364 



♦ KNOV^LEDGE ♦ 



[Oct. 27, 1882. 



Prufvstora of the college at Aberj-stwith would scnrcplj- venture to 

 practise tleceptioD. 



:^ome perauns are misled by iho iinmos comnionlr ^ren to these 

 quart* rrrguU. Tlioy aro nut n'ul amethysts or topazes, from 

 which they wholly diftor in linir ihimicnl constitution, but they 

 art- SI' ciUitl from tljoir rvi.inbhmcc in colour, which is ofton very 



il. M. W. 



COISCIDKNCES. 



f Mr. Webb's thrice-re]>eated association with 

 t! • . ttir oil, page 219), 1 am tempted to relate a 



, .. ■ circumstances. One Thursday evening in 



!>■ . !■ a half-sovereign by mistake (among coppers) 



to n «:iiu r ;i: ;i!i iuii. lie discovered my mistake and returned the 

 coin. Next morning I found I had again parted with it. I inquired 

 at the inn, and again it was restored to me — it had been jiickcd up 

 on the Boor. The next day (Satunlay) I was lucky enough to find 

 a tutlf-sovcreign lying in the mud ou the puvcuieut in the middle of 

 the town — there wen' at the time many peojile passing and repassing 

 — I walked home, a distance of a quarter of a mile up the street, 

 and on arriTing found that a gentleman living with me, and whose 

 word was not for a moment to be doubted, had missed a half- 

 sovereign, which lie thought must have gone through a hole in his 

 pocket. I ascertained that my friend would probably liave passed 

 over the spot in question about an hour previously. That I should 

 have been the flnder is the more strange as our routes abroad were 

 quite irrespective the one of the other, and if I had not deviated 

 from my usual daily course to my work and crossed the rond (a 

 thing I may do, perhaps, once in a hundred journeys) I should not 

 have gone near the lost coin. A. K. W. 



CNIVERSITY OF LONDOX. 

 [604] — Will any reader who haa lately gone over the ground 

 jfive me any infornnttion or hints respecting the matriculation 

 examiiution of the Univers^ity of London ? 1 have passed tlie First- 

 class College of I'rccrptors'' examination ; but not having learnt 

 Greek, natural philosophy, or chemistry, and wishing to matricu- 

 late. I am anzion« to join classes, or a class, held in London, and 

 devoted entirely for the preparation of students wishing to matri- 

 culate. VTill any reader inform mo where the best and mo.st inex- 

 pensive ela.<!ses are held ? Also the best books to read for the 

 above-mentioned subjects ? Matbicci.ating Student. 



COLD BATH AT NIGHT. ' 

 'tX>,-)]— (Pn p.\i.-e 3U of KNOWLEiinr:, letter 583, "J. S." recom- 

 mends a colli bath at night to produce sleep. Apart from the 

 slcop-prtxlucinp, is this a healthy practice ? Perhaps some of your 

 medical friends will give their opinion. A. K. Obam. 



HOT DKINKS. 

 006] — Allow me to rejily to E. D. G. and M.D. on the qnestinn 

 ■A " Hot Drinks." Tlie temp<Tatnre I named was relative more 

 tliun prcciae, and my information may be a littlo old. In Kirkc's 

 " Physiology," eighth edition, pago 279, we see the following in 

 regard to digestion : — " It agrees with the processes of both fer- 

 mentation and organic catalysis, in that whntiver alters the coro- 

 po»ition of the pepsin fsueh as heat above 100", strong alcohol, or 

 ■troDg acids) dcstrovs the digestive power of the fluid." 



T. R. Alli.nson, L.B.C.P. 



SUGAR AND THE TEKTH. 



< n told that sugar in its natural state has no 

 1 ut that in its manufactured slate it is a great 

 ■V could some of your many readers inform mo 

 which makes sugar thus hurtful, and also what 

 ' ', or. ut any rate, the least, effect on the fceth ? 

 Odontalgia. 



UALLAU. 



fOih— "U. Uavies" will fmd the ballad about "half-crown 



and run over boy" in a hunk called " Town and Country Reciter." 



I purchnaed the b'Kik sfjmc years ago in Catherine-street, Strand, 



fore«-t the shop. Price <Jd. (jKo. Lawno.v. 



