August 



i888.] 



SCIENCE 



55 



hills of Rhode Island is shown by the fact that in the report of the 

 State census of 1885 several hills are mentioned each of which has 

 been asserted on what was supposed at (he time to have been good 

 authority to be the highest in the State. The greatest altitude of 

 all of these, that of Woonsocket Hill, was given as 570 feet. The 

 United Slates Geological Survey engineer who has been running 

 levels over the Stale found that the altitude of the road across 

 Chopmist Hill is more than 700 feet. Chopmist Hill was not in 

 the State census list. 



The United Stales Geological .Survey topographic maps have 

 already been found to be of great practical use in locating roads 

 and railroads, and in the development of the mineral resources 

 of the country. The illustrations of this are constant and nu- 

 merous. General Wilder of North Carolina was inlerested in a 

 projected railroad from Charleston, S.C, to a point in North Caro- 

 lina to reach which it was necessary to cross a mountainous coun- 

 try. After examining the maps of the region made by the United 

 States Geological Survey he said that they were worth ten thousand 

 dollars to his com|)any. They showed that the route they hadcon- 

 tem])lated was impracticable, and to have ascertained that by a 

 special survey would have cost the sum named. The Canadian 

 Pacific Railway Company made four trial surveys before its engi- 

 neers were able to select the best route across the I^ocky Moun- 

 tains. The cost of these trial surveys was three million dollars, a 

 sum that would have paid for making a topographic map of the 

 whole region upon a four mile to an inch scale, and such a map 

 would have shown the best practicable route at a glance. As these 

 surveys are e.xlended over greater and greater areas their uses 

 will multiply. The Great West has developed much of its re- 

 sources in advance of the map-maker ; the New South, more for- 

 tunate, will have the aid of the map-maker, and consequently will 

 develop its mineral resources and lay out its railroads at much less 

 expense. 



A question that is constantly asked at the United States Geologi- 

 cal Survey office is, " Have you a map of such or such an area, and 

 if so, where can I get a copy .' '" The answer that has to be given, 

 when the area referred to has been mapped, is that no provision 

 for publishing the map has been made. The organic law of the 

 Survey does provide for the sale of its publications, but the topo- 

 graphic maps are not, in law, complete work. They are only data 

 or material for the use of the geologist. It is not necessary, in or- 

 der that they shall be available for geological work, that these maps 

 shall be engraved, and by no other method of reproduction can 

 copies for popular use be satisfactorily made. It is to be hoped 

 that Congress, appreciating the value to the people of these maps, 

 will authorize them to be engraved and copies of them to be sold 

 at cost. In cases of State co-operation provision for the reproduc- 

 tion and distribution of the maps is made by the legislature. 



The Proposed National Zoological Park. 



The Senate has added to the sundry civil appropriation bill a 

 provision for a national zoological park on Rock Creek, in the sub- 

 urbs of Washington. The site selected is one of the best for such 

 a purpose in the country-. Through the centre of it winds Rock 

 Creek, a most picturesque little stream, from the banks of which, on 

 either side, rise a series of beautiful hills covered with fine timber. 

 The tops of many of these hills have already been selected for villa 

 sites, and a great number of beautiful surburban residences have 

 either already been built or are in contemplation. The system of 

 street railways is to be extended from the city into this section, so 

 that the proposed park will be easily accessible by a short and 

 pleasant ride, while the drive to and through it will not be sur- 

 passed in beauty by any in the suburbs of any other American 

 <:ity. 



The area of the proposed zoological park is about one hundred 

 and twenty-one acres. About three-fourths of it is covered with 

 forest, and although its length is only three-fourths of a mile, the 

 course of the stream in passing through it is more than a mile and 

 one-third. It is believed that the entire tract can be purchased for 

 less than two hundred thousand dollars. The distance from the 

 White House to the proposed entrance to the park is but a little 

 more than two miles. 



