xx GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



er scale respectively, and have aided in obtaining accurate 

 generalizations in regard to the laws of meteorology. Among 

 these results may be mentioned a work by Mr. Lay upon the 

 law of the winds, which has excited much attention. 



The science of Terrestrial Physics has been enriched by 

 the papers upon ocean currents by Dr. Carpenter, Mr. James 

 Croll, and others. The views of these gentlemen are, how- 

 ever, widely diverse in regard to the cause of this phenome- 

 non, Dr. Carpenter taking the ground that the currents both 

 of the Atlantic and of the Mediterranean are produced by a 

 difference in the specific gravity of the different parts of the 

 mass, while Mr. Croll believes that they result from the influ- 

 ence of the surface winds. 



Pendulum experiments in India would seem to show that 

 the density of the earth at the surface diminishes as we pro- 

 ceed farther from the shore to the higher elevations of the 

 mountain ranges. 



In the department of Electricity and Magnetism we have 

 communications upon the action of electricity upon gases 

 traversed by. electric currents; on the origin of celestial pos- 

 itive electricity by Becquerel, who maintains that this pro- 

 ceeds from the sun, which, being emitted through the solar 

 spots, and permeating all space, gives rise to such phenomena 

 as the aurora, etc. 



As far as concerns Theoretical and Applied Chemistry , im- 

 portant modifications in chemical notation and nomenclature 

 have risen to vex chemists and trouble the declining years 

 of the pioneers of the science. It is the fashion to make sug- 

 gestions and introduce novelties in modern chemistry, and 

 there is great need of a master mind like Lavoisier or Berze- 

 lius to systematize the language, and once more bring order 

 out of chaos. 



The time-saving element has entered here, and it is pro- 

 posed, in the naming of chemical compounds, where formerly 

 the adjective preceded the noun, to invent one word that 

 would express the sense; thus, instead of the " sulphate of 

 the protoxide of iron" or the " protosulphate of iron," it is 

 proposed to substitute the expression "ferrous sulphate;" 

 aixl where there are various oxygen compounds of an ele- 

 ment, to employ suitable Latin terms, as ferrous, ferric, cu- 

 prous, cupric, etc. 



