The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-08-04
FOUND BY THE NEEDLE.
It Indicates tho Existence of n Huge &
Inaccessible Mass of Iron.


Science has demonstrated that there lies
under the historic Russian town Of Mos
COW mass of iron orc miles in length and
breadth, and powerful enough to dollect
tho magnetic needle and pull u plumb line
from the vertical throughout largo re-
gion, but investigation also makes 1t prob
able that this mass is about seven miles
below tho surface-a fnct calculated to cool
tho ardor of spectators for some time to
come. We translate from Gaca, Lcipsic
un account of the discovery of this inacces-
sible orc bed, which human cye has never
seen:
When recently, for the first time in 30
years, new trlangulatiop Of European
Russia has been begun, the remarkable
fact was discovered that In the neighbor-
hood of Moscow the plumb line suffered a
very notable deviation from tho vertical
Ihis deviation appeared greatest with ~
zono that extended about 10 kilomoters GA
miles north, and south and $50 kilometers
Ql2 miles, east and west. Hero tho lower
end of the limo was doviated II seconds to
the moth of tho vertical
About ~ kilomotors az miles) south of
Moscow, on line running approximately
east and west, Its direction Is normal,
while farther south the lower end of tho
line Is dcviatcd about five seconds toward
the south. So noteworthy deviation of
the line in level region seems to Indicate
that heavy masses of considerable thick
ness must be situated there under the
earth's surface. Great masses of iron were
naturally thought Of first, and ON attelnpt
waS made to demonstrate the cxistence of
such masses by means Of measurements OF
terrestrial magnetism. The scientist, II.
frltschc so we'll known m account of his
researches In terrestrial magnetism, mode
In June, 1898, magnetic survey of the
neighborhood Of Moscow for SO kilometers
600 miles, around. Tho terrestrial moo-
1fctic clements were precisely measured for
81 localities, and Indicated cartognphioal-
y on map. 1t was shown that In zono
20 kilomcters QeH miles wide from
north TO south and $50 (03 milcs) long
from cast to wost, including Moscow, tho
total intensity of tho carth's magnetic
force is considerably greater than north or
south Of this zone Tho anomaly il arcat-
CT than in the eastern.
a chart of tho anomalies OF magnetic
inclination shows TINT the deviation of tho
magnetic needle from the horizontal Is
greater than tho normal north Of Moscow
and smaller to the south, and tho chnrt of
the anomalies of dcclin0tion derivation
from true north) shows SIMILAR irrcoulnr.,
tics. These researches lead to the oonclu-
sion that where the local attraction WA,
observed, In the ncighborhood of Moscow.
hugo masses of iron lie buried untlcy-
ground, and that they possess north mag.
notism in middle zono and south mag
nctism in two subsidiary zones stretching
north and south thcrcfrom. The question
how deep this mass lies cnnnot certainly
be answered, but, according To Fritsches
estimate, it may be assumed that tho mid
die zone lies scarcely less than 35, 600 feet
below the surface- An exploration of this
immense mass of ORC is therefore impossi-
bic. owing to the depth at which st Is stu
atcd. Literary Digest.