T94 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XI. No. 272 



pend principally upon the fire, which regulates and varies the 

 •chemical action. The crystals obtained in 1 877 were laminated and 

 friable. They were very thin, and embedded in a vitreous mass, 

 which rendered it almost impossible to isolate them. Besides this, 

 their chemical composition varied to a certain extent. By the new 

 process they are easily separated from the porous matrix in which 

 they are formed. The matrix is thrown into water, which is vio- 

 lently agitated. While the light matrix is broken and remains sus- 

 pended, the rubies settle down on the bottom of the glass. They 



r — •" -It tf JlWt- 





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V, 



are very clean, and it was found unnecessary to apply any acids for 

 further cleansing. They are rhombohedral and exactly like 

 natural rubies. Numerous analyses showed that they did not re- 

 tain a trace of baryte, and that they were formed by pure alumini- 

 um colored by traces of chrome. The crystals are regular and of 

 adamantine lustre. They are of perfect transparency, as hard as 

 natural rubies, and cut topaz. Like the natural rubies, they turn 

 black on being heated, but resume their color after getting cold 



again. Having thus produced by synthesis rhombohedral crystals 

 of rubies with all the physical and chemical properties of the most 

 beautiful natural rubies, and forming them in a matrix which may 

 be compared to that enclosing the natural mineral, Fremy and 

 Verneuil believe they have definitely settled the question of the origin 

 of rubies. So far, the experiments have been made with 50 grams 

 of material only, and the crystals have therefore been comparatively 

 small, not exceeding 0.02 of an inch in diameter. The authors, 

 however, propose to continue their experiments on a larger scale, 

 and expect to be able to make rubies of large dimensions. 



nl luitk the character o/ 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*,* Corresfionicttts arc rc'jitcstcd to be as brief as possibU, The writer'i 

 in alt cases required as proof of ^ood faitli. 



Twenty copies of the number containin^^ iii: 

 free to any correspondent on request. 



The editor wiii be ffiad to publish any qner. 

 the journal. 



Is the Rainfall increasing on the Plains ? 



In connection with the recent discussion of the question of in- 

 creasing rainfall west of the Mississippi River, I wish to call atten- 

 tion to some serious errors in the rainfall record at Fort Leaven- 

 worth, — a record fifty years in length, and therefore frequently 

 quoted in support of the popular view. While examining these ob- 

 servations, I recently found that the precipitation for January, 1871, 

 was given as 11.25 inches, — a most extraordinary amount. Sus- 

 pecting such a result, I examined the files of the Lca~'e>iiL'orlh 

 Times, and found that the precipitation for that month, as meas- 

 ured by Mr. F. Hawn, was 0.14 of an inch of rain, and 9.25 inches 

 of uii?nel/eds-ao\N. Unquestionably the Fort Leavenworth record is 

 also mainly composed of unmelted snow. Further examination 

 shtfwed that the amounts recorded for the other winter months of 

 1871 and 1872 contained a similar error, and that consequently the 

 total for 1872 should be 41.6 instead of 51.6, and for 1 871 should 

 probably not be greater that 35.5 instead of 56.75. 



These latter values for the totals of those years are given in the 

 ' Smithsonian Tables ' and in the ' Reports of the Kansas Board of 

 Agriculture,' and, so far as I know, have never been corrected by 

 any one that has used these observations in discussing the question 

 of a climatic change in rainfall. 



If such errors as these exist in the records, it is not surprising to 

 find that the rainfall of Kansas is increasing. 



George E. Curtis. 



Topeka, Kan., April lo. 



Scarlet-Fever. 



I WOULD call attention to the fact that in many of the scarlet- 

 fever reports published in your columns an assumption has crept in 

 which seriously injures the value of the conclusions thus based. 



All disease has a first case in any locality : this is the case only 

 of real use to investigate scientifically. Other subsequent cases 

 may or may not be due to the same cause as the first, or to conta- 

 gion. To assume that a case, however closely following a first 

 case, is due to contagion or infection from it, not allowing ample 

 margin for other as yet unknown causes, is simply stupid, as it 

 weakens arguments in a good cause and for the public good. 



I had this winter a boy with his second genuine attack of scarlet- 

 fever within six months. No cause of either attack was found. 

 His brother and sisters did not suffer from contact with him, al- 

 though it was attempted, of course, to isolate the patient. I my- 

 self caught the disease at about this time, but I am by no means 

 willing to admit a belief that such disease came to me from con- 

 tact with this or other patient. Many cases are known to me 

 where exposure wholly failed to cause this disease, even in weak, 

 poorly nourished individuals. 



If any time is more dangerous than another in regard to liability 

 to cause spreading of the disease, it would not be, according to my 

 experience, that of the much talked and written of period of des- 

 quamation. John Dixwell, M.D. 



Boston, Mass., April i6. 



Queries. 



31. Blonde and Brunette. — What is a blonde, and what is 

 a brunette, and what is she who is neither of these ? Definitions of 

 the words I can find in a dictionary : they do not cover the ground. 

 A woman with black or dark brown hair and eyes and a dark com- 

 plexion is a brunette. But here is one with those eyes and hair and 

 a very light complexion : she is not a pure brunette ; what is she ? 

 A girl with light hair and eyes and a dark complexion is not a 

 blonde ; what is the name for her ? What is she whose hair is al- 

 most black, complexion dark, but light-gray eyes ? (By ' complex- 

 ion ' is meant the color of the skin of the face.) 



