424 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



six miles square, which is surrounded by a 

 steep, almost precipitous descent, impassable 

 for baggage-animals except by a single road. 

 The bed of the lake, which is about four- 

 teen hundred and thirty feet above the sea, 

 is one solid mass of hard salt, perfectly level, 

 and covered by only an inch or two of water. 

 To ride over it was like riding over ice or 

 cement. The bottom was covered with a 

 slight sediment, but, when that was scraped 

 away, the pure white salt shone out below. 

 No one has ever got to the bottom of the 

 deposit. The second lake is the one from 

 which the Saryks of Penjdeh take their salt, 

 and is about eight hundred feet above the 

 sea. The salt in this lake is not so smooth 

 as in the other one, and does not look so 

 pure. It is dug out in flakes or strata, 

 generally of some four inches in thickness, 

 and is loaded into bags and carried off for 

 sale without further preparation. 



Prodnctioa of Bcet-Sngar in GcrraanT. 



— The consular reports to our Department 

 of State show that the beet-sugar industry 

 in Germany has made great progress dunng 

 the last twelve years. The exportation of 

 this sugar only began in 1860, but it has 

 been fostered by the Government through 

 the grant of drawbacks that really amount- 

 ed to bounties till it has undergone a 

 remarkable development. In Pomerania, 

 while in 18'71-'72, 38,000 tons of beets were 

 manufactured into 3,000 tons of sugar, in 

 18S2-'83, 7,700 tons of sugar were obtained 

 from 84,000 tons of beets. It is estimated 

 that there arc now 525,000 acres of land 

 under beet-cultivation in Germany ; and it 

 appears that there were, during the year 

 1882-'83, 358 factories in operation, as com- 

 pared with 313 in the previous year, and 

 that they produced 835,164 tons of raw 

 sugar, against 509,722 tons in 1881-82. The 

 taxes paid by the industry amounted to 

 $35,000,000 as compared with $25,085,000. 

 It is expected that for 1883-84 there will 

 be found an increase of at least fifteen new 

 factories over those in operation in 18S2-'83. 

 As compared with the year 1871-'72, in that 

 year 2,251,000 tons of beets were used to 

 produce 186,412 tons of sugar, while in 

 1882-'83, 8,747,000 tons of beets were 

 used, producing 835,164 tons of sugar. 

 The quantity of beet-root used to produce a 



pound of sugar has diminished, under in- 

 creased skill in the manufacture, from about 

 twelve pounds to a fraction over ten pounds. 



The Harmony of Colors. — M. Chevreul, 

 the chemist, although in his hundredth year, 

 is not too old to discuss the interesting ques- 

 tion of bonnets and millinery. A black bon- 

 net, he says, with white, pink, cr red feath- 

 ers or flowers, suits a fair complexion. A 

 dead white hat is only suitable for florid 

 complexions, whether blondes or brunettes. 

 Gauze crape or tulle bonnets suit all com- 

 plexions. A white bonnet for a blonde 

 should have white or pink flowers ; blue is 

 still better. Brunettes should avoid blue, 

 and rather choose red, pink, or orange. 

 Light blue bonnets are especially suitable 

 for fair persons. They may be trimmed 

 with white flowers, or even yellow or orange, 

 but not pink or violet. For dark persons 

 who venture to wear a blue bonnet, yellow 

 or orange is indispensable. A green bon- 

 net sets off a pale or slightly colored com- 

 plexion. A pink bonnet should not be too 

 near the face, but should be separated by 

 the hair, or by a white or green inside trim- 

 ming, the latter color especially. White 

 flowers, with an abundance of leaves, pro- 

 duce a good effect on pink. A dark-red 

 bonnet is only suitable for persons with a 

 highly colored complexion. Avoid yellow 

 or orange bonnets. Violet is not to be rec- 

 ommended unless separated from the face, 

 not only by the hair but by yellow acces- 

 sories also. 



Estimating the Age of Trees, — Mr. 



John T. Campbell, of Rockville, Indiana, 

 records in the " American Naturalist " some 

 of the results of his observations on the 

 age of forest-trees as determined by their 

 rings of growth. He regards the rings as 

 capable, when correctly interpreted, of giv- 

 ing the true history of the tree, and show- 

 ing the dates of prosperity and adversity in 

 its career. The amount of growth between 

 the rings is not determined by the character 

 of the particular season in which each 3'ear's 

 growth is made, as is generally believed, but 

 by other conditions, such as the provision 

 of top and branches and the presence or 

 absence of rival trees competing with it for 

 air, light, and moisture. He found stumps 



