MISCELLANY. 



2 5 i 



phenomena, of which they knew so little 

 namely, that the fringe of the seaboard of 

 the great continents and islands, from the 

 depth of a few hundred feet below the sea- 

 level, was, as a rule, abruptly precipitous 

 to depths of 10,000 and 12,000 feet. This 

 grand escarpment was typically illustrated 

 at the entrance of the British Channel, where 

 the distance between a depth of 600 feet 

 and 12,000 feet was in places only ten miles. 

 Imagination could scarcely realize the stu- 

 pendous marginal features of this common 

 surface depression. 



Purification and Deodorization of Pe- 

 troleum Products. Mr. S. E. Johnson, of 

 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, England, has discovered 

 a method of treating petroleum and other 

 mineral oils, by which those useful hydro- 

 carbon liquids are not only purified, but 

 also deodorized ; and that in a simple and 

 inexpensive manner. Chloride of lime is 

 first introduced into the cask or other re- 

 ceptacle containing mineral oil or spirit, in 

 the proportion of about three ounces of 

 chloride, more or less, to each gallon of the 

 liquid, according to the degree of its im- 

 purity, and thus chlorine-gas is evolved in 

 the oil or spirit. If necessary, the evolu- 

 tion of the gas may be assisted by pouring 

 in hydrochloric acid, agitating the contents 

 of the receptacle so as to bring the whole 

 of the liquid into intimate contact with the 

 chlorine - gas. The oil or spirit is then 

 passed into another inclosed vessel contain- 

 ing slaked lime, which, having an affinity 

 for the chlorine, absorbs the same, leaving 

 the liquid sufficiently deodorized and puri- 

 fied. 



Physiological Effects of Coca. A cor- 

 respondent of the Lancet, a physician, states 

 that the use of the tincture of coca, in 

 a two-ounce dose, corrected the " unruly 

 throbbing " of his heart, which had been 

 wont to interfere with his accuracy of aim 

 in fowling. This writer had previously taken 

 the tincture in doses of one-half ounce and 

 one ounce without perceptible effect ; but, 

 having on the third day increased the dose 

 to two ounces, his composure was perfect 

 at the critical moment. " As soon as the 

 dogs pointed," he writes, " I expected the 

 usual inward commotion, with its usual re- 

 sults ; but, to my surprise, nothing of the 



kind happened. ' Eureka ! ' I said to myself; 

 ' the coca has made me a steady shot.' So 

 in fact it subsequently proved. Judged by 

 the effects described," he continues, " coca 

 would seem to be inhibitory as regards the 

 action of the heart. Whether this result is 

 produced by indirect action through the 

 mental functions upon which the drug is 

 said to act remains to be proved." Another 

 correspondent of the same journal, not a 

 physician, states that while traveling in Bo- 

 livia at great altitudes, such as from 13,000 

 to 14,000 feet above the sea-level, he ex- 

 perienced marked benefit from eating the 

 leaves. Nearly all travelers on the Peruvian 

 and Bolivian Andes use the drug as a rem- 

 edy for that effect on the brain and lungs, 

 produced by rarefied air, which in South 

 America is called zorroche. One use to 

 which it is put by the Indians is that of a 

 "pick-me-up " after a debauch on alcoholic 

 fluids. In Bolivia it is generally eaten with 

 a paste made of wood-ashes and potato. 

 The writer propounds th.e belief that the 

 leaf loses its virtue in transmission. This 

 is quite possible. It is an undoubted fact 

 that the Cannabis Indica, for instance, loses 

 its potency in crossing the sea. It would 

 seem desirable that a certain quantity of the 

 coca-leaves should if possible be packed in 

 an air-tight case. The price of coca at La 

 Paz, where the best is procured, was last 

 year sixteen dollars per packet of twenty- 

 five pounds. 



The American Forestry Association. The 



American Forestry Association held its first 

 meeting at Philadelphia in September. Ad- 

 dresses were delivered by Dr. Franklin B. 

 Hough, of Lowville, New York, Mr. McAfee, 

 and Mr. Meehan. Dr. Hough gave an ac- 

 count of the efforts made by various Euro- 

 pean governments to preserve forests and 

 to promote timber-culture, and showed that 

 the Constitution of the United States, and 

 those of most of the States, give the right to 

 interfere for the preservation of our forests. 

 Mr. McAfee reported on the condition of 

 forest-culture in the West, showing how the 

 planting of trees had been going on to an 

 immense extent, and that it was found that 

 the old notions about the slowness of timber- 

 growth had been derived from the hard 

 struggle with Nature that wild timber had 



