Nov. 1 6, 1 871] 



NA TURE 



45 



By 10. 10 nothing was left except the arch, and between lo.io 

 and 1 1 that also vanished. 



The stars could be seen distinctly through the auiova. When 

 the light was at the brightest I could see the figures and hands of 

 a laige watch, tut could not distinguish the figures one from 

 another. Thermometer 30'5 F. ; Barometer 29 '69 inches. 



Pixholme, Dorking, Surrey J. E. H. Gordon 



Structure of Lepidodendron 



Professor Dyer has already discovered one of the many 

 new facts with which he has yet to become familiar, and hastens, 

 in a straightforward manner, to acknowledge the circumstance ; 

 but I must again remind him that this, along with many other 

 facts, was described in No. 129 of the Proceedings of the Royal 

 Society. Professor Dyer further says : " Suppose the transverse 

 septa separating these cells absorbed, as -probably eventually they 

 'oould IiaTe been, and the rows of cells become scalariform vessels." 

 But I can assure him, as a question of fact, that these cells do 

 not become so changed ; consequently his conclusion that the 

 central cells and the investing vessels are but parts of "one 

 central structure " becomes negatived. The sepai-ation of these 

 two stiiictures increases with age instead of diminishing. 



AV. C. Williamson 



Encke's Comet 



It may interest those who possess small telescopes to know that 

 this comet is now within the range of instruments of moderate 

 apertures. On November 10 I had a very satisfactory view of it, 

 with a 4" equatorial by Cooke ; no signs of a nucleus were ob- 

 served, but there appeared to be a slight condensation of light on 

 the y(i//cT('»/f side of the comet. Thos. G. E. Elger 



Bedford , Nov. 11 



The Science and Art Department 



In your last number there appears a letter signed " Henry 

 Uhlgren," wliich, among other interesting statements, contains 

 the following : Referring to Mr. Forster's statement in the 

 House of Commons that there was no foundation for the report 

 that " the Examiners after having made their reports had the 

 papers returned to them, with an instruction to reduce the number 

 of successful candidate^:, as an intimation had been given by a 

 right hon. gentleman that the amount of the Grant due upon 

 those papers must be reduced 20,000/.," Mr. Uhlgren states: 

 " But previous to that a provincial local secretary, hearing the 

 rumour, wrote to ask the Department if it were true, and received 

 a reply saying it was true, and that instead of the amount being 

 20,oco/. it was 40,000/. (tlie Department's letter can be pro- 

 duced.)" Premising that the amount of the whole vote for pay- 

 ments to teachers on results in science (which was to be reduced 

 by 40,000/ ) was 26,000/, may I ask for the production or publi- 

 cation of this extraordinary official letter ? X 



ECONOMICAL ALIMENTATION 



IN glancing over the recent issues of the Coiiiptcs 

 Rciidiis, one cannot but fail to be struck with the 

 practical importance of many of the communications 

 contained therein, a large proportion of which bear 

 special reference to the Siege of Paris. In nearly every 

 branch of science there is some endeavour made to sup- 

 plement and improve our knowledge in matters such as 

 were then of the greatest importance, and the members 

 of the A cadi' III ie have come forward eagerly to aid, by 

 advice and precept, in overcoming the misery of a pro- 

 longed siege. Unfortunately, but little could be done, 

 even by such men as Fremy, Dumas, Chevreul, and 

 others, against the insuperable difficulties which presented 

 themselves ; but nevertheless Paris owes much to her men 

 of science who contributed many services of value, at a 

 time when these were most needed. The manufacture 

 and employment of nitro-glycerine in mines and shells, 

 were successfully accomplished at a crisis when the stock 

 of gunpowder was running terribly short, and the supply 

 of some other reliable explosive was rendered imperative. 

