99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,the original publication has been replicated faithfully except as shown in the ,transcriber's ,amendments at the end of the text4 ,words in italics are indicated like this4 ,text emphasized with bold characters or other treatment is shown like this4 ,superscripts are indicated like this3 ,sta ,maria4 ,subscripts are indicated like this3 ,h#b,o4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,scientific ,,american ,,supplement ,,new ,,york1 ,,june #b1 #ahhh ,scientific ,american ,supplement1 ,vol4 ,,xxv41 ,no4 #fdh4 ,scientific ,american1 established #ahde4 ,scientific ,american ,supplement1 #e a year4 ,scientific ,american and ,supplement1 #g a year4 ,,table ,,of ,,contents4 ,,page ,i4 ,,architecture4--,evolution of the ,modern ,mill4--,by ,c4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,woodbury4--,continuation of this ,sibley ,college lecture1 treating of the practical details of mill structures4 #ajcdf ,,ii4 ,,astronomy4--,changes in the ,stellar ,heavens4--,by ,j4 ,e4 ,,gore1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4--,changes of color1 brightness1 and position in the fixed stars as attested to by the records of the ancient and modern astronomers4 #ajcee ,distance and ,constitution of the ,sun4--,modern theories of the sun and difficulties in formulating a satisfactory explanation of all of its phenomena4 #ajced ,,iii4 ,,botany4--,the ,common ,dandelion4--,by ,,frederick ,,leroy ,,sargent4--,the properties and life history of this common plant4-- ,its wonderful seed-distributing apparatus4--#h illustrations4 #ajcee ,,iv4 ,,chemistry4--,poison of the ,somalis extracted from the ,wood of the ,ouabaio4--,a recently investigated plant principle4 #ajceh ,v4 ,,civil ,,engineering4--,test of a ,wrought ,iron ,double ,track ,floor ,beam4--,by ,,alfred ,p4 ,,boller4--,a test pushed to actual rupture of a full-sized member of a bridge4--#a illustration4 #ajcdd ,timber and ,some of its ,diseases4--,by ,h4 ,,marshall ,,ward4--,part ,v4 of this exhaustive treatise of the deterioration of one of the great structural materials4--#a illustration4 #ajcde ,improved ,torpedo ,boat4--#a illustration4 #ajcdh ,,vi4 ,,electricity4--,effect of ,chlorine on the ,electro-motive ,force of a ,voltaic ,couple4--,by ,d4 ,g4 ,,gore1 ,f4,r4,s4--,a very curious investigation1 disclosing the sudden change in ,e4 ,m4 ,f4 produced by a definite addition of chlorine4 #ajcea ,on a ,theory ,concerning the ,sudden ,loss of ,magnetic ,properties of ,iron and ,nickel4--,by ,mr4 ,a4 ,,tomlinson1 ,b4,a4--,a new theory1 involving the probable rearrangement of the molecules or magnetic atoms of the metals in question4 #ajceh ,the ,passive ,state of ,iron and ,nickel4--,note of this curious phenomenon4 #ajcdg ,the ,wimshurst ,electric ,machine4--,illustration of #ac-a_/b inch sparks produced by it4--#a illustration4 #ajceb ,the ,application of ,electricity to ,lighting and ,working4--,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,preece4--,lecture ,i4 #ajcej ,,vii4 ,,entomology4--,systematic ,relations of ,platypsyllus as determined by the ,larva4--,by ,dr4 ,c4 ,v4 ,,riley4--,an important contribution to entomological science1 a paper read at the meeting of the ,national ,academy of ,science1 ,april #bj1 #ahhh4--d illustrations4 #ajcef ,,viii4 ,,hygiene4--,reducing ,obesity--,note of general principles to be applied to diet and life4 ,transcriber3 ,omitted by publisher4 #ajceb ,the ,care of the ,eyes4--,by ,prof4 ,,david ,,webster4--,a practical and scientific examination of how to preserve the eyesight and of the use and abuse of this important organ of sense4 #ajceb ,sanitation in ,massachusetts4 #ajceb ,,ix4 ,,mechanical ,,engineering4--,hydraulic ,tube ,press4--,an extraordinarily powerful press for striking up tubes from flat plates4 #ajcde ,the ,distribution of ,hydraulic ,power in ,london4--,a recent system introduced in ,london1 with description of the plant and distribution pipes4 #ajcdd ,the ,one ,hundred and ,twenty ,ton ,shears of the ,port of ,marseilles4-- ,an immense set of hoisting apparatus described and illustrated4-- #c illustrations4 #ajcdc ,x4 ,,photography4--,colored ,photography4--,mr4 ,j4 ,e4 ,,mayall',s recent advances in this phase of photography4 #ajcdi ,,xi4 ,,physics4--,scientific ,apparatus at the ,manchester ,royal ,jubilee ,exhibition4--,notes of the most interesting electrical1 photometrical1 and communicating apparatus4 #ajcdh ,the ,spectra of ,oxygen4--,interesting investigations of absorption spectra of oxygen4 #ajceh ,,xii4 ,,surgery4--,papillomatous ,tumor of the ,bladder1 demonstrated by ,means of ,lister's ,electro-cystoscope4--,by ,f4 ,n4 ,,otis1 ,m4,d4-- ,an interesting instance of the use of an exploratory electric light4--#b illustrations4 #ajced ,tumors of the ,bladder ,diagnosed by ,means of the ,electro-,endoscopic ,cystoscope4--,by ,dr4 ,,max ,,nitze4--,the same general subject in further detail1 giving the ,german practice4-- #e illustrations4 #ajcec ,,xiii4 ,,technology4--,future ,prospects for ,gas ,companies4--,by ,mr4 ,,thos4 ,,wood4--,fuel and oil gas and the future ,utopia of improved gas manufacturing4--,the ideal gas company of after days4--,a valuable and suggestive paper4 #ajcdi ,advertisements4 #ajceh ,,the ,,one ,,hundred ,,and ,,twenty ,,ton ,,shears ,,of ,,the ,,port ,,of ,,marseilles4 ,for a quarter of a century maritime nations have been continuously engaged in improving the mechanical appliances of their large ports4 ,the use of tracks to bring goods to be placed on vessels as near as possible to the shipping point1 the substitution of oblique moles for perpendicular ones in large docks1 the creation of a hydraulic method of loading and unloading through movable cranes 7which will perhaps in a near future cede to an electrical one71 constitute the means most used for expediting transshipments and reducing the expense of them to a minimum4 ,but1 at the same time that the facilities for all kinds for handling packages have been increased1 it has also become necessary to greatly increase the power of the machines applied to them4 ,the construction of large packets now requires the putting in place of boilers of great weight1 and the adoption of the huge pieces that compose the artillery of ironclads necessitates the use of force that has been unknown up to recent times4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4--;,,diagram ,,of ,,shears4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4--,,one ,,hundred ,,and ,,twenty ,,ton ,,shears ,,of ,,the ,,port ,,of ,,marseilles4 ,at present1 then1 we could no longer be content with manual power1 acting upon windlasses or capstans1 for lifting and shifting4 ,it has become necessary to apply steam or hydraulic motors to these operations4 ,of these1 the latter are the most used1 on account of their easy operation and their submitting to the greatest stresses with a very satisfactory proportionality of the expenditure of motive power4 ,one of the most remarkable of such apparatus is the one that the ,compagnie de ,fives-,lille has recently set up on one of the moles of the national dock at ,marseilles1 for the service of the chamber of commerce1 and this merits a description so much the more in that it is an important improvement upon the analogous apparatus now in use in other ports4 ,according to the conditions of the programme1 powers of #be1 #ge1 and #abj tons had to be obtained at will1 with a proportional output of water1 and the load had to be lifted #bb ft4 above the quay and carried horizontally from #bh ft4 beyond the edge to #af ft4 in the rear1 so that the load might be taken from a ship and deposited upon a wagon1 and vice versa4 ,the shears1 then1 had to be capable of performing two operations1 viz41 of lifting the load and of carrying it horizontally4 ,to facilitate the description1 we shall first make known the arrangements that assure the second operation4 ,the apparatus is of the type known as oscillating tripod4 ,the tripod consists of two lateral iron plate uprights1 ,a ,a 7,fig4 #a71 resting upon the wharf wall1 and of a beam1 ,b1 jointed to them above and connected below with the head of the piston of a hydraulic press4 ,this latter rests upon an iron plate frame1 solidly bolted to masonry4 ,the piston pulls the beam1 ,b1 toward it when it descends1 and carries along in the same motion the shears1 ,a1 as well as the load suspended from their point of junction1 and the load is thus carried to a distance of #af ft4 from the edge of the wharf in order to be placed upon a wagon4 ,conversely1 if the piston rises1 it pushes before it the entire framework1 as well as the lifting apparatus1 the hook of which travels #bh ft4 beyond the edge of the wharf4 ,the lifting apparatus consists likewise of a hydraulic press suspended from the summit of the tripod2 but1 in order to prevent the joints of the cylinder from working under the action of the load1 which would tend to open them and cause leakages1 it is not suspended from the very axis of the junction of the shears4 ,the cylinder rests directly upon a huge stirrup #de ft4 in length1 the arms alone of which are affixed to the axis1 through a ,cardan joint4 ,under such circumstances1 the stress of the load carried by the piston rod is exerted solely upon the branches of the stirrup1 and the sides of the cylinder work only under the pressure of the motive water4 ,the latter is introduced at the base of the press1 through a valve that a special workman1 standing upon a platform supported by the stirrup1 maneuvers at will4 ,it will be seen that the general principle applied for utilizing the motive power is that of direct action4 ,it has already been employed in a few analogous apparatus constructed by ,sir ,william ,armstrong1 especially those of the arsenal of ,spezia and of the ,elswick cannon foundry1 but solely for the lifting press4 ,this is the first time that use has been made of it to effect the oscillating motion corresponding to the horizontal shifting of the load4 ,this was formerly done through the intermedium of a mechanism that1 aside from its complication and higher cost1 presented the inconvenience of absorbing a large quantity of force in friction2 besides1 the direct action permits of performing the maneuvers much more quickly by the use of the water in reserve contained in the accumulators4 ,another important improvement1 likewise due to the ,compagnie ,fives-,lille1 consists in the addition of safety clicks1 which engage with racks parallel with the piston rod of each of the presses and movable with it4 ,the clicks1 on the contrary1 are jointed to axes fixed on the bottom of the cylinders4 ,this arrangement presents the following advantages3 ,if a leakage occurs in the joints or feed pipe of the hoisting press1 the descent of the load can be stopped instantaneously1 thus preventing the grave damage that would be done to ships and even to the shears themselves by the descent of a #abj ton load1 however slow it might be4 ,as regards the oscillating press1 this arrangement permits of fixing the base of the connecting beam at any point whatever of its travel1 when it is desired to dismount the piston4 ,further1 it permits of maintaining the shears in an invariable position in case of sudden damages to the piping4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c4--;,,automatic ,,multiplier4 ,in order to produce the three powers of #be1 #ge1 and #abj tons required by the programme1 and at the same time expend in each case a corresponding quantity of water under pressure1 it is of course necessary to cause the pressure of the motive water to vary in the same proportion as the stress to be extended4 ,this result is reached by calculating the diameter of the two cylinders in such a way as to obtain the mean power of #ge tons1 in making the water of the general conduit act directly under the normal pressure of #ej atmospheres4 ,for the powers of #be and #abj tons1 use is made of an automatic multiplier1 that consists of two cylinders arranged end to end1 in which move pistons1 ,a and ,b 7,fig4 #c71 of different diameters4 ,when it is a question of lifting #abj tons1 the water at #ej atmospheres actuates the piston1 ,a1 and the other forces into the lifting cylinder motive water under a much greater pressure4 ,if the load to be lifted is but #be tons1 the water at #ej atmospheres actuates the piston1 ,b1 and ,a forces the water into the same cylinder at a much lower pressure4 ,the same operations are effected in the other cylinder when the extreme loads of #be and #abj tons are moved4 ,the shears are likewise provided with a hydraulic cylinder1 ,e 7,fig4 #a71 placed on the back of the beam1 ,b1 and serving1 through a cable1 to bring the piston of the large cylinder to the end of its upward stroke1 and for certain accessory work4 ,finally1 the apparatus as a whole is completed by an accumulator containing in reserve a large part of the water necessary for each operation4 ,the apparatus is capable of lifting a maximum load of #abj tons from #bb feet beneath the wharf to #bb feet above1 and of moving it from #bh feet beyond the edge to #af feet back of it1 say a total of #dd feet4 ,the cylinders of the lifting and oscillating presses are #a-c_/d feet in diameter and #d inches in thickness4 ,the stroke of the second is #bb-a_/b feet4 ,the length of the uprights is #aaj-a_/b feet and that of the connecting beam is #aji feet4 ,the apparatus has been tested under satisfactory conditions with a load of #adj tons4--,la ,nature4 ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,hydraulic ,,power ,,in ,,london4 ,at a recent meeting of the ,institution of ,civil ,engineers1 a paper on the above subject was read by ,mr4 ,edward ,bayzand ,ellington1 ,m4 ,inst4 ,c4 ,e4 ,the author observed that water power was no new force1 but that1 as formerly understood1 it was limited in its application to systems of mechanism suitable for the low pressures found in nature4 ,the effects obtained by the use of high pressure were so different in degree from all previous experience1 that a new name was needed1 and had been found in the term hydraulic power4 ,bramah's genius produced the hydraulic press1 and he clearly foresaw the future development and great capabilities of his system2 but it was reserved for ,lord ,armstrong to work out and superintend the intricate details that had to be developed before the system could be made fully serviceable4 ,the public supply of hydraulic power in ,london constituted the latest development of this system4 ,the hydraulic power was supplied through mains charged by pumping at a pressure of #gjj lb4 per square inch4 ,the first and largest pumping station had been erected on a site known as ,falcon ,wharf1 about #bjj yards east of ,blackfriars ,bridge4 ,the engine house at present contained four sets of pumping engines1 each set being capable of exerting #bjj ,i4 ,h4 ,p4 ,the engines were vertical compound1 of a type comprising the advantages of a three-throw pump with direct connection between the pump plungers and the steam pistons4 ,each set of engines would deliver #bdj gallons of water per minute into the accumulators at #gej lb4 pressure per square in4 at a piston speed of #bjj ft4 per minute4 ,this was the normal speed of working2 but1 when required1 they could be worked at #bej ft4 per minute1 the maximum delivery being #cjj gallons per minute4 ,the condensing water was obtained from storage tanks over the engine house1 and was returned by circulating pumps to one or other of those tanks4 ,the water delivered into the mains was maintained all the year round at temperatures of between #fj deg4 and #he deg4 ,the boilers were of the double flued ,lancashire type1 and were made of steel4 ,all were fitted with ,vicars' mechanical stokers4 ,at the back of the boilers was a ,green's economizer1 consisting of ninety-six tubes4 ,the economizer and the stoker gear and worm were driven by a ,brotherhood three cylinder hydraulic engine4 ,the reservoir of power consisted of accumulators4 ,the accumulators at the pumping station were two in number1 each having a ram #bj in4 in diameter and #bc ft4 stroke4 ,the weight cases were of wrought iron1 and were filled with iron slag4 ,the total weight of the case and load on each ram was approximately #ajf tons1 corresponding to a pressure of #gej lb4 per square in4 ,the storage tanks formed the roofs for the engine and boiler houses4 ,the water for the power supply was obtained from the river ,thames1 and was pumped into the tank over the engines4 ,the water passed through the filtering apparatus by gravity into the filtered water tank over the boiler house1 which was #g ft4 below the level of the unfiltered water tank4 ,the filters consisted of cast iron cylinders1 and each contained a movable perforated piston and a perforated diaphragm1 between which was introduced a quantity of broken sponge2 the sponge was compressed by means of hydraulic pressure from the mains4 ,the delivery of power water from the ,falcon ,wharf pumping station was through four #f in4 mains4 ,the most distant point of the mains from the accumulators was at the west end of ,victoria ,street1 and was #e1cbj yards1 or just over three miles4 ,to provide for all frictional loss in the pipes and valves1 the accumulators had been loaded to #gej lb41 the stated pressure supplied being #gjj lb4 per square in4 ,the total length of the mains at present laid was nearly twenty-seven miles4 ,the mains were laid in circuit1 and there were stop valves at about every #djj yards1 so that any such section of main could be isolated4 ,the method employed for detecting leakage was based upon an automatic record of the number of gallons delivered into the mains1 and in cases of abnormal increase during the night1 if found to arise during the early hours of the morning1 the mains were tested4 ,the power water used was invariably registered through meters on the exhaust pipes from the machines1 and from the meters passed to the drains4 ,there was a sliding scale of charges from #hs4 to #bs4 per #a1jjj gallons at #gjj lb4 pressure per square inch1 designed to meet1 as nearly as possible1 the variable conditions and requirements of consumers4 ,the more continuous the use1 the lower the charges4 ,the scale was intended chiefly for intermittently acting machinery1 and experience had fully proved that these rates were sufficiently low to effect a large saving to the consumer in almost all cases1 whether for a large or a small plant4 ,the author believed any idea of supplying power from a central source at rates much below these to be chimerical4 ,the practical efficiency of the hydraulic system might be fixed at from #ej to #fj per cent4 of the power developed at the central station4 ,no other method of transmission would1 he thought1 show a better result2 and the general convenience and simplicity of the hydraulic system were such that its use would hardly be affected1 even if there were no direct economy in the cost of working4 ,in addition to the general supply of hydraulic power1 in the ,city and adjoining districts1 to the six hundred and fifty machines at present worked1 a new departure had been taken by the application of hydraulic power to an estate at ,kensington ,court--the name given to an area of about seven acres opposite ,kensington ,gardens4 ,seventy houses and dwellings were to be built on this estate1 of which thirty had been already erected4 ,each house was fitted with a hydraulic lift1 taking the place of a back staircase1 and the power supply was provided on the estate expressly for working these lifts4 ,the driven machinery was of as great importance to an economical and satisfactory result as the distributing plant1 but this obvious fact was not always understood4 ,general regulations had been prepared by the author1 defining the conditions to be observed by manufacturers in fitting up machinery for connection to the power mains4 ,they were intended to secure safety1 and an efficient registration of the quantity of power used2 but they left the question of the economy and of the efficiency of the machines to be settled between the consumers and the makers4 ,in ,london more lifts were working from the mains and more power was used by them than by any other description of machinery4 ,the number of all classes at present at work was over four hundred4 ,the principal types in use were fully described4 ,in some cases there had been1 by adopting the public supply1 a saving in the cost of working of about #cj per cent41 as compared with the steam pumping plant previously in use4 ,lifts were now becoming so general1 and the number of persons who used them was so great1 that the author considered it necessary to urge the importance of securing the greatest possible safety in their construction1 by the general adoption of the simple ram4 ,suspended lifts depended on the sound condition of the ropes or chains from which the cages hung4 ,as they became worn and unreliable after a short period1 it was usual to add safety appliances to stop the fall of the cage in case of breakage of the suspending ropes2 but they could not be expected to act under all circumstances4 ,as an indication of the important part which lifts occupied in a modern hotel1 it might be mentioned that at the ,hotel ,metropole there were1 including the two passenger lifts and that for the passengers' luggage1 no less than seventeen hydraulic lifts in use day and night1 while the work done represented about #b1jjj tons lifted #dj ft4 in this time4 ,the next largest use of the power was for working hydraulic cranes and hoists of various kinds along the river side1 and in the city warehouses4 ,it often happened that the pressure in the power mains was not sufficient for pressing purposes4 ,the apparatus known as an intensifier was then used1 by which any pressure required could be obtained4 ,hydraulic power was also used at ,westminster ,chambers1 and elsewhere1 for the purpose of pumping water from the chalk for domestic use4 ,the pump was set going in the evening and continued working till the tanks were full1 or until it was stopped in the morning4 ,for work of this kind1 done exclusively at night1 a discount was allowed from the usual rates4 ,mr4 ,greathead's injector hydrant1 made at the ,elswick works1 had been in use to a limited extent in ,london in connection with the power mains4 ,a small jet of high pressure water1 injected into a larger jet from the water works mains1 intensified the pressure of the latter in the delivery hose1 and also increased the quantity4 ,by this means a jet of great power could be obtained at the top of the highest building without the intervention of fire engines4 ,this apparatus enabled the hydraulic power supply to act as a continuous fire engine wherever the mains were laid1 and was capable of rendering the greatest assistance in the extinction of fire2 but there was an apathy on the subject of its use difficult to understand4 ,in ,hull the corporation had put down a number of these hydrants in ,high ,street1 where the hydraulic power mains were laid1 and they had been used with great success at a fire in that street4 ,the number of machines under contract to be supplied with power was sufficient1 with a suitable reserve1 to absorb the full capacity of the station at ,falcon ,wharf1 and another station of about equal capacity was now in course of erection at ,millbank ,street1 ,westminster4 ,the works had been carried out jointly by the author and ,mr4 ,corbet ,woodall1 ,m4 ,inst4 ,c4 ,e42 ,mr4 ,g4 ,cochrane had been resident engineer and superintendent4 ,the pumping engines1 accumulators1 valves1 etc41 and a considerable portion of the consumers' machinery1 had been constructed at the ,hydraulic ,engineering ,works1 ,chester4 ,sir ,james ,allport1 ,assoc4 ,inst4 ,c4 ,e41 who was the first to adopt hydraulic power for railway work1 had been associated with the enterprise from the commencement of its operations in #ahhb4 ,his wide influence and extended experience had greatly assisted the commercial development of the undertaking4 ,,test ,,of ,a ,,wrought ,,iron ,,double ,,track ,,floor ,,beam4#a ,by ,,alfred ,p4 ,,boller1 ,mem4 ,am4 ,soc4 ,c4 ,e4 ,testing to rupture actual bridge members is always a matter of great scientific interest1 and while the record is quite extensive in eye bars1 posts1 or small parts1 the great cost1 time1 and inconvenience of handling heavy girders has prevented experiment in that direction4 ,in fact1 the writer is unaware of any experiment upon compound riveted beams on a large scale1 as actually used1 until the experiment recorded below was made under his supervision4 ,the beam was an exact duplicate of those in use on a bridge1 about which more or less controversy had arisen as to their practical safety1 and the test was made under1 as near as possible1 actual conditions of attachment and loading4 ,the annexed drawing shows the form and proportion of the beam and connection with the posts1 together with the position of the track stringers4 ,the actual static loads to which the beam could be subjected by the heaviest engines in use on the road1 with weight of floor1 is #dj1jjj lb4 at each stringer bearing1 the strains computed therefrom being as follows3 ,flange strains at m1 #c1hjj lb4 per square inch2 at a1 #e1gjj lb4 per square inch2 at b1 #f1djj lb4 per square inch4 ,shear strains in web1 between a and b1 #b1fjj lb4 per square inch4 ,shear strains in web1 between a and end1 #h1jjj lb4 per square inch at least section1 or where the web is #b feet #d inches deep1 or #db diameters between angle iron4 #a ,abstract of a paper read before the ,american ,society of ,civil ,engineers1 ,november #af1 #ahhg4 ,illustration ,illustration ,rivets4--,all rivets #g_/h inch diameter1 or #ae_/bf inch when driven to fill holes2 area of section1 #j4f square inch2 bearing area1 diameter x #c_/h plate #j4ce square inch1 and for #a_/b inch plate #j4dg square inch4 ,post attachment1 considering all the twenty-six rivets doing duty1 yields rivet strain as follows3 ,in shear1 single #e1jjj lb4 per square inch3 and bearing area--#a_/b inch plate--#f1fjj lb4 per square inch4 ,connection of #c_/h ,web to ,flange ,angles4--,taking the forty rivets between ends of girder and second stringer1 the horizontal strain difference is #afb1jjj lb41 the rivets being strained #c1djj lb4 per square inch double shear1 and #aa1fjj lb4 per square inch bearing area4 ,taking distance from ends to first stringer1 the horizontal strain difference is #aje1jjj lb41 yielding on twenty rivets #d1bjj lb4 per square inch double shear1 and #ae1jjj lb4 per square inch bearing area4 ,taking a short distance of #b feet from ends1 the horizontal strain is #gj1jjj lb4 on ten rivets1 giving #e1hjj lb4 per square inch double shear1 and #bj1jjj lb4 per square inch bearing area4 ,in these girders the weakness feared was in the end flange riveting and shear in end web1 and caused the test recorded below4 ,the test was recently made at the works of the ,keystone ,bridge ,company1 by means of hydraulic power applied at stringer points4 ,convenience made it necessary to make the test with the beam blocked up horizontal on the ground1 so that the weight of the beam is necessarily neglected4 ,the beam was connected with a pair of posts1 precisely as in the actual structure1 between which an additional girder was framed as a reaction base for the rams4 ,the annexed diagram shows the general arrangements4 ,the hydraulic power was derived from the testing machine plant of the ,keystone establishment1 and the deflections measured from a fine wire parallel to the lower flange1 and about #c inches therefrom4 ,the diameter of the ram was #aj inches2 area #gh4ed inches4 ,the record was as follows3 ,gauge ,load on ,deflections4 ,total reading4 each ram4 b b' load4 lb4 in4 in4 lb4 #efe #dd1cge #a_/h #a_/h #agg1ejj #aacj #hh1gej #e_/af #e_/af #cee1jjj #adab #aaj1ijj #c_/h #c_/h #ddc1fjj ,no permanent set in above #afie #acc1abe uncertain4 -- -- #ecb1ejj ,permanent set scant #a_/cb inch4 #aihj #aee1ejj not recorded4 -- -- #fbb1jjj ,permanent set #e_/cb inch4 #bjhj ,failure commenced4 -- -- #fec1ejj ,failure commenced through giving way of angle irons1 beginning in a fine seam in the first bend of the lower flange from the end support1 the seam being along the root of the angle1 which continual pressure tore apart across the angle as shown1 when the web commenced to tear like a sheet of paper1 in direction and manner as exhibited on plate herewith--from photograph4 ,from some cause not apparent the deflections were not similar at the symmetrical end rams1 a1 the point where the web failed--left side--being sharply deflected4 ,while the angles showed root fracture at the opposite point1 the web did not fail or show indications of so doing1 the deflection being on an easy curve4 ,with the extreme yielding of the lower flange angles1 the angle brackets connecting girder with posts commenced to go1 tearing likewise along the root1 and stripping the heads from the extreme upper rivets as shown4 ,the internal diaphragm connecting the channel sides of the posts was unaffected4 ,the rivets connecting the ruptured flange with web appeared as perfect as when driven1 and no indication was disclosed1 as far as it was possible to tell1 of the holes in the web elongating or any upsetting of bearing surface4 ,there is no telling what the web and rivets would have borne had not the solid angle irons given way at the first bend4 ,it is to be noted that flange plate with leg of angle attached thereto was intact1 showing no indication of rupture4 ,discussion4--,taking that stage of the experiment when a permanent set was first noted--viz41 #a_/cb inch--the recorded load was #ecb1ejj lb41 or as near as may be #c-a_/c times the basis on which the calculations in the first part of this paper were made--#dj1jjj lb4 on each stringer1 or #afj1jjj lb4 total4 ,applying this ratio to the preceding computations1 the iron would be apparently strained as follows3 m #c1hjj x #c-a_/c #ab1fjj lb4 per square inch 7psi74 ,flanges at a #e1gjj x #c-a_/c #ai1jjj psi4 b #f1djj x #c-a_/c #ba1bjj psi4 ,web4 ,between a and b1 #b1fjj x #c-a_/c #h1gjj lb4 per square inch4 ,at least section1 #h1jjj x #c-a_/c #bf1fjj psi4 ,post attachment3 ,bearing area1 #f1fjj x #c-a_/c #bb1jjj lb4 per square inch4 ,single shear1 #e1jjj x #c-a_/c #af1fjj psi4 ,rivets4 ,web and flange connections1 end rivets3 ,bearing area1 #bj1jjj x #c-a_/c #ff1fjj psi4 ,double shear1 #e1hjj x #c-a_/c #ai1cjj psi4 ,when failure in angles was first noted1 the recorded load was #fec1ejj lb41 or slightly more than four times the computed basis of load1 which would increase the above strains about one-fifth1 giving a calculated flange strain when angle failed of some #ae1jjj lb4 per square inch1 and bearing area strain on end flange and web rivets about #hj1jjj lb4 per square inch1 neither of which could possibly be true1 or the web would have torn out from the rivets1 and the flanges be perfectly sound1 well within elastic limits1 although in the last case it is to be noted that the horizontal table of the flange was perfectly sound1 the flange failure commencing primarily with a long split along the weld of the angle iron root1 throwing the whole flange duty upon the vertical legs of the angle iron1 when a rupture strain was quickly reached4 ,had the angles been rolled from a solid ingot1 or on the ,german method of developing from a flat instead of from the ordinary welded pile1 the strength of this beam would have been largely increased4 ,the prime weakness in this beam was due1 therefore1 to the mode of manufacturing the angle irons1 which were weak along the weld at the root4 ,this was also shown in the end bracket angles uniting the beam to the posts4 ,the writer deduces from this experiment that a plate web is an exceedingly stiff member1 much stiffer than is commonly supposed2 that the customary method of proportioning rivets--viz41 the horizontal component between any two given points divided