102 FLORAL PERSISTENCE UNDER SPECIAL CONDITIONS. 



genera, which are not to be found at any distance from the 

 water. Now these same plants are still found on those krantzes 

 which the stream abandoned centuries ago. They have their 

 crevices, their shade, their sheltered ledges, and the trickle of 

 the sponge-ooze deludes them into the fancy that they are still 

 bordering their beloved rivulet. Again, I had not sufficient 

 time to make a detailed list, but I jot down this little note to 

 direct attention to an interesting line of study, which must find 

 many opportunities in our mountain regions. This may even 

 be a partial solution of the problem of the very narrow limits 

 within which many of our plants occur. 



Electrically Propelled Vessels. — From one 

 of the United States Navy Yards there was recently launched the 

 collier Jupiter, which, when completed, will be the first sea-going 

 vessel to be driven by electricity. She will have twin screws, 

 which are to be driven by a pair of induction motors receiving 

 their energy from a variable-speed turbo-generator. The Jupiter 

 is stated to be the largest vessel ever built on the Pacific Coast, 

 and is 572 feet in length. 



Rubber from Rhodesia. — A ireddish-brown rubber 

 fiom North- Western Rhodesia, known as Chimeya rubber, and 

 believed to be derived from a vine, has recently been examined 

 in the laboratories of the Imperial Institute. The rubber was in 

 excellent condition, and possessed very satisfactory physical 

 properties. It was valued at 4s. o,d. to 5s. per lb., with fine 

 hard Para being quoted at 6s. 1 id. Analysis of the dry. washed 

 rubber showed it to be of very good quality, as it contained 

 91.5 per cent, of caoutchouc, and only .6 per cent, of protein, 

 although the ash was rather high in amount, namely, 1.3 per 

 cent. It included a considerable amount of vegetable impurity, 

 which, it was considered, could be reduced by exercising more 

 crre in collection. 



AYOGADRO PREMIUM. — The Royal Academy of 

 Science of Turin has resolved to devote the balance of the 

 amount subscribed in memory of Avogadro to a premium for a 

 chemical work, having some bearing on Avogadro's Law. The 

 premium, which will be of the value of £1,500, or take the form 

 of a gold medal, if desired, will be awarded to the candidate 

 who in the three years 1912-1914 shall have published the best 

 work on chemistry, either of an experimental or historical 

 critical nature, having some bearing on Avogadro's Law. The 

 works entered will not be returned, and must be written in 

 Italian, French, German, or English, and at least three printed 

 copies must be sent in before the end of 1914, on the last day 

 of which year the competition will be closed. The premium 

 will be awarded in 191 5. 



