The sun., 1901-07-28
THE CLIMATE OF MANILA
The following figures. based on observa-
tions made in the years iss3-isas. and for
the rainfall during the years lsea-isos. will
be interesting The results are here given
to the nearest decimal:
THE METRIC SYSTEM

NJ Bisourdan. Of the National Observatory
OF Paris, has written volume OF ass pages en-
titled .rhe Metric System ofWeighys and Msos-
ures. which gives a fun history Of its estsb-
ishment and OF the progress made during
the present century The system is oblga-
tory in Germany. Austro- Hungary. Belgium.
Brazil Chill, the Argentine Republic. Spain.
France, Greece. Italy, Mexico. Netherlands,
Peru. Portugal. RouiDania. Servia. Sweden.
Norway, Switzerland and venezuela and 10
psrmissive in Egypt, the United States, Great
Britain and Ireland. Japan. Russia and Tur-
key Lists OF the sort have grand sound. but
lei nnv one consider how little real part in our
own national life the metric system plays
and he can estimate the real significance OF
such Lists Our scientific men Use IL, Just as
they use logarithms or definite integrals, | e.
whenever they are convenient. Merchants
engaged In foreign trade use IL Just as they
nse pounds. shlllnss and pence whenever
Ssy xssr. ths % metric system is Obligatory % Often
use its units alongside of certain others that
have survived because they. are even more
convenient, Frenchmen sell land by he
h1N-iirs. not the htrs We have had the
decimal system IN America for more than
hundred years bur the brokers OF ne stock
Exchange sell ard buy by quarters and eightls
nor by tenths These. and other Ike matterS
0f real Importance. are not dlsoussed a.
length in the book IL question on ne other
hand u Il an authoritative manual of the his
tory Of all the off'cial steps leading M To the
present situation looked at from the point
of view OF French man Of science aud Of
permanent value for that reason
IMPROVED PHoNoGRArHS
Two improved Photographs have lately
been invented by NM Nernst aud dc Liebrn
Jointly. and by VI Rhumer The object Of
both Is to do away with the ,insat sfactory
wax cylinder used in the early instruments
Of the sort The first device depends upon
utilizing the alteration Of tho pOla ri7aton
capacity and ~ the superficial resistance
of a metal emplDyei as an electrode. IN sn
electrolvtic bath. 4 disk - copper some
= nm thick l. rotatad rardly under q thin
niece of wood we,tei with an elect rolvte
Of the lndnci ion coil of n mcrophone transmit
ter pass through the point of contact Il the
wood ard cooper and The variations IN the
chemical action produce on the edge OF he
disk "a permanent record The best results
have been obtained with 2incate OF potash
the copper being the cathode the wood being
lnlnersel in the solution With zinc anodc
sounds 80 registered can, IL is said. be au-
dihly repeated two or three hundred times
The Rhumer phonograph Is constructed
on very different principle sensitive
II register is photographed on hlm in mo-
tion The nm thus shows "a visible repre-;
sentation Of the speech \ Selenium cell
in circuit with battery and telephone
IL used to receive light that has traversed
the Photographic Aim. The variations IN
intensity Of the Hight produce corresponding
variation of the current through the tele-
phone II is said that this arrangement has
produced excellent result,