Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-08-30


st the Atlantic Telegraph Company, and menti,
ID ed among his preliminary remarks tie fact Il
the powerful batteries by which the cable
Of 1868 was destroyed. had been fou
n needless ; he had himself transmitted a n,
g sage from Yaleutia to newfoundland with
= battery composed Of percussion cap, Dir
Of acid and morsel Of rirc Ike musta
D seed and that On oue occasion signals were e
changed without any battery On, enough "a
: vanism remaining in the wire, from preyior
charge, to operate by for short time.
He stated that the Insulation Of tie cabl
improves with time; and that signals are sci
most rapidly BY alternating positive and negu
tive currents
The main results Of his experiments. detaile
at length, showed that tie tine occupied in tn
transmission ofsiguals blythe cable is cousidersbl
greater than BY land LIKES; that the tins On tn
Atlantic Gable is a second tor about 700 miles
that the Totarlsiiou is about four tcnths Of
second more when the earth is used for return
circuit than when the circuit IS completed b.
the cables wholly; that there Is no difference o
velocity between tie positive and negative sig.
mails; that the personal equation for variation
Of registry from personal error, WAS remarkably
constant an amounted TO about 3I-lO0ths Of a
seeondi that the wire Is charged throughout its
length, and the two Poles in state Of
high gslyanic action before the circuit Is CON-
p,otcd and that the effect IS produced when
the positive and negative influences meet, and
euauates from the POINT Of closure Of the cir
cult, extending from that point il both direc
tioas.
These points were elaborated, and the means
by which they were arrived at described in de-
tail The discussion which f5llowed was cut
short to allow tine for the second paper.
Prof I Horsf5rd made statement Of his
Investigations into the structure Of ice. to ac-
count fer TIE sudden dissrro5Isnce Of ice in
Lake Champlaiu. The fac, IS Observed every
spring that the ice disappears from the broad
Lakes II a single day, anI thelate Pref Thomp-
son CT this city held that tie well kaosu d" hon
ey comb" condition Of the ice a; that time IN
duced an absorption Of water from below
which By actual observation vss found to be
above the freeing poiut-in such quantities as
to induce a sudden disintegra,iou and immediate
dissolution cf the ice. Gen. Tctten who made
sone observation on he tject at Rousss Point
conceived that this c,lumuar or honey coub''
condition wss due 70 the fac, that the water
froze II stalatcites as It were, from thin
film OF the top these stalacti;es growing cor
stantiy larger I'll they touched, while Jet they
could not join absolutely but must usels have IN
fin Of air between their surfaces.
Pref Il -s.ord, by a series Of experiments too
lengthy to describe, showed that water absolute
Il without air II i,. frozen and exposed to the
suns rays. took ,ie colu@nar structure Just
Ike any other, arl therefore the presence Of
air diiu't cause IT, lie held that It's s;ruc-
turc was lue &c tie contraction of lie under
grsa, celI, at thc surface, while Its lower part
10 contact With the water dii net contract, thus
starting az infinite network Ct little and at first
invisible cracks a. the s1r.a-e, which ezteI iel
gradually downward as the ice grew thicker
Then the rays Of the sun upon the ice would !
mel, it q very little in these cracks AMI produce
. fla of water IL them, vh;ci very sooa IL
sreasiug brings the ice TO tie known hon
syc1lb condition, ir VLi,b little agitation Of 1
he Sator Ler5a;h very rapidly breaks up, |
md causes the l.ss-lvilg az once Of the sepa-
-z.ei columns. So tbs, while .hc ice does nc;
ink, as a toly, it nay settle down in separate
crystals aui l.s.rIear Immediately in the warm
II water below. Ha Illustrated this by the veil
Known co,auuar crystals Of starch which form
Z the cake though It is put up In pspers moist
mi Homogeneous. Many Ct his experiments
.nd o5seryations on the f.e zing Of waters and
he composition cf ice we're very interesting,
nd the Specimens Of casts Of ice, and
CT 1t in different stages which be
ised to Illustrate his remarks were handed
.ound and examined BY the audience with much
attention.
An invitation &c the association to visit the
Library alJ Museum Of the University Of Yer
mont, On Monday morning from balfp past eight
% ten was read. and the association adjourned
10 meet in sections in the afternoon.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
Sec, \. Mathematics and Physics.
It vas voted that the General Committee #
se;ticn \. present names Of four persons to re-
present the Section 70 ,he Standing Committee.
Prof c. s Lyman was chosen chairman sul
he Section preceded to Listen to papers. The
irst, by J. {. HlgaIl, On the Geodetic Survey
Il the Atlantic Coast, was resd only by title,
'Ir Hilgari being absent
The second wls Preliminary observations
4 experiments on Snow BY Elwari Hunger
'ord.
Il VAS report q experiments on the conyer-
s.on Of sEov into ice uuier pressure. at temper
lturos considerably te!ow go After quoting
the remarks Of Profs. Tyudal aaj Farsday and I
others, upon the conversion Of snow into ice,-
al agreeing that snow earIot become ice ex-
cept at the melting point Mr.. Hungerford I
preceded to describe the apparatus with which /
be had eIperimeut-d, and put It in use, taking I
broken ice instead Of snow. lie had compressed !
saov under about 1900 pounds to the inch, and !
hai Iroducsd prisus Of ice, little turbii but !
otherwise perfect details Of the experiments
with temperatures and amounts ofpTessure we're
given. lie had also s1peTsmen.si with frag-
ments q ice.
Prnf Hnrsiari snaks of the rressure ci ice