24o 



KNO^A^LEDGE ♦ 



[Ski-t. S, 1882. 



be taken to pieces and propt-rly cloaHed at liome by any 

 person — an obvious advantage over some kinds in use. 



With regard to constructional matters in respect to 

 domestic architei.ture, ktc, I saw some examples of 

 improve*! glazins;— in one instance equally applicable to 

 cur\-ed ss to straight raftere ; an excellent mechanical 

 arrangement for opening fan-lights, sky-lights, &c. — things 

 i-ausing extreme trouble in many houses ; and above all, 

 • juite a new method of window ventilation, which is very 

 simple, and yet ingenious ; by merely lowering the top 

 sasli, whi'.-h is made about a foot higher than the solKtt of 

 the window opening, a free verlical current of air is intro- 

 duced into the apartment between tlie glass of the top and 

 lK)ttom saslies, and yet to all appearance the windows are 

 closed. Besides this tlie sashes are made to turn on centres 

 and in-line at any angle, and thus they can be cleaned 

 from the inside only — a matter of no small importance. 

 There are some other special advantages belonging to this 

 invention, known as tlie Patent Imperial Window, which, 

 by-the-way, has already obtained two prize medals. 



Economy in gas was not o\erlooked by e.vhibitors, 

 as I observed a very good example of a burner regulator 

 in action ; some se^-tional hot-water coils, patent boilers, a 

 portable heating apparatus, and several ellicicnt hydraulic 

 .•Tims, self-acting, for raising water, were also among the 

 features of the show. 



Washing machines and laundry appliances in general were 

 well represented, as were sewing-machines of many types, 

 and other like matters, specially applicable to the ladies' 

 section of the household. 



Gardening re<|uisites were in considerable force. I 

 noticed some really striking exhibits in the way of wire 

 arclies, fencing, elegant trellis-work, garden furniture, and 

 requisites of all kinds ; aviaries, poultry-run.s, and the like. 

 ^me of the designs in wire-work are really artistic, and 

 these exhibits are equally useful and beautiful in the 

 aiajority of cases. A very useful and truly economic appli- 

 ance shown is a patent irrigator, which is well adapted for 

 gardens of all sizes. Possessing, as it does, a horizontal and, 

 at the same time, a revolving action, it can be furnished 

 with such a variety of jets that natural rain may be simu- 

 lated, from a mere mist to a heavy downpour. As a virtually 

 self acting apparatus, this irrigator is worthy the considera- 

 tion of all who have gardens of any size. 



Pas.sing from outdoor to indoor requirements, a word 

 must Ik; .said in praise of the Remington type-writer, ex- 

 hibited with an obvious improvement, inasmuch as lower- 

 case letters are now added, and thus it is no longer neces- 

 sary to use exclusively capital letters. Sorao space is 

 gained, and thi- appearance of the work produced is greatly 

 enhanced. The merits of the type-writer are too well 

 known to nr^ed further mention. 



Viewed as a whole, this, the second exhibition of the 

 kind, is a striking fact-testimony to the benign efforts now 

 generally mad"- by our hading scientific men for the ma- 

 terial amelioration of the ills and discomforts of human life, 

 and for aiding in many practicable and truly beneficent ways 

 the great caus*-s of hygienic progress and domestic economy 

 in their very widest sense. 



H.\S TIIK MOON AX ATMOSI'lIKKK r 

 l!v Mk. ItAxvAita 



(Conlinutd from pa'je 21.'). 



i LTHOUOH Prof. Young had failed to find any 

 , V trace of al»sorption causfxl by a lunar atmosphere, 

 M. Thollon determined to repeat tlie observation. There 



were at Sohag two large bisulphide of carbon spectro- 

 scopes, one belonging to M. TrOpied, the Director of 

 the Observatory at Algier.s, which had been made upon 

 the model of M. Thollon's spectroscope, and the other 

 ^I. Thollon's own instrument. The form of these 

 spectroscopes does not permit tlie observer easily to turn 

 the slit round. It was agreed, therefore, tliat they 

 should be mounted so that the slit of one of them 

 would be radia! while the other was tangential at 

 the part of the moon's limb where the last jiortion 

 of the solar light would be visible. M. Trepied's slit was 

 placed radially in the position niarkod by the thick line A 



in the figure, while M. Thollon's slit was placed tangen- 

 tially in the position indicated by the dotted line B. Their 

 instruments were erected within a few feet of one another, 

 in a building constructed of reeds and wood, some ten 

 yards to the south of my tent observatory. It was ar- 

 ranged that during the partial phases of the eclipse I 

 siiould visit their enclosure and observe with their instru- 

 ments the spectrum close to the lunar limb. I cannot do 

 better than give a translation of M. Thollon's account of 

 his observation. It is taken from his report, which was 

 jiresented to the French Acadcuny, and is published in the 

 " Complcs Rmidux " for the 19th of June, 18B2, page 1,633. 

 He says : — 



" My great apparatus performed marvellously, and had 

 never given me more beautiful images. I passed in review 

 with scrupulous attention all the telluric region of the 

 spectrum, commencing at the red end. Between A and 1! 

 I could not perceive any notable cliange. Arrived at B, 

 I was (juite surprised to see a decided reinforcement of the 

 rays which compose this group. I hesitated to communi- 

 cate this observation to M. Trcpied, for fear of disturbing 

 liim, when he announced to me that he saw this reinforce- 

 ment of the group B in a striking manner. It was of the 

 highest importance to verify this fact ; so, after some 

 seconds of repose, I applied to it all the force of my atten- 

 tion. All the contour of tlie moon which was projected 

 upon the sun was successively Ijrought upon the slit, and, 

 strange and inexplicable as it is to me, I did not succeed in 

 reobserving the reinforcement as it had appeared to me in 

 the first instance, nor even to see it in a manner I could 

 b(! quite sure about. Mr. llanyard and M. Puiseux, on 

 being referred to, saw the phenomenon with the same cer- 

 tainty as M. Tripled in his apparatus, and with the same 

 uncertainty as myself in mine. This difrerence was caused 

 perhaps by the dillerence of the orientations, Tlie slit of 

 the spectroscope of M. Tripled being parallel to the line of 

 centres, cut the limb of the moon perp(;ndicular!y, while 

 my slit met the limb tangentially, or in a very oblique 

 manner." 



M. Trepied, in his report of observations of the eclipse 

 published in the " ComplfH liendus," p. 1,G39, says: — "I 

 commenced in the red region; arrived at the B group, I 

 observed a reinforcement of the dark lines close to the 

 lunar limb. The group I!, as one can see it in this instru- 

 mr-nt, is mudi- up of a group of sixteen .sharp lines, and 



