182 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



one hundred and thirty-two milHons of miles. But density is wanting, and so 

 they could not make an incursion into our atmosphere. However, they have 

 been launched with such a formidable velocity, and their temperature is so ele- 

 vated, since their elements are in a state of incandescence, that some of their 

 noyaux, or kernels, have appeared composed of an aggregation of aeroUtes im- 

 mersed in a burning gas. If a rencontre took place, though it would not be 

 mortal, it would certainly not be inoffensive. 



The role of comets in the universe is still an enigma; they seem to be an ex- 

 ception in the general harmony of the movements of the heavenly bodies. Do 

 they voyage from one star to another, or do they circulate from systems to sys- 

 tems ? Some in traversing our planetary system have been attracted by the power 

 of Jupiter. Saturn and Uranus remained captive, a permanent addition to our 

 solar world. If a comet escapes the sphere of planetary influence, it will travel 

 during eternity in the void of ether. It is presumed that comets are some nebu- 

 losities abandoned at the commencement of the solar world, some external scraps 

 of that primitive nebulosity of which the sun, the earth, and planets are the con- 

 densations. The central-fire of our system attracts them, they flit round it as 

 moths around a flame. Other comets may have originated from other systems, 

 ruins, representatives of " the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds," Kepler 

 believed, that comets were as numerous as the fish of the sea. Analysis of cometic 

 light reveals it to^be analogous to that of the flame of alcohol, that is to say, con- 

 tains the elements^carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the primordial constituents of 

 organic life. If the comet has come from the nearest star, that represents a 

 traveled distance of twenty-four thousand miUions of miles. 



The angry discussion taking place respecting the addition of alcohol and 

 sugar to wine, presents so many scientific features, as to merit examination. The 

 wines produced in many regions of France, and notably the south, are liable on 

 account of the large quantity of sugar they contain, to undergo after being placed 

 in hogshead, to a new fermentation, which profoundly alters their character. 

 The addition|of|[alcohol stops this fermentation, and so enables the wine to be ex- 

 ported to distantfcountries. In the preparation of artificial wines and liquors the 

 fermentation* of the must is stopped, in order to conserve the natural sugar of the 

 grape ; thenfalcohol is added to impart body. Not a few vineyard proprietors em- 

 ploy sulphur for this process but it is less efficacious and unhealthy. The 

 addition of sugars to the must, augments the alcoholic richness of the wine, since 

 fermentation^of the sugar yields the spirit. Increasing the alcoholic strength of 

 wine not alone imparts to it the qualities of generosity and conservation, the pro- 

 cess diminishes^also the acidity of the wine. Tartaric is the dominant acid in 

 wine, but it is combined with potash, under the form of bitartrate, and which is 

 precipitated in the form of crystals on the sides of the hogsheads. Now the solu- 

 bility of that acid in wine, diminishes in proportion with the quantity of alcohol 

 present. Further, 'as the coloring matters of wine are more soluble in alcohol 

 than in water, the addition of alcohol develops the color of wines. 



