424 



SCIENCE. 



King's Cross Station, Great Northern Railway, is now 

 lighted by means of electricity, a beginning having been 

 made last week by means of the Crompton system. There 

 are 12 Crompton lamps within the station, six being placed 

 over the arrival, and a similar number over the departure 

 platform. Two other lamps of larger size are placed out- 

 side the station building. The interior area lighted con- 

 sists of two bays, each S80 feet long and 105 feet wide, and 

 72 feet high, as well as the cab-rank adjoining the arrival 

 platform, which is 40 feet wide. The total area lighted is 

 220,000 square feet, giving an area of 18,133 square feet, or 

 nearly half an acre, to each lamp. The lamps are sus- 

 pended at a height of 30 feet from the platform level, and 

 are arranged on four circuits, the light of each lamp being 

 computed as equivalent to 4000 candles. Any unpleasant- 

 ness from the intensity of the light is obviated by the use 

 of semi-transparent glass in the lower portion of the lan- 

 terns. The two exterior lights are estimated at 6000 can- 

 dles each, are placed at an altitude of 70 feet, the lanterns 

 being of clear glass. The current is supplied by means of 

 five Burgin dynamo-electric machines, which are driven by 

 a semiportable engine by Messrs. Marshall, Sons & Co., of 

 Gainsborough, working up to 35-horse power. 



The death of John Duncan, the Alford, England, botan- 

 ist, is announced as having taken place last week in his 

 85th year. The deceased adopted the occupation of a 

 weaver by trade, but devoted all his spare time to the study 

 of botany. His splendid collection of plants he handed 

 over to Aberdeen University a year ago, but he has lived 

 barely six months to enjoy the fund which public recogni- 

 tion of his merits placed at his disposal in his declining 

 years. The story of John Duncan's life is to be told by 

 Mr. Jolly, himself an enthusiastic botanist. 



Various attempts have been made to explain the tails of 

 comets. A recent one by M. Picart is as follows : The Sun, 

 the stars, nebulas and comets, are composed not only of 

 ponderable matter in the gaseous state, but of imponder- 

 able matter, the luminous ether, revealed, in the case of the 

 sun by the zodiacal light, and in that of nebulae, by their 

 irregular forms contrary to gravitation. A comet far from 

 the sun, appears in spheroidal form, due to gravitation of 

 its ponderable matter (its luminous ether being then in- 

 visible because of distance and feeble light). But on 

 nearing the sun, the luminous ether of this body repels that 

 of the comet (this being a characteristic property of the 

 ether) so forming the tail. The form and direction of the 

 tail are thus quite independent of gravitation ; and the 

 enormous velocity ceases to be a difficulty, as it is if the 

 matter ol the tail be thought ponderable. M. Lamey has ob- 

 served that the solar light, being unable completely to pene- 

 trate the comet's tail, illumines only the left part, produc- 

 ing a true cometary phase. 



The assimilation of nitrogen by plants has, of late, been 

 carefully studied by Signor Lamattina, of Rome, who ar- 

 rives at the following results : Plants absolutely require to 

 assimilate nitrogen, and they obtain it in three forms : (1) 

 In the nitrates of the ground ; (2) In the ammonia of the 

 air; (3) In the State of protoxide in the atmosphere. The 

 nitrogen in the state of nitrates, absorbed by the roots, is 

 for transport and diffusion of mineral substances, princi- 

 pally potash, in the leaves, helping to form chlorophyll and 

 hydrocarbons. The nitrogen absorbed in the form of am- 

 monia by respiration, serves for formation of albuminoids, 

 fibrine, etc. The nitrogen absorbed in the state of protoxide, 

 appears to serve as complement of the food of the plant, 

 acting both as corrective, by neutralisingthe basis in excess, 

 and helping in the formation of alkaloids. 



METEOROLOGICAL REPORT FOR NEW YORK CITY FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUG. 27, 1881. 



Latitude 40 45' 58 " N.; Longitude 73 57' 58" W.; height of instruments above the ground, 53 feet ; above the sea, 97 



feet ; by self-recording instruments. 



BAROMETER. 



THERMOMETERS. 





MEAN FOR 

 THE DAY. 



MAXIMUM. 



MINIMUM. 



MEAN. 



MAXIMUM. 



MINIMUM. 



maxi'm 



AUGUST. 



Reduced 

 to 



Freezing. 



Reduced 

 to 



Freezing. 



Time. 



Reduced 

 to 



Freezing. 



Time. 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



In Sun. 



Sunday, 21-- 

 Monday, 22.. 

 Tuesday, 23.. 

 Wednesday, 24 . 

 Thursday, 25-- 

 Friday, 26.. 

