November 5, 18S6. 



sciujsrcE. 



411 



gravity, at existing temperatures, not reduced to 

 a standard, shows the same distribution of values. 

 But descending to thirty or more metres of depth, 

 — all depths being, in true German scholarly fash- 

 ion, expressed in metres, — an arm of distinctly 

 dense, salt water (3.52 + ) is seen under-running 

 the lighter water near the Norwegian coast, and 

 approaching the Baltic. The horizontal and ver- 

 tical variation of temperature is presented in 

 numerous diagrams, and a table contains a con- 

 densed statement of the various physical results of 

 soundings. 



— Among recent devices patented in this coun- 

 try is a magazine fire-arm provided with a cooling- 

 chamber surrounding the rear portion of the bar- 

 rel, connected by suitable pipes with a water- 

 reservoir in the stock. At each discharge of the 

 weapon, a pump forces a current of water from 

 the reservoir through the cooling-chamber, there- 

 by preventing the barrel from heating. 



— In strong contrast to this country, France is 

 said to be almost entirely without free dispensaries, 

 there being but three in the city of Paris. 



— Several sections of an embankment on the 

 North-western state railway, India, were recently 

 washed away, leaving the rails, with their iron 

 sleepers, festooned in the air, like suspension- 

 bridges, the ends of the rails being held together by 

 the fish-plates. Until the floods subsided, so that 

 the embankments could be rebuilt, the mails were 

 carried over these sections of suspended track in. 

 hand-cars, the carriers walking on the sleepers, 

 and pushing the cars up the steep inclines, and 

 riding with the mail-bags on the down-grades, 

 sometimes dashing through the torrent beneath. 



— Anhydrous aluminium chloride is now pre- 

 pared by the following process : aluminium alloy 

 is heated in a retort to between 200° and 300° C, 

 hydrochloric-acid gas is then passed over the 

 heated aUoy, and the vaporized aluminium chlo- 

 ride thus obtained is condensed. The right to 

 this process is owned by the Cowles electric smelt- 

 ing company of Cleveland, O., who use it in con- 

 nection with the reduction of aluminium from 

 clay in tlie electric furnace. 



— A series of articles on the prevention of 

 fire, which first appeared in the columns of an 

 architectural journal, has recently been pub- 

 lished in revised pamphlet form by the author, 

 William Paul Gerhard, under the title ' The pre- 

 vention of fire.' Though written chiefly with 

 reference to hospitals, asylums, and other public 

 institutions, much may be found in the pamphlet 

 that appUes equally well to churches, schools, 

 factories, hotels, and even to dwelling-houses. 



— The 'Index to the literature of explosives,' 

 part i., by Charles E. Munroe (Baltimore, Frieden- 

 wald, 1886), is intended to embrace not only such 

 articles as treat of the composition and of the 

 chemical and physical properties of explosives, but 

 also of their manufacture and use in the arts. 

 This part contains the titles of papers appearing 

 in such periodicals as the indexer has been able 

 to review from the date of first issue. Four 

 hundred and forty-two volumes have been thus 

 reviewed for this part. Many other titles of pa- 

 pers have been collected, but the indexer has not 

 yet had access to complete sets of the periodicals 

 from which they have been gathered. A large 

 number of titles of separate publications, treatises, 

 text-books, and the like, have also been collected. 

 It is hoped that it will be possible to eventually 

 publish these, together with a ' subject ' and 

 ' author's' index to the entire list. 



— During the spring of 1886, Ticknor & Co. 

 began the publication of "Ye olden time series, 

 or, Gleanings from the old newspapers, chiefly of 

 Boston and Salem," with brief comments by 

 Henry M. Brooks of Salem, Mass. In this series 

 there are now ready, vol. i., ' Curiosities of the old 

 lottery;' vol. ii., ' Days of the spinning-wheel in 

 New England ;' vol. iii., 'New England Sunday ;' 

 vol. iv., 'Quaint and curious advertisements ;' and 

 the present vol. v., ' Literary curiosities.' Among 

 those to come are volumes on ' Some strange 

 and curious punishments ; ' ' New England music 

 in the latter part of the eighteenth and in the be- 

 ginning of the nineteenth century ; ' ' Travel in 

 old times, with some account of stages, taverns, 

 etc. : ' and ' Curiosities of politics among the old 

 federalists and republicans.' 



— The forthcoming volume of the ' Encyclo- 

 paedia Britannica' will get down as far as sia, 

 and will contain an unusual number of important 

 articles. That on Shakspeare by the editor, with 

 a bibliography supplied by Mr. H. R. Tedder, will 

 attract most attention. Mr. Matthew Arnold 

 writes upon Sainte-Beuve, Mr. James Sims on 

 Schiller, Mr. Rossetti on Shelley, Professor Minto 

 on Sir- Walter Scott, Madame Villari on Savonarola, 

 Mr. Saintsbury on Rousseau, and Mr. J. S. Reid 

 on Ruhnken. Of the art articles, M. Hymans 

 contributes that on Rubens, and Professor Middle- 

 ton that on schools of painting. Russia falls to 

 Prince Krapotkine and Mr. Morfill, and Scotland 

 is treated by no fewer than five writers. Of the 

 scientific articles, that on Rotifera is by Professor 

 Bourne of Madras ; that on series, by Professor 

 Cayley ; seal, by Professor Flower ; and Schizo- 

 mycetes, by Professor Marshall Ward. 



— The Athenaeum is authority for the state- 



