512 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



on which it is applied is nearly pure sand, 

 and the yield of the sugar-beet grown on it 

 is described as enormous, while the percent- 

 age of sugar is equal to that obtained from 

 roots grown on the best soil in Germany. 

 The decrease of the death-rate of the town 

 is considerable, and the " waste" lands have 

 been made to yield remunerative crops. 



The forty-fourth annual meeting of the 

 British Association for the Advancement 

 of Science will be held at Belfast, commen- 

 cing Wednesday, August 19, 1874. Prof. 

 Tyndall will preside. In 1875, the Asso- 

 ciation meets at Bristol. 



The annual ^s^ine production of the 

 United States is estimated, in round num- 

 bers, at 20,000,000 gallons, and the mar- 

 ket value at 14,000,000 dollars. The wine 

 production of various States is as fol- 

 lows : California, 5,000,000 gallons ; Ohio, 

 3,500,000; New York, 8,000,000; Mis- 

 souri, 2,500,000; IlUnois, 2,500,000; Penn- 

 sylvania, 2,000,000 ; Iowa, 400,000, and so 

 on downward. 



The Lancet expresses the opinion that 

 oftentimes, in fatal explosions of petroleum, 

 death is produced instantaneously by shock, 

 combustion, and anaesthesia. Petroleum is 

 a mixture of homologues belonging to the 

 marsh-gas family, which for many years 

 have been recognized as powerful anaesthet- 

 ics. Some fifteen years ago an attempt 

 was made to introduce one of them, the 

 hydrid of amyl, as a substitute for chloro- 

 form. 



In Corsica the octopus is an esteemed 

 article of food, in fact, a " great delicacy." 

 It is first boiled, and then roasted. 



TVe are pleased to learn that Mr. J. P. 

 Lesley has been appointed geologist-in-chief 

 to conduct a new survey of the State of Penn- 

 sylvania. The results of this survey, as has 

 been pointed out by Mr. MacFarland in a 

 memorial to the Pennsylvania Legislature, 

 cannot fail to be exceedingly important. A 

 more competent man than Mr. Lesley could 

 not have been found for the office of chief 

 geologist. 



The Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- 

 land has made a grant of £100 to Prof. 

 De Bary, of Strasburg, to enable him to 

 make a special investigation into the life 

 history of the potato fungus, peronosjxjva 

 infestans. 



The third meeting of the French As- 

 sociation for the Advancement of Science 

 opens at Lille, on the 20th of August, con- 

 tinuing till the 27th. Prof. Ad. Wurtz, the 

 distinguished chemist, is president of the 

 Association for the current year. The local 

 committee includes the chief notabilities of 

 Lille and of the Department du Xord. 



Another new artificial stone, according 

 to the Mining and Scientijic Presa, has lately 

 been brought out in California. The pro- 

 cess of manufacture is not given, but it is 

 said to be simple and cheap. The stone is 

 impervious to moisture, fire-proof, and pre- 

 sents a fine appearance. It may be manu- 

 factured on the spot where it is wanted for 

 use, and, requiring no subsequent handling, 

 blocks of any size can be employed. 



"With the present year the series of 

 annual international exhibitions at South 

 Kensington, London, will cease. According 

 to Jron^ the undertaking appears to have 

 been managed to death, the meddlesome 

 tinkering of the commissioners having driven 

 otherwise well-disposed manufacturers and 

 tradesmen out of the exhibitions. 



M. Planchon, with whose labors our 

 readers are familiar, has succeeded in trac- 

 ing directly to an importation of American 

 vines into France, in 1862, the Phylloxera 

 pest now ravaging the vineyards of that 

 country. He has found at Roquemare a 

 plantation of 154 American stocks, which 

 dates from that year. All the other vines 

 in the neighboring districts have been nearly 

 destroyed, while these American stocks are 

 intact. Though their roots are covered with 

 the parasite, their foliage and fruit are very 

 good. It was at Roquemare that the grape- 

 vine disease first made its appearance in 

 1863, and then extended in every direction. 

 It begins to be admitted now in France 

 that the only protection against the Phyllo- 

 xera is to be found in the introduction of 

 American vines. 



Articles on which flour-paste has been 

 used are often injured by rats, even after 

 the paste has become dry and hard. This 

 can be prevented by mixing a small quan- 

 tity of corrosive sublimate with the paste. 

 Those who have tried this pronounce it 

 harmless to persons handling it, and a com- 

 plete safeguard against the rats. 



In his work on the " Influence of For- 

 ests," Ebermayer gives a table of observa- 

 tions showing the temperature of the earth 

 covered by snow during the extremely cold 

 weather of December, 1871. He states that 

 on the 8th and 12th of December, 1871, the 

 temperature of the air fell to 26.8° Fahr., 

 while the temperature of the earth beneath 

 the snow was no lower than 33.8°, and 

 four feet below it was 42.8°. 



The seventh meeting of the International 

 Congress of Prehistoric Archaeology and 

 Anthropology, will open at Stockholm on 

 Fiiday, August 7, 1874, and Avill continue 

 till Sunday, August 16th. The government 

 of Sweden gives 20,000 francs to defray the 

 expenses of the Congress. 



