Rocky Mountain region; those of Mr. Clarence | important bearing upon the questions connected King and his parties, upon the glaciers of the Pa- with Mr. Darwin's views. A report of a critical cific slope; that of Professor Powell, on the ca- examination of the crustaceans of the Gulf ñons of the Colorado; that of the students of Stream, collected by Count Pourtalès, has been Williams College, in Honduras; and that of Dr. published by Dr. Stimpson, and numerous papers Stimpson, in Florida, together with others of upon the invertebrates of the Pacific and Atlangreater or less interest. To these may be added tic coasts of the United States, by Professor A. E. the labors, in San Domingo, of the Government Verrill. A catalogue of the fishes in the British Commission sent to the island about the begin- Museum, by Dr. Gunther, which has been so long ning of the year. in preparation, has been completed, and serves as a valuable manual for general ichthyology.

In Geology, reports of the progress of surveys have been made by the States of Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, New Jersey, and others; while in the matter of general geology, the most important announcements have been those connected with the history of the South African diamond fields, and that of the labors of Dr. Hayden, Professor Marsh, and Mr. King.

In the direction of Economical Natural History, the most important labors have been those connected with the protection and artificial propagation of fish; most of the Northern and Middle States, and some of the Southern, having appointed commissioners to make official inquiries and investigations, with more or less power of administration.

Numerous discoveries in Technology have been made known, which are dwelt upon in the leading journals in those branches as of some moment. Among the more interesting may be mentioned the suggestions and methods for carving out, or etching, glass and stone, by means of a blast of sand directed against the part to be acted upon. The discussions and inquiries as to the effect of cold upon cast iron seem rather to disprove the time-honored impression that the metal is rendered brittle thereby, and less enduring, quite the contrary being now asserted to be the fact.

In Geography, we have the partial notices of the Tehuantepec and Darien Canal parties, reports from which are sometimes favorable, and sometimes the opposite. Important memoirs upon the currents and streams of the arctic seas have been published by Dr. Petermann; and on those of the ocean generally, especially the North Atlantic, by Mr. Croll. The reports of the last North German expedition to Greenland have also appeared, the most important point in which is the suggestion, by Lieutenant Payer, that Greenland is an archipelago, rather than a continent. Captain Hall continues his preparations for the polar expedition authorized by Congress last Evidence of the continued activity in the line year, and the time of his departure, it is proba- of scientific research is exhibited by the estabble, will before long be announced. The discov-lishment of quite a number of new Learned Socieeries of Dr. Schweinfurth, in Central Africa, and those of Mr. Baynes, in South Africa, have tended to advance our knowledge of the geology of that continent. The account of the geysers and mud volcanoes of the head waters of the Yellowstone, by Governor Langford and Lieutenant Doane, have opened up a new page in the physical geography of the United States.

In the department of Paleontology, the discovery, by Professor Marsh, of the Lophiodon, in New Jersey, and of four species of fossil serpents, in Wyoming; by Professor Leidy, of a fossil llama, in California; and of some interesting genera of the tertiary fresh-water period, in Idaho, by Professor Cope, may be mentioned; but the most interesting of all has been the detection of a post pliocene bone cave near Phoenixville, in Pennsylvania, from which Professor Cope has already obtained forty species of vertebrate animals, most of them new to science, and nearly all of extinct species.

Nothing of great moment in the line of Botany has been announced, although, as far as that of America is concerned, the valuable report of the plants collected on Mr. Clarence King's expeditions, as prepared by Mr. Sereno Watson, is understood to be in the printer's hands. Some interesting facts in regard to transpiration of water by leaves have also been published in England.

In the department of Zoology, the most important publication is that of Mr. Darwin upon the genesis of man, a book which has excited an immense amount of criticism. A corresponding work by Professor Haeckel, on abiogenesis, has been also published. A memoir has also appeared upon the comparative character of the brain of man and the monkey, by Professor Theodore Meynert, which is likely to have an

ties in the United States, among which we may mention the Philosophical Society of the city of Washington, the Anthropological Institute of New York, established on the basis of two other societies previously existing, the Philosophical Society of Middletown, and others.

