574 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



character and standing or scientific journal 

 is missing from it. It contains about eight- 

 een thousand volumes, dissertations, pam- 

 phlets, etc., most of which are bound. Among 

 the treasures of the library are complete 

 sets from the beginning up to 1895 or 1896 

 of twenty -five of the most important scien- 

 tific (particularly chemical) periodicals 

 German, French, Italian, English, and 

 American and series of from fifteen to 

 twenty-five years of six others ; and a rich 

 collection of alchemistic books published in 

 former centuries. It seems to us very im- 

 portant that this collection should be kept 

 in its integrity ; indeed, it might be regarded 

 as a scientific misfortune if it should be scat- 

 tered ; and it is to be hoped that some 

 learned institution or library, or some bene- 

 factor of such, may find the way clear to 

 buy it as a whole. 



The researches of M. King concerning 

 the retention of moisture in the soil, while 

 they confirm the view that good cultivation 

 offers an impediment to evaporation, show 

 that bad harrowing and incomplete stirring 

 of the soil have a different effect. A har- 

 rowing which simply scratches the ground 

 without covering it with loose earth in- 

 creases evaporation instead of diminishing 

 it. So a dressing of the soil which extends 

 to less than three centimetres in depth offers 

 but a slight impediment to the escape of 

 water. But a thin coating of dry earth (two 

 centimetres) suffices to reduce the evapora- 

 tion considerably, and a stirring of the soil 

 from five to seven centimetres in depth will 

 cause the moisture in arable land to be re- 

 tained. The influence of manures was also 

 studied. They isolate the surface, expose it 

 to complete desiccation, and cause suffering 

 to the crops, particularly in dry weather. The 

 manure in another season becomes mixed 

 with the soil, and the inverse effect is ob- 

 served. The superficial layers gain moisture. 



It appears from the studies of H. L. 

 Russell and John Weinziel of the bacterial 

 flora of American Cheddar cheese at the 

 various phases of the ripening process, re- 

 ported upon at the American Association, 

 that for the first ten days the number of 

 microbes diminishes from that contained in 

 the milk. Soon an enormous development 

 of organisms of the lactic-acid group be- 



gins, while the digesting and gas-producing 

 bacteria gradually decrease. A period of 

 decline succeeds this stage, and continues 

 throughout the life of the cheese until, in the 

 course of a year or two, it is almost sterile. 

 The physical changes that mark the cur- 

 ing of the cheese begin to appear at the 

 same time with the marked development of 

 lactic-acid bacteria. The authors hold that 

 these facts can not be reconciled with the 

 theory that the digesting bacteria are the 

 active agents in the curing. 



One of the curious animal stories pub- 

 lished in the London Spectator is of a dog 

 belonging to an Oxford University man, 

 which, being excluded from the college at 

 night according to the rules, is kept at a 

 house some distance off. Every morning it 

 comes of its own accord to the owner's 

 rooms, and is accompanied in its morning 

 walk by a Cochin-China hen and a kitten 

 belonging to the man with whom the dog is 

 left during the night. The hen and kitten, 

 not being permitted to enter, always leave 

 the dog at the college (Balliol) gates. An- 

 other story in the same number of the Spec- 

 tator relates to a canary bird whose seed 

 trough was always found empty, though 

 kept well supplied. One morning, observing 

 that the bird appeared much excited and 

 was singing lustily, its master looked and 

 saw a mouse slowly climb down the cord, 

 get through the bars of the cage, and, reach- 

 ing the seed trough, eat the food with great 

 relish, while the bird continued to sing. 

 Finally, a cat caught the mouse, and the 

 canary was never known to sing again. 



An odd controversy has been going on 

 between the Roman Catholic Journal, Volks- 

 zeitunff, of Cologne, and the Abbe Kiinzle, of 

 Feldberg, in Tyrol, concerning the authen- 

 ticity of an alleged signature of the devil. 

 The Volkszeihmg denies the authenticity, and 

 insists that it is not possible to procure an 

 authentic signature of his Satanic Majesty. 

 The abbe declares, on his side, that the 

 devil Vitru appeared in October, 1883, in 

 the lodge room of a Masonic lodge, where 

 were several eminent men, including M. 

 Crispi, and announced that a young woman 

 named Sophia Sapho, who was present, would 

 on the following September give birth to a 

 daughter, who would be the grandmother of 