by allowable bearing pressure per square inch equals number of rivets required--is not true1 and that the friction due to power riveting has enormous value4 ,this beam was reported to the company interested as practically safe by the writer1 on general considerations1 before the experiment was made1 and the opinion reaffirmed after the experiment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,london ,bridge cost #aj1jjj1jjj4 ,it is #ijj feet long and #ed feet wide4 #ajj1jjj persons pass over it every twenty-four hours4 ,the lamp posts are made from cannon taken during the ,peninsular ,war4 ,,hydraulic ,,tube ,,press4 ,forming metal tubes from circular plates by pressing or forcing them1 by the aid of mandrels1 through dies or annular rings1 though comparatively a modern manufacture1 is carried on to a considerable extent1 and with the improvements that are almost daily being made in it1 and the rapidly extending use of such tubes1 this extraordinary process bids fair to become a most important manufacture4 ,illustration ,the press illustrated here was designed and made by ,messrs4 ,henry ,bessemer ,co41 of ,sheffield1 for ,mr4 ,samuel ,walker1 of ,birmingham1 for the manufacture of tubes of large size1 and also for making hollow steel projectiles4 ,the press is made entirely of ,bessemer steel1 and is of the three-column construction1 a strong casting of triangular form serving as a base of the press2 into this casting the three columns fit1 and carry on their upper ends a like casting1 forming a top or entablature4 ,into this top casting the main cylinder is fixed mouth downward1 concentric with the machine4 ,two small cylinders for giving the return or upward stroke rest mouth upward in the bottom casting at opposite sides4 ,the two rams of these cylinders pass through the ends of1 and carry1 a crosshead1 upon which the main ram rests4 ,the two lifting rams are made long enough to pass through holes in the top casting1 and thus form guides to the crosshead and mandrel4 ,the main ram is #bd in4 in diameter1 and has a stroke of #ab ft4 ,the press is worked at a pressure of #c tons per square inch1 giving a down force of #a1cjj tons4 ,the two lifting rams are each #h-a_/b in4 in diameter1 and give an upward force of #cjj tons4 ,this large upward force is required for stripping the tubes off the mandrels1 in addition to raising the main ram crosshead1 etc4 ,referring to the engraving1 the main cylinder is seen at the top with the main ram carrying the crosshead1 to which are connected the two lifting rams1 the cylinders for which extend below ground4 ,by this arrangement a reciprocating motion is obtained1 rams only being used1 the central ram giving the downward thrust1 and the two smaller side rams giving the upward stroke4 ,mr4 ,walker has this press in operation1 and from a disk of steel #c ft4 in diameter1 having a mean thickness of about #d in41 he has raised a tube or cylinder with a solid end to it #c ft4 #f in4 long and #ab in4 in diameter1 of a uniform thickness of about #a in41 and sanguine hopes are entertained of producing greater results4 ,messrs4 ,bessemer ,co4 are now making a larger press of similar construction4--,engineering4 ,,timber1 ,,and ,,some ,,of ,,its ,,diseases4#b ,by ,h4 ,,marshall ,,ward4 ,,vi4 ,if we turn our attention for a moment to the illustrations in the first article1 it will be remembered that our typical log of timber was clothed in a sort of jacket termed the cortex1 the outer parts of which constitute what is generally known as the bark4 ,this cortical covering is separated from the wood proper by the cambium1 and ,i pointed out that the cells produced by divisions on the outside of the cambium cylinder are employed to add to the cortex4 #b ,continued from ,,supplement1 ,no4 #fdd1 page #ajbha4 ,now this cortical jacket is a very complicated structure1 since it not only consists of numerous elements1 differing in different trees1 but it also undergoes some very curious changes as the plant grows up into a tree4 ,it is beyond the purpose of these articles to enter in detail into these anatomical matters1 however2 and ,i must refer the reader to special text books for them1 simply contenting myself here with general truths which will serve to render clearer certain statements which are to follow4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #bj4--;,a piece of the cambium and cortical jacket of a young oak1 at the end of the first year4 ,it may be regarded as consisting of three parts1 in addition to the cambium1 ,ca4 ,beginning from the outside1 we have3 #a4 ,cork cells1 ,x1 formed from the cork cambium1 ,c4,ca3 the cells developed on the inside of the latter1 ,cl1 are termed collenchyma1 and go to add to the cortex4 #b4 ,the cortex proper1 consisting of parenchyma cells1 pa1 some of which contain crystals4 #c4 ,the inner or secondary cortex 7termed phloem or bast71 developed chiefly by the activity of the cambium1 ,ca3 this phloem consists of hard bast fibers1 hb1 sieve tubes1 ,s1 and cells1 c1 and is added to internally by the cambium1 ,ca1 each year4 ,it is also traversed by medullary rays1 ,mr1 which are continuations of those in the wood4 ,the dotted line1 psi1 in the cortical parenchyma indicates where the new cork cambium will be developed3 when this is formed1 all the tissues 7e4g4 pa1 ,cl7 lying on the outside of the new cork will die1 and constitute 7together with the cork7 the true bark4 ,it is possible to make two generalizations1 which apply not only to the illustration 7,fig4 #bj7 here selected1 but also to most of our timber trees4 ,in the first place1 the cortical jacket1 taken as a whole1 consists not of rigid lignified elements1 such as the tracheids and fibers of the wood1 but of thin-walled1 soft1 elastic elements of various kinds1 which are easily compressed or displaced1 and for the most part easily killed or injured--,i say for the most part easily injured1 because1 as we shall see immediately1 a reservation must be made in favor of the outermost tissue1 or cork and bark proper1 which is by no means so easily destroyed1 and acts as a protection to the rest4 ,the second generalization is1 that since the cambium adds new elements to the cortex on the inside of the latter1 and since the cambium cylinder as a whole is traveling radially outward--i4e41 further from the pith--each year1 as follows from its mode of adding the new annual rings of wood on to the exterior of the older ones1 it is clear that the cortical jacket as a whole must suffer distention from within1 and tend to become too small for the enlarging cylinder of rigid wood and growing cambium combined4 ,indeed1 it is not difficult to see that unless certain provisions are made for keeping up the continuity of the cortical tissues1 they must give way under the pressure from within4 ,as we shall see1 such a catastrophe is in part prevented by a very peculiar and efficient process4 ,before we can understand this1 however1 we must take a glance at the structural characters of the whole of this jacket 7,fig4 #bj74 ,while the branch or stem is still young1 it may be conveniently considered as consisting of three chief parts4 7#a7 ,on the outside is a thin layer of flat1 tabular cork cells 7,fig4 #bj1 ,co71 which increase in number by the activity of certain layers of cells along a plane parallel to the surface of the stem or branch4 ,these cells 7,c4,ca7 behave very much like the proper cambium1 only the cells divided off from them do not undergo the profound changes suffered by those which are to become elements of the wood and inner cortex4 ,the cells formed on the outside of the line ,c4,ca in fact simply become cork cells2 while those formed on the inside of the line ,c4,ca become living cells 7,cl7 very like those ,i am now going to describe4 7#b7 ,inside this cork-forming layer is a mass of soft1 thin-walled juicy cells1 pa1 which are all living1 and most of which contain granules of chlorophyl1 and thus give the green color to the young cortex--a color which becomes toned down to various shades of olive1 gray1 brown1 etc41 as the layers of cork increase with the age of the part4 ,it is because the corky layers are becoming thicker that the twig passes from green to gray or brown as it grows older4 ,now1 these green living cells of the cortex are very important for our purpose1 because1 since they contain much food material and soft juicy contents of just the kind to nourish a parasitic fungus1 we shall find that1 whenever they are exposed by injury1 etc41 they constitute an important place of weakness--nay1 more1 various fungi are adapted in most peculiar ways to get at them4 ,since these cells are for the most part living1 and capable of dividing1 also1 we have to consider the part they play in increasing the extent of the cortex4 7#c7 ,the third of the partly natural1 partly arbitrary portions into which we are dividing the cortical jacket is found between the green1 succulent cells 7pa7 of the cortex proper 7which we have just been considering7 and the proper cambium1 ,ca1 and it may be regarded as entirely formed directly from the cambium cells4 ,these latter1 developed in smaller numbers on the outside1 toward the cortex1 than on the inside1 toward the wood1 undergo somewhat similar changes in shape to those which go to add to the wood1 but they show the important differences that their walls remain unlignified1 and for the most part very thin and yielding1 and retain their living contents4 ,for the rest1 we may neglect details and refer to the illustration for further particulars4 ,the tissue in question is marked by ,s1 c1 hb in the figure1 and is called phloem or bast4 ,a word or two as to the functions of the cortex1 though the subject properly demands much longer discussion4 ,it may be looked upon as especially the part through which the valuable substances formed in the leaves are passing in various directions to be used where they are wanted4 ,when we reflect that these substances are the foods from which everything in the tree--new cambium1 new roots1 buds1 flowers1 and fruit1 etc4--are to be constructed1 it becomes clear that if any enemy settles in the cortex and robs it of these substances1 it reduces not only the general powers of the tree1 but also--and this is the point which especially interests us now--its timber-producing capacity4 ,in the same way1 anything which cuts or injures the continuity of the cortical layers results in diverting the nutritive substances into other channels4 ,a very large class of phenomena can be explained if these points are understood1 which would be mysterious1 or at least obscure1 otherwise4 ,having now sketched the condition of this cortical jacket when the branch or stem is still young1 it will be easy to see broadly what occurs as it thickens with age4 ,in the first place1 it is clear that the continuous sheet of cork 7,co7 must first be extended1 and finally ruptured1 by the pressure exerted from within4 ,it is true1 this layer is very elastic and extensible1 and impervious to water or nearly so--in fact1 it is a thin layer or skin1 with properties like those of a bottle cork--but even it must give way as the cylinder goes on expanding1 and it cracks and peels off4 ,this would expose the delicate tissues below1 if it were not for the fact that another layer of cork has by this time begun to form below the one which is ruptured3 a cork-forming layer arises along the line phi and busily produces another sheet of this protective tissue in a plane more or less exactly parallel with the one which is becoming cracked4 ,this new cork-forming tissue behaves as before3 the outer cells become cork1 the inner ones add to the green succulent parenchyma cells 7pa74 ,as years go on1 and this layer in its turn splits and peels1 others are formed further inward1 and if it is remembered that a layer of cork is particularly impervious to water and air1 it is easy to understand that each successive sheet of cork cuts off all the tissues on its exterior from participation in the life processes of the plant3 consequently we have a gradually increasing bark proper1 formed of the accumulated cork layers and other dead tissues4 ,a great number of interesting points1 important in their proper connections1 must be passed over here4 ,some of these refer to the anatomy of the various barks--the word bark being commonly used in commerce to mean the whole of the cortical jacket--the places of origin of the cork layer1 and the way in which the true bark peels off3 those further interested here may compare the plane1 the birch1 the ,scotch pine1 and the elm1 for instance1 with the oak4 ,other facts have reference to the chemical and other substances found in the cells of the cortex1 and which make barks of value commercially4 ,i need only quote the alkaloids in cinchona1 the fibers in the malveceae1 the tannin in the oaks1 the coloring matter in ,garcinia 7gamboge71 the gutta percha from ,isonandra1 the ethereal oil of cinnamon1 as a few examples in this connection1 since our immediate subject does not admit of a detailed treatment of these extremely interesting matters4 ,the above brief account may suffice to give a general idea of what the cortical jacket covering our timber is1 and how it comes about that in the normal case the thickening of the cylinder is rendered possible without exposing the cambium and other delicate tissues3 it may also serve to show why bark is so various in composition and other characters4 ,but it is also clear that this jacket of coherent bark1 bound together by the elastic sheets of cork1 must exert considerable pressure as it reacts on the softer1 living1 succulent parts of the cortex1 trapped as they are between the rigid wood cylinder and the bark2 and it is easy to convince ourselves that such is the case4 ,by simply cutting a longitudinal slit through the cortex1 down to near the cambium1 but taking care not to injure the latter1 the following results may be obtained4 ,first1 the bark gapes1 the raw edges of the wound separating and exposing the tissues below2 next in course of time the raw edges are seen to be healed over with cork--produced by the conversion of the outer cells into cork cells4 ,as time passes1 provided no external interference occurs1 the now rounded and somewhat swollen cork-covered edges of the wound will be found closing up again2 and sooner or later1 depending chiefly on the extent of the wound and the vigor of the tree1 the growing lips of the wound will come together and unite completely4 ,but examination will show that although such a slit wound is so easily healed over1 it has had an effect on the wood4 ,supposing it has required three years to heal over1 it will be found that the new annual rings of wood are a little thicker just below the slit2 this is simply because the slit had released the pressure on the cambium4 ,the converse has also been proved to be true--i4e41 by increasing the pressure on the cambium by means of iron bands1 the annual rings below the bands are thinner and denser than elsewhere4 ,but we have also seen that the cambium is not the only living tissue below the bark3 the cortical parenchyma 7pa7 and the cells 7c7 of the inner cortex 7technically the phloem7 are all living and capable of growth and division1 as was described above4 ,the release from pressure affects them also2 in fact1 the callus1 or cushion of tissue which starts from the lips of the wound and closes it over1 simply consists of the rapidly growing and dividing cells of this cortex1 i4e41 the release from pressure enables them to more than catch up the enlarging layer of cortex around the wound4 ,an elegant and simple instance of this accelerated growth of the cortex and cambium when released from the pressure of other tissues is exhibited in the healing over of the cut ends of a branch1 a subject to be dealt with later on2 and the whole practice of propagation by slips or cuttings1 the renewal of the bark of cinchonas1 and other economic processes1 depend on these matters4 ,in anticipation of some points to be explained only if these phenomena are understood1 ,i may simply remark here that1 obviously1 if some parasite attacks the growing lips of the callus as it is trying to cover up the wound1 or if the cambium is injured below1 the pathological disturbances thus introduced will modify the result3 the importance of this will appear when we come to examine certain disturbances which depend upon the attacks of fungi which settle on these wounds before they are properly healed over4 ,in concluding this brief sketch of a large subject1 it may be noted that1 generally speaking1 what has been stated of branches1 etc41 is also true of roots2 and it is easy to see how the nibbling or gnawing of small animals1 the pecking of birds1 abrasions1 and numerous other things1 are so many causes of such wounds in the forest4 7,to be continued47 ,,sibley ,,college ,,lectures4--#ahhg-hh4 ,,by ,,the ,,cornell ,,university ,,non-,,resident ,,lecturers ,,in ,,mechanical ,,engineering4 ,,iii4--,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,modern ,,mill4#c ,by ,c4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,woodbury1 ,boston1 ,mass4 ,,belt ,,towers4 ,the distribution of power has not always received the judicious treatment which its importance deserves4 ,there are but few references to this question in the books on the subject1 and these treat of methods that are not in accordance with the application of the art in its present state4 #c ,continued from ,,supplement1 ,no4 #fdg1 page #ajcca4 ,the lecture was illustrated by about fifty views on the screen1 which cannot be reproduced here1 showing photographs of mills and mechanical drawings of the methods of construction alluded to in the lecture4 ,the early form of the distribution of power consisted in placing a vertical shaft extending through the whole mill and distributing the power at each story by means of beveled gears1 generally of skew-beveled form4 ,the mechanical defects of such a method of distributing power1 with regard to protection1 repairs1 and necessary care1 are readily apparent1 and there have also been many severe accidents caused by the breaking of teeth in these gears4 ,the present method of distributing power in this country is entirely by lines of belts extending up through what is known as a belt tower1 which constitutes an element of great fire hazard to a mill4 ,in some cases the belts are carried from story to story1 covered by a casing of wood1 and in other instances the tower forms a flue which may be the means of the rapid spread of fire throughout the building4 ,before the introduction of automatic sprinklers there was not1 ,i believe1 a single instance of a fire entering the lower portion of a belt tower during working hours without accomplishing the destruction of the mill4 ,since the equipment of such places with automatic sprinklers1 there have been several fires of this nature extinguished with nearly nominal damage4 ,that is to say1 the hazard of fire starting in such places is beyond the capacity of any apparatus other than automatic sprinklers to cope with it4 ,it would be impossible to arrange the distribution of power in many mills to conform to conditions of safety without reorganizing the whole plant1 which would1 of course1 be impracticable4 ,but in many instances modifications can be introduced which will diminish the hazard to a great degree4 ,when the pulleys and belting are covered with sheathing in each room1 the continuity of these flues can be broken by removing this sheathing down to the height of four or five feet above the floor1 so that the covering will merely constitute a physical protection to any one approaching the belting4 ,the best method of arranging the belt tower has been in the case of a mill at ,fall ,river1 which was erected upon the ruins of a building destroyed by a fire originating in the belt tower4 ,the machinery is driven by a steam engine situated in an ell projecting from one side at about the middle of the mill2 and the main belt communicates to pulleys in a stone masonry tower located directly inside the walls of the main mill2 and thence1 from pulley to pulley1 the power is communicated to each floor by shafting passing through holes left in the tower1 and in no instances by means of belts4 ,there is a separate stairway inside of the tower for lubricating the journals1 etc41 and the top of the tower is covered with skylights protected underneath by a wire netting4 ,in case of a fire in the belt tower1 the heat will readily break the glass at the top1 and the fire will tend to go up and out of the tower rather than through the mill4 ,,mill ,,floors4 ,the questions involved in designing the floors of a mill are of great importance1 contributing in no small measure to elements concerned in the successful operation of the mill1 and to a greater extent to its standing as a fire risk1 and therefore affecting the constant expense of insurance4 ,in the case of a building designed merely for sustaining of loads1 as in a storehouse1 a floor would naturally be designed on the basis of considering the breaking strength of the timber4 ,but in the case of a mill1 the limitation is the amount of flexure allowable under the circumstances2 and therefore the floors of the building are made more nearly rigid than would be required merely from the consideration of the ultimate strength of the structure4 ,the books on the subject1 repeating over a constant which was first1 ,i believe1 given by ,brunel in testimony before a parliamentary commission1 have held that one four-hundredth of a span is the proper ratio of flexure4 ,this may have been a very good rule to give to the parliamentary commission1 but it is hardly the practical method of limitation for a matter of engineering construction1 because the flexure of a loaded beam is in the form of a curve1 and therefore its law is that of a curvilinear function1 and not of a straight line4 ,i have examined a great number of precedents of good construction in this connection1 and for mill use have deduced the formula for deflection in inches1 d #j4jjab ,l squared1 in which ,l is the length of span in feet4 ,it will be readily recognized that the true constant of deflection of span is measured by the radius of curvature which will give a uniform and allowable distortion to the floor in either direction to the limit of the radius upon which this formula is based1 which is #a1bej feet4 ,i do not propose to offer to you on this occasion any remarks in regard to the treatment of the mathematics of the problem of applied mechanics concerned in the questions of transverse stress1 knowing that you have certainly received instruction upon these subjects4 ,but referring to the questions of mill floors1 ,i would state that ,southern pine beams of solid timber twelve by fourteen up to fourteen by sixteen inches are used2 and instead of attempting the use of one piece of timber1 it is preferable to use two pieces of the same depth and of half the breadth4 ,these should be bolted together1 with a space of an inch or so between them left by placing small vertical pieces of wood between the timbers when they are bolted together4 ,in this manner one is more sure of sound timber1 and in the process of seasoning there is less liability of dry rot in the interior1 or of injurious checking1 warping1 or twisting4 ,the end of the beams should rest upon iron plates in the masonry1 and should be secured by means of a tongue upon the plate entering a groove across the lower side of the beam4 ,it is not feasible to make this groove to a close fit with the tongue2 but it is cut a great deal larger1 and the whole brought to a firm bearing by means of pairs of wedges or quoins driven into the groove each side of the iron tongue4 ,the outer end of the plate contains ribs or tongues reaching down into the brickwork4 ,in this manner the timber is securely fastened to the brickwork2 and yet in time of accident or of fire the falling of the beam in the middle of the mill will raise it up sufficiently so that it will clear the tongue and fall without tearing the wall down1 which is the case whenever the beams are secured by bolts entering the end of the beam from the face of the wall4 ,at the points of support in a line of columns1 the beams should be free from all compressive stress1 transmitted through the lines of columns from floors above1 by means of iron pintles between the cap of one column and the floor of the next one carrying this load4 ,a faulty method of construction1 quite frequently used1 consists in covering each column with a bolster of timber1 four or five feet long1 reaching out under the floor beams4 ,the transverse contraction of wood in seasoning after it is in position in the mill varies from three-eighths of an inch to double that quantity per foot2 and the aggregation of such shrinkage amounts to a very considerable distortion or settling of the floor in a mill of several stories4 ,moreover1 the resistance of timber to transverse crushing has been shown by experiments on the testing machine at the ,united ,states arsenal at ,watertown to be about three times the resistance to longitudinal crushing4 ,iron columns for mills have been entirely displaced by those of timber1 as it was found that the latter were more reliable in resistance to fire1 were freer from defects in construction1 and possessed less tendency to vibration4 ,a series of tests on full-sized mill columns of various forms of construction and age1 made in the experiments referred to1 at the ,watertown arsenal1 showed that resistance to crushing of ,southern pine columns was about #d1ejj pounds to the square inch1 and remarkably uniform as to the different results4 ,in white oak there was a wider range1 owing to the difference in the grain of the various samples1 the generality of the specimens being of somewhat less resistance than that of ,southern pine4 ,it was furthermore found by these experiments1 on comparing the crushing resistance of a full-sized column with that of a portion of the same1 perhaps two feet in length1 that the results were practically identical1 likewise that within the limits of construction used for these columns the question of flexure did not enter at all in the problem1 but they gave way by direct crushing1 and that the resistance to crushing was proportional to its load upon the minimum cross section4 ,the precedents of safe construction in this matter show that wood columns in mills have successfully sustained for many years a load of six hundred pounds to the square inch without deterioration4 ,as the resistance of such columns is proportional to the cross section1 the results of these experiments have changed the practice of mill engineers in the matter2 and square columns are of almost universal use1 which interfere with no greater area on the floor than the round column of the same diameter1 while they furnish an increased resistance of a little over twenty per cent4 in excess4 ,along the axis of such columns a hole of about one and one-half inches in diameter is bored1 and near each end a couple of transverse holes1 generally half an inch in diameter1 furnish means of ventilating the inside of the column for the prevention of dry rot and also checking1 due to contraction and seasoning4 ,there are several methods of laying the floor plank upon these beams1 which are placed from eight to ten feet apart1 according to the dimensions of the machinery to be placed in the mill4 ,the first floor of three-inch plank1 planed on one side and grooved on both edges1 is laid planed side down1 and the hardwood splines are inserted into the grooves before the planks are pressed up and spiked to the beams4 ,an agreeable finish is sometimes arranged underneath by plowing a rabbet in each of the corners1 and inserting a bead in the groove thus formed1 which is secured by nails driven diagonally into the plank on one side only1 because if the nails were driven into both sides1 the bead would be split by the contraction of the plank4 ,these planks should be cut to sufficient length to cover two bays of the mill2 and their transverse resistance is that of a beam fixed at one end and supported at the other1 or one and three-fifths as much as a plank of the same size but half the length would support2 but it should be remembered in this connection that1 if evenly distributed on the floor1 five-eighths of the load would be carried by every alternate beam unless the planks are so laid to break joints at convenient intervals of about three feet4 ,the top flooring is generally laid directly upon the floor plank1 with one or two thicknesses of roofing paper interposed2 but the preferable method1 which deadens the sound and vibration1 and also greatly increases the fire-resisting qualities of the structure1 is to lay a coat of mortar on the floor plank1 preserving the uniform thickness by means of furring placed about sixteen inches apart1 and then to lay the upper floor upon this4 ,for these upper floors hardwood plank1 one and one-fourth inches thick1 and not over four inches wide1 is used4 ,the black birch is considered by many to possess the greater resistance to wear2 and ,southern pine is ranked next1 although the latter wood gives trouble by stringing1 especially when trucks are rolled over it4 ,white maple forms an excellent top floor1 although not so hard as others1 especially where the floor is likely to be exposed to water1 as in paper mills and bleacheries4 ,,roofs4 ,benjamin ,franklin once said that next to a good foundation a good roof was the most important feature of a building4 ,although the constructive features of mill roofs are well defined1 yet with regard to roof covering there is a wide diversity of experience and opinion4 ,the present form of factory roofing resembles a floor in its construction1 being made1 in a similar manner1 of plank laid upon beams which project through the walls1 where they act as a bracket to the cornice1 the ends being sawed after any suitable ornamentation4 ,the inclination for such roofs is about three-fourths of an inch to the foot4 ,where a mill is narrow enough for a single beam to reach from the wall to the ridge1 they form cantilevers1 the second point of support from the wall being by the columns one-third of the distance across the mill1 and the ends of the beams are further secured together by means of iron dogs4 ,for mills of greater width1 the beam would reach only to the row of columns1 and over the middle of the mill a beam is placed1 usually horizontal on the under side1 and hewn down from the middle to each end1 so as to preserve the same slope on the upper side of the beam as for the roof4 ,in many instances mills are built with brick cornices1 without any of the wood projection from the side2 and in other buildings the walls are carried above the roof1 which slopes toward the center1 and all water falling on it or melted from the snow is conducted from it by pipes leading down through the middle of the mill4 ,it is not desirable to place gutters around the edge of the mill1 as they serve no useful purpose1 and are in continual need of repairs4 ,by leaving the edge of the mill plank square and protecting it by sheet metal flashing1 the rain falling from the roof can be received by a concave walk of coal tar concrete placed on the ground around the building4 ,suitable porches over doors1 or some guard on the roof at these points1 will prevent people who may be passing in at doors from being unduly wet by water from the roof4 ,there are numerous forms of roof coverings1 the use of the different varieties being to a great extent local2 that is1 the sheet iron coverings used in the ,middle ,states are almost unknown in ,new ,england2 and in the latter place the ordinary tinned iron roofing is universally painted1 while in the ,dominion of ,canada it is laid obliquely and never painted4 ,it is conceded by all that sheet copper forms the most desirable method of covering a roof2 and1 if one could be assured of the permanence of the structure1 