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INDEX TO SCIENCE

PAGE PAGE Aeronautic Research, Scientific, J. C. Hun- Hayward, Carle R., Heat Treatment of Cop- saker 17 per and Brass 73 Agriculture, Educational Development in, Heat Treatment of Copper and Brass, Carle R. L. S. Hawkins 37 Hayward 73

Air to the Rescue , 81 Hospital Efficiency, The Principles of, Rich- Allan, John A., National Parks in the Cana- 113 ard Waterman 104 dian Cordillera 113 Hovgaard, William, Present Status of Subma- Anti-Typhoid Inoculation, E. A. Ingham. ... 27 rine Boats 57 Artificial Pattern Lumber 125 Hunsaker, J. C, Scientific Aeronautic Re- Atomic Weights, Elements with Several, E. search, 17; Bomb-Carrying Dirigibles. ... 27 B. Spear 33 Infection from Towels, E. A. Ingham 14 Bateson's Theory of Evolution, Hervey W. Information, A Bureau of 135 Shimer 24 Ingham, E. A., Infection from Towels, 14; Blasting with Liquid Oxygen 25 Mosquitoes not Always Responsible, 23; Blindness, Color 140 Casein for the Toilet, 25; Some Insect-

Bomb-Carrying Dirigibles, J. C. Hunsaker. . 27 Borne Diseases, 26; Anti-Typhoid Inocula- Bureau of Information, A 135 tion 27

'. Camsell, Charles, The Mackenzie River Inner Tubes, Caring for . 47 Region 1 Inoculating Trees 112 Canadian Cordillera, National Parks in the, Inorganic Fodder 103 113 John A. Allan Insect-Borne Diseases, Some, E. A. Ingham. . 26 Casein for the Toilet, E. A- Ingham 25 Instrument, A Delicate 33 Chapin, Charles V., Truth in Publicity 127 Jaggar, T. A., Jr., Notes from a Volcano Lab- Color Blindness 140 oratory 85 Commercial Glucose and its Uses, George Light and Water Sterilization, Ultra Violet, W. Rolfe 10 John F. Norton 48 Contributors to Vol. IV 36 Lindgren, Waldemar, Status of the Tin Min- Copper Alloys, Melting Point of 47 ing Industry 29 Copper and Brass, Heat Treatment of, Carle Liquid Air and Its Properties 136 R. Hayward 73 Lumber, Artificial Pattern 125

Cosmogony, The Newest, John Ritchie, Jr. . . 78 Mackenzie River Region, The, Charles Cam-

Cream, Reconstructed 112 sell 1

Dirigibles Bomb-Carrying, J. C. Hunsaker. . . 27 Magnetic Change, Endless 84 Educational Development in Agriculture, L. S. Map showing Areas of Earth Chiefly Affected Hawkins 37 by Seismic Disturbances 126 Elements with Several Atomic Weights, E. B. Melting Point of Copper Alloys 47 Spear 33 Metal Coatings, Sprayed 81 Equilibrium of the Body, Magnus Westergren 28 Mineral Products, Value of our 72 Evolution, Bateson's Theory of, Hervey W. Mission of the Gull, The 134 Shimer 24 Mosquitoes not Always Responsible, E. A. Fodder, Inorganic 103 Ingham 23 Gill, A. H, Hardened Oils Ill Mount Wilson Observatory 134 Glucose and its Uses, Commercial, George W. Mouth Sanitation: A New Public Health Work, Rolfe 10 William R. Woodbury 53 Gull, The Mission of the 134 National Academy of Sciences, The Proceed- Gyro-Compass in the Navy, The 35 ings of the 77 Hardened Oils, A. H. Gill Ill National Parks in the Canadian Cordillera,

Hawkins, L. S., Educational Development in John A. Allan 1 13 Agriculture 37 Needles, Locating Buried 84 Index

PAGE PAGE Xew Discoveries in Oil Refining, Ellwood B. lution, 24; When Reptiles Ruled the Earth, Spear 34 44; The Unsolved Mystery of Why the

Newest Cosmogony, The, John Ritchie, Jr. . . 78 Stomach does not Digest Itself, 52; Plants Xew Public Health Work, A, William R. and Animals Distinguished 82 Woodbury 53 Insect-Borne Some Diseases, E. A. Ingham . . 26 Northeast Storms 81 Spear, E. B., Elements with Several Atomic Norton, John F., Ultra Violet Light and Water Weights, 33; New Discoveries in Oil Refin- Sterilization 48 ing 34 Notes from a •"ol'aino laboratory, T. A. Sprayed Metal Coatings 81 Jaggar, Jr 85 Status of the Tin Mining Industry, Waldemar Observatory, Mc it Wilson 134 Lindgren 29 Oil Refining, NewOiscoveri.es in, Ellwood B. Stiles, Percy G., Salt and Its Relation to Spear 34 Nutrition 15

Oils, Hardened, A. .. Gill 111 Stomach does not Digest Itself, The Unsolved le Origin of Pearls, T 36 Mystery of Why the, Hervey W. Shimer . . 52 Oxygen, Blasting with Liquid 25 Submarine Boats, Present Status of, William Pearls, The Origin of 36 Hovgaard 57 Plants in High Altitudes 47 Teeth and Eyes, Relation of, Magnus Wester- Plants and Animals Distinguished, H. W. gren 27 Shimer 82 Telephone Diaphragm Works, How the 110 Plumb Line Vagaries 23 Tin Mining Industry, Status of the, Waldemar Present Status of Submarine Boats, William Lindgren 29 Hovgaard 57 Towels, Infection from, E. A. Ingham 14 Preservation of Wood 140 Trees, Inoculating 112 Principles of Hospital Efficiency, The, Rich- Truth in Publicity, Charles V. Chapin 127 ard Waterman 104 Tubes, Caring for Inner 47 Proceedings of the Academy 77 Typhoid Inoculation, Anti, E. A. Ingham ... 27 Publicity, Truth in, Charles V. Chapin 127 Unsolved Mystery of Why the Stomach does

Itself, Recoil, Taking up the 33 not Digest The, Hervey W. Shimer. . 52 Reconstructed Cream 112 Violet Light and Water Sterilization, Ultra, Relation at Teeth and Eyes, Magnus Wester- John F. Norton 48 gren. 27 Volcano Laboratory, Notes from a, T. A. Reptiles Ruled the Earth, When, Hervey W. Jaggar, Jr 85 Shimer 44 Waterman, Richard, The Principles of Hos-

Ritchie, John, Jr., The Newest Cosmogony. . 78 pital Efficiency 104 Rolfe, George W., Commercial Glucose and Westergren, Magnus, Relation of Teeth and

its Uses 10 Eyes, 27; Equilibrium of the Body 28 Rust, Softening 56 Wheat Crisis Coming 84

Salt and its Relation to Nutrition, Percy G. When Reptiles Ruled the Earth, Hervey W. Stiles 15 Shimer 44

Scientific Aeronautic Research, J. C. Hun- Woodbury, William R., A New Public Health saker 17 Work 53 Shimer, Hervey W., Bateson's Theory of Evo- Wood Preservation 140 Science Conspectus

Vol. V 1915 No. 1

THE MACKENZIE RIVER REGION PHYSICAL FEATURES AND WONDERFUL NATURAL RESOURCES OF A COMPARA- TIVELY UNKNOWN TERRITORY COM- PRISING A FIFTH OF ALL CANADA BY CHARLES CAMSELL

The Mackenzie is one of the great the Canadian Geological Survey is now rivers of the earth draining an area embarking on a scheme for the explora- 682,000 square miles in extent or about tion of the vast tracts of unknown one-fifth of the total area of Canada. territory in this and adjoining portions More than one-third of its basin is still of Northern Canada. -a "terra incognita" to the white man PHYSICAL FEATURES and is known only to a few small roving bands of Indians of the great Chipewyan The Mackenzie River carries to the stock. This in spite of the fact that it Arctic Ocean the drainage of 682,000 is 125 years since it was first descended square miles of the northwestern portion to its mouth by that noted explorer, of Canada. Its basin includes the north- Alexander Mackenzie. It is, however, ern parts of the provinces of British recently beginning to attract some at- Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, tention in the commercial world among and the western part of the Northwest men who are willing to exploit its natural Territories, covering from north to south resources. The agricultural portion, about 16 degrees of latitude, from 53° namely, that within the basins of the to 69°. All the varieties of great land Peace and Athabaska Rivers, has been forms of mountain, plain, and plateau widely advertised as "The Last West" are included within its boundaries. and is being gradually opened up and The basin of the Mackenzie River settled. This portion of the Mackenzie comprises three main physiographic prov- Basin, together with that immediately to inces. On the west is the great series the north of it as far as the Liard River of parallel mountain ranges known as the and Great Slave Lake, contains the Rocky Mountain system, rising more or largest area of unoccupied agricultural less abruptly to heights which in the south land in Canada and is the direction in often attain 10,000 feet and on Mt. which Canadian agricultural expansion is Robson reach 13,000 feet, but in the bound to take place. The remainder extreme north rarely exceed 5,000 feet. of the basin to the north and east is Many of the stronger tributaries of the still largely unexplored and while never Mackenzie cut deeply into these ranges likely to support a large agricultural and some, indeed, such as the Liard and population offers a vast field of possibly Peace, cut right through them, drawing- great value to the prospector. What some of their water from the western this portion of the basin contains in or back slopes of the ranges. The mineral resources it is impossible to say eastern boundary of this mountain region and unsafe to hazard a guess in view is fairly definite though not a direct line. of the surprises we have already received Starting from a point about the intersec- in opening up similar country in Northern tion of latitude 53° and longitude 116° Ontario. It is satisfactorv to note that the line runs northwestward crossing- the -2 Science Conspectus

The Mackenzie River at the junction of Great Bear River, showing one of the fault blocks (Bear Rock) that rises out of the Mackenzie lowland

Peace River about Hudson's Hope and where it turns in a broad curve and striking the Liard River near longitude sweeps westward around the head waters 125°. Here there is a great bay in the of Peel River. The Mackenzie Moun- mountains and their continuity is inter- tains which are one of the largest blocks rupted by the Liard River which cuts of the whole Rocky Mountain system die directly through them. Under the name out in this region but another, lower, of Mackenzie Mountains they spring up range springs up north of Peel River and again, however, immediately north of extends down to the Arctic coast, its that river, but their eastern front has eastern front following closely the valley now been stepped far to the eastward of Peel River and rising as an abrupt and abuts on the Liard River at Fort fault scarp out of the delta of Mackenzie Liard as if they had been displaced by a River. great fault along the valley of Liard The mountain province at nearly all River. From here the line runs north- points merges gradually by a decrease of ward touching the Mackenzie River at elevation and a flattening out of the the mouth of Nahanni River and continu- surface into the lowland province which ing thence along the western side of occupies the central portion of the Mackenzie River to latitude 65° 30', Mackenzie Basin. This province is a Science Conspectus

The Valley of Peace River at the junction of Smoky River broad northward sloping lowland through of northern and eastern Canada and al- which the Mackenzie flows gently to the most completely encircles the great in- Arctic. It is a country of lakes and land sea of Hudson Bay. The western muskeg's and of meandering streams boundary of this region is not sharply flowing in moderately shallow valleys. defined topographically but it coincides The evenness of its surface is only with the eastern border of the Paleozoic broken here and there by a few rounded rocks which underlie the lowland region. wooded hills or ranges such as the It is a country of numerous lakes and of Cariboo Mountains north of Fort Ver- rivers flowing in ill-defined and shallow milion, the Horn Mountains west of valleys. On a broad view its surface is Fort Simpson, and an unnamed range level or rolling but in detail it is rugged, of hills which lies east of the Mackenzie broken and rocky with little or no sur- from Fort Wrigley to Great Bear River. face veneer of soil or loose material to The Mackenzie lowland is the north- cover the inequalities of the bed-rock. ward extension of the Great Plains re- Its northern portion is treeless and is gion of the central part of the North known as the Barren Lands. American continent. It occupies a posi-, The physical features of the Mackenzie tion in the north similar to that to the Basin then are these: A mountainous south through which the Mississippi highland on the west; alow-lying, rugged, flows southward to the Gulf of Mexico. rocky and partly treeless plateau on the In contrast to the Mississippi region, east; and in the middle a broad, almost however, the Mackenzie lowland is for- level, forested lowland with the trunk ested to its mouth and it embraces within stream like a great artery flowing north- its limits three of the largest lakes on the ward to the Arctic Sea, fed on one hand continent. from the melting snows of the mountains The eastern province of the Mackenzie and on the other hand from the number- Basin is part of the great Laurentian less lakes of the plateau region on the plateau which occupies such a large part east. Science Conspectus

The Mackenzie ranks as one of the the 90 miles of rapids on Athabaska eight great rivers of the earth. Its length River above Fort McMurray. is reckoned at about 2,800 miles to the The following table presents the de- head of Peace River and its volume has tails of these navigable waterways, the been estimated to be about half a mil- distances being in round numbers: lion cubic feet per second. It is exceeded on this continent only by the Mississippi NAVIGABLE AVATERS OF MACKENZIE BASIN in length, volume and drainage area, Lower Mackenzie River section: Miles Mackenzie River, below Great Slave but it is greater in length and drainage Lake 1,000 Peel River, to mouth of Wind River 250 area than the St. Lawrence. Great Bear River 90 It is a magnificent natural waterway Shore line, Great Bear Lake 1,360 allowing steamers of 5 feet draft to as- Liard River 440 cend without interruption from the Arctic Shore line, Great Slave Lake 1,440 Slave River, Great Slave Lake to Fort Ocean 1,400 miles to the rapids on Slave Smith 200

Total 4,780

Athabaska Lake section: Slave River, Athabaska Lake to Smith Landing 100 Peace River, Slave River to Vermilion Falls 220 Shore line, Athabaska Lake 560 Athabaska River, Athabaska Lake to Mc- Murray 170 Clearwater River 80

Total 1,130

Peace River section: Peace River, Hudson's Hope to Vermilion Falls 550

Athabaska River section: Athabaska River, Grand Rapids to Mc- Leod River 325 Lesser Slave River and Lake 115

Total 440

Total for whole Mackenzie Basin 6,900

Steamers ply on all four sections of the waterways of the Mackenzie Basin, but, as they are operated solely for the benefit of the fur-trading companies and the mis- The Ramparts of Mackenzie River, where the river cuts through vertical cliffs of Devonian limestone sions, they merely follow the main routes, which are the Peace, Athabaska and River at Fort Smith. Above this it is Mackenzie Rivers. Some of these steam- navigable again for lighter draft steamers ers are equipped with passenger ac- on the Peace and xAthabaska Rivers for commodation and it is possible for a total length of about 1,500 miles in travellers to make the journey in com- three sections. Including its great lakes fort from the end of the railway line at and those tributary streams which have Athabaska to the head of the delta and already been explored it has a total length return by securing a passage from one of navigable river and lake shore line of the fur-trading companies. of nearly 7,000 miles, interrupted, how- The season of navigation extends over ever, at three points, namely, the 16 about four months and in the southern miles of rapids on Slave River at Fort portion of the region, namely, on the Smith, the rapids and falls on Peace River Peace and Athabaska Rivers, it is some- below Vermilion, one mile in length, and what longer. Science Conspectus

The falls of Peace River

These waterways are destined to be- idea of the rock formations which com- come more and more important as settle- prise the geology of the region. ment and development of the country The eastern portion of the basin is advance because, as they have been in covered by very ancient rocks of pre- the past, so will they continue to be in Cambrian age. In this region are large the future the main highways on which bodies of granite or gneiss that have the commerce of the country must be been intruded into older sediments and carried. Railways will supersede them volcanic rocks of Keewatin and Huronian to a certain extent, but only in the south- age of which only remnants are now left ern half of the region will they be likely here and there in the granite batholiths. to do so where the population will be On this complex of igneous and sedimen- mainly a farming population. Farther tary rocks rest patches of what are prob- north where no industries are likely to ably Keweenawan rocks. develop that requires a large resident The mountains on the western border population the will continue waterways of the basin are built up mainly of to be the lines of trade and transporta- Paleozoic sediments which have been tion for years to come. thrown by compression into a series of NATURAL RESOURCES parallel ranges striking in a general The natural resources of the Macken- northwesterly direction. zie River region include minerals, furs, The lowland portion in the centre timber, game and fish, and agricultural consists of flat-lying or gently undulating- land. beds of limestones and shales of Devonian To appreciate its possibilities in min- age, which are covered in the southern eral wealth it is necessary to have some portion of the basin by a thick sheet Science Conspectus

The Mackenzie River, a mile and a quarter wide at old Fort Wrigley of Cretaceous sandstones and shales. recently been discovered at the east end Patches of Cretaceous rocks and smaller of Athabaska Lake. Gold ores are areas of Tertiary also rest on the Devonian known in several places in quartz veins floor in several places in the northern in the older pre-Cambrian sediments part of the basin. where they are cut by the Laurentian The pre-Cambrian rocks of the east batholiths. are known to contain iron, copper, The pre-Cambrian of the eastern part nickel, and gold, but little is known of of the Mackenzie Basin and of the region them beyond their actual occurrence eastward to Hudson Bay is still virtually in place and in no case has there been as unexplored and these rocks comprise yet any production of these metals. the largest area of unprospected ground on Iron ore occurs on the islands both of the North American continent. Elsewhere Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes. rocks of this age and character contain Copper ore is known at several points, but some of the greatest copper, iron, nickel, probably the most important locality silver and gold mines of the world and is to the north and east of Great Bear it is not unreasonable to suppose that Lake where it occurs in the native state similar deposits will be found in this in rocks similar to those on the south vast northern region. shore of Lake Superior. Evidences of The mountainous, western portion of nickel occurring under conditions similar the Mackenzie Basin, because it is made to those at Sudbury, Ontario, have up mainly of sedimentary rocks, has not

KENZIE RIVER REGION

Science Conspectus

Fond du Lac on Athabaska Lake, a typical northern fur trading post the x ariety of metallic minerals that are metallic minerals. It does, however, found in the east. Coal occurs at several contain such non-metallic minerals as points on the eastern edge of this portion coal, salt, gypsum, oil and gas, and the of the basin in rocks of Cretaceous age, metallic minerals, lead and zinc. and beds of salt and gypsum in some of Coal occurs in abundance in the the older rocks. Where, however, such Cretaceous rocks of the Athabaska, tributaries of the Mackenzie as the Peace, and Nelson Rivers, and to a Peace and Liard cut far enough back less extent in the Tertiary. Two of into the heart of the ranges to reach a the Tertiary coal fields, namely, one region in which igneous intrusion has at the mouth of Great Bear River and been active there again evidences are another on Peel River, are on fire and found of gold, silver, copper and lead have been burning at least since Alexander ores. The Omenica district of the Peace Mackenzie descended the river in 1789. River and the Cassiar district of the The fire is probably due to natural upper Liard have each produced placer causes in spite of the Indian story that gold amounting to several millions of it was started by a legendary hero of dollars, and it is quite possible that in theirs in order to cook his dinner of beaver. the great unprospected region north of Salt and gypsum are associated to- the Liard River gold fields, if not as gether at a number of points in Devonian great, but of considerable importance, rocks. Brine springs situated west of may yet be found. Of this there is Fort Smith are the source of all the salt already some evidence. used in that northern country, while The lowland portion of the basin other brine springs and outcrops of rock because of its being underlain by almost salt occur at several other points, notably undisturbed rocks of a sedimentary in the neighborhood of Fort Norman. nature is not likely to be rich in The most important mineral products 8 Science Conspectus of the lowland portion of the basin, Mackenzie, namely, those of Athabaska, however, and possibly of the whole of Great Slave, and Great Bear Lakes, this portion of Canada are oil and gas, are among the most valuable of the evidences of which are found from the assets of the region. Whitefish and height of land on the south to the Arctic lake trout are the principal fishes, and Ocean on the north. The original source although fish is the principal food of the of both these substances is believed majority of the population and hundreds to be in the Devonian rocks and since of thousands of pounds weight are these rocks cover about half of the total consumed annually, this amount is so area of the whole Mackenzie Basin the pos- small in proportion to the quantity sibility of discovering oil pools of import- these lakes must contain that there is no ance in this region is excellent. Gas has evidence that they are being exhausted. Fisheries are made annually on Athabaska and Great Slave Lakes, but Great Bear Lake which contains the finest quality and the greatest variety of fishes, is virtually untouched. Whitefish in this lake go up to 12 pounds in weight, and trout to 50 or 60 pounds. The fur trade is at present the most important industry in the Mackenzie Basin and with the exception of the farm- ing and ranching communities in the ex- treme southwest of the basin virtually the whole population is more or less directly interested in this business. The history of the region is intimately bound up with the operations of the fur traders; and the few scattered settlements that are situated at intervals of 100 to 200 miles along the valley of the main rivers were originally established and are still maintained for the purpose of trading furs with the natives. Nearly all the different kinds of high grade furs such as fox, sable, mink, marten, ermine, lynx, beaver, otter, are obtained in the region, and the Hudson Bay Company, probably the greatest fur-trading company in the world, obtains the greater part of its furs from here. Canada exports over five mil- lion dollars' worth of furs annually and of A lake trout from one of the great lakes of the Basin supplies Mackenzie Basin this amount the Mackenzie probably one-third. been proven in great quantity by several Of the agricultural possibilities of drill holes, but little intelligent effort has the region few people yet have any idea so far been directed to the search for oil. whatever, though the public is beginning Some drilling has been done on the to awake to the value of the land within Athabaska River but sites for the drill the basins of the Peace and Athabaska holes have more often been determined Rivers, and railway lines are being built by the suitability of the ground for camps into this region with the object of set- rather than by a study of the rock tling it up. There is also a vast area structure. The result has consequently north of the Peace River as far as Great been disappointing. Slave Lake and the Liard River of The fisheries of the great lakes of the which we know little, though sufficient Science Conspectus

Devonian limestone, underlying the lowland portion of the Mackenzie Basin, The limestone is here directly overlaid bv the Tar sands of the Cretaceons

to prove that it is suitable for agricultural banks of all the streams even as far purposes. Altogether there is in this north as the delta of the river. Large southwestern portion of the Mackenzie areas have been burnt and the timber Basin an area of about 200,000 square destroyed by the natives because they miles suitable for settlement and there say that it improves the hunting. For- are no climatic or other reasons why a estry protection, however, is being under- self-supporting population amounting to taken by the Government and the effects some millions may not live and thrive of this are already noticeable in the there on the products of agriculture. decreasing number of forest fires. This whole region more than any other is The natural resources of the Mackenzie the direction in which Canadian expan- Basin are sufficient evidence that its sion in agricultural pursuits is bound future is assured, for there are no difficul- to take place. ties, climatic or topographic, such as to Forest products might be mentioned prevent men of means and enterprise as another of the natural resources of from entering and remaining in the coun- the Mackenzie Basin. The whole of try to develop these natural resources. the basin down to the Arctic coast is Settlement of course must begin at the thickly wooded with the exception of south and progess northward until the the northeastern border which is included limit is reached. The northern limit in the so-called Barren Lands. The for the settlement of an agricultural principal trees are spruce, tamarack, population in any great numbers will banksian pine, birch, and poplar. One probably be about latitude 62° north, but of the uses to which these trees will there are no doubt numbers of chances eventually be put will be for the manufac- for mining ccmmunities to spring up ture of pulp. The spruce, however, north of this and in the less hospitable is a useful tree for lumber and it grows to country that forms the rocky region along sizes suitable for this purpose on the the eastern edge of the Mackenzie Basin. COMMERCIAL GLUCOSE AND ITS USES A MUCH MISUNDERSTOOD AND MALIGNED PRODUCT—NECESSARY FOR CERTAIN FOOD STAPLES AND A GOOD SUBSTITUTE FOR MORE EXPENSIVE INGREDIENTS

BY GEORGE W. ROLFE

Most -well-informed people know that ments, all of which like the damning ones in the early part of the last century Kir- of some pure food experts are "im- choff was the first to describe a sugar portant if true." made by boiling starch with dilute sul- Notwithstanding that annually be- phuric acid, and that this sweet, subse- tween thirty and forty million bushels quently found to be other than cane- of Indian corn are made into glucose, sugar was called "glucose" or "grape- comparatively few except those engaged sugar." Later it was termed "dextrose" in the numerous industries in which glu- wr hen in the progress of science it became cose enters, ever see the product. The necessary to distinguish the individual idea of the general public, professional as from a whole family of "glucoses" well as the laity, seems to be that glucose which had been discovered. is mostly composed of grape-sugar which Nowadays, most of us have heard of is made according to the Kirchoff method "glucose" as a commercial product of by boiling starch and oil of vitriol and doubtful reputation. People look askance neutralizing the mixture with chalk. when glucose is mentioned. Confec- Many supposedly up-to-date cyclopaedias tioners and grocers make haste to deny make such statements. that glucose ever appears in their prod- Much of the ignorance concerning this ucts. Glucose is classed with harmful important food product is due to the food adulterants, and has been called following facts: Pure commercial glu- by pure food experts the "champion cose is practically unknown in household adulterant" of all. It has even been cookery, and so is not sold in a package depicted in cartoons as a devil with hoofs convenient for household use. While it and horns. Glucose has also been called is in multifarious food products found "mucilage," the implication being that on the grocer's shelves it is rarely seen it is only fit for postage-stamps and not there in its original state. This is equally for human stomachs. This may be why true of raw sugar. Years ago, raw open- many associate glucose with glue. The kettle sugars were familiar to all New names sound alike and both are sticky, England housewives and were used by but the reasoning is like assuming that them in cooking. Raw- sugars made by all gentlemen are gentiles. Glucose makes modern processes are used to some ex- a rather poor adhesive, but one who is tent now in England and European hard put for mucilage might so use it countries, but nowadays few of the citi- with indifferent success just as it is pos- zens of this country, outside of the sugar sible to use tapioca pudding, molasses producing districts, ever see rawr sugars, or other sticky foods. which are sent directly to the refineries Turning to the advertising literature in packages weighing several hundred of the glucose manufacturers, we note pounds each and in a condition not fit that many eminent authorities laud for domestic use. Glucose, like refined glucose as most wholesome, that it is sugar, is manufactured in comparatively the principal sweet of fruits and one of few factories, and these of large capacity, the intermediate products of the diges- for the manufacture of glucose requires tion of starch in the human organism, a large outlay of capital and consequently is found in the blood,—and similar state- large output. The cheapness of the prod- —

Science Conspectus 11 uct makes its manufacture profitable of malt sugar (maltose) and dextrins, only on a large scale. This is equally more or less in chemical combination true of sugar. in the approximate proportion of nine What is commercial glucose? In parts of maltose to seven of dextrin. general appearance it is a transparent, In percentages of total sugars and dex- very viscous sirup, often practically trins, there are in round numbers,—mal- colorless but usually of a light straw color, tose, 45 per cent., dextrose, 20 per cent., sweet, but with little if any other flavor. dextrin, 35 per cent., the proportions For this reason, glucose, like sugar, has varying somewhat in different lots. been termed a "neutral sweet,"—not These three carbohydrates, dextrose, neutral in the chemical sense—although which is a true glucose sugar, maltose, such products are always chemically belonging to the cane sugar family, and neutral within practical limits of testing making up nearly half of the total, and but so called because when pure thejr dextrin, a gummy ("colloidal") sub- have no characteristic flavor other than stance closely related to starch paste, sweet and will take any added flavor compose over 99 per cent, of the solid unchanged. matter of refined commercial glucose. Glucose is not made by use of oil of This composition has been found to be vitriol and chalk, nor is glucose, in the ordi- the most desirable for imparting to the narily accepted sense of dextrose, its product the properties most suited for characteristic ingredient. The trade name a sirup which can be refined readily, and "glucose" while well established by cus- at the same time contain enough colloidal tom of years is no more suited to the material to prevent its crystallizing at present product than is "chloride of any concentration. This colloidal mat- lime" to bleaching powder or "hyposul- ter also renders the sirup capable of dis- phite of soda" to the commercial salt solving considerable amounts of cane sold under that name. It is true that sugar without crystallization. Such a the basic process by which glucose is product is peculiarly valuable in the made from starch is on the lines of Kir- preparation of sirups, candies, preserves, choff 's original experiment, but the meth- and jellies, quite apart from its use as a ods are quite different. The "starch sweet. It also contains nearly the maxi- milk," a suspension of the granules in mum amount of malt sugar that can be water, is pumped into large pressure produced by such a process. boilers of gun metal, and is cooked The rest of the dissolved substance of for about ten minutes with a few tenths commercial glucose consists of 0.3 to of a per cent, of hydrochloric acid (com- 0.5 per cent, of mineral matter, mostly mercial muriatic acid) under a pressure composed of sodium chloride from the of about 50 lbs. of steam. The starch is neutralization with soda of the hydro- not treated long enough by this process chloric acid used in the manufacture, to convert it entirely into grape sugar sulphites which are added at various (true glucose), only about 20 per stages, phosphates and other salts from cent, being produced. There is, in fact, the natural mineral matters present in less of the glucose sugars, properly so minute quantities in the starch or com- called, in commerical glucose than occur ing in part from the boneblack used in the as natural ingredients of cane sugar refining process. There is also about molasses, and far less than in honey, 0.08 per cent, of nitrogen corresponding which is composed almost entirely of to five or six times its weight of organic glucose sugars, nearly half of which is substances from the gluten left in the dextrose (grape sugar), this being the starch. Much of this nitrogenous mat- sugar which separates out when the ter is not gluten, but simpler organic honey granulates. compounds resulting from the action of Commercial glucose as now made con- the acid (used to convert the starch) on tains less than 20 per cent, of true the gluten. These nitrogenous matters glucose sugars, the rest being a mixture have much to do with the quality of the —

12 Science Conspectus glucose, and it is on this account that shows in a concise way how the different they are of peculiar importance although parts of the corn kernel are utilized: present in minute amounts. The im- Parts of Corn Kernel Composition Products purities from the gluten which are less { Corn Oil, Corn Oil acted upon by the acid, the "albumoses," 1—Germ Oil and Oil Cake { Cake, Corn Oil Meal. give trouble to the candy manufacturer I Dry Starches, Dex- by causing foaming in his kettles, while f 2—Endosperm (Body ("Starch trines, and, by is < conversion,Corn this property the joy of the brewer. of the Corn) \ Gluten Sirups [glucose] Those glutensubstanceswhich are changed and Sugars. further acid, the bodies," by the "amino 3—Hull Bran tend to make the glucose darken and Gluten Feed. Soluble Sub- also impart a flavor which though barely 4 Water added for steepixo stances of perceptible is disagreeable — bitter or Corn fishy. Manufacturers used to correct The oil is used principally for soap and the objectionable effects of these impurities for making vulcanized products used for by the addition of sulphites to the glu- rubber substitute. The oil-cake and cose but this was but a temporary ex- meal from the cake are used as cattle pedient and undesirable in a food prod- feed. The gluten and bran from the uct. Glucose has been much improved starch, mixed with the soluble matters in recent years by practically eliminating extracted by the water used to soften the effect of these impurities by more effi- ("steep") the grain before grinding is cient purification of the starch used in made into "gluten feed" also for cattle. its manufacture. All these are valuable by-products for The glucose process does not end with which there is a good market. The starch the acid treatment of the starch and the in a moist state, known as "mill starch" neutralizing, as at this stage the dilute is the raw material for making the vari- sirup is far from pure, containing oily ous goods which are sold under the names matters from the corn, some undecom- of "glucose" ("corn sirup"): "corn posed gluten and other impurities mostly sugar" ("grape sugar"), the latter a in suspension. This liquor before it is hard product which is largely composed of concentrated to a sirup of about 80 per dextrose, but never known in trade as cent, solids undergoes a refining with "commercial glucose" and little used as a boneblack closely resembling that of cane food product; "dextrins," true adhesives sugar, the apparatus being practically which are usually made by roasting identical—filtering through bags and bone- starch and entirely different in character- black filters—but in the case of glucose istics from the dextrin ingredient of com- all impurities affecting the quality of the mercial glucose; besides numerous "dry sirup have to be removed or destroyed starches" used by laundries, confec- as there is no purification by crystalliz- tioners, and in many other industries as ation. well as for household purposes. Hence, glucose, like granulated sugar, At present prices, commercial glucose, is one of the purest food products in use, a sirup containing about 80 per cent, of however pernicious the properties that the pure carbohydrates in solution sells may be ascribed to it. at about 2J cents per pound (26-28 cents Space does not allow a detailed de- per gallon) or at about 2.7 cents per scription of glucose manufacture which pound of actual dissolved substance. Is is of great interest owing to the numer- its sole use that of an adulterant of better ous by-products which are made, and food materials as some food reformers also because while glucose is the chief claim? Is glucose used to adulterate in output, its manufacture is only one our ordinary grocery sugars? of many starch products carried on at It is well known in the history of the the same time. industry that some thirty years ago a The following table, taken from an ad- Chicago concern spent some millions vertising circular of a manufacturer, of dollars and much valuable time in Science Conspectus 13 trying to adulterate fine grained white added. The law requires such jellies sugars with solid grape sugar of high to be plainly described on the label so quality, made from starch, but the that the consumer is informed that he is attempt failed miserably simply because using a jelly made of apple and glucose the stuff would not stay mixed and the with a fruit flavoring, and is at perfect grains "set" in a solid mass after a short liberty to buy the pure glucose-free time. In years gone by, glucose was also fruit product if he so prefers. What in- much used to mix with cheap, poor grade terests the public is: Are these cheap molasses making a brighter, more attract- jellies unwholesome, or is there other ive product which, so improved, could reason why the man with the slim be sold at the price of higher grade mo- pocketbook should not buy them? This lasses. This form of adulteration is so question is quite apart from whether they easily detected that it is rarely resorted contain glucose or not, but deals with to in these days of pure food legislation. the soundness and wholesomeness of the The last case which came to the writer's ingredients used and the cleanliness of notice was one of a New York molasses their preparation. dealer who was heavily fined for having By far the largest amount of glucose a few per cent, of commercial glucose in is consumed in the manufacture of candy, his molasses although his defence was a the peculiar properties of this sirup mak- plausible one—that the glucose was some ing it especially valuable in this industry, accidently left in the barrel, old glucose as has been explained. The requisite for barrels being much used for tropical most candy is that it should not "grain" molasses shipments. (crystallize), and glucose, owing to its Glucose is now used in a legitimate colloidal nature, is the most effective manner to mix with cane-sugar sirup in and wholesome substance to prevent the proportion of 85 per cent, of glucose this. The popular impression that glu- to 15 per cent, of sirup, a little salt and cose is used in candy-making because sometimes vanillin being added to im- it is a cheap substitute for sugar and that prove the flavor. The cane-sugar sirup its sole function is to give sweetness is is usually refinery molasses ("barrel only approximately correct. sirup") which imparts the principal How sweet is glucose relative to cane flavor. These mixed sirups are sold sugar,? Determinations of the sweetness openly as glucose or "corn sirups" and as of a saccharine product are very unsatis- their flavor is superior to the original factory owing to personal equation and molasses there seems to be no reason why also to the influence of the other mixed they are not wholesome food products ingredients and even the physical condi- for legitimate trade, even though some tion of the substance tested. people there are who prefer, the flavor of Granulated sugar tastes sweet. Pow- the sirups made from the natural cane der it in a mortar and it will taste less juices and are willing to pay the higher sweet. Owing to this fact it is hard to price for such. Certainly, such glucose convince some people that powdered sirups are preferable to the average sugar is not adulterated, although this grocery molasses either from the stand- practice, easily detected, is practically un- point of the epicure or the sanitarian. known at present. A quarter of a grain Commercial glucose is used in large of quinine mixed into a pound of granu- quantities in the manufacture of cheap lated sugar is said to make it taste sweeter. jams and preserves. Apple cores and Common salt in small quantities will skins from fruit in its preparation for improve the sweetness of cake and other evaporation or preserving are the basis sweet foods, as all cooks know. Raw for most cheap jellies; the pecten sub- sugars, even when they contain negli- stance and juice being extracted by the gible quantities of the sweeter mother- usual processes of jelly making and mixed sirups, taste distinctly sweeter than gran- with glucose and sugar forms a jelly ulated sugar although their actual sugar material to which other fruit juices are content is less. This is due to the salts 14 Science Conspectus and extractive matters in the raw product, of 99 per cent, purity is used in Europe and it is why many cooks sigh for the for precisely the same purposes, the old-fashioned open kettle sugar and choice between sugar and glucose as a even prefer the refiners' imitation goods "'filler" being merely a matter of price. to granulated in making their apple pies. Cane sugar has also been used exten- Relative tests of the sweetness of cane sively to "fill" coal-tar dyes and adul- sugar and glucose (dextrose) have been terate chocolate without having its re- made by dilution experiments on the spectability seriously impugned. pure sugars, but as far as the writer In view of the undoubted commercial knows, no relative tests of the sweetness importance of glucose as a food product of commercial glucose as now made have it would seem as if its value in dietetics been published. Taking this value to be and food economics, as well as its relative .5 for the solids in glucose, sugar at 5 cents wholesomeness, ought to be studied in is cheaper as a sweetener than glucose. the light of a proper knowledge of its As a matter of fact, very little candy special characteristics. To call glucose is made with glucose as the only sweet. "mucilage," or to ascribe to it properties Usually, candy contains 60 per cent, or of a dextrose solution is either ignorant more of cane sugar, the sweetening of or dishonest. As far as the use of glucose the glucose being of much less importance as an adulterant is concerned, it is the than the other properties it imparts to function of the Pure Food Laws to pro- the mixture. tect the public from these practices, and It seems reasonable to infer that com- such obviously are quite apart from the mercial glucose rather than being a serious legitimate and open use of glucose, sugar competitor of cane sugar has really in- or any other cheap and wholesome food creased the consumption of the latter, product as a satisfactory substitute for especially in candies. Because of the more expensive ingredients, and the pro- great advantages from the use of glucose priety of such a substitute always will be in candy-making, the industry has had its suitability for the purpose and its cost. an impetus which has greatly increased If legislation is appropriate for for- sugar consumption. bidding the extravagant claims of manu- The relative wholesomeness of candies facturers and dealers as to the superiority made from glucose and those made from of their food products, why not legislation cane sugar has never been decided, and may to prevent irresponsible statements of never be. The dextrins of "glucose" as "pure food" authorities which are con- now manufactured are in great part in demnatory? Certainly, the one is as im- combination with the malt sugar and portant for the public interest as the seem in every way identical with the other. malto-dextrins obtained by the action of malt on starch, and are digested more INFECTION FROM TOWELS in the intestines than in the stomach as Recently an investigation has been compared with pure sugar candies. carried out by Zinsser and Hopkins on Whether this is an advantage or not, the viability of the Spiroehoeta pallida, the physiologists must decide. the organism causing syphilis, when Glucose is extensively used in indus- exposed on a towel to diffuse light at tries not making food products. It is room temperature. By moistening pieces used in cheap soaps, for "filling" leather of towel with a culture of the organism and tanning extracts, and as many of its and then exposing it for various periods uses in such industries are apparently they found that infectivity could still for adulteration such practices have be demonstrated at the end of eleven and no doubt added to its reputation as the one-half hours. Since the lesions of "champion adulterant." As was pointed secondary syphilis are often found on the out in an article in a previous number of face, the danger of the common towel this magazine,* on the industrial uses of and the possibility of innocent infection sugar, the highly respectable beet sugar are clearlv shown. e. a. i.

