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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



that something of the kind does not occur 

 somewhere in Norway. Mr. Tromholt in- 

 tends to publish the year's results of these 

 observations cartographically, with notices 

 of associated meteorological phenomena. 

 For the complete registration of the tele- 

 graphic perturbations, he has constructed 

 an apparatus which graphically represents 

 the time of their happening, their strength, 

 and direction, which is connected during the 

 night with a north and south telegraph line 

 1,400 kilometres long, while during the day 

 telephones are used. This enterprise is as- 

 suming an extent which places its effective 

 control beyond the power of one man. Mr. 

 Tromholt therefore proposes that the Gov- 

 ernment establish an institute at Drontheim 

 to become the central station of the world, 

 to which all observers on land and sea shall 

 transmit their reports. 



Importance of the Plumber's Art. A 



plea for a higher recognition of the plumber 

 has been made by Mr. William Ilalley in an 

 address before the Ohio State Sanitary As- 

 sociation. Of the various craftsmen who 

 assist in constructing dwellings, there is not 

 one, perhaps, whose position in the light of 

 sanitary science is more important and re- 

 sponsible than his. In days gone by he 

 was considered a mere worker in lead to 

 supply the simple wants of his employer, as 

 ignorant as himself of the physical laws of 

 his occupation ; but now his work assumes 

 the dignity of a sanitarian's. Yet there are 

 few vocations in which skillful work is so 

 little appreciated as that of plumbing. Peo- 

 ple are not interested in the work because 

 it has no reference to ornamentation, and 

 is almost wholly out of sight. A great deal 

 depends on the plumbing. If it is perfect, 

 the house is healthy ; if imperfect, an un- 

 healthy habitation is the result. It is easy 

 to see that it is the most important feature 

 of a house, to which may be added all the 

 convenience, beauty, and polish of a palace. 

 But first of all, stamp it with the character 

 of health by sanitary plumbing. Even with 

 the best devices it is impossible to prevent 

 sewer-gas at times. There are many acci- 

 dents by which plumbing-work will become 

 crippled and allow gas to escape. Hence it 

 is advisable to exercise extreme care about 

 its location and quantity. Unfortunately, 



for the plumber and for sanitary effect, the 

 architect is too apt to ignore plumbing and 

 give undue attention to other matters which 

 serve better to display his aesthetic concep- 

 tion. House-drainage is made secondary 

 and subservient to convenience and display. 

 At the last moment it is remembered that 

 the house must be drained, and plumbing 

 specifications arc made to fill in the cubby- 

 holes. That is why so much plumbing is 

 worse than useless. 



Foliage-Trees in Colors. The "Satur- 

 day Review," treating of plantations of 

 trees, dwells upon the effects that may be 

 produced by massing those having foliage 

 of various hues. While every garden has 

 its " ribbon-beds " of herbaceous foliage 

 plants, the arrangement of trees to produce 

 similar effects is still an undeveloped art. 

 What can be done in this line, it says, "is 

 well illustrated at Waddeson Manor, Baron 

 Ferdinand dc Rothschild's place in Buck- 

 inghamshire. Nothing can be more beau- 

 tiful than the treatment of foliage trees and 

 shrubs in his ground. It is absolute paint- 

 ing, wherein the pigments are represented 

 by golden yews (Taxus baccata varicgata and 

 Taxus baccata foliis variegatis), golden eld- 

 ers, double-yellow gorse, golden broom, pur- 

 pie barberry, purple hazel, copper beech, 

 purple sycamore (which varies from green 

 and gray to purple with every passing 

 breeze), variegated maple introducing a 

 lighter tinge, which is carried on by a mass 

 of sea-buckthorn, whose pale, frosted silver 

 is relieved by the deep, velvety green of a 

 background of Austrian pine. What enn- 

 not be done when such colors as these lie 

 ready to hand, not to mention all the ' glau- 

 cous' trees, whose leaves arc often white, 

 covered with a silky down or powdered 

 over with a fine dust like that on a butter- 

 fly's wing ? The American maples, and 

 especially the swamp-maple with its autumn 

 glory of foliage, have made the 'Canadian 

 fall ' or autumn a season and object of 

 pilgrimage from all parts of the world. 

 The swamp maple . . . has other merit9 

 besides that of its autumn gold. In early 

 spring the leafless branches arc clothed with 

 clusters of deep-red flowers, the young grow- 

 ing shoots are reddish-brown in color, and 

 the leaves a bright, shining green above 



