of sun spots appearing to have ref-
erence to the position of these planets, and which seems to be
of the same nature for both. This behavior may be charac-
terized as follows : The average size of a spot would appear
to attain its maximum on that side of the sun which is turned
away from Venus or from Mercury, and to have its minimum
in the neighborhood of Venus or of Mercury. 12 A, March
28,1872,425.

VOGEL ON THE SPECTRA OF THE PLANETS.

Herr Vogel, a director of the private observatory of Von
Biilow, near Kiel, who has been making an elaborate series
of experiments upon the spectra of various planets, has lately
announced some of his results, as follows: The spectrum of
Mercury was observed on the 14th of April last, and exhibit-
ed the lines C, D, E, b, and F, between which other faint lines
were detected. The red part of the spectrum was remarka-
bly intense, while the blue and violet were very faint. Venus
was observed on the 14th of April, the 15th of June, and the
7th of August. The spectrum was throughout bright, clear,
and beautiful, so that about thirty lines could be actually

A2

10 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

measured in it, agreeing exactly with the lines of the solar
spectrum. The light of Vesuvius was sufficiently strong to
be observed by day, and thus to permit a direct comparison
of its lines with those of the spectrum of the sky. On the
15th of June and 7th of August, by means of a magnifying
power of nine diameters, a variation of the position of the air
lines with regard to those of the spectrum of Venus was read-
ily detected ; the lines in the latter spectrum appeared slight-
ly displaced toward the violet, corresponding to the not in-
considerable velocity with which Venus, at the time of the
observation, was moving toward our earth. The difference
between the spectrum of Venus and that of the sun seems to
be, essentially, that many of the lines appear stronger than
in the solar spectrum. The sodium lines are remarkably dis-
tinct, and, under a high magnifying power, look broad and
swollen, this being most striking with the one situated near-
est the blue. This remarkable widening of the sodium lines
can not have been produced by our atmosphere, since in
April Mercury was much nearer the horizon than Venus, and
yet showed the sodium lines very faint and delicate. It is
therefore unquestionable that this variation is due to the at-
mosphere of Venus. The magnesium lines also appear to be
more distinct than in the solar spectrum, and the spectrum
differs from that of Mercury in showing the blue and violet
very distinct, while the red is very faint.

Mars was observed on the 28th of February and the 8th of
April. About twenty of the principal lines of the solar spec-
trum were observed in the spectrum of this planet. It dif-
fered from the solar spectrum in having a remarkably dark
band in the red, with a wave length of 695.2 millionths of a
millimeter.

The spectrum of Jupiter was found quite to resemble that
of the solar spectrum, about thirty lines being determinable
by measurement. Some dark lines visible in the red were
ascribed to the very powerful absorption of the atmosphere
of Jupiter, and are similar to the dark bands seen in the solar
spectrum when the sun is near the horizon, and supposed to
be produced by absorption in our atmosphere.

The spectrum of Uranus was the most remarkable of all,
and was characterized by being traversed by peculiar absorp-
tion bands. The middle of a dark band corresponds very

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. n

accurately with the F line of the solar spectrum; and the
coincidence of this dark line in the spectrum, of Uranus with
the bright line H/3 of a Geissler tube filled with hydrogen was
established. The broad band, whose wave length is from 578
to 565 millionths of a millimeter, and also the broad but faint
band beyond F, the middle of which has a wave length of 475
millionths of a millimeter, coincide quite accurately with ab-
sorption bands produced by our atmosphere, and observable
when the sun is low. The possibility that there might exist
in the atmosphere of Uranus some of the lower combinations
of oxygen with nitrogen induced Dr.Vogel to determine more
accurately the position of the absorption bands produced by
such combinations ; these, however, exhibited no satisfactory
agreement with the bands in the spectrum of Uranus. 19 (7,
December 2, 1871, 387.

TRANSIT OF VENUS.

As the period of the transit of Venus in 1874 approaches,
astronomers both at home and abroad are becoming more and
more active in their preparations, and the American commit-
tee on this subject, it is understood, has already decided in
considerable part upon the stations to be occupied. Of .the
result of their conclusions we hope to give an account before
long to our readers. In Russia the committee, under Profess-
or Struve, proposes the establishment of a chain of observ-
ers, at positions one hundred miles apart, along the region
comprised between Kamtschatka and the Black Sea. The
German committee has decided on recommending the organ-
ization of four stations for heliometric observations of the
planet during its transit, one of them in Japan or China, and
the others probably at Mauritius, Kerguelen, and Auckland
Islands ; and three of these, with the addition of a fourth sta-
tion in Persia between Mascate and Teheran, will be equipped
for photographic observations also. The French, before the
war, suggested that stations be established at St. Paul Islands,
New Amsterdam, Yokohama, Tahiti, Noumea, Mascate, and
Suez. How far this programme will be carried out under the
changed circumstances of that country remains to be seen.
The British preparations are said to be very far advanced,
owing to the interest taken in the matter by the astronomer
royal. The stations proposed by England are six in number

12 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Woahoo,Kerguelen, and Rodriguez Islands, Auckland, New
Zealand, and Alexandria. 12 A, January 4, 1872, 177.

RUSSIAN PREPARATIONS FOR THE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

In a letter from General Otto Struve, director of the Pul-
kowa Observatory, and astronomer royal of Russia, to Profess-
or Newcomb, of the Washington Observatory, detailing the
Russian preparations for observing the forthcoming transit
of Venus, he remarks that the inquiries into the meteorolog-
ical conditions of the stations selected have given, on the
whole, very satisfactory results, particularly for the station
on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and in Eastern Siberia
(eighty-five per cent, of clear sky for December). In two only
of the stations chosen, Taschkent and Astrabad, these condi-
tions are not satisfactory. For this reason the observers de-
signed for Taschkent will probably go to a place about one
hundred miles west of that town; and, instead of Astrabad,
it is proposed to take either the island of Aschuradeh, in the
Caspian Sea, or, if possible, to cross the Elburz Mountains,
and establish observers at Schahrech, in Persia (with nearly
absolute certainty of clear sky).

The total number of Russian stations will be twenty-four,
each of them provided with only one instrument for the tran-
sit observation. These instruments are, three four-inch heli-
ometers, three photo-heliographs, four six-inch equatorials,
and four four-inch equatorials, provided with filar microme-
ters and spectroscopic apparatus, and ten four-inch telescopes,
designed merely for contact observations. Each station will
also be furnished with clocks, chronometers, and the instru-
ments necessary for exact determination of time. The prin-
cipal instruments have already been ordered. Most of them
will be ready for use in the course of the present or begin-
ning of next year. For these instruments the observers are
also in a great part already selected ; they will all visit Pul-
kowa for a certain time in 1873 to exercise themselves in the
observations.

The geographical positions of the stations will not be deter-
mined by the transit observers, but all stations on which the
transit has been successfully observed will be carefully de-
termined afterward by special expeditions of the general staff
or the navy. For this purpose a principal line of telegraphic

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 13

longitudes will probably be laid next year through all^iberia
to Nicolajevsk, with which line the other stations of that
part of Russia can be easily joined either by telegraphic or
chronometric operations.

With regard to photographic observations, Professor Struve
states that two observers, one at Vilna, and Dr. Vogel at
Bothkamp, in Holstein, have been perfectly successful in tak-
ing instantaneous observations with dry plates.

NATURE OF THE AUROEA.

Messrs. Heis and Flogel have lately published the result
of an elaborate series of investigations into the subject of the
aurora, and especially as to its altitude and its position in
space, and they sura up their conclusions in the following
propositions: 1. The aurora is a luminous phenomenon in re-
gions which are either entirely outside of our atmosphere, 01*
so situated that only the lowest portion enters into the out-
ermost strata of the atmosphere. The observed altitude of
the aurora varies from time to time, but the basal portion has
been determined to be at least forty miles in height, which,
of course, would preclude the idea of a direct association of
this phenomenon with clouds, or of the possibility of its in-
terposition between a distant mountain and the observer, as
has been asserted. 2. The largest portion of an aurora is a
luminous ocean of white light, which probably has its centre
in the magnetic pole, and thence may extend more or less to-
Avard the south. Its exact magnitude can only be determined
by corresponding observations in high northern and more
southern latitudes at a great distance apart. The depth of
this luminous stratum, or the distance between its upper and
lower borders, has not yet been ascertained. 3. This univer-
sal luminous ocean is bounded by a fringe, extending in the
direction of a magnetic parallel circle, which develops over a
more or less extended space the phenomena of rays, and which
seem to be exclusively limited to it ; the observer north of
the fringe seeing rays to the south of him, and the northern
sky exhibiting only a general white light. It is probable
that this border or fringe may have a width reaching 400
miles. 4. The fringe in general, shortly before a period of
radiation, is thrown out in the form of concentric waves of
light from the universal luminous ocean ; the non-luminous

14 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

space remaining behind this light is the well-known dark
segment. 5. The radiating margin usually divides into a
number of secondary areas which we may call the fields of
radiation. 6. The fields of radiation appear to move with
great velocity to the westward, in the direction of the mag-
netic parallel circle. 7. The fields of radiation send out up-
ward masses of bright light arranged in columnar form the
rays proper which take the direction of the magnetic dip.
All the luminous emissions of a radiating: character in other
directions are not to be considered as genuine rays. 8. The
height of the base of the rays is various, some observations
making it from 80 to 140 miles, and the greatest height not
exceeding 160 miles. 9. The height of the summit of the rays
in extended auroras reaches 280 miles, sometimes 400, the
maximum being 600. 10. The rays always have white light
below, and pass at the summit into red. 19 C, February 10,
1872,41.

THE AURORA OF FEBRUARY 4, 1872.

The scientific journals at home and abroad have had much
to say of the extent and magnificence of the auroral display
of February 4, 1872. This is generally asserted to have been
one of the most magnificent exhibitions of the kind seen in
Europe for the past twenty or thirty years ; and there is per-
haps none recorded over as wide an extent, and as critically
investigated by so many scientific observers. It is quite
probable, indeed, that the comparison of the phenomena ob-
served, after the data are all accessible, w T ill add greatly to
our knowledge of the true nature of this celestial apparition.

One marked feature of the exhibition was the fact that it
seemed not to have been noticed in the extreme north of Eu-
rope, where auroras are very abundant, but was observed to
the best advantage in countries where those displays are
very rarely seen. 12 A, February 22, 1872, 322.

SPECTRUM OF THE AURORA.

The recent brilliant displays of the aurora have afforded
opportunity for a number of observations with the spectro-
scope, which may help to unravel the mystery which sur-
rounds this phenomenon. We may begin this brief review
of recent observations by calling to mind the researches of

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTKONOMY. 15

Angstrom, made several years since, he being the pioneer in
this field. He announced that the light of the aurora was
almost monochromatic, showing in the spectroscope only a
single bright line in the yellow-green. This conclusion was,
however, contradicted by Professor Winlock, who found a
number of other lines, especially when the aurora was bright.
We have lately received a very fine list of spectroscopic
observations made by Dr. Vogel at the observatory of Both-
kamp. He finds that the fainter auroras show only Ang-
strom's line, of which the wave length is 557, the measures
being very exact. On the other hand, when the auroras be-
came brighter, a number of other lines showed themselves.
At one time, in the brightest part of the aurora, he succeeded
in measuring five different lines in the green of the spectrum,
as well as a somewhat diffuse line or band in the blue. In
the red part the spectrum showed seven or eight bright lines.
The following lines are well determined, four measures being
made on each :

Wave length.
463-469. A bright band ; brighter in the centre.
500.3. Tolerably bright line.
518.9. Sometimes quite bright.
513.3. A quite bright line.
538.2. An extremely faint line.

556.9. The brightest line in the spectrum (Angstrom's).
629.7. Bright streaks.

From researches on the spectra of the gases forming the
atmosphere, and their comparison with the spectrum of the
aurora, Dr. Vogel considers it very probable that the spec-
trum of the aurora is only that of atmospheric air, modified
by temperature and pressure.

The auroral lines have also been observed by Professor
Barker, of Yale College. Directing his spectroscope toward
a brilliant streamer, he saw five bright lines, of which the
wave lengths were about 623, 562, 517, 502, and 482. All
except the first and last are probably coincident with the
corresponding ones in the preceding list of Dr. Vogel.

The brilliant aurora of February 4 last afforded a fine op-
portunity for spectroscopic observation, of which a large
number of amateur observers in Great Britain took advan-
tage. The only satisfactory measurements seem to have been
made by Professor C. Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for

16 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Scotland. He saw Angstrom's line very constantly, and also
a red line of wave length 635. He notes as very curious that
the blood-red, lurid red, and tragedy red of the painters ap-
peared very markedly to the naked eye, and yet were not
seen at all in the spectroscope, either as a new ingredient or
an altered place of the red line. Excessively faint greenish
and bluish lines appeared at wave lengths 490, 510, and 530,
but 8-10ths of the light in the spectroscope came from Ang-
strom's line, and most of the remainder from the red line 635.

M. Cornu, of Paris, makes nearly the same remark with
Professor Smyth, that, notwithstanding the aurora was of a
brilliant red to the naked eye, when the light was analyzed
by the spectroscope the green line was far brighter than the
red line. He undertook to compare the lines with those of
hydrogen, but before his apparatus could be got ready the
display had vanished.

Mr. Prozmowski saw, besides these lines, two other bands
in the blue and violet, near F and G. These were seen in the
white parts of the aurora ; they disappeared or became very
faint in the parts having an intense red tint.

Great difficulty is found in identifying these lines with any
produced by artificial means. Angstrom considered that for
this reason the theory that the aurora was simply electricity
moving through rarefied air would have to be given up. But
other physicists are not disposed to go so far as this until
more careful experiments are made on the influence of the
temperature and pressure of gases upon their spectra. It
was once supposed that the Angstrom line in the aurora was
identical with that seen in the solar corona, and on this sup-
posed identity w T as founded a theory that the corona is a so-
lar aurora. But it is now known that the two lines are en-
tirely different, the w T ave length of the coronal line being 530,
while that of the auroral line is 557.

DETERMINATION OF HEIGHT OF AURORAS.

Dr. J. G. Galle, director of the observatory at Breslau, cele-
brated as being the first to recognize the planet Neptune in
the telescope, has lately given a new method of determining
the height of the aurora. It is founded upon the hypothesis
that the rays which form the auroral crown are parallel to
the magnetic pole. The deviation from apparent parallelism

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 17

he considers due to parallax, and thiis calculates the dis-
tance of the rays. From a number- of observations made by
himself and Dr. Reimann he finds that the direction of the
rays in the aurora of February 4 deviated from the magnetic
zenith by from 3 6' to 10 2'. He thus finds for the different
rays heights varying from 150 to 280 miles.

PROOF OF THE GREAT DISTANCE OF THE AURORA FROM

THE EARTH.

Mr. Ii. A. Proctor calls attention to what he considers a
strange circumstance connected with the remarkable aurora
of February 4 of this year. He remarks that if it be the
fact, as stated, that the magnetic perturbations were experi-
enced at the same time in America and Europe, while the
chief luminous phenomena commenced six hours later in the
former, it would go to show that the region of auroral mani-
festations is exterior to the earth, since the aspect of the si-
dereal heavens is the same in the evening hours in Europe
and in corresponding latitudes in North America. It would
seem, in fact, as if the great auroral light phenomena were
witnessed in Europe and America when those regions of the
earth were severally turned toward a certain region of extra-
terrestrial space. 3 A : March 9, 1872, 205.

SECCHI ON THE AURORA OF FEBRUARY 4, 1872.

Father Secchi, of Rome, has published his observations of
the aurora of February 4. At first the aurora had the ap-
pearance of a broad, nebulous, phosphorescent band, which
moved parallel to itself in the direction of the meridian.
After passing the equator its aspect changed. The whole
heavens, except a small portion in the south, shone with a
purple light, which changed to a yellowish-green on the north-
ern side. The magnetic needle was greatly agitated, chang-
ing by more than a degree. The spectrum of the crown was
very vivid. Angstrom's ray (5560) was visible in every part
of the heavens. In the spectrum of the bright red column a
red ray was also seen, perhaps C. In the bright parts of the
arch larcje numbers of bright lines were seen. He remarks
also that, in general, the aurora is followed by a decided and
extensive change of weather, and seems to be connected with
great movements of the atmosphere.

18 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

EXTENSION OF THE AURORA OF FEBRUARY 4, 1872, TO THE

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

Students of cosmical physics have been much interested in
learning whether the great aurora of February 4 was visible
in the southern hemisphere as in the northern. Letters re-
ceived by the French Academy from St. Denis (Bourbon Isl-
and), latitude 21 S., longitude 55 E., decide this question in
the affirmative. One writer says that during the night of
February 4, 1872, " a brilliant aurora was seen here. It com-
menced at half past eight o'clock P.M., or about five o'clock
Paris time. The heaven was then tinged with a purple shade,
which gradually increased and extended from the south to-
ward the southeast and southwest. It looked like the erup-
tion of an immense volcano. In the south the coloration ex-
tended up to the zenith. Between ten and eleven o'clock the
aurora attained its greatest brilliancy and extent. It then
shone so brightly that I could distinctly see the lines of my
hand and the features of the by-standers. At midnight the
aurora was a brick-red color. At three o'clock it became
pale again, and the color gradually changed to a golden yel-
low like that of sunrise."

Comparing this account with that of the observations in
Europe, it is found that the principal phases of the phenom-
enon were seen almost simultaneously in both hemispheres.
But Mr. Janssen, the celebrated eclipse observer, who was in
India on this night, saw nothing unusual, which raises the
question whether the auroras seen in the two hemispheres
were actually joined at the equator, and not entirely separate.
Mr. Janssen's testimony, however, being only negative, this
can not be settled until the reports of other observers near
the equator have been received. Indeed, we learn that the
aurora was very brilliant at Alexandria, in Egypt, which ren-
ders it probable that it was continuous from the northern to
the southern hemisphere.

SPECTRUM OF THE ZODIACAL LIGHT.

This subject is intimately connected with that of the spec-
trum of the aurora, because Angstrom announced that the
zodiacal light and the aurora both gave the same monochro-
matic spectrum. But Liais, the Brazilian astronomer, has

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 1 9

lately been studying the zodiacal light under the very favor-
able sky of Rio Janeiro, and comes to a different conclusion.
He finds that this does not differ from ordinary sunlight, but
gives a continuous spectrum. It is, however, too faint to see
any dark lines. This result is confirmed by Rev. T.W.Webb,
of England, who has recently been observing the zodiacal
light with a spectroscope which shows the auroral line very
distinctly. He sees nothing like the green auroral line in the
zodiacal spectrum.

SCHIAPARELLI ON THE NATURE OF METEORS.

The gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Lon-
don has recently been presented to Signor Schiaparelli for
his remarkable discoveries in meteoric astronomy. His study
of this subject received a great impulse from his observations
of the meteors which fell on the nights of August 9, 10, and
11, 1866, and he was then confirmed in the opinion, expressed
three years before, that a great number of the meteors which
usually fall at that season are distinguished by their starting
from one point in the heavens, which is called their radiant
point. From the spasmodic manner in which they fall, he
inferred that their distribution in space must be very un-
equal ; and from the fact that there are many radiant points,
and that the meteors coming from any one radiant always
present the same color and appearance, he concluded that
there must be many rings of them revolving around the sun,
and that they become visible when the earth crosses their
orbits.

He then proceeded to inquire how such a mass of cosmical
matter could have accumulated in the solar system. This
system seems to consist of two classes of bodies. First, the
jDlanets, all of which move in the same direction, and in near-
ly circular orbits, situated in almost the same plane, these
characteristics applying also to the satellites, with the excep-
tion of those of Uranus. Second, cometary bodies, which are
under no law as to the planes of their orbits or the direction
of their motions. These orbits are extremely elongated, and
extend far into stellar space, which seems to indicate that
they did not originally form part of our system, but are wan-
dering nebulae picked up by the sun. Reflecting on this view
of the case, Signor Schiaparelli was led to the hypothesis that

20 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

large portions of the celestial spaces are probably occupied
by small particles of matter, forming cosmical clouds, whose
motions may be similar to those of the stars. He then show-
ed that if such a cloud were to come within the attractive
influence of the sun, under favorable circumstances, it would
become a permanent member of the solar system, and would
gradually be drawn into the form of a cylinder, which would
continually lengthen till its two ends should meet, and it
would be thus converted into a stream of particles flowing
around the sun in an ellij)tical orbit. There are many of
these streams in the solar system, but the particles compos-
ing them are so widely separated that their orbits may cross
each other without interruption. When the earth encounters
one of these streams, such of the particles as happen to pass
through our atmosphere take tire from the friction generated
by their own motion, and become visible as meteors, or fall-
ing stars, for such, in truth, they are, as they come from the
stellar regions. They have the same relations to comets that
asteroids have to planets ; in both cases their small size is
compensated for by their greater number.

It is almost certain that falling stars, meteors, and aerolites
differ in size only, and not in composition. Hence we pre-
sume that they are an example of the materials of the uni-
verse; and as they contain no elements foreign to those of
the earth, we may infer the similarity of composition in the
whole universe a fact already suggested by the revelations
of the spectroscope.

Finally, to put beyond all question the intimate relation
existing between comets and meteorites, Signor Schiaparelli
has discovered that the orbit of the August meteors is iden-
tical with that of comet II., 1862, and that the orbit of the
November meteors is identical with that of comet I., 1866,
thus rendering it very probable that these comets were only
highly condensed portions of the meteoric rings. Signor Schi-
aparelli concludes his last memoir with the following remark-
able words: "Must we regard these falling stars as swarms
of small comets, or rather as the product of the dissolution
of so many great comets? I dare make no reply to such a
question." Monthly Notices B. Astron. Soc, 1,1872, XXXIL,
194.

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 21

PROFESSOR PLANTAMOUR's COMET.

The papers have lately contained a sensational item in ref-
erence to an alleged communication from Professor Planta-
mour, of Geneva, to the effect that, according to his calcula-
tions, the earth, on the 12th of August, would come in colli-
sion with a very large comet, which in volume far surpasses
all that have hitherto appeared. Its approach is to be ren-
dered sensible by an extraordinary degree of heat, and a ca-
tastrophe is not to be avoided except by the deviation of the
rapidly approaching comet, produced by the attraction of
some other heavenly body within the scope of whose influ-
ence it may come. Our readers, however, need not be alarm-
ed by the prospect, as the fact is simply that about the 10th
to the 12th of August the earth will cross the meteoric stream
which was so conspicuous in 1866, and which has some inter-
esting relations to the orbit of the comet of 1862. It is not,
however, impossible that an unusually brilliant display of
meteors may be seen at this time, together with some extra-
ordinary auroral phenomena, and we presume that astrono-
mers and physicists will be prepared to take advantage of
the opportunity thus offered for spectroscopic and other re-
search. 15 A, February 17, 1872,213; and 3 A, February 17,
1872,137. .

ZOLLNER ON THE NATURE OF COMETS.

The American Journal of Science for June contains an ab-
stract of a work recently published by Professor Zollner upon
the " Nature of Comets," in which, starting from the well-
known fact that water, mercury, and many other substances,
even in the solid state, give off vapor of a certain amount,
though of very low tension, and inferring from the charac-
teristic odors of the metals that they also, even at very low
temperatures, are constantly giving off vapor, though of an
amount too small to be recognized by any of the tests yet
employed in science, it follows that a mass of matter in space
will ultimately surround itself with its own vapor, and the
tension of the latter will depend upon the mass of the body
that is, upon its gravitative energy and the temperature.
If the mass of the body is so small that its attractive force is
insufficient to give the enveloping vapor its maximum ten-

22 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

sion for the existing temperature, the evolution of vapor will
be continuous until the whole mass is converted into it.

Then comes the question whether a mass of gas or vapor
under these circumstances would be in a condition of stable
equilibrium. The analytical discussion of this point leads to
the conclusion that in empty and unlimited space a finite
mass of gas is in a condition of unstable equilibrium, and must
become dissipated by continual expansion and consequent de-
crease of density. A necessary consequence of this result is
that the celestial spaces, at least within the limits of the stel-
lar universe, must be filled with matter in the form of gas,
pre-eminently that of the terrestrial atmosphere. 4 _Z>, June,
1872,476.

SOLAR ORIGIN OF METEORITES.

Mr. Richard A. Proctor, in the Jfechanics'' 3fagazine, seems
quite inclined to favor the hypothesis that many, if not all,
meteorites are derived from the discharge of matter from the
sun, and states that, however strange and startling this idea
may be at first sight, it can not be condemned as illusory.
He suggests that the solar prominences may result from the
shooting forth of liquid or solid masses or streams of matter,
and that what we know as meteorites may have been pro-
pelled from beneath the surface of the sun.

Mr. Runvard follows in the same vein, and thinks that,

*> i i

even if meteorites are not composed of ejected masses, they
may be formed by the aggregation of metallic vapors emit-
ted from the sun or other stars. 3 A, Feb. 17, 1872, 136.

FALL OF AEROLITES IN HUNGARY.

On the 9th of June, 1866, a remarkable fall of aerolites
took place in the County Unghvar, in Hungary, w T hich was
witnessed by a large number of persons. A violent detona-
tion was first heard, like the discharge of cannon, making the
glass rattle ; this was followed by several more feeble sounds,
accompanied by a noise like that of a heavy wagon rolling
along the pavements. Attention having been attracted by
the noise, a small cloud was seen in the distant heavens, which
moved rapidly, having about ten times the apparent magni-
tude of the sun, and which emitted rays of smoke. Persons
at a considerable distance off saw a red, incandescent, pear-

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 23

shaped body, surrounded by a blue light, and which approach-
ed the earth at an angle of thirty to thirty-five degrees with
great velocity, leaving behind it a train of vapor.

One of the observers affirmed that this red body continually
emitted incandescent particles, and separated into two parts
in its course, and that the two globes of fire fell separately
upon the earth. The phenomenon is said to have lasted four
or five minutes, while the smoke emitted by the bolid re-
mained visible for ten minutes afterward. Some persons
even professed that they perceived a decided smell of burn-
ing sulphur; and one of those who picked up a fragment a
little time after its fall said that it was not free from the
odor for three days after.

The number of stones that fell on this occasion was quite
considerable, two of them being much larger than others, one
weighing nearly 600 pounds, and the other about 80 pounds.
At least a thousand fragments were picked up, being scat-
tered over a surface of about 6600 feet in length by 2500 in
width. The largest mass penetrated the earth to a depth of
eleven feet, and the smaller to that of about two feet. 1 E^
1872,XII.,11,146.

DIFFERENCE IN LONGITUDE BETWEEN CAMBRIDGE AND

SAN FRANCISCO.

As the result of a series of observations, carefully conduct-
ed by Mr. Deane, of the Coast Survey, and his associates, it
lias recently been established that the difference in longitude
between Cambridge and San Francisco amounts to 3 hours,
25 minutes, 1 seconds, and a small fraction. 4 Z>, December
1871,448.

MASKELYNE ON METEORITES.

Mr. Maskelyne, the chief of the mineralogical department
of the British Museum, in a recent lecture before the Royal
Institution, gave an account of the present state of our knowl-
edge of meteorites. According to the lecturer, the maximum
height at which these have been observed is 120 miles, and
their velocity from 18 to 34 miles a second, this resulting in
great heat, intense light, and violent explosive force. The
heat, he thinks, is due to the retardation of the velocity by
passing from a rarer medium to our denser atmosphere. He

24 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

considered meteorites as belonging to three classes siderites
(principally iron), siderolites (iron and stone), and aerolites
(mostly stone).

The components of meteorites embrace about one third of
the known elements. Mr. Maskelyne considers meteorites as
probably cosmical in their origin ; their velocity, however, he
thinks incompatible with a lunar or sublunar origin, while
their chemical constitution differs from that of the sun, as far
as at present known. 22 A, May 18, 1872, 478.

THE DISCOVERERS OF ASTEROIDS.

Mr. Richard A. Proctor calls attention to certain peculiari-
ties connected with the discovery of the 120 asteroids now
known to astronomers, and states that it is very remarkable
that the spring and autumn seem especially favorable for
their detection. Of the entire number no less than forty-five
were discovered in April and September. The average rate
of discovery has been rather more than four times as great
in April and September as in the midwinter and summer
months. Mr. Proctor can understand the poverty of discov-
ery in the midsummer months as due to the shortness of the
nights and the amount of twilight, and suggests that the cold
drives the observer from the telescope in the winter, so as to
materially affect the discoveries. Of the asteroids yet known,
Luther, of Bilk, in Germany, has discovered 20 ; Goldschmidt,
of France, 14; Professor Peters, of Hamilton College, New
York, 13; Professor Hind, of England, and Professor Wat-
son, of Ann Arbor, 10 each ; 67 being divided among five ob-
servers. Twenty astronomers share the honor of discovering
the remaining 53. 3 A, April 20, 1872, 332.

LUNAR PHOTOGRAPHS.

Very perfect photographs of the moon have been lately
obtained at the Melbourne Observatory, the original nega-
tives being three inches in diameter, and capable of enlarge-
ment to any desired dimensions. 12 A, July 18, 1872, 228.

RECENT ADVANCES IN ASTRONOMY.

In his address before the Mathematical and Physical Sec-
tion of the Brighton meeting of the British Association, Mr.
De La Rue considers the most important advancement in

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 25

astronomical knowledge to be connected with the observa-
tions of Dr. Huggins upon the proper motions of the stars,
and the questions associated with the phenomena, of the com-
ets. He also refers, as very noteworthy, to the relationships
established between the solar spots and the planetary con-
figuration, terrestrial magnetism and auroral phenomena.
He remarks that the connection between the amount of heat
proceeding from the sun and the prevalence of spots has
been established by the researches of Piazzi Smyth, Stone,
and Abbe, and that from the researches of Mr. Meldrum
there appears to be a periodicity of cyclones in the Indian
Ocean corresponding to the sun-spot periodicity. The pe-
riodic changes of Jupiter's appearance seem also to be rela-
ted to the changes of the sun-spots, all tending to show the
importance of a critical study of 4his feature of the sun's
disk. For this reason Mr. De La Rue urges very strongly
the multiplication of photographic and spectroscopic obser-
vations of the sun, and anticipates, as the result, a much
more thorough appreciation of the relationships between the
great luminary and its attendant satellites. 12 A, August
15,1872,316.

SITE FOR AN ASTRONOMICAL STATION.

According to the San Francisco Bulletin, Professor David-
son, who, it is said, has been making examinations in Califor-
nia for the purpose of determining a suitable site for an as-
tronomical station, has fixed upon a point situated about
half a mile from Summit station, which is 7042 feet above
the sea level, and the highest point on the Central Pacific
Railroad. Castle Peak, seven miles from the summit, w r as
also examined, but its atmosphere was found to be quite
hazy, and the ascent to it too difficult to render it a desira-
ble place for permanent occupation. San Francisco Bulle-
tin, August 30, 1872.

NEW REFLECTING TELESCOPE AT EDINBURGH.

During the last year an appropriation of $11,500 was made
by the British government for the purpose of supplying a
new equatorial telescope to the Royal Observatory at Edin-
burgh, and the instrument is now being built by Mr. How-
ard Grubb, of Dublin. It is to be a reflector of a somewhat

B

26 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

novel character, as, with an aperture of two feet, the focal
length will be only ten feet, the diameter being larger in
proportion than that of any telescope heretofore constructed.
The lens is to be of glass, coated with pure silver, instead of
being polished metal. The instrument is intended to be
employed especially for photographic and spectroscopic pur-
poses, and will be mounted so as to be perfectly free from
any tremor. The whole apparatus will be completed and in
operation by December. 22 A, September 7, 1872, 230.

GEEAT TELESCOPE FOE WASHINGTON AND LEE COLLEGE.

Mr. Leander J. M'Cormick, of Chicago, has ordered of
Messrs. Alvan Clark & Co. a telescope of 26-inch aperture,
the exact duplicate of the one now being constructed for the
United States government. It is stated that Mr. M'Cor-
mick's order having been given first, his instrument will be
first completed, and that, when ready for use, it will be pre-
sented to the Washington and Lee College, of Lexington,
Virginia. Mr. M'Cormick also proposes, in addition to this
telescope, to present a transit and other instruments re-
quired for the furnishing of a first-class astronomical observ-
atory.

These two instruments will then be the largest in the
world; the next in size being one in London, 22 inches, one
in Chicago, 18| inches; and one of 15 inches at Cambridge.

EEPORT OF U. S. ASTEONOMICAL OBSEEVATOEY FOE 1869.

A very well printed report of the astronomical and mete-
orological observations made at the United States Naval
Observatory during the year 1869, under the direction of the
superintendent, Admiral F. B. Sands, has been published at
the Congressional printing-office. This volume, forming a
stately quarto of over nine hundred pages, is prefaced by a
detailed account of the transit circle, the meridian transit
instrument, the mural circle, and the equatorial of the ob-
servatory, and followed by a statement of observations made
with these instruments.

The volume also contains the meteorological observations
for 1869, the positions of the sun, moon, and planets during
that year, as made with different instruments, etc. The re-
port of the total eclipse of December 22, 1870, which has al-

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 27

ready appeared as a separate memoir, is included in this vol-
ume, as also an appendix embracing the zones of stars ob-
served with the mural circle in the years 1846, 1847, 1848,
and 1849.

The observatory is now in excellent condition, and in-
cludes in its working force some of the best astronomers and
mathematicians of the country ; among them Professors
New comb, Hall, Harkness, Eastman, etc. The completion
of the gigantic telescope now in process of construction by
Alvan Clark will constitute an important addition to the
means of research, and be doubtless turned to good advan-
tage.

KIRKWOOD ON COMETS AND METEORS.

Professor Daniel Kirkwood, in a communication to Nature
relative to the late paper of Schiaparelli upon comets, calls
attention to an article published by himself in the Danville
Quarterly Review for July, 1861, in which the following prop-
ositions were maintained :

1. That meteors and meteoric rings "are the debris of an-
cient but now disintegrated comets, whose matter has be-
come distributed around their orbits."

2. That the separation of Biela's comet, as it approached
the sun in December, 1845, was but one in a series of similar
processes, which would probably continue until the individ-
ual fragments would become invisible.

3. That certain luminous meteors have entered the solar
system from the interstellar spaces.

4. That the orbits of some meteors and periodic comets have
been transformed into ellipses by planetary perturbation.

5. That numerous facts some observed in ancient and
some in modern times have been decidedly indicative of
cometary disintegration.

In reference to these propositions Professor Kirkwood re-
marks that, though stated as theory in 1861, they have since
been confirmed as undoubted facts. 12 A, June 20, 1872, 148.

DRIFTING OF THE STARS.

The views of Mr. Proctor in regard to the movements of
certain stars in systems of families have lately received a re-
markable confirmation in the observations of Dr. Huggins,

28 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

who for some time past has been prosecuting spectroscopic
inquiries into the proper motion of the stars in the direction
of the line of sight. With the instrument formerly used by
him he was unable to determine that Sil'ius was receding at
the rate of twenty miles per second ; but now, by means of
a telescope of fifteen inches aperture, specially adapted to
gather as much light as possible, and placed at his service
by the Royal Society of London, he, has determined the facts
in regard to various groups. Among these are five stars, (3,
y, o, e, and , of Ursa Major (or the Great Bear), as also Alcor,
close by , and the telescopic companion of , which Mr.
Proctor three years ago maintained to be moving in a com-
mon direction, and which, more recently, he predicted would
prove to be either receding or approaching together, when-
ever Dr. Huggins was enabled to test the question spectro-
scopically.

