SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XI. No. 270 



■direct system can hope, besides the ordinary improvements, for the 

 perfection of some converter for direct currents ; above all, for 

 storage-batteries. If storage-batteries are successfully developed, 

 the alternating system has nothing to offer that the direct system 

 •does not possess, while the advantages of the latter will be over- 

 whelming. As we have already pointed out, however, a combina- 

 tion of the two systems would undoubtedly be best at the present 

 moment. 



Electric Motors for Mining-Work. — Some contracts 

 'have just been completed by the Sprague Electric Motor Company 

 that are being watched with interest by mine-owners. The most 

 important order is for motors to be used on a circuit of about 

 ■eighteen miles in length, for pumping, hoisting, etc. The river 

 whose bed it is desired to work for gold, curves in a horseshoe 

 shape ; and a tunnel has been cut across the narrow part of the 

 shoe, diverting the river from its bed. A turbine in the tunnel 

 drives the generating-dynamo, while the motors are distributed 

 along the bed of the river. Some of the other contracts are for 

 ■running hoisting apparatus by motors, the power being obtained 

 from streams distant two or three miles. There is no application 

 ■of electricity with a wider field than the distribution of power, and 

 nowhere can power be more successfully distributed by electricity 

 than in mining-work. 



Farbarky and Schenck Accumulators. — Among the 

 numerous modifications of the Faure-Sellon-Volckmar accumulators, 

 one of the most successful is the battery designed by Farbarky 

 ■and Schenck. Originally the usual ' grid ' form of support plate 

 was used, the improvement consisting in mixing coke or other po- 

 Tous substance with the active material to give a better circulation 

 of the electrolyte in the plate. Recently a change has been made 

 in the shape of the holes in which the active material is contained. 

 With the square hole completely filled with peroxide, there is no 

 allowance made for its slow expansion, and the result is the ' grow- 

 ing ' of the positive plate, with, under certain conditions, a falling- 

 out of the plugs. In the new Farbarky-Schenck plate the solid 

 bars are circular in form, intersecting, and leaving between the 

 ■larger openings smaller, narrow slits, that allow the peroxide in the 

 main openings to expand without causing more than a slight local 

 strain. While it seems possible that this form of plate is an im- 

 provement on the ordinary type, yet it is hard to believe that plates 

 made by pasting red lead or litharge into holes in lead frames can 

 form the final type of storage-cell. In England, Germany, Austria, 

 and this country, the Faure plan of using salts of lead mechanically 

 applied to the support is almost universally used. In France, on 

 the other hand, some modification of the Plante plate is usually em- 

 ployed, the endeavor being to form active coatings on the lead sup- 

 ports by the employment of an electric current, either forming the 

 .peroxide from the material of the support, or depositing it from the 

 solution employed. At present the Faure plan is most generally 

 used, but it is probable that the final lead storage-cell will be made 

 by some modification of the Plante system. 



The Schanscheiff Primary Battery. — This battery has 

 zinc and carbon electrodes in a solution of basic sulphate of mer- 

 cury and bisulphate of mercury in water. The cell has been tested 

 by Sir W. Thomson, Mr. Preece, and others, and has been highly 

 ■commended by them. The liquid can be quickly renewed when ex- 

 hausted ; the expense is not great ; and for certain classes of work, 

 such as mine-lamps, the lighting of trains, etc., it is said to possess 

 advantages in weight and economv over secondary batteries. 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



The Long White Moimtam ; or, A Jour?tey in Manchuria. By 



lA. E. M. James. London and New York, Longmans, Green, 



& Co. 8°. $6. 



