New-York tribune., 1872-10-10
CHICAGO.
IT'S SCIENCE AND IT'S STREETS.


AWAIT SOLUTION.
IPRoM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT oP THB TRiBONRl
CHICAGO, Sept 10,-Yieldng to the courteous
invitation OF Prof c. Gilbert Wheeler the chemist Of
the University OF Chicago. and 20 his assurances the
there was something i'm the scientific way there wen
worth the seeing after being as one migb say
slightly blasS with science at Dubuque, yonr CORE
spondent stopped here long enough to find Omple cause
for the predicaon Great everything Including mis-
fortune. Chicago counts among her largest in-the-coun
try treasures tine Immense equatorial refreetDs
telescope constructed by Avian Clark q sons lor '
Dearhorn Ohscrvotorv The tower which hols TINS
monster was built by the pdnihcenee OF INC iAon -
Young SoammOn. and forms femarhap0 a.,
architeotur pile wlish constitutes tue OH4'eiS''
series of buildings successful as COPY Vi TUG
sroitbso,ion Insttute than adaptation 10 the pur-
,oses Of odrcoaon great telescope is sort OF white
olepbant is possession brings train OF perpNueS
iven when the house TO accommodate the prodgy Is
and upon rock, and anchored and stayed so
tho, tho car rattling the Nlcoson pavement may
1T communicate tremOr, the embarraSsments
have only begun. No common roof can cover the
monsters one be constructed that Will open to his
great glass eye that any part Of the heavens can be
surveyed; and when the revolving dome Is nicely ad-
iusted and the sliding shutters longer leak in
storm the happy owner the big tube may find that
some part his machinery sticks at tho most I'm
portant moment and cannot be moved till the celestial
opportunity has passed away.
WHY HEEscHEL WENT TO SOUTH AFRICA.
But let us suppose that the monster telescope is prop
erly mounted and adjusted and that all the inorganic
adiuncts are satisfactorily arranged-whch presup
poses many months OF anxiety and many blunders OF
pachnists 10 have been survived by the owper-then
tho work begins. Astronomical observations Mapping
starsi Comet seekingi Hope not for any OF these
things with big telescope-that is, in this coun-
try Great honor due and duly paid to Horschel for
taking his great instrument and himself into exile In
South Africa; but he secured advantage by 1t that
compensated for thousand Ills he got nd OF visitors
rccl,f f1a fofaa
wish TO push student forward" said Prof. Truman H.
saford the astronomer OF Dearborn Observatory, TO
your correspondent put him in charge OF the large
telescope let him exhibit 1t TO visitors This saves
my and gives the student plenty OF occupation
There twinkle in the Professors eyes as he uttered
the last clause the sentence But he added, the
practical lessons in astronomy which student under
goes willie thus engaged more valuable TO him than
anything he could obtain in the same period from books
Visitors sometimes ask the why and the how, and the
student up his Ideas before he can ex-
plain to Others" Beside their inevitable cumsiness
great instruments peculiar defects The length OF
tho tube such that 1t bends somewhat with its own
weight this DETECTION is of greatest when the
tube s most nearly horizonal but with focal length
Of % feet some trouble of this sort is unavoidable
NEW METHODS HLUnNATIoN
While the grear telescope has scientific value for
tain occasional purposes OF observation where nsru
ment Of lower powers fails to the purpose, the
bulk Of the astronomical work of the Observatory is
performed with smaller instrument mounted in little
building situated at short distance from the main ed
fee and liable TO DO mistaken for a pOrteI's lodge II
anybody should stop there, however TO make inquiries,
he might get curt replies for the small, choice nsru
ment in it Ia not ON exhibition; the little building is
Prof sanords South Africa. This telescope being
only in the meridian, is, In any
case likely be much patronized by casual visitors
who should they wish particular star through
A. would have to sit down and wait TILL haply that star
crossed the meridian. when for moment only they might
catch glimpse Of the object before 1t moved away
always providing that Prof Stafford were willing to let
them look through the instrument at ALL The meridian
circle Of the first Glass; constructed by A Repsod
Sons of Hamburg The LiOs curious popularity OF this
telescope seemed TO your correspondent the means by
which the registering apparatus was lighted Most
people, If the question were asked How shall set
of wires say the interior of tube, be lighted - would
reply Put light in the tube" But your astronomer
gees to work In O totally different way. He places his
lamp some yards away, puts rejecting material all
around l leaving only certain apertures through which
the light exactly TO the spots where 1t Is wanted,
Illuminating those and nothing else In the case OF tue
tube this light goes in through hollow axis, there strk
ing refectors which throw needed place. Why
could not similar arrangement be adopted elsewhere
Suppose for instance that instead OF having blazing
easburner close ones head when sitting at writing
desk the easburners all in another room, and their
light concentrated flows through aperture near the
oeiHng reflected thence over ones left shoulder
and exclusively the writingdesk. Think OF the alb
sence OF heat headache and carboDic gas, and say oh
ye who illuminate US, is this impossiblef
SCIENTIFIC woRK-REsToRrSG BURNT MONEY.
The routine work that is going in the Dearborn
Observatory has specific reference to the University
of Chicago it paid for by that institution but by
an astronomical society in the city In 1868 the Astron-
omische Geselschaft, combination Of astronomers OF
all nations having its headquarters in Germany, issued
instructions to all considerable observatoes in the
world and divided between them the business OF obser-
fn fhp nj ma
visible in the northern hemisphere Argelanders maps
form tho basis Prof Stafford has his share OF this under
taking which altogether requires observations on
about 10000 In the laboratory OF the University
tbere are among the appliances Of the chemists art
some more Of the big for which Chicago is famous
Rhumkorf COIL presented by Mr. George Haseltine OF
London containing 80 miles of wire and giving finch
spark, is accompanied by fine set OF Geissler tubes
and other apparatus Of this class. There Is gas fur
mace such cOncentratve that with the gas sup
piled by one eight pounds OF gold can be
melted But more interesting occupation than usually
falls TO the lot OF chemists has occupied much Of the
time OF Prof Wheeler since Chcagos great fire. Charred
documents from safes that had passed through
that ordeal and out of 1t well as could be
peced though perhaps not quite what the owners could
have wished sent TO the Professor for restoration
Most OF these papers perfectly black; charred
through tinder. In but two instances out OF an
Immense number did he fail to render the writing
lbe and in those cases thinks that the ink which
had been nsed must been Of some purely vegetable
material aud entirely volatzed by the heat. The
great variety OF that had been used required diff
erent processes IN the several cases. one OF the most
difficult being roll OF paper feet long containing tne
balance sheets OF large manufacturing concern Ihls
roll though more tender than papyrus from the Pyra-
mds was successfully unrOlled and It's contents made
iegibe Among finest Of these successes were those
gnT a "