Dr. Huggins now finds that all these five stars are reced-
ing at the rate of about thirty miles per second ; while the
star , which Mr. Proctor had indicated as not belonging to
the set, is found to have a spectrum differing in character
from that common to them, and, though receding, has a dif-
ferent rate. Arcturus, on the other hand, is moving toward
us at a probable rate of seventy miles per second. Other
stars have been determined as moving with corresponding
velocities. 5 A, July, 1872, 307; also LitteWs Living Age,
July 27,1872.

ASTRONOMICAL WORK AT SHERMAN STATION.

Professors Young and Emerson, of Dartmouth College, have
lately published an account of their astronomical operations
at Sherman, the highest point of the Pacific Railroad (an ele-
vation of 8300 feet), in connection with a party of the Unit-
ed States Coast Survey. One object of the expedition was
to determine the difference in the astronomical appearances
at that elevation as compared with those of lower levels. It
was found that the Dartmouth telescope, with an aperture of
9.4 inches, would show every thing that could be seen in New
England with a 12-inch objective. The views of Saturn and
the moon, as well as of double stars, clusters, and nebulae,
were exceedingly beautiful.

As might have been expected, Professor Young's labors

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 29

were largely connected with spectroscopic observations, and
these were successful in a very high degree. The solar prom-
inences and chromosphere were seen far more clearly than
ever before, and Secchi's "layer of continuous spectrum at the
sun's limb" was repeatedly verified. There were observed in
the spectrum of the chromosphere 165 new, bright lines, mak-
ing the total number known 268. Of the 103 previously re-
corded, all but 30 had been catalogued at Dartmouth. .

The most interesting observation of all, however, was the
discovery of the permanent reversal of the H lines of the spec-
trum of the chromosphere, and the fact that the same lines
are reversed on the surface of the sun itself over quite a large
region surrounding every spot. It is thought improbable
that these observations can be verified by instruments near
the sea-level. College Courant, October 5,1872,153.

PROCTOR ON PHYSICAL OBSERVATORIES.

Mr. Richard A. Proctor, in an article on National Observa-
tories for the Study of the Physics of Astronomy, refers to
the communication of Colonel Strange, made to the British
Association last year, urging the propriety on the part of the
government of establishing observatories for the study of the
aspect and changes of aspect of the sun, moon, and planets,
on the ground that the establishments already in operation
confine themselves too much to determining the position and
motions, real or apparent, of the celestial bodies.

Colonel Strange, in urging his project, calls attention to the
great uncertainty that has hitherto prevailed in regard to
climatological laws, and promises that, if observatories are es-
tablished especially for the purpose, there is a strong proba-
bility that the systematic study of the sun will throw useful
light upon climatological conditions. To this Mr. Proctor re-
joins that, while all weather changes may be traced to the
sun's influence, the idea that we shall ever be able, by study-
ing the spots, the facula?, the prominences, or the chromato-
sphere of the sun, to interpret the phenomena of the weather,
appears demonstrably incorrect. While the sun's diurnal
course accounts for the seasonal changes, we yet know that
the weather of any single day is almost wholly independent
of the general character due to the season. A season may be
exceptionally cold or hot in one portion of the earth, while

30 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

in another precisely the opposite characteristics will prevail,
although subjected to the same solar conditions.

Even if the direct action of the sun were more obviously
recognizable in its general effects, yet, inasmuch as, in the
length and breadth of England a mere speck on the earth's
surface the greatest variety of weather is commonly expe-
rienced, it is surely hopeless to attempt to predict the condi-
tions which will prevail in any one country where the solar
relations exhibit such and such a character; and short of this
no prediction would be of the least use to man. Even if there
is the slightest prospect of our being able to do so much as
this, of what practical use would it be to know that a storm
will rage on a certain day, if it is as likely to occur in Russia
as in the United States, or in India as in China?

Mr. Proctor also takes occasion to rebuke those who have
sneered at the labor bestowed by meteorologists in tabulating
and reducing a regular series of observations upon the weath-
er, and remarks that, even though we may not, at present,
have the means of interpreting meteorological relations, we
must know what these relations actually are ; or, in other
words, we must have those long arrays of tabulated figures
thermometric, barometric, wind-recording, etc. if we are to
understand the cause or causes of changes in the direction of
the wind, in the prevalence of cloud, in temperature, baromet-
ric pressure, etc. Although but little has hitherto come of
these records, compared with the labor bestowed upon them,
and though we may be under the impression that little ever
will be the result, yet, if ever the great mysteries of meteor-
ology are solved, these tables will have fulfilled their purpose.
To cease to make them, he thinks, is to admit that these mys-
teries are inscrutable. 18 A, June 14, 1872, 317.

UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF MAGNESIUM IN THE FLAME OF THE

SUN.

Professor Tacchini, one of the members of the new society
of Italian spectroscopists, in a communication to the Paris
Academy, remarks that since the 6th of May he has found
magnesium to be unusually abundant in certain regions of
the sun, some of these being very extended, comprising arcs
of from 12 to 168, whereas preceding observations gave no
arcs larger than 66. Continuing his observations to the 18th

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 31

of June, he was able to recognize the presence of magnesium
round the entire limb that is to say, the chromatosphere
was completely invaded by the vapor of this metal ; and, al-
though the flames of the chromatosphere were very marked
and very brilliant, there was a decided absence of protuber-
ances. The more marked and brilliant the flames Avere, the
brighter and wider appeared the magnesium lines. Very bril-
liant and characteristic flames were observed at 2S8. A bright
flicula, as anticipated by Tacchini, was found strictly on the
limb of the sun. The granulations were very distinct, and
the number of small faculaa was in exact agreement Avith the
presence of magnesium. On several occasions the A r ariation
of the Avidth of the lines accorded perfectly with the A r aria-
tion of the luminous intensity of the chromatospheric flames
observed at the place of the line C.

At the latest dates a great abundance of magnesium still
continued, although not around the Avhole limb ; and the ob-
servations proved, not that local eruptions took place, but ra-
ther complete expulsions that is to say, a mixture of certain
metallic vapors with the chromatosphere, extending over the
entire surface of the sun, Avhich consequently Avould appear
to be still in a gaseous state.

SeA T eral persons had remarked to Tacchini that the light of
the sun did not appear to present its ordinary aspect, and
the observations made at the Italian observatory seemed to
A'erify this statement, the change probably being due to the
presence of magnesium in unusual amount. 3 A, July 20,
1872,27.

RESULTS OF THE BEITISH ECLIPSE EXPEDITION.

The Eclipse Committee of the British Association reported
at the last meeting that, in response to the request of the as-
sociation, the government had sfiven 2000 to aid in the Avork.
The Melbourne expedition failed from bad Aveather, but the
Indian expedition Avas successful. The observers selected A'a-
rious stations in Southern India, along the line of totality,
and at one place only was the eclipse obscured by clouds. It
Avas demonstrated that hydrogen exists at 8' or 10' at least
above the sun. It Avas also proved that there Avas strong
radial polarization of the corona. Some photographs Avere
taken, chiefly at the expense of Lord Lindsay, and these pnyved

32 ANNUAL RECOKD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

the corona to be higher than seen by the spectroscope. 15
A,Proc. Brit, Assoc, August 24, 1872, 237.

ENGLISH ECLIPSE EXPEDITION.

Comment is made by the English scientific journals upon
the omission of any official announcement on the part of the
English eclipse expedition of December last of the results of
the facts observed, and a comparison with the conduct of pri-
vate expeditions is made, quite unfavorable to the former.
A writer in the Popular Science JZevieiv, referring to this sub-
ject, applauds Col. Tennant for the promptness with which
he* communicated the results to the Royal Astronomical So-
ciety, and exhibited the photographs obtained at Dodabetta.
These, when compared with the photographs made by Lord
Lindsay's photographer, proved, in the opinion of the writer,
in the most conclusive manner the solar nature of the corona.
5 A, July 4, 1872,303.

PROFESSOR YOUNG'S LECTUEE ON THE SUN.

An excellent compendium of our present knowledge of the
sun and the phenomena of its atmosphere, from the pen of
Professor Young, has just been published by Chatfield & Co.,
of New Haven. This author, it is well known, has himself
occupied a very prominent part in the history of more recent
discoveries in regard to the sun, and the article referred to is
the substance of a lecture delivered at New Haven during
the past winter. This has, however, been materially modi-
fied, so as to bring the subject up to the present state of our
knowledge, as rendered necessary by the rapid progress made
in the science of solar physics.

"ANNALS OF THE DUDLEY OBSERVATORY."

The second volume of the "Annals of the Dudley Observa-
tory," edited by its director, G. \V. Hough, has just made its
appearance, and consists of a report of the meteorological ob-
servations made at the observatory from 1862 to 1871. Its
value is enhanced by its embracing the hourly records of the
barometer (automatically printed) for a continuous period of
five years, made by means of a very efficient apparatus in-
vented by the director, and now used in numerous places,
among others, in the office of the Signal Service at Washing-

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 33

ton. An appendix to the report contains miscellaneous com-
munications upon the galvanic battery, the total eclipse of
the sun of August 2, 1869, and the meteoric showers of 1867,
etc. ; and the whole book must be considered a very valuable
contribution to physical science.

NAMING NEW ASTEROIDS.

Professor Peters has named the two planets lately discov-
ered by him (Nos. 122 and 123) Gerda and Brunhilda,and com-
municates to the American Journal of Science the elements
of their orbits. The orbit of Gerda is remarkable for having
both the inclination and eccentricity very small a coinci-
dence not found in any other known asteroids except in the
case of Clytia. The planet No. 124 is now known as Alceste,
and at the time of Dr. Peters's communication had the ap-
pearance of a star of a little less than the eleventh magni-
tude. 4 D, November, 1872, 400.

CHANGE OF SPOTS IN LUNAR CRATERS.

Mr. Birt reports as to the result of observations upon the
spots on the floor of the crater Plato, on the moon's surface,
that decided changes have taken place since the investigation
was first undertaken, and gives an account of the observations
on the streaks and colors of the floor. The changes in the
direction and luminosity of the streaks detected were of such
a character that they could not be referred to changes of il-
lumination, but depended upon some agency connected with
the condition of the moon itself. The color of the floor was
found to vary as the sun ascended in the lunar heavens, being
darkest with the greatest solar altitude. It is thought prob-
able, if farther observations upon the spots can be made, that
streaks and changes of an interesting character will be dis-
covered. 15 A, Proc. Brit. Assoc, August 24, 1872, 237.

THE RINGS OF SATURN.

The rings of Saturn have always been an enigma to astron-
omers. La Place showed that if they were solid, and of the
same thickness throughout, they would soon fall down on the
planet and be destroyed. He therefore supposed them of ir-
regular density. Not many years ago Professor Peirce found
that the same catastrophe would occur even in this case, and

B 2

34 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

he and Bond have concluded that they are fluid. It soon
became doubtful whether a fluid ring would be any more
stable, and Professor Peirce hence conceived the idea that it
was held up by the attractions of the satellites. Mr. Him, a
French physicist, has lately presented a paper to the French
Academy, in which he maintains that the ring is neither solid
nor fluid, but is a swarm of small particles, which looks solid
owing to the great distance at which we see it. The idea is
not new, as it was developed mathematically more than ten
years ago by Mr. J. C. Maxwell, of England ; but Mr. Hirn ad-
duces some new arguments to its support. One of these is
that when the ring is seen on its dark side, which is present-
ed to us on very rare occasions, it does not seem absolutely
black, a little light shining through.

COINCIDENCE OF SOLAR OUTBURSTS AND MAGNETIC

DISTURBANCE.

An interesting coincidence between solar outbursts and
magnetic storms, if not a relation of cause and effect, is sug-
gested by Professor Airy in a communication to Nature. In
this, referring to an announcement by Father Secchi of a re-
markable outburst from the sun's limb, which lasted nearly
four hours, as witnessed by him on the 7 th of July, he remarks
that a magnetic storm commenced the same day, its influence
upon all the instruments being unusually sudden and percep-
tible. The disturbance diminished gradually to the evening
of the second day, and was accompanied during a part of the
time by an aurora. If a connection really existed between
the two phenomena, the transmission of the influence from the
sun to the earth must have occupied two hours and twenty
minutes, or a longer time if Father Secchi did not see the act-
ual beginning of the outburst. 12 A, August 22, 1872, 328.

BRIGHT LINES IN THE SOLAR CHROMOSPHERE.

Professor C. A. Young has published a preliminary report
to Professor Peirce, superintendent of the Coast Survey, de-
scribing the bright lines he found in the spectrum of the
chromosphere during his observations at Sherman, Wyoming
Territory, the most elevated point on the Pacific Railway.
Professor Young was sent to this point at the instance of
several men of science, w T ho wished to have some trials made

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 35

as to its suitableness for a permanent astronomical observa-
tory. He seems to have devoted himself mainly to his fa-
vorite branch, solar spectroscopy, in which he was eminently
successful. He gives a list of no less than 273 lines which
he has determined satisfactorily, hardly a tenth part of which
were ever seen by any other observer. He conceives that
the dark lines always seen in the spectrum have their origin
at the base of the chromosphere, and that, with proper in-
strumental power and favorable atmospheric conditions, they
might all be seen reversed to bright lines at any time. The
variations of brightness were very considerable and sudden
when the chromosphere was much disturbed. Sometimes
one set of lines would be particularly bright, and at other
times another. In addition to the elements formerly known
to exist in the solar atmosphere, the following seem to be
pretty positively indicated namely, sulphur, cerium, and
strontium, while zinc, erbium and ytrium, lanthanum and
didymium, are indicated with a less degree of probability.

EEPOKT ON EXCKE'S COMET.

The Washington Observatory has lately published a re-
port, by Professors Hall and Harkness, of observations on
Encke's comet during its recent return. It was first seen at
Washington on the 11th of October last, and continued to
be observed on favorable nights until the 7th of December.
The observations on the movements and relations of the
comet are detailed by Professor Hall, while the spectroscop-
ic investigations were conducted by Professor Harkness.
The results of the latter are summed up in the following
propositions :

1. Encke's comet gives a carbon spectrum.

2. From November 18 to December 2 the wave length of
the brightest part of the second band of the comet's spec-
trum was continually increasing.

3. No polarization was detected in the light of the comet.

4. The mass of Encke's comet is certainly not less than
that of an asteroid.

5. The density of the supposed resisting medium in space,
as computed from the reserved retardation of Encke's comet,
is such that it would support a column of mercury some-
where between ttttt an( l tWit of an inch high.

36 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

6. There is some probability that the electric currents
which give rise to auroras are propagated in a medium which
pervades all space, and that the spectrum of the aurora is in
reality the spectrum of that medium.

7. It is not improbable that the tails of all large comets
will be found to give spectra similar to that of the aurora,
although additional lines may be present.

SMALL PLANETS DISCOVERED IN 1872.

During the year 1872 eleven additions were made to the
number of small planets known to revolve between Mars and
Jupiter, making the entire number now known 128. Their
numbers, discoverers, and dates of discovery are as follows :

(118), JPeitho, by Luther, at Bilk, March 15.

(119), by Watson, at Ann Arbor, April 3.

(120), Lachesis, by Borelli, at Marseilles, April 10.

(121), by Watson, at Ann Arbor, May 12.

(122), Gerda, by Peters, at Clinton, July 31.

(123), JBrurthilda, by Peters, at Clinton, July 31.

(124), Alceste, by Peters, at Clinton, August 23.

(125), by Prosper-Henry, at Paris, Sept. 11.

(126), by Paul-Henry, at Paris, Nov. 5.

(127), by Prosper-Henry, at Paris, Nov. 5.

(128), by Watson, at Ann Arbor, Nov. 28.

The numbers 126 and 127 are remarkable as being found
on the same evening so near together that they were in the
same field of view of the telescope.

CABLE ANNOUNCEMENTS OP ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES.

Astronomers have been for some time interested in devis-
ing some method by which the discoveries of new planets or
comets in one hemisphere could be reported to the other with
the least possible delay, communication by mail being so
slow, comparatively, that the object materially changes its
place before the fellow-workers on the opposite side of the
Atlantic Ocean can direct their attention to it. The difficul-
ty is still greater when the bodies in question are faint, since
they are necessarily discovered in nights free from the light
of the moon; but before the news can be transmitted across
the water (requiring an interval of about two weeks) the
moon will so illuminate the sky as to prevent observers from

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 37

looking immediately for them, and for this reason the first
notice of a planet is frequently its last, the most careful search
failing to detect it again in consequence of the impossibility
of determining a second or third position.

These considerations have naturally invoked attention to
the Atlantic cable as a means for exchanging discoveries; but
the great expense of dispatches by it, and the poverty of as-
tronomers, has prevented their making use of this means of
communication to any great extent. For some time past
Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, has been in
correspondence with the authorities of the cable for the pur-
pose of inducing them to transmit such communications free,
and at last has had the pleasure of receiving from Mr. Cyrus
W. Field the announcement that this boon has been grant-
ed. The precise details of the arrangement to be made are
not yet fully established, but it is probable that, in case of
important discoveries in America, the fact will be communi-
cated by telegraph to the Smithsonian Institution, which will
at once forward it to the observatories in Paris, London, Ber-
lin, and Vienna, which, in turn, will supply the information
to their associates. These same institutions will be the re-
cipients, by telegraph, of the first announcements in Europe,
to be transmitted to the Smithsonian Institution as before,
and the information sent from Washington, either by the me-
dium of the Associated Press, or by direct telegraphic dis-
patch. The Western Union Telegraph Company has also
granted the free use of its wires for the same purpose, in co-
oj)eration with the Cable Company.

The directors of these telegraphs deserve great credit for
their enlightened liberality, and for thus aiding in the scientific
work of the day, and it is to be hoped that the European inland
lines will not be behind in their co-operation, so as to make it
an absolutely free interchange from one country to the other.
The number of such dispatches traveling in either direction
annually can not be very great (hardly more than one or two
a month), as during 1872 there were only ten new asteroids
discovered, and a proportional number of telescopic comets.
It is probable that the information in regard to the discovery
of comets in America will be sent more directly to the Vien-
na Academy of Sciences, as that body has a standing offer
of reward for all such announcements made under certain
specific conditions.

38 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

SPECTRUM OF NEPTUNE.

Mr. H. C. Vogel, of the observatory at Bothcamp, has spec-
troscopically examined the light of Neptune, the most ex-
treme of the known members of our solar system, and found
the spectrum of this planet identical with that of Uranus.
Eight lines of absorption have been measured, and they coin-
cided with those of Uranus. Red could not be perceived.
This result differs somewhat from that of M. Secchi, who only
considers the spectra of the two planets as very similar. 19
C, xxviii., 1872, 223.

- -

THE LOST COMET.

Just one hundred years ago a new comet was discovered
by Montaigne. It was so faint and difficult of observation
that no time could be fixed for its return. In 1826 a comet was
found by Yon Biela, and, on computing the orbit, it proved
to be identical with that of 1772. Further investigation
showed that it was also observed in 1805, but was not then
recognized as the same. It was, therefore, a periodic comet,
and the period of its revolution was found to be six years and
eight months. It has since been known as Biela's comet,
from its discoverer of 1826. The next two returns were not
favorable for its observation, so that it was not again satis-
factorily detected till 1845. It was seen in November and
December of that year by a number of observers, who noticed
nothing unusual ; but in January it was found to have suf-
fered an accident such as was never before known to happen
to a heavenly body, and of which no explanation has ever ,
been given. It was split in two, and for some months was ob-
served as two comets. In 1852 it appeared again, and now
the two comets were nearly two million miles apart. They
disappeared from view about the end of September, and have
never been seen since, although they must have returned in
1859, and again in 1866 and 1872. The return of 1866 was
quite favorable, but, although the most powerful telescopes
searched for it, all was in vain. The comet had vanished from
the heavens.

The earth crossed the orbit of this comet about the end of
November. Professor Newton was thus led to infer that,
though lost to sight, the fragments of the comet would be

A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 39

seen about that time striking the atmosphere as shooting-
stars. This prediction was fully verified by the event. On
the evening of November 2V, between the hours of six and
eight, a remarkable shower of meteors was observed, the as-
tronomers of the Naval Observatory counting several hun-
dred. And further, the direction of their motion correspond-
ed, as nearly as could be judged, to that of the lost comet. In
consequence, the Washington astronomers entertain no seri-
ous doubt that the meteoric shower was really caused by the
earth's meet ins: the debris of the comet.

COINCIDENCE OF SOLAR OUTBURSTS AND MAGNETIC

DISTURBANCE.

An interesting coincidence between solar outbursts and
magnetic storms, if not a relation of cause and effect, is sug-
gested by Professor Airy in a communication to Nature. In
this, referring to an announcement by Father Secchi of a re-
markable outburst from the sun's limb, which lasted nearly
four hours, as witnessed by him on the 7th of July, he re-
marks that a magnetic storm commenced the same day, its
influence upon all the instruments being unusually sudden
and perceptible. The disturbance diminished gradually to the
evening of the second day, and was accompanied during a
part of the time by an aurora. If a connection really existed
between the two phenomena, the transmission of the influence
from the sun to the earth must have occupied two hours and
twenty minutes, or a longer time if Father Secchi did not
see the actual beginning of the outburst. 12 A y August 22,
1872,328.

TRANSIT OF VENUS IN 1874.

Our government is making active preparations to observe
the transit of Venus in 1874 with a completeness which will
leave nothing to be desired. At the last session of Congress
a scientific commission was organized to provide the neces-
sary instruments, and it has been determined to occupy eight
or ten stations. The stations will be mostly on the islands
and coasts of the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand on the
south to the Aleutian Islands on the north, and from the Sand-
wich Islands on the east to China on the west. Telescopes
and photographic apparatus for eight stations have been or-

40 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

dered from the firm of Alvan Clark & Sons, Cambridgeport,
Massachusetts, and it is probable that nearly all the appara-
tus will be' of American manufacture.

The commission has printed a pamphlet containing some
important papers on the subject, and it is expected that this
will be followed by others. The present pamphlet is mostly
devoted to the question of photographing the transit. It
contains a very full description of the apparatus used by Mr.
L. M. Rutherford, of New York, whose photographs of the ce-
lestial bodies are the finest ever taken. The longest paper
is by Professor Newcomb, one of the commission, who gives
a detailed description of the method by which the commis-
sion actually proposes to take the photographs. Professor
NTewcomb finds objections which he deems fatal to nearly all
the plans of photographing that have been proposed in Eu-
rope, and therefore proposes that adopted by Professor Win-
lock, of the observatory of Harvard College. In this plan the
telescope is forty feet long, and is fixed in a horizontal posi-
tion, the object end pointing north. A short distance from
the object-glass is a plain mirror, which is set so as to throw
the rays of the sun into the telescope. At the other end of
the telescope an image of the sun four and a half inches in
diameter is formed, and here the photographic plate is placed
to receive and photograph this image. Immediately in front
of the plate a plumb-line is to be hung, and thus be photo-
graphed on the plate, in order to get the direction of the ver-
tical diameter of the sun.

Among the advantages claimed for this plan are : That the
photograph can be taken in the dark room, and on a firm sup-
port (while, by the other plan, the photographer must take
his sensitive plate to the eye-piece of the telescope, which has
to be kept in motion) ; that the image on the plate is free
from distortion ; and, finally and chiefly, that it is the only
plan by which the measures of inches, on the negative, can be
reduced to minutes and seconds of an arc in the heavens with
the necessary accuracy.

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 41

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY.

RATIO OF BAROMETER DEPRESSION TO THE HEIGHT

OF THE TIDES.

At a meeting of the Philosophical Society of Washington,
Professor William Ferrel presented an account of some exper-
iments in which he had been engaged at the request of the
superintendent of the Coast Survey, for determining the in-
fluence of the barometric pressure upon the tides. Taking
the observations made with the tide-gauge at Boston Harbor,
he compared them, hour by hour, for a certain period, with
the barometrical records of Harvard Observatory, and ascer-
tained that, in general, a fall of the barometer of one inch
was accompanied by an increased height of the tide of seven
inches. The theoretical ratio should be one inch to about
thirteen and a half; but the shallowness of Boston Harbor,
and the numerous obstructions to the free flow of the water
in and out of it, are assigned as the cause of the difference.
Similar observations made at Liverpool showed that the tides
varied ten inches in height with one inch of barometric fluc-
tuation. Wm. Ferrel, Prof. Washington Phil. Soc.

CROLL OX CARPENTER'S THEORY OF OCEAN" CURRENTS.

In a third part of his memoir on ocean currents, lately pub-
lished in the London, Edinburg, and Dublin Philosophical
Magazine, Mr. James Croll examines critically the theory of
a general oceanic circulation, put forth by Dr. Carpenter in a
paper read before the Royal Geographical Society. After
showing that no additional power is obtained from a vertical
descent of the polar waters through the action of cold (the
"primum mobile" of Dr. Carpenter) above that which is de-
rived from the full slope, of less than eighteen feet, due to
difference of temperature between the equatorial and polar
regions of the sea, Mr. Croll endeavors to prove that the
"primum mobile" has in reality no existence, and that, since
the energy derived from the whole slope comprehends all
that can possibly be obtained from gravity, there is not, in
this, sufficient power to produce the circulation which Dr.

42 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Carpenter assumes. Further, he maintains that if difference
of specific gravity fail in accounting for the circulation of the
ocean in general, it fails in a more decided manner to explain
the Gibraltar current, because it is only the stratum of water
which rests above the level of the shallowest part of the
strait on each side that can exercise any influence in disturb-
ing equilibrium, and since the observed difference of density
between the Mediterranean and Atlantic within these limits
does not give a difference of level sufficient to cause move-
ment. 13 A, JVov. 1, 1871, 500.

CROLL ON OCEAN CIRCULATION.

Mr. Croll, in further discussion of the subject upon which
he and Dr. William P. Carpenter are at variance namely,
that of " ocean currents" remarks, in Nature, that the true
way of considering the matter is to regard the currents as
merely one grand system of circulation, produced, not by the
trade winds alone, but by the combined action of all the winds
capable of producing this action; and the effect upon the cur-
rents depends upon two circumstances, namely, the direction
of the prevailing winds and the conformation of the sea and
land. From this it results that the general system of winds
may sometimes produce a current directly opposite to the
prevailing wind blowing over the current.

Taking into the account the result of the conformation of
the sea and land, Mr. Croll thinks, and he expects to show,
that all the principal currents of the globe, the Gibraltar cur-
rent not excepted, are moving in the exact direction in which
they ought to move, assuming the winds to be the sole im-
pelling cause. The influence of the rotation of the earth he
considers greatly overestimated, such rotation exercising no
influence in generating motion on the earth's surface ; but if
the body be already in motion, the rotation will deflect it to
the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the
southern.

Difference of specific gravity, as resulting from difference of
temperature between the equatorial and polar regions, might,
if sufficiently great, produce some such interchange of equa-
torial and polar water as Dr. Carpenter supposes ; but this
difference of temperature, in Mr. CrolPs opinion, could not
produce currents like the equatorial current and Gulf Stream

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 43

in a wide expanse of water. Taking Dr. Carpenter's own
data as to the difference of temperature between the waters
at the equator and the poles, and also his estimate of the rate
at which the temperature of the equatorial water decreases
from the surface downward, he thinks he has proved, in a pa-
per published in the Philosophical Magazine for October last,
that the amount of * force which gravity exerts on, say a pound
of water, tending to make it move from the equator to the
poles, supposing the pound of water to be placed under the
most favorable circumstances possible, is only -^~ of a grain.
12 A, Jan. 11,1872,202.

TEMPERATURES IN SOUTH AMERICA.

A correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from
the Ilassler, refers to the great uniformity of the temperature
at sea on the west coast of South America ; thus, on reaching
Callao, on the 28th of May, although the sun was shining
brightly and the wind was from the equator, the thermom-
eter stood steadily at 66 for a number of days in succession.
For the seven weeks preceding the arrival of the Hassler at
Callao there had been very little difference in the tempera-
ture either of the sea or air, as observed on the vessel.

On the 6th of April, in latitude 43, in San Pedro Channel,
the thermometer stood at noon at 69 F. ; on the 24th of
May, at Callao, latitude 12, at 66. This, in the words of the
writer, would be like leaving Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
on the 6th of October, in seasonable weather, and reaching
Barbadoes or Greytown on the 24th of November, and find-
ing it colder than it was in New Hampshire.

DEEP-SEA TEMPERATURES IX THE ATLANTIC NEAR THE

EQUATOR.

Mr. N.VonMaclay, who, as our readers have-been informed,
is in charge of a Russian scientific exploration of the Atlan-
tic and Pacific Oceans, reports to the Academy of Sciences of
St. Petersburg that on the passage of the Witjcis from the
Cape de Verd Islands to Rio he made an experiment, on the
3d of February, for the purpose of determining the tempera-
ture of the sea at a depth of one thousand fathoms in the re-
gion of calms, about 3 north latitude and 24 west longitude.
The temperature of the water at this depth was about 38.30

44 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

F., that of the surface water being 81.68 F. It is interesting
to compare this with the temperature obtained during the
past winter by the Coast Survey steamer Bibb, at about the
same depth, in the deep water between Cuba and Yucatan, in
the latter case the temperature amounting to about 39.50 F.
Bull. Acad, St. Petersburg, 1871, 346.

SOUNDINGS BETWEEN CUBA AND TUCATAN.

The greatest depth between the west end of Cuba and the
coast of Yucatan found by the Coast Survey Steamer Bibb is
1164 fathoms, as reported to Professor Peirce by Captain
Robert Piatt, commanding the surveying vessel. The lowest
temperature observed is 39.5 F. at the bottom ; surface, 81 ;
strongest current, two knots ; direction, north. Dr. Stinrpson
reports the bottom from Cape San Antonio to Yucatan very
barren of animal life. A few rare shells were found. Prof.
Hilgard.

SELF-REGISTERING EARTHQUAKE INDICATOR.

Erkmann has laid before the Natural History Society of
Prussian Rhineland and Westphalia a plan of self-registering
apparatus for recording earthquakes, which, although some-
what complicated, is said to be not without its merits. The
principal objects of this apparatus are, first, to record the ex-
act hour and minute in which an earthquake has taken place
at any given point ; second, to determine the number and
duration of the oscillations of the pendulum, and the relative
force of the earthquake; third, from the difference of time at
different stations, to determine the velocity of the propaga-
tion of the wave ; fourth, to ascertain the duration of the
earthquake, as also its beginning and ending, and whether
acting by shocks in waves or radii ; fifth, to indicate the
shocks that without its agency would be inappreciable, and
thus determine the absolute frequency of this phenomenon.
3 (7,1871,1150.

STORM-SIGNALS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

The government of New South Wales, following the lead
of Europe and the United States, has introduced the system
of telegraphing the anticipations of the weather, and has es-
tablished certain stations on the coast for indicating the na-

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 45

ture of any expected storm by means of signal masts; these
signal masts support two yards, crossing each other at right
angles in the direction of the cardinal points of the compass.
A violent squall is to be represented by a conspicuous dia-
mond-shaped signal ; a heavy sea by a drum ; a gale with
clear weather is indicated by a diamond-shaped signal over
a drum ; and one with thick weather and rain, with the same
signal under a drum. The direction in which the wind is
blowing is indicated by the particular yard-arm between
which and the mast-head the geometrical signal is suspended.
Gales that are general over a large portion of the coast are
indicated, without the mast-head flags, by the geometrical
figures. Newspaper.

BRITISH AND AMERICAN STORM W T ARNINGS.

A motion was made in the British Parliament, just before
its recent adjournment, for the appointment of a committee
to report upon the practical effect of the storm warnings is-
sued by the British Meteorological Office, specifying how many
had been verified by the result, and how many the contrary.
The return has, we believe, not yet been made, although the
general subject has been discussed at considerable length in
the London journals. It is well known that under the ad-
ministration of the government meteorological system of
storm warnings, under Admiral Fitzroy, the attempt was
made to indicate the probable approach of gales and storms,
with the general direction from which the storm was to be
expected. These were announced during the daytime by two
large bodies in the shape of a drum and a cone variously ad-
justed, and at night by means of lights. After Admiral Fitz-
roy's death, and the reorganization of the system, but one
drum was used, and that only raised to show that a serious
atmospheric disturbance existed somewhere on or near the
British coast ; this is exhibited for thirty-six hours after the
telegraphic message directing it to be hoisted, and is merely
intended to give an intimation to seamen to be on the look-
out for approaching bad weather.

At the present time there are seventy-four drum signals in
England and Wales, thirty-two in Scotland, twelve in Ireland,
three in the Isle of Man, and two in Jersey.

A similar system has quite recently been adopted by tile

46 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Signal Service branch of the War Department of the United
States, under General Myer, as is well known to most of our
readers. The day signal here consists of a flag instead of a
drum, and is likewise intended only to indicate the probable
approach of a storm, blowing at the rate of at least thirty
miles j:>er hour. The short time during which this system
has been in operation has been sufficient to prove its value,
and, during the late severe gales all over the country, much
loss of life and property has been prevented by proper atten-
tion to the intimations given.

For a considerable time the Signal Office has given tele-
graphic announcements of the probabilities of the weather,
and we learn from an abstract of the report of the chief sig-
nal officer, General Myer, that sixty-five per cent, of these
prognostications have been verified by the result ; and, as the
theory of atmospheric disturbances is better understood, the
percentage of verifications will continually increase. 3 A,
Nov. 11,1871,368.

BRITISH WEATHER MAP.

The Meteorological Office of Great Britain proposes to is-
sue lithographic charts illustrative of the daily weather re-
port. These will be forwarded from the office of the printer
between 1 and 2 o'clock P.M. each day, and sent to any part
of the kingdom, upon payment of five shillings per quarter.
In addition to the returns from forty stations, charts of the
British Isles and a portion of the Continent are given, show-
ing the movements of the barometer and thermometer, the
conditions of the wind and sea, and the quantity of cloud and
rain. The rapid dissemination of this information can not
fail to be of great value to Great Britain, as is shown by the
success which has attended a similar enterprise of the Amer-
ican Signal Service, of which we are so justly proud, and
which has been in operation for a considerable time, embrac-
ing much more minuteness of detail than is proposed for the
English maps. 15 A,3Iarch 16, 1872, 339.

LAWS OF THE WINDS IX EUROPE.

A work has recently been published by Mr. W. Clement
Ley upon the laws of the winds in Western Europe, contain-
ing some important generalizations which maybe of interest

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND 1UETE0R0L0GY. 47

to our readers, agreeing, as they do, in the most essential
points, with the results of inquiries by the United States Sig-
nal Service. The author, after referring to the great amount
of statistical matter upon the subject of meteorology, and the
great number of persons interested, locally or otherwise, in
such inquiries, thinks that it may be considered as a matter
of surprise that so few have attempted the investigation of
the greater problems of meteorology, but suggests that this
is caused, in part, by the abstruse character of the inquiries
involved, and the almost interminable complexity of the con-
ditions which influence the motions of the atmosphere. In-
deed, so many are the difficulties in which the subject is in-
volved, that it requires a certain degree of scientific enthusi-
asm to believe that they are not insurmountable.

