Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/157

 PKBRVAllV 13, 1886.]

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��1 A lr>»' sla^ of civili»ilii>n wns \ti\ by llie illsoovHi-y of a '■ well-made lione- eoug«, Knit lit two pieces of stag-liorn, whii'li have b««ii cut with some sharp instrument."

— Hcgnulle. In the JiullMn tecltiwloniyue Or* redes natioHolt* U'm arU el, millert, ileKribes a new Mnunk produci Iram the waste laniU of Elu^-foctu- riet, which oflPii aLTUinubU: in iiumense quatilltic^, •o » to occMioti srent eiuliarrauiDeiit. The ^aiid is tDbjecteil t» an iniinenae liyilraulic pregBiire, nntl Ihen bakeil ill funiHces at a high teiiipernture, so m to prinluco lilu(-k» of variotii forma unil dlmeuaiona, of s uniform Hhll> colur, hIiIcIi are coDipvseil of ■Ituoal |>iiresil<^K. The cruahlng-load Is from ihvfv bundnKl anil iieveiily in four hiinilred and llfly kll- ■mieina prr iquare ceiiti metre. The liricks, when plaagfd tn chlorhydrli- and »ulpburk wi<la, show no tRM of alleratlou- 'Die prodncl has remnrkahle tnlldlly ■ml lenaeity; it is not aa<^cL«il hy the heavi- eM fKMIi or by the m-Uuii of sun or rain; it resists T«T7 blgli teiniwratures, pi'oviilcil no Aui Is present: It it very light, iis speciSc gravity being only 1.5; it ta n( a line while color, which will make it sought ■tiar for many arohitvctural effecis in combination wUli briek or stone of other colors.

— Tli« Bojttl acaileniy of scienees of Turin gives riollee that the ttfih tlrcssa pd?:e will be given Lo the «rieiitific niithor or inventor, whatever be hli ualion- aiily. who ■lurldg the years 1S83-86, nceorriing to the jinlginent of the acndeiuy, shall have m&ite the most Impoiuiit and useful discovery, or publlsheU the mint laliutble work on physical and eN]ierlmentHl MTifiiW, natural history, mathemalics, chemistry, physiology, and pathology, as well as geology, history, geography, an'l statistics. The term will he closed at Uie end of Deceuibor. 1886. The value of the prise amounts to twelve thousaud Italian lire. Thu prize will in no rase lie given to any of the nationat members of the academy ot Turin, resident or non-resldi^nt.

— W(> regret In announce the death of Dr. J. Owyn Jeffreys of Kensington, Eng,, well known for his conehulogical researches. He died suddenly on the :Mi.h ult. We hope in a future number to sivH Mime account of hi* scientific work.

— Dr. Ch, Amal lias devoted some study to the Iteni K'nab, — a Berber people whose territory was definitely annexed by France about two years ago, and who are described as active, sober, provident, ecnnomicnl, and inMlligeut. lie remarks that the poiltton ot woman was higher among Ibem before the introduction of Islamism. Their cemeteries, con- t*lDing tombs of large worked stones, with a line of pots, plates, ostrich eggs, etc., about them, are re- ferred to as survivals from the funeral feasts of the ancient religion. Thesi.' people occupy seven towns, having a population of over tliirty thoiisitnd, and are engaged In commerce.

— Capt. Poldrtigo of the Austrian hnrk Flladel- lla. from C'npe Town to iTew York, reports an carth- qtutk« al midnight of Jan. 2, extending in an easterly

Mad westerly direction. At the same time, he ;aw a

��large white spot on the water. Uo wns in lalltmie 1° W norlli, longilude ii" we«t, at the lime.

— Vol. vii. No. 2, "f the American journal i^ nfkthtmatics, has just appearrd, and contains the following ariielea ; ' A memoir on the Abellan and thetn functions,' by Professor Cajley (tills is ibe continuation o( Professor Cayley's great memoir, the first three chapten of which appeared In vol. v. of the journal; the present article contains chap- ters Iv.-vii., and treats prini'lpally ot the case where the 'fixed curve' ia a quarllc buili in the plane and in space); 'Solution of solvable Irreilucibje quinllc eqtiAllcms without the aid of a resolvent sextlc.' by Ueorge Paiton Toniig of University college, Toron- 111 (Priitessor Young assumes Jcrrard's trinomial form for the quinlie, finds the criterion of its solva- bility, and finally solves the equation In all the possible cases); h note on Uaclaurin's theorem, by llennile; the first part of a memoir on the algebra of logic, by Mr. C. S. Peirce, lu which the author studies the philosophy of notation.

— Xu. a of the Ixvieiliya of the Russian geo- graphical society, contains, among other things. Us- peiiske's account of the Island of llainiin. obtaineil from Chinese soun'ei; Iwanow's report of his ascent of the Elbrus; Istomin's ethnographical journey to Archangel, and a long pa]>er by Werestchagln on the Wntjiiks. Tliongh thi?i Flnnlsli people has been often discussed ami descrllied. the author gives iimcb new aiid valuable information, I'jipecially in r^ard to mythology, feasts, and folk-lore. The closing number of vol. xil. of the ^piskl contains a long article on Korea by Otnuo Kigoro.

— We observe this note In a lale number of the Aihfwteum: "' Parallax' is dead! Dr. Samuel Rowbothani used this name as the author of ' Jioiellc aslnmoniy,' and he was well known by it as a lec- turer on such subjects as 'the earth not a globe.' The doctor, some years l)efore bis death, direcieil his 'seeking philosophy' to diemistry; but we never heard ot any discovery resulting from his search."

— The supplement lo the Hrrlinrr agtrotiomUchef Jalirbach for I8S7, containing the elements and ephemerides ot the small planets (or the present year, U nlreody issued, preceding, as usual, the publica- tion of the body of the work. The best obtainable elements of the orbits of two hundred and thirty- seven of these planets are given (two hundred anil forty-four was the total number known at the begin- ning of 1F<85). ns alrio approximate ephemerides of the same, the positions being given at twenty-day intervals. Accurate epbemerldea are now computed by. tlic i{«eAnunf/s-iiure(tu, and published for only nineteen small planets.

— The ' Nautical almanac' utfice. Washington, has lately issued a new publication: Ihat prepared (or the present year being the first, iind entitled ' The Pacific coaster's nautical almanac.' It is the counterpart of the ' Atlantic coaster's almanac,' issued for the first time in ISi^, and gives, In addition to tutronomlco- nautlcai data, the times of high water at San Pran- clico, San Diego, Astoria, and Port Townsend, in

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