*Sciexce Conspectus No. 2, 1913. SALT AND ITS RELATION TO NUTRITION CARNIYORA EAT LITTLE SALT — THE DESIRE OF VEGETARIAN ANIMALS FOR SALT PROB- ABLY DUE TO EXCESS OF POTASSIUM OVER SODIUM IN THEIR FOOD

BY PERCY G. STILES

Common salt is a commodity, the an- sinks to a low level but remains appreci- nual production of which is known to able. It may be in the vicinity of 0.6 exceed 12,000,000 tons. Of this huge gram in the twenty-four hours. In com- total a large share is used as a preserva- plete starvation this gradual loss is prob- tive or otherwise employed in industry, ably not out of proportion to the general yet an immense quantity is deliberately reduction of weight. Hence it does not added to the diet of mankind. It is said lead to an actual lowering of the percent- that an individual consumption of 20 age of salt in the body. A diet sufficient grams a day is not unusual. This average, in all other respects, but lacking salt, sustained for a year, would amount to might bring to pass such a lowering. about 17 pounds. The ration appears One interesting result of using a salt -free surprisingly large when we observe that diet has been observed in the failure of it may be as much as one quarter of the the glands of the stomach to produce total weight of protein taken and equal hydrochloric acid. This valuable aid to to one twelfth of the combined starch and digestion and antagonist of putrefaction sugar which constitute our main depend- must be evolved from the chlorides of the ence for running the human engine. blood. Apparently it is not secreted when It is agreed by all writers on the sub- the concentration of these substances in ject of nutrition that only a small part of the blood is at all below the normal and this salt consumption is necessary. The this in spite of the fact that the chlorine rest is dictated by appetite: it is due to the ions of the gastric juice can probably be common liking for the salty flavor. In- recovered quite successfully. The sug- dividuals are found who do not care for gestion has been made that rigid restric- this and who are said to eat no salt. This tion of salt should be beneficial in cases means that they use none voluntarily at where the gastric acidity is excessive. table and perhaps direct that none shall Bunge, an Austrian physiologist, has be used in the kitchen. Yet they con- collected a great volume of data concern- tinue to receive a small salt ration because ing the habits of different races as to the some is present in most foods and there is use of salt. It is evident that some people reason to believe that this minimal supply set a high value upon it while others do cannot be dispensed with. Sodium chlo- not care for it at all. Where it is prized ride is the chief salt in the blood and in it has often figured in maxims and meta- the other fluids of the body. It is accord- phors. "To earn one's salt" is a familiar ingly plain that growth cannot be con- phrase which gains point from the com- tinued unless this compound is furnished mon origin of the words "salt" and along with the other necessary nutrients. "salary." Bunge learned that a certain When full stature is reached the need East Indian tribe used as the most solemn for salt is doubtless diminished. It might oath in their court procedure the formula, cease entirely if it were possible to avoid "May I never taste salt again if I speak all loss of salt in the excretions. This not the truth." possibility is nearly but not quite realized. A little investigation shows that the When a man fasts for several days the desire to add salt to the food is experi- escape of sodium chloride from his system enced most by those who are vegetarians —

16 Science Conspectus or nearly so. Men who are strictly carniv- can. His explanation has been criticised orous abhor salt. Thus it was found by in detail but is probably valid in its main the agents of the Russian government thesis. The absorption into the blood of that the natives of Kamchatka could not a quantity of salts, unlike those normally be prevailed upon to salt the fish which present there, imposes upon the kidneys formed their entire diet. The supply of the duty of restoring standard conditions. fish was uncertain and that which was If the chief demand is for the removal of saved to eat in the long intervals between potassium compounds the task will soon catches decomposed in shallow pits. Still be accomplished. But this will not be it was preferred to salt fish. We notice done without a considerable loss of so- the same detestation of salt among carniv- dium chloride. It would be remarkable, orous animals. They present a marked indeed, if the kidney cells could select all contrast to many of the herbivora, like the foreign ions and not occasionally let cattle, sheep, and deer, which are very slip some of the much more numerous fond of salt. native ones. The Arctic explorer Stefansson has re- Bunge was able to demonstrate, upon cently reported a striking instance of the himself, the fact that an excessive intake objection to salt which accompanies the of potassium salts does lead to a loss of use of a flesh diet. The Esquimaux, whom sodium chloride. He swallowed as much he knows so well, have little vegetable potassium phosphate and citrate as he food. When he settled among them he could tolerate and subsequently excreted was embarrassed by their demands upon all the potassium—equivalent to 18 grams his hospitality. Policy dictated that he K2O—but simultaneously eliminated 6 offer them food on all occasions but there grams of sodium chloride. Such a draft was every prospect that his stores would upon the tissues could not be continued be rapidly depleted. The situation was indefinitely unless salt were supplied in relieved by a simple device. It was only corresponding amount. Bunge's personal necessary to salt the food moderately experiment was not an unreasonable one, merely to his own liking—to deter his for it is calculated that when potatoes visitors from making inroads upon it. form the bulk of a man's ration twice as The requirements of courtesy were satis- much potassium may be ingested as in fied and the provisions were conserved. this trial. When a sample of food is burned as There is, therefore, no doubt that salt completely as possible the mineral con- is a necessary addition to diets in which stituents remain as ash. Chemical analy- the ratio of potassium to sodium is unus- sis of this ash leads to very different find- ually high. The instinctive craving for ings in the case of different foods. Several it is a marvelous instance of the almost acids and bases will always be found. We infallible correctness of such impulses. will consider only the occurrence of so- Bunge has recorded the use by an African dium and potassium. The ratio between tribe of the ash of a certain tree as a sea- the quantities of these two bases is widely soning for their food. Most kinds of wood varied, though in the great majority of reduced to ashes would yield a mixture instances potassium is the more abundant. over rich in potassium which would be a In animal foods the disparity is not most undesirable adjunct to other articles marked but in most vegetable substances of vegetable origin. But the tree in favor it is striking. For example, the propor- with these people was the rare exception; tion of potassium to sodium in meat its ash contained a most unusual propor- (veal) is 4 to 1, while in potato it is more tion of sodium compounds. It is rather than 30 to 1. painful to fancy the tedious succession of Can we recognize a causal connection experiments by which the ancestors of between the excess of potassium in a this tribe eliminated various kinds of vegetable diet and the- craving for sodium wood, and pleasant to imagine the satis- chloride which is attendant on the use of faction realized when the fortunate choice such a diet? Bunge maintains that we was finallv made. SCIENTIFIC AERONAUTIC RESEARCH DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW AERODYNAMIC LABORATORY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS IN- STITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY WHICH PUTS AERO- PLANE DESIGN ON AN ENGINEERING BASIS

BY J. C. HUNSAKER

Air craft have become in the last few In view of the necessity for designing years primarily war material, and as aeroplanes to possess given qualities, such, are designed to meet definite speci- a designer must guarantee performance. fications of performance. Five years ago A desired type can, of course, always be the supreme test of an aeroplane was reached by building a series of machines whether it could fly or whether it could but this procedure is extremely costly in not fly. Now we inquire how fast and time and money, and requires a pilot to how slowly it can fly, what is its rate of risk himself in experimental flights on climb, useful load, and radius of action? under-powered and unstable machines. For example, for military uses, armies re- The problem of aeroplane design in- quire a slow endurance machine for strate- volves so many variables that it is often gic scouting which can make raids into impossible to arrange experimental flights the interior of an enemy country. For so that changes are made in but one tactical scouting over the field of battle, variable at a time. The peculiar con- where enemy aeroplanes must be evaded, duct of an experimental machine may an army requires a scout of great speed often be blamed on any one of some half but limited radius of action. Such a dozen features of its design, and as a machine must have speed and climbing result the tests lead only to endless dis- ability superior to that of the enemy cussion. units. A third type called a "fighting On the other hand, it is well established aeroplane" is necesary to drive off enemy that the performance of an aeroplane can scout aeroplanes. Such a machine must be predicted from experiments on a small combine the greatest practicable speed model, geometrically and dynamically and climbing rate with the extra weight similar. Model tests are easy to con- of an armored body and a machine gun duct and afford the great advantage with a gunner. The performance re- that radical alterations of the model may quired for such a destroyer is fixed by be made without loss of time or risk of the probable ability of enemy scouts life. Furthermore, in model testing, the to elude it. A fourth type of military various parts of an aeroplane may be aeroplane may soon be developed for the tested separately to determine the effect purpose of bomb-dropping. Here the of each part on the performance of the designer would be required to produce complete machine. a machine able to transport great weight In naval architecture, a designer has a over a long distance. small model of his ship towed in an ex- In all the cases mentioned above the perimental model basin. From the re- entire military value of the aeroplane sistance of the model, he can estimate lies in its performance, and the burden is the resistance of his ship and so guarantee thrown on the designer to produce a its speed for given power. machine to meet all requirements. Just For purposes of aeroplane or air ship as in naval architecture, the problem is design, it is possible to tow models in air a compromise between the conflicting in a similar manner. However, in aero- claims of speed, armor, armament and nautics the problem is extremely com- radius of action. plex since in flight, motion is possible 18 Science Conspectus

Suction end of wind tunnel

along the three axes in space, as well as whether the object be towed in still air rotations about any of them. In general, at a given velocity, or held stationary in a the effect of the air on a solid object uniform current of air of the same veloc- moving through it requires the measure- ity. The use of an artificial wind is the ment of three forces and three couples "wind tunnel" method, which has come corresponding to the three axes of space. into general use abroad. The doctrine of Towing experiments become mechan- relative motion is fundamental in me- ically difficult to arrange, and in view of chanics, and discrepancies between results the high speeds required in aeronautics of tests made by the two methods may a long building like a rope walk is neces- be ascribed to the probability of errors sary. Such tests have been made at the due to the influence of the car and wind Kiel Navy Yard in Germany and at the gusts in the towing method, and to ir- University of Paris. At the latter insti- regularity in the flow of air in the wind tution a dynamometer car running along tunnel method. a track carries objects under test mounted The validity of wind tunnel tests de- on a weighing mechanism. The tests are pends upon the uniformity of flow of the conducted in the open air and are sub- air. The production of a current of air ject to error due to gusty winds. that shall be constant in velocity, both If it be accepted that aerodynamic in time and space, is a difficult problem. forces depend on the relative motion of When it was decided to build a wind air and object under test, it is immaterial tunnel at the Massachusetts Institute Science Conspectus 19

Propeller for wind tunnel of Technology for use by students in pletely housed to avoid the effect of out- aeronautical engineering, a study was side wind gusts. made of the most successful wind tunnels 4. Air from the propeller should be abroad. The conclusion was reached discharged into a perforated box of great that the staff of the National Physical volume, to damp out turbulence, and to Laboratory, Teddington, England, had return the air at low velocity to the room. developed a wind tunnel of convenient 5. The room through which air re- form and of a high degree of uniformity turns from the perforated box to the of flow. This tunnel was the result of suction nozzle should be at least twenty a methodical series of experiments with times the sectional area of the tunnel. wind tunnels of various forms, in which The wind tunnel of the Massachusetts the following conclusions were reached: Institute of Technology was built in ac- 1. Models should be placed in the cordance with the English plans with the suction stream leading to a fan where exception of several changes of an en- turbulence is least. gineering nature introduced with a view 2. A four-bladed aeroplane propeller to a more economical use of power. An of low pitch gives a more steady flow than increase of the maximum wind speed from the ordinary propeller fan used in ven- 34 to 40 miles per hour was thus ob- tilation work, and a much steadier flow tained. than any blower of centrifugal type. Upon completion of the tunnel an in- 3. The wind tunnel should be com- vestigation was made of the steadiness 20 Science Conspectus of flow. It appeared that the variation nest of three-inch metal conduit pipes. of velocity with time and from point to This honeycomb has an important effect point of the cross section was not more in straightening out the flow and in pre- than one per cent. venting swirl. The wind tunnel proper is a square Passing through the square trunk and trunk 16 square feet in section and 53 past the model under test, the air is feet in length. Air is drawn through an drawn past a star-shaped longitudinal baffle into an expanding cone. This cone expands in 11 feet to a diameter of 7 feet. The velocity of the air is reduced in passing through the cone and has its pressure increased in accordance with a well-known hydraulic principle. The propeller is made of black wal- nut with four blades. It works at the large end of the cone and discharges into the diffusor. The latter is built of wood grating with holes closely spaced except on the side facing the propeller which has no openings. The propeller race is stopped by this wall, the velocity of the air destroyed and the pressure raised. The air then escapes through the holes in the diffusor into the room. The cur- rent is thus turned through 90 degrees and brought nearly to rest. The propeller was designed on the Drzwiecki system, which assumes that each blade section is an aeroplane wing moving through the air in a spiral path. In order to keep down turbulence, a very low pitch and a broad blade were used. To gain efficiency the blades were made thin and, therefore, weak. To prevent fluttering of the blades, the blade sec- tions were so arranged that the centers of pressure of all sections lie on a radial line drawn on the face of the blade. This artifice seems to have prevented the howling at high speeds commonly found with thin blades. The propeller is driven by a "silent" chain from a 10 H. P. inter pole direct current motor. The propeller and motor are mounted on a bracket structure fixed to a concrete block are hence inde- "Wing model in position for test and pendent of the alignment of the tunnel. entrance nozzle and through the tunnel Vibration of the motor or propeller can- by a propeller driven by a 10 H. P. motor. not be transmitted to the tunnel as there Models under test are mounted in the is no connection. middle of the tunnel on the arm of a In order to maintain a steady current delicate balance. of air, the fan must run at constant revo- The air entering the mouth passes lutions per minute, but in order to allow through a honeycomb made up of a a fine adjustment to obtain and hold any Science Conspectus 21

Aerodynamic Balance speed, a direct current motor is necessary. the Cambridge Electric Company. This To run a direct current motor at constant induction motor is coupled directly to a speed requires a steady voltage. Such is 12 H. P. direct current generator. The not available. Consequently the fol- generator supplies current to the motor lowing procedure was adopted. A 15 which turns the propeller. For constant H. P. induction motor is connected to wind speed, the load is constant and the alternating current power mains of hence the induction motor will turn over 22 Science Conspectus

Chattock micro-manometer (above), Krell manometer (below) at constant speed since its slip is a func- representing the axes of coordinates in tion of load. Variation of voltage in the space about and along which couples and city mains has small effect on the speed forces are to be measured. The model of the induction motor, which runs at a is mounted on the upper end of the verti- speed proportional to the frequency of cal arm which projects through an oil the supply current. The generator being seal in the bottom of the tunnel. turned at constant speed generates con- The entire upper part of the balance stant voltage, and the propeller then runs tests on a steel point, bearing in a steel at constant speed. Due to slow changes cone supported by the cast iron pillar. in frequency it is necessary to provide The balance is normally free to rock variable resistance in the direct current about its pivot in any direction. When motor field, by the use of which the wind wind blows on a model, the components speed can be corrected from time to time. of the force exerted are measured by Any wind can be made of velocity be- hanging weights on the two horizontal tween 3 and 40 miles per hour. arms to hold the model in position. The model of complete aeroplane, wing, The balance is also free to rotate about tail, body or other part is mounted a vertical axis through its pivot. The on an aerodynamic balance constructed moment producing this rotation is bal- from the plans of the National Physical anced by a calibrated torsion wire. Laboratory, England. This balance con- Special attachments permit the meas- sists of a cast pillar mounted on an in- urement of the force in the vertical axis and dependent concrete block, and the bal- moments about the two horizontal axes. ance proper. The latter is made up of The three forces and three couples act- three arms mutually at right angles ing on any model placed in any attitude Science Conspectus 23 to the wind can be studied at leisure. ence in Siam, French Indo-China and the The balance is precise to one per cent. Malay States and from his observations- Velocity is measured by means of a when a lieutenant of the line in the United Pitot tube which was calibrated on the States, in the United States Navy and whirling arm at Teddington. The Pitot when serving in Cuba and Hayti which tube pressures are read on a Chattock tend to show that in a country known to liquid micrc-manometer. Velocity read- be malarial and among men who were ings are precise to one half of one per cent. equally protected from mosquitoes those Tests have been made to determine the who drank raw water or slept on the lift and resistance of a model aeroplane ground contracted the disease, while those wing which had previously been tested who drank boiled water and slept on cots in England. The results are in excellent raised above the ground remained well. agreement and indicate that the English He also cites the case of a section of tunnel and balance have lost none of their Siam which is notorious as a hotbed of precision in the rather extensive altera- malaria but in which there are no mos- tions that have been made here. quitoes. The wind tunnel has been in operation The general experience and opinion since July, 1914, and has been used for has too much weight to be readily upset, comparison of Pitot tubes, determina- but the idea may set on foot some inter- tion of the aerodynamic coefficients for a esting studies on the subject. e. a. i. number of wings, bodies, and miscella- neous objects, for thesis work on aeroplane PLUMB LINE VAGARIES stability and' by students in connection The fact that de Filippi in his explora- with problems arising in the course of tion work in Kashmir is paying a great aeroplane design. deal of attention to gravimetrical ob- It is hoped that in following up design servations calls attention to the unusual by wind tunnel testing, aeroplane de- deflection of the plumb line in northern sign is being placed on a rational en- Hindustan. This has been theme for gineering basis. discussion in a number of the Professional Papers of the Indian Survey, and a sketch of the status of the subject is MOSQUITOES • NOT ALWAYS RE- presented in a recent geographical journal. SPONSIBLE A high northerly deflection has been A paper by Dr. Charles S. Braddock observed to reach its maximum along of New York, late chief medical inspector the southern edge of the Himalaya of the Royal Siamese Government, pub- range, decreasing on both sides. Colonel lished in the New York Medical Journal Burrard, in 1912, suggested a deep rift has attracted a great deal of attention in lower layers of the earth's crust, filled lately by presenting evidence that mos- in the course of ages by material of less quitoes are not the only means by which specific gravity than the rock formations malaria is transmitted. Dr. Braddock on either side, and he further suggested points out that, while care was taken to an origin for the rift coeval with the up- show that water, clothing, and associa- lifting of the mountains. The idea has tion were incapable of transmitting not been a popular one with geologists yellow fever, the studies on malaria who claim that such a rift, a wedge twenty merely demonstrated that mosquitoes miles deep and only five in width at the transmit the disease and failed to show surface, is anomalous. The Indian geol- that it was not also transmitted by water ogists suggest instead that south of the or by direct infection from the soil. The great fault that marks the Himalayan Italian scientists in their classical studies margin there is an immense depression lived in a house with a floor raised above which has been filled with the alluvium the ground and drank either wine or that now constitutes the plain of the boiled water. Dr. Braddock brings for- Ganges and this is of much lower specific ward numerous instances from his experi- gravity than the mountain rocks. BATESON' S THEORY OF EVOLUTION THE ORIGINAL MICROSCOPIC EGG CONTAINED THE ESSENCE OF EVERY DEVELOPMENT IN LIVING THINGS — SUDDEN EVOLUTIONARY VARIATIONS SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION

BY HERVEY W. SHIMER

There has been much discussion of Darwin considered to be the most the address on Heredity delivered by important method of evolutionary change Dr. William Bateson this past summer in though he recognized likewise the occur- Australia in his office of president of rence of sudden changes later empha- the British Association for the Advance- sized and elaborated by DeYries in his ment of Science. At first reading it treatment of the mutation theory. seems subversive of nearly all of the This doctrine of cumulative variation structure of evolutionary theory that naturally results in a conception of has been slowly building since Darwin's evolution as a slow and a steadily time. In reality, however, it may be progressive movement; through this, one regarded merely as a fuller application form is gradually changed into another than has hitherto been attempted of the by the addition of minute characters Mendelian or analytical method of study which have originated in spontaneous to the facts of organic life and heredity. variation and have been selected by The result is that while we still look to the environment and thus perpetuated Darwin as unquestionably the first to and passed on by heredity to the succeed- provide a body of facts showing the ing generations. variability of all living things, we must For this conception of evolution Bate- disagree with him in regarding natural son asks us to substitute one that he selection as the chief factor in this varia- likens to the unpacking of an original tion, that is in the origin of species. complex. The earliest primordial speck Darwin was the first to demonstrate of life contained the whole range of by an immense body of illustrative diversity which living things now present data the fact that all living things vary, or may in the future develop. And vari- that every animal and plant differs, often ation simply means that certain lines of in a barely perceptible degree, from organic descent emphasized certain of every other animal and plant. This he these possible characteristics, leaving the explained as the result of the action of others, and passed them on to their the environment which must of course be descendants which again selected from different in at least some small measure for those handed on to them. Thus evolu- every being. Certain characteristics of tion instead of being a process of addition the organism fit in with the environment of factors is a process of continual sub- favorably, certain others are antagonistic. traction. Those favorable thrive and tend to be This selection of variations proceeds reproduced in the succeeding generation, according to the law of heredity dis- and are thus perpetuated; those un- covered by Mendel whereby certain favorable are thwarted and suppressed characters of the organism are dominant, or if prominently antagonistic to the en- i. e., in control and appear in the lifetime vironment cause the death of the organ- of the individual, and others are latent ism and hence die out with its generation. and do not appear although they may This is the theory of natural selection be passed on to their descendants. and to its agency Darwin attributed the And Bateson asks whether, if it seem fact of variation, and of the origin of absurd that the earliest form of pro- species among animals and plants. This, toplasm could have contained complexity Science Conspectus 25

enough to produce the divers forms of parents as to be barely distinguishable, life, it is any easier to imagine that yet the operation of this same law permits these powers could have been conveyed of possible sudden deviations whereby by additions from without. a character, heretofore passed down the To the possible variations given to an line as latent, may suddenly appear animal or plant by this process of sub- when some other character which has traction from the original complex is inhibited it, is removed. added the wide range of possibilities due The evolution of Bateson is an evolu- to crossing, whereby the organism gets tion of continual subtraction and of the possibilities of the two complexes sudden variations. Evolution occurs by which are its parents. sudden changes alone, never by gradual It would seem as though this concep- variation. tion of evolution as a passage from the We cannot doubt that evolution occurs complex to the more and more simple, —that every organism now on this earth in which the organism specializes in differs from every other organism either certain characters and drops off certain of the present or of the past. But it is other possible characters might be lik- the question of how they come to be ened to the manner of our social evolu- different that is still the subject of theory tion. In pioneer days every man is a and controversy. complex of industrial possibilities—he is his own carpenter, blacksmith, cobbler and physician. In the course of time CASEIN FOR THE TOILET his descendants specialize more and more, each adopting some one line of industry While the original cold cream may and leaving behind the other possible have been made of true cream, the activities. Emphasis on some one special- formula in the United States Pharma- ity seems to be the necessity in evolution. copeia of the present day shows that it is It would, in short, seem that Bateson a mixture of spermaceti or stearic acid asks us to consider two main theses: with bees' wax and oil of almonds with a First, while it can never be questioned little borax added to aid in keeping the that Darwin was the first to provide a mixture homogeneous. Many of the body of facts demonstrating the varia- modern massage creams, especially those bility of living things, yet we must come advertised as greaseless, have as their to the conviction that his principle most important constituent casein, the of natural selection cannot have been substance precipitated from buttermilk. the chief factor in the delimiting of the Truly it is a remarkable substance which species of animals and plants. It is may be used with equal success for cheese, asked that we consider that this varia- buttons, bilhard balls or face cream. tion has rather resulted from the fact E. A. I. that to each species has fallen a different set of characters in the unpacking of the original, all-containing ancestral pro- BLASTING WITH LIQUID OXYGEN toplasm—that to each succeeding gen- eration falls a slightly differing set of By a recently discovered method, it is characters according to the Mendelian thought that a practical way has been law of inheritance. found for using liquid oxygen in blasting. And in the second place and as a Bags filled with a special form of lamp natural consequence of this different black are soaked in liquid oxygen a few evolutionary procedure, we must think minutes just before being needed. They of evolution not as slow and cumulative can be detonated with the force of dyna- by the gradual accretion of minute mite. There is no danger from a misfire, variations but as mutational. That is, as the oxygen will evaporate in a short while according to the Mendelian law, time if not exploded soon after being an individual may so closely resemble its soaked in liquid oxygen. SOME INSECT-BORNE DISEASES

""A fly and a flea and a skeeter and a louse lar recesses of the proventriculus and this All lived together in very dirty house. a development proceeds to such an extent The fly spread typhoid and the louse spread typhus, too, as to occlude the alimentary canal and And the people in that house were a very sickly prevent the entrance of additional blood crew." to the stomach. The flea retains his The fact that this doggerel with its appetite, however, and since his pumping additional verses has been so widely device is in the pharynx is still able to copied bears witness to the general appre- suck blood, but the obstructing mass of ciation of the relation of insects to disease. bacteria prevents the blood from entering If the public could be taught to act in line the stomach and consequently it regur- with its knowledge much would be ac- gitates from the infected esophagus into complished in the safeguarding of the the wound upon the cessation of sucking. public health. The knowledge of the The flea may not starve as a result of relation of flies and mosquitoes to disease this trouble, as the alimentary canal may is too general to require additional com- later become open, but if the season is ment in an article whose purpose is to hot he may dry up before he can get any point out the less commonly known rela- liquid. This is said to accoimt for the tions between insects and disease. fact that epidemics of plague in India are Bacteriologists, protozoologists, and confined to the cool and moist season and entomologists are. cooperating today in are terminated by the onset of hot an attempt to demonstrate further rela- weather. tions between insects and certain diseases Leprosy is another disease of foreign of which the mode of transmission remains origin found occasionally in the United obscure. The recent outbreak of bu- States. It is caused by the Bacillus bonic plague in Xew Orleans attracts our lepra?, an organism similar to the bacillus attention first to this disease. It has been of tuberculosis, but the mode of trans- known for several years that the rat flea mission is unknown. Men have been is the chief agent in the transmission of known to live among lepers for years plague, but the exact means by which before becoming infected, but in other infection takes place has been uncertain. cases the transmission seems to take The flea is known to imbibe the bacillus place almost immediately. Various in- which causes plague when it sucks the sects have, from time to time, been sus- blood of an infected animal, but how he pected of carrying the disease but the infects the next victim remained a ques- most recent studies point to the head tion. Among the methods suggested have louse, Pediculus capitis, as the most prob- been the ingestion of infected fleas by able agent, though the experiments have animals, simple mechanical transmission not yet been completed. by the flea's proboscis, infection of the Typhus fever, known also as Brill's flea's salivary glands as in the case of the disease and in Mexico as tarbardillo, has mosquito and malaria, and the rubbing decreased in prevalence with the spread of the infected feces of the flea into a of civilization and, except for sporadic wound caused by the bite or otherwise. cases, is now found only in overcrowded, Recently a commission of British investi- filthy or unhygienic surroundings. Al- gators has made an intensive study of the though the infective agent is apparently subject and arrived at the following con- too large to pass through a Berkfeld filter clusion. The feces of the flea may trans- it has not yet been identified, though mit plague but contain relatively few recently a spirochete has been found to bacteria and soon dry up, so that this be present in many of the cases. It has method is uncommon. When a flea has been definitely shown that the head louse, fed on infected blood a rapid development Pediculus capitis, and the body louse, -of the bacilli takes place in the intercellu- Pediculus restimenti, are capable of trans- Science Conspectus 27 mitting the disease and the flea is under the size of the skull, being twice as much suspicion, although lice appear to be the or more the distance apart as in the hu- chief agent. man genus. Relapsing fever has not been known in It is not known whether or not the this country since the epidemic in New growth of the teeth appears in a certain York and Philadelphia in 1869. It also order among the fishes, but with a few is associated with insanitary conditions exceptions, as in the flounder, the eyes and is known to be transmitted by cer- are placed one on each side of the com- tain ticks, while various biting insects are pressed skull. This arrangement is almost suspected. similar to that of most birds, which lack The cause of pellagra has been a sub- dental apparatus if we exclude the serra- ject for study for many years and it is tion of the bill in some of the parrot now being investigated in various parts species. Magnus Westergren. of the world. The buffalo gnat, Simulium, and other biting insects, such as the stable fly, Siomoxys, are being studied as possi- BOMB-CARRYING DIRIGIBLES ble carriers. In view of the possibility of offensive The bedbug is so generally disliked that operations by Zeppelin airships, it may attempts are continually being made to be of interest to observe that such a ship attach to it the stigma of being a disease with full crew and fuel for a 1,300-mile carrier. Almost all infectious diseases trip may carry in addition to its usual have been charged to it at times but ballast 1,600 pounds of bombs, and with among the most common are relapsing fuel for an 800-mile trip 4,300 pounds of fever, kala azar, tuberculosis, leprosy, bombs. Using 200 pounds aerial tor- typhoid, and syphilis. By its habits of pedoes this allows from 8 to 20 units for biting and its association with humans, it each ship. is fitted to carry disease, though it is not The striking velocity of such a bomb naturally associated with filth and lives dropped from an altitude of 3,000 feet is comfortably in the cleanest surroundings. 400 feet per second, and from 6,000 feet, In this country, at least, it is quite cer- 450 feet per second. This compares with tainly of no importance as a disease car- a velocity of 2,000 feet per second for a rier, and as an index of decency and clean- projectile fired from a rifled gun and liness it will probably rank far below the explains the lack of penetration of such house fly when public opinion replaces aerial torpedoes. J. c. H. prejudice by judgment. e. a. i. ANTI-TYPHOID INOCULATION RELATION OF TEETH AND EYES The value of the anti-typhoid inocula- A comparison of the distance between tion is clearly shown by results in the the visible part of the eye lobes and the United States army. Previous to the different development of the teeth in introduction of compulsory inoculation the human race, and in some of the mam- upon enlistment there was an average of mals has thus far attracted little atten- 536 cases and 37 deaths each year. Last tion. It is apparent that where the car- year, on the contrary, there were three nivorous teeth are more prominent, as cases and no deaths and two of these in cats and dogs, the eyes are a trifle cases were men who had in some way farther apart than in the human race. escaped the inoculation. In no case of In the rodents, such as rats, squirrels and inoculation was there any record of any beavers, the ocular lens is perceptibly harm resulting from it. In the Spanish- placed on the side of the cranium. In American war one fifth of the American the ruminants as well as a large number army contracted typhoid and 86 per cent, of other mammals with big molars, such as of the deaths among our soldiers in the the horse, and so forth, up to the elephant, war was caused by this disease. the eyes are separated in proportion to E. A. I. 28 Science Conspectus

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Society of Arts was established as a department of the Institute by President Rogers in 1861. It is especially devoted to the general dissemination of scientific knowledge, and it aims to awaken and maintain an interest in the recent advances and practical application of the sciences. Any person interested in the aims of the Society is eligible to membership. The annual dues are $3.

Richard C. Maclaukin, President of the Institute Isaac W. Litchfield, Secretary of tlie Society of Arts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The President James P. Munroe Arthur D. Little Elihu Thomson Theodore N. Vail Frederic H. Fay The Secretary BOARD OF PUBLICATION Hervet W. Shtmer Edward A. Ingham Ellwood B. Spear Selskar M. Gdxx Jerome C. Hunsaker I. W. Litchfield, Editor

Five numbers of Science Conspectus are published during the year.

EQUILIBRIUM OF THE BODY character, or not, or whether it is merely an apparatus to aid in preserving equilib- The position of the eyes in the fishes rium, is not known with certainty. birds indicates that their area of and Neither do we know whether we really vision without mo-nng the head must be see objects in their right position, or only considerably larger than ours, and their seem to do so through habit, for they sense of equilibrium therefore different. must be reflected upside down on the act is performed by the The swimming posterior part of the crystal lens of our pectoral fins and telson, while the dorsal eye. and ventral fins regulate the balance of Judging from the way pigeons, es- the body, which is to right or left, similar pecially, tip their heads to one side to see to that of the birds. That the balance is where food is thrown on the ground, some to right or left can be observed with es- lack in their forward vision is indicated pecial ease in the sparrow, which comes it therefore that seeing in flocks, while on the ground, rushing or and would seem fighting for food, the wings are not always the tips of both wings in the same side- entirely extended; frequently one wing wise glance were of more importance than is almost resting on the chest for an in- direct forward vision. This ability to see stant while its mate is stretched to its both sides at once is an advantage which full length. aviators do not possess. In the human body the equilibrium is Above a flat country, and an altitude kept up somewhat differently, being more of 10,000 feet, or more, the horizon is of a pendulum-like motion, to and fro, beneath the aviator and therefore his walking on smooth, level ground, when feelings about the right position of his the sacrum describes a continuous hori- aeroplane are lessened. Then, too, not zontal wave line, and if a disturbance of passing any object, and being continually balance occurs, the body usually falls met by a strong wind, the airship seems forward, seldom to one side. to be standing perfectly still, and this The oscillaria in the fishes and a few other marine animals can be regarded as produces a sleepy monotonousness which annunciators which tell that something tends to make the aviator not always on is passing outside. Whether the osseous his guard. labyrinth in our own ear is of the same Magnus Westergren. Science Conspectus

Vol. V 1915 No. 1

STATUS OF THE TIN MINING INDUSTRY THE UNITED STATES USES NEARLY HALF OF THE WORLD'S PRODUCTION OF THIS IMPORTANT METAL AND MINES PRAC TICALLY NONE

BY WALDEMAR LINDGREN

Six thousand years ago the Egyptian but tin is curiously and irregularly dis- artisans of the fourth dynasty fashioned tributed. We know of no deposits of implements of bronze obtained by melt- importance in southeastern Europe and ing tin and copper together. Discoveries adjacent parts of Asia. Most of the tin in the tombs of the eighteenth dynasty used in antiquity is said to have come and excavations in the ancient city of from the " Cassiterides " or Tin Islands* Knossos on the island of Crete tell a simi- whence it was brought out first by the lar story of industries flourishing 1500 to Phoenicians, those early traders and ex- 2000 B.C. except that the weapons and plorers, at least as far back as twelve ornaments are wrought with far greater centuries B.C. Some of the metal no skill. The history of tin thus goes back doubt came from the mines in Spain. records to the remotest antiquity. The How the ore was discovered and who of most peoples tell us in fact of an early first succeeded in smelting tin from it we period in which an alloy of copper and tin do not know. Beyond doubt these "Tin was the principal metal used. Islands" were the Scilly Islands and ad- Through long centuries tin has been joining parts of Cornwall. After some one of the most useful metals employed centuries the Phoenicians had to abandon by man in his struggle towards civiliza- tion. Although, even at the present time, their monopoly of the metal, and the de- the production of tin does not approach posits were worked by Greek and Roman that of iron, copper, lead and zinc, the miners. metal still remains in a prominent indus- Cornwall for a long time remained the trial position. Its history is full of inter- one important source of tin, but later on, esting features with sharp changes in the certainly in the sixteenth century, very sources of production, in price and in prac- similar deposits of tin ore were found in tical use. the Ore Mountains of Saxony. Alten- The metals occurring native, like gold berg, Zinnwald and other places fur- and silver, or easily reduced from their nished most of the tin needed by the ores, like tin and copper, were those first Tuetonic races. used by the races of antiquity. Copper, Compared with conditions today this gold and silver occur in many countries, mining proceeded upon an insignificant

*"Kassiteros," is the Greek word for tin. In Sanskrit it is "Kastira," in Arabic "Kasdir." 30 Science Conspectus scale. It is estimated that the average great importance, and the production is annual production of tin in the thirteenth steadily rising. In 1913 about 28,000 century was only about 300 tons. In the tons were produced. eighteenth century the same figure had The singular and capricious distribution risen to about 2,600 tons. This does not, of tin ores has already been referred to. however, represent the world's produc- The United States is particularly unfortu- tion for even at the earlier date men- nate in this respect for in spite of careful tioned tin was produced in China and prospecting no tin deposits of any conse- bronzes were manufactured there but the quence have yet been discovered within its output can hardly have been more than domains. A few tons are produced from a few hundred tons per annum. the bleak shores of Cape York Peninsula The next discovery of importance was in Alaska; a little more comes from the made in the eighteenth century in the Black Hills in South Dakota, and from far East Indies, at localities probably the Appalachian Mountains in the Caro- long known by the natives, on the islands linas. of Bangka and Billiton now owned by The total production of the world is for Holland, and in the Malay Peninsula, various reasons very difficult to estimate now known as the Federated Malay with exactness, but it has been steadily States. The production from these new rising. Approximately 114,000 metric tons fields soon entirely overshadowed the old was the production in the world in 1908; fields of Cornwall and Saxony in which in 1913 this had increased to about 125,- production, however, continued on a 000 tons. smaller scale. Even now about 5,000 The principal, and almost the only ore tons of tin are annually recovered from of tin, is the oxide. It forms a brown and the mines of Cornwall some of which have inconspicuous mineral of great hardness, reached a depth of 3,000 feet. called cassiterite. This mineral is ex- The new continents opened by the tremely resistant to the influence of white race were carefully searched by weathering, and thus it easily accumu- prospectors for tin as that metal began lates in gravel beds lying below the out- to assume an increased industrial im- crops of the veins. The only other portance. Every state of Australia was mineral of importance is a complex sul- found to contain tin deposits in part phide of tin, copper and iron, which occurs associated with gold, and about 5,000 in Bolivia and a few other places. The tons are now obtained from that region. tin deposits form veins along rock frac- Smaller deposits were opened in South tures, or in crushed masses of rock, and Africa and recently Nigeria in Central some deposits have been followed by min- Africa has entered the ranks of the pro- ing to a depth of several thousand feet. ducers with some 3,000 tons per annum. In such veins the cassiterite is accom- China has reopened her ancient tin mines panied by quartz and by a number of rare of the Yunnan Province, and some thou- and characteristic minerals like wolframite sand tons are added annually from that containing tungsten, topaz containing quarter. fluorine, and tourmaline containing boron. Important as many of these sources Geologists hold that such tin-bearing de- are they seem insignificant in comparison posits have been formed at high tempera- with the great production from the Malay tures by vapors and solutions accompany- Peninsula which every year yields from ing the intrusion of granite far below the 50,000 to 60,000 tons of the metal. surface of the earth. The veins, as they Far distant from the tropical jungles of appear now, have been exposed by the the East Indies is the Bolivian district, gradual wearing down of the surface by where ore is mined on the high Plateau erosion. of the Andes in a wintry climate and at To ancient man, mining in hard rocks elevations of 16,000 feet. The Bolivian was a difficult problem, but the heavy tin, known to some extent by the old tin mineral which occurred in abundance Spanish miners, has recently acquired in some gravels, for instance, in Corn- Science Conspectus 31

wall and in Saxony was easily recognized, The low fusion point of tin (449° F.) is and must have attracted attention at an thus another property which commends early date. The cassiterite, or tin-stone the metal for manifold purposes in the is reduced to metal by charcoal in a hot foundry. Within the last hundred years tire, and we may easily imagine the acci- many uses have been discovered for vari- dental discovery of this reduction process. ous tin compounds. Of these the chloride For many years the tin-stone contained is particularly useful for many industrial in gravels furnished a large part of the processes. output of the world. As such beds can All these uses are, however, subordi- be worked cheaply a content of about nate, and if there were no demand outside two pounds per cubic yard of gravel may of them the production of the metal would be sufficient for a profitable enterprise. certainly not have risen to its present At the present time the great deposits level. For the recent great consumption in the Federated Malay States and adja- of tin the modest tin can is primarily cent islands are almost wholly gravel responsible. Eighty thousand tons of the beds, which are washed like gold placers metal is annually required for the manu- for the recovery of the tin-stone. The facture of these receptacles of sheet iron, prospectors are in large part Chinese, and covered by a thin coating of tin. In the until recently the work has been carried last fifty years the demand for tin cans on in a primitive way. Now, however, has risen enormously with the devel- hydraulic mining, that is, by a stream of opment of the preserving industry for water under pressure, and dredge mining, provisions of all kinds, and last, though have been introduced into these regions. not least, for the shipment of petroleum On the other hand, the Bolivian depos- all over the world. its occur as veins, in slate and sandstone, Thus it happens that the United and have been worked to a depth of 1 ,500 States, though leading in the canning in- feet without showing noticeable impover- dustry, finds itself severely handicapped ishment. The ore mined by the smaller by a deplorable lack of tin deposits and concerns is rich, containing 10 per cent, or is, broadly speaking, wholly dependent more of tin, but recently some enterprises upon the production of the Federated have been started on a larger scale and on Malay States and Bolivia. A protective the basis of 3 per cent. ore. A peculiar tariff has made it possible to transfer the feature is that silver, elsewhere absent tin plate industry to the United States. from tin veins, often occurs in the ores. We annually import about 50,000 short The grade of ore in the deep mines of tons of tin as ingots. The figures vary Cornwall is much lower; it is said 1 to 1.5 sharply and suddenly. In 1907 and 1908, per cent. for instance, only 41,000 tons were im- The use of tin in bronze for many ported, while a maximum was reached in purposes, such as implements, statues and 1912 when the importation amounted to ornaments, has already been mentioned. 58,000 tons. In medieval times bronze found an The price of tin has been subject to extensive use for church bells and later striking variations: a great deal of specu- on, in the eighteenth century, tin mining lation and short selling is carried on, and received a further impetus by the use of the fluctuations are often extremely vio- bronze for a far less commendable pur- lent. The market price has varied from pose, that is, for the manufacture of 13 cents per pound in 1896 to a maximum cannons. The malleability of tin is an es- of 54 in 1913. During the last few years pecially valuable property. Tin foil has the price per pound in New York has been used for many hundred years, and varied between 25 and 50 cents. In Jan- no small amount of the metal enters into uary, 1908, the price was, for instance, 27 the production of this commodity. A still cents, while in January, 1913, it had ad- larger quantity is used for soldering and vanced to 50 cents. The war which broke for A-arious alloys, many of them easily out in August, 1914, had an important fusible, and some used for bearings, etc. influence on the market, but the price has 32 Science Conspectus