One of the most important generalizations in regard to the
motion of the winds, according to Mr. Ley, is that known as
Ballot's Law, which connects the direction of every surface
wind with the distribution of surrounding pressures ; and he
thinks that the general fact that the winds blow in direc-
tions nearly parallel to the isobarics (or lines of equal atmos-
pheric pressure, as shown by the barometer), having the high-
est pressure on the right and the lowest on the left, in the
northern hemisphere, and the contrary in the southern, no
longer needs demonstration, being now an accepted law. It
is only recently, however, that its bearing upon some of the
earlier conceptions of the science has received attention.

Among the general propositions which Mr. Ley presents to
his readers, and some of which he thinks he can prove, and
others of which require more or less further investigation, are
the following :

I. Baric areas, or the atmospheric spaces inclosed in iso-
baric lines, tend, as a general rule, in temperate latitudes, to
circular or oval forms. These forms are most nearly ap-
proached in the areas of lowest pressure, while irregular fig-
ures are common in those of high pressure.

II. Baric areas are naturally divided into two classes, viz. :
A, those whose currents revolve directly (or with watch-
hands) in the northern hemisphere, and the contrary in the
southern (" anti-cyclonic") ; and B, those whose currents re-
volve in a retrograde direction (or against watch-hands) in
the northern hemisphere, and the contrary in the southern

48 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

(" cyclonic"). All areas of higher pressure than that of the
surrounding regions are invariably of the former class; all
areas of lower pressure than that of the surrounding regions
are invariably of the latter.

III. Areas of depression tend to move in extra-tropical lat-
itudes with a more or less eastward progression. Areas of
high pressure, when of small extent, commonly follow the
progression of neighboring depressions; when of large dimen-
sions, progress with much less rapidity, and are frequently
erratic, and sometimes for a prolonged period stationary.

IV. The direction of progression commonly varies in West-
ern Europe between north-northeast and south-southeast, and
is primarily dependent on the general antecedent distribu-
tion of surrounding temperatures, every depression area tend-
ing to advance at an inclination of about 45 toward the low-
er mean isothermals. This progression is, however, frequent-
ly interfered with, for,

V. Mountainous districts, as well as certain coast lines, ex-
ercise (1) an attractive and (2) a detentive influence upon de-
pressions.

VI. Extensive areas of very high pressure check, divert,
or accelerate the motion of depressions, every depression pro-
gressing with greatest facility in the direction in which it
lias the highest general pressures, on the right of its course
in the northern hemisphere, and the contrary in the south-
ern.

VII. Depression areas are dependent, both for their origin-
al development and subsequent expansion, on precipitation,
which is also the medium through which the forces described
in propositions IV. and V. operate. Heavy and extensive
precipitation invariably precedes their first formation, and
accompanies their expansion, and its cessation immediately
precedes their collapse or dissipation.

VIII. This influence of precipitation, as a disturbing or mo-
tive power in the lower regions of the atmosphere, common-
ly varies inversely as the general temperature of the atmos-
phere.

IX. The upper currents of the atmosphere, while tending
in a general way to move with the highest pressures on the
right of their course, but depending in this respect on the
more extensive pressure systems, and being comparatively

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 49

unaffected by very limited baric areas, yet deviate consider-
ably from Ballot's Law ; for,

X. Upper currents manifest, in a large percentage of ex-
amples, a distinct centrifugal tendency over the areas of low
pressure, and a centripetal over those of high.

XL The axis of a progressive depression commonly inclines
backward.

Several of these propositions are, however, according to Mr.
Ley, ultimately dependent upon the following primary law,
which, although obvious, requires to be clearly apprehended
at the outset by the student of meteorology. "Every ex-
tensive centripetal motion in the atmosphere tends to become,
through the influence of the earth's rotation, a helix, the cur-
rents of which are retrograde in the northern hemisphere and
direct in the southern. Every extensive centrifugal motion
tends to become helix, the currents of which are direct in the
northern hemisphere and retrograde in the southern."

Also, first, that extensive precipitation occurring in a re-
gion of atmosphere previously approaching a condition of
tranquillity is the primary factor of every system of baric de-
pression, with its resulting atmospheric circulation, retro-
grade in the northern and direct in the southern hemispheres ;
second, that such an atmospheric circulation being establish-
ed, the changes in their capacity for aqueous vapor which its
currents undergo in consequence of the unequal distribution
of solar heat tend to propagate the depression in an eastward
direction.

To the subject of" upper currents" a special chapter is de-
voted, and the difficulties of making observations upon them
is referred to. The special object of this inquiry is to ascer-
tain whether there is any general relation between the mo-
tion of this upper stratum and the conditions and disturb-
ances of atmospheric pressure at the surface of the earth ; and
if so, what that relation is. As a partial answer to these in-
quiries, resulting from the discussion of numerous observa-
tions, the author remarks that the relation between the num-
ber of instances in which the upper currents incline from low
to high pressures, and that in which they incline from high
to low, is as 393 to 92 (or about four to one).

We thus arrive at the important general law connecting
the direction of the higher currents with the distribution of

C

50 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

atmospheric pressure at the earth's surface, that the higher
currents of the atmosphere, while moving commonly with the
highest pressures, in a general way, on the right of their
course, yet manifest a distinct centrifugal tendency over the
areas of low pressure, and a centripetal over those of high.

The rapidity of the upper currents, on an average, Mr. Ley
states to be about twice as great as that of those at the sur-
face of the earth, since the latter rarely attain velocity great-
er than sixty to seventy miles per hour. The more distant
clouds not uncommonly have a much greater velocity. The
observations of the United States Signal Service furnish cor-
roborative evidence in regard to this matter, since the veloc-
ities at the top of Mount Washington have repeatedly equal-
ed the maximum mentioned, as recorded by an accurate ane-
mometer. Ley's Laws of the Wi?ids, pt. i., 1872.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF DIFFERENT REGIONS.

In a paper by Dr. Friedmann on the climatic peculiarities
of the eastern coast of Asia, he states that when passing
around the world from east to west the following climatolog-
ical conditions will be found to present themselves in suc-
cession. First, on the east coast of Asia we have a decided
continental climate cold winter, warm summer, considera-
ble difference between the temperature of day and night, and
between the coldest and warmest months the whole, how-
ever, tempered by the influence of the east wind. Second, in
the interior of Asia we have the highest expression of a con-
tinental climate very hot summers, with extreme cold in
winter, the lowest winter temperature on the globe being in
latitude of about 62 degrees. We have, then, a gradual equal-
ization of this continental feature as we pass to the west, un-
til we reach number three of his division, in Western Europe.
Here the climate is purely maritime mild winters, moderate
summers, and but little difference between day and night,
winter and summer. Fourth, the eastern coast of America
cold winters and hot summers characterize the climate;
the southwest wind is cool, and extends over the continent.
Fifth, the central portion of America similar to the central
portion of Asia, although with less extremes of heat and cold.
Sixth, the west coast of America climate maritime, similar
to that of Western Europe, in consequence of the warm re-

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 51

turning trade winds passing over the sea; warmer winters
and cooler summers, in consequence of the cooling action of
the sea and of the rather feeble equatorial current. 3 C^Feb.
8,1872,140.

COMPAEATIYE CLIMATE OF HILL-TOPS AND VALLEYS.

As the result of a series of investigations upon the compar-
ative temperature of hill-tops and valleys, made by Mr. Dines,
we are informed that the air on the top of a hill is colder than
in the valley in the daytime, and warmer at night. The daily
range at the higher station is not so great as at the lower,
the difference being about four and a half degrees. In cold
weather it is found that the air on the top of a hill is never
so cold as that in the valley. The rainfall, also, on the hill is
forty per cent, greater than in the valley. These observa-
tions were prosecuted in a valley at Cobham and on a hill at
Denbies, the difference in height being about six hundred
feet. 15 A, April 27, 1872, 530.

UNUSUAL WEATHER IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN IN 1871.

The accounts furnished by the Boston Advertiser from the
captains and crews of the vessels of the whaling fleet lately
destroyed or ice-bound in the Arctic Ocean concur in describ-
ing the presence of peculiar meteorological phenomena during
the past season. The prevailing summer wind on the north-
west coast of Alaska is from the north, and this works the ice
off from the land and disperses it, while the northwesterly
winds close it up on the shore. As the ice moves off, the
ships generally work up by the land, and in that situation
find whales in plenty. By the end of the season, when north-
westerly winds are prevalent, the ice has become so broken
up and melted that it has ceased to be an element of danger,
and the vessels are compelled to retire to the northward by
heavy ice drifting along the coast from the north, and not from
a threatened closing in upon the land. But this season the
easterly winds were not so strong and constant as usual, and
the ice that had gone off from shore returned in a heavy
pack that it was impossible to get a ship through, or even to
hold against at anchor. The heavy ice-fields are all com-
posed of fresh-water berg-ice, not floe-ice of salt-water. The
bergs are not of the immense proportions seen in Greenland

52 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

seas, but are solid enough to be equally dangerous, many
masses being so heavy as to ground in ten fathoms of water.
Boston Advertiser, Nov. 18, 1 871.

PECULIARITIES OF THE WINTER OF 1871-1872 IN EUROPE.

The past winter has been a very remarkable one in England.
The cold weather set in unusually early and severely with
the commencement of November, and from that date to De-
cember 13, Mr. Glaisher's weekly tables of meteorological ob-
servations, taken at Greenwich, show the temperature to have
been uniformly below the mean of the last fifty years, with
the break of only a single day, the mean depression for the
whole period being 6 5' Fahr. The coldest day was Decem-
ber 8, when the thermometer fell to 18 6' Fahr., and the tem-
perature of the twenty-four hours was 19 3' below the mean.
Throughout France the month of November was very severe,
the mean temperature of the month having been lower only
four times during the last century. According to statistics
presented to the Academy of Science by M. Ch. Sainte-Claire
Deville, the thermometer fell as low as 11 Fahr. at Montar-
gis on December 3, while even at Marseilles the remarkably
low temperature (for that locality) of 27 5' Fahr. is recorded
on November 23. During the early part of December the
frost continued still more severe in France and Italy, where
much snow fell. At Rome and throughout France trees and
shrubs which had survived many winters were entirely de-
stroyed. M. Delaunay remarks that the cold advanced, as is
usually the case, from northeast to southwest. The minimum
temperatures were recorded at Groningen, in Holland, on De-
cember 7,14 Fahr.; at Brussels, 9 5' Fahr. on the 8th, and
at Paris, 6 Fahr. on the 9th. This extremely low tempera-
ture appears to have been confined to a very limited tract of
country between Paris and Charleville. On the same day
the temperature was above the freezing point in Scotland,
within reach of the influence of the Gulf Stream, as far north
as Nairn, and in the greater part of England, falling only at
Greenwich as low as 28 Fahr. This severe frost was fol-
lowed in England by a period of exceptionally mild weather
of probably unprecedented length. For ninety-seven days,
from December 13 to March 18, Mr. Glaisher's tables show
that the temperature was above the average on eighty-nine,

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 53

and below the average on only eight days, the mean excess
for the whole period being 5 1' Fahr. During the whole of
this period of more than three months the thermometer fell
below the freezing point on four nights only, February being
entirely free from, frost. The warmest period was from March
1 to 8, when the maximum temperature ranged each day from
57 l'to 60 8'.

On March 19 the temperature again fell below the mean,
and continued so for nine days, till the 27th, accompanied in
London and the neighborhood by heavy falls of snow. The
minimum temperature for March was, on the 21st, 26 2',
being the lowest recorded since December 9. There were
nine frosty nights in March, against two in the whole of the
two preceding months. For the week ending March 26, the
mean temperature was 34 Fahr., or 16 lower than the mean
for the week ending March 7. The severe frost of March 21,
following such a long period of mild weather, has done an im-
mense amount of damage to the fruit crops, the pears and
cherries having suffered more severely. It is remarkable
that, although the flowers were killed in the bud, the centre
being turned perfectly black, they opened as if untouched,
and presented a mass of bloom looking to the eye entirely
uninjured. On the early vegetable the effects were no less
disastrous. In the island of Jersey alone, whence large sup-
plies are usually obtained for the London market, the dam-
age to the potato crop is estimated at many thousands of
pounds. A. W. Bennett.

RELATION OF WEATHER TO COLLIERY EXPLOSIONS.

A careful collation of meteorological records for (riven lo-
calities, and the explosions from fire-damp in coal mines in
Europe, has shown that there is a very close relationship be-
tween the two, and that alterations in the meteorological
condition are proximately the cause of most colliery acci-
dents. Out of 550 given explosions investigated, it is thought
that 226 may be attributed to the state of the barometer, and
123 to that of the thermometer, while the remaining 161 were
unaccounted for on meteorological grounds ; thus seventy
per cent, of the whole were directly related to meteorological
influences. It is suggested that special care should be ex-
ercised in mines after a fall of the barometer, although the

54 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

explosions in most cases do not occur until several days after
the depression has reached its minimum. The greatest num-
ber of accidents are said to occur when a serious storm fol-
lows a long period of fair weather. Elevation of tempera-
ture, of course, greatly interferes with the natural ventilation
of a colliery ; and hence, if a warm day occur in a cold season
when natural ventilation is relied upon, it is very likely to
be followed by an explosion. For a like reason, the first hot
days of spring are quite often marked by colliery accidents.
16^4, July, 1872, 385.

CYCLONES IN THE PACIFIC.

Mr. Whitmer, in referring to a paper by Mr. Murphy in
Nature on the scarcity of cyclones in the Pacific, remarks
that there is rarely a year without at least one cyclone pass-
ing through, or in the neighborhood of, one of the Feejee,
Samoan, or Hervey group of islands. He states that the cy-
clone season extends over the greater part of the period dur-
ing which the sun is south of the equator ; consequently,
when the trade-winds from the north reach farthest south,
they are most prevalent about the middle, or a little later
than the middle, of the season, rarely earlier than December
or January. They are usually preceded for a few days by
strong northerly winds ; and if during such winds a sudden
fall of the barometer occur, this is considered a sure indica-
tion of an approaching cyclone. 12 A, June 13, 1872, 121.

CHANGE OP TEMPERATURE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

Mr. Howorth has been engaged for some time on a series
of papers discussing the changes that have taken place to
the present time in regard to the distribution of land and
water, and the consequent effect upon the climate. He finds
that the result has been a great increase in the amount of
cold in the far north, rendering regions such as those of East
Greenland, once capable of supporting a considerable popu-
lation, now entirely uninhabitable, and literally covered the
year round with snow and ice. He says, however, that while
the evidence is overpowering that the climate has been grow-
ing more severe in the highest latitudes, there is a great deal
of evidence to show the cold has decreased elsewhere, and
that, especially in view of the accounts given of the climate

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 55

of Gaul and Germany in the Roman times, we can not but
admit that there has been a great improvement since that
date. Thus we are told of winters when the Danube and
Rhine were frequently frozen over, and of the occurence of
the reindeer and moose in localities far south of their present
habitat. Ovid laments over the fearful severity of his place
of exile on the coast of Thrace, and refers to the occurrence
of white foxes there, and contemporaneous references corrob-
orate his statements.

Mr. Howorth inquires whether, even within the prehistoric
period, the circumpolar climate may not have been very tem-
perate, when that of more southern latitudes was very se-
vere. We know, in fact, that during the miocene period
Greenland once possessed a climate not dissimilar to that of
the Eastern United States, as shown in the occurrence of
numerous species of trees of large size, some of them, like
our cypress, etc., absolutely identical with our forest vegeta-
tion of the present day. Mr. Howorth also refers to the gen-
eral impression among whalers that excessively severe win-
ters in the more temperate latitudes are accompanied by an
unusual degree of mildness in the more northern latitudes.

This we accept as an augury in favor of Captain Hall's ex-
ploration, since the winter of 1871-72 was one of the sever-
est on record of late years ; and should Mr. Howorth's sug-
gestion be correct, the captain should have enjoyed an un-
usual freedom from snow and ice, permitting him to prosecute
his researches to great advantage. 12 A, June 13, 1872, 121.

PALMIERl's LAW RESPECTING ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY.

Mr. George Forbes, in an article in Nature upon Professor
Palmieri's observatory on Mount Vesuvius, to which con-
stant reference has been made in the accounts of the recent
eruption of that mountain, mentions a law in regard to at-
mospheric electricity that Professor Palmieri has reached, as
the result of his observations for a quarter of a century in a
country where meteorological changes are very regular and
less capricious than in Great Britain. He enunciates this as
follows: If within a distance of about fifty miles there is no
shower of rain, hail, or snow, the electricity is always posi-
tive. The single exception is during the projection of ashes
from the crater of Vesuvius.

56 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

During a shower he finds the following law to hold good
universally: At the place of the shower there is a strong de-
velopment of positive electricity ; round this there is a zone
of negative, and beyond this again, positive. The nature of
the electricity observed depends upon the position of the ob-
server with respect to the shower, and the phenomenon will
change according to the direction in which the shower is
moving. Sometimes negative electricity may be observed
during a shower, but this is always due to a more powerful
shower farther off. These conclusions have been supported
by means of telegraphic communication with neighboring
districts. It appears, then, that, except when the moisture
of the air is being condensed, there is no unusual develop-
ment of electricity. 12 A, June 20, 1872, 147.

VOLCANIC SAND IN CHILE.

The Hevista del JSur, of Chile, states that showers of sand
occurred on the 3d of July, in Araucania, of sufficient extent
to cover up all the planted fields of the Indians, and oblige
them to take refuge on the north side of the mountain. This
rain, supposed to have come from an eruption of Mount Llai-
ma, distressed the Indians so much as to drive them into the
neighborhood of the white settlements. Panama Star and
Herald, September 23, 1872, 2.

STEEL SOUNDING-LINES.

Sir William Thomson, in a communication read before the
British Association, recommends the use of steel wire in
deep-sea soundings. The great difficulty in such operations
consists in the resistance of the water to the line, which is
usually overcome in very deep soundings by employing ex-
tremely heavy weights. Beyond a depth of 300 fathoms the
ordinary lead ceases to be available, and until very recently
the difficulty of bringing up a long line and heavy weight
from a considerable depth was so great that it had become
the practice to leave the weight behind, simply bringing up
a sample of the bottom. Farthermore, when there is great
resistance to the line, the currents sometimes carry it away
to a considerable distance, so that it is difficult to know when
the bottom is actually reached. In view of these facts he
has lately been experimenting in mid-ocean, at a depth of

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 57

2V00 fathoms, with a line consisting of a steel wire of No. 22
gauge. This was 0.03 of an inch in diameter, weighed twelve
pounds per statute mile, and broke with a weight of 252
pounds. To the end of the wire was attached a piece of
hemp cord, which carried the weight, so that the wire did
not touch the bottom at all. The wire was wrapped around
a wheel. The danger of breakage was considered very slight,
especially if by coating the wire with some non-oxidizable
material its rusting be prevented. 18 A, Aug. 30, 1872, 606.

DEEP-SEA TEMPERATURES.

According to Dr. Carpenter, if we go deep enough in the
open sea we shall always find the temperature as low as 32 ;
but in inclosed seas, such as the Mediterranean, the deeper
and colder water, circulating from the poles, can not enter ;
therefore the lowest bottom temperature is determined by
the lowest winter temperature of the surface. Scarcity of
life in the Mediterranean he considers to be owing to a de-
ficiency of oxygen in the water, due to its combining with a
large quantity of organic matter brought down by the riv-
ers and emptying into it. Thus, while in the Atlantic we
usually find 20 per cent, of oxygen and 40 per cent, of car-
bonic acid, in the bottom waters of the Mediterranean there
is often only 5 per cent, of oxygen and over 65 per cent, of
carbonic acid. He considers the Red Sea and its neighbor-
hood the hottest region on the earth, the temperature of the
surface water rising to 85 or 90, and the bottom tempera-
ture being about 71, corresponding to the greatest winter
cold. Outside of this sea, however, in the Arabian Gulf, the
bottom temperature is 33. Dr. Carpenter thinks that, as
the lowest bottom temperature of the Red Sea is as high as
71, living corals should occur there at greater depths than
any where else in the w r orld. 15 A, August 24, 1872, 240.

CURRENTS OF THE BLACK SEA.

Some time ago Dr. William B. Carpenter, on theoretical
grounds, concluded that a strong surface current runs out-
ward from the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, the Sea
of Marmora, and the Dardanelles into the iEgean, this cur-
rent being obviously the result of the elevation of the level
of the Black Sea by the enormous volume of fresh water dis-

C2

58 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

charged into its basin by the Danube, the Dnieper, the Don,
and other rivers. This inflow, being greatly in excess of the
evaporation from the surface of the Black Sea, keeps down
the salinity of its water to an average of about two fifths
that of ordinary sea-water.

It is, therefore, evident that, as the outer current is con-
tinually carrying away a portion of its salt, the basin would
in time become entirely filled with fresh water but for some
return of salt water from the iEgean, and he maintained that
this is supplied most probably by an under-current flowing
inward. The truth of this prediction on the part of Dr. Car-
penter was contested by Captain Spratt, on the ground of
experiments made by him during the survey of these straits,
this officer maintaining that, on the contrary, the water of the
Dardanelles below twenty fathoms is motionless, and that the
salt water finds its way back into the Euxine as a surface
current when the rivers are low and the wind sets alone: the
straits from the -^Egean.

Quite recently 9 the controversy has been decisively settled
by experiments conducted by the surveying staff of the Shear-
water with a large current drag. This was suspended in the
deeper stratum of the Dardanelles from a boat, which was
carried along by it in opposition to the surface current, which
is said to have been even stronger than the steam-power of
the launch of the Shearwater. This under-current was found
to be flowing at twenty fathoms from the surface, precisely
the depth assigned to it by Dr. Carpenter, as deduced from
the discussion of Captain Spratt's own experiments. \5 A,
October 26, 1872, 534.

CARBONIC ACID IN SEA-WATER.

Oscar Jacobsen, of Kiel, has made a communication to
Nature in reference to the carbonic acid in sea-water, the de-
termination of the amount of this gas being considered a
matter of much importance in deep-sea researches. He states
that the complete expulsion of oxygen and nitrogen from sea-
water presents no difficulty, the comparative proportion of
the two gases not being 'sensibly different in the first and
last portions of the gas expelled. Carbonic acid is only par-
tially driven off by boiling the sea-water for hours in a va-
cuum, and the proportion of acid found in the expelled gas

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 59

justifies no conclusion as to the amount in the water. The
portions of the sea-water gas first displaced are almost en-
tirely free from carbonic acid, the later being richer.

The complete expulsion of carbonic acid from sea-water is
attained by its distillation in a current of air free from car-
bonic acid ; but even under this operation it is detached so
slowly that only after the evaporation of a considerable
amount of water does the carbonate of lime begin to sepa-
rate. The distillation must be continued until only one
fourth of the original quantity of water remains. The fact,
therefore, that carbonic acid is present in sea-water, not as
a dissolved gas in the same sense as oxygen and hydrogen,
but in a peculiar condition of combination, Mr. Jacobsen con-
siders of great importance, not only as respects animal and
vegetable life, but also in reference to the geological rela-
tions of the sea. He is now prosecuting an inquiry as to
which of the constituents of sea-water is due its power of
close combination with carbonic acid, and what is the pro-
portion of this acid to the salt. 12 A, August 8, 1872, 279.

CARBONIC ACID OP SEA-WATER.

Mr. Lant Carpenter, who has been investigating the amount
of gaseous constituents in samples of deep sea-water obtained
during the Porcupine expedition of 1869-70, remarks that
the analyses show that both surface and bottom water con-
tain more carbonic acid and less oxygen in the more southern
than in the more northern latitudes. The examinations made
embraced samples taken from localities extending from the
Faroe Islands to Lisbon. Contrary to the general supposi-
tion, however, he reports that there is no greater quantity of
dissolved gaseous constituents in the bottom than in the sur-
face water, although he fully admits the power of pressure
at great depths to retain gases in solution if once evolved
there. 1 A, August 23, 1872, 88.

DISCUSSION OF DEEP-SEA TEMPERATURES.

Professor Mohn, of Christiania, discussing in Petermann's
Mittheilungen the results of the deep-sea temperature obser-
vations in the waters between Greenland, North Europe, and
Spitsbergen, remarks that the deep basin of the polar sea is
filled from bottom to top with an enormous mass of cold

60 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

water, which on the southeast is encompassed by the warm
waters of the Gulf Stream, and penetrates below its current
to the coast of Europe. The principal discharge of the polar
ocean takes place into the lower strata of the Atlantic,
through the deep channel between Greenland and Iceland ;
while the shallow sea between Iceland and the Faroes hinders
any further outflow, which is only permitted through the nar-
row lower portion of the Faroe-Shetland channel. The banks
around the British Islands (the shallow North Sea and the
Norwegian banks) prevent any other outflow southward ;
and those between the Bear Islands and Norway answer tho
same purpose to the east. On the other hand, an immense
mass of warm water extends from the deep abyss of the At-
lantic northward over the shallow sea between Iceland and
the Faroe Islands, as also above the Faroe-Shetland channel.
Thence some part of the current passes the Norwegian coast
and continues in two different arms, the narrower but deeper
reaching to the north coast of Spitzbergen, while the second
and broader arm expands over the entire sea of Nova Zembla.

The left bank and bottom of the Gulf Stream are formed
by the ice-cold water of the Arctic Ocean ; the right side,
however, consists of the bottom of the North Sea and the
banks connected with it, as also of the Norwegian coast to
the Russian boundary. The Gulf Stream is warmest on the
surface layer quite close to the coast of Norway (in the sum-
mer, of course), and from this point the strata exhibit a sen-
sibly decreasing temperature with the increasing depth, until
we reach the stratum of the freezing-point.

Deep-sea observations in several of the Norwegian fiords,
which are protected by their outlying banks from the great
Atlantic depths, show that their water comes from the Gulf
Stream, and they appear to be filled with this water to the
very bottom, even when this lies lower than the ice-cold bed
of the Gulf Stream off the coast. Thus the West Fiord, at a
depth of from 100 to 320 fathoms, showed a uniform temper-
ature of 44.6 Fahr. in the summer of 1868, while outside of
the Loffbdens the observations of the Noma in July, 1871,
at 35 fathoms, revealed a temperature of 44.6 Fahr., and at
215 fathoms of 39.2. To the southwest of Lindesnes and Li-
ster, in June to August, 1871, at 150 to 250 fathoms, the tem-
perature registered 42.8 to 44.6, while in the Faroe-Shetland

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 61

channel, at the same depth, the temperature decreased from
42.8 to 38.8.

Attention is called by the author to the temperature indi-
cations of the Porcupine expedition in July, 1869, where, in
the deep depression of the Atlantic Ocean, outside the chan-
nel, while the temperature at the surface was 62.6 Fahr., at
2435 fathoms it was 36.5, a decrease occurring abrubtly be-
low the first 50 fathoms, through the loss of the influence of
the sun's rays, and then, again, at TOO fathoms, the difference
between 900 fathoms and the sea-bottom amounting only to
2.7.

Southwest of Iceland, to the west of the Rockali Gulf, at a
depth of 300 fathoms, where the sea-bottom branches off from
the greatest depression of the Atlantic, a uniform tempera-
ture of 44.6 was noted, while at the same depth on the east
side of the Rockali the temperature was 48.2.

In the Faroe-Shetland channel, and to the northeast of Ice-
land, at a depth of 200 to 300 fathoms, water was met with
of 32 Fahr., while in the neighboring portion of the Atlantic
Ocean the temperature at the same depth was above 46.4.

The general variation of the surface temperature amounts
to 9 Fahr. or even more, but becomes less as we descend,
the decline, however, not being every where in the same ra-
tio. Deep-sea strata reach their maxima and minima a little
later than the surface layer. 17 C, October 1872, 315.

DO GREAT FIRES PRODUCE RAINS?

Professor Lapham, in the Journal of the Franklin Institute,
discusses the question whether the great fires in the North-
west, during the months of September, October, and Novem-
ber of 1871, especially that which destroyed the greater part
of Chicago, had any decided effect upon the weather, either
by creating or moving currents of air, or by causing the fall
of rain. After a careful consideration of the facts connected
with these fires, and the accompanying meteorological con-
ditions, as shown by reliable records, he sees no reason to
conclude that any of the rains that fell about the same time
were due to the cause in question.

Referring, however, to Mr. Espy's hypothesis of the produc-
tion of rain by artificial fires, he calls attention to the fact
that Espy only claimed that fires would produce rain under

62 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

favorable circumstances of a high dew-point and a calm at-
mosphere, both of which conditions were entirely wanting in
Chicago at the time of the fire, the air being almost destitute
of moisture, and the wind blowing a gale. To produce rain
the air must ascend until it becomes cool enough to condense
the moisture, which then falls in the form of rain. In the
case of Chicago the air could not ascend very far, being driven
off in nearly a horizontal direction by the great force of the
wind. He presumes, therefore, that this instance neither con-
firms nor disproves the Espian theory, and that we may still
believe the well-authenticated accounts of instances where
rain has been produced by a large fire under favorable cir-
cumstances of very moist air and absence of wind. Jour.
Frankl. Inst., July, 1872, 46.

USE OF STEEL WIRE FOR SOUNDINGS.

An important communication was made by Sir William
Thomson to the British Association in regard to the substi-
tution of steel wire for the ordinary sounding-lead in deter-
mining ocean depths. Usually, if the depths to be measured
exceed two or three hundred fathoms, the ordinary sounding-
lead becomes insufficient, and a much greater weight must be
employed. As a general rule, for each thousand fathoms in
depth it is necessary to attach one hundred-weight for the
purpose in question ; and consequently, for soundings of two
or three thousand fathoms, the weight required becomes enor-
mous. The difficulty in raising such a weight has led to the
adoption of an arrangement, by which, on touching the bottom,
the descending weight is detached and the line drawn up,
leaving the weight at the bottom, and, of course, entirely
lost. This necessarily involves great expense, and the carry-
ing of so many weights adds seriously to the loading of the
vessel.

The size of the cord (usually made of the best Italian hemp)
adopted in the British Admiralty is three quarters of an inch
in circumference, with a tenacity of half a ton. Steam-power
is generally used for bringing back the cord; about thirty-five
minutes being required to reach a depth of 2000 fathoms, and
forty-five minutes for winding it up. The cord is allowed
to run freely off a reel, and the time noted when it ceases to
be paid out regularly. The proposition of Sir William

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 63

Thomson, to substitute steel wire for the cord, was at first
quite unsatisfactory; but certain minor difficulties having
been obviated, the application of the new material proves to
be perfectly practicable. The wire is coiled around a wheel
one fathom in circumference, constructed of tin, and carrying
three miles of wire, No. 22 steel piano wire being found to be
the best, as this has twice the sustaining power of ordinary
iron wire. The difficulty of getting it of sufficient length was
overcome by Richard Johnston, of Manchester, who was able
to supply a homogeneous wire of three miles in length,
weighing but thirteen and a half pounds to the mile. This
is 0.03 of an inch in diameter, and bears a weight of 252
pounds, so that it will sustain twenty-one miles of its own
weight in the water.

When the apparatus is arranged for use, a sounding-lead
of thirty pounds, with a brass tube in it for taking up a
specimen of the sea-bottom, is connected by means of thirty
fathoms of sounding-line to the end of the steel wire in ques-
tion, and at the point of union of the latter a lead weight of
three pounds is attached. This weight being directly at the
end of the steel wire, keeps it sufficiently stretched to pre-
vent any danger of kinking. An adjustable friction brake is
applied to the wheel, set to a pressure of about twenty
pounds, so that whenever the thirty-pound weight touches
the bottom the uncoiling of the wheel immediately ceases.
The wire, then, does not touch the bottom, and is kept taut
by its special lead.

With the increasing depth the pressure of the brake is in-
creased proportionally, as it has been ascertained that for
each eighty fathoms of wire an addition of a pound of force
to the brake apparatus is required; and as each circumfer-
ence of the wheel represents a fathom for each eighty revolu-
tions, it is easy to calculate the force to be applied for a given
number of revolutions. In all cases it is necessary that the
wheel run out freely when held in the hand.

Sir William Thomson made experiments in the Bay of
Biscay during the past summer, and found the apparatus to
be perfectly satisfactory. Once, w r hile expecting a depth of
1500 fathoms, the wire ran out 2500 fathoms without reach-
ing bottom. Continuing to pay out the line, with a brake
pressure of thirty-five pounds, greater and greater velocity

64 ANNUAL KECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

was exhibited, until forty-five pounds were required to keep
the equilibrium. Suddenly the revolutions ceased, and the
lead was found to have reached bottom at the extraordinary
depth of 2700 fathoms, or about 100 fathoms greater than the
deepest hitherto indicated upon the charts.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BED SEA.

The Hydrographic Office has lately published a pamphlet
on the physical geography of the Red Sea, translated from
the German of Captain W. Kropp, of the Imperial Austrian
navy. The article contains an account of the formation of
the coast, the winds, the clouds, the amount of atmospheric
precipitation, the temperature and pressure, the saltness and
temperature of the sea, the currents, tides, depths, etc. The
tables of temperature given well bear out the reputation of
the Red Sea in regard to excessive heat, the maximum tem-
perature ranging from 80 in November to nearly 105 in
July ; and the minimum in November and December being
about 58. This temperature in itself, although indicating
one of the hottest regions on the globe, would not be unbear-
able were it not for the enormous amount of moisture in the
atmosphere, which makes it a perpetual hot bath.

The Red Sea is an exception to the general rule that deep
water approaches close to high and rocky shores, while a low
and flat shore indicates shallow water. Although the sea is
surrounded almost entirely by a flat sandy coast, the depth
of the water up to the land is very considerable. The de-
scent is gradual in a few localities, the bottom of the sea
forming plateaus, with sudden and steep descents from one
to the other in some cases.

CHANGE OF LEVEL IX THE NORTHERN SEAS.

According to Notice, No. 89, just published by the Hydro-
graphic Oflice at Washington, the principal results of the ex-
plorations in the Northern seas about Nova Zembla during
the past year prove that the waters are completely free from
ice for five months in the year, during which period they are
navigable alone: the northwest coast of the island as late as
September, while the sea east of it was not only free from ice,
but had a temperature of about 48 Fahr. in the month of
September. The position and contour of Nova Zembla on

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 65

the map has been considerably changed, as it has been shown
to reach north to latitude 77, and east to longitude 69, and
Cape Nassau lies twenty-two miles farther southwest than
the position given to it hitherto.

A very interesting discovery is that of the Gulf Stream
islands, in the exact place where the examinations of the
Dutch expeditions in 1594 to 1597 located a sand-bank with
eighteen fathoms of water over it, the depth of water between
it and the coast being fifty to sixty fathoms. This would in-
dicate that the sea-bottom in that region has risen more than
110 feet in three hundred years, a very remarkable fact. Ac-
cording to Mack, these islands are six miles from the coast,
the north point being in latitude 76 22', longitude 63 38'.
They consist of sand and rock, being bare, with no trace of
vegetation. Petrified shells are found on the firmer parts of
the surface. Notice, No. 89, Hydrographic Office.

DISCUSSION OF DEEP-SEA TEMPERATURES.

