■I "8 



• KNOWLEDGE • 



[Dec. 8, 1883. 



COKSKT WKAlilNU. 

 i«4j — I'cnuit me lo make one or two furtlicr ixMiiarks on corsvt 



. orirtc and figure trniiiiiij;, in oontiiiuatioii of iiiy former letter, 

 -\o. 5!»1, which has U-cu i-ouimciitcd mwu by Dr. Loigh in letter 

 >io.6S0. 



I do not think tlint tlio Uilul breathing spnee is iliniiiiislicil, pro- 

 Tiiliii); tlio tu'.t _• i- > iL.nioiicoJ enrly enough nnil continued care- 

 f ■" " .4- to I't ' < Ni> ihiMipper and niiiKUc ]uirts 



, ; .!.• ..( I do not see the groat differeiKC 



1. ..t ■• if a woman, long used to tlio sujiport 



_• ilioni,slio will doubtless fool tlioirloss" ; 

 ; !.i Mi.-h artificial support, the noariug thorn will 

 i i.nxluce nilmcuts she never oxporioiiced before." 

 1 . iilior way, for one is as bad as the other. The grout 



!: r, and what I feel is really the pith of the whole 



umi!. r, is to Ugiu nt a projH'r aw to apply the corset and continue 

 it rcKTlorly and proRressiToly uniil the Hjfuro is formed; there will 

 be no contra indication to its wear afterwards; in this case there is 

 never any redaction of figure, because there never has been any 

 •ivergrowili, hcnco actually there must be a development. Xoither 

 i* there in this case any compression j the corset 6ini|)ly fits the 

 wai«t, just as every boot or glove ought to fit the foot and hand. 

 Ur. U'igh says the figure is rendered inelegant rather than elegant, 

 bud he cites as an example tlie undrapcd figure of a modern corset- 

 wearing lady, and compares it with the Venus of the .\rt Callerios. 

 IaU nie, on the other hand, ask him to imagine wliat is fur more 

 feasible, a ilmiK-d Venus, even of Milo. [I doubt vorj- much whether 

 the so-called Venus of Milo is a Venus at all ; the theory that the 

 latter is a Victory seems much better. — En.] He will find that ho 

 lias gut a dowdy, with a vengeance. 



.\i.rnEi> t'HAnwiiK, M.D. 



[Tlie rest of our corresiiondent's letter, relating to the question of 

 taste, we have been obliged to omit for want of space. Noting 

 that the so-called Venus of Milo was almost certainly a Victor}-, 

 were any of the most celebrated Venuses of antiquity intended to 

 represent girlish beauty ? .\gain, would the draped Diana of 

 the Louvre l)e rjuitc correctly described as a dowdy 'f — En.J 



USE OK THE TK.^ZEI,. 

 [655]— Mr. .\llen, in his most interesting article on the teasel, 

 says the phjnt is nged by man for "fulling pm-jjoscs." Xow, fulling 

 is a cleansing anil shrinking process which every woollen manu- 

 fa»-lurer understands, wherein the cloth is continuously run 

 I ctween squeezing rollers, and is, during the jirocess, sulnrated 

 more or less with soap. It is the same principle ua washing fiannol 

 licfore using — vii., to shrink it. It is often called milling, and 

 upon the " mill ground" which the cloth obtains during the process 

 •lopcnda the fatness and beauty which the teasel mal:es. The cloth 

 ii scratched *r brushed by the teazel, always from one end, until 

 dufficicntly " roughed," as it is called. The wool curls under the 

 teazel in the same manner that our own hair curls when well 

 lirushed. It is a somewhat singular fact that the wild teasel has 

 no book, but only gains tho hook when cultivated. The topmost 

 tcazeU of the plant ore called "kings," those next "queens," the 

 next " middlintr"," and tlie rest " smalls" or " buttons." 



A Wool.LE.N .M.\NirAi illM It. 



lanstorrg to Corresfponlientjf* 



l.lll.ll lUiUllI 



r,i,:;l ran, Iher.jor,; /,.■ „n,unrrd 



nr<iilhcli:t» hn nolrtl ami acted 



poliliral, or pemonal iiuctliunK, 



ii-i./uiDinij clam-room prohlemn for 



a rfcrplaclfi fprrinUij prorided 



■ /nM lieen niiiriall ij appointed 



iind Ihone tclio linn viirraann- 



.'- ic/i should be olhfnvi^e orenpifd. 



.f we were «« MO ixjsilivc! Were I but o» 