not increased greatly, but is, on the con- be acquired. Under normal conditions all trary, less than before. In the beginning of the Bolivian ore goes to Europe for re- of 1914 the price reached 40 cents, but duction, one half of it to Germany, and later on dropped to 31 cents; in August the other half to England. there was a sudden rise to 50 cents, but The larger part of the ores from the in the last four months of the year the Federated Malay States is smelted locally average price was only 31 to 33.5 cents. and the tin exported. Therefore, it There was naturally, at first, a fear of seemed possible to transfer the smelting shortage by the closing of the lanes of of Malay concentrates to the United commerce and it will be remembered that States, especially as the Standard Oil one precious cargo of tin was sunk by the steamers returning from these parts could German cruiser Emden in the Indian carry the ore at low rates. A smelter was Ocean. There is now little fear of the accordingly built at Bayonne, N. J., but interruption of ocean communication, but the tender industry was cruelly nipped in instead the great consumption in Ger- the bud by the Federated Malay States many is suddenly checked, and it is not which, under British influence, promptly likely that the price will rise to high imposed a prohibitive export tax on con- figures until we shall have peace once centrates. There seems to be no reason more. why Bolivian ores should not be brought This question of tin is a very serious to New York, via the Panama Canal, and matter for the United States. One hun- smelted there, but it will be necessary to dred million pounds of tin, equivalent to secure a firm hold on the ore supply before about $40,000,000, is needed annually entering on plans for reduction works. and must be purchased from foreign pro- The principles of conservation clearly ducers. There are no prospects, visible as demand that as much tin as possible yet, of domestic production of the metal. should be recovered from scraps and cans. This granted, the most important prob- As far as scraps from the manufacture of lems relate to (1) control of foreign de- tinware this is, of course, done. A little posits by Americans; (2) domestic smelting more than one quarter, or about 14,000 of foreign ores, and (3) possible recovery tons, of the total imports of tin is recov- of tin once used. ered from scraps by electrolytic methods. The control of the Malayan deposits is The tin cans however, offer a far more difficult and probably would be opposed serious problem. Their life is short and by the colonial government. These gravel the tin used in them for coating of the deposits are to the extent of 75 per cent, sheet iron is very largely lost. It is easy owned by Chinese firms who are able to of course to collect such used cans but the carry on the work at very reasonable cost. recovery of the tin is difficult and expen- Nevertheless, it is possible that we would sive owing to the organic matter and be able to work these gravels to better grease usually adhering to the articles. advantage than the Chinese by the use The discovery of a cheap process for the of the most modern methods. The owner- recovery of tin from this source would be ship of the Bolivian deposits is now in highly desirable. Several small plants for the hands of English, German and South this purpose are said to be in operation American companies. Many attempts in England. have been made by American capitalists Another very important problem relates to acquire control of these mines, the ores to possible substitutes for tin. Cans for of which are of high grade, but so far these oil might possibly be made from zinc attempts have apparently not met with coated (galvanized) sheet iron and the much success. The prices demanded for possibility of aluminum coated cans is the mines are very high, and the costs perhaps not to be disregarded. Both zinc of mining and reduction are considerable and aluminum are much cheaper than on account of an unfavorable climate and tin. difficult transportation. Nevertheless, it It is a long step from the time, thou- seems probable that control will ultimately sands of years ago, when the Egyptian Science Conspectus 33 artisans melted their bronzes and shaped erties. That is, although the element their implements from copper and a few itself may differ in atomic weight ac- precious tons of tin. to the present time, cording to its source, the salts of the when a hundred thousand tons are used different varieties are identical. It has to carry the world's commodities around been suggested that elements, which have the world. The importance and complex- the same chemical properties but different ity of the problem of tin production, as atomic weights, such as lead has, should far as the United States is concerned, has be called isotopes. been pointed out in the preceding pages. Many scientists have long been waiting It would seem that the time is ripe for an to be shown that all the eighty odd ele- attempt to change the conditions which, ments are composed of one, or at least a in past years, have been so unfavorable few simple substances. The new dis- to us. covery may be a step in this direction. e. b. s. ELEMENTS WITH SEVERAL ATOMIC WEIGHTS TAKING UP THE RECOIL quick-firing field gun used by the Scientists of the present generation The French and British is equipped with consider matter to be made up of small a most ingenious device for taking up the particles called molecules. These mole- recoil. it is fired the gun slides cules are themselves composed of smaller When along guides on the top of a steel box, bodies to which the name "atom" has called the cradle. Inside of the cradle, been given. The atom has been de- attached to the gun, is a piston, fined as the smallest particle of an element and which is driven the recoil into a that enters into combination with other by cylinder filled with glycerin. The glycerin atoms to form molecules. is forced through narrow channels into a Xow just as the various elementary reservoir full of compressed air, which it substances have different weights, so further compresses. This friction brings must the atoms of the individual elements the gun to rest after it has recoiled and have different weights, and it was natural then the expansion of the compressed air that scientists should seek out a basis forces the glycerin back into piston upon which to compare the relative and returns the gun to the firing position weights of atoms. The actual weights once more. of the atoms are of course too small for convenient comparison, and, as a result, the atom of the lightest known A DELICATE INSTRUMENT element, hydrogen, was arbitrarily chosen In the development of apparatus for as the standard unit, and all the others the delicate work of measuring the radia- were expressed in terms of this unit. tion from the stars, which is being carried The atomic weight of an element on by the United States Bureau of Stand- might, therefore, be defined as the ards, an instrument has been invented relative weight of the atom compared which is so sensitive that, in combination to the weight of the atom of hydrogen with a three-foot reflecting telescope, as 1. it will give a galvanometer deflection of It was formerly supposed that each one millimeter when exposed to the heat element had one, and only one, atomic of a lighted candle placed at a distance of weight, but it has been shown by recent fifty-three miles. In order, however, to investigation that lead from radio-active do much valuable work in stellar spectral substances has a different atomic weight energy curves, an instrument must be from that of the ordinary variety. developed that will be sufficiently sensi- Strange to relate, however, these different tive to detect the radiation from a candle kinds of lead, if different in kind they are, placed at a distance of 500 miles away have precisely the same chemical prop- from it. NEW DISCOVERIES IN OIL REFINING THREE TIMELY AND ENRICHING DISCOVERIES THAT CONSERVE AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE AND HINT AT THE ORIGIN OF CRUDE PETRO- LEUM IN THE EARTH

BY ELLWOOD B. SPEAR

Gasoline, naphtha, benzine, kerosene, yield of gasoline was increased two to most of our lubricating oils, vaseline and three-fold. It is needless to say that this paraffin, are obtained by distilling crude is of very great importance for the future petroleum. As is well known, this sub- of the gasoline engine. stance is found in enormous quantities Two other startling discoveries, one by in the earth, and the United States and Rittman and the other by Snelling, prom- Russia are the chief producers. Twenty ise to become of enormous importance to years ago kerosene was the most sought our industries. It should be noted, how- for of these products, while we had a sur- ever, that both these discoverers warn us plus of gasoline. With the advent of the against forming hasty conclusions, such internal combustion engine, as a means of as we have recently been treated to in the power, especially the enormous output of newspaper reports of these discoveries. automobiles of recent years, gasoline has The processes of both Rittman and Snel- become the all-important member of this ling are still in the experimental stage, series. Until a year or so ago the maxi- and while they may be feasible in the mum amount of gasoline obtainable from laboratory, it remains to be proved that crude petroleum was comparatively small, they are practicable on a commercial i. e., less than 7 per cent. The exact scale. amount differed with the different varie- It has long been noted that crude petro- ties of the crude material. The price was leum, if allowed to fall on hot bricks, was steadily increasing, and it became a se- partially broken down into gasoline and rious question whether the internal com- other closely allied substances. This proc- bustion engine could long be employed ess is employed by producers of illumin- in the future as a means of power, be- ating gas and is commercially known as cause of the high cost of the fuel, gaso- " cracking." Rittman has discovered that line. Happily recent discoveries have if this cracking process is carried out where changed the entire aspect of the affair. the oil is in the form of a gas and under

The price of gasoline has greatly decreased great pressure, i. e., 500 pounds per and auto owners may breathe easily once square inch, the amount of gasoline ob- more. tainable is greatly increased. Nor is this The first of these discoveries, as set all. Benzol and toluol, the raw materials forth by the Burton patent, has already from which dyes and the most valuable proved itself of great commercial value explosives are made, are also formed dur- and is at present employed by the Stand- ing the cracking process. ard Oil Company. Until the introduc- Rittman's laboratory apparatus is tion of this process crude petroleum was shown in figure 1 . The oil is allowed to distilled either at atmospheric or under drop from the oil cup upon a heated, fire- slightly increased pressure. The vapors proof material, as seen in the cut. The obtained were suddenly cooled and con- gases thus formed pass into the main tube. densed at the pressure of the air. Herein, This is heated by electric coils, and the however, lay the mistake; for Burton dis- higher temperature causes an increase in covered that if the distillation was car- the pressure. The cracking process takes ried out under pressure and the vapors place in the main tube under these con- were condensed also under pressure, the ditions. The products are condensed in —

Science Conspectus 35 the tube at the bottom of the apparatus. Rittman. Snelling's experiments indi- (Marked "Condenser" in the cut.) cate that not only is more gasoline ob- tained when the cracking takes place in the vapor instead of the liquid phase, but also that crude petroleum is a product into which each one of the substances mentioned in the first paragraph of this article may be changed at will. That is to say, after all the gasoline possible has been extracted by the Rittman and Bur- ton processes, the remaining substances, paraffin, vaseline, lubricating oils, etc., may be introduced into Snelling's appara- tus and a crude petroleum again formed which differs from the original crude pe- troleum only in that the artificial product does not contain any clay. This artifi- cial petroleum is again capable of treat- ment by the Rittman or Burton process and more gasoline can be distilled off. By repeated distillation and "repetroliza- tion," to coin a new term, Snelling has succeeded in changing a very much larger proportion of the total original crude petroleum into gasoline than can be done by the Rittman or Burton process alone. Snelling's important discovery throws some light on the origin of crude petro- leum in the earth's interior. All the above mentioned compounds, gasoline, kerosene, etc., are combinations of hydrogen and carbon. If any one of these compounds is formed in the earth under suitable con- ditions of temperature and pressure, it will be converted into crude petroleum. It of course remains to be seen whether is entirely CONOfNStS such a deduction justifiable or WLVE not.

THE GYRO-COMPASS IN THE NAYY

The experimental apparatus of Dr. Rittman The Sperry gyro-compass, which was Courtesy of the Scientific American described by Mr. Sperry in the first issue of Science Conspectus five years ago, It is pleasing to note that Rittman's when it was in an experimental state, has process is to be patented and dedicated now been placed on twenty battleships, to the American people, so that small and one armored cruiser and fifteen subma- independent oil companies may compete rines of the United States navy. It has with the larger and more wealthy con- been decided to install master gyro- cerns. compasses in duplicate on all battleships Snelling's discovery, if it turns out to of the Delaware class and later. Special be practicable commercially, is even more instruction is given to officers and men important than either that of Burton or who have the care of these compasses. :

36 Science Conspectus

THE ORIGIN OF PEARLS oysters of Ceylon that a tapeworm larval cyst In an article in The Popular Science may become a pearl nucleus, or Monthly a year or two ago Professor that in some cases the secretions may be deposited Edwards of the University of Southern around sand grains, bits of mud, or a fish or California had an article on "The Aba- some other small animal, in pockets of the lones of California." A paragraph in the mantle epidermis, or again about calco-spherules article on pearls is interesting near the muscle insertions. "The origin of pearls has been a matter The surface finally be- comes polished, or for speculation during many centuries. takes the "orient," and thus reflects the As related in ancient folklore, the pearl opaline and nacreous tints so highly prized." oyster, rising to the surface of the sea in the early morning, opens wide the valves of its shell, so that dewdrops may fall CONTRIBUTORS VOL. IV within. Under the influence of the air TO and warm sunshine lustrous pearls de- Among the contributors to the last velop from these glistening drops of dew. volume of Science Conspectus were The pearls are white when the weather is David L. Belding, biologist of the Massa- fair, but dark if it is cloudy. This belief chusetts Commissioners on Fisheries and was held from the first to the fifteenth Game; Mrs. Robert P. Bigelow; Profes- century, when the theory was advanced sor Harold A. Everett, assistant professor that the eggs of the pearl oyster serve as of naval architecture, Massachusetts nuclei for pearls. Institute of Technology; Mortimer Frank, "About the middle of the sixteenth M. D., Chicago, Illinois; Lieut. Jerome C. century Rondelet concluded that pearls Hunsaker, U. S. N., instructor in aviation, form from diseased concretions, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology; then, in 1600, Anselmus de Boot dem- Ernest C. Levy, health officer of Richmond, onstrated that they are made of the Virginia; Professor Richard S. Lull, pro- same substance as the shell. Reaumur, fessor of vertebrate paleontology at Vale in 1717, showed by aid of the micro- Lmiversify; Professor Alexander G. Mc- scope that the pearl is composed of con- Adie, professor of meteorology at Harvard centric layers of nacre, which we now University, and director of the Blue Hill know serve as minute prisms to split up Observatory; John D. MacKenzie, in- the white light into the rainbow tints so structor in geology, Massachusetts Insti- beautiful when reflected from the sur- tute of Technology; Dr. Charles L. Par- face of the pearl. In the middle of the sons, of the Bureau of Mines, Washington, nineteenth century from an investigation D. C; Professor Samuel C. Prescott, pro- of the freshwater mussels of Turin Lake, fessor of industrial microbiology, Massa- Filippe proved that the stimulus for pearl chusetts Institute of Technology; John formation in that species is a trematode Ritchie, Jr., former health officer of Bos- worm. ton; R. C. Robinson of the Research "Other naturalists, Kiichenmeister, Laboratory, General Electric Company, 1856; Mobius, 1857; Kelaart and Hum- Schenectady, N. Y.; S. J. Schofield, geol- bert, 1859; Garner, 1871, Dubois, 1901, ogist Canadian Geological Survey; Dr. and Giard, 1903, have contributed to Hervey W. Shinier, associate professor of our knowledge of the origin of pearls paleontology, Massachusetts Institute of from parasitic nuclei. In 1902, Jameson Technology; Mrs. E. B. Spear of Cam- traced the life history of a Distomum bridge; Dr. Percy G. Stiles, instructor in from its first host, a duck, to a clam, physiology at Harvard University and as its second host, and he succeeded in instructor in physiology and personal inoculating the edible mussel, Mytilus, hygiene at Massachusetts Institute of by placing it with parasitically infected Technology; Professor George E. Stone mollusks, and thus artificially induced the of the Agricultural Experiment Station, formation of pearls. Massachusetts Agricultural College, Am- "Herdman, in 1903, found in the pearl herst, Mass. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN AGRI- CULTURE

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO EDUCATE THE FARMER THROUGH AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, EXTENSION COURSES, AND MORE RECENTLY THROUGH THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

L. S. HAWKINS

Diking the past quarter of a century In 1862 Congress, through the first agriculture has had an extraordinary Morrill Act, donated public land to the development in the United States. Money several states and territories which might and efforts have not been spared in the provide colleges for the benefit of agri- search for better methods and practices culture and the mechanic arts. Institu- or in getting the facts to farmers. Exper- tions receiving the benefit of this and iment stations, colleges of agriculture, subsequent acts are now in operation in state departments of agriculture and the all the states and territories except United States Department of Agriculture Alaska. have been the important agencies in this "College * instruction in agriculture is work. given in the colleges and universities Although several states early started receiving the benefits of the acts of experiment stations, the movement be- Congress of July 2, 1862, August 30, 1890, came national in 1887 when, through the and March 4, 1907, which are now in Experiment Station Act or Hatch Act, operation in all the states and territories Congress made available to each state except Alaska. The total number of an annual appropriation of $15,000. In these institutions is 68, of which 65 1906 the second Experiment Station Act maintain courses of instruction in agri- or Adams Act, duplicated this appropria- culture. In 23 states the agricultural tion. The early work of the experiment colleges are departments of the state stations was largely policing—analysis universities. In 16 states and territories and control of fertilizers, feeding-stuffs separate institutions, having courses in and seeds, enforcing plant and animal agriculture, are maintained for the col- quarantine, etc. Much of this work is ored race. All of the agricultural col- still done by them but it is in the field of leges for white persons and several of research that they have made and are those for negroes offer four-year courses in making the greatest contribution to the agriculture and its related sciences lead- forward march of agriculture. The sta- ing to bachelors' degrees, and many pro- tions publish the results of their investi- vide for graduate study. About 60 of gations in bulletins available to the these institutions also provide special, farmers. These publications number short, or correspondence courses in the OA-er seven hundred a year and reach different branches of agriculture, includ- more than a million people. The sub- ing agronomy, horticulture, animal hus- jects discussed cover a wide range of bandry, poultry raising, cheese making, science and practice and the information dairying, sugar making, rural engineering, is the basis of present day agriculture. farm mechanics, and other technical sub- While the stations annually send out jects. Officers of the agricultural col- hundreds of the staff members to assist leges engage quite largely in conducting at farmers' institutes, local organization farmers' institutes and various other meetings, etc., it may be safely said that forms of college extension. The agri- the great field of the experiment stations cultural experiment stations, with very is getting together a reliable and available few exceptions, are departments of the body of knowledge concerning the agri- agricultural colleges. The total number culture of their respective states. of persons engaged in the work of educa- * From Year Book of United States Department of Agriculture. "

38 Science Conspectus tion and research in the land-grant col- gation work. This leaves the college leges and the experiment stations in 1913 proper free to devote its energies to the was 7,651; the number of students (white) task of organizing the results of research in interior courses in the colleges of agri- and to teaching. The interior activities culture and mechanic arts, 47,216; the in teaching include post-graduate, four- total number of students in the whole year, two-year, one-year and short courses institutions, 88,408 (not including stu- of instruction for between fifty and sixty dents in correspondence courses and ex- thousand students. It is in the field of tension schools); the number of students extension or exterior teaching that the (white) in the four-year college courses in most noteworthy recent development has agriculture, 12,462; the total number of taken place. Extension work has been described as "comprising all those activ- ities that are not of academic kind and that aim to reach the people and their problems in the places where the prob- lems are. It is conducted mostly away from the institution. It differs from the regular forms of university extension in its purpose to aid the person at home with his special questions, one person at a time." The earlier forms of extension work consisted in sending out bulletins or reading course literature and holding meetings at which representatives of the college and experiment station talked to the people. This work is still being done A fourteen-year-old boy and the poultry house built by him in connection with his home project but everywhere effort is being made to secure local organization. The earlier students in the institutions for negroes, efforts of extension were paternalistic but 8,561, of whom 1,795 were enrolled in the modern efforts are toward fitting the agricultural courses. With a few excep- people to progress by showing them how tions, each of these colleges offers free to do things for themselves. Cooperative tuition to residents of the state in which experiments are being conducted. The it is located. In the excepted cases schol- college plans the experiment, in some arships are open to promising and ener- instances furnishes the seed, fertilizer, getic students, and in all opportunities etc., oversees the starting of the work and are found for some to earn part of their analyzes the results. But the farmer expenses by their own labor. The ex- does the work and the experiment is penses are from $125 to $300 for the school worked out on his own farm. Field dem- year. onstrations are conducted at wThich are These are known as the land-grant present all the farmers of the neighbor- colleges. The second Morrill Act in 1890 hood who are interested. Traveling provided for an annual apportionment of schools of from two days to two weeks' $25,000 to each state for the support of duration, in charge of persons specially institutions maintained in accordance trained for the work, give systematic in- with the first act, and the Nelson Amend- struction in the various branches of agri- ment of 1907 increased the $25,000 to culture of most interest locally. Farm $50,000. trains with the best equipment for teach- The colleges of agriculture stand for ing carry educational impulse and the the whole range of country life in both latest information to thousands. Cor- its productive and social phases. In respondence and reading courses give in- most states the experiment station is dividual instruction along all lines of located at the land-grant college and agriculture to many unable to attend any takes care of a large part of the investi- of the schools. The latest movement in Science Conspectus 39

A field laboratory excercise—barrel packing apples extension work is the location of a resi- general aim the promotion of agricultural dent agent in each county. This agent is interests. In some states they receive variously named: farm bureau agent, large appropriations from the state for county agent, local agricultural repre- performing police duties and carrying on sentative, etc. His function is to coor- extension activities, while in other states dinate the various agricultural activities they receive small appropriations and of the county in which he works and to have nominal duties. act as the local representative of the col- The United States Department of Agri- lege of agriculture and the United States culture was created in 1862. Previous to Department of Agriculture in gathering this time the commissioner of patents and disseminating information. Thus far looked after national agricultural affairs. these agents have been greatly handi- In 1898 this department employed 2, .500 capped by the fact that the farmers look people and received an appropriation of upon them as men who should devise about $2,500,000 while fifteen years later some solution for all their individual it had about 15,000 employees and re- problems. Under the operation of the ceived in round numbers an appropria- Smith-Lever law which makes liberal tion of $24,000,000. Of this money ap- provisions for national aid to extension proximately $15,000,000 was spent for activities, the land-grant colleges will policing, $8,000,000 for research and in- make even greater efforts to carry new vestigation and $1,000,000 for extension. ideas direct to the farmer. The office of experiment stations in this State organizations for agriculture are department supervises the work of all diverse in aim and methods. The usual the experiment stations, and to some designations for these organizations are: extent the work of the land-grant colleges. state departments of agriculture and state The department publishes technical ab- boards of agriculture. They have as a stracts of all experiment station literature :

40 science Conspectus

Hamburg high school class studying poultry. An eighteen-day laying contest between three white wyandottes, three white leghorns and three white orpingtons was conducted in these pens. The contest resulted in a victory for the orpingtons with a total of thirty-eight eggs and also many bulletins founded on inves- parents lose the work of the boy from tigations carried on by its employees on a "chores" and the boy loses the influence great range of subjects. These investi- of the home; (2) courses in agriculture gations are of a regional rather than a in established high schools. These local character and do not duplicate the schools serve comparatively small com- work of the stations. The extension munities and the pupils go home each activities of the department are constantly night. A small community means few increasing but are now for the most part pupils and thus there is need for but one carried on through or in cooperation with or two teachers of agriculture in each the land-grant colleges and state depart- school. The cost is low, therefore many ments of agriculture. of the schools may be established. Since With all these efforts to assist the the pupils live at home on farms, no school adult who is engaged in the business of farms or animals are necessary though farming there has lately grown up a senti- small plots are often maintained for dem- ment in favor of offering to the boy who onstration purposes. Neighboring herds, is still in school an opportunity to fit barns, flocks and crops are used for the himself for this business should he so purpose of laboratory and field instruc- desire. As a consequence, various types tion. Perhaps the most significant phase of secondary schools of agriculture have of this movement is the fact that each boy come into existence. In general these who studies agriculture in school works schools may be divided into two classes out on the home farm a project along the (1) separate institutions which maintain line of each year's study in school. The only courses in agriculture. They usually teachers are hired for the full year in- own a farm, barns, flocks, herds, etc., and cluding the summer vacation and when are so costly that relatively few may be the schools are closed, spend the time in maintained in a single state. This means visiting the home projects of the pupils, that the students must leave home. The collecting material for the work of the Science Conspectus 41

Agriculture and Home-making in the High School at Hannibal, N. Y. Figures indicate location of homes of pupils in agriculture classes. H. M. indicates location of homes of pupils in home-making classes. E. indicates local cooperation, field demonstrations, use of materials, class visits, etc. The radius of the inner circle is one mile and the outer one five miles. following year and assisting the farmers with these schools. Many of these of the community when called upon to schools are conducting evening courses do so. In these small circles a teacher of for farmers. agriculture comes into close contact with It is to be hoped that Congress, in view the people and their business. Experi- of all the money now being expended for ence has shown that the best extension adult extension work and college instruc- work can be done by persons thus brought tion, will see the way clear to adopt the into close contact with the people. recommendations of the Commission on County agents, colleges of agriculture and National Aid to Vocational Education the United States Department of Agri- and do something to further the work culture are working in hearty cooperation with bovs still in school. r^ £ oj

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LoCM. APPROPRIATIONS WHEN REPTILES RULED THE EARTH BEFORE THE ASCENDENCY OF MAMMALS HUGE SAURIANS OF REMARKABLE APPEAR- ANCE, THICKLY SETTLED MANY PORTIONS OF THE WORLD

BY HERVEY W. SHOIER

One of the interesting facts that a characters embraced in the definition of study of fossils reveals is that through a reptile as "a cold-blooded, backboned the long course of the geological ages animal which breathes air throughout there has been much shifting in the posi- life." This definition distinguishes rep- tion of dominance among living beings. tiles from the warm-blooded mammals It is probable that for a long time, in the and birds on the one hand and from the far-back, early history of the earth, only cold-blooded fishes and amphibians, vegetable life, and that of a lowly sea- which are water-breathers during the weed sort, was present in the oceans. whole or a part of their existence, on the Following this plant-life and dependent other. upon it, evolved the vast panorama of The amount of knowledge which we invertebrate life, and for millions of years possess of the appearance and habits of the seashores swarmed with the mighty extinct reptiles, slowly built up during hordes of mollusks and starfishes and long years of patient coUecting and study their kin. of their fossil remains, is truly amazing. All of the earlier part of the Paleozoic, The chief record is naturally their skele- the second of the four great divisions of tons, usually found in scattered parts, the earth's history, is known as the age but occasionally preserved as a whole. of invertebrates. Then in the later The flesh is, of course, never petrified, Paleozoic, backboned animals appeared but the form of the living animal may be for the first time and the seas were closely approximated from the study of dominated by the fishes. The amphibi- the bones. Sometimes the scaly skin is ans, the group of vertebrates next preserved in a carbonized condition, higher in evolution to the fishes, appeared while even its color pattern is indicated somewhat later in the Paleozoic, but have in the residue of carbon pigment. Fossil never assumed a commanding place in stomach contents reveal something of the the life of the earth. It was, however, food habits, while the bony remains of to the present unimportant class of unhatched young and the frequent dis- reptiles that the mastership of land and covery of bones which have been injured water fell during the Mesozoic, the third and mended during life, give vivid pic- of the eras of earth-history. This mas- tures of then- conditions of life. tership was held during all of the Meso- The earliest reptiles are known from zoic,—the age of reptiles, and it was only the Coal Measure times of Ohio; by the in the succeeding era, the Cenozoic, that beginning of the Permian (uppermost mammals assumed their present supe- Paleozoic) there were many and diverse riority. kinds—water dwellers, marsh dwellers, There are at present more than four land dwellers, and even those that could thousand species of reptiles, falling into climb trees. Though many genera are four groups,—the snakes and lizards, the known from the Permian of the United crocodiles, the turtles, the Sphenodon or States, the most remarkable reptilian tuatera. Though so different in habits fauna of that time lived in South Africa and forms, these possess the common and Russia, some of the African forms

* Largely adapted from " Water Reptiles of the Past and Present," by S. W. Williston, professor of paleontology in the University of Chicago; published by the University of Chicago Press, 1914. Science Conspectus 45

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a > o-1 -a O V 46 Science Conspectus

A mosasaur from the chalk deposits of Kansas. These swimming lizards existed by thousands in the Cretaceous sea, not only of that region but of many other parts of North America, of Europe, New Zealand, and South America. They varied in length from ten to forty feet. That they were carnivorous is shown by their large jaws and teeth; they were probably the only water reptiles that would have been dangerous to man had he lived at the time of these ancient seas Restoration bv Williston. Science Conspectus 47 merging into the mammals of the next MELTING POINT OF COPPER succeeding period. It was, however, in ALLOYS the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of As very little information on the melt- the Mesozoic that reptiles attained their ing points of commercial brasses and greatest prosperity and diversity, dwind- bronzes can be found in either scientific ling away at the beginning of the Cenozoic or technical literature, tests of a few to their present unimportant position in typical alloys were made by H. W. the world's fauna, thus closing the Age of Gillett and A. B. Norton of the United of Mines. The results Reptiles at the beginning of the Age of States Bureau Mammals. are summarized as follows: .Much of the marvelous and diverse Approximate Composition Meltii g Point development of ancient reptiles took Alloy place along the shores and in the waters Copper Zinc Tin Lead "Cent °Fahr. of the Cretaceous sea of western North later Mesozoic this America. During the Gun metal 88 2 10 995 1825 sea extended from the Gulf of Mexico on Leaded gun metal 854 2 9i 3 980 1795 Red brass 85 5 5 970 1780 the south to the Arctic Ocean on the Low-grade red brass 82 10 3 980 1795 Leaded bronze 80 10 10 945 1735 north, dividing the continent into two Bronze with zinc 85 10 980 1795 Half-yellow-half-red 75 20 2 3 920 1690 bodies of land. It covered the present Cast yellow brass 67 31 2 895 1645 site of the Rocky Mountains and ex- Naval brass 61§ 37 v. 855 1570 Manganese bronze 870 1600 tended to the east over quite a part of the present Great Plains. Into it slowly The melting point given is the "liqui- fell sediment, of the micro- composed dus, " or point where the alloy is com- scopic shells of animals and plants, and pletely molten. The temperatures are formed masses of almost pure chalk. In thought to be accurate within plus or these sediments were buried and pre- minus 10° C. or plus or minus 20° F. served the remains of the sea life and those of the shore and land, which were CARING FOR INNER TUBES brought in by the rivers. following instructions as to how During the succeeding millions of years The best to care for inner tubes conies from this interior sea dried up and its bottom a rubber manufacturer, who was raised far above the present level of German furnished the information to the dealers the ocean. In these consolidated sedi- in tubes of his manufacture. His advice ments fossil hunters now find the bones of to the best to preserve the tubes the ancient animals buried so long ago in as way is to blow them up to the pressure of an the bottom of the Cretaceous sea. The rubber ball, hang them on one beds of the Niobrara chalk in western ordinary thick, round poles in a darkened Kansas, for example, have furnished or two in which a dish of unslacked lime thousands of specimens, — mosasaurs, room one of an ammonia solution are placed pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, and turtles. and in the corners on the floor. These pre- Perhaps the most marvelous of all keep the air free from destruc- reptiles are those found in the uppermost cautions tive acids retards the process of Cretaceous beds of America, from Colo- and the tubes. rado, Wyoming and Montana, and from vulcanization in near Edmonton in Canada. These were the race of dinosaurs, huge beasts, walking PLANTS IN HIGH ALTITUDES on two feet or aquatic forms of enormous Investigations show that there are at size. Many were furnished with extrava- least eighty-six species of flowering plants gant horns and spines. living above the snow line in the Tyro- The flying reptiles of Cretaceous times lese Alps. Six of these occur over 1,500 had bird-like bills and have been some- feet above the snow line; one species, the times called the kingfishers of the Creta- glacial Ranunculus, was met with at a ceous seas. height of over 12,000 feet above sea level. ULTRA VIOLET LIGHT AND WATER STERILIZATION THE NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF ULTRA- VIOLET LIGHT AND THE METHODS OF PRODUCING IT—HOW IT IS BEING UTILIZED IN WATER PURIFICATION

BY JOHX F. XORTOX

Light consists of electromagnetic for any one kind of light, on the media waves propagated through the ether. used for the experiment. But lights of These waves have a transverse motion different wave lengths are refracted to and a very high frequency. Each kind different degrees,—the shorter the wave of light, that, is each color, has its char- length the greater the refraction. acteristic frequency and wave length. Suppose that white light is passed from For example, in yellow light there may the air into a prism. Each wave will be be 508 billions of vibrations per second refracted according to its own particular and the wave length be 589 ju/x—23.3 millionths of an inch. Light waves giving a violet sensation may vibrate at the rate of 763 biUion times per second

and have a wave length of 393 yUM- Since all kinds of light travel at the same rate the higher the frequency, the shorter must be the wave length. White light is com- posed of a very great variety of waves and is therefore heterogeneous in character. If we take homogeneous light,—that is light consisting of waves of only one length,—and pass it from one medium into another of a different density, as from air into a glass prism, the direction of the path of the beam is changed, or as we call it, refracted. This fact of refrac- tion has been known for a very long time, being a part of the very small optical knowledge before Newton. In about 1621 Snell formulated the law governing- refraction. Figure 1 will serve to illus- trate. Let CBK represent the surface between the two media, and AB the beam of incident light. If EF is drawn perpendicular to CBK and in the plane ABC, the angle i will be the "angle of amount,—the waves giving the sensation incidence." After passing through CBK of red the least and those giving the sensa- the beam is refracted along the line BH, tion of violet the most. The white light r being the "angle of refraction." is thus broken up, or "dispersed," and According to Snell's law sin ?=m sin r. we have the well-known spectrum. This quantity (not to be confused with This spectrum apparently has two the sign h/j. used before), i. e., the ratio fairly sharp ends, but since only certain of the sin of the angle of incidence to the very definite light waves affect our eyes, sin of the angle of refraction, is called these ends are only apparent, and the the index of refraction, and is dependent, visible spectrum is but part of the real Science Conspectus 49 spectrum. The light waves toward the ultraviolet light. The common carbon red end are the longer, the limit of visi- arc lamp gives a better supply, but the bility being about 760 nn. Out beyond most satisfactory and practical method this lie the infra-red or heat waves. At is by means of the mercury-vapor, better the other end of the spectrum the limit known as the Cooper-Hewitt lamp. of visibility is reached at about 371 wj.. Most of us are familiar with this light, But beyond this A-isible A-iolet light is the as it is seen in post offices and to some most interesting field of all, that contain- extent in other offices and drawing rooms. ing the chemical, actinic or ultraviolet The light comes from mercury vapor rays. maintained at incandescence by an elec- This field contains rays having wave tric current. We have stated that the lengths from the end of the visible spec- rays are quite easily absorbed. In the trum to about 120 nn, the shortest which ordinary Cooper-Hewitt lamp, most of have been measured. Ultraviolet light the very short rays are absorbed by the has very great chemical activity. For glass. If the glass is replaced by quartz, example, it has very strong action on the a much larger amount of the very active silver salts used on photographic plates, light passes through and is available for and this has led to the use of photography use. These mercury-vapor-quartz lamps in the study of the invisible violet spec- are therefore the most desirable for trum. The rays will decompose potas- practical purposes. sium iodide, which can be easily shown by One other method of producing ultra- dipping some filter paper in a starch violet light is at least of some scientific solution and then in a potassium iodide interest. If a glass tube is filled with solution. If the paper is then exposed some such gas as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon to ultraviolet hght it turns blue immedi- monoxide or hydrogen, then most of the ately, showing that iodine had been gas removed by a vacuum pump, and iberated. The rays are also active in the end sealed, the tube will contain a causing chemical combination,—a mix- small amount of the gas under a greatly ture of the gases hydrogen and chlorine reduced pressure. If the tube is fitted instantly exploding under their influence, with proper terminals and connections, —and certain organic reactions may be an electric discharge may be passed made to take place much more quickly through the gas causing a luminescence than under ordinary circumstances. The containing the shortest light waves which light causes fluorescence of uranium have ever been studied. These tubes glass and of quinine and the luminescence are called Geissler tubes. The region of of calcium or barium sulphides. Finally, the spectrum containing these very short- ultraviolet light has a very distinct and est waves has been called the "Schumann important effect on living matter, and Region," in honor of Victor Schumann particularly on the lower forms of life, who was the pioneer in its investigation. such as the bacteria. More about this Schumann was born in Leipzig in 1841, later. was educated in the schools of that city One physical property of these rays and of Chemnitz, and was early employed which it is necessary to mention is that in the design and manufacture of machin- of being readily absorbed by any medium ery, in which trade he developed great through which they are passing, the mechanical skill. When about forty shorter rays being more easily absorbed, years old he became intensely interested the actual numerical amount being a in physical science and particularly in function of the medium used. Air ab- photography, finally giving up business sorbs some of the rays, so that the sun- in order to devote his entire attention light as it comes to us contains only part to spectrum analysis and the study of of the known field of ultraviolet light. ultraviolet light. The most important Other gases absorb to greater or smaller instrument used in working with invisible amounts. rays is the photographic plate. Schu- Sunlight is therefore one source of mann developed a very sensitive emul- —

50 Science Conspectus sion for these plates and was able to cannot be sufficiently controlled to insure photograph spectra containing rays as safety to those using the water, it is

short as 120 p.ix, the shortest ever accu- necessary to resort to some artificial rately measured. He obtained the light means of purification. One method is from Geissler tubes, each fitted with a to pass water through beds of sand about window made of fluorite, as this was four feet deep. A slimy mass collects found to absorb less rays than any other on the surface of the sand and strains available material. After an investiga- out the bacteria. This method, known tion concerning the absorption of ultra- as slow sand filtration, is in use for a violet light by gases, and finding that large number of public supplies. The oxygen, one of the constituents of air, filters will deliver from U to 3 million had rather high absorptive power for the gaUons of water per acre each 24 hours. very short rays, Schumann undertook to Another method is to add some chemical, overcome this by means of his "vacuum such as alum, to the water to produce a spectrometer," an instrument similar to flocculent precipitate which acts as a a spectroscope with a photographic plate coagulant for the bacteria and other sus- in place of the eye piece. The whole pended matter. The precipitate is then thing was made so air tight that the tube removed by a layer of sand. This method could be entirely evacuated, thus removing is called "mechanical" or "rapid" filtra- the objectionable oxygen. Photographs tion,—the rates of filtration being very which he obtained of the spectra of gases high, from 100 to 150 million gallons per haA'e never been duplicated in clearness. acre each 24 hours. Rapid filtration is Schumann died something over a year of advantage particularly in handling ago. highly colored or turbid waters. These We have considered briefly the nature, filters are also made in sizes sufficiently properties and methods of production small for use in manufacturing establish- of ultraviolet light. There is still one ments, institutions, hotels, swimming property which has barely been men- pools, etc. For still smaller amounts of tioned and is important as it leads to a water there are a number of so-called practical application of the rays. This filters on the market, some of which may is its action on living bodies, and par- work well when kept in proper order, ticularly on the simplest of organisms but many of which are useless or worse. known as bacteria. You will recall that Besides filtration, danger from disease bacteria consist of single cells of micro- may be removed by adding to the water scopic size,—approximately 1/25,000 of some substance which will kill the harm- an inch long; that they occur in three ful bacteria. Fortunately, typhoid ba- forms,—cocci or spheres, bacilli or rods, cilli are less resistant to disinfectants and spirilla or spirals; that they repro- than many of the harmless organisms duce by simple cell division; and that for and so are among the first to be attacked. the most part they are not only harmless Now, caution must be exercised in the but quite necessary for present life. A choice of a substance to be added to a few, however, are the cause of at least drinking water, as it is obvious that some of man's ailments. Typhoid fever poisonous material or anything giving is one of the diseases for which bacteria a taste must be absolutely avoided. The are responsible. Typhoid is an intestinal most common chemicals in use for ster- trouble and the organisms leave the ilizing water ai- e compounds of chlorine, patient in the discharges. If this mate- sodium or calcium hypochlorites,—the rial gets on any food or into milk or latter going under the name of "chloride water and is swallowed by another person, of lime "or "bleaching powder." Chlo- typhoid may result. rine gas itself has recently been put into In order to prevent the spread of this some use, as reasonably good methods disease and of other intestinal troubles of handling it have been developed. by means of drinking water, great care These substances are all good disinfect- has to be taken. If the source of supply ants, are not poisonous in the quantities Science Conspectus 51

which it is necessary to use, and should Frenchman who has made quite a com- not leave any disagreeable taste in the prehensive study of the subject, believes water. So far, bleaching powder has that the rays act on the walls of the proved the cheapest and easiest for bacterial cell to produce poisonous prod- general use. ucts which then diffuse into the proto- A more recent development has been plasm. in the application of ozone. Ozonized It is only about eight years since the air is made to pass through and mix with first important work was done on the the water and the ozone coming in con- practical application of ultraviolet light tact with bacteria is supposed to kill them. for water sterilization, but some very This is not the place for a discussion of important improvements have been made the merits of this svstem. since that time. The first problem is the production of the rays. This is done by the use of the quartz-mercury-vapor lamp, and an electric current. Figure 2 represents one of these lamps, the black area being the mercury. In starting, the lamp is tipped so that the mercury makes contact with the two terminals and the current passes. This immediately vola- tilizes a little mercury. The lamp is then put back into place and the mercury vapor carries the current, giving a strong- light, so strong that it is dangerous for the eyes, and can cause a violent sunburn on the skin. Figure 2 The second problem is to get the rays in contact with the bacteria in the water. A still more recent method is the use Clear colorless water will allow the light of the ultraviolet rays about which we to penetrate about one foot, but if either have been talking. It has been known color or suspended matter is present the for a long time that sunlight has an distance is much reduced. It is therefore injurious effect on the growth of bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Indeed, this is a matter of common knowledge to the housekeeper. The rays which have the germicidal action are those at the violet end of the spectrum, and ultraviolet light is particularly active, — the shorter the ray the greater its activity. The light practically available is limited by the absorptive power of the mate- rial used in making the lamp. There is certainly no doubt that large numbers of bacteria can be instantly killed if prop- Figure 3 erly exposed to ultraviolet light. The action is probably purely necessary to have the water exposed to photochemical, and does not take place the light in thin layers, as well as to have it through the intermediate formation of as clear and colorless as is possible. On ozone or other disinfectant. Henri, a this account it is often wise to filter a 5^2 Science Conspectus

water before treating it with ultraviolet THE UNSOLVED MYSTERY OF rays. The light would then act as a MY THE STOMACH DOES precautionary measure by sterilizing after NOT DIGEST ITSELF the majority of the bacteria had been removed. This will render the water It has often been questioned why the doubly safe. stomach does not digest itself. Proteids There are a number of machines on the in the shape of tissues of other animals market for ultraviolet sterilization, the rapidily dissolve when introduced into style depending on the amount of water the gastric juice but the stomach tissue to be treated,—whether it is to be used itself is never attacked by its own gastric for a small family, a hotel or factory, a juice. Among the various reasons that swimming pool, or a public supply. Fig- have been suggested are the protective ure 3 shows a so-called pistol lamp which influence of the mucous secreted along the is used particularly for large supplies. digestive canal, and the existence of anti- enzymes, which counteract the activity Water Line., of the digestive juices. Neither of these theories has, however, been accepted as capable of explaining the complete and continued immunity of the digestive tract to digestion. It cannot even be asserted that it is simply because these

tissues are alive ' that they are thus protected since the living mucous membrane of the urinary bladder, for example, is dissolved by the pancreatic or gastric juice of an animal of the same species. Even the living mucous mem- brane of the intestine is appar- ently digested by the gastric juice of the animal to which it belongs if food is not introduced at the same time. The protection of living tissues to digestive fluids is thus limited. On the other hand, however, some aquatic forms of life, such

