NOTES. 



43i 



Respecting "artists' colors," Dr. A. P. 

 Laurie said, in the British Association, that 

 one point that came out in the course of his 

 inquiries about the colors used by the old mas- 

 ters was the fact that they largely employed 

 vegetable pigments, many of which were not 

 used by modern painters. His researches 

 into the ordinary methods of manufacturing 

 colors showed that great variations prevailed 

 in different makes of the same color, and 

 the matter was an important one to look 

 after. One of the most valuable oils used 

 by the old masters was that of the walnut. 



The work of Columbus is to be commem- 

 orated in Italy according to a scheme adopt- 

 ed by a Royal Commission, which includes 

 the publication of a "Raccolta Colombiana" 

 in six volumes, devoted to (1) the writings 

 of Columbus ; (2) Columbus and his family ; 

 (3) the discovery of America; (4) navigation 

 and cartography of the discovery ; (5) mono- 

 graphs (Italian precursors and continuers of 

 the work of Columbus) ; (0) bibliography. 

 This work will apparently be the outcome 

 of a large amount of diligent research. 



The establishment of a biological labora- 

 tory for the observation and study of fresh- 

 water Algce was suggested by Mr. William 

 R. Dudley, in a paper read at the meeting of 

 the American Association. 



Prof. J. W. Mallet has found, in experi- 

 ments upon alum baking-powders, that most 

 of the preparations of that class in the mar- 

 ket are made with alum, the acid phosphate of 

 calcium, bicarbonate of sodium, and starch. 

 Among the resultants of the chemical changes 

 by baking are aluminum hydroxide and phos- 

 phate. These substances, in doses not very 

 greatly exceeding such quantities as may be 

 derived from bread as commonly used, pro- 

 duce an inhibitory effect upon gastric diges- 

 tion. This effect is probably due to precipi- 

 tation in insoluble form of the organic sub- 

 stance constituting the peptic ferment and of 

 some of the organic matter of food. Hence 

 it is concluded that "not only alum itself, 

 but the residues which its use in baking- 

 powder leaves in bread, can not be viewed as 

 harmless, but must be ranked as objection- 

 able." 



According to a calculation furnished us 

 by Prof. William Harkness, of the Naval 

 Observatory, "a body weighing one pound 

 avoirdupois on a spring balance at the earth's 

 equator would weigh only (V16584 of a pound, 

 or 2*6534 ounces, upon the same spring bal- 

 ance, at the moon's equator. In the state- 

 ments on this subject appearing in books the 

 centrifugal force is neglected. It amounts to 

 24 grains in an avoirdupois pound of 7,000 

 grains. 



According to a paper by Prof. Wiley, 

 in the Society for promoting Agriculture, 

 the butter of cows fed on cotton-seed is 

 marked by the presence of a small supply 



of volatile acid and a high melting-point. 

 The power possessed by cotton-seed oil of 

 acting on silver, passes through the animal, 

 and appears in the butter made from ita 

 milk a fact which shows that substances 

 can be carried directly from the food to the 

 butter. A new standard of analysis will 

 have to be adapted to the butters of cows 

 fed on cotton-seed oil, for the low amount 

 of volatile acid contained in them would 

 cause them to be condemned as spurious. 



The relative values as foods of the grains 

 named below are given by Prof. Wiley as, 

 first, wheat ; second, sorghum ; third, maize ; 

 fourth, unhulled oats. Sorghum-seed fur- 

 nishes a flour like buckwheat, that makes 

 passable bread, and is coming into consid- 

 erable use. 



The workmen in the Venetian glass fac- 

 tories at Murano, according to Dr. Salviati, 

 fall victims in time to failure of eye-sight 

 and ultimate blindness, caused by the excess- 

 ive heat and intense glare of the furnaces. 

 As they live simply and receive high wages, 

 they are usually able to save enough before 

 the disability comes upon them to support 

 them for the remainder of their lives. 



Prop. Renzi, of Naples, has reported 

 cures of tetanus by securing absolute rest 

 for the patient that is, rest for the senses 

 as well as for the body. The patient's ears 

 are closed with wax, his room is dark, and 

 the floor is heavily carpeted. His nurse at- 

 tends him with a shaded lantern ; he is 

 served food that requires no mastication ; 

 and sedatives are given to relieve pain. It 

 is not pretended that this treatment short- 

 ens the period of the disease, but that it 

 lessens the force of the paroxysms, which 

 eventually cease. 



Experiments by Dr. Pinel show that 

 hypnotic patients will obey the directions 

 conveyed to them mechanically by the pho- 

 nograph as readily as they will obey living 

 words. Hence, he argues, the theory of ani- 

 mal magnetism that is, of a magnetic cur- 

 rent passing from operator to subject 

 is baseless ; and the real cause of the phe- 

 nomena of hypnotism is a disordered men- 

 tal state. 



A. W. Buckland has endeavored to re- 

 store to the moon the credit that has been 

 snatched from it of having influence over 

 the weather and the welfare of men. Some 

 of the superstitions relative to the moon 

 may be traced to the old moon-worship. For 

 others, Mr. Buckland assumes, ground may 

 be found in fact. Meteorologists deny any 

 influence of the moon upon weather; but 

 the moon raises the tides of the ocean, and 

 it also creates tides in the air, which have 

 received no attention from science. We are 

 ignorant of the forces that may reside in the 

 air-tides and of the phenomena that may be 

 dependent upon them. 



