VOL. XXIII. No. 7.] 



POPULAR SOIEI^CE I^TEWS. 



107 



were broken open in the Paris laboratory, one 

 of tlie animals was slightly injured, and 

 astonished the spectators by uttering a cry of 

 pain, perfectly audible to all. When first 

 liberated, they were of a white color, but, 

 after a few days' exposure to light and air, 

 changed to a deep green hue. These strange 



Fig. 2. 



animals average about a foot in length, and 

 are considered a great delicacy by the natives, 

 who eagerly pmsue them, both on land and 

 water. Other specimens will doubtless be 

 brought to Europe and America, and their 

 specific characteristics more closely studied. 



[Special Corrcspoiuluiice ot '/'lie Poputay Science yeic8,\ 



THE PARIS EXlIIIilTION. 

 The exhibition opened its doors on the sixth of 

 May, as it was decided to do many months ago. All 

 was not ready, it must be acknowledged, but, on the 

 whole, the exhibition was nearer to its completion 

 this year than in 1878. Among the unfinished 

 parts, the states of South America were prominent. 

 Mexico, Chili, \'ene;!uela, liolivia, the Argentine 

 Republic, and Brazil were, and are yet, shamefully 

 behind time. Paraguay and Guatemala were nearly 

 ready, but Hawaii was, of the foreign countries, the 

 only one which was entirely ready on the sixth of 

 May. The visitors were very numerous. The 

 opening went on very well. The crowd was a dense 

 and a very merry one. Altogether, the exposition 

 is a very great success. It beats all the preceding 

 ones — French as well as foreign — most completely, 

 and no one who has had occasion to attend exhibi- 

 tions since a quarter of a century ventures to say a 

 word to the contrary. Visitors are exceedingly nu- 

 merous. In fact, they are, day after day, exactly 

 double what they were in 187S, and in ioto the nurn. 

 her of entries will be in 1889 rnore than double what 

 they were in 1878. It is very well shown by the 

 comparison of the entries in 1878 and 1889, day by 

 day, comparing the first day of the one with the 

 first day of the other, and so on. Foreigners are 

 already most numerous, and Paris is full of them. 



Generally speaking, the organization of the exhi- 

 bition is a very good one. There is a narrow-guage 

 railway in the exhibition, going from one end of the 



Champ de Mars to the other end of the Invalides, 

 which is very useful to visitors, and most abundant 

 accommodations are offered to visitors who wish to 

 dine or breakfast in the exhibition. One ma^' get 

 the necessary food at very cheap prices. There are 

 some forty restaurants and cafes, and numerous 

 bars, where one can get all that is needed at all 

 prices. I must add that the exhibition is also open 

 in the evening until 11 o'clock, and is very well 

 lighted up in the parts which remain open to the 

 public. This is a great attraction for Parisians, as 

 well as foreigners. Lastly, I must mention the fact 

 that the admission to the exhibition is cheaper than 

 formerly. It would take too long to explain why, 

 but tickets are at 12 or 14 cents, instead of 20. The 

 rates are: From 8 to 10 A. M., two tickets; from 

 10 A. M. to 6 P. M., one ticket; from 6 to 10 P. M., 

 two tickets. It is likely that ticfcuts will go down to 

 10 cents; at all events, this cheapness of tickets is 

 one of the reasons why so many entries are num- 

 bered. 



The exhibition comprises three principal parts — 

 the Trocaders, the Champ de Mars, the Quay d' Or- 

 say, and the Invalides. In the Trocaders, horticul- 

 ture is the principal part; in the Champ de Mars 

 are the fine arts, liberal arts, various industries, and 

 gallery of machinery, with the foreign pavilions ; 