Figure -1 as protozoons, worms, crustaceans and insects have been kept alive at times for a Figure 4 shows how this lamp is placed month, in a solution of trypsin that would in a canal with a baffle plate in front of quickly have dissolved a mass of dead pro- it so that all the water passing through tein. must come in close proximity to the So a correspondent to the Journal of light. If a number of these are placed the American Medical Association for in succession in a canal, even the most July 18, 1914, concludes that the continued hardy bacteria have small chance of immunity of the mucous membrane of the coming through alive. stomach to an active gastric secretion and The only practical drawback to the of the intestinal mucous membrane to use of ultraviolet light for water steriliza- pancreatic juice still remains a mystery. tion is that of expense. However, where Some unknown protective power of adap- cheap electricity is available, or where tation under certain circumstances must it is obvious that expending a little money be admitted as one of the innumerable will bring a large amount of safety, it is factors of evolution of which we are still certain that the method ought to find ignorant. an important field of sen-ice. h. w. s. A NEW PUBLIC HEALTH WORK THE VITAL NECESSITY OF MOUTH SANITA- TION TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY INFECTION AND RAISE THE GENERAL HEALTH LEVEL

BY WILLIAM R. WOODBURY

One wonders that it has taken so long us take five minutes every morning and a time to give to the most necessary and every night out of the crowded hours of useful part of the human body the recog- our daily life to practice this care? nition due it. For only recently have There is a wide discrepancy between the mouth and teeth begun to receive knowledge and application; and in this proper care and attention. Little thought means of conserving health a great public has been given to safeguarding the gate- need awaits being met. Good earning way to the body—the only entrance capacity demands a sound body and through which nourishment comes, and strong health. Poor condition costs the ready, open and exposed entrance money; it blocks growth and develop- and seat of infection which makes dis- ment; it whittles away the uncertain ease. health which always goes with poor There is hardly a body ailment which physical condition; it invites sickness and does not find entrance through neglect disease; it spoils usefulness and enjoy- of this gateway. Even the lungs are ment. It is a constant menace to others; made to suffer through the common habit and it imposes a burdensome tax upon the of mouth-breathing—an unnecessary and community. It adds to the cost of living. harmful practice which lets into the We live in an age of sanitary conscien- breathing organs air not properly warmed tiousness, and in fact, as well as from and cleaned. the point of common decency, no one The burden borne by the neglect of the has a right to subject his neighbor to mouth falls heavily, soon or late, upon the danger of infection, any more than nearly every member of the community. he may do him physical violence. No family investment saves or earns more These facts make the care of the mouth in health and capital than the money spent a matter which is of vital concern to for prompt and thorough care of the community health. Through careless- mouth and teeth. One thorough mouth ness and neglect on the part of the indi- cleaning for one boy or girl with several vidual it has become a part of public- teeth in an offensive and insanitary con- health work to spread widely knowledge dition costs more than the preventive which will help prevent and control The care of all the teeth of an entire family People's Disease. This growing work for ten years. keeps before the public constantly the So common have decayed and diseased opportunity to learn and to practice the teeth and crippled mouths become that control of one of the most common this condition is recognized as The Peo- causes of sickness and economic waste; ple's Disease. It is rare to find a man, and to help advance towards solving the woman, or child who has not become its complex problem of the prevention of victim. disease. We have all been told more than once Closest attention must be given to the of the daily care needed to keep the mouth prompt care of children's teeth. From clean; and that it is a means of protection the small and seemingly insignificant against disease and expense which the beginnings of early tooth-rot—conditions individual can control, and for which he which too often escape early discovery alone is responsible. But how many of and attention—much of the sickness in 54 Science Conspectus childhood comes. In the prevention of child becomes a public charge which in- sickness it is just as important to control creases the tax upon the community the minor ailments as the major ones. purse to carry it through its school years, The smaller ones hit us so much oftener. to develop not infrequently into a defec- Active and continuous minor attacks of tive and inefficient man or woman. Most illness finally open up the breach through of the problems of school hygiene are which general disease enters, and demol- those imposed upon the community by ishes the body's resistance. the poor physical condition which the Malnutrition, with its many damaging child brings when it begins its school work. results, begins with the incomplete chewing Another burden which taxes the com- of food. The first muscles which the munity is that children with neglected new-born baby uses are the chewing and crippled mouths are ready victims muscles. When the baby nurses these of the infectious diseases—diphtheria, muscles work vigorously; and the in- scarlet fever, and measles. They invite creased flow of blood maintained by their these diseases; and their foul, neglected use brings to every part of the head and to mouths are breeding places and carriers of the brain the full supply of blood needed the active agents of infection. They are for their normal and progressive growth a constant menace to the health of all and development. Long before the baby their schoolmates, and wherever they go. can use its arms or legs, or even hold up its Children play very close together, and head, the chewing muscles are well-devel- they have a habit of putting everything oped and doing active work. The con- in the mouth. stant use of the chewing muscles helps de- Mouth conditions are of the greatest velop a well-formed and symmetrical practical importance in tuberculosis. In face and head. These muscles assist in the prevention and control of tubercu- developing and strengthening the teeth; losis the largest and surest benefits come and when the teeth come, and with them from good sanitary conditions ; and mouth the demand for solid foods, the child is sanitation is of vital significance. A ready to manage and use those foods com- neglected mouth and decayed hollow pletely. teeth are important factors in spreading The chewing and the grinding strength this disease. of the jaws and mouth is a nicely adjusted Nearly every kind of bacteria at some mechanical force. In the full-grown time finds entrance and takes refuge in adult a crushing and grinding strength of the human mouth. Pneumococci, the in- -250 pounds is demanded to carry on fection which causes pneumonia, can be properly the first stage of the process of found quite generally in the mouth. orderly digestion. Well-fitted artificial Though always a menace, but not danger- teeth—the best that the most skillful ously aggressive until, through a greatly mechanician can make—are a poor sub- reduced vitality and depleted physical stitute. Their biting strength is but "25 condition, an ineffective resistance is pounds; and as grinders they are ineffi- reached, the danger is ever present in a cient tools. neglected mouth. The teeth are the hardest organs in the In his account of a visit to the American human body, and the most durable when Ambulance Corps in Paris, Peter Mc- given reasonable care. In their structure Queen describes two or three remarkable and material they are harder than the things which he saw and heard: "In the bone substance and structure. Every first place, the Americans begin their one of the permanent teeth is built to last work of healing by having the free services through all the years of life. There is of the best American dentists in France not one tooth too many; and the work of two whole days a week. Every patient them all is demanded all the time. has his teeth looked after. They found Never should a child be sent to that the English have the worst teeth school whose mouth and teeth cause poor and the Arabs have the best. They condition or disgust. Such a defective found rnanv men suffered more from their Science Conspectus 55 teeth than from their wounds. Inflamed liquids, he invites sickness, disease, and gums were very common among the premature death. French and English. The Moroccans and A whole clean mouth helps make a Algerians have almost perfect teeth. By healthy body; it helps make and keep attending to the teeth, the American useful health; it prevents infection and doctors cure the wounded ten days faster disease from disorganizing the functions than any other corps now working either and work of every organ in the human with the Germans or the Allies." body; and it prolongs life. A neglected Of all our diseases cancer, to-day, has mouth and poor nutrition makes defective, the largest mortality from among those inefficient, and diseased children, women, who have reached adulthood. Of those and men. who have attained the age of forty, one in From every quarter, near and remote, eleven dies, and death comes at the time comes a plain call for active public health when the individual is in the height of work everywhere for prompt and constant usefulness and activity in the home and care of the mouth. Individual and com- community. Death from cancer seems munity efficiency and economy demand to be increasing. The chief facts known checking the present and generally waste- about this disease are that it begins as a ful expenditure of health and human life; definitely localized disease in some point and of eliminating, so far as is possible, of irritation, and, if neglected, spreads every factor which works for crippled to other parts of the body. Irritation due health, quickly spent lives, and needless to a diseased, sharp tooth, and persistent sacrifices and suffering. Such work is indigestion provoke cancer. A crippled well worth while. mouth and diseased teeth, and care- With this work wisely planned and with less incomplete chewing are highly im- its foundations well laid there needs to portant factors in maintaining persistent be fullest scope and broad and mtural indigestion. ways for increasing its certain benefits. Here, again, public education in the Facts seen on every hand—and in so prompt care of the mouth and teeth ma ny mouths—facts which so many of us needs to be urged. It is an undeniable know from our own personal experien- factor in helping prevent the worst re- ces, point the necessity for this work. maining disease. The lessons told by neglect of the gate- Ninety-five out of every one hundred way of the human body stand out clearer adults have receding gums—Rigg's Dis- to-day than even only a few years back. ease; and too often the unhealthy condi- More and more they are beginning to tion is permitted to develop into active take firmer hold upon us. To attempt sources of infection which poison the to get through life without taking just whole body. The abscesses which may account of these facts and lessons hastens develop about the teeth-sockets in the physical disaster and untimely dislocation gums lead to the loosening and loss of the of the affairs of life. Both the fixed and teeth one by one. When this condition quick capital which every man and every has fully developed, attempts to save the woman needs are consumed much too teeth are ineffectual—it is too late. quickly and wasted. It is good business The absorption of infection from —it is practical, wise economy to reduce around diseased teeth mav so damage to the minimum the outlay in money and the heart as to cause leaky valves. time for repairs and upkeep of every part Rheumatism can develop from the often- of the body. times unsuspected abscesses concealed Nutrition—the first factor in main- in the mouth. taining life—comes from the food which Man has twenty teeth with which to enters the body. The fullest benefit and grind his food. If he does not do the a large part of the enjoyment from our necessary grinding throughout his entire food comes from chewing. When the life, and swallows his food in chunks, work of the mouth can not be done washing it down into his stomach with properly an added and overburdening 56 Science Conspectus

THE SOCIETY OF AETS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Society of Arts was established as a department of the Institute by President Rogers in 1861. It is especially devoted to the general dissemination of scientific knowledge, and it aims to awaken and maintain an interest in the recent advances and practical application of the sciences. Any person interested in the aims of the Society is eligible to membership. The annual dues are $3.

Richahd C. Maclatjrin, President of the Institute Isaac W. Litchfield, Secretary of the Society of Arts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The President James P. Munroe Arthur D. Little Elihu Thomson Theodore N. Vail Frederic H. Fay The Secretary BOARD OF PUBLICATION Hervet W. Shimer Edward A. Ingham Ellwood B. Spear Selskar M. Gonn Jerome C. Hunsaker I. W. Litchfield, Editor

Five numbers of Science Conspectus are published during the year.

weight of work is piled upon all the other- for the timely repair of defects and be- organs—work which none of them can do. ginning damage. This noble institution, When the gateway is kept whole and and those of its kind which are to come, clean, and every part of the mouth and enables children to establish and maintain all the teeth do their full work, nutrition the upkeep of sound body health; helps begins right; a damaging tax does not them learn to practice that care which fall anywhere. diminishes sickness; saves their health, Safeguarding the mouth and giving this time, and money; adds to their capacity body gateway early, prompt, and con- for living; and prolongs useful lives. stant preventive protection is worthy of our best efforts; the work is far-reaching. SOFTENING RUST Broadly speaking, and by the letter, too, every undertaking which works towards the A recent issue of the Brass World benefit and upbuilding of the human body contained a simple method for removing of this generation and of the next and follow- rust. It consists in dipping the articles ing generations of men and women holds first into a strong hot potash bath for an important place in public health work. about half an hour, and then immersing Nowhere is there an institution which in a cold muriatic acid pickling solu- is doing more and better work, and out tion, composed of two parts of water of which more thorough and more far- to one of acid. This removed the rust reaching good can grow in so many in a few minutes, leaving the metal directions, than is being done by the new apparently attacked but very little. The Forsythe Dental Infirmary for Children, previous soaking in the strong hot potash .of Boston. The first institution of its solution is responsible for this rapid particular kind for promoting public pickling, as a test proved, for without health, it stands out as the pioneer in a the previous dipping, sixty-five minutes new field of health work—a field in which was required by the acid bath, against much patient work is waiting to be done. four minutes when previously treated in Dedicated and devoted wholly to the potash bath. x\pparently a chemi- children under sixteen years of age, it cal reaction is set up, changing the offers to thousands of the rising genera- character of the rust, softening it and tion of men and women opportunities making it readily soluble. The pieces which their parents cannot buy for them. that have been treated in the potash bath It gives them the opportunity they need have a smooth and glossy finish. Science Conspectus

Vol. V 1915 No. 3

PRESENT STATUS OF SUBMARINE BOATS A DISCUSSION OF THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF UNDER-WATER WAR CRAFT, THEIR AR- MAMENT, MANEUVERING, LIMITATIONS AND MILITARY VALUE

BY WILLIAM HOVGAARD

Submarine boats occur in two varieties, may be vligK.t.ly built, but will yet in "Submersibles" and "Submarines." Al- some measure protect the inner hull though the line between the two types against damage by collision. The is not always easy to draw, each of them ballast and oil tanks may, with a rela- in its pure form possesses certain charac- tively small addition in hull weight, be teristic features which it is of importance made very large, whence a great reserve to understand. buoyancy and great radius of action can be secured. In a submarine the SUBMERSIBLES AND SUBMARINES tanks are chiefly inside the strength- A "submersible" may be defined as hull and cannot, therefore, be very a submarine boat in which predominant large without unduly increasing the di- importance is given to the requirements ameter of the hull and hence its of service in the surface condition, while tendency to collapse. a "submarine" is designed more particu- Speaking broadly the submersible has larly with regard to the submerged better seagoing qualities, and higher condition. Hence the submersible is speed on the surface than the submarine, given a ship-shaped external form, but the form is not so favorable for while the submarine is more nearly driving under water. Most early boats cigar- or spindle-shaped with circular were submarines. It was natural that sections. The ship-shaped form of the inventors, especially those not acquainted submersible is, however, attained with- with the requirements of naval service, out abandoning the advantage of the should direct their efforts especially to circular section which is maintained navigation under water and that they throughout an inner spindle-shaped should underestimate the importance "strength-hull," being the form best of qualities required for work on the adapted to resist the pressures of the surface. At present the general trend water. Between the inner and the outer of the development is toward the sub- shell are water-ballast tanks and oil mersible type. Of recent years, there- tanks, whence the strength-hull may be fore, the submarine, where it is still of small diameter well suited to resist retained, has been made to approach the great pressures without going to ex- submersible more and more by enlarg- cessive scantlings. The outer hull, ing the superstructure and giving it a more not being exposed to great pressures, ship-shaped form. In English subma- 58 Science Conspectus

U. S. Submarine Kl, Holland type (Electric Boat Company' rines side structures have been added. submerged condition but small or mod- The reserve buoyancy in the early erate stiffness on the surface. The submarines was only about 5 per cent, Laurenti type, where the ballast tanks of the light displacement but has been are partly below the strength-hull, gradually increased to about 18 or 20 partly above or, at least, very high, per cent. In submersibles, on the other are intermediate between the Germania hand, the reserve buoyancy has been and the Holland type in this respect. reduced from about 72 per cent, in the In order to obtain sufficient stability first boat of this type, the French Narval, in the submerged condition submersibles to about 35 per cent, or less in recent must generally carry a considerable boats. amount of keel-ballast. This of course The submersible, as, for instance, is a drawback, but also most submarines the Ger mania type, has a relatively high carry some ballast. Part of the ballast center of gravity and hence small stiffness is generally detachable, often referred to in submerged condition on account of as a "safety keel," to be let go in case of the high position of the tank structures, emergency. In passing from the light while in the surface condition the stiffness to the submerged condition and vice is in some cases excessively great due to versa a point will exist where the stability the large area of the waterline. The sub- is a minimun, being reduced by the marine, exemplified by the Holland presence of free water in the tanks. The boats, has a low center of gravity on designer must, therefore, carefully deter- account of the low-lying water tanks mine the conditions of stability in all in- and therefore great stiffness in the termediate positions in order to satisfy Science Conspectus 59

U. S. Submersible Seal, Lake type himself that a proper metacentric height is It is therefore necessary to assign a always maintained. If the stability limit to the head which a boat is required vanishes at any point the boat may heel to resist. Generally there will be no over to a considerable angle before equilib- object in going deeper than required to brium is restored or may even capsize. clear the bottom of vessels on the surface, that is, to a depth of about 75 feet, but STRENGTH CONSTRUCTION OF HULL AND accidentally boats may descend involun- The hull of a submerged vessel is tarily to greater depths. Usually the exposed to an external water pressure head to which boats are tested is about which is directly proportional to the depth 150 feet, in the United States Navy it of immersion. Already at a depth of is 200 feet. A certain margin of safety 200 feet the pressure is about 100 pounds is, of course, applied in the construction, per square inch, and since the depth of but if a boat goes much beyond its test water in the ocean is generally more depth it is liable to collapse. In most than 10,000 feet, boats cannot be con- boats the strength-hull is made of structed to withstand the pressures at circular section as stated above. all depths which they may encounter. The Whitehead boats and other boats

Danish Submarine Havmanden, Holland type (Whitehead) 60 Science Conspectus

Greek Submersible Delphin, Laubeuf type of the Holland type have internal frames. effect great changes in depth either by As seen from the midship section of pumping water in or out of the boat, or the Danish submarine Havmanden, the by means of horizontal propellers, or Whitehead boats in some cases have by so-called "hydroplanes." The last oval sections even amidships, because method appears to be that which is this form is convenient for operating in mostly used in submersibles. Hydro- shallow water. Some boats, such as planes are similar to rudders, sometimes those of the Germania type have no fitted amidships abreast of the center frames. Boats of the Lawenti type of gravity of the boat, sometimes placed appear to use the frame-work between forward and turned the same way as the inner and outer hull as a means the aft rudders. In all cases the object of stiffening the strength hull. is to produce an upwards or downwards force driving the boat up or down parallel STEERING AND NAVIGATION with itself. This method is generally Steering in a horizontal direction considered safer than the "porpoising" takes place as in ordinary vessels, but used in the Holland boats. Once the steering in the vertical plane has caused desired depth is attained, it is preserved many difficulties to early inventors. by means of the horizontal rudder in the As late as 1901 a German authority, same way as when steering a course on Professor Busley, deprecated the value the surface, but with this difference that of submarine boats on that ground. even small deviations from the given Mr. Holland introduced diving and course line (depth) are not here per- emerging by inclining the boat at con- missible. For guidance in steering a siderable angles, while most other in- depth gauge and a clinometer are used. ventors preferred to keep the boat as Steering in the vertical plane requires nearly as possible on an even keel and to considerable skill and experience.

a Trimming Tank e Main Ballast Pump i Commanding Officer b Torpedo Tank / Air Compressor k Officers c Water Ballast g Cupboard ? Petty Officers d Oil h Water Closet

Submersible of Germania type Science Conspectus 61

Internal View of Submersible Kobben, Germania type

In order to navigate, the submarine rately determining the direction inde- boat must be provided with a reliable pendent of magnetism. The faculty compass and, even when submerged, a of vision when the boat is submerged, as view of the horizon must be obtainable at it must be when making an attack, consti- any time. ordinary An magnetic com- tutes one of the most important and diffi- pass is not quite reliable even when cult problems connected with submarine placed in a conning-tower of bronze, boats. The water is practically opaque but recently the advent of the gyro- and it was therefore necessary in early compass has provided a means of accu- boats, when going under water, to emerge 62 Science Conspectus

Italian Submersible Foca, Laurenti type from time to time so as to obtain a view lenses were introduced, and during the from the conning-tower, but evidently nineties several improvements were this mode of navigation was anything made, but not till about ten years ago was any serious progress made. Then, in a few years the optical tube or "periscope," as it is now usually called, was developed to a high degree of perfection, enabling the submarine boat to perform attacks without showing anything but the top of the periscope occasionally above water, at the same time obtaining a perfect view of the enemy. The improvements comprise a larger field of vision spanning an arc of more than 50°, as large or greater than that of the human eye, convenience of observation, and the addition of means for measuring distances and indicating directions. The magnification of the

Midship Section, Germania type but safe since the presence of the boat was thus revealed to the enemy. xUready in the eighties and nineties optical tubes were introduced of simple construction, invented by Marie Davy in 1854 and gradually perfected. In its simplest form the optical tube had a mirror at each end inclined at 45° to the axis. The tube, being fitted watertight in the top of the boat, projected a few feet above water when the boat was im- mersed and thus a view of the horizon might be obtained, but the arc of vision was at first only one or two degrees, and the image was very imperfect. The mirrors were replaced by prisms, Midship Section of Havmanden, Holland type Science Conspectus 63

object is only about 1.5, which is found it is necessary to admit or to discharge to give to the observer the same impres- water. Main tanks of great capacity sion as when using the naked eye. By must therefore be fitted, provided with using the utmost refinements of optical large sea-valves and powerful pumps. art and science a perfect image of un- The water may if desired be forced out of the tanks by compressed air. The time occupied in passing from the sur- face to the submerged condition should not be more than about from four to five minutes. This, of course, is a point of great military importance. When a boat is completely submerged the main tanks are always entirely filled, and its weight is generally so adjusted that it falls a little below the buoyancy, leaving a tendency for the boat to rise to the surface. This tendency is over- come dynamically when the boat is in motion either by a slight inclination of the axis or by hydroplanes. The fine adjustment of the buoyancy takes place by means of a central auxiliary tank of moderate capacity used to compensate Midship Section, Laurenti type for incidental disturbing causes, such as surpassed clearness and distinction is variation in the specific gravity of the obtained. Mechanical power is employed sea-water or consumption of stores. for handling the tube, enabling it to be Smaller tanks near the ends of the boat pushed up and down readily and quickly permit an adjustment of the trim. and to be turned round its axis. The Special tanks are fitted for compensating length of modern tubes is up to 25 feet for such definite changes in weight as with a diameter of about 6 inches. when a torpedo is fired and another The head of the tube projects from 10 to inserted in the tube. In some boats 20 feet above the hull. Difficulties a so-called "floating-tank" is fitted, still exist due to which serves to the vibration of compensate au- the periscopes tomatically for and spray on the incidental varia- front glass, but tions in buoy- they are of sec- ancy occurring ondary import- while the boat is ance. Instru- under way; it is ments have been connected with a constructed by Diesel Engine, Germania type, 900 H. P., 450 rev. per min. continuously act- which an all- ing pump which round view of the horizon can be obtained is worked in conjunction with the without turning the tube, but have not horizontal rudders. A considerable proved quite satisfactory. The perfection amount of buoyancy can be obtained of the periscope was the last link in the almost instantaneously by the release chain of inventions and improvements of a safety-keel consisting of detachable that were needed to endow the sub- blocks of lead ballast which are let go in marine boat with positive military value. case of emergency. The superstructure which is above VARIATIONS IN BUOYANCY water in the light condition is self- In order to go from the light to the bailing. In some boats it is built submerged condition and vice versa entirely and permanently open, serving 64 Science Conspectus

Boat with Soda-Boiler, d'Equevilley type only to provide a raised platform, but from the engine. Also the men consume in most boats it is a watertight structure oxygen and produce carbonic acid, provided with large and numerous valves and when charging the batteries free that can be readily hydrogen is liable to be liberated, forming closed when the with the air in the boat an explosive boat is in light con- mixture and carrying with it particles of dition whereupon sulphuric acid. Where the fuel is gaso- the superstructure line or other volatile oil, it will evaporate will add to the re- at a low temperature and is liable to serve buoyancy and leak out into the boat; it is poisonous the stability. and capable of forming an explosive mix- ture with the air. For these reasons, VENTILATION AND it is necessary to provide a very vigorous HABITABILITY ventilation when going on the surface. Space is always In the submerged condition, the problem restricted in a sub- would appear to be even more difficult marine boat. When because the available air is gradually going on the surface vitiated, but it is found that with proper the motor gives off precautions the crew can live for twelve much heat and hours or more without any sort of air requires a great renewal or means of purification. This amount of air for its is due to the constant leakage which combustion. It is b takes place from the compressed air unavoidable that Section of Periscope system, a leakage which can never be some of the prod- entirely prevented. If desired, the ucts of combustion, carbon mon- carbonic acid which gradually accumu- oxide and carbonic acid. leak out lates due to exhalation may be removed

Longitudinal Section of 18-inch Mark II. 5 Metre Whitehead Torpedo Speed, 30 knots at 1,000 yards, 24 knots at 1,500 yards Science Conspectus 65

Explosion of a Mine

by chemical means or the foul air may be these little animals are very sensitive. pumped out. Fresh air can be supplied White mice breathe much more vigorously as desired from the compressed air than human beings and will absorb carbon reservoirs or pure oxygen may be added. monoxide about twenty times as rapidly as There is, however, rarely occasion for man. Hence, long before man feels any resorting to such means except in case of discomfort, the mice will show symptoms serious accident. A greater difficulty is of distress. When this occurs and, especi- the escape of gasoline and poisonous fumes ally when the mice become asphyxiated, it from the motor as well as from the battery. is necessary to ascend to the surface and to There is no convenient test for carbon renew the air in the boat. monoxide suitable for use in submarine Life on board a submarine boat is very boats, whence it has been necessary to use fatiguing and for this reason the time in white mice for indicating the presence of which a boat can stay away from its base this poisonous gas to the effects of which is verv limited. The crew has to be 66 Science Conspectus changed at frequent intervals or it must cient power. Units of from 1,300 to 1,500 be given time to recuperate, a fact which H.P. with a power per cylinder up to in many cases may limit the practical en- about 200 H.P. are under construction durance of the submarine boat more than and there are usually two and in some the supply of fuel. Under war conditions boats three propellers. Many difficul- the crew of a submarine boat ought ties are met with and failures have probably to be relieved after a few weeks' occurred, whence steam power has been service, depending of course on the preferred in some boats as for instance size and design of the boat and on the in the French submersibles Gustave Zede climatic and military conditions. and Nereide of 1,000 tons displacement, which are to make 20 knots. Steam PROPULSIVE MACHINERY machinery has the advantages of relia- For propulsion on the surface the bility and durability, but it occupies gasoline motor was the first really more space and it is difficult to get rid successful engine. It was light, occupied of the heat. The radius of action ob- small space as compared with the steam tainable with steam power on a given machinery and the combustion of fuel oil supply of fuel is much smaller than with was not more than about one-half pound Diesel motors. The weight of Diesel per H. P. hour as against at least V/2 engines as fitted in submarine boats pound per H. P. hour for steam machin- is about 65 pounds per H.P. as compared ery. For small boats, of a displacement of with about 50 pounds per H. P. for gaso- from 100 to 300 tons, where weight and line engines and from 50 to 60 pounds per space were very restricted, the gasoline I.H.P. for steam machinery inclusive of engine offered the best solution, but the auxiliaries, propellers, and shafts. The dangers from this volatile oil soon made it Diesel engine is being steadily improved necessary to introduce heavy-oil motors, and will no doubt be successfully adapted although they were in several respects for larger powers in the submarine vessels inferior to the gasoline motors. While of the future, but as the size and power the latter are easy to start, special means increase, the relative advantages of steam are required for starting the former, machinery will become more pronounced. and the consumption of fuel in heavy-oil For underwater propulsion, electric motors such as those of the Koerting power derived from a storage battery type was about twice as great as in the of lead accumulators still offers the best gasoline motors. The last step in the de- solution. Since the first appearance of velopment was the introduction of the these cells they have been improved upon Diesel engine which likewise burns heavy in many technical details, and are now oil. Although in itself rather heavy, reliable and durable. They will stand it has a consumption of fuel somewhat complete charging and discharging more less than that of the gasoline engine, than 400 times and may be expected and this is its principal advantage. to last about five or six years under The nominal radius of action of recent ordinary service conditions in peace boats of the largest size, driven by Diesel time, provided they are carefully handled. motors, is given as about 3,000 miles. The The weight per H.P. -hour including speed on the surface has attained 16 knots outfit is by discharge in 3% hours about in several boats and the designed speed in 80 pounds, practically the same as in the some boats now under construction is 18 early accumulators. Lead cells permit or 20 knots. great variations in power and are at The Diesel engine, then, is the motor their best at low rates of discharge, which today finds most favor in sub- a most valuable quality for submerged marine boats, but with the increasing work. They can be stowed low in the size of boats and the claims to higher boat and add thus considerably to the speed it becomes increasingly difficult stability. They occupy about .4 cubic to produce motors of this type of suffi- feet per H.P.-hour, i. e., less than any Science Conspectus 67

Damage to Russian Cruiser Pallada by Torpedo Explosion other source of energy at present availa- The electro-motors including switch- ble for this purpose. boards and leads weigh about 80 pounds Attempts have been made to intro- per H.P. The excessive weight of the duce accumulators of different type, the plant for underwater propulsion is the most promising of which are the Edison more unfortunate, since the weight avail- alcalic iron-nickel cells which have now able for propulsion is already very small as come into serious competition with the compared with that in ordinary torpedo- lead cells and are to be tested in prac- boats. The reason for this is that the hull tical service on board some of the United weight is relatively great, occupying about States submarine boats. Before the re- 10 per cent, more of the total displacement sult of this experiment is known, it is than in a torpedo-boat. Only about 40 per difficult to judge of the relative merits cent, of the displacement of a submarine of the two types. It seems certain, how- boat can be devoted to machinery and ever, that the Edison cells are more dur- fuel as against about 50 per cent, in able but more costly than the lead cells. a torpedo-boat. Moreover, the plant The total accumulated energy by stor- for underwater propulsion comes as an age batteries is necessarily small and rarely extra addition and is practically a dead allows more than a speed of about 10 weight when the boat is going on the knots for 3 or i hours. Recently boats surface. It is evident, therefore, that have been designed for 11 or 12 knots. submarine boats can never compete The radius of action at maximum speed with ordinary torpedo-boats in point of of large boats is about 30 or 40 miles, speed. but at reduced speed a radius of about Great efforts are being made to devise 100 miles is claimed for some boats. a type of machinery that can be used both 68 Science Conspectus on the surface and submerged and espe- more promising than other power plants cially one by which the propulsion under so far proposed for this purpose. water does not entail any extra weight, ARMAMENT but no satisfactory solution has yet been obtained. Any process based on The principal armament of submarine combustion involves the storage of boats is the Whitehead torpedo. Recent English boats are said to carry six 21-inch atmospheric air or oxygen, but a storage tubes and French boats of the latest type of these gases in sufficient quantities for eight tubes. Modern large boats are underwater propulsion requires excessive equipped with an armament of light guns weight and space. The discharge of in disappearing mountings. English boats products of combustion is liable to the carry two 3-inch or 4-inch guns so mounted of reveal the presence the boat. that they can be used against air-craft as M. d'Equevilley has proposed a solu- well as against other vessels. When not tion which is being tried in the French in use the guns and mounts are housed submersible Charles Brun and probably in the superstructure. also in a German boat. He uses an Attempts have been made to design ordinary boiler with oil fuel and a steam mine-laying submarine boats, a problem engine on the surface, but when the which is evidently of considerable inter- boat dives under water the exhaust steam est. As far as known, Russia was the only is led to a concentrated lye of sodic power that, prior to the war, had built a hydrate which absorbs the steam under boat for this purpose, viz., the Krab, de- strong evolution of heat and thus serves signed for dropping mines when in surface as fuel in a secondary "soda boiler." condition. It appears that the Germans This process goes on till the lye is satu- are now following the example of Russia. rated. When the boat comes to the sur- A boat so designed that mines could be face and steam is available from the dropped when in the submerged condition primary boiler, the soda lye may again be would be of greater value, but there are concentrated by evaporation of the water technical difficulties in releasing mines un- which it has absorbed, and the boat is der water, in compensating for their weight ready for another submerged run. This and in determining their exact location. plan offers the advantages that there These difficulties have apparently not yet is no change of propelling motor, the been overcome. same engine being used under water as SIGNALLING on the surface, and there are no products of combustion. The machinery can be The faculty of communicating with forced without difficulty and relative y other vessels whether on the surface or high power attained both in light and submerged is one of great military submerged condition. No electric motor importance for the submarine boat. is needed. On the other hand, the For service on the surface wireless telegra- system requires the addition of special phy has been successfully used for several soda-boilers and a hot water reservoir; years, but for submerged service it is the plant occupies so much space that only quite recently that means of signal- the available weight cannot be fully ling have been devised which promise utilized; the center of gravity of the good results. It was at first, when the machinery is high and requires extra submarine bell was invented, attempted ballast to be carried; the radius of action to use it for signalling, but it was found on the surface is necessarily smaller than that it was not well adapted for sending with an explosion motor; there is likely messages by the Morse system. No prac- to be a strong corrosion of the boiler due ticable solution was discovered till an to the soda, and isolation for heat will Austro-Hungarian physicist, Mr. H. C. probably cause difficulties. The soda- Berger, showed the way by his experi- boiler installation appears, nevertheless, ments undertaken in the Danube at Buda- Science Conspectus 69

DISAPPEARING GUN FOR SUBMARINE - BOATS.

