158 



♦ KNOWLEDGE • 



[Deo. 23, 1881. 



then the velocity of tie horizoDlal component ' must liavc been 

 gronter timii tlwt needed to overturn No. 4, but not great enough 

 to overturn No. 3." Z 



1'hen follows a formula for determining upproximatcly the velo- 

 city—which, perhaps, it may not be necessary to trouble you with. 



A. T. C. 



THE FAURE ACCUMULATOR. 

 Bv W. Lynd. 



TnANKS to Professor Sylvanus Thompson, who has just sent me 

 the results of his latest expcrinionta with secondary batteries, 

 I am able to give a brief pkrtch of the Faure accumulator. 



So far back as 1860 M. I'lanti; constructed a secontlary battorj-, 

 consisting of nine cells, in each of which two long and wide strips 

 of lead, scp.oi'atod by coarse clolh, wore rolled together in a spiral 

 form and immersed in dilute sulphuric acid. A few months later ho 

 modified tliis form by plucing side by side in a rectangular box two 

 scries of lead ])Iates, alternately connected together, each plate 

 being about eight inches high. Uo recurred afterwards to the spiral 

 form as being more convenient, but replacing the coarse cloth by 

 narrow strips of gutta-percha. Cut the cells thns constructed 

 were not ready for immediate action. Two clean lead plates give 

 no current of their own j they are only intended to receive 

 and store U]) what is sent into them from some external source ; 

 and at first, while the lead is bright, when a current is sent tlirough 

 the cell from some suitable source, such as three or foui- Grove or 

 Bunsen cells, the separated oxygon and hydrogen gases bubble up 

 to the surface, for the most part leaving only a very small per- 

 centage as an adherent film, and, in consequence, yielding only very 

 transient secondary currents. The plate of lead by which the 

 current enters ia, however, attacked by the oxygen, and becomes 

 covered by a thin layer of brown peroxide of lead, and this film, 

 though thin, is i)0werfully electro-negative towards metallic lead 

 and towards the film of hydrogen on the Kathode plate. The cell 

 in this condition will therefore produce a current, and in so doing, 

 the peroxide is partially reduced to the metallic condition, and 

 assumes in its reduction a spongy or loosely ci-ystalline texture. If 

 now the cell be again charged, and charged in the opposite direction, 

 the other plate of lead becomes in like manner peroxidised, while 

 the hydrogen bubbles are less freely evolved, for the atoms of gas 

 unite as fastas they are liberated with the oxygen of the peroxide and 

 reduce it to the metallic condition ; everj' time the charging|current 

 is thus reversed, the films of peroxide, as of spongy metal, become 

 thicker, until the lead to a considerable depth is bitten into. And 

 every such operation increases, therefore, the power of the eel! to 

 store up in this electro-chemical fashion the energj- of the currents 

 sent into it. M. Plante ascribes tlie process of " forming " to a 

 sort of electro-chemical tann ijtg. The first day the alternate charging 

 should be done at intervals of a quarter to half an hour, tlie cell 

 being discharged between each operation. The next day the dura- 

 tion of the alternate charges may be increased from a quarter of an 

 hour to a whole hour; the day after to two hours. After repose for 

 a week or a fortnight, the charges may last several hours ; and by 

 thcend of several months, the cell will be well " formed ; " after 

 which, it should, wlicn used, be charged in one direction only, other- 

 wise the whole thickness of the lead plates will be bitten into, and 

 transformed into peroxide. These magnificent researches were carried 

 on by Plante through more than twenty years, and it seems remark- 

 able that even in the scientific world, that gentleman's claim to the 

 discovery of the accumulator arc not duly acknowledged. 



M. Camille Faure, who has been awarded by the public ]>ress 

 the lion's share of the glory, conceived the idea of constructing a 

 secondary battery, in which, though the tedious process of "forma- 

 tion " is modified and shortened, the ultimate result is the same ; 

 namely, to produce upon lead plates, immersed in dilute sulphuric 

 acid, a coating of peroxide of lead that can readily be reduced to 

 the loosely crystalline metallic condition. 



The Faure accumulator, of which we have heard so much lately, 

 is >imply a modification of the Planti? secondarv battery, and is 

 constructed as follows :— Eleven sheets of lead, ofsuch thickness as 

 to weigh about 2 lb. to the square foot, aro cut to the size of 12 in. 

 by 10 in., an ear-piece being l)urnt on at one corner. Or six sheets 

 are taken, five of them being twice the above size, and folded double. 

 Tliese are painted thickly with red lead on both'sides. and ngainst 

 each side is pre.ised a piece of felt, the face of which is also thickly 

 coated with red lead, there being about 17 lb. of lead and 23 lb. of 

 red lead altogether. These sheets are jilaced side by side in a 

 water-tight case, alternate sheets being connected together by the 

 projecting flaps. The cell is filled up with dilute acid, the total 

 •weight being about 50 lb. 



