864 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



comets and the cosmogonic theory of La- 

 place. He was the author of various mem- 

 oirs on the equilibrium of a homogeneous 

 fluid mass in rotation ; on the effect, upon 

 the figure of equilibrium, of attraction ex- 

 erted by a center situated at a great dis- 

 tance ; on the physical constitution and in- 

 ternal condition of the globe, in which he 

 held that the density of the earth at the 

 center is nearly double the mean density, 

 and pronounced against the theory of the 

 complete fluidity of the interior ; on the fig- 

 ures of comets ; and on the constitution of 

 the solar system. 



Arch^ological investigations in the Af- 

 rosnab suburb of Samarcand have brought 

 many interesting relics to light. Among 

 them are marble ornaments, mosaics, and 

 articles of bronze, clay, and glass, belong- 

 ing to the Arabian, Graeco-Bactrian, or old 

 Iranian schools, all of which have in their 

 time flourished at that place. Chinese 

 coins have been found at a depth of three 

 or four metres. 



At the December meeting of the Natu- 

 ral Science Association of Staten Island, 

 New York, Mr. Hollick gave a description 

 of the leaf-fossils which have been found 

 at Tottenville. The fossils occur in three 

 kinds of rock, all supposed to be cretaceous 

 — a hard red or gray ferruginous sandstone, 

 a soft gray sandstone, and a conglomerate 

 composed chiefly of vegetable remains ce- 

 mented with an oxide of iron. They are car- 

 bonaceous in the soft gray sandstone, only 

 impressions in the other rocks. The rocks 

 are found scattered, in blocks not more than 

 a foot square, along the beach. The leaves 

 are of willow, arbor-vitte, viburnum, sour- 

 gum, grass, a small fruit or nut, an equi- 

 setum, and indistinguishable fragments. 

 Similar sandstones with similar fossils oc- 

 cur near Glen Cove, Long Island. At the 

 January meeting of the Association, Mr. C. 

 W. Leng read a paper on the " CicindelidiB " 

 (beetles) of Staten Island, of which he dis- 

 tinguished eight species 



New pests are appearing, to consume our 

 apples. The apple-maggot ( Trypeta Pomo- 

 nella), leaving the outside of the apple fair 

 to look upon, honey-combs its interior till 

 nothing is left of it. The marauder is of a 

 greenish-white color about one fifth of an 

 inch long, and comes from a fly not unlike 

 our house-fly, having whitish glassy wings, 

 with dusky bands shaped somewhat like the 

 letters IF. It comes from Illinois, where 

 it feeds upon the hawberries, but has learned 

 the merits of Eastern summer apples, and 

 is said to be trying the virtues of later varie- 

 ties. Information is wanted by Professor 

 J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist, of New 

 York, concerning its life-history, and all 

 assistance that observers can give him in 



studying its habits and learning the best 

 method of contending against it. 



The International Electrical Exhibition, 

 to be held in Philadelphia under the au- 

 spices of the Franklin Institute, will open on 

 the 2d of September and close on the 11th 

 of October. The exhibits will be classified 

 under seven heads or sections, viz. : I. Pro- 

 duction of Electricity ; II. Electric Conduct- 

 ors ; III. Measurements ; IV. Applications 

 of Electricity (A, apparatus requiring cur- 

 rents of comparatively low power; and B, 

 apparatus requiring currents of compara- 

 tively high power) ; V. Terrestrial Physics ; 

 VI. Historical Apparatus ; and, VII. Edu- 

 cational and Bibliographical. The build- 

 ing will be opened for the reception of 

 articles for exhibition on the 11th of Au- 

 gust. Applications for space must be made 

 before the 30th of August. Exhibitors are 

 required to pay five dollars as entrance- 

 fee, and space-charges for their exhibits in 

 addition. Address Cominittee on Exhibi- 

 tions, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. 



The life-saving stations of the United 

 States Signal Service are now designated by 

 name, the former designation by numbers 

 having been abandoned on the first day of 

 June last. As the new names are for the 

 most part descriptive, or refer to some 

 locality in the immediate neighborhood, the 

 identification of them is greatly facilitated 

 to persons who are not connected with the 

 service, while it is not made any harder to 

 those who are connected with it. The cir- 

 cular of the Bureau gives, together with the 

 names, exact descriptions of all the stations. 



A REMARKABLE story of Canine partial- 

 ity is told in the English papers. Two men 

 were out from Milford Haven in a boat, 

 which was swamped. A dog, who was with 

 them, caught one of them to help him out 

 of his trouble, but, finding he was not his 

 master, dropped him to drown, sought his 

 master, and rescued him. 



ScccESSFUt experiments have been made 

 at Coblenz, in Germany, into the practica- 

 bility of substituting ravens for carrier- 

 pigeons. Havens, being stronger and bolder 

 birds than pigeons, are less liable to be at- 

 tacked and destroyed by birds of prey. 



The people of Doll, M. Pasteur's native 

 village, have set up a memorial tablet in the 

 house where the great microbe-hunter was 

 born. M. Pasteur was present on the occa- 

 sion of the inauguration of the monument, 

 and made a short address. 



M. E. Peykusson has called attention to 

 the danger following the use of delf-ware 

 in cases of infectious disease. It is liable 

 to be marred by cracks and flaws in which 

 germs may lurk. Only glass or porcelain 

 should be trusted. 



