278 



♦ KNOWLEDGE • 



[jAjr. 27, 1882. 



Tlir itMl i-nrinuxlps nf tlin blotol niv, niorrorpr, highly iiniKirUiiit 

 arKKiiinn*, iiiit/<murli an tliry iir« |irfKiiiiirtl to b« tliu i-orriurM »f 

 otTK"» fn^rii llu- r<'«|iirntory nrwainn to cviTy •tructun- aiul liwtuo of 

 thn niiinmlii iti wliu-)i rhi'v lUT foiinil. So4*iii>;, ttiori, tliat thfir 

 fuiu'tiun in Ko I'liiic'iitial. iiikI that (liity ditttir no wiclfly in fiizo nti<l 

 funii (hmuKliiml tin' ViiU'bmtn, nru nu nut jimtificd in unkint; liotT, 

 if Durwiiiiiini m trui-, tlm tialicn, ri'ptili'H, hirdii, find mnniinikln, ruiilil 

 luvo hovn tlfrivuil hui'C4>smiv(0v frtini " uiic I'oniinon uncchtor.*' 



acconlititf l<i 

 ...iil.l iliffor. 



VtilltCUCI' uf i 



villiiT intern: 

 UKvni'y, or Ij) 



Ml. Ii. I 



i..i\ 



ilcfinitiun ? In nther wiinlH, )iuw 

 far iiH wv ran jiiil^o. to the very 

 have bifii hriiii){ht ahout by any 

 • • ^ '( Kur iiiDlancc, hy wliat unsucn 

 hj^'ccial " tiivironmi'nt/' wt-ro tbr wry lur^c cur- 

 puii-li-a in tho llvptiliu cliangod into tlie inijiutu circular blood diHva 

 in thu Mnninialiu ? 



ll in uLiu nil ndiuittud fact, that the capillaries or terminal blood* 

 TCKnelii ore, in every animal, formed in Btrici relation to the size of 

 ita blood-curpiisclcs, iiu Ihut the bloiKl of ouo animal cannot sapport 

 the life of another whose bIood*iliAeH differ in size from iia own. We 

 have, then, to auk the defenders of I)arwini.sm to account, not only 

 for thone »jiocific differences in the blood-corpuscles themselves, but 

 also in the cnpillariea through which they circulate .' W. II. O. 



SUXfJOD FE.STIV.ALS. 



[264]. — It having been pointed out to rao that in the number of 

 your excellent journal for Dec. 30th there had appeared an extract 

 from an article in the Timca, entitled " Babylonian Sun-worship,'* I 

 bog to take the opportunity thus offered of saying a few words 

 thereon. When I lirst heard of the appearance of this article in the 

 TimiTd, it was then too late to ]ioint out its inaccuracy in that jour- 

 nal, and a letter, sent to one of the leading periodicals, was not in- 

 serted. I had hoped, however, that it would have gone no further, 

 but aa the most iniiaeuroto portion has been given again in your 

 journal (which, I am glad to see, has already a very wide circula- 

 tion), I have thought it well to warn the public, who cannot judge 

 for themselves, apiinst such newspaper articles. 



However surprising it may seem, it is nevertheless true, that the 

 word translated by the Times' correspondent as '" festival," does 

 not mean anything of the kind. It is the usual word for " cloth- 

 ing," or "investment," and in the text from which this translation 

 was made it is stated that these clothes or vestments were '" the 

 gift of the king." It will easily be seen that this correction changes 

 at once tho whole bearing of the jiassage, for though it is not im- 

 possible that the dates upon which these gifts were made wore 

 festi^-als, yet, as there is no statement to that effect, they are of but 

 little use in determining the times of the festivals of the Snngod in 

 Sipara. Of course, the rendering of tho other words in the lines 

 translated (excepting the dates) are in every case mere guesses. — 

 1 am yours, &c. Thos. G. I'inches. 



(0ufiies. 



[196] — Ql-icksilver, NoN-poisoxofs. — I am able to give rather a 

 curious instance of the non-poisonous effects of mercury in the 

 form of quicksilver. Having always been informed that quick- 

 silver would be poisonous if swallowed, I was rather struck with 

 the following : — In a '' lab " where I was studying some years ago, 

 a young lad employed there told mo that ho swallowed quicksilver 

 without feeling any tho worse tor so doing. From what I had 

 previously heard, I did not believe him. He took some out of tho 

 Hg. bottle and swallowed it! Tliinking that if he had really 

 swallowed it he had t.ikcn a large enough dose, I waited until 

 Uio next day, when I myself pnt some in his mouth which he 

 swallowed ! Could S. E. P. tell me if the mercurj- would pass 

 through the system unaltered, also if It would be safe for any one 

 to try the experiment on himself? — F.C.S. 



[19C]. — CiiK.MUAr. Heating Apparatl-s. — Where can I find an 

 account of such an app.initiis for rooms ? Has any method of cook- 

 ing by chemical heat yet been discoTercd and applied r— J. U. B. 



[197].— RKFKinEiiAToR.— Where can I find an account of tho most 

 improved refrigerator for ships— such a one as enabled salmon to bo 

 recently brought from Hudson's Bay (I think) ?— J. H. B. 