Professor Mohn, of Christiania, discussing in Petermann's
Mittheilungen the results of the deep-sea temperature obser-
vations in the waters between Greenland, North Europe, and
Spitzbergen, remarks that the deep basin of the polar sea is
filled from bottom to top with an enormous mass of cold
water, which on the southeast is encompassed by the warm
w T aters of the Gulf Stream, and penetrates below its current
to the coast of Europe. The principal discharge of the polar
ocean takes place into the lower strata of the Atlantic, through
the deep channel between Greenland and Iceland ; while the
shallow seas between Iceland and the Faroes hinders any
further outflow, which is only permitted through the narrow
lower portion of the Faroe-Shetland channel. The banks
around the British Islands (the shallow North Sea and the
Norwegian banks) prevent any other outflow southward;
and those between the Bear Islands and Norway answer the
same purpose to the east. On the other hand, an immense
mass of warm water extends from the deep abyss of the At-
lantic northward over the shallow sea between Iceland and
the Faroe Islands, as also above the Faroe-Shetland, chan-
nel. Thence some part of the current passes the Norwegian
coast and continues in two different arms, the narrower but
deeper reaching to the north coast of Spitzbergen, while the

66 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

second and broader arm expands over the entire sea of Nova
Zerabla.

The left bank and bottom of the Gulf Stream are formed
by the ice-cold water of the Arctic Ocean ; the right side,
however, consists of the bottom of the North Sea and the
banks connected with it, as also of the Norwegian coast to
the Russian boundary. The Gulf Stream is warmest on the
surface layer quite close to the coast of Norway (in the
summer, of course), and from this point the strata exhibit a
sensibly-decreasing temperature with the increasing depth,
until we reach the stratum of the freezing-point.

Deep-sea observations in several of the Norwegian fiords,
which are protected by their out-lying banks from the great
Atlantic depths, show that their water comes from the Gulf
Stream, and they appear to be filled with this water to the
very bottom, even when this lies lower than the ice-cold bed
of the Gulf Stream off the coast. Thus the West Fiord, at
a depth of from 100 to 320 fathoms, showed a uniform tem-
perature of 44.6 Fahr. in the summer of 1868, while outside
of the Loffodens the observations of the JVbrna in July, 1871,
at 35 fathoms, revealed a temperature of 44.6 Fahr., and at
215 fathoms of 39.2. To the southwest of Lindesnses and
Lister, in June to August, 1871, at 150 to 250 fathoms, the
temperature registered 42.8 to 44.6, while in the Faroe-
Shetland channel, at the same depth, the temperature de-
creased from 42.8 to 33.8.

Attention is 'called by the author to the temperature indi-
cations of the Porcupine expedition in July, 1869, where, in
the deep depression of the Atlantic Ocean, outside the chan-
nel, while the temperature at the surface was 62.6 Fahr., at
2435 fathoms it was 36.5, a decrease occurring abruptly be-
low the first 50 fathoms, through the loss of the influence of
the sun's rays, and then, again, at 700 fathoms, the difference
between 900 fathoms and the sea-bottom amounting only
to 2.7.

Southwest of Iceland, to the west of the Rockall Gulf, at
a depth of 300 fathoms, where the sea-bottom branches off
from the greatest depression of the Atlantic, a uniform tem-
perature of 44.6 was noted, while at the same depth on the
east side of the Rockall the temperature was 48.2.

In the Faroe-Shetland channel, and to the northeast of

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 67

Iceland, at a depth of 200 to 300 fathoms, water was met
with of 32 Fahr., while in the neighboring portion of the
Atlantic Ocean the temperature at the same depth was
above 46.4.

The general variation of the surface temperature amounts
to 9 Fahr., or even more, but becomes less as we descend,
the decline, however, not being every where in the same ra-
tio. Deep-sea strata reach their maxima and minima a little
later than the surface layer. 17 C, October 1872, 315.

UNVARYING COURSE OF CIRRUS CLOUDS.

It seems to be generally admitted that there are two cold
poles (points of minimum temperature) in the northern hem-
isphere, one in Asia, and the other in North America, and
that from these the trade-winds radiate, regulating, as they
veer to one side or the other, the changes of the weather.
To complete the statement, attention is called to the fact
that it is extremely probable that the high cirrus clouds are
unaffected by the variation in course, between northwest
and southeast, which the trade-winds experience on the east-
ern borders of the two great continents, but preserve the
normal direction imparted to them by the rotation of the
earth namely, that of the anti-trades and, at a great ele-
vation, continue undisturbed from west or west-southwest
to east-northeast. Observations are not complete enough
to establish the latter proposition, but numerous concordant
statements render it so probable that it seems worthy of
the attention of local and other observers.

In North America, where the axis around which the wind
veers lies decidedly between northwest and southeast, as in
Eastern Asia, the fact seems better substantiated than in
Europe (can, indeed, be considered as fixed), and the infer-
ence is justifiable that the condition on the eastern coast of
Asia is similar. Russell verifies by his own observations in
Canada, in Washington, in the Southern States, and Cuba,
the statement of Espy, that in the United States there is an
unvarying upper current of air from the west. Blodgett as-
serts that at Philadelphia, at all seasons, a western current
can, not unfrequently, be detected by cirrus clouds. In
Northern Asia, even on the east coast, no exact information
on this point has been supplied, on account of the neglect to

68 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

notice particularly cirrus clouds. In interior Asia, a few
definite observations can be given, and on the east coast of
Siberia a few at least not contradictory ones, inasmuch as
the existence of cirrus clouds has been noted with varying
inferior winds, but without giving their direction. If it
should be demonstrated, then, which the writer does not
doubt, that the high cirrus clouds, the greatest elevation of
which can be placed at 40,000 feet, on the east side of the
two cold poles do not take part in the variation of the anti-
trades from a west-southwest to southeast direction, but
that these elevated masses of ice crystals and flakes continue
unaffected in the normal direction imparted by the earth's
rotation, the fact will be of the highest importance in giving
a more correct exhibition of the total movement of the at-
mosphere, and lead to the conclusion that the whole depth
of the atmosphere does not find the initial and final point of
its motion in the region of the greatest cold, but that a very
considerable and more elevated portion moves above this,
having this point at the geographical pole of the earth.
There would be in this a new proof that the whole atmos-
phere takes part in the circulation between the equator and
the poles, and that the cause of the movement is not simply
the difference of temperatures, but much more the centrif-
ugal force of the earth's rotation, in consequence of which
there exists at the points of maximum velocity, during the
night as well as the day, a continuous upward current, of
aspiration, of the trade or polar current drawn to this re-
gion, and that this air, with the moisture contained, must
again descend. This may only take place in the polar lati-
tudes, toward which it moves, and which it finally reaches
in its normal west-southwest direction, also by force of as-
piration, as compensation for the air drawn from those re-
gions. 3 (7, September 30, 1872, 949.

METEOROLOGY OF THE FUTURE.

Mr. Lockyer contributes a very interesting article to Na-
ture, under the title of the The Meteorology of the Future, in "
which he inquires into the possibility of anticipating the cli-
matological conditions of the country for years before any
given period. He remarks that the most feasible solution of
the problem, ascertained from meteorological phenomena, is

B. TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY. 69

whether there is a general movement in regular cycles ; and,
from the observations of Mr. Meldrum and others, he is in-
clined to believe that there is such a cycle, and that it corre-
sponds very closely to the eleven-year sun-spot period. The
connection between these sun-spot periods and the most fa-
vorable vine-growing seasons has already been pointed out
by various writers ; and it is not improbable that by contin-
uing the inquiry, as suggested by Mr. Lockyer, important re-
sults will be obtained that may place the science of meteor-
ology on an entirely new basis.

In a communication to a later number of Nature, referring
to the article in question, Mr. G. J. Symons, a very eminent
authority, corroborates the suggestions of Mr. Lockyer by
pointing out a very remarkable connection between the max-
imum sun-spot years and heavy rain-fall, as also between the
minimum sun-spot years and a small amount of rain-fall.
The results which Mr. Symons give extend in one instance
over a period of one hundred and forty years, and are very
striking, pointing to something more than a mere coinci-
dence. 12 A, December 26, 143.

THE GREAT BAROMETRIC WAVE.

Considerable interest has been excited by the announce-
ment that a great scientific discovery has been made b}' the
meteorologist of the weather bureau of the Army Signal-of-
fice. The paragraphs that are going the rounds of the daily
press are so evidently exaggerated that it may be well to
record what we suppose to be the exact nature of the so-
called discovery.

It will be remembered that in successive reports of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science, Mr.
Birt, of England, in the years 1844-50, developed the fact
that about the middle of November the barometer reads
quite high at the stations in Britain and on the neighboring
coasts, and he maintained also that this "November wave,"
as he called it, is a feature of importance in the meteorology
of that portion of the world. The word " wave" should not
mislead the reader, for there is no evidence of the existence
of waves of air like those of water, the term being used for
convenience.

But during the past ten years the weather map of the

^0 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Bulletin International, issued daily at Paris, has, by extend-
ing the area of our observation, shown that these " waves"
are simply circular or elliptical areas of high barometric
pressure, around which the winds circulate in accordance
with well-known laws. The great extent of our own coun-
try has of course given the signal-office superior advantages
for studying the motions of these areas and the weather ac-
companying them. On a recent occasion a very extensive
one moved over the country from Kansas to the Blue Ridge,
and, being attended by very cold winds, was quite generally
remarked upon, although differing in extent only from those
that have been chronicled by the signal-office almost daily
during the past two years. This " high area" (for so they
are succinctly denominated in the daily weather reports)
was accompanied, as usual, by " low areas," or " storm cen-
tres," which simultaneously passed rapidly eastward over
the northern portions of the country, and the idea has been
entertained by some that possibly the presence of the for-
mer may help to the earlier prediction of the latter. This
hope has not yet been realized, nor does there seem any rea-
sonable probability that we shall live to see the day when
weather predictions will be ventured upon by careful mete-
orologists for longer periods in advance than have already
been attempted by the compilers of the Signal-office " Prob-
abilities."

The true result arrived at by the two years' experience of
the signal-office seems to be the renewed confirmation of the
experience of European meteorologists as to the perfect fea-
sibility of predicting approaching storms, clear weather,
winds, etc., in early enough season to be of the greatest ben-
efit to all classes of industry. As regards the discovery of
new laws, scientists are well aware that these must be of the
nature of generalizations or inductions founded upon at least
several years' experience.

C. GENERAL PHYSICS. ?l

C. GENERAL PHYSICS.

ADJUSTMENT OF SHIPS* COMPASSES.

Professor E. Dubois, of the naval school at Brest, has spent
much time in studying the best means of obviating the dan-
gers which arise to ships in consequence of the deviations of
their compasses. With this view he has constructed a gyro-
scopic compass, revolving 8000 times per minute, mounted
upon Cardan's triple suspension, and carrying a needle sup-
ported above a graduated circle. In accordance with a well-
known property of the gyroscope, this circle maintains an in-
variable position, and indicates the precise number of degrees
through which the vessel may be turned to starboard or port,
thus furnishing the means of determining the true direction
of her head at any time after it has once been obtained from
observations on a headland. This instrument may therefore
be used to determine all the deviations on the compass on
board ship. Some experiments made with it on the corvette
Bougainville in the roadstead of Brest are said to have been
extremely satisfactory. 3 j5, i., 1872, 3.

ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR DEEP-SEA TEMPERATURES.

Professor Davidson, of the Coast Survey, has lately devised
an apparatus for recording the temperature at different
depths by means of an electro-thermal pile. He proposes to
register the depth by breaking the circuit of an electric cur-
rent passing through two insulated wires in the sounding-line
at about every one hundred fathoms by means of the wheel-
work of the Massey or similar apparatus. In the changes of
temperature, an electro-thermal pile eighteen inches long, in-
sulated, and surrounded by a non-conductor except at one
end, is used in combination with a Thompson's reflecting gal-
vanometer, not liable to derangement on shipboard. At ev-
ery one hundred fathoms, when the chromograph registers
the depth, the observer notices the readings of the galvanom-
eter, which readings are reduced to Fahrenheit degrees.
San Francisco Bulletin.

72 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICITY BY FRICTION.

It has been observed that the friction of certain granulated
metals on the walls of a glass vessel containing bisulphide
of carbon excites electricity. Silver, iron, aluminium, etc.,
produce the phenomenon, while platinum, copper, and zinc
seem to be inactive. The mode of conducting the experi-
ment is as follows: About half an ounce of granulated silver
is put into a retort of thick white glass, containing an ounce
of pure bisulphide of carbon ; the vessel is then tightly closed
and shaken for some time in the dark. Sparks soon become
visible in the liquid, and after a while the entire mass becomes
luminous. If water is poured upon the outside of the vessel
the light immediately disappears, but it is again excited by
shaking. The electricity in the glass is positive. Silver
furnishes the best experiment. 19 (7, xiv.

CAUSE OF THE VARIATION OF THE MAGNETIC POLE.

The precise cause of the variation of the magnetic pole of
the earth has not been well established ; but in the view of
Dr. Menzzer this is owing to the continued variation of the
level of the earth's surface mainly in the polar regions. He
goes through a very elaborate mathematical investigation of
the relation between the land areas of the north and the
magnetic currents, and endeavors to show that with unchang-
ing outlines this pole will be constant, but that with any
variation it will necessarily be altered in its position. In the
fact that the level of the land is continually altering, not only
in the north, but elsewhere on the surface of the globe, very
few portions being entirely free from change, he finds the ex-
planation of the deflection of the needle first on one side and
then on the other, these changes being not all in one direc-
tion, the elevation of the land in one place to some extent
balancing its depression in another. 7 C,Feb., 1872, 127.

NEW THEORY OF TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM.

Professor Zollner proposes a new theory in regard to the
origin of terrestrial magnetism. He adopts the idea of drift
currents upon the liquid surface of the sun, by means of which
he tries to explain the movement of the sun spots. These
drift currents originate, according to his conception, from the

C. GENERAL PHYSICS. 73

current of heat continually ascending from the interior, and
from the rotation of the sun. Such currents, Professor Zoll-
ner maintains, exist in all rotating cosmical bodies, even after
the surface, cooled by radiation, has become rigid to a certain
extent. This is the case with the earth, and the continuous
regular currents of the interior liquid mass produce different
effects upon the outer shell, mechanical, thermal, and also
magnetical, the latter as a necessary consequence of the elec-
tricity originated by the currents. The professor further
maintains that by this hypothesis the general phenomena of
terrestrial magnetism may be satisfactorily explained, and
that they are related to the currents of the inner liquid mass,
and whatever affects these currents, as, for instance, volca-
noes, reacts immediately upon the magnetism of the earth.
Whenever a cosmical body becomes entirely solid, no in-
duced magnetism can exist, etc. 19 C, xvi., 123.

CONCURRENT MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS.

Mr. Diamilla-Miiller, of Milan, invites the concurrence of
physicists in making a series of simultaneous observations in
terrestrial magnetism on the 15th of October, 1872. He re-
marks that the simultaneous observations of the 20th of Au-
gust, 1870, have furnished a long and rich series of data in
reference to the diurnal variation of the needle, taken as a
whole, and over the entire surface of the earth. Among the
most important results of this series is that the secular varia-
tion of the horizontal needle, on the surface of the globe, in-
creases or diminishes in proportion to the value of the angle
formed by the needle with the astronomical meridian, this
variation being two minutes per annum near the line of zero,
or' in declination, and seven minutes where the declination is
equal to fourteen degrees, such proportion being exhibited
symmetrically on either side of the line of no declination.

The special object of the second series is to ascertain the
absolute mean daily declination, for the purpose of determin-
ing the secular variation of the isogonal lines in other words,
the increase or diminution of the declination. They will also
serve to assist in the construction of magnetic charts, as with
their aid it will be possible to resolve many pending ques-
tions relative to the real position of certain isogonal lines, and
to the proportional value of their secular displacement. The

D

74 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

o-eneral object, as finally summed up by Mr. Mtiller, is to de-
termine the absolute mean value of the magnetical declina-
tion on the 15th of October, 1872, upon the entire surface of
the globe, with instruments and according to the tests em-
ployed up to this time by the different observatories. The
magnetic stations which possess self-registering instruments
should take the mean variation of the twenty-four hours re-
duced to an absolute value. Those who do not possess such
instruments should determine directly the absolute magnetic
declination at eight o'clock in the morning, and two and six
in the afternoon. Directors of observatories are requested
to transmit the results of their observations to Mr. Midler at
Milan, with the assurance that they will be carefully collated,
and the comparative results published in a special report.
1 B.Nov. 5, 1871, 79.

ACTION OF THE MAGNET ON ELECTEIC LIGHT.

Professor Houston calls attention, in the journal of the
Franklin Institute, to the action of the magnet upon electric-
al light, first noticed by him in the course of an experiment
upon the rotation of light by the magnet. In this he ap-
proached a compound bar magnet to the light, holding it
with one end pointing directly to the arch, in a horizontal
plane, equidistant between the carbon electrodes. When the
nearest end of the magnet was four inches from the* elec-
trodes, the light was instantly extinguished.

The cause of this phenomenon, he thinks, is to be attributed
to the tendency of the flame to rotate on the approach of the
magnet. This might cause the extinguishing of the light in
two ways : either by the irregularities on the surface of the
carbon electrodes offering greater resistance to the passage
of the current from some points than from others, or by the
current being unable to pass through the greater distance of
the arched path which is always assumed by the light on the
approach of a magnet.

Another assumption, which is perhaps as probable as any,
is that on the approach of the magnet there is a slight in-
crease in the non-conducting power of the medium between
the electrodes, produced by their polarization, and which,
though always acting, can only manifest itself in a striking
manner when the distance between the electrodes is near a

C. GENERAL PHYSICS. 75

maximum, and the tension of the current is exerted to its ut-
most in passing through the non-conducting medium. This
assumption of the polarization of the medium between the
electrodes, and its consequently diminished power of conduct-
ing the current, seems to be somewhat sustained by the fact
that a powerful electro-magnet, in the form of a horseshoe,
when approached, did not extinguish the light, although it
produced rotation of the current ; for we may conceive that
the two poles, acting simultaneously on the medium, would
each neutralize the effect of the other. ID, May, 1872,299.

BOYDEN PREMIUM.

Uriah A. Boyden, of Boston, has deposited with the Frank-
lin Institute, of Philadelphia, the sum of one thousand dollars,
to be awarded as a premium to any resident of North Ameri-
ca who shall determine by experiment whether all rays of
light, and other physical rays, are or are not transmitted
with the same velocity. The conditions of the premium limit
the applicants to those living north of the southern boundary
of Mexico, and including the West India Islands. Applica-
tions must be made before the 1st of January, 1873, at which
time the judges, appointed by the Franklin Institute, shall
examine the memoirs and decide whether any one is entitled
to the premium. 1 D, January, 1872.

ACTION OF LIGHT IN ELIMINATING OXYGEN FROM PLANTS.

In the course of some experiments recently prosecuted by
Miiller on the action of light of different degrees of refrangi-
bility upon the elimination of oxygen from the green portions
of plants, it was ascertained that the curve of intensity for
the assimilating action of the different rays possesses several
maxima, and that the highest intensity of the secretion of
oxygen lies in the red of the spectrum, between the Fraun-
hofer lines B and C, or in that part of the spectrum the rays
of which are most completely absorbed by both living and
dead chlorophyl. 19 (7, January 20, 1872, 18.

YOUNG ON THE SPECTROSCOPE.

Number 109 of Nature contains an article, in detail, by
Professor Young, of Dartmouth College, upon the construc-
tion, arrangement, and best proportion of the spectroscope

76 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

with reference to its efficiency. These notes are reprinted
from advanced sheets of the journal of the Franklin Institute,
to which the article was originally communicated. 12 A,
November 30,1871,85.

NOMENCLATURE OF OBJECTIVES.

Dr. Woodward, of the Army Medical Museum, in speaking
of the nomenclature of achromatic objectives, and of the com-
pound microscope, takes exception to the method of estima-
ting their power by their real or supposed agreement, in the
amount of magnifying, with single lenses of specified focal
lengths. Thus, when we read of inch, half inch, and quarter
inch objectives, we are expected to understand combinations
agreeing in magnifying power with single convex lenses of
the focal length named. After a critical discussion of the
formula for expressing the relationship between the distances
of the object and the lenses to each other, and their magnify -
power, the doctor finds that in compound lenses, instead of
having one value for all distances, as with the single lens, we
may have as many different values for the principal focus as
there are distances used. After a full consideration of all the
circumstances, he concludes that the best interest of makers
and purchasers of instruments would be consulted if the pres-
ent nomenclature were abandoned altogether, and objectives
named instead by their precise magnifying power without
eye-pieces at some selected distance, this to be always ex-
plicitly stated. 4 Z>, June, 1872, 40G.

THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT.

An elaborate series of observations has recently been made
at the Royal Observatory,, Greenwich, to settle the disputed
question in optics whether the thickness of the object-glass
has any influence on the position of a star seen through it, in
consequence of a change in the aberration of the light. It is
well known that the refraction which a ray of light undergoes
on entering a medium depends on the angle of incidence, so
that if it strike the refracting surface perpendicularly, it will
suffer no refraction at all. It is also known that the stars ap-
pear displaced from their true position about twenty seconds
whenever the earth in its motion round the sun moves in a
direction nearly at right angles to that of the star. The true

C. GENERAL PHYSICS. 77

direction of the star is then twenty seconds from the apparent
direction. The disputed question amounts to this : in order
that a ray of light from a star may suffer no refraction on en-
tering a lens, must the surface of the latter be perpendicular
to the true or to the apparent direction of the star ? This
question Professor Airy has sought to answer by mounting
a zenith telescope, of which the entire tube between the eye-
piece and objective was filled with water, and observing the
zenith distance of the star y Draconis at different times of
the year.

The result was that the apparent position of the star fluc-
tuated exactly as if there had been no water in the telescope,
thus showing that the thickness of the object-glass was with-
out influence on the amount of the aberration. Applied to
the question we have suggested, this proves that to have no
refraction the surface must be perpendicular to the apparent
and not to the true direction of a star. The result is expected
to throw some light on the various questions of the ethereal
medium, and especially of its density in transparent bodies,
and of its motion with such bodies.

TIME AND DURATION OF VISUAL IMPRESSIONS.

In an article by M. Baxt, of St. Petersburg, on the time
requisite for a visual impression to arrive at the conscious-
ness, and upon the duration of the period of consciousness
caused by a visual impression of definite duration, he remarks
that, from the experiments of Helmholtz and Exner, it has
been shown that, if a number of ordinary letter-press letters
be exhibited to the eye on a white ground, sometimes one,
sometimes two or more of them, will be distinguished from
the row according to the duration of the impression and that
of the positive after image. He proceeded on the same prin-
ciple as Helmholtz, and with apparatus similar to that em-
ployed by him, which consisted of two disks, that could be
caused to revolve at known speed, but the posterior of which
rotated twelve times quicker than the anterior. As the re-
sult of a series of experiments by means of this apparatus, it
was shown, first, that the consciousness of a given excitation
is only realized or perfected by degrees ; second, that, under
particular circumstances of his experiments, a period of one
twentieth of a second must elapse between the occurrence of

78 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

a relatively simple excitation of six or seven letters suddenly
placed before and withdrawn from the eyes, and its reception
or formation in the consciousness. In other experiments he
found that the time required for the comprehension of a com-
plex figure was much greater than that for a single figure ;
the proportion between an ellipse and a pentagon, for in-
stance, being as 1:5. Researches on the time requisite for
the production of consciousness, with various strengths of il-
lumination, gave the result that this time was proportionate,
within rather wide limits, to the degree of illumination ; but
if the illumination was excessively strong or weak, it in-
creases. 13 A, November 1, 1871, 500.

ACTION OF GAS JET ON WATER.

It is said that if a thin thread of water is passed through
the jet from a blow-pipe, it is but slightly warmed, the in-
crease in temperature being but three degrees, although its
heat is sufficient to melt almost any metal. When passed
through an ordinary flame, the increase in temperature is
considerably greater, possibly owing to the incandescent par-
ticles being carried away by the liquid in smoke. If the blow-
pipe jet is directed against a sheet of water, it is not pierced,
nor does it produce any sensible heating effect. It is sug-
gested that if, instead of the metallic curtains used in thea-
tres, a sheet of running water were interposed, it would be a
great improvement as a fire guard. 18 A, March 8, 1872, 631.

ICE EXPERIMENT.

A simple method of producing ice instantaneously consists
in placing a little water in a small watch-glass or porcelain
capsule laid upon wool or cotton. The water is then to be
covered with a layer of sulphide of carbon, and a current of
air directed upon it through a slender tube. The absorption
of the heat of the water, in consequence of the rapid passage
of the sulphide of carbon to a gaseous condition, is so great
that a few seconds are sufficient to solidify the water. A
lens of hemispherical and transparent ice is thus obtained,
which can be preserved long enough to pass it from hand to
hand. 3 i?, May 9, 1872, 90. y

C. GENERAL PHYSICS. 79

POLARIZING ACTION OF TARTARIC ACID.

In the extensive series of organic substances, there are some
that, as is well known, are endowed with the peculiar faculty
of deflecting the plane of polarization of the luminous rays.
This property was discovered by Biot, in 1815, in various liq-
uids among others, in spirits of turpentine and the laws
which most of these substances follow are, first, the rotation
produced by the liquids in the plane of polarization is propor-
tional to the length of the path which the luminous rays must
traverse in the liquid ; second, in the mixture of substances
endowed with the rotatory power with those that are inact-
ive, and which exercise no chemical action upon the former,
rotation is in proportion to the quantity of the active sub-
stance ; third, when several liquid columns are superposed in
the path of the luminous rays, the total rotation is equal to
the algebraic sum of the rotations peculiar to each of them;
fourth, the angle of rotation corresponding to the different
simple colors is very nearly in the inverse ratio to the square
of the length of the luminous rays. Tartaric acid does not
follow the law of Biot, constituting a special exception to the
second and fourth law. This anomaly induced Krecke to take
up the inquiry, the result of which he has lately published.

The special points that he desired to investigate were,
whether the anomaly which tartaric acid exhibits at the or-
dinary temperature is seen also at a more elevated tempera-
ture; if the tartrates present the same anomalies as free tar-
taric acid ; and if tartrates follow the law of simple relations.
The results which he attained in the course of his inquiry he
sums up as follows : For all the rays of the spectrum the spe-
cific rotatory power augments with the temperature, but in a
quantity different for different solutions of the acid, and the
peculiar irregularity presented by tartaric acid namely, that
the green rays are displaced more than the yellow or the vi-
olet disappears with the augmentation of the temperature.
It decreases also in proportion to the increase of the quantity
of water, as had already been demonstrated by Biot. He
also informs us that the tartrates, as far as examined, follow
the laws of Biot ; that the molecular rotatory power is very
nearly the same in all the normal tartrates and alkaloids, but
considerably more in tartar-emetic; and that the molecular ro-

80 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

tatory power of the tartrates is threefold that of tartaric acid,
thus following the laws of simple relations. 1 E, VII., 97.

INFLUENCE OF A DIAMAGNETIC BODY ON THE ELECTRIC

CURRENT.

Professor Stephan has been engaged in investigating the
phenomena exhibited when an electric current is opened or
closed in the presence of a diamagnetic body, and has arrived
at the following conclusions : First, the presence of a diamag-
netic body at the moment of closing the circuit accelerates
the ascending movement of the current, and the chemical ac-
tion developed simultaneously within the pile is less than
when the closing takes place in the absence of a diamagnetic
body. Second, the heat developed at the moment of opening
the current by the secondary current is less when the inter-
ruption takes place in the presence of a diamagnetic body.
Third, when the current sets in motion a diamagnetic body,
the action simultaneously supplied by the chemical force in-
side of the pile will be to the live force furnished by this body
as two to one. This surplus of chemical action is manifested
as soon as we open the current in the secondary circuit, rein-
forced by the absence of a diamagnetic body. The contrary
takes place every time that a body of this nature is moved
in a direction opposite to that of the electro-dynamic forces.
Fourth, the energy of the needle increases or diminishes ac-
cording as it is removed or approximated to a diamagnetic
body. If this body is set in motion by a needle it furnishes
a sum of live force equivalent to the action of the live forces
acting in the needle. 3 B,Jidy 18, 1872, 482.

TRANSMISSION OF SOUND IN WATER.

During the siege of Paris a series of experiments was made
within the city with a view to determine the possibility of
establishing a system of telegraphic communication, through
the waters of the Seine, between the city and the country in
the rear of the besieging lines. The result, however, was not
at all satisfactory, although some interesting conclusions were
placed on record. Among them were the following: 1. The
range of sound in running water, even in the direction of the
stream, is much less than in still water, as in a lake. 2. When
the volume and depth of sound are greatly augmented, there

C. GENERAL PHYSICS. 81

is a very small increase, but in some cases even a decrease, of
the distance at which the sound is audible. 3. It is probable
that with equal volumes of sound in moving water the audi-
tory distance will increase with the sharpness of the sound.
It is suggested that powerful steam- whistles might be used
with great effect, but no attempt has been made to test this
question. 6 D, October 19, 1872, 241.

ELECTRICAL PYROMETER.

According to the American Chemist, an instrument has
been invented which will measure with perfect accuracy the
heat of the hottest furnace. It is based on the principle that
the resistance of pure metals to the electric current increases
with the temperature in a very simple ratio. A platinum
wire, of known resistance, is coiled around a cylinder of fine
clay, and covered with a tube of the same material. The test
is a Daniell's battery, of two cells, and with a resistance meas-
urer, and the instrument is placed in the furnace, the tempera-
ture of which is to be ascertained. It is then only necessary
to read off the indications of temperature on the graduated
resistance measure. Amer. Chemist, June, 1872, 476.

MAGNETIC ACTION OF PETROLEUM.

According to Captain Ftitterer, of the Memel bark Orion
(a petroleum vessel plying between Philadelphia and Ham-
burg), during a return voyage with a cargo of the above sub-
stance on board, he observed an easterly deflection of the
compass amounting to as much as 90. He had been pre-
viously informed that such would be the fact, but had been
inclined to doubt it. A cargo of railroad iron, brought over
by him to Philadelphia from Hamburg, exercised no magnetic
attraction. 3 C, August 19, 816.

IDENTIFICATION OF LIGHTS AT SEA.

Sir William Thomson, in a series of remarks upon the iden-
tification of lights at sea, urges the adoption of a system of
indications corresponding to the Morse telegraphic alphabet,
so that, by the varied combinations of short and long flashes,
a particular number shall be signaled, corresponding to that
of the light-house. The result will be that at whatever point
the vessel first makes the coast of the country, the locality

1)2

82 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

can be ascertained by noting the particular number flashed by
the light. 15 A, August 31, 280.

WEATHER TELEGRAPHY.

Avery important extension of the work of the Signal-office,
as far as its system of weather telegraphy is concerned, is
about to go into operation. The forecasts now published in
all the daily papers in the United States, and which are
eagerly scanned by those who are desirous of knowing what
is in store for them in the way of weather, are, of course, only
serviceable to those who live in the places of the publication
of those papers, or can be reached by them with little delay
through the mail. It is now proposed to call the post-offices
of the country into requisition as intermediate agents for dis-
seminating this intelligence, for which purpose the territory
east of the Mississippi has been divided into districts of about
two hundred miles in extent each way, and each having a
point of distribution near its centre, to which the " probabil-
ities" will be telegraphed from Washington, and from which
two copies of the report are to be sent to all post-offices with-
in the district which can be reached by mail as early as six
o'clock P.M. each day.

It is well known that country post-offices are the centres
of intelligence to rural districts, and, in order to afford the
farmers in the community especially an opportunity of profit-
ing by this information, postmasters receiving these dis-
patches are to place a copy as soon as furnished in a con-
spicuous situation, where the public can see. and read it. The
New York Herald of January 18 contains a chart, furnished
by the Signal-office, illustrating the districts referred to, from
which any one can ascertain the central office whence his own
information will be disseminated.

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 83

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY.

NEW REDUCING AGENT.

If an aqueous solution of sulphurous acid be allowed to act
upon fine zinc dust, the zinc is dissolved without the devel-
opment of gas, the solution assuming for a time a decided
yellow color. This liquid now possesses the peculiarity, in a
very high degree, of rapidly decolorizing indigo, a fact well
known to chemists. Schiitzenberger, who has lately been in-
vestigating this subject anew, ascertained that this decolor-
izing of the indigo is by no means the result of oxidation, but,
on the contrary, is a redaction ; and this power of reduction
in the liquid is so extraordinarily great that it will reduce,
with heat, the salts of copper, silver, and mercury to their
metals. The liquid is not related to hydrosulphuric acid, and
is exceedingly unstable in its free condition; but if a concen-
trated solution of bisulphite of soda be allowed to act upon
the zinc filings, we shall obtain a soda salt of the new acid
which has as great an affinity for oxygen as the free acid, and
can therefore be kept for any length of time if completely
excluded from the air. 6 (7, October 5, 1871, xl., 399.

FRIABLE GOLD COIN.

In some instances after a piece of gold coin has been struck
in a mint it becomes friable and crumbling. It has been as-
certained that this property is due to the presence of a very
small quantity (hardly a thousandth part) of certain metals,
among which lead is the most injurious. By an improved
process, however, this difficulty has lately been overcome.
This consists in passing a current of gaseous chlorine over
the melted metal, which is covered with borax in the ordi-
nary way. A chloride of gold would not be formed at this
high temperature, but, on the contrary, would be decomposed,
while the other metals unite with the chlorine so as to quick-
ly purify the mass. Any silver which may happen to be pres-
ent is not lost, as it becomes dissolved in the borax, which
serves as a cover for the molten gold. 3^?, March 7, 1872,
394.

84 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

IKON DEPOSITED BY ELECTKICITY.

The following conclusions have been reached in the course
of investigations into the characteristics of iron deposited by
electricity. First, iron and copper, when deposited, absorb a
certain amount of gas, especially hydrogen; second, the vol-
ume of the gas absorbed by iron varies between widely ex-
tended limits, this, in the case of iron, being sometimes as
much as 185 times its volume; third, absorption of gas takes
place principally in the layers which are deposited first ;
fourth, when such iron is heated, the disengagement of the
gas commences below the temperature of 212 degrees. At
this temperature it is principally hydrogen that is separated.
3 ., January ^ 1872, 33.

METALLIC POTASSIUM.

Professor Dolbear obtains metallic potassium by a new
process, which is likely to prove of much commercial value.
He first forms sulphide of potassium by treating dissolved
sticks of caustic potassa with sulphureted hydrogen, and
subsequently evaporating until the mass is solid in cooling.
This mass is then mixed with somewhat more than its bulk
of iron filings, and subjected to distillation, the product being
run off into petroleum. 3 A, May 4, 1872, 382.

NITRATE OF SILVER FROM SILVER ALLOY.

Mr. R. Palm, of Russia, has succeeded in obtaining pure ni-
trate of silver from the metal alloyed with copper by a very
quick and simple process. He dissolves the alloy in nitric
acid, evaporates to the consistency of thick oil (not to dry-
ness), and then adds concentrated nitric acid. The silver salts
precipitate in crystals, while the copper remains in solution.
The crystals have to be repeatedly washed in concentrated
nitric acid, and then they contain no trace of copper. 14 C
vol. 204.

IMPROVEMENT IN NICKEL PLATING.

An English patent, for the purpose of improving the adhe-
siveness of the nickel deposit upon iron or steel by the gal-
vanic process, recommends the addition of a small quantity
of an acetic, citric, or (best of all) tartaric salt of potash, soda,

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 85

ammonia, or alumina, to the solution used in nickelizing. Of
these salts, that will be most desirable the basis of which con-
sists of the same alkaline earth as that of the double salt
used in nickelizing. Thus, with a solution of a salt of nickel
and ammonia, we should use a tartrate of ammonia, etc. In
this case, with 20 quarts of the aqueous solution of the sul-
phate of nickel and ammonia, of 7 Baume, we should add
about one quart of an active solution of tartrate of ammonia,
of about the same specific gravity. 6 (7, Feb. 8, 1872, 58.

