694 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 71. 



The gas issues also with a strong pi'essure. 

 The amount of water in the well does not 

 affect the flow of gas in any manner. 



Whatever the cause of the intermittent 

 action it is influenced by the varying pres- 

 sure of the air, for before a storm, when the 

 barometer is falling, the gas continues to 

 issue for a much longer period, sometimes 

 for 24 hours; and when the rise in the 

 barometer takes place there is the same 

 prolongation of the period of inhalation. 

 During high barometric conditions the equi- 

 librium may continue for some time. The 

 well at the present time produces four to 

 five thousand gallons of water per month, 

 being pumped on an average about every 

 two weeks. The locality is about twelve 

 miles from the sea in a direct line, and has 

 an elevation of 1,300 feet, so that it would 

 seem impossible that tidal action could 

 have anything to do with the phenomenon. 

 During a talk with Mr. Benton, the super- 

 intendent of the ranch, who has closely 

 watched the well, he stated that he had 

 noticed no connection between the respira- 

 tion and any physical conditions save the 

 one referred to. The gas is used in all the 

 ranch buildings, but is of such a char- 

 acter that with the ordinary burner it does 

 not give a good light, consequently an in- 

 candescent burner is used. 



The question of the source of the gas is 

 rather a puzzling one. It hardly seems 

 possible that it can be derived from the 

 strata penetrated, and if not it must have 

 its source in the surrounding Cretaceous 

 shales, or possibly in the white Miocene 

 shales, which here, as nearly everywhere 

 else, are filled with animal remains. A well 

 was sunk to a depth of 900 feet in the same 

 area of Cretaceous shales about two miles 

 miles to the west, but without encountering 

 water or gas. If derived from the Miocene 

 shales the gas must circulate through the 

 rock for nearly three-fourths of a mile at 

 least. The water is very pure, containing 



no alkali or trace of oil such as might be 

 expected if it has passed through Miocene 

 strata. 



As to the cause of the intermittent action 

 no reasonable explanation has occurred to 

 the writer, and it is left for physicists to 

 explain. It is certainly not due to any of 

 the connections on the surface, for the facts 

 stated were observed prior to such connec- 

 tions. Harold W. Fairbanks. 



Berkeley, California. 



SOURCE OF X-RAYS. 

 Notwithstanding the considerable amount 

 of attention the subject of Eont gen's dis- 

 covery has received, there is a very wide di- 

 versity of opinion concerning the part of the 

 vacuum tube at which they are produced. 

 In view of the high reputation of the au- 

 thorities who have expressed their decided 

 opinions on this subject as experimenters 

 and observers, it would be rash to advance 

 the statements here made as being opposed 

 to their own views. It is unquestionably 

 true, however, that the evidence here given 

 must be considered as demonstrating that 

 in this form of vacuum tube the X-rays radiate in 

 all directions from the surface first encountered by 

 the cathode rays, and that they do not start 

 from the anode. 



Fig. 1 represents the vacuum tube. It is 

 made of German glass tubing, 4 cm. in di- 

 ameter and 8 cm. long. One end is drawn 

 out, and an aluminum electrode termina- 

 ting in a disc is inserted at A. A second 

 is inserted in the side, at C, and is enclosed 

 in a thick piece of glass tubing, to prevent 

 any radiations from it reaching either A 

 or B. 



The end B has a flange which is ground 

 to receive a ground plate of aluminum B. 

 This plate is 3 mm. thick, except at the 

 center, where it is ground away to a thick- 

 ness of about one-tenth of a millimeter. The 

 joint was made by melting shellac (con- 

 taining a small quantity of rubber) around 



