Vol. XXII. No. 1.] 



POPULAR SCIEN"CE NEWS. 



9 



€|)e popular Science ^t\3i0, 



BOSTON, JAN. 1, 1888. 



JAMES R. NICHOLS, M.D. J 



WILLIAM J. ROLFK, Litt.D. | Xditora. 



AUSTIN P. NICHOLS, 8.B. ' 



SPECIAL NOTICE. 



Old subscribers sending us the name of a 

 new one with $1.00 will receive a free copy 

 of Dr. Nichols's hook, " Whence, What, 

 Where?" as a premium. 



a®" Those desiring this premium should 

 make a special request for it at the time, or 

 there may be delay in sending it. 



Those wishing to subscribe for other periodi- 

 cals in connection with the Popular Science 

 News are recommended to examine the " Club- 

 bing List for 1888," which will be found in the 

 advertising columns. Several changes in the 

 prices since the last season should be especially 

 noted. 



The " total depravity of inanimate things " 

 was well illustrated in the case of the last num- 

 bpr of the Science News. Both the printiug- 

 press and mailing-machine broke down at the 

 most inopportune moment, and caused a vexa- 

 tious delay in the publication of one of the 

 largest editions of the paper ever issued'. In 

 addition to this, some of the printed sheets 

 were misplaced, and a few copies were mailed 

 in which some pages were missing and others 

 duplicated. An}' subscriber who has received 

 an imiierfect copy, can have it replaced by 

 notifying the publishers. In a short time we 

 shall have improved facilities for mailing the 

 News, and shall be able to deliver the entire 

 edition at the post-office within twenty-four 

 hours after it is received from the printer. 



upon the surface. This " passivity " is de- 

 stroyed at a high temperature, and the iron 

 dissolves in the acid in the usual manner. 

 Messrs. Nichols and Franklin {American Jour- 

 nal of Science) have found, that, by exposing 

 this passive iron in acid to the influence of 

 a powerful electro-magnet, the temperature at 

 which the reaction commences is greatl}- low- 

 ered, and that the general tendency of the 

 magnetic force is to change the passive iron 

 into the ordinary condition. The observation 

 is a most interesting one, and the phenomenon 

 deserves a more extended investigation. 



Mk. Edison now claims that he has so im- 

 proved his phonograph as to make it a practi- 

 cal machine for correspondence, and prophesies 

 that it will entirely' supplant the typewriter 

 and similar methods for facilitating business. 

 Instead of writing or printing a communica- 

 tipn on a sheet of paper, the words will be 

 spoken before the diaphragm of the phono- 

 graph, and the vibrations registered on a small 

 piece of tinfoil, which can be sent b}' mail, 

 and, when placed in another phonograph, will 

 reproduce the words as originallj- spoken. If 

 the improved instrument will do sill that its 

 inventor claims, it will undoubtedly be of the 

 greatest value ; but it is characteristic of Mr. 

 Edison to be rather sanguine in regard to the 

 capabilities of his inventions, and upon actual 

 trial it may be found that there are still diffi- 

 culties to be overcome before the phonograph 

 will be a familiar object in counting-rooms and 

 business offices. 



Messrs. Hutohins and Holden give, in the 

 same journal, an account of certain investiga- 

 tions upon the solar spectrum, which seem to 

 prove the presence of the metal platinum in 

 the sun's atmosphere. This is the first time 

 anj- lines corresponding to that element have 

 been observed. They also find additional evi- 

 dence of the presence of cadmium, bismuth, 

 and silver, which have alwa^'s been considered 

 doubtful ; while the presence of lead, tin, po- 

 tassium, lithium, and the cerium group, is not 

 confirmed. 



and if we can succeed in keeping it out of 

 our houses, we can be certain that we have 

 also kept out any germs of disease which may 

 accompany it. In matters of health every 

 possible precaution should be taken, and the 

 dangerous nature of faulty plumbing and drain- 

 age admits of no question. 



It is a familiar fact in chemistrj', that, under 

 certain conditions, iron may be placed in con- 

 centrated nitric acid without any reaction 

 taking place. This is called the " passive 

 state " of the metal, and is probably due to 

 the formation of a film of .insoluble oxide 



Professor Gustav Robert Kirchoff, one 

 of the most eminent physicists in the world, 

 died at Berlin on the 1 7th of October, in his 

 sixty-fourth j'ear. He will be remembered as 

 the colleague of Bunsen in their investigations 

 upon spectrum analysis, — one of the most 

 important scientific discoveries ever made. He 

 also published numerous valuable papers upon 

 electricity and dynamics. In the latter years 

 of his life, owing to impaired health, he was 

 unable to activel}- continue his work ; but few 

 men have done more than he to advance the 



cause of science. 



» 



There is a tendency at present among sani- 

 tarians to attach less importance than formerly 

 to the agency of sewer-gas in the production 

 of diseases like diphtheria, typhoid-fever, etc. 

 In the Proceedings of the Royal Society is a 

 paper on this subject bj' Professor Carnelly 

 and J. S. Haldane, M.B., in which it is shown 

 that the air of large and well- ventilated sewers 

 is comparatively free from noxious gases, and 

 contains proportionately fewer micro-organisms 

 than the outer air of the same locality. These 

 observers also found that most of the micro- 

 organisms found in the sewer-air were drawn 

 in from the outer air, and not developed in the 

 sewer, and that micro-organisms tend to settle 

 instead of remaining in the air. It has also 

 been suggested that the dry and crumbling 

 deposits around leaks in the pipes, and upon 

 unused fixtures, may be more productive of the 

 dangerous disease-germs than the air of the 

 sewer itself. It is certainl}- true that if sewer- 

 gas were as deadly as has been claimed, few 

 persons would be left alive. The proportion 

 of houses in which the plumbing is tight and 

 perfect is very small, especiall}' among those 

 built ten or fifteen j-ears ago. But, although 

 the dangers of sewer-gas may possibly have 

 been over-estimated, it is better to run no risk ; 



The question of government postal telegraphs 

 is likely to be brought prominently into notice 

 during the present session of Congress. It is 

 a well-known principle of political economy 

 that any industrial undertaking can always be 

 carried on much more efficiently and economi- 

 cally by a private company than by a govern- 

 ment bureau or commission, with its lack of 

 responsibility and interest on the part of the 

 officials and employes. The postal depart- 

 ment has been cited as an exception ; but, 

 although the service is very satisfactory, there 

 is no doubt that it could be carried on by a 

 private company at a large profit, instead of, 

 as at present, with an annual deficit of several 

 million dollars. We are glad to note that 

 the sentiment of nearly all our exchanges is 

 opposed to an}' such foolish and unnecessary 



scheme. 



— • — 



PREHISTORIC RELICS AT PANAMA. 

 Dr. Saint-Maurice, a physician emploj'ed 

 bj' the Panama Canal Company, gives in La 

 Nature an interesting account of certain pre- 

 historic rock-sculptures found in the Obispo 

 valley. The enorraved stones are blocks of 



trachyte which have been worn by the action 

 of the elements till they closely resemble gla- 

 cial bowlders, although their occurrence is 

 hardly probable in so southerly a latitude. 



One of these stones (Fig. 1) has on its 

 surface numerous little depressions surrounded 



Fio. 2. 



by concentric circles. They are arranged with 

 some regularity, and may have been intended 

 as a landmark or guide-post. 



At a distance from this stone is a group of 

 four, three of which are shown in the accom- 