irrespective of the necessity for making changes every half year in order to keep pace with the march of invention1 it would doubtless be shown that under such conditions of permanency copper would form the cheapest roof4 ,the most widely used roofing materials for this class of buildings are the asphalt and the coal tar roof1 the latter being the most widely used in ,new ,england4 ,there are numerous varieties of these composition coverings1 which are applied by various methods4 ,some of these are of the most satisfactory character1 while others are poorly designed and unskillfully applied1 and are a constant source of trouble and expense to the occupant of the building4 ,one of the leading manufacturers1 the efficiency of whose work for many years over a large amount of mill property ,i can vouch for by personal knowledge1 uses the following method of applying the roofing4 ,three layers of roofing felt are placed on the plank parallel to the eaves1 and continued by lapping each additional layer two thirds of its width upon the preceding one1 and in this manner covering the roof with three thicknesses of the felt1 breaking joints4 ,this is secured to the roof by nails through tin washers and coated with a melted composition1 and then two additional layers of felt are placed over the whole4 ,another coat of composition is then applied and gravel is placed over the whole while soft4 ,this maker does not approve of the practice of cementing each sheet of felt when it is laid1 because it does not allow the felt freedom to yield from the expansion and contraction of the roof4 ,when tin is applied to roofs1 resin-sized building paper should first be laid on the roof plank1 and the sheets of tin should be painted on the lower side before being laid4 ,of late years cotton duck has been applied as a roof covering1 and has been watched with a great deal of anticipation1 although it has been used for similar purposes in covering ships' decks for many years4 ,but the two uses are not strictly comparable1 because the ship's deck is calked tight1 and therefore the covering is free from the application of moisture underneath1 while the roof is never tight1 and the warm air underneath1 heavily charged with moisture1 which permeates the cracks between the planks1 becomes chilled and condenses as it nears the top1 carrying on a process of distillation4 ,as an example of the extent to which this can be carried on1 ,i have known of instances where people presumed they were making a good roof by leaving slight air spaces by means of the furring laid between the roof plank and the top boarding4 ,the circulation of air in these spaces deposited sufficient moisture to rot the boards4 ,a mill manager1 wishing to have a roof over a very warm room1 which should be both tight and a very perfect non-conductor1 made a roof containing a space of about sixteen inches1 which was filled with sawdust1 and the roof boarding on top of this was covered with tar and gravel in the usual manner4 ,in a few weeks the water began to drip through the ceiling as if the roof was leaking1 although there was no snow on the top of the roof4 ,investigation showed that within that short time a sufficient amount of water had condensed with the sawdust to saturate the whole4 ,i would say in this connection that three inches of plank afford an ample protection against condensation over any ordinary process of manufacture1 although four inches of plank have been used as a roof over paper machines in order to be safe beyond peradventure2 but it is necessary that nails should not be driven into the bottom of this roof plank1 because the point of a nail will reach to a lower temperature near the outside of the roof in the winter1 and being a better conductor1 it will cause moisture to condense upon the head of the nail4 ,tin roofing is so general in use as not to require any allusion to methods of application1 but the only course to reach economical and satisfactory results for a term of years1 especially for locations near to the sea shore1 is to use the best quality of dipped roofing plates of some brand which can be relied on as conforming to the standard and free from wasters or imperfect plates4 ,duck roofing has been successfully applied by first laying and tacking down a covering of two-ply asphalt paper1 and upon this was spread a covering of resin-sized sheathing paper1 tacked in the usual manner4 ,upon this was laid a covering consisting of cotton duck1 forty-four inches wide and weighing twenty-six ounces to the yard4 ,several methods of joining the edges of the duck together have been tried1 resulting in the abandonment of the method of sewing used1 for the preferable method of nailing the duck down1 laying one strip over the other1 and then opening the duck1 a lock joint is formed without any jointure between the two sheets exposed to the weather4 ,after the duck is stretched on the roof1 it is securely fastened by means of round-headed woodscrews1 one and one-fourth inches long1 through a concave tin washer three-fourths of an inch in diameter1 resting upon a seven-eighths of an inch washer made of roofing felt4 ,a coat of hot pine tar with a small quantity of linseed oil is laid upon the whole of the duck roofing1 after being laid1 for the purpose of filling the fiber and preserving the cotton fabric by means of the antiseptic principles of the pine tar4 ,the surface is then covered with two coats of mineral paint4 ,within a year1 paper has been very successfully used as a roof covering4 ,sheets of wood pulp board about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness are treated by a process which renders them hard and elastic1 and secured upon the roof by means of tacks through concave tin washers4 ,the edge of each sheet is grooved1 in order to allow for the expansion and contraction of the roof4 ,the whole roof is then covered with a heavy mineral paint4 ,experience with this during the past severe winter in ,maine has been of the most satisfactory nature4 ,shingles furnish a much better roof covering than slate1 both in the matter of conduction of heat or cold in the extremes of summer and winter and also in resistance to fire4 ,the heat of a slight fire underneath the roof will cause slates to crumble2 and the same result will be obtained by heavy sparks falling and burning upon the roof4 ,some people treat shingles by boiling them under pressure in a solution of salt and chloride of lime1 for the purpose of antiseptic treatment and also to render them fireproof4 ,,storehouses4 ,the latest form of storehouses tends to one of two extremes4 ,where land is nearly level1 and cheap1 the greatest storage capacity can be obtained with the greatest economy by means of a one or two story storehouse built with a plank construction1 with the beams secured to the posts by means of knees4 ,a traveling crane or railroad runs along the middle of the storehouse1 affording a ready means for rapid changes of the contents of the storehouse4 ,another form for storage is by means of very large brick buildings1 especially arranged as a protection against outside fire4 ,in designing a storehouse it is of especial importance that the stories should not be made so high that it will be possible for a dangerous load to be piled upon any one floor4 ,the wool storehouse of the ,pacific ,mills at ,lawrence can be safely said to be in its design and construction the finest example of mill engineering in the country4 ,another type of mill storehouse1 designed for both raw material and finished goods1 is designed by ,mr4 ,john ,kilburn1 of ,lowell1 and consists of two buildings placed at right angles to each other1 and joining only at one corner4 ,these buildings do not contain openings through the floors of any nature whatsoever1 either for stairways1 elevators1 or any other purpose2 but all vertical communication is furnished by means of a masonry tower at one corner of the buildings1 which contains an elevator and stairway4 ,at the level of each floor1 substantial balconies lead through a doorway in the tower to one in the storehouse1 and the storage is added to or withdrawn from the storehouse in this manner4 ,i have not made any reference to the use of rolled iron for structural purposes1 because such material has not been used to any extent in mill architecture4 ,irrespective of questions of space or of strength1 wood beams possess advantages in the reduction of vibration1 facility of securing the plank above and hangers below1 and a great many other purposes in the changing and alterations of a mill1 which render them peculiarly useful1 and ,i believe that the results with ,southern pine beams in ,american mills are much superior to those of the iron beams in ,european mills4 ,no small part of the success attending the use of rolled iron in the structural purposes for which it is adapted1 has been due to the excellent and reliable engineering information contained in the manuals and catalogues issued by the rolling mills4 ,such works are reliable and clear1 and1 as far as ,i know1 can without exception be safely followed4 ,the general tendency of ,american mill construction is toward as low buildings as the price of land will admit4 ,the ,american mills being devoted to a large variety of operations1 instead of being confined to a single process after the manner of those of ,european type1 require a great deal more care in their organization1 not merely in the original lay-out for the purpose of arranging for the passage of the stock in processes from the raw material to the finished product in as straight lines as possible1 but due consideration should also be given to providing facilities for the enlargement of the mill4 ,as an illustration of the methods employed1 in a paper mill plan of my own design1 the view and plan being thrown on the screen1 the various operations containing processes of different hazard in regard to fire are completely isolated from each other by means of fire walls1 and the storage of the mill is in turn isolated from the manufactory4 ,the storehouse consists of three sections1 the largest section for paper stock1 which is sorted in the upper story1 the second section1 one story in height1 for other manufacturing supplies1 and beyond the fire wall the storehouse is arranged to contain the finished paper4 ,goods can be taken away from or added to the storehouse at the single line of teams1 or railroad siding4 ,after the stock leaves the sorting room1 it is carried to the dusting room over a covered bridge1 which is protected from the weather on one side1 yet does not form a flue for the spread of fire as does a closed bridge4 ,the first room in the main mill is used for a dusting room1 and thence the stock falls into the rotary bleach1 whence it is carried through the fire doors to the engine room4 ,here it meets the wood pulp and clay wheeled from the middle section of the storehouse1 which is on that same level4 ,after washing and beating1 the stock is run into the drainers below1 whence it is raised again1 and after suitable intermediate processes the pulp is converted into paper on the paper machine in the connecting building4 ,this paper is then taken into the upper part of the main building1 and after being dried on the lofts is suitably calendered and packed before being transferred into the extreme end of the storehouse to await shipment4 ,at the present time it has been found that an inclined roof of the olden type is not a necessity over a paper machine1 as has been decreed by the tradition passed down from old practices4 ,within the last year1 a number of flat roofs have been placed over paper machines1 without any trouble ensuing from condensed water forming on the ceiling and thence dropping upon the stock4 ,it is well known that the use of a flat roof in such places is attended with a great many mechanical conveniences2 and the pitched roof hitherto used for these purposes has been submitted to1 only because it was presumed to be necessary4 ,the whole tendency of mill design is in the line of fitness of means to ends1 in the simplest and most direct manner4 ,when the mills in ,lowell were first built1 they consisted of isolated buildings1 which it was presumed would remain for all time2 but when it became necessary to increase the plant1 it was found that the engineer had wisely laid out the mills in the same yard in reference to a fixed grade1 so that corresponding floors would meet when the buildings were extended so that they reached each other4 ,wherever a strong and diffused light is necessary for any manufacturing process1 or the conditions are such as to require unusual stability of the building1 one-story mills lighted by monitors afford accommodations not reached by any other form of construction4 ,in presenting before you some of the salient features of modern mill construction1 ,i have endeavored to show the various steps of progress leading up to the development of the present types of design1 as well as some of the methods of construction in present use4 ,these various steps in advance1 producing mills better suited for the purposes for which a mill is built1 are not generally due to elements originating with the manufacturers1 but with the ,factory ,mutual ,underwriters1 who1 finding it cheaper to prevent a fire than to settle a loss1 have in every manner encouraged improvements in construction1 equipment1 and administration1 with the result of diminishing the insurance on textile manufacturing property during the last generation from two and one-half down to one-fourth of one per cent41 or reducing the cost of insurance eighty per cent4 ,in designing any work1 a careful regard should be given to precedents1 remembering that a good designer must also be a good copyist4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,passive ,,state ,,of ,,iron ,,and ,,nickel4--,e4 ,saint ,edme4--,the nickel of commerce immediately becomes passive if immersed in ordinary nitric acid4 ,iron1 while being briskly attacked by common nitric acid1 is rendered passive by contact with nickel4 ,if steel and nickel are plunged into the acid together1 the former metal is not even momentarily attacked4 ,nickel retains energetically a proportion of combined nitrogen1 to which its passivity is due4 ,,improved ,,torpedo ,,boat4 ,we give an illustration of the new type of second class torpedo boat which ,messrs4 ,yarrow ,co4 have recently constructed to the order of the ,admiralty1 and which was tried at the latter part of last year4 ,the boat is #fj ft4 long over all and #h ft4 #f in4 wide1 #c ft4 shorter and from a foot to #ae in4 wider than the old type of second class boats4 ,she attained a speed of rather more than #ag knots per hour on her official trial with #d tons on board4 ,the speed1 when light1 for six runs on the measured mile was #ah-a_/b knots4 ,the latter seems a very high speed for so small a vessel1 and indeed it is a remarkable performance1 but at the same time the speed of #ag4jca knots on a four hours' trial with #d tons on board is more remarkable still4 ,it is well to note1 says ,engineering1 in comparing speeds of torpedo boats1 under what conditions as to weight carried and duration of running the trial is made4 ,in our previous notice we referred to the manner in which this boat differs from ordinary second class boats in the manner of ejecting the torpedo2 and the arrangement is well shown in the engraving4 ,the more ordinary method of firing the torpedo from a tube or tubes1 built into the hull and pointing forward through the bow1 will be familiar to the majority of our readers2 but here it will be seen the bow fire has been altogether abandoned1 and a swiveling gun placed aft is substituted4 ,the gun1 of course1 is not new2 indeed1 one was placed on the old ,lightning1 the first torpedo boat built for the ,english navy4 ,that vessel was1 however1 a first class boat1 and although not so large as the first class boats now built1 was considerably bigger than ,no4 #ej1 which is the official designation of the craft under notice4 ,in the ,lightning1 too1 the torpedo gun was placed forward1 and was trained in quite a different manner to that of this second class boat4 ,we have already commented on the offensive advantages of being able to eject the torpedo through a wide angle of range1 and when going at speed1 rather than having to bring the boat to a stop and fire only end on4 ,we need not therefore recur to this point2 but since our former notice appeared we have had1 while on shore1 an opportunity of seeing the boat steam at speed and maneuver4 ,our previous experience was obtained on board--a position which1 in some respects1 does not afford so good a point of observation as when one is at some little distance from the boat4 ,it is certainly a remarkable sight to see the manner in which this little vessel winds among craft or round buoys1 or turns circles of surprisingly small diameter4 ,she seems to pivot on a point very near the bow1 a fact which is no doubt chiefly to be accounted for by the way the deadwood is cut away aft4 ,this allows the stream of water diverted by the unusually large rudder to swing the after part round with facility4 ,illustration3 ,,improved ,,torpedo ,,boat4 ,another notable feature about ,no4 #ej is the comparatively small bow wave she throws up4 ,we believe it is pretty generally acknowledged now that the most noticeable point at night about a torpedo boat traveling at high speed--putting on one side flame and sparks from the funnel--is the high bow wave the majority of these vessels throw up when going quickly through the water4 ,the powerful electric search light causes this mass of foaming water to show up with peculiar distinctness against the dark background of sea and sky4 ,it has been1 therefore1 thought advisable to reduce this undesirable feature even if something in the shape of speed has to be sacrificed4 ,fairly full bow lines are the best for fast boats of this class1 but in such a model the big bow wave is very noticeable4 ,messrs4 ,yarrow have met the demand of naval officers for a less easily observed boat by placing the greatest cross section further aft than they would have done had speed alone been the point aimed at1 as it almost always was in the earlier torpedo boats4 ,it is therefore additionally creditable to ,messrs4 ,yarrow that they have reached the unprecedentedly high speed of seventeen knots1 with so considerable an addition to the beam1 and that they have at the same time reduced the bow wave4 ,there is a further advantage of less surface disturbance when running torpedo boats4 ,it is unnecessary to point out that surprise will be the chief element of success in future possible attacks in which these craft may be engaged4 ,as the bow wave is most likely to reveal the presence of the boat by sight1 so also will it most probably give first warning of approach by sound4 ,it is the splash of the water and not the noise of the machinery that can be heard for the greatest distance when a boat is running with hatches closed--speaking of course of high-speed boats in which the engines are kept to a high degree of perfection1 as they should be1 and in the ,royal ,navy are1 with all torpedo boats4 ,it will therefore be seen that there is an additional reason for reducing the objectionable bow wave4 ,the boat which we illustrate recently made the run from the ,thames to ,portsmouth1 and1 the weather being bad1 was taken through the somewhat intricate but more sheltered fairways and channels of what is known as the overland passage4 ,off ,margate she managed to get on the ground--a result by no means to be wondered at2 and1 as the sands here are very hard1 she smashed her propeller4 ,after a time she was got off and beached1 when a new propeller was fitted4 ,we mention this incident1 as it is generally supposed that these craft are of a very fragile description2 egg shell is the favorite term of comparison4 ,one distinguished naval officer--retired--has said he would never willingly go on board these craft1 for fear of putting his foot through the bottom2 and there is a very funny story extant about a sailor with a wooden leg4 ,it would seem1 however1 from the experience of ,no4 #ej1 that steel vessels are of much more robust constitution than is generally supposed1 and1 indeed1 there is ample testimony to the fact4 ,we recently witnessed the efforts of a small working party to get one of these vessels over a bank4 ,she was pushed as high up as the strength of the party would allow1 and in this position her fore part was over the bank for about a third of the length of the boat4 ,a tackle was then put on the bow1 which was bowsed down until the boat could be dragged straight ahead4 ,a few words may appropriately be added here as to torpedo boat policy generally4 ,admiral ,colomb1 in the opening remarks of his excellent little manual1 ,the ,naval ,year ,book1 refers to the torpedo boat question in the following terms3 ,the fleet1 the flotilla1 the cruiser1 and the harbor attack and defense have each had 7i4 e41 during the past year7 their share of attention1 and developed exercise1 and opinion has been advanced1 guided1 or turned back by the observation of facts which these exercises have brought out4 ,while it cannot1 perhaps1 be said that the torpedo1 as torpedo1 has much altered its position in naval estimation1 it seems fair to assume that the torpedo boat1 as boat1 has fallen in repute4 ,in the first1 it has grown very much larger1 and has1 in point of fact1 ceased to be a boat4 ,in part this may have come about because the role which some proposed for the torpedo boat1 of being an entirely defensive weapon confined to territorial localities1 and operating only within a short distance from its port1 has never been generally accepted4 ,boats which were never intended for voyages have been sent on voyages1 and1 being found more or less unsuited for that kind of service1 supposed improvements have been made1 so that they should be capable of executing it4 ,the 'harbor defense' instrument has become a 'sea attack' instrument1 and in some sense an unrecognized rival to the undoubted sea-going torpedo vessels like the ,archer1 the ,fearless1 and the ,rattlesnake4 ,in these passages ,admiral ,colomb has put the present aspect of the torpedo boat question very aptly4 ,we are now experiencing the inevitable reaction consequent upon our early over-valuing of the torpedo4 ,the unknown possibilities for distinction of those weapons were so magnified that scarcely any expenditure was thought too great to provide means for their employment1 both in and out of season4 ,torpedo vessels have been growing in size and costliness4 ,more and more gear has been crowded into them1 increasing their weight and cost1 and also the intricacy of their machinery4 ,in all this1 cheapness1 the one great virtue of the torpedo1 has been overshadowed4 ,no doubt it is right for a great naval power like ,great ,britain to have vessels of all classes1 and the possible value of small fast vessels such as the ,archer or the ,rattlesnake--not necessarily as connected with the torpedo--can hardly be overestimated4 ,but for smaller naval powers1 that look on the torpedo boat as a means of coast defense1 especially those countries having a broken coast line studded with islands1 bays1 and inlets1 it is very questionable whether the smaller boats1 such as that now under notice1 will not be a better investment than the larger craft at present more in vogue4 ,by the additional seaworthiness of this boat1 secured chiefly by the increased width1 the #fj ft41 or second class1 boat has been lifted into the category of practicable vessels2 and it must be remembered that four or five of these smaller craft can be purchased for the price of one modern first class boat4 ,this is the crucial point1 the money standard1 and it is to that that all ship and boat building questions must be reduced1 whether it be in wealthy ,england or the most impecunious and perhaps hardly more than half-civilized state4 ,the question may be argued from many points of view1 and we put forward these remarks simply as suggestions1 without any wish to dogmatize4 ,but it seems that1 as the cheaper second class boat has been carried so many steps in advance1 it may be worth while to reconsider the position with a view to returning to the original torpedo boat idea of small1 inexpensive vessels1 acting by surprise2 and not putting too many eggs in one basket4 ,,scientific ,,apparatus ,,at ,,the ,,manchester ,,royal ,,jubilee ,,exhibition4 ,sine and ,tangent ,galvanometer4--,an exhibit of original scientific apparatus was contributed by ,prof4 ,g4 ,f4 ,fitzgerald1 of ,trinity ,college1 ,dublin4 ,the first instrument was a sine and tangent galvanometer1 which combines both instruments1 and has four interesting peculiarities3 7#a7 ,the windings of the coils are visible through the plate glass sides1 so as to be capable of easy measurement in situ4 7#b7 ,the position of the needle is read by reflections of a cylindrical scale in two rectangular mirrors whose intersection is horizontal1 and which are attached to the magnet4 ,these mirrors reflect images of opposite sides of the scale to a fixed mirror which reflects them into a microscope1 in which1 by means of a micrometer1 it is possible to read accurately the position of the line which is the same in the two images4 7#c7 ,this cylindrical scale is affixed to the base of the instrument1 and the coils can be rotated round it1 so that when the instrument is used as a sine galvanometer its position is read by reflection in the rectangular mirrors attached to the magnet of a pointer attached to the coils4 7#d7 ,by a slight modification of the suspension1 a beam of light can be reflected from a mirror connected to the magnet at #de deg4 to its axis of rotation1 and can emerge through the plate glass side of the instrument and fall on a horizontal scale1 where it will measure the tangent of the deviation instead of the tangent of twice the deviation1 as in ordinary reflecting galvanometers4 ,the meldometer shown is an instrument for facilitating the identification of small quantities of minerals by comparative observations on their melting points1 and for observing the phenomena of their fusion and ebullition4 ,it consists of a strip of platinum arranged to traverse the stage of a microscope1 and heated by a current derived from two ,grove's cells4 ,on this strip the fragments of the mineral1 or1 if for comparative observation1 of two or more minerals1 are placed4 ,the temperature of the platinum is then raised by gradually diminishing a resistance placed in circuit with the battery and meldometer1 the behavior of the substance being meanwhile observed through the microscope4 ,to effect the elevation of a temperature automatically1 a resistance1 consisting of a rod of carbon fitted in a vertical glass tube1 is employed4 ,professor ,fitzgerald showed two sets of apparatus for measuring the densities of gases4 ,both methods depend on the determination of the amount by which a body is buoyed up when immersed in the gas4 ,model for ,illustrating the ,properties of the ,ether4--,a very interesting exhibit was the model for illustrating the electromagnetic and luminiferous properties of the ether1 of which a detailed description is almost necessary4 ,the model consists of a series of wheels1 rotating on axes fixed perpendicularly in a plane board1 and connected together by ,india-rubber bands4 ,the axes are fixed at the intersections of two systems of perpendicular lines1 and each wheel is connected with each of its four neighbors by an ,india-rubber band4 ,thus all the wheels can rotate without any consequent straining of the system if they all rotate at the same rate4 ,if1 however1 some of the wheels are rotated through a different angle from others1 the ,india-rubber bands will be strained4 ,if it be desired to represent a region in which conducting matter exists1 it will be represented by removing the bands from a set of wheels4 ,suppose the bands are removed from the regions1 ,a and ,b1 and from the connecting line1 ,a ,b1 then we can represent the charging of these regions with opposite electricities by introducing some mechanism by means of which the wheels on opposite sides of the line1 ,a ,b1 can be rotated in opposite directions4 ,the model is not intended to illustrate in any way the connection between the ether and matter2 indeed1 one of the advantages claimed for the model is1 that the study of it so distinctly emphasizes the distinction between the phenomena depending on the general properties of the ether by itself and those depending on its connection with matter4 ,for instance1 from the very case we have just considered1 we get impressed upon us that it is by means of matter only that we can get a hold on the ether so as to strain it4 ,as the object is not to illustrate the connection between matter and ether1 any rough method of turning the wheels so as to create the proper strain will do well enough1 as it is not the method of producing1 but the nature of the strain produced that is to be considered4 ,having once rotated these wheels1 we may replace the bands along the line1 ,a ,b1 and we have the state of the ether between two oppositely electrified bodies represented on the model4 ,it will be observed that half the ,india-rubber bands are strained1 and that in lines running round the bodies the tight side of a band is always away from one body and next the other4 ,this represents the polarization of the ether4 ,the late ,prof4 ,clerk-,maxwell defined polarization as a state in which the opposite sides of each element are in opposite states4 ,now1 the opposite sides of each band are in opposite states--one side loose1 the other tight2 and so it can very well represent the polarized state of the ether4 ,the displacement producing the polarization is due to the different rotation of the wheels carrying the band causing more of the band to be at one side of the wheels than at the other--less at the tight and more at the loose side of the pair of wheels1 and this represents the electric displacement producing the polarization4 ,the direction of this displacement is at right angles to the line of the bands that are strained1 and is out from one body and in toward the other all round4 ,considering the other properties of the ether that are represented by the model1 we observe in the first place that during the time polarization is taking place the wheels are rotating1 and that the rate of rotation of the wheels is proportional to the rate of increase of polarization1 and that the direction of the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the direction of the displacement4 ,hence it is seen that the magnetic force is properly represented by the rate of rotation of the wheels1 and its direction by the axis of rotation4 ,the model1 although simple in construction1 is very useful1 and its careful study will greatly assist the student in obtaining definite physical conceptions of many of the more abstruse phenomena depending on the ether4 ,prismatic ,photometers4--,another exhibit was a photometer made of solid paraffin1 or any other translucent substance1 invented by ,mr4 ,j4 ,joly1 of the ,university of ,dublin4 ,the arrangement is at once simple and effective4 ,the instrument depends upon the fact that if a prism be cut from a translucent body1 and so exposed to a source of light that one only of its faces is illuminated1 the light diffused through the substance and reflected out through the illuminated faces of the prism gives it an appearance as if lighted up internally4 ,the effect is1 in fact1 as if the prism itself was a source of light4 ,two such prisms laid together on smooth faces1 and receiving light from separate sources1 if placed so as to be at opposite sides of the plane of division1 appear as if each was emitting light proportional in intensity to the source of its supply4 ,the double prism has the appearance of two luminous bodies laid side by side4 ,when1 however1 