 • f'.nndly in error ; — II. Davch. Heat and 



nection Itctween radiation and con- 



M. It. l-;<lilor'« best brain waves ex- 



". H. f}. Explnnntion imiKifiHible ; con- 



K. Sinr«.N,— Too Umg for answer 



• wnt.-r is not necessarily horizontal. - 



t'l explain what you saw.— W. I,. If 



.. |-:.raniid, there should be no difliculty in 



finding C.(5. of frustum, considering that the fr. is tho ditferenoo 

 between two cones or two pyramids.— II. A. B. Due to difference 

 between mean time and apparent solar time. — Vagie Simons. AVord 

 "stand" nmy bo used in either of two senses, one correct tho other 

 not, in reference to one who walks.— E. A. SaiTH. Do not know 

 where such transfer slides obtainable.— Barnum. Thanks ; over- 

 crowded. — P. Q. 11. That way of describing sizo of comet is, as 

 you say, quite absurd.— J. Jackson. Noted. Can give no replies 

 about trade articles.— J. W. B. Quito correct; equivalent in 

 absorptive action. — (t. .1. O. End of Universe of Stars. — 

 P. f. (i. Yes ; that is tho neatest form of tlio proof; but llicii 

 it was just that form questioner could not follow ; so wo gave a 

 fuller one.— J. S. IIarkis. It would make no difference; checked 

 motion menus heat, whatever changes may take place. On other 

 point, it seems unlikely. — D. ItAMSAY. See notice about thoso star 

 maps. — W. A. .S. Wants a column ; space wanted. — Newto.m 

 CuosLAXi). "Fatuous fallacies of false philosophy!" But if 

 "Darwinian llioorics swopt out of tlio minds of nil intelligent 

 persons," why not be content ?— S. C. A poiies of volumes could 

 be formed out of the discussion whether I'l-s Kii-a rightly applied 

 to product of mass and square of velocity. It is only a name, 

 anyway ; and moans only that product.- -QuzUM. Wants an 

 article' or a scries. Think of our dimeultics, and if thoso 

 cause necessary omissions, X Quzum. — 11. Ai.exanhkr. Pardon 

 me, it nould do harm to insert your guesses as forecasts. — 

 !•'. J. Butt. Thanks. — K-xphkimkntalist wants to know how a 

 wooden substance may be reduced to a iilmnis pulp.- (Ihaiuti.m. 



(1) If you cannot find tho proof you want in \ii\ ^ I Hi. i .n " I'le- 

 cession and Nutation," you aro studying a Mii p . i .i liiiL iH.yijiid 

 you. Read articles 2H, 20, 30, audbl, anil ini. ii-iri iln i ,|iii'ssioii 

 added to I. in 31, as the second term of the e.xpre.shiun for tho 

 precession is interpreted in 20; and then nsk whether you should 

 have sent me again to my bookshelves to hunt out tho passage. 



(2) When eccentricity moderate, there is no marked differcnco 

 wherever the perihelion may be round orbit. — W. U. DAVins. I 

 have no back numbers. — Jas. Grcndv, Ixuii is. Noled and rofeireil. 

 r. C, U. Wkuher. Quito hopeless for us to tiy to find spnee. — 

 X. Z. Sirfi. Airy at nivonwi.'li, and rnifessor I'iazzi Kiiiylli nt 

 Edinburgh, both liP.v,, I 1 1,:, I. W , I. i.miuhk. Katally attract ivo 

 theory !— W. M. I! l-i m i- i i - MS. Many thanks. Will 



try to find room f.ii V m:.!. ;ii .i ui m.tes. C. II. Uomanks. 



Have endeavoured i.l.nn :i ui i.liw Di-y c.icplanation of the 



flap experiments, but have ncjt succeeded. One correspondent 

 (private) has noted rather dill'oront results. Tho subject is hardly 

 suited to our columns. E. H. M. Fear cannot toll you where to 

 get books for Unniiltonian method. I got all I \vanted in Holywoll- 

 streot.— W. J. Thanks.— M. B. Ai.dku. Many thanks, but oiir 

 "Jerkins" already appointed. — J. A. J. Thanks. Questions 

 about books cannot bo inserted. They lead to multitudinous replies, 

 and some gratis advertising. — R. A. G. From improved orbit earth 

 certainly did not pass through comet's tail.— Cosmos, fila.sgow, 

 Sunday, December 10; subject, "Birth and Death of Worlds." Bind 

 star maps as may bo preferred.—!!. Tkomsox. Tho centrifugal and 

 centripetal tendencies compensate each other while tho orbit is 

 elliptical. When frictional resistanco comes in there is no such 

 conqiensatiim, whatever tho form of the orbit. — L. II. Siiortku. Fear 

 the computation useless, tho accounts on which it is based being 

 quite inexact. — A Disai'I'oi.ntkd O.S'i:. Wanting to jileasn all — 

 there's the " reason why." Won't do so any more, or make pro- 

 mises which others jirevont mo from fulfilling. — X. V'ou might 

 submit those quostiinis to Professor Owen. — Jane Carii. If that ia 

 right, all tho lenders of modern biological science are wrong. — 

 Davio Dknnev. How can a book bo sacred per »e? Certain 

 ])ersoiis iiinnl decide what books are saered. Dear mo: if you wcro 

 light, how much labour T niivl I l::i\e l..',.„ saved at King's CoUogo 



in learning what aro the ■<! ' . .:. by which this or that 



book took its place, or wu' I ' • ! i i , .is a sacred one ! As for 

 " germs of truth," there nn' ;.. i ll.^ ..in ui h in a good many thing.?, 

 but that dim't make them all .■.•veiiUioiiH. 



ELECTIIICAI-. 

 W. P. See "Gossip," Knowledoe, No. 57.-A. E.NEAf,. 1. Not, 

 without a deal of calculation, and, even then, the result would bo 

 most unsatisfactory. 2. A medical coil wouhj bo of no use to pro- 

 duce an electric light. 3. The hole in tho covering of tlio carbon- 

 manganese mixture in tho Lcclanch^ cell is to allow any gases 

 evolved in tho porous pot to escape. — At.PUA. Will try to find 

 room for a short article on the subject soon. — J. J. L. l.Tho current 

 depends so much on tho quality of the iron emjiloyed and on other 

 kindred iHiints, that it is unsafo to predict a result. I purpose say- 

 ing a little on the subject in tho articles on " Mcasnrcment." • Each 

 of the plates forming the field magnets takes about ^ of a pound of 

 wire. 2. The resistance of the armature is not ncci^ssarily 7 (Jbms 

 unless tho same size wire is used. Of course, you can use 



