Sept. 4, 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



(Buv Infatntois* Column. 



We give here, week by u-eel;, a terse descr 

 inventions as ue think may he of use ti 

 possible, the number of the patent is t 

 desire fuller information to procure i 

 Patent Office m Cur-itor-street, Chana 

 rally spealmq, confine oursehes to the n 

 it often happens that an article comet 

 although not quite noiel, is uoithy of . 

 ingenuity In such a case ue should 



ption of such of the many 

 our readers. Where it is 

 •loted, to enable those who 

 le specification from^ the 

 ry-lane We shall, gene- 

 ore recent intentions, but 



i¥lis!«IIama. 





Andvhilc 



thv 



— at the same ti.... 

 to their inventions I 

 is accorded by the i;< 



[Patent ISO 14 til IS'-i ]— Ihib iiibtiui 1 f.om 



the de'sitrns worked out bj protracted i | i wis 



Wright, and \\ ith it screen demonstrations c \j . 



Iiydrogen hme hglit, of a charactei hitht i 1 le 



Ample light lb obtiuied for the magnihcatiLU nl n In uih trans- 

 parent subjects to 1 250 diameters ■sshich will dispH-s in a clear and 

 beautiful manner all the parts of insects, the minute details of 

 anatomical vectinns \egetable tissue, i^c , quite as sharply, and 

 almost a brillni th a a im^io lantern slide the proboscis of a 



1 1 ind IS combined with opacity of 



d \ e a magnification of 2,500 dia- 



1] t 1 sections are admirably shown 



eithei \ 1 ill 1 1 11 elluht The microscope can be fitted 



to anj good uj tic il lautem In the sj eci 1 lantern constructed for 

 use with the instrument, a tnple 5 in primar} condenser is used, 

 which takes up the large an^le of 'tj" of li^lit from the radiant. 

 Almost equal lesnlts can howe\er, be obtained with the 4 in. con- 

 densers usually supplied in optical lanterns, by the addition of a 

 tliird lens, the ti'iple 5 in. condenser being reckoned to give 15 per 

 — ^ "! illumination. The slides need no special preparation. 



Ajieeican Lighthouses.— The United States Lighthouse Board 

 has approved plans for a compressed gas-lighted beacon at Romer' s 

 Shoals, New York, for which 25,000 dols. were appropriated by 

 Congress last session The beacon will be a skeleton iron structure, 

 41 feet abo\e low water 



1 I M\i iv\i.LE Bic\CLE KiDE— Mr E Oxborrow, of the ^olus 



II 1 1 lit accomplished an estraordmarj' day's journey on a 

 1 leil sifi^t) bicycle Starting from Hitchin at midnight on 



V 1 1 id 111 Peterborough, Long Sutton, Lynn, and Swaif- 



li u \ ' M ick as far as Biggleswade, which he reached 



It I I t til ha\ing thus covered a distance of 263 



III 1 1 hours This is within three and a-half 

 mil id which was made last year by Mr. J. H. 

 Ad 11 I Facile ' 



\ lLM\iKVLLL Case Dr Strumpell, of Leipzig, had under 

 his caie, a few jeais ago, a j oung man who bad suffered from a 

 disease of the brain w hich had destroyed sensibility to touch over 

 the whole bodj, and also the functions of one eye and of one ear. 

 Vi hen this youth kept open his remaming eye and ear, he remained 

 peifecth wide awake, conscious, and intelligent. But when his still 

 efhcient eje and ear were carefully closed, he immediately became 

 unconscious— m fact, he could only remain awake by keeping that 

 ej e and ear open This case is suggestive. It appears clear that 

 the functions of the mind are dependent absolutely upon the 

 reception of energy from the sensory perceptive areas. — :\'eircast!e 

 Weekly Chroniele. 



Amebican Axthbacite. — The second geological survey of 

 Pennsylvania has just published advance copies of its report on the 

 anthracite coal region, giving some interesting information as to 

 the production and shipments of 1884. During that year there 

 were 377 producing collieries. The total shipments in 1884 were 

 30,718,293 tons, and the total production 32,641,499 tons, or about 

 1,800,000 tons less than in 1883. More than half the total product 

 came from the Lackawanna and Wyoming coalfi.elds, while the 

 Pottsville coalfield, which, up to 1857, produced more than half the 

 anthracite coal sent to market, yielded in 1884 less than 10 per cent, 

 of the whole. 



Science Lectures in London.— The series of weekly lectures 

 on popular science wUl shortly be recommenced at the Ro\al 

 ' -'- Hall (late the Victoria' Theatre— more usually styled the 

 " Vie ) m the Waterloo-bridge-road. These lectures are given on 

 Tuesday evenings, and while the charges for admission are little 

 more than nominal, the committee have been able to secure the kind 

 co-operation in their good work of the leading men of science of 

 the day. Wisely appealing to as many of the senses as possible, 

 nearly "all the lectures are well illustiaud In iIr- rdd vi a fine osy- 

 hvdrogen lantern. The lecture on ^. pt -':i \\::; i L-iven by our 

 contributor, Mr. W. Jerome Harri.-.n. IM;> , >.n - -i.iic Tools and 

 1. i:;:.-;:.-. ' ^ V l; fine series of 



balsam, which is not the case witli any otln 



After passing the parallelising lens, the rays are coned down 



sub-stage condensers to illuminate an object of the required s 



Errata. — " Correlation of the two common cliords of music, i;c.'' 

 In my letter 1899 on this subject there are a clerical error and a 

 misprint which I shall be glad to be allowed to correct. In the 

 series of ratios of the diatonic scale I have inadvertently written i 

 instead of ?. Lower down will be found the word " imitated."' It 

 should be " instated."— Fred. J. Jackson. 