CONhTRUCTKU K\ MKSSR.S. I K1KI. KRU1T .' • ... KSSKN IU1IK.

pest on the transmission of vibrations United States submarine boats in 1911 through water. A wire of two inches in and readable signals were transmitted diameter was set into longitudinal vibra- over a range of two miles. Still better tions by the friction of a hand-driven silk- results were obtained with steel ribbons wheel moistened with alcohol whereby a and power driven exciters, by means of clear and sustained note was produced, ca- which distinct signals were transmitted pable of being sent in dots and dashes of over a distance of ten miles. Recently the Morse code. The wire was fastened electrically worked oscillators developed to a plate in contact with the water, and by Professor R. A. Fessenden, have been was anchored at the other end to some used instead of the wire ribbons and have fixture. The tension of the wire was given very promising results. This mode immaterial. The identical apparatus of signalling is referred to as the "sub- used by Berger was fitted in one of the marine wireless system," but it must be 70 Science Conspectus

distinctly understood that the transmis- speed, radius of action, and better sion through the water takes place en- living conditions on board were advanced tirely by sound waves emanating from by the naval officers. Those claims a diaphragm plate which may form part could be best met by an increase in size of the ship's side. The receiver is a and we can understand, therefore, that similar plate in another ship similarly size has steadily increased ever since connected. The invention seems now to the beginning of the century. Boats have passed the experimental stage and were then less than 100 tons fully sub- signals have been transmitted under water merged and are now being built of without difficulty through a distance of about 1,200 tons' displacement. The fifteen miles. It is well described by reason why the displacement has not Commander F. L. Sawyer of the United increased much faster is chiefly the diffi- States Navy in a paper read last Decem- culty of providing suitable motors for pro- ber before the Society of Naval Archi- pulsion of sufficient power. By an increase tects and Marine Engineers in New York. in size, moreover, the boats become more difficult to handle under water especially SAFETY, SALVAGE, AND TRANSPORTATION where the depth is small, but this difficulty is of secondary importance for ocean- As a consequence of the numerous going boats, which are likely soon to and serious accidents which have befallen become a reality. The high cost of large submarine boats of recent years much has boats will restrict their number, the price been done to increase the safety of this per ton being almost three times as high craft. The hull is subdivided more as for battleships. minutely than formerly by bulkheads of sufficient strength to withstand the max- MILITARY VALUE imum water pressure. A buoy provided with telephone connection is fitted in The great military value of submarine the superstructure and can be sent boats has been demonstrated in the to the surface in case of emergency, European war. At the present stage of enabling communication to be established development submarine boats afford not with the outside world. In some boats only the best means of defence of one's the men are provided with diving suits own harbors and coasts, but may be used and helmets enabling them to escape also for offensive purposes in the open or to remain for a longer time in the boat sea and on the coast of an enemy up to a distance of at least five miles when it is flooded. Great precautions hundred are taken to prevent the fumes from the from their base. The large boats of from storage battery from entering the work- 1,000 to 1,200 tons' displacement now under construction will have a still ing rooms of the boat. The battery is in many boats placed in an entirely greater effective radius of action. separate airtight well-ventilated com- It is characteristic for the submarine partment. boat that, once it has gotten into position, Vessels of special type, "salvage docks," it can carry out an attack with relatively are built for the purpose of raising the small risk to itself. In this respect it boats when they have sunk to the bottom differs radically from ordinary torpedo- prepared for in damaged condition. Shackles are fitted boats which must be great on the top of the boats for this purpose. and almost unavoidable sacrifices in Special vessels are constructed also order to carry out a successful attack. for the transportation of submarine The greatest difficulty with a submarine boats. boat is to bring it into position for attack because the speed is relatively SIZE AND COST slow. The initiative of the commanding From the moment that submarine officer, the training, endurance, and boats were taken into practical service, discipline of the crew as well as the claims to increased sea-going capability, condition of the boat and the machinery Science Conspectus 71

The Kangouroo, French Transport Ship for Submarine Boats

count more in submarine boats than in the periscope is fairly visible by the other warships. wake which it makes on the surface The development of the submarine when emerging, but in rough and misty boat in the future is likely to be grad- weather it is extremely difficult to see. ual. In the meantime, it is probable that When the periscope is discovered, it will be also the means of attack and defence at once subject to a hail storm of project- possessed by the battleship against sub- iles from light guns and, if it is hit, marine attack will progress. Evidently, the boat will be blind and helpless. the first point for the battleship is to If, after that, the boat shows the con- detect the submarine boat before it ning tower above the surface, it will be has reached within striking range. If generally exposed to destruction by this is successfully accomplished, the artillery fire. attack of the submarine boat can Detection from seaplanes and other generally be avoided because its speed types of air-craft is under many circum- under water is relatively slow. Detec- stances fairly easy and this mode seems tion of a submerged boat is, however, to promise a great deal. These new en- a difficult matter, the only visible point gines of war may possibly become deadly being the head of the periscope which enemies of the submarine boat by attack- needs to be shown above the surface ing it with bombs. ^Yhen a boat is sub- only from time to time. In still water merged it is quite helpless against such 72 Science Conspectus

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Society of Arts was established as a department of the Institute by President Rogers in 1861. It is especially devoted to the general dissemination of scientific knowledge, and it aims to awaken and maintain an interest in the recent advances and practical application of the sciences. Any person interested in the aims of the Society is eligible to membership. The annual dues are $3. Richard C. Maclaurin, President of the Institute Isaac W. Litchfield, Secretary of the Society of Arts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The President James P. Munroe Arthur D. Little Elihu Thomson Theodore N. Vail Frederic H. Fay The Secretary BOARD OF PUBLICATION Hervey W. Shimer Edward A. Ingham Ellwood B. Spear Selskar M. Gunn Jerome C. Hunsaker I. W. Litchfield, Editor

Five numbers of Science Conspectus are published during the year.

attack. Even very light bombs are the Yellow Sea and other similar waters > likely to prove destructive, and since may practically be controlled by sub- the air-craft is in no danger of counter- marines and by light, fast vessels. In the attack from the submarine boat, it can presence of an active enemy well provided go very low and hitting should not be a with submarine boats large vessels cannot difficult matter. The submarine boat operate in such seas except under the cannot even observe a seaplane when greatest precautions, going at high speed immediately over it. A further develop- and using all possible means for their ment of the seaplane is, therefore, likely defence. Merchant vessels fall an easy to prove extremely dangerous to the prey to submarine boats in such waters, submarine boat. their subdivision—even in the largest and While the active or offensive means best designed vessels—falling far short of of defence are in this case as elsewhere that of warships. the most effective, the battleship pos- sesses means of defence of a passive nature VALUE OF OUR MINERAL such as watertight subdivision, elastic PRODUCTS bulkheads and underwater armor, which may still be further developed, but According to the United States Geo- experiments and war experience are logical Survey the value of the mineral required to throw light on the problems production in the United States now involved. The superior speed of battle- exceeds $2,500,000,000 a year. This ships is of course in itself a means of value, although falling far below the farm protection. On account of the present products of the country, can best be limited range of submarine boats and measured by comparison with other perhaps especially on account of the countries. The United States mines limit to the endurance of the personnel, nearly 40 per cent, of the world's output of they do not render the powerfully armed coal, and produced 65 per cent, of the and well-protected artillery ships super- world's petroleum in 1913. Of the world's fluous. Fast sea-going battle-ships or more important metals 40 per cent, of battle cruisers are yet required in the world's output of iron ore comes from order to control the ocean, but as American mines, and the smelters of the matters stand now, the smaller enclosed United States furnish the world with 55 seas such as the Baltic, the North Sea, per cent, of its copper and at least 30 per the British Channel, the Mediterranean, cent, of its lead and zinc. HEAT TREATMENT OF COPPER AND BRASS A CONTROLLABLE PROCESS IN THE PREPARA- TION OF THESE METALS WHICH VARIES THEIR PROPERTIES AND GIVES THEM A WIDE FIELD OF USEFULNESS

BY CARLE R. HAYWARD

The mechanical properties of pure thus improving the mechanical properties metal depend on three factors: First, of the metal. By far the larger part of the general qualities inherent in the metal; copper in general use has been subjected second, properties imparted by mechan- to some mechanical work such as forging, ical treatment, such as rolling, drawing rolling into sheets, or drawing into wire. or forging; third, properties imparted by This treatment hardens the metal and heat treatment, that is, heating to various greatly changes the internal structure, temperatures and cooling at various rates. by crushing and elongating the crystals. The first of these three factors admits of Fig. 1 shows a photo-micrograph of a no discussion; copper can never be made piece of soft copper. The structure is the same as iron or lead, however it may developed by dipping in acid. Some be treated. The other factors are con- crystals are attacked more than others trollable and are of vital importance, for and thus appear dark. After rolling, it they may ultimately determine whether a had the appearance represented in Fig. metal is valuable or worthless. 2. Note how the crystals have been dis- What has been said above regarding torted and crushed. metals is equally true of alloys, the use- For many purposes it is desirable to fulness of which depends not only on the retain the copper in the hardened state composition but in many cases to a great in which it exists after mechanical treat- extent on the mechanical work and heat ment, but in other cases soft and ductile treatment to which they have been sub- material is preferred. Fortunately this jected. state can be restored by annealing the It is the purpose of this paper to discuss metal at a bright red heat (about 700° C. in a general way the effect of heat treat- or 1290° F.). This softening is accom- ment on copper and one of its most im- panied by a decided change in the struc- portant alloys, brass. ture of the metal as shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the fractured par- COPPER ticles of the original crystals have formed Copper when cast has the crystalline into new crystals and the material pre- structure characteristic of all cast metals. sents an appearance similar to the origi- The arrangement of the crystals known as nal structure before rolling. The size of casting structure is due to the fact that the crystals depends on the temperature the metal first solidifies at the outside, to which the metal is heated and the time and the center is the last portion to be- it remains in the furnace. This is well come solid. Furthermore, the solidifica- illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5 which show tion and subsequent cooling have been the growth of crystals with temperature. so rapid that the crystals are likely to be Quenching copper in water has a soften- in a state of strain. This radical arrange- ing effect, the cause of which is not fully ment of the crystals and their strained understood. Unlike steel, copper cannot condition make the casting liable to be hardened or tempered by any method break when subjected to severe stress. of heat treatment. The so-called lost art When copper castings are heated bright of tempering copper is a myth. Analyses red a rearrangement of the crystals takes of ancient copper implements show that place and internal strains are relieved, they are in reality alloys of copper with 74 Science Conspectus

Fig. 1.—Annealed Copper. Fig. 2. —Rolled Copper. Fig. 3.—Rolled Copper Annealed at 750°C (1382°F). Fig. 4.—Rolled Copper Annealed at 650°-700°C (1200°-1290°F) for 40 minutes. Fig. 5. —Rolled Copper Annealed a short time at 900°C (1650°F). Fig. 6. —Cast Brass. .

Science Conspectus 75 tin, arsenic or some other element which temperature on the growth of crystals is occurred mixed with the copper ore and shown by Figs 10-12. The effect of time became alloyed with the metal during on the growth of crystals at constant tem- the crude smelting operations. These perature is illustrated by Figs 13-16. substances have a hardening effect on Brass is hardened by rolling or drawing copper and the hammering process by and softened by annealing. Spring brass which the alloy was beaten into the de- is given its properties by rolling and sired form increased this property. would lose them by annealing. The re- It is seen therefore that the heat treat- arrangement of crystals in rolled brass ment of copper is a simple process which begins at 420° C. (788° F.) which is below consists in heating the metal to a bright the faintest red heat. Between 600° and red color thereby removing strains or 700° C. (1110° and 1290° F.) all internal hardness produced by mechanical work. strains and hardness are removed. Temperatures above 800° C. (1470° F.) Care must be exercised when heating should be avoided as the crystals become brass, not to allow the temperature to large and the metal is weakened. exceed 800° C. (1470° F.) as there will be The only way copper can be hardened danger of volatilizing some of the zinc is by alloying it with some other element contained in it, leaving the alloy porous. or by rolling, drawing or forging it. The quenching of brass containing more than 70 per cent, copper makes little dif- BRASS ference in its mechanical properties. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc With smaller amounts of copper, especially with sometimes small amounts of other between 50 and 63 per cent, the slowly elements to give it special properties. cooled metal is more brittle than the The relative amounts of copper and zinc chilled material. This is due to the fact vary in different brasses but except for that chilling prevents the separation of a special purposes the copper is between 55 brittle compound of zinc and copper. and 70 per cent., and the zinc varies The above facts about copper and brass accordingly. When the copper is above show that the heat-treatment of these 63 per cent., all the zinc present remains materials is a simple matter compared dissolved in the copper, and the solid with the treatment of steel, where slight alloy has a homogeneous structure with differences in the temperature, time of the general properties of a pure metal. heating, and rate of cooling may produce When, however, the copper is below 63 widely divergent results. If the steel per cent., the solid metal, when slowly has been overheated but not "burnt" cooled, contains two components, one the coarse structure obtained can be of which is brittle and makes the alloy removed by reheating to a lower temper- undesirable for many purposes. ature. In the case of copper and brass, Much that has been said regarding the heat-treatment is merely annealing and heat treatment of copper is equally the rate of cooling, except with brasses true of brass. Fig. 6 shows the micro- containing less than 65 per cent, copper, structure of cast brass and Fig. 7 shows is of comparatively slight importance. If how the crystals have rearranged them- the structure is coarse, due to heating selves on annealing. As in the photographs too long or at too high a temperature, the of copper previously discussed, the differ- metal cannot be refined by reheating but ent shades of crystals are not due to must be subjected to rolling, hammering, differences in composition but to different or drawing which will break up the degrees of etching. The growth of the crystals. Reheating to the proper tem- crystals takes place in the same way as perature will then soften the metal and that of copper crystals. This is illustrated relieve the strains. by Figs. 8-16. Fig. 8 shows the structure In general it is true that fine-grained of a brass with 67 per cent, copper after material is mechanically superior to that annealing and Fig. 9 the structure of the with coarse grains. For this reason care same material after rolling. The effect of should be taken to anneal copper and 76 Science Conspectus

Fig. 7. —Cast Brass Annealed. Fig. 8. —Annealed Brass. Fig. 9. —Brass of Fig 8 rolled. Fig. 10.—Brass of Fig. 9 annealed oOmin. at 425°C (797°F). Fig. 11.—Brass of Fig. 9 annealed 50 min. at 500°C (930°F). Fig, 12.—Brass of Fig. 9 annealed 50 min. at 600°C (1110°F). Science Conspectus 77

Fig. 13.—Rolled Brass annealed at 650°C (1200°F) for 15 seconds. Fig. 14.—Rolled Brass annealed at 650°C (1200°F) for 40 seconds. Fig. 15.—Rolled Brass annealed at 650°C (1200°F) for 2 minutes. Fig. 16.—Rolled Brass annealed at 650°C (1200°F) for 15 minutes. brass at the lowest temperature which PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY will relieve the strains due to mechanical The Proceedings the National Acad- work. Higher temperatures will produce of emy Sciences, which first appeared in larger crystals. The proper tempera- of ture varies somewhat with brasses of January, and of which the managing different composition but, except in spe- editor is Prof. E. B. Wilson of the Institute, cial instances, for either brass or copper, has recently taken rank among the few should not exceed the temperature given indispensable scientific journals of the above (700° C.) and in most cases a lower country. The aim of the journal is to temperature (600-650° C.) is preferable. furnish a comprehensive survey of the When it is desired to remove only part more important results of scientific re- of the hardness the copper or brass may search of this country. be annealed at a dull red heat for a short Prof. A. A. Noyes, '86, and Dr. George time, and even heating to a temperature E. Hale, '90, are connected with the just below dull red will sometimes suffice. publication of the journal. THE NEWEST COSMOGONY SUGGESTIONS BY DR. PERCIVAL LOWELL TOWARDS A WORLD ORI- GIN THAT ACCORDS CLOSELY WITH THE KNOWN FACTS OF TODAY

BY JOHN RITCHIE, Jr.

An exceedingly interesting develop- was the starting point and after it was ment from the work at the Lowell Ob- formed there came Saturn, then Uranus servatory, Flagstaff, has been the setting and Neptune. The same is true of the forth of a new cosmogony by Dr. Percival minor planets, each being formed in turn Lowell. The purpose of the institution in a place determined by the others. To is for planetary observation, and while use Dr. Lowell's own words, "The posi- the intensely interesting announcements tions of the planets are not haphazard, with reference to Mars have commanded but have been determined seriatim each the attention of the world, astronomical by its predecessor, thus showing that the and layman, and have suggested to many solar system is an articulated whole, an that Lbwell is mostly an observatory of inorganic organism, which not only Mars, this is by no means the case, and evolved, but evolved in a definite order, the other members of the solar system the steps of which celestial mechanics have constantly been watched. Some enables us to retrace." very interesting discoveries have been What LaPlace taught was a bequest announced with reference to motions and from the eighteenth century to the nine- appearance of the companions of the teenth, having been formulated with earth in the universe. It is but natural, some diffidence during the closing quin- therefore, that Flagstaff should have quennium of the former. For nearly a been greatly interested in the origin of the century it satisfied reasonably well the solar system. needs of astronomers. The Nebular Hy- The last few years have been fruitful pothesis, for that was its usual name, ones in the development of hypotheses had not any thought about origins in their concerning the origin of suns and worlds. more modern sense. It referred the solar For a long time the ideas of LaPlace system to no stellar collision, but merely reigned supreme, but next there came a assumed that there existed in the place period of unrest with continual castings where it afterwards formed a vast mass about for new suggestions that would of glowing gas. This was more or less accord with the newer facts. There was pancake in shape with a central condensa- the planitesmal hypothesis of Moult on tion where the sun is now. The nebula and Chamberlain, the segregation sugges- was rotating and slowly cooling. In the tion of Dr. T. J. J. See, variants on both shrinking process rings of material were of these, a return by Arrhenius to a posi- formed and left at distances from the tion much nearer that of LaPlace and center which were approximately those now that of Lowell, which in certain ways of the planets of today, and these rings is different from any of the others. presently lost continuity and rolled them- The statement in brief of the Lowell selves up into balls, the planets. The hypothesis is this: The planets grew out planets, masses of glowing gas, were of scattered material. Each one brought themselves subject to shrinkage as they the next one into being by the perturba- cooled and rings of matter were left be- tions that it caused in the scattered mate- hind which when they broke formed rial at definite distances from itself, being, spheres, the existing satellites. so to speak, the elder sister of the newer The unfortunate part of this hypothe- planet. Of the major planets Jupiter sis, according to Dr. Lowell in one of his Science Conspectus 79 lectures half-a-dozen years ago, is that, for it makes a new geology in which the while the facts known at the time were gradual cooling of the earth from a mass quite well cared for, the facts that have of glowing gas is to be found no more; come to light since the hypothesis was atmospheres of carbonic acid gas are dis- formulated are most difficult to manage. pensed with and from the very beginning In fact he voiced the opinion that if there have been sunny skies, gentle LaPlace were now alive and attacking the showers and meteorological conditions same problem in the light of modern not very different from those the earth knowledge, he would give a very different now experiences. And coming to the answer. There has been wide dissatis- aid of the hypothesis, some geologists faction in many quarters with the hot have found raindrops and other support- nebula, and astronomers have been more ing records in the very earliest of the and more in favor of a cold origin for the sedimentary rocks. earth. Then again there have been some Something like four years ago Dr. who are bold enough to affirm that Lowell made the first report of what his mechanics will not permit such a ring to observatory has been doing in cosmogo- roll up into a ball. nies, and suggested one founded on the Ten or a dozen years ago, two Chicago spiral nebula, with tidal action for the men, Moulton and Chamberlin, put force that has gradually been reversing forth a hypothesis which attracted much the poles of the planets, complete in the attention and has today numbers of inner ones and in progress in the outer supporters. This goes back a step or ones. But he had little sympathy with two in origins and begins with a spiral the cold process and claimed that it was nebula, the supposed cause of which was a hot earth that is now cooling and that the collision or near approach of two the major planets are still exceedingly great stars. The strains of a near ap- hot. proach would disrupt the two bodies and Then in 1911 Dr. See set forth his views for a result two arms of loose material in a bulky volume. He outlined the would be thrown out not unlike the rays situation and noted that there were only of a slowly moving pinwheel. As would three solutions to the general problem: naturally ensue, the distribution of mate- Detachment from a central body, which rial would not be even and there would be was what La Place had suggested; the cap- knots or condensations here and there in ture by the sun of the planets already the arms. As the result of the close ap- made, and the formation of the planets proach the mass would have a motion of just where they are by aggregations of rotation about its centre of gravity. cosmical dust. These, he boldly says, The knots would naturally draw to them- are all the suppositions that it is worth selves through gravitation the material while considering with reference to the in their vicinity, and, in the revolutions, formation of the solar system. would really sweep the skjr clear of the Dr. See next shows the impossibility Stardust that had been left there by the of the Nebular Hypothesis, bringing in collision. There would of course be a almost legal form seven or eight allega- constant rain upon the planetary surfaces tions against it. The details of his own of the loose material and the planets suggestion can hardly be given in full would grow in size. The smaller knots, here, but in brief the process is the form- which had sufficient independence to re- ing of numberless spheres within the dust main unconfiscated are the satellites and of a nebula, which in quantities went to they, as well as the planets, have taken the building up of the larger spheres. part in the clearing of the region of debris. Myriads of them as large as the moon The pressure of the material that has built up the sun, while the planets grew come to the surface of any planet would by accession of spheres already formed of course generate heat and sufficient to and not by the profuse rain of meteoric account for the igneous phenomena of particles as held by the Chicago men. geology. The hypothes : s is interesting There was a good deal that was revolu- .

80 Science Conspectus tionary in the setting forth of Dr. See. into the sun and the particles of the ple- He does not believe that the earth and num, the latter, indeed, having each one moon were ever hot, or that the craters its individual revolution about the center of the moon were ever really volcanic, of gravity of the whole mass. and thinks that the earth must have had But the distribution never by any similar indentations, the record of the possibility can be even, so that there will impact of some of the spheres already infallibly be local gatherings of material. formed, but that they have been oblit- Any one of these will exercise influence erated by the ocean. See will not agree over the particles in its vicinity, drawing with W. H. Pickering that the moon ever them to itself if they are near and col- was part of the earth. "It is a planet," lecting them in all parts of the orbit, so he says, "which came to us from the that the sweeping of the path of the grow- heavenly spaces and similar captures ing planet will be effected. The sweeping occurred in the cases of other satellites." will be done throughout a zone within Then came Arrhenius, who, in a course which the attraction is sufficiently strong of Lowell lectures three or four years ago, to bring the particles to the planet. presented rather conservative opinions. Outside this region the attraction will He is, to a considerable extent, a supporter effect a perturbation of the particles, of La Place, but finds his planets in great which, while disturbed somewhat, will comets or dark spheres that came from continue in nearly their former orbits. space, penetrated the solar nebula, be- The effect of the perturbation must be to came enmeshed in it and have settled introduce an influence, perhaps best down to regular, orderly orbits about the expressed as a "jostling," which causes sun. Of course they haA T e had their part the particles to collide, to interfere with in sweeping the space of its nebula. one another's motions, to lose headway Unless Dr. Arrhenius was misunderstood and in short to gather a group of particles at his Boston lectures, he claimed that which will form the nucleus of a new the moon and other satellites were planet. secondary captures of comets, being This is what Dr. Lowell means when he taken not by the sun but by the individual says that "so the process goes on, each planets which hold them. planet acting as a sort of elder sister in In his cosmogony Dr. Lowell now be- bringing up the next." As soon as a gins not with the spiral nebula but with planet is formed, it begins to call into the planetary form.- In the former there being another one beyond it, and the are two great arms, the results of the latter could not begin earlier because the stresses of near approach, and there are fundamental factor, the perturbation of knots or condensations in them which its predecessor, was lacking are what some believe to be the nuclei The mathematics to support his posi- about which the planets form. The tion are given quite at length by Dr. planets grow by gathering to themselves Lowell in his original presentation,* at- the fragments of nebula lying near their tention being given to certain potent pe- l 2 l paths. An objection to the spiral nebula riodic rates, /z, /s, f%, expressive of the suggestion, according to Dr. Lowell, is mean motion, and suggestive of propor- that such an origin would be likely to tional commensurability in the major produce planets in pairs on account of the axes of the orbits of the planets. probable symmetry in the knot-positions In an interesting way, Dr. Lowell pre- in the two arms. On the contrary the sents some of the arguments in favor of original solar system nebula must have his hypothesis. He adduces the fact been of the so-called planetary form with that the planets are not in their precise a central condensation, a fairly even dis- computed places, but to sunward of these tribution of material and a motion of rota- as an additional argument, showing the tion. Everything is here in motion, the existence of similar perturbations of a central condensation which is to develop different order. He finds also that the * Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, XIV, 1. Science Conspectus 81 asteroids point "unmistakably" to such burned. The heads of matches can be a genesis, missed in the making. Jupiter metalized by the Schoop process without lies very close to the original starting being ignited, tissue paper can be surfaced point of the planetary evolution and was with it, and the finest silk has been the first of the planets to form. If metalized without injuring its texture. Neptune had been the first, it would now have the greatest density, followed by AIR TO THE RESCUE and Neptune; whereas Uranus, Saturn An interesting and novel method of in the opposite the densities are now floating a ship that had forced herself save that Saturn has a low figure. order, into the mud nearly three feet above her Lowell finds further that the inner Dr. light-load line was used on the steamship planets support his rule of commensurate Zeeland in the St. Lawrence River. Two dovetail into the major period points and holes were bored in the inner end of 2 ones through the 5 relationship between , fourteen brass drainage plugs which were the asteroids. Mars and already in the ship's bottom plating, METAL COATINGS having been put in from the outside. SPRAYED Key wrenches were fitted into the newly drilled holes and the plugs were released During the last two years a new by unscrewing them outward. Threaded method of producing a thin coating of pipe connections were instantly screwed metal on miscellaneous articles has been into the holes, and a rubber hose leading perfected that has possibilities beyond to an air compressor was attached. Then any previous methods. The apparatus a stout wire hawser was looped around which is used in producing this coating the bow of the liner, each end being led is on the principle of an atomizer. The to a securely moored dredge where it was metal with which the object is to be passed around the drums of powerful coated is introduced into the machine winches. In addition lines were led to in the form of a wire. It is melted tandem tugs, representing 14,000 horse- by mixed gases, and at the same mo- power. The ship was lightened all pos- ment is blown upon the object to be sible and then the compressors were put coated by a blast of compressed air. to work. The escaping air broke the The molten metal is carried from the seal between the bottom of the vessel spraying machine in a finely commi- and the adhering mud, and in a very nuted molten condition and is fixed short space of time the liner was towed upon the object in a smooth, compact off into deep water. surface adhering tenaciously to the surface and penetrating into the most minute NORTHEAST STORMS crevices. The method is known as the Schoop process. Many of our readers will be surprised The metals that have been tested with to learn that what we know here in the satisfaction are lead, tin, zinc, aluminium, East as northeast storms do not in reality brass, copper, bronze, nickel silver; while come from the northeast at all. The gold and silver, although amenable to storm itself comes from the west or the process, have not yet been fully southwest, usually along a well-recognized exploited. The film deposited by the track, and the strong northeast rain- spray may be as thin as one one-thou- bearing winds, which drive the rain to sandth of an inch. the ground as from a northeastern Some curious phenomena have been direction, are simply the indraft of a brought out by this process. While the barometric depression in the reverse temperature at the apex of the cone of direction. It is very rare that a storm the spray may be 700° to 2000° F., at a in these latitudes travels from the East distance of three, four or five inches away, to the West. Such storms are called combustible materials may be coated "flarebacks" and are the despair of with the metal without danger of being weather forecasters. PLANTS AND ANIMALS DISTINGUISHED

Had we been given the problem of 4. Without power of locomotion. (Spores of some algae have locomotion starting life upon the surface of this earth, and contractility but later become fixed. Many higher plants, as honey our first care, after receiving the impetus locust, clover, etc., have contractility prominently with which to set life moving, would be to developed.) get a source of energy which could be 5. Eat by absorption. 6. use of oxygen. stored in reservoirs suitable for tapping at Make C0 2 and some 7. Excrete O, and CO2. will. We would soon find the only practi- 8. Have no definite number of organs. cable source to be the light of the sun. 9. Have unlimited growth (except manv fungi, The problem then would be to convert the etc.). sun's rays into a form suitable for storing animals and tapping at will. This problem life 1. Feed upon organic matter. has solved through the agency of chloro- 2. Chlorophyl absent. (Present in some proto- phyl, the green coloring matter of plants. zoons.) 3. Cellulose absent. (Present in some protozoons This chlorophyl is the factory in which the and very abundant in the ascidians.) sunlight works, breaking up the CO2 into C 4. Locomotion more or less free. and O, and recombining these atoms with 5. Have mouth and digestive canal. (Some very some products derived from the soil into low or degenerate forms eat by absorption.) 6. Make use of oxygen. starch. In other words, the kinetic 7. Excrete CO2 and urea. energy of the sun's rays is transformed 8. Have definite number of organs. into the potential energy of starch and in 9. Have limited growth (except many sponges, this form becomes the reservoir capable of corals, etc.). being tapped at will for movement, repro- this plants duction, or other needs. There is consid- To may be added that both erable reason for believing that an early and animals respond to external stimuli, form of life combined in itself the power of are affected by narcotics, become fatigued after stimuli re- storing up energy and of expending it in repeated from which they free movements. For some lowly forms, cover upon rest, sleep once a day and upon such as the free-moving, microscopic, one- death cease exhibiting these conditions. probable, celled organism Euglena, still exist which If, as this similarity makes through the presence of chlorophyl are both organic kingdoms were at first united enabled to manufacture starch. in a generalized type capable both of In such a form the plant and animal storing energy and of expending this energy kingdoms merge their characters to such in free movements, this union within the in- an extent that it is impossible to classify same individual was soon found to be it as definitely either plant or animal. compatible and part of these generalized Similarly upon hardly any other theory organisms, which were neither plant nor than the former union of the plant and animal, chose the line of energy storing and animal kingdoms can we account for the part that of using this stored up energy in difficulty of making a definition for the free movements; the former developed one which will be exclusive of the other. into the Vegetable Kingdom, the latter There are exceptions to almost every into the Animal Kingdom. define these statement made in defining them. If, for It is better then to two example, we arrange such definitions in kingdoms, through the characters upon parallel columns this conclusion will be which each lays special emphasis. Plants easily seen. lay emphasis upon immobility, animals PLANTS upon mobility. If the two kingdoms are

1. Take food from the inorganic and convert it in- thus defined with the attendant conse- to organic, as starch, proteids, etc. (Exceptions— quences, the following diverse conditions fungi, bacteria, etc., live upon organic material.) result. Plants in choosing the life of 2. Chlorophyl present. (Absent in many parasi- were sure of their food but tic forms as dodder.) energy-storing 3. Cellulose present. as a result they became immovablv at- Science Conspectus 83

PLANTS ANIMALS Emphasize fixity) Emphasize motion

/ Plant-Animals \(TypifieJ by Euglena-like forms)

Euglena J£

Diagram to illustrate the initial division of the life force into plants and animals and its repeated further branching into progressively higher and higher phyla. Only six of the twelve phyla of animals are represented. " " "

84 Science Conspectus tacked to the earth and developed hard Professor H. X. Dickson refers to Crookes' parts (cellulose or woody fiber) for the prophecy and says, after quoting a mass protection of the soft protoplasm, as a re- of statistics, "We gather, then, that the sult of which protection, stimuli from estimates formed in 1898 are in the main the external world could penetrate with correct, and the wheat problem must great difficulty. Owing to this lack of become one of urgency at no distant date, stimuli plants remain very low in con- although actual shortage of food is a long sciousness (self-consciousness not meant). wav off. Animals, on the other hand, in choosing the more hazardous life of searching for manufactured food had to remain more or ENDLESS MAGNETIC CHANGE less free and as a result of this necessity Ix ax essay on terrestrial magnetism for continued movement could not sur- John F. W. Herschel said: round themselves completely with a hard "The configuration of our globe—the skeleton. Consequently stimuli from the distribution of temperature in its interior, external world could penetrate with com- the tides and currents of the ocean, the parative ease and these stimuli have general course of winds and the affections caused the development of a higher and of climate—whatever slow changes may ever higher consciousness with all its atten- be induced in them by those revolutions dant nerves and body organs. All these which geology traces—yet remain for divergent characteristics have followed as thousands of years appreciably constant. a natural consequence of the first choice. The monsoon, which favors or opposes h. w. s. the progress of the steamer along the Red Sea, is the same which wafted to and WHEAT CRISIS COMING fro the ships of Solomon. Eternal snows occupy the same regions and whiten the In his presidential address to the same mountains, and springs well forth at British Association at its meeting at the same elevated temperature, from the Bristol in 1898, Sir William Crookes gave same sources, now, as in the earliest some valuable estimates of the world's recorded history. But the magnetic pointed out, supply of wheat, which, as he state of our globe is one of swift and is "the most sustaining food grain of the ceaseless change. A few years suffice great Caucasian race." Founding upon to alter materially, and the lapse of half a these estimates, he made a forecast of century or a century, to obliterate and the relations between the probable rates completely remodel the form and situa- of increase of supply and demand, and tion of those lines on its surface which concluded that "Should all the wheat- geometers have supposed to be drawn in growing countries add to their (produc- order to give a general and graphical ing) area to the utmost capacity, on the view of the direction and intensity of the most careful calculation the yield would magnetic forces at any given epoch. only give us an addition of some 100,000. 000 acres, supplying, at the average world NEEDLES yield of 12.7 bushels to the acre, 1,270, LOCATING BURIED 000,000 bushels, just enough to supply G. H. Moxks, in the Boston Medical and the increase of population among bread SurgicalJ ournal, describes an interesting eaters till the year 1931. " The president method of locating needles buried in flesh then added, "Thirty years is but a day tissues. The buried needle is magnetized in the life of a nation. Those present by passing a magnet over the tissue where who may attend the meeting of the Brit- the needle is supposed to be located. An- ish Association thirty years hence will other needle, suspended from a fine silk judge how far my forecasts are justified. thread, will have one of its poles attracted In his address before the Geographical to the opposite pole of the buried needle, Section of the Birmingham meeting of the and its location may thus be determined British Association in September, 1913, with aceuraev. Science Conspectus

Vol. V 1915 No. 4.

NOTES FROM A VOLCANO LABORATORY THE "PERSONAL DOCUMENTS " IN THE ^',-m CASE OF KILAUEA AND MAUNA LOA, ^ AND HOW THEY ARE TRANSLATING THE LAWS OF EARTH ERUPTIONS

BY T. A. JAGGAR, JR. 0%%»< «L

In the popular mind, an active volcano community. The Hawaiian Volcano Re- is supposed to be the most disorderly search Association has been organized and haphazard thing imaginable. But and anyone who is interested may join when, at the suggestion of business men and receive the weekly bulletins which in Honolulu, the town of Hilo in 1912 tell of the progress of the volcanic activi- subscribed the money to build an ties at Kilauea. We have members Hawaiian volcano observatory at Kil- in Europe, United States, Central and auea, there was evidenced a scientific South America and Japan. The Massa- spirit in the community far in advance chusetts Institute of Technology is a of the popular conception. It became large subscriber and contracts to carry the function of the new observatory to on the scientific work of the association. study the two active volcanoes, Mauna Co-workers have made important experi- Loa and Kilauea, from year to year as mental studies here who have come from closely as possible with a view to finding Italy, Switzerland, France, England and out, apart from all prejudice, whether United States. We have taken part in the gases and lavas come out, from the investigating of the great disaster the earth's interior in some orderly of Sakurajima in Japan by sending an pulsations or otherwise. The gradual expedition hither. The leading business growth of the science of volcanology, firms of these islands have subscribed to from an historical history of disaster, the scientific work being done here and has been well begun in Italy, Japan and the officers and directors of the Society elsewhere since the terrible catastrophe have been leaders in the educational of St. Pierre in Martinique in 1902, and and commercial life of Honolulu; while the foundation of the Hawaiian Obser- Hilo took an important part in the vatory was a sound step in advance. It initiation of the work, it is to be regretted is my purpose to show here certain that the Research Association has not orderly results of three years watching more Hilo members and it is hoped that and to urge the necessity of extending a substantial addition to the member- our facilities so that the summit crater ship list will soon be made through the of Mauna Loa will be more accessi- increased interest of persons living on ble. the Island of Hawaii. For surely the In spite of hard times and hard pros- inhabitants of this island have every pects, the scientific work on the volcano reason to take an interest in the fires- has received encouragement from the beneath their feet. 86 Science Conspectus

For three years the observatory at earth, up and down, of about a foot Kilauea Volcano, under the scientific twice each day and varying in amount direction of the Massachusetts Institute through the lunar month and the solar of Technology, has recorded the rise year; and more than twice as great in and fall of the lava in the pit of Halemau- a north-south direction as east-west. niau, has mapped the outline of the lava It is easy to understand how important pool, has noted the nature of the activity such a movement is here in the equatorial and the temperature of some of the gas belt of the globe where relatively small vents, while the seismograph pendulums cracks going down forty or fifty miles are in the basement of the Observatory have filled with liquid lava between walls of written, from second to second, a story of rock subjected to this rise and fall as the local earthquakes and the tiltings well as to sidewise pressure, that is, to and tremblings of the ground, and the the passage of earth waves. meteorlogical instruments have made sim- With knowledge of this ebb and flow ilar records of the rainfall, humidity, in the rocky shell of the globe, we would temperature and pressure of the air. expect careful measurements of the rise and fall of the lava column of Kilauea ROCK TIDES to show some kind of daily tides, some It has long been known that the crust monthly change and a maximum every of our rocky globe rises and falls with a half year. Beyond this, in terms meas- tide similar to that of the ocean. Like ured in years and centuries, there should the latter, this slow creaking wave that be greater crises of some sort but in how passes through the rocks to a depth of far they should be tidal and how far many miles is occasioned by the pull of the dependent on the construction of the sun and moon acting upon the revolving volcano is at present unknown. By earth. The earth bulges somewhat in a construction of the volcano, I mean the zone around the equator and every month building up of inner cones by lava over- the moon moves north and south of the flow so as to confine the otherwise stead- equator while the sun does so only eA'ery ily rising lava column, as is the present year. Each half year the sun reaches case with Halemaumau, and complications its farthest south or its farthest north, of hot gas and congealing lava under- while the moon does so each half month. ground which may determine the rela- These great celestial swings make a tionships of Mauna Loa and Kilauea. squeeze upon the bulging crust of the There is definitely a daily movement equatorial belt over and above the marked by a maximum and minimum of normal tides which depend upon the lava level in Halemaumau every few hours daily rotation of the earth and the con- and there seems to be a tendency to marked junction and opposition of sun and moon, rising about noon and midnight, the times popularly known as the times of new of maximum barometric pressure. There and full moon. There are other fac- is also a pulsating movement which I tors such as the times when the sun once recorded for twenty-two hours and moon are respectively nearest to (in January, 1913) making a measurement the earth which modify the daily, semi- once an hour of the height of the lava monthly and semi-annual squeezes which surface. The lava as a whole was rising, are crunching the rock crust on which we but the record showed a succession of live, and a diagram showing all the quick jumps followed by slow sinking complications of tidal theory and its for three or four hours, each jump happen- effect at any point on the globe no one ing within the course of an hour and living is at present competent to con- rising to a point slightly above that of struct. But from direct experiment, the last previous jump. This jumping Professor Chamberlain, geologist, and movement was probably occasioned by Professor Michelson, physicist, of the gas accumulation and release, while the University of Chicago, have recently net rise in the course of a day may have proved a tidal movement in the solid been tidal. It is to be hoped that some Science Conspectus 87

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from the northeast

day we shall have the means during a vertical lines or columns, and the fluctu- time of high activity of Kilauea to keep ation in height to the top of the columns a staff of assistants at work with a transit thus expresses for each month graphically on the edge of the pit every fifteen min- the fluctuation of the lava. utes throughout a lunar month, and thus These diagrams, beginning with Jan- construct a diagram showing the details uary 1912, reveal on the whole a gradual of tidal movement. This would neces- sinking of the lava throughout that year sarily be more expensive work than is and until May 1913, when the pit became now possible. so smoky and the lava sank so low, that for Diagrams have been prepared to show just one year no accurate measurement for the years 1912, 1913 and 191-1 the was possible. The year in question was rise and fall of the surface of the liquid from May 1913 to April 1914, when the lava measured from the edge of the pit lava was in general over six hundred Halemaumau, which is at an 'elevation feet below the rim of Halemaumau. of 3,700 feet above sea level. The From May of 191-1 to the end of that average height of the lava for each five year, the lava gradually rose but not so days has been shown as a black vertical high as previously, and then from line drawn with reference to a scale of January 5, 1915, to the end of March depths below the rim of the pit indicated 1915, it has gradually been sinking until on the side of each diagram so that the it is more than five hundred feet below tops of the black lines fluctuate in height the rim of the pit. in accordance with the measurements. Examining the details of these diagrams From left to right across the diagrams are from month to month, it is easy to see monthly divisions, each month of thirty that every month there is a distinct days being represented by six of the bend in the movement of the lava. The 1912 jaNfebImarIapi^ayjunUulaugsepoctndvdec 3700

400

3DD

4DD son

EDO

7DD

4 37DD PIT JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUDlBEP OCT NOV DEC FEET IOO 3EDD DOWN

2DQ 35GD

3DD 3400

4DD 33DQ

SDD 32DQ

SDD, 3IDD

II

Record of rise and fall of lava in Halemaumau Science Conspectus 89 lunar month contains twenty-eight days pool in Halemaumau is merely a small and therefore does not check perfectly window. Geologists think that the lava with the calendar month. Allowing for comes from a potentially molten substra- this, we find that there are thirteen tum at least fifty miles down and probably crises in the year 1912 about a month the passage leading down to this large apart, as follows: December-January mass of lava is nothing more than a high, January-February low, February crack or fissure. Kilauea has been built high, March low, April-May high, June as a cone by the overflow of lava above low, July high, August low, September this crack and this overflow has built high, September-October low, October up a central hole and radiating flows so high, November low, December high. that the lengthwise trend of the fissure The incomplete diagrams of 1913 and beneath is entirely masked by the 1914 show similar features and it be- mechanism of a central pit above. comes clear from a study of these diagrams Squeezing together the walls of a fissure that there is a complete rise and fall of containing liquid which opens into a the lava column, a flow and ebb, every small tube above will cause the liquid two lunar months. In general, rising to rise and fall in the tube, and something takes place faster than falling, though of this sort takes place when a tidal this is not invariable. squeeze warps out of shape the whole We next come to a very marked body of the earth, be it ever so slightly. characteristic of the movement of the As only three years of measurement Kilauea lava column; namely, the semi- have yielded such important results, annual high level. That this is con- we may expect that a half century of nected with the change in declination of work at the Hawaiian Observatory will the sun north and south of the equator create a new science. The work must seems probable because both the changes go on, it must unceasingly increase in in the sun's angle and the rise and fall of accuracy of method and completeness of the lava are gradual and the quarterly cul- record, and it must be extended to other minations correspond. The 1912-1913 volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean for diagrams show high level (1911) Novem- comparative results. ber-January, low level February-April, LONG-TEEM EK OPTIONS* high level May-July, low level August- October, high level November-January, Even with the casual notes of travelers low level February-April. The high levels and scientific men made since the time are times of solstice, the low level times of of Vancouver's voyage in 1794, it is possi- equinox. This movement became so ble to glimpse something of the meaning definite that it has been used during the of the relationship between Kilauea and past year for prediction, and the December Mauna Loa and of the long-term happen- rise of 1914 was expected. The predic- ings at Kilauea which are marked by tre- tion stated that there would be a fall in mendous cataclysms. There have been January 1915 and thereafter, and these two such catastrophes at Kilauea in histo- things have come true. ric times, the explosive eruption of 1790 There are thus short- and long-period and the tremendous earthquake of 1868. movements of some regularity within a In both cases there was collapse of the bot- single year and these are gradually being tom of Kilauea crater, and afterwards a verified by the accumulation of records new period of building up the bottom by for several years. The rising and falling means of lava overflows. We know of the Kilauea lava column is a sensitive nothing of what sympathy Mauna Loa index of the addition or subtraction of may have shown with the 1790 explosion, hot gases to a much larger mass of liquid but we know positively that Mauna Loa deep in the earth and is also a sensitive shared in every way in the earthquake and measure of any compressing together or lava flows of 1868. opening apart of the walls of the larger For Mauna Loa the 1868 crisis inaug- lava chamber underground to which the urated lava flows at the south end of —