the supply to each prism is brought to equality1 they appear as if emitting equal quantities of light2 and it is hard to detect any longer that two prisms are being observed1 so completely does all trace of the plane of division disappear4 ,an ingenious piece of apparatus invented by ,mr4 ,joly was one for carrying out his method of determining the specific gravity of small quantities of dense or porous bodies4 ,the method here shown enables the specific gravity to be determined whatever the density or state of aggregation of the substances1 and in extremely minute quantities1 with an accuracy limited only by the sensitiveness of the chemical balance4 ,telegraphing the ,readings of ,scientific ,instruments4--,another invention of ,mr4 ,joly was his apparatus for obtaining telegraphically the readings of meteorological instruments placed at a distance from the observer4 ,this apparatus may be attached or adapted to the various thermometers1 the barometer1 rain gauge1 and to other instruments placed in a mountain station1 thus enabling their readings to be taken from a conveniently placed observatory4 ,any number of instruments may be worked with perfect reliability and certainty by the use of three wires only2 the only extra piece of apparatus needed being a disk1 carrying insulated contact pieces arranged round its circumference1 to which the wires of the different instruments are attached4 ,of these three wires1 one serves to put one after the other of the contacts into circuit with the home station through the second wire4 ,by this second wire the readings are taken and the readjustment of the instruments effected4 ,the third wire is for the indication of the contacts1 and is taken from all the instruments to the galvanometer in the home station4--,industries4 ,,colored ,,photography4 ,about nine months since we directed attention to the system of colored photography invented by ,mr4 ,j4 ,e4 ,mayall1 ,london4 ,since that time1 ,mr4 ,mayall has further developed the details of his process1 and as a result his color pictures have been much improved both as regards appearance and size1 and are beautiful specimens of this new departure in photographic art4 ,as stated in our previous notice1 ,mr4 ,mayall1 after fourteen years of experimental research1 has discovered the art of reproducing the colors latent in the negative of the photograph1 having arrived at his discovery by the aid of spectrum analysis1 which led him to the conclusion that every color in the organic world1 when exposed to a suitable photographic plane in a camera1 registers exact vibrations4 ,mr4 ,mayall has succeeded in producing chemical colors extremely attenuated1 which exactly correspond with the vibrations in the negative4 ,in doing this1 he keeps the film alive to the smallest vibrations of light4 ,he uses1 first1 lactate of iron to impregnate the isinglass film with a salt of iron capable of uniting with any stronger organic acid2 and1 secondly1 meconic acid1 which impregnates the film of albumen1 and has a stronger affinity for iron than lactic acid4 ,it unites with the iron1 and forms a red film1 which is in a state to receive all the lower vibrations of the red end of the spectrum1 and this gives these lower vibrations a fair chance with the electric light4 ,all subsequent processes assist this chemical march to the final end of making a print that will take up colors1 which1 when added1 fall in their places1 and there remain indelible and unalterable4--,iron4 ,,future ,,prospects ,,for ,,gas ,,companies4#d ,by ,mr4 ,,thos4 ,,wood1 of ,sandusky4 ,those who were in attendance at our ,dayton meeting will perhaps recall the fact that the writer1 in a paper read at that time1 strongly advocated gas companies taking hold of the electric light business and running the same in connection with their gas business2 you will also recall the fact that the writer suggested that gas companies should take up the incandescent electric light and fuel gas4 ,since that time it has been demonstrated by several gas companies in this and other ,states that the electric arc system can be added with success1 financially1 to gas companies and with satisfaction to their patrons2 and the writer derives great pleasure in hearing of so many companies who have left the narrow and beaten track of prejudice and are now walking in the broad road of progression4 #d ,a paper read lately before the ,ohio ,gas ,light ,association4 ,it is not my intention to dwell upon arc lighting now only long enough to state that1 after two years of practical experience with the combination1 our company consider they have taken a right step in adopting it1 and that it is satisfactory in every respect4 ,other gas companies that have adopted the arc system can undoubtedly corroborate this with their experience4 ,i would make this paper a continuation of the last one by now taking up the incandescent electric system and fuel gas question4 ,that both will be introduced into every city in the ,united ,states before long by some one ,i have not a shadow of a doubt2 and why8 ,simply because they are both desirable commodities in domestic economy and hygiene4 ,please lay aside all prejudice1 and ,i will show you an ideal domestic burner for illumination purposes4 ,now1 what comprises an ideal burner for domestic use8 ,in the first place1 such a burner must not blacken our walls and ceilings1 neither must it give off deleterious products of combustion2 it must be a steady light1 and not subject to draughts2 it must not give out heat in summer1 it must not be possible for inflammable goods to ignite by coming in contact with it2 it must be a light that will have no ill effect if by accident the key is left open2 it must be a light that our country cousins cannot blow out1 neither must it be one that requires dangerous matches to ignite it1 and lastly1 it must be a fairly cheap light4 ,now1 gentlemen1 if you have thrown prejudice to the winds1 perhaps you can recognize in this ideal burner the incandescent electric light for domestic use4 ,now1 if this light is an ideal one1 who is going to prevent its adoption by the public8 ,gas companies cannot1 and if they cannot no one can4 ,so1 in my mind1 the wisest course to pursue is to admit what we know to be true1 and proceed at once to supply the demand1 increase our revenue1 push out into the suburbs of our cities1 sell it as cheaply as possible1 and don't let others come in and take away what rightly belongs to you4 ,if there is any money to be made in the business by others1 there is still more in it for us4 ,for store purposes1 where the hours of burning are defined1 ,i think it better to abandon the meter system and fix a price per annum or month for each lamp1 taking into consideration the hours of use as a basis for charges4 ,for private dwellings this would not be practicable1 and we would have to resort in this case to meters1 or perhaps fix upon a price for furnishing the current and have the consumer purchase the bulbs or lamps whenever renewals were necessary4 ,in this way economy would cheapen the light to the consumer4 ,any method that will dispense with the meter and still be satisfactory will be the one to adopt4 ,i cannot understand how some gas companies who have the incandescent electric system as a competitor can console themselves with the fact that it is not injurious to their gas business1 even taking it for granted they are selling as much gas as before its advent4 ,is this a just reason why they should make no effort to secure their old patronage8 ,i think not1 for it is human nature to secure a whole loaf in place of the half1 when it is possible to get it4 ,a gas company's revenues would certainly be increased by the step1 and a dangerous rival would be made profitable4 ,i think it is a mistake to think that by and by the people will get back to gas4 ,of course some will1 just as gas consumers sometimes go back to coal oil2 but1 because a few give it up1 don't let us deceive ourselves by thinking that all will do it eventually1 for the incandescent electric burner is bound to remain wherever it is now in use1 and will find its way to the other places where it is not now in use4 ,that is all very well to talk about1 ,i hear some one say1 but what are they going to do with our prior investment8 ,to such ,i would say1 push that1 too4 ,cheapen it to its lowest point and urge its use for power and cook stoves until such time that you find yourselves able to supply gas for heating purposes of all kinds4 ,what difference does it make to a company whether the money expended for improvement account be coal gas benches1 holders and mains1 or dynamos1 boilers1 and wire8 ,i fail to see the difference1 and if improvements have to be made in both1 so much the better--it shows a healthy demand for both branches1 and should be promptly provided for4 ,if arc lighting is to be the light on our streets and the incandescent electric light for our stores and dwellings1 shall we have to draw our fires from under our gas benches and stop making gas8 ,this1 to the writer1 would be an absurd deduction1 for the very reason that in nature's laboratory all these elements are placed1 and gas would not be one of them if there were not some important part for it to play in the supplying of man's wants4 ,it is for us to take the things we find in nature's laboratory and select the fittest articles for each special use2 and it is reasonable to suppose that it will be only the fittest that will finally be a success4 ,the arc light1 so far as the writer has ascertained1 has asserted pretty generally throughout the country its supremacy on our streets1 and this in spite of all opposition from gas companies--showing conclusively that it has gained its position by the force of demand for the fittest4 ,incandescent electric light is just as surely finding its position and field of usefulness1 and in its turn will assert its supremacy1 and why8 ,because it has the qualifications called for in the public specifications4 ,some will assert that it is too expensive to come into general use1 and also that it is not as reliable as gas4 ,the first is no argument against it1 for was not coal gas sold at exorbitant prices in its early days8 ,it certainly is capable of being cheapened in the future1 as gas has been1 and this is one reason why gas companies should enter the business1 as it is in their power to cheapen it4 ,as far as unreliability is concerned1 it certainly looks the most serious objection2 but don't be alarmed on that score1 for duplicate machinery or storage batteries will eventually overcome this bugbear1 and while discussing this subject don't let us forget that the breaking of a main1 the filling up of a drip1 a flood or explosion1 or even ,jack ,frost1 has often caused our customers to think that even gas is not very reliable4 ,i cannot understand what prompts gas companies as a rule to prejudice against electric lighting1 unless it be they imagine the outcome to be idle gas mains and cold benches4 ,this ,i think is all wrong4 ,the largest unoccupied field to-day is the fuel gas field1 and who should step in and supply this demand8 ,could any one do it as well as the present gas companies8 ,we have our mains and services already laid2 we have our holders1 meters1 and trained labor1 most of us have also the necessary land to spare on which to erect the generators4 ,next to the fuel gas field ,i think ,i can see another field nearly as extensive1 and that is the coal oil field4 ,please imagine the following picture1 which is representative of the writer's belief of what a gas company will be in the near future2 in fact so near in the future that before our next convention rolls around it will be a reality4 ,one set of officers1 whose principal qualifications shall be progressiveness--their duties to be divided between electric lighting of all kinds1 including electric power1 fuel gas for all purposes1 including gas engines2 also incandescent lights off fuel gas mains4 ,now let us see what the plant will consist of4 ,one set of mains for fuel gas1 from which our patrons will draw all their fuel1 and also light1 if they wish4 ,gas engines will be run economically with this gas4 ,one set of meters only will be required4 ,there will be no coal gas benches as we have them now1 as the method of manufacture is too laborious1 too expensive and very primitive1 not to say barbarous--everything now being built on the horizontal plan1 requiring the greatest possible exertion to both draw a charge and stoke4 ,the generators of the future will be on the cupola style1 feeding by gravitation from the top4 ,native coals in all probability will be sufficiently good to make gas of4 ,one portion of the plant will be devoted to the dynamos and engines for furnishing the electric light4 ,where the coal gas benches now are will be boilers1 or perhaps even these will be unnecessary if gas engines be used4 ,if steam boilers be used1 they will be fired with producer gas1 and the holders will become simply pressure regulators4 ,the revenues of gas companies will be increased fivefold1 if not more2 the consumer will get cheaper fuel1 cheaper power1 and cheaper light4 ,native coal fields will become more valuable1 and we will not pay tribute to other ,states1 as heretofore4 ,the change from illuminating coal gas to fuel gas will perhaps be a slow one1 owing to the conservatism of gas companies and imperfected details2 but eventually it will be brought about in spite of all obstacles4 ,if a company is operated as pictured1 it will furnish arc lighting1 incandescent electric lighting1 and electric motors1 fuel gas1 incandescent gas lighting1 and gas engines4 ,gas will be made on a larger scale1 with less dirt and nuisance1 and without that laboriousness now made necessary4 ,valves1 levers1 and push buttons will displace scoop1 drawing hook1 and wheelbarrow1 and the employees will no longer be known as gas house terriers1 but will become elevated to a higher plane4 ,the officers of the company will also of necessity have to be more active and alert1 and the rule of thumb will be at a discount4 ,now let us see where the gas man will be who fails to occupy these new fields of pasture green4 ,he will1 of course1 go on making coal gas in the old way2 he will still wrestle with stopped stand pipes1 steam jet exhausters1 naphthaline1 etc41 and worry over how much a bushel of coke weighs4 ,he will try to convince his customers that he knows better than they do what they want1 and that anything but his gas is of no account4 ,he will keep on cutting out items from the newspapers whenever he finds it recorded that an electric light somewhere failed to flicker4 ,he will still maintain that there is not a company in the country making anything out of electric lighting1 and that it is only a matter of time when some fellow slips into his town and1 noting things1 works up an arc light company1 captures the street lighting and some of our friend's best consumers4 ,the price of gas is lowered2 all kinds of patent gas burners are invested in to recapture those lost consumers2 a fight ensues1 factions are made in the town1 and the arc light company adds an incandescent plant to the arc light1 and captures more of our friend's consumers4 ,to cap the climax1 another fellow comes along and proposes to supply fuel gas to the citizens1 gets a franchise1 puts in pipes and services1 and our friend wakes up some fine morning to find that what the electric light fellow has left him in the shape of lighting has been captured by the fellow with the fuel gas plant1 who puts in the incandescent gas burners4 ,evidence is cropping up all around us that tends to this change4 ,we find manufacturers of fireclay goods now making carbons for electric lighting2 we also find gas fixture manufacturers now making and selling electric wires of all kinds1 besides other apparatus connected with the electrical field4 ,manufacturers of meters have not yet devised a meter for measuring electrical currents1 but perhaps it would pay them to devote a portion of their time to studying one out4 ,as far as the present meter business is concerned1 ,i think1 if this transformation of the gas business is brought about1 the demand for gas meters would be quadrupled and the use of the larger sizes of meters would be made necessary2 but if accuracy could be insured with a much smaller meter with quicker action1 ,i think it would be better adapted for the purpose4 ,fuel gas1 if it can be manufactured at a price at which it could be sold with profit at a lower or as low price as coal1 would prove a larger field than all the kinds of lighting put together1 and is certainly worth our while to investigate thoroughly4 ,the owners of the smallest houses of our cities would become our patrons1 and a small profit per thousand would represent a wide margin when taking into consideration the large amount that would be consumed4 ,but is the fuel gas practical1 and has there been sufficient progress made to date to warrant gas companies taking hold of it with any assurance of success8 ,in the first place1 what assurance do we require8 ,do we want some one to come along and guarantee us a profit of #bj per cent4 on our investment if we enter the field8 ,if so1 the patentees of the different processes might just as well negotiate with the shoe maker as with the gas company4 ,i think all the assurance we want in the premises is that with certain apparatus we can get certain results from a ton of coal 7the kind of coal being specified71 or that from a ton of coal we can get a certain amount of available deliverable heat units4 ,the balance we should be capable of working out ourselves1 such as labor1 leakage1 cost of gas at consumers' meters1 and such other data that we certainly should be more familiar with than any one else4 ,of course1 the fuel gas will have to have an odor1 and must be delivered at a proper pressure2 and proper appliances for governing supply and insuring perfect safety will have to be calculated on4 ,in fact1 the gas man must try to improve on methods adopted1 and do his best to hasten the day when solid fuel in our homes shall be no more--in other words1 we have to take hold of the fuel gas business in its infancy or it will get weaned away from us4 ,mr4 ,mc,millin1 with others1 has given us some figures on fuel gas which have been verified by practical tests4 ,for instance1 he gives us as his opinion that a mixed gas is more adapted for all-round purposes than either coal or water gas alone4 ,from experiments made we find that from a ton of bituminous coal1 making a mixed gas1 we can realize as salable gas #fc or #fd per cent4 of the total heat units in the original ton of coal1 or about #ag1jjj1jjj heat units1 besides a residue of heat sufficient to produce the steam for making the above amount4 ,of this mixture #bj per cent4 is coal gas1 made in the ordinary way1 which is the only objectionable feature the writer can see in the process4 ,i am inclined to think that ,mr4 ,mc,millin rather strained a point here in order not to alarm coal gas men1 or else to avoid a too radical change in the apparatus now in vogue for making coal gas4 ,by his statement we find that in water gas1 labor and repairs cost but #g cents per ,m1 while coal gas costs for the same items #ae cents per ,m4 ,of course1 the proportion of coal gas made by the old method is of more value in heat units than the water gas made by the new method2 but what ,i wished to suggest was this1 that if the whole process be made in the cupola as water gas is now made1 whether the result would be the same number1 or nearly so1 of heat units in amount of gas made1 with a large reduction in labor making the coal gas cost no more than the water gas for the item of labor repairs4 ,if the mixture can be made in this manner1 and ,i have some assurance that it can be done successfully1 then ,i think it would pay any company to abandon the use of the present style of gas benches1 and use the space now occupied by them with more improved apparatus1 rather than use them at a loss1 simply because we have them on hand4 ,we have pictured an ideal burner for our homes in the fore part of this paper1 and ,i cannot refrain from holding up to your view this ideal fuel1 which has no smoke1 no dirt1 no ashes1 and entails on the housewife no extra labor1 can be regulated automatically to one steady temperature1 and does not require a workingman1 after doing a hard day's work1 to come home and find a ton of coal dumped on the front sidewalk1 which has to be wheeled or carried in before night comes on4 ,now that we have seen an ideal street light1 an ideal house light1 and an ideal fuel1 we will endeavor to show you an ideal gas company2 and we cannot do it in a more concise way than to say that an ideal gas company is one that keeps all these ideal commodities for sale at a reasonable price4 ,this may look visionary on my part to some of you1 perhaps all of you2 but1 nevertheless1 ,i feel that this is the place and time to talk over our future prospects1 and if this paper is the cause of any one investigating the subjects spoken of or bringing forth discussion regarding the same1 ,i shall feel ,i have not written in vain4 ,,the ,,application ,,of ,,electricity ,,to ,,lighting ,,and ,,working4#e ,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,preece1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,lecture ,i4 ,i appear before you to give a short course of two lectures on the application of electricity to lighting and working4 ,to-night ,i shall confine my attention entirely to lighting1 and if we succeed in getting through our subject1 we shall devote ourselves next ,wednesday to the application of electricity for working tramways1 to the transmission of power for various purposes1 and generally to working4 #e ,two juvenile lectures recently delivered before the ,society of ,arts1 ,london4--,from the ,journal of the ,society4 ,many people imagine the electric light to be a cold light4 ,it is a delusion4 ,it is called a cold light because in many of its forms it gives what we may call a cheerless light2 it has not got the warmth1 the comfortable look1 of other artificial means of illumination4 ,the electric light owes its existence to the intense heat that the electric current produces1 and heat lies at the root of every system of artificial illumination4 ,for instance1 suppose we take a common match and light it1 we light it simply because by the friction of the two surfaces together we generate heat1 the heat burns the substance of which the match is made4 ,we are able to light a common candle because we have applied heat to the wick1 the heat liquefies the wax of which the candle is made1 the wax is decomposed1 it combines with the oxygen of the air1 intense heat is produced at that point1 carbon is consumed1 and the consequence is light4 ,so with all our various modes of artificial illumination4 ,gas1 as you are well aware1 produces intense heat1 and the result of that heat is light4 ,there are various ways in which gas is applied to produce heat and the necessary consequence--light4 ,here is a ,sellon gas burner1 in which the combustion of gas raises the temperature of a fine platinum cap1 and the result is1 as you see1 a very beautiful light4 ,in one lamp we have a cap or mantle1 in the other case there is merely a flat disk gauze of platinum4 ,the combustion of the gas produces intense heat1 which raises the network to a very high state of temperature1 though in the present case the light is not so good as it should be1 probably through the pressure in the supply main not being sufficiently great4 ,in another case we have a gas jet surrounded with a network of some vegetable matter1 linen or cambric1 steeped in a solution of salts of zirconium1 and a few other rare earths1 and the intense heat of the gas causes a very high temperature1 and1 as you see1 a very brilliant effect is produced4 ,you will see from this that in all cases of artificial illumination bodies have to be raised to a high state of temperature4 ,i hold in my hand a piece of magnesium wire2 it is really flat magnesium tape1 but it is called wire4 ,if ,i heat that1 you will observe that a very brilliant light is produced1 due to the very high temperature at which it burns4 ,now1 if ,i take a lump of coal and heat it--it requires to be raised to a certain temperature before the oxygen is directed upon it--and subject it to a jet of oxygen1 you will see that it burns with very much more intense light than you are accustomed to in the ordinary fire4 ,if ,i take a piece of iron wire and place it in a jar of oxygen1 you see what a very brilliant effect the combination of oxygen and iron produces through the iron being raised to a very high temperature4 ,i have now shown you that in order to produce light we must1 by some means or other1 raise the temperature of a body4 ,but the high temperature that we have to deal with is not that produced by the combination of the oxygen of the air and carbon1 and other bodies such as ,i have shown you1 but it is produced by the aid of the electric current4 ,in all these cases the result of the combustion you have seen has been to remove oxygen from the air1 but now ,i want to show you how a body can be raised to a high state of temperature without combustion of any kind4 ,in front of me ,i have a fine platinum wire4 ,in my hand ,i hold a wire that is in connection with a battery upstairs1 the other wire in connection with the battery is attached to the far end of the fine platinum wire2 now1 when ,i make contact with the near end of the platinum wire1 you observe that the wire is raised to redness1 its temperature is high1 and as ,i reduce the length of the platinum wire it gets brighter and brighter1 the amount of electricity passing through it is greater and greater1 and presently the wire is fused4 ,i should have pointed out that as the quantity of heat generated in a wire increases1 so does the color of the light4 ,when heat is applied to a body1 that body is first warmed1 then it gets gradually hotter and hotter1 until it becomes red hot1 and the first color that appears is always red4 ,the temperature is further raised1 and the body assumes the color of orange1 then at a little higher temperature it appears yellow1 and so the different colors of the rainbow are perceived according to the different temperatures to which the body tested with is raised4 ,now1 ,i want to show you the most intense form in which heat can be produced on this earth4 ,there is no hotter object that we can obtain than that of the electric arc4 ,i will try and produce this arc4 ,you observe that when ,i bring these two pieces of carbon together1 a current of electricity passes between them1 and the passage of the current of electricity between them creates such an intense temperature that a brilliant white light1 as you see1 is produced4 ,incandescent particles of carbon pass between the two points1 forming a sort of bridge or arch1 which is called the electric arc4 ,but the temperature of this arc is1 as ,i said before1 the highest temperature that we can produce2 it has been measured1 and is found to be #h1ejj deg4 ,fahr4 ,that is a temperature that can hardly be conceived2 the melting point of iron is only about #a1bjj deg4 ,fahr42 the melting point of platinum1 which is one of the most refractory metals we have1 is about #c1jjj deg4 ,fahr42 but here in the arc we have the intense temperature that nothing can withstand1 equal to #h1ejj deg4 ,fahr4 ,the color is really due to the combustion that takes place between the materials forming the arc4 ,i have just used two pieces of carbon1 but ,i will now try other materials--copper1 iron1 and zinc4 ,you will see a difference in the color of the light1 due to the fact that metal is burned in the arc instead of carbon4 ,every metal has its own distinct and particular color1 and the presence of the different metals can be detected by the character of the small arcs produced4 ,i have shown you that we have two modes of producing intense heat1 and therefore light1 by electricity4 ,i want now to show you how we produce electricity4 ,the first essential for the production of electricity with a hand machine like this is a good dinner4 ,the energy provided by beef or mutton enables the operator to turn the big wheel of the machine1 whence motion is transmitted to the apparatus for producing the electricity4 ,this machine when rotated causes a coil of copper wire to be whirled in a magnetic field1 and that rotation of the coil in a magnetic field converts the energy derived from the grass and from the mutton through the machine into electric currents2 those electric currents flow through wires that are under the table1 they will appear in the two wires ,i hold in my hand1 and will1 ,i hope1 reappear in the little glow-lamps ,i have before me in the shape of heat1 and then of light when ,i attach the wires4 ,the light of the glow-lamp is of just the same form of energy as that which passed from the sun to the earth1 and by beginning backward from the lamps we have light1 heat1 electric currents1 mechanical motion1 food or fuel in the shape of mutton1 grass on the ,south ,downs1 to the sun4 ,whichever way it is taken1 you will find there is direct action between the sun and the glow-lamp4 ,the lamps are now burning1 and you see that we are able to produce electricity to our hearts' content4 ,down-stairs there is a gas-engine2 the gas-engine is at work2 the gas-engine works because the gas supplies energy which1 stored up in the bowels of the earth in the form of coal for ages and ages1 has been extracted2 it has been converted into gas at the large gas works down the ,river ,thames1 it has been brought up here1 it is burned in the gas-engine1 and produces energy in the gas-engine exactly in the same way as the mutton or beef produced energy just now4 ,there is a dynamo down-stairs exactly like the dynamo that we have upon the platform1 and the current that is produced is exactly as the current we just obtained1 and is sending electricity through all the lamps in this room4 ,the currents of electricity passing through the lamps are producing intense heat1 the heat is producing the incandescence of a fine carbon filament1 such as ,i will show you directly1 and the consequence is that we are now being lighted in this room by the energy that unmistakably and undisputably arrived on this earth millions of years ago in the form of sunshine4 ,we can store up the energy in batteries4 ,i shall show you to-night two or three different forms of battery4 ,here is what is called a primary battery4 ,the only difference between a primary battery and a secondary battery is this1 that a primary battery consists of chemical elements that at once combine and produce electricity by combustion1 whereas a secondary battery involves some anterior electrical action1 which prepares the surfaces of two bodies to put them in exactly the same condition as a primary battery4 ,here is a primary battery known as the ,schanschieff1 which is charged with a solution of sulphate of mercury1 and into that sulphate of mercury we will dip plates of zinc and plates of carbon4 ,zinc has a greater affinity for the sulphuric acid of the sulphate of mercury than mercury has2 the sulphuric acid will at once combine with the zinc2 it will burn the zinc just as the gas burned just now1 but instead of burning with heat and light in the battery1 it burns in the form of electricity1 which appears in the glow-lamps attached4 ,you see that the moment the zinc and carbons are placed in the cell electricity is produced1 and the lamp is lighted4 ,the form of battery from which we are drawing our electricity to-night is the accumulator1 or the storage or secondary battery4 ,the secondary battery simply consists of plates or grids1 as they are called1 one filled with litharge1 and the other with red lead2 the one becomes pure lead1 the other becomes peroxide of lead2 the plates are combined in this form1 and then placed in a