New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-09-14
SCIENCE FOR THE PEOPLE.

MODERN OCEAN DEP0SITs.-ln MS recent au
aress before the Geographical Section OF the BRUSH
scence Association, Sir Wyville Thompson, VINO neaoeo
the scientific party on the Challenger trip pointed out
some curious features Of the deposit now forming az
great depth In the ocean, Over the whole area OF the
Pacific for instance and especially in its deep waters
the drcdge brings up hue red clay. II magnet pe
drawn through quantity OF this fine clay well dlnuseu
In water It will found TO have caught on It's surface
some minute magnetic spherules, some apparently VI
metallic iron In passive state and some OF metaic
nickel From the appearance OF these PARTICLES ana
from the circumstances that such magnetic DUST Das
been already detected in the sediment OF snOw-water
some are Of opinion that they are Of cosme origh-h
fact excessively minute meteori;es. Summing up What
is known Of the bed Of the ocean, Mr. Thompson says
So far as VIC can nudge, after most careful COMPARE
tive examination the deposit which is at present being
formed at extreme depths in the ocean, does not cor
respond either in structure or In chemical composition
with any known geological formation; and, moreover,
we are inclined to believe, from consideration oil their
structure and Of their Embedded organic remains that
none of the older formations laid down at nearly so
great dephs-tha in fact none OF these have anything
Of an abyssa character These late researches tend 10
show that during past geological changes aOssaI Deus
have never been exposed aud it seems highly probable
that until comparatively recent geological periods such
beds have not been formed II appears TO be gen
orally received opinion among geOOgsts-an opinion
winch was first brought into prominence by professor
Dana-that the MASSIVE eruptiOns which orignatedhe
mountain chains which form the skeleton OF our present
continents and the dcpressOns occupied by our pesen
seas from the secular cooling and contraction OF
the crust OF the earth, from period much more remote
than the deposition OF the earnest OF tnS us o
rocks; and that during the period chrOnceu Oy ne SUI
fions by which limited have been alternately ee-
waited and depressed the broad result has been the
Chains and tue extension Of the continents by their dc
mutation the corresponding deepening OF the orlgl
appears that the reasoning in its favor Is very
cOgeut-it is quite possible that until o9mpatatEeg
NJ no
for the formation of characteristic abyssal deposit
ORIGIN OF THE NORTHERN TEMPERATE
FLoRA-PrOiessor Asa Gray, in a recent lecture on
forest geography and archaeology before the Harvard
University Natural History Society," published in The
American Journal Of Science claims that our present
fora from high and low ATTITUDES. The true
explanation Of the whole problem Of the distribution of
plants is to be found by looking the NOrh-to the
Arctic Zone. "NOrth Of forest regions, he says,
"eOmes unwOOded from cold, the OF Arctic
vegetation. this as rule the species the same
round the world exceptions, some are restricted to
part Of the circle The polar projection Of the earth
down to the northern tropc shows to the eye-as our
maps do not-hOw all the lands come together into one
region and how natural It may be tor the species
under homogeneous conditions TO spread over It, When
we know, moreover, that sea and land have varied
greatly since these species existed may well believe
that any gaps, IN the way OF equable dstrl-
BUTTON may have been bridged There only
period were TO come on from the North aud very
slowly to carry the present Arctic climate something
ike It, down far into the Temperate Zonel Why, lust
what has happened in the glacial period, when tue re-
frigeratOn somehow pushed all these plants before 1t
down to Southern Europe Middle Asia, to the middle
and southern part of the United sates and length
reeedng left some parts OF them stranded ON the Pyre
nee the APs, the Apennes tng caucasus, gu o OI
escape the increasing warmth as well by ascending
their retreat, form the main body OF present Arctic
vegetation Those that took mountains had their
line of retreat cut of and hold their positions on the
mounaintops under cover Of the frigd climate due to
elevation Tine conditions OF these on aHerent cOni
nents different mountains are similar, but not wholly
az SS9 9s c & o less 20 aSa6ed ore
less adaptable, they have perishedi where better
and hence the diversfcaton Of alpine plants. well
the general likeness through all the Northern hemi
sphere All this exactly applies TO the Temperate Zone
vegetation the trees that concerned with
The clew seized when the fossil botany OF the high
that in the times next preceding the glacial perOd-in
the latest Tertary-from smtzbergep and Iceland to
enjoy prevailed and forests like those Of New England
infer the climate from the trees and the trees give sure
indications ofthe climate"
ANNEALING STRINGS FOR THE PIANO.-Steel
wire strings OF pianOfOrtss very commonly anneaed
by making the wire red hot and then plunging II Into
boiling water. Ordinary experience would suggest,
saws The Engineer that this must harden the steel in
some degree but II has been tried upon many samples
Of see-includng mild Bessemer Steel shear steel Of
different qualities, and the hardest Sheffield orucibe
steel-and found that in every case, when the OPP
Grafton was properly performed, the steel
ably anneaed Samples have been cut from the same
bar-oue heated and slowly cooled by burylng ashes
under furnace gate the other by immersion in boiling
water-and proved that when subjected 10 bending
those which had been cooled in the boiling would
bear eKure without cracking than the pieces
which had been slowly cooled in the They
were soft, but tougher and more trustwor
thy when subjected while cold violent bending blows
Of hammer. tits said TO be eectual than oil
tOughenlng slow cooling. Considerable is
sary. The should be quite at the boiling point,
and the steel at bright red heat and secondly, the
steel should be fairly surrounded by the water These
conditions being fulfilled, the steel romans red hot
der water for some Time IL seems to be surrounded by
film OF vapOr, and not in actual contact with the
roidal state" continuing in this condition until the
metal has lost much OF Its heat The tOughenng Is II Is
thought due to the uniformity OF cooling thus effected
THE TELEPHONE AND THE ToRPEDo.-Fresh
applications OF the telephone being constantly dis
covered the latest is that of torpedo tester That
internal machine" as it once called is valuable
Of protecting harbors aud undefended seapOrts
from an enemys feet and important ports furnished
with them. They are Of course, not actually in posi-
tlOn but they stored ready their places fixed aud
they can laid at very short notice When required
for service they mOOred In determined sites, and at
certain depth below the surface they connected
with the by electric cables but they also fired
by contact with ships keel, which completes an cleo
tre current and produces the explosion. The fact is
obvious that any trust 70 be placed these
- defence some method Of frequently testing them Is
necessary Hitherto that object has been attained by
sending weak current Of electricity through the wires
and the fuse employing sensitive galyanOmeer to in
dictate the condition Of the connections For fear Of
ploding the torpedoes only extremely weak currents
be used the consequent indications delicate
that they can scarcely trusted An engineer has ap