Vol. XXn. No. 6.] 



POPULAR SCIEN"CE NEWS. 



89 



€f>e popular M>txente |^etoie(. 



BOSTON, JUNE 1, 1888. 



AUSTIN P. NICHOLS, S.B Editm- 



WILLIAM J. ROLPE, Litt.D Aaaociate Editor 



When two different metals are placed in a 

 liquid capable of acting chemically upon them, 

 and connected by a wire, as is well known, a 

 current of electricity is produced. It is found 

 also that the difference in chemical action upon 

 two pieces of the same metal is sufficient to 

 produce a verj- weak current. In the course 

 of some experiments upon this subject, Messrs. 

 Nichols and Franklin {American Journal of 

 Science, April, 1888) find, that when two 

 pieces of iron are placed in an acid solution, 

 and one piece is exposed to the influence of a 

 powerful electro-magnet, the current of elec- 

 tricitj' undergoes ver}- marked variations in 

 strength ; in one case, an increase of electro- 

 motive force from .6072 to .6361 volts being 

 obtained. This phenomenon, which thej' call 

 " the electro-motive force of magnetization," 

 they find to be caused by the attraction of the 

 magnet for the salts of iron which are formed 

 by the action of the acid upon the metal. The 

 magnetic attraction causes the dissolved salts 

 of iron to gather around the electrode exposed 

 to its influence, thus causing such modifica- 

 tions of the chemical action as to produce cor- 

 responding variations in the electric current 

 produced by it. The paper is one of great 

 interest, and worth reading in full by those 

 interested in phj'sics. 



A RECENT discovery in anatomy is that of 

 the existence of rudimentary valves in the por- 

 tal veins of newly born infants. These valves 

 are not found in adults, but are common in 

 the lower animals ; and, as an additional argu- 

 ment in favor of the Darwinian theory, the 

 discovery is of great scientific importance. 



The United States Geological Survey has 

 issued an official report, by Mr. George Good- 

 fellow, of the earthquake in Arizona last 

 Maj', which contains many points of interest. 

 The region of maximum intensity was in the 

 San Bernardino valley, and the effect of the 

 temblor upon the surface of the earth was very 

 marked : great cracks, fissures, and faults 

 were formed, one being over thirty-five miles 

 in length. The destruction in the mountains 

 was very great. "Millions of cubic feet of 

 rock were thrown down from the mountains to 

 the canyons and water-courses below. Cliffs of 

 solid crystalline rock are shattered and split, 

 as if a charge of giant-powder had been lodged 

 carefullj- amongst them for the express pur- 

 pose of annihilating them." The alteration 

 in the course and volume of the streams was 

 very marked, and many new springs were 

 formed. The reports of volcanic outbursts 

 were incorrect, but numerous fires were started 

 from falling bowlders and the emission of ig- 

 nited gases. Heaps of cinders and other evi- 

 dences of fire were found in severa,l places 

 along the fissures. Taking it altogether, this 



earthquake must have been one of the most 

 powerful manifestations of natural forces that 

 has ever visited this continent, and it is for- 

 tunate that it occurred in a remote and almost 

 uninhabited region. 



The Hemenway Exploring Expedition, re- 

 centl}- sent out from this citj', has been doing 

 most valuable work in studying the relics of 

 the prehistoric inhabitants of Arizona, and 

 have made several discoveries which are of 

 great interest in connection with the above 

 earthquake. It appears that in ancient times 

 they were not uncommon, and, indeed, may 

 have been the cause of the abandonment of the 

 country by its inhabitants. Remains of build- 

 ings overthrown by the earthquakes are abun- 

 dant. A skeleton with broken bones was 

 found just as he was crushed by the falling 

 walls ; and on the edge of a fissure a female 

 skeleton was found which was supposed to 

 be that of a maiden sacrificed to appease the 

 wrath of the gods, and prevent a repetition of 

 the calamity'. The complete reports of this 

 expedition will doubtless be a valuable contri- 

 bution to American science. 



" Driftwood fires " are a recent novelty in 

 household comfort and decoration. In New 

 Bedford and other seaports, where worn-out 

 vessels are broken up, the wood from which 

 the metallic sheathing has been removed is 

 split up into small pieces, which, when added 

 to a wood fire, will tinge the flames with the 

 most beautiful shades of blue, green, purple, 

 and red. This is due to the salts of copper, 

 zinc, sodium, etc., absorbed bj' the wood ; and 

 an examination of the colored flames with a 

 spectroscope would undoubtedly show the 

 characteristic lines of those metals. Although, 

 strictly speaking, it is not ' ' driftwood ' ' at 

 all, it leaves nothing to be desired either from 

 an aesthetic or ornamental point of view. 