A LUMINor.S .SEA. 

 rtX/J— Mr. Vather (6C«, p. 282) says "that the waters of the 

 Lrabian 8ca were as thickly impregnate<J with orgaoisniM at 20 ft. 

 a at tbe mrfacc." I am not aware that tlie Arabian Kea hoa any 



properties of its own in this respect, but I can answer for it that it 

 is not the case everywhere. I remember on a voyage from New 

 Zealand recently, being awakened by the second uiato when about 

 ("lUO miles W. of the Azores, to seea luminous sea. In this case 

 theix> was a brisk bree/.o from the N.\V, blowing, and, as far as the 

 eye could see, the waves seemed topi>ed with green fire. The ship 

 drew 20 ft. of water, and in tlio wake of the vessel there was the 

 same appearance ; but, as fur as I could judge, and I examined it, 

 attentively for two hours, t ho phosphorescence did not extend below 

 the surface, and only seemed to bo driven down by the ship making 

 edilies in the water. The same darkness at the horizon was visible, 

 there being no moon, but a bright starry uight. 



The whalers say that these organisms only flash forth when 

 disturbed, as they would be by the wind. It is very probable that 

 thoy iuhabit the sea in largo lields, moving very little, I'lokian. 



ENGLISH SNAKE. 

 [010]— Can you kindly inform mo if any scicntilically recog- 

 nised snake differing from both the adder and the ringed snake in 

 indigenous to England; and if there is one, can you also toll mo 

 whether it is venomous or not ? It is reported that sneli a snake is 

 to bo found in the Now Forest, Hampshire. C. E. S. 



SHIPS IN A CALM. 



[611] — In reference to ships approaching one another in a calm 

 (recently referred to in the " Answers to Correspondents " in 

 Knowlhdge), it may interest " K. F. B. Harston " and some of 

 your readers to know that only on certain conditions do ship.s 

 a]>])roacli each other when becalmed ; for when the ship's heads ar(> 

 in opposite directions they never collide. 



Captain Basil Hall, in his " Frag. Voy. and Trav.," after alluding 

 to the inevitable destruction of ships should they coniu in contact, 

 with one another when becalmed, goes on to say : — " To prevent 

 these frightful rencontres care is always taken to hoist out the 

 boats in good time, if need be, to tow the ships apart, or, what is 

 generally suHicient, to tow the ships' heads in opposite diroutions. 

 1 scarcely know why this should have the effect, but certainly it 

 ap|)ears that, ho the calm ever so complete, or ' dead,' ai the term 

 is, a vessel generally 'forges ahead,' or steals along in tlio direction 

 she is looking to -possibly from the conforniation of the hull." 



It would seem from this that there is a force acting in opposi- 

 tion to that of the attraction, which force, under certain conditions, 

 predominates. 



As to the nature of tVi second force, and why its influence is 

 not felt when experimenting upon a small scale, it would bo inte- 

 resting to lnicn>'.' C. Cahi's Wit.'iox. 



SINGULAR RAINBOW. 



[612]— Mr. Ackroyd [502, p. 282] explains this by 'asliootol 

 water lying tetweeu the observer and the how." Should it not be, 

 " bctwoen tho observer and the sun .'"' 



I have a note of imc similar to that in sketch [502] (tho second 

 secondary only partly formed), which 1 saw at Dieppe, .luly 24ith, 

 7 h. 15 m., year of last Paris Exliibition. I was on tho pier near 

 the lighthouse, the sea ut my back, in front I do not recollect wliat, 

 but from rough notion of the position of tho town, compared with 

 tho fact that tho suji must have been some 00° W. of N., I should 

 think tho only water between me and the bow was that of the 

 inner harbour, probably sheltered from a low sun by row of bouses. 

 A. Le Subub. 



[Woidd not water in either position ju-oduco tho observed 

 effect ?- Ed.] 



FISHERMEN'S SUPERSTITIONS. 



[C13] — Last year, when out in a fishing-boat off Bridlington 

 Quay, my brother chanced to mention " rabbits " during conversa- 

 tion, and was immediately told by one of the fishonuen that no fish 

 would be caught, as it was most unlucky to speak of rabbits. The 

 man said that sometimes the whole (ishing-flcot would turn back 

 after starting for the fishing-grounds, if rabbits were mentioned, us 

 they knew it would bring bad luck upon them. 



Whilst cruisiag in ono of the Grimsby fishing-boats lost month, a 

 friend of mine found a common pin njion his coat, and on tin' 

 captain of tho boat seeing it he was immediately taken on deck, sr> 

 that the captain might see it thrown overboar<l, as tho presence of 

 a pin on Ixjard would l,iring bad luck to tho cruise. 



TlIOUAS WiNDKB. 



Letters in TvfB. — Ancient Monuments, by J. E. .S. ; Ichneumon 

 Waiip, by G. K. Wynne ; Monkey and Mirror, by A. M. D. ; Brain 

 Troubles, by G. R. W. ; Milky Sea and , Joshua, by P. A. F.j, 

 lutolligence in Fish, by E. T. C. W. 



