March 1, 1889.] 



KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



113 



We give some of the higher figures: — Belgians, 43,712; 

 Germans and Alsace-Lorrainers, 26,109; Swiss, 25,144; 

 Italians, 24,178; Luxemburgliers, 14,692; English, 7,688; 

 Dutch, 3,770 ; Americans, 2,302. 



Mr. Lant Carpenter has kindly fulfilled several of Mr. 

 Proctor's lecture engagements, handing over the proceeds to 

 Mr. Proctor's widow and children. At a lecture given at 

 Crewe, Mr. Carpenter shpwed the action of Mr. Edison's 

 improved phonograpli. Its construction was explained by 

 the aid of lantern photographic slides, some of which had 

 been taken by the lecturer and some of which were lent by 

 Colonel Gouraud. Remarkable instances were given of the 

 perfection with which the instrument reproduced not only 

 speech, Vnit music and sounds of all kinds. This perfection 

 is due to minute details of construction. The lecture was 

 concluded with a description of the Berliner gramophone, 

 by which the " speech records " (or phonograms) can be 

 multiplied almost indefinitely by electro typing, and may 

 then be widely distributed. A pontitical blessing, for 

 example, might be thus reproduced in various parts of the 

 world, for the edification of the faithful, in the original 

 papal tones of voice. 



A curious treatment of rheumatism, viz. bee-stings, has 

 been lately practised by Dr. Terc in Vienna, who describes 

 it in a medical paper. In rlieumatic patients swelling only 

 appears after a succession of stings ; continuing this unpleasant 

 application the swelling dies down, and the patient is then 

 cured of his rheumatism. Dr. Terc has thus treated 173 

 cases, making 39,000 stings with bees, of which he keeps a 

 large supply in hives. He has special success with acute 

 and chronic cases. Sometimes " hundreds of stings " are 

 given; but it is right to add that the pain is much less with 

 rheumatic than with healthy people. — From the Vienna 

 Medicinische Fresse. 



An interesting study of the phenomena of sleep and 

 dreams has been recently made (we learn from Science) 

 by a Professor Heerwagen, of Dorpat, who sent out queries 

 to various observers, viz. 151 students, 113 other males, and 

 142 females. Here are some of the results : The vividness 

 of dreams increases very markedly with their frequency. 

 Frequent dreams are a concomitant of light sleep, but not 

 universally. Women have a very much lighter sleep than 

 men, and their dreams are proportionally more frequent. 

 With growing age dreams grow less frequent, but sleep 

 becomes lighter. The student age 20 to 25 seems to be the 

 period of maximum dreaming. Women dream most vividly, 

 and students more than other men. The same relation 

 holds as to power of remembering dreams. Women who 

 dream frequently sleep nearly an hour longer than those 

 who seldom dream. Students sleep longer than other men. 

 The time needed to fall asleej) is about the same in all three 

 classes; 208 for the men, 17'1 for students, and 21 2 for 

 women. Eighty per cent, of students sleep uninterruptedly 

 through the night, 70 per cent, of other men, and only 23 

 per cent, of women. The power of falling asleep at will is 

 possessed by few, and is greater in youth than in age. 



We learn from Iron that, dos])ite the great increase 

 which has taken place in the production of coal in late years, 

 the number of deaths from explosions in mines in 1888 was 

 the lowest recorded in any one year since 1851, when the 

 number was first oSicially given. The lowest death-rate 

 jn-eviously to 1888 was in 1884, when G5 persons were 

 killed by mining explosions, while the highest during the 

 last thirty-eight years was in 186G, when the lives lost in 

 our mines through the causes named reached 650, of which 

 upwards of 360 resulted from the explosion at the Oaks 

 Colliery, near Barnsley. In 1888, however, the deaths 

 from explosions only numbered some 43. This great 



decrease is, no doubt, due to the precautions which a 

 scientific study of the subject has suggested. 



RARE ELEMENTS IN BEETROOT SUGAR RESIDUES. 



Edmund O. von Lippmann has recently made a careful 

 analysis of the liquor obtained in the manufacture of sugar 

 from beetroot, with a view of discovering what rare 

 elements are absorbed by the roots. He finds that the ashes 

 of the beetroot contain considerable quantities of the metal 

 vanadium, and has detected manganese, caesium, and copper 

 in traces, not only in the roots but also in the leaves and in 

 the raw products. Rubidium also is present in the ashes 

 of beetroot. — Industries. 



on the evening 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR MARCH. 



By Herbert Sadler, F.R.A.S. 

 ! FEW .scattered groups and single sunspots 

 may be perceived from time to time, but 

 the absence of any striking phenomena of 

 this kind is still a marked feature of the 

 solar surface. Conveniently observable 

 minima of Algol occur at 8h. 19m. p.m. on 

 the evening of the 8th ; at lOh. Im. p.m. 

 ; of the 28th ; and at 6h. 50m. p.m. on the 

 evening of the 30th. The variable star R Leonis (R.A. 

 9h. 41m. 36s. N. Decl. 11°57') attains a maximum on the 

 23rd. This star is of a beautiful red colour, and has been 

 seen as bright as the fifth magnitude at maximum, though 

 it is usually about the sixth. It is situated a little less 

 than half the distance between Regulus and f Leonis, very 

 slightly south of the line joining them, and is in the field 

 of view with a white 7th magnitude star, 19 Leonis, about 

 8+' south of it, R forming an isosceles triangle with two 

 8h magnitude stars close by. Mercury is a morning star 

 throughout the month, but is not well situated for observa- 

 tion, as he rises in bright twilight with considerable south 

 declination. He is at his greatest elongation west (27^°) 

 on the 13th. Venus is now a resplendent object, visible to 

 the naked eye at noonday, and casting a distinct shadow at 

 night in the absence of the moon. She sets on the 1st 

 nearly four and a half hours after the sun, her diameter being 

 27", and her northern declination 13|-°. On the 25th she 

 is at her greatest brightness, five times as bright as Jupiter. 

 Venus will be .seen at this elongation with unusual brightness 

 owing to the season of the year and her northern declina- 

 tion, and appears as a moon just over five days old, with 

 an apparent diameter of 37' and a northern declination of 

 2H°. She is then about forty-one millions of miles distant 

 from us, and sets i\ hours after the sun. Shortly after 

 8 P.M. on the 9th she will be in conjunction with a star 

 just visible to the naked eye (No. 1482 of Hora I. of 

 Weisse's Bet;sel) Gi' south of the star, and at 6 p.m. on the 

 evening of the Nth she will be about 15' to the ea-st and 

 very slightly north of the 6th magnitude star 26 Arietis. 

 The student should now take every opportunity of examin- 

 ing the disc for spots and for the remarkable " phosphor- 

 escence " of the dark side. Both phenomena have been 

 seen with very small instruments. Mars is, for the 

 observer's purposes, practiarlly invisible ; as though he sets 

 2h. 40m. after the sun on the 1st, his apparent diameter is 

 le.ss than 5" ; and Jupiter does not rise till after 2 o'clock 

 on the morning of the 31st. Of the minor i)lanets Juno 

 comes into opposition with the sun on the 20th, at a 

 distance from the earth of 177,000,000 miles, and appeal's 

 as an 83, magnitude star, being on the evening of the 13th 

 1° 51' due north of ij Virginia. The actual diameter of 

 thisj pocket planet is probably only 110 miles. Palla,s 



