354 



SCIENCE 



[VuL. XVII. No. 438 



ments Professor Lewes is not unnaturallj sanguine that the smoke- 

 fiend may eventually be dealt with in a way quite as satisfactory, 

 but far more profitable than mere self-consumption. The oil above 

 described can, for instance, be greatly improved in quality by rid- 

 ding it of the large percentage of watery particles it contains when 

 freshly condensed. Mr. Havely of Bagbill, England, has devised 

 a process whereby not only the water, but the paraffine, cresol, 

 and phenol, are removed from the crude oil, leaving the residuum 

 in better condition, and of high value for timber. This oil. Pro- 

 fessor Lewes asserts, can be used as an enricher of gas, enabling 

 gas of a higher illuminating power to be produced at a reduced 

 cost. If this be true it will not be the least remarkable instance 

 of waste-products of a process becoming even more valuable than 

 the original article manufactured. 



— A correspondent of Indian Engineering says he recently wit- 

 nessed a very interesting mode of obtaining a foundation for a new 

 building. A hole was bored in the ground (which was previously 

 damp), from ten to twelve feet deep and an inch and a half wide, 

 and a string of cartridges was lowered into it. The subsequent 

 explosion not only produced a cavity a yard in diameter, but also 

 drove the water out of the surrounding earth by means of the ex- 

 pansive action of the gases. The water did not return to its former 

 place for fully an hour, so that an opportunity was afforded to fill 

 up the cavity with quickly settling concrete, and a rapid rate of 

 working was thus attained. 



— In his recent lecture on fire prevention Professor Goodman 

 states, says the Builder, that, generally speaking, wooden joists 

 are better for buildings than steel or iron joists. The two latter 

 materials, he explained, lose their strength at a not very high 

 temperature, whereas wood would sustain a heavy strain for a 

 much longer period when exposed to great heat. Besides, when 

 wood has once been charred, it does not burn so readily again. 

 Iron and steel soon expand under the influence of beat. Brick and 

 stone are objectionable : the former become fused under great 

 heat, and the latter is liable to crack or fly when suddenly cooled 

 after heating. The drawback to tiles is, that, when fire plays 

 upon the joists of floors fitted with them, the joists expand and 

 allow the fire to play upon the joists through the tiles. Portland 

 cement is objectionable, as it flakes off when heated, but if wire 

 netting or bars are embedded in concrete this defect is remedied. 

 A joist padded with silicate of cotton and incased in salamander 

 plaster (a mixture of silicate, cotton, and plaster-of-Paris), the 

 professor holds, is a splendid fireproofing material. Such a mate- 

 rial is not only a non-conductor, but it is elastic, and would yield 

 with the joist. In an experiment undertaken by Professor Good- 

 man it was found that a joist of this kind withstood very fierce 

 beat for eight to nine hours without sustaining any serious dam- 

 age. 



— Dr. J. Hann has communicated another important treatise to 

 the Vienna Academy, entitled " Studies on the Conditions of Air- 

 Pressure and Temperature on the Summit of the Sonnblick," with 

 remarks upon their importance for the theory of cyclones and anti- 

 cyclones. The work is based upon four years' observations, and 

 is divided into eight sections, which are given in Nature of June 

 4 as follows. (1) An investigation of the general meteorological 

 conditions under which the maxima and minima of air-pressure 

 occur on the Sonnblick. The anomalies of pressure are more 

 marked above than below, and are increased by the accompanying 

 temperature anomaly, which is relatively high in barometric 

 maxima, and relatively low in barometric minima. (2) The range 

 of temperature during the passage of a barometric wave. This is, 

 at least during the winter season, the opposite to that at the lower 

 level. (3) Temperature with varying amount of cloud in winter. 

 The highest temperature coincides with the least cloud, upon the 

 summit, and conversely on the plain. The clear winter days on 

 the Sonnblick have relatively high temperature with great dryness, 

 and these conditions are characteristic of the barometric maxima. 

