Connecticut western news., 1871-12-22


 the metals of the alkalies. This explan-
 ation is said to have been subsequently, abandoned by Davy himself yet, yari-
 ously modified, it is still believed by many to be the. true one, all it's support
 CTS agreeing that the heat of volcanoes
 has chemical origin. In long and
 elaborate paper sustaining this view, Mr.
 F. w. s. Menteath ascribes the force of volcanic action to solar energy stored up
 in rocks by buried organic matter-this organic matter existing in rocks as oar bon or carbonaceous compounds. or rep resented by, sulphides and other sub- stances produced by the reducing action
 of organic matter. Volcanoes, as has been said of steam engines, are worked by the light of other days. Starting from the i've we'll preserved groups of extinct volcanoes in Spain and Portugal,
 proceeding to consider the volcanoes of the Mediterranean basin, and finally vol canoes in general, Mir. Menteath con- cludes, with Sterry Hunt, that volcanoes
 ns rule lie on or at the borders of much
 sedimentary rock, and the exception to
 this rule she believes to be applicable in conformity with his theory. These sedi-
 mentary rock, especially in the Mediter-
 ranean basin and under the volcanoes of ] Catalonia, can be said to contain large proportion of organic matter The d. ! leged occurrence of volcanoes along great hnes of Assure he believes to be due to their connection with the sea-. as with lines of sedimentary deposition !; and hecomposition ofivolcanic rocks is just whatswe should expect If they were formed from masses of sedimentary rock
 in the presence of sea water e s79et2s' Proceeding to the consideration of the lresuEts of Fouque, 7Deviile; 1DaubeHy, fand others lfegarding the gaseous pro ducts of sToleanOess MT. q Menteath icont
 tends that these afford strong evidence l that a mixture of gases similar to that
 evolved insg works is oxidized in vol fcanoes, with production of great heat.
 To this heat and to the burning of sep. Larated carbon, sulphur, and probably iifon, he attributes the high temperature present in some lava on it's appeafance in the aif. Lavasy however, as . rule Eare formed at, moderase temperatures, and only exceptio ionally fused by the high
 heat produced in the crater.ii The enor.
 nous amount of heat assumed to De ipresent in volcanic action is therefore in bis opinion really mythical, and what
 was aactuaily asce1tained to be present
 could be explained by theinature of the
 substances aoxidizingi in the earth and burning at the crater. iAs's esslh .sE9fp To account for the generel internal heat of the earth, this writer regards it
 as in part volcanic heat that has been distributed by the action of water, and in part as attributable to general oxida- tion of carbon, which is found almost
 everywhere in the rocks, to friction as
 shown, by sBianeoni, and finally to tho
 electric currentsE ascertained to exist fir the earth. and probably produced in grea part by the sun. foa ha g1ysie af
 l THE RUINS OF CHoAao. - At tn, Architects Convention, recently held il 4 Boston, the Secretary gave an interest
 ing account of his recent visit to tn,
 ruins of Chicago. He said that lin regarr
 to ffie building materials, the blue whit bricks ordinarily used in the Northwest
 ern States and Canadag were consume, lby the intense heat, and crumbled int.
 rubbish. In regard to building stone
 and the Cleveland and Lake Superio . sandstone were not as6 much affected The granite. of"which there were vel, few buildings, was cracked and spli iwhenlsuBjeoted to the violence of tn
 flames. 1.-The artificial stone was tk J best being ipI some instances scarcely in ]jureil The heat was very damaging t wrought iron 6oorings and cast iron col n umns, and the utter and early destruc , |tEpn of the iron work in several instance
 proved tho aSruinlaof buildings ~hiEl
 hadl been considered perfectly fire
 proof. In reference to fre-proof safes it was stated that these receptaclessf fo
 valuables shouid be built up, tower -hk
 from the ground, instead of fbeingSplaec lupop the, ,6o0r. Another lesson taugh ftby the Chicago fire waaehat roofs shout be made strong and 6re-proofs snas tn Y currents of airrdrove. the flames nplan then | over high intervening building and down upon thaitops of lower ,adjs
 cent housessH .tEf bag ,a2a.o,i iA
 saPLEAsAlT EATNG.-AM Mrs. Mcknight ' living inS Detroit, went out for shol
 time. leaving her, boy, five years old, i tcharge of,as sneighbor's girl, aged ter land during her absence the boy Eas a
 lowed to3 3araw thehteakattle around tn , kitchenIas 8 horses. Alter eating dinne
 Mcknight end wifa were suddenly take D faiek. called & doetors and were still quit i, ill in the evening" The doctor made a 5 examination of. the tteakettle and fonn
 in, it two or three ispools, of thread, on 3 ot the mother's rubbers, speonya disl st cloth, q tohaoco -bpxs and three pr ,fou I woo1en rags, placed there by the yonne } ster and boiled up by the housewife.
 ,, NEWSPAPER EsEEspR RISE Eal THrHrx u1s ,YEAH ! Acc. .TAts recent msehhg of the Bosto ttE Press the flowing good story was ,. lated bY 4 member, in illus trafon of th !, tjourneeRhssn ot thirty years ago. I1Ml 1M StockWe1l., of the Boston yosypaIa saJ ] ] that when he was the only HepoTteg { . :, that paper, he once asked the edits whether it would not be well to ir7in oy
 to Brighton and make 8, brief report { s hne of Daniel 'Webster's speeches., an that the fSditor pushed his yspeqtael, from his eyes and decided ssWeI, nt ft TtSguess not.r somebody will send us !; methiHg about it within twobon thre 7 .ldays. .y5yld4 ze syff- gj1