MISCELLANEOUS. 329 



have experimented with these instruments must have noticed a remarkably strong 

 smell of ozone, which is frequently evolved. H, C.) 



ICE. 



It is well known from the experiments of Faraday and others, that during the 

 freezing of water containing foreign ingredients many of them are eliminated, so 

 that the ice produced is nearly if not entirely free from them ; and it has been 

 stated by the lamented Dr. Kane, that if the ice be formed from sea water at a 

 sufficiently low temperature, it is so free from salt as to be available for the pro- 

 duction of water for domestic purposes. This has been denied by Dr. Sutherland, 

 who affirms that the ice contains one-fourth of the salt existing in the original water, 

 and Dr. "Walker, who acted as Surgeon and JSTaturalist to the Arctic Discovery Ex- 

 pedition, has communicated the results of his experiments to the Royal Society. He 

 found that the quality of the ice varied with the temperature at which it had been 

 formed, but in no case was its density less than 1.005 (in the form of water), and 

 always contained so much chloride of sodium as to render it unfit for domestic use. 

 He explains Dr. Kane's observation by supposing that his experiments were made 

 upon ice formed from water generated by the melting of bergs, and which had 

 flowed over the surface of the salt-water ice. Dr. Walker once observed a stratum 

 of fresh water two or three inches in depth floating like oil on the surface of the 

 sea water, this being in the neighbourhood of a glacier surrounded by bergs. 

 Hummocks are often found, the upper portions of which yield fresh water, but in 

 digging deeper into them the ice is always found to lose its freshness. 



CLEANING PAINT BRUSHES. 



Brunner recommends the following simple process for cleaning brushes used in 

 oil painting and which have been allowed to dry. They are suspended for 12 or 

 24 hours in a solution of one part of erystalized carbonate of soda in three parts 

 of water, kept at a tempei-ature not exceeding 158° F. They can then be cleaned 

 by washing with soap and water. H. 0. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. 



BY J. A. BOYD, 



Undergradiiate of Toronto University,* 



L 



Bright skies shine on the placid deep ; 



'Thwart ocean be there not a breeze ; 



Let calmness brood upon the seas, 

 Peace on the charmed water sleep. 



* To this poem the prize for English verse was awarded by the Vice-Chancellor, at the 

 Convocation, held on the 8th June last. The author appends to it the accompanying note : — 

 " The following composition has been written rather with the feelings of a contemporary 



