Vol. XXIII. No. 12.] 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



177 



the angles at which the glasses are placed, 

 interesting changes in the reflected images 

 will be prodnced and much amusement and 

 instruction be obtained. 



[Origin;il in The Poptitar Science N<wh.] 

 WITH A SCIENTIFIC GATHERING. 



BY KATHERINE B. CLAYPOLE. 



In reading a report of the proceedings of tiie 

 American Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence, one is apt to be overawed by the number of 

 eminent names mentioned, and to feel that an ordi- 

 nary mortal with no more than a general interest in 

 science has no place in such a distinguished assem- 

 blage. This is to make a mistake. Greatly as 

 science is advanced by a yearly gathering of its 

 prominent leaders, the objects of the Association are 

 also promoted by the attendance of people who, as 

 yet, have done no original work whatever. It is 

 true that these contribute nothing to the general 

 stock of knowledge, some being fresh from college 

 studies, and many having neither time nor opportu- 

 nity to do more than 

 follow in the footsteps 

 of others. They may 

 be looked upon as dis- 

 seminators rather than 

 producers, and in meet- 

 ing with each other 

 and with actual work- 

 ers they keep them- 

 selves in touch with 

 scientific progress, and 

 derive an enthusiasm 

 for it which sends 

 them to their homes 

 strengthened to spread 

 abroad juster views 

 concerning scientifu 

 work and its methods. 

 As the influence which 

 thev consciously or 

 unconsciously exert 

 can never be accurately 

 determined, so there is 

 no defining the exact 

 amount of interest 

 which may lead to 

 profitable member- 

 ship. The Association 

 has a place for all who 

 desire to promote the 

 scientific welfare of themselves and others. 



In the details of its arrangements, the Association 

 offers equal advantages to all. The newest and 

 most inexperienced member, as well as the veteran, 

 mav enter any of the rooms in which the sections 

 meet, and ma3' take part in the discussion of any 

 subject on which he has anything to say. More 

 than this, every facility is aftbrded him ot visiting 

 the institutions and manufactories of the city that 

 tor the time being entertains the society, and homes 

 are opened to him, where, in pleasant drawing 

 rooms, or on shady lawns, he may make the 

 acquaintance of other members, and discuss inform- 

 ally subjects of mutual interest. For the Saturday 

 of the Association week, complimentary excursions 

 are arranged to places of interest in the neighbor- 

 hood, and reduced 'rates are obtained to more dis- I 

 tant points for the three days following the close oft 

 the session. Thus, opportunities are afforded the 

 member of making himself well acquainted with the 

 city and the district in which it lies, enlarging at I 

 the same time his knowledge of geography and his j 

 ideas concerning manners, customs, and industries 

 'n different parts of the country. Nor is this the 



only benefit to be derived from these excursions 

 Made up as they are of' members of every degree of 

 scientific activity, the young beginner is brought 

 into contact with older workers, and receives sugges- 

 tions invaluable to his future career. Who, for 

 example, who took part in the trip to Muskoka 

 Lake at the recent Toronto meeting, can forget the 

 quick eyes and indefatigable zeal of the botanists.' 

 As the boat threaded its way through the intricate 

 channels, keen were the glances cast at the trees that 

 sparsely fringed the shores, and no sooner did it 

 touch a wharf than someone was on land to examine 

 the vegetation on the granite rocks or search for 

 tokens of subaqueous plant life. The long list of 

 common plants noted, the rare species discovered 

 by intelligent search, and the number of specimens 

 collected and put into press, were deeply impressive 

 of the amount of work that can be done in a few 

 hours by those who know how to go about it, and 

 brought home the principle that the way to know is 

 to make prompt use of the present opportunity. 

 With the scientist, now is the accepted time, and 

 here is the field for work. 