In the National Museum the general government has provided 



for the preservation of objects representing the archaiology, geolo- 

 gy, mineralogy, and flora of the country, and its progress in the 

 arts and sciences, and the Senate has already approved a measure 

 providing for an additional building, which, when completed, will 

 more than double the exhibition space now available. Bui the 

 fauna of this country is becoming extinct more rapidly in many of 

 its branches than any olher of ils interesting aboriginal features. 

 Some species of animals have already disappeared from sections 

 where they formerly were plentiful, and others are now but rarely 

 found. No provision has ever been made for the preservation of 

 specimens of these native animals; no provision can be made ex- 

 cept by the government of the United Stales, and not even in the 

 way now proposed if there is much longer delay. If Congress acts 

 promptly in authorizing the establishment of a national zoological 

 park, specimens of animals that have already become practically 

 extinct, although they were numerous when America was first set- 

 tled by Europeans, may yet be obtained, and in lime the entire 

 fauna of the country may be represented. It is hoped that the House 

 of Representatives may agree to the moderate appropriation for 

 this purpose projiosed by the Senate. 



Preparation of Japanese 'Koji.' 



In response to a request from Dr. W. M. Murtrie, professor of 

 chemistry in the University of Illinois, the State Department has 

 obtained from Prof. C. C. Georgeson of the Imperial Japanese Ag- 

 ricultural College at Tokio an account of the method of preparing 

 the peculiar ferment called ' koji.' It is made. Professor George- 

 son says, both in ' sake ' breweries and ' koji ' factories, and one of 

 the essential conditions of its production is that an even tempera- 

 ture shall be preserved in the fermenting rooms. In ' koji ' facto- 

 ries these apartments are usually fifteen or twenty feel underground, 

 in some sufficiently dry place, and are reached by means of a shaft, 

 while in ' sake ' breweries these chambers are frequently arranged 

 in ordinary buildings, the walls being lined with straw mats and 

 mud to prevent radiation. 



The materials used are water, rice and ' lane ' (seed or leaven). 

 The rice is the common starchy kind known as ' uruchi." Glutin- 

 ous rice (' mocliigome ') is not used. The ' tane ' is the spores of 

 a fungus, ciiro/iiim oryzece a/ilb., and occurs as a yellow powder, 

 which, at a certain stage of the process, is mixed with the rice. It 

 is the substance which, in germinating on the rice grain, changes 

 part of the starch into dextrose and dextrin, and gives it the prop- 

 erties of a ferment. 



The rice is first thoroughly cleaned and the thin covering ('toVii ') 

 of the seed is removed. If this is not done the liquids with which 

 the ' koji ' is mixed would be inclined to putrefy. The rice is then 

 washed by stirring it in a tank of water till all the dust and adher- 

 ing fine particles are floated off, after which it is steeped for some 

 hours to soften the grain. 



The steaming may be done in the ordinar)- way by means of a 

 steam boiler, although the Japanese method is much more primi- 

 tive. When this is completed the rice is spread upon straw mats 

 to cool. When the temperature has fallen to 98'' or 100" F. the 

 'tane ' is sown upon the mass and thoroughly mixed with it. The 

 thorough and uniform distribution of the ' tane ' is more important 

 than theexact quantity used. The amount is generally lA to 2 cubic 

 centimetres per bushel of steamed rice. The ' tane ' used in most 

 factories is obtained in Osaka, but as to the manner of its produc- 

 tion Professor Georgeson says he is not fully informed. So far as 

 he can learn, however, since those who produce it keep their 

 methods secret, the rice impregnated as described above will in 

 due lime mature the plant, and the spores will form on the surface 

 of the grain as a yellow powder. When the crop is ripe, the rice 

 is dried, spread upon paper, and then stirred or rubbed until the 

 spores are detached by attrition and collected on the paper. The 

 ' lane' is said to be produced chiefly in winter. 



In the production of "koji.' after the • lane' is mixed with the 

 rice ihe mass is allowed to remain in bulk eighteen or twenty hours, 

 being simply covered with mats. The temperature of the room is 

 not kept high al this stage. The next day the rice is distributed 

 into shallow wooden trays, each holding about three litres, and 

 spread in a thin layer on each. These trays are then carried to the 

 warmest room, where the minimum temperature should not be 



