FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



86.3 



method, proposed by Simon Stevin, of meas- 

 uring by means of the shadow. For thunder 

 clouds the time between the ligiitning and 

 the report was calcidated. Riccioli also men- 

 tions the luminous clouds seen late at night, 

 which have again begun to attract attention 

 within a few years past. 



The two expeditions, one French and one 

 American, which are at work unearthing an- 

 tiquities in Babylonia have, it is stated in 

 the London Daily News, recently made some 

 valuable " finds." The first and most nota- 

 ble result of the excavations is that the his- 

 tory of the Babylonian people as recorded in 

 cuneiform writings on tablets is carried back 

 at least twenty-two hundred and fifty years 

 further than it had yet been known. In 

 other words, there is now abundant written 

 evidence that the Babylonian people existed 

 and were civilized enough to be able to write 

 at least seven thousand years b. c. 



The British consul at Funchal is author- 

 ity for the following regarding banana culti- 

 vation in Madeira. There are two varieties 

 generally grown, the dwarf banana {Musa 

 Cavendishii, of the order Scitaminece) and the 

 silver banana. The latter is much the more 

 delicate in flavor and only about half the size 

 of the dwarf variety, but is seldom exported, 

 as the total quantity grown in the island is 

 scarcely sufiicient to supply the home con- 

 sumption; but if this variety of the fruit 

 were generally known it would be in greater 

 demand, as it has so much better an appear- 

 ance and is more delicate in flavor than the 

 dwarf variety that those who have once eaten 

 it seldom use the latter except for cooking 

 purposes. The greater part of the bananas 

 are grown on the south side of the island. 

 The season lasts practically the whole year, 

 but the fruit is in its greatest perfection 

 from July to December. 



The archaeological map of Ohio of the 

 Archaeological and Historical Society of that 

 State,_ although only about one third com- 

 plete, has already upon it twenty-one hun- 

 dred marks, representing between fifty-five 

 hundred and fifty-six hundred remains. 

 Some interesting facts, Dr. Brinton says in 

 Science, have been brought to light in the 

 surveys : that the mounds, earthworks, vil- 

 lage sites, etc., generally followed the 

 streams ; that in the Scioto Valley there are 



very few stone monuments, but that in the 

 Muskingum Valley, along the Ohio River, 

 and in Brush Creek Valley, Adams County, 

 stone monuments predominate over those of 

 earth. Seven counties in the State have 

 yielded nine hundred and eighteen monu- 

 ments. The counties in northeastern Ohio 

 average five or six mounds or village sites 

 each. It is estimated that the number of 

 recorded monuments may reach eight thou- 

 sand. 



A COMPARATIVE Tcvicw of the composi- 

 tion of a number of American kaolins makes 

 it evident that the wide difference in the 

 proportions of clay and silica in them ren- 

 ders it imperatively necessary that the va- 

 riations be taken into account in the selec- 

 tion of materials for the manufacture of 

 ware ; and that the United States is not 

 wanting in an abundance of material for 

 making porcelain equal to the best foreign 

 production. The kaolin used in the Royal 

 Berlin Factory at Charlottenburg is taken as 

 the standard of comparison. One of the 

 purest kaolins is found in Indiana, and clays 

 of similar quality exist at Hockessen, Dela- 

 ware; Northampton County, Pennsylvania; 

 and Middlesex County, New Jersey. 



The wood of the jarrah, or Eucalyptus 

 margmata, of southern Australia, is said to 

 be very valuable for use where wood is to be 

 brought into contact with soil and water. 

 A tree fifty years old may furnish logs two 

 feet in diameter at the base. The wood is 

 red, takes a good polish, and is easily 

 worked. Another eucalyptus, the karri, or 

 Eucalyphts diversicolor, producing market- 

 able timber in from thirty to forty years, has 

 a red wood, hard and heavy, tough and not 

 easily dressed, and is adapted to bridge floor- 

 ing, planking, and beams. It is largely used 

 in London for street pavements, as its sur- 

 face is not easily rendered slippery. 



An interesting investigation has been un- 

 dertaken by the British Marine Biological 

 Association of the exact nature of the sea 

 bottoms at Plymouth, with the groupings of 

 the fish and their food animals upon them. 

 It has been recognized for some time that 

 the localities frequented by many marine 

 species are very definite and extremely lim- 

 ited in extent, and that the nature of the 

 sea bottom and the creatures that live there 



