Introductory material
Reading edition
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I. AERONAUTICS.—War Balloons.—The establishment of balloon corps in the armies of different countries; the French, English, Italian, and Russian establishments.—1 illustration 9288
II. ASTRONOMY.—Astronomical Telescopes; their object glasses and reflectors.—By G.D. Hiscox.—The dialyte telescope; practical details of the mechanical operations of construction, such as lens grinding and shaping; washing flour of emery, tests for correction.—23 illustrations 9296
Fleurials' Gyroscope Collimator.—An ingenious application of the gyroscope to fixing the horizon line in sextant observations; an instrument crowned by the French Academy.—2 illustrations 9291
III. BIOLOGY.—An Epidemic of Micrococcus prodigiosus.—By M. Grimbert.—Interesting case of bacterial poisoning, with details of the detection of the bacteria 9301
The Morphological Conditions of Heredity.—An exposition of Professor A. Weissman's theory of the "perpetuity of germ plasma;" a theory opposed to the doctrine of evolution 9295
The Third Eye of Reptiles.—The last conclusions on the pineal gland in reptiles; curious development in anatomy, the possible organ of a sixth sense.—1 illustration 9300
IV. CHEMISTRY.—Nitrogenous Principles of Vegetable Mould.—Note of the conclusions of MM. Berthelot and Andre 9302
The Lactocrite.—A new method of ascertaining the amount of fat in milk.—By H. Faber.—An apparatus for analyzing milk employing centrifugal force.—Results obtained.—1 illustration 9292
V. ELECTRICITY.—Electric Welding.—The new art in metallurgy described by Prof. Elihu Thomson; full details of the process, apparatus, and current required.—2 illustrations 9293
The Electric Waltzers.—An ingenious electric toy.—1 illustration 9293
VI. ENGINEERING.—Sustaining Walls. Arched sustaining walls and arched buttresses; elaborate study of French practice.—11 illustrations 9288
VII. METEOROLOGY.—Popular Errors in Meteorology. Popular fallacies; the habits of animals, the Rocky Mountain locust; the equinoctial storm 9299
VIII. MISCELLANEOUS.—Beethoven's Portrait. An authentic portrait of the great musician.—1 illustration 9301
Dwarfs and Giants.—Relative sizes of men; the Austrian giant, Francis Winckelmeler, 8½ feet high.—1 illustration 9302
The Sinaloa Colony.—The Topolobampo settlement; its origin, progress, principles and prospects 9301
IX. NAVAL ENGINEERING.—Torpedo Boat Catchers. A review of recent constructions of fast light armored vessels for combating torpedo boats 9290
X. ORDNANCE.—The Use of Machine Guns in the Field in Combination with Infantry.—Abstract of a recent paper on this subject by Major A. D. Anderson, R.H.A.—The advantages and uses of the weapon discussed.—Advocacy of their introduction 9288
XI. PHOTOGRAPHY.—Orthochromatic Photography. By J. B. B. Wellington.—Formulæ and practical directions for orthochromatic work.—The use of silver carbonate and erythrosin together 9293
XII. PHYSICS.—A New Gas Thermo-Regulator.—A simple and efficient apparatus for regulating heat in air baths, etc.—1 illustration 9292
A New Thermometer.—The principle of the Bourdon safety gauge applied to thermometry.—Fermis' new thermometer.—1 illustration 9291
Phosphorescence of Alumina.—By Edmond Becquerel.—The effects of impurities on phosphorescence discussed 9294
Separation of Nickel by the Magnet.—By Thomas T. P. Bruce-Warren.—The effect of copper on nickel in modifying its susceptibility to magnetic attraction.—Practical deductions as to nickel crucibles and gauze 9294
The Capillarity and Density of Liquids.—A simple experiment in physics without apparatus.—1 illustration 9294
XIII. SANITATION AND HYGIENE.—A Floating Hospital.—A new structure recently erected at Newcastle-on-Tyne.—2 illustrations 9295
XIV. TECHNOLOGY.—Employment of Acetic or Formic Acid in Bleaching.—Ingenious use of a small quantity of organic acids to decompose indefinite amounts of bleaching powder.—The invention of Dr. Lunge, of Zurich 9290
Sulphurous Acid in the Chemical Industries.—Its use in the phosphate and tartaric acid industries 9294
Tea Withering Apparatus.—A portable blowing apparatus for drying tea.—Use of chloride of calcium to absorb moisture therein.—1 illustration 9291