October 26, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



655 



five hundred samples have been collected from 

 various parts of the State. These samples, 

 which are being prepared for permanent speci- 

 mens and for purposes of study, represent a 

 large proportion of the many different types of 

 soil which are to be found within the State. 

 It is proposed to study these soils mechanically, 

 chemically and biologically, to determine the 

 individual properties peculiar to each different 

 type, and the proper methods of handling and 

 cropping best adapted to each. The work 

 which has been done indicates that there are 

 numerous problems of a fundamental character 

 and of vital importance which are demanding 

 the attention of the farmers of the State. Not 

 the least among these is the question of soil ex- 

 haustion which is beginning to force itself upon 

 the attention of the people of some parts of the 

 State in such a way that its importance and in- 

 fluence are being seriously felt. 



During the last few years, several thousand 

 samples of drinking water from various ordinary 

 house wells throughout the State have been sent 

 to the State University of Illinois, for analysis 

 and report as to quality. By far the greater 

 proportion of these water samples have proved, 

 upon analysis, to be contaminated with drain- 

 age from refuse animal matters and conse- 

 quently have been regarded with grave suspic- 

 ion, or have been pronounced unwholesome 

 for use as drink. The present prevalence of 

 typhoid fever In a number of places in the 

 State makes it desirable that the public should 

 remember that the State has made provision for 

 the examination of all suspected waters. It is 

 not practicable to isolate actually the typhoid 

 fever germs or to prove directly their absence 

 from waters submitted for analysis ; this for the 

 reason that the work entails more labor and 

 time than is made available by the means which 

 the State provides. However, the chemical ex- 

 amination is sufficient ordinarily to show 

 whether the water is contaminated with house 

 drainage or drainage from refuse animal mat- 

 ters or whether it is free from such contami- 

 nation. Any citizen of the State may have 

 examinations made of the drinking water in 

 which he is interested, free of charge, by ap- 

 plying to the Department of Chemistry of the 

 State University. 



The Journal of the Board of Trade, as quoted 

 by the London Times, states that deposits of 

 sulphur have been discovered in Eussia only in 

 recent years, and that small works for treating 

 the ore have been established at various times, 

 the largest being in Daghestan, in the northern 

 Caucasus. The chief output of these was in 

 1888, when it reached 1,500 tons, but since then 

 the works have been closed. The deposits in 

 Daghestan are known to be extensive, while the 

 ore contains 20 per cent, of sulphur, and the 

 geological formation is very similar to that in 

 which the Sicilian deposits occur. But the 

 situation is unfavorable, being a mountainous 

 district 4, 500 feet above the level of the Caspian, 

 from which it is separated by numerous steep 

 ridges which are difficult to traverse, even for 

 mules. In Russia now only two sulphur works 

 are in operation, and they produce only 1,000 

 tons a year, while the consumption of sulphur 

 in the country, owing to the growth of the 

 petroleum industry, is about 20,000 tons. The 

 vast bed lately discovered in TransCaspia is 

 one of the richest in the world, and will un- 

 doubtedly prove of great importance. It com- 

 prises several distinct mounds in an area of 23 

 square miles, and is situated 100 miles from 

 Khiva, near the Amu Daria river and about 

 170 miles from Askabad on the Trans Caspian 

 railway. None of the minerals discovered in 

 the province are being worked, and sulphur is 

 doubtless the most important of these. The 

 mounds above mentioned are dome shaped, 

 about 300 feet high, the sulphur being practi- 

 cally exposed, while the ore is generally sand- 

 stone and contains on an average 60 per cent, of 

 sulphur. It is estimated that the mounds con- 

 tain over 9,000,000 tons of sulphur, and the local 

 circumstances are said to be favorable to work 

 on a large scale. Labor is plentiful and cheap, 

 and transportation could be effected by means 

 of a narrow-gauge line to Askabad, and this 

 could be extended beyond the deposits to 

 Khiva, where wool and other commodities may 

 be had in quantities sufficient to make the line 

 profitable. Nor, it is said, are there anj' en- 

 gineering difficulties in the construction of such 

 a line. 



We have already called attention to the com- 

 paratively few awards made at Paris for Amer- 