90 Science Conspectus

Technology Station, Instrument Hut and A-frame, Halemaumau lava pit, Kilauea Volcano, north edge the mountain and since that time the at intervals instead of continuously. eruptions of Mauna Loa have happened There is some reason to think that all about once in ten years with flows alter- volcanoes have passed through stages nating north and south. The 1868 from free-flowing continuous lava emission flow was south, that of 1880 north; the to greatly confined gas-lava explosion. 1887 flow was south, that of 1899 Kilauea Volcano is not so high as north; the 1907 flow was south and Mauna Loa, and after its evisceration in accordingly the flow to be expected from 1790, the lava, with many blowing cones the present eruption about ten years and poolings within the crater, began to later, say 1917 or 1918, should come from overflow and construct there a floor the north. which was slowly built up into an inner The outbreaks of Mauna Loa every cone; this cone-building by overflow ten years or so, beginning with gas-lava being continuous throughout the nine- fountains at the summit and ending teenth century until 1894 except for with lava flows from the flanks of the temporary interruptions by lateral outflow mountain, seem to mean that some great to the sea in 1823, 1840* and 1868 and force tends to steadily push gas and lava possibly 1887. From 1894 to the present out of the mountain, while a restraining time, Kilauea has failed to overflow the structure, the great slag heap of the inner Halemaumau cone and this period of mountain nearly 14,000 feet high, con- twenty-one years, more than a fifth of a fines the lava within the oven so built century, must be an important episode up, and compels it to erupt in spasms in the approach toward another great Science Conspectus 91

Strong motion Seismograph Whitney Laboratory of Seismology 92 Science Conspectus crisis like those of 1790 and 1868. Both to be the spasms of a steadily accumula- Mauna Loa and Kilauea have shown ting fluid which tends to escape. diminution of volume of lava poured The records of the nineteenth century out from 1790 to the present time. are too incomplete, especially as concerns the stagnant times at Kilauea, to give VOLCANIC SYNCHRONISM us any clear evidence as to whether It has frequently been asserted that Kilauea lava went down when Mauna there is no sympathy between the Loa lava came up and vice versa, as activities of Mauna Loa and Kilauea. might be expected from the above This statement seems to me a loose one, analysis. The record of the last thirty unsubstantiated by facts. If there were years, however, suggests such a re- a deep-seated connection somewhere be- lation. tween the surface of the earth and the After the Mauna Loa outflow of 1887, substratum fifty miles down whereby there was revival and vigorous activity both the Mauna Loa and Kilauea lava-gas of Kilauea culminating in 1894. During columns come together, and the mech- this time Mauna Loa was quiet. Kilauea anism of the rising and falling columns lava subsided and disappeared after 1894 is dependent on a squeezing earth crust and Mauna Loa revived in 1896 and and on hot gas which maintains a heat poured out lava from the Dewey Crater circulation in a liquid subject to rapid in 1899. Kilauea showed a little life but congealing, then we are not to look for at a very low level in 1900 to 1902 and any hydrostatic balance between the Mauna Loa remained quiet. Mauna two columns. We have clearly to do Loa became active in 1903 with outflow with an uprising stream of liquid on in 1907 and Kilauea remained quiet. each side of the system, that is in Mauna Kilauea revived rapidly after the Mauna Loa and in Kilauea respectively which Loa flow of 1907, rose to its highest is restrained by its own tendency to level three years later in 1910, remained solidify above when chilled, and is main- high for the three years 1910 to 1912, tained by the release of hot gas and and sank slowly as shown by our diagrams lava under pressure from below. If from 1912 to 1914. During all this one of the two vents suddenly split open time Mauna Loa remained quiet. In wider and so released to the air lava and 1914 Mauna Loa revived and at present, gas under pressure, the other vent might 1915, Kilauea is subsiding, to what end be expected to be robbed of heat and of remains to be seen. expanding gas and consequently to con- This sequence of events suggests a geal and its lava to subside. It might well more or less periodic eruption of Mauna be that for a time, in the case of the Loa about once in ten years and Kilauea sudden opening of one of the vents, the activity during the repose periods of other vent would show a sympathetic Mauna Loa. These ten-year periods kick or rise in the lava followed by sub- are probably controlled by influences of sidence as suggested above. The evidence lava accumulation and release rather of sympathy, therefore, in the behavior than by any tidal strains. It may well of the two vents would be complex and be, however, that in the critical time of would depend on the sizes and heights approach to the end of a repose period of the orifices, the source and mechanism that an exceptional tidal stress in the of the heat supply, the depth and size crust of the earth will act as trigger to of the connection between them and the release an eruption. Other crises at volume and pressure of the foaming body still longer intervals in the history of of lava available for the particular erup- these volcanoes are very likely always tion in question. This last factor is accompanied by sympathetic displays doubtless dependent on the time interval in both volcanoes, as in 1868 when the which has elapsed since the last eruption, sympathy was unquestioned and in 1790 in the case of a volcano like Mauna Loa, concerning which the accounts are very if we suppose the succession of eruptions meager; we know nothing whatever of Science Conspectus 93

Alex Lancaster ("left) and W . 0. Wood (right) summit crater of Mauna Loa, December 15, 1914. Smoking lava fountains in the background. The Observatory Expedition

Mauna Loa or of the earthquakes and extreme positions to occur on the same lava flows of that time. day, but there was such an occurrence January 4, 1912, the time of the very CRITICAL STRESS DATES highest rise of the Kilauea lava column Where there is accumulated stress shown in our diagrams. Also on the underground from gas or lava pressure, same day, the tide gauges in Hawaii it has been above suggested that the showed the highest ocean tide ever critical times of tidal squeeze, summer recorded on them. The reason was that and winter, may act as trigger to release moon was farthest north and sun was the gas or liquid and start an eruption. farthest south, both were nearest to the There are some dates when the earth earth and the moon was full; that is, it squeeze is unusually strong, and these was pulling on the opposite side from dates do not recur every year as they are the sun. Events of the year, of the half dependent on coincidence of several year and the month conspired on one variable relations of the sun, moon and day to make a rare event of combination earth. Thus either sun or moon may which only happens at long intervals. be at their nearest points to the earth, It can be easily understood that such both may be farthest north or farthest a day of unusual stress on our globe south of the equator in their periodic would press the button to start explosion swings, and they may be pulling together or earthquake if volcano or straining on opposite sides or on the same side of earth crust were readv to be touched the earth. It is rare for all of these off. 94 s™cience Conspectus

Lake of molten lava, February, 1913, interior of lava pit, looking down from the east Science Conspectus 95

TYPICAL VOLCANIC ERUPTION gas in the form of bubbles rising through the liquid, and if the upper part of the Science is still very ignorant about lava column is in any sense a froth, then volcanoes and about the physical chem- this froth or foam may be conceived to istry of hot lava filled with gas. Labora- sink or settle down as its bubbles burst. tory and field studies are working The gas itself, imagined to be contained together, however, in demonstrating that in solution in the lava far down, passes the course of typical volcanic eruptions from the dissolved to the bubble stage is everywhere the same in kind, differing somewhere in the depths and there- only in degree; some volcanoes showing above expands and rises with dissociation dominantly explosion and gas, while and some chemical reaction which have others are comparatively quiet with various cooling and heating tendencies, liquid lava as their chief product. With- the net result of which is volcanic out discussing here the complex reasons eruption. Until these processes are imi- for what happens, which would take us tated in the laboratory, science will know far afield, it is generally agreed that a little about them, but the actual obser- typical eruption proceeds as follows: vation of volcanoes demonstrates without (1) Unusual earthquake strain near question that gas rushes forth for days the volcano for days, weeks or months or weeks after the first outbreak. This with an abnormally large number of small outrush may gradually decline, or it may earthquakes and some strong ones. be periodically renewed as though pul- (2) A foamy lava rushes upward with sating under alternate confinement and a cracking open of the mountain through release. The term of gas escape before the central crater, the foaming being due the liquid lava flows may be short or to the gases contained in the fluid, very long, measured in hours or in years. hot and very greatly compressed. Accord- There is no hard and fast line between ing to the intensity of this gas pressure, explosive lava and liquid lava, and in the eruption may be a tremendous a sense, the lava flows from the instant explosion which blows the lava foam that a volcano begins exploding; the to dust, or it may be a violent foam transitions between explosion clouds, fountain with oxidation of the combusti- foam fountains, frothy flow, lava flow ble gases making flames. The first case and the rise of stiff lava plugs is repre- is that of Sakurajima or Vesuvius, the sented in all gradations in different second that of Mauna Loa. The rise of volcanoes and sometimes two or more the lava foam in any volcano follows upon of these processes are simultaneously at a longer or shorter term of rest and in work in different parts of the same general, the longer the term the more volcano. explosive the outbreak. Like volcanoes (4) The liquid lava rises and escapes are apt to have like terms of repose and from the volcano in some form of lava the length of these quiet intervals flow and this stage is generally sharply appears to be one of the distinctive char- marked as a term of days or months acters of a given volcano, though some when the mobile melted rock is either volcanoes are much more regular than welling up in the summit crator and others. Given an average repose period higher, like a stiffening dome of very drawing to a close for a particular vol- viscous slag, or the mountain rifts open cano, and numerous earthquakes marking along some ancient fissure and the the underground stress, we can look for liquid lava, perhaps spurting at first to an eruption as most likely to come near the summit crater for a temporary display, the solstice, or on some date when the finally makes a new crater lower down celestial tide strain is strongest. and pours a flood of melt for days or (3) The adjustment of gas to liquid months down the flanks of the volcano underground, a complex relation little in accordance with the habits of such understood at present, next takes place volcanoes as Etna and Mauna Loa. through the escape of large quantities of The first type mentioned, with the stiff 96 Science Conspectus

Mauna Loa eruption from the northwest, November 27, 1914, third night of the eruption. Camp ground at Puu Lehua shows rapid decadence of the eruption dome rising above the crater, is now eruption adds so much new rock to the known to be common in the West Indies, surface of the earth. Aleutian Islands, Japan and elsewhere, (6) A new term of accumulation in but was unknown to geologists before the the deep region begins. There may be eruption of Mount Pelee in 1902. This a few small earthquakes occasioned by escape of lava is the culminating achieve- the settling of the rocks over the void ment of volcanic eruption, that for left by the lava flow, but in general, the which the eruptive process is devised in years immediately following a complete the economy of nature and hence brings eruption constitute a time of unusual the eruption to a close by relieving the quiet with little activity either seismic strain due to accumulation. The gases or volcanic. By complete eruption is have been allowed to expand, the froth meant the escape of the final lava flow and gas-charged liquid to escape and to for a given eruptive period, for some cool. volcanoes have recurrent flows for several (5) The cooling and congealing extends years before an eruption is finished. to a certain small depth below the crater LOA 1914 and a term of repose ensues. Whatever MAUNA the ultimate cause of the upward pushing Summarizing the six stages of a typical force, be it gas pressure or the compressive volcanic eruption, they may be briefly stress of a shrinking globe, we know that expressed as (1) earthquake stress, (2) the force is there. The lava, has to escape gas foam explosion, (3) gas release, (4) once in so often, and the machinery of liquid release, (5) solidification, and (6) Science Conspectus 97

Inner pit made by subsidence of lava, January, 191.5, within Halernaumau lava-pit, looking down from the north 98 Science Conspectus new accumulation. Mauna Loa in 191-4 to the practical service rendered the illustrated the end of a period of accu- community in securing some basis of mulation (6), and a year of earthquake prediction, however inadequate and faulty stress (1) initiating gas-lava foaming our first attempts may be. Mr. H. O. (2) in Mokuaweoweo, the summit crater, Wood has been studying carefully the November 25, 1914, and gas release present day local earthquakes and the (3) took place through the summit records of the terrific Hawaiian earthquake orifices throughout December and Janu- of 1868 and with me has been watching ary and probably continues at the attentively the seismic and volcanic present time (spring 1915) with subsidence activities in their relation to the tidal for the time being of the lava froth. and other stresses set up in the globe by That the approach to the solstice the sun and moon. Mr. Wood has made (December 22) and the earth's nearest a special study of the theoretical effects approach to the sun (perihelion) about the of the declination of the sun and moon same season induced effective stresses north and south of the equator. From touching off the accumulated strain is all these studies of records of the past, probable. For in November, there were records of the present and of the proc- sixty local earthquakes, at the end of the esses of physics and astronomy, it became month the summit fountains broke possible to foresee that Mauna Loa would out and this activity endured until have a summit outbreak between 1911 twenty days after the solstice, when the and 1915, that it was most likely to come glow and fumes died away. near June or December, and this much There remain yet to come in the has been verified in 1914. By similar present eruption of Mauna Loa stages reasoning, there remain the as yet 4, 5 and 6; namely, the escape of liquid unverified expectations (1) a very low lava, its solidification and the beginning level of the lava of Kilauea; (2) a lava of a new repose period. By this analysis, flow from Mauna Loa, probably within it should be plain that Mauna Loa is four years and most probably in not less now active and must be so regarded until than three years; (3) the occurrence of a the lava flow comes. short-lived summit outbreak before the It will now be profitable to review flow; (4) the time of this outbreak what the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory probably near June or December, this has done in preparing for and observing combination making January or July of this eruption of Mauna Loa. The studies 1918 likely times for the eruption to of men of science who have come to culminate; and lastly, (5) the lava flow Hawaii from a distance, Dana, Fried- should break out from a vent on the lsender, Daly, Brun, Perret, Day and north side of the mountain, probably Shepherd, and the work of Brigham and somewhere above the Dewey Crater of Hitchcock, resident here, have thrown 1899. All this sounds like unwarrant- new light on sequences, intervals and ably precise prediction, but the basis for the meaning of volcanic gases and these it has been explained above. To such things are the basis of the deductions extent as such prediction proves useful outlined in this lecture. Four of these and leads to proper preparation and workers have cooperated with the Obser- precaution, it is justifiable. vatory. The staff of the Observatory In expectation of a coming eruption has made continuous records of the it was desirable for the Observatory to processes of Kilauea and has visited the have a station on Mauna Loa occupied summit crater of Mauna Loa at least frequently for purposes of recording once a vear. temperatures of fumaroles, local earth- quakes, weather conditions and any PRED1CTIOX other phenomena that might bear on the From these records, I have worked approaching outbreak. But it early be- out a tentative philosophy of the two came evident that this ideal could not be volcanoes, as herein outlined, with a view realized with the funds at the disposal of Science Conspectus 99

The lava fountains of Mauna Loa from the east rim of summit crater, about one mile away. The main fountain, about 150 feet high, is under the white smoke, and appears against a dark half-dome of spatter of its own construction the Research Association. Mauna Loa acclimated to the unusual altitude. In is a vast desert waste without water and the winter time there is deep snow on rising to an immense height. Every the summit plateau and snow flurries or expedition to the summit exhausts the violent thunder storms with heavy gales energies of the men and animals employed, of wind may occur at any season and make and the animals are frequently crippled havoc in a camp of tents. There is no and have their legs cut by the rough soil, so ordinary tent pegs cannot be used block lava. Consequently the ranchers and there is no flat ground on which to will not rent good animals at any price sleep. There is no fuel of any sort and and as there is no shelter on the summit, there are no hillocks or valleys to offer little water, no feed, violent winds and shelter. The crater Mokuaweoweo is low temperatures, the men who can with surrounded by vertical precipices from difficulty be induced to go and act as three hundred to eight hundred feet guides or packers, object to remaining high and the floor is accessible only by over night. The wages paid them and arduous climbing. The area of explora- the hire of animals are high. All of this tion for proper study of hot vents whence means that it costs several hundred lava flows may issue, and of the seven or dollars in order to take an unsatisfactory eight summit vents (pits and cones) trip to the summit, see the crater, and including the great crater is fully twenty return before any real scientific work can miles long by three wide, not including be done and even before the party is the separate area of flows in Kau to the ICO Science Conspectus

Kilauea, Mauna Loa and the Moon, November 25, 1914, midnfght, first night of outbreak of Mauna Loa. From the east

Lava Whirlpool, interior of lava-pit, February, 1913, looking down from the east Science Conspectus 101 south thirty miles away. It will be seen diminishing rapidly after the first from this that Mauna Loa presents a night. problem of extensive exploration under November 26 I started for the summit difficult conditions and is not like Kilauea by way of Kona, being unable to get in possessing a single lava pit conven- men or horses for the Kapapala trail in iently accessible. Kau. I reached the summit area in a The most that the Observatory has blinding sleet storm November 28 and been able to do. therefore, in dealing with was unable to do any work on account Mauna Loa during its repose, was to of the storm. Fortunately two young- send an expedition to the summit once men from Kau, Messrs. Forrest and each year and to record the observations Palmer, pushed their way to the summit of other travelers whenever such were on the previous night, November 27, available. Observatory expeditions vis- and furnished the Observatory with a ited Mokuaweoweo in August 1912 and sketch map and notes. They saw ten October 1913 and no unusual phenomena or twelve fountains of lava along a were noted, the only activity being very north-south rift in the bottom of the slight Aaporing from cracks both in the crater, one of these in the southern part bottom of Mokuaweoweo and in outlying- being between three hundred and four fissures. These steaming fissures extend hundred feet high. December 2, Charles both northeast and south from the crater, Ka was sent to the summit by the writer the directions in which large rifts trend and saw only four fountains. Similar down the mountain along lines of his- conditions were noted a few days later toric lava vents. by Messrs. Baker and Bowdish and on December 15, an expedition from the COURSE OF PREMONITORY ERUPTION Observatory reached the summit on In 1914 the Whitney Laboratory of the Kau side and saw only one large Seismology in the basement of the fountain about one hundred and fifty Observatory, equipped with seismographs, feet high and a few small ones. These registered groups of earthquakes from were photographed, but conditions were time to time in seismic spasms, and reports too stormy to permit an extended stay came from Kau and from the ranchers on on the summit. Mauna Kea of sudden strong earthquakes Throughout December a watch was in the line of the axis of Mauna Loa's kept at the Observatory on the fume greatest length. In November 1914 the column over Mauna Loa. It was occasion- registration of about sixty earthquakes ally photographed and it persisted in three weeks, the greatest number ever until January 10, 1915, showing a line of recorded in like time since the instruments bluish fume by day and a dull glow over were set up, greatly stimulated our the mountain at night. After that date attitude of expectancy. On November it disappeared, the fountains probably 25, 1914, about 12.45 p.m. the instru- subsiding and the lava solidifying. ments showed prolonged earthquake PREPARATION FOR FINAL CRISIS movements of an unusual character, and at the same time cattle herders on The Observatory has a difficult and Kapapala Ranch saw thick fume clouds expensive task before it if it is to make puff up suddenly above the summit adequate record of the spectacular closing- crater of Mauna Loa. After that the stages of this eruptive period of Maima earthquake activity diminished. Loa. We have learned a useful lesson The eruption became visible from the of the futility of attempting a scientific Observatory as darkness approached, siege of the crater fortress in winter-time November 25, and photographs w-ere without houses built in advance to made of Mauna Loa from the vicinity shelter men and animals. Such houses that night and on succeeding days and ought to be built of stone both at the nights. These photographs show the summit and on the north flank of the column of glowing fumes, the glow mountain near the probable site of the 102 Science Conspectus

North walls of Mokuaweoweo, the summit crater of Mauna Loa, December 15, 1914 expected flow. The escape of the liquid forth, and thereafter of the flow icself lava after the months of temporary repose in following its course or courses down which we are now living through, will the slopes. begin with more fountains at the summit; These camps and the survey of trails and with a slight earthquake prelude to to them will cost at least three thousand warn us and a shelter camp, we ought to dollars and to maintain them and explore he able to have photographers ready to the field in their vicinity will cost three make pictures of the fountains at their thousand dollars more. The work of highest. A probable time for this out- survey and construction should be pro- break is about December, 1917, when the vided for at once, without delay, but summit will be cold and snowy, but it may there is no possibility of the Observatory come sooner. It is certain that nothing- doing this with its present means. It can be done of scientific value at such a has no means to do anything beyond the season without a summit hut and a recording of the activity of Kilauea and is shelter for horses. barely able to do this owing to steadily The next stage will be a lava flow from decreasing income from subscriptions a lower vent, probably six or eight miles since 1912. to the northeast of the summit crater. Governor Pinkham has gone on record A secondary camp should be prepared as favoring legislative aid for this work, in this neighborhood so that photographs for the protection of the community and measurements may be made of the and for the advance of science. Whether fountains which generally shoot to an the money be furnished by the legislature, enormous height when the flow breaks business corporations, an educational Science Conspectus 103

Three-driblet dome; floor of Kelauea crater institution, wealthy individuals, Hon- article. Mauna Loa has mobilized its olulu, Hilo, or the County of Hawaii, or forces and declared a war zone. The by all of these in concert makes no problem of furnishing the sinews of war difference in the result, but it makes a cannot be left to the scientific staff. very great difference if no one will furnish it. I suppose there is no question in anybody's mind but that the work ought INORGANIC FODDER to be done in accordance with the Geriiany has abundant supplies of appeal of the directors of the Hawaiian potatoes, beet-roots and turnips, materials Volcano Research Association approved holding carbohydrates. Albuminous fod- by the governor and by the Honolulu der, however, was scarce and had to be Chamber of Commerce. It should not largely imported. An invention recently be a very heavy burden to raise two made in Berlin, says the Scientific Ameri- thousand dollars per annum for three can, provides a nourishing yeast contain- years—1915, 1916 and 1917—and to turn ing more than 50 per eent. of albumen, this over to the Hawaiian Volcano Re- prepared from sugar and ammonium sul- search Association with instructions to de- phate. The sugar is bound to an inorganic vote the money to systematic preparation base; in order to supply the albumen, the for a survey of the expected lava flow from sugar is "fertilized" with ammonia, potash Mauna Loa. and magnesia, in the form of their salts, The most that can be expected from after which some yeast is introduced and the writer as director of the Observatory a strong air current applied. The yeast is a statement of why this should be done, then absorbs the sugar and the "ferti- what should be done and its probable lizer," thus resulting in the formation of cost. This he has attempted in this a highly albuminous yeast. —

THE PRINCIPLES OF HOSPITAL EFFICIENCY A DISCUSSION OF THE ELEMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED IN GIVING THE HIGHEST EFFECTIVENESS TO THE MOST IMPOR- TANT OF OUR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS BY RICHARD WATERMAN"

The hospital of today occupies a very cation of doctors, nurses and the public much broader field of work than did the with the least possible waste of labor, hospital of a century ago. Its functions materials and money. There is an enor- include not only the care of the sick, but mous amount of waste involved in the also the prevention of disease, the scien- current methods of operating hospitals. tific study of the causes and the treatment The waste of money probably amounts of disease, and the systematic education to more than 20 per cent, of the $250,000,- of doctors, nurses and the public. In 000 paid each year for current expenses; order to perform these functions properly, and there is in addition a waste of human the hospital has been obliged to erect an labor and of opportunity that is incal- elaborate plant; to provide a great variety culable. of expensive equipment; and to supple- We waste the time of our trustees when ment the efforts of its unpaid scientific we fail to adopt a system of financial staff by employing a special staff of highly records and reports that will enable the paid experts in both the scientific and the superintendent of the hospital to present business departments. to the board at frequent intervals an in- A brief summary of the financial and telligent statement of the work done and operative statistics of the hospitals in the the unit cost of the work. United States may serve to emphasize We waste the time of members of the these statements. The Modern Hospital medical staff when we fail to provide the for September, 1913, says: "There are in facilities that will enable them to do their the United States 6,665 institutions of work properly. The most eminent spe- record for the care of the sick, with a cialists give their services to the hospital total capacity of more than 600,000 beds. without charge; and when they are unable By a modest estimate these huge figures to do their work for lack of suitable equip- represent a money investment in land, ment it is just as truly a waste of time and buildings and equipment of not less than of opportunity as it would be if they were $1,500,000,000, and an annual outlay for receiving a large professional fee. maintenance approaching $250,000,000. We waste the time of our nurses when "On the human side there are more we require them to learn a dozen different than 100,000 trustees of hospitals and ways of doing their work in the operating more than 65,000 physicians on hospital room or in the wards because we have not medical staffs. About 10,000,000 men and discovered the one best way of doing the women contribute annually to the hospital work and adopted it as the standard funds and approximately 9,000,000 men, method of procedure. women and children are patients in the We waste a large amount of money hospitals in the course of each year." when we provide for the construction and The fundamental idea in efficiency is equipment of hospitals where they are not the elimination of waste. A hospital is needed; and at the same time we throw efficient if it thoroughly performs its func- away the opportunity to construct and tions—the care of the sick, the prevention equip new hospitals where they are of disease, the research work and the edu- needed. .

Science Conspectus 105

We waste a large proportion of the first great deal of the time of the dispensary cost of construction and of the annual cost physicians for preliminary examinations of maintenance of our hospitals when we at which a careful diagnosis of each case fail to make ourselves familiar with the is made; and later when we fail to take experience gained by others. For ex- the necessary steps to insure the return of ample, a large American city has recently these patients after their first visit. For completed the erection of a municipal example, one large dispensary shows in its hospital at a cost of nearly $6000 a bed. report for 1914 that in a certain clinic 45 The best experts agree that this is twice per cent, of the patients paid only one as much as it should cost; and also that visit and adds that "not all of the work the arrangement of the buildings will done for these patients was wasted, but make the annual cost of maintenance most of it was." from 50 to 60 per cent, more than is We waste a large amount of money and necessary human effort by failing to coordinate the We waste a great deal of money when various departments of the hospital; and we buy useless equipment without inves- by failing to establish recognized lines of tigation merely because it has been rec- authority so that we can direct the work ommended by some prominent member of every person connected with the hos- of the staff; and when we duplicate expen- pital along such lines that it will be of the sive equipment many times over in neigh- greatest service. boring hospitals and then allow it to lie An enterprise that spends $250,000,- idle the greater part of the time. No 300 a year for current expenses is a large corporation that is organized for profit business undertaking and should be could afford to do this; nor can a hospital managed in accordance with sound busi- afford to do it. ness principles; and yet, it is true that We waste a considerable part of the very few trustees are prepared to apply money that is spent in the purchase of the same principles in the management medical, surgical and household supplies. of a hospital that they apply, as a matter In every hospital about 60 per cent, of the of course, in the management of their own cost of maintenance goes for supplies; and business. about 60 per cent, of these supplies could In these days of scientific management be bought to good advantage through a every progressive business man is study- properly organized central purchasing ing the principles of efficiency. He knows bureau. that in his own business it pays to have a We waste at least half of the money planning department that will help him that we spend to maintain beds for con- to make sure that his staff is so organized, valescent patients in a hospital for acute his buildings and equipment so arranged, cases. It is well known that the per and his financial and operative statistics capita cost in a convalescent home is less so prepared that the work done will be as than half the per capita cost in an acute economical and as efficient as possible. hospital. The business man should also realize We waste a great deal of money by fail- that he can insure efficiency in the man- ing to devise and adopt a good system of agement of the hospital of which he is a serving food to the patients. In one trustee by precisely similar methods. A large hospital that has a very high repu- few hospital boards and hospital superin- tation, the food is handled seven times tendents are already convinced on this and reheated twice between the kitchen point; but the great majority are still in and the patient's bedside; and in one 24- doubt. This is largely due to the fact bed ward the number of trays on which that there is at present no authoritative food is left untouched has been known to statement of the fundamental principles be as high as 33 per cent. of hospital efficiency or of the general We waste a great deal of time and method of applying these principles. money in our dispensaries when we admit In the absence of such a statement, it a large number of patients, who take a may be of service to present here a brief a

106 Science Conspectus outline of the principles of efficiency which results in extravagant expenditures and a are applicable in every field of human great deal of preventable waste. activity —business, professional, govern- The hospital should seek expert advice mental, educational and philanthropic; when necessary. It is not possible for and to show by a few concrete illustrations each of the 6,700 hospitals in this country how these principles can be applied in the to include as permanent members of its scientific departments of the hospital as staff all of the specialists whose advice well as in the business departments. will be needed at one time or another. Mr. Harrington Emerson, one of the Each must, therefore, be prepared to em- foremost efficiency engineers in the United ploy competent counsel when needed— States, has formulated the following list hospital consultant to help in planning of the fundamental principles of efficiency: new buildings; an expert accountant to (1) Clearly defined ideals; (2) common devise and install a system of financial sense; (3) competent counsel; (4) dis- records and reports; an efficiency engi- cipline; (5) the fair deal; (6) reliable, im- neer to discover and eliminate every form mediate and adequate records; (7) des- of preventable waste, etc. patching; (8) standards and schedules; (9) The hospital should enforce discipline standardized conditions; (10) standard- in all parts of its organization. Rules ized operations; (11) written standard governing the treatment and care of practice instructions; and (12) efficiency the patients and the general conduct of the reward. Each of these principles really hospital should be clearly defined by the is fundamental and should be given care- board of managers and placed in the hands ful consideration by trustees who desire of each member of the administrative, to make the management of their hospital the medical and the nursing staff; and efficient. these rules should be enforced. The ideals for which the hospital is The hospital should give a fair deal to working should be clearly defined. A few its patients and to the public as well as to years ago the hospital confined its atten- its contributors, its managers and its tion to the treatment and care of people staff of doctors and nurses. The fair deal who were already sick. Today, in addi- requires that the interests of the patient tion to caring for the sick it devotes a treated in the hospital or in the dispen- great deal of attention to keeping people sary shall be protected by making sure well. A few years ago the average hos- that in each case the physician or the sur- pital made no effort to follow discharged geon in charge is really competent to do patients into their homes in order to the professional work involved. The fair measure the results of hospital treatment. deal requires that the interests of the con- Today in many of our best hospitals the tributor who is asked to support the hos- follow-on system is an important part of pital shall be protected by giving him the work. A few years ago, no syste- some assurance that the money he con- matic effort was made to add to the medi- tributes will be used to good advantage. cal diagnosis and medical treatment a The fair deal requires that the interests social diagnosis and systematic treatment of the doctor who contributes his services by a trained social worker. Today, there shall be protected by giving him as far as are hospitals and dispensaries where the possible the facilities he needs in order to social worker is as much a part of the perform successfully his part of the hos- clinic as is the doctor or the nurse. pital work. The hospital should use a reasonable The hospital should keep reliable, im- amount of common sense. For example, mediate, adequate and permanent rec- it should avoid the unnecessary purchase ords. The system of medical records of costly apparatus. At the present time should be such that it will aid the staff, it frequently happens that the expensive not only in their treatment of the patients equipment needed to facilitate diagnosis but also in preserving the history of each and treatment is duplicated many times case in such a form that it will be available over by neighboring institutions. This for use in the future as a record of ex- Science Conspectus 107 perience and as an aid to teaching. The In one hospital these rooms are so close system of financial records and statistics to the wards that the number of steps the should be such that it will enable the nurses take in order to do their daily hospital executive to lay before the board work is reduced to a minimum. In an- of managers at frequent intervals a clear other hospital, the nurses are required to picture of the work done and the unit cost go to the other end of a long corridor every of this work; and will afford a common time they need to use the diet kitchen, the basis for the comparison of each hospital sink room or the duty room. with every similar institution throughout The hospital should standardize its the country. plan of operation. A few years ago in The despatching of patients in a hospi- one of the leading hospitals of this coun- tal should be just as prompt and syste- try, which has been used as a model by matic as the despatching of trains on a many other institutions, there were 33 railroad. A patient who applies for ad- members of the staff who had authority mission to the hospital should be exam- to admit patients. In the same institu- ined promptly by the admitting officer; tion today there are only two members assigned at once to the proper room or of the staff who have this authority—an ward, and seen within a reasonable period admitting officer and his assistant. In by the visiting physician or surgeon on some hospitals the medical records for service; and instructions given by .the each service and for each dispensary clinic visiting physician in regard to treatment are kept in a different place and are not and care should be carried out promptly cross-indexed. In a few of the more and thoroughly by the resident members modern institutions the hospital, dispen- of the medical and nursing staff. sary and social service records are all con- The hospital should establish definite solidated, and it is possible to find in one standards by which to measure the econ- place a continuous medical history of each omy and the efficiency of its work. One patient from the time that he was first institution may have a per capita cost of admitted to any department of the hos- $3.00 per day and another may boast of a pital. per capita cost of $1.10 per day. It is The hospital should define clearly the necessary to establish some definite rules and regulations governing the ordi- standard by which to measure the per nary procedure for every department so capita cost before we can determine that even when there are frequent changes whether it is a credit or a disgrace to have in the personnel of the medical staff, the a per capita cost of $1.10. One dispen- nursing staff or the administrative staff, sary physician may treat twice as many the policy and the practice of the hospital patients in an afternoon as his colleague will be continuous. who is working under similar conditions. The hospital should give a suitable re- It will be necessary to know that he treats ward for efficiency in every department of them with equal success before we can its work. In the business departments, say that he is twice as efficient as his col- for example, the amount of compensation league. paid to employees should be determined The hospital should standardize the by applying the same standards that conditions under which its work is done, would be applied in any well-managed i. e., it should make a scientific study of commercial enterprise. In the scientific the results of experience in many hospi- departments the professional recognition tals in order to determine the conditions given to a member of the staff should be, under which each class of patients can be as far as possible, directly proportional to cared for with the highest degree of suc- his professional success. In many hos- cess; and should then provide in each de- pitals this principle is not recognized and partment the facilities indicated by the promotion is made to depend not on results of this study. For example, the efficiency, but on seniority of service. principal service rooms should usually be Many different plans have been pro- located as close to the wards as possible. posed with a view to increasing the effi- —

108 Science Conspectus ciency of hospitals in the United States sification" and "standardization" in such either individually or collectively. The a way that under the definition both the American Medical Association has es- classification and the standardization of tablished a hospital section and has hospitals in the United States can be appointed a Committee on the Standard- accomplished, if sufficient resources are ization of Hospitals. The Clinical Con- provided for the purpose. gress of Surgeons of America has For example, the American Hospital appointed a similar committee, which sub- Association or the Carnegie Foundation mitted a report in November, 1913, mak- or some other properly, constituted autho- ing certain definite recommendations. The rity might undertake— American Hospital Association has urged (a) To prepare a schedule for the clas- for years that a comprehensive study be sification of hospitals providing for a num- made and that plans be developed for ber of different groups, each of which the classification and standardization of would include those institutions which all of the hospitals in the United States; are sufficiently similar to be comparable. and at each of its annual meetings has (b) To make a study of a few typical appointed standing and special com- institutions in each group included in the mittees to report on various phases of proposed classification, and in addition hospital efficiency. All three of these of all of the teaching hospitals in the organizations have urged the Carnegie country; but to make no attempt to Foundation to prepare a report on the grade each hospital or to measure its classification and standardization of hos- efficiency as compared with other insti- pitals—a report that would perform as tutions. great a service for the hospitals of this (c) To define standards by which to country as the report on "Medical Edu- measure efficiency in each of the proposed cation in the United States" has already groups so as to make it possible for the performed for the medical schools. managers of any hospital to apply the The committees of these various organ- standards themselves and to measure the izations are now trying to formulate a efficiency of their own institution. satisfactory plan for accomplishing the (d) To include in the report a study of purpose for which they were appointed. the work done by hospitals for the edu- They realize that they must propose a cation of doctors, nurses and the public. plan that will not be objectionable to the The suggested plan makes provision hospitals; and one that it would be pos- for defining standards by which to meas- sible for some properly constituted agency ure the efficiency of a hospital—standards to carry out, provided it is willing to that will help the trustees of any hospital undertake the work and assume the nec- in the country to answer the following essary expense. questions in regard to their own institu-

It is not possible to make an individual tion : study of each of the 6,700 hospitals in the (a) Is the organization of our hospital United States and present the results in efficient? comparative tables. It is not— possible to (b) Is the management scientific? grade the hospitals saying "this hospi- (c) Are the buildings so planned that tal is in Class A" and "that hospital is in the hospital can avoid preventable waste? Class B" nor is it desirable to do so. It (d) Is the equipment such that it is pos- is not possible to set up an arbitrary sible for the hospital to do the best work? standard which every hospital must (e) Does the hospital spend a sufficient attain if it is to be regarded as a reputable amount of money each year to insure institution. And yet these are some of good work? the suggestions that have been urged as (f) Are the medical and financial essential parts of any proposal looking records kept in a form that will enable towards the classification and standardi- the trustees to measure the amount and zation of hospitals. quality of the work done and the unit It is possible to define the terms "clas- cost of the work? — ; .

