July ist, 1SS7.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEV/S. 



103 



acid is decomposed into other products it is practically 

 impossible at present, by chemical methods, to determine 

 the amounts actually added originally to the solution, and 

 therefore to fix any definite limits for safety in using. It 

 was therefore thought advisable to recommend total pro- 

 hibition of the salicylic acid and its compounds for such pur- 

 poses, even in small amounts. 



Paper Bottles. — A process for making paper bottles has 

 been invented by Mr. L. H. Thomas, of Chicago, and their 

 manufacture is said to be becoming a considerable industry. 

 The bottles are unbreakable, and of various shapes and 

 sizes, and are produced much more cheaply than the 

 ordinary bottles made of glass, stoneware, and tin. They 

 are made by special machinery, and in their manufacture a 

 large sheet of paper, glued and cemented on one side, is 

 rolled on a mandrel into a tube of any required length, 

 thickness, and diameter. An outer glazed covering, which 

 consists of the coloured labels or inscriptions for the bottles, 

 is then glued on the tube, which is afterwards cut up into 

 the required lengths for a given number of bottles. The 

 tops and bottoms, which in some cases are of wood and in 

 others of paper, are then cemented in, and the necks of the 

 bottles, where necks are required, are secured. The 

 interiors of the bottles are then lined with a fluid com- 

 position, which sets hard and resists acids and spirits, and 

 which makes the bottles suitable for containing ink, black- 

 ing, dyes, paints, and the numerous other substances now 

 carried in glass, earthenware, and tin, bottles and cans. 

 Irrespective of low cost, these bottles have the advantage of 

 being unbreakable, and of not requiring any packing material 

 in transit, while, the weight being greatly reduced as against 

 that of ordinary bottles, there is a saving in the cost of 

 freight. 



Naturalists and Electric Light Experiments. — We 

 learn from the Electrical News that the Liverpool Marine 

 Biological Society recently chartered the steamer Hycvna, 

 belonging to the Liverpool Salvage Association, and sailed 

 for the Menai Straits upon an expedition of discovery and 

 research. The Hycviia is supplied with dynamo machinery, 

 and carries a powerful search-light at the masthead, as well 

 as some submarine incandescent lamps, and the naturalists 

 found much amusement during the evening in sweeping the 

 Welsh coast with the powerful beam of the search-light. 

 The submarine-lamps were lowered to a depth of 18 feet, 

 and although the lamps themselves were lost to sight at less 

 than half that depth, yet the surface of the water was lit up 

 over a considerable area. Unfortunately the special object 

 which the society had in view, namely, a study of the effect 

 of the light upon the denizens of the deep, was not realized. 

 This was explained by the fact that the strong tides which 

 run through the Menai Straits sweep the fishes along with 

 them, so that, however greatly their curiosity might have 

 been aroused by the unfamiliar glare, they had no oppor- 

 tunity of gratifying it. This was, doubtless, as disappoint- 

 ing to the naturalists as to the fishes, but we cannot see that 

 the latter were to blame. The naturalists ought certainly to 

 have considered the effect of the tidal currents in drawing 

 up the programme of their cruise. It is to be hoped they 

 will obtain better results on their next expedition. 



Salt in Frozen Sea-water. — One of the prettiest con- 

 ceits in the world is that which deals with the power of the 

 Frost King to eliminate all uncleanness from his crystal rocks, 

 and to make pure sweet ice even from the salt waters of the 

 ocean, or from the foulest swamp that ever existed. This 

 story has been used to point many a moral and adorn count- 

 less tales, but we have seemed to be in danger of losing it 

 of late years through the investigations of scientific men, 

 who are popularly supposed to care not a fig for poetry or 



for romance. The idea that salt water forms fresh ice was 

 doubtless first discovered by sailors, who found that the ice- 

 bergs in the ocean were made of fresh ice. When icebergs 

 two miles long and two miles broad were met with at sea, 

 there was an ample supply of fresh water to be had for the 

 trouble of breaking up the ice. It was soon discovered, how- 

 ever, that these vast ice masses were broken off from the ice 

 sheets which covered Arctic lands, and were not born in the 

 sea at all, but were products of the distant hills and moun- 

 tains of colder climates. People found that a tub of dirty 

 water left out in the yard overnight was covered with crystal 

 ice in the morning, and it did seem as if the Frost King 

 selected the clean parts of the water for his work. This has 

 recently been denied, because salt-water ice has been found 

 to contain salt, and many learned people say that in freezing, 

 the frost only rejects about four-fifths of the salt which sea- 

 water contains, and so it seemed that our beautiful story 

 was to be relegated to the land of fables. The most recent 

 investigations made by skilful students go to show that the 

 contained salt in frozen sea-water is not part of the ice, but 

 remains in the block as an unfreezable brine, over which the 

 frost has no power. As all fresh water, even the purest, 

 contains some foreign salts, it follows that no ice can be 

 perfectly solid, while salt-water ice will be least solid of all. 

 The experiments made on this subject have been very 

 exhaustive, and are deeply interesting, involving many 

 questions of interest to students, especially in regard to the 

 movement of glaciers, which was once accounted for by the 

 plasticity of the ice, but is now known to be due to the 

 melting and freezing of the mass, or what is known as 

 regelation. What will concern most people in connection 

 with these investigations, however, is the fact that the 

 pleasant old story about pure ice from foul water is not all a 

 myth. — Liverpool Mercury. 



Natural Gas in the United States. — We learn from 

 Iron that a great scheme for the distribution of natural gas, 

 by taking it from Pennsylvania and other districts to Chicago 

 and other cities, is in contemplation in the United States. 

 The undertaking is being promoted by the Illinois and Penn- 

 sylvania Natural Gas and Tube Line Company, which is 

 said to have acquired the right of way for their pipe lines 

 through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and has . 

 already purchased 27,000 acres of natural gas territory in 

 Pennsylvania. As a beginning, two parallel lines of piping 

 from the gasfields will be laid to Chicago. A number of 

 gasholders, capable of storing a very large supply of gas, 

 will be constructed at the gasfields, and others for distribu- 

 tion and storage purposes will be erected along the line. 

 One will probably be erected at Alliance, and another at 

 Marion, Ohio ; one at Richmond, Shelby, and Lima, and 

 several at Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne will be a general dis- 

 tribution point, from which many large towns in Indiana 

 will be supplied. Another distribution point will probably 

 be located in Ohio for large towns in that state. Within a 

 few miles of Chicago is to be another series of storage 

 holders for that city, as well as several towns in Illinois, 

 Wisconsin, and even in Iowa. The company expects to 

 carry from the gasfields a million cubic feet of gas a minute. 

 The Pennsylvania supply could be augmented by connec- 

 tion made with the gasfields of Ohio and Indiana en route. 

 The scheme seems to be of such a stupendous character as 

 to invite disbelief in its success or even its existence, but 

 it is stated that the men at the head of the enterprise are 

 persons of reliability, and that they seriously intend to give 

 effect to the project. If the work is carried out, it will doubt- 

 less be of great advantage to western manufacturers of the 

 Union, who would then obtain gaseous fuel at a cheap rate, 

 and be able to compete with the manufacturers in localities 

 more favoured by nature. 



