58 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XII. No. 287 



a longer period than was absolutely necessary. The roofs and 

 ironwork of the long range of galleries extending along the Quai 

 d'Orsay, and connecting the Champs de Mars with the Esplanade 

 des Invalides, are now nearly all up. The side walls of these build- 

 ings have also been constructed for a considerable portion of their 

 length, so that this part also of the E.\hibition will be finished at no 

 very distant date. The tower which will form so conspicuous a 

 feature of the Exhibition has now reached about half its height. 

 The two lower stories are now completed. The first one, forming 

 the base, extends over a considerable area, and resembles in appear- 

 ance a huge, four-legged table or stand. Its height is about 250 

 feet, or a quarter of the whole. On the top of this is placed the 

 second story, of about 200 feet high ; and from this second story 

 springs the tapering column of between 500 and 600 feet in height. 

 The point now reached is the summit of the second story. Access 

 is obtained by means of an iron staircase built into the framing of 

 the tower ; but the guides in which the lifts v.'ill work are already 

 in place, and when the tower is finished, the various stages will of 

 course be reached by means of these lifts. The foundations are 

 sunk a great depth into the ground, which at this place — close to 

 the bank of the Seine — is less suited for bearing a weight such as 

 a tower than the limestone rock which underlies the greater part of 

 Paris. Great precautions have been taken to render the tower safe 

 from lightning. It forms, of course, a conductor in itself, but, to 

 insure proper connection with the earth, at each corner a large tube 

 has been sunk a considerable distance into the soil, and these tubes 

 it is proposed to keep full of water. Good electrical connection is 

 made between the tubes and the framework of the tower itself. It 

 remains to be seen whether a building of this enormous height will 

 ■carry off electricity safely in consequence of its excellent conduct- 

 ing powers, or whether it might not suffer from a shock of more 

 than usual violence. The site is certainly ill-chosen to enable the 

 tower to make the most of its height, since it is on some of the 

 lowest ground in Paris, and in spite of the enormous height of the 

 building itself, at the present time, its top is now only on a level- 

 with the summit of the towers of the Trocadero Palace, a building 

 which, though much inferior in size, stands on the high ground on the 

 ■other side of the Seine. The French executive report favorably as to 

 the exhibits which they expect to receive from foreign countries. 

 Considerable sums have been voted, am.ong others, by various of the 

 South American States, as well as by the United States, and by Bel- 

 gium. The Spanish government, though not officially represented, 

 •has voted a large sum towards the Exhibition, and it is said that the 

 unofficial committees in various of the European States are most of 

 them successful in securing a representation of their several coun- 

 tries. 



— Augusta, Ga., the largest cotton manufacturing centre in the 

 South, is prominent among Southern cities this year, as the site of 

 the Augusta National Exposition, to take place Oct. 10 to Nov. 17, 

 1888. No outside aid has been asked, and no government appro- 

 priation been made. The project is a conspicuous and com- 

 mendable one in this respect. The Exposition aims to be national 

 in scope. Many of the largest manufacturers North and West will 

 be represented, and an extensive government display from all the 

 -executive departments and branches of the consular service are al- 

 ready secured. But the most complete representation will be se- 

 cured of all the Southern industries and of the development of the 

 Tesources of fields, forests, and mines that has taken place in the 

 ■last ten years. 



— The International Congress of ' Americanists ' will hold its 

 seventh session in Berlin from October 3 to 5 next. The organiz- 

 ing committee has just issued the programme. The first day will 

 be devoted to questions relating to the discovery of the New World, 

 to the history of America before the time of Columbus, and to 

 American geology ; the second to archseology ; the third to an- 

 thropology and ethnography ; the fourth to philology and palaso- 

 ■graphy. 