We conclude this review of the progress of science since the beginning of the year by referring to the more important cases of death which have occurred in the ranks of the workers in science. Of these may be mentioned Professor Chauvenet, of St. Louis, the astronomer; Mr. G. Lambert, of Paris, the arctic geographer; Professor C. G. Bischoff, of Bonn; Dr. Sheridan Muspratt, of England, and Dr. C. M. Wetherell, of Bethlehem, chemists; Professor Edward Lartét, the geologist and paleontologist; Professor Dumèril, of Paris; Professor Lacordaire, of Liege; Mr. Halliday and Mr. Henry Denny, of England, zoologists. More detailed notices in regard to these gentlemen will be found in the Scientific Intelligence.

It will, of course, be understood that in the brief space that can be allotted to a résumé of this kind many discoveries and announcements of interest must fail to receive special mention; but what we have just indicated will serve as a general sketch of progress for the first part of the present year, which we trust will be followed before its close by others of still greater interest.

CURE OF ST. VITUS'S DANCE.

Among the more recent triumphs of medical science may be mentioned the method of treatment of chorea, or St. Vitus's dance, originally discovered in Europe, and first practiced in this country, we believe, by Dr. W. A. Hammond, of New York. This consists in the application, by

the pickles. This is to be continued until the color is a beautiful green. The vinegar used in this process is then to be poured off and replaced by fresh, and the jar closed tightly. This method of coloring is perfectly harmless, although the result is as bright a green as that of verdigris.

STOLBA PROCESS OF TINNING.

A somewhat similar arrangement has been made by the same gentleman for measuring the rate of travel in carriages or wagons, indicating, as before, the time and rate of movement, and the stoppages made in the journey. This apparatus is contained in a small iron box fastened to the wagon, and provided with a glass door in front, through which the paper is visible. The advantages of the application of such an apparatus as a check upon the improper use of carriages by servants, or for determining the rate and distance traveled in a livery vehicle, will readily suggest themselves.

SAFRANIN.

We have already referred to the process of tinning in the cold devised by Professor Stolba, of Prague, and we now learn that his experiments have been repeated with much success. The tinning of cast iron, wrought iron, steel, copper, and brass is found to be very satisfactory, the tin adhering very firmly, even when in very thin layers. Diluted sulphuric acid, however, it is said, generally produced dark spots and removed the coating. Experiments have been made to apply the same process for the ornamentation of metallic objects. These were tried especially upon cast iron articles electroplated with copper, where the projecting edges were tinned, with excellent effect. As greasy spots can not be tinned, it is only necessary to apply very thin layers of oil to the places where no deposit is desired in order to coat the remain-paste, of a bronze lustre, completely soluble in der of the article with tin, thus producing a striking contrast.

An important addition to the resources of the art of dyeing has lately been made in the discovery, by a French chemist, of a method of preparing a substance from coal-tar which completely replaces safflower and safflower carmine (derived from Carthamus tinctorius), the price of which latter substances has been continually on the increase, in consequence of the demand and the limited supply. The new dye is called safranin, and is furnished in the form of a thick

warm water, and more resistant of chemical agencies than other aniline colors; in this reSpect showing quite a resemblance to the Perkins violet. Safranin belongs to the substantive aniline dyes, and thus is a pigment coloring animal fibre directly.

