52 
THE NATURALISTS" COMPANION. 
BL UE PBIJYTS, 
Altliougli this article docs not 
(,'oiiic exactly under the head of 
natural history, yet as it tnay be 
useful to some of the readers of the 
Companion for copying terns, sea¬ 
weeds, leaves and things of like na¬ 
ture, I give it here. First procure 
from a chemists 14-15 oz, of Iron 
Citrate and f oz. of Potas Prussiate 
(red). Now mix the Iron Citrate 
with 6 oz. of water and the Potas 
Pruciate with 6 oz. of the same tiuid, 
keeping them in separate vessels. 
When the two solutions are complete 
mix them together thoroughly. 
This last opperation shouhi be per¬ 
formed in a dark room, and the so¬ 
lution should be kept dark, as con¬ 
tact with the light will spoil it. 
For use apply to the paper with 
anything suitable. Lay the paper 
on a tlat, smooth surface, with the 
leaf (or whatever you wish to copy) 
on it, and on top of the whole place 
a piece of glass so as to make the 
leaf lie close to the paper. Now 
expose for ten or fifteen minutes to 
the direct action of the sun and then 
soak in clear water. This print is 
very useful lor copying seaweeds, 
leaves, ferns, etc. Of course with 
anything opaque it gives only the 
outline, but this is su[)erior to draw¬ 
ing. Transparent olijects, such as 
those drawn on glass can be copied 
entire. If you happen to have, or 
can procure from a })hotographer, 
any old negatives, these can be copi¬ 
ed very nicely by substituting them 
for the piece of plain glass laid over 
the paper. Falcon, 
Plymouth, Conn. 
Traces of gold can be found in 
the ocean water.—So, Geologist. 
IJYTERESTEYG ITEMS. 
Bone is twice as strong as oak 
and to crush a cubic inch of it, it 
would require a weight of 5000 Fis. 
In Iowa were found the remains 
of a mastadon, and it had two molar 
teeth, one weighing 26| lbs. and was 
13 inches broad on the surface. Its 
spinal column consisted of seventeen 
inches in each vertebra. 
The largest tunnel in the world is 
that of St. Gothard, on the line of 
railroad between Lucerene and 
Milan. 
It is said that oil poured on the 
water at sea, when it is very rough, 
produces a remarkable effect. It 
calms the water and gives it a glassy 
appearance. It was tried oft Peter 
Head, England. 
Mattie C. Gareett, 
Steubenville, Ohio. 
LIEE OJT THE FLAMETS. 
The conclusion of the whole mat¬ 
ter, says Professor McFarlaml, so 
far as astronomy and physics ean 
now tell, is this:—Tliat the four 
large outer planets have not suffici¬ 
ently cooled down to allow life on 
their surface such as we see on the 
earth ; that Mars gives all telescopic 
and spectroscopic probabilities of 
conditions compatible with life as 
we see it; that the earth certainly 
for millions of years has been cover¬ 
ed with multifarious life; that of 
Venus and Mercury we have no cer¬ 
tain knowledge, and that the scatel- 
lites are pretty certainly not fitted 
for such life as is on the earth, that, 
in particular, our moon has no water 
and no atmosphere, consequently no 
climate or vegetable life. If the 
