Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1882-05-25
SCIENCE.

Mr.. Norman Tate, the president of
the Liverpool Science Students Asso-
citation, has noticed that in spite of the
profusion of blossoms on shrubs and
trees near towns, they do not bear their
due proportion of fruit, and he suggests
that this fact is worthy of investigation
by botanists. In manufacturing dis
tricts products Of combustion may in
terfere with the development of the
fruit, as in the case of the hazel, which
he found was sometimes injuriously af-
fected by SCOT. 1t would be interest
ing to know whether similar effects
have been observed in the neighbor-
hood of American towns.
The statement has frequently been
made by travellers that the compass is
of no use in Iceland. Mr.. Cuthbert f.
summer, found no evidence that the
reputed eccentricities of the instrument
had any real existence. Except in the
immediate vicinity of magnetic rocks,
the disturbances of the needle were so
slight us to be almost inappreciable.
The confusion is probably due to the
fact that on some maps magnetic north
whereas in Iceland the difference be-
tween true and magnetic north is about
fOrty-one degrees.
A remarkable phenomenon to which
tin is subject, has lately been studied
by Mr.. w. Markownikoff, Russian
physicist residing at Moscow. The
metal occasionally undergoes complete
disintegration, changing suddenly from
the solid state into fine gray powder.
This change Of condition befell some
tin cans stored in a government build
ing, and also some good samples of
commercial tin while in course of
transportation from Rotterdam to Mos.
cow. There is reason to think that
low temperature is one of the causes
Of the crumbling, and that vibratory
movements may tend to hasten it.
There are 8S8 birds mentioned in
the new list of North American birds
recently prepared by DR.. Elliott Cones,
y. S. A., the well-known ornithologist.
He is inclined to think that, making
due allowance for possible errors in
enumerating some species which may
prove to be not really distinct, and,
taking into view the probability Of new
discoveries. the total number of North
American birds will be found to COM
prise about 900 species. In Audubon's
time only about 500 were known.
1t is worthy of note that at a recent
meeting of the Society of Arts in Lon
don, Professor Tyndall, who presided,
did not signify any dissent from the
conclusion expressed in the paper of
the evening that gas was better, all
things considered, than the electric
light. The difficulty of ascertaining
the actual cost of the various systems
of lighting is a subject of frequent
comment by the European scientific
press.
photographs of the spectrum of the
great nebula in the constellation Orion,
as well as photographs of the nebula
itself, have recently been obtained by
Professor Henry Draper, Of Hastings
on-Hudson. The spectrum indicates
that hydrogen is one of the constitu-
ents of this shining mass of nebulous
matter, some portions of which appear
to be undergoing process of aggrega-
tion into bodies of more solidity.
According to the Chemists Journal
the annual production of quinine
throughout the world is 26S, 400 pounds.
The United States and Germany pro.
duce one-fourth of this quantity each,
France and Italy one.ffth each, and
England one-eighth. The total value
OF cinchona bark imported into En-.