When thus prepared, the cells are formed by a pi-ocess of 



the current being sent tlirough them for six or seven days withou 

 iutermissiuD before they are ready for use. The red lead ia rodaood 

 gradually on one side to the metallic state, and on the other 

 assumes the condition of peroxide ; but the coll does not attain it« 

 fast condition for some weeks. Such is a brief n'jciMt' of the won- 

 derful accumulators which arc destined to work a revolntion in 

 electrical science. Those who desire to gain a thorongli knowledge 

 of the theory of the secondarj- batteries cannot do better thui 

 purchase a copy of Professor 'J'hompson's work on elcctricily and 

 magnetism. It is published by Macmillan & Co. ; the price is only 

 48. 6d. 



THE WYANDOTTE INDIANS. 

 By Miss A. W. Bucklaxd. 



AS bearing upon the subject discussed in Ksowr.Encr, Are 

 women inferior to men ? tte account given by Mr. John W. 

 Powell, vice-president of the .American Association for tlie -Advance- 

 ment of Science, of the form of Government among the Wyandotte 

 Indians, will probably be found interesting. 



In the Wyandotte Government, says Mr. Powell, four groups 

 are recognised — the family, the gens, the )>liratrj', and the tribe. 



Tlie family is nearly sjTionymous with household. The head of 

 the family is a woman. 



The gens is an organised body of consangninoal kindred in the 

 female line. " The woman carries the gens," is the fonnulatcd 

 statement by which a Wyandotte expresses the idea that descent is 

 in the female line. Each gens has the name of some animal — the 

 ancient of such animal being the tutelar god. 



There are four phratries in the tribe, and this division seems to be 

 used chiefly for religious purposes, in the prejiaration of medicines, 

 and in festivals and games. The eleven gentcs, as four phratries, 

 constitute the tribe. Each gens is a body of consanguineal kindred 

 in the female line, and each gens is allied to other gentcs by eon- 

 sanrcuineous kinship through the male line, and by affinity through 

 marriage. The family or household is not a unit of the gens or 

 phratry, as two gentcs are represented in each — the father most 

 belong to one gens, and the mother and her children to another. 

 The civil government belongs of right to a system of councils and 

 chiefs. In each gens there is a council composed of four women. 

 Tliese foiu- women councillors select a chief of the gens from their 

 brothers and sons, and this chief is the head of the gentile conndL 

 The tribal council is composed therefore of one-fifth men and fonr- 

 fifths women. 



The f )ur women-councillors of the gens are chosen by the heads 

 of hciuseliolds, themselves being women. There is no formal elec- 

 tion, but by frequent discussion it is decided that, in the event of 

 the death of any councillor, a certain person will take her place. 

 When a woman is installed as Conncillor, a feast is given by the 

 gens to which she belongs, to which all the members of the tribe 

 are invited. The woman is painted and dressed in her best attire, 

 and the sachem of the tribe, who is chosen by the chiefs of the 

 geute.o, places upon her head the gentile chaplet of feathers, and 

 announces in a formal manner to the multitude, that the woman 

 has been chosen, a councillor. 



The gentile chief is chosen by the council women, after consulta- 

 tion with the other women and men of the gens. At his installa- 

 tion, the council women invest him with an elaborately ornamented 

 tunic, jilnce u])on liis head a chaplet of feathers, and paint the 

 gentile totem on his face. 



Meetings of the gentile council are veiy infoi-mal, but the 

 meetings of the tribal councils are conducted ■with due ceremony. 

 The chief of the wolf gens, who is of right the herald and sheriff of 

 the tribe, calls the assembly to order, fills and lights a pipe, sends 

 one puff of smoke to heaven and another to the earth. The pipe is 

 then handed to the sachem, who, filling his mouth with smoke, and 

 turning from left to right with the sun, slowly puffs it over the 

 heads of the councillors, who are sitting in a circle. The pipe is 

 then smoked by each person in turn. The sachem then explains 

 the object of the meeting, and each person tells what he thinks 

 should be done. If the majority agree, the sachem simply announces 

 the deci.'ion ; but if there is a tie, the sachem is expected to speak. 



It is the function of government to preserve rights and enforce 

 the performance of duties. 



These rights are : — 1, Rights of marriage; 2, Rights to names; 

 3, Rights to personal adornment j 4, Rights of order in encamp- 

 ments and migrations ; 5, Rights of property ; G, Bights of person; 

 7, Rights of community ; 8, Rights of religion. 



Jfarringe between members of the same gens is forbidden. Poly- 

 gamy is permitted, but the first wife remains the head of the house- 

 hold. A man seeking a wife consults with her mother, and the 

 mother of the girl tries to obtain the consent of the women council- 



