June 15, lS3S.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEW^S. 



559 



QSrtmv^l ^ote0. 



The British Museum. — We understand that Mr. 

 Edward A. Bond has resigned the office of Principal 

 Librarian at the British Museum, which he has held 

 with much distinction since August, 1878. 



Arsenic in Paper Hangings. — A controversy as to 

 the presence or absence of arsenic in paper-hangings is 

 at present going on between certain manufacturers and 

 some importers. Each party, we are sorry to see, is 

 supported by the testimony of experts. 



Aerial Navigation. — A M. Jovis is about to set out 

 from New York to Europe in an air-ship of his own con- 

 trivance, in company with five other adventurers. He 

 hopes to cross the Atlantic in three and a-half days, 

 and to arrive somewhere on this side of the water. 



Dangers of Milk in Hot Weather. — Dr. J. C. 

 Vaughan, of the University of Michigan (Popular Science 

 Monthly), argues against giving milk to children in 

 summer, from its liabihty to generate the poison tyro- 

 toxicon, supposed to be the immediate cause of summer 

 diarrhoea. 



Earthquake Shocks. — Shocks have been experienced 

 during the month of April in the Scandinavian peninsula. 

 At Kalleli, on the Lyse Fjord, in Norway, the concus- 

 sion was strong enough to stop clocks. Shocks were 

 felt also at Gjoesdal on the same coast, and in the south 

 of Sweden, at Wexio. 



Novelty in Aeronautics. — It is now proposed to 

 abandon the modern gas-balloon and to return to the 

 original plan of Montgolfier, using rarefied air as the 

 expansion agent. To cut off the possibility of ignition, 

 balloons are to be constructed not of varnished silk but 

 of a light asbestos tissue. 



Continuous v. Alternating Electric Currents. — A 

 striking distinction between wires carrying respectively 

 currents of these two kinds is that the former, i.e., those 

 conveying continuous currents, quickly become coated 

 with particles of dust, blacks, etc., whilst wires supply- 

 ing alternating currents remain clean. 



Proportion of Oxygen in the Air. — Professor 

 Hempel [Cicl el Tcrre) publishes the results of simul- 

 taneous analyses of air made in different parts of the 

 earth. The results were, at Para, 20-92 ; Bonn, so'gz ; 

 Cleveland, 20'93 ; Dresden, 2o'g3 ; Tromso, 20'95. 

 The general mean proportion was 20'93. 



The Greenland Expedition. — Dr. Nansen's expedition 

 set off from Leith for Iceland on May 8th. It includes, 

 besides Dr. Nansen himself. Lieutenant Dietrichsen and 

 MM. Sverdrup and Kristiansen, all athletic young men, 

 adepts in the use of ■ the snow-shoe, and two Laps, 

 named Balta and Ravna. We can only wish that they 

 may re-appear in safety. 



the Times that Baron Albert Rothschild has purchased 

 the large reflecting telescope that has been constructed at 

 Paris for 40,000 florins and has presented it to the Vienna 

 Observatory. A gallery for it has been built and 

 endowed by the Baron. The total cost of this scientific 

 gift will amount to upwards of y^S,ooo. 



Further Observations on the Planet Mars. — M. F. 

 Terry {Couiptes Rencius) mentions that he has seen three 

 small, round brilliant spots situated on the prolongation of 

 the Erebus at its western margin. These white points 

 scarcely visible at first, become whiter and more brilliant 

 as they approach the limb of the planet. The black line 

 which seems to divide the northern polar cap has been 

 perfectly visible since May 12th. 



The Slow Combustion of Organic Matter. — M. 

 Theophile Schloesing {Comptcs Rcndus) has examined the 

 part played in the heating, and occasionally in the spon- 

 taneous combustion, of organic matter by microbia. He 

 concludes that such combustions begin under the influence 

 of microbia which play the part of igniters. This in- 

 fluence ceases between 104° and 122° F., giving place to 

 a purely chemical combustion, which increases with the 

 temperature. 



Thing-Knowledge v. Word-Knowledge. — Says the 

 Earl of Derby, " the farm labourer, who has learned to 

 watch and understand the signs of the weather, to be 

 knowing about stock, and who can use his hands skil- 

 fully, though he may be backward in book-learning, is 

 quite as well instructed in any worthy sense as the prize 

 prig stuffed with scraps of miscellaneous information, but 

 knowing little at first hand, unaccustomed to observe, 

 ignorant of animals, trees, flowers, or country life, and 

 unskilled in any craft or in the handling of any tool." 



Enormous Specimens of Rock Crystal. — Some 

 splendid specimens of rock crystal from Ashe County, in 

 North Carolina, were exhibited by G. F. Kunz at the last 

 meeting of the American Association. Among the most 

 remarkable crystals are one weighing 20 lbs., half dis- 

 torted, but exceedingly clear: one weighing 188 lbs., and 

 another weighing 285 lbs., and being 29 inches long, 

 18 inches wide, and 13 inches thick. The pyramidal 

 termination at one end is perfect. Dozens have been 

 found weighing from 20 to 30 lbs. each. Their use is 

 proposed for mirrors, clock-cases, etc. 



Value of Basic Sl.\g as Manure. — The NeiLcastle 

 Weekly Chronicle quotes the results of Dr. Wagner's 

 recent experiments on the value of phosphatic manures. 

 Most favourable returns have been obtained with the 

 " basic slag " of the Tiiomas and Gilchrist process. It 

 was found to be a better and more economical manure 

 than guano, bone-meal, or coprolites. Two units of 

 phosphoric acid in the form of powdered slag, which 

 cost from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d., gave as good results as one 

 unit in the form of superphosphate, costing 4s. to 5s. It 

 is peculiarly suitable for clover, grass, and lucerne, and 

 acts well on moorlands, peaty, medium, and sandy soils. 



Gift to the Vienna Observatory. — We gather from 



Inca Remains. — The British Consul at Mollendo, in 

 Peru, in his last report, states that a limited liability 



