New-York tribune., 1875-11-16
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
HARPER

HARPER.
The number opens with an interesting paper
m some OF the famous localities aud antiquities OF south
carolina in the vicinity of the Ashley and Cooper hr
Fclds's chapteis Of pleasant gossip on Barry 'oih"
and his friends are concluded with copous extracts from
the correspond, nee the former. 1t Is On mtesu"s
fact noted by Mr. Fields that when Proctor was o"'h0
to travel about the kingdom Commissioner Oh Lu9
his pocket companion was always cheap r'pi"' ="
Emersm's Essays," which he found sueh at'ree'po
xcosipg that he never left home without II, Donge
lows Hyperion was another OF his favore books dur
ing the yea he duty az commissioner sue
eiuct account OF tie Progress Of the Exact Seehos
IN this country during the FIRST century u
the Republic" is given by President Barhaiu'
IN which may he found interesting nouoes
of eminent living scientific Americans. Oh Professor
Peirce he sreaks as follows Professor Benjamin ferce'
of Harvard University. pupil and friend OF bo"uc'
still IN the vigor Of life, stands hardly second 10 Ills
master In the originality and value OF his
TO mathematical literature. His Analytic Aee"a''os'
which is professdy attempt to consolidate tho a'est
and the most exalted OF thought OF the
ereat eeometers into consistent and uniform treatise
is more processes to be. 1t is rather an aemp
successfully accomplished-tO carry back the iuhoE
mental principles of the science 10 more profound anu
central origin and thence to shorten the path 10 the mos.
fruitful forms Of research. The most remarkable ana
most original Of Professor PeIces publications is the
aescripton OF new mathematical method called by n
Linear Associative Algebra This method seems 10 NC
step the direction Of qnaterDons, nut larger "ne'
1t therefore overseps the power OF human cohoePon
rrasp It's essence while its visible machinery Is aSeOc
and In the modes of it's il has anaoges Ooth WIN
algebra and with quaternions. The method is d
Zoo recent origin 10 have been largely developed
IN its capabilities tested in rs appncauohs
The services Of townsman, Mr. Lewis NJ Ruthcruru
In the department Of practical astronomy are 10
in terms OF Just appreciation. and those OF d. henry
Draper IN the same branch Of science are thus descbd
who
construction of Instruments is less remarkable than
his skill in the use OF them Dr. Henry Draper, has de
voted himself the Improvement OF rejecting Iele-
seopes The use OF silvered glass Tor astronOHhch
specuIa had been suggested by FOucault as being a
material lighter and brittle than spectrum metal
and as rejecting larger proportion OF the light ana he
had practically illustrated the value OF this suggestion
bv actually grinding anl silverng one or two such
specula with his hands With no light to guido MN
but knowledge Of these facts Dr. Draper undertook
an investigation of the best mode of proceeding IN the
construction such pecua recording the results OF MS
experiments as he went and having at length AT
tained a triumphant he published mis- method
among the Smithsonian Contributions, III an elaborate
memoir which has become standard authority On Ihe
subject and continually quoted as such at the present
day The telescope described in tds memoir II Jf heen
and half inches aperture. and it for long time the
largest the country but is now surpassed by one oi
tventyeight inches also constructed 10y Dr. Draper ana
mounted bis observatory equatoraily under uohe'
With both these telescopes Dr. Draper has taken spendd
photographs the moon, representing the satellite
An the third quarter, which has borne an enlarge
ment to fifty inches in diameter; aud also tue
spectroscopie photographs Of Alpha Lyra" Ine
original contributions of Professor Mayer 10 the sci
ence Sound noticed with fulness of detail that
Is due to their signal importance Among other state
ncnts on the subject, President Barnard remarRs 1hc
only elaborate continuous series Of investigations III
acoustics which been undertaken in this country has
hoan hv profo A
The processes Professor Mayer which themselves
extremely Ingenious have led TO many results OF interest
md value. II is proposition deducbie from theory
and announced by DOppler more than thirty years
ago. that the undulatOns generated by yibratory body
IN motion will he effectively shortened in the direction
toward which the body and heightened III The Ol
poste direction This is well In optics az IN
sconstcs and it s upon the assumption Of t truth that
Mr. Higgins founded hs nfercnces as TO the absolute
yeloeitos with which the fixed stars approaching the
earth or recedng from IT, 1t has first been experiment
Ally proved In the researches Of Professor Mayer The
double s,rene of HelmhOltz affords convenient means
of studying the effect of partial or complete IN
reference between sound which differ IN
phase at the point OF origin, but there has been ht
erto no instrumental means devised for deter
mining the amount OF difference OF phase which exists
between two originating in common phase at
the same origin but brought by different and unequal
paths TO the point OF Interference This want Professor
Mayer supplied and in doing so has at the same time
provided he most exact mode hitherto devised Oh meas
urng the wave length corresponding to any pitch, and
of asceraning the velocity OF sound in the air or IN any
gaseous medium. The determinations are made by
means Of the serrated flames in Kpngs revolving mir
rors and their precision is secured by what called
fame mcrometeras ingenious in conception rs 1t Is eX-
act In it's indications The analysis of composite note
which Helmholtz accomplished by the use of his reso-
majors, combined with K9nig's manoDetric flames and
revolving mirrors was effected Iy Professor Mayer d.
recily by connecting the OF number of steel tun-
tngforks by means OF tightly stretched silk 1bers with
membrane forming part Of reed pipe. On causing the
pipe to speak every fork whose tone forms part Of the
note Immediately sounded"