glass cell1 and upstairs there are #eb of these ,e4,p4,s4 cells1 which have been charged all day long by the gas-engine of which ,i spoke1 and which now contain a store of electricity that ,i shall make considerable use of to-night before ,i finish4 ,i showed you the form of electric light which we call the arc1 and ,i have here to-night two or three different forms of arc lamps1 which ,i will show in action4 ,but ,i want you to see this arc light for yourselves1 and ,i want you to feel1 as ,i feel1 that in all nature there is nothing more wonderful and nothing more beautiful than the action of electric currents in the arc4 ,the light is1 as ,i attempted to show you1 the very same light that came from the sun4 ,i can show you that it is of the same character as the light of the sun1 and in the lantern on the table there is an arc lamp the light of which we will throw on the paper before me in the form of a spectrum4 ,there you see the spectrum in all its purity2 the spectrum from the sun is no purer as regards light than what you now see4 ,there you see all the colors of the rainbow1 and ,i had intended1 if it were possible1 to show you in the first experiment1 in which we raised platinum wire to incandescence1 that the first color would be the red1 then the orange1 then the yellow1 then the green1 then the blue1 then the indigo1 and lastly the violet4 ,beyond the violet there are rays of light which we cannot see2 they are the rays that produce the photographic pictures1 and1 had time permitted it1 we would probably have taken to-night a picture by means of the arc lamps1 but it requires a long time to do so1 and it really is no more interesting than an ordinary photographic picture4 ,there are all the different colors of the rainbow4 ,those who are anxious to remember the order of the colors can very easily do so if they will remember this simple sentence1 ,read over your good book in verse4 ,the first letter of each word in that sentence gives the first letter of the color in the order of the spectrum4 ,it would be a very good thing if some of our artists were to study and remember the colors of the rainbow1 for it is an extremely rare thing indeed to find a picture with the colors of the rainbow properly depicted1 sometimes they are upside down1 sometimes they are mixed1 and if you discuss the fact with an artist1 he will say1 ,i do not care about your science4 ,i simply paint my own impressions4 ,i will now show you the arc in another form4 ,we are to-night connected in this room--,i have told you there is a gas-engine down-stairs2 there are also secondary batteries upstairs--but we are in connection with the ,grosvenor ,gallery in ,bond ,street4 ,the ,grosvenor ,gallery has a central station where a very large dynamo is at work1 from which electricity is supplied to different parts of ,london2 many thousand lamps are fed1 in a great many clubs1 theaters1 and private houses2 they are all lit up by the currents generated underneath the ,grosvenor ,gallery4 ,the ,grosvenor ,gallery ,company1 through their engineer1 ,mr4 ,ferranti1 have very kindly undertaken to supply us to-night with a current4 ,the current is supposed to be a very dangerous one1 in reality it is not2 there is no electric current that has ever been produced that is one-tenth as dangerous as a steam boiler1 and all these currents1 however immense they may be1 are very simply controlled1 and very easily brought within the region of safety4 ,there is no doubt that with the apparatus that is now being handled in this room1 if anybody were deliberately to put one wire in his mouth and the other in his hand1 he would have the funeral service performed over him in two or three days2 but those who know what they are about no more handle electric light wires carelessly than they put their hands in a furnace or their noses in boiling water4 ,we acquire experience by practice1 and we know by this time pretty well how to deal with electric currents4 ,now1 you see in the lower arrangement there that safety catches are being put in1 which render any accident quite impossible4 ,passing through each of those boxes there is what is called a cut-out safety fuse1 or safety valve1 and should1 from any accident1 anything go wrong in this theater1 or in any way with the system outside the theater1 the safety fuses would burst1 and would so remove all danger from inside4 ,the switch has now been turned1 and by it the current from the ,grosvenor ,gallery has been brought within our reach4 ,you see an arc light produced by it1 and you see how intensely bright and brilliant that light is4 ,i do not want you so much to see that light itself1 but ,i want you to see its projection1 or picture2 and if ,mr4 ,wickham will kindly direct it on that white paper1 at the end of the room furthest from the table1 you will see a picture of the carbons which are now emitting that intense and brilliant light4 ,you will see that between what appears to you as the top carbon 7but which is in reality the bottom carbon of the two7 and the bottom one there is playing1 apparently1 a shower of minute fragments of something1 but which are in reality innumerable minute flashes of lightning1 there is a constant uninterrupted shower of electric shocks passing1 that produce that intense brilliancy1 and that very bright appearance4 ,there is intense commotion1 a terrible surging about of matter in a molten condition4 ,well1 that arc that you see is produced by the currents from the ,grosvenor ,gallery4 ,they are alternating currents of electricity1 currents that are constantly and suddenly circulating backward and forward4 ,the arc that we have at this other end of the room is a direct current one1 and it is now projected on to another sheet of paper1 where you see a different form of are altogether4 ,this arc is produced by the direct current from a battery4 ,you will see the form is quite different from that in the alternate current arc4 ,you heard a peculiar hissing sound just now2 that is a peculiar phenomenon in arc lamps that has attracted a good deal of attention from physicists1 but nobody has yet arrived at a satisfactory conclusion as to the cause4 ,the lamp sometimes sings and sometimes hisses1 and while thus behaving it produces an intense and variable inverse electro-motive force1 that has to be overcome before the current can produce a steady and silent arc4 ,you will notice in the upper carbon of this form of lamp a kind of cup1 or crater4 ,the lower carbon forms a kind of point1 a raised surface1 and between the two there is on the projection that which appears as a glow1 but which in reality has very intense heat1 reaching1 as ,i told you1 a temperature of #h1ejj deg4 ,fahr4 ,in those two projections you have1 ,i think1 within my experience for the first time1 been shown in public an alternate current arc and a direct current arc at the same time1 so that you are really able to see what ,i do not think most people have seen before4 ,there are a great many different arc lamps4 ,i have not time to bring before you all the various lamps that ,i might have secured for your inspection4 ,there is the ,brush lamp1 that for a long time lit up the streets of our city1 and ,i sincerely hope very soon is going to light up the city again4 ,there was the ,jablochkoff lamp1 that lighted up our ,thames ,embankment1 and which can be seen1 on going down the ,strand1 at the ,tivoli ,restaurant1 not far from here4 ,the offices of the ,daily ,telegraph1 in ,fleet ,street1 and many other places1 are lighted up by different lamps1 many of them excellent4 ,our experience of the last two or three years at the exhibitions has taught us that there are a great many different kinds of arc lamps1 but all these arc lamps are lamps so constructed that they cause the pair of carbons to be fed1 to be kept together1 as they consume1 at the same rate as they do consume4 ,the mechanism is of great delicacy1 it acts with great promptitude1 and the one that we have here to-night is one of the last and one of the best2 it is known as the ,brockie-,pell lamp4 ,the lamp now at work is a ,brockie-,pell1 and for those who are interested1 a diagram representing it is upon the wall1 and its operation ,i shall be very happy to explain after the lecture2 it feeds with great rapidity1 with great convenience1 and is one of the steadiest lamps we have4 ,there are objections to the arc light2 it is extremely dazzling and irritating to the eye4 ,although the arc lamps we have here to-night are of the very best of their kind1 and are certainly almost steady1 still they have little irregularities in their action1 and worst of all1 they throw intense shadows4 ,the light from them is not very well diffused1 still the light is very brilliant1 and it raises the envy of a good many people4 ,for instance1 the ,brush ,company were once establishing a light in the neighborhood of ,cork1 and an ,irish farmer was remarkably struck by the appearance and the steadiness of the light1 so he came to the engineer in charge and asked him1 as a great favor1 if he could kindly tell him where he got his oil from4 ,i must now go from this to the next branch1 the glow-lamp1 the lamp that is burning so steadily and so nicely above us4 ,for this lamp we do not use platinum1 such as ,i heated before you just now1 but we use carbon1 so fine that although ,i have probably one hundred or more in my hand1 they feel no heavier than a feather4 ,these extremely fine filaments of carbon are made with very great care from cotton4 ,i cannot show you the whole operation of making carbons and some of the preliminary operations connected with the making of the lamp2 but owing to the kindness of the ,anglo-,american ,brush ,company1 their manager1 ,mr4 ,sillar1 is here to-night1 and we shall have the pleasure of seeing how the whole operation of the manufacture of one of these glow lamps1 such as we have above us now1 is carried out4 ,the carbons have already been formed1 but the first process is that the cotton fiber is carefully tied and wrapped around pieces of carbon1 as you see4 ,it is then placed in a furnace and carbonized4 ,after being thus prepared1 a glass tube of special quality selected for the purpose is used to form the glass globe4 ,mr4 ,donaldson will take a piece of the glass tube before you1 and will blow it into the shape similar to the lamp ,i hold1 which is of the very familiar pear-like form4 ,the carbon filament will then be fixed in the glass bulb1 the latter will be exhausted and sealed1 and the whole process be passed through before your eyes4 ,i must first of all show you why it is necessary to take all this care4 ,we have in front of the board one of these carbon filaments suspended1 and we will now pass a current through it1 and the carbon filament is raised to incandescence1 it combines with the oxygen of the air1 it is at once consumed1 and1 as you saw1 we only had a light for a few seconds4 ,now1 in order to make that light permanent1 it is necessary to inclose the carbon filament in a glass globe1 and to exhaust from that glass globe all the air1 or as much of it as possible1 and then1 instead of having a life of a few seconds1 the life of a lamp frequently continues for #d1jjj or #e1jjj hours4 ,the first process1 as ,i said1 in making an incandescent lamp1 after the carbon filament has been prepared1 is that of blowing a glass bulb4 ,the blowpipe has now been put on1 and the intense heat of the ,bunsen burner raises the glass to incandescence1 to a soft1 plastic condition1 so plastic that the manipulator can do with it just whatever he likes4 ,having got the glass to this particular shape1 the filament will be placed inside it1 first of all mounting the filament1 which is an operation requiring a great deal of care and great skill in handling4 ,it is an extremely pretty operation1 and ,i beg to call your attention to it4 ,the carbon is fixed inside a fine spiral of platinum1 which is at the same time subjected to an intense current which decomposes the oil or the hydrocarbon in which it is placed1 the carbon deposits on the carbon filament1 and cements it to the platinum spiral4 ,that is called mounting the filament4 ,when that is done1 the filament is fixed in the glass globe1 and the platinum and glass are fused together4 ,the brilliance of the platinum can be seen during this operation1 and it is very pretty4 ,i do not know how it would have been possible for us to have glow-lamps if it had not been for the fact that the coefficients or rates of expansion of platinum and glass are practically exactly the same1 and the result is that when the platinum and glass are combined together1 as they are in a glow-lamp1 the two contract and expand at the same rate1 and the result is there is no leakage2 if there had been leakage through the glass1 it would have been quite impossible to have made a glow-lamp4 ,the success of a glow-lamp depends upon the vacuum produced1 and the next process is to cement the lamp so far to a vacuum tube connected to a mercurial air-pump4 ,the one before you is ,mr4 ,lane ,fox's4 ,it would have been also impossible to have produced these beautiful glow-lamps without the mercurial air-pump1 so that the success of electric lighting and its perfection depend upon1 first1 the similarity of expansion of glass and platinum1 and secondly upon our power of producing a vacuum4 ,as it takes ten minutes or a quarter of an hour to carry out the process of exhaustion1 ,i will proceed with other portions of my subject1 and presently1 when the time is ready1 ,mr4 ,sillar will inform me1 and we will light up the lamp that has been made before you this evening1 and1 ,i hope1 with success4 ,the operation we have just seen is one that has been just as interesting to me as it has been to you4 ,there are very few who are permitted to see this operation4 ,we once had it before in this hall when ,general ,webber read a paper on glow-lamps1 but with that exception ,i am not aware that the manufacture of glow-lamps has ever been shown in public before4 ,it is most wonderful to watch the marvelous way in which glass can be twisted and turned to our ways and to our wants1 and the skill with which the blower is able to manipulate glass in its plastic condition1 and to shape it in any form he likes1 is an operation which never ceases to excite one's wonderment4 ,the form of lamp that is being made before us is of the ordinary size that we see used generally1 but there are a great many different sizes of glow-lamps4 ,for instance1 here is a very small lamp2 above me you will see1 if ,i may call the small one a dwarf1 there is a giant glow-lamp4 ,it is a lamp invented by the ,honorable ,charles ,parsons1 it is made by the ,sunbeam ,lamp ,company1 of ,gateshead1 and is called the ,sunbeam lamp2 it has the same proportion to an ordinary lamp that an ostrich egg has to a hen's egg1 and the light from it is of equally large proportion1 as you see now the current has been turned on to it4 ,it gives a light of four hundred candles1 but it is rather too brilliant ,i see by your faces1 and we will go back to our old friends of the ordinary size4 ,there are also above us lamps of various sizes2 there is a five-candle1 ten-candle1 sixteen-candle1 twenty-candle1 and a hundred-candle lamp4 ,here also are a fifty-candle ,swan lamp1 a sixteen-candle ,swan1 and an eight-candle ,swan lamp4 ,there are the ordinary sixteen-candle lamp2 these are being burned from the ,grosvenor ,gallery4 ,here is a miner's lamp1 which is supplied with a current by the ,schanschieff battery1 the same as ,i showed you at first4 ,the peculiarity of this arrangement is that when the battery is turned upside down the light goes off1 the zincs and carbons occupy one half of the cell1 and the solution the other half1 the zincs and carbons being at the bottom1 and the battery is not excited unless contact is made with the carbons and zinc4 ,such a battery as this will maintain its lamp for #ab or #ac hours4 ,there are several forms of the ,schanschieff battery4 ,here is a portable form1 and lamp connected with it by a flexible wire1 which can be used when traveling2 or in the night1 when you want to know the time1 you can have a lamp and battery like this by your bedside1 and you can turn it upside down1 and produce a light1 see the hour1 and turn the battery back4 ,these glow-lamps are used for different purposes and ways4 ,they may be used with care1 they may be used recklessly2 their duration depends a good deal upon the care with which they are used4 ,a practiced eye1 one who is accustomed to deal with electric lamps1 can tell at a glance when the lamp is raised to a proper incandescence2 but there is a point in all lamps that is a sign of danger1 and indicates breakers 7or breakage7 ahead4 ,whenever in an electric light installation a glow-lamp begins to show a blue effect1 then breakers are ahead2 the current must be reduced or other steps taken4 ,i want to show you this blue effect1 which is extremely pretty1 and ,i want you to see the gradual stages through which a lamp passes from long life to death1 or rather to a very short and merry life4 ,we can make the life of a lamp just exactly what we like2 we can make a lamp last a minute1 or we can make it last a hundred years1 and the number of years of its duration is simply dependent upon the current employed4 ,i have here a glow-lamp1 and ,i pass a current through it4 ,there is no blue effect at present2 the current is increased1 and the carbon filament is raised to a high state of incandescence4 ,in such a state it would not last for a long time1 not more than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour2 but it does not show the blue effect yet4 ,on further increasing the current the blue effect appears1 though ,i doubt whether it is visible to many of the audience2 a little more current is put on1 and the blue effect is very marked1 the globe itself looks very brilliant1 and--there--the current has been increased until the filament has parted4 ,it is always better1 when making an observation or experiment1 to know what you are going to see1 so that you can direct your attention to exactly what is being done or to what you want to know4 ,if ,i put another lamp through the same experiment1 you will be better able to understand this blue effect1 and see just that point where the lamp is about to give out4 ,the current is now on1 and is being gradually increased2 the lamp is now intensely blue1 and--there--it has gone in the same way exactly as the other one did4 ,the way in which lamps burst is sometimes very beautiful2 they disintegrate1 they seem to volatilize1 and the substance of the lamp is projected with great force against the side of the globe4 ,on the table there are several beautiful specimens showing this effect4 ,the glow-lamp in process of manufacture before you is now being unsealed from the pump2 it is now exhausted1 and we will pass a current through it so as to raise it to incandescence4 ,the current is now on1 and you see the lamp burns with full brilliancy4 ,the next experiment is rather a cruel one1 because it is willful destruction4 ,i will not destroy the lamp that has just been made before us1 for ,i will keep it as a memento of this evening4 ,i want to show the safety of the electric lamp4 ,many people imagine that there is a great deal of danger about it4 ,i will take a handkerchief1 and in it place a lighted lamp1 when1 on the globe being broken1 the carbon filament instantly goes out1 and there is no damage to the handkerchief1 or the slightest appearance of scorching or heating upon it4 ,on breaking that lamp you heard a report4 ,that is due to the vacuum1 which1 on sudden rupture1 the air rushes in to fill4 ,these lamps will not only burn in air1 but will actually burn in water4 ,here ,i have a lamp which on placing in a bowl of water continues alight in the water just as well as in the air4 ,you can imagine what an immense boon that is to our divers and others who unfortunately have to work under water for our benefit4 ,i will not attempt to occupy your time in speaking of the beauties of this wonderful light1 how it removes really poison from our air1 how it is very good for sore eyes1 because it burns with such steadiness that those who work under it really never find1 in any shape or form1 any inconvenience or discomfort to the eyes4 ,it is extremely cleanly2 it does not fill the air we breathe with noxious fumes4 ,people are little aware of it1 but it is a very simple calculation to show that thirty gas burners produce a gallon of water in an hour1 so that if you have thirty burners in a shop1 for instance1 alight for six hours1 six gallons of water are produced and the water can very often be seen running down the cold windows of shops4 ,that water absorbs sulphur and sulphuric acid1 and when deposited on books and decorations destroys them4 ,if we could only get the electric light cheap1 delivered at our doors1 then everybody who has an idea of luxury and comfort would at once take it4 ,i want now to show you some of the dodges of the electric light4 ,first ,i will show you that by the action of a cut-out an excess of current is prevented from injuring the lamps4 ,a cut-out is inserted so as to protect a group of lamps here1 and on a large current being sent you hear a crack1 and the lamps have gone out2 the safety fuse has perished in performing its duty4 ,to prove this we will renew the cut-out1 and on the proper current being turned on1 you see the lamps are sound4 ,here is an electric cigar lighter4 ,i raise this up and the wire in front of it comes to a state of incandescence1 and ,i have there1 as you see1 sufficient heat to light my cigarette4 ,some years ago1 ,i had my daughter's doll house1 which was furnished by herself1 fitted up with the electric light1 and ,i thought that some of my younger hearers to-night1 who were still in the doll age1 would appreciate the way in which a doll's house can be lighted up by electricity4 ,you now see the doll's house illuminated2 it has a hall door lamp which lights up on the opening of the door2 the house has rooms furnished1 occupied with handsome dolls1 and fitted with every kind of contrivance2 the doll who occupies the drawing room has the convenience of a portable lamp1 which she can move about wherever she likes1 and each room and the kitchen has a particular form of lamp4 ,i have also here a model of that famous ship the ,captain1 which was wrecked off ,cape ,finisterre4 ,the model has been fitted with electric light1 and you now see the mast head-light1 the red light for the port side1 and the green light for the starboard side2 there are high jinks going on in the saloon by the aid of the electric light1 and there is also a search light which can be used for looking for the advance of the enemy4 ,a beautiful phosphorescent effect is produced upon the water1 which is covered with blue cotton wool1 in which a lamp is placed1 causing really a very pretty illustration of what the phosphorescence of the sea is like4 ,here ,i have an apparatus for heating curling tongs by electricity2 here is a flat iron treated in the same way1 and here is a kettle in which the current is carried to boil water4 ,i travel a good deal1 and ,i always carry in my traveling bag a battery like this1 which is one of ,pitkin's secondary batteries2 it is light and extremely convenient4 ,i can strap it on my shoulder like an opera glass4 ,to this is attached a reading lamp which ,i fix in my waistcoat1 and to the astonishment of my fellow travelers1 when the shades of evening are beginning to set1 ,i take out the lamp and put it in operation--so4 ,my reading lamp is thus provided1 and it is fixed in the most convenient position1 for the light falls just where it is wanted1 it does not offend the eye1 and enables me to read the smallest print4 ,i have always got with me my own light1 perhaps much to the annoyance of my fellow passengers1 and with the electric light machinery at my own house1 ,i have little or no trouble in recharging the battery1 or keeping it in order4 ,the ,pitkin battery is also applied to a miner's lamp4 ,,effect ,,of ,,chlorine ,,on ,,the ,,electro-,,motive ,,force ,,of ,a ,,voltaic ,,couple4#f ,by ,d4 ,g4 ,,gore1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,if the electro-motive force of a small voltaic couple of unamalgamated magnesium and platinum and distilled water is balanced through the coil of a moderately sensitive galvanometer of about #ajj ohms resistance1 by means of that of a small ,daniells cell1 plus that of a sufficient number of couples of iron and ,german silver of a suitable thermo-electric pile 7see ,proc4 ,birm4 ,phil4 ,soc41 vol4 iv41 p4 #acj71 the degree of potential being noted1 and sufficiently minute quantities of very dilute chlorine water are then added in succession to the distilled water1 the degree of electro-motive force of the couple is not affected until a certain definite proportion of chlorine has been added2 the potential then suddenly commences to increase1 and continues to do so with each further addition within a certain limit4 ,instead of making the experiment by adding chlorine water1 it may be made by gradually diluting a very weak aqueous solution of chlorine4 #f ,read before the ,royal ,society1 ,may #c1 #ahhh4 ,the minimum proportion of chlorine necessary to cause this sudden change of electro-motive force is extremely small2 in my experiments it has been one part in #ag1jjj million parts of water2#g or less than #a_/gjjj part of that required to yield a barely perceptible opacity in ten times the bulk of a solution of sal-ammoniac by means of nitrate of silver4 ,the quantity of liquid required for acting upon the couple is small1 and it would be easy to detect the effect of the above proportion or of less than one ten-thousand millionth part of a grain of chlorine in one tenth of a cubic centimeter of distilled water by this process4 ,the same kind of action occurs with other electrolytes1 but requires larger proportions of dissolved substance4 #g ,as one part of chlorine in #ag1fab million parts of water had no visible effect1 and one in #ag1jjj million had a distinct effect1 the influence of the difference1 or of one part in #ejj1jjj millions1 has been detected4 ,as the degree of sensitiveness of the method appears extreme1 ,i add the following remarks3 ,the original solution of washed chlorine in distilled water was prepared in a dark place by the usual method from hydrochloric acid and manganic oxide1 and was kept in an opaque1 well-stoppered bottle in the dark4 ,the strength of this liquid was found by means of volumetric analysis with a standard solution of argentic nitrate in the usual manner4 ,the accuracy of the silver solution being proved by means of a known weight of pure chloride of sodium4 ,the chlorine liquid contained #b4c milligrammes or #j4jcefe grain of chlorine per cubic centimeter1 and was just about three-fourths saturated4 ,one tenth of a cubic centimeter of this solution 7,no4 #a7 or #j4jjcefe grain of chlorine was added to #i4i c4 c4 of distilled water and mixed4 ,one cubic centimeter of this second liquid 7,no4 #b71 or #j4jjjcefe grain of chlorine1 was added to #ii c4 c4 of water and mixed2 the resulting liquid 7,no4 #c7 contained #j4jjjjjcefe grain of chlorine per cubic centim4 ,to make the solutions 7,no4 #d7 for exciting voltaic couple1 successive portions of #a_/aj or #a_/bj c4 c4 of ,no4 #c liquid were added to #ijj cubic centimeters of distilled water and mixed4 ,i have employed the foregoing method for examining the states and degrees of combination of dissolved substances in electrolytes1 and am also investigating its various relations4 ,,the ,,wimshurst ,,influence ,,machine4 ,in our last number we gave illustrations of this machine1 in which #ab plates #cj in4 in diameter are used1 and sparks nearly #ad in4 in length are obtained4 ,the engraving1 from photographs1 shows sparks #ac-a_/b in4 in length1 obtained from this machine4 ,illustration3 ,,discharge ,,from ,,the ,,wimshurst ,,influence ,,machine4 ,,sanitation ,,in ,,massachusetts4 ,this subject was prominently considered by ,dr4 ,h4 ,p4 ,walcott1 of ,boston1 in his address on state medicine1 at the meeting of the ,american ,medical ,association recently4 ,the vital statistics of ,massachusetts1 he said1 showed a declining death rate for the last thirty-six years1 under the influence of state sanitation4 ,the most marked decrease had been observed in the mortality from zymotic diseases2 there had been a less decided reduction of that from constitutional diseases2 that from local diseases had increased2 and that from mental diseases and from violence had remained stationary4 ,in #ahgf there was not a single death from small-pox4 ,typhoid fever had diminished most in cities having a good system of sewerage and water supply1 and least in towns without such improvements4 ,diphtheria1 which reached its maximum in #ahgg1 had since declined1 until it now caused only one per cent4 of the total mortality4 ,ovariotomy saved more lives than any other surgical operation1 but1 taking ,somerville as a basis of calculation1 the ascertained results of preventive medicine had saved more lives in ten years1 among thirty thousand people1 than ovariotomy would save in the same time among two millions4 ,great attention was given to small-pox1 which had killed but #e1ejj persons in ,massachusetts in thirty-six years1 and to cholera1 which had destroyed only #b1jjj2 but too little heed was given to scarlet fever1 with its mortality of #cg1jjj1 and to typhoid fever1 with its mortality of #de1jjj4--,n4 ,y4 ,med4 ,jour4 ,,the ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,eyes4#h ,by ,prof4 ,,david ,,webster1 ,m4,d4 ,,spectacles4 ,a vast amount of popular misapprehension and prejudice exists as to the use of spectacles4 ,many persons who need them object to wearing them for various reasons4 ,some fear that it will lead their friends to suspect that they are getting old4 ,others think it will cause them to be suspected of wishing to appear learned or cultured4 ,some persons do not want to begin to wear them lest1 having acquired the habit1 they may not be able to leave them off or to see well without them4 ,others again object to glasses only on account of their inconvenience4 ,i have personally met with many of all these classes of persons1 but ,i have frequently heard of another class that ,i have never met with1 namely1 those who do not need glasses1 but who wear them just for effect and to attract attention4 ,now1 the simple truth is that there are just two good reasons for wearing spectacles1 and only two4 ,one is that we may see better1 the other is that our eyes may be relieved of strain4 ,often both these reasons are combined in the same case4 ,many children begin to be near-sighted after they have attended school a few years4 ,they first find it out by observing that they cannot see letters or figures on the blackboard as far as the other children4 ,they can use their eyes as much as they want to without fatigue or blurring1 or smarting1 or burning1 or itching1 or pain in the eyes1 or headache4 ,in short1 they show no symptoms of eye strain4 ,they simply do not see distant objects distinctly4 ,such children should be fitted with glasses at once that will enable them to see as well as others at a distance1 and these glasses should be worn constantly4 ,the child should be instructed to take them off only when necessary to wipe them or to wipe or bathe the eyes and on going to bed4 ,the sooner the eyes get accustomed to them the less likely is the near-sightedness to increase4 ,moreover1 the child who sees clearly only a few feet away from him loses a very important part of his education4 ,our eyes gather information for us when we are least thinking of it1 by taking cognizance of the many objects that come within our field of vision just as our ears gather material for the proper development of our minds in listening to general conversation or to the sounds of nature and of busy life about us4 ,it is the duty