May 24, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



401 



of police into their council, and the collective wisdom of the three 

 took the form of trying to capture the phantom by dragging the 

 river. In commenting on this, The Pholographic News expresses 

 the opinion that possibly by this time Messrs. Cash, Pringle, and 

 the chief of police have learned that phantom images on gelatine 

 plates are not extremely rare, as a minute hole in a drying-cup- 

 board or box will often cast an image on a plate. Again, such 

 phantom images occasionally arise from a minute hole in the 

 camera, plate-box, or even the dark slide. Most likely a little in- 

 quiry will serve to identify the original of the phantom portrait. 



— At a late meeting of the Minnesota Academy of Natural 

 Sciences, Mr. A. D. Meads of the Minnesota Geological Survey 

 read a description of the Stillwater (Minn.) deep well, we learn 

 from The American Geologist. It was begun in June, 1888 ; and 

 the work has continued, with little interruption, up to the present 

 time, when the depth has reached about 3,400 feet. Gas, proba- 

 bly local accumulations of marsh-gas along the shore of Lake St. 

 Croix, led to the drilling; but a spirit of laudable curiosity to know 

 what is below the city, on the part of several of the citizens who 

 pay the costs, has taken the place largely of all expectations of 

 finding gas, and is now the principal motive for continuing the 

 work. The well starts at about 740 feet above the sea, and after 

 passing through 701 feet of drift, white, friable sandstone, and 

 green shales, belonging to the St. Croix and so-called Potsdam 

 of the North-west, enters a series of dark-red and brown shales 

 and brown felspathic sandstones, which exhibited a thickness of 

 more than 1,500 feet. These gradually assume the characters of 

 a volcanic detrital tuff, — " amygdaloidal," calcitic, kaolinic, still 

 brown, slightly silicious, — and finally, at the depth of about 3,300 

 feet, unmistakable beds of trap-rock were encountered, alternating 

 with sandstone beds. At this depth some grains of native copper 

 were seen in the drillings. Water was found in the sandstones 

 near the top of the drill, and down to the depth of about 740 <eet. 

 Small quantities of salt water were obtained at about 1,950 feet, 

 and at the depth of 2,250 feet a small amount of gas was said to 

 have been noted in connection with another stratum giving brine. 

 Mr. Meads's main conclusions were as follows: I. The Stillwater 

 well is wholly below the Trenton limestone. 2. From 717 feet to the 

 bottom of the well is Keweenawan. This thins out or runs deeper 

 toward the south, not appearing at the depth of 1,160 feet at Has- 

 tings. 3. The Keweenawan rocks at Stillwater are almost identi- 

 cal with those at Keweenaw Point. 4. The well may be of some 

 value as a source of water-supply ; but as a source of gas the pros- 

 pects are poor^or we might say there are no prospects whatever. 

 5. The well is of great value to geologists, as it fixes the place of 

 the Keweenawan below the light-colored sandstones of the North- 

 west, and hence effectually removes them from the mesozoic age. 

 In several places the brown shales and sandstones that here are 

 shown to overlie the traps, have been pierced by wells in Minne- 

 sota, but not penetrated, and hence the question was left open as 

 to the age of the traps. This question is, therefore, no longer a 

 -debatable one. 



— Mr. Robert Damon of Weymouth, England, the well-known 

 naturalist and geologist, died suddenly on Saturday, May 4, from 

 heart-disease. 



— The following resolution of the government of Bombay, which 

 has just been published, tells its own story, and, as Nature believes, 

 adds another to the already numerous examples of the well-judged 

 munificence of the Parsee community of Bombay. The resolution 

 is entitled "Scientific Medical Research." "(i) The sum of Rs. 

 75,000 having been placed at the disposal of his Excellency the 

 Governor by Mr. Framjee Dinshaw Petit, for the purpose of erect- 

 ing and fitting a laboratory for scientific medical research, on a 

 site which has been approved by the donor in the immediate vicin- 

 ity of the Grant Medical College, the governor in council has 

 much pleasure in accepting the offer, and, in doing so, desires 

 publicly to thank Mr. Framjee Dinshaw Petit for his munificence 

 in supplying an institution the want of which has long been felt by 

 those most interested in promoting the cause of higher medical 

 education in this presidency ; (2) the governor in council is pleased 

 to direct that the institution shall be called ' The Framjee Dinshaw 

 Petit Laboratory for Scientific Research ; ' (3) instructions for the 



preparation of the necessary plans and estimates for the proposed 

 building have already been given." 



