138 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



[September, 1889. 



iiig that its peculiar features are clue. Forma- 

 tions of lava and volcanic rock are everywhere 

 abundant, and the present activity of the sub- 

 terranean fires is shovv^n by the innumerable 

 springs of boiling water which gush out of 

 the ground almost everywhere. It is impos- 

 sible to say from what depth these waters 

 come, but it is probably very great, as their 

 temperature, as shown by the geysers, is often 

 above the ordinary boiling point. 



The waters ot these springs are quite 

 strongly charged with mineral matter, prin- 

 cipally soluble silica. As the water cools and 

 is exposed to the air, this silica is deposited 

 as geyserite, or silicious sinter, a variety of 

 opal. Immense deposits of this mineral, cov- 

 ering many acres, occur in the vicinity of the 

 springs, and it is deposited in forms of the most 

 marvellous delicacy and beauty. The waters 

 are usually of a blue or green tint, and of the 

 most exquisite clearness, while the iron and 

 other substances contained in them color the 

 formations with beautiful shades of brown, 

 yellow, orange, and red. They aie sti-ongly 

 impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and, 

 while not considered unwholesome to drink, 

 are usually avoided by the guides when other 

 water is to be obtained. 



One of the most remarkable circumstances 

 is the apparent independence of the different 

 springs. In some localities we find, only a 

 few feet apart, and at different levels, simple 

 boiling springs of widely different colors, 

 spouting geysers, — whose periods vary from 

 one minute to several weeks, — craters of 

 boiling mud, little "frying-pans" or vents of 

 hissing steam and sulphurous gas, and larger 

 vents giving off clouds of steam and roaring 

 like the escape-pipe of a steamboat ; and 

 the springs constantly 'change from one type to 

 the other. It is not a "fish-story," but an 

 actual fact, that trout may be caught in the 

 brooks, and, without being removed from the 

 hook, can be dropped into a boiling spring 

 near by and completely cooked, in such close 

 proximity are the surface and subterranean 

 . waters. 



The geysers are the most wonderful phe- 

 nomena of all, and are nowhere else in the 

 world found in such abundance and perfec- 

 tion. They do not, apparently, differ in 

 appearance from an ordinary spring, but, at 

 greater or less intervals of time, the water is 

 thrown into agitation by the escape of steam, 

 and shortly a column of boiling water rushes 

 forth to a greater or less height, and continues 

 playing for a varying interval of time, when 

 it subsides, and all is quiet until the next 

 eruption. The period between the eruptions 

 varies from one minute to two or three 

 weeks, and the height of the stream from one 

 foot to three hundred feet. The finest and 

 largest geysers are rather irregular in their 

 action, but there is one remarkable exception, 

 — the "Old Faithful" geyser, which every 



sixty-five minutes throws out an immense 

 column of water and steam to a height of 

 two hundred feet. The Excelsior, the largest 

 geyser in the world, formerly ejected a column 

 of water seventy-five feet in diameter to a 

 height of three hundred feet ; at present these 

 eruptions have ceased, but may be renewed at 

 any time. 



The cause of the action of the geysers is 

 undoubtedly owing to a sudden explosion of 

 water heated above the boiling point, and we 

 give below the explanation offered by Bunsen, 

 which is probably correct : 



"A geyser does not find a cave or even a perpendic- 

 ular tube ready-made out of which to flow, but, like 

 a volcano, forms its own crater. If alkaline, the 

 water will hold silica in solution, and the silica will 

 be deposited about the spring. Thus a mound and 

 tube are gradually built. For a long tiine, a spring 

 of this cliaracter may boil, but not be violently 

 eruptive, the circulation maintaining nearly an 

 equal temperature in every part of the tube. But, 

 as the tube becomes longer, and the circulation 

 more and more impeded, the difference of tempera- 

 ture in the water in the upper and lower parts of the 

 tube grows greater and greater, until, at length, the 

 boiling point is reached below, while the water 

 above is comparatively cool. The water in this 

 tube, being hotter the deeper it lies, reaches the 

 boiling point somewhere below. The column of 

 water in the tube is augmented by the flow from 

 tributary hot springs at different levels beneath the 

 surface, until at length the pressure is sufiiciently 

 great to generate steam far down below. This 

 steam, in its effort to escape, at first forces up the 

 water in the tube until it overflows the basin at the 

 surface. By means of this overflow the pressure in 

 every part of the tube is diminished ; but a large 

 body of water, before very near the boiling point, is 

 instantly converted into steam, which rushes up- 

 ward through the tube, projecting the column of 

 water which has confined it high into the air. With 

 this water a large volume of steam is also carried off: 

