NOTES AND NEWS.

Professor Charles A. Young writes from Princeton, N.J., June 13, "I have received from Professor Holden the following telegram, announcing the success of the eclipse expedition:"

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., June 11. American eclipse expedition arrived at San Francisco, June 11. Holden reports no Vulcan as bright as 54 magnitude. Hastings's observations prove the corona to be largely a phenomenon of diffraction by the great change in length of 1474 line on east and west sides of sun. No black lines in corona spectrum but D. Full observations with grating spectroscope, prismatic telescope, and integrating spectroscope, by Rockwell, Upton, and Brown. Contacts by Preston. English and French parties successful. (Signed)

E. S. HOLden.

From a fuller telegraphic report in the New-York tribune, it appears that our party reached Caroline Island on April 20, and the French party two days later. The weather was favorable on the day of the eclipse, and all the observations that had been planned were fully carried out. The English observers who accompanied the American party, and to whom all photographic observations were made over, obtained negatives both of the corona and of its spectrum, the latter containing a number of bright lines. They also got a photograph of the reversal of the lines at the beginning and end of totality, and presumably a number of other plates at intermediate stages.

The French observers obtained photographs of the corona and of the whole region of sky near the sun (showing the stars- -or at least taken for that purpose, in hopes of thus photographically catching Vulcan). They report dark lines in corona spectrum.

Professor Hastings's observations of the change of length in the 1474 line on the east and west sides of the sun relate to a theory recently proposed by him, that the apparent corona,' as it may be called, is mainly a diffraction phenomenon, the real corona itself being only a very narrow ring around the sun, optically widened out by diffraction (not refraction) at the edge of the moon into the extensive halo actually observed. Professor Hastings arranged an apparatus by which the coronal spectrum on both sides of the sun could be simultaneously observed, and found that at the beginning of the totality the 1474 line was 12' long on the east side, while it was short and faint on the west. As the eclipse advanced, this inequality disappeared, and at its close was reversed, the change being much greater than could be ascribed simply to the moon's motion. While the observation accords satisfactorily with the new theory, it is, however, doubtful whether it will be regarded as proving it, since the effect can also be explained simply as a phenomenon of aerial illumination.

The corona is reported as having been bright, with

five well-defined streamers, of length not stated. The chromosphere was unusually quiescent.

Messrs. Brown and Preston were left at Honolulu to make pendulum observations. All the members of the party are reported as in good health. The French party are also expected at San Francisco in a day or two.

-The instructions of the Greely-relief party have been published. They are to endeavor to reach Greely by ship if possible. The Proteus has been chartered for the occasion. If unsuccessful, they are to winter at Lifeboat Cove, Littleton Island; though why they should get on the side farthest from the party to be rescued is not clear. Sledge-journeys will be made, if practicable, after winter sets in; though the time when Smith's Sound may be crossed by sledges to Cape Isabella cannot be early in the season, and may not present itself at all. Three hardice men' are to be taken from St. Johns, and apparently will be the only members of the party having any knowledge or experience of the arctic regions, the rest being officers and enlisted men of the U. S. army. As the expedition has been contemplated for a year at least, it seems unfortunate that the experience of Lieut. Schwatka could not have been brought to bear on the outfit and plans. The instructions state that Greely's supplies will be exhausted in the coming autumn, which is a surprise to those who were informed by the public prints, at the time his expedition set out, that he was provisioned for three years. It is evident that the question of rescue is even more grave than has been generally understood, especially when the usual impracticability of crossing Lady Franklin Sound on the ice (as established by the Nares expedition) is taken into account. Mr. Beebe will not accompany the relief party. The U. S. S. Yantic will accompany the Proteus as tender.

Messrs. H. G. Dresel and A. A. Ackerman, ensigns, U.S. navy, accompany the Greely relief party to Greenland as naturalists attached to the U. S. S. Yantic. Both of these gentlemen have, during the past eight months, been acting as assistants in the U.S. national museum at Washington, the former in the department of fish, the latter in the department of mineralogy. They are mainly equipped for collecting marine objects, and interesting results in the line of fish and marine invertebrates are expected from them.

