Dece.aiber 6, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



595 



would not be better to assume, in rating, the same measure of pre- difference of temperature is from ten to fifteen degrees in the 



cision for all. shade. 



At any rate, the study of these curves cannot help being of in- I have used it successfully for two summers, and I know of no 



terest to teachers. Arthur E. Bostwick. system so satisfactory. W. H. Leonard. 



Montclair, N.J., Nov. 22. Minneapolis, Nov. 18. 



Cave-Air for Ventilation. 



Coi.. CrI'MP'S effort to utilize cave-air has a personal interest. 

 I warm my dwelling with furnace- heat, and in place of taking in 

 air through a basement window, as is usual, I place an intake pipe 

 or tube (I use stone pipe) under a porch upon the south side of the 

 house, which passes under ground eight feet, around the building 

 to the north side, beneath the cellar wall and below the cellar floor, 

 to the furnace, — a length of about a hundred feet. The size of 

 this pipe should be the same as the chimney. This must depend 

 upon the size of the building to be warmed. My chimney is eigh- 

 teen inches clear space. My house contains twelve rooms. This 

 chimney is sufficient to ventilate the house, and carry off the smoke 

 from the furnace. Sometimes it is necessary to build a small fire 

 in the bottom of the chimney, where provision is made for such 

 purpose. Ventilating-tubes are placed under the floor from the 

 outside corners of the rooms, to draw off the cold air on the floor, 

 which is constantly being replaced by the warmed air from the 

 ceiling. Now, the advantage of this improvement in the use of 

 cave-air is that in cold weather a modified air comes into the 

 furnace. In hot weather, using the same apparatus to cool the air 

 before coming into the house, the windows should be closed. The 



INDUSTRIAL NOTES. 

 Elektron Manufacturing Company. 



A FEW weeks ago fire destroyed the factory of the Elektron 

 Manufacturing Company of Brooklyn, whose Perret motors and 

 dynamos were described in Science recently. The company at 

 once secured .a larger factory, at 79 and 81 Washington Street, 

 near the bridge, equipped it with a complete installation of special 

 tools and machinery, and are doing their best to catch up with 

 their orders, which had fallen far behind during their enforced idle- 

 ness. 



Electrical Accumulators. 



In the suit of The Electrical Accumulator Company vs. The 

 Gibson Electric Company in the United States Circuit Court for 

 the Southern District of New York, which was instituted in Febru- 

 ary last, the complainants have recently moved for a preliminary 

 injunction, and Judge Lacombe on Friday last granted the motion, 

 and the injunction issued. The complainants' testimony shows 

 conclusively that the Gibson Company have continuously infringed 

 the Faure patent, and that their various modifications are infringe- 

 ments. 



CALENDAR OF SOCIETIES. 



Biological Society, Washington. 



Nov. 30. — Theobald Smith, Preliminary 

 Observations on the Micro-organisms of 

 Texas Fever ; D. E. Salmon, General Re- 

 marks on Te.xas Fever, illustrated by Lan- 

 tern-Slides ; C. D. Walcott, Description of a 

 New Genus and Species of Inarticulate 

 Brachiopod from the Trenton Limestone ; 

 Frank Baker, An Undescribed Muscle of the 

 Infraclavicular Region in Man. 



Engineers' Club, Philadelphia. 

 Nov. 16. — - Mr. William B. Spence e.xhib- 

 ited a working model of the Rimmer oxi- 

 dizer, a filtering-material, which he described, 

 and for which he made various claims as to 

 its utility in the purification of water by 

 oxidation. He stated that the material used 

 is an English invention, and that it is known 

 as " magnetic carbide of iron." It consists 

 of a mixture of granulated iron ore and car- 

 bon. The iron ore is said to be cleaned of 

 all natural impurities by a patented process. 

 It is then chemically treated at a certain 

 temperature. It is claimed that this mate- 

 rial will absorb and retain a large quantity 

 of oxygen from the atmosphere. In use it is 

 charged daily' with atmospheric air, when, it 

 is claimed, a re-action takes place with the 

 impurities which have accumulated in the 

 filtering material, and that the result passes 

 off in the form of gas. It is claimed that 

 metals in solution in the water will form in- 

 soluble oxides. The upper layer of the 

 filtering plant consists of sand, for the re- 

 moval of suspended matter by mechanical 

 filtration, and the lower layer of the material 

 above described for the chemical removal of 

 impurities in solution. It is claimed that 

 both vegetable and animal organic impuri- 

 ties and metallic contaminations are entirely 

 removed by this process. The following 



tests were made in the presence of the meet- 

 ing. The filtering materials were contained 

 in a large glass funnel. Water, as muddy 

 as that of the Schuylkill River during freshets, 

 was made apparently perfectly clear. A 

 solution of sulphate of iron in water was 

 made, and a portion thereof passed through 

 the filter. The unfiltered and filtered por- 

 tions were then tested with ferrocyanide of 

 potassium. The former showed a distinct 

 blue tint, while the latter remained perfectly 

 clear, showing the elimination of the iron. 

 Lead and copper tests seemed to show the 

 same results. To dlustrate the destruction 

 of organic matter, sulphide of ammonia, 

 sulphide of iron, and acetate of lead were 

 added to water, making a compound which 

 was almost black, and of strong and un- 

 pleasant odor. After filtration, it was clear, 

 and tests seemed to fail to discover any 

 trace of the impurities. A mixture of copy- 

 ing-ink and water was passed through the 

 filter with the same results. 



Boston Society of Natural History. 

 Dec. 4. — R. T. Jackson, Certain Points in 

 the Development of the MoUusca ; J.Walter 

 Fewkes, A Remarkable Instance of Rock 

 Excavation by Sea-Urchins. 



Engineers' Club, St. Louis. 



Nov. 20. — Mr. Robert Moore addressed 

 the club on the subject of " Railway Cul- 

 verts." This question was usually given too 

 little attention. The speaker described the 

 various forms of culverts used, with the ad- 

 vantages and disadvantages of each, also 

 stated the methods of determining the size 

 and best mode of construction. He stated 

 that sewer-pipe, while admirably adapted for 

 small culverts, should not be used over fif- 

 teen inches in diameter. For larger sizes, 

 cast iron pipe answered well. Cast-iron 

 pipe which had been condemned for heavy 



pressures was being largely used for this 

 purpose. Mr. Moore also presented a dia- 

 gram, based on Kutter's formula, using a 

 value of 17 for n, bearing in mind that one 

 inch of rainfall per hour is equivalent to one 

 cubic foot per acre per second. In the dis- 

 cussion, Mr. Ferguson described a number 

 of practical points of difficulty he had met 

 with. The discussion was also participated 

 in by Messrs. J. A. and W. L. Seddon, M. 

 L. Holman, and A. W. Hubbard. Mr. Hol- 

 man stated that iron pipe for this purpose 

 was being made as large as six feet in diam- 

 eter and ten feet long, being lighter and of 

 poorer quality than the pipe used for water- 

 service. 



TEN pounds; 



TWO WEEKS 

 TfiiNKOFITl 



As a Flesh Producer there can be 

 no question but that 



SCOTT'S 



EMULSION 



; Of Pure Cod Liver Oii and Hypophosphites 



Of Lime and Soda 



is Tvithout a rival. Many have 



g-aiued a pound a day by the use 



of it. It cores 



CONSUMPTION, 



SCROFULA. BRONCHITIS, COUGHS AND 