Science Conspectus 109

(g) Do the social service and follow-on A report developed along the lines sug- systems enable the medical staff to ascer- gested would be of great service to the tain the end results of their work? hospitals, the medical schools, the nursing (h) Are the physicians and surgeons profession and the public. getting as good results as they should in It would be of service to the hospitals the treatment of their patients? because it would enable each institution

(i) its efficiency and would Does the hospital ; cooperate ac- to measure own tively with the public authorities and with present constructive plans for increasing various private institutions and agencies the efficiency of those institutions which to protect the health of the community? do not measure up to the standard. The proposed study of hospitals should It would be of service to the medical result in establishing .under the auspices schools since it would help them to de- of the American Hospital Association, a velop more effectively that side of their Central Hospital Bureau that work which must be done in a teaching (a) Will place within the reach of every hospital. hospital in the United States the latest It would be of service to the nursing information in regard to hospital organi- profession since it would define standards zation, management, construction and for the training schools for nurses and equipment. show them what is generally recognized (b) Will make the necessary tests and as the proper course of study, the neces- establish standards of quality and price sary equipment and the desirable facili- for the medical, surgical and household ties for a training school for nurses. supplies ordinarily used in our hospitals This part of the report would have a and will thus help every hospital—large very wide application since a majority of or small—to save the money now wasted the hospitals in the country have training in purchasing supplies without a full schools for nurses. Many of them are knowledge of current market conditions. sending out each year large classes of This would result in a very substantial young women who are allowed to become saving since the present annual cost of graduate nurses and to enjoy all of the the supplies used in American hospitals privileges of the profession, without having is about $150,000,000. received an adequate training for the work. (c) Will help to develop a community It would be of service to the public program for hospital work with a view to since it would make clear the necessity preventing the unnecessary duplication for including in the organization of every of expensive equipment and the overlap- hospital some provision for protecting ping of work that have proved so waste- the interests of the patients. It is an ful under the present system. acknowledged fact that some of the best (d) Acting in an adA'isory capacity will medical work and some of the worst is aid individual hospitals in their efforts to done in hospitals, and it is very desirable increase their own efficiency and to make that some steps should be taken to enable the best use of the funds entrusted to their the public to determine which hospitals care. are entitled to their confidence. The proposed Central Hospital Bureau, The proposed schedule for the classi- with its skilled organization, its complete fication of hospitals would provide for a hospital information, its modern systems number of different groups. It is ob- of investigation and record, its staff of A'iously unfair to compare a large general hospital consultants, expert accountants hospital in New York with a 30-bed hos- and auditors—all at the service of each pital in some small interior town; or a hospital—will make it possible for the contagious disease hospital with a hos- smallest institution to be conducted with pital for incurables, or an insane hospital the same precision and skill as the largest with a children's hospital; but it is quite and for all of them to effect a great saving possible to group these institutions in in their expenditure of time, money and such a way that those which are grouped human effort. together can be compared. —

110 Science Conspectus

The proposed study of hospitals should twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars a result in a report that will present the year. essential facts One of the subjects on which Professor (a) In regard to the number of hos- Kennelly recently reported to President pitals in the United States, the number of Maclaurin is the behavior of metallic patients treated, the number of managers, discs such as are used in telephones. It doctors and nurses actively engaged in was desired to establish what the mechan- the work, the amount of money invested, ical movements of the parts of such a disc the amount of money expended each year might be with a view to establishing stand- for maintenance and other data that can ard formulas for them. A research under- readily be obtained from recognized taken by Dr. H. O. Taylor of Cambridge, sources of information. relates to the analysis of sound waves and (b) In regard to each of the teaching a number of devices were tried in the hospitals in the United States showing hope of recording the passage of the wave what it does for the education of medical in air. The attempts were in vain so that students, for the further education of it was decided to investigate quantita- members of the medical profession, and tively the behavior of the metal dia- for the movement to add to the available phragm. With the exception of a very knowledge of the causes, the preA'ention, limited area in the centre of such a dia- the diagnosis and the treatment of disease. phragm, the field had been practically (c) In regard to the educational work untouched. done by hospitals where nurses are taught The apparatus is comparatively simple, in the training school for nurses, in various a metal plate such as is in use in tele- departments of the hospital, and in va- phones, a round frame in which to clamp rious dispensary clinics; and where the it tightly about the edge and a triangular public is taught by hospital and dispen- mirror supported from a bridge. The sary physicians, by lecturers and teach- immediate purpose was to measure the ers in the out-patient department, by motion of the metal disc. The point of social service workers and by the publica- the mirror was applied directly to the tion of suitable material in the form of place which it was desired to measure; annual reports, special publications, and the mirror took up the motion of the disc articles in the periodical and daily press. and by means of a beam of light reflected (d) In regard to a few typical hospitals from the mirror the nature and amplitude in each group included in the proposed of the movement could easily be deter- classification. mined. The flexibility of the apparatus was HOW THE TELEPHONE DIA- such that the motion of any point in the PHRAGM WORKS diaphragm could be measured in direction The Electrical Research Laboratory of and amplitude and for glass discs as well the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- as metal, the movement being actuated ogy has been engaged the past year on a by a range of sounds from an organ pipe number of technical researches, and a re- which corresponded in pitches to the lim- port of Professor Arthur E. Kennelly of its under which the telephone must work. Cambridge, chairman of the laboratory, There exist already some fundamental to President Maclaurin, sets forth a num- formulas of Bessel lately set forth by Lord ber of these interesting investigations. Rayleigh and the correspondence of actu- An important point here is the fact that ality to hypothesis has been shown by the Technology has an electrical laboratory, Technology experiments. It has further the efforts of which can be devoted to been shown that within the limits of the scientific research as distinguished from experimental conditions the vibration de- commercial work and it is further a sign creases regularly from centre to edge and of the times that business men see advan- the plate does not break up into sections tages in the support of such a laboratory such as those shown by the Chladni sand and assure its support to the extent of figures. —a

HARDENED OILS

A means of permanently changing whether ancient or recent, sweet or an oil into a solid fat has been sought strong-smelling, can be transformed after by the oil chemists with almost the into soap or candle stock of any desired same zeal that the quest of the philoso- hardness. The process does even more pher's stone was pursued by the alchemists. than this, it changes the before-mentioned Nor did the fact that the product is only oils—an ancient fish oil for example doubled in value, instead of being in- into edible fats: the product is bacteria- creased sixteenfold or more, diminish free and physiologically uninjurious. So their ardor. successful has the process become, that The problem was one similar to the it is proposed to limit by law the produc- preparation of sugar C12H22O11 from tion of edible fats and oils from loathsome starch C12H20O10 (2 mols), here involving sources; for example, garbage grease, the simple addition of a molecule of cadaver and by-product fats. While it water; in the case of the oils it was even might be easy to pass this law, its enforce- simpler—the addition of three molecules ment would be extremely difficult, as the of hydrogen,* a mere trifle of a tenth of an recognition of the different fats and oils ounce or a little more than a cubic foot to now is well-nigh impossible; the difficulty the pound, being sufficient. of recognizing them after having gone The procedures followed, by reduction through this process would probably be of "red oil" with hydriodic acid, by chlori- unsurmountable. nation and subsequent reduction with Products obtained by this method can zinc, by reduction with nascent hydrogen, probably be recognized by the fact that by treatment with electricity in an at- they contain small quantities of the cata- mosphere of hydrogen, were all either too lyst used—nickel for example. expensive or gave indifferent yields. The question has arisen as to the physi- In a memoir, published in the Annates ological effect of small doses of this metal; de Chimie in 1905, Sabatier and Sender- it has been found that foods cooked in ens called attention to the fact that hy- nickel or nickel-plated ware contain more drogen could be added to unsaturated nickel than the hardened fats, and fur- bodies by the use of certain finely di- thermore that 99.8 per cent, of the metal vided metals, which so far as could be is rapidly excreted from the system. ascertained played no chemical part in the They are employed as soap stock— reaction—catalysts—as they are called. fish oil which it would have been utterly A temperature of 300° C, with or without out of the question to use, on account of pressure, was necessary and nickel, cobalt the odor and consistency of the product, iron, and copper were the catalysts em- now gives a soap which has a "finer, ployed. cleaner and whiter look than that made As carried out at the present time, the without it." The slight odor can be process consists in causing the oil to cir- masked by perfume. A disadvantage of culate through grids supporting the cat- the use of these fats is that the soap is so alyst, usually nickel or palladium, at a hard that it lathers poorly. temperature of about 180-250° C, and They find wide use as edible fats. under a pressure of ninety pounds of hy- It is claimed for them that they can be drogen. The melting point of the fatty heated hotter (to 455° F.) without smok- acids ("Titer" or "Titer Test") is raised, ing than ordinary fat: this cooks the out- and the operation can be interrupted at side of the food more quickly and prevents any point to give a fat of the desired con- the grease from soaking in. Consequent- sistency. As a result any oil, cottonseed, ly it is less greasy, more digestible, dry linseed, whale or fish, garbage grease, and crisp. Another advantage is that no

COOCi 7 H33 COOC17 H35

C 3 H 5 COOC17 H33 +3H 2 =C 3 H 5 COOC17 H3 5 lard oil COOC17 H33 COOC 17 H35 tallow 112 Science Conspectus

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Society of Arts was established as a department of the Institute by President Rogers in 1861. It is especially devoted to the general dissemination of scientific knowledge, and it aims to awaken and maintain an interest in the recent advances and practical application of the sciences. Any person interested in the aims of the Society is eligible to membership. The annual dues are $3. Richard C. Maclaurin, President of the Institute Isaac W. Litchfield, Secretary of the Society of Arts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The President James P. Muxroe Arthur D. Little Elihu Thomson Theodore N. Vail Frederic H. Fay The Secretary BOARD OF PUBLICATION Hervey W. Shimer Edward A. Ingham Ellwood B. Spear Selskar M. Gunn Jerome C. Hunsaker I. W. Litchfield, Editor

Five numbers of Science Conspectus are published during the year.

odor is absorbed ; fish, onions and potatoes lors, and to meet the greatly increased can be cooked successively in the same consumption the dealers draw on a fat. Another claim is that one fourth supply of heavy cream which they have less is used of these fats than of butter; kept in a frozen condition. This frozen further that it is all fat, while butter con- cream is thawed out, mixed with a proper tains 5 to 16 per cent, of water. proportion of milk, and put through the Finally hydrogenated vegetable oils homogenizer. The homogenized mixture seem to offer a satisfactory substitute for makes a smoother ice-cream than the animal fats to those who object to the natural light cream because, when the latter from prejudice or religious scruples. latter is frozen, much larger ice crystals A. H. Gill. are formed, which can be felt with the tongue. e. b. s. RECONSTRUCTED CREAM of many unfortunate ex- Because INOCULATING TREES periences the public is naturally preju- diced against any alterations of food The Chemiker Zeitung of recent date products, yet in some cases, such as describes a method of destroying plant cream, the result is beneficial rather than and household pests and fungi. Mercury detrimental. In some parts of the South is the material employed. In enclosed there are no dairy farms, and the table places it is used in the form of a vapor, would be without cream were it not for but when trees are infected by insects, a process of reconstruction. Desiccated auger holes are bored in the lower branches milk is mixed with water and with butter in an oblique direction passing through from which the salt has been carefully the pith of the tree. These holes are washed out. The mixture is now forced filled with mercury, after which they through a machine called a homogenizer. are made air-tight with tree-wax. From By this process the butter fat is put back two to seven grams of mercury are into the milk and delicious cream is thus required for inoculation. This treatment obtained which cannot be distinguished in is said to be not only effective for the taste from the natural product. purpose intended, but in most cases Ice-cream makers employ a similar apparently assists in the growth of the method in order to provide against in- plant or tree. The influence of the equalities of demand. On hot evenings treatment continues for a year or some- there is a rush toward the ice-cream par- times more. '

Science Conspectus

Vol. V 1915 No.

NATIONAL PARKS IN THE CANADIAN CORDILLERA PHYSICAL FEATURES AND SOME OF THE MANY ATTRACTIONS IN THE CANADIAN NATIONAL PLAYGROUNDS SITUATED IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS

BY JOHN A. ALLAN

: The Canadian national pleasure ment in Canada is 'See America's Best.' grounds are becoming better known and The slogan which has been previously more attractive each year to the citizens adopted on the continent is "See America of the fair Dominion, and also to trave- First." lers from the United States and from Canada set aside her first mountain abroad. Parks and pleasure resorts at- reserve for the benefit and pleasure of tract many tourists. All human beings the people in 1887. Today there are have a peculiar strong instinct which eight national playgrounds in the Cana- craves for recreation. The number of dian Cordillera between the Great Plains nature lovers, pleasure seekers who visit and the Pacific Ocean. Rocky Moun- the mountainous playgrounds of Canada, tains Park, Yoho, Glacier and Revel- is annually increasing. stroke Parks are situated on the main The scenery which a country contains line of the Canadian Pacific Railway; that can be made readily accessible to the Jasper Park and Mt. Robson reserve are traveling public, and the pleasure oppor- along the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway; tunities which can be offered to the Waterton Lakes Park lies south of the tourist can be ranked as one of the im- Crows Nest line; and Strathcona Park is portant natural resources of that country. situated towards the centre of Vancouver Statistics for 1913 show that the value Island. of tourist traffic holds fourth place with Three of these parks are in Alberta, respect to the revenue from Canada's the remaining five are in British Colum- national resources. According to the bia. Canadian Travel Association, the amount Rocky Mountains, Yoho, Jasper, Mt. of money spent by tourists in Canada in Robson and Waterton Lakes Parks lie 1913 amounted "to $50,000,000. The within the Rocky Mountain system of annual revenue of Switzerland from tourist the Cordillera; whereas Glacier Park is traffic is about $150,000,000. in the Selkirks and Revelstroke Park is Mr. J. B. Harkin, commissioner of along the edges of the Selkirk and Colum- Dominion parks, in his annual report for bia ranges. 1914 says: "The slogan which Canada's From a scenic point of view these parks outstanding advantages in the way of are all different and yet all attractive in natural scenic and other attractions various respects. Each of these pleasure justify using in regard to parks' develop- grounds will be brieflv mentioned. 3

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK 1 hotsprings at Banff, and above all a The Rocky Mountains Park of Canada museum of scenic beauty so extensive is the largest and oldest of the Dominion and so varied that it equals any in the national playgrounds. By an Act of world. The contrast of forested lower Parliament in 1887 an area comprising slopes, rock-barren, towering escarpments 260 square miles was "reserved and set and pinnacles, capped with snow and ice, apart as a public park and pleasure and lakes large and small nestling in a ground for the benefit, advantage and forest or in a rock face, offer variety and enjoyment of the people of Canada." enchantment to the visitor. The scenery In 1902 this reservation was enlarged to of this park never becomes old or mono- include 4,900 square miles, but as this tonous, as there are still many new and was found to be too large an area to pre- unexplored and even unvisited valleys serve properly, the boundaries were re- and notches. The topography of the duced in 1911 to enclose 1,800 square park is rugged and distinctly Alpine in miles, which is the present size of this character. The lowest valleys reach down world-known playground. to 4,200 feet above sea-level, while the This reservation is situated about lati- highest peak is 11,870 feet, seen in the tude 51 degrees, on the main line of the Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies— Canadian Pacific Railway west of Cal- Mt. Assiniboine. gary. It lies entirely on the east slope Physiographically there are three very of the Rocky Mountain system in the distinct structural features to be observed Province of Alberta and extends from the within this park. The first of these is western edge of the plains westwards to the sharp line of demarcation between the summit of the Rocky Mountains, the low, rounded ridge of the inner foot- which is also the continental watershed. hills, and the gray massive limestone This park includes the entire drainage mountains, void of vegetation and light- basin of the Bow River within the Rocky ened by patches of snow manteling the Mountains and has roughly the form of upper slopes of the massifs. This break an isosceles triangle with the base running between these two physically different in a northeast and southwest direction. units is marked by an almost perpendi- The Bow River may be taken as the cular escarpment, 2,500 to 3,000 feet perpendicular, as it enters at the apex high. So sharp is this break that it is and leaves the reservation about the possible to walk along the extreme eastern centre of the base of this triangular area. base of the Rocky Mountains. This The gateway to the park from the plains feature is particularly noticeable between is also a natural portal to the mountains latitudes 49 and 52 degrees. This escarp- and is known as the Gap. ment marks the front of an overthrust This reservation is commonly known as block which when the mountains were up- "Banff Park" since it includes the town lifted was thrust in places several miles of Banff, one of the best known and most over the plains to the east. At the base popular mountain tourist resorts in of the escarpment is exposed the over- North America. thrust fault which farther south is called Banff and Lake Louise, both well the "Lewis Thrust." Within the eastern known resorts in the Canadian Rockies, edge of the park along this fault the are the only two distributing centres for Cambrian beds are thrust over the lower tourists within this park. Cretaceous formations. The Rocky Mountains Park contains The other two structural features of many features that would attract the note within the park are to be found in the general public, the nature lover, the artist mountains themselves; two thirds of the or the scientist. It embraces the most eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains rugged, picturesque and majestic part of consist of a series of sharply defined ridges the Canadian Rockies; many lakes with all parallel to one another which present superb, artistic setting, the sulphur- a steep escarpment on their eastern face

1 Published by permission of the Geological Survey Ottawa. Science Conspectus 115

Plate I. Mount Assiniboine (11,870 feet), the " Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies," in the Rocky Mountains Park. Scenery typical of the range forming the continental watershed in the Canadian Rockies.

and a more gentle slope towards the west. Banff and Lake Louise (Laggan) al- These ridges are hugh uptilted fault though only 3i miles apart are very dif- blocks of rock, the more westerly blocks ferent as to location and scenery. The having been thrust partly over the block former is situated in the second range of in front of it. The rocks in these fault the Rocky Mountains, on the floor of the blocks range essentially from Devonian Bow valley at an elevation of 4,54-2 feet to Cretaceous in age. The mountains in above sea-level. Banff is the head- the western one third of the park are much quarters of the park with enclosures con- older and belong to the pre-Cambrian taining all varieties of mountain animals and Cambrian periods. These formations including several buffalo. It also contains have been up-arched into a broad fold a museum, meteorological station, head- which define the backbone of the Rocky quarters of the Royal Xorth West Mountains system, as well as the con- mounted police and the only food dis- tinental watershed. The rocks in this tributing centre for the entire park. portion are for the most part lying nearly From a scenic point of view Banff is horizontal. There is a sharp break which quite different from Lake Louise. It has is represented by a fault between the a quiet, restful scenery developed in younger formations on the east and the westerly tilted huge monoliths of rock older formations on the west. The rocks with prominent escarpments on the east. within this park are entirely of sedimen- No glaciers can be seen and the slopes are tary origin. forested almost to the summits. Rock structure has a marked influence Lake Louise is situated at an altitude of on the scenery in the park. The types of 5,670 feet above sea-level and 533 feet forms to be seen about Banff, which is above the railway at Laggan. The scenic situated in the younger portion of the features are truly Alpine consisting of a mountains, is quite different from that at valley closed at one end by a glacier, sur- Lake Louise which is situated in the older rounded by rugged mountains of flat- rocks. lying quartzites, limestones and shales, Plate II. A perfect reflection of Mount Assiniboine in Lake Magog. Note the weird face- like form of some ferocious animal when viewed from the side. Science Conspectus 117

whose summits average over 10,500 feet, YOHO PARK and fringed with perpendicular cliffs or Yoho Park, containing about 560 more gracefully curved slopes heavily square miles, is situated on the western timbered. The floor of the valley con- slope of the Rocky Mountains adjacent to tains a lake of matchless beauty and the the Rocky Mountains Park. The Kick- outlet of the valley hangs 600 feet above ing Horse River, rising on the continental the floor of the Bow valley. watershed at the pass by the same name The highest and most prominent moun- (locally called the Great Divide), divides tains are found on or close to the conti- the park almost through the centre. nental divide. The most lofty peaks The grade of the upper part of the river is

include Mt. Assiniboine (11,870 feet) ; Mt. very steep; at one point, near the pass, in Temple (11,626); Mt. Hungabee (11,447); a distance of 2j miles there is a difference Mt. Victoria (11,355); Mt. Deltaform in elevation of 900 feet. The Canadian (11,225); Mt. Lefroy (11,220); Mt. Ball Pacific Railway follows close to this (10,825); Mt. Balfour (10,731); Mt. Fay river. In order to overcome this steep (10,612); Mt. Aberdeen (10,340); Storm descent it has been necessary to construct Mountain (10,309). two spiral tunnels. The upper tunnel is Among the many lakes of special indi- in the base of Cathedral Mountain and vidual scenic beauty that attract the tour- is 3,200 feet long, while the lower tunnel, ist are Louise, Minnewanka, Vermilion, in Mt. Ogden, on the opposite side of Bow, Hector, Spray, Shadow and Moraine the valley, is 2,910 feet long. The grade Lake in the valley of the Ten Peaks. on the railway is 2.2 per cent. This national playground can be visited Field, situated at the base of Mt. easily and comfortably by all pleasure- Stephen, is the tourist headquarter for seeking nature-lovers, whether in the the park and is a famous resort, equally railway coach, by carriage, by saddle pony as well known as Laggan and Banff. or on foot. Within the limits of the park From a scenic point of view few dis- there are 300 miles of trails which are tricts can surpass that in and about the frequently traveled, and over 125 miles Yoho Park. The topography is distinctly of carriage road. The government has mountainous and Alpine in character, taken steps to encourage trail travel by sculptured to a considerable degree by the erection of cabins at various points glacial action, whereas the valleys have along certain trails. A telephone system been broadened and deepened by the is also being installed. effect of valley glaciers. Kicking Horse A motor road is being constructed from valley is a typical example of a V-shaped the plains to the coast. It is already glacial transverse trough with steep completed through this park and crosses walls and a broad floor. the continental divide at Vermillion Pass, Yoho valley, the largest tributary from fifteen miles west of Banff. the north, shows distinct evidence of the That the park is ever becoming more handiwork of the glaciers. Takakkaw popular is witnessed by the yearly in- Falls, nearly 1,200 feet high and Twin crease of guests shown in the hotel regis- Falls, about 500 feet high, entering the ters at Banff and Lake Louise. In 1914 Yoho from either side, rank among the over seventy-five thousand persons visited most superb in the continent. Both are the park. Banff is also becoming a popu- formed in massive middle Cambrian lar winter resort and offers facilities for limestones and both come from typical all seasonable sports. hanging valleys enclosing glaciers. The Year by year new places are being made Yoho glacier closes the northern end of more accessible to the tourist. The the valley. The many peaks in the pleasure seekers will always find uncut President range on the west and the Wapi- pages in Nature's book to read. For tuk range on the east, present a panorama magnitude, variety of scenery and accessi- truly majestic. This valley can be visited bility, few places can surpass the Rocky in comfort by carriage. Another popular Mountains Park. drive from Field is to Emerald Lake, a 118 Science Conspectus

^jtitSjjm.

^yj^iMkA f. , ; f

Plate III. Mount Rundle at Banff, showing monoclinal structure with escarpment on the eastern face and gentle slope towards the west, typical of the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountain system.

distance of seven miles along the famous On the north slope of Mt. Stephen there snow-peak avenue. This drive passes is a small lead-zinc mine located 1,000 the Natural Bridge where the water of feet almost vertically above the railway. the Kicking Horse River passes through a Geologically this park is especially tunnel-like channel about four feet wide. unique. Along the railway there is The park is well traversed by excellent exposed one of the thickest Cambrian trails along which the tourist is enabled sections in the world. The total thickness to get a picturesque panorama for a of a continuous conformable series of radius of twenty-five to fifty miles. quartzites, limestones and shales from Mention can only be made of such the base to the top of the Cambrian was places of particular scenic interest to the found to be over 18,500 feet. 1 tourist as the Ice River valley surrounded The rocks in the park are all sedimen- bv such peaks as Mts. Goodsir (11,676), tary with the exception of a small area of Yaux (10,881), and Chancellor (10,751); igneous (plutonic) rock exposed in the Ottertail valley; McArthur Pass and the Ice River valley. These rocks are alka- Cataract valley with Lake McArthur, line in composition, ranging from nephe- Lake O'Hara, Mt. Odarav (10,165), lite and sodalite syenites, through ijolites Cathedral Mountain (10,454), Mt. Bid- and urtites to jacupirangites and other die (10,876), Mts. Hungabee (11,447); basic affinities. These rocks have been Huber (11,041); Mt. Victoria (11,355), fully described by the writer in the and many other peaks over 10,000 feet in memoir mentioned above. The mineral the Bow range which forms the conti- sodalite has a beautiful blue color and is nental watershed. All of these mountains much in demand by tourists as souvenirs. are readily accessible and can be climbed by the aspiring mountaineer. Mt. Step- GLACIER PARK hen (10,485) one of the best known, can be Glacier Park comprises an area of 468 easily climbed, and from its summit a square miles and is situated at the summit magnificent panorama can be viewed. of the Selkirk range. This reservation is

1 Allan, J. A., Geology of the Field Map Area — Memoir 55, Geological Survey of Canada, 1914. ;

Science Conspectus 119

Plate IV. Looking up the broad valley of the Bow River at Laggan, showing Mount Hector (11,125 feet), on the right, Hector Lake in the center, and Mount Daly (10,332 feet), on the left. The shape of this valley indicates its glacial origin.

the most westerly of the three situated on the Illecillewset and Asulkan glaciers, the main line of the Canadian Pacific and the Nakimu caves. Both are reached Railway. Rogers Pass, the summit of by good trails. Within a few minutes' the Selkirks, is located about the centre walk from the railway it is possible to of the park. Glacier is the only distrib- stand on the frontal lobe of a real living uting point for tourists in this play- and moving glacier. This gives one an ground and is situated on the south slope opportunity to study glacial phenomena of the broadly rounded glacier-marked in the process of change. Illecillewset valley. The Nakimu caves (caves of Cheops) The scenery in Glacier Park is equally are situated in a cirque-like basin towards grand as that of the Yoho in the Rocky the head of Cougar creek on the west side Mountains Park, but it is nevertheless of the Illecillewset valley. These caves are quite distinct. The mountain peaks can be readily reached by a good trail in more numerous and more pointed form from Glacier House, a distance of about than those in the Rocky Mountain seven miles, and are wonderful in their system. This difference of form can be formation. They consist of a series of accounted for geologically. The rocks irregular subterranean channels which are essentially pre-Cambrian in age and have been formed by running water from consist of schists, slates, gneisses and a crystalline limestone. There have been other metamorphic types badly contorted several miles of these tunnels explored and broken. This portion of the Selkirks and furnish interesting represents the old terrane from which they an and some- eerie much of the sediment was derived which what expedition to the visitor. A gave rise to the great thickness of Cam- description and map of these caves has brian and other Paleozoic formations in been published by the Parks Branch, the Rocky Mountains. "The Nakimu Caves, Glacier Dominion Two physical features are of special Park, B. C," Dominion Parks Branch, note, and should be visited by all tourists Department of Interior, Ottawa, 1914- 120 Science Conspectus

A considerable portion of the park still east. A line crossing the railway about awaits the explorer and adventurer. two miles east of Jasper and drawn in a Game is abundant, especially the grizzly northwest-southeast direction divides and black bear, whereas the more open the younger portion of the Rocky Moun- mountain slopes offer a museum of floral tains consisting largely of westerly tilted variety for the botanist. monoclinal fault blocks of Devonian to Cretaceous rocks, from the older portion JASPER PARK represented by Cambrian and older rocks Jasper Park, although still quite young, that make up the ranges which mark the is year by year becoming better known. continental watershed. This structural This reservation is situated on the feature is similar to that more fully de- Athabaska River west of Edmonton and scribed under the Rocky Mountains Park. is reached by the Grand Trunk Pacific Pyramid Lake, about three miles from Railway. The park comprises an area Jasper, offers excellent facilities for boat- of 1,000 square miles, which includes a ing, fishing and camping. strip 20 miles on each side of the railway Although outside of the present limits and extending from the foothills, west to of the park, Maligne Lake, situated in the the continental watershed on either side valley by the same name, is a most pic- of Yellowhead Pass which also marks the turesque spot surrounded by the Opal western boundary of Alberta. and Maligne ranges. It is becoming a The position of Jasper Park in relation popular camping spot for visitors to the to the Rocky Mountains is quite similar park and can be comfortably visited by to that of the Rocky Mountains Park 200 a good trail 'from Jasper. miles to the south, in that they both oc- Another physical feature that is mak- cupy the entire eastern slope of the moun- ing the park well known is the presence tain system from the plains to the con- of sulphurous hot springs (Miette hot tinental divide. springs) situated towards the eastern The topography in Jasper Park, al- end of the park about seven miles from though by no means so rugged and pre- the railway in the valley of Fiddle creek. cipitous as that in higher altitudes to the There are several of these springs and the south, is nevertheless attractive, pleasing temperature varies to a maximum of 127 and varied in its character. The valley degrees Fahrenheit. The water in some of the Athabaska is broadly rounded and of these springs has been proved to have well forested. The broadened river certain medicinal properties for rheumat- course forming Jasper and Brule Lakes ics. and the meandering braided character of MOUNT ROBSON RESERVE the stream in places add beauty to the landscape when backed up by a forested Mt. Robson Park reservation is under slope terminating in a massive grey lime- the control of the Province of British stone escarpment, with well-nigh perpen- Columbia; it therefore is not a Dominion dicular walls. Roche Miette is a good park. It will however be briefly men- example of this. tioned here as a national pleasure-ground. The town of Jasper is the headquarters This reservation joins Jasper Park on of the park and is also the most central the west and includes the ranges to the point of distribution. It is situated on a northwest of Yellowhead Pass, forming broad flat terrace on the north side of the the continental watershed. This park Athabaska at a point where the Miette is still comparatively young and has not River coming from Yellowhead Pass joins yet been thoroughly explored. It how- the Athabaska. From this centre an ever contains some of the most majestic excellent panorama can be observed of and rugged scenery in the continent. Mt. the lofty ranges at the head waters of the Robson, "the Monarch of the Canadian Athabaska River, which contain some of Rockies," has an altitude of about 13,700 the highest peaks in the Canadian feet above sea-level. It is the most Rockies. lofty peak in the Canadian Cordillera The topography of the ranges west of south of the Yukon. There are a number Jasper is quite distinct from that to the of other peaks in the Robson group equally Science Conspectus 121

Plate V. Mount Stephen (10,485 feet), with the town of Field in the foreground. (Yoho Park.)

as magnificent, but much lower in eleva- This park is situated in the extreme tion. Associated with these summits are southwestern corner of the Province of many square miles of glaciers and snow- Alberta. It is bounded on the west by fields that add beauty to the panorama. the continental watershed, on the east, The Robson district is reached by a for the most part, by the eastern face of good trail from Mt. Robson station on the Rocky Mountains, on the north by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Berg Township Five and on the south by the Lake and Lake Kinney are two beautiful International boundary line. large sheets of water at the base of Mt. Waterton Lakes Park adjoins the Robson; they are connected by the Valley United States Glacier National Park of a Thousand Falls. In the Fraser which has been described in Bulletin No. valley, along which the Grand Trunk 600 of the L nited States Geological Sur- Pacific and Canadian Northern Railways vey. follow, Yellowhead Lake near the pass by Although this reservation has not yet the same name, and Moose Lake farther become well known on account of the west offer facilities for boating and fish- lack of roads and trails, yet it is bound to ing; these also add charm to the sur- become a popular resort especially for the rounding scenery. citizens in Southern Alberta. One of The rocks in this district are chiefly the principal features at present in the pre-Cambrian and Cambrian in age and park is the chain of lakes after which the are all of sedimentary origin. park has been named. The upper Water- A description of this district is given ton Lake extends for about three miles in the Canadian Alpine Journal, Volume south of the International boundary. IV, 1912. This chain of lakes is walled in by steep promontories and rock escarpments which WATERTON LAKES PARK rise to an elevation of 8,000 feet. The Previous to 1914, this was the smallest lower lake lies just outside of the moun- Dominion mountain reservation, having tains and is separated from the middle an area of 16 square miles. It has since and upper lake by a broad delta of allu- been enlarged to include 432 square miles. vial material carried down bv Blakiston Plate VI. Twin Falls, in Yolio Valley, Yoho Park. Science Conspectus 123

Plate VII. Typical Yoho Park scenery. Mount Stephen on the right and Cathedral Mountain on the left, taken from Burgess Pass. creek (Pass creek). The lakes within feet. This road continues down the west the mountains are entirely of glacial ori- slope of the Rocky Mountains into the gin. There are other equally picturesque Flathead valley. lakes within the park; of these Summit Fish abound in the lakes and game of Lake (Oil Lake) lies in a large cirque various kinds is to be found in almost close to the continental divide and ex- any valley. tends across the boundary line into the United States. This lake is drained by REVELSTROKE PARK Oil creek, so called because small quan- Revelstroke Park is the youngest and tities of crude petroleum have been ob- smallest of the Canadian Cordilleran tained in three or four drill holes in this playgrounds. It was set aside in June valley. 1911 and consists of 48 square miles in The scenery within the park is typical the vicinity of the town of Revelstroke of the eastern part of the Rocky Moun- on the main line of the Canadian Pacific tains. The ridges making up the Lewis- Railway. It is located on the extreme Clark ranges usually have a steep escarp- western flank of the Selkirk range on the ment on the eastern face and a more eastern side of the Columbia River. gentle slope to the west. The park is being opened up rapidly There are no true glaciers, but large by the construction of trails and a motor patches of perennial snow may be seen road to the top of Mt. Revelstroke. This on many of the higher slopes. Very peak is only 6,500 feet high, yet from its little is yet known of the northern half summit there is a magnificent panorama of the park. There is a wagon road from towards the Selkirks, the Gold ranges, the plains, up Blakiston (Pass) creek and the Cariboo district and up the Columbia over the continental watershed at South valley. An endeavor is being made to Kootenay Pass at an elevation of 7,100 make this park a popular winter resort. 124 Science Conspectus

Plate YIII. Mount Robson (13,700 feet, the "Monarch of the Canadian Rockies "), and the gateway to the many glaciers and lakes in the Mount Robson reserve.

STRATHCONA PARK are situated far inland and in lofty In June, 1910, the government set mountain ranges. aside an area comprising approximately The contrast is very sharp between 260 square miles to be used as a reserva- lake and stream with their low shores tion and playground in the centre of fringed with magnificent and luxuriant Vancouver Island. This area was called foliage and the rugged mountain peaks, Strathcona Park. Since the original often snow-covered or mooring glaciers limits of the park did not include much and snowfield, enclosing waterfalls and of the finest lake and mountain scenery, noisy cataracts, which resound for a score the government in 1913 extended the of miles. limits of this reservation to include about The park is not without its lakes 800 square miles. which afford ideal boating and fishing Strathcona Park is situated about the facilities. Buttles Lake affords a pic- centre of Vancouver Island; the northern turesque watercourse twenty-five miles gateway is about 120 miles north of Vic- long and one to two miles wide, winding toria, seventy-five miles west of Nanaimo down the centre of the park. Streams and twenty miles north of Alberni. The often with waterfalls enter on either side park can be reached from the south by through heavily timbered shores which way of the Nanaimo-Alberni Railway terminate in rugged rocky slopes often from Alberni, or from the north by way snow-clad and cold. of Campbell River, which is reached by Campbell Lake consists of two basins, the island highway northwest of Nanaimo. the lower being seven miles long and one Although little is yet known of much of and a half miles wide, while the upper the park, each season is bringing it before one is about six miles long. the public, and showing that this reser- Numerous small lakes which, like the vation is worthy of being ranked as larger ones, are of glacial origin, add equally wonderful in the works of nature charm to the surroundings. as other parks referred to above, which The topograph}7 on the whole is rugged Science Conspectus 125

Plate IX. Berg Lake and Robson Glacier, one of the many beauty spots in Mount Robson Park. Continuous movement in this glacier especially in the summer is evidenced by the cracking and groaning sounds which it makes. The white specks are icebergs which can be seen in the process of formation. since the altitude ranges from sea-level "any visitor to the park," writes Mr- to nearly 7,500 feet. Elkhorn peak, about Maeoun, "may expect to find not only 7,200 feet, is known as the Matterhorn species that have not before been recorded of Strathcona Park. from Vancouver Island but which are new The flora of the park has been studied to science." by James M. Maeoun of the Geological Survey of Canada. He reports having ARTIFICIAL PATTERN LUMBER noted at least 350 species of phenogamous plants in the park which are very repre- A substitute for wood for pattern sentative of the whole flora of British work, and other similar uses, may be Columbia. Mr. Maeoun writes "a week made by mixing with hot water three spent in Strathcona Park will give the parts by volume of starch, one part botanist or plant-lover a better idea of ground glue, two parts fine resinous the flora, of British Columbia than can be sawdust. After the starch and glue has obtained elsewhere in the same time." been dissolved by the water add the saw- TS'riting about the coniferous trees of the dust, and when the ingredients are thor- park he remarks that the "Cedar, oughly mixed, heat to 190°F., continuing Douglas fir, pine and hemlock form as the heat until the mixture becomes a hard fine an example of Pacific coast primeval mass. The resulting composition can be forest as can be found in British Colum- machined, sandpapered and varnished the bia." Deciduous trees are rarely found same as wood. Besides offering most of within the park. Shrubs, ferns, berries, the advantages of wood, it is practically grasses, lilies, roses and many other fireproof, and is not affected by atmos- flowering plants are numerous and varied, pheric moisture. and offer broad fields of research for the This material has no grain and when botanist. Until the botany has been finished offers a much smoother surface more thoroughly and extensively studied than wood. 126 Science Conspectus : :

TRUTH IN PUBLICITY A CRITICISM OF CARELESS OR INACCURATE STATEMENTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH LITERA- TURE—HOW THE PUBLIC IS OFTEN MISLED BY INACCURATE PUBLICITY

BY CHARLES V. CHAPIN

The modern world believes in educa- Out of about 800 pages of Parkes' Hy- tion. The adult citizen as well as the giene, only 27 are devoted to the conta- child needs instruction. People are trust- gious diseases proper. The soil was in ing less to legislation and more to educa- those days thought to be a common tion. Organizations as diverse as the source of disease. The foul emanations New York Central railway and the Amer- from the decomposing organic matter ican Social Hygiene Association are con- were sucked up from cellars by the warm ducting campaigns of publicity. With air of the house and carried sickness and this educational movement I am in hearty death; ergo, if one would live, make the accord. It would appear almost an axiom cellars impervious with asphalt. One that the teacher should teach the truth. state official writes, Yet there are many to whom this does not "There can be no doubt that the seem to have occurred. If the tares of ground-air under the village of error are sown among the wheat they are is seriously contaminated with general sure to spring up and many a summer sun filth and specific enteric poison, and that will come and go before they wither and this is liable to pass into any or every die. Science is merely truth systemized. house in the village, carrying the seeds of Though a distinguished sanitarian has disease with it. The ground air is not told us that sanitary science should be only drawn into houses by heat, but with tempered by common sense, it was spoken every rise of the sub-soil water it is for- in jest. It is not real science but only cibly expelled from the ground into the the pseudo-science of the amateur which houses and the streets. This air comes needs to be, not tempered, but thrown out loaded with polluted moisture and may root and branch. be either the cause of typhoidal or ma- In the past, many errors have been larial fevers, or of dysenteries, diarrhoeas taught by alleged sanitarians and en- and consumption." thusiastic reformers of many kinds. The supposed danger from cemeteries Some of these errors are still intrenched is well illustrated by answers to an in- in the minds of the public to plague us quiry for opinions sent out to sanitarians, and hinder progress. Errors often did, one writes and do, masquerade in the name of sci- "If one thing in sanitary science is ence, but they are not her offspring. better settled than another it is that de- In the early days of public health work composing human bodies pollute both the we copied the errors of our European air above the ground, the ground itself, teachers and added to them. There was and the water that percolates through the little real science. Untested theory, or ground. Polluted air and poisoned water often pure fantasy, dictated sanitary are certainly detrimental to public procedure. Let us turn to the teachings health." of the seventies and eighties of the last Another says century. The environment was then the "I do regard the presence of a ceme- field for sanitary effort, not the person. tery, either large or small, in a city, as 128 Science Conspectus detrimental—yea, very dangerous—to the or pantries, should be sufficiently poison- public health. I think poison enough ous, to produce directly and obviously the may be derived from one human body to common diseases of summer, to be sources contaminate the well water and the air of danger; for other derangements of the for a long distance under favorable cir- human economy, varying with the con- cumstances for its diffusion. I should stitutional peculiarities of individuals, hesitate much to drink or use the water may be as easily induced by the same from a well situated one-half mile from a causes; and in absence of any or all acute cemetery, if the intervening soil was grav- diseases, it is quite probable that very elly or sandy, unless said water had re- many of the obscure ailments of numerous cently been subjected to a searching persons, not immediately dangerous, have chemical examination." the same origin, and are consequently so Filth, we were told, was the principal perpetuated; making the victim's life al- source of disease. In it bred hypothet- most intolerable with aches and pains, ical germs, or from it arose still more and functional disturbances of the nervous hypothetical gases. The pig pen, the system, the stomach, bowels, kidneys and garbage bucket, the trash pile, the ma- other organs almost endless." nure heap and the privy vault were equally "The great, the indispensable remedy dangerous. How exasperating to us, who is cleanliness, and not. only of inanimate appreciate the evidence that only certain but of animate bodies also, for filth is the kinds of dirt are dangerous, is the per- same disease-producing agent, whether sistent error that all dirt is dangerous. upon the surface of the earth, or in or Belief in the supreme importance of dirt about the habitations of man, or in- as a cause of disease persisted long and at crusted upon the surface of human the close of the Spanish war Colonel bodies." Waring was sent to clean the city of A dead human body was long consid- Havana and so exterminate yellow fever. ered a great menace. Dead from con- He did clean it but the fever was more tagious disease it might cause an out- virulent than ever and only the real break. This theory gave rise to burden- science of Reid and its brilliant applica- some restrictions as to transportation tion by Gorgas conquered this pest of our and funerals which no one, now that we tropics. Even the less obtrusive forms have taken pains to study the subject, of dirt were dangerous. Listen to what would ever think of enacting. The mind one writer says. of the sanitarian was obsessed with the "A prominent physician reports the idea that dead things are more dangerous occurrence in the northern part of the because of contagion than are the living, state, of twenty-seven cases of severe ty- hence the fear of fomites and the worship phoid fever, some of them fatal, the direct of disinfection, though no one seems to result of the unhealthy influences of a have made even an effort to find out damp and uncleanly cellar." whether disinfection is really necessary. ''To prevent the emission of ground, Air was the chief vehicle of infection, air or soil moisture from the cellar bottom nay, it was infection itself. The emana- or sides, the sides must be laid in good tions from cellars and untidy cupboards hydraulic or asphaltic cement, and the which dealt death and destruction bottom in the same, or in alternate layers through the house have been referred of asphaltic cement and felt saturated to, as well as the more specific effluvia with bitumen." which gave rise to yellow fever, consump- |" Disease is also sometimes caused by tion and diphtheria. Conditions be- half cleaned or neglected cupboards, came even more terrible when evidence closets, pantries, or provision rooms, began to accumulate that living germs, where bits and crumbs are left to decay." not gases, were the cause of infectious "It is not necessary, however, that diseases. Listen to what was taught in contaminated water, or the effluvia of 1878 in my own state. surface or pooled filth, or uncleanly cellars "These germs, by their exceeding light- Science Conspectus 129 ness, may separate from any of the emana- tective power of vaccination, a truth tions from the body, either after having which will always stand, but it remained been thrown out upon the surface of the for others to determine how universal is ground, and rising therefrom to be wafted this immunity and how long it persists away in the currents of the air, to infect and countless other secondary truths of some other person or persons, weeks or great importance which have been, and months afterwards, and the scores of miles are, being added to the original truth. away, or, separating immediately in the It was only the hasty assumption of the sick chamber from the breath, perspira- hasty philanthropist which had to be tion, scaling off, or other discharge from unlearned. In our own time, too, the the body, may rise and floating about in amateur sanitarian and the social re- the room, infect some unwary caller, to former and even the public health official find lodgment in some nook or crevice, or are impatient of the slow progress of on some shelf, moulding, sash, ornaments, science and, taking the short and easy curtain, drapery or other clothing, to be road which is paved with guesswork again dislodged from their resting places, theories and unfounded assumptions, and weeks, months or years afterwards, to which leadeth to destruction, they hasten affect some casual visitor or new occupant, to spread error before the people, which or be carried away in articles of furniture, will later hamper the health officer as does ornaments or wearing apparel, to spread now the assumption of Jenner as to the infection and carry dismay to other per- duration of vaccinia immunity, or does the sons, and in other localities." theory of air-borne infection. Let us see There is little wonder that, when a few what our health officers are teaching to- years ago we sought to establish a hospi- day. Are we do'ing any better than our tal for contagious disease, the neighbors forbears? rose as one man to protest against the The old heresy about the all importance outrage. Scores of them now spend their of dirt, any kind of dirt, in the causation Sunday afternoons in our pleasant of disease, still persists. If the writers for grounds. the weekly or monthly bulletin cannot The discovery of vaccination against think of anything else they can always smallpox was a fine piece of scientific fall back on a new sermon on dirt. Of work but it was sadty marred by an as- course we all know that all human excre- sumption entirely unwarranted, that tions are potential of danger and every- when performed in infancy it will pro- thing which contains our excretions or is tect through life. After a time this was smeared with our fresh secretions must be found not to be true but this mistake avoided. We know, too, that flies breed more than anything else developed and in certain kinds of dirt. It is doubtless kept alive the propaganda of the anti- true, too, that whatever in a general way vaecinationist. The opprobrium of our encourages cleanliness tends to discour- art is that preventive medicine, like its age those habits which favor infection. other branches, has taught much that has To fight all kinds of dirt instead of limit- had to be unlearned. We ought not to ing attacks to dangerous dirt is mislead- be surprised that the people do not believe ing and futile. You smiled at the ancient all we say, and often fail to take us seri- Rhode Island essay on the relation of ously. If their memories were better dirty cupboards to intolerable stomach- they would trust us even less. ache but is it not as bad to print, The methods of science when applied isgusting to the problems of life rarely discover the isfiguring exact truth and the whole truth. Scien- DIRT IS evitalizing tific knowledge is a growing plant. New D -e-a-d-1-v leaves are continuously budding from the old. Rarely does it need pruning and its "The dirt-rate of a city is a big factor solid branches shall never be cut away. in determining its death-rate." Jenner proved beyond question the pro- "A vigorous anti-dirt campaign would 130 Science Conspectus

do the city more good than any other A recent bulletin has a picture of a kind of an 'anti' campaign of which we crowded lodging house dormitory with are able to conceive—more good morally, the subscription "A breeding place for physically, healthfully and eventually germs." Pretty discouraging, is it not, with respect to its reputation." for those of us who have been trying to Another: eradicate the superstition of bygone "To clean up the city means to clean ages? out disease." Another form of dirt which appeals to "Indifference about dirt produces high the publicity man is dust. Now, there death-rates from preventable disease." is one kind of dust which is dangerous, "Conspicuousness for habits of clean- that is sharp mineral dust, but that is not liness means conspicuousness for good dirty dust. It is the dust of the street health and a low death-rate." and home that is attacked in the monthly A picture bulletin shows adjoining bulletin. A cartoon shows the dust of yards, one shiftless and dirty, the other the street falling on fruit, candy and ice- lovely with flowers, with the mottoes, cream and a little boy in the throes of "Dirt and disease go hand in hand." stomach-ache presumably caused by eat- "Clean up for health's sake." ing thereof. Xo evidence has yet been The public will thus believe that, when adduced to show that disease ever is the streets are swept, the rubbish re- spread in this way and much has been moved from the cellar and yard, the adduced to show that it is not. But garbage cremated instead of dumped, and under the influence of this - campaign of the spring housecleaning done, the city's publicity, some communities, which feel death-rate will be lowered. When they too poor to furnish free antitoxin, are find it is not, they will not believe the spending money to keep dust off the ice- next issue of the bulletin which tells them cream and bananas. Another bulletin that antitoxin cures diphtheria. says, "Avoid home dust." It "often A poster shows "Household weapons causes disease." The fact is that there against dirt and disease," a broom, is so little evidence that street dust and shovel, rake, scrub brush, wash tub, bath house dust, except perhaps near careless tub and set basin and other things. The consumptives, is dangerous, that the less legend runs, "The main line of defense we say about the matter the better. against dirt and disease lies in the home." So, too, in the present state of our Are we expected to shovel up bacilli and knowledge of the relation of the air to sweep out spirochetes? Will the wash disease, knowing that the old theory of boiler prevent the baby from catching exhaled poisons has been demolished, whooping-cough or measles? The bath that germs rarely float in the air, that we tub is inscribed the "cradle of cleanli- are still in profound ignorance as to the ness." "Bathe often and give the pores relation of humidity to disease, that most a chance to breathe." Here is either a of the supposed effects of foul unventi- remarkable use of the English language lated rooms have been shown to be due or a remarkable physiological discovery. to temperature and odors, is it not better, It will not be disputed, I think, when I when our best students of the subject say that there is not a bit of evidence to have little to offer but surmises, to refrain show that it makes the slightest differ- from such teaching as, ence to our health (except for the tonic "Ventilate, you Lobster! Ventilate!" effect of a cold bath) whether we get into "Pure air is the best life insurance." a tub once a day or once in three months. "Get good air and you will get good The individual drinking glass, the individ- health." ual towel, and running water for washing Another says, the hands, are necessary to prevent in- "Xo one would think of drinking fection, but they found no place in this water that had been used for bathing- picture bulletin. May we not safely infer purposes, but many of them go on breath- that the artist was not a thinking animal? ing over and over again air that has been :