of every one to make the best possible use of the faculties the ,creator has bestowed upon him4 ,the near-sighted person who does not have his vision corrected by glasses fails in the performance of this duty4 #h ,continued from ,,supplement1 ,no4 #fdg1 page #ajcdb4 ,from a paper by ,david ,webster4 ,m4,d41 professor of ophthalmology in the ,new ,york ,polyclinic and surgeon to the ,manhattan ,eye and ,ear ,hospital1 ,new ,york4 ,again1 the time comes in the life of every one who is not near-sighted1 and who lives to a good old age1 when he cannot see near objects well without glasses4 ,between the ages of #dj and #ej1 the crystalline lenses of his eyes having hardened along with the other tissues of his body1 he finds it impossible to focalize as he used to4 ,he holds his book farther and farther away from his eyes1 and finally he finds that he cannot read fine print at all1 or without straining his eyes4 ,then he must accept the unpleasant fact that he is getting old-sighted1 and if he wishes to use1 and not abuse1 his eyes1 he must get glasses to take the place of his lost accommodation and with which he can read easily4 ,some persons who are near-sighted in one eye and far-sighted in the other never need glasses1 but always do their reading and other near work with the near-sighted eye and their distant seeing with the far-sighted eye4 ,i believe ,i read a long time ago1 in an article by himself in the ,new ,york ,ledger1 that this was the case with the late ,rev4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,but the vast majority of persons who wear glasses1 both for the distance and for the near1 can see quite as well without them4 ,they do not wear them in order to be able to see1 but in order to have the strain removed from their eyes1 and to be relieved from the many disagreeable symptoms1 both direct and reflex1 that result from eye strain4 ,,focalization4 ,the act of focalization is a muscular act and requires an effort1 an output of nervous energy1 just as much in proportion as any other muscular act1 such as lifting a weight or shoving a saw or a jack plane4 ,the eye that is normally shaped forms pictures of objects1 more than a few feet distant1 on its back wall without any muscular effort1 and has to focalize only when engaged in near work4 ,but the oversighted eye is compelled to do this extra work all the time1 except when closed4 ,if it did not focalize1 it would see indistinctly4 ,this it refuses to do1 independently of any volition on the part of its owner4 ,the eye that can see distinctly will see distinctly1 no matter how great the strain1 and this by a volition apparently entirely its own4 ,the results are headache1 vertigo1 nausea1 nervousness1 irritability1 and other disagreeable reflex conditions1 besides the pain and inflammation1 and other symptoms manifested in the eyes themselves4 ,of course1 the only remedy in such cases is glasses1 and these glasses should be carefully selected by a competent person1 and should be worn as much of the time as is necessary to relieve the eye strain4 ,i find in ,taggart's ,times1 ,february #e1 #ahhh1 the following3 ,a ,french philosopher has said that a man who wears gold-bowed spectacles always admires himself1 and it would seem as though spectacles were becoming a sort of badge of distinction1 since young and old who have the slightest excuse for using them put them on4 ,,headache4 ,when one suffers from headache1 he is told that he overstrains the nerves of the eyes1 and must relieve this by the use of spectacles4 ,when things dance before the sight1 the cure for that is also spectacles2 and when tired with close attention to work1 the cure for wearied eyes is not rest1 but spectacles4 ,people who live much out of doors are usually very keen-sighted1 owing probably to the ever-varying impressions made on the eyes1 and this might reasonably suggest that the proper relief for a great many eye troubles would be a change from overwork4 ,i can only say that the person who wrote it seems not only to be prejudiced against glasses1 but to know very little of the anatomy and physiology of the eye4 ,the fact is that oversighted and astigmatic eyes1 needing glasses to relieve the constant and severe strain upon the accommodative muscular apparatus1 are benefited by rest and by change of air and occupation only to a limited degree4 ,real rest for such eyes is possible only from the use of glasses4 ,moreover1 it is not possible for all who suffer from fatigue of the eyes to take the time for rest4 ,it is necessary for many to use their eyes daily and almost constantly in order to make a living for themselves and for those dependent upon them4 ,there is much more good sense in the paragraphs which follow and which are extracted from the same article4 ,it is not surprising that so many school children suffer with weak eyes when we consider the conditions under which they are forced to use them4 ,the very fact that the light in many school rooms is twice strained through glass partitions before it penetrates the inside rooms is in itself a severe test of sight4 ,the preponderance of sash-wood over the panes of glass is anything but propitious to clear seeing4 ,with heads bent over desks doing arithmetical examples1 or studying the fine printed school books1 or reading their own imperfect handwriting from which many of the lessons must be learned1 the only wonder is that all the little ones are not purblind before they reach the grammar schools4 ,,fluffy ,,bangs4 ,but this is not all4 ,girls wear long and fluffy bangs1 intercepting the sight1 and both boys and girls seldom bathe their faces with clear cold water4 ,in the matutinal face washing the eyes are usually closed1 while a wet towel is delicately passed over the eyelids4 ,few persons can bear the pain of opening their eyes wide in a basin of cold water1 yet ,mr4 ,a4 ,m4 ,spangler told1 in his interesting lecture on ,nassau1 how the native population would dive to the bottom of the sea and bring up shells1 sponges1 etc41 that had been pointed out to them by curious visitors through a sea glass4 ,not only men divers1 but also little boys and girls could keep their eyes open in the water and search for cents which had been thrown in for them to pick up4 ,this shows that even salt water is not injurious to eyes accustomed to it1 and that habit makes the eye unnaturally sensitive4 ,as to the statement that people who live much out of doors are usually very keen-sighted1 it is an expression of a popular idea1 but1 like most popular ideas1 is true only to a limited extent4 ,the fact is that persons who do not live much out of doors generally use their eyes more for near work1 such as reading1 sewing1 drawing1 etc41 and hence are more likely to develop near-sightedness4 ,persons living indoors who are not near-sighted are able to see as well and as far as those who live outdoors4 ,it is true that the old sailor will recognize a ship in the horizon1 or any other distant object at sea1 sooner than a landsman4 ,but it is not because he is any more keen-sighted4 ,it is because he knows just what to look for4 ,he has seen such objects amid similar surroundings a thousand times1 and recognizes them1 even though his vision be considerably impaired by disease4 ,i have often found1 on testing the vision of such persons1 that it was not more than one-half the normal1 and yet they declared1 and1 ,i believe1 conscientiously so1 that they could discern a ship at sea as far as any one4 ,a very large proportion of the ,north ,american ,indians1 who live much out of doors1 have poor sight from inflammatory diseases of their eyes caused by exposure to smoke in their wigwams1 and by contagious eye diseases1 the propagation of which is favored by their unsanitary methods of living4 ,but1 no doubt1 many of them can discern distant objects upon the prairies and in the forests farther than their white brothers because of their greater familiarity with the appearances of such objects4 ,it seems to me that the practice of opening the eyes under water is not to be specially recommended1 except in cases of necessity4 ,while many bear it well1 to others it is more or less painful and irritating4 ,moreover1 nature furnishes a fluid with which to wash the eyeballs1 and applies it herself4 ,it is only necessary to keep the eyelids scrupulously clean1 and especially the edges of the eyelids where the eyelashes grow out4 ,for bathing the eyelids when uninflamed1 nothing is better than pure cold water4 ,when the eyes become red and inflamed1 the best domestic remedy is salt and water1 about a teaspoonful to the pint1 and applied warm or cold1 or at whatever temperature seems most agreeable to the eyes in any particular case4 ,,no ,,poultices4 ,under no circumstances should poultices be applied to the eyes unless ordered by a physician4 ,i have seen many cases in which a simple inflammation of the inside lining of the eyelids had been greatly aggravated by bread and milk poultices1 or tea leaves1 bound upon the closed eyelids and left on overnight4 ,in fact1 a distinguished professor of diseases of the eye has formulated the results of his observations thus3 ,poultices spoil eyes4 ,all patent eye washes1 eye salves1 and other remedies advertised to cure all diseases of the eye should be avoided4 ,different diseases require different remedies4 ,what will benefit one may injure another4 ,when one gets something the matter with his eyes and resorts to the use of a patent medicine for its relief1 he is in danger of losing valuable time4 ,he may lose an eye from want of proper treatment at the outset of the disease4 ,in a great city like ,new ,york1 every one may easily avail himself of the services of the most skillful physician4 ,if unable to visit them at their offices and pay their fees1 they may consult them at the numerous dispensaries1 hospitals1 and medical schools and colleges1 where it will cost them nothing4 ,,use ,,of ,,inflamed ,,eyes4 ,a lesson that is very difficult for many of us to learn is that inflamed eyes should not be used actively4 ,children with sore eyes should not be allowed to go to school for two reasons4 ,first1 the use of their eyes in reading will prevent or retard their recovery4 ,secondly1 sore eyes are usually communicable1 and one such child may infect a whole school4 ,it is highly important that all persons with inflamed eyes should use only their own wash basins1 towels1 and handkerchiefs1 and so avoid spreading the disease4 ,we not infrequently see a catarrhal inflammation of the eyes run through a whole family4 ,of course1 they catch it one from another1 and1 as there is no disease of the eye which is1 like measles1 or scarlet fever1 or smallpox1 communicable through the air1 such spread of the disease might easily be prevented by proper care of the person first affected4 ,persons whose eyes are sensitive to light should not be kept in dark rooms1 which are always unhealthy4 ,they may have their eyes protected by shades or by smoke colored glasses1 but should keep them open and exposed to the air1 and should remain out of doors as much as possible4 ,,effect ,,of ,,alcohol ,,and ,,tobacco ,,upon ,,the ,,eyes4 ,i must not close without warning my hearers against the baneful effects of alcohol and tobacco upon the eyes4 ,it is not uncommon for the eye surgeon to meet with persons who have become partially blind from the effects of these poisons upon their optic nerves4 ,of course1 only a small proportion of those who use alcohol and tobacco to excess are affected in this way1 but this renders it none the less certain that impaired sight is one of the dangers that we may avoid by abstaining from the use of these unnecessary and poisonous luxuries4 ,,tumors ,,of ,,the ,,bladder4 ,,diagnosed ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,the ,,electro-,,endoscopic ,,cystoscope4 ,by ,dr4 ,,max ,,nitze4 ,in the following lines ,i wish to direct the attention of my ,english confreres to the value of the electro-endoscopic mode of examination of the male urinary bladder1 invented by me4 ,i believe ,i could not have chosen a more suitable theme for that purpose than a short report of the bladder tumors diagnosed by me cystoscopically2 for the diagnosis of these new formations offers the greatest difficulty1 and in most cases it has been impossible till now to prove their existence with accuracy without digital exploration of the bladder4 ,by the new method of cystoscopical examination the conditions have entirely changed4 ,one look into the bladder1 illuminated as if by daylight1 is generally sufficient to afford means for forming an opinion of all the questions coming into consideration--viz41 size1 form1 and site of the tumor4 ,the accompanying diagrams 7,figs4 #a1 #b1 #c1 #d7 may give an idea of the appearances which the different forms of bladder tumors present endoscopically4 ,i regret that they cannot show the brightness of the light by which one sees the tumors during examination4 ,the celebrated ,vienna specialist1 ,v4 ,dittel1 is right in saying that they offer sometimes truly charming pictures2 especially certain kinds of villous tumors1 whose long slender villi floating in the liquid often present a splendid appearance4 ,the following are the cases cystoscopically diagnosed by me4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4 ,case #a4--;,a man1 aged fifty-five1 under the care of ,dr4 ,ch4 ,mayer1 suffered from attacks of haematuria for thirty years4 ,during the last six years he has had dysuria and inability to empty the bladder completely4 ,the patient had been examined by the sound repeatedly by eminent surgeons and specialists1 but none could give a certain diagnosis4 ,on ,nov4 #aa1 #ahhf1 ,i undertook the cystoscopic examination4 ,i found on the anterior wall of the bladder a puffy swelling covered with white masses of mucus4 7,see ,fig4 #a47 ,the trigone was covered by a mass consisting of pointed papillae4 ,on account of the weakness of the patient extirpation was impossible4 ,the patient became weaker and weaker1 and died in ,june1 #ahhg4 ,the post mortem examination showed the internal orifice of the urethra surrounded by a swelling representing a continuous tumor as large as a small apple4 ,it was found that the instrument had penetrated through the middle of this swelling1 which bled easily on pressure4 ,in spite of this1 the clearness of the picture was not interfered with in the least4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4 ,case #b4--;,a man1 aged fifty1 was obliged to exert a strong pressure in order to empty the bladder4 ,the flow of urine often stopped4 ,he himself introduced a catheter1 and on withdrawing it a piece of villous tissue was found4 ,on ,dec4 #aj1 #ahhf1 ,i saw1 on cystoscopical examination1 directly and immediately over the internal orifice of the urethra1 a villous swelling hanging from the anterior wall of the bladder4 7,see ,fig4 #b47 ,on ,jan4 #ae1 #ahhg1 extirpation of the tumor by means of the high section was performed by ,professor v4 ,bergmann4 ,the size of the tumor 7which was as large as a pigeon's egg7 and its position corresponded exactly to the endoscopic picture4 ,the patient recovered4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c4 ,case #c4--;,a patient under the care of ,professor ,madelung1 aged fifty-five1 suffered from attacks of haematuria4 ,examination by sound and rectal palpation had given me negative results4 ,on ,feb4 #bj1 #ahhg1 cystoscopical examination was made4 ,on the left side of the trigone a tumor with a broad base was seen1 which resembled somewhat a strawberry in size and form4 7,see ,fig4 #c47 ,on ,march #a1 ,professor ,madelung undertook the extirpation of the tumor4 ,the appearance corresponded exactly to the cystoscopic picture4 ,the patient recovered4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #d4 ,case #d4--,this was a patient on whom ,dr4 ,israel had performed the high section a long time before1 on account of a bladder tumor4 ,the extent was so great that only its most prominent part could be removed4 ,the microscopical examination proved the diagnosis of cancer4 ,quick healing took place4 ,the patient became free from pain1 and the urine became clear4 ,in order to see what had become of the remaining part1 the cystoscopical examination was undertaken on ,april #c4 ,it was easy to see that the right lateral wall was covered to an extent of from three to four centimeters with thick masses of verrucous and fungiform excrescences4 7,see ,fig4 #d47 ,we omit the description of the additional cases4 ,the above shortly described fifteen#i cases of bladder tumors have been diagnosed by me cystoscopically during the last sixteen months4 ,this is a proof1 on the one hand1 of the value of the cystoscopic examination2 on the other hand1 of the fact that the new formations in question are not of so rare occurrence as has been hitherto thought4 ,i would like to emphasize that the important results were often obtained under the most difficult circumstances4 ,in several cases the external orifice of the urethra was found abnormally small2 in others 7,cases #h and #aa7 the examination was made during the occurrence of a continuous hemorrhage from the tumor2 in one case 7,case #a7 ,i introduced the instrument through the center of the tumor1 which bled on the slightest pressure4 ,in spite of this the appearances were seen satisfactorily4 ,in the first case a post mortem examination was made2 in eight other cases 7,cases #b1 #c1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #ac1 #ad1 and #ae7 the tumor was extirpated1 seven times by the high section--in one case1 that of a woman1 through the dilated urethra4 ,in these nine cases the endoscopic appearances were in every important respect confirmed in the most perfect manner4 ,in every case my opinion regarding the size1 position1 and form was found to be correct4 ,it is only in those cases where the edges of the tumor overlap the short pedicle that the latter cannot be observed4 ,besides1 the relative good results of the operations undertaken on account of the cystoscopic appearance may be emphasized4 ,of the eight patients from whom the tumors had been extirpated1 none died from the result of the operation4 ,case #i proved fatal on account of the progressive extension of the growth4 ,in the eleventh case there was a recurrence1 but the patient is still alive4 ,five patients 7,cases #b1 #c1 #aj1 #ac1 #ad7 must be considered entirely cured4 ,case #ae is still under treatment1 and1 as the conditions of the patient are at present 7ninth day after operation7 in every way satisfactory1 a complete recovery is anticipated4 #i ,the first eight cases are more fully described in the ,arch4 fur ,chirurgie1 vol4 xxxvi41 ,part #c 7,dr4 ,nitze1 ,beitrage zur ,endoscopie der mannlichen ,harnblase74 ,the full account of the last seven cases will be published soon4 ,finally1 on comparing the above cystoscopic appearances with the results obtained by other methods of examination1 it must be observed that the examination of the urine1 in most cases carefully made1 had only in two cases shown the presence of villous tissue1 which in one instance was brought out by the catheter4 ,the rectal palpation1 when made1 had always given negative results4 ,further1 the examination by means of the sound had been made in nine cases before the cystoscopic examination4 ,in none of the cases had the sound revealed the presence of a tumor 7which in two had attained the size of a small apple71 although the examination was made by most experienced surgeons and eminent specialists4 ,those cases show how imperfect an instrument the sound is for the diagnosis of bladder tumors4 ,only one method can compare with the cystoscope in giving valuable information regarding the size and nature of a bladder tumor--viz41 the digital exploration of the internal surface of the bladder after a previous boutonniere1 or the high section4 ,the superiority of the cystoscopic method over the latter1 on account of the smaller amount of inconvenience it causes the patient1 need not be insisted on4 ,the latter involves a cutting operation not free from danger1 as well as deep narcosis1 while the cystoscopic method is similar to a simple catheterization4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #e4 ,the accompanying diagram 7,fig4 #e7 shows the instrument used by me for cystoscopic examination4 ,it has been made by the ,berlin instrument maker1 ,hartwig1 according to my instructions4 ,the source of the light 7,mignon lamp7 is cemented in a silver capsule1 which is screwed into the distal end of the cystoscope4 ,this instrument is superior to that made by ,leiter1 the ,vienna instrument maker1 because of its greater simplicity in construction1 which allows the lamp to be easily replaced when necessary1 and also on account of the greater length of the shaft4 ,i mention this because it differs from the explanation which ,mr4 ,fenwick gave in his speech concerning my method of examination at the meeting of the ,medical ,society of ,london on ,jan4 #bc1 #ahhh4 ,i must also strongly contradict ,mr4 ,fenwick's statements concerning the share which he attributed to the ,vienna instrument maker in the construction of the instrument4 ,leiter's connection with our instrument will be best explained when ,i say that he had to buy the patent#aj from me first in order to be allowed to make the instrument4 ,leiter has had no share in those peculiarities which characterize it as new4 ,the introduction of the source of light into the organ had been practically brought about1 the optical apparatus enlarging the view designed1 the whole construction perfected1 the instrument had proved itself useful in examining patients1 and had been demonstrated by me in the ,saechsisches ,landes ,medicinal ,collegium before ,leiter had any idea of the new invention6 ,also the eventual replacement of the first source of light 7platinum wire7 had been provided for4#aa ,leiter has only made a few technical modifications on the finished instrument4 ,i protest most emphatically against the incorrect explanations given by ,mr4 ,fenwick1 and against every connection of ,leiter's name with my instruments4 ,i hope to obtain in ,england the same generous recognition of my labors in this field that has been accorded to me in ,germany4--,lancet4 #aj ,deutsche ,patentschrifte1 ,no4 #f1 #hec4 #aa ,ibid4 ,,papillomatous ,,tumor ,,of ,,the ,,bladder1 ,,demonstrated ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,lister',s ,,electro-,,cystoscope4 ,by ,f4 ,n4 ,otis1 ,m4,d41 ,clinical ,professor1 ,college of ,physicians and ,surgeons1 ,new ,york4 ,a4 ,g----1 aged twenty-three1 ,united ,states2 single2 barber4 ,the young man was referred to me by his former medical attendant1 ,march #af1 #ahhc4 ,his urine was found to be slightly but distinctly tinged with blood1 and contained some small clots as well as some pus and mucus4 ,he complained of exquisite pain on urination1 increased at the close1 recurring every half hour4 ,through examination per rectum 7a posteriori7 unusual tenderness was found4 ,distinct increase in the density and thickness of the right inferior section of the bladder was recognized by the bimanual touch2 a catheter was introduced1 and three ounces of bloody urine removed4 ,the bladder was then irrigated gently with a saturated solution of boric acid until the fluid returned clear4 ,the catheter was then withdrawn1 leaving about four ounces of the solution1 of a temperature of #hj deg41 in the bladder1 as a preparation for its examination by the electro-cystoscope of ,lister4 ,the required current was furnished by the small six-cell battery of the ,galvano-,faradic ,co4 ,the cystoscope was then introduced into the bladder1 and the current turned on4 ,the illumination was complete4 ,through the slightly rosy medium the small blood vessels in the bladder mucous membrane were distinctly seen4 ,on the right side a deep red1 granular-looking mass1 with a wavy outline1 was then distinctly observed1 covering about one-fourth of the cystoscopic field4 ,this appearance was verified by ,drs4 ,abbe1 ,bangs1 and ,w4 ,k4 ,otis--the unanimous opinion being that it represented a papillomatous growth1 to some extent covered by coagulated blood4 ,two days later a similar examination was made1 under the influence of an anaesthetic1 which corroborated the previous observations in every particular4 7,see illustration47 ,illustration3 ,,diagram ,,of ,,bladder1 ,,showing ,,location ,,of ,,tumor ,,and ,,position ,,of ,,cystoscope4 ,some small filaments were subsequently removed with the lithotrite1 but on microscopical examination nothing of diagnostic importance was discovered4 ,from lack of the capacity of the bladder1 the field was necessarily limited1 nevertheless1 a very excellent view of the tumor could be obtained4 ,this is shown in the illustration1 from a sketch made at the time of the first examination4 ,it represents the position of the tumor and cystoscope when the best view of it was obtained4 ,on the following ,monday the patient entered ,st4 ,luke's ,hospital1 and was operated upon by my associate1 ,dr4 ,l4 ,b4 ,bangs1 ,dr4 ,charles ,mc,burney assisting4 ,the high operation was performed1 and the bladder being examined by means of an electric light1 introduced through the suprapubic incision1 the diagnosis made by the cystoscope was verified in every particular4 ,the growth was then removed1 as far as possible1 with the scissors1 and the surface cauterized with the ,paquelin cautery4 ,at the present writing the patient is going on toward a satisfactory recovery4 ,the pathological examination made by ,dr4 ,frank ,ferguson1 pathologist of ,st4 ,luke's ,hospital1 showed the neoplasm to be a simple papilloma4 ,this case is deserving of especial interest as being the first tumor of the bladder diagnosticated in this country by means of the cystoscope1 and verified by subsequent operation1 and adds one more to the list of sixteen cases so made out by foreign observers1 and two by ,dr4 ,fenwick1 of ,england4 ,in this instance the instrument deserves particular credit1 as other methods had completely failed in the practice of competent observers4 ,this consists of a metal tube1 about seven inches long1 of a caliber of #bb ,french1 having at the proximal end a funnel shaped ocular opening2 at the distal1 a short beak1 similar to that of the catheter coude4 ,a window of rock crystal is set in the end of this beak1 behind which a small electric lamp1 controlled by a switch at the ocular end1 is placed4 ,a rectangular prism1 the hypothenuse plane of which is silvered1 is placed in the end of the straight portion of the tube1 its superior face being seen just anterior to the angle formed by the beak4 ,the distended bladder is illuminated by the electric lamp1 the rays reflected from its wall falling on the prism experience total reflection1 an inverted image being formed within the tube4 ,the size of the field thus obtained is greatly increased by means of a telescope introduced into the tube4 ,the image seen through the cystoscope is an inverted image1 but right and left are not transposed4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,cystoscope4 ,there can be no question as to the great prospective value of the electro-cystoscope in diagnosis of many difficulties to which the bladder is subject4 ,a variety of foreign bodies have already been reported as made out by use of this instrument4 ,the locality1 size1 and color of vesical calculi have been demonstrated in my own experience4 ,in one instance two stones were seen where only one had been previously found1 but this of course might with care have been effected by means of the lithotrite4 ,but it is in the diagnosis of the tumors1 and encysted or impacted calculi1 that the most essential service may be anticipated from the use of the cystoscope4 ,the orifices of the ureters are quite readily brought into the cystoscopic field1 and it is more than probable that 7perhaps through the introduction of some clear fluid with which blood does not readily mingle--glycerine1 for instance7 the true source of a previously doubtful haematuria will be demonstrated4--,medical ,record4 ,,distance ,,and ,,constitution ,,of ,,the ,,sun4 ,so many queries about the solar system1 or the members of it1 have come recently to the attention of those in charge of this journal1 from various sources1 that it is thought best to make a brief statement of the present state of knowledge that astronomy has of the solar neighborhood in which we live4 ,naturally we begin with the sun1 and the oldest and most important problem which the study of this body offers is the determination of its distance from the earth in terrestrial units of measure4 ,this distance is important because the knowledge of all the phenomena of all the heavenly bodies1 except those of the moon1 depend directly or indirectly on its value4 ,the problem of the sun's distance is difficult because the data given for determining it are insufficient to enable the astronomer to apply the principles of trigonometry directly to it4 ,he is1 therefore1 compelled to use indirect methods of solution1 which1 at best1 give only approximations to the true distance1 arising chiefly from small errors in observation1 which1 at the present time1 seem unavoidable4 ,a familiar illustration will make our meaning clear4 ,the knowledge we have of the sun's distance depends on the accurate measurement of a small angle formed by drawing two lines from a point at the sun to the extremities of the earth's radius4 ,that angle is called the sun's parallax4 ,ptolemy thought that this angle was #c' of arc1 but we now know that its value is very near #h4hj of arc1 and that the error of this amount from the true angle probably is not more than #j4jb4 ,to measure this small angle has been the astronomer's great trouble since the time of ,aristarchus1 and he does not yet know its value accurately4 ,his problem is like that of a surveyor attempting to measure a ball1 whose real diameter is one foot1 at the distance of #d4d miles nearly2 and unless he can determine the diameter of the ball so that he shall not be uncertain in his measure to the amount of #j4jc of an inch1 his work will not add anything useful to present knowledge4 ,if we suppose the angle of parallax to be known1 the computation of the distance of a celestial body is easy4 ,multiply earth's radius by #bjf1bfe 7seconds of arc in the unit radius71 and divide the product by the angle of parallax in seconds of arc4 ,the mean equatorial radius of the earth1 as given in ,clark's ,geodesy1 is #cifc4c ,english miles4 ,the sun's distance for a parallax of #h4gh would be #bjf1bfe x #cifc4c ----------------- #ic1ajh1jjj miles4 #h4gh ,for parallax of #h4hj #ib1hig1jjj miles4 ,for parallax of #h4hb #ib1fhf1jjj miles4 ,the range of error in parallax1 as here given1 is #j4jd1 and the change of the distance of the sun in allowing for this error is nearly half a million of miles4 ,if #h4hj be the assumed parallax1 with - #j4jb as probable error1 then the uncertainty of the sun's distance is still nearly a quarter of a million of miles4 ,so far astronomers are pretty generally agreed1 unless it be in the value of the earth's radius used above4 ,in his excellent work1 entitled ,the ,sun1 we notice that ,professor ,young gives #c1ifb4gb ,english miles as the latest and most reliable determination 7page #bb71 while he seems to use ,bessel's value of #c1ifb4hj in obtaining #ib1hhe1jjj4 ,this may be because the last named value is still in most general use1 though less accurate undoubtedly than that of ,clarke4 ,since the transit of ,venus1 of #ahgd1 the determination of the solar parallax has not been very much improved4 ,the transit of #ahhb1 so far as known1 has given surprisingly discordant results1 and probably they will be of very little service in improving our knowledge of the distance of the sun4 ,in the midst of all this uncertainty of late work1 in ordinary methods two ways of studying the problem show results almost exactly alike4 ,they are obtained from late improved measures of the velocity of light1 and from measures by the heliometer4 ,the parallax from these sources is #h4gid4 ,the ,brazilian results of transit of ,venus for #ahhb1 by ,wolf and ,andre1 recently published1 make the parallax #h4hjh4 ,the ,american reductions for the last transit are not yet completed4 ,from the above brief statement of results1 it seems that the value of the solar parallax is likely to be a trifle under #h4hj1 rather than above it1 making the distance of the sun probably very near #ic1jjj1jjj miles4 ,the next most important problem pertaining to the sun is its constitution1 which is usually considered under four heads3 #a4 ,the central portion1 thought to be made up chiefly of intensely heated gases4 #b4 ,that part which is seen by the aid of the telescope1 called the photosphere1 consisting of a shell of luminous clouds formed by the cooling and condensation of the condensible vapors at the surface where exposed to the cold of outer space4 7,young47 #c4 ,outside of the photosphere is a shallow stratum1 called the chromosphere1 composed mainly of uncondensible gases 7conspicuously hydrogen7 left behind by the formation of the photospheric clouds1 and bearing something the same relation to them that the oxygen and nitrogen of our own atmosphere do to our own clouds4 7,young47 ,and-- #d4 ,the corona1 which is the beautiful halo seen1 with the naked eye1 outside of all1 during the time of a total eclipse of the sun4 ,this curious halo with all its streamers and rifts is thought to be composed chiefly of an incandescent material1 in a far more attenuated state than that of hydrogen1 the rarest gas known1 because it yields freely in the spectroscope a certain line1 #adgd ,k1 which most agree can mean nothing else1 although no one knows what the gas or metallic vapor is4 ,hydrogen is also found in the corona extending to the height of #fjj1jjj miles above the photosphere1 and possibly #a1bjj1jjj miles4 ,suspended in this mixture of vapors1 and falling into1 or projected from1 the sun is a large quantity of solid or liquid material1 which is at such a temperature as to be self-luminous4 ,it is this which yields the continuous spectrum1 free from dark lines4 ,besides these components in the outer envelope1 there is present matter which reflects or diffuses light much as our own atmosphere does4 ,to this is attributed the partial radial polarization of the corona4 ,the streamers and rifts indicate matter repelled1 in various quantities1 from the sun by forces which may be electrical4 7,hastings47 ,these are the views advanced by astronomers and physicists1 as theories or working hypotheses1 until something better or more certain can be known4 ,they are not held as facts by any1 because of insufficient proof to establish them as such1 and because there are very grave objections to some of them which are at present unanswerable4 ,for example1 the spectroscope shows that the gaseous pressure at the limit of the chromosphere is very small1 although that is at the base of an atmosphere from #fjj1jjj to #a1bjj1jjj miles deep1 and under the influence of a force of gravity more than twenty-seven times as great as that in action at the surface of the earth4 ,optically1 the atmosphere of the earth ceases at a height of forty-five miles1 but bodies at twice that altitude1 moving at the rate of twenty-seven miles per second1 meet resistance of air enough to render them incandescent almost instantly4 ,but the evidence seems clear that1 far within the corona1 the resistance to moving bodies is much less than in our atmosphere at a height of sixty miles4 ,the great comet of #ahhb passed through the coronal atmosphere within #cjj1jjj miles of the sun1 with a velocity one hundred and eighty times that of the earth in its orbit4 ,the comet was not stopped1 nor destroyed1 nor its orbit disturbed1 as subsequent observations showed4 ,the same thing was true1 so far as known1 of the comet of #ahdc1 which passed still nearer the solar surface4 ,these facts are troublesome to explain on the hypothesis of a coronal atmosphere4 ,still further3 if the sun be surrounded by a gaseous envelope1 its density1 as aforesaid1 ought to diminish from the solar surface outward to its upper limits2 but the fact is1 the material of #adgd ,k line always appears in the spectrum of chromosphere1 which would seem to indicate1 by its place1 that it is as much more dense than hydrogen as is magnesium vapor1 or even the vapor of iron4 ,but the evidence of the spectroscope makes this #adgd ,k material far less dense than that of hydrogen1 and this is a contradiction that is very troublesome to the student of solar physics4 ,in studying the polarization of the light of the corona1 it is clear that the amount of polarized light reflected from a particle at the surface of the sun is nothing1 because the luminous source there is a surface with an angular subtense of #ahj deg42 hence polarization of the corona near the limb of the moon ought to be small1 farther away1 larger4 ,but observation shows that the contrary is true1 i4 e41 the percent4 of polarized light increases as the corona is observed nearer the limb of the moon during totality4 ,these are a few of the difficult questions that stand in the way of accepting the foregoing theories as facts pertaining to1 or well grounded knowledge of1 the constitution of the sun4 ,they are by no means all1 or possibly the most important ones4 ,they are certainly among those that are receiving very general attention at the hands of physicists at the present time4--,sidereal ,messenger4 ,,changes ,,in ,,the ,,stellar ,,heavens4 ,by ,j4 ,e4 ,,gore1 ,f4,r4,a4,s41 ,honorary ,associate and ,vice-,president of the ,liverpool ,astronomical ,society4 ,if we look up at the starry heavens on a clear1 moonless night1 all seems still1 lifeless1 and devoid of energy and motion4 ,all of us are--or at least should be--familiar with the apparent diurnal motion of the star sphere1 caused by the actual rotation of the earth on its axis1 and with the slower annual motion1 due to the earth's revolution round the sun1 which brings different constellations into view at different seasons of the year4 ,these motions1 due to the great and universal law of gravitation1 discovered and so ably expounded by the famous ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 are of course wonderful and orderly in their regularity1 and bear silent testimony to the amazing power1 majesty1 and goodness of a great and glorious ,creator4 ,there are1 however1 other motions and changes1 even still more wonderful1 going on in the depths of space1 which1 though unperceived by the ordinary observer1 have been revealed to the eye and contemplation of the astronomer by the accurate instruments and methods of research which modern science has placed at his disposal4 ,some accounts of these marvelous discoveries may prove of interest to the reader4 ,the fixed stars are so called because they apparently hold a fixed position with reference to each other on the concave surface of the celestial vault1 and do not1 as far as the unaided eye can judge1 change their relative positions as the planets do4 ,many stars have1 however1 what is technically called a proper motion1 which1 though of course very minute1 and only to be detected by the aid of refined and accurate instruments1 yet accumulate in the course of ages1 and sensibly alter their position in the sky4 ,the largest proper motion hitherto detected 7about seven seconds of arc per annum7 is that of a small star in the constellation ,ursa ,major1 known to astronomers as ,no4 #ahcj of ,groonbridge's catalogue4 ,it has been calculated that this star is rushing through space with the amazing and almost inconceivable velocity of #bjj miles per second6--a velocity which would carry it from the earth to the sun in about #e-a_/b days and to the moon in #bj minutes6 ,the well-known double star #fa ,cygni has a proper motion of about five seconds of arc per annum1 both components moving through space together4 ,this is1 as far as yet known1 the nearest star to the earth in the northern hemisphere4 ,its parallax1 as determined by ,sir ,r4 ,s4 ,ball1 is #j4dfgf of a second of arc1 and by ,prof4 ,pritchard 7by photography7 #j4dc of a second4 ,taking the mean of these values1 its distance from the earth would be about #dfj1jjj times the earth's mean distance from the sun1 and its actual velocity about #cc miles per second4 ,this is1 of course1 the motion at right angles to the line of sight1 but as it may also have a motion in the line of sight1 either to or from the eye1 its real velocity is probably greater than this4 ,the remarkable triple star #dj ,eridani has a proper motion of four seconds annually4 ,the components are a fourth magnitude star accompanied by a distant double companion which is a binary 7or revolving double star71 and accompanies the bright star in its flight through space4 ,there are two other faint and distant companions which do not partake in the motion of the ternary star4 ,in the year #ahfd the bright star was situated to the east of a line joining these faint companions1 but owing to its large proper motion it is now to the west of them4 ,in the case of the triple star ,struve #aeaf1 one of the companions1 which was to the west of the primary star in #ahca1 is1 owing to the proper motion of the bright star1 now to the east of it4 ,prof4 ,asaph ,hall has found a parallax for #dj ,eridani of #j4bbc of a second4 ,this1 combined with the observed proper motion1 indicates an actual velocity of about #ed miles per second4 ,the star ,mu ,cassiopeiae has also a large proper motion4 ,this star1 about #d1jjj years ago1 must have been close to ,alpha ,cassiopeiae1 and might have been so seen by the ancient astronomers4 ,the proper motion of the bright star ,arcturus is so considerable that in the course of about #cj1jjj years it will be near the equator1 and about #aj deg4 to the north of the bright star ,spica1 from which it is at present separated by over #cj deg4 ,these motions are of course those which take place across the face of the sky4 ,there are1 however1 motions in the line of sight--both toward and from the eye--which have of late years been revealed to us by the spectroscope1 that wonderful instrument of modern scientific research1 by the aid of which several new metals have been discovered1 and which has been found so useful in chemical analysis1 and even in the manufacture of steel by the ,bessemer process4 ,some years since1 ,dr4 ,huggins1 the eminent spectroscopist1 found that the bright star ,sirius1 the monarch of the skies1 was receding from the earth at the rate of about #bj miles a second4 ,later observations at ,greenwich ,observatory showed that this motion was gradually diminishing1 and within the last few years it has been found that the motion of recession has been actually changed into a motion of approach1 showing that this giant sun is probably traveling in a mighty orbit round some as yet unknown center of gravity4 ,from a consideration of stellar proper motions1 it has been concluded that the sun--and therefore the whole solar system--is moving through space4 ,recent investigations make the velocity of translation about #ai miles per second 7#cj kilometers74 ,the ,greenwich observations place the apex of the solar motion 7as the point toward which the sun is moving is called7 between ,rho and ,sigma ,cygni1 while ,dr4 ,huggins' results fix a point near ,beta ,cephei4 ,both these points are near the ,milky ,way4 ,there are other startling changes which have occasionally taken place among the stars1 and which must be looked upon almost in the light of catastrophes4 ,at rare intervals in the history of astronomy temporary or new stars have suddenly blazed out in the heavens which were previously either unknown to astronomers1 or else were invisible1 except in the telescope4 ,some of these were of great brilliancy4 ,in ,a4,d4 #agc a bright star is recorded in the ,chinese annals as having appeared between ,alpha and ,beta ,centauri 7two bright stars in the southern hemisphere74 ,it remained visible for seven or eight months1 and is described as resembling a large bamboo mat 767--a not very lucid description4 ,it is worthy of remark that there exists at the present time1 close to the spot indicated1 an interesting variable star1 which may possibly be identical with the bright star of the second century4 ,perhaps the most remarkable of these wonderful objects was that observed by the famous ,tycho ,brahe in #aegb1 in ,cassiopeia1 and called the ,pilgrim4 ,it was so brilliant that it rivaled the planet ,venus at its brightest1 and was visible at noonday4 ,it remained visible for over a year and then disappeared4 ,a small star close to its recorded position has been observed in recent years1 and as it is thought to be slightly variable in its light1 it may possibly be identical with the long lost star of ,tycho ,brahe4 ,another new star of almost equal brilliancy was observed in ,october1 #afjd1 in ,ophiuchus1 a few degrees southeast of the star ,eta ,ophiuchi4 ,the planets ,mars1 ,jupiter1 and ,saturn were close together in this vicinity1 and one evening ,mostlin1 a pupil of ,kepler's1 remarked that a new and very brilliant star had joined the group4 ,when first seen it was white1 and exceeded in brightness ,mars and ,jupiter1 and was even thought to rival ,venus in splendor6 ,it gradually diminished1 however1 and in six months was not equal in luster to ,saturn2 in ,march1 #afjf1 it had entirely disappeared4 ,in #afgj a star of the third magnitude was observed by ,anthelm near ,beta ,cygni4 ,it remained visible for about two years1 and increased and diminished several times before it finally disappeared4 ,flamsteed's star1 ,no4 #aa of ,vulpecula1 has been supposed to be identical with ,anthelm's star1 but ,baily could not find that such a star exists4 ,a small star has1 however1 been observed at ,greenwich within one minute of arc of the place assigned to the temporary star by ,picard's observations4 ,variability has been suspected in this faint star1 and according to ,hind it has a hazy1 ill-defined appearance about it1 which may perhaps suggest that it may be a small planetary nebula1 similar to ,schmidt's new star of #ahgf in ,cygnus4 ,a small new star was observed by ,hind in ,ophiuchus on ,april #bh1 #ahdh4 ,when first noticed it was about the fifth magnitude4 ,it afterward rose to about fourth magnitude1 but very soon faded away1 and1 although still visible in the telescope1 has become very faint in recent years4 ,a new star of seventh magnitude was found by ,pogson on ,may #bh1 #ahfj1 in the well-known star cluster known as #hj ,messier in ,scorpio4 ,the light of the star when first seen obscured the light of the nebula4 ,on ,june #aj the star had nearly disappeared1 and the nebula was again seen shining with great brilliancy4 ,a very interesting temporary star--known as the ,blaze ,star--suddenly appeared in ,corona ,borealis in ,may1 #ahff4 ,it was first seen by the late ,mr4 ,birmingham1 of ,tuam1 ,ireland1 on the night of ,may #ab1 when it was of the second magnitude and equal in brightness to ,alphecca1 the brightest star in the well-known ,coronet4 ,it must have made its appearance very suddenly1 for ,dr4 ,schmidt1 the director of the ,athens observatory1 stated that he was observing this region of the heavens a few hours previously1 and noticed nothing unusual4 ,it rapidly diminished in brightness1 and on ,may #bd of the same year was reduced to nearly the ninth magnitude4 ,it was soon discovered that the star had been previously observed1 and its place registered by the great ,german astronomer1 ,argelander1 as of magnitude #i-a_/b1 so that it is possibly a variable star of irregular period and fitful variability4 ,when near its maximum brilliancy1 its light was examined by ,dr4 ,huggins with the spectroscope1 which showed the bright lines of incandescent hydrogen gas in addition to the ordinary stellar spectrum4 ,this implies that the great increase in its light was due to a sudden outburst of hydrogen in the star's atmosphere4 ,some observers remarked that when viewed with the naked eye it decidedly twinkled more than other stars in the neighborhood1 which rendered a correct estimate of its relative brightness somewhat difficult4 ,during the years #ahff to #ahgf1 ,schmidt detected variations of light which seemed to show a period of about #id days1 and these observations were confirmed by ,schonfeld4 ,on the evening of ,november #bd1 #ahgf1 the late ,dr4 ,schmidt1 of ,athens1 discovered a new star of the third magnitude1 near ,rho ,cygni1 in a spot where he was certain that no bright star was visible four nights previously4 ,when first seen1 it was somewhat brighter than ,eta ,pegasi4 ,it did not1 however1 remain long at this degree of brightness1 but rapidly decreased1 and on ,november #cj had faded to fifth magnitude4 ,it afterward diminished very regularly1 and in ,september1 #ahhe1 was estimated only fifteenth magnitude with the #ae-a_/b inch refractor of ,mr4 ,wigglesworth's observatory4 ,the star was examined with the spectroscope a few days after its discovery1 and showed bright lines similar to the ,blaze ,star in the ,northern ,crown4 ,one of these bright lines was believed to be identical with ,kirchhoff's ,no4 #adgd1 which has been observed in the spectrum of the solar corona during total eclipses of the sun4 ,this star would seem to be quite new1 as there is no star in any of the catalogues in its position4 ,in ,september1 #ahgg1 it was examined with the spectroscope at ,lord ,crawford's observatory1 and its light was found to be almost entirely monochromatic 7of only one color71 showing that the star had changed into a planetary nebula of small angular diameter 767 ,in ,august1 #ahhe1 a star of about seventh magnitude made its appearance close to the nucleus of the ,great ,nebula in ,andromeda--a well-known object visible to the naked eye1 and which has been well called the ,queen of the ,nebulae4 ,the new star was independently discovered by several observers toward the end of ,august1 but seems to have been first certainly seen by ,mr4 ,t4 ,w4 ,ward1 of ,belfast1 on ,august #ai1 at #aa ,p4,m4 ,at ,greenwich observatory the spectrum of the new star was found of precisely the same character as that of the nebula1 i4 e41 it was perfectly continuous1 no lines1 either bright or dark1 being visible1 and the red end was wanting4 ,dr4 ,huggins1 however1 on ,september #i1 thought he could see from three to five bright lines in its spectrum4 ,the star gradually faded away1 and on ,february #g1 #ahhf1 was estimated only sixteenth magnitude in the #bf inch refractor of the naval observatory at ,washington4 ,from a series of measures by ,prof4 ,asaph ,hall he found no certain indications of any parallax1 so that evidently the star and the nebula1 in which it probably lies1 are situated at an immense distance from the earth4 ,prof4 ,seeliger has investigated the decrease in light of the star on the hypothesis that it was a cooling body1 which had been suddenly raised to an intense heat by the shock of a collision1 and finds a fair agreement between theory and observation4 ,anwers points out the similarity between this outburst and the new star of #ahfj in the cluster #hj ,messier1 and thinks it very probable that both phenomena were due to physical changes in the nebulae in which they occurred4 ,with reference to the colors of the stars1 some of the red stars have been suspected to vary in color4 ,the bright star ,sirius is supposed--from the description of it by ancient astronomers--to have been originally red1 but this seems very doubtful4 ,the ,persian astronomer ,al ,sufi1 in his ,description of the ,heavens1 written in the tenth century1 describes the well-known variable star ,algol distinctly as a red star4 ,it is now white1 and this is perhaps the best attested instance on record of change of color in a bright star4--,naturalists' ,monthly4 ,,the ,,common ,,dandelion4 ,by ,,frederick ,,leroy ,,sargent4 ,in the various names which the dandelion has received1 we see expressed1 for the most part1 either a reference to the tooth-like recurved lobes of the leaves1 ,fig4 #a1 or an allusion to the medicinal properties of the plant4 ,thus1 our ,english name is a modified form of the ,french dent de lion1 meaning lion's tooth1 and in ,german we have the same idea expressed in ,loewenzahn4 ,fifty years ago this plant appeared in the botanies as ,leontodon taraxicum1 the generic name being derived from the ,greek leon1 lion1 and odons1 tooth1 and the specific from the ,greek tarasso1 to stir up1 in reference to the effect of a dose4 ,in later works we find the genus ,leontodon1 including the fall dandelion 7,l4 autumnale71 but not the true dandelion1 which now appears in a genus by itself under the name ,taraxicum ,densleonis4 ,here the specific name is merely lion's tooth again1 in ,latin4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4 ,finally1 in the latest works our plant is given as ,taraxicum officinale1 since this has been found to be the name which1 according to the rules of botanical nomenclature1 takes precedence of all others4 ,an allusion to the teeth is thus no longer retained1 the only reference remaining being to the plant's officinal use4 ,to the majority of people the mention of the dandelion calls to mind not so much its medicinal properties as its use for food4 ,although its cultivation1 either as a spring pot herb or as a salad with blanched leaves1 is comparatively modern1 the wild plant seems to have been long valued as a vegetable4 ,there is reason to believe that the ,romans made use of it as a pot herb1 and ,chinese writers of the fourteenth century mention its being eaten in their country1 although there is no evidence of cultivation at that time4 ,there are but few of our flowering plants that grow so widespread over the world4 ,it occurs in ,north ,america from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific coast1 in ,europe1 in ,asia1 and in the ,arctic regions4 ,this extensive range may in part be accounted for by the fact that our plant belongs to the large and aggressive family of the ,compositae1 and is thus related to such invaders as daisies1 burdocks1 and thistles4 ,still1 the dandelion has more to recommend it than mere family connection2 for1 despite its lowly aspect1 it is no poor relation1 but1 as we shall hope to show in the present article1 it has many virtues of its own which entitle it to respect4 ,prominent among these is its adaptability to the different conditions under which it grows4 ,it seems to make the best of everything4 ,if by chance a seed falls upon poor1 thin soil1 the young plant sends forth1 as rapidly as possible1 a rosette of leaves pressed close to the earth4 ,and thus1 on the principle that possession is nine points of the law1 it secures for its roots the use of a certain amount of territory quite safe from the encroachments of other plants4 ,in rich ground the case is quite different1 for here there is so much nutriment in a small quantity of earth1 that the struggle for soil is not such a life and death matter as in the less favored localities4 ,consequently we find a large number of plants crowded together as close as they can stand2 and it is obvious that if1 under these circumstances1 the dandelion should develop a flat rosette of leaves1 the grass and other plants growing around would soon overshadow it1 and it would have small chance for life4 ,our plant1 therefore1 extends its leaves upward1 and does its best to elongate them so as to keep pace with the growth of its rivals4 ,but as these are for the most part grasses and plants which grow by elongation of the stem1 the race for sunshine is rather in favor of these other plants1 for the reason that a given amount of material put into a stem makes a stiffer organ than when put into a leaf4 ,still1 even with these odds against it1 the dandelion seems well able to hold its own1 for it probably derives more or less advantage from the recurved lobes1 or teeth1 which give the plant its name4 ,these are admirably fitted to act in much the same manner as a ratchet2 and when the neighboring grasses are blown against the dandelion1 a blade may slide along the margin of the leaf toward the base2 but1 as it springs back from its own elasticity1 it cannot slide in the opposite direction1 for a tooth will catch it1 and thus force it to help support the leaf1 and hold it up to the sunshine4 ,we need not stop to consider how the dandelion behaves in soil which is neither very rich nor very poor1 for enough has been said to show that it has not much to fear from any rivals it may meet under ordinary circumstances4 ,it is not only against the aggressions of neighboring plants1 however1 that our dandelion needs to be prepared4 ,it is at least equally important for its welfare that it have some means of protection against herbivorous animals--not only such as might eat its leaves1 but also the more stealthy ones that live upon the food which plants store underground4 ,all such foes it thwarts by a means as simple as it is efficient4 ,every part of the plant contains a milky juice which is intensely bitter1 and a first taste is quite enough to convince the most stupid animal that raw dandelion is not good eating1 and most animals know enough to let it severely alone4 ,curiously enough1 however1 in this1 as in many other cases1 it happens that what in nature acts to deter animals from eating the plant1 with man offers the chief attraction1 for it is this very bitter principle 7taraxacin7 which gives to dandelion greens their peculiar flavor1 and affords the essential element in the extract which physicians prescribe4 ,the store of food1 referred to above1 which the dandelion accumulates in its root1 not infrequently enables it to pass1 almost unharmed1 through dangers that with less provident plants would surely prove fatal4 ,for example1 it must often happen that from drought or from being trampled upon by animals1 the leaves become wholly or in part destroyed4 ,now1 if there were no reserve store of food1 the plant would have no chance of rallying2 but as it is1 this food supplies the material for new growth1 and upon the return of favorable conditions1 fresh leaves are developed1 and the plant lives on as before4 ,primarily1 of course1 the purpose of this storage of food is to enable the plant to live on from year to year1 resting in the winter1 and in the spring beginning work again with a good start4 ,in comparing the higher with the lower plants1 the superiority of the former is most beautifully shown in the better provision which is made for the welfare of offspring2 and in this regard our dandelion stands among the highest4 ,before we can understand the ways in which our little plant performs this part of its life work1 we must briefly consider the structure of the blossom4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4 ,if with a sharp knife we cut a blossom in halves1 from the stem upward1 the parts represented in ,fig4 #b will be disclosed4 ,surmounting the stalk is a cushion-like receptacle1 ,r1 from the top of which arise a number of tiny flowers1 ,f1 while from the side grow out a series of green scales1 ,s1 forming an involucre around the whole4 ,a single one of these florets1 ,fig4 #c1 exhibits the following parts3 ,first1 a bright yellow corolla1 ,c ,o1 tubular below1 but strap-shaped above1 as if a tube had been split for part of the way on one side1 and the upper part flattened4 ,second1 five stamens1 ,s ,k1 attached by slender filaments1 ,f ,m1 to the tubular part of the corolla1 and with their anthers or pollen sacs1 ,a ,n1 joined together by the edges to form a tube4 ,third1 a single pistil having a long style1 ,s ,y1 which1 above1 passes through the anther tube1 and bears at its end two diverging stigmas1 ,s ,g1 and below connects by a short neck1 ,n1 with the small ovary1 ,o1 which contains a solitary ovule4 ,fourth1 a calyx1 ,c ,x1 composed of numerous slender bristles4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c4 ,the purpose of these complex structures is1 of course1 in one way or another to secure the development of the ovule into a seed fitted to produce a new plant4 ,this development will proceed only after the ovule has been influenced 7i4 e41 fertilized7 by pollen placed upon the stigma2 but when once the mysterious process of fertilization has taken place1 then there follows immediately those wonderful changes in the blossom which culminate in the ripening of the fruit4 ,there are but two possible ways in which fertilization may be secured2 either the pollen which affects the ovule must come from the same flower 7then called close fertilization71 or the pollen must come from another flower of the same kind 7cross fertilization74 ,now1 while either of these methods will insure the production of a seed1 numerous experiments go to show that those offspring which result from cross fertilization are in many ways superior to those which are produced from close fertilization2 and it is to the advantages of cross fertilization that we have to look for an explanation of the significance of many peculiar structures1 not only of the dandelion1 but of flowers in general4 ,it is obvious that1 to secure cross fertilization1 there must be some agent to transfer the pollen from one plant to another4 ,most commonly1 either the wind is taken advantage of for this purpose1 as with elms1 pines1 grasses1 etc41 or else flying insects are induced to perform the office1 as is the case with the majority of our familiar flowers4 ,the wind is a very wasteful carrier1 so that for every grain that is properly placed1 thousands1 or even millions1 may be lost4 ,insects1 on the contrary1 waste but little2 and1 moreover1 as ,aristotle so shrewdly observed1 they habitually confine their visits1 for a number of trips1 exclusively to the flowers of one species4 ,the dandelion seems to fully appreciate the great advantages of securing the services of insects1 for it appeals most strongly to their love of bright colors and their passion for sweets4 ,as the flowers open1 each tiny golden cup is filled to the brim with purest nectar1 and he must be a very dull insect1 indeed1 that cannot see the brilliant head of flowers as far as he can see anything4 ,at any rate1 it is not the dandelion's fault if he does not1 for the blossom is placed where it will be as conspicuous as possible4 ,if the surrounding herbage is tall1 the flower stalk is elongated1 so that the crown of flowers may not be obscured4 ,if the plants around are low-lying1 it would be wasteful to have a long stalk1 so it has a short one1 sometimes so short that the blossom looks like a button in the center of the leaf rosette4 ,economy of material is furthermore shown in the fact that the stalk is always hollow1 for it is a principle well known to builders that1 when there is required a pillar of a given strength1 less material is needed for the tubular form than for the solid cylinder4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #d4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #e4 ,but to return to our flower4 ,we have next to consider how the visits of insects are utilized to secure cross fertilization4 ,if we examine the anther tube of a flower that has just opened1 ,fig4 #d1 we shall see that the style has not yet protruded1 but fills the entire cavity1 except such space as is occupied by a quantity of pollen which the anthers have shed4 ,so much of the style as is within the tube is thickly beset with hairs that point upward2 and when the lower portion elongates1 this hairy part brushes the pollen out of the tube1 and protrudes1 covered with the yellow dust1 ,fig4 #e4 ,at this stage1 an insect coming for nectar must rub against the style1 and so become more or less covered with pollen4 ,none of it1 however1 can get upon the stigmas1 for they are not yet exposed4 ,after a short time has elapsed1 during which much