— On July 9 the atmosphere in the English Channel became so 

 rarefied that objects could be seen with extraordinary distinctness 

 -at a distance of between thirty and forty miles from Dover and 

 Folkestone. Nature says that the lighthouse at Cape Grisnez, 

 Calais, and the dome of the Cathedral, and Napoleon's Column at 



Boulogne could be distinctly seen with the naked eye, and every 

 prominent object could be picked out along the French coast. The 

 distance from Dover to Boulogne as the crew flies is tvi'enty-eight 

 miles, and the column is about two miles further inland. 



— We learn from Nature that at the next meeting of the British 

 Association there will be a discussion in Section D on the vexed 

 question of the formation of coral reefs. The discussion will be 

 opened by Dr. Sydney J. Hickson. 



— Nature states that the meeting which will shortly be held in 

 Paris for the study of tuberculosis, under Professor Chauveau's 

 presidency, promises to be very interesting and successful. 



— The German ethnological and geographical expedition to the 

 headwaters of the Xingu under the direction of Dr. Karl von den 

 Steinen was expected in Rio de Janeiro early in July. 



— The Sociedade de Geographia de Rio de Janeiro proposes to 

 hold in September an exposition of geographical works relating to 

 South America, for which the co-operation of nearly all the South 

 American States has already been promised. 



— Messrs. Ticknor & Co. announce for publication, August 4, 

 ' A History of Presidential Elections,' by Edward Stanwood ; new 

 and enlarged edition : and ' Newspaper Libel, a Hand-book for the 

 Press,' by Samuel Merrill, of the staff of the Boston Globe, and 



member of the bar of Massachusetts and of New York. Lee & 



Shepard have in preparation ' Chips from Educational Workshops 

 of Europe,' by Prof. L. R. Klemm ; and ' Zoology Teaching for 



Beginners,' by W. P. Manton. G. P. Putnam's Sons have just 



ready two books for the student of political economy and history. 

 The first of these is entitled ' The Tariff History of the United 

 States,' consisting of various essays by F. W. Taussig, which have 

 already appeared in magazines or in book-form, aud thus united 

 present an almost complete history of tariff legislation from 1789 to 

 18S7. The other is 'Industrial Liberty,' by John M. Bonham, who 

 aims to keep in view the principles rather than the statistics of his 

 subject, and makes an analysis of the salient political and industrial 



evils of our time. Little, Brown & Co. have now ready ' The 



Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection ; or, the Preserva- 

 tion of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life,' by Charles Darwin, 



sixth edition, in new large type with additions and corrections. 



E. & F. N. Spon, New York, announce The Marine Engineer, a 

 monthly journal of marine engineering, shipbuilding, and river nav- 

 igation ; subscription, $1.75 : also, ' Crystal Models,' by John Gor- 

 man. Compared with others, the advantages resulting from this 

 method become most strikingly apparent. The models are built 

 up into form in a few seconds, and it is worthy of notice that, ow- 

 ing to the plaiting process being well-nigh instinctive, the manipu- 

 lations after a short trial become almost automatic. The forms re- 

 quire no sticking at the edges. 



— The Senate has amended the sundry civil appropriation bill 

 by adding a grant of §250,000 to pay the expenses of investigating 

 the extent to which the arid region of the United States can be re- 

 deemed by irrigation. The proposed scope and extent of this in- 

 vestigation was fully explained in Science a few weeks ago. 



— The United States Senate has voted to pay to the widow of 

 the late Prof. Spencer F. Baird $50,000 as compensation for his ser- 

 vices as United States Fish Commissioner. 



— It is proposed to celebrate in the winter of 18S9-90 the sixth 

 centennial of the foundation of the University of Montpelier. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



•»" Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The 

 in all cases required as proof of good faith. 



Twenty copies of the number containittg h 

 free to any correspo7ideni on request. 



The editor wilt be ^lad to publish any que^ 



A Standard Thermometric Scale. 



At its session last October the International Committee of 

 Weights and Measures passed a resolution establishing a standard 

 thermometric scale for the use of the International Weights and 



cation -Mill be furnished 

 nt with the character of 