 (4) Monthly maxima and minima of temperature. The former 

 mostly occur during barometric maxima, and the latter when the 

 high pressure lies in the west or north, and while a barometric 

 minimum exists over Italy or the Adriatic. (5) Temperature and 

 air-pressure on the Sonnblick during barometric minima over cen- 



tral Europe, especially over the eastern Alps. The mean tempera- 

 ture at the height of 6,650 feet during the passage of barometric 

 minima was below the normal, amounting on an average to 3.5° 

 F. during the winter season. The use of deviations of pressure 

 and temperature in answering many questions of atmospheric 

 physics is here discussed. (6) Vertical distribution of temperature, 

 and mean temperature in a column of air of three kilometres in 

 height. The calculations have been made separately for each 

 winter. (7) Preliminary indications respecting the relations of 

 the wind-directions to barometric maxima and minima. A con- 

 siderable divergence (45° to 90") is shown from the directions as 

 observed below, and the results confirm the conclusions drawn 

 from cloud observations by J. A. Broun and others. (8) Refuta- 

 tion of some objections against the conclusiveness of temperature 

 observations on mountain summits, and general remarks on cy- 

 clones and anticyclones. Tbe author points out that recent moun- 

 tain temperature observations and other facts are opposed to the 

 explanation of barometric maxima and minima in extra-tropical 

 regions by purely thermic considei-ations. 



— According to Engineering, Messrs. David Moseley & Sons, of 

 Manchester, are introducing a form of battery zinc in which the 

 element is built up of a number of tubes constructed of thin 

 sheets, which can be obtained in great purity. These tubes are 

 slipped inside each other to form the element. Each tube is 

 amalgamated before the element is put together, and the mercury 

 permeates the whole wall of the tube, as the latter is only one- 

 thirty-second of an inch thick, and the zinc is very pure. The 

 amalgamation is accordingly very perfect, and local action is en- 

 tirely got rid of. The manufacturers state that when these ele- 

 ments are used, no time has to be spent in cleaning and scraping 

 the zincs, which remain free from chloride of zinc and crystals till 

 completely expended. 



— Considering the question of determination of the evaporating 

 power of a climate, Dr. Ule distinguishes (Met. Zeits.) between the 

 intensity and the speed of evaporation. The latter, says Nature, 

 can be well determined with an instrument like Wild's evapori- 

 meter; and Dr. Ule sets forth, in a table, the monthly data of 

 this for Chemnitz, compared with those of absolute humidity, 

 "saturation deficit," and relative humidity. The agreement of 

 the last with the evaporimeter figures is much better than that of 

 the two others ; still, there is considerable discrepancy, and this is 

 not explained (the author shows) by variations in wind-intensity. 

 On the ether hand, the data of the psychrometer show a remarka- 

 ble parallelism with those of the evaporimeter, and by taking wind- 

 variations into account the agreement is increased. Thus, from 

 psychrometer-differences and wind-variations, the evaporative 

 power of a climate may be correctly estimated where an evapori- 

 meter is wanting. Dr. Ule offers a new formula for estimating 

 the layer of water evaporated in a given time, and tests it with 

 two German climates and one Australian. 



— The government of the Dutch East India colonies has insti- 

 tuted a prize competition open to the world. The Dutch govern- 

 ment is a large producer of salt on the island of Madura, and it is 

 anxious to find a practical way of packing the salt, as it is retailed 

 for government account. To the contestant who ofifers the best 

 and most economical method the Dutch government offers to pay 

 .f4,000. The government salt comes from the numerous open salt 

 ponds in the island named. After the product from these ponds 

 has been partly dried by solar beat it is brought to the government 

 store-houses, where it remains for a year or longer. The product 

 is light gray, of irregular crystals, and likely, if exposed to climatic 

 influences, to absorb moisture and melt. For this reason the 

 Dutch colonial government wants the salt packed in such a way 

 that the weather cannot affect it, a desideratum which it has yet 

 failed to obtain. The material used in packing must be proof 

 against the action of the salt and at the same time must not injure 

 the salt in any way. It must also be strong enough to preserve 

 the salt for at least two years, and after the cans or boxes are 

 closed the salt must not melt. The cans or boxes must hold just 

 a kilogram of salt each, to be packed in larger cases for transporta- 

 tion. It is estimated that for the total yearly production 74,150,000 

 cans or boxes of one kilogram each will be needed. The packing 