The origin of petroleum has been explained 

 both on the organic and inorganic theory. The 

 commonly accepted view, which is held bj' 

 manj' American geologists, is, that it has been 

 formed by the distillation of organic remains 

 by the internal heat of the earth. Others con- 

 sider that it has been formed directly from its 

 elements by chemical reactions, and that its 

 existence is in no way dependent upon the or- 

 ganic remains of former geological ages. Pro- 

 fessor Mendelejeff, the distinguished Russian 

 chemist, has recently- advanced a theory of the 

 inorganic origin of petroleum which is of con- 

 siderable interest. Briefly stated, he believes 

 that in the interior of the earth iron is present 

 in large quantities, combined with carbon in the 

 form of a carbide. Now, when water from the 

 surface reaches this heated carbide of iron, 

 the oxygen combines with the iron, replacing 

 the carbon, which unites with the hj'drogen, 

 forming the hydrocarbons of which petroleum 

 and natural gas are principally composed. 

 The most important practical point of this 

 theory is, tiiat, if true, the formation of these 

 substances may be continually going on, so that 



we need have no fear of the supply becoming 

 exhausted. Of course, this theory has yet to 

 be confirmed ; but it is to be hoped that it may- 

 prove true, in so far, at least, as regards a con- 

 tinuous formation of these invaluable natural 



products. 



— « — 



SCIENCE IN THE BACON^HAKESPEARE 

 CONTROVERSY. 



The advocates of the Baconian theory of the 

 authorship of Shakespeare's works are wont 

 to complain that their opponents select only 

 their weakest arguments for refutation or 

 ridicule, ignoring the more weight}- reasons 

 urged in support of their wild notions ; but to 

 us it seems difllcult to find any argument on 

 that side which is much better or worse than 

 any other. As Rosalind says of the evils that 

 her uncle laid to the charge of women, they 

 are "all like one another as halfpence are." 

 It is not eas}-, indeed, to burlesque the Baco- 

 nian fooler}', for much that its advocates 

 themselves have urged is more absurd tiian 

 any thing one can imagine as a caricature of it. 



Here is a little pamphlet(twenty -eight pages) 

 published by Mrs. Henry Pott, the accomplished 

 editorof Bacon 'sPromws, giving "32 Reasons" 

 for believing that Bacon wrote " Shakespeare." 

 It purports to be a concise statement of the 

 best that can be said in behalf of this belief. 

 If we take from this source our illustrations of 

 the scientific "parallelisms" assumed to exist 

 in the works of Shakespeare and Bacon, and 

 tending to show that the authors are one and 

 the same, we surely shall not be obnoxious to 

 the charge of unfairness referred to above. 



Mrs. Pott's 14th "reason" for the faith 

 that is in her is as follows : — 



That, with regard to the internal evidence of the 

 plays, it has been found that the knowledge which 

 is displayed in them concerns subjects which Bacon 

 particularly studied. . . . That the plays may 

 therefore be elucidated by a study of Bacon's scien- 

 tific works. 



Then follow " Examples," grouped under 

 the headings of "Law" (with which Shake- 

 speare unquestionably had a good general 

 acquaintance, perhaps mainly due to his spend- 

 ing some time in an attorney's office in his 

 youth, as tradition tells), "Horticulture," 

 "Medicine," and " General Science." Under 

 "Horticulture" we are told that "of the 

 thirty-three flowers of Shakespeare, Bacon 

 enumerates thirty in his Essay of Gardens or 

 in his scanty notes on ' Flowers ' in the Sylva 

 Sylvarum." There is nothing remarkable in 

 this. Shakespeare was fond of flowers, and at 

 one time and another refers to most of those 

 which were then favorites in garden or field. 

 Bacon, writing a formal essay on practical 

 gardening, would, of course, mention most of 

 these flowers. Mrs. Pott thinks there is a sig- 

 nificant resemblance in the passages concern- 

 ing particular flowers, but let the reader judge 

 whether this is so. Her first quotation from 

 Bacon is: "The flowers that come early are 

 the primrose, violets, and daffodillies." If 

 any writer is describing the succession of 

 flowers, or has occasion to allude to those of 

 early spring, he may be expected to mention 