EXTER LOCOMOTIVE OR WAGON REGULATOR. We have already referred to a steam-brake invented by Exter, the general superintendent of railroads in Munich, and we now present a The economy of its use may be understood by notice of a very simple arrangement lately de- the fact that one pound will dye fifty pounds of vised by him for determining the velocity of lo- cotton to a dark safranin rose of a beautiful comotives, by means of which the engineer is color and great brilliancy; and the same quanin a condition to ascertain the rate at which he tity will suffice for eight pounds of silk, being is moving at any moment, and to appreciate any thus three times as potent as safflower carmine. variation, and thus be enabled to maintain any Its effect upon wool is very similar to that of given rate of speed without the slightest difficulty. fuchsin, producing a beautiful rose-color, supeWithout figures for illustration it will be diffi- rior to that of fuchsin in brilliancy. For use it cult to give a satisfactory account of the appa- is simply necessary to dissolve it in boiling water, ratus in question, which is contained in a small and then filter the solution. The liquid thus tin box immediately in front of the engineer, and obtained can be applied directly in coloring silk, is set in motion by means of a cord extending to although cotton naturally requires a mordant. the locomotive axis. This indicates, by means The fabrics dyed with this material can be dried of a pointer upon a dial-plate, the rate of move-in heated rooms; in this respect being very difment in miles per hour, and draws, at the same ferent from the safflower colors. time, by means of a lead-pencil upon a moving paper roll visible to the engineer, and receiving its rotation from the motion, a line corresponding to the velocity of movement at any point of the journey. The authorized rate of velocity for any given train is indicated upon this paper disk by means of a line, and any deviation from such rate is appreciable to the engineer, as well as to any other official. The sheets of paper are to be removed at the end of each trip, and held subject to the inspection of the superintendent of transportation. The apparatus thus furnishes a graphic representation of the exact rate of the speed of every train at any point in its path; and these indications being beyond the control of the engineer, an unerring check is held upon his movements, by which he can be brought to account for any improper dereliction of duty.

By a special adjustment of the apparatus a second pencil shows how long the locomotive has remained at any given station, being set in motion while the engine is at a stand-still, and ceasing when it is again started.

VOL. XLIII-No. 253.-10

DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAMPREY.

A recent memoir presented to the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg by Mr. Owsjannikow, on the development of the river lamprey (Petromyzon fluviatilis), confirms the observations previously made in regard to Ammocoetes, being the larval stage of the same fish. As is well known, this latter form was for a long time considered a distinct genus of the lampreys, maintaining, as it did, to the age of two or three years, its distinctive peculiarities. The chief of these is the difference in the shape of the mouth, which, instead of being a very concave disk, thickly studded inside with sharp spines, is composed of one thin semicircular lip, with a transverse one behind it.

ACTION OF LIGHT ON THE TISSUES OF
PLANTS.

According to Botalin, notwithstanding the many experiments that have been made in regard to the physiology of vegetation, little or nothing has been determined as to the action of

inches, laying the roadway with them, and then covering the whole with fragments, broken to about two inches in size, to a depth of about four inches (making ten inches in all), after which the

heavy roller. In this way an almost solid bed is made, which is entirely free from mud, almost so from dust, and of uncommon durability. Indeed, this method seems to have given so much satisfaction lately in England that preparations are being made to use it for paving certain portions of London, with the anticipation that it will answer much better than the asphaltum rock heretofore imported from France, and applied there to a similar purpose.

light upon the tissues of plants. This gentleman has, consequently, occupied himself in prosecuting inquiries in relation to this subject. His memoir, lately published by the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, contains an exhaust-road is to be well watered, and crushed with a ive detail of observations and researches on this subject, but our space will permit us to give only a few of the practical conclusions to which he came. Among these may be mentioned the following: Direct sunlight or strong light retards the subdivision of the chlorophyl parenchyma cells, while diffused light favors such a division in the parenchyma cells of the bark. Absence of light has the same retarding effect as strong light. Light has no influence upon the division of the epidermis cells. Strong light, as well as entire darkness, retards the division of the cells of the parenchyma of the bark. The absence of light produces a slight thickening of the parenchyma cells. Light exercises no influence upon the thickening of the cells on the inside bark, and of the wood.

IS THE BRAIN A GALVANIC BATTERY?

Among the supposed facts relied upon to prove that the animal brain is a battery, which can send currents of electricity through the nerves so as to act upon the muscles, is an experiment referred to by Mr. C. F. Varley, in a late article, which consists in connecting the two terminals of a very sensitive galvanometer with separate basins of water. If a hand be placed in each basin, and one be squeezed violently, a positive current is said generally to flow from that hand through the galvanometer to the other hand, which is not compressed. Mr. Varley, however, after various experiments, has come to the conclusion that the phenomenon is due to chemical action alone, the act of squeezing the hand violently forcing some of the perspiration out of the pores. This is proved by the fact that when both hands were placed in the water, and a little

