POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



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Smaller exhibitions were held in Melbourne 

 in 1854, Turin in 1856, Brussels in 1857, Lau- 

 sanne in 1858, and Hanover in 1859. The 

 second International Exhibition in London 

 was held in 1862, covered 17 acres, was vis- 

 ited by 6,210,000 persons, and lost $2,001,- 

 500. The second Great Exhibition in Paris, 

 in 1868, covered 11 acres besides many an- 

 nexes, and had 52,200 exhibitors and 10,- 

 200,000 visitors. The Great Exhibition at 

 Vienna in 1873 failed on account of the chol- 

 era. The Centennial Exhibition in Philadel- 

 phia in 1876 occupied 285 acres ; was par- 

 ticipated in by 32 foreign Dations, while the 

 United States furnished 30,864 exhibitors, 

 Great Britain and its colonies 3,584, and Spain 

 3,822 ; and was visited by 9,911,000 persons. 

 The Paris Exhibition of 1878 covered 54 

 acres, with annexes and special buildings ; 

 had 52,835 exhibitors, of whom 1,203 were 

 American; was attended by more than 16,- 

 000,000 visitors ; and lost $S,580,000. The 

 Paris Exhibition of 1889 exceeded all these, 

 and had 30,000,000 visitors. The Chicago 

 Exhibition will occupy 666 acres, of which 

 more than 200 acres will be crowded with 

 buildings. The total expense of it will be 

 between $8,000,000 and $10,000,000. 



New Studies for Grammar Schools. — The 



Association of Officers of Colleges in New 

 England, at its meeting held at Williams Col- 

 lege in November, 1892, recommended for 

 gradual adoption in the programme of New 

 England grammar schools the introduction 

 of elementary natural history in the earlier 

 years as a substantial subject, to be taught 

 by demonstrations and practical exercises 

 rather than from books the introduction of 

 elementary physics into the later years, to be 

 taught by the experimental or laboratory 

 method, and to include exact weighing and 

 measuring by the pupils themselves ; the in- 

 troduction of elementary algebra at an age 

 not later than twelve years ; the introduc- 

 tion of elementary plane geometry at an age 

 not later than thirteen years ; the offering of 

 opportunity to study French, or German, or 

 Latin, or any two of these languages, from 

 and after the age of ten years ; the increase 

 of attention in all class-room exercises in 

 every study to the correct and facile use of 

 the English language. In order to make 

 room in the programme for these new sub- 



jects, the association recommends that the 

 time allotted to arithmetic, geography, and 

 English grammar be reduced to whatever ex- 

 tent may be necessary. 



Bocks and Waters of Arkansas. — Arkan- 

 sas, says Prof. Branner, in his report on the 

 mineral waters of that Commonwealth, is a 

 well-watered State. Besides the springs of 

 which analyses are given in the report, hun- 

 dreds of beautiful, free-flowing springs of 

 excellent water gush from hillsides and val- 

 leys in all parts of the State. In the lime- 

 stone region north of the Boston Mountains 

 such springs are especially abundant, large, 

 and beautiful. They are not mineral waters, 

 properly speaking, but they are more valua- 

 ble than if they were. Some of these springs 

 are so big that they are utilized for driving 

 mills, cotton gins, and other machinery, and, 

 as their discharges are subject to little or no 

 fluctuations throughout the year, they are 

 free from the dangers of freshets and the 

 risks of droughts. Besides these truly gi- 

 gantic springs, no one who travels through 

 north Arkansas can fail to be impressed by 

 the great number of large and beautiful 

 springs to be found at every town and village, 

 to say nothing of those at almost every farm- 

 house. Many springs are remarkable for the 

 purity of their waters. The waters of the 

 Hot Springs claim the place of first impor- 

 tance in any consideration of the medicinally 

 valuable waters of the State. It is the cus- 

 tom to speak of a large number of the hot 

 springs, variously estimated at from fifty to 

 seventy; but, while hot water does issue 

 from the ground at as many or more points, 

 it is hardly worth while to dignify each of 

 these trickling streams with the name spring. 

 Much curiosity is naturally manifested on the 

 part of visitors to hot springs regarding the 

 cause of the high temperature of the waters. 

 In the Yellowstone National Park, where hot 

 waters abound, the activity of igneous agen- 

 cies offers a ready answer to such questions ; 

 but in Arkansas, where nearly all the rocks 

 to be seen are of sedimentary origin, there is 

 no evidence of recent volcanic activity. Some 

 of the theories advanced are interesting only 

 as curiosities, and are not mentioned by the 

 author as having any other value. For ex- 

 ample, it has been suggested that the heat 

 comes from coal burning beneath the surface 



