, 1892-03-19

Inaudi, the calculating prodigy, was subjected
to some severe tests yesterday in the Sorbonne,
before an audience composed Of Professors
and pupils Of all the Paris Lyc6es. Both teach
es and students put abstruse a~rithmetical
problems before him; but maud never falter-
ed e~ffecting, multiplications and divisions OF
sums containing twenty four figures, and ex-
tracing square and cube roots with seventeen
decimal places in an a~stoundingly rapid man
ner. After having finished these calculations,
maud carefully repeated on the blackboard
all the figures which he had mentally operat-
ed upon without having seen them. II IS
noteworthy that the young man 8 faculties are
slow as regards everything not connected
with arithmetical or a~lgebraic quantities.
Thus be reads and writes only indif1erently well,
and stated yesterday that he coufd not cofamltto
memory the shortest extract from a literary
work. maud is simply calculating machine
and nothing more.
Experiments in the making of artificial
clouds for the preservation Of plants from the
effect of frost took place yesterday in the Jar
din d. Acclimatation, under the auspices OF
the Agricultural Society. Masses of resin
GUS matter in boxes of p~inewood were set
alight, and soon gave off dense volumes t
smoke. THIS was expected to produce the
REQUIRED nebolosity, but it failed to rise to
the level of the situation, and was blown
in the direction Of the seal pond. Expert
ments of a similar kind have been trieo with
more success in the Gironde vineyards. The
proceedings in the Jardin d Accumulation
were watched yesterday by several stat 9th
GERS, who wished to see if the new invention
could be utilised for military purposes, such
as the masking Of exposed troops OF batteries
in time of war.
About eleven o'clock last evening, just as
hundreds Of pleasure seekers were focking to
the Second Masked Ball at the Opera, a
rumour spread throughout Paris that the &C.
LIBERATED porcelain mandatory at Seyres was
on FIRE and in danger OF total destruction.
From several points Of the city whence o
view of the pleasant little township Of SGyres
could be obtained the news was rapidly con-
frmed, the fire from a distance looking more
serious than it really was, by reason Of the
flames being reflected in the River Seine.
A destructive ~confagration did IN reality
break out, and though very considerable ma
terial damage was done, there IS fortunate
" little or no loss from q purely artistic point
Of view to deplore, as the flames failed to
reach the we'll known Ceramic Museum, where
is stored q priceless collection Of specimens,
not only of s6vres but of every other artistic
manufacture of chinain the world, both ancient
and modern. The FIRE, which was discovered by
q night Waterman, named Devant, broke out
at q quarter to eleven in q detached building
in which the amounting department" and the
laboratories occupy the ground flour, hay-
ing over them the vanishing rooms" while
the decorating Workshops are on the Sc
cond floor. IN the passages are a number Of
cupboards filed with vanish, spirits, paint,
and chemicals Devant discovered the lame
in one Of the FURNISHING rooms" which con-
tanned a few dinner services OF no great value
and some vases such as are made in large
numbers to be given away as prizes. The
Waterman immediately alarmed the special
FIRE brigade Of he factory and sent for the
SGyres engine, which arrived with laudable
promptltude. NJ. Baumgart the manager
of the establishment, was tolephoned to in
Pa1is and arrived post haste. Owing TO the
highly IN fen II allie nature Of the vanishing
sttres the fle proved very tenacious, but by
dint Of hard work the local pumpiers succeed
sd in getting it under before additional help
ARMY ed iron Paris, the flames being COM
pletely extinguished by midnight, The var
nishing rooms and Furnishing shops are