EDITORIAL NOTES. 



705 



ber of gentlemen and ladies of scientific and 

 literary tastes, for the purpose of mutual 

 improvement, profit and pleasure. The mem- 

 bership of the club consists of four classes — 

 Active, Associate, Honorary, and Correspond- 

 ing. Active members are subject to detail for 

 the preparation and presentation of papers, 

 which are subject to discussion by the Club. 

 Associate members are entitled to vote and to 

 participate in discussions, but are not subject 

 to detail for the preparation of papers. Hon- 

 orary and Corresponding members are assign- 

 ed the functions usually possessed by members 

 of that class. For the present year the officers 

 are as follows: President, Prof. John T. 

 Lovewell ; Vice-President, Miss Eunice A. 

 Lyman ; Secretary, Geo. S. Chase ; Treasurer, 

 J. Lee Knight. 



Edison feels so sanguine of the success of 

 his electric light, that he has already taken 

 steps toward establishing central stations in 

 New York City, and has perfected his plans 

 for districting the city, each district contain- 

 ing from twenty-five to thirty stations. Each 

 station will be supplied with five Holly en- 

 gines of from 250 to 300 horse power. Four 

 of these engines will be in constant use, the 

 fifth to be reserved for use in the event of an 

 accident or any of the others. Each station 

 will occupy a space of 50x100 feet. He 

 claims that he can stand by the switchboard 

 in his laboratory and extinguish any or all of 

 the lights in the park or in the houses illum- 

 inated from his laboratory, and that in less 

 than a year he will have the electric light in 

 successful operation in New York. 



The subject of Arctic Exploration is agitat- 

 ing scientific circles considerably just at the 

 present, and the colonization scheme of Cap- 

 tain Howgate seems to be favored by nearly, 

 if not quite all practical men. We notice an 

 account of an interview of Dr. Octave Pavy 

 by a Globe- Democrat reporter, in which that 

 explorer and writer speaks of it as '• an admi- 

 rable plan, and one that must succeed." 

 Captain Silas Bent, of St. Louis, also speaks 

 highly of it, while of Eastern scientists, Dr. 



Hayes, Profs. Henry, Loomis, and Silliman 

 have all endorsed it in strong terms. 



It will be seen from an article in this num- 

 ber of the Review, that Captain Howgate 

 has offered to the government, free of charge 

 for use, or liability in case of loss or damage, 

 his steamer, the Gulnare, for a trip to the 

 polar regions, thus " proving his faith by 

 his works " in the most satisfactory manner. 



An arrangement has been entered into be- 

 tween the English Post-office and Bell's 

 Telephone Company, by which the Postmas- 

 ter-General undertakes to give every facility 

 for the extension of telephone communica- 

 tions. The Telephone Company will pay a 

 royalty to the Post-office, and may use the 

 post-offices and staffs under certain conditions 

 for their work. Thus telephone wires may be 

 run from a post-office to the town offices or 

 country residences of gentlemen, and tele- 

 grams arriving at post-offices for them may 

 immediately be communicated by telephone, 

 thus saving time. 



The Silverton, Col., La Plata Miner, of 

 February 14th, says : "The continued fall of 

 snow is discouraging. Mining operations are 

 hindered, travel is impeded, and mails are 

 delayed, business interupted and pleasure 

 thwarted. The snow is from four to eight 

 feet deep on a level, and in some places where 

 it has drifted, one would have to sink a pros- 

 pecting shaft to find out its depth. Still we 

 anticipate an early spring and a big rush to 

 this camp. Indications point to the fact that 

 the coming season will be one of the most 

 prosperous ever enjoyed by the San Juan 

 country." 



At the London Physical Society, January 

 24th, Herr Faber exhibited his new speaking 

 machine, which imitates the human voice by 

 means of artificial vocal organs of wood and 

 rubber operated by keys like a piano. Four- 

 teen distinct vocal sounds can be uttered by 

 this instrument, and by combining these, ev- 

 ery word in any language can be produced 

 in higher or lower tones, as well as the sounds 

 of laughing and whispering. 



