718 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ing of the mysterious pellicle referred to. 

 "Within a quarter of a second after the for- 

 mation of the rods (which are of uniform 

 thickness, however much they may vary in 

 length), we observe a general commotion 

 among them. Each now appears to act as 

 a separate bar-magnet, and while some unite 

 at right angles, others range themselves in 

 close contact side by side, and form a sym- 

 metrical wall. Layer is piled on layer ; each 

 little rod falls mechanically into its proper 

 place ; and before we have time to realize 

 the strangeness of the spectacle, the field is 

 studded with little cubes of exquisite brillian- 

 cy. What we have seen here in an evapo- 

 rating drop of chloride of sodium may be 

 observed in any other saline substance which 

 we allow to crystallize under the microscope, 

 with the sole difference that the diameter of 

 the globules and the form of the ultimate 

 crystals vary according to the nature of the 

 substances employed. 



The Genuineness of the "Xampa Im- 

 age." — The Boston Society of Natural His- 

 tory had a discussion a few months ago re- 

 specting the " Nampa image," or the little 

 human figure of clay that was found in bor- 

 ing a well at Nampa, Idaho, in August, 1889. 

 Prof. Wright produced letters and state- 

 ments substantiating the genuineness of the 

 discovery and certifying to the eye-witnesses 

 of the fact as men of unimpeachable intel- 

 ligence and integrity. A report by Mr. 

 Albert Allen Wright, on his examination of 

 the image as to the material of which it is 

 made and its appearance, stated conclu- 

 sions favorable to its antiquity. Prof. G. 

 F. Wright regarded the direct evidence as 

 of as high order as could well be obtained. 

 "There was no sensational publication in 

 the papers, nor has there been any sug- 

 gestion of mercenary motives. There were 

 no archaeologists or scientific men on the 

 ground to be humbugged. Apparently the 

 image would have disappeared and dropped 

 out of notice but for the fortunate chance 

 which brought it to the attention of Mr. 

 Adams, when his own mind was interested in 

 that class of subjects. The evidence is most 

 direct as to the impossibility of the image's 

 having fallen into the well from the surface, 

 or of its having been put in by design." 

 Much weight is also attached to Prof. F. F. 



Jewett's opinion as to the character of the 

 iron oxide on the image. " It seems in the 

 highest degree improbable," Prof. Wright 

 adds, " that any one should have manufact- 

 ured such an object on the spot, and been 

 so successful in meeting all the conditions 

 present. I am, therefore, prepared to ac- 

 cept without further question the genuine- 

 ness of the image, and shall look for further 

 confirmation as time elapses." Prof. Put- 

 nam spoke of natural evidences which the 

 image afforded of its age. Prof. H. W. 

 Haynes said that he regarded the image as 

 a most important evidence of the antiquity 

 of man in America. 



NOTES. 



Prof. J. W. Spencer has extended the 

 observations of Mr. G. K. Gilbert on the old 

 beach surrounding Lake Ontario at a dis- 

 tance of several miles from the shore of the 

 present lake. He has traced it along the 

 Canadian side, and at the eastern end, where 

 Mr. Gilbert had not been. For the ancient 

 body of water that occupied the basin 

 bounded by this beach, he proposes the 

 name Lake Iroquois. The gravel ridges 

 forming the several portions of this beach 

 were used by the Indians for their trails, as 

 they afforded dry pathways through a country 

 elsewhere often muddy. The fact that some 

 parts of this beach are higher than others is 

 explained by the warping of the crust since 

 the beach was formed. 



It is contended by Mr. Alexander Bow- 

 bronicki that an unhealthy town has no 

 other meaning than a proportionate accumu- 

 lation of decaying or putrescible matter. 

 Thus, in Manchester, England, the causes of 

 mischief are overcrowded streets, badly 

 kept; surface impurities in streets, yards, 

 and corners ; and sewers of such construc- 

 tion as admits of their structure becoming 

 sodden and of their charging the surround- 

 ing subsoil with filth, whereby the atmos- 

 phere is contaminated by the escape of the 

 foul air through the ventilating holes. The 

 author believes that sewers are to protect 

 the subsoil against contamination from the 

 surface and to maintain as steadily as pos- 

 sible the level of the subsoil water, rather 

 than to remove superficial and closet foul- 

 ness ; and that that should be disposed of 

 by the pail system. 



A complete account of Prjevalski's zoo- 

 logical observations and discoveries during 

 his expeditions to central Asia is in course 

 of publication in Russian and German text, 

 at the expense of the Imperial Crown Prince 

 Nicholas of Kussia. 



