It is not sufficient to show that a certain set pheres were sufficient to secure his results. He of circumstances could exist in a case of ex- concludes that all solid bodies possess the plosion, but that they actually did exist. Sev- property of uniting when they are in close coneral of the extravagant theories, such as sud- tact. This property is more or less pronounced den development of electricity, the formation in different bodies, and it appears to be a and detonation of hydrogen and oxygen, the function of the hardness. Soft bodies are constituent gases of water, the instantaneous easily soldered hard bodies, with difficulty. conversion into steam of large masses of There is, however, another element which inwater, and so on, are satisfactorily met and fluences the union, to which he gives the name disposed of. Apart from external injury or of waxiness, and which is illustrated by violent concussion the explosion of boilers Tresca's experiments upon the flow of solids. are generally traceable to undetected or unre- In every case the bodies which were submitted medied defects in construction, or ignorance to pressure were changed into a denser variety; or carelessness of management, either in the prismatic sulphur, for example, which has a boiler itself or the furnace chamber and fuel specific weight of 1.96, was changed into ocsupply. We cannot follow this part of the tahedric sulphur, with a specific weight of subject further, but it has a vital interest that 2.05. We may infer from this fact that the recommends it to the consideration of every state which matter assumes depends somewhat person concerned in the ownership and man- upon the volume which it is obliged to ocagement of boilers. We have, indeed, barely cupy, through the action of external forces. skimmed the work in giving our testimony to These experiments seem calculated to throw its great value and the labor and knowledge it new light upon some important geological represents. These only can be estimated by questions; the layers of primary rocks, for reading it carefully from cover to cover and example, may have resulted from the union of knowing how far it distances any work of the the grains of sand or mud which were borne kind which pretends to give information on along by the waters; the great pressure would the subject up to the requirements of the pres- have ground and thrust and broken and soldered ent day.-N. Y. Herald. them anew so as to give them the form which they now possess; faults and cleavages of every description would be comparable to the crevices of glaciers.-Bull de l'Acad. Roy. de Belg. H MISCELLANEOUS. HE towers of Cologne Cathedral are now ERR VON BOGUSŁAWSKI has been led, from the highest in the world, the height they a comparison of the results of recent deep sea investigations, to the following con- have attained being 5ft. higherthan the tower of clusions respecting the temperatures of the St. Nicholas Church in Hamburg, which has Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: 1. The water of hitherto been the highest edifice. When finthe North Pacific is, in its whole mass, colder ished they will be 51ft. 10in. higher. The than that of the North Atlantic. 2. The Cologne Gazette gives the following as the water of the South Pacific is, down to 1300 heights of the chief high buildings in the meters-4225ft.-somewhat warmer than that world: Towers of Cologne Cathedral 524ft. of the Atlantic, but below the depth colder. 11in. from the pavement of the cloisters, or 3. The bottom temperatures are generally 515ft. 1in. from the floor of the church; tower lower in the Pacific than the Atlantic at the of St. Nicholas, at Hamburg, 473ft. 1in. ; cusame depths and in the same degree of lati-pola of St. Peters, Rome, 469ft. 2in.; cathetude; but nowhere in the Pacific are found such low bottom temperatures as in the Antarctic portion of the South Atlantic between 36 deg. and 38 deg. south and 48 deg. and 33 deg. west longitude, in which bottom temperatures of 0.3 deg. C. to -0.6 deg. C. have been measured. 4. In the western parts of the Pacific, and the adjoining parts of the East Indian Archipelago, the temperature of the water reaches its minimum at depths between 550 and 2750 meters-1787 ft. and 8937ft. remaining the same from this depth to the bottom. In the whole of the Atlantic the temperature from 2750 meters-8937ft.-to the bottom gradually though very slowly de creases. SOL OLIDIFICATION UNDER PRESSURE.-Walther Spring has investigated the phenomena of universal regelation, or, in other words, the property which the particles of solid bodies possess of uniting by cohesive action under pressure. The pressure in some of his experiments exceeded 20,000 atmospheres, but in the majority of cases from 2,000 to 3,000 atmos dral spire at Strasburg, 465ft. 11 in.; Pyramid of Cheops, 449ft. 5in.; tower of St. Stephen's, Vienna, 443ft. 10in.; tower of St. Martin's. Landshut, 434ft. 8in.; cathedral spire of Freibourg, 410ft. 1in.; cathedral of Antwerp, 404ft. 10in.; cathedral of Florence, 390ft. 5in.; St. Paul's, London, 365ft. lin.; ridge tiles of Cologne Cathedral, 360ft. 3in.; cathedral tower at Madgeburg, 339ft. 11in.; tower of the new Votive Church at Vienna, 314ft. 11in.;_ tower of the fine new brick-built Rath-haus at Berlin, 288ft. 8in.; towers of Notre Dame at Paris, 232ft. 11in. HE death is announced of Mr. William Tastel, F. R. S. on the 5th inst., in his eighty-second year. He was an astronomer of unusual ability, and the inventor and constructor of astronomical apparatus of great importance. His attainments in astronomy and physics and mechanics enabled him to discern the requirements of the observer, and to comprehend and apply the conditions and principles involved in the construction of the things required. Royal 8vo., 1170 pages, sheep, library style. NOW READY. NAVAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA. SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. I. A Complete Dictionary of Nautical Terms and Phrases. II. Biographical Notices of Distinguished Naval Officers of our own and foreign services. III. Special Articles, including in their scope the entire range of Modern Naval Science, prepared expressly for this work by officers and others of recog nized ability in their respective fields of discussion, and comprehending the freshest and most authentic information attainable respecting the several subjects treated. IV. 