CAST-STEEL FROM THE IRON SAND OF NEW ZEALAND.

According to the London Times, iron sand, as found on the
beaches in New Zealand, is used in the manufacture of steel.
The process consists in mixing the sand with an equal quan-
tity of clay and of the ordinary sea sand, containing a large
percentage of shells, and then working this into bricks, which
are hardened in a kiln, broken up into irregular pieces, and
smelted in an ordinary cupola furnace. The result is a cast-
steel from which some beautiful specimens of the finest cut-
lery have been manufactured.

These experiments were conducted by' a mechanic in gov-
ernment employ, who was restricted to an expenditure of
100. With the apparatus he was able to construct with
this sum, he succeeded in producing 500 pounds of steel in
the manner described above. 5 A, April 20, 1872, 211.

ON BURNED IRON.

Various investigations have been prosecuted for the pur-
pose of determining the precise causes under which is pro-
duced what is known as the burned condition of iron. Thus,
if a bar of iron be allowed to cool in the air without beino-
hammered, it becomes brittle ; after having been raised to a
white heat, and on breaking, it presents a laminated, crystal-
line appearance. The iron is then said to be burned, and is
generally supposed to have absorbed oxygen. Recent ex-
periments show, however, that a similar condition is pro-
duced whether the iron is heated in the air, in a neutral or a
reducing atmosphere; and it is therefore inferred that the
character is not due to the absorption of oxygen, but to a
change in the molecular condition caused by heat. 20 A,
June 20,1872,745.

86 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

EIVOT METHOD OF EXTRACTING GOLD AND SILVER.

A new process of extracting gold and silver from their
ores, devised by Rivot for treating the California ores, has
been lately published, and is said to be applicable under cer-
tain circumstances in which the usual methods can not so
readily be employed. The principal stages in this method
of treatment are presented in the following summary :

1. Roasting of the pyrites in heaps, or in reverberatory fur-
naces, in such a manner as to almost completely oxidize the
metallic sulphides, and to reduce the formation of sulphates
to a minimum.

2. Pulverizing and mixing of the roasted pyrites with the
ores.

3. Roasting of the mixed mass with superheated steam in
a revolving furnace, with exclusion of air.

4. Amalgamation in vertical mills, which are capable of a
great out-turn, and of working wet or dry, as may be de-
sired, and which divide the mercury well, and effect a more
speedy and complete amalgamation, owing to the pressure
of the millstones. '

5. Separation of the mercury from the residues.

6. Squeezing of the mercury through coarse linen bags or
wooden cylinders.

7. Distillation of the amalgam in cast-iron tubes provided
with receivers cooled .by water.

8. Smelting of the metals recovered by amalgamation in
black-lead crucibles, and casting in iron moulds. 21 A,Dec.^
1871,1219.

ESTIMATING SULPHUR. IN COAL.

A method for the estimation of sulphur in coal or coke, in-
troduced by Dr. Crace Calvert, has reference more particular-
ly to the combination of sulphur with iron, as being the only
combination affecting the commercial value of the fuel. The
process consists in boiling the powdered coal in a solution
of carbonate of soda, which decomposes any sulphate of lime,
the carbonate of lime being removable by washing. In the
residue is contained the combination of sulphur and iron,
which can be estimated by any of the methods familiar to
chemists. 15 A, August 12,1871,209.

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. gf

PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH A HYDROGEN FLAME.

In an article upon certain phenomena associated with a
hydrogen flame, communicated to Nature by Mr. William F.
Barrett, the results of a series of experiments are summed
up as follows : 1. That the combustion of hydrogen exhibits
some physical peculiarities, and produces phosphorescence on
many substances with which it comes in contact. 2. That
the blueness so often seen in a hydrogen flame is due to the
presence of sulphur, derived either from the vulcanized rub-
ber tubing, or from atmospheric dust, or from the decomposi-
tion of the sulphuric acid spray from the generator. 3. That
a flame of hydrogen forms an exceedingly delicate reagent
for the detection of sulphur or phosphorus, and possibly also
of tin. 4. That many sulphates, and also carbonic acid, are
apparently decomposed by a hydrogen flame. 5. That a hy-
drogen flame is, further, a test for the presence of some gases,
notably carbonic acid. 6. That these results are capable of
practical application. 12 A, April 18, 1872, 484.

REACTIONS OF ALCOHOL.

Mr. Hugo Tamra, in a brief abstract of certain experiments
upon the action of permanganate of potash upon various sub-
stances, such as filter-paper, tartaric acid, coal gas, tallow, tur-
pentine, benzole, alcohol, ammonia, etc., states that the two
most interesting facts which he found were that alcohol boiled
with an equal bulk of a solution of permanganate of potash
was partially transformed into acetate of potash, and that in
the same condition ammonia was converted into nitrate of
potash. 1 A, January 19, 1872, 20.

CLASSIFICATION OF ODORS.

Dr. Ludwig, of Jena, presented to the convention of phar-
maceutists, lately assembled at that city, a classification of
odors, which he proposed for the purpose of fixing the ideas
of persons engaged in chemical investigations. Of these he
enumerated twenty-two kinds, some of them with subdivi-
sions, as follows:

1. The garlic odor, as manifested by combination of arsenic
and phosphorus. The colorless vapor of arsenious acid does
not exhibit this characteristic ; but if this be thrown on de-

88 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

oxidizing bodies, such as burning coals, it will be immediate-
ly indicated. Numerous plants are mentioned, besides gar-
lic, as possessing this same odor. 2. The odor of burning an-
timony. This, according to most authors, is to be compared
to nitric acid. 3. The tin odor. This is perceived when tin
is rubbed with the naked hand. It is generally known as
the metallic odor. 4. The odor of the radish. This is ex-
haled when selenium is oxidized by combustion, so as to form
selenic acid, the fiftieth part of a grain of the former being
sufficient to fill a room with the odor. 5. The odor of the
horse-radish, or mustard, found in numerous bodies. 6. Of
sulphur and sulphurous acid. 7. Of rotten fish, found in phos-
phureted hydrogen. 8. Of ozone, or that which is diffused by
an electric machine when set in operation. 9. Of nitrous acid.
10. Of chlorine and chlorinous bodies. 11. Of osmic acid.
12. Of bromine. 13. Of iodine. 14. Of hydrocyanic acid, or
bitter almond. 15. Of the acids, such as a, the purely acid ;
b, the pungently acid ; c, sulphurous acid ; d, nitric and ni-
trous acid ; and e, carbonic acid. 16. The alkaline odor, such
as ammonia. These are divided into a, pure ammoniacal ;
b, impure ammoniacal ; c, herring or fish-like (as methyla-
mine) ; d, the hemlock odor; e, the tobacco odor; and/", nar-
cotic odor. 17. The odor of tar and smoke, as in creosote,
carbolic acid, benzole, etc. 18. Of petroleum and mineral oils.
19. Of volatile oil, or aromatic oil. 20. Of the piwely ethereal
oils, such as the acetic, or the odor of wine, the apple, pear,
etc. 21. Of alcohol, pure and fusel-like. 22. The mushy
odor. 2(7, CXL VII, 225.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF CHARGED SILK.

In consequence of the frequent occurrence of cases of spon-
taneous combustion in " charged silks," the German railroads
have refused to receive them for transportation. Charged
silks are goods which have been treated with grease or oil,
for the purpose of increasing their weight and their conse-
quent apparent value, this being done mainly in France and
Belgium. 5 C, xiii., 104.

ANHYDROUS ALCOHOL.

The best process for obtaining alcohol absolutely free from
water is said by Erlenmeyer to consist in boiling with quick-

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 89

lime, in a vessel fitted with an inverted condenser, for about
an hour, and then distilling. If the spirit contain more than
five per cent, of water, it is necessary to repeat the treatment
with lime two or three times. After distillation the whole
product obtained will be anhydrous. With weak spirit not
more than half the space occupied with spirit must be filled
with lime at first, as otherwise the vessel might be broken
by its slaking. 21 A, Feb., 1872, 133.

CHEMICAL INVENTIONS IN THE LONDON EXPOSITION OF 1871.

A report has been made by Professor Abel upon the scien-
tific inventions and discoveries having a relation to chemis-
try, illustrated in the London exposition of 1871, among which
he mentions the colors obtained by the distillation of coal,
enumerating the various substances that have been discover-
ed in such rapid succession, so much to the advantage of
dyers. Taking up aniline first, he remarks that the discovery
of aniline violet and mauve by Perkins, in 1856, was eclipsed
by that of aniline red, or Magenta, which soon after became
the centre of a numerous series of brilliant colors. The first
aniline blue was obtained by Nicholson in 1862-63, and a
second blue, known as Nicholson, or solid blue, was obtained
in 1863. From naphthalin has been obtained a beautiful col-
or known as Magdala ; while another derivative of coal has
yielded the true coloring matter of madder, alizarine. Other
products of coal referred to by Professor Abel are carbolic
acid, which itself furnishes various colors, as picric acid, ro-
solic acid, aurine, etc.

Other specimens presented at the exposition consisted of
paraftine and ozokerite, the latter being a natural mineral
substance, and replacing paraffine and stearine for illumina-
ting purposes. Lubricating oils in considerable variety were
also exhibited, as well as oil and paper made from cotton
seeds, the manipulation of which promises valuable econom-
ical results. Wood paper and the method of its preparation
were also shown, together with gun-cotton in its different
forms. The selenitic mortar of Colonel Scott, which has al-
ready been referred to in our pages, is one of many of the
other substances treated of in Professor Abel's communica-
tion.

He remarks in reference to thallium a metal discovered

90 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

by Crooks in 1871, as the result of spectral analysis that, if
procurable in sufficient quantity, it promises to be of great
value for the production of colors ; as many beautiful sjjeci-
mens of yellow and orange-red, which are chromates of thal-
lium, and green, also a chvomate, and a dark brown, which is
a sulphuret of the metal, were exhibited by Messrs. Winsor
and Newton, the eminent colorists, of London. 4 B, Sept.,
1871,675; do. Oct., 1871, 745.

ACTION OF LIGHT ON OLIVE - OIL.

Olive-oil, in its natural state, contains in solution a yellow-
ish substance, which, when the oil is treated with acids or
with caustic soda, gives rise to the well known greenish col-
oration. By exposure to sunshine this coloring matter is es-
sentially altered, the oil being thereby decolorized, and no
longer exhibiting a greenish color when treated with the re-
agents above mentioned. Moreover, other changes take place
at the same time in the constituents of the oil, the olein in
particular being greatly altered, and acquiring the fundamen-
tal property of elaidin, namely, that of not solidifying in con-
tact with nitrate of mercury mixed with nitrous products ;
at the same time free acids are formed, and the oil acquires
a rancid taste and odor. 21 A, Dec, 1871, 1192.

CHEMICAL INTENSITY OF TOTAL DAYLIGHT.

Messrs. Roscoe and Thorpe, in a paper upon the chemical
intensity of total daylight, as observed at Catania during the
eclipse of 1870, remark that, for the purpose of determining
the variation in chemical intensity caused by the alteration
in the sun's altitude, observations were made on the three
previous days, and that the results obtained confirmed the
conclusions formerly arrived at, " that the relation between
the total chemical intensity and sun's altitude is represented
by a straight line." It was difficult to estimate the chemical
intensity of the feebly diffused light during totality, owing
to the obscuration of the sun's disk, and to the greater part
of the heavens being covered by clouds. Not the slightest
action could be detected after an exposure of the sensitive
paper for ninety-five seconds. It was estimated that the
chemically active light present was certainly not more than
0.003 of the unit adopted, probably much less.

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 91

From the observations made during the partial phase the
law was deduced " that the diminution of the total chemical
intensity of the sun's disk during an eclipse is directly pro-
portional to the magnitude of the obscuration." 21 A,I)ec.,
1871,1141.

GLYCOL-STRYCHNINE.

The detection of a new base from strychnine, to be named
glycol-strychnine, has lately been announced. 1 A, Dec. 1,
1871,263.

SEPARATION OF PURE NITROGEN.

Pure nitrogen, it is reported, can be prepared by means of
bi-chromate of ammonia, which, when heated in a retort, is
transformed into gaseous nitrogen, water, and green chrome
oxide. 15 C, xxi., 1871, 376.

CUPRO-AMMONIUM.

If shreds of copper are introduced into a bottle half full of
ammonia solution, the metal will be dissolved, with the pro-
duction of what is called cupro-ammonium, and with the ac-
companiment of a deep blue color. This substance has the
remarkable property of dissolving various substances, as silk,
lignine or cellulose, paper, etc., with great rapidity. It has
been proposed to apply this agent in the preparation of solu-
tions which can be converted to important industrial uses,
such as readily suggest themselves in connection with this
power of dissolving the substances in question. Paper, linen,
wood, etc., can be readily united almost indissolubly by means
of this substance ; and it is said that, when thus adherent, the
copper which they hold may be extracted by a weak acid,
leaving the material pure and white, but without disturbing
the adhesion already established. It is not known in what
particular chemical combination the two substances unite, or
what is the precise character of their union. The name given,
cupro-ammonium, is to be considered as of no chemical sig-
nificance. 6 Z>, April 20, 1872, 256.

ACTION OF NITRIC ACID ON METALS.

Some time ago it was announced that tin is not affected by
nitric acid of 1.42 specific gravity as long as it is in contact

92 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

with platinum, while without the latter metal the chemical
action is very energetic. It is now stated that the same re-
sult is obtained with platinum and cadmium when treated
with nitric acid of 1.47 specific gravity. The acid acts very
energetically upon the cadmium by itself, but if the latter is
brought in contact with a sufficient quantity of platinum, both
the acid and the platinum remained unchanged. For these
experiments the cadmium may be wrapped around with pla-
tinum wire or platinum foil. If the acid be reduced with wa-
ter, the decomposition of the cadmium commences at a cer-
tain point of dilution. 18 C,JVov. 8,1871,709.

COMPOUND NATURE OF CATHAETINE.

A substance obtained some years ago from senna, and
named cathartine, under the supposition that it contained
the active principle of the plant, has lately been ascertained
by Bongoin to consist of three distinct substances chryso-
phanic acid, dextro-rotary glucose, and chrysophanine. 21
A.Feb., 1872, 152.

CARBAZOL AND CARBAZOLINE.

In the process of purifying crude anthracene, a solid hydro-
carbon has been discovered which is considered new, and is
named carbazol. This substance crystallizes, is insoluble in
water, but soluble by the aid of heat in ether, alcohol, and
benzol ; fuses at 460 Fahr., boils at 640 Fahr., and is not de-
composed at red heat, nor affected at that temperature by the
contact of zinc dust and soda lime. It is soluble without de-
composition in strong sulphuric acid ; is not decomposed by
fusing caustic potassa, but is attacked violently by oxidizing
substances. When heated for some hours in a sealed tube,
along with a mixture of amorphous, phosphorus, and hydri-
odic acid, another substance, called carbazoline, is obtained,
which is solid, readily soluble in alcohol, ether, and benzol,
and yields with acid salts that are easily dissolved in water.
\ A.Feb. 2,1872,57.

ABIETINE, A NEW HYDROCARBON.

Dr. William Wenzell has announced to the California Phar-
maceutical Society the discovery of a new hydrocarbon, which
he calls abietine. This is the product of distillation of the

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 93

resinous exudations of the Pinits sabiniana, or the well-known
Sabine pine of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range; also
called nut pine and Digger pine. Mr. Wenzell finds that abie-
tine possesses qualities which distinguish it from spirits of
turpentine and other similar hydrocarbons. It is remarkable
for its low specific gravity, and its low boiling-point as com-
pared with that of spirits of turpentine. It is a powerful
solvent for the fixed and volatile oils, with the exception of
castor-oil, which it does not affect at all. It dissolves balsam
of copaiba freely, and in all proportions. When burned in an
alcohol lamp, with a flame not too large, a brilliant white
light is obtained without smoke. Its vapor is powerfully
anesthetic when inhaled, and has been used with success as
an insecticide when sprinkled in places frequented by moths.
Scientific American, March 9, 1872, 97.

CHINAMINE, A NEW CINCHONA ALKALOID.

Hesse announces to the Chemical Society of Berlin the dis-
covery of a new cinchona alkaloid, which he calls chinamine.
This is obtained from the Cinchona succirubra, as grown in
British India, and as associated w T ith chinidine, quinine, and
other substances. The special therapeutic qualities of this
substance have not yet been determined, although the chem-
ical characters are detailed at considerable length. 1 A,
April 19,1872,191.

COMBINATION OF ALDEHYDES AND PHENOLS TO FORM COLORS.

It was ascertained some time ago by Bayer that all of the
so-called phenols furnish coloring matters when combined
with polybasic organic acids. As the number of these phe-
nols is unlimited, as is also that of the polybasic acids, it is
evident that an indefinite number of new unions can be effect-
ed by the combination of the two series. More recently this
field, already so extended, has been still further widened in
another direction.

It was originally found, as the result of the first investiga-
tion, that the oil of bitter almonds the aldehyde of benzoic
acid was capable of combination with the phenols, but ad-
ditional investigations have shown that all aldehydes com-
bine with all phenols to form bodies belonging to the group
of phenol dyes, if the necessary conditions are complied with.

94 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Among the different dyes derived from aldehydes, upon which
Bayer reported to the German Chemical Society in January
last, one excited a special interest, as its production appeared
to be one step further toward the synthesis of natural color-
ing matters. The first series of experiments led up to bodies
which, in their chemical relations, as apparently in their con-
stitution, stood very near to the dyes of logwood and Brazil-
wood. This time it is the pigment of green plants, or chloro-
phyl, which Bayer approaches in his synthetic experiments.
Furfurol, the aldehyde of mucic acid, and reforcine, or pyro-
gallic acid, furnish a substance having the reaction of chloro-
phyl. If, therefore, we can not actually speak of the syn-
thesis of the latter, because what has been hitherto termed
chlorophyl is scarcely a pure chemical body, but rather a
mixture of green pigment with protoplasm, we may still hope
to arrive at the green coloring matter of plants along the
path pointed out by Bayer, and consequently be able to clear
up its hitherto unknown chemical constitution. 1 9 C, March
9,1872,77.

ARTIFICIAL MELLITIC ACID.

Professor Schulze, of Rostock, has devised a method of
forming mellitic acid artificially by the direct oxidation of
carbon by permanganic acid in an alkaline solution. 13.4,
December 1, 1871,540.

ON CHLOROPHYL AND ITS DERIVATIVES.

Gerland and Rouwenhoff, in a paper upon chlorophyl and
some of its derivatives, sum up their inquiries in the follow-
ing propositions : 1. Not alone in chlorophyl, but also in such
derivatives as show, like it, the obscure, dark absorption band
I, this band is composed, for a certain degree of concentra-
tion, of two parts, separated by an interval which is but lit-
tle superior in brightness. 2. Once modified, chlorophyl ex-
periences no further changes. 3. Solid chlorophyl, whether
contained in the tissue of leaves or precipitated from a solu-
tion, shows the same absorption bands as chlorophyl in solu-
tion. 4. The phylloxanthine of Fremy seems to be simply
modified chlorophyl; his phyllocyanine is a derivative of
chlorophyl produced under the influence of an acid. 5. The
green and yellow matters of Filhol should be regarded as the

D. CHEMISTKY AND METALLURGY. 95

principal constituent of chlorophyl, which owes its color to a
mixture of these two substances. 6. Dead leaves of a brown
color contain, with very little of chlorophyl remaining unaf-
fected, a great excess of the yellow matter of Filhol. 1 E,
part vi., 1871, 114.

RED COLOR OF APHIS.

Mr. Sorby has lately described a red coloring matter found
in some species of Aphis (or plant louse), named by \\\vnAph-
ideine. This resembles cochineal in some of its characters,
but in others the red coloring matter of the blood of verte-
brate animals, though entirely distinct from either. It can
exist in an oxidized and in a deoxidized state, and thus may
perhaps serve to convey loosely combined oxygen from the
respiratory organs to other parts of the body. One of its
most remarkable peculiarities is that it rapidly passes into
a series of fluorescent products, giving remarkable spectra,
which, unlike the original substance, are not dissolved in wa-
ter, but are soluble in bisulphide of carbon, and thus are like
the coloring matters of wax and oils, which they also resem-
ble in their general consistence, when left dry on evapora-
tion. This change is so rapid that it occurs in the course of
a few minutes, when the living insects are crushed and ex-
posed to the air ; and special care was therefore required to
prove that none of these fluorescent substances exist during
life, and that the fatty matter then found is similar to that
met with in other insects. 13-4, October 15, 1871, 481.

CRYSTALLIZED INDIGOTINE,

it is reported, may be made by solution in hot phenol, which
takes up the indigotine and redeposits most of it on cooling
in a crystalline form, retaining enough to color the acid deep
blue. To prevent a solidification of the phenol during re-
frigeration, alcohol, camphor, or benzine may be added. Five
hundred grains of phenol will serve for the preparation of
two grains of pure indigotine. 21 A, March, 1872, 250.

INDOPIIAN, A NEW COLORING MATERIAL

similar to indigo, is obtained as an accessory product when
dinitronaphthal is acted upon by potassium cyanide, being
converted thereby into naphthyl-purpuric acid. When pure

96 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

it is of a violet color, and lias a beautiful green metallic lus-
tre. 21 A, March, 1872, 251.

CARBAZOL, A NEW ANTHRACENE DERIVATIVE.

A new substance, called carbazol, has been discovered in
the process of purifying crude anthracene. This possesses
various peculiarities, and is convertible by heat into carbazo-
line, which is presented in the form of large white needles,
soluble in ether, alcohol, and benzole. It sublimes in needles,
evaporates with steam, and with acids forms salts which are
extremely soluble in water. 18 (7, March, 1872, 150.

SYNTHESIS OF ORCINE.

Messrs. Vogt and Henninger announce to the Academy of
Sciences in Paris that they have succeeded in forming syn-
thetically the substance known as orcine, the basis of the col-
oring matter of lichens. Numerous attempts have previous-
ly been made in vain to produce this body. The artificial
orcine appears to have all the properties of the original, and
its mode of formation shows that it is a diphenol or toluene.
6 B, April 22, 1872, 1107.

MELOLONTHINE.

A chemical examination of the common cockchafer or May-
bug (Melolontha vulgaris) has shown the presence of a new
crystalline substance named melolonthine by its discoverer.
As prepared, this is a beautiful, lustrous, crystalline body,
tasteless and odorless. It is soluble with difficulty in cold,
but most readily in hot water, and quite insoluble in alcohol
and ether. The aqueous solution has no action on vegetable
colors. Thirty pounds of the insect furnish twenty -two
grains of melolonthine. 21 A, Dec, 1871, 1192.

TETRONERYTHRIN, A NEW ANIMAL COLOR.

As is well known, grouse, pheasants, ptarmigans, and other
gallinacea have a red patch or wattle above the eye, this be-
ing so conspicuous in some species as to resemble a piece of
red flannel. This has lately been subjected to a careful anal-
ysis by Dr. Wurm, who ascertained that it contains a new
organic coloring material, which, he calls Tetroherythrin, or
grouse red. It seems to lie in the deeper strata of the epi-

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 97

dermis, like the coloring matter of the human skin, and to be
partly dissolved in the deep layers of the cells, and partly to
occur in granules. It appears, however, to have nothing in
common with the coloring matter of the blood. The fact
has been well known to hunters that if a white cloth be rub-
bed over this red process the color will come off. 19 C\Jan.
20,1872,24.

TETEONERYTHRIN IN TROUT, ETC.

The red coloring matter first detected in the red comb of
the grouse and ptarmigan, and known as tetronerythrin, has
also been found in the reddish spots of the trout and the crab,
and in the .Phialopsis rubra. This coloring matter is soluble
in chloroform, and is unchanged by caustic potash, while con-
centrated sulphuric acid turns it indigo blue, then black. It
is also soluble in bisulphide of carbon and ether. It appears
to be different from the coloring matter of blood. 21 A,
June, 1872, 511.

CARBONIC ACID OF THE ATMOSPHERE.

A course of experiments upon the amount of carbonic acid
in the atmosphere has been prosecuted at Rostock, for sever-
al years past, by Professor Schultz, who communicated the
results of his inquiries at the last meeting of the Society of
German Naturalists and Physicists. The percentage found
by him appears to be much less than that hitherto indicated
by most observers; the quantity detected amounting to only
about 2.9 of the acid in 10,000 volumes of the air. Varia-
tions according to the time of day and year, noticed by other
observers, w T ere not found in the Rostock experiments. On
the other hand, however, meteorological phenomena appeared
to exercise an undoubted influence. Thus a snowfall was
frequently connected with a constantly increased percentage,
while rain produced a precisely opposite effect. These influ-
ences are not constant ; indeed, with snow there was some-
times found a less degree of acid, and with rain a greater.
The direction of the wind, however, exercised a constantlv
appreciable influence. With atmospheric currents from the
northeast the carbonic acid Avas increased, while with a
southwest wind it was diminished. This fact led Professor
Schultz to the impression that the sea was a constant absorb-

E

98 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

ent of carbonic acid from the atmosphere, and that the aver-
age percentage was kept up by volcanic exhalations, animal
respiration, processes of decomposition and combustion, and
other causes developed on the land. Professor Schultz is
now engaged in endeavoring to learn to what the absorptive
power of sea- water is clue, and has already ascertained that
sea-water, when boiled, absorbs scarcely one fourth part as
much carbonic acid as sea-water which has lost its carbonic
acid by the action of hydrogen. 19 (7, Nov. 4, 1871, 359.

MILK-SUGAR FROM VEGETABLE JUICES.

According to Dr. Bouchardat, a specimen of sugar obtain-
ed from the Achras sapota of the West Indies, on being treat-
ed with boiling alcohol at 90 per cent., was found to leave a
residuum, which, on further investigation, proved to consist
almost entirely of milk-sugar, this substance forming 45 per
cent, of the original mass. 16 A,Ja?i., 1872, 116.

CONVERSION OF CANE-SUGAR INTO GLUCOSE BY LIGHT.

The common impression that a solution of cane-sugar, kept
at the ordinary temperature, and protected against the ac-
tion of ferments, will preserve its taste and chemical propor-
tion for an indefinite period of time, according to Riault, is a
mistake, as he has observed in many cases that a solution
of sugar-cane, without undergoing any ferment, will ultimate-
ly become altered, and be transformed more or less complete-
ly into grape-sugar. After considerable experiment, he has
satisfied himself that this action is due to the influence of
light, and that even when cane-sugar is found to be appar-
ently adulterated with glucose, the inquiry should be insti-
tuted as to whether this was not the result of exposure to
light rather than of intentional adulteration. 1 J5, Z>ec,
1871,175.

FAT FOUND IN BEER YEAST.

In an article by Dr.Vogel, read before the Academy of Sci-
ences in Munich, after referring to the fact that all cereals
contain a larger or smaller quantity of fatty matter, which is
an essential constituent of the grain, the author describes at
length his experiments made for the purpose of extracting,
by means of ether, the fat contained in beer yeast, an oil boil-

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 99

ing at about 200 Centigrade, specific gravity equal to 0.901 ;
decomposed when heated above 300 Centigrade, and yielding
acrolein. The quantity of this oil found in one liter of the
yeast amounts to from 0.2 to 0.3 grams. It appears that this
oil is in most respects similar to the fatty matter found in
barley. 1 A, Dec. 8, 1871, 276.

COMPOSITION OF THE ALBUMEN OF EGGS.

The albumen of the white of egg has lately been shown to
consist of two distinct varieties, one having its maximum
point of coagulation at 63, the other at about 74. In addi-
tion to these there is still another substance, one known as Iac-
toprotein. According to Gautier, when albumen of egg is
treated with water at 150, it yields the following products,
which pass through a dialysis, besides insoluble matters: 1.
Substance having the properties of casein ; 2. A substance
analogous to hypoxanthine., 3. An albuminoid substance.
21 A, IX., July, 1871,577.

CORN-COBS AS A SOURCE OF POTASH.

The availability of corn-cobs as a source of supply for pot-
ash has been suggested. Analysis has shown that these con-
tain over 7^ parts in 1000 of carbonate of potash, or twice as
much as the best kind of wood. In consideration of the av-
erage production of corn in the United States, it is estimated
that nearly 52,000 tons of carbonate of potassa may be annu-
ally obtained from this source, to say nothing of a considera-
ble quantity of chloride of potassium.

GALACTIXE.

In a paper published in the Transactions of the Physical
Society of Geneva, M. Morin remarks that Mulder has shown
that there are three nitrogenous substances in the animal or-
ganism belonging to the proteine group, to which this serves
as the base namely, fibrine, albumen, and caseine ; the first
solid, and the two others liquid, but capable of being trans-
formed into solids. According to Mulder, also, there are two
nitrogenous substances in the animal organism in another
group (that of gelatine), namely, chondrine, contained in the
tendons, and gelatine, found in bone, or formed by the action
of heat and water upon the membranes.

100 ANNUAL KECOBD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Morin proceeds then to show that there is still a third sub-
stance occurring in most of the elements of the animal organ-
ism, sometimes as a constituent element, and at others as a
morbid product, such as in abnormal urines. He has found
this in the liquid of the cotyledons of the fetus of the cow at
different periods of development, in the hen's egg in different
stages of incubation, in the blood, in the liquids of the digest-
ive tube, etc., and, in fact, so frequently that it becomes nec-
essary to recognize it as an element of the organism. This
he formerly called gelatiniform matter, since it resembles gel-
atine, but is distinct from it by well-marked characteristics.
The same substance was subsequently termed albuminose by
Mialhe. Morin now proposes the name galactine as the bet-
ter term, and states that when fresh, or just precipitated, it
appears in the form of a gelatinous or viscous mass, becom-
ing solid by desiccation, but not brittle, and remaining capa-
ble of being kneaded between the fingers. Its characteristic
peculiarities lie in being soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol,
either hot or cold, in being transformed into gelatine by the
prolonged action of water or heat, and of being precipitated
like gelatine by a solution of tannin; but with this difference,
that the precipitate formed by the gelatine is insoluble in
warm water, while that produced by galactine is dissolved at
a temperature of 140 Fahr., and reforms in cooling. As al-
ready stated, this substance has been found in the blood, in
the gastric juice, in the liquor of the cotyledons of the fetus,
and in the egg, where it is deposited as a germinating or an
initial force, destined to start the final development. It also
occurs sometimes in abundance in liquids produced by dis-
ease, in which case it is rejected like albumen, as if the organs
had lost the faculty of assimilating it. It also occurs in the
juice of certain plants employed as food for cattle, and it is
not at all impossible that its occurrence in the animal econ-
omy may be the result of its extraction from plants, or, at
least, not always produced by the process of digestion. In
nutritive qualities galactine probably ranks with albumen, fib-
rine, and caseine. Mem, /Soc. Phys. de Geneve, xxxi, 1871, 237.

CHANGE OF VOLUME IN SOLUTIONS.

Mr. Bolson has presented to the Academy of Sciences of
Paris the results of a series of experiments upon the change

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 101

of volume accompanying solution, and has arrived at the fol-
lowing: general conclusions:

1. In every case there is a diminution in volume when an
anhydrous salt is dissolved in water that is, the volume of
the solution is less than the sum of the volume of the water
and salfc. Of all salts tried, ammonium chloride gives the
least contraction.

2. The first portions of the anhydrous salt correspond to
the maximum of contraction. As the strength of the solu-
tion increases, the contraction diminishes, until, with very sol-
uble salts, when the solution is nearly saturated, the contrac-
tion is almost insensible.

3. Viewed with regard to their energy of contraction, the
substances experimented on may be ranged in the following
order, beginning with the greatest contraction :.(.) With re-
spect to the non-metallic radicals carbonates, sulphates, chlo-
rides, nitrates, iodides ; (b.) With respect to the metals iron,
zinc, copper, magnesium, strontium, barium, calcium, sodium,
lead, potassium, ammonium.

4. Hydrated salts give far less contraction than the corre-
sponding anhydrous salts; the contraction is smaller as the
number of- molecules of water of crystallization becomes
greater.

5. Salts which crystallize in the anhydrous state are those
in which the co-efficient of contraction is smallest. 21 A,
March, 1872,217.

mexsbrugghe's LAW IX PHYSICS.

Professor Van der Mensbrugghe, of the University of Ghent,
has announced as a law in physics that each time a liquid of
strong superficial tension, and containing gas in solution, is
brought into contact with a liquid of feeble tension, there is
a more or less decided disengagement of the eras dissolved in
the liquid.

The accuracy of this proposition the author proposes to es-
tablish hereafter in a special memoir, and announces it at
present simply to secure priority of presentation. One illus-
tration presented by him is to the effect that if a drop of al-
cohol or of ether be introduced into distilled water half filling
a small vial of one or one and a half inches in diameter, and
the liquid agitated, a lively effervescence will be observed

102 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

after the agitation. This experiment was made long since
by Duprez, but without any explanation. It is impossible to
attribute the effervescence to the air introduced by the agi-
tation, since the alcohol and ether alone, or water alone, give
no marked result in this respect. The experiment succeeds
equally with benzine, sulphide of carbon, creosote, turpentine,
olive-oil, lavender, etc. It is only necessary to shake the dis-
tilled water, after having introduced a glass rod containing
a slight quantity of any fatty body whatever, in order to per-
ceive a distinct disengagement of small bubbles of gas.
Bull. Acad. Eoyale de Belgique, 1872, in., 223.

VALSON S LAW.

According to Les Mondes, Professor Valson, of Montpellier,
has discovered an important physical law, expressed in the
following terms : For all normal solutions that is to say,
containing each one equivalent of nitrous salt, estimated in
grams, and dissolved in a fixed quantity of water equal to
one liter the product of the density by the capillary height
remains sensibly constant. 3 B,Jan. 18, 1872, 91.

SEXSIBILITY OF IRIDIUM, ETC., TO MERCURIAL VAPOR.

Professor Merget, in a communication to the Academy of
Sciences of Paris, states that when solutions of iridium, plati-
num, and other metals in nitro-muriatic acid are brought into
relations with metallic mercury, their sensibility is so great
that if a paper be impregnated with such a solution and ex-
posed to the vapor of mercury, in however small a quantity,
it becomes colored black, forming, as it were, an actual in-
delible ink. From his experiments the author infers that
mercury evaporates with a velocity of 180 meters per second,
and reaches to a height of 1700 meters. A practical test of
these experiments of Professor Merget shows that by means
of iridium paper so prepared, the presence of mercury can be
ascertained in the atmosphere of all workshops where this
metal is employed, especially in looking-glass manufactories.
It also shows that the clothes, hair, etc., of a workman who
has spent an hour in such an establishment become entirely
impregnated with mercury, and that it is only necessary to
bring his hand near paper prepared with iridium in order to
have it instantly outlined in black. It is not at all impossi-

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 103

ble, according to Professor Dumas, that this discovery may-
be the initiation of a method by which the reproduction of
objects in nature and art may be accomplished in a degree
of perfection far exceeding any thing known at present, both
in point of rapidity and economy, not excepting photography.
Specimens actually exhibited to the Academy of Sciences in
the new art of mercuro-typy are very encouraging in their
promise. 3 B, December 14, 1871,599.

DETECTION OF ALCOHOL IX WATER.