TRANSPIRATION OF WATER BY LEAVES. In a paper by Dr. MacNab, on the transpiration of water by leaves, he states, as the general conclusions reached by his investigations, that the mean of several experiments gave about sixty-three per cent. as the quantity of water contained in the leaves, and that the quantity of water removable by chloride of calcium or sulphuric acid was not equal to that transpired under the stimulus of the sun. About five per cent. of the water was determined to be fluid, in relation to the cell sap of the plant. About three per cent. per hour was given out under the sun-acid was dropped on one of them, a current was light, a little over half of one per cent. in diffused light, and less than half of one per cent. in darkness. About twenty-six per cent. per hour was transpired in a saturated atmosphere in the sunshine, and twenty and a half per cent. in a dry atmosphere; while, in the shade, none was transpired in a saturated atmosphere, and less than two per cent. in a dry atmosphere. Leaves immersed in water take up a little over four per cent. in an hour and a half, and it was estab-infers that it can not be an electric current itself. lished that plants absorb no.moisture whatever in a state of vapor through their leaves. In light of any kind the under side of leaves was found to transpire much more water than the upper. The experiments of Dr. MacNab were made upon the laurel cherry (Prunus lauro-cerasus), the liquid used for testing the rapidity of the ascented that in the northern hemisphere there are two being the lithium citrate.

UTILIZATION OF IRON SLAG.

The utilization of the slag of iron furnaces, which is produced in such immense quantity, has long been a problem, although of late years many attempts have been made to solve it. Methods have been suggested for extracting various substances of value in the arts; and in some countries, Belgium especially, the material is cast into moulds of a definite shape, and used, without further preparation, for building purposes. All persons familiar with the iron districts where this substance is produced are aware of the excellent macadamized roads it makes in the neighborhood of the iron furnaces; and it is now transported to considerable distances in England for a similar purpose. The best method of applying it is said to be by breaking it up into cubes of about six

generated without any muscular exertion. Mr. Varley found nothing to show that electricity exists in the human body, either as a source of motive power or otherwise, and he considers the feeble electricity obtained from the muscles to be due to the different chemical conditions of different portions of the muscles themselves. As the force transmitted by the nerves is at a rate about 200,000 times slower than an electric current, he

MAXIMA AND MINIMA OF THUNDER-STORMS.

In a recent paper by Dr. Jelinek upon the annual distribution of thunder-storms in Austria and. Hungary, he remarks that from the critical investigations of past years it has been ascertain

minima and two maxima of frequency of such storms. The first minimum occurs in the region north of the polar circle, the second in the region of the trade-winds; in both, however, summer storms are rare or entirely wanting. On the other hand, the maxima of frequency of storms occur on the one side in the vicinity of the equator, and on the other side in the temperate zone, and, indeed, they seem to be more frequent to the south of Europe. In illustration of this he remarks that in Iceland thunder-storms occur almost exclusively in the winter season; and that in the northwest of Scotland the winter storms predominate, although there is sometimes a second maximum in July. The summer storms, on the other hand, are most abundant in southern and southwestern Scotland, as well as in France and the rest of Continental Europe. It is considered quite a remarkable fact that Beyrout has

EDITOR'S SCIENTIFIC RECORD.

quite a similar distribution of storms throughout | Quinine now acts as a nervine tonic to the or-
the year as Iceland. Thus for ten years, during ganic system, counteracting the morbid influence,
the four months of June to September, not one promoting digestion and secretion, and giving
storm was observed; while in winter more than tone to the heart, and improving the pulse in
half the entire number for the year occurred, of strength and volume. In intermittent fever,
which one-fourth were in January. Again, while given before the expected paroxysm, it cuts
the number of these storms at Beyrout seems to short the attack by remedying that condition
It has no peculiar
be very small, they are still fewer at Jerusalem, which produces the flush in the blood-vessels,
only eleven having been observed in the space of and by giving them tone.
virtue in neutralizing the poison of malaria, but
three and a half years.
it is an invaluable remedy in all fevers. When,
however, the altered circulation leads to inflam-
mation of an organ, or to some morbid change,
it is suggested that its use is at least doubtful.
RUSTING OF IRON.