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THE BLOW-PIPE: A Guide to its Use in the Determina tion of Salts and Minerals. Compiled from various sources, by GEORGE W. PLYMPTON, C.E., A.M., Pro, fessor of Physical Science in the Polytechnic InstituteBrooklyn, N. Y. PYNCHON'S CHEMICAL PHYSICS. New Edition. Revised and enlarged. Crown 8vo. Cloth. $3.00. INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL PHYSICS: Designed for the Use of Academies, Colleges, and High Schools. Illustrated with numerous engravings, and containing copi. ous experiments, with directions for preparing them. By THOMAS RUGGLES PYNCHON, M.A., President of Trinity College, Hartford. ELIOT AND STORER'S QUALITA- ANALYSIS. 12mo. Cloth. $1.75 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 12mo. Cloth. 75C. AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS CALDWELL & BRENEMAN'S CHEMI- New Edition. Revised. 12mo. Illustrated. Cloth. $1.50. A COMPENDIOUS MANUAL OF QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. By CHARLES W. ELIOT and FRANK H. STORER. Revised, with the co-operation of the Authors, by WILLIAM RIPLEY NICHOLS, Professor of Chemistry in the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- 8vo. Cloth. 188 pages. Illustrated. New and Enlarged ogy. RAMMELSBERG'S CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 8vo. Cloth. $2.25. GUIDE TO A COURSE OF QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALY- ATTWOOD'S PRACTICAL BLOW- 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. $2.00. edition. $1.50. D. VAN NOSTRAND, Publisher, 23 Murray and 27 Warren Streets, New York. **Copies sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of price. A HAND-BOOK THE GREATEST LIVING Authors, such as Prof. Max Muller, Rt. Hon,W E, Gladstone, Jas. A. Froude, Prof. Huxley, R. A. Proctor, Edw. A. Freeman, Prof. Tyndall, Dr. W. B. Carpenter, Prof. Goldwin Smith, The Duke of Argyll, Wm. Black, Miss Thackeray, Mrs. MulochCraik, Geo. MacDonald, Mrs. Oliphant,Thos, Hardy, Jean Ingelow, Matthew Arnold, W. H. Mallock, W. W. Story, Turguenief, Carlyle, Ruskin, Tennyson, Browning, and many others, are represented in the pages of Littell's Living Age. 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OF THE ELECTRO MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH, BY A. E. LORING. A PRACTICAL TELEGRAPHer. INTRODUCTION. It has been the aim of the author in the preparation of this little book, to present the principles of the Electro Magnetic Telegraph, in a brief, concise manner, for the benefit of practical operators and students of telegraphy. The works on telegraphy which have thus far been presented, besides being expensive, have contained much that is useless, or which is not in a form to be readily understood by young and inexperienced telegraphAlthough this little work must be acknowledged incomplete, it is hoped that it may go far toward supplying the deficiency which has existed; or, at least, serve as a stepping-stone to the study of the more complete works on electricity and telegraphy. ers. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. PART I.-ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM. -ElectricityPositive and Negative. Conductors and Non-Conductors. Galvanic Batteries. Galvanic Circuits. Electrical Quantity and Intensity. Resistance. ElectroMotive Force. Haskin's Galvanometer and its Uses. Ohms Law. Measurement of Currents. Measurement of Resistance. Speed of the Current. Divided Circuits. Electro-Magnets. Residual Magnetism. Proportion of Electro-Magnets to Circuits. Intensity and Quantity Magnets. PART II.-THE MORSE TELEGRAPH.-Fundamental Principle. Telegraph Circuits. Intermediate offices. The Local Circuit. Ground Wires. The Key The Relay. The Sounder. Main Line Sounders. The Box Relay. Cut Outs. The Switch Board. Other Switches. Lightning Arresters. Loops. Arrangement of Offices. Arrangement of Batteries. Repeaters. PART III.-BATTERIES.-Grove Battery. Carbon Battery. Amalgamation of Zincs. Daniell Battery Hill Battery. Other Forms of Battery. Battery Insulators. PART IV.-PRACTICAL TELEGRAPHY.-Alphabet and Numerals. Adjustment of Instruments. Testing Telegraph Lines. Breaks. Escapes. Grounds. Crosses. PART V.-CONSTRUCTION OF LINES.-The Conductors. The Insulators. Fitting up Offices. Ground Wire Connections. Private and Short Lines. APPENDIX.-Suggestions and Exercises for Learners. Paper Boards, 50 cents, Cloth, 75 cents, Morocco, $1.00. D. VAN NOSTRAND, Publisher, 23 Murray Street, New York.. *Copies sent by mail, post paid, on receipt of price. Journal of the Franklin Institute, DEVOTED TO SCIENCE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS. ESTABLISHED IN 1826. The only Technological Journal published in the United States, without private pecuniary interest. Its object is to encourage original research, and disseminate useful knowledge in all matters relating to the practical application of science, but more especially to engineering and the mechanical arts. The JOURNAL is issued in monthly numbers, of seventy-two pages each, largely illus trated, forming two volumes annually. The number for June, 1880, completes the One Hundred and Fourth volume. 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