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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ying tzu timg which is especially cultivated 

 for this purpose. It is found chiefly in 

 riunan, Hupeh, and Szochucn. It attains a 

 height of from ten to twenty-five feet. It has 

 large, beautiful leaves, small pink-white flow- 

 ers, and a green fruit somewhat like an apple. 

 The seeds are large and poisonous, and it is 

 from them that the oil is expressed. The 

 fruit is gathered in August and September. 

 The machinery used for extracting the oil is 

 very rude, consisting of wooden presses with 

 wedges. The oil is usually of a light color, 

 somewhat resembling linseed oil, and emits 

 a nauseous odor. The principal place of ex- 

 port is Hankow, whence in 1895 there were 

 shipped, chiefly to Chinese ports, 38,714,112 

 pounds, the value of which amounted to 

 .$1,162,524.80. The oil is used in the manu- 

 facture of paint and varnish, waterproof pa- 

 per, and umbrellas, and in western China, it 

 appears, for lighting also. The greater part, 

 however, is consumed in calking, for which 

 purpose it is everywhere used in China. In 

 applying it to the bottom of boats it is put 

 on hot, but for parts not commonly sub- 

 merged it is used cold. The upper part of a 

 Chinese boat is oiled once or twice a month. 

 Soot from the burned oil and nut is also ex- 

 tensively used in making ink. 



On the Snmaiit of Manna Loa. — Dr. H. B. 



Guppy recently published an interesting ac- 

 count of a three weeks' sojourn on the sum- 

 mit of Mauna Loa. Many curious observa- 

 tions were made. The air was at first highly 

 electrified. A red blanket used by Dr. Guppy 

 crackled under his hands at night, and he 

 could trace letters on the surface in phos- 

 phorescent lines with his finger nails. The 

 effects of these meteorological conditions 

 soon showed themselves in the cessation of 

 the action of the skin, in severe headaches 

 and sore throat, in a tendency to palpitation 

 and dyspnoea, and in sleeplessness, general 

 lassitude, and loss of appetite. These symp- 

 toms were attributed to the extreme dryness 

 of the air ; for, when a short spell of damp 

 weather intervened, most of the unpleasant 

 symptoms disappeared. Another interest- 

 ing phenomenon was observed every morn- 

 ing and evening. For about twenty minutes 

 after sunrise and before sunset the shadow 

 of the mountain was thrown back against 

 the sky of the opposite horizon. The aver- 



age range of daily temperature was found to 

 be about twice as great as at the coast. In 

 order to familiarize himself with the crater. 

 Dr. Guppy adopted the method of making a 

 rough plan with a pocket prismatic compass. 

 In some places the lava crust was thin and 

 fragile, and there was always the chance of 

 a sudden fall into a subterranean cavern. 

 His descent into the ci-ater was made on the 

 northwest side. During dry, clear weather 

 smoke is only evident at two places in the 

 crater : one near the center, and the other 

 in the southwest corner from the base of a 

 yellowish cliff, where there are apparently 

 extensive deposits of sulpliur. When, how- 

 ever, the sky is clouded, and especially when 

 the air is moist, white vapor may be seen 

 arising from the greater part of the surface 

 of the crater. The explanation seems to be 

 that this vapor is escaping all the time, but 

 is only visible when the air contains a large 

 quantity of moisture. A very large amount 

 of vapor is discharged from the borders of a 

 small crater lying near Pohaku Hanalei, and 

 this is the smoke sometimes observed from 

 the Kona coast. It is probable that the 

 next eruption will occur on this, the south- 

 southwest, slope of the mountain. Strange 

 to say, a considerable amount of insect life 

 was observed. Butterflies, moths, gnats, 

 bees, and house flies were quite numerous, 

 and in noticeably larger numbers when the 

 wind was southerly. Xo doubt, they had all 

 been brought up to this absolutely sterile 

 region by air currents. 



The American Association, 1898. — The 

 officers of the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science and the local com- 

 mittees are preparing to make the meeting 

 for 1808 of the association, to be held in 

 Boston, August 22d to 27th, which will be its 

 fiftieth anniversary, or jubilee meeting, worthy 

 of the occasion and of the honorable record 

 the association has made for itself. It is re- 

 alized that the anniversary gives promise of 

 being the most important scientific gathering 

 ever held in the United States. Many for- 

 eign men of science have been invited to take 

 part, and many foreign educational and sci- 

 entific institutions are expected to send dele- 

 gates, whereby the meeting will be given an 

 international character. Additional interest 

 will be afforded by the meetings of afiiliated 