But if the excursion to Muskoka Lake was an 

 opportimity to the botanist, the visit to the district 

 of the Sudbury copper mines was stimulating to the 

 young geologists also. Of these, besides eight geol- 

 ogists proper, the special Pullman car that left 

 Toronto on Tuesday evening, September 3d, con- 

 tained eleven, whose geological knowledge varied 

 from the little gained in a year or two of actual work 

 supplementary to a college course, to the less picked 

 up in conversation, desultory reading, and the hear- 

 ing of popular lectures. 



When, after a delay of two hours at North Bay on 

 Wednesday morning, — spent in exploring the town, 

 wandering on the sandy shores of Lake Nipissing, 

 or examining the rocks of Laurentian gneiss laid 

 bare by its waters, — the car proceeded on its way to 

 Sudbury-, a few of the younger members began to 

 fear that a long, tedious morning lay before them. 

 Centers of interest, however, were quickly found. 

 Hammers were produced and compared at one end 

 of the car, leading to talks with the older geologists, 

 whereby mucl) light was thrown on the nature of 

 the problem which the expedition had been formed 

 to study. A leading glacialist pointed out on the 



rounded sides of the bold masses of Laurentian 

 gneiss, that from time to time rose high above the 

 undergrowth of the forest, grooves and scratchings 

 — tokens of the great continental ice-sheet that once 

 covered this part of North America, and, as it 

 flowed slowly on, carried with it huge boulders of 

 these very rocks as far to the south of Canada as 

 Louisville, Kentucky. The Canadian geologists, to 

 whom every inch of the road was familiar, were 

 ready with information regarding the great Canadian 

 Pacific line, and the resources of the region opened 

 up by it, contrasting the present accessibility of dis- 

 tricts such as the one about to be visited, with the 

 difficulties and dangers attending their first geologi- 

 cal survey, some fifty years ago, by Alexander 

 Murray and Sir William Logan. The far earlier 

 and more perilous journeys of the Jesuit fathers 

 were also recalled, and imagination tried to picture 

 the devotees as, singly or in srriall bands, they pen- 

 etrated these wilds to lose their lives at the hands 

 of the Indians whose souls they sought to save. To 

 some of the party it was enough to look out on the 

 scenery, and, amid the forests of pine and spruce, 



catch glimpses of riv- 

 ers falling in cataract 

 over rocky beds ; of 

 lakes, now blue as 

 heaven, and now dark 

 and gloomy, reflecting 

 the tamaracks in the 

 swamps around them ; 

 and of small clearings, 

 with beds of cultivated 

 flowers before the cabin 

 doors, speaking of the 

 courage and hope of 

 the hardy pioneer. To 

 others, the chief inter- 

 est lay in the under- 

 growth of vegetation, 

 beginning now to as- 

 sume those tints 

 which, later in the sea- 

 son, catch the leaves 

 even of the veriest 

 weeds, and make the 

 ground a mass of glo- 

 rious color. Great was 

 the enthusiasm of this 

 group as one of the 

 ladies recorded the 

 names of the plants, 

 distinctly recognized 

 by the eye alone, or accurately determined from the 

 specimens .seized by rapid raids during temporary 

 stoppages of the car. 



It almost seemed that Sudbury was reached too 

 soon, after all. But when a special engine drew the 

 car away from the main line, through a wilderness 

 of sand and blackened trunks, all was preparation 

 for the coming work. The Stobie mine was shortly 

 reached, and the party turned out, to realize that 

 the high clift" before them and the masses of rock 

 quarried by the workmen were formed almost 

 entirely of solid ore. The directors of the Canadian 

 Survey, Drs. Selwyn and Bell, and Dr. Peters, man- 

 ager of the mines, gave information to all who could 

 receive it and at the same time take in the details of 

 the scene. The mine opened by American capital, 

 about three years ago, for copper, was found to 

 contain also the more valuable metal, nickel, and in 

 such enormous quantities that this is now the largest 

 nickel mine in the world. The sparkling yellow of 

 the freshly blasted rocks marks the copper ore, or, 

 strictly, copper pyrites; the nickel, or nickeliferous 

 iron pyrites, gleams a pinkish white. Fragments 

 may be found showing both, with a few quartz 



