THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
345 
If the inferences of Lord Kelvin be true, it 
may be necessary to discard the favorite idea 
that magnetic Storms, or disturbances of the 
earth’s magnetism, are connected with sun-spots. 
The sun and the planets are probably all perma- 
nent magnets — the sun much the mightiest of all. 
But if meteoric impact, or any other possible 
dynamical action within the sun or in his atmos- 
phere, produced, for example, the terrestrial 
magnetic storm of June 25, 1885, the recorded 
changes indicate that the agent must have worked 
at something like 160 million million million mil- 
lion horse power, which is about 364 times the 
total horse-power of the solar radiation. Thus, in 
the eight hours of a not very severe magnetic 
storm, as much work must have been done by the 
sun in sending magnetic waves out in all direc- 
tions through space as he actually does in four 
months of his regular light and heat. This seems 
to show conclusively that magnetic storms do not 
depend upon the magnetic action of the sun. The 
investigations of Schuster have proven that the 
disturbance is not within the earth, and it is 
certainly evident that the aurora above the surface 
and the earth currents below are in full working 
sympathy with magnetic storms While these fac*s 
are known, however, we are far from having any 
satisfactory explanation of any of the marvellous 
magnetic phenomena of the earth. 
A French writer attempts to trace table uten- 
sils— most of them of recent introduction— to their 
origin. The Romans took their meals lying 
upon very low couches, and it was not until 
about the time of Charlemagne that a stand 
was used, around which guests were seated on 
cushions, while the table made its appearance 
in the middle Ages, and with it came benches 
with backs. The Greeks and Romans ate from 
a kind of porringer, yet during a portion of 
the middle Ages slices of bread cut round took 
the pdaces of plates. The spoon is very ancient 
and many fine specimens are in existence that 
were used by the Egyptians in the seventeenth 
century B. C. The knife-though very old-had 
not come into common use as a table utensil 
in the tenth century. The fork was absolutely 
unknown to the Greeks and Romans, appeared 
only as a curiosity in the Middle Ages, and was 
first used upon the table by Henry III, Drinking 
cups — in the Middle Ages, made from metal, more 
or less precious — naturally date from the re- 
motest antiquity. The use of glasses from Venice, 
began to be general in the fifteenth century. 
The salt-cellar appeai’ed at a very early date, 
and occupied the place of honour at the ban- 
quets of the Greeks and Romans, many of them 
being of gold and silver. The castor is probably 
not older than the sixteenth century. 
Metereological Report. 
Lat. 35° 55' N. Long. 14° 29' E. 
Barometer Readings reduced to 32° F. at sea level. 
ST. IGNATIUS’ COLLEGE 
MALTA. 
January 1893. 
Remit* of observations taken during the month. 
Mean Reading of Barometer inches 29"851 
Highest „ „ on the 31st „ 30'379 
Lowest „ „ on the 24th „ 29'416 
Range of Barometer Readings „ 0'963 
Highest Reading of Max: Therm: on the 10th „ 65'4° 
Lowest Reading of Min: Therm: on tire 19th „ 39 0° 
Range of Thermometer Readings „ 26"4° 
Greatest Range in 24 hours on the 19th „ 18T° 
Mean of all the highest Readings ,, ... „ 57‘7 C 
Average 
10 years 
30056 
30-425 
29-578 
0-847 
64-9° 
41-8° 
23-1° 
18’4° 
59-0 