 on the Qiiay d' Orsay, the agricultural part, and on 

 the Invalides, the colonial exhibition. I will begin 

 with the Trocaders, which is the least important, 

 but not the least pretty part of the exposition. The 

 whole of it is devoted to horticulture. From the 

 Seine up to the palace two long tents, ten or twelve 

 metres broad, extend, affording an excellent protec- 

 tion against rain or sun. At right angles, left and 

 right, two more such tents, but of larger dimensions, 

 run parallel to the river. Under these tertts, and in 

 the gardens which cover the slope of the hill, be- 

 tween the palace and the river, a permanent horti- 

 cultural exposition is going on. In the tents, as 

 well as in the gardens, every ten days all the plants 

 are carried off and new ones are brought, and this 

 succession of flowers will go on till the end of the 

 exposition. Spring flowers are, of course, present 

 in great numbers. The first contribution was one 

 of pansies, principally, and I have seen the most 

 wonderful colors and hues among them. Now the 

 pansies are gone, and various spring flowers have 

 taken their place, among which stand prominent a 

 species of chrysanthemums and many varieties of 

 mimulus. At the same time, a most magnificent 

 exhibition is going on of rhododendrons, a/aleas, 

 orchids, roses, and peonies. The double tulips were 

 very well represented by 720 varieties of the Darwin 

 tulip, a most splendid variety. The orchids are 

 most interesting, and attract much attention ; the 

 first roses are delicious, and such azaleas we have 

 never seen. Two tents are at present devoted to an 

 exhibition of vegetables, some of which are enor- 

 mous. 



Two buildings are prominent in the gardens of 

 the Trocaders : the one is the exhibition of the for- 

 estry department, the other that of the public works 

 department. The forestry building is a very fine 

 and large one, entirely brought up in timber from 

 the Toubainebleau forest. The wood has not been 

 deprived of its bark, and the building bears a very 

 picturesque aspect — that of an enormous log cabin, 

 or pile of wood. In it are exhibited all implements, 

 specimens, documents, etc., relating to forestry. 

 At the foot of the public works pavilion — of which 

 I will say nothing, as it is not yet opened to the pub- 

 lic — extends a small garden, which contains a very 

 interesting exhibition — that of a Japanese horticul- 

 turalist, M. Kashawara, of Tokio. The principal 

 part of his exhibit consists in numerous specimens 

 of Retinospora (pine trees) and other species, which 



are in a perfectly dwarfed condition. These trees 

 have been so dwarfed entirely through the agency 

 of man. The process to which they have been sub- 

 mitted consists in preventing the tree growing in 

 height, by twisting its twigs or trunk, by making 

 them grow spirally or angularly, through the 

 agency of numerous strings and supports. The 

 branches are all forcibly — while yet very young — 

 bent in one direction, then in another, and so on, 

 and kept bent by the strings. When once the shoots 

 have been kept some time in this position, they can 

 no longer get straight, and remain crooked all their 

 lives. Most of these dwarfed trees are very old — 

 from 50 to 150 years. They are venerable old per- 

 sons, and the comparison of their age with their 

 height, which in no case exceeds 60 centimetres 

 (two-thirds of a yard) makes the thing seem yet 

 more wonderful to the visitor. To dwarf trees re- 

 quires much patience, as every year the new shoots 

 must be submitted to the process, and, in fact, each 

 of these trees represents some 60, 80, 100, or 150 

 years' attendance and supervision. All of these 

 trees are for sale — at high prices, of course, inas- 

 much as two-thirds of the cargo died on the road, 

 through the heat. This exhibition much interests 

 the visitors. It also contains some 600 cycas, and 

 20,000 specimens of 30 varieties of LUiuiii, which 

 will all bear flowers in July and August. 



The Trocaders also contains the avicultural de- 

 partment, which is represented by any amount of 

 chicks and ducklings, recently hatched, — new ones 

 hatch every day — without the aid of hen or duck, in 

 heated boxes. Of the last named apparatus, nuiner- 

 ous specimens are to be seen and handled, and they 

 certainly seem to do very well. 



Let us now cross the bridge, which is part of the 

 exposition. We land at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. 

 Before us, at the end of the Champ de Mars, are the 

 gallery of machines and the industrial buildings; 

 to the left, the fine arts exhibition, with a theatre, 

 the telephone, the gas, and the press buildings ; to 

 the right, the liberal arts galleries, with the foreign 

 pavilions and departments. 



I presume some information concerning the Eiffel 

 Tower would not be amiss, but I will have to wait 

 till I send my second letter. H. 



Paris, May 26, 1889. 



[Specially Reported for The ropular Science Newii.] 



METEOROLOGY FOR MAY, 1889, WITH 

 REVIEW OF THE SPRING. 



TKMPEKATUKE. 



The lowest point reached by the mercury the past 

 month was 44°, on the ist and 2d, and the highest 

 89", on the loth. The coolest day averaged 48.66", 

 on the 26th ; the ist and 27th were 2'^ warmer. The 

 warmest day was the loth, Avith an average of 74' , 

 while the 9th, and 17th to 19th had a mean of over 

 71", and the whole month was 4.27"^ above the aver- 

 age of May, and, with but one exception, the warm- 

 est May in 19 years. The 26th and 27th were re- 

 markable for an even temperature, each having a 

 range of only a single degree. Both days were cool, 

 and on the 27th the coolest observation was at 2 

 P. M. 