 but the steam continues to escape from the tube 

 some time after the water is exhausted. The pre- 

 monitory rumblings before an eruption are only a 

 simmering of the water on a great scale." 



Some of the geysers may be roused to action 

 at any time by throwing soap into them, as 

 the proprietor of a Chinese laundry situated 

 directly over one discovered to his great dis- 

 comfiture, but the reason of this action is 

 unknown. 



It is impossible to give any satisfactory 

 explanation of the phenomena presented in 

 this remarkable region. They are undoubt- 

 edly due to the action of subterranean heat 

 upon abundant streams of underground 

 water, but from whence the water comes, or 

 how far below the surface are the remains of 

 the volcanic fires, no one knows. We can 

 only admire and wonder at the marvellous 

 manifestations of natural forces, and leave 

 future investigators to trace them to their 

 sources. 



A word should also be said in regard to 

 the natural beauty of the great falls, and canon 

 of the Yellowstone river. The .stream at one 

 point in its course makes a perpendicular 

 plunge of over three hundred feet into a canon 



a thousand feet in depth. The sides of the 

 canon are of the most brilliant shades of 

 yellow, red, and brown, due to the presence 

 of iron and sulphur in the soil. Innumerable 

 dikes of lava have been in past ages injected 

 from below into the overlying formation, 

 and, as the stream has cut its way back 

 through the softer soil, these dikes are left 

 projecting from the sides of the canon, form- 

 ing a scene of wildness and beauty quite 

 indescribable. In fact, no written description 

 can ever do justice to our great national won- 

 derland ; it must be seen to be comprehended, 

 and the arrangements for the comfort and 

 pleasure of the tourist are now so excellent, 

 that the already large number of visitors will 

 most certainl)' constantly increase from year 

 to year. 



WHAT IS A SCIENTIFIC 

 EDUCATION } 



An article upon "Practical Education," 

 written by one who was formerly an editorial 

 assistant upon this paper, and published in 

 the last number, naturally suggests some 

 thoughts as to what a scientific education 

 should be, using the word in its widest sense, 

 and not limiting it to the special study of the 

 forces and phenomena of nature. Without 

 discussing the question of public versus pri- 

 vate education, or the wisdom of the immense 

 expenditure of public money in this direction, 

 which is universal in this country, it will be 

 admitted by everyone that the results of our 

 systems of elementary eduaition are not 

 commensiu'ate with the money and labor 

 expended upon them. 



The fir.st essential in a scientific education 

 is that the child should learn to read, write, 

 and perform the simplest arithmetical calcu- 

 lations. This knowledge is equally necessary 

 for all, and it is eminently proper that the 

 first years of school life should be, hs is 

 usually the case, almost entirely devoted to 

 those branches. But once they are attained, 

 the unfortunate pupil is crammed with an 

 intellectual hash of dead and living languages, 

 grammar, geography, mathematics, literature, 

 physiology and hygiene, mental philosophy, 

 ancient and modern history, book-keeping, 

 evidences of Christianity, natural and physical 

 science, and a hundred other studies, of which 

 no one mind could digest the hundredth part, 

 until graduation day or lirain fever brings 

 the long-desired relief. Such a pupil, if he 

 survives, after being graded "perfect" in phy- 

 sics, will, very likely, take .stock in the Keeley 

 motor, or some similar scheme ; or, after 

 completing his course in mental j)hilosophy 

 and physiology with honors, become an ar- 

 dent believer in the mind-cure. 



Such an education will, undoubtedly, give 

 a thin veneering of culture to those possess- 

 ing it, but, to our mind, what is much more 

 to be desired is an education which will best 



