SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



2 7: 



CONTRIBUTED BY THE REV. 



B.A. OXON. 



J. M. COBBETT, 



Some of our readers are aware that a small 

 limited company was recently formed to develop 

 Science-Gossip, which has well responded to the 

 introduction of capital. A' portion of the money 

 required was arranged for by an issue of deben- 

 tures bearing 5 per cent, interest. Most of these 

 bonds have been secured by those interested in the 

 work of the journal, but a few remain unallotted. 

 As it is advisable for the welfare of this magazine 

 that the full issue should be subscribed, we invite 

 others who value its pages to assist by taking as 

 many as possible of the remaining debentures. 

 Full particulars may be obtained on application to 

 the Secretary, Kesearch Publishing Company, 

 Limited, 110 Strand, London, W.C. 



The Sir John Cass Technical Institute was 

 opened last month, when Sir W. Roberts-Austen, 

 chemist to the Mint, delivered the inaugural 

 address, which dealt with the subject of metallurgy. 



We regret to hear the unfortunate accident that 

 occurred to Professor Virchow in Berlin, when he 

 fell from a tramcar, is of a serious nature. In 

 addition to a broken thigh-bone, this eminent 

 savant is suffering from general shock. 



Some interesting experiments have been carried 

 out in Norway dealing with the resisting power of 

 snow. It was found that a wall of snow four feet 

 thick was proof at fifty yards distance against the 

 bullet of the Krag-Jorgensen rifle, which is sighted 

 up to 2,500 yards, and with a calibre of 6'5 milli- 

 metres has a velocity of 2,360 feet. 



M. Sibillot, a Parisian aeronaut, has pro- 

 pounded a scheme by which he expects to solve 

 the problem of aerial navigation. He has just 

 deposited the plans of a new balloon that he main- 

 tains will be steerable in any weather. The pro- 

 posal is to carry a refrigerator and a heating 

 apparatus. By simply pressing a button of the 

 former he thus reduces the temperature of the gas, 

 and allows the balloon to descend ; while on heat- 

 ing the hydrogen the effect is reversed. 



At the annual meeting of the Royal Meteoro- 

 logical Society held on January 15th the President, 

 Mr. W. H. Dines, delivered an interesting address 

 on " The Element of Chance applied to Various 

 Meteorological Problems." He concluded that 

 though for all practical purposes weather con- 

 ditions might be looked upon as purely accidental, 

 yet in reality there was a cause for each kind of 

 weather, normal or abnormal. Weather cycles 

 were also discussed, the speaker being of opinion 

 that if there were any true cycle of a period of not 

 more than ten or fifteen years it must have been 

 discovered before now, for we had had about one 

 hundred years' precise observation. During the 

 meeting the first award of the Symons Gold Medal 

 was made to Dr. Alexander Buchan for his work in 

 connection with meteorology. 



Mr. G. Metcalfe, of New South Wales, has 

 put forward an interesting theory as to the method 

 of reproduction of the duckbill {Ornithorliynchim 

 anatinv.s). He believes the animal to be viviparous, 

 and that the young are not, as generally supposed, 

 hatched from eggs after they have been deposited. 



At the sixty-ninth annual meeting of the 

 Entomological Society of London the President, 

 the Rev. Canon Fowler, dealt with the question 

 of protective resemblance and mimicry in the 

 Coleoptera, a branch of entomology as to which 

 little has been recorded, and, in view of the fact 

 that large quantities of beetles were devoured by 

 rapacious birds, urged that the indiscriminate 

 slaughter of our few remaining birds of prey should 

 be rigorously discountenanced. 



While our knowledge of cancer is still so in- 

 definite, we feel that the state of things revealed 

 in a recent letter to the " Standard " cannot be 

 deprecated too strongly. The following extract 

 needs no further comment : — "A farmer tenant of 

 mine has been suffering from cancer in the lip. 

 For months past he has been engaged in the daily 

 work of his farm, milking his cows, assisting in 

 the dairy, and handling his beasts, and all the time 

 no more precautions have been taken to safeguard 

 the public from the potential dangers of the case 

 than if the man had simply cut his finger." 



Two experiments with the new manure, basic 

 superphospate, have been carried out near Ipswich 

 during the past season. Mr. E. Packard reports 

 that he obtained 18f tons of swedes per acre from 

 a plot dressed with 5 cwt. of basic superphosphate, 

 as compared with 15| tons from one to which 

 5 cwt. of basic slag had been applied, and with 

 14| tons grown without manure. Mr. W. M. 

 Cockrill grew four acres of white turnips with the 

 help of 5 cwt. per acre of basic superphosphate, 

 and another four acres dressed with an equal 

 quantity of ordinary superphosphate, and his report 

 is that the former were far superior to the latter. 



An article in " Nature " deals with an important 

 investigation into the physiological effect on 

 soldiers of route marching. We need scarcely say 

 that the experiments were carried out in Germany. 

 The aim of these experiments was to ascertain the 

 effect produced by marching under conditions, more 

 or less severe, on the various organs and functions of 

 the body. Several of the results, attained would 

 be intelligible only to experts, but the more im- 

 portant can be readily understood. Some proved 

 that the character of the food becomes a very im- 

 portant matter when heavy marching is under- 

 taken, for then, as a result of respiratory changes, 

 the consumption of carbohydrates is greater than 

 the ordinary rations can supply, which leaves the 

 fat of the body the only energy-producing material. 

 So if the men are to be kept in good condition, one 

 day of rest should follow three of heavy marching. 

 The effect of the experiments on the excretory 

 process was healthful, and the nervous system 

 appears to have been undisturbed. The most im- 

 portant effects were those noted in connection with 

 the heart. Its action was noted by the sphygmo- 

 graph, and the curve produced was found to vary 

 in proportion to the amount of weight carried. 

 The investigators conclude that sixty-eight pounds 

 is the heaviest weight that can be carried without 

 the risk of permanent damage to the heart. It 

 was found also that the right side of the heart 

 became somewhat dilated, leading to a stagnation 



