Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-04-18
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Industry" for 1873, from the well
known press of Harper & Brothers, the
third of a series of volumes edited by
Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smith
sonian Institution, assisted by a num-
Der of scientific collaborators, is a work
of peculiar and great merit. The art
of condensing and arranging useful
knowledge in a book form is not easily
acquired, and from an authors weak
ness in this regard. his work is often a
miserable failure. Some forty years
ago, when Smithson left his fortune to
the United States, in trust, to found
an institution "To increase and diffuse
useful knowledge among men," being
an Englishman, the world witnessed
the beginning of a new school
of learning and of authorship.
The labor to be performed is a special
ity; and the library collected IN the
noble Smithsonian Institution is pecu-
liar and unique. Something over a
thousand periodicals from all educated
and civilised nations, devoted toscience,
literature and art, are regularly re-
ceived at this point for the distribution
of useful knowledge on MIR. Smithson's
plan. Such knowledge has a money
value, and the Harpers evince only
their usual sagacity in turning it into
the employment of their extensive
printing machines. All industry
is beginning to have Its
science and its literature.
Whether a man labors in the distant
fields of astronomy to find out how
worlds are first formed from nebula,
and dark spots on the sun reduce the
temperature of the atmosphere IN which
our fruits are killed by frost, or tolls IN
fields of this planet to raise grain or
cotton. the essential facts are only a
slight variation of human industry.
Every page of the $40 duodecimo pages
of the book under notice bears evidence
that Prof. Baird, in giving a general
summary of science and industrial
progress in the year 1873, is anxious to
do equal and exact justice to all parties.
So far as we can discover no one Is
likely to complain of neglect, as the
wonder is how so much valuable IN
struction could be compressed like a
double pressed bale of cotton into 50
small a space by some fifteen or twenty
experts who have been co-laborers In
the task.
Prof. Baird is United States Com
missioner of Fish and Fisheries, and
has very properly given considerable
space to the consideration of this large
and growing interest. The scale on
| which fish breeding is being developed
in several States may be seen IN the
fact that New York Commissioners put
seven and a half million of the fry Of
shad, artifcially Matched, In the
year 1873, IN the waters of the Hudson
The entire catch for the year did not
exceed a million taken from that river.
The Commissioners report that the
young shad placed in the inland Gen.
esee river that empties into Lake On
tairo. are doing well. Salt water fish
are now multiplying healtnly IN fresh
water lakes. intermediate generations
have been raised in sea water of only
half the saltness of the sea-. Nature is
very plastic under moderate changes,
| We read with interest of the successful
canning Of 10000 tons Of salmon in
Oregon and contiguous places last year
as showing that we may can IN tins
State choice fresh meats to any extent
we choose. The quantity of lob
sters canned is almost incredible.
A fertile and valuable hybrid has been
obtained by crossing the salmon OF Pu-
get Sound with our mountain trout.
This vertebrate hybrid resembles that
formed by pairing our common cattle
Of European origin, with the native
buffaloes of this continent. These
bovine mules breed freely, but are val
ueless on the farm. If the volume be-
fore us contained no other matter than
that relating to fish culture, household
economy, agriculture and rural affairs,
it would deserve a place in the library
of every grange and school master.
The growing iberality of men of CAPT
tai toward science is worthy of COM
mendation. Mr.. Lick, of San Fran
cisco, offers one million dollars
as an endowment for a very
superior astronomical institution at the
most proper point in the Western Ter
r1tories. The great telescope of the
United States Naval Observatory, be-
lieyed to be the best in the world, is to
be duplicated as a present Of McCor-
mick, of reaper fame, to the University
of his native State, Virginia. The
progress made in astronomy, geology,
chemistry and m~eteorology is perhaps
the most conspicuous. The instability
of the gaseous elements and heat of the
sun appears to cause cyclones, and
terrible wind, hail, rain and snow
storms on this planet. But we can
only refer the reader to the Record of
Science and Industry" itself, which
may be had of w. T. Berry & Co,
booksellers of this city.
CONTRACTION INSTEAD OF INFLA-
TON.
The Washington correspondent OF
the Chicago Times states that the ex-
pansionists are not altogether satisfied
with the bank features Of the Senate
III - - 5000 h. 4In