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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



as they could, in fact until they fell down 

 drunk. Those who could not afford such 

 tubes made use of reeds." These tubes or 

 reeds, Oviedo says, were called tobacco. Ben- 

 zoni gives the following account of cigar- 

 smoking : " When these leaves are in season, 

 they pick them, tie them up in bundles, and 

 suspend them near their fireplace till they 

 are very dry ; and when they wish to use 

 them they take a leaf of their grain (maize) 

 and, putting one of the others into it, they 

 roll them round tight together ; then they set 

 fire to one end, and putting the other end into 

 the mouth, they draw their breath up through 

 it ; wherefore the smoke goes into the mouth, 

 the throat, the head, and they retain it as 

 long as they can, for they find a pleasure in 

 it, and so much do they fill themselves with 

 this cruel smoke that they lose their reason. 

 And some there are who take so much of it, 

 that they fall down as if they were dead, 

 and remain the greater part of the day or 

 night stupefied." 



Stellar Atmospheres. — Orray T. Sherman, 

 in studying the stellar spectra comprising 

 bright lines, has observed that, while per- 

 sistent in place, the bright line is not per- 

 sistent in intensity. This peculiarity af- 

 fords a distinction between bright-line light, 

 bright-background space, and any accident- 

 al disturbance the spectrum light may suf- 

 fer. Collating his own observations, par- 

 ticularly those which he applied to j3 Lyrae, 

 with Lockyer's results in the study of the 

 solar atmosphere, we may, he says, " picture 

 to ourselves the condition of the stellar at- 

 mosphere and the action therein somewhat 

 as follows : An outer layer of hydrogen posi- 

 tively electrified, an inner layer of oxygen 

 negatively electi-ificd, and between them a 

 layer of carbon mingling on its edge with 

 hydrogen. The electric spark passing through 

 the mixture forms the hydrocarbon com- 

 pound, whose molecular weight carries it 

 into the oxygen region, when combustion en- 

 sues with the formation of carbonic acid and 

 aqueous vapor, both of which, descending 

 under the influence of their molecular weight, 

 are again dissociated by internal heat, and 

 return to their oriojinal positions. Under 

 the insight which this result gives we have 

 found the spectra of the nebulse referable to 

 low excitation hydrogen, the spectra of the 



bright-line stars referable to high excitation 

 oxygen, and hydrogen of higher or lower ex- 

 citation according as the central star is of 

 high or low magnitude, and, as far as the 

 accuracy of the observations permits, t Coro- 

 nae, Nova Andromeda, Nova Cygni, and the 

 star near x Orionis, itself a variable, hke- 

 wise referable to the same spectra similarly 

 conditioned. There is also reason for think- 

 ing that a similar atmosphere in similar phys- 

 ical conditions lies between us and the sun, 

 and it seems as if we might consider that 

 from the faintest nebula to the most highly 

 finished star we have but progressive stages 

 of the phenomenon here presented." 



Across Greenland. — Mr. M. Nansen is en- 

 gaged in an attempt to cross Greenland from 

 east to west, with the aid of the Norwegian 

 ski, or snow-skates. The experience of past 

 expeditions has shown that the most suc- 

 cessful and farthest advances over the gla- 

 cial tracts have been made by the scouts 

 provided with these useful furnishings ; and 

 he hopes that with their aid a party ac- 

 companied by a sledge-load of provisions 

 may cross the country in about a month. 

 He confidently expects to find a snowless 

 tract in the interior ; and hopes, by the 

 observations he will be able to take (only 

 rough ones, of course), to add something 

 to our climatological and meteorological 

 knowledge. He will give special attention 

 to the question of the slam, or dust deposit 

 in the snow — which Nordenskiold regards as 

 cosmic, but he as telluric and derived from 

 the snowless region — to the curious snow- 

 plants, and to the fauna and flora, of which 

 casual appearances near the sea-coast indi- 

 cate that the country is probably not des- 

 titute. The party, consisting of Dr. Nansen 

 and six companions, landed July 18th in lat. 

 65° 30', or nearly two degrees south of the 

 Arctic Circle, implying a journey of some 

 three hundred miles across to the west coast. 

 The two Laplanders, who accompanied Nor- 

 denskiold in his second unsuccessful attempt 

 to cross Greenland (in a higher latitude and 

 from the west side), managed to advance 

 eastward some hundred and forty miles, and 

 attained a height of over five thousand five 

 hundred feet, whence they got a view of 

 what appeared to be an endless snow- 

 field. 