[198], — TKiinNic — Does tho opcrntion of curing destroy the 

 trichina) which may happen to infest tho green hams or sides ? — 

 J. H. B. 



[199]— ToiiAcci) AND SciKNCE.— WHieu a smoking-pipo is placed 

 ■with the stem vertical and the bowl uppermost, tho smoke issues 

 downwards from tho mouthpiece and then immediately ascends. 



Whon it is inverted, «o u« to have tlio mouthpioco uppermost, nu 

 smiike issues therefrom. Why ia thii Y — I*. J. Grall. 



I :iOO] — liKAJtKs. — Can you inform mo through Knowlkuui: how to 

 detennino the value of leases 'f — Jame-s (iHBtsa. [Tho conditionfi 

 must b« Biiecifiefl. — Eu.j 



[;i01] — Col.oi R-HKABlN(i. — Will bo glad if anyone can refer me 

 to any books or magazine articles giving information as to Bern- 

 stein's rosearchea into tho phenomenon of colour-hearing. — U. J. 



[202] — Gravity. — Re(|uired the ilistance from the earth's centre 

 at which the earth's attraction is balanced by that of the moon 

 when at hermean distance. [If moon's centre be at distance d from 

 earth's, and r tho required distance, we have 



earth's mass 



mof>n'8 mass d— 

 -, or 



(<i_x)» 



-e " '\' 81 5 ' 



9d 

 whence '""iTj 



Ed.] 



[203] — Sateliite.s — Ueaxus's and Jlpitkb's Moons. — Will yonbe 

 kind enough to tell me how many moons of L'ronus have been dis- 

 covered, and what arc tho names of Jupiter's and Cranus's moon's? 

 — C. W. Jewitt. [Uranus and Jupiter have each four known moons. 

 Those of Uranus have been called Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Obcron 

 (do not know why). Those of Jupiter were called the Mediccan 

 stars, and by other names ; also lo, Kuropa, Ganymede, aud 

 Callisto. They are always caUed by astronomers by the impressive 

 names, I., II., III., and IV.— Ed.] 



[20 1] — Algol. — I should feel obliged for a list of the minima 

 (those occurring in the night hours would suffice) of this variable 

 star for the present season. — L. 



[205] — OBsERVATro-V We,itheb. — I have read the remarks upon 

 favourable Jnighta for telescopic observation, both in the Editor's 

 " Half-hours with the Telescope," and Webb's " Celestial Objects," 

 but am anxious to find out whether any more definite laws are 

 known on the subject, as, for instance, whether barometrical 

 pressure or change makes any difference ? — a wind or calm seems 

 to have little to do with it. — L. 



[206] — Opium. — Will some reader, '• up in medicine," kindly in- 

 form me why opium, a powerful stringent, should in the case of 

 lead-poisoning act as a purgative ? — Yoi'Nc Pill-box. 



[207] — Heat. — Will you kindly, tlirongh your columns, letme know 

 whether there is any truth in the statement that a man may plunge 

 his hand into molten iron with impunity '^ Has this anything to do 

 with the spheroidal state ? — Percy V. Uodd. 



[208] — CoMPOuxi) Pendulum. — Will you kindly refer me to the 

 best work for a description of a " compound pendulum," and the 

 beautiful figures obtained by its aid ? Would it be too unscientific 

 to deal \vith in Knowledge ? — Jas. A. Gee. 



[209] — Satellites of Uranus. — Please say whether any, and if 

 so what, theory has been advanced in order to account for the le- 

 trogiade motion of the satellites of Uranus. I believe the axis 

 upon which that planet revolves lies in a plane nearly coincident 

 with that of his orbit, and presume that the orbits of the said 

 satellites are about at right-angles thereto, also that the rotatory 

 motion of the planet itself accords with that of the satellites. Are 

 these things so ? — W. A. M. D. — [Vci-y little is known about the 

 axial rotation of Uranus. It is generally supposed to be as W. A. 

 states. The satellites certainly move so. — Ed.] 



[210] — Homer's Iliad. — Could you or any of the readers of 

 Knowledge inform me of the name, price, and publisher of any 

 volume containing a prose account of Homer's " Iliad," " Labotus 

 of Hercules," " Jason's ExiKjdition," &c. ? — W. Gibson. 



[211] — Pyschology. — Can yon recommend me a good Catholic 

 work on Pyschology >vritten in English, or a translation into 

 English, and of moderate price, that is, not exceeding twelve or 

 fifteen shillings ? 



[212]— What is the 12th (last) axiom of the First Book of EucUd ? 

 It is given differently in different books. — Ursa. — [Euclid's 12th 

 axiom is a veritable cmx, and another is often substituted. It ran, 

 " If a straight line falling on two other straight lines make the 

 adjacent angles on the same side together less than two right 

 angles, these two straight lines being produced, will at length meet 

 on that side on which are the angles which are less than tho right- 

 angles. — Ed.] 



[213]— Organic Compounds. — In Mr. W. Mattieu Williams's 

 article in Xo. 3 of Knowledge, it is said that " many organic com- 

 )>ouuds have been made in the laboratory from mineral materials." 

 Will you kindly inform mo if such have been made from non- 

 vegetable materials ? I know that madder has been made from 

 coal-tar, but then coal-tar is a vegetable material, and in this 



I 