According to M. Berthelot, the existence of alcohol in pres-
ence of a large quantity of water may be determined by
means of chloride of benzoyl. This substance is decomposed
very slowly by cold or lukewarm water ; but if the water
contain alcohol, benzoic ether is immediately formed : the
ether is found with the excess of the chloride of benzoyl. Its
presence can be made manifest by heating a drop of the chlor-
ide of benzoyl, which dissolves the acid chloride almost im-
mediately without acting at first on the ether. Even with a
thousandth part of alcohol the smell of benzoic ether is very
apparent. 21 A, November, 1871, 1093.

DETECTION OF SULPHURIC ACID IN VINEGAR.

The following process for detecting the 500th part of free
sulphuric acid in vinegar, it is stated, is sufficiently accurate
for all practical purposes. A fluid ounce of the vinegar to
be examined is, by evaporation upon a water bath, reduced
to about half a drachm, or the consistency of a thin extract ;
when quite cold half a fluid ounce of strong alcohol is to be
thoroughly incorporated ; the free sulphuric acid will be tak-
en up by the alcohol to the exclusion of any sulphates ; the
alcoholic liquid solution should stand for several hours and
then be filtered ; add to the filtrate one fluid ounce of pure
distilled water, and evaporate off the alcohol by the appli-
cation of a gentle heat ; the remaining liquid is again left
standing for several hours and again filtered ; to the filtrate,
previously acidulated with a few drops of hydrochloric acid,
a solution of chloride of barium is added, which, if sulphuric
acid be present, will yield a white precipitate. 16 A, July,
1872,411.

104 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
.GUAIACUM AS A TEST FOR BLOOD-STAINS.

The frequent occurrence of the necessity of identifying
blood-stains in medical legal cases has brought out the fact
that there is one good test, which answers the purpose suf-
ficiently, although, unfortunately, it does not enable us to
distinguish human blood from that of other animals ; the con-
stituent, haematine, upon which the reaction is based, being
identical in all blood, even in that of the common earth-worm,
as is proved by the spectroscopic appearances. To apply the
test, a drop of blood is placed, on a white surface of porcelain,
and a drop of simple tincture of guaiacum added. If then a
drop of the solution of peroxide of hydrogen be added, a blue
color will be developed. If the stain of blood be dry, moist-
en with glycerine, apply the tests, and press it with a piece
of white blotting paper; this will absorb the color. This ac-
tion depends on the oxidation of guaiacum in the presence
of the haBmatine. 1 A y January 19, 1872, 26.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GASES IN THE SWIMMING

BLADDERS OF FISHES.

According to Schultze, the gases contained in the swim-
ming bladders of certain cyprinoid fishes consist of oxy-
gen, carbonic acid, and nitrogen in different proportions, the
amount of oxygen never exceeding that in the atmospheric
air, and carbonic acid, being always present. He concludes
from his experiments that in such fishes the swimming blad-
der contains the ordinary gases found in the expired air of
the lungs and gills. 21 A, March, 1872, 254.

DISCRIMINATION OF BARLEY FROM WHEAT STARCH.

The following method of discriminating barley starch from
that of rye or w 7 heat has been announced : The flour is placed
on a glass slide and moistened, with water, a covering of glass
is laid upon it, and a single drop of oil of vitriol added. If
now viewed with a magnifying power of 200 the starch grains
of wheat and rye are seen to dissolve in a uniform manner,
but the grains of barley starch, after losing their external
coat, break up into a number of polyhedrons before their so-
lution is completed. 21 A, April, 1872, 320.

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 105

NATURE OF CHLORAL HYDRATE.

According to Meyer and Dulk, chloral hydrate is in reality
ethylene-glycol, chloral alcoholate being the ethylic ether of
the same substance. 21 A.March, 1872, 246.

DIRECT OXIDATION OF CARBON.

An important announcement was made not long ago by
Professor Schulze, at the meeting of the Chemical Section of
the German Association for the Advancement of Science, at
Rostock, in reference to the direct oxidation of carbon by
means of permanganate of potash in an alkaline solution. In
addition^ to oxalic acid and other products not determined,
Professor Schulze obtained an acid to which he has given the
name of anthraconic acid, and which he found to closely re-
semble mellitic acid in its properties. The experiment was
repeated with carbon of different varieties, all of them, how-
ever, yielding analogous results.

A subsequent investigation proved that the new body was
identical with mellitic acid. By treating it with caustic soda,
benzole was produced, which was converted into nitro-benzole
in the usual manner, and from this aniline was manufactured.
This may justly be considered one of the most important of
recent chemical discoveries. 16 A, 1872.

EFFECT OF VARIATION OF PRESSURE UPON THE EVOLUTION

OF GASES IN FERMENTATION.

According to Mr. Brown, nitrogen, hydrogen, or hydrocar-
bon, and sometimes nitric oxide, together with carbonic an-
hydride, are evolved during the alcoholic fermentation of
grape-juice or of malt-wort. He shows that the proportion
of gases unabsorbed by potassium hydrate is largely increased
when the operation is carried on under diminished pressure.
At the ordinary pressure by far the larger proportion of these
gases is nitrogen, but under diminished pressure the hydrogen
preponderates very decidedly. Nitrogen, however, does not
occur when the solutions contain no albuminoids, even if am-
monium salts are present in considerable quantity. The in-
crease of the proportion of hydrogen, resulting from diminu-
tion of the pressure, is accompanied by the formation of a
comparatively large amount of acetic acid and aldehyde, so

E 2

106 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

that it would seem that water is decomposed during the alco-
holic fermentation, and that this result is facilitated by the
diminution of the pressure. The presence of nitric oxide in
the evolved gases was found to be due to the reduction of ni-
trates originally present in the solutions. 5 A,July, 1872,315.

BLUE COLOR FROM BOLETUS.

In the course of some recent experiments Dr. Phipson has
ascertained that a certain blue color, produced by the action
of hypochlorite of lime on the alcoholic solution of a yellow-
ish coloring matter of Boletus luridus^etc. (species of fungi),
may be reproduced almost exactly from phenol, which ren-
ders it probable that the vegetable blue in question belongs
to the phenyl group 1 A, June 28, 1872, 301.

SOLUBILITY OF SALTS AND GASES IN WATER.

M. Tommasi communicates to Les Mondes the following
laws in reference to the solubility of salts and of simple gases
in water, which he thinks he has established, but for which he
desires additional verification. These are as follows: First, for
salts belonging to the same chemical formula (as sulphates,
bromides, etc.) the coefficients of solubility are in direct ra-
tio to their specific heat; one exception only, so far, has been
met with, namely, chloride of manganese. Second, for simple
gases the case is just the reverse from that of salts, namely,
that their solubility in water is in inverse ratio to their spe-
cific heat. 3 B.June 13, 1872, 266.

SOLIDIFICATION OF SOLUTIONS IN COUNTRY AIR.

According to Tomlinson, supersaturated saline solutions,
which would instantly solidify if exposed to the air of a
room, may be kept for many hours in the open air of the
country without crystallization, even newly sprouted leaves
not acting as nuclei. 21 A. March, 1872, 218.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CLEAN AND FOUL SALMON.

Every one conversant with the fish is aware of the great
difference in taste and value between what are called the
clean and foul salmon, and Professor Christison has endeav-
ored to determine the precise nature of the difference by
means of chemical analysis. The most prominent indication

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 107

was the occurrence of a large percentage of oil in the clean
salmon, and a deficiency in that of the poorer qualities. As
a mean of the examinations made by Professor Christison,
he states that in clean salmon there are 18.53 per cent, of oil,
19.70 per cent, nitrogenous matter, 0.88 per cent, saline mat-
ter, and of water 60.89 per cent.; while in foul salmon the
amount of oil was only 1.25 per cent., and of water 80.88 per
cent., the saline and nitrogenous matter not being materially
different, although the latter was somewhat diminished.
2 A, April 13, 1872,257.

TESTING ANIMAL FLUIDS.

According to Mr. J. A. Wanklyn, the differential action of
potassic hydrate and potassium permanganate may serve as
a method to distinguish between various animal fluids. When
these are evaporated down with excess of potassa solution,
and then maintained for some time at 150, a certain propor-
tion of ammonia is evolved ; and if the residue be now boiled
with an alkaline solution of potassium permanganate, a fur-
ther definite quantity of ammonia is given off, the relative
amount of ammonia evolved by these two additions being
constant for the same animal fluid. The author has exam-
ined by this method urine, milk, blood, white of egg, and gel-
atine, the latter of which gives but a mere trace of ammonia
by treatment with caustic potash. It would be possible by
this process to distinguish between a spot of milk and one
of white of egg on a cambric handkerchief. 1 A, June 14,
1872,284.

PURPUROPIIYL, A DERIVATIVE OF CI1L0R0PHYL.

If we boil chlorophyl with potash lye for a quarter of an
hour we shall have a mixture of a green color, which may
be filtered, and hydrochloric acid added. As soon as the
potash is neutralized a precipitate is produced ; and on add-
ing more acid the liquid becomes of a bright grass-green col-
or ; and Avhen again neutralized with carbonate of lime a
green precipitate is formed, constituting a new substance,
which has been called purpurophyl. This, when washed with
water and covered with alcohol, assumes a fine purple tint,
and is turned green by ammonia. 3 A, June 29, 1872, 560.

108 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS OF DISTILLATION.

Messieurs Pierre and Puchot have been prosecuting some
researches into the alcoholic products of distillation, and find
that these consist, first, of aldehyde; second, of ethylic ace-
tate ; third, of propylic alcohol ; fourth, of butylic alcohol ;
fifth, of amylic alcohol ; and sixth, of essential oils.

For the purpose of determining the existence of these va-
rious products as chemical substances, and formed at the ex-
pense of sugar during fermentation, the authors above named
have submitted them to numerous chemical tests, and have
also sought for the means of depriving vinous alcohol, prop-
perly speaking, of these various substances, for the practical
purposes of purification, as it is to the presence of one or oth-
er of them that the defective taste of certain forms of spirits
is attributed.

Among the indirect results reached in their inquiries, the
authors maintain that it is incorrect to say, when two non-
miscible liquids are boiled together, that the atmospheric
pressure is equal to the sum of the elastic forces of the va-
pors of the two liquids, estimated separately at the tempera-
ture at which the mixture boils; but that, first, when two
non-miscible liquids are boiled together, one of them being
water, the boiling-point of the mixture is below that of the
liquid that boils most readily ; second, this boiling-point of
the mixture continues absolutely constant as long as there
remains an appreciable quantity of each of the two liquids ;
third, this constancy is independent of the relative propor-
tions of the two liquids ; fourth, the mixed vapors condensed
during distillation have a direct relation to each other, inde-
pendently of the relative proportions of the two liquids
brought together in the distilling apparatus. 1 B, June 23,
1872,209.

MINERAL WORKS AT STASSFURT.

Few more happy illustrations of the valuable practical ap-
plications of chemistry have ever been given than in the
treatment of a substance, at first believed to be worthless,
found at the village of Stassfurt, about twelve miles from
Magdeburg, in Germany, in the course of borings for rock
salt, which were first made in 1839, but were not brought to

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 109

a successful result until after the supposed refuse substance,
containing magnesic salts, was pierced. The entire deposit
is upward of 1300 feet thick, and consists of four groups or
regions. The lowest is the rock salt ; the next is the poly-
halite group, in which common salt predominates, but mixed
with magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The third is called
the kieserite region, consisting principally of an abnormal
hydrated magnesic sulphate. The fourth, the Abraum salt,
the most interesting of the whole, chiefly consists of a double
chloride of potassium and magnesium, which occurs both of
a white and red color, and contains traces of other salts, and
includes several minerals, such as sylvin, kainite, tachydrite,
stassfurtite, etc. From these various substances, principally
from the Abraum salts, an immense variety of products is
now obtained, the most important being potassic chloride.
Besides this, there is a considerable quantity of chloride of
magnesium and of bromine, of which latter substance about
30 tons are manufactured annually. Some of the other prod-
ucts are saltpetre and carbonate of soda, the latter being
made in large quantities for use in soap-boiling and bleach-
ing, as well as in glass and alum manufactories. A large
proportion of the bleaching salts are used in the preparation
of manures, made by adding them to phosphatic or other ma-
nures obtained elsewhere; of such manures more than 270,000
tons were produced in 1869. 13 A, July 15, 1872, 269.

COMBUSTIBILITY OF IROX.

An interesting experiment to demonstrate the combustibil-
ity of iron has lately been devised by Professor Magnus, of
Berlin. He takes a straight bar-magnet of some power, and
sprinkles iron filings on one of its poles. These filings arrange
themselves in accordance with the lines of magnetic force,
and however closely they may appear to be packed, of course
no two of the metallic filaments are parallel, and consequent-
ly a certain portion of air is inclosed, as in a metallic sponge.
The flame of a spirit-lamp or gas-burner readily ignites the
finely-divided iron, and it continues to burn most brilliantly
for a considerable time.

If the experimenter stands on a little elevation, and waves
the magnet to and fro while burning, a most magnificent rain
of fire is produced. The experiment was first exhibited in

110 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Berlin before the Emperor of Germany and his court, and ex-
cited much admiration. 3 A, August 10, 1872, 96.

ACTION AT EED HEAT OF CHAECOAL AND 1E0N ON CAEBONIC

ACID.

Professor Dumas, in summing up the result of an investiga-
tion into the action exercised at a red heat by charcoal and
iron upon carbonic acid, remarks that we may consider as es-
tablished, first, that absolutely dry carbonic acid, in passing
over charcoal entirely freed from hydrogen, is converted, at a
dull, cherry-red heat, into oxide of carbon; second, that if the
charcoal is in excess, the carbonic acid disappears entirely, re-
placed by perfectly pure oxide of carbon ; third, that wood
charcoal, heated most energetically, retains some hydrogen or
water, which it loses only under the prolonged influence of
chlorine at a red heat ; fourth, that charcoal which has not
undergone treatment by chlorine, being employed to convert
the carbonic acid into oxide of carbon, always furnishes a
gas, accompanied by some traces of hydrogen ; fifth, that a
slow current of dry carbonic acid is partly converted by iron,
heated to a dull, cherry red, into oxide of carbon, a consider-
able proportion of the carbonic acid always remaining unal-
tered, or becoming regenerated. 6 .2?, August 26, 1872, 519.

PEODUCTION OF CEETAIN METALS IN 1866.

A few interesting facts in regard to the production of some
of the less extensively used metals have come to light through
the Paris Exposition of 1867. The yearly product of arsenic
was 5210 centners (each 110 pounds nearly) of which En-
gland produced 2230 ; Austria, 250 ; Prussia, 2450 ; Saxony,
280 or about 286 tons. The yearly production of mercury
was 64,392 centners of which California produced 36,000 ;
Spain, 22,000; Peru, 3200 ; Germany and France, 2600 ; Italy,
592 or about 3541 tons. The yearly production of antimony
was 8370 centners of which England produced 4000; Aus-
tria, 1600; France, 1100; Northern Germany, 1300; Italy,
200 ; Spain, 170 or about 460 tons.

A singular point in the above statement is the large amount
of arsenic that is consumed. It is well known that mercury
is very largely used in mining operations, as well as for ba-
rometers, thermometers, voltaic batteries, and points ; and we

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. m

may easily account for any moderate consumption of anti-
mony, from the fact that it enters largely into the composi-
tion of all type-metal. But arsenic is popularly supposed to
be a comparatively rare metal, best known, in the form of
white arsenic, as a deadly poison. It is, however, very exten-
sively used in the arts, forming a prominent constituent of
the finer kinds of paint, and employed extensively by glass-
makers.

OX ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION.

An exhaustive essay upon alcoholic fermentation, by Pro-
fessor Dumas, in an August number of the Comptes Kenclus,
is summarized by the London Chemical News as follows: No
chemical movement excited in a saccharine liquor can convert
sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid. The simple fermenta-
tion of a saccharine liquor and yeast may be regulated like
any other chemical reaction. The duration of the fermen-
tation is exactly proportionate to the quantity of sugar con-
tained in the liquid. Fermentation proceeds more slowly in
the dark, and in vacuo. No oxidation takes place during the
fermentation. Neutral gases do not modify the fermentation,
inducing action of yeast. Sulphur is converted into sulphu-
reted hydrogen by the fermentation. Acids, bases, and salts
can exercise an accelerating or retarding, disturbing or de-
structive, action on fermentation ; but the accelerating action
is more rarely observed. Very dilute acids do not affect fer-
mentation, but acids in larger quantity completely destroy
it. The same applies to alkalies. Carbonated alkalies only
impede fermentation when they are present in, or added to,
the fermenting liquid in large quantity. Earthy carbonates
do not interfere with fermentation. Neutral salts of }:>otassa
and of some other bases exert no influence upon the process.
Silicate of potassa, borate of soda, soap, sulphites, hyposul-
phites, neutral tartrate of potassa, and acetate of potassa may
be applied for the physiological analysis of ferment, and for
studying its mode of action. 1 A, August 1C, 1872, 209.

NOCTILUCINE.

A communication from Mr. Phipson appears in the Comp-
tes Rendus, upon what he calls noctilucine, and which he
claims to be a hitherto undistinguished organic substance,

112 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

widely distributed in nature, and which constitutes the phos-
phorescent matter of animals, living or dead. This is not
only the cause of the phosphorescence of dead fish and dead
animal matter, but it is secreted by certain luminous worms
(the scolopendra, etc), and probably by all animals which
shine in the dark, and frequently by certain living plants
(Agaricus, JSuphorbia, etc.). It is also developed by the de-
composition of vegetable matters, under certain conditions
(fermentation of potatoes, etc.).

At the ordinary temperature noctilucine is an almost liq-
uid, nitrogenized matter. It mixes with water, but does
not dissolve in it, and appears to have a density little less
than this liquid. It is white, and, whether extracted from a
living or dead animal, is luminous, and possesses an odor re-
sembling that of caprylic acid. It is insoluble in alcohol
and ether, and is dissolved and easily decomposed by the
mineral acids and alkalies. When fermented in contact witli
water, it disengages an odor of cheese. When fresh it is
strongly phosphorescent, the production of light being due
to its oxidation in contact with moist air. Indeed, it will
shine as well in water as in air. It is a little more brilliant
in oxygen gas ; and it has been observed that it is always
most lustrous when the wind blows from the southwest
that is to say, when there is most ozone in the air. As soon
as the oxidation of all the matter is accomplished the produc-
tion of light ceases. If the slightest quantity of air adheres
to it, it shines for some moments in moist carbonic acid.

In phosphorescent animals noctilucine is supplied from a
special organ as the bile is secreted by the liver and ap-
pears to be employed to produce light almost as soon as it
is formed. It is also produced in certain conditions of tem-
perature and moisture by dead animal matter of various
kinds ; but whatever its source, it always gives the same
kind of light that is to say, one that is almost monochro-
matic, giving a spectrum principally visible between the lines
E and F, and possessing the same uniform chemical proper-
ties, as far as has been observed. It is secreted in a state
of considerable purity by the Scolopendra electrica, and, by
causing several of these myriapods to run about on a large
capsule of glass, enough can be obtained to allow an exami-
nation of its principal properties.

D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 113

From Lampyrus and the phosphorescence of dead fish it
can always be obtained in a state of less purity. The secre-
tion of this substance by the luminous animals higher in the
scale, such as Lampyrus and others, is, without doubt, up to
a certain point, under the influence of the nervous system,
this permitting them to shine at will. In this case the se-
cretion is arrested for the moment, but it is known that the
eggs of Lampyrus shine for some time after they are laid,
probably from containing a small quantity of noctilucine.
In the animals lower in the scale there appears to be the ex-
istence of a special organ for the production of light; and
where w r e find scarcely any traces of a nervous system the
secretion of luminous matter is often subject to external cir-
cumstances. 6 B, August 26, 1872, 547.

SYNTHESIS OF AMMONIA.

According to Chartier, if a current of electricity with-
out sparks be passed through a tube containing hydrogen
and nitrogen, a notable quantity of ammonia will immediate-
ly be formed. Hydrogen, similarly electrized, will decom-
pose fresh oxide of silver that has not become too old. In
the course of this combination, effected at the ordinary tem-
perature, the silver presents itself in small globules, which
imprison the oxygen, which is subsequently disengaged with
the formation of small lamellre of silver. 3 J5, August 22,
1872,698.

CARBONIC ACID OF SEA-WATER.

Mr. Lant Carpenter, who has been investigating the amount
of gaseous constituents in samples of deep sea-water obtained
during the Porcupine expedition of 1869-70, remarks that the
analyses show that both surface and bottom water contain
more carbonic acid and less oxygen in the more southern
than in the more northern latitudes. The examinations made
embraced samples taken from localities extending from the
Faroe Islands to Lisbon. Contrary to the general supposi-
tion, how r ever, he reports that there is no greater quantity
of dissolved caseous constituents in the bottom than in the
surface water, although he fully admits the power of press-
ure at great depths to retain gases in solution if once evolved
there. 1 A, August 23, 1872, 88.

114 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

NATIVE SULPHURIC ACID IN TEXAS.

According to a communication presented to the British
Association by Professor J. W. Mallet, of the University of
Virginia, sulphuric acid occurs native in certain pools in the
midst of the open prairie to the westward of the Nueces River,
in Texas. These pools are strongly acid, owing to the presence
of free sulphuric acid combined with various salts, especially
of aluminum and iron sulphates. At the bottom of some of
these lakes there is a deposit in which sulphur is largely
present.

A kind of petroleum is sometimes found oozing from the
soil to such an extent that sods taken up with the spade can
be ignited, and produce a considerable amount of light. Pro-
fessor Mallet was informed by Confederate officers serving
west of the Mississippi during the late war that during the
blockade of Southern ports the galvanic batteries of the tele-
graphic offices in Texas and Southern Louisiana were worked
with this sulphuric acid. 1 A, September 27, 1872, 147.

REDUCING POWER OF NASCENT HYDROGEN.

Active reducing properties are generally attributed to hy-
drogen liberated from palladium, which may have absorbed
it as the negative pole of an electrical circuit. Graham cites,
as remarkable evidence of this, the conversion of ferri-cyanide
of potassium into ferro-cyanide, and of sesqui-salts of iron into
proto-salts. Professor Bottger states, however, as the result
of his investigations, that palladium and some other metals,
as thallium magnesium, and arsenic, possess of themselves
such power, without previous absorption of hydrogen, when
placed in solutions of certain salts, especially of ferri-cyanide
of potassium and of sesqui-chloride of iron. He suggests, as
an experiment corroborative of the above, the placing of a
clean piece of palladium foil in one half per cent, solution of
ferri-cyanide of potassium, and after the lapse often minutes
testing the solution with a sesqui-salt of iron for ferro-cyan-
ide. 15 C\ 1872, 274.

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 115

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.

RISING OF THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH NEAR THE NORTH

POLE.

Mr. Ho worth calls attention to certain changes in the sur-
face of, the globe, affecting the ancient ethnography, and en-
deavors to show that, at the present time, the area of upheav-
al in the northern hemisphere is confined to the land border-
ing the polar sea and to the polar sea itself; also that the
upheaval is perfectly continuous all round the earth, and is
greatest near the pole, gradually diminishing until it disap-
pears about the 57th parallel, and leading to the conclusion
that the focus of upheaval is the pole itself. This suggestion
is supported by citations of various authors as to the differ-
ence in the distribution of land and water in the northern
countries at an early period and at the present time, illustra-
tions being drawn from various parts of Scandinavia, Spitz-
bergen, Northern Siberia, etc. In Spitzbergen and the polar
sea of Siberia it is said that the water has shallowed so fast
as to have excluded the right whale, which formerly was
known to abound there; and the occurrence of skeletons of
whales high up on the northern shores, of species of shells on
considerable elevations similar to those of the adjacent wa-
ters, still retaining their color, and many other arguments,
are brought forward to prove the probability of the sugges-
tion. 12 A, December 28, 1871, 1G2.

NEW METEORITES FROM GREENLAND.

We informed our readers some months ago that amono- the
special objects of one of the Swedish arctic expeditions was
the acquisition of some immense masses of meteoric iron found
in the southern part of Greenland. Telegraphic advices from
Stockholm announced not long since the return of this expe-
dition and the successful accomplishment of its mission, and
we now learn by accounts in the foreign journals that numer-
ous masses were obtained, the largest weighing about 41,000
pounds, with a maximum sectional area of 42 square feet.
The second in size weighed about 20,000 pounds, and was

11 G ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

presented to Denmark, upon whose territory it had been
found. The masses are mostly of iron, and exhibit all the
usual characteristics. They were found lying loose on the
shore, but resting upon basaltic rocks, supposed to be of the
miocene age, and in which they appear to have been imbed-
ded, possibly by having fallen when the rock was still in a
molten condition. Although these masses were found loose
on the shore between high and low water mark, they are de-
composing very rapidly since they have been transferred to
Stockholm ; so much so that it has been found almost impos-
sible to preserve them indeed, it has been actually proposed
to immerse them in alcohol for this purpose. Mr. Maskelyne,
of the British Museum, has suggested that this destruction is
due to the absorption of chlorine, and advises the application
of a varnish of shellac, dissolved in nearly absolute alcohol,
and applied hot. 1 A, November 17, 1871, 239.

ROSTHORNITE, A NEW FOSSIL RESIN.

A new fossil resin, named rosthornite, is described by Hofer

as occurring in the coal of the Sonneberg, in Carinthia. This

has a fatty lustre, a brown color with garnet-red gloss, wine-
yellow by transmitted light, and a light brown to orange-yel-
low streak. When heated in the air it gives off white vapors
having an aromatic odor, and burns with a smoky flame with-
out leaving any residue. In chemical composition this min-
eral approaches most nearly to enosmite, and still more to the
fossil resin of Girona, in New Granada. This substance can
not be properly assigned to any of the groups already estab-
lished among the fossil resins, but seems rather to conform
to the type of a solid resin, rich in carbon but poor in oxy-
gen. 21 A, December, 1871,1174.

NEW MINERALS.

The discovery of several new minerals has lately been an-
nounced. Among them may be mentioned Julianite, a species
somewhat resembling fahlerz, occurring in small groups of
cubic crystals of a dark gray color, and containing As 2 Cu 3 S 6 ,
part of the arsenic being replaced by antimony and iron, and
part of the copper by silver. The ore was formerly found in
the Friederike-Juliane Mine, at Rudelstadt, in Silesia. An-
other species is Beyrichite, from the Wester w aid. This occurs

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 117

in groups of maculed prisms, of a lead-gray color, with a faint
metallic lustre. A native silicate, hitherto undescribed, has
been called Bismuthoferrite by Frenzel. This occurs at
Schneeberg, in Saxony. Other new species, described by
Weisbach, are Trbgerite audWalpurgine. 16^1, April, 1872,
261.

ILSEMANNITE, A NEW MINERAL.

A mineral which has been termed ilsemannite has lately
been described as new by Hofer, and as occurring in some
heavy spar from Bleiberg. From its chemical composition
it is believed to be a product of the decomposition of wul-
fenite. 13 A, January 1, 18*72, 15.

MONZONITE, A NEW MINERAL.

Yon Kobell describes a new mineral, called monzonite, as
occurring in Monte Monzoni, in the Fassa Valley. 21 A, De-
cember, 1871,1178.

NEW MINERALS.

The discovery of two new mineral substances has been an-
nounced, under the names of cendeo-lactine and variscite.
The first-named occurs in Nassau, in abed of brown iron ore,
where it is found in threads and veins, and in cliffs in botry-
oidal and reniform masses. It consists of thirty-seven parts
of phosphoric acid, thirty-nine of alumina, and twenty-three
of water. The variscite occurs in Saxony in quartz in sili-
cious shale, and is quite similar to ceruleo-lactine, and also
consists of phosphoric acid, alumina, and water, with a few
other ingredients. 21 A, Nov., 1872, 1014.

CORUNDUM IN NORTH CAROLINA.

Professor Leidy, at a meeting of the Philadelphia Academy
of Sciences, on the Gth of February, exhibited specimens of
corundum from Macon County, North Carolina, which, he
said, were especially interesting, as they consisted of frag-
ments of large crystals of gray corundum, containing in the
interior dark blue sapphire, and coated on the exterior with
bright red ruby. One pyramid of a large crystal from the
same locality recently brought to that city weighs 300
pounds. 12 B.Feb. 6, 1872.

118 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
DIAMONDS IN XANTfiOPHYLLITE.

We have already referred to the discovery of diamonds in
xanthophyllite, and the suggestion that this is the true ma-
trix of the mineral. We are now informed that Von Helmer-
sen has succeeded in isolating the diamonds in the form of
fine powder by treating the xanthophyllite with acids. The
greenish-gray less transparent varieties of xanthophyllite
contain diamonds in greater abundance than the yellow
transparent plates of that rock. 13 A, Jan. 1, 1872, 15.

METEORIC ORIGIN OF SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMONDS.

A French writer takes the ground that the diamonds of
the Cape of Good Hope were originally components of aero-
lites which fell there, and were scattered over a great dis-
tance in a certain definite direction. This view is largely
based upon the asserted fact that these objects occur on the
summit of the highest mountains and in the plains, but very
rarely, if ever, at great depths. 3 J3, Dec. 14, 1871, 601.

bed of Glauber's salt.

A deposit of Glauber's salt has lately been discovered in
the Caucasus, not very far from Tiflis and Marienfeld. In
sinking a shaft the experimenters first passed through one
foot of marl, two and a half feet of gray moist clay, seven of
dark gray bituminous saline clay, then penetrated a bed of
pure Glauber's salt to a depth of five feet, with a probability
that the thickness was much greater. In the same region
there are various lakes filled with solutions of Glauber's salt,
which furnish the apothecaries of that neighborhood with
what they need of that substance, as it crystallizes in perfect
purity along the edge of the water. 18 G^Feb. 21,1872, 118.

MILLEPORA LIMESTONE.

Various triassic and tertiary limestones are composed of
small organic bodies generally called millipores, and Gumbel
has lately been investigating specimens from several locali-
ties and formations. He finds occasion to divide them into
two great groups, one belonging to the dactylopores of the
triassic age, the other to lithothamnium of the tertiary. The
latter group is interesting from the fact that its recent rep-

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 119

resentatives contain only 2 per cent, of organic matter, the
remainder being inorganic, consisting chiefly of carbonates,
which were most probably produced in the organism of the
plant from the sulphate of lime and magnesia of the sea wa-
ter. Enormous deposits of " millepora" limestone found in
Europe were caused by the agency of this group. A feature
of interest is the vast percentage of magnesia in some recent
formations, in certain cases amounting to 17 per cent., and it
is suggested that the formation of dolomitic limestone may
be closely related to this form as the active agent. 13 A,
March 1, 1872,94.

BITUMINOUS SHALES IN AUSTRALIA AND INDIA.

An extensive bed of bituminous shales has been discovered
eighty miles from Sydney, Australia, near to the western slope
of the Blue Mountains, and a large establishment has been
erected for the purpose of obtaining oil. The seam is hori-
zontal, and from five and a half to six feet thick, in stratified
sandstone. About one hundred tons of the slate are worked
up weekly. The crude oil first obtained is subsequently con-
verted into burning fluid, lubricating oil, etc. In that portion
of India, also, adjoining the mountains of Persia, principally
occupied by the cretaceous and tertiary strata, sufficient traces
of petroleum have been found to make it important to make
farther investigations. Petroleum has likewise already been
obtained in the vicinity of Gunda. 18 C, 1871, 752.

MICROSCOPICAL COMPOSITION OF SLATE.

Zirkel has been studying the microscopic constitution of
clay and roofing slate, and finds that these are not composed
simply of elastic and dialitic mineral constituents, nor of the
hardened and finely ground mud of pre-existing rocks, but
that they embrace within their texture microscopical crystal-
line and crystallized constituents which vary in amount, and
often play the principal part in the composition of the strata.
7 C, Mb., 1872, 128.

ANALYSIS OF METEORIC SAND.

A meteoric sand which accompanied a heavy rain-storm in
Sicily, on the 9th of March, 1872, has been reported upon by
Silvestri, who states that the sand strained out from the wa-

120 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

ter consisted of about seventy-five per cent, of a clayey sub-
stance, colored yellow by oxide of iron, eleven per cent, of
carbonate of lime, and about fourteen per cent, of organic
matter. In this the microscope revealed numerous vegetable
fragments, such as hairs of plants, membrane, scales, seeds,
etc., with various diatoms and living infusoria, while the wa-
ter contained carbonate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, car-
bonate of iron, sulphate of lime, chloride of potassium, sul-
phate of soda, etc. 18 C.June 12,1872,377.

ORIGIN OF COAL.

According to Professor Wiirtz, the formation of coal de-
pends entirely upon the action of the iron which was dissolved
in the waters of the coal period. The combinations of iron
with which coal is always accompanied are pyrites, iron spar,
and hydrated oxide. These were doubtless derived from the
strata interjected between the coal-beds. In this case the
oxygenated water appeared to act upon the metallic sulphur-
ets w r hich were contained in the crystalline slates, from the
destruction of which these coal strata were derived. Coal,
consequently, is the normal result of the eremacausis of or-
ganic substances in waters which contain sulphate of iron
and free carbonic acid. An immense pressure upon the mass,
while in a plastic condition, was also, without doubt, an addi-
tional element of importance. 9 (7, Nov., 1871, 86.

DISCOVERY OF COAL IN CHILE.

Late Chilian papers announce the discovery of important
mines of coal in that country, especially along the Gulf of
Aranco, near the mouth of the Carampangue River. Accord-
ing to an official report, one of these veins is five feet thick,
and is estimated to contain four million tons of coal. Pan-
ama Star and Herald, April 19, 1872, 3.

FRESHWATER LAKES.

It is generally supposed that lakes and other bodies of
water which receive the final drainage of streams, and are
themselves without an outlet, are more or less salt an in-
stance of this being seen in the Great Salt Lake of North
America, and in other bodies of water. It is said, however,
that the waters of Lake Peten, in Yucatan, are fresh, though

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 12 l

without an outlet, as are also those of Lake Araqua, in Ven-
ezuela, and the lakes near Damascus, into which the Abana
andPharpar respectively discharge. 12 A, Jan. 11,1872, 203.

PHOSPHATE BEDS ON THE DNIESTER.

The immense deposits of mineral phosphates in South Car-
olina bid fair to be matched by those lately discovered on
the banks of the Dniester, in Eastern Europe. From a re-
port of an investigation by Schwackhufer, ordered by the
Austrian government, we learn that these phosphatic concre-
tions differ from those hitherto observed in bein^ almost en-
tirely globular, with concentric radiated joints in their inte-
rior, and varying in diameter from half an inch to eight inch-
es. When powdered, and heated in the dark, a bluish phos-
phorescent light is observed. The region in which the phos-
phorite balls occur is characterized by the existence of Silu-
rian and cretaceous strata, all intermediate formations being
wanting. The silurian strata are principally represented by
limestone and clay slate, and the latter is either coarsely
granulated and compact, or in smooth, lustrous sheets. It is
in the latter alone that the phosphatic balls occur, and, in-
deed, only where this slate is immediately covered by the
chalk marl. From these considerations, it is inferred that the
balls consisted originally of carbonate of lime, which have
been transformed into phosphorite by the infiltration of phos-
phatic salts. The original material of these chalk concretions
was doubtless supplied by the chalk marl overlying the slate
in a manner familiar to geologists, and it may fairly be pre-
sumed that the phosphoric acid of the mineral is simply the
product of leaching out of the phosphatic slate above referred
to, since all the other constituents of the slate besides phos-
phoric acid are found in this mass. Herr Schwackhufer imi-
tated the mode of forming these balls by taking boys' mar-
bles and keeping them for several days in a solution of phos-
phate of soda or of iron, and observed the transformation into
phosphate of lime. An acid phosphate of lime is first pro-
duced, which is subsequently changed into the insoluble salt.
In nature this process must have been a long time in prog-
ress, but the result was sure to be attained ultimately. As
to quality, this phosphate promises to be of very decided val-
ue, showing a positive superiority over that of the Sombrero

F

122 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Islands. It occurs in immense masses, and, in fact, is appa-
rently almost inexhaustible. 19 C, Nov. 25, 1871, 382.

