Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/158

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��PacitJc atanilard time, aunrise and sunseL at San Francisco, and lists of liglithousM, ilghletl hcacon*, and floating lights, nn the west coast of N'orlh anit South America, Incliidliig lh« North knd SmiUi PhcIBc J aland a.

— "Geonomy: creation of Uio continents by the ocean-cm runts, by J. S. Grimes ( Philadelphia, Id85|," ia a book characterized hy iinpllcatlons of blindness an{] conserratism on the part of moat physical geog- raphers, by asserliuns of the great value and original- ity of tlie author's earlier works, by a broad Iguoranee of what others have dune, and by utterly itnpoe- alblc ph)'^ica1 Iheorieg. "The reason why scienli- cuns have neglected to investigate the laws of the eiirrenls thoronghiy, and lo discorer the truth con-

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��femlng them, ia that they have not regarded them as of much importance. Had they suspected that the currenlB, by their operationa, created the coiitl- nenta, they would long since have wrung from them all their secrets " (p. ill).

— Professor Charles Denison of Denver has pre- pared a aeries of climatic charts of the United Statea on the basis of the U. S. signal -service records, giv- ing especial care to the illustration of elements of humidity and cioudlneas. The dryer and moister re- gions of the country are thus clearly separated iti a general way, as far as the acattercd atations of ohser. vaUon will allow. The ueed uf additional data in the weat ia sufficiently shown by noticing that Pike's Peak alone, of all its compeers In the mountains, is repreaenteil as having its conditions of humidity af- fected by its elevation. When the Cordllleriis are

��correctly known, the brand cotors now admitted will be broken up into very small [ratchwork. Thn maps are pnbli»hed by Rand, McNaliy, & Co., Chicago, and are iiiieresting as being among the first attempts tu bring Ihe results of the signal -service recot>la into

— Science tt natmr deacril>es an electric lamp to l)e uaed with the microscope. Ail mlcroscopisls know how difficult it la to obtain guod, clear tight when working with high-power lenses, and any Invention which will tend lo lessen or overcome this difficulty will be appreciated by tliem. For roicro-phott^raphy. Stearn'a lights, illustraleil In tig. I, are decidedly t]>e best. They measure about three centimetres in diameter, but may be made smaller. In Hg. 2 there

are three liglits attached lo a binocu- lar, — one above the stage, far Illu- minating opaque objects; another below, lo ikke the plwe of the re- Hector; and u third, much brighter, heneatli all, to be used in pltotogm- phy. Each one can be regulated at will. It is not neceaaary, however, to have a microscope thus modified, for something like tig. 3 can be suh- stituteil. lu this way one light can 1)6 made lo serve the purposes of all. Dr. T. Stein describes In the Zrf(- sifhH^i /iir mlkroiikopie a similar but less perfect arrangemenL There is one linpi)rlant addition, however. In the stage beneath the object there is a spiral of platinum, which b<^- comes heated when the current is allowed to pass through it, — an ex- tremely convenient way of heating . an object beneath tbe microacope. — The geogiTipliical society of Par- Is awards Its prizes as follows: agold medal to Mr. de Foiircauld. for bis expedition l l» fi" du ivl''," published under the direc- tion of Messrs. Schefler. member of the iuatitute, and Henri Cordier; the Ehntrd prize to Mr. Dumas Vorzct for bis charts and cartographic work.

— Mr, H. II. Johnston intends shortly to publish two works, — one on his recent experiences In vastem Africa, anil the other a carefully prepared account of the Portuguese colonies of West .Africa. TUe latter book lie has had in hand since hia return from tbe Kongo. Mr. Johnston's studies and sketches of Mount Kilimanjaro will a[ipear sliorlly In the Oraphle.

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