— Last winter the Vienna Medical School was attended by one 

 hundred and fifty British and American medical graduates, among 

 whom were niany Edinburgh men. As many medical students, 

 on their arrival at Vienna, do not know German, the Vienna 



Weekly News has opened a special "medical inquiry office" near 

 the hospital, where information as to lectures, lodgings, etc., is 

 given without charge to British and American medical men. The 

 same journal publishes weekly a list of forthcoming courses of 

 lectures at the Universities of Vienna and Berlin. 



— At the Academy of Sciences, April 29, we learn from Nature, 

 M. G. Lippmann read a paper on " A Means of Obtaining Photo- 

 graphs of True Chromatic Value by the Use of Colored Glasses." 

 By the judicious employment of green, yellow, and red glass in the 

 way he explained, excellent results have been obtained even with 

 present plates, notwithstanding their greater sensitiveness to blue. 

 The impressions are described as clear, and free from brown 

 patches ; the green foliage, the red or yellow draperies, instead of 

 yielding brown tints, being reproduced in delicately modelled 

 design, as in a well-executed engraving. 



— The British consul-general at Patras, in his report for the past 

 year, referring to the Corinth Canal, says that the managing com- 

 mittee has decided to defer payment of interest due to the share- 

 holders. The canal was to be completed within 1888, at a cost of 

 30,000,000 francs ; but this is not possible before 1891, at a cost of 

 double the estimated expenditure. The canal is nine-tenths of a 

 mile in length. According to the original plan, it was reckoned 

 that 8,000,000 cubic metres of earth should be extracted at the 

 cost mentioned, which included 5 per cent interest per annum to 

 shareholders. A committee having been appointed by the govern- 

 ment to inquire into the difficulties which have arisen, it was in- 

 formed that the period for completing this work should be extended, 

 and that the angles of slope should be reduced, and the sides pro- 

 tected by walls to prevent any earth-slips. On account of these 

 alterations, the period for completing the work is extended to 

 November, 1891, the amount of cubic metres of earth to be ex- 

 tracted is increased to 10,000,000, and the cost to 60,000,000 

 francs. 



— According to the latest educational report of 1884, only 1,466,- 

 913 of the 15,000,000 children in the Russian Empire attended 

 schools. About 90 per cent, therefore, of young Russia receive no 

 instruction at all. In 60 governments there is only one school for 

 secondar)' instruction to every 18,000 boys and 22,000 girls. Only 

 63 per cent of the boys of an age to attend a public high school 

 can be accommodated. For girls, the number of such schools is 

 even more insignificant. The schoolmaster cannot be said to be 

 abroad in Russia yet. 



— A novel idea has been put into execution in the machinery' hall 

 of the Paris Exhibition, with a view of facilitating the circulation of 

 visitors in the vast building. Two travelling platforms sixty feet 

 long, and capable of carrying ten tons each, are mounted upon the 

 latticed iron girders that connect the columns carrj'ing the shaft- 

 ing. Visitors will be admitted on payment to these platforms, 

 which will be caused to traverse up and down the machinery hall 

 by electric transmission. Access to the platforms will be obtained 

 by elevators placed at each end of the machinery hall. 



— The committee appointed to arrange the meeting of the In- 

 ternational Congress of Geologists for 1891, according to The 

 American Geologist, met in Washington April 20, and elected the 

 following officers : permanent chairman, Professor J. S. Newberry ; 

 vice-chairman, G. K. Gilbert ; secretary, H. S. Williams. The 

 committee also added to its number the following gentlemen : Dr. 

 T. Sterry Hunt, Professor E. D. Cope, and Dr. Persifor Frazer. 

 Provision was made for three sub-committees, — (i) on the scientific 

 programme of the congress, (2) on excursions, and (3) on arrange- 

 ments in Philadelphia. The committee adjourned to meet at 

 Philadelphia in November at the time of meeting of the National 

 Academy. A majority of the committee were present at the 

 Washington meeting. 