WAS THE NOETH POLE SITUATED IN THE DESEET OF SAHAEA
IN THE QUATEENAEY PEEIOD ?

A correspondent of the Association Scientifique de France
takes the ground that the phenomena of the quaternary pe-
riod are inexplicable on the ordinary principles assumed by
geologists, and that the only proper cause that can be as-
signed for them is a change in the position of the poles, the
northern of which, during this period, according to the writer,
was somewhere in the vicinity of the Desert of Sahara.
1 B, November 5, 1871.

UPHEAVAL OF THE SWEDISH COAST.

The rate of upheaval of the Swedish coast, a fact long
known to geologists, is shown by a large block, ten feet high
and fifteen feet broad, on the shore near Morup, which in
September, 1816, was four feet above high-water mark, as is
proved by an inscription to that effect. During the past
summer this block was 120 feet from the shore, indicating a
comparatively recent and rapid upheaval. The earliest rec-
ords of this stone state that it was close to the water, but not
in it, so that it w r ould appear that the upheaval commenced
in the present century. 13 A, March 1, 1872, 94.

TEMPEEATUEE OF LAVAS.

According to the investigations of Dr. Fuchs, of Heidel-
berg, it would appear from a study of the chemical processes
which take place in lavas at the moment of eruption, and by
the observation of the broken crystals in the lava, that the
melted masses some time before the eruption must have had
a higher temj)erature than at the moment of eruption. 12
A, February 1, 1872, 276.

ACTION OF EMANATIONS FEOM VESUVIUS ON VEGETATION.

Signor G. A. Pasquale has contributed to the Accademia
delle Scienze Fisiche e 3Iatematiche of Naples a paper in
which he accounts for the destruction of the vegetation dur-
ing the recent eruption of Vesuvius by the effects of the chlo-
ride of sodium which is deposited along with the ashes. The

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 123

destruction of the tissues he states to be far too rapid to be
attributable to the mechanical action of the ashes in closing
the pores of the leaves ; and there is no evidence of desic-
cation except in the immediate vicinity of the volcano, nor
of the change of color in the leaves and flowers which would
be the result of poisoning by acid fumes. Letter of Alfred
Bennett.

EARTHQUAKE IX CALIFORNIA.

On the 26th of March last an earthquake was experienced
in California and adjacent Territories, which is said to have
been the most severe since the American occupation of the
country. In October, 1869, a very violent shock occurred,
but the more recent one seems to have been of still greater
magnitude. Although rather feeble at San Francisco, it be-
came more and more severe toward the south, increasing in
energy, and being quite severe at the height of several thou-
sand feet up the Sierras. The area of disturbance was at
least 500 miles long by 60 to 100 wide. The shock was the
greatest in the valleys, and its line followed the Sierra. The
California papers were filled with local accounts of the dis-
turbance, consisting in the opening of fissures in the ground,
the change of level of adjacent localities, the drying of some
springs and the bursting forth of others, and various features
usually attendant upon such startling phenomena. San
Francisco Bulletin, March, 1872.

CHILIAN GLACIERS.

The overland journey from Talcahuana to Santiago by
Professor Agassiz, after leaving the Sassier, gave him an ex-
cellent opportunity of studying the glacial phenomena of the
south temperate zone. His route was by stage-coach to
Toma and Curico, the rest of his journey to Santiago being
by railway, thus making a distance of several hundred miles
through the entire country between the coast range and the
Andes. A correspondent on the Sassier writes that the pro-
fessor believes that the whole valley of southern and central
Chile, between the coast range and the Andes, was once the
bed of a glacier, or a part of a great glacial sheet moving
northward, and that, after the general glacial action had
ceased, large local glaciers descended from the Andes at cer-

124 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

tain points, leaving their moraines well marked as the record
of their extent; but in no case in the grounds passed over in
this journey did the local glaciers from the Andes appear to
have extended across the valley and reach the coast range.
/Semi-weekly 1ST. Y. Tribune, June 25, 1872.

GLACIERS IN ALGERIA.

Mr. Charles Grad, a well-known scientific writer, an Alsa-
tian by birth, but resident in Paris, has lately visited Alge-
ria for the purpose of deciding upon its availability for col-
onization on the part of such of his compatriots as prefer to
live under French rule .abroad to remaining in their own
country under German dominion. In addition to the special
objects of his mission, he has been devoting much of his time
to the determination of various scientific questions. He has
published papers upon the magnetic declination of Algeria,
and has also been inquiring into the glacial phenomena of
the mountains of Northern Africa. Among other observa-
tions he discovered the existence of enormous moraines on
the slopes of the mountains turning toward Sahara. He also
expected to find traces of old glaciers in Djurdjura and the
mountains of the great Kabylia. From daily observations
in regard to the sea temperature at La Calle, Algiers, and
Oran, and during a journey along the Algerian coast in De-
cember, he found the temperature on the high seas during
the month to be from 56 to 59 F. 17 C.June, 1872, 229. "

GLACIAL ACTION NEAR MONTEVIDEO.

A communication was presented to the National Academy
of Sciences at its annual meeting on the 16th of April last,
from Professor Agassiz, dated Montevideo, February 26. In
this he expresses his gratification at finding evident traces
of glacial action in the vicinity of Montevideo, as shown by
the occurrence of phenomena which were quite satisfactory
to his mind. He leaves the question undecided as to the
origin of the erratic boulders found scattered over the sur-
face, but hopes that his further investigations in the southern
hemisphere will enable him to supply the necessary data.
Proceedings of National Academy.

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 12 5

YELLOWSTONE PARK.

A preliminary report upon the hot springs, geysers, and
mud springs of the Yellowstone and Fire Hole Rivers has
been presented by Dr. Hayden in the February and March
numbers of the American Journal of Science, in which are
reproduced quite a number of the illustrations prepared for
his official report, which will probably appear before long.

The interest attaching to this wonderful region, first visit-
ed in 1870 by Governor Langford, Lieutenant Doane, and
others, and then more thoroughly explored in 1871 by Dr.
Hayden and General Barlow T , has been intensified by the
publication of a popular article on the subject in Scribner' , s
Monthly. The prompt passage of a law by Congress, reserv-
ing this tract for a national park about sixty by fifty miles
in extent, and embracing all the principal geysers, mud
springs, etc., is a subject for congratulation, as, under the di-
rection of the Secretary of the Interior, there is no doubt that
such regulations will be established as will secure to the peo-
ple of the country the right of free access to these wonders
of nature, unrestricted by such charges and exactions as now
render Niagara Falls a by-word and reproach.

SECOND REPORT OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIANA

FOR 1870.

The second report of the Geological Survey of Indiana,
made during the year 1870, under the direction of E. T. Cox,
State Geologist, has just made its appearance, and, like its
predecessor, appears to be a work of much scientific value.
In addition to the series of reports upon the geology of the
counties, it embraces a paper upon the Western coal measures
and Indiana coal, and a paper upon pala30zoic zoology, and
closes with an extended manual of the botany of Jefterson
County, Indiana, prepared by Professor A. H.Young, of Han-
over College. In this the total number of indigenous species
is given at 537, those introduced numbering 72.

REPORT OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF OHIO FOR 1870.

The report of progress for 1870 of the Geological Survey
of Ohio, under the direction of Professor J. S. New T berry, has
just been published at Columbus, forming a volume of nearly

126 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

six hundred pages, with a number of accompanying maps and
sections. The volume contains, besides a report of progress
of the survey for 1870, a sketch of the structure of the lower
coal measures in Northwestern Ohio by Professor Newberry;
the report of labors in the second geological district by Pro-
fessor E. B. Andrews, and on the geology of Highland County
by Professor Orton ; the report of the Agricultural Survey
of the State by Mr. J. H. Klippart ; a report of the chemical
department by Professor Wormley ; sketches of the geology
of several counties by Messrs. M. C. Read and E. Gilbert ; a
sketch of the present state of the iron manufacture in Great
Britain by W. W. Potter ; and a sketch of the present state
of the steel industry by Henry Newton.

All of these subjects are treated with great care, and the
whole volume bears ample testimony to the ability of the
chief geologist and the industry of his assistants. This vol-
ume is intended as simply preliminary to the final report,
which Professor Newberry hopes to have embodied in four
volumes two of them devoted to the geology and paleon-
tology, one to the economical geology, and one to agricul-
ture, botany, and zoology. The materials for these volumes
are in an advanced stage of forwardness, and will embrace
monographic treatises on the several subjects, which will be
of the utmost benefit in ascertaining and developing the re-
sources of the state. Report.

REPORT OF PROFESSOR HAYDEN's EXPLORATIONS.

The report of Professor Hayden of his geological explora-
tions in Montana and the adjacent Territories during the
past season has just been published at the office of the Con-
gressional printer, the promptness with which the manu-
script was furnished by the authors of the several papers and
printed by the public printer being deserving of much com-
mendation. The book itself is an octavo of five hundred
pages, with geological sections, maps, diagrams, and two
plates of new species of orthopterous insects.

Our readers will remember the interesting discoveries made
by Professor Hayden in the geyser region of the Yellowstone
Lake and Fire Hole River, resulting in the passage of a law
by Congress setting apart a tract of land nearly sixty miles
square as a public park forever for the benefit of the people
of the United States.

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 127

The present report contains full details of the country, the
location of the principal geysers and hot springs, and a plan
of the reservation in question. As appendices to the report,
we have a paper on the agricultural resources of the regions
traversed by Professor Thomas, and letters by Mr. R. S. El-
liott, well known for his labors in reference to tree-planting
on the prairies, and other subjects. A division of the volume
is devoted to the paleontology of the survey, and embraces
papers on the fossil flora by Professor Lesquereaux ; on the
fossil vertebrates of the cretaceous strata of Kansas, and of
the Wahsatch group, by Professor Cope ; on the vertebrates
of the tertiary formation of Wyoming by Professor Leidy ;
and on the invertebrate fossils by Professor Meek. Lists of
recent insects, reptiles, fishes, plants, etc., are also included,
as also a communication on meteorology by Mr. Beaman, one
of the assistants of the survey. Many new species, both re-
cent and fossil, are described in the report, and it is under-
stood that fuller details will hereafter appear, properly illus-
trated, in the final report, which is now in the course of prep-
aration.

REPORT OF MB. CLARENCE KING VOL. V.

Among the many works published by the United States
government, or at its expense, there are few that exceed in
intrinsic value, as well as in beauty, the volumes hitherto
printed belonging to the series of reports made by Mr. Clar-
ence King, of his geological and other explorations of the re-
gion along the fortieth parallel of latitude. This expedition
is still occupied in carrying out the work assigned to it by
the Engineer Department of the army, while reports are now
being made of such portions of the work as have been com-
pleted.

It is nearly a year since the volume upon the mining indus-
try of the Sierra* Nevada and other mineral regions of the
West was published, as prepared mainly by Mr. J. D. Hague
(one of Mr. King's assistants), but including articles by Mr.
King himself, and other members of the corps. This was ac-
companied by a large atlas of plates, and contained full de-
tails of all the methods of metallurgical operations and man-
ipulations, together with drawings of machinery, plans of
mines, sketches of mining geology, etc. This book has been

128 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

received with great favor every where, and has redounded
greatly to the credit of the United States, first in authorizing
the research, and then in publishing the results in so superior
a style.

We now have to chronicle the appearance of another vol-
ume of the series, namely, the Botany, as prepared under the
direction of Mr. Sereno Watson, the botanist of the expedi-
tion. This constitutes volume five of Mr. King's reports, and
number eighteen of the professional papers of the Engineer
Department of the army. The work embraces a report upon
the geography, meteorology, and physics of the region ex-
plored as connected with the general botany of the country,
catalogues of the known plants investigated, descriptions of
new genera and species, and various appendices these ac-
companied by forty plates of new or rare species.

Another volume of the series is now in press, and will
include the zoological portion, as furnished by Mr. Robert
Kidgway. This will probably appear in the course of a few
months.

It is not many years since the works published by the na-
tional printing-office in Washington were a by-word and re-
proach on account of the carelessness of their execution and
general inferiority to those of private establishments; and
efforts were continually made, on the part of those who val-
ued the dress in which their reports were to appear, to obtain
the privilege of having their printing done under other aus-
pices. With such examples, however, as this report of Mr.
King, and others which have lately made their appearance,
we may safely claim for our government establishment the
ability to produce scientific works in a style, as regards press-
work, paper, engraving, and binding, scarcely to be equaled,
and not to be excelled.

PEOGEESS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY OF CALIFOENIA.

The statement by Professor J. D.Whitney, of the present
condition of the geological survey of California, lately pre-
sented to the governor of the state, gives a gratifying pict-
ure of the activity and success in accomplishing the objects
for which the exploration was authorized. The state geolo-
gist remarks that less has been done than he had hoped, in
consequence of the suspension of the appropriations by a pre-

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 129

ceding Legislature. Since the work was resumed, however,
as the result of renewed appropriations by the Legislature
of 1869, the survey has been carried on as rapidly as the na-
ture of the service would allow.

Among the points particularly engaging the attention of
the state geologist was the completion of the topographical
map of California, it being readily understood that this must
be a necessary preliminary to a geological map. The survey
of Central California was considered especially interesting
and important, embracing, as it does, that portion of the
state from Owen's Lake on the south to Lassen's Peak on the
north, or between 36 and 40 30' north and south, and 117
30' and 123 east and west, the whole area comprising about
one third of the state, with probably ninety-five per cent, of
the population residing in it.

Of the portion included within these limits, represented
upon four maps, three are entirely drawn and partially en-
graved, while the fourth is two thirds drawn, with the field-
work of the remaining third yet to be done. A preliminary
map, however, of the whole of California, on a scale of eigh-
teen miles to an inch, has been drawn, in compliance with the
wish of the community, and will soon be ready for distribu-
tion.

Besides these, other works connected with the same subject
are reported by the state geologist, being the new editions
of the Yosemite Guide-book, and the publication of the first
volume of the " Ornithology of California," which is char-
acterized as a work exquisitely illustrated and admirably
printed. The remaining volumes of the series of reports are
so far completed as only to wait the continuance of appropria-
tions to place them in hand and secure their early appearance.

Arrangements have also been made with Mr. Lesquereux
to work up the fossil plants of California, and with Dr. Leidy
and Professor Meek in regard to the fossils. Professor Brew-
er, of the survey, is well advanced in the work on the botany
of California, which, when completed, will doubtless be used
extensively as a text-book. It is much to be hoped that very
liberal appropriations will be made for these important ob-
jects, since its chief and his assistants are known to be among
the very best specialists in America, and their work has com-
manded the highest respect among naturalists at home and

F 2

130 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

abroad. The reports themselves are models of perfection in
regard to typography and general execution, and are not to
be surpassed by the finest European works, whether published
by governments or private parties. It may be stated as a
well-known fact that much interest has been excited through-
out the scientific circles of Europe by the character of the
work done under the auspices of the state, and the utmost
admiration expressed in regard to its liberality and enter-
prise, this example being commended to European govern-
ments as eminently worthy of their imitation.

SOUTH AMERICAN" GLACIERS.

Professor Agassiz, in a letter dated July 29, and addressed
to Professor Peirce, makes a second communication in refer-
ence to the geological structure of Southern South America,
with special reference to the glacial phenomena heretofore in-
dicated by him. He refers to the broad Chilian valley, which
lies between the Andes and the coast range, and extends from
the Gulf of Ancud to Santiago, and still farther north. This
is a continuation, upon a high level, of the channels which,
from the Straits of Magellan to Chiloe, separate the islands
from the main-land, with the sole interruption of Tres Montes.
This great valley, covering some 25 of latitude, he considers
as a continuous glacier bottom, giving indications through-
out its entire length of the great southern ice-sheet which has
been moving northward in it. He found nothing to show that
glaciers had descended from the Andes and crossed this val-
ley so as to reach the shores of the Pacific.

Between Currillo and Santiago, however, passing the gorge
of Tenon, he saw two distinct lateral moraines parallel to one
another. These were chiefly composed of volcanic boulders
resting upon the old drift, and indicated by their position the
course of a large glacier that once poured down from the
Andes of Tenon and crossed the main valley, without, how-
ever, extending beyond the eastern slope of the coast range.
These moraines are so well marked that they are known
throughout the country as the Cerillos of Tenon.

He finds it difficult, in his brief communication, to describe
the successive retrograde steps of the great southern ice-field
that, step by step, left to the north of it larger or smaller
tracts of the valley free of ice, so that large glacial lakes could

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 131

be formed, and, in fact, seem always to have existed, along
the retreating edge of the great southern glacier. The natu-
ral consequence is that there are every where stratified ter-
races, without border barriers (these originally constituted by
the ice that has vanished), resting at successively higher or
lower levels as one moves north or south upon unstratified
drift of older date, the northernmost of these terraces being
the oldest, while those farther south belong to later steps in
the waning of the ice-fields. New York Herald, Sept. 6, 1872.

RECENT UPHEAVAL OF THE PATAGONIAN COAST.

In illustration of the recent upheaval of certain portions of
the South American coast, Professor Agassiz, speaking in a
letter to Professor Peirce of the geology of the Straits of Ma-
gellan, remarks that about a mile back from the shore, near
Possession Bay, he found, at a height of nearly 150 feet above
the sea-level, a salt pond, which, to his very great surprise,
contained marine shells, some of them still living, of species
common in the adjacent ocean waters. The most abundant
were Fusus, My 'tilus'JBuccinum, Patella, etc., occurring in ap-
parently the same numerical relation as in the waters of the
bay.

The period at which this upheaval took place could not be
determined ; but it certainly could not be very remote, in
view of the fact that so many specimens were still living. The
pond appears to become nearly dry in the winter season, the
small quantity of water remaining in it being intensely saline.
JVew York Tribune, July 2, 1872.

OCCURRENCE OF ASPHALTS.

Professor Newberry > in an article published in the Amer-
ican Chemist upon the asphalts, expresses the opinion that,
without exception, they are more or less perfectly solidified
products of the spontaneous evaporation of petroleum. In
many instances the process of the formation of asphalt may
be witnessed as it takes place in nature, and in oil stills vari-
eties of asphalt are constantly produced, These are undistin-
guishable from the natural ones.

Among the most important of our asphaltic minerals are
the Albertite and Grahamite the first from New Brunswick,
the second from West Virginia. Both occur in fissures opened

132 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

across their bedding in strata of carboniferous age. There is
little room for doubt that the fissures which contain the as-
phalt have afforded convenient reservoirs into which petro-
leum has flowed, and from which all the lighter parts have
been removed by evaporation. Similar deposits, of less mag-
nitude, are known in Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio, and Kentucky.
In Southern California, Western Canada, and elsewhere, as-
phalt may still be seen passing through the process of forma-
tion from petroleum, and especially in Santa Barbara and San
Luis Obispo, where the accumulations of asphalt are well
known to geologists. It also occurs on the shores of the Gulf
of Mexico; but it is in Trinidad, according to Dr. Newberry,
that we must look for the greater part of the supply that is
likely to be required for various purposes, especially those
connected with road-making. The quantity appears to be in-
exhaustible, and the quality is the very best ; and its acces-
sibility to the sea-ports of the United States renders its trans-
portation so cheap that it may be furnished, to the Atlantic
cities especially, at much less cost than any of the asphalts
from the interior. American Chemist, May, 1872, 428.

PRECIOUS STONES IN ARIZONA.

Much interest has been excited of late in the minds of the
public by the alleged discovery of vast numbers of diamonds
and precious stones in Arizona, and numerous parties have
started for the locality with the intention of availing them-
selves of the riches thus offered. Professor J. Lawrence Smith,
one of our highest authorities on such subjects, informs us
that the diamond, in all probability, if found at all, will be of
but little commercial importance, but that he is quite prepared
to hear of rubies, sapphires, and amethysts of more or less
value. He, however, considers the corundum deposits of North
Carolina to be quite as likely to furnish these gems, and pos-
sibly of superior quality. San Francisco Bulletin, August
30,1872.

TRIMORPHOUS CONDITION OF SILICA.

Professor Maskelyne, of the British Museum, announces the
discovery of a new form of crystallized silica, detected by him
in a meteorite found in 1861 at Breitenbach,in Bohemia. The
best-known species of silica is common quartz, which crys-

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 133

tallizes in the hexagonal system, and has a specific gravity
of 2.6. Professor Rath, however, not long since detected a
second species of silica, which he called Tridyraite, having a
specific gravity of only 2.3, crystallizing in the hexagonal
system, but with different parameters from those of quartz.
The discovery of Professor Maskelyne shows that silica is
trimorphous, and for this third species he proposes the name
of Asmanite. The specific gravity is very low, 2.245, in
this resembling Tridymite, from which, however, it differs
in being a biaxial mineral, and belonging to the orthorhom-
bic or prismatic system. Its hardness is 5.5. Two analyses
show that it consists essentially of silica, and contains but
a small percentage of foreign matter. The Asmanite is as-
sociated in the Breitenbach meteorite with enstatite, chro-
mite, triolite or meteoric pyrites, and nickeliferous iron.
10 A, July, 1872,389.

IRON SAND ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

The discovery that the iron sand, so abundant on the shores
of Australia and New Zealand, is capable of being smelted by
a very simple and cheap process into iron of the best quali-
ty has stimulated search for similar deposits on the western
coast of the United States ; and at a meeting of the Academy
of Sciences of San Francisco,Dr. Stout announced that he had
found such a deposit within fifty miles of that city, and in-
dulged in glowing anticipations of an important addition to
the resources of the state, more valuable, perhaps, than her
treasures of gold or quicksilver.

Similar iron sands are found at various points on the west-
ern coast, and are extremely abundant throughout the whole
chain of the Aleutian Islands. It is, perhaps, from the vol-
canic character of the region, that Dr. Stout announced the
novel hypothesis that this iron was probably formed by the
discharge from volcanoes of vapor containing iron in suspen-
sion, and which, becoming condensed by electric action, fell
again on the earth or into the water as iron sand, this being
subsequently washed up and accumulated on the shores.

Dr. Gibbons did not feel inclined to accept this theory, and
believed that it was produced by the wearing away by the
action of the sea of the sea-side strata containing iron, com-
minuting it into fine powder. lie anticipated one difficulty in

134 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

regard to utilizing the iron ore, however rich, in many local-
ities in the absence of fuel, and the great expense attendant
either upon bringing this to the ore, or vice versa. If, how-
ever, the asphaltum deposits of the state could be used, as was
stated in the course of the debate, then the difficulties would
be less formidable. San Francisco Bulletin, July 19, 1872.

COORONGITE, A NEW AUSTRALIAN MINERAL PRODUCT.

A substance strongly resembling caoutchouc has lately been
brought from Australia under the name of coorongite, the
name being derived from Coorong, the place where found.
Mr. Dyer says that, according to the researches of Australian
savants, it can not be considered to be of vegetable origin, but
is rather a mineral hydro-carbon, analogous to petroleum. In
what manner coorongite has been deposited upon the sand, in
the peculiar form of moderately thick strata, is yet to be as-
certained by further research. 19 (7, xiil, June, 1872, 186.

ORIGIN OF MINERAL PHOSPHATES.

The question as to the origin of the phosphorus occurring
in the beds of mineral phosphates found in South Carolina has
been a subject of persistent inquiry, and a great variety of
hypotheses have been given to account for its existence. In
an article read before the London Geological Society upon
phosphatic nodules in the cretaceous rock of Cambridgeshire,
the opinion was expressed that the phosphate was proba-
bly separated by the animal matter (that constituting a nu-
cleus to the nodule) from its solution in water which was
charged with carbonic acid, this being a well-known solvent
of the phosphate. In the discussion of the article, it was sug-
gested that phosphoric acid is largely present in sea-water,
and reference was made to the present seas of the Newfound'
land Banks, where fish exist in enormous quantities, no doubt
giving rise to a great deal of phosphatic matter, much of
the phosphate attaching to decaying animal matter being de-
rived from excrementitious deposits floating on the water.
12 A, June 13,1872,134.

MINERAL IRON IN GREENLAND.

Reference has already been made in the Annual for 1871
to the enormous meteorites recently obtained in Greenland

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 135

by the Swedish government expedition, one of them weigh-
ing no less than 49,000 pounds. Not very far from the spot,
on the shore at Ovisak, where this mass was found, a rock
was observed differing from the basalt of the cliffs, and in-
closing iron not only in granules and spherical masses, but
as a vein of metal several inches wide and several feet in
length. The metal has the appearance of gray cast-iron, has
a bright metallic lustre, is very hard, and quite unalterable in
air, and has a specific gravity of 5.82. The metal of the
larger masses, when heated, has been observed to give off a
large quantity of gas. It has been ascertained that this iron
evolves more than 100 times its volume of a gas which burns
with a pale, blue flame, and is carbonic oxide mixed with a
little carbonic acid. Hence the iron is supposed to contain
a considerable quantity of carbon and a compound of oxygen,
and the mass itself, it is suggested, could at no time have
been exposed to a high temperature.

The iron contains 11 per cent, of oxygen, and when dis-
solved in acid leaves a carbonaceous residue. The composi-
tion of the metal consists largely of iron, with some nickel,
cobalt, sulphur, phosphorus, carbon, and oxygen. Mineral-
ogically speaking, the mass is considered to be a very inti-
mate mixture of magnetite, of which there would be 40 per
cent., with metallic iron and its alloys of nickel and cobalt,
as well as of some pure carbon in isolated particles. The
view is entertained by many that these rocks are meteoric in
their origin, and form part of the original mass that fell in
the miocene period. 13 A, June 15, 1872, 233.

GEOLOGY OF THE WEST INDIES.

The American Journal of Science contains an abstract of a
paper by P. T. Cleve, on the " Geology of the West India Isl-
ands," published in the Memoirs of the Swedish Academy of
Sciences, and embodying some interesting facts and generali-
zations. According to this account, the oldest rocks of the
West Indies do not contain fossils ; and the precise determi-
nation of their age is, thereforefdifficult, if not impossible.
These rocks occur in Trinidad, where they have been named
the Caribbean series, and extend farther to the west in the.
northern part of South America. They have not yet been
detected on the other islands. The oldest fossiliferous rocks

136 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

of the archipelago are of cretaceous age, and are observed in
Trinidad, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands ; possibly also in Porto
Kico, San Domingo, and Cuba. The cretaceous formation of
Trinidad appears to be older than that of Jamaica and the
Virgin Islands, and is, perhaps, of the Neocomian period,
while that of Jamaica is probably equivalent to the European
hippurite line.

The fact that most of the rocks of the cretaceous formation
in the "West Indies are of an igneous nature would tend to
show that they were heaped up in a period of great volcanic
activity, and as the miocene formation in several places covers
the highly disturbed cretaceous rocks in almost horizontal
and undisturbed beds, it is inferred that prior to the miocene
time cretaceous rocks were raised to a mountain chain, run-
ning from east to west, and parallel with the northern coast-
line of South America.

Eocene beds occur in Jamaica, in Trinidad, and St. Bar-
tholomew ; probably also in St. Martin, Antigua, Guadaloupe,
Barbadoes, etc. These may be considered as equivalent to
the lower or middle eocene of Europe. They embrace to a
great extent igneous or metamorphic rocks, proving the ex-
istence of volcanic agencies at tjiat time.

The miocene formation consists mostly of limestone or
marl, and is of enormous abundance, extending over large
spaces in Cuba, San Domingo, Jamaica, Porto Rico, and some
other islands. It is continued in the northern part of South
America and in Panama. Its fossil fauna has a close resem-
blance to that of Europe, and shows a great affinity to the
still living fauna of the Pacific and the East Indies. Some
of these fossils have their representatives still living in the
Caribbean Sea. The fauna of the miocene of the West Indies,
however, shows but little relationship to that of North Amer-
ica. The geological evidences in the West Indies tend to
prove that during the miocene period there was a connection
between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by
means of a strait occupying the present position of the Isth-
mus of Panama, and also tliat there was probably a connec-
tion with Europe by means of an archipelago extending
across the ocean.

From the thickness of the miocene strata of the West In-
dies, and their generally undisturbed position, we may infer

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 137

that this formation represents a long period of calm, undis-
turbed by volcanic phenomena.

The pliocene beds of the West Indies are found in Trinidad
and Barbadoes, and to the post-pliocene we may refer certain
deposits in St. Kitt's and Guadaloupe.

From the general facts observed by Mr. Cleve, we may
conclude that, of the two prevailing lines of elevation, the
one running from west to east originated before the miocene
period, and the other, from northwest to southeast, commenc-
ing with the Bahamas and running down to Trinidad, was
found after this period. Two new minerals are described in
the memoir, one Resanite, a hydrosilicate of copper and iron,
and the other Bartholomite. 4 _Z>, September, 1872, 234.

GEOLOGY OF THE BERMUDAS.

Mr. J. Matthew Jones communicates to Nature the result
of some observations which he has lately made in the Ber-
mudas, and from which he concludes that what is at present
a group of islands was, in all probability, originally con-
nected by land, and that a large area has now measurably
disappeared by subsidence, leaving only certain higher points
above the water. This, in his opinion, is fully proved by
facts w r hich appeared in the course of recent excavations
made for the construction of the great Bermuda dock, where
a depth of fifty-two feet below low-water mark was reached.
At a depth of forty-six feet a layer of red earth was met
with, two feet in thickness, containing remains of cedar-trees,
and resting upon a bed of compact calcareous sandstone.
This, of course, sustains Mr. Jones's view that the present bed
of the ocean had been once elevated above the surface of the
water. On an examination of the soundings in the vicinity
of the group, he finds that an elevation of forty-eight feet will
bring the entire space intervening between the present land
and the Barrier Reef, now submerged, above the level of the
water. If, therefore, it is shown that the Bermudas were
forty-eight feet higher than now, it is highly probable that
they may have been still higher; and Mr. Jones thinks that
they extended as far as certain rocky ledges, thirty to thirty-
five miles to the southwest. 4 D, August 1, 1872, copied
from 12 A, November, 1872, 416.

138 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
POST-PLIOCENE GEOLOGY OF CANADA.

Dr. J. W. Dawson has recently published an exhaustive
paper upon the post-pliocene geology of Canada, in which he
enumerates all the species of animals and plants hitherto de-
tected in that formation. His list embraces ten species of
plants, one hundred and ninety of invertebrates, and five of
vertebrates two hundred and five in all. The whole of
these, with three or four exceptions, are living northern or
arctic species, the marine species belonging to moderate
depths, reaching down to about two hundred fathoms. The
assemblage is identical with that of the northern part of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence and Labrador coast at present, and dif-
fers merely in the presence or absence of a few more south-
ern forms, now occurring in the Gulf; especially in the south-
ern part, where the fauna is of a New England type, whereas
that of the post-pliocene may be characterized as Labrado-
rian. As might have been anticipated from the relations of
the modern marine fauna, the species of the Canadian post-
pliocene are in great part identical with those of the Green-
land seas and of Scandinavia, where, however, there are many
species not found in our post-pliocene. The post-pliocene
fauna of Canada is still more closely allied to that of the de-
posits of similar age in Britain and in Norway, change of
climate having been much more extensive on the east than
on the west side of the Atlantic, owing to the distribution
of warm and cold currents, resulting from the present eleva-
tion of the land.

The amelioration of the climate seems to have kept pace
with the gradual elevation of the land, which threw the cold
ice-bearing arctic currents from its surface, and exposed a
larger area of land to the action of solar heat, and also prob-
ably determined the flow of the waters of the Gulf Stream
into the North Atlantic. By these causes the summer heat
w r as increased, the winds, both from the land and sea, were
raised in temperature, and the heavy northern ice was led
out into the Atlantic, to be melted by the Gulf Stream, in-
stead of being drifted to the southwest over the lower levels
of the continent. Still the cold arctic currents entering by
the Straits of Belleisle, and the accumulation of snow and
ice in winter, are sufficient to enable the old arctic fauna to

E. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 139

maintain itself on the north side of the Gnlf of St. Lawrence,
and to extend as far as the latitudes of Murray Bay and
Gaspe. South of Gaspe we have the warmer New England
fauna of Northumberland Strait. Some of the peculiarities
of the post-pliocene fauna in comparison with that of the St.
Lawrence River indicate a considerable influx of fresh wa-
ter, derived possibly from melting ice and snow. Dawson's
Notes, 101, 102.

GLACIAL PERIOD OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

Mr. James Geikie has lately published an elaborate article
upon the successive changes of climate experienced in Great
Britain, especially during the glacial epoch ; and among some
of the more general conclusions at which he has arrived are
the following :

1. That at some distant period (according to Mr. CrolPs
calculations, upward of 200,000 years ago), owing to the ec-
centricity of the earth's orbit being at a high value, and the
winter of our hemisphere happening to fall in aphelion, a cli-
mate of intense severity covered Scotland, Ireland, and the
major portion of England with a massive sheet of snow and
ice. At the same time similar conditions characterized the
mountains and northern regions of Europe and America.

2. That one result of this glacial action was the erosion of
rock-basins.

3. That intense glacial conditions were interrupted by in-
tervening periods characterized by mild and even genial cli-
mates, the changes of climate being directly due to the pre-
cession of the equinoxes, which during a period of extreme
eccentricity would gradually cause the ice-cap to shift from
one pole to the other.

4. That these interglacial climates are represented in Scot-
land by stratified deposits intercalated with the till, and con-
taining, in places, mammalian and vegetable remains ; in En-
gland by beds in the boulder clay, and by some portions of
the valley gravels and cave deposits, with paleolithic imple-
ments and bones of the extinct mammalia; on the Continent
by similar deposits ; in America by layers of peat, with bur-
ied trees and extinct mammalia,

5. That the climate of the earlier cold periods was more
severe than in subsequent glacial periods of the same great
cycle.

140 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY..

6. That when submergence, in consequence of subsidence
of the land, was approaching its limits in the northern lati-
tudes of Europe, a change of climate gradually supervened,
and icebergs and ice-rafts set sail from the frozen islets that
represented Scandinavia and Great Britain and Ireland.

In connection with the glaciation of the northern hemi-
sphere, Mr. Geikie recognizes a Preglacial Period, a Glacial
Epoch, and a Postglacial Period, followed directly by the
Recent Period. The Preglacial Period is represented in
England by the Norwich Crag, and is characterized by re-
mains of the elephant and mastodon ; but Mr. Geikie finds
no evidence of the existence of man, as shown by the discov-
ery of stone implements. The Glacial Epoch is divided into
the Great Cycle of Glacial and Interglacial Periods, a Last
Interglacial Period, and a Past Glacial Period. The first
mentioned is characterized in Europe generally by the oc-
currence of traces of man in the form of paleolithic imple-
ments, and of remains of arctic and southern mammals.

In the second, or Past Interglacial Period, there are also
river gravels and cave deposits, paleolithic implements, and
extinct mammalia, or species no longer indigenous to Europe,
These include the Elephas antiquus, the rhinoceros, etc.