 Saturday, 27.- 



29.628 

 29.802 

 29.979 

 30.138 

 30.200 

 30.151 

 30.114 



29.678 

 29.896 

 30.046 

 30.196 

 30.212 

 30.198 

 30.156 



12 p. m. 

 12 p. m. 

 12 p. m. 

 12 p. m. 



9 a. m. 



a. m. 



9 a. m. 



29.598 

 29.678 

 29.896 

 30 046 

 30.168 

 30.110 

 30.072 



5 p. m. 

 a. m. 

 a. m. 

 a. m. 



6 p. m. 

 4 P- m. 

 6 p. m. 



77.0 

 74.0 

 72.3 

 73-3 

 70.3 

 7i-7 

 72.0 



69.0 

 66.0 

 64.0 

 66.6 

 64.6 

 67.0 

 66.7 



85 

 81 

 83 

 82 

 76 

 82 

 78 



5 p. m. 

 3 P- n>- 

 5 P- ™, 



2 p. m. 



3 P- m - 

 3 P- m. 

 2 p. m. 



73 

 69 

 69 

 73 

 67 

 73 

 70 



5 P- m- 

 2 p. m. 

 2 p. m. 



2 p m. 



3 P- ™. 

 3 p. m. 

 2 p. m. 



68 



67 

 61 



63 

 65 

 63 

 66 



5 a. m. 

 12 p. m. 



6 a. m. 



5 a. in. 

 3 a. m. 



7 a. m. 



6 a. m. 



65 

 62 



59 

 60 

 62 

 62 

 64 



5 a. m. 

 12 p. m. 



6 a. m. 

 6 a. m. 

 3 a. m. 

 8 a. m. 

 6 a. m. 



144. 

 139. 

 140. 

 141. 

 131. 

 134- 

 128. 



Mean for the week 30.002 inches. 



Maximum for the week at 9 a. m., August 25th .30.212 



Minimum " at 5 p. m., August 21st 29.598 " 



Range 614 " 



Dry. Wet. 



Mean for the week.. 72.9 degrees 66.2 degrees. 



Maximum for the week, at 5 pm. 21st 85. " at 5 pm 21st, 73. 

 Minimum " " 6am. 23d 61. " at 6 am 23d, 59. 



Range " " 24. " 14. " 



WIND. 



HYGROMETER. 



CLOUDS. 





RAIN AND SNOW. 



ONE. 











VELOCITY 



FORCE IN 









RELATIVE 



CLEAR, 









DEPTH OF RAIN AND SNOW 



O 





direction. 



IN MILES. 



LBS. PER 



FORCE OF VAPOR. 



HUMIDITY. 



OVERCAST. 



10 







IN INCHES. 















SQR. FEET. 

































AUGUST. 









Distance 





Time. 



6 



6 



6 



s 



S 



e 



6 



B 





6 



Time 

 of 



Time 

 of 



Dura- 



B v 



H 







7 a. m. 



2 p. m. 



9 p. m. 



for the 



rt 



rt 



P. 



p. 



rt 



P. 



0. 



rt 



p. 





p. 



Begin- 



End- 



tion. 



E * 













Day. 









n 



o> 





« 







N 







ing. 



ing. 



h. m. 



< 





Sunday, 21- 



n. 



n. n. e. 



w. n.w. 



123 





11 am 



•537 



.623 



.652 



71 



53 



73 



3cir.cu.s 



3 cu. s. 



10 





11 p m 



ii^pm 



0.30 



.01 



3 



Monday, 22. 



n. w. 



n. w. 



n. n. w. 



153 





3.30 pm 



.516 



•547 



•537 



70 



5* 



71 







3 cu. 

















7 



Tuesday, 23. 



n. w. 



n. w. 



n. n. w. 



I5S 



lv. 



4.40 pm 



•433 



•547 



.489 



72 



52 



62 







3 cu. 

















1 



Wednesday ,24. 



n. n. e. 



n. e. 



s. e. 



121 



4 



1.30 pm 



.462 



.663 



.564 



65 



63 



79 







1 cir. cu. 





















Thursday, 25. 



s. s. e. 



s. 



s. s. w. 



1 40 





3.20 pm 



.509 



•554 



■543 



74 



64 



79 



8 cu. 

























Friday, 26. 



w. s. w. 



s. 



s. s. w. 



150 



a 



3.00 pm 



■576 



.624 



.608 



100 



59 



80 



10 



I cu. 





















Saturday, 27. 



s. w. 



s. 



s. s. w. 



140 



2 



4.40 pm 



■543 



.625 



.586 



79 



65 



80 



8 cu. 



1 cu. 





















Distance traveled during the week. 

 Maximum force 



miles, 

 lbs. 



Total amount of water for the week ot inch. 



Duration of rain 00 hours, 30 minutes. 



DANIEL DRAPER, Ph. D. 

 Director Meteorological Observatory of the Department of Public Parks, New York. 



