488 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 222. 



theoretic compositiou. The results on the calo- 

 rific value of foods as consumed in the human 

 body agree very closely with the results calcu- 

 lated from experiments with the bomb calo- 

 rimeter. The chief difficulties at present are in 

 regard to certain constants, as, for instance, 

 the value of the calorie, the latent heat of 

 evaporation of water at diflfei-ent temperatures, 

 etc. The calculation of the observations from a 

 week's run of the calorimeter chamber is itself 

 an arduous and exacting piece of work. Thus 

 far the law of the conservation of energy in the 

 human body is fully demonstrated, within a very 

 small error, which it is hoped to eliminate en- 

 tirely. 



J. F. Geisler exhibited a sample of paraffine 

 extracted from adulterated oleomargarine, 

 which contained about 45 grains of the wax per 

 ounce. 



Samples had been purchased in New York 

 and vicinity containing from 5 to 11.75 per 

 cent, paraffine. Dueand Woodman, 



Secretary. 



SECTION OF ASTRONOMY AND PHYSICS OF THE 



NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 



MARCH G, 1899. 



Annual election of officers was held, and 

 Professor M. I. Pupin elected Chairman, and 

 Dr. W. S. Day, Secretary, to serve for the en- 

 suing year. 



Professor J. K. Rees described the great hori- 

 zontal telescope for the Paris Exposition in 1900. 

 This instrument is to have a focal length of 66 

 meters, and is placed horizontally, on account 

 of the great difficulty of building and moving a 

 dome large enough for it, if mounted in the 

 usual manner. A plane mirror is mounted so 

 as to be capable of motion in any direction, in 

 order to reflect the light of a star into the tube. 

 The object glass is 49 inches in diameter. A 

 number of lantern views of the Yerkes tele- 

 scope were shown. This, when the Paris in- 

 strument is completed, will no longer be the 

 largest in the world. 



Dr. P. H. Dudley read a paper entitled : 

 ' Stresses in Rails due to Thermal Changes,' in 

 which he showed that most fractures of rails 

 occur on a decided fall of temperature, because 

 the rails, held very tight by the bolts in the 



splice bars, are strained by the contraction 

 beyond their tensile strength ; while on a rise 

 of temperature the expansion of the rails puts 

 them under a stress of compression ; and ap- 

 parently the factor of safety of the steel is not 

 so much reduced under compressive as under 

 tensile stresses. 



R. Gordon, 

 Secretary. 



THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Of ST. LOUIS. 



At the meeting of the Academy of Science of 

 St. Louis on the evening of March 20, 1899, 

 fifty-three persons present. Dr. T. J. J. See de- 

 livered an address on the ' Temperature and 

 Relative Ages of the Stars and Nebulae.' The 

 address, which developed quite fully the tem- 

 perature equation, was discussed at some length 

 by Professor C. M. Woodward. A paper by 

 Professor L. H. Pammel, on ' Anatomical Char- 

 acters of the Seeds of Leguminosese,' was pre- 

 sented by title. 



Two persons were elected to active member- 

 ship. 



William Trelease, 

 Recording Secretary. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND, AND ITS MARINE 



BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY^.* 



Plymouth is a place of great natural beauty 

 and more undulating than any city with which 

 I am familiar. It has a population of about 

 200,000 and is a seaport of much importance, 

 many of the Oriental and Australian steamships 

 touching here. It contains one of the largest 

 navy -yards and garrisons in England. In one 

 respect it is unique, as far as my experience 

 goes, for the city touches the harbor at its east- 

 ern and western extremities only, the central 

 part being separated from the waterfront by a 

 high open hill called Hoe Park. The rising 

 face of this hill is tastefully laid out as a pai'k, 

 while on the summit is an asphalt promenade 

 150 feet wide and extending for half a mile. 



"■ In a recent iirivate letter to a friend, Dr. Edward 

 G. Gardiner gives an account of Plymouth, its Labora- 

 tory, its winter climate and other matters, which it is 

 believed many readers of Science will be glad to 

 have for reference. 



