1853] 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



103 



that the greatest quantity of Ammonia is contained iu rain water. 

 Some that had fallen on the roof of the Paris Observatory yielded four 

 milligrammes in the French litre; while the water of the rivers does 

 not contain 1-lOlh milligramme iu the same quantity. That snow 

 gathered after lying 3G hours on some fields, yielded ten Fimes more 

 Ammonia than "that gathered immediately after it had fallen." That 

 the softness of rain water is referable to Ammonia has long been 

 admitted; but, until the appearance of my papers, it was conceived 

 that this quality was acquired from the atmosphere. It is, therefore, 

 much to be regretted that no reference is made to the relative proportion 

 of Ammonia iu rain and snow water, or such information could not 

 have failed in throwing much light ou one of Nature's most important 

 operations — a deficiency, it is hoped, the sava^s on this side of the 

 Channel will make good during the coming winter ; and it is also to 

 be hoped they will be induced to inquire into the cause of the startling 

 fact, that snow 36 hours' old should be so much more Ammoniacal than 

 that just fallen — it being reasonably to be inferred that this increase 

 is not acquired from the toil, since rain, in its passage through the 

 earth, parts with its Ammonia" at .all periods of the year. The course 

 I suspect to be purely electrical ; and if it should so happen that the 

 Ammonia of the just-fallen snow corresponds in amount to that of rain, 

 we shall have acquired evidence of the very simple means by which 

 the Creator ensures to the northern regions a supply of this essential 

 to the production of nitrogenous matter. This is unquestionably the 

 decomposing era of the earth's pres*nt cycle in the creation ; and, in 

 reference to the second paragraph of Mr. Ennor's letter of the 3rd iust., 

 I beg his atteution to the fact, that Ammonia, like Lime, is a solvent 

 of the mineral kingdom, and that snow is mostly deposited on the tops 

 of hills or mountains, where its ammonia and water would have a le- 

 velling influence. Reckless of the consequences, Ave persist, year .after 

 year, in adding to the earth's sui face by combustion, atleast 60,(100. 000 

 tons of carbon, thereby causing the evolution of thousands of millions 

 of tons of gases that cannot fail in producing a most powerfuTinfiuence 

 on both the atmosphere and earth ; and cholera, influenza, potato, etc., 

 disease, deluges of rain, and ''strikes," arc the fruits. Surely, then, 

 the evidence afforded by M. Boussingault will induce at least an en- 



1 U11 T- FrtA' KLIN CoXWORTIIV, 



Axdhor of "Electrical Condition." 

 Maresfield, Sussex, 0.ct, 17, 1853. 



Locomotion by Compressed Air. — The obstacles which have till 

 now opposed ihe employment of the expansive force of compressed air 

 will, it is thought, disappear, through the process of M. Julieue, which 

 consists simply in compressing air by means of an hydraulic press. 

 By this method, M. Julieue substitutes for the solid piston — which a 

 grain of sand may alter, which the slightest irregularity in the pump 

 would throw out of action, and which becomes heated by friction — a 

 liquid piston, not less imcompressible than the other, filling always 

 exactly the space in which it moves, be it regular or not, and acting by 

 progression on a resistatce so exactly calculated, that this proportion, 

 although increasing, is always in relation to the force to be overcome. 

 The rir is thus compressed at 30 atmospheres in iron bottles, which 

 are about 4 millimetres thick, it is perfectly preserved under this 

 pressure ; and it was with a bottle of this kind that M. Julieue put 

 in action a small vehicle, carrying two persons, and moving with great 

 rapidity. — American Journal. 



Artificial Pr'dcction of D amoxd Powd r. — Some considerable 

 sensation has been produced iu the scientific circles of Paris by the 

 announcement of the artificial formation of diamond powder. M. 

 Despretz has made two communications to the Academie des Sciences 

 upon carbon. In these lie states that placing at ODe, the inferior, pole 

 of a voltaic battery a cylinder of pure charcoal(its purity being secured 

 by preparing it from crystalised white sugar candy), and at the supe- 

 rior pole a bundle of fine platinum wires so arranged that the charcoal 

 was in the red portion of the electric arc, and the plantiuum in the 

 violet, — he found the carbon volatilised, and collected on the plantinum 

 wires in a changed state. In these experiments the current has been 

 continued during a month iu activity, and the powder collected on the 

 wires has been fouud to be sufficiently hard to polish rubies with 

 great rapidity, and when burnt it left no residue. M. Despretz asks 

 himself, — Havel obtained crystals of carbon, which- 1 can separate 

 and weigh, in which I can determine the index of refraction and the 

 angle of polarisation without doubt? Ho ; I have simply produced by 

 the electric arc, and by weak voltaic currents, carbon crystalised in 

 black octohedrons, in colourless and translucent octohedrons, in plat s also 

 colourless and translucent, which possess the hardness of the powder of 

 the diamond, and which disappear in combustion, without any sensi- 

 ble residue. — A similar result has been obtained by decomposing a 

 roixtuie of chloride of carbon and alcohol )j weak galvanic currents. 

 The black powder deposited was found to possess equal hardness 

 with that which was sublimed, and rubies were readily polished by 

 it A few years since, graphite and coke were formed from diamonds: 



we now appear to be advancing near towards the conversion of gra- 

 phite and coke into diamonds. 



