57° 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



white ivoman. According to the Aztecs, Dr. 

 C. Farrington, of the Field Columbian 

 Museum, tells us, this woman was a goddess 

 who for some crime had been struck dead 

 and doomed to lie forever on this spot. 

 Popocatepetl was her lover, and had stood 

 by her. Tastes differ as to whether it or 

 Popocatepetl presents a more striking view, 

 but either is a beautiful enough object to 

 look upon. The first authenticated record of 

 an ascent to the summit of the mountain is 

 that of Mr. H. Reniere Whitehouse, who 

 reached the top November 9, 1889, and found 

 there undoubted evidence that an ascent had 

 been made five days previously by Mr. James 

 de Salis. Prof. Angelo Heilprin and Mr. F. 

 C. Baker attempted an ascent in the follow- 

 ing April, but were turned back when about 

 seventy- five yards below the summit, at a 

 height of 16,730 feet, by two impassable 

 crevasses. " The ascent of Iztaccihuatl 

 seems, therefore, pretty generally to have 

 foiled those who have attempted it. Dr. 

 Farrington, who ascended to the Porfirio 

 Diaz Glacier in February, 1896, describes 

 the route as steeper than that which leads up 

 to Popocatepetl." The brilliant and varied 

 flora, picturesque barrenness, and beautiful 

 cascades lend everywhere a charm to the 

 scene which contrasts favorably with the 

 somber monotony which characterizes the 

 route by which Popocatepetl is ascended. 

 The slopes of the mountain are cultivated 

 to a considerable height — 10,860 feet. The 

 lower slopes are largely covered with soil, 

 and the andesite rock, of gray and red col- 

 ors, differs completely in character from that 

 of Popocatepetl. The aiguillelike character 

 of many of the spurs extending at right 

 angles to the course of the mountain is a 

 prominent feature. Many caves in the rock 

 furnish shelter to cattle aud persons attempt- 

 ing the ascent. Dr. Farrington examined 

 the Porfirio Diaz Glacier, and concluded that 

 it formerly had a much greater extent than 

 now. 



The Adalteration of Butter with Glucose. 



— The following is from an article by C. A. 

 Crampton in the Journal of the American 

 Chemical Society : In domestic practice the 

 addition of sugar to butter for purposes of 

 preservation is doubtless almost as old as 

 the art of butter-making itself; salt, how- 



ever, is the usually preferred preservative. 

 Sugar appears in several of the various 

 United States patents for so-called " improv- 

 ing " or renovating processes for butter, be- 

 ing added to it along with salt, saltpeter, and 

 in some cases sodium carbonate. Within 

 the past few years glucose has been used in 

 butter specially prepared for export to trop- 

 ical countries, as the West Indies or South 

 America. It is usually put up in tins, and 

 various means are resorted to for preventing 

 the decomposition of their goods before they 

 reach the consumer. Very large quantities 

 of salt are used by the French exporters, as 

 the following two analyses show : 



Butter for Export. 

 To Brazil. To Antilles. 



Water 10.29 10.19 



Curd 1.24 1.81 



Ash 10.29 10.06 



Fat 78.18 78.44 



100.00 100.00 



Chemical antiseptics, borax, salicylic acid, 

 etc., are sometimes used, but the method 

 found most efficacious by exporters in this 

 country seems to be the use of glucose in 

 conjunction with moderately heavy salting. 

 The glucose used is a heavy, low-converted 

 sirup, known as confectioners' glucose. The 

 detection of glucose in butter presents no 

 difficulty. The butter is thoroughly washed 

 with hot water, which will readily take up 

 whatever glucose is present. This solution 

 is then tested by means of Fehling's solution. 

 The following is an analysis of the so-called 

 beurre rouge, or red butter, which is exported 

 to Guadeloupe. It is a peculiar highly col- 

 ored compound, containing large quantities 

 of salt and glucose : 



Water 21.60 



Curd 0.81 



Ash 16.42 



Fat 51.15 



Glucose 10.02 



100.00 



Decorated Skulls and the Power as- 

 cribed to them. — A collection of sixteen 

 skulls — eight of men, seven of women, and 

 one of a child — from New Guinea, is de- 

 scribed by George A. Dorsey in the publica- 

 tions of the Field Columbian Museum, Chi- 

 cago. They were received from a native 



