358 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIII. No. 327 



winding-off of the silk would be difficult. On the walnuts he 

 found another, which forms a reticulated cocoon, like a Chinese 

 lantern. He also met with two other species of mulberry-worms — 

 one very hardy, which could be fed on lettuce or dandelion leaves, 

 and remains stationary ; and another which moves easily from 

 branch to branch in search of food. The rearing of Aiiactis Ori- 

 zaba of Mexico is to be attempted in France. 



— The United States Entomological Bureau announces that 

 Brood VIII. of the periodical cicada, which is of the seventeen- 

 year race, will appear this year through quite an extent of country. 

 The region commences in south-eastern Massachusetts, extends 

 south across Long Island and along the Atlantic coast of New Jer- 

 sey, Delaware, and Maryland as far as Chesapeake Bay ; then up 

 the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to a point a little below 

 Harrisburg ; thence westward in Ohio, embracing the south- 

 western corner of the State and the north-western portion of Ken- 

 tucky; and then upward through south-western Indiana, ending in 

 central Illinois. It is possible, also, that there is an eastward ex- 

 tension of the region from Kentucky into southern West Virginia, 

 as cicadas occurred in 1855 in the Kanawha valley, and also in the 

 counties of Buncombe and McDowell, in North Carolina ; but, as 

 these appearances were not verified in 1872, it is probable that they 

 belong to Brood XVIII., which is of the thirteen-year race. The 

 bureau will be glad to receive full accounts this year of all appear- 

 ances from any of their correspondents, and from all others who 

 will be kind enough to write them of occurrences in their vicinity. 

 Accounts from North Carolina arid West Virginia are especially 

 desired, as these will tend to clear up any doubt remaining as to 

 what brood occurred in those States in 1855. 



— Professor H. B. Gale, in a paper on a new theory of chimney- 

 draught and the design of brick and iron stacks, read before the St. 

 Louis Engineers'Club, stated that he had made numerous experiments 

 to determine the different factors which entered into the problem, 

 and gave some formulae in shape for convenient use. He showed, 

 that, while the area of a stack could not be reduced below certain 

 limits, it could be increased without affecting the efficiency of the 

 stack. 



— President Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard of Columbia 

 College died April 27, aged eighty years. He was born May 5, 

 1809, at Sheffield, Berkshire County, Mass. 



— A very curious race, possessing no little interest for students 

 of natural history, and which is vouched for by our English con- 

 temporary Knowledge, was recently witnessed in Westphalia, the 

 contest being between pigeons and a number of bees, the respective 

 owners of which had wagered their favorites to win. The course 

 was three miles and a half, that being the distance between the two 

 villages of Rhynern and Hamme ; and a dovecot which happened 

 to be near a hive was selected as the winning-post. It was found no 

 easy matter to mark the bees so as to make their identity unmistak- 

 able, but the difficulty was at last surmounted by rolling them in 

 flour previous to starting them on their journey. This, while 

 making them easily recognized on their arrival, probably retarded 

 their flight ; but nevertheless, and though the pigeons were looked 

 upon by those interested as the most likely winners, the race re- 

 sulted in a victory for the bees ; the first bee arriving at the post 

 twenty-five seconds before the first pigeon, and three other bees 

 before the second. 



— It is generally conceded that for best results in butter-making, 

 where the milk is set in deep cans, the milk should be placed in the 

 creamer as nearly as possible at the temperature at which it is 

 drawn from the cow ; there being a considerable loss of fat in skim- 

 milk if the milk is allowed to cool to any great extent before being 

 set. Of late there has been considerable controversy as to whether 

 it is advisable under any conditions to warm the milk before set- 

 ting, and as to the limit of temperature beyond which it is not safe 

 to go. Mr. I. P. Roberts concludes, as the result of investigations 

 at the College of Agriculture at Cornell University, that, first, there 

 is a loss of butter when the milk is allowed to cool much below the 

 normal heat of the cow before being put into the creamer ; second, 

 while there may not be any very great increase of butter when the 

 milk is heated, there is no risk of injuring the quality of the butter 



by incorporating an excess of caseine, even when the milk is heated 

 as high as 135°. 



