Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 6.djvu/657

Rh of London; but I know nothing personally of their utility. I intend to try the 'Armadillo' again."

We spoke of the "Armadillo" last month, not from any direct knowledge we have of it, but to correct the advertised statement that had endorsed it, which was not true.



determine the real value of the "disease-proof potatoes" advertised by seeds-men, the Royal Agricultural Society of England, some time since, offered a prize of £100 for a really disease-proof potato. The conditions were that the potatoes should be tried in twenty different parts of the kingdom for three years. But the committee did not need to continue the experiment for three years; the results obtained in one season were decisive. None of the potatoes resisted the disease. During the period of vigorous growth, in five localities out of the twenty, the disease was virulent in all the varieties, and by the end of the season it had appeared in all the plots.

collection of anatomical and physiological preparations made by the late Prof. Jeffries Wyman was in his will bequeathed to the Boston Society of Natural History, on condition that they paid to his heirs the sum of three thousand dollars. The Society promptly accepted the bequest; but, instead of the sum named in the will, of their own accord they paid to the heirs five thousand dollars.

the investigations of Prof. Buckley, State Geologist of Texas, it appears that that State has vast deposits of iron and coal, of much greater extent than had been anticipated. Both are of excellent quality, and, in some cases, they occur near together. He has also found an abundance of salt, gypsum, and a wide range of copper-ores. Other valuable minerals are roofing-slate, marble, soapstone, etc.

of Vienna, has discovered a method of making certain colors fire-proof, so that they may be used for painting on china in precisely the tones required. The inventor also employs a special enamel, which he spreads over the surface to be painted on, thus doing away with the irregularities and porosities of the porcelain; the irregular and undue absorption of color is thus prevented. Another invention of Dr. Kosch's is the fusion of gold, silver, and platinum, with bronze, by which the most gorgeous effects are produced.

method of casting statues in bronze has been discovered by a Venetian founder named Giordani. The advantage of the method consists in the cast being effected in a single operation, no matter how large the model, or how complicated in its form.

the Paleolithic period horses were numerous all over Europe, and formed the basis of human food. In every "find" of that epoch, horses' bones constitute a considerable portion of the animal remains. 