POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



857 



and Wisconsin Rivers. To hold the water 

 subject to control, a dam is to be construct- 

 ed across the lowest rim of each basin that 

 is, that part of the rim which is the drainage 

 outlet of the basin. In each case the dis- 

 charge gate of the reservoir will have an 

 area not less than the cross-section of the 

 stream at low water. It is shown that 

 95,572,000,000 cubic feet of water may be 

 stored away in the reservoirs on the Missis- 

 sippi alone. The reservoirs already com- 

 pleted on that stream show an actual capaci- 

 ty of nearly 5,000,000,000 cubic feet more 

 than their estimated capacity. Not all of 

 this water is available for storage, however, 

 as 46,000,000,000 cubic feet are required for 

 the constant flow between May and Decem- 

 ber, leaving a minimum of 49,000,000,000 

 cubic feet (with a possible ten per cent more) 

 available for storage. Calculations show that 

 with a low stage of water continuing for four 

 months, the amount to be drawn from the 

 reservoirs would aggregate only 42,000,000,- 

 000 cubic feet against an actual amount of 

 49,000,000,000 cubic feet in the reservoirs. 

 This, if we consider the increased actual over 

 the estimated capacity of the reservoirs, 

 would give 5,800 cubic feet per second that 

 could be spared, while only 4,400 are need- 

 ed. Including also the reservoirs that might 

 be constructed on the Wisconsin, Chippewa, 

 Crow Wing, and Fox Rivers, the available 

 supply could be increased to a possible 40,- 

 500 cubic feet per second for ninety days. 

 The reservoirs, once they are constructed at 

 the sources of these streams, will give a much 

 more uniform volume in the Mississippi, so 

 as to insure a fair stage on all bars, and will 

 also add several hundred miles of navigable 

 waters to the great system of river transpor- 

 tation. These streams are mentioned, not 

 because they are more important than the 

 large rivers below, but because they are the 

 outlets of hundreds of large lakes in the 

 northern part of Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

 Their freshets may be an important factor 

 in the more disastrous floods of the lower 

 Mississippi. 



Glacial Action in Niagara River. Prof. 

 G. W. Halley dissents from Prof. Gilbert's 

 theory of the history of Niagara River, and 

 believes that glacial action was an agent in 

 the formation of the channel. In 1840, he 



said, a large surface of rock on the bank of 

 the river was removed at different points 

 for the purpose of making certain improve- 

 ments, and was found to be deeply scored 

 while the vicinity furnished many granite 

 bowlders. Three branches of drift stone 

 and gravel are developed at Lewiston, and 

 the evidence of glacial action is abundant. 

 These and other facts which the author men- 

 tioned point, in his opinion, to the existence 

 and progress of a grand terminal moraine, 

 which was once the boundary of an immense 

 inland sea. So far from the Niagara River 

 carrying no sediment, as Prof. Gilbert as- 

 sumes, and as one who visits it in summer 

 might be justified in supposing, one who 

 lives near it many years may see its waters 

 running for ten days at a time with a dirty 

 chocolate or dark amber color, and charged 

 with great quantities of sand, gravel, and 

 silt ; and could hear in the rapids the gravel 

 and pebbles grinding and scratching their 

 way along the rough bottom. The vast 

 dense bar at the mouth of the river on Lake 

 Ontario is overwhelming proof of its im- 

 mense scouring properties. 



Valne of Science in Industries. In his 



paper on The Development of the Coal-tar 

 Color Industry since 1880, Dr. W. H. Per- 

 kin named various coloring matters which 

 had been discovered during the last ten 

 years, and illustrated his remarks by ex- 

 periments with different colors. Germany 

 still holds the first position in the market, 

 both as to quality and quantity, but the 

 competition of Swiss, French, and English 

 manufacturers with that country has been 

 steadily increasing. Several years ago the 

 author had expressed an opinion of the 

 necessity of scientific research being made 

 an important part of the training for 

 chemical students, so that highly skillful 

 chemical men imbued with a spirit of in- 

 vestigation might be produced, not only to 

 fill chemical chairs, but also to occupy im- 

 portant positions in chemical works. Hith- 

 erto not so much progress had been made in 

 this direction as was desirable, and he feared 

 that this was to some extent due to manu- 

 facturers not having as a body sufficiently 

 realized the great importance of employing 

 such men in their works. Thus, the demand 

 being small, the supply necessarily corre- 



