52 THE WEST AM EEICAN SCIENTIST. 



Ventnra Society of Natural History. ,^ , ,• , 



February 1, 1886. Gen. Vandever, on ' Evolution. ^^ . 

 March 1. Mrs. R. W. Summers, on ' Alpme botany. 



. • 



IMPORXANT TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 



It is perhaps not generally knowa that wool can be dissolved until nothing is 



''" Joit^Ritchie, jr., has the following in Science Observer: ' This melting of wool 

 is indeed an instru tive experiment, and is of sufficient character to be shown even 

 ^pon It platform.' And L author then and there with an alkaUne so ut^on and 

 hot water into which he dropped the wool for three mmutes, explamed; The wool 

 dil;;!::; m the U^uid, :Jl sugar does in your coffee.' A soap of wool alone . 



'^"' t Sir thlrcrtLled housekeepers to be careful in the use ^ soap pow- 

 ders, as an indiscriminate use may dissolve out the wool from the.r clothmg. 



• • / 



HISTORY OF TELEGRAPHY. 



The 17th of last April was the ce;;rn:;7of Baron P J Schilling, the inventor 



"^'^Hrrrsprriiit^rre^wLr^^^ 



ISIO In SlThe successfully exploded a mine across the Neva by means of an e'.ec- 

 rJrLr ThVsre expeLe'nt was publicly repeated ^^^^^- ^* 



*^^trsr^:=utrbrriu^Si^-^^^^^^^ 



a maineticnlX: and in l' .c'af ter numerous experiments, he constructed the first 



"^"rr Nicrortpecting the invention at the house of B.^^ 



written on a piece of paper, ' Je suis charme d'avoir fait ma vs.te a M Schrlhng. 



Tnd the word! were aflLrds transmitted by telegraph wrthou any rnxstak^^^ 



In 1837 Baron Schilling received an imperial order to connect St. P«t«^'burg 



andCronstadtbya telegraph line; unfortunately the inventor s untimely death- 



Sfh oTjune (7th of July) of the same year-prevented the realisation of this plan 

 Baron Schilling's contemporaries, as it so frequently happens, were entirely un- 

 able to appreclte Ms great indention, so, when explaining it before a sc^ntie com 

 mittee, he proposed to hang the wires on poles, his plan was --™^ jf jf f ^*^; 

 and derision. 'Your invention is pure nonsense, and your airy wires are truly 

 ridiculous • Such was the answer from the scien tific My.-Sae«UJi. An^ncan. 



The brain of a lioness has been dissected at Berne, and found to be in many re- 

 spects intermediate between the d og's and the ca t's brain. 



San Diego is enlightened evenings by the electric lamps now. 