Astif cial Pearls. — An oyster, or rather a water muscle, in which 

 the artificial pearls are formed by the Chinese, has recently been sent 

 to this country. These pearls are only obtained near Ning-po, and 

 until lately very little wos known of the manner in which they were 

 formed. The Hennas sieamer, however, on a late visit to that place, 

 was able to obtaiu several live ones, in which, on being opened, seve- 

 ral pearls, as many as 18 or 20, were found in the course of formation. 

 The one srnt only contains simple pearls adhering to the shell. It ap- 

 pears they are formed by introducing small pieces of wood, or baked 

 earth, iuto the animal while alive, which, irritating it, causes it to cover 

 the extraneous substance with a pearly deposit- Little figures made 

 of metal are frequently introduced, and when covered with the depo- 

 sit, are valued by the Chinese as charms. These figures generaUy 

 represent Buddha, iu the sitting posture in whichihat image is most 

 frequently pourtrayed. Several specimens have, it is said, been pre- 

 served alive in spirits, and others slightly opened, so as to show the 

 pearls. The society has reason to believe that it will shortly receive 

 a more detailed statement, accompanied with specimens, in reference 

 to this interesting fact. — Jouanal of the Society of Arts. 



Deep Sea Soundings. — A brig of war, bearing the stars and stripes 

 of the United States at her masthead, is now lying in the Southampton . 

 waters, and engaging the atteution of practical and scientific men. She 

 is called the Dolphin ; and her object iu the Atlantic is to procure the 

 data desired by Congress for the use of Lieut. Maury. She left Chesa- 

 peake Bay 3 months ago. Her first task w T as, to strike a line from 

 that bay to Rockule, on the west coast of Scotland, and take soundings 

 at intervals of 100 miles along it. From Rockule, a second line was 

 run to the Azores ; a little to the north of which a ridge, 6,000 feet in 

 height from the ocean bed, was discovered, — the soil on this elevation 

 being a fine yellow chalky substance, mixed with flue sand. From 

 the Azores the explorer made a westerly cut, — everywhere finding 

 bottom and everywhere noting the set of tides and currents, and the 

 temperature of the water. The Dolphin next steered fur the Three 

 Chimnies, where she fouud bottom at a depth of 1900 fathoms. The 

 greatest depth of water was found in lat. 41° to 43°, long. 51° to 56°, — 

 where the line fell out 3,130 fathoms. In a few days the Dolphin will 

 have completed her outfit, — when she will make for the western side 

 of the Azores, and pursue this series of important discoveries. The 

 Dolphin is admirably fitted up for her work, and her sounding appa- 

 ratus is the finest ever seen in Europe. Hitherto a continuous series of 

 soundings in deep water has been rendered difficult by the fact of each 

 sounding costiug the ship a fresh line ; however strongly the line was 

 made, vrhen once out it has never been recovered. The Americans 

 have invented a mode by which the weight ou touching the bottom is 

 detached, — so that the line may be drawn back with ease. We borrow 

 from the Daily News an sccount of this ingenious contrivance: — "A hole 

 is drilled through a 64 lb. or heavier shot, sufficiently large to admit a 

 rod about three quarters of an inch iu diameter. This rod is about 12 

 or 14 inches in length, and with the exception of about 1 to inch at the 

 bottom, perfectly solid. At the top of the rod are two arms extending 

 one from each side. These arms being upon easily acting hinges, are 

 capable of being raised or lowered with very little power. A small 

 branch extends from the outside of each of them, which is for the pur- 

 pose of holding by means of rings a piece of wire by which the ball is 

 swung. to the rod. A piece of rope is then attached by each end to the 

 arms, to which again is joined the sounding-line. The ball is ihen 

 lowered iuto the water, and upon reaching the bottom the strain upon 

 the Hue ceases, and the arms fall down, allowiug the ball to detatch 

 itself entirely from the rod, which is then easily drawn in, — the drilled 

 portion of which is discovered to be filled with a specimen of that 

 which it has come in contact with at the bottom." With this appara- 

 tus, aided by the hosts of assistants whom Lieut. Maury's visit to Eu- 

 rope will doubtless bring to the great work of exploration, the ocean 

 bed may become in time as well known to us as the bed of the Thames 

 or that of the Hudson. 



New Dibbling Machine. — Mr. Thomas Revis. of Stockwell, has just 

 specified, under Letters Patent granted to him, for " improved single- 

 seed drilling or dibbling machinery." - In this specification, he sets 

 forth the following description of his apparatus, which has been tried, 

 and fouud to effect the desired object so well that single grains of 

 wheat have been deposited in the ground, and produced giant straw, 

 and ears corresponding thereto both in number and size: — My inven- 

 tion consists in, or has reference to, improved drilling or dibbling 

 machinery for planting seed singly, or one at a time. The droppers 

 for dropping the seed singly are made to act by means of a lever, or 

 lifter, having its head, or handle, near to the handle of the dibble, and 

 by this means the mouth of the droppers will be opened just wide 

 enough to deposit a single seed, whilst by this arrangement of the 

 handles, (he operator can hold and work the dibbler -with the fame 