Science Conspectus 131 breathed by themselves and other people; infection, strains of varying virulence, air that is literally saturated with the offer countless problems still unsolved. effete products of respiration, emanations No one knows just how pneumonia is from the skin and filth, carried on clothing caused—except the publicity man. He and in foul mouths." says, "People have been educated to refuse 'Pneumonia is a dirty house disease; to eat from tableware that has not been it is developed in illy-ventilated houses, properly cleansed, but offer no objection not in the pure air of out-doors as many to a second-hand atmosphere for breath- people believe. You can't contract pneu- ing purposes." monia in pure air; you can very easily *'They will keep their skin clean with contract it in impure air." soap and water and then pollute their Another, respiratory tract with a polluted atmos- "Be careless about the air you breathe phere." and you stand a good chance of being "Many of these deaths are closely akin numbered among the 3,000 citizens who, to suicide; many others are closely akin in all likelihood, will fill pneumonia to murder. How much longer shall the graves within the next five months." slaughter go on? Radical changes have Still another, been made in the street cars and some of "From now until about the middle of the theatres. Much remains to be done." April the pneumococcus will get in its "Some of the hotel banquet halls are deadly work. It flourishes in bad air, incubators for grippe, pneumonia and whether in workshop, factory, store, consumption." school room, home, or street car. The All of this is absolutely mis'eading. air of a closed house is foul, stagnant and A cartoon shows "Blithesome Mrs. disease breeding." Foul-Air and her Deadly Offspring—sev- Again, eral cheerful skeletons labeled "Tuber- "One of the prominent men of the culosis, Pneumonia, Influenza, Bronchitis, country died several weeks ago of pneu- and Colds" and another editor names la monia. A day or two before his illness grippe, sore throat, catarrh, colds, bron- developed he attended a banquet, and chitis, pneumonia and tuberculosis as due was exposed to an over-heated, close, pol- to lack of ventilation. "You can't see," luted atmosphere. Two prominent citi- he says, "the insidious enemy that lurks zens attended the same banquet and were in the fetid atmosphere." made ill, but escaped pneumonia One "Not even contaminated water is more was 'laid up' for ten days, the other for dangerous to the human system than the two weeks." air that is breathed over and over until Our food, by the popular writer, has its life-sustaining properties have been always been considered a source of great replaced by foul poisons given off by the danger, and to attack adulterations is to human system." receive the plaudits of the multitude. A |While some men are striving to learn city which boasts of having recently put the truth, and solve by scientific methods its health department on a scientific basis the difficult problems of disease causa- publishes tion, the publicity man, as blithesome as "Pure food is as important to health as mistress "Foul-Air," spreads broadcast pure air. The authorities, to whom is pestilential errors which date back a half committed the duty of protecting public a century or more. health, have a serious responsibility to While we feel quite certain that the discharge at this point. They must pneumococcus is the chief causative agent rigidly enforce the laws against the sale of pneumonia, pathologists and epidemi- and offering for sale of decayed and decay- ologists are still uncertain as to the rela- ing food products, without fear or favor. tion of all the causative factors. The This we propose to do, but we are charged carrier, partial immunity, auto-infection, with destroying some food that is salable contagion predisposing causes, routes of at cheap prices. Cheap food may be, "

132 Science Conspectus

and often is, the most expensive food to allegations which have been made against buy. The poor must be protected against the house-fly as a bearer of disease, I am so-called cheap food, which may be par- perfectly willing to admit that he does at tially decayed and dangerous to health. times and in places become a factor of It never pays to run any risk in —the food importance in the spread of fecal-borne supply of a city. Our slogan is "Pure diseases. He is also a very dirty and food for . disgusting insect. This is enough. Why A cartoon shows Death pouring adul- call the fly "deadlier than the tiger or terants into soups and sardines while a cobra" or "the most dangerous animal lovely Red Cross nurse, labeled "Health," in the world?" It is news to most of us is dealing out cans marked P-U-R-E. that "Napoleon could not retain his hold The truth is that adulteration, except in a on Egypt because of the fly," and "that few instances, is an economic, not a health many diseases of obscure origin doubtless problem. As to partially decayed foods were caused by fly contamination." The we know nothing about their relation to same bulletin says that, health. While inspection may be de- "An eminent medical authority has manded on esthetic grounds there is no recently figured out that the fly as a evidence to show that inspection prevents carrier of the germs of typhoid fever disease. The clean handling of foods is annually costs the people of the United most desirable from a sanitary standpoint States for sickness, medical expenses, lost but real cleanliness is most difficult of time and funeral expenses the enormous attainment. Much that appears is care- sum of three hundred and fifty millions of lessly written and the emphasis is placed dollars!" on the wrong thing, as when dust absorbs We ought to make this accurate mathe- all the attention and nothing is said about matical gentleman chairman of our sec- dirty hands. Exaggeration has its way tion on vital statistics. as when we are told that "Dirty ice-cream The following, while interesting reading is a big factor in summer diseases." It is is somewhat misleading in its etiology. safe to say that the writer neither knows •nor cares whether this is true or not. THE FLY Some remarkable physiological prin- "He has his birth in the manure, ciples are at times published. crawls forth and loiters in the sewer, and, "Lost—One perfectly good pair of smeared with deadly typhoid germs, he kidneys somewhere between Comfort leaves his brother maggot-worms, unfurls Street and Affluence Boulevard stations his dainty wings of silk and dumps his on the Road to Wealth. Will gladly pay microbes in the milk, where their huge all my millions for their return.—Mr. I. numbers mount and mount, increasing M. Sorry-Now, 13 Experience Place." the bacterial count, until they reach the Is it not a comfort to know that the food supply some woman feeds her ' baby- etiology of chronic nephritis has been so bye.' The fly comes gaily unto us, his well worked out? feet all gummed with poison-pus, and Here, too, is news about immunity. singing clear his song so sweet, alights If true we may as well give up our vaccine and cleans them on the meat. He gathers laboratories. scarlet fever spores and leaves them on "When we lead a healthy normal life, the walls and floors: he is not proud, and breathing good air, exercising enough to oft will stoop to carry heavy loads of make a keen blood circulation, eliminat- croup, and place it where its awful death ing properly and eating our food with a may come and go with baby's breath. zest, we are at a high point of immunity. Oh, do not call him indolent! He calls Then it is that certain substances within that summer day misspent in which he the body make charges against the poisons fails to load the breeze with the live germs or toxins and also kill the germs that are of some disease; and if he finds them not, responsible for the toxins." though hurt, he'll be content with just While I have questioned some of the plain dirt." Science Conspectus 133

We would all like to get rid of the fly, from wet feet some years before, very but do we really know any practical way carefully inspected the little tots in her of doing it? Is there a flyless city? The room for wet feet and found quite a num- bulletins are free with advice, but how ber." good is it? One cartoon purporting to We have plenty of arguments for pre- show "How typhoid flies are made "gives serving the teeth without making such mutton chops as their only breeding a statement as "The use of alcohol to place. The chief emphasis is usually laid excess does not cause as much disease as on swatting the fly. This must be prac- neglected teeth." The prohibitionists ticed on the hibernating insect. To kill might well demand the proof. one is to kill 350,000,000. Prizes for One bulletin unique in its scientific dead flies, fly traps, poison, and all sort accuracy yet makes the slip that, of schemes for handling stable manure "Every cold in the head . . . are taught us over and over again in in- comes from a transfer of excreta." Un- finite variety. Why not wait until some fortunately we know very little about the one finds out whether they will work be- group of afflictions called colds and I am fore telling the people that they will work. not aware that a single type has been One great trouble with the publicity definitely proved to be caused by a spe- man is an inordinate desire to get in on cific bacterium. On the other hand we the ground floor. When he hears some- do know that one important kind is pro- thing new he tells it without waiting to duced by the pollen of plants and is not learn whether it is true. Untried schemes contagious. of all kinds are put forward as confidently Probably there are few who agree with as if they were as sure as vaccination. It me entirely as to the value of terminal is not so very long ago that the sanatorium disinfection, but I am sure there are fewer was preached as the most important fac- still who would assent to the following- tor in fighting tuberculosis while now recent publication. many specialists think quite otherwise. "Properly and efficiently done, fumi- Many prophesied the speedy eradication gation is a great factor in the prevention of the disease and not a few fixed the of contagious diseases. It is the only year as 1915. Great speed will be re- means of checking its spread. A number quired to finish the last lap. Let us take of cities have spent thousands of dollars to warning and ever bear in mind that only stamp out epidemics in this manner. In an exact science can forecast the future. fact, it is the only way in which this can Within a few years various plans of ex- be accomplished." creta disposal for the rural districts have Another bulletin, after recommending* been published in health bulletins as solv- the burning of a pound of sulphur in each ing the problem. The editors could not room at spring housecleaning time, says wait to try them. Now they have all this is, "a simple method of home disin- proved disappointing and of far from fection that is most thorough and far- general application. I was recently reaching in its results as regards disease shown a scheme for the disposal of house prevention. . . . drainage about to be published by a state "This simple method is given in the board of health, and when I asked if it had belief that every housekeeper will use it proved satisfactory was told that it had to the extent that all sleeping apartments, not as yet been tried. Better be the last closets where clothes are kept, and such city to publish a useful sanitary measure other rooms as require fumigation at than be the first to teach one that later housecleaning time will be fumigated in proves a failure. this manner to prevent contagious and Many other remarkable things about infectious diseases from entering the disease we learn from the weekly bulletins. home." Thus we read, Doubtless there are some who will think " One of our school teachers whose little all this hypercriticism. The slips are brothers had died of croup contracted small, they say, and seldom occur. It is —

134 Science Conspectus true that one may scour many pages of offices—such as destroying larva? in some publications without finding any- land along the seaboard and in eating thing to offend, but others show them in enemies of fish that are exposed during nearly every issue. Some, perhaps, are low tide—-its chief function in the of little moment but who would be so rash economy of nature is that of scavenger as to say that because a lie is a little one of the harbors and of the littoral, just it can do no harm. As no one can follow as vultures are the scavengers of the the flight of an arrow, so the poet tells us, mainland. The wholesale destruction of or know into whose heart the spoken word gulls for their plumage in Yucatan was shall sink, so no one knows whose mind followed by a great increase of human will be confused by the error which care- mortality among the inhabitants of the lessly flows from our pens. One cannot coast, which mortality was irrefutably expect scientific accuracy in publicity, a due to the loss of the birds that had kept very good friend, who is a forceful writer the harbors and bays free from the de- of telling articles, said to me. I made no caying matter which the sea is constantly decided answer then, but the more I think casting ashore." of it, the more decided I am, that scien- tific accuracy should be insisted on. Our MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY science itself is so inexact that we cannot No portion of the funds of the Car- afford to swerve one hair's breadth from negie Institution of Washington has been it. One can hold steadfast to scientific more fruitfully applied than that which truth and yet avoid, absolutely, all ped- created and has maintained the Mount antry and scientific jargon. Clear, force- Wilson Solar Observatory, in California. fid and catchy writing is worse than use- As Professor Hale, the director of the less if it fails to teach the truth and the observatory, says in his last annual re- truth only. So far as it departs from this port, he and his colleagues have hereto- our health literature approaches that of fore devoted a large share of their time the fake medicine factory and perhaps — to devising and testing methods and does more harm. The space writer is the apparatus, and these are now being ap- curse of our day and generation and es- plied to solar investigations which were pecially in our business. formerly studied with altogether inade- For the sake of those who come after, quate means. In a forthcoming book, stop filling your columns with tommy-rot, "Ten Years' Work of a Mountain Ob- hot air and dope. Do not be always servatory," Professor Hale will outline seeking novelty. Most that is new is bad. the results attained during the first decade There are plenty of old truths which all of experiments and observations. Dur- of our 100,000,000 people have not yet ing the year 1914, which began a second learned. If you have nothing to write decade, many noteworthy results were do not write it. Remember that bulle- achieved. A beginning was made in the tins were made for man and not man for application to solar phenomena of Stark's bulletins. capital discovery of the effect of an elec- Better pay your publicity man for tric field on radiation. In stellar as- doing nothing than for writing some- tronomy discoveries have been made thing which is not so. Careless writing which promise to furnish the means of betokens the lazy writer. Seek diligently determining a star's distance simply by the truth and faithfully publish it. measuring its brightness and the relative intensities of certain lines in its spectrum. THE MISSION OF THE GULL Spectroscopic studies in the splendid In an article on the "Value of Birds laboratory attached to the observatory to Man," published in the report of the have shed new light on astrophysical Smithsonian Institution, James Buck- problems. The report above mentioned land of London says: "The presence enumerates no less than fifty-nine definite of the gull is essential to man's health. achievements as the fruit of a single While the bird fulfills manv useful year's work. Scientific American. .

Science Conspectus 135

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A BUREAU OF INFORMATION As indicated by its name, the Boston Cooperative Information Bureau, it has There is an organization in Boston, which is perhaps the only one of its kind immense resources of information among in the country, whose business it is to its members who cover a broad field of supply general information to its subscrib- endeavor. The spread of questions re- ers, oftentimes within a few minutes after ceived by the bureau covers almost the query has been received. every subject conceivable, but perhaps It is not to be understood that this the greater number of them have refer- bureau goes into questions of a funda- ence to articles in publications, both for- mental or technical character relating to eign and domestic. processes, etc., but it does at least aim to put the questioner in touch with the ex- The chart shown on this page gives pert best fitted to give the desired infor- something of an idea of how the bureau mation. operates. LIQUID AIR AND ITS PROPERTIES SOME REMARKABLE EXPERIMENTS WITH LIQUID AIR, WHICH, ALTHOUGH POWERFUL AS A PRIME MOVER, HAS FEW APPLICATIONS IN THE PRAC- TICAL ARTS

In his book "The Triumphs and on all sides by a white hot furnace. De- Wonders of Modern Chemistry," Mr. war solved the difficulty by placing it in a Geoffrey Martin gives an instructive doubly walled vessel, the space between description of liquid air. "Our grand- whose walls had been previously care- fathers," he says, "would have been fully evacuated. The empty space forms much astonished if they had been told an almost perfect insulation and in such in early youth that they would live to vessels liquid air may be kept for weeks see the invisible air in which they lived at a time. It may even be transported reduced to clear sparkling liquid which in such vessels for thousands of miles with boils on ice, freezes pure alcohol, and but little loss, although surrounding the burns steel like tissue paper. They liquid air on all sides is a medium almost would perhaps have been even more red hot in comparison to it. Think, too, astonished if they had been told that in of the curious possibilities that the inven- their time men would even succeed in tion of these heat impervious "Dewar freezing the air, in turning it into a white Flasks" opens out. Centuries hence, solid ice-like mass, so intensely cold that when the world's supply of coal is almost its touch burns like the fiercest fire. exhausted, and firing has become im- We propose to lay before the reader a mensely dearer, such vacuum-jacketed brief account of the magnificent modern vessels may come into general use for researches which have led to these won- keeping liquids hot or cold, and even for derful results." making the walls of houses impervious "To produce liquid air in the labora- to heat or cold. Instead of making hot tory," says Dewar, "is a feat analogous tea several times a day, the family may to the production of liquid water starting in future times make it, perhaps, once from steam at a white heat, and working or twice a month, and store the hot with all the implements and surroundings fluid in one of these vessels and serve it at the same high temperature. The out boiling hot from day to day as re- problem is not so much how to produce quired. intense cold as to save it when produced Liquid air is nearly as heavy as water from being immediately levelled up by and quite as clear and limpid. When seen the relatively superheated surroundings." in the open air it is always muffled in a After a century of continual effort human dense white mist that wells up over the perseverance and endeavor have at last edge of the vessel in which it stands, succeeded in overcoming these difficulties and rolls along the floor in beautiful with the result that liquid air may now billowy clouds. It presents, in fact, not only be produced in gallons at a time, much the same appearance as a mass of but it may be kept for weeks in wonder- boiling steaming water. The intense cold ful heat impervious vessels first intro- of the liquid causes the moisture in the duced into general use by Dewar. surrounding air to condense as clouds, The problem of keeping this liquid air and it is this which gives rise to the when obtained was a very serious one. curious phenomenon. It is similar to the problem of keeping- No other substance in the world, except- water from boiling away when surrounded ing liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, Science Conspectus 137

is as cold as liquid air; and yet the hand to it as fat frying in a saucepan is in may be dipped into it fearlessly. The respect to our bodies, or as molten lead sensation is only that of a soft cushion is hot in respect to boiling water. If, about the hand. Such it really is. The therefore, liquid air be poured upon ice hand is so hot in respect to liquid air it will fly off hissing like water from red that a layer of vapor surrounds it and hot iron. If some liquid air be placed in prevents the liquid from coming into a metal tea-kettle and then set upon a actual contact with the flesh. However, block of ice, the air at once begins to the hand must not be allowed to remain boil violently, and a white vapor as of in the liquid for more than an instant, steam rushes from the spout and lid. for if the liquid were actually to touch If the kettle be placed over a fire of the flesh a severe injury like a burn would burning coals the heat of the fire causes result which sometimes takes months to the liquid to evaporate more rapidly heal. Even a few drops retained on a and a stream of vapor shoots out of the man's hand will sear like a white-hot spout to a great height. It looks like iron. For this reason liquid air has been steam from a kettle of boiling water. used in surgical cases where cauteriza- If water be placed in the kettle as soon tion is necessary. It is stated to eat out as the air has boiled away, it may be diseased flesh quickly and rapidly. In- taken out as ice, while at the same time deed a well-known New York physician the bottom of the kettle will be found seared out a cancer by its means and en- coated with solid carbonic acid and ice, tirely cured a difficult case. The early frozen from the fire. And all this happens hopes entertained of its use in this direc- with the fire glowing only an inch or so tion do not, however, seem to have been below. It is very surprising, too, to see realized. It is curious to note that over one's breath, blown into an open can of two hundred years ago, the burning effect liquid air, sent back instantly with its of great cold revealed itself clearly to moisture congealed into a miniature snow- Milton's poetic imagination. In his storm. Even a jet of scalding steam is " Paradise Lost " he thus grandly describes instantly frozen, for between steam and the Land of Absolute Zero; liquid air lies an abrupt temperature drop of nearly 300° C. Mercury is " A frozen continent instantly frozen into a solid shining- Lies dark and wild, set with perpetual like silver. This solid metal is storms metal as hard as granite, and can be cast into Of whirlwind, and dire hail which on firm land swords and tools. Thus, if a little paste- board box be in the shape of a Thaws not; but gathers heap, and ruins made seem hammer head and filled with mercury, and, after suspending in it a wooden rod Of ancient pile: all else deep snow and to serve as a handle, if the whole be ice. . . . The parching air immersed in liquid air, in a few minutes Burns frore, and cold performs the the mercury will be frozen so solid as to effect of fire." form a veritable hammer which can be The grandest poetic and scientific used for driving nails into hard wood. imaginations are closely akin, and con- Such experiments as these bring for- sequently, whatever science may unveil, cibly before the mind the abyss of cold the chances are that in the world's best which reigns in space about us. By poetry will be found hints of every dis- contemplating the intense coldness of covery. liquid air—itself a hot body in compari- The intense cold of this strange fluid son to the cold of spacer—we are enabled may be illustrated by a number of to realize clearly how exceedingly hot remarkable experiments. Thus melting- the world's surface would appear to a ice, cold as it seems to us, is actually being dwelling in the cold and darkness 180° C. above the temperature of liquid of the waste regions of the universe. air. It is consequently as hot in respect Such a being landing on the surface of 138 Science Conspectus

our planet would be shrivelled up like a ordinary pressures and temperatures. If, piece of meat in an oven. If lie managed therefore, it be left to absorb heat from to escape in time back to his cold gloomy the surrounding air it will expand by this abode, he would doubtless, like Mr. Wal- amount, and, if prevented from so doing lace, sit down and write a book proving by being confined in a closed vessel, it conclusively that no living beings could will exert a pressure at ordinary tempera- possibly exist on such a scorching world ture of over 10,000 lbs. (four and a half as the earth. tons) on the square inch. If heated the We must remember, too, that the pressure would amount to from ten to earth's surface, like every other hot thirty and more tons on the square inch. body, is radiating away heat and light No ordinary boiler could resist such into space, only our eyes are not sensitive gigantic pressures. Yet one can realize to perceive it. In Le Bon's words: easily that if this force could be confined "Down to the absolute zero of tempera- and controlled it would give rise to an ture all bodies incessantly radiate waves immense amount of power. It has indeed of light invisible to our eyes, but prob- been suggested that liquid air could be ably perceptible by the animals called used for driving high-speed engines, for nocturnal and capable of finding their flying machines and other purposes where way in the dark. To them, the body of a great power combined with lightness is living being, whose temperature is about essential. The great obstacle to its use, 37° C, ought to be surrounded by a however, is the freezing effect it produces. luminous halo, which the want of sensi- The moisture of the air is rapidly de- tiveness of our eyes alone prevents our posited as ice upon the machine, especially discerning. There do not exist in nature, round the orifice from which the jet of in reality, any dark bodies, but only extremely cold air emerges. This soon imperfect eyes. All bodies whatever are closes the exit-tube and stops the machine. a constant source of visible or invisible There are other disadvantages, too, radiations, which, whether of one kind which cannot be discussed here. The or the other, are always radiations of expansive power of liquid air may be light". demonstrated easily by pouring a little Air is liquid at— 180° C, and as we into a tightly plugged steel barrel. In a have seen, if we raise its temperature short time the plug will be expelled with a above this, it will boil just as water does loud detonation, and sent whirling for when heated above 100° C. Steam, in hundreds of feet into the air. Some fact, bears the same relation to water that liquid air poured into stout steel or copper ordinary air bears to liquid air. Since tubes which are then firmly sealed will the earth's surface is nearly 200° C. above in a short time cause them to explode like the temperature at which liquid air shells, sending the metallic fragments boils, it acts in the same way towards this hurtling in all directions with great fluid as a coal fire acts towards water. force. Hence we have only to expose liquid air Although liquid air is as harmless as to the heat of the furnace about us and water, and so long as it is not confined, in which we live, and it boils instantly, cannot of itself explode, yet it is an extra- producing, like water surrounded by a ordinary fact that, when mixed with other fire, a vapor which expands and produces substances, it can form an explosive power. We can therefore use liquid air comparable in intensity to dynamite as a motive power. itself. Thus, in some experiments carried The pressure exerted by liquid air in out by Mr. Trippler of New York, a bit regaining its gaseous state is simply of oily cotton waste, soaked in liquid air, enormous. Hardly any closed vessel was placed inside an iron tube open at could withstand it. This becomes easily both ends. This was laid inside a larger intelligible when we consider that a single and stronger tube, also open at both cubic foot of liquid air contains condensed ends. When the waste was ignited by within it about 750 cubic feet of air at a detonating fuse the explosion was so Science Conspectus 139

terrific that it not only blew the smaller until they disappear. A few drops of tube to pieces, but it burst a great hole liquid air thrown into water will instantly in the outer one as well. freeze for themselves little boats of ice, Indeed in Germany practical use has which sail around merrily until the liquid been made of this fact in blasting in coal air boils away. In this way ordinary mines. Cotton wool impregnated with liquid air exposed to the atmosphere coal dust and steeped in liquid air is becomes very rich in oxygen, and oxygen rammed into a hole drilled in the coal, in such a concentrated form is a very and the whole exploded by a detonator wonderful substance. For instance, ordi- in the ordinary way. The explosion nary woollen felt can hardly be persuaded which ensues is as effective as a dynamite to burn even in a hot fire; but if it be one, but without its risks; for should a dipped in this liquid oxygen, or even in charge fail to explode in a few minutes liquid air, it will burn fiercely with all all danger is past; because there remains the terrible violence of gun-cotton. A only cotton and coal dust when the liquid splinter of wood, when soaked in liquid air has evaporated. This is a valuable air rich in oxygen, will burn like a fiery feature of its use, since many lives are torch with immense power, while a glow- lost annually in attempting to remove ing wood splinter plunged into liquid dynamite charges which have for some air bursts into furious flame, and may reason or other failed to explode. cause the whole vessel containing the This property of liquid air is due to the liquid air to be shattered by the heat fact that it contains oxygen in a very developed. Indeed, steel itself may be concentrated form. When it is mixed burnt by liquid air. To demonstrate with a substance which will burn rapidly this a tumbler of ice is made, and it is in oxygen, and a detonator is applied to half filled with liquid oxygen. A burning- the mixture, an explosively rapid combus- match is then attached to a bit of steel tion sets in, in which the sudden intense spring and the whole dipped into the heat generated causes an instantaneous liquid air contained in the ice tumbler. and violent rush of gas so that the whole The steel then burns, spluttering and goes off like so much dynamite. Indeed giving out a glare of dazzling brilliancy. the actions in both cases are much the Between the liquid oxygen and the burn- same, as we shall see when we come to ing steel are about 2,000° C, and yet the deal with the latter body. ice tumbler is not affected. The oxygen is As we have already pointed out, air is turned into a gas before combustion composed of twenty-one parts of oxygen begins. For liquid oxygen itself probably and seventy-nine parts of nitrogen. It will not support combustion. Instead of begins to boil at — 195° C, the boiling- a steel spring, an electric-light carbon point of nitrogen. The nitrogen boils off red-hot at its tip will burn in exactly first, leaving behind the oxygen, and so the same way with dazzling- brilliancy. the temperature gradually rises until Thus the abyss of cold which prevails in it reaches -183° C. liquid air does not prevent it from acting The more nitrogen it loses, the bluer as a powerful inflaming medium. and at the same time the heavier the Liquid air introduces us to a strange liquid becomes. This change may be cold world very different from the one shown easily by pouring a quantity of in which we live. All things alter their liquid air into a large glass bottle partially properties to an astonishing extent at filled with water. For a moment it these low temperatures, and the explora- floats, boiling with great violence, liquid tion of the properties of matter under air being slightly lighter than water. these new conditions is now steadily When, however, the nitrogen has all proceeding in all parts of the civilized boiled away, the liquid oxygen, being- world. Thus iron and steel increase their heavier than water, sinks in beautiful tensile strength immensely, but at the silvery bubbles, which boil violently same time become as brittle as glass. 140 Science Conspectus

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Society of Arts was established as a department of the Institute bv President Rogers in 1861. It is especially devoted to the general dissemination of scientific knowledge, and it aims to awaken

and maintain an interest in the recent advances an 1 practical application of the sciences. Any person interested in the aims of the Society is eligible to niemb?rship. The annual dues are $3. Richard C. Ma.cla.ubin, President of the Institute Isaac TV. Litchfield, Secretary of the Society of Arts executive COMMITTEE The President James P. ATuxroe Arthur D. Little Elihu Thomson- Theodore N. Vail Frederic H. Fat The Secretary BOARD OF PUBLICATION Hervet W. Shimer Edward A. Ingham Ellwood B. Spear Selskar M. Gunn Jerome C. Huxsaker I. W. Litchfield, Editor

Five numbers of Scienxe Coxspectcs are published during the year.

WOOD PRESERVATION never color-blind. Color blindness is a characteristic which is inherited and Investigations on the effect of zinc passes on from one generation to another. chloride as a preservative for the cheaper If all the children of a color-blind father grades of pine for structural purposes are girls, the trait remains dormant and have been made by Alfred Henry Clarke reappears in one of every four male of the Institute of Technology and made children of the next generation. It is, the subject of his graduation thesis. therefore, a sex link characteristic. The usual means of prevention is by There are two types of complete color filling the wood with a poison such as blindness, each of which has to do with zinc chloride which is found easy of appli- two groups of colors—red to blue and cation and efficient as a preventive of white and black. When the color-blind rot. It has been suspected, however, man has two important colors affected, that the use of zinc chloride might, in he is said to be "dichromatic." When itself, impair the strength of the timber, he is only color-blind and sees merely and Air. Clarke's research has shown that white and black, he is "monochromatic." wood thus treated and kept at a temper- In the first of the above divisions are ature of 150°F. for forty days possessed those who are red blind, green blind and about 38 per cent, of the breaking strain violet blind. Red blindness is most of untreated specimens. It often hap- frequent. Its victims are really blind pens in factories that wood is kept at to both green and red, distinguishing quite a high temperature for a consider- only yellows and blues. able time, and under such circumstances The seat of color vision is at the very the use of zinc chloride would have a center of the retina. If the retina were weakening effect. These studies suggest painted with rings like a target, the bulls- the need of further investigation along eye would contain the visual points for this line. green, the next outer ring would be red, the third, blue, then white, and the out- COLOR BLINDNESS side ring would be black. Some persons see colors imperfectly, It is only within a hundred years that but do not have true color blindness. color blindness has been known to exist, This defect is due to the use of tobacco. and it is only comparatively recently There is no known way of curing color that it has been known that women are blindness. Science Conspectus

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF. THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON

MASS. ::: SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION

Vol. V 1915 No. 1 W$t Sun of Science Conspectus;

Not many years ago a man might say, " I have taken all science to be my province," but the field has so widened dur- ing recent times that today it would not be possible for one mind to compass even a single branch of science. Almost every day there are new developments in special lines of research, any one of which may lead to fundamental dis- coveries, but, although these matters would be of general interest if they could be understood, their significance is often obscure, even to scientific workers in not dissimilar lines, because of the rapid changes in the conception of the relations of matter, because of the intricacy of ever- expanding special nomenclature and because of the almost daily progress in methods of delicate manipulation.

It is the aim of SCIENCE CONSPECTUS to give a gen- eral survey of the field of science and its applications in such a way that every article will have some educational value for every reader. We shall strive to describe the most important current developments in the field of scientific activity in terms within the understanding of the intelli- gent lay reader, and in general we shall confine these de- scriptions to reasonable limits, often to the extent of brevity. We shall not attempt to preserve a balance in the amount of material presented between various branches of science. Most of the articles will be original material from authorities in their special lines of investigation. The publication staff will, however, make digests and summaries of important articles as they may appear in current publications, and we shall not hesitate to reprint any articles which may be of particular value to our readers. The matter in SCIENCE CONSPECTUS will not be printed simply because it is avail- able, but will be carefully selected, and wherever possible will be amply illustrated. Science Conspectus

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON

MASS. ::: SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION

Vol. V 1915 No. 2 {TOfje 3tm of Science Conspectus;

Not many years ago a man might say, " I have taken all science to be my province," but the field has so widened dur- ing recent times that today it would not be possible for one mind to compass even a single branch of science. Almost every day there are new developments in special lines of research, any one of which may lead to fundamental dis- coveries, but, although these matters would be of general interest if they could be understood, their significance is often obscure, even to scientific workers in not dissimilar lines, because of the rapid changes in the conception of the relations of matter, because of the intricacy of ever- expanding special nomenclature and because of the almost daily progress in methods of delicate manipulation.

Jt is the aim of SCIENCE CONSPECTUS to give a gen- eral survey of the field of science and its applications in such a way that every article will have some educational value for every reader. We shall strive to describe the most important current developments in the field of scientific activity in terms within the understanding of the intelli- gent lay reader, and in general we shall confine these de- scriptions to reasonable limits, often to the extent of brevity. We shall not attempt to preserve a balance in the amount of material presented between various branches of science. Most of the articles will be original material from authorities in their special lines of investigation. The publication staff will, however, make digests and summaries of important articles as they may appear in current publications, and we shall not hesitate to reprint any articles which may be of particular value to our readers. The matter in SCIENCE CONSPECTUS will not be printed simply because it is avail- able, but will be carefully selected, and wherever possible will be amply illustrated. / Science Conspectus

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON

MASS. ::: SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION

Vol. V 1915 No. 3 Cije Sim of Science Conspectus;

Not many years ago a man might say, " I have taken all science to be my province," but the field has so widened dur-

ing recent times that today it would not be possible for one mind to compass even a single branch of science. Almost every day there are new developments in special lines of research, any one of which may lead to fundamental dis- coveries, but, although these matters would be of general

interest if they could be understood, their significance is often obscure, even to scientific workers in not dissimilar lines, because of the rapid changes in the conception of the relations of matter, because of the intricacy of ever- expanding special nomenclature and because of the almost daily progress in methods of delicate manipulation.

Jt is the aim of SCIENCE CONSPECTUS to give a gen- eral survey of the field of science and its applications in such a way that every article will have some educational value for every reader. We shall strive to describe the most important current developments in the field of scientific activity in terms within the understanding of the intelli- gent lay reader, and in general we shall confine these de- scriptions to reasonable limits, often to the extent of brevity. We shall not attempt to preserve a balance in the amount of material presented between various branches of science. Most of the articles will be original material from authorities in their special lines of investigation. The publication staff will, however, make digests and summaries of important articles as they may appear in current publications, and we shall not hesitate to reprint any articles which may be of particular value to our readers. The matter in SCIENCE CONSPECTUS will not be printed simply because it is avail- able, but will be carefully selected, and wherever possible will be amply illustrated. V Science Conspectus

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON

MASS. ::: SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION

Vol. V 1915 No. 4 Itye Stm of Science Conspectus;

Not many years ago a man might say, " I have taken all science to be my province," but the field has so widened dur- ing recent times that today it would not be possible for one mind to compass even a single branch of science. Almost every day there are new developments in special lines of research, any one of which may lead to fundamental dis- coveries, but, although these matters would be of general interest if they could be understood, their significance is often obscure, even to scientific workers in not dissimilar lines /because of the rapid changes in the conception of the relations of matter, because of the intricacy of ever- expanding special nomenclature and because of the almost daily progress in methods of delicate manipulation. It is the aim of SCIENCE CONSPECTUS to give a gen- eral survey of the field of science and its applications in such a way that every article will have some educational value for every reader. We shall strive to describe the most important current developments in the field of scientific activity in terms within the understanding of the intelli- gent lay reader, and in general we shall confine these de- scriptions to reasonable limits, often to the extent of brevity. We shall not attempt to preserve a balance in the amount of material presented between various branches of science. Most of the articles will be original material from authorities in their special lines of investigation. The publication staff will, however, make digests and summaries of important articles as they may appear in current publications, and we shall not hesitate to reprint any articles which may be of particular value to our readers. The matter in SCIENCE CONSPECTUS will not be printed simply because it is avail- able, but will be carefully selected, and wherever possible will be amply illustrated. o

Science Conspectus

/

3SS8

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY OF ARTS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON

MASS. ::: SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION

Vol. V 1915 No. 5 Wi}t &tm of Science Cons^ectug

Not many years ago a man might say, "I have taken all science to be my province," but the field has so widened dur- ing recent times that today it would not be possible for one mind to compass even a single branch of science. Almost every day there are new developments in special lines of research, any one of which may lead to fundamental dis- coveries, but, although these matters would be of general interest if they could be understood, their significance is often obscure, even to scientific workers in not dissimilar lines, because of the rapid changes in the conception of the relations of matter, because of the intricacy of ever- expanding special nomenclature and because of the almost daily progress in methods of delicate manipulation. It is the aim of SCIENCE CONSPECTUS to give a gen- eral survey of the field of science ai*d its applications in such a way that every article will have some educational value for every reader. We shall strive to describe the most important current developments in the field of scientific activity in terms within the understanding of the intelli- gent lay reader, and in general we shall confine these de- scriptions to reasonable limits, often to the extent of brevity. We shall not attempt to preserve a balance in the amount of material presented between various branches of science. Most of the articles will be original material from authorities in their special lines of investigation. The publication staff will, however, make digests and summaries of important articles as they may appear in current publications, and we shall not hesitate to reprint any articles which may be of particular value to our readers. The matter in SCIENCE CONSPECTUS will not be printed simply because it is avail- able, but will be carefully selected, and wherever possible will be amply illustrated.

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