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SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVII. No. 435 



about forty-five feet in depth, at the bottom of which are two 

 corridors filled with cofSns and treasures of every description. In 

 the lower corridor — ■ which as yet has only been explored — it is 

 computed that there are some two hundred cofiSns, and the second 

 corridor is believed to be not less extensive. The shaft is forty- 

 five feet deep, its mouth is about twelve feet in diameter, and its 

 sides are of rough limestone. One of M. Grfibaut's native assis- 

 tants, who was superintending the work of hauling up the mum- 

 my-cases, says that he had been the first actually to enter the 

 corridor where the mummies and treasures lie. The shaft had 

 been excavated only as deep as the mouth of the corridor ; and he 

 crept in on his hands and knees, and stood in what he describes 

 as being like a palace of enchantment. The corridor, he said, is 

 some ten or twelve feet high and two hundred and fifty feet long. 

 It runs in a northerly direction from the shaft toward the Theban 

 hill. At the end there is a short corridor branching from it at 

 right angles, and at some height above the floor at the end is the 

 entrance to a second very long corridor, full of treasures, vchich 

 has been sealed up for the present by M. Grebaut. Groups of 

 mummies are placed at intervals in families. The number in each 

 group varies from two to six or seven, father, mother, and chil- 

 dren, and around them, exquisitely arranged, are vases, models of 

 houses, models of dahabiehs, cases and boxes full of ushabtis, 

 statuettes, and every conceivable treasure of ancient Egypt. 

 Without even a speck of dust upon them, this profusion of trea- 

 sures had remained unlocked at by any eye for nearly three thou- 

 sand years. He said that photographs had been taken of the place 

 in its undisturbed state, which lie declared to be that of a per- 

 fectly-kept and well-arranged museum. 



— The ceremony attending the burial of Prince Chun, the late 

 prime minister of Chiua, and father of the emperor, is said, by 

 The Missionary Herald, to have been one of the grandest sights 

 ever witnessed in Peking. No burial takes place in China till the 

 astrologers and geomancers have fixed upon a lucky day and a 

 lucky place for the event. On this occasion the astrologers fixed 

 upon four o'clock in the morning as the auspicious time. As the 

 procession started the emperor knelt in front of the cofiin and 

 bowed his head three times, each time crying aloud. Others went 

 through the same ceremony, and then the coffin was taken up by 

 eighty bearers. These bearers were clad in blue silk costumes. 

 The pall was a splendid piece of crimson silk covered with gilt 

 embroidery. Then came eight handsomely caparisoned camels and 

 twelve milk-white hoi-ses, and men in gorgeous dresses; then four 

 men leading small white dogs; then great crowds of men carrying 

 flags. The umbrellas borne were a special feature. Then came a 

 man bearing a crooked-handled umbrella, which is only carried 

 by the emperor. Then followed images of lions, deer, and storks, 

 all wrought in evergreen shrubs. It was a magnificant sight for 

 Peking. But this is not the end of the funeral; the body will re- 

 main ill the temple for a long time, and then will be carried with 

 much ceremony to the imperial cemetery. 



— Bulletin No. 79 of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment 

 Station reports an experiment in the use of nitrate of soda as a 

 fertilizer of tomatoes, being a repetition of a similar experiment 

 made in 1889. The experiment was made on plots of one-twen- 

 tieth of an acre. The land was a sandy loam, level, well drained 

 and in a good state of cultivation. It had been used for more 

 than ten years in growing market garden crops, and had been 

 uniformly cropped and fertilized for the three preceding years. 

 The nitrate was applied, either altogether at the time of setting 

 out the plants, or half at that time and half five weeks later, 

 being spread broadcast. (It should never be used in the hill, as it 

 is liable to kill the plants when used in this manner.) It was used 

 at the rate of 160 and 320 pounds per acre, either alone or in con- 

 nection with superphosphate and potasb. The result was a very 

 marked increase of crop in every case in which the nitrate was 

 used, the most profitable increase coming from the use of nitrate, 

 alone, which paid a handsome profit in every case in which it was 

 thus used. The experiments of the two years agree in showing 

 that nitrate of soda, while increasing the yield, did not do so at 

 the expense of maturity when a small quantity was used, or when 

 a large quantity was used in two applications ; but that the yield 



was increased at the expense of maturity when a large quantity 

 was used in one application. Experiments made at the Ohio Ex- 

 periment Station leave room for doubt whether, on a strong clay 

 loam, tomatoes would respond so profitably to nitrate of soda as 

 they did in New Jersey ; but the trial is so easily made that tomato 

 growers are recommended to experiment for themselves. Any 

 dealer in commercial fertilizers should be able to supply the ni- 

 trate. 



