Miscellaneous. 287 



Academy of Sciences, April 23. — M. Berthelot presented a note 

 " On the Origin of Carbides and Combustible Minerals." Starting 

 with the hypothesis of M. Daubree, that free alkaline metals may , 

 possibly exist in the interior of our globe, M. Berthelot supposes 

 that carbonic acid, everywhere infiltrated in the crust of the earth, 

 may come in contact with the alkaline metals, and give rise to the 

 formation of acetylides. The alkaline acetylides acted on by steam, 

 would give free acetylene. But acetylene cannot continue to exist 

 under the conditions supposed, and in its place we obtain the pro- 

 ducts of its condensation, — bitumens, tars, petroleum, etc. Thus, 

 the author conceives a purely mineral origin for these natural 

 carbides. — Chemical News, 5th May. 



Oil Well in Eussia. — A very rich oil-well has just been dis- 

 covered in the district of Natuchaitz, on the shore of the Caspian Sea. 

 After boring a depth of 120 feet in solid rock, a stream of oil made 

 its appearance, and flowed for twenty minutes. This was followed 

 by a deafening noise, accompanied, it is stated, by a slight earthquake, 

 after which, a jet of clear water, very saline, burst forth with great 

 violence, and continued running for nearly half an hour. Since then 

 from 1500 to 2000 pailfuls of oil have been drawn out. — Colliery 

 Guardian, April 7, 1866. 



Siberian Mammoth. — Another specimen of the ISleplias primigenius 

 has been discovered in the bay of Tazooskaia, in the government of 

 Tomsk. The flesh, skin, and hair are said to ^be in a perfect state of 

 preservation. A commission has been named by the Academy of 

 St. Petersbiu-g for the purpose of taking measures to disinter the 

 monster and remove it to St. Petersburg. It was discovered acci- 

 dentally. A native in search of some domestic animals which had 

 strayed, perceived a great horn sticking up in the midst of a marshy 

 moor. In his endeavours to remove it, he broke the horn and per- 

 ceived a piece of skin from the head, which was covered with reddish 

 hair nearly three inches in length. — Public Opinion. 



Does the Earth Increase in Size ? — M. Dufour, speculating on 

 the cause of the secular acceleration of the moon, calculates that, to 

 account for it, the mass of the earth must be increased in a hundred 

 years by n^.^oo.^o oth of its weight. The increase must be occasioned 

 by the accession of meteoric dust, about two cubic metres of which 

 must fall on every hectare of the earth's surface annually. This 

 appears enormous, but it is still more astonishing to read that this 

 meteoric dust lies in parts of England a foot deep. It is derived 

 from the millions of shooting stars which are burnt to dust every day 

 in the earth's atmosphere. — Chemical Neios, May 4, 1866. 



The Three Prehistoric Periods op the Stone-age. — Subject 

 to many exceptions, the prehistoric implements may be grouped into 

 three great divisions — namely, those of the Surface, the Cave, and 

 the Drift. In the most recent of these, the Surface-period, where the 

 implements are most commonly found in association with the battle- 

 field or the sepulchre, the work of assigning the relative age lies 