— At a meeting of the Massachusetts Classical and High School 

 Teachers' Association, April 5-6, President Eliot suggested an 

 argument against admission to college on teachers' certificates, that 

 has the interest of novelty. A college that admits pupils from a 

 number of schools on certificates puts all such schools on a level, 

 and denies to them the opportunity of special distinction. A 

 principal who knows that his school is superior to certain others 

 cannot publish this fac.t, and win his due applause, unless his pupils 

 come into competition with the pupils of the other schools in 

 admission examinations. According to The Academy, President 

 Eliot cited the instance of a high-school principal in New York, 

 who, disheartened at his inability to show his public that his 

 school was a superior one, gave up teaching and went into busi- 

 ness. 



— The removal of tattoo-marks is a matter of no little difficulty, 

 says Nature, and many different methods have been tried, — blis- 

 tering, suction, thermo-cautery, counter-tattooing with white powder 

 or milk, etc. Criminals sometimes pour vitriol on their arms or 

 hands, and, letting it act for a few seconds, plunge the limb in 

 water. The following method is recommended by M. Variot, in 

 the Revue Scieniifiqiie : The skin is first covered with a concen- 

 trated solution of tannin, and re-tattooed with this in the parts to 

 be cleared. Then an ordinary nitrate of silver crayon is rubbed 

 over these parts, which become black by formation of tannate of 

 silver in the superficial layer of the dermis. Tannin-powder is 

 sprinkled on the surface several times a day for some days to dry 

 it. A dark crust forms, which loses color in three or four days, 

 and in a fortnight or so comes away, leaving a reddish scar free of 

 tattoo marks, and in a few months little noticeable. It is well to 

 do the work in patches about the size of a five-franc piece at a 

 time. The person can then go on with his usual occupation. 



— At a public meeting held at Channing Hall in Boston, Dec. 

 13, 1887, ah association was formed for the purpose of assisting 

 the Pundita Ramabai in her plans for the education of child- 

 widows in India. The Pundita's purpose and her plans for the 

 proposed school, told in her own simple manner, were listened to 

 by a large and enthusiastic audience. Addresses were made by 

 Rev. Dr. E. E. Hale, Rev. Dr. Phillips Brooks, Rev. George A. 

 Gordon, and Rev. Dr. F. Courtney. They urged upon all to assist 

 this unselfish woman, who is viforking for the uplifting of her un- 

 fortunate countrywomen. A constitution, embodying the methods 

 of the association, was adopted, and officers were elected. Many 

 present pledged the annual payment of sums varying from one to 

 ten dollars, for ten years. Several scholarships, of one hundred 

 dollars annually for ten years, have been secured, and donations 

 for a building-fund are being received. It is estimated that $25,000 

 will be needed for purchasing and furnishing a suitable building to 

 accommodate fifty pupils. The annual payment of $5,000 will 

 meet the current expenses of" the school, and contributions, how- 

 ever small, will be gratefully received. Choice English literature, 

 with other instructive and useful books, for a school library, will be 

 acceptable. In order to raise the funds needed for starting and 

 sustaining the work suggested by Ramabai, her friends have or- 

 ganized in different places " Ramabai Circles," pledging them- 

 selves to give annually, for the space of ten years, a certain fi.xed 

 sum of money. These circles will communicate with, and transmit 

 their contributions to. The Ramabai Association of Boston. The 

 trustees of the Ramabai Association will keep themselves informed 

 of the progress and effectiveness of the work in India, and no steps 

 will be taken or remittances made except subject to their judg- 

 ment. A careful consideration of the difficulties of the situation in 

 India has led to the conviction that a school-building is indispen- 

 sable. In addition to the unjustly high rent that would be de- 

 manded for a building for a school for women, there may arise, 

 through the prejudice of the Hindus against women's education, 

 many other difficulties. The landlord may, at any time he pleases, 

 ask the school to leave the place ; and the disturbance of its daily 

 routine, the inconvenience and loss caused by such moving about, 

 would be incalculable. It is therefore best that it have a building 

 of its own. Even the hire of a building, for such a purpose, must 