In the Last Glacial Period we have also river and cave
deposits, with arctic mammals the arctic mammoth, the Si-
berian rhinoceros and paleolithic implements. The Post-
glacial Period is marked by the existence of raised beaches,
river and cave deposits, neolithic implements, and the pas-
sage from the stone to the bronze and iron period ; and in
Denmark by the occurrence of peat, and buried trees in part,
and kjokken-moddings. The series is closed by the Recent
Period, with its well-known characteristics. Reprint from
Geological Magazine, vols, viii and ix.

SYNGENITE, A NEW MINERAL.

A new mineral has been lately described by Professor Zeph-
arovich, from the potash beds of the salt mines of Kalusz, in
Galicia. This, which has been named Syngenite, occurs in
cubes of sylvine, in colorless, pellucid crystals, somewhat re-
sembling selenite. It is very closely allied to polyhalite.
13 A, October 15,391.

F. GEOGRAPHY. 141

F. GEOGRAPHY.

pavy's explorations.

Mr. Octave Pavy now announces his intention of starting
very soon from San Francisco on that raft expedition to the
pole about which so much has been heard for the last twelve
months. He proposes to take with him Dr. Chesmore, who
has had much experience in Alaska, Captain Mack, the sea-
man who crossed the Atlantic on the raft Nonpareil, and
Watkins, a celebrated Rocky Mountain hunter. He carries
with him a rubber raft built like the Nonpareil, which cau
be transported with ease on the land, and is capable of car-
rying a large weight on the water. The expedition will be
taken to Petropaulovski from San Francisco, where dogs and
fur clothing will be procured ; and they will then endeavor
to make Wrangel's Land direct, instead of going by way of
Cape Yakan, as originally intended. From this island, if they
reach it, they will launch their raft, and make their way to
the coast of Greenland, touching at the pole on the way !

CAPTAIN LONG OX PAVY's EXPLORATIONS.

Captain Thomas Long, so well known as the discoverer, in
1867, of Wrangel's Land, situated about seventy to one hun-
dreds miles north of Cape Yakan, in Siberia, bas written a
letter in reference to the plan of exploration by Mr. Octave
Pavy, to which we have already referred. While indorsing
the idea presented by Mr. Pavy, he takes occasion to claim it
as his own, having, as he states, urged this route as long ago
as 1867, the time of his first discovery. He does not think
that Mr. Pavy will be able to pass through the channels be-
tween Spitzbergen and Greenland, or between Nova Zembla
and Spitzbergen, as those passages have always been found
blocked with ice, and it would be impossible to winter in the
ice in such a raft as he has constructed. He thinks it possi-
ble that the north pole may be reached from Wrangel's Land,
but that it would be necessary for him to return for winter
quarters; but to endeavor to return into the Atlantic with
such a craft would be the height of folly. He believes that

142 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

a vessel, properly fitted for the purpose, could make the pas-
sage from Behring's Strait to the Atlantic in one year from
the time of passing Behring's Strait. San Francisco Bulle-
tin, April 5,1872.

DE. KAY ON ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

Dr. John Ray, formerly well known for his labors in the
way of arctic exploration, replies to the proposition of Mr.
Markham to prosecute polar exploration by way of Smith
Sound by taking the ground that a course along the west
shore to the north of Spitzbergen is by far the best. He
states that at Spitzbergen a vessel can always get as far as
80 north, and perhaps farther, while the farthest latitude at-
tained by ships through Smith Sound is only 78 40'. He
thinks that by following the Spitzbergen route, and then tak-
ing sledges, the object aimed at can be reached with greater
certainty than from any other direction. The amount of
travel by sledges will not be over 1400 geographical miles,
and this is not beyond the power of sledges to accomplish.
20 A, December 9, 1871, 727.

ALLEGED NEWS FROM THE POLARIS.

A remarkable story from Newfoundland is detailed in a
letter to the New York Times of April 15, to the effect that
a Danish brig just arrived, which had left Disco on the 1st of
March, brought information that the Polaris, under Captain
Hall, had been there for two days undergoing repairs and
procuring afresh supply of provisions. The account goes on
to say that on the evening of February 8 the Polaris encoun-
tered extremely heavy weather, and while lying to, owing
to the shallowness of the water, ran among ice snags, which
caused a leak in the vessel, and made it necessary to proceed
to Disco for repairs. Mysterious intimations were given of
wonderful discoveries which had already been made by the
Polaris, indicating the existence of a genial atmosphere and
open seas in the extreme north. Plants indigenous to south-
ern climes were detected in the ice, while a floating stick of
wood proved to be northern birch. Throughout the whole
of the month of February very little ice was seen, and the
skies were literally alive with meteors of the most gorgeous
description.

F. GEOGRAPHY. 143

On Christmas day the ship was hemmed in by a heavy field
of ice, but the weather was as pleasant as an Italian spring
day. Such was the reluctance of Captain Hall to have the
further discoveries which he is expecting to make shared by
rival expeditions, that, according to the writer, he did not
send word of his return to the Secretary of the Navy, which
was certainly a very reprehensible omission. The entire story
bears little evidence of credibility, and will at least require
further confirmation before it can be accepted. N~eio York
Times, April 15,1872.

LATEST NEWS FROM CAPTAIN HALL.

The Secretary of the Navy has recently received, by way
of Copenhagen, a letter from Capt. O. F. Hall, of the Polaris,
written on the 24th of August, 1871, at Tossak, North Green-
land, latitude 73 21', longitude 56 5' west. Although this
is but a few days later than the dispatch brought home by
the frigate Congress nearly a year ago, it renews the assur-
ance of the harmony existing on board the vessel between
the members of the expedition, and the perfect satisfaction
of all with the equipment and preparations for the coming
winter.

It is well known that no efforts were spared by the Navy
Department to render this expedition the most perfect and
complete in its equipment of any ever sent to the north, and
the success of these endeavors must therefore be a source of
great gratification to it. Governor Elberg, of the Upernavik
district, accompanied the Polaris as far as Disco, and brought
back the dispatches, which have thus been a year in their
journey to Washington. Through his help Captain Hall ob-
tained sixty strong, healthy young Esquimau dogs, and a
large supply of food for them, together with a supply of
reinde^furs, seal-skins, etc.

At Upernavik, Hans Christian, well known to the readers
of Kane's narrative, joined them as hunter and dog-driver,
and was accompanied by his wife and three children, who,
with Joe and Hannah and their child, Captain Hall's faithful
companions in previous years, made up quite a party. It
will be remembered that Captain Hall met the returning
Swedish expedition at Holsteinborg, and that its commander
supplied him with charts and copies of such of his notes as

144 ANNUAL KECOKD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

promised to be of service to him. Partly in consequence of
the suggestions of the commander, Baron Von Otter, and of
other scientific men whom he met in Greenland, Captain Hall
concluded to abandon the Jones's Sound route, and intended
to cross Melville Bay to Cape Dudley Digges, and thence to
steam directly to Smith's Sound, with a view of finding a pas-
sage on the west side of the sound from Cape Isabella to
Kennedy Channel. Captain Hall speaks very favorably of
the steaming qualities of the Polaris, her passage having been
perfectly satisfactory from port to port. The entire steaming
time from New York to Disco was twenty days seven hours
and thirty minutes. Washington Daily Chronicle.

PARTICULARS OF THE -EXPEDITION OF PAYER AND WEY-

PRECHT.

In the December number of Petermann's MittheilungenwQ
have a detailed though preliminary report of Payer and Wey-
precht of their polar expedition of the past summer. The
first acclamation with which the announcement of the dis-
coveries of these gentlemen was received has been somewhat
tempered by the criticisms of Markham and others; but, while
we are not able to admit that they have solved the general
problem of a journey to the pole, we can hardly suppose that
Dr. Petermann would have been so exultant without good
grounds. The information of the report in question gives the
diary of the journey from the beginning up to the 4th of
October, when they reached Tromsi), on their return. Their
highest point reached (on the 6th of September) was 78 5'
north latitude, and 56 east longitude; and with the open
sea expanding before them, their progress northward was
only arrested by severe northerly winds, and the necessity
of entering upon the homeward course, if they desired to
avoid the possible danger of being blockaded by tli#ce and
frozen in for the winter.

The earlier accounts of the expedition referred to the abun-
dance of whales noticed ; and in this report it is remarked
that so many fin-backs were seen that for days and days to-
gether numbers of them were continually in sight. They rec-
ommended for the future that three well-manned expeditions
be sent out ; one to investigate Gillis's Land, and to proceed
thence northeastwardly ; second, a special polar expedition

F. GEOGRAPHY. 145

for the purpose of attaining the highest latitude at about 42
east longitude ; and the third, from Nova Zembla eastward,
to investigate the Siberian Polynia. All three expeditions
should be fitted out for passing the winter, and have auxiliary
steam-power. The latter is indispensable, as the favorable
condition of these seas occurs so late in the season as to make
it proper that the brief period available for action should be
made use of with all possible energy.

The same number of the Mittheilungen contains the report
of Lamont's cruise from May to August, and notices of the
labor of Johannesen, Mack, Carlsen, and others, in the sum-
mer of 1871. Captain Mack reached the degree of 80 east
longitude without finding any ice. 17 A, December 8,457.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE U. S. HYDROGEAPHIC OFFICE.

In 1871 the important papers of Dr. Petermann upon the
Gulf Stream, with their accompanying maps and charts, were
translated into English and published by the United States
Hydrographic Office, under the direction of Captain R. H.
Wyman. Since then two supplements have beeji issued by
the office, including additional information obtained by Dr.
Petermann, the second one accompanied by a map of the
northern region of Europe and Asia east of Greenland. This,
which is on quite a large scale, gives us the results of the dis-
coveries made up to the end of 1871, including the work done
by Lamonfc, Mack, Johannesen, Payer and Weyprecht, Rosen-
thal, etc. The text of this supplement contains reports of
the cruises of Smyth and Ulve, and of Captain Torkildsen,
papers on the sea north of Spitzbergen, and on Gillis's Land
and King Charles's Land, etc.

Petermann is of the opinion that, as far as the discoveries
of land go, the results of Smyth and Ulve are more import-
ant than those of any cruise between Greenland and Siberia
for many years past, as they show that the northeast line of
Spitzbergen extends across 10^- degrees of longitude instead
of the 7-^ previously assigned, this extension including the
southern coast as well as the northern. The easternmost
point reached by this expedition was a little beyond the 28th
degree of east longitude. 2d Supplement Gulf Stream Me-
moirs.

G

146 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

PROPOSED EXPLORATIONS NORTH OF SIBERIA.

In a lecture lately delivered by Herr Weyprecht before the
Academy of Sciences of Vienna upon the expedition instituted
by himself and Lieutenant Payer during the past summer, of
which frequent mention has been made in our pages, he rec-
ommends the following as the plan of campaign for the com-
ing season. As soon as the northern coast of Nova Zembla
is free from ice, which may be looked for in the second half
of August, a movement should be made as quickly as possi-
ble to the east, in order to reach New Siberia the same sea-
son, if possible. The greatest difficulty will be met near Cape
Tscheljuskin, around which the ice is very apt to accumulate,
and for the avoidance of which it may be necessary to go
around toward the north. East of this the polynia will be
found, through which New Siberia, perhaps, will be easily at-
tainable.

If these islands can be reached the first year, it will be well
to winter there, or upon any lands still farther to the north,
and devote % the next summer to explore the polynia, and in
making a movement toward the north. If New Siberia can
not be reached the first summer, then the first winter must be
passed at Cape Tscheljuskin ; if possible, to the eastward of it.
In this event the second summer must be devoted to reaching
New Siberia. The third summer, in this case, should be oc-
cupied in endeavoring to reach an American part through
the polynia and Behring's Straits. A voyage of this kind may
require two winters and three summers, and will have as its
work an investigation of the broad unknown sea to the north
of Siberia. The results of a successful exploration of this re-
gion will doubtless be of the most interesting character, and
may do a great deal toward solving the remaining problems
of arctic discovery. 17 C, February, 1872, 74.

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

The general interest felt in arctic explorations-is best seen
from the many expeditions either actually at work or now
being fitted out. Among the latter may be especially men-
tioned the Austrian, as likely to occupy the foremost rank.
When Messrs. Weyprecht and Payer, in 1871, returned from
their reconnoitring cruise with such important results, the

F. GEOGRAPHY. 147

desire to continue researches so successfully begun became
universal. The most liberal contributions of money were im-
mediately offered, and in a very short time the sum of $70,000
was collected. The emperor, the high officials of the govern-
ment, the nobility, and private citizens all willingly gave aid
to the enterprise. It was resolved to intrust Messrs. Wey-
precht and Payer with the leadership a confidence well de-
served by the energy, integrity, and scientific accomplish-
ments of these gentlemen. A screw steamer, schooner-rigged,
of 220 tons, with an engine of ninety-five horse-power, has
been built, an ample outfit for a three years' cruise prepared,
and a crew selected with the utmost care. This will consist
of two officers and sixteen sailors of the imperial navy, a phy-
sician, a machinist, and two chamois hunters from Switzer-
land.

The object of the expedition, according to Mr.Weyprecht's
statement, will be to follow up the track in the unfrozen ocean,
toward the east and north, met with in last summer's cruise,
and to further explore the arctic sea north of Siberia. It is
intended to winter at Tscheljuskin, the most northern cape
of Asia, to continue the exploration of the central polar sea
during the second summer, and to penetrate to Behring's
Strait, and an Asiatic or American harbor, during the third.

Quite a different plan has been adopted by the Swedes.
They will w T inter upon the most northerly of the seven isl-
ands of Spitzbergen (81.5 north latitude), and next spring
proceed to the north pole upon sleighs drawn by reindeer,
fifty of which are in training for the purpose. Mr. Norden-
skiold will direct the enterprise under the auspices of the
Royal Swedish Academy. Mr. Weyprecht, however, consid-
ers this plan as chimerical in the extreme.

Two Norwegian expeditions, in steamers, will explore the
Siberian ice-sea in the direction taken by the Austrian expe-
dition. They are commanded by Captain J. Jensen, of the
steamer Cap Nor, and by Captain Svend Foyn, the celebrated
enterprising whaler.

According to Mr. Gustave Ambert, the French propose to
dispatch an iron screw steamer from Havre to continue ex-
plorations in the path marked out by Messrs. Payer and Wey-
precht in 1871. 17 C, April, 1872. *

148 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

heuglin's explorations in the arctic seas.

In a letter addressed by Von Henglin to Middendorff, of
the St. Petersburg Academy, we find the fullest details of the
exploration instituted by that eminent traveler during the
past summer in the Nova Zembla Seas. In this he remarks
that the original plan included a visit to the mouths of the
Obi and Yenisei, perhaps even extending to the island of New
Siberia. This, however, was found to be impracticable on ac-
count of unseasonable weather, as it was not till the 6th of
August that they reached the Straits of Matotschkin. Up to
that time they had met with no ice ; but after passing the
straits to the east there was very much drift ice. from the Sea
of Kara, so as almost to bar their way. Finding that the
northern coast of the island was entirely embargoed by ice,
they turned to the south, and, in passing, visited the Straits
of Kostin and the Nechwatowa, then Waigatsch, and finally
arrived at the Straits of Jugorsky on the 1st of September.
Here the expedition did not make any better progress than
in the Straits of Matotschkin, and, fearing that they might
be shut in by the ice for the winter, they returned to their
starting-place.

Among the more important results of the voyage were nu-
merous soundings and measurements of deep-sea tempera-
tures, as also various geographical determinations, while large
collections of specimens of natural history were brought to-
gether. Among these the most interesting was the discovery
of two different species of lemming in Nova Zembla, and it
was thought possible that in Southern Nova Zembla still a
third species might be met with. The same animal was also
found in Spitsbergen. Numerous birds were obtained in
Nova Zembla and Waigatsch, among them the Mandt's guil-
lemot. Of fishes, some species of cod, cottus, and salmon
were obtained, and about one hundred species of plants.
Melanges Biologiques Acad. St. Petersburg, Oct., 1871.

ALTERATION OF THE MAP OF SPITZBERGEN.

As the result of the explorations during the past year in
the neighborhood of Spitzbergen on the part of various trav-
elers, Dr. Petermann presents, in a new map of that country,
a very great change in its form, the eastern line of Northeast

F. GEOGRAPHY. 149

Land being entirely altered, it proving to be twice as large
as was once supposed, and various new islands having been
discovered. 15 A, March 16, 1872, 338.

PROPOSED BRITISH ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

We learn by the report of the proceedings of the meeting
of the Royal Geographical Society of London of April 22,
that Great Britain does not feel inclined to allow the great
powers of Europe and America to monopolize the problem
of arctic exploration. A paper was read on the occasion re-
ferred to by Admiral Sherrard Osborne, in which he remarks
that an area of over 1,000,000 square miles is still unexplored
around the region of the north pole, and that the route by
way of Smith's Sound is still the only one by which a dis-
tance farther than 80 north can be reached. The numerous
expeditions on the part of the Germans and Swedes in the
last few years have only shown, in Admiral Osborne's opin-
ion, that the outpour of ice from the north, between Green-
land and the east, is so great as to prevent a passage by that
route. Land evidently lies to the north of Spitzbergen, and
Nova Zembla has been circumnavigated. The experiences
of Payer and Weyprecht during the last summer were thought
to be very illusory, the advance made by them being com-
paratively unimportant.

The reasons for trying Smith's Sound again are three : first,
the most advanced station toward the pole, 82, has been
reached in that way ; second, explorations can easily be made
from it toward the pole ; third, it affords the largest guaran-
tee for the safety of the people engaged in the expedition.

In these views Admiral Osborne w r as sustained by Sir
George Back and other experienced explorers, who seemed
to be unanimous in preferring the Smith's Sound route. As
this is the channel selected by Captain Hall for his polar ex-
ploration, these remarks form a very gratifying indorsement
of the propriety of the American enterprise.

Dr. Hooker, at the same meeting, referred to the botanical
interest that would attach to the further researches into the
arctic flora. The examination of fossil arctic plants has
shown that at one time there were between fifty and sixty
kinds of large trees growing in these regions: among them
species of elm, oak, plane, pine, maple, etc. These flourished

150 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

during the miocene period, when probably a different day
and night existed from what we have at present. The flora
now is extremely meagre, embracing only about 300 flower-
ing plants, these being well-known species, inhabiting the
whole circumpolar region, and extending southward along
the Rocky Mountains. Sir Leopold M'Clintock thought that
the interval since any arctic exploration had been prosecuted
by Great Britain was so great that there were no officers now
fitted to take the command, and urged the propriety of an
expedition for the purpose of serving as a training-school in
reference to the antarctic expedition for the observation of
the transit of Venus in 1874. He thought that unless some-
thing of this kind were initiated very soon, it would be diffi-
cult to organize properly such an expedition as the last men-
tioned. He was therefore in favor of arctic expeditions any
where, and especially in the direction of the north pole. Dr.
Carpenter was especially interested in the proposed expedi-
tion in view of the probable results in regard to ocean cur-
rents and deep-sea temperatures. 19 A, April 27, 1872, 376.

EXPLORATIONS OF THE YACHT NORN A IN 1872.

In the extended list of expeditions for deep-sea exploration
carried on during the summer of 1871, not the least interest-
ing was that of the yacht Noma, owned by Mr. Marshall
Hall, and placed by him in the service of men of science for
the purpose of employment in their investigations. This en-
terprise on the part of Mr. Hall is, we learn, to be repeated
by him during the coming summer; and he is said to be pre-
paring an expedition to Morocco and Madeira, accompanied
by a young naturalist of Dublin, Mr. Abraham, who has al-
ready obtained a considerable reputation as a zoologist. He
proposes to prosecute inquiries into the natural history of the
regions visited, and to inquire into the chemical and physical
questions relating to the deep sea and its currents. Nature,
in reporting these facts, adds that the great government ex-
pedition, to which we have referred as likely to visit foreign
seas for the purpose of investigation, is in a favorable state
of progress, and that Professor Wyville Thompson, with a
corps of assistants, will probably sail in the autumn, so as to
spend the antarctic summer season in the waters adjacent to
Cape Horn. 12 A, Feb. 29,1872,344.

F. GEOGRAPHY. 151

ASCENT OF MOUNT SEWARD.

The report of an ascent of Mount Seward, one of the Adi-
rondack chain, and the barometric determination of its height,
has recently been published by Mr. Verplanck Colvin, in the
twenty-fourth annual report of the New York State Museum
of Natural History. The report of Professor Emmons, of the
geological survey of the state, made many years ago, esti-
mates its height at 5100 feet above the tide ; but as this was
entirely conjectural, it was considered desirable to have the
question decided by careful observations. The peak in ques-
tion is on the most southern boundary of Franklin County,
about latitude 44 10' and longitude 74. It is in the nei^h-
borhood of Mount Marcy, the height of which has been de-
termined at 5467 feet, and which is the crowning peak of the
Adirondack series.

The ascent took place in October, 18*70, and, after various
adventures, the top was reached. The observations made
with the barometer were carefully discussed by Professor
Hough, of the Dudley Observatory, who found the height
above the tide-water to be 4462 feet, this being considerably
less than the original estimate. Mr. Colvin closes his report
by some timely remarks upon the importance of preventing
the farther destruction of the forests of the Adirondack wil-
derness. He calls to mind the fact that, year by year, the
water supply of the principal rivers of New York, and her
canals, experience notable diminution, and sees in this the re-
sult of the clearing of the slopes of the high mountains of
Central New York, and looks forward to the time when, if
this action is not checked, the Hudson will cease to be navi-
gable more than half way to Albany, and other streams will
suffer in proportion.

To any one who has been in the Adirondack wilderness
the reasoning of Mr. Colvin is perfectly intelligible, as its
whole hill-surface is seen to be an enormous sponge, the moss
being in some places several feet in depth, which, protected
by the forest vegetation above it, holds the water as it falls
in the wet season, and gives it out gradually and equally in
the dry. With the removal of the trees this moss dries up
and disappears, leaving nothing but the bare rock which lies
immediately subjacent; and in this case the falling rains

152 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

would run off with great rapidity, forming tremendous tor-
rents, producing devastation in their course, and leaving lit-
tle or no water in the affluents of the great rivers. This con-
dition of things, which is inevitable should the denudation
of the surface continue, would probably be accompanied by a
great alteration in the climatological peculiarities of New
York and New England, such as hotter summers, colder* win-
ters, and a much less amount of rain throughout the summer
season, involving droughts and their attendant evil conse-
quences. 2th Report JVeioYork State Cab.

EXPLORATIONS OF LIEUTENANT WHEELER IN 1871.

Advices from Lieutenant G. M. Wheeler, United States En-
gineers, whose movements during the past year we have had
frequent occasion to chronicle, announce his arrival at Tucson
about the 4th of December, 1871, with the men and animals
nearly exhausted. The trip from Prescott to Camp Apache
had been very severe, on account of the snow and high winds
on the Colorado plateau. During their exploration one party
had been sent to the San Francisco Mountains, and made the
ascent of the principal peak. These mountains consist of
three prominences, grouping in the form of a crater, the north-
eastern rim being wanting. The principal peak was occupied
as a topographical, barometrical, and photographic station.
It is believed to be nearly one thousand feet higher than the
peak usually ascended, and Lieutenant Wheeler was of the
opinion that his party was the first to occupy its summit.
This, however, was a mistake, as Dr. Edward Palmer, of the
Smithsonian Institution, made the ascent in 1870, and obtain-
ed a number of new species of plants, reptiles, and insects.

EXPLORATIONS OF MAJOR POWELL IN 1871.

Major Powell has returned from the canons of the Colora-
do, having left his party in the field in charge of Professor
Thompson. Since the party started in April last it has passed
through the canons of Green River and the canons of the
Colorado to the mouth of the Paria, at the head of Marble
Canon. Here the major left his boats for the winter, and he
expects to return as soon as there is a favorable stage of
water, and embark for the second trip through the Grand
Canon.

F. GEOGRAPHY. 153

On the way down the party explored the region to the
west of the Green and Colorado, tracing the courses of the
larger streams emptying into the two great rivers to their
sources in the "Wasatch Mountains and Sevier Plateau, and
examined the geology of the great mesas and cliffs.

Early in the winter a base-line 47,000 feet in length was
measured on a meridian running south from Kanab, and the
party is now engaged in extending a system of triangles
along the cliffs and peaks among lateral canons of the Col-
orado.

During the past season the party has discovered many
more ruins of the communal houses once occupied by the
pre-historic people of that land. Many of these houses stood
on the cliffs overhanging the canons, and many more are
found in the valleys among the mountains to the west. Stone
implements, pottery, basket-ware, and other articles were
found buried in some of the ruins.

The major found a tribe of Utes on the Kaibab Plateau
who still make stone arrow-heads and other stone imple-
ments, and he had opportunity to observe the process of
manufacturing such tools.

PROFESSOR MARSH'S EXPLORATIONS IX 18*71.

A late number of the College Courant, of New Haven, con-
tains a detailed account of the exploring expedition under
Professor Marsh, which occupied the greater part of the warm
season of 1871, and of which Ave have already furnished occa-
sional notices to our readers. The general plan, as already
stated, embraced excursions from several points, exploring as
many different fields, with special reference to the examina-
tion of regions comparatively little known.

The first starting-point of operations was Fort Wallace, and
from this post the cretaceous deposits of Southwestern Kan-
sas and the region of the Smoky River were investigated.
The second proceeded from Fort Bridger, in Western Wyo-
ming, to examine the ancient tertiary lake basin previously
discovered by Professor Marsh. Salt Lake City was the ini-
tial point of the third exploration, and the party proceeded
thence to the Shoshone Falls, on Snake River, and from there
to Boise City, in Idaho ; thence they passed over the Blue
Mountains to the head waters of the John Dav River, and fol-

G2

154 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

lowed down to Canon City. On the route they made exten-
sive collections of fossil fishes. They also explored two ba-
sins, one of the pliocene and the other of the miocene age,
and in these remains of extinct animals were found in large
numbers, the upper bed containing the bones of the elephant,
rhinoceros, lion, etc., with several species of the fossil horse;
the lower and older basin was found to contain species of the
rhinoceros, oreodon, turtles, etc. From this point the party
proceeded to the Columbia, and thence to Portland, Oregon,
whence they took a steamer to San Francisco. Here the ex-
pedition divided, a portion going to the Yosemite and else-
where, while several, with Professor Marsh, sailed, via Pana-
ma, for New York, reaching that city on the 14th of January.
We understand that the expedition was thoroughly success-
ful in every respect, securing the collection of large numbers
of fossils, as also numerous skeletons of recent animals, to-
gether with valuable antiquities, etc. The expense of the
exploration amounted to nearly $15,000, exclusive of the val-
ue of the services rendered by the government. This was
defrayed entirely by the gentlemen composing the party; and
it is understood that the material results are to be placed in
the museum of Yale College, which thereby will be rendered
the richest in America in this department of natural history.
College Courant, Feb. 3, 1872.

EXPLORATIONS OF DR. STIMPSON.

Dr. Stimpson,the late eminent director of the Chicago Acad-
emy of Sciences, was engaged during the winter of 1871-72, as
we have already informed our readers, in prosecuting deep-
* sea explorations in Florida. He first accompanied the United
States Coast Survey steamer Bibb, when making soundings
between Cuba and Yucatan for a submarine cable, but found
the sea-bottom very poor in animal life. We have previous-
ly mentioned that the bottom temperature in the deepest wa-
ter was about 39.5 Fahr., which may possibly account for
the scanty fauna. The bottom consisted of sand and globi-
gerina mixed, in which scarcely any thing occurred but shells,
mostly dead. Some of the species were identical with those
obtained by Gwyn Jeffreys at a similar depth off the Euro-
pean coast.

On their way back from the cable work, the expedition

F. GEOGRAPHY. 155

made one haul of the dredge off the Cuban coast, near Ha-
vana, in two hundred and fifty fathoms of water, and obtained
a superb specimen of the very rare Pentacrinus Caput Medu-
sce y the first ever obtained so near our coast, and perhaps
hardly represented as yet in any of our museums.

After returning to Key West the doctor took charge of
the dredging on board the Coast Survey steamer Bache, but
ill health prevented his prosecuting this to any extent, and
soon after the return to the north he succumbed to the fatal
malady (consumption) which had fastened many years before
upon his system.

SUBSIDENCE OF THE ANDES.

A comparison made at different points of the Andes, ex-
tending over a period of more than a hundred years, is pub-
lished in Ausland for May 13, which shows that the chain has
measurably diminished, and that the reduction is progressing.
Thus Quito was found by La Condamine in 1745 to be 9596
feet above the sea, by Humboldt in 1803 to be 9570 feet, by
Boussingault in 1831 9567 feet, by Orton in 1867 9520 feet,
and by Reiss and Stiibel in 1870 9350 feet. Quito has thus
sunk 246 feet in 125 years, and Pichincha 218 feet in the same
period ; its crater has sunk 425 feet during the last 26 years,
and Antisana 165 feet in 64 years. 13 A, June 15, 1872,
232.

NICARAGUA SHIP-CANAL.

A correspondent of the New York Herald, under date of
the 16th of June, gives some account of the proceedings of
the United States Nicaragua Ship-canal Expedition. It will
be remembered that the officer originally in charge, Com-
mander Crossman, lost his life by drowning, in the West In-
dies, on the passage to Central America. The command then
devolved upon Captain Chester Hatfield; this officer has been
occupied since the 20th of April last in surveying the various
routes suggested for the canal. One of these routes is that
of Colonel Childs, in 1850, which continues to be considered
quite favorably. The second route, extending from Sopoa to
Salinas Bay, is thought impracticable. What is called the
Ochomogo route promises to be the best yet discovered. In-
deed, there are five practicable routes within the limits of this

156 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

republic, three of which have been already surveyed e. (/.,
first, that from Brit, on the Pacific, to El Cojin, or Pass San
Jose, on Lake Nicaragua : distance, twenty miles ; highest el-
evation above the level of Lake Nicaragua, forty feet. Sec-
ond, from Ochomogo, on the lake, to Ascalanta, on the Pacific:
distance, about twenty miles; highest elevation from thirty-
four to thirty-six feet, and the cutting through this summit
only about five or six hundred yards. Third, from Ochomo-
go to Nagualapa : distance, twenty-six miles, with an eleva-
tion about the same as last; the deep cutting along this route
will be about two miles.

RETUEN OF THE NICARAGUA SHIP-CANAL EXPEDITION.

The officers of the Nicaragua Ship-canal Exploring Expedi-
tion returned to New York on the 25th of July last, having
completed their labors for the present season. As we have
already informed our readers, this expedition was fitted out
by the Navy Dej:>artment, in pursuance of an act of Congress,
for the purpose of determining which of several routes sug-
gested was most favorable for the construction of a ship-ca-
nal across Nicaragua from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or else
to find a new and better one, and in this they have been oc-
cupied since April last. The Sapoa route was found to be
inadvisable in consequence of the great elevation, and the
Child route was considered to be the best, as the greatest al-
titude was only about forty-five feet. Explorations were
being carried on along several lines, when the heavy rains
set in and prevented any farther labor. Washington Daily
Chronicle^ July 25,1872.

EXPLORATIONS OF SEYBOLD IX CHILE.

Herr Seybold, a German resident of Santiago, Chile, made,
during the past year, an exploration of the Cordilleras of
that country for the purpose of ascertaining their altitudes.
Among his other adventures he experienced a snow-storm,
with heavy thunder and lightning, at an altitude of 14,300
feet. Besides the discovery of a number of new species of
animals, an interesting result of his expedition was the find-
ing, at an elevation of from ten to twelve thousand feet above
the sea, traces of early inhabitants in the form of stone im-
plements and stone walls, the former of which had certainly

F. GEOGRAPHY. 15 7

not been used by the natives since the period of the Spanish
discovery. Mitth. Geog. Gesellschaft, Wien,Dec, 1871,601.

HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN BRAZIL.

According to Dr. Petermann, the peak of Itatiaiossu, the
highest mountain in Brazil, was ascended during the past
summer, and its altitude determined by Mr. Glazion, the di-
rector of the Imperial Parks in Rio de Janeiro. It proved
to have an elevation of 8899 English feet, being somewhat
less than had been previously estimated. Many species of
plants were found on the mountain, and, what is of great in-
terest, a large number of Alpine species, especially the Com-
posite, were collected at from three to seven hundred meters
below the summit. 17 A, Jan., 1872, 38.

CRUISE OF CHILIAN SHIP CHACABUCO.

Among other interesting discoveries made by the Chilian
exploring vessel, the Chacabuco, was a lake, previously known
to the Jesuits, at the foot of Mount San Clemente, situated at
the neck of the peninsula of Paytoo, on the southern end of
the Chonos Archipelago. This receives an immense glacier
from the mountain that pushes far down into the water in a
fan shape, its terminus being a perpendicular w r all of blue ice
three miles in length, and rising at its lowest parts one hun-
dred feet out of the water. Semi-weekly JS r . Y. Tribune, June
25,1872.

CRUISE OF CHILIAN SHIP CHACABUCO.

The Panama Star and Herald quotes from a recent report
of the cruise of the Chilian surveying ship Chacabuco, in re-
gard to researches in Patagonia. In this it is stated that
the Andes have been crossed by a detachment of the party
through the vafley of Aysen, in 45 of latitude south, open-
ing a route to the centre of a rich and fertile country. No
difficulty was anticipated in making a wagon road or railroad
across the continent through the region referred to. Pana-
ma Star and Herald, June 5, 1872.

EXPLORATION OF PROF. HARTT IN BRAZIL.

The return of Professor C.F. Hartt, of Ithaca, from his late
expedition to Brazil, has been already" announced in the pa-

158 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

pers ; and we are glad to learn that he succeeded in making
many important discoveries in natural history and the geog-
raphy of the country, and especially the languages of the na-
tive tribes. By his researches in this latter direction he has
already become quite an authority, and, we presume, will be-
fore long begin to publish his linguistic results. In the course
of his expedition Professor Hartt took occasion to examine
the great Kjoekkenmoedding, near Santarem, referred to by
various travelers, which, however, yielded him only a few
fragments of coarse pottery and a few bones. He was very
fortunate in the opportunity of excavating the sites of a num-
ber of Indian villages on the edge of the bluffs bordering the
Amazon and the Tapajos, in the angle made by the two riv-
ers. Here he found an immense quantity of broken pottery,
often highly ornamented idols, stone implements, etc., prob-
ably derived from the Tapajos, now extinct as a tribe, or
merged into the mixed Indian population of the Amazon.

In an ancient burial-place on the Tapajos he dug up a num-
ber of burial-pots, none, however, containing complete skele-
tons. An examination of the mounds of the island of Marajo
was to be made by some of his associates who remained be-
hind. -Letter.

MERIDIAN FOE GEOGRAPHICAL' REFERENCE.

Among other questions considered at the late Geographi-
cal Congress at Antwerp in August last was that of the
proper meridian for geographical reference. It is well known
that while many of the Germans still continue to use the me-
ridian of Ferro, the English adhere to that of Greenwich, and
the French to that of Paris. A curious compromise was sug-
gested, namely, to use Greenwich as the meridian for sea
charts, and Paris for land maps. 7 C, 1871, 575.

DISCOVERIES IN PALESTINE.

The operations of the British Palestine Exploration Socie-
ty continue to be prosecuted with much vigor and with very
successful results. In the month of January, the base-line
having been previously measured, the triangulation was car-
ried over nearly one hundred square miles, of whi