146 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Sept. 1st, 1887. 



machinery of their factories to the highest pitch of produc- 

 tiveness, but they had done very little to improve the mental 

 machinery by which they made up their costs and prices, 

 and he was so convinced of the value of a decimal currency, 

 that he had recommended his friends in England to calculate 

 the values of goods in pence, setting down the value, how- 

 ever large, of each line in pence instead of in pounds, shil- 

 lings, and pence. 



For many years calculations in the engineering, ship- 

 building, and other industries have been by decimals, and in 

 many manufacturing districts it has been customary to calcu- 

 late the rise and fall of wages by decimals. Moreover, at 

 the present time every country in the world, except Great 

 Britain and her dependencies, possesses a currency wholly 

 or partially decimalised, and even some of the British 

 possessions — Canada, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, and 

 Mauritius — have anticipated the mother country. In fact, it 

 cannot be seriously contended that such a change would not 

 be a benefit to this country,- if only the temporary incon- 

 venience during the time of making the change could be got 

 over. The Select Committee of the House of Commons 

 appointed in 1853 reported unanimously and strongly in 

 favour of such a change, and at the interview in June last 

 the Chancellor of the Exchequer admitted that in the 

 abstract most persons think it desirable for this country to 

 have the same system of calculation as other countries. It 

 seems now to resolve itself into a question of getting not 

 only Parliament but " the country " to move in the matter, 

 so that the necessary measures may be taken to legalise the 

 change. In furtherance of this a meeting of Members of 

 Parliament interested in the movement was recently held, 

 and it was then decided to ascertain the feeling of the 

 working classes by bringing the matter before the Trades 

 Union Congress at Swansea. We are happy to add that all 

 the Labour Members in the House wish the decimal system 

 to be adopted. 



Plants and the Electric Light. — It appears that very 

 unfortunate results have followed the introduction of the 

 electric light in the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, many of 

 the ornamental plants used for the decoration of the banquet- 

 ing halls having been quite spoilt. It is said that the damage 

 to the celebrated collection of palms is especially serious, and 

 that the complete illumination of the rooms for a single night 

 is enough to cause the leaves to turn yellow and dry up, and 

 ultimately to fall off. According to a Berlin newspaper, 

 this injurious effect is attributed to the sudden change from 

 the sunless days of the northern winter, and from the sub- 

 dued light of the plant houses, to the blinding light of the 

 electric lamps. This, however, is too general a conclusion 

 to be accepted without reserve, and we think it is not im- 

 probable that the difficulty might be overcome by enclosing 

 the lamps in suitable glass, so as to screen the plants from 

 the direct action of the heat rays. If arc lamps are used it 

 should be remembered that the light they emit differs from 



sunlight, and from the usual artificial sources of light, and 

 that special treatment is necessary. 



In our March number we referred to the very in- 

 teresting experiments made by the late Sir William 

 Siemens on the influence of electric light on vegetable 

 growth. Among other results, he found that when he 

 placed a sheet of clear glass so as to intercept the rays of 

 the electric light from a portion only of a plant — for instance, 

 a tomato plant — in the course of a single night the line of 

 demarcation was most distinctly shown upon the leaves. 

 The portion of the plant under the direct influence of the 

 naked electric light, though at a distance from it of nine to 

 ten feet, was shrivelled, whereas that portion under cover 

 of the clear glass continued to show a healthy appearance. It 

 is known to those who have experimented with arc lights, 

 that the skin is often blistered without the sensation of 

 excessive heat, and it was in fact this very effect which led 

 Sir William Siemens to commence these experiments. He 

 certainly established the fact that vegetable growth can be 

 stimulated by electric light, and in proof of this he produced 

 fruit of excellent flavour and colour during the winter 

 months. It would appear therefore that if the right con- 

 ditions were understood at St. Petersburg, the plants there 

 might be saved. 



Scientific Ballooning. — We appreciate the courage of 

 MM. Jovis and Mallet in attempting to explore regions not 

 hitherto reached, and if it has pleased them to describe their 

 little exploit as a " victory," few will be disposed to deny 

 them such an innocent pleasure. At the same time when 

 we look to what has actually been accomplished, in order to 

 gain useful information, we confess it is somewhat disap- 

 pointing. The observations of Mr. Glaisher and others have 

 been numerous, and many of them scientifically accurate ; 

 moreover he and Mr. Coxwell did actually reach the great 

 height of 37,000 feet above the sea level. When therefore 

 we find that the " victory " of MM. Jovis and Mallet resolves 

 itself into an ascent of 23,000 feet only, we cannot expect to 

 derive much novel information from their performance. 

 We believe, however, that they were supplied with several 

 recording instruments, and the records of these will 

 doubtless be interesting, and may possibly add to the 

 knowledge already in the world's possession. We trust 

 these records will be published soon. 



The New Soda Process. — Great interest is attached to 

 the experiments with regard to the manufacture of soda, 

 which will shortly take place at Widnes. Upon their suc- 

 cess may be said to turn the fate of the makers of soda by 

 the old Leblanc process, a process which during the last 

 few years has been almost supplanted by the ammonia pro- 

 cess of Solvay. The experiments are for the purpose of 

 testing the value of an invention of Messrs. Parnell and 

 Simpson, which aims at combining the advantages of both 

 processes. By using the "tank waste" of the Leblanc 