— At the seventh annual meeting of the Kansas University 

 Science Club, May 29, 1890, papers were read as follows: "On 

 the Chemical Analysis of a Meteorite from Tonganoxie, Kansas," 

 by E. H. S. Bailey; "A Natural Alum from Texas," by E. E. 

 Slosson; "Notes on Periodicity in Eainfall," "Probable Tempera- 

 ture of the Summer in Lawrence," and " Maximum Movements 

 in Beams," by E. C. Murphy; "Notes on some Tertiary Conifers," 

 and "On the Variations of Anas Obscurus," by V. L. Kellogg; 

 "The Alkali of Kansas Soil," by E. H. S. Bailey and E. C. Case; 

 "Fossil Diatoms," by Gertrude Crotty; "Douglas County Ara- 

 neinae" (notes, observations, and a partial list), by F. H. Kellogg; 

 "Notes on Kansas Acrididse," and "Some Undescribed Mal- 

 laphoga," by F. C. Schraeder; "A Preliminary List of Kansas 

 Odonata," by Hattie Fellows; "Specific Inductivity of Certain 

 Alloys," by Louis Russell; " Analysis of Solanum Rostratum," by 

 L. E. Sayre and W. S. Amos; "Telephonic Apparatus for Experi- 

 mental Purposes," by L. I. Blake and E. W. Caldwell; " Heteroe- 

 cism in Plants," by W. C. Stevens; "A New Method for De- 

 termination of Radiation at Ordinary Temperature," by A. G. 

 Mayer; " A Short Account of the Theory of Geometric Inversion," 

 by H. B. Newson; " Sugar-Making in Cuba," by C. S. McFaiiand; 

 " Taxidermy as a Fine Art " (illustrated by the stereopticon), by 

 L. L. Dyche. 



— At the usual monthly meeting of the Royal Meteorological 

 Society, London, on May 20, W. H. Dines read a paper on "The 

 Vertical Circulation of the Atmosphere in relation to the Formation 

 of Storms." After giving an outline of the circulation of the 

 atmosphere, the author refers to two theories which have been 

 suggested to account for the formation of storms; (1) the convec- 

 tion theory, which is, that the central air rises in consequence of 

 its greater relative warmth, this warmth being produced by the 

 latent heat set free by condensation ; and (2) the theory that the 

 storms ai-e circular eddies produced by the general motion of 

 the atmosphere as a whole, just as small water-eddies are formed 

 in a flowing stream of water. The author is of opinion that the 

 convection theory is the more probable of the two, but more infor- 

 mation about the temperature of the upper air is greatly needed. 

 A paper on " Brocken Spectres in a London Fog" was read by 

 Mr. A. W. Clayden. During the dense fogs in February last, the 

 author made a number of experiments with the view of raising 

 his own " spectre." This he ultimately succeeded in accomplish- 

 ing by placing a steady lime-light a few feet behind his head, when 

 his shadow was projected dn the fog. He then made some care- 

 ful measurements of the size and distance of the spectre, and also 

 succeeded in taking some photographs of the phenomenon. Dr. 

 H. Coupland Taylor read a paper on "An Account of the ' Leste,' 

 or Hot Wind of Madeira. " The " Leste " is a very dry and parch- 

 ing wind, sometimes very hot, blowing over the island from the 

 east-north-east or east-south-east, and corresponds to the sirocco 

 of Algeria, or the hot north winds from the deserts of the interior 

 experienced in southern Australia. During its prevalence a thin 

 haze extends over the land, and gradually thickens out at sea 

 until the horizon is completely hidden. It is most frequent during 

 the months of July, August, and September, and usually lasts for 

 about three days. Shelford Bidwell exhibited an experiment 

 showing the effect of an electrical discharge upon the condensa- 

 tion of steam. The shadow of a small jet of steam cast upon a 

 white wall is, under ordinary conditions, of feeble intensity and 

 of a neutral tint. But if the steam is electrified, the density of 

 the shadow is at once greatly increased, and it assumes a pecuUar 

 orange brown hue. The electrical discharge appears to promote 

 coalescence of the exceedingly minute particles of water contained 

 in the jet, thus forming drops large enough to obstruct the more 

 refrangible rays of light. It is suggested that this experiment 



