SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIV. No. 335 



few gallons of oil in the manner recommended by the United States 

 Hydrographic Office. The following reports from United States 

 naval vessels show that even aboard men-of-war, with their com- 

 plete equipment and large crews, the use of oil is regarded as of 

 the greatest value : — 



Commander W. C. Wise, U.S.N., commanding the "Juniata," 

 on passage from Hong-Kong to Singapore, used oil on three oc- 

 casions during a typhoon in the China Sea, Sept. 28 and 29, 1S8S. 

 " Oil was used, and marked effect shown in lessening amount of 

 water coming on board. ... A bag containing oil was towed from 

 the weather bow, and decreased the violence of the seas to a 

 marked degree." 



On April 4 and 5, 1889, the " Swatara," Commander John Mc- 

 Gowan, U.S.N,, was in a hurricane in latitude 41° south, longitude 

 9° west. On the previous day the wind had veered from west- 

 south-west to north-west, and then to north-north-east. From 9 

 P.M. to 4 A. II. it blew with a force of ir, and the wind shifted to 



from coming on board. Oil was used a part of two days, while 

 hove to. 



Finally, the "Yantic," Commander C. H. Rockwell, U.S.N., en- 

 countered a terrific hurricane, May 2r, in latitude 38"^ 35' north, 

 longitude 68° 30' west. While on her beam ends, with heavy sea 

 sweeping over her, " oil in large quantities was thrown overboard 

 from the weather bow, and even in that terrible scene its effect 

 was immediately apparent." 



A HISTORY OF HABITATIONS. 



The French have always exhibited a fondness for the study of 

 comparative architecture, and have made themselves-masters of a 

 peculiarly interesting portion of art history in which other peoples 

 have scarcely made more than beginnings. For some years the 

 story of the evolution of the dwelling has been known chiefly 

 through " The Story of a House," by iVI. Viollet-le-Duc, which has 



A r-PER-CENr GRADE ON THE THOMSON-HOUSTON ROAD IN BANGOR, ME. 



west, kicking up an ugly confused sea. The ship had been hove 

 to on the port tack early in the morning, with oil-bags over at the 

 fore and mizzen chains. Their effect was such that not a drop of 

 water came on board. April 5, scudding with the wind about two 

 points on the starboard quarter and an oil-bag towing at the star- 

 board fore-chains, "the angry-looking crests simply disappeared, 

 leaving one to wonder what had become of them." Again, on the 

 8th, " Blowing a living gale of wind, force 11, having backed from 

 north-west to north-north-west. Hove to, and put oil-bags over 

 from fore and mizzen chains, with excellent results. The sea was 

 xceedingly heavy, and the ship rolled deeply ; and although con- 

 ■xiderable water came on board, yet not once did a sea break over 

 ; rail. The angry, towering crests of the huge waves disappeared 

 by magic." 



C. F. Norton, U.S.N., of the " Kearsarge," reports that in 



^of the 6th, 7th, and 8th of April, off Hatteras, they used 



^d effect, pouring it through the forward water-closet. 



»oil was used, which did fairly well ; but later they 



ad that gave perfect satisfaction, keeping the water 



been the most accessible, if not the only, work of its kind extant. 

 In the Paris Exhibition of 1S78, one of the most interesting fea- 

 tures was the " Street of Nations," which was lined with typical 

 specimens of architecture of all lands, and was unquestionably the 

 most complete exhibition of comparative architecture that had been 

 made up to that time. The present exhibition, however, has, 

 thanks to the rare skill and energy of M. Charles Garnier and a 

 body of enthusiastic assistants, an exhibition of comparative archi- 

 tecture that is by far the most elaborate 3'et attempted. A series of 

 thirty-two edifices have been erected on the Quai d'Orsay, represent- 

 ing the evolution of the dwelling, from the earliest form of a rude 

 breakwind and cave, to the completed residence of the Renaissance. 

 It is an unfortunate fact that much of the material for such a display 

 exists only in a fragmentary or much-scattered form. The dwell- 

 ings of antiquity are known to us chiefly by meagre descriptions, 

 rough, sketchy carvings in the sculptures, and other data that are 

 quite as apt to mislead as to indicate the right direction. Yet M. 

 Garnier has not been content to accept mere hearsay, nor even to 

 adopt the results of the imagination, but, on the contrary, has 



