I 333 
THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY. ' 571 
<^V-w- 
citizens, to arrange for the comfort and enjoyment of their guests, while attending 
the meetings; excursions are planned, and no pains will be spared to make the 
occasion one to be long remembered as of profit and enjoyment. The meeting 
opens on the 19th of August, 1876, and will probably last about 10 days. 
The subject of vivisection, or the performance of surgical operations and 
experiments upon living animals, is justly receiving much attention in England and 
in this country. It is a grave question whether the small benefit derived from these 
cruel operations justifies the vast amount of suffering entailed upon the innocent 
and helpless victims. 
Sound travels about thirteen miles a minute; so that if we hear a clap of thun¬ 
der half a minute after the flash we may calculate that the discharge of electricity 
is six and a half miles off. It is noticed that the flash of a cannon fired at a dis¬ 
tance from the beholder is seen some seconds before the discharge is heard. 
B In one second of time, at one beat of the clock, light travels over a space of 
192,000 miles. If a cannon ball were fired towards the sun, and should maintain 
its full speed, it would take twenty years for it to reach that luminary, and yet light 
travels through this vast space in seven or eight minutes. 
Meteorites. —A meteorite which fell near Virba (?), in Turkey, has been 
described before the Academy of Sciences of Paris, by Danbrice. It has a grayish 
silicated exterior and contains numerous grains of nickelerous, iron and sulphide 
of iron. It contained also some grains of chromic iron. 
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