3^4 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



insight into the practical application of 

 mathematics to astronomy. Opportunity 

 will also be afforded to learn the use of in- 

 struments. 



Siegfried Stein advocates the employ- 

 ment of rock-crystal for making normal 

 standards of weight and measure, and other 

 instruments of precision. The advantages 

 of rock-crystal for these purposes consist 

 in its indift'erence, at common temperature, 

 to the action of acids and bases, or of at- 

 mospheric gases or moisture. 



A NEW method of cleaning the skele- 

 tons of small animals, by utilizing the enor- 

 mous appetites of tadpoles, is described in 

 the English Meclianic. M. Lareste, the dis- 

 coverer, has found that the tadpoles may 

 be quickly habituated to a meat-diet, and 

 that they rapidly denude the bones, when 

 the carcass, previously skinned, is presented 

 to them in water, kept in a warm and some- 

 what darkened place. 



The syllabus of a course of lectures on 

 American prehistoric archeology, to be de- 

 livered before the College of Fine Arts of 

 Syracuse University, during the spring 

 term of 187*7, by Di-. Wills DeHass, com- 

 prises such topics as " Discovery and Set- 

 tlement of the Atlantic Coast," " Lost Semi- 

 Civilization of the Mississippi Valley," 

 "Tumular Monuments," "Mural AVorks," 

 "Art-Remains in Stone," "Rock Sculpt- 

 ure," " Art - Remains in Pottery, also in 

 Bone, Shell, and Metal," " Monumental and 

 Art Remains found in the Lake-Regions," 

 "Origin and Antiquity of tlie Mound-Build- 

 ers," etc. 



A PREPARATION of tungstatc of soda and 

 starch has been highly recommended for 

 rendering muslin dresses uninflammable. 

 At a recent trial of it in London, the dress 

 fortunately being placed on a dummy, the 

 saturated fabric readily took fire, blazed up, 

 and was quickly consumed. 



The Sanitarj/ Record laments that they 

 have no cremation-furnace in London, con- 

 sidering it a breach of hospitality that they 

 cannot offer the facilities for fire-burial to 

 their Indian guests who are so unfortunate 

 as to die in England. 



A COURSE of lectures on the elementary 

 principles of stock-breeding was delivered 

 during the spring by Prof William H. 

 Brewer, at the Scientific School of Yale 

 College, which it is to be hoped will be- 

 fore long appear in book-form. The topics 

 discussed in these lectures are : " Heredity," 

 "Atavism," "Close-Breeding," "Crossing," 

 " Relations of Animals to their Surround- 

 ings," "Variation," "Relations between 

 Heredity and Variation," " Breeding to 

 Points," " Limitations of Breeding to 



Points," " Prenatal Lifluences," " Relative 

 Influence of Sire and Dam," " Crossing for 

 Immediate Special Uses," and " Profitable 

 Adaptation of Breeds to Special Localities 

 and Conditions." 



Dr. Philip P. Carpenter, brother of the 

 celebrated physiologist, William B. Carpen- 

 ter, died ill Montreal, May 24th. He was 

 born in Bristol, England, in 1819, was edu- 

 cated at the University of Edinburgh, studied 

 theology first, and preached awhile, and then 

 gave himself up to natural history. He de- 

 voted himself to the mollusca, and gave a 

 magnificent collection of shells to the Brit- 

 rsh Museum. In 1859 he came to this coun- 

 try, and, selecting Montreal as his place of 

 residence, went on with his scientific work 

 till the failure of an English bank swept 

 away his property, and he then took to 

 teaching and sanitary reform. He gave a 

 large collection of shells to McGill College, 

 and was known as one of the best author- 

 ities on the classification of mollusca. He 

 was a clever writer, a forcible speaker, and 

 a man of refined Christian character. 



Prof. E. S. Morse, of Salem, sailed from 

 San Francisco, June 1st, for Japan, whither 

 he goes on a scientific mission of his own. 

 He will spend the summer months in pur- 

 suing his favorite studies of natural history 

 amid Japanese resources, and will devote es- 

 pecial attention to the animals of the coast, 

 dredging a good deal, and carrying on the 

 investigation of the Braehiopoda, which has 

 long been his favorite line of inquiry. He 

 will also make the trip subservient to gath- 

 ering fresh materials for illustrating the 

 "Second Book of Zoology," a text-book 

 which he has begun to prepare. Prof. 

 Morse will also, no doubt, gain much curi- 

 ous and interesting information to enrich 

 the lectures which he M'ill return in time to 

 deliver before the lyceums next season. 



Broca assigns to the terms anthropol- 

 ogy, ellinologrj, and ethnography, the follow- 

 ing distinctive significations : anthropology 

 is the general study of man or of the entire 

 human species ; ethnology is the study of 

 the natural divisions of this group, which 

 are generally known as the races of man; 

 ethnography is the artificial subdivision of 

 races into peoples. 



Twenty years ago, according to Di*. Sie- 

 mens, it required over five tons of coal to 

 make a ton of iron rails. Now, a ton of 

 steel rails may be produced from the ore 

 with half that quantity of coal. 



The Pharmacid quotes the statement 

 from a foreign journal that chemically pure 

 glycerine, when taken in large quantities, 

 exerts a poisonous effect on the system, 

 comparable, within certain limits, to that 

 produced by alcohol. 