 Hitherto nitro-glycerine had been regarded as a most 

 dangerous combustible, liable to explode at the slightest 

 concussion, and yet we hear of its employment in shells 

 against the Pnissians, thundered forth from guns of the 



heaviest calibre, without one single instance of its prema- 

 ture explosion being recorded. Again the question of 

 ballooning, although not perhaps very far advanced by 

 the deliberations of the Academic, has, at any rate, been 

 more satisfactorily solved than at any previous period, 

 and Paris has been certainly the first to employ these frail 

 and romantic contrivances in a practical every-day man- 

 ner, and thus to render the words, ^'' par ballon mon/e" 

 familiar to the ear as a household phrase. In matters of 

 surgery, as in those of a sanitary nature, sound advice was 

 not wanting, and even the abstract calling of the soldier, 

 — the philosophy of his manner of fighting — formed the 

 theme of much scientific discussion. 



But the most interesting, perhaps, of all the subjects 

 with which the Jlcadcinie dcs Sciences busied itself, 

 was that of seeking an economical means of alimeniation 

 for the inhabitants of Paris during the siege. Given 

 certain limited sources of supply, a fixed amount of suit- 

 able organic matter, and the problem was how to use the 

 same to the fullest and most profitable degree. Of sheep 

 and oxen there was but an exceedingly limited provision 

 in proportion to the very populous state of the city, and 

 although corn and wine were said to be in abundance, 

 there is no doubt the authorities were from the first sorely 

 troubled by the vague estimates that were published of 

 these comestibles. 



As a suitable manner of economising corn, M. Gauldr^e 

 called attention to the method in vogue among the Romans 

 of parching and bruising the grains, which in this state 

 may be made to yield an excellent and highly nutritious 

 soup or porridge. The corn is carefully sifted by hand, 

 browned without charring, until it breaks when taken 

 between the teeth, and then ground in any available mill ; 

 it is mixed with cold water, boiled for thirty minutes, and 

 seasoned as desired. So economical was this preparation, 

 that at the public kitchens, established in certain quarters 

 of Paris, it was possible to dispense one portion of 

 bouillic romainc together with a small modicum of wine 

 for the amount of five centimes. 



A proposition to manufacture artificial milk, brought for- 

 ward by M. Gaudin, seems \vorthy of some notice. That 

 gentleman estimated that 500,ooolitres per day of milk could 

 be prepared in Paris at an exceedingly trifling cost, which 

 should have all the nutritious qualities of good milk, and 

 which should, besides, be neither unpleasant of taste or 

 smell. An emulsion at a very high temperature is made 

 of bouillon de viande prepared from bones, fat, and gela- 

 tine, and when cold, a product is obtained resembling in 

 taste stale milk of a cheesy flavour ; the components of 

 ordinary milk are all present, the gelatine representing the 

 casein ; fat, the butter ; and sugar, the sugar of milk. For 

 admixture with coft'ee, chocolate, soup, &c., the milk is 

 said to be by no means disagreeable. 



Many propositions were brought forward to economise 

 the blood from the abattoir, the plan suggested by M. 

 Gaultier of mixing it with flour in the manufacture of 

 bread being perhaps the best and simplest, as the fibrine 

 and albumen, so rich in nitrogen— of which the alimentary 

 properties are well known — are in this way utilised to the 

 highest degree. Less inviting is the proposal of M. Fud 

 to consume he carcases of animals that died of typhus, 

 rhinderpest, and other diseases, the flesh in these instances 

 being, so asserts M. Fud, capable of use as food, if only 

 cooked in a suitable manner. 



More important, however, than all, is M. Fremy's 

 attempt to bring forward osseine as an article of food. 

 Osseine is essentially different from gelatine, which has re- 

 cently been asserted by chemists— erroneously, so M: 

 Fremy thinks— to be not only unnutritious, but positively 

 injurious to the human system. Leaving, however, the 

 question of gelatine on one side, M. Fremy proceeds to 

 advance the qualifications of osseine as an alimentary 

 substance. Although gelatine and osseine are isomeric, 

 in the same way as starch and dextrine are isomeric, they 



