240 



KNOWLEDGE 



[March 20, 1885. 



I'lR. 0. — The P'loating Turntable. 



Fig. 3, show the sectional girders by which the weight of 

 the vessel is distributed on the jacks. H shows one of the 

 upper pontoon sections. J shows an arrangement in con- 

 nection with the pump on pumping tower, L, to distribute 

 the load of the vessel equally on all the jacks. I and K show 

 the arrangement by which the water is exhausted from the 

 pontoon. On each side of the basin there are several rods, 

 on top of which are nuts capable of holding the pontoon, to 

 prevent its rising above the level of the railway when the 

 ship and cradle have been taken off. Fig. 7 and 8 show a 

 plan and sectional view of the floating turntable, and Fig. 9 

 a perspective view, with a ship on the turntable. 



In connection with an assertion in the first part of the article on 

 " The Inter-Oceanic Ship Railway" (reproduced from the Scientific 

 American in our number of March G), it is pointed out, on indis- 

 putable authority, that, as far back as the year 185G, M. Lanrent 

 Stegcr projected a Ship Kailway from Marseilles to Calais. It was 

 part of M. Stegcr's design that the ship's own engines should be 

 utilised in accomplishing (wholly or partially) the transit. 



In a lecture delivered by Mr. Howes, at the Royal Victoria Hall, 

 on the 10th inst., on " The Smallest Living Things," it was pointed 

 out that some of the organisms are not more than '000001 inch in 

 length, and that the bacillus, spirillus, b.acterium, &c., multi|itying 

 by continual subdivision, are so (practically) infinitely numerous 

 as to be present everywhere that the air can penetrate. The 

 lecturer further showed from their mode of digestion that they 

 rriust be animals, not vegetables. In order to illustrate the neces- 

 sity for the access of germ-laden air to cause putrefaction, two 

 flasks of chicken broth were exhibited, made seven years previously. 

 One had been sealed from the air, the other exposed to it for ton 

 minutes a few days previously. The latter w.as thick and muddy 

 from the Bwarnie of bacteria it contained ; the former as clear as 

 on the day when it was made. 



FIRST STAR LESSONS. 

 By Richard A. Proctor. 



THE constellations included in the twenty-four mnps of 

 this series are numbered throughout as follows (the 

 names being omitted on the maps, to clear these as far as 

 possible from all that might render the star-grouping less 

 distinct) : — • 



1. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear 



{a, the Pole Star). 



2. Draco, the Dragon (a, 



nuhan) 



3. Cepheiis, King Cepheus. 



4. Cassiopeia^ the Lady in the 



Chair. 



5. Perseus, the Champion ((i, 



Algol, famous variable). 



6. Auriga, the Charioteer (a, 



Capella) 



7. Ursa Major, the Greater 



Hear {a, /3, the Pointers). 



8. Canes Venatici, the Jhmting 



Dogs (a. Cor CaroH), 

 0. Coma Berenices, Queen 

 Berenict'^s Hair. 



10. Boiiles, the Herdsman (a, 



Arcturus). 



11. Corona Borealis, the Nor- 



thern Crotcn. 



12. Serpens, the Serpent. 



13. Hercules, the Kneeler. 



14. Lyra, the Lyre (a, Vega). 



15. Cygnus, the Sican (a, 



Arided ; fi, Albires). 



16. Pegasus, the Winged Horse. 



17. Andromeda, the Chained 



Lady. 



18. Triangula, the Triangles. 



19. Aries, the Rflm. 



20. Taurus, the Bull (a, Aide- 



huran ; ij, Alcyone, chief 

 Pleiad). 



21. Gemini, the Tiding (a. 



Castor ; /3, Pollux). 



22. Cancer, the Crab (the 



cluster is the Beehive). 



23. Leo, the Lion {a, Regulus).. 



24. Virgo, the Virgin (a, Spica) 



25. Libra, the Scales. 



26. Ophiuchus, the Serpent 



Holder. 



27. Aquila, the Eagle (a,Altair), 



28. Delphinus, the Dolphin. 



29. Aquarius, the Water Carrier. 



30. Pisces, the Fishes. 



31. Cetus, the Sea Monster (o, 



Mira, remarkable va- 

 riable) . 



32. Eridanus, the River. 



[Conftmwcd on next page. 