of the pollen has probably been rubbed off1 the style is seen to split at the top2 and as the halves separate and roll back1 ,fig4 #c1 their inner faces 7the stigmas7 are exposed4 ,if1 now1 the flower be visited by an insect which has previously been to a younger flower1 the pollen he brings will be deposited upon the stigmas as he rubs against them1 and cross fertilization will be effected4 ,let us suppose1 however1 that no insect visits the blossom--and this must often happen to such as appear very early in the spring or late in the fall1 when hardly any insects are around4 ,in such cases we find that seeds are produced1 and therefore we must infer that fertilization has in some way or other been secured4 ,an examination of a flower still older than any we have considered1 ,fig4 #f1 will show us what takes place4 ,here it will be seen that1 after the stigmas have diverged1 they continue to roll back1 until a coil of one or more turns has been made2 and as a result of this the stigmatic surface comes in contact with the hairs on the style1 and touches the pollen grains entangled by them4 ,still1 the close fertilization thus accomplished is only a last resort1 and it can only occur in the event of insects' visits having failed2 for when pollen from another flower has once fallen on the stigma1 no pollen coming afterward can have the least effect4 ,thus1 we have another instance of the dandelion's ability to make the best of its surroundings4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #f4 ,it even adapts itself to the weather2 for when the sun shines1 the scales of the involucre bend back1 and the blossom is expanded to its fullest extent2 but in dull weather1 or at night1 the scales bend inward1 and the blossom is tightly closed4 ,the advantages of this remarkable movement1 with its implied sensitiveness1 is obvious when we consider that insects are abroad only in sunshine1 while at other times there is danger of dew or rain getting into the nectar1 and so spoiling it for the insects4 ,after fertilization has been accomplished throughout the blossom1 the involucre closes1 and remains closed during the ripening of the fruit4 ,the changes which now take place are as follows3 ,in each flower the corolla1 stamens1 and style1 being of no further use1 wither1 and sever their connection with the ovary2 the ovule develops into a seed containing a tiny plantlet well provided with food for its use during germination2 the ovary grows to keep pace with the seed1 its tissues become hardened1 and a number of spine-like projections develop near the upper part2 and finally the short neck which bears the calyx bristles elongates1 pushing upward the withered parts of the flower4 ,at this stage the involucral scales bend back through an arc of about #ahj deg41 the cushion-like receptacle becomes almost spherically convex1 the fruits radiate in all directions1 the bristles spread1 and a beautiful cluster of little parachutes is presented to the wind4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #g4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #h4 ,even a glance at one of these fruits1 ,fig4 #g1 is sufficient to discover a wonderful fitness for transportation by wind1 and more careful study shows that this fitness pervades every detail4 ,for example1 on examining the bristles microscopically1 ,fig4 #h1 it is shown that they are not simple threads1 but each is hollow and has numerous projections extending on either side1 all of which serves to increase the buoyancy in a very effective way4 ,the experience of aeronauts has shown that a highly important part in the equipment of a balloon1 after the attainment of buoyancy1 is the provision of some means of arresting the balloon's progress when the destination has been reached4 ,one of the most successful means which they employ is the grappling hook2 and as we find the base of our diminutive parachute provided with a number of upwardly directed spines1 it seems fair to conclude that these serve to arrest the fruit upon favorable soil4 ,if it comes to rest upon a smooth surface--which1 of course1 would be barren--the next breeze would easily blow it away2 but if it chance to fall on soil or among other plants1 the effect of the spines would be to retain it against the power of even a strong wind4 ,thus1 we may leave it safely landed upon good soil1 ready to begin under favorable conditions the cycle of its wonderful life4--,popular ,science ,news4 ,,systematic ,,relations ,,of ,,platypsyllus1 ,,as ,,determined ,,by ,,the ,,larva4#ab ,by ,,dr4 ,c4 ,v4 ,,riley4 ,there is always a great deal of interest attaching to organisms which are unique in character and which systematists find difficulty in placing in any of their schemes of classification4 ,a number of instances will occur to every working naturalist1 and ,i need only refer to ,limulus1 and the extensive literature devoted1 during the past decade1 to the discussion of its true position1 as a marked and well-known illustration4 ,in hexapods the common earwig and flea are familiar illustrations4 ,these osculant or aberrant forms occur most among parasitic groups1 as the ,stylopidae1 ,hippoboscidae1 ,pulicidae1 ,mallophaga1 etc4 ,probably no hexapod1 however1 has more interested entomologists than ,platypsyllus castoris ,ritsema1 a parasite of the beaver4 ,i cannot better illustrate the diversity of opinion respecting its true position in zoology than by giving an epitome of the more important literature upon it4 #ab ,read at the meeting of the ,national ,academy of ,sciences1 ,april #bj1 #ahhh4 ,j4 ,ritsema1 in ,petites ,nouvelles ,entomologiques for ,september #ae1 #ahfi1 described the species as ,platypsyllus castoris4 ,he found it on some ,american beavers 7,castor canadensis7 in the zoological garden of ,rotterdam4 ,he considered it to undoubtedly belong to the ,suctoria of ,de ,geer1 and to form a new genus of ,pulicidae4 ,in the same year1 in the ,tijdschrift voor ,entomologie1 #b;d ser41 vol4 v41 p4 #ahe 7which ,i have not seen71 the same author publishes what is apparently a redescription of the insect4 ,he gives his views more fully as to its systematic position1 considering that it belongs to the ,aphaniptera1 and is equivalent to the ,pulicidae4 ,in the same year1 ,prof4 ,j4 ,o4 ,westwood 7having previously read a description of the species1 ,november #i1 #ahfh1 before the ,ashmolean ,society of ,oxford7 published in the ,entomologist's ,monthly ,magazine1 vol4 vi41 ,october1 #ahfi1 pp4 #aah-aai1 a full characterization of the insect under the name of ,platypsyllus castorinus4 ,a new order1 ,achreioptera1 is established upon the species1 which he very aptly likens1 in general appearance1 to a cross between a flattened flea and a diminutive cockroach4 ,the abnormal economy of the insect1 its remarkable structure1 the apparent want of mandibles1 our ignorance of its transformations1 and the possibility that the creature may be homomorphous in the larva and pupa states1 are the reasons assigned for establishing the new order1 and here ,prof4 ,westwood is perfectly consistent1 as in his famous ,introduction to the ,classification of ,insects the ,forficulidae are placed in the order ,euplexoptera2 the ,thripidae in the order ,thysanoptera2 the ,phryganeidae in the order ,thrichoptera2 the ,stylopidae in the order ,strepsiptera2 and the ,pulicidae in the order ,aphaniptera4 ,in #ahgb1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,l4 ,le ,conte published his paper ,on ,platypsyllidae1 a ,new ,family of ,coleoptera 7,proc4 ,zool4 ,soc4 of ,london for #ahgb1 pp4 #ggi-hjd1 pl4 lxviii471 in which he shows that ,platypsylla is undoubtedly coleopterous and cannot possibly be referred to the ,aphaniptera4 ,careful descriptions and figures of anatomical details are given1 and he finds that its affinities are very composite1 but in the direction of the ,adephagous and ,clavicorn series4 ,its most convenient place is shown to be between the ,hydrophilidae and ,leptinidae4 ,there seems to be no good reason why the name ,platypsyllus is here changed to ,platypsylla1 a spelling adopted by most subsequent ,american writers4 ,in #ahgd1 ,prof4 ,westwood1 in the ,thesaurus ,entomologicus ,oxoniensis 7,oxford1 #ahgd71 p4 #aid1 pl4 xxxvii41 gives figures with details2 reprints his previous diagnosis1 and maintains his previous course in erecting a new order for the insect1 without giving any additional reasons4 ,in #ahhj1 ,p4 ,megnin1 in ,les ,parasites et les maladies parasitaires1 etc41 ,paris1 #ahhj1 gives 7pp4 #ff-fg7 a description of the family ,platypsyllines without expressing an opinion concerning the systematic position4 ,he also describes and figures the species4 ,in #ahhb1 ,dr4 ,geo4 ,h4 ,horn 7,trans4 ,amer4 ,ent4 ,soc41 x41 #ahhb-hc2 ,monthly ,proc41 ,feb4 #aj1 #ahhb1 p4 ii47 exhibited drawings illustrating the anatomy of ,platypsylla and ,leptinus1 and showed that a close relationship exists between these genera4 ,later1 in his ,notes on ,some ,little ,known ,genera and ,species of ,coleoptera 7,trans4 ,amer4 ,ent4 ,soc41 x41 #ahhb-hc1 pp4 #aac-abf1 pl4 v41 #aad-aaf71 he reviews the characters1 and explains and illustrates the anatomical details4 ,the differences he points out between his observations and those of ,le ,conte are more particularly in the mandibles4 ,in connection with this paper he also describes and illustrates the structure of ,leptinillus1 which he separates from ,leptinus1 and demonstrates their close relationship with ,platypsyllus4 ,in #ahhc1 ,le ,conte and ,horn1 in their ,classification of the ,coleoptera of ,north ,america 7,washington1 ,smithsonian ,institution1 #ahhc71 give 7pp4 #ac-ae7 a full description of the family characters1 a little modified from ,le ,conte's first description1 but sustaining his views on the systematic position of ,platypsyllidae4 ,in #ahhc1 ,alphonse ,bonhoure 7,ann4 ,soc4 de ,france1 #ahhc2 ,bull1 des ,seances1 p4 cxxvi47 exhibited drawings and specimens of ,platypsyllus castoris found in the ,departement des ,bouches du ,rhone4 ,in #ahhd1 ,edm4 ,reitter1 in ,platypsylla castoris ,rits4 als ,vertreter einer neuer europaischen ,coleopteren-,familie 7,wiener entom4 ,zeit4 iii41 #ahhd1 pp4 #ai-ba7 gives a lengthy description of the species with special regard to the sexual differences4 ,he shows that the ,european insect is not specifically distinct from the ,american form1 but he does not express an opinion on the position of the family among the ,coleoptera4 ,in the same year1 ,bonhoure 7,ann4 ,soc4 ,ent4 de ,france1 #ahhd1 pp4 #adc-aec7 more fully records its discovery on ,castor fiber taken in the ,petit-,rhone4 ,it is a question whether this ,european beaver1 now quite rare1 is distinct from ours4 ,he gives a very good review of the subject1 with a plate of the most important details1 after ,horn1 and he fully indorses the coleopterological position of the insect4 ,in the same year ,ritsema 7,tijdschrift voor ,entomologie1 #ahhc-hd1 lxxxvi47 refers to ,bonhoure's discovery of ,platypsylla in ,france1 and corrects ,reitter in some unimportant details4 ,in #ahhe1 ,reitter1 in ,coleopterologische ,notizen xiii4 7,wiener entomolog4 ,zeit41 vol4 iv41 #ahhe1 p4 #bgd71 answers ,ritsema's criticism4 ,in the same year1 ,dr4 ,friederich ,brauer1 in his masterly ,systematisch-zoologische ,studien 7,sitzh4 der ,kais4 ,akad4 der ,wissensch41 xci41 p4 #cfd71 speaks of the relationship in the thoracic characters between ,mallophaga and ,coleoptera as illustrated by ,platypsyllus1 by inference admitting the coleopterous nature of the latter1 but recognizing that it has mallophagous affinities4 ,in #ahhf1 ,h4 ,j4 ,kolbe1 in his ,ueber die ,stellung von ,platypsyllus im ,system 7,berlin entom4 ,zeitsch41 xxx41 #ahhf1 pp4 #ajc-aje71 discusses the subject1 without any new evidence1 however4 ,he concludes that most of its characteristics relate it to the ,corrodentia1 and particularly to the sub-order ,mallophaga1 in which it has its closest kinship in ,liotheidae4 ,the remarkable tripartite mentum he thinks should not be compared with the bipartite mentum of ,leptinus1 and calls attention to the fact that in ,ancistrona in ,mallophaga it is also trilobed4 ,the above are the more important papers on the subject1 though the insect has been referred by other authors to both ,neuroptera and ,orthoptera4 ,,characters ,,of ,,platypsyllus4 ,illustration3 ,,larva ,,of ,,platypsyllus ,,castoris--,,dorsal ,,view4 ,illustration3 ,,platypsyllus ,,castoris4 ,where the characters of the image have been so often described1 it is unnecessary to refer to them in detail1 and ,i will only call attention to the more striking structural features and to some omissions by1 or differences between1 previous authors4 ,a glance at the illustrations which ,i have prepared will show the prevailing characteristics of this interesting creature1 its general ovoid and flattened form1 and more particularly the flattened semicircular head4 ,dorsally1 we notice the rather prominent occiput fringed behind with short and broad depressed spines or teeth which form a sort of comb1 the prothorax trapezoidal and but very slightly curved1 with side margins strongly grooved4 ,there is a very distinct scutellem1 and the two elytra are rounded at the tip and without venation4 ,hind wings and eyes are both wanting4 ,the abdomen shows five segments1 each with a row of depressed bristles4 ,on the ventral surface we find among the more curious characteristics1 first the antennae2 these were originally described by ,westwood as three-jointed1 the club being annulated4 ,le ,conte could not distinctly make out the number of annular joints upon this club1 though he thought he detected seven1 which made nine joints to the whole antenna4 ,the club is received in the deep cup-shaped excavation of the second joint4 ,horn thought he detected a division of the second joint1 and resolved but six segments in the club1 making also nine joints to the whole antenna1 but in a somewhat different fashion from ,le ,conte4 ,westwood's figure shows eight annuli to the club4 ,he failed to find any trace of the mandibles1 but ,le ,conte described them as small1 flat1 subquadrate1 with the inner side deeply crenulate1 and resembling those of ,corylophus2 the stipes well developed1 and biarticulate4 ,horn could not entirely make out the mandibles as described by ,le ,conte1 and rather concluded that what ,le ,conte described is really one of the granules which occur behind the labrum4 ,he considered that the piece could hardly be even an aborted mandible1 because of its diminutive size4 ,illustration3 ,,young ,,larva4 ,what all authors have agreed in calling the mentum is very noticeable1 being large and broad1 and trilobed behind4 ,the maxillae are strong1 with complicated stipes and with two flat1 thin lobes1 the inner one smaller than the outer and rounded at the tip1 both lobes being ciliate4 ,the maxillary palpi are four-jointed1 the labial palpi three-jointed4 ,the prosternum is very large1 subtriangular1 concealing the insertion of the coxae1 and extending over the front part of the mesosternum1 as does this over the front of the metasternum4 ,six ventral segments of the abdomen are visible behind the posterior coxae1 which conceal two and the base of a third4 ,the coxae are flat and not at all prominent4 ,the legs are characterized by broad and flattened tibiae and femora1 and the strong spines with which they are armed4 ,the tarsi are five-jointed1 the front and middle pair with a row of claviform membraneous appendages each side1 which ,le ,conte found only in the male4 ,american entomologists have been satisfied to follow ,le ,conte and ,horn as to the position of ,platypsyllus4 ,yet with such diversity of opinion on the subject among high ,european authorities1 the importance of a knowledge of the adolescent states has been recognized1 as the character of either the larva or pupa would settle the question4 ,during a stay at ,west ,point1 ,neb41 in ,october1 #ahhf1 ,i learned from one of my agents1 ,mr4 ,lawrence ,bruner1 that there was a beaver in a creek not far from that point1 and ,i at once made arrangements for him to trap the beaver1 and to look particularly for living specimens of ,platypsyllus on the skin1 and especially the earlier stages4 ,he succeeded in capturing the beaver and sent me some fifteen specimens of the larva and also some imagos1 but neither eggs nor pupae were found4 ,a glance at the larva satisfied me at once of its coleopterous nature2 but as we have1 waiting to be worked up and published1 an embarras de richesses entomologiques in the collections of the ,national ,museum1 and as circumstances largely decide the precedence1 ,i should probably not have called attention to this larva for some time1 had it not been that at the last monthly meeting of the ,entomological ,society of ,washington1 ,dr4 ,horn1 who was present1 announced the finding1 the present spring1 by one of his correspondents1 of this very larva1 and exhibited a specimen4 ,some points about it1 and especially the position of the spiracles1 being yet rather obscure in his mind1 he requested me to examine my material1 which ,i have thus been led to do4 ,i have made a figure of this larva which will sufficiently indicate its nature4 ,the general form of the trophi1 and particularly the anal cerci1 fully settle the disputed point1 and remove this insect completely from the ,mallophaga 7none of which possess them71 and confirm its position in the ,clavicorn series of the ,coleoptera4 ,yet in the larva1 as in the imago1 the effects of its parasitic life are shown in certain modifications which approach the running section of the ,mallophaga4 ,without going into details ,i may say that1 besides its general and more decided coleopterological features1 this larva is distinguished by the shortness and stoutness of its legs1 by the size and stoutness of the antennae1 by the stiff and long depressed hairs on the dorsal and more particularly on the ventral surface1 and by the dorsal position of the abdominal spiracles1 all characters approaching the ,mallophaga4 ,the first pair of spiracles is lateral1 and may be said to be mesothoracic1 being placed on the mesothoracic joint1 but on a distinct fold4 ,the eight abdominal spiracles are placed on the sides of the dorsum1 and in this respect recall the parasitic triungulin of the meloid larvae4 ,the mandibles are barely corneous1 and they are more elongate and curved in the younger than in the older larva1 while the legs are also relatively stouter1 more curved1 and with a much longer and sharper claw in the younger larva1 which seems well fitted for grasping the hairs of its host4 ,there can no longer be any doubt1 therefore1 about the true position of ,platypsyllus4 ,the eggs will probably be found attached in some way to the hairs of the animal they are laid on1 much as they are in ,mallophaga1 and the pupa is probably formed in the nests of the host1 and not upon the skin1 which will explain the reason for its not occurring with the larva and imago upon the beaver1 either in the case of my specimens or those of ,dr4 ,horn4 ,the greatest resemblance of ,platypsyllus in the imago state to the ,mallophaga is found in the spinous comb on the hind border of the occiput1 the arrangement of the spines on the abdomen1 and the superficial antennal structure1 but particularly in the broad trilobed mentum4 ,all of the other characteristics are readily referable to the ,coleoptera1 though1 as ,le ,conte pointed out1 they are composite1 recalling in the antennae the ,grynidae1 in the pronotum the ,silphidae1 in the mesosternum ,limulodes1 in the elytra the ,staphilindae1 in the legs the ,anisotomidae1 and in the mandibles the ,corylophidae4 ,the scutellum and the five-jointed tarsi at once remove it from ,mallophaga1 and it is a wonder that ,le ,conte and ,horn have not more fully insisted on this fact4 ,the trophi are very complicated1 and there are various details of structure not noticed or not mentioned by any of the writers upon the subject hitherto4 ,i have been led to very carefully examine the imago1 and the more closely ,i have done so1 the more completely ,i realize the accuracy of ,le ,conte's original work4 ,the mandibles are visible or not1 according as they are exposed or withdrawn1 and their existence may depend on the sex1 as1 so far as my material justifies conclusion1 they are visible in the male only4 ,where found they correspond to ,le ,conte's description4 ,even in the larva they are weak and of doubtful service in mastication1 while in the imago they are1 as is also the labrum1 quite rudimentary1 which fact hardly justifies us1 however1 in arguing their non-existence4 ,as confirmatory of the affinities of ,platypsyllus1 as here proved1 it may be mentioned that ,leptinus testaceous ,mull41 the only species of its genus1 is known to be parasitic on mice1 as it has been found upon them in ,philadelphia by ,dr4 ,jno4 ,a4 ,ryder1 and ,i have taken it in the nests of a common field mouse near ,washington4 ,but still more interesting is the fact that ,leptinillus validus ,horn 7also the only species of its genus7 is an associate parasite of ,platypsyllus on the beaver1 a number of both having been taken by one of my agents1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,koebele1 in ,san ,francisco1 from beaver skins brought from ,alaska4 ,illustration3 ,,larva ,,of ,,platypsyllus ,,castoris4 ,in reference to the classificatory value that should be attached to an aberrant type like this1 ,i have already expressed my opinion in a paper on ,megathymus1 a ,lepidopteron that connects in many ways the two great divisions of butterflies and moths1 published in the ,transactions of the ,academy of ,sciences of ,st4 ,louis1 volume iii41 #ahgf1 and will take the liberty of reading a few passages therefrom3 ,between all classificatory divisions1 from variety to kingdom1 the separating lines we draw get more and more broken in proportion as our knowledge of forms1 past and present1 increases4 ,every step in advance toward a true conception of the relations of animals brings the different groups closer together1 until at last we perceive an almost continuous chain4 ,even the older naturalists had an appreciation of this fact4 ,linnaeus' noted dictum1 ',natura saltus non facit' implies it2 and ,kirby and ,spence justly observe that 'it appears to be the opinion of most modern physiologists that the series of affinities in nature is a concatenation or continuous series2 and that though an hiatus is here and there observable1 this has been caused either by the annihilation of some original group or species1 or that the objects required to fill it up are still in existence but have not yet been discovered4' ,modern naturalists find in this more or less gradual blending their strongest arguments in favor of community of descent2 and speculation as to the origin1 or outcome rather1 in the near present or remote past of existing forms is naturally and very generally indulged1 even by those who a few years back were more inclined to ridicule than accept ,darwinian doctrine4 ,shall we then say that the old divisions must be discarded because not absolute8 ,as well might we argue for the abolition of the four seasons because they differ with the latitude1 or because they gradually blend into each other4 ,entomologists will always speak of moths and butterflies1 howsoever arbitrary the groups may come to be looked upon1 or however numerous the intermediate gradations4 ,families should1 ,i think1 be made as comprehensive as possible1 and not unduly multiplied2 and in considering aberrant forms1 the objects of classification are best subserved by retaining them in whatever division can claim the balance of characters4 ,it is better to widen than to restrict in the higher groups4 ,le ,conte does better service in bringing ,platypsylla among the ,coleoptera than does ,westwood in creating a new order-- ,achreioptera--for it4 ,phylloxera1 in ,homoptera1 is much more wisely retained in the ,aphididae than made the type of a new family4 ,platypsyllus1 therefore1 is a good ,coleopteron1 and in all the characters in which it so strongly approaches the ,mallophaga it offers merely an illustration of modification due to food habit and environment4 ,in this particular it is1 however1 of very great interest as one of the most striking illustrations we have of variation in similar lines through the influence of purely external or dynamical conditions1 and where genetic connection and heredity play no part whatever4 ,it is at the same time interesting because of its synthetic characteristics1 being evidently an ancient type from which we get a very good idea of the connection in the past of some of the present well-defined orders of insects4 ,westwood1 though now an octogenarian1 may safely be called ,england's most eminent entomologist by virtue of the character and volume of the work which he has accomplished4 ,dr4 ,le ,conte was1 facile princeps1 ,america's leading coleopterist4 ,i do not know that any greater tribute could be added to the sound judgment and deep knowledge possessed by that late distinguished member of the ,academy than the confirmation of his views as opposed to the views of ,westwood and other ,european authorities which the discovery of this larva now gives us4 ,,the ,,spectra ,,of ,,oxygen4 ,the author has observed a fact which furnishes a remarkable demonstration of the law of the production of the dark bands which he has detected in the spectrum of oxygen4 ,the phenomena of elective absorption in oxygen gas are manifested in two mutually distinct spectral systems4 ,a first system1 formed of fine rays1 follows the law of the product of the gaseous system traversed by its density4 ,the second system is formed of bands much less easily resolved1 is governed by the law of the product of the thickness by the square of the density4 ,this second law being quite novel in spectral analysis1 the author has instituted experiments necessary to prove that this system of obscure bands really belongs to oxygen4 ,these experiments range from pressures of #ajj atmospheres down to those of a few units1 and with lengths of tubes from #j4db meter to #fj meters4 ,at the same time prolonged observations have been made upon the atmosphere1 brought into connection with the experiments in the tubes4 ,these observations1 and especially those made during autumn last on the ,pic du ,midi1 prove that all the bands of the spectrum of oxygen are found in the spectrum of the solar light if it is allowed to traverse a sufficient thickness of the atmospheric medium4 ,further1 on comparing1 by the aid of photography1 the intensities of the bands of the atmospheric spectrum with those given in the tubes1 the author has found that the intensities of these atmospheric bands fulfill the law of the square4 ,it appears from ,wiedemann's ,annalen that ,m4 ,olszewski1 when liquefying oxygen1 examined its spectrum and ascertained the existence of the bands in question with a stratum of #g mm4 of liquid oxygen4--,j4 ,jansen4 ,,on ,a ,,theory ,,concerning ,,the ,,sudden ,,loss ,,of ,,magnetic ,,properties ,,of ,,iron ,,and ,,nickel4 ,by ,mr4 ,h4 ,,tomlinson1 ,b4,a4 ,experiments by himself and other observers have shown that the temperatures at which iron and nickel lose their magnetic properties depend on the specimens used and the magnetizing forces employed2 but the temperatures at which they begin to lose these properties are definite--for nickel about #cjj deg4 ,c41 and iron about #fhj deg4 ,c4 ,the author's own experiments on ,recalescence of ,iron show two critical temperatures2 and ,pinchon has shown by calorimetric measurement that between #ffj deg4 and #gbj deg4 ,c41 and between #a1jjj deg4 and #a1jej deg4 ,c41 heat becomes latent4 ,all these facts seem to indicate a molecular rearrangement about these temperatures4 ,in his proposed theory he assumes that the molecules of iron 7say7 contain magnetic atoms capable of motions of translation and of rotation4 ,these tend to form closed magnetic circuits1 but at ordinary temperatures are unable to do so on account of the close proximity of their centers4 ,on raising the temperature their centers are further separated1 till at about #fhj deg4 ,c4 their polar extremities rush together1 forming complete circuits and exhibiting no external magnetic properties4 ,on cooling down1 the centers approach until the gravitation attraction overcomes the magnetic attraction of their poles1 when the magnetic properties reappear4 ,prof4 ,ayrton asked whether the author had made experiments on the reappearance of magnetic properties when raised to a white heat1 and ,prof4 ,thompson inquired whether cobalt had been tested4 ,both questions were answered negatively4 ,,poison ,,of ,,the ,,somalis1 ,,extracted ,,from ,,the ,,wood ,,of ,,the ,,ouabaio4 ,the principle in question1 ouabaine1 forms rectangular plates1 very slender1 of a nacreous appearance4 ,it is absolutely white1 inodorous1 and not appreciably bitter4 ,it contains no nitrogen1 and does not react with coloring matters4 ,at a boiling heat1 in presence of dilute acids1 it is split up1 yielding a reductive sugar4 ,its composition is ,c#ij;,h#de,o#ab4 ,it is poisonous if introduced into the circulation1 but not if swallowed4--,m4 ,arnaud1 in ,comptes ,rendus4 7,advertisements47 ,a ,new ,catalogue of ,valuable ,papers ,contained in ,,scientific ,,american ,,supplement during the past ten years1 sent free of charge to any address4 ,,munn ,,co41 #cfa ,broadway1 ,new ,york4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,scientific ,,american ,architects and ,builders ,edition4 #b4ej a ,year4 ,single ,copies1 #be cts4 ,this is a ,special ,edition of the ,,scientific ,,american1 issued monthly--on the first day of the month4 ,each number contains about forty large quarto pages1 equal to about two hundred ordinary book pages1 forming1 practically1 a large and splendid ,magazine of ,architecture1 richly adorned with elegant plates in colors and with fine engravings1 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whether a patent can probably be obtained1 by writing to ,,munn ,,co4 ,we also send free our ,hand ,book about the ,patent ,laws1 ,patents1 ,caveats1 ,trade ,marks1 their costs1 and how procured4 ,address ,,munn ,,co41 #cfa ,broadway1 ,new ,york4 ,branch ,office1 #fbb and #fbd ,f ,st41 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,amendments ,transcriber's ,note3 ,some illustrations may have been moved4 ,we have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical context4 ,the table of contents has been moved to the front4 ,other changes are listed below4 ,the listed source publication page number also applies in this reproduction except for the table of contents since it has been moved4 ,page ,change #ajcdc ,fig4 #a redrawn slightly to reduce the reader's confusion4 #ajcde ,,nature4,heading deleted4 #ajcde #ab1fjj lb4 per square inch7psi74also in following lines4 #ajcdf ,first line of heading moved to footnote4 #ajcdg as much as a plank of the same size #ajcdg ,for these upper floors hard-woodhardwood plank1 #ajcdi asserted pretty generally thoughoutthroughout the country #ajcdi employesemployees will no longer be known as gas house #ajcej reappear in the little glow lampglow-lampmultiple instances #ajcea throughthough ,i doubt whether it is visible #ajcea due to the vacumvacuum1 #ajcea and to the atonishmentastonishment of my fellow #ajceb the many disagreeable symptonssymptoms1 #ajceb ,part of ,care of ,the ,eyes header moved to footnote4 #ajced but on miscroscopicalmicroscopical examination #ajced neigborhoodneighborhood in which we live4 #ajcee ,it,its parallax1 as determined by ,sir ,r4 ,s4 ,ball1 #ajcee ,the well knownwell-known double star #fa ,cygni #ajcef ,fig4 #c3 ,illegible text re-composed4 #ajceh ,advertisements header added4 #ajceh ,table of contents moved to front of publication4 #ajceh ,the ,one ,hundred and ,twenty ,foot,ton ,shears ,table of ,contents 99 99 99 99 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