We have reported several times on the interesting journey of 



Messrs. James, Younghusband, and Fulford in the south-eastern 



portions of Manchuria. A full account of this journey has now 



been published. The special value of the book lies in the full and 



concise description of the history, the inhabitants, and the religion 



of the province, and particularly its administration, produce, and 



■trade. In the southern provinces the Chinese form of administra- 



tion has now almost entirely superseded the Manchu, while in the 

 province of Kirin both Chinese civil officials and Manchu military 

 commandants are found. In the northern provinces, where Chinese 

 immigrants are not so numerous as in southern Manchuria, the 

 Manchu military officers still bear sway. In the region of the Long 

 White Mountain no ofiicials of any kind are found, but the inhabit- 

 ants have formed themselves into guilds, — a very effective means 

 of keeping their district free from brigands, which infest almost the 

 whole province of Manchuria. The towns and villages are pro- 

 tected from their ravages by walls. In discussing the taxation, the 

 author mentions the general corruption of the authorities, and gives 

 his opinion on the opium trade. He shows that opium is grown 

 in many parts of Manchuria, even close by the highways, although 

 its cultivation is prohibited by law. Therefore he thinks that the 

 raid upon the Indian opium trade is out of place, as China can sup- 

 ply her want of opium herself. This chapter of the book is one of 

 the best, as the author, who is a member of the Civil Service of 

 India, has evidently a thorough knowledge of the trade and com- 

 merce and of the production of eastern Asia. In the description of 

 his travels, which occupies the second half of the book, particular 

 attention is paid to the produce of each part of the province, to the 

 methods and facilities of trade, and to the dues collected from it. 

 He describes the roads, which are for the most part practicable 

 only in winter, when the swamps and bogs are frozen. Even the 

 military roads are in a poor condition. The most interesting part 

 of the journey was that in the Ch'ang-pai-shan, the Long White 

 Mountain, which was known from descriptions of Chinese travel- 

 lers and the Jesuits, who visited it in the beginning of last century. 

 The mountains were said to attain a height of twelve thousand feet 

 or more, but the measurements of Younghusband show that it is 

 only eight thousand feet high. The sources of all important rivers 

 of Manchuria are situated in these mountains ; and it must be re- 

 gretted that the travellers, on account of a scarcity of supplies, 

 were unable to make a more accurate survey of this region. The 

 description of the inhabitants, who have formed a small republic of 

 their own, is very interesting. We described some of the observa- 

 tions made by the travellers in this region in No. 245 of Science, 

 according to a lecture delivered by James before the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society. In the present volume he details his experiences 

 more fully, and his report is full of interesting facts. After leaving 

 the Long White Mountain, the travellers turned northward, and 

 visited Tsitsihar and many other places, their travels practically 

 covering the whole region east of the line from the Gulf of Liao-Tung 

 to Tsitsihar. The book, which is accompanied by a good map and 

 numerous illustrations, forms a very valuable contribution to our 

 knowledge of the present state of affairs in Manchuria, the author 

 giving a vivid picture of all he has seen and heard during his inter- 

 esting journey. 



A Manual of Analytical Chemistry, Qualitative and Quantita- 

 tive, hiorganic and Organic. By JOHN MUTER. 3d ed. 

 Philadelphia, Blakiston. $2. 

 The object of this work has been to produce a manual, short 

 and easily understood, taking the student from the simplest to the 

 most complex matters of qualitative analysis, and also dealing 

 with quantitative work sufficiently to give him a fair insight into all 

 branches of this department. It is adapted for students who desire 

 to prepare for pharmaceutical, medical, or general university 

 examinations in practical chemistry. The present edition has been 

 considerably condensed in bulk, though a large amount of additional 

 matter has been introduced. Muter's analytical chemistry has 

 always been a popular manual with teachers and students, and the 

 improvements in this edition will make it still more acceptable. 

 The Urine. Memoranda, Chemical and Microscopical, for 

 Laboratory Use. By J. W. HOLLAND. Philadelphia, Blakis- 

 ton. 12°. 50 cents. 

 This manual deserves to be generally adopted in medical schools 

 and by physicians. It contains the latest and best tests, and is 

 well illustrated. In addition to the tests recommended, which are 

 both chemical and microscopical. Dr. Holland gives, under the 

 heading ' Import,' the bearing which the result of these tests has 

 upon the diagnosis and treatment of the patient. For instance, after 

 describing the various tests which may be employed for the detec- 



