, 1881-01-02

SCIENCE,
| SCIENTIFIC NOTES.
Prof. He1mhoftz has been appointed Farada5
Lecturer for 1881; the lecture will be given earl
in April.
MIR. E. Walford has ceased to be connected
with the .Anttq,4o1y. which he has edited siuct
its commencement.
Tho French Academy OF Science is possessed
OF an income OF 18,U00 francs, to be awarded II
about thirty prizes
Some Of the luminous protuberances on the
surface OF the sun, since the late period OF activ
1ty began, have been estimated by u. 7. ThplloI
to havc attained hight OF l0o,eo0 Kilometres
Prof Richard A. Proctor, the astronomer;
who is now in Australia, will return to England
By way OF San Francisco and New York, 1nsteat
OF going BY the Indian Ocean, as was bis first
Intention.
There are now 10000 miles Of telegraph lines
in Mexico in actual operation, and an extension
Of the system is promised. Next spring it Is
intended to lay u cuble connecting port in the
United States With Vera Cruz.
The National Board Of Health has received
fran the Secretary OF Suite notes Of acceptance
for the International Sanitary Conference, to be
held ia Washington, Jan. l, 1881. on the part ot
Spain, France, Venezuela, and Mexico.
flames were recently discovered In the Gen,
tre Of drawng-room IN Brighton, England
and it was found that table had been set On lire
from the covers becoming ignltcd by the suns
rays, which bad been concentrated by decanter
Of water.
The President Of the French Republic has
established telepholllo communication Letween
the Elyske and the Chamber Of Deputies, as well
us the Senate. The first message ct this instrl,
meut was tho intelligence that the Cabinet hua
been placed in q minority.
Two important expeditions are soon to be
sent into Centrnl Africa, under the auspices OF
the Algerian Missionary Society, which already
has stations at the northern ends Of Lake Tan
ganyika and the Victoria Nyanza-. One will 20
from Zanzibar and the other will ascend tne
Congo.
The Journal de PtarB.acis gives the follow
Ing recipe for Tuucilage which VIII unite wood.
or mend porcelain Or glass: 10 eight and Ii half
ounces Of strong solution OF g1m arnDfe add
thirty grains OF q solution Of sulphate Of nlumt-
IA dissolved ia o-thrls Of an ounce Of wuter.
"A movement has been initiated in Berlin for
holding in that city. in l8ss OF 1883. an interna-
uoGal exhibition, illustrating the history and
development Of railways, anu the various sys-
TENS Of railway construction, rogether with
rolling stock and railway material Of al1 de-
scripdous.
Bologna has beaueathel nearly six million
frnncs. or the whole Of his wealth. to tho
municipality OF Bologna in trust to devote 1t to
the completion and maintenance OF the Model
Orthop,edic Hospital erected on his estate at San
Michele. Bosco.
Pref Graham Dell has been endenvoring to
upply. the photophone to the study Of such
sounds as mny occur at the surface Of the sun.
This extension Of the use OF his late invention
was suggested by II. Jansen. As yet. Prof.
Bell has not secured very striking results, but
efforts.
Nj. Martin Is engaged iu polishing tha object
Elnss Of the lnrge Tefs1cting telescope now
building at me rar1s unSeE'atoey e i9e naslsr naa
metres. and its weight 40 Kilograms. The quail
ity OF tho glass having proved defective, It has
already broken twice. and the operation Is now
being mnle On the third casting.
IA foreign pharmaceutical journal states that
1t has recently been discovered thar Il minute
fungus 3facor cfrciae'iodes, common In horse,
dung, viii cnuse Fermentation ,q IN solutions f 10 Of
sugar. This fnct has been taken advantage Of
to separate cane sugar from noasses7 the g'u-
cose undergoing fermentation. and thus allow
Ing the cane sugar to crystalline out
as memorial Of the work performed ID the
Vega, n " Vega Find has been raised by sub
scription in Sweden to encourage further geo- e.
graphical research. The sum raised ts &Wo
crowns. which will be tntrusted to the Swedish
Academy Of Sciences. and the interest either
employed ns once or be allowed to accumulate
fer term Of yea1s 9n1y natirea a t Ct f. seds
to receive the benefit or the fund.
Large additions are now being made to the
Museum d,tfistolre Naturetie in tho jarain de5
PMntes at Paris. i new front is being erected,
former " "Gnlerle," will form Il hollow squire.
This squire viii be covered with glass and used
for the exhibition Of skeletons OF whales aud
other specimens Of fnur1inate dimensions The
total cost Of these buildings Is estimated ut
5,00oG0o francs t91G0,00g-
Prof. Rudolph Falb gave q lecture In the
Vicuun Gewerhe Museum on Nov 81, In which
caIa;c outbreaks, proiluced by the cooling action
Of the hot liquid interior Of tho earrh nnd the ut
Traction of the sun aud moon. In support Of
this view he urged that most earthquakes cccur
ir1fai n
January, fewest in June, also the number OF
earthquakes increases in the months Of April
and October, because Of the stronger attraction
of the sun on March 2t and Sept q
The Providence Journal says that the great
blast under He'll Gate will be made In 1853. Four
ncres OF rock are honeycombed. Extending
at right nuxlcs to these thirteen cross headings
seven feet high. ten feet wide and twenty feet
apart During the Pass i, ysar oa 54po cubic yards
and AZ 5000 drills were sharpened- Tho work ad-
ranccs eD feet per MONTH and 40 blasts are
nude nightly.
-~Naturg says that an electric cable uannfect-
urins n IN o. hase maze
Il long and expensive series OF experiments. they
have succeeded in devisiug q method OF laying
current from one wire to another. although the
wires are in tuxtnposttion. is prevented. Thia
discovery, Of which no details are yet given, re-
moves It is INSERTED, the last obstacle 1n The way
telephone communication.
Showers of sand have occurred frequently
In Sicily and Italy, and their origin mas oiten
animation Of the SIND revealed the presence. OF
round gruns Of mete0rc 1ron. similar grains
of iron are also found in the sand OF tne neserl
of Sahara. NJ Tacchtnt, putting this anu that
together, maintains that " fs nixhly prooaoie
that Sicily aud lt.1ly do not receive thelf " SAND
rnins - from any moro distant place than QUE
own enrth; that the particular region from
which the sand comes ts the Great Desert, a:,d
that the agencies which transport II ara Simply
cyclones. ...-
-Au interesting discovery has been made at
Edge Lane quarry, Oldham. EnEtAnd Inc
IN the course Of their excavations
have coule upon what has been described as d
fossil forest. The trees number about twelve,
Ihey are in rood preservation. The roots car
be seen interlacing the rock, and the fronds or
fbo ferns are to be found imprinted on every
piece OF stone. The discovery has excited much
Interest IN geological, circles round Manchester
and the forest" has been visited by Il large
ut1mfcr OF persons. The trees belong to the
middle coal measure period. although IT HIS
heen regarded MS somewhat remarkable thnt no
coal has been discovered nenr them
"A recent number OF the Go10s contains an In
letter from Tttlis describing the eIaoF-
nous labor bestowed during the suu1tler upon
the destruction Of the Krassbopperst The Work
was curried on for about three months. and &c.
cupted in ono district {Gori) no less than :00oo
had been summoned from tho nefghborinE DIS
tTicts OF Achalzych, 0Ssetfa. md 1Jneret1a-
Thanks to tho colossal efforts thus nale only
nor rent f,f tn, total CROPS of the district were