INFLUENCE OF TREES ON CLIMATE.
The subject of the influence of "foresting,"
or the planting of trees, upon the climate of a
country, and of "deforesting," or destroying the
forest growth, continues to excite much interest
throughout the world, as it is now well estab-
lished that the climate of many localities has
been materially altered by one or the other of
these processes. Systematic efforts have been
made, in different parts of the world, for intro-
ducing a growth of trees where these had either
disappeared or had never been known, from
which important results have followed in many
instances. We have before referred to the ef-
fect upon the climate of India of planting exten-
sive forests of different species; and we are in-
formed that, as the consequence of a similar ex-
periment, Egypt, which formerly had only about
six rainy days every year, since being replanted
on a large scale, has already attained to twenty-
four. Among the enlightened measures of the
administration of the French government, one
which is especially noteworthy is that of plant-
ing immense tracts of land in Algiers, especially
with Australian trees-namely, the Acacia mol-
lissima and Acacia lophantha. Plantations of
these trees, started a few years ago, have at-
tained a height of from nine to twelve feet, and
in their rapid growth and great extent have al-
ready changed the climate very much-twice as
much rain and dew falling in the neighborhood
as before. Under the same auspices, sixteen
square miles of the swampy, unhealthy country
along the coast of the Bay of Biscay, in the De-
partment of the Landes, was planted with mill-
ions of trees-especially the cork oak and swamp
pine-with surprisingly beneficial results; the
trees having drained the land so as to destroy the
swamp fevers, and to change it into a healthy
country with pine forests. Biscay law requires
that for every tree cut down two shall be plant-
ed, and it is said to be executed with rigorous
severity.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF QUININE.
An eminent native physician in India, in dis-
cussing the physiological action of quinine in
malaria, remarks that the symptoms in the early
stages of disease show that the force of the poi-
son is expended upon the ganglionic system of
nerves; and as the circulatory apparatus is under
the direct control of this system, we can easily
understand why influences exerted over the lat-
ter may modify its governing power. In a word,
concentrated upon
the effect of the malaria
the ganglionic centres of the system, altering
their functions in such a way as to disturb the
circulation and secretions of the body, to para-
lyze the blood-vessels, and lead to inflammation,
hypertrophy, or death; in short, acting as a
sedative to the sympathetic nervous centres.

Professor Calvert, after repeated experiments, has found that pure dry oxygen does not determine the oxidation of iron, and that moist oxygen has but feeble action; also that dry or moist pure carbonic acid has no action, but that when moist oxygen containing traces of carbonic acid is brought into contact with iron, the latter rusts with great rapidity. He concludes, therefore, that carbonic acid is the agent which determines the oxidation of iron, and that it is the presence of carbonic acid in the atmosphere, and not its oxygen or its watery vapor, that produces the oxidation of iron exposed to common air. In one experiment he found that if clean blades of the best quality of iron be placed in water which has been well boiled, and deprived of its oxygen and carbonic acid, they will not rust for several weeks; and that if a similar blade be half immersed in a bottle containing equal volumes of pure distilled water and oxygen, the portion dipping in the water becomes rapidly oxidized, while the upper portion remains unalBut if to the atmosphere be added some tered. carbonic acid, chemical reaction on the exposed portion, with rapid oxidation, takes place immediately.

In reference to the fact, first published by Berzelius, that caustic alkalies prevent the oxidation of iron, he remarks, as the result of special experiments on this subject, that the carbonates and bicarbonates of the alkalies possess the same property as their hydrates; and that if an iron blade be half immersed in a solution of such carbonates, they exercise such a preservative influence on that portion of the bar which is exposed to the atmosphere or common air (oxygen and carbonic acid) that it does not oxidize even after a period of two years.

SMALL-POX IN ENGLAND.

A wave of epidemic small-pox seems to be at present moving over the greater part of the world. This has already been noticed in various places in the United States, and in an equally marked degree in Europe. Paris has been afflicted with it for a long time, so as to have invoked the greatest care to ameliorate or eradicate the disease. Great Britain is now experiencing the infliction, which in London is more destructive at the present time than it has been at any period during the present century. The scientific and medical journals of that city are filled with suggestions for action, and insist that no disease is more directly under human control than the small-pox, and that the points to be aimed at are, in the first place, vaccination of