604 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



electricity or phosphorescence ; but it seems to depend upon 

 the dressing of the cloth, since after being washed the phe- 

 nomenon does not manifest itself. A piece of stout twilled 

 new cotton is said to furnish the best subject of experiment. 

 18 A, November 4, 168. 



"archives of science." 



We welcome to the ranks of scientific journals The Ar- 

 chives of Science and Transactions of the Orleans Society 

 of Natural Science, the second number of which, for January, 

 1871, a well-printed octavo of thirty-two pages, is now before 

 us. Several original papers are embraced in this number; 

 among them, one on the General Botany of Vermont, one on 

 the Geology and Mineralogy of Orleans County, one upon 

 the Dust Storms in Vermont of February 12, 1870, and four 

 upon the flowerless plants of Vermont. This last paper is 

 by Charles C. Frost, of Brattleboro', whose life furnishes a 

 remarkable instance of the " pursuit of knowledge under dif- 

 ficulties." . The writer well remembers, many years ago, 

 stopping in a shoe-maker's shop in Brattleboro', Vermont, 

 for the purpose of having a pair of boots mended, and find- 

 ing the owner busily engaged on his bench. A counter near 

 by was littered with books, which he had the curiosity to ex- 

 amine, and which were found to be works in the Latin, Ger- 

 man, Swedish, and other languages, all constituting a col- 

 lection of the best treatises upon cryptogamic botany. On 

 making inquiry, he ascertained that the shoe-maker was em- 

 ploying his leisure moments, when customers were few or 

 work was completed, in the critical study of the fungi and 

 other cryptogamous plants of the state, and that he was able 

 to consult all the works referred to in their various languages. 

 For the use of the books he was indebted to Mr. Sprague, of 

 Boston, himself an eminent botanist, and interested in the 

 scientific advancement of his Brattleboro' friend. Since then 

 Mr. Frost has continued his researches, and is now well known 

 as among the best specialists in this department in the coun- 

 try, and as one of the leading naturalists of the state. 



DISASTER TO WHALERS IN THE ARCTIC SEAS. 



Telegraphic advices from the West bring the news of a 

 serious disaster to the whaling fleet of the Arctic Seas, no 