- Nature states, that at a meeting of the subscribers to the Balfour memorial fund, held at Cambridge on the 26th inst., it was stated that £8,309 had been promised, all except £100 of which had been paid. Of this, £8,078 had been invested, yielding an annual income of £284 10 8., which it was hoped further subscriptions would raise to £300. Among the regulations agreed to were the following: the income of the fund shall be applied, (1) to endow a studentship, the holder of which shall devote himself

to original research in biology, especially animal morphology; (2) to further, by occasional grants of money, original research in the same subject. The student shall not necessarily be a member of the university, and, during his tenure of the studentship, shall devote himself to original biological inquiry, and shall not systematically follow any business or profession, or engage in any educational or other work, which, in the opinion of those charged with the administration of the fund, would interfere with his original inquiries. The place and nature of the studies of the student shall be subject to the approval of the managers, provided that the student shall be bound to pursue his studies within the university during at least three terms during his tenure of the studentship, unless the managers shall, with the approval of the board, dispense with this requirement for special reasons. The managers shall take such steps as they may think necessary to satisfy themselves as to the diligence and progress of the student, and may require from him any reports or other information on the subject of his studies which they may think desirable. The studentship shall be tenable for three years; but it may be continued over a second term of three years (but no longer) to the same person, if the managers and board decide that it would be clearly in the interests of biological research. The balance of the income of the fund, after providing for the studentship and for any necessary expenses connected with the election, shall be devoted to the furtherance of original research in biology, especially animal morphology. Grants may be made for this purpose either to the holder of the Balfour studentship or to any other person engaged in research.

-- From a circular issued to the members of the American committee of the Balfour memorial fund, we learn that the subscriptions received by the treasurer up to June 11 amounted to $634.95. The expenses incurred were $31.05, leaving a balance of $603.90, which has been forwarded to the general treasurer of the fund in England.

- During the winter of 1883-84, series of lessons will be delivered before the Teachers' school of science in the Lowell free courses. Teachers will please note the fact, that these lessons are chiefly upon one subject, chemistry, and that the first course of five, by Mr. Norton, is preparatory for the other two courses. First course: Elements of chemistry, by Lewis M. Norton of the Massachusetts institute of technology; First principles of chemistry; The chemistry of the air; The chemistry of the water; The chemistry of combustion; The chemistry of the metallic elements. This course will be illustrated by the simplest apparatus which can be used for such purposes. Second course: Practical examination, with simple apparatus, of the physics and chemistry of vegetable physiology, by Professor George L. Goodale of Harvard university; Vegetable assimila

tion; The mode in which plants prepare food for themselves and for animals; The kinds of food stored in vegetable organs; Illustrations of the starches, sugars, oils, and albuminoidal matters; How food is used by plants and animals in the formation of new parts; Mechanics of growth; How food is used in work of all kinds by different organisms; Adaptation of organisms to extremes of heat and light, chiefly with respect to geographical distribution. The teachers in the audience will be supplied with simple apparatus; and this course and Mr. Crosby's will be made experimental and thoroughly practical so far as this is possible. The series will be concluded by five lessons on chemical principles illustrated by common minerals, by W. O. Crosby of the Massachusetts institute of technology, which cannot at present be more fully described.

-The new Fish-commission steamer Albatross has recently arrived at the Brooklyn (N.Y.) navy-yard from her first extended cruise, which covered the region from Cape Hatteras to Newport (R.I.). The main object of this cruise was to thoroughly test the various appliances of research before starting upon the regular campaign, which will begin about July 1. A considerable amount of stormy weather was encountered; but in the worst of it the new ship behaved splendidly, the greatest roll recorded having been only about 29 degrees. Numerous dredgings and soundings were made down to a depth of 1,168 fathoms, and a large amount of valuable zoölogical material was obtained. Experiments were also made with the powerful electric lamps for lighting up the Considering the inexperienced crew, and the newness of all the appliances, this first trip has been entirely satisfactory. At Brooklyn the Albatross will receive a new coat of paint, after which she will repair to Washington to fit up for the summer work.

sea.

— The summer investigating party of the U. S. fishcommission, with the commissioner, Professor Baird, will leave for the Wood's Holl (Mass.) station about July 1, for a stay of three months or longer. The party will consist of the same members as during the past two years, Professor Verrill, of Yale college, being in immediate charge of the zoölogical work. The new steamer Albatross will make her trips from the same place, and the Fish Hawk will engage in dredging and trawling in the neighboring regions. Arrangements are now nearly completed for starting work upon the new wharf in the big harbor, and upon the laboratory and dormitory buildings, which are to occupy sites at the inner end of the wharf. These structures will all be in readiness for the season of 1884.

-The new Parkes museum of hygiene was opened in London, May 26. The Duke of Albany delivered the opening address. Among the speakers were Sir Charles Dilke, Professor Tyndall, and the Archbishop of York.

I. INIQUITOUS ADULTERATION. "THERE has been so much adulteration of food," said a New-York divine recently," that it is an amazement to me that there is a healthy man in America. The great want of to-day is practical religion, a religion that will correctly label goods, that will prevent a man telling you a watch was made in Geneva when it was made in Massachusetts, that will keep the ground glass and the sand out of the sugar, that will go into the grocery and pull out the plug of ale-adulterated sirup, that will dump in the ash-barrel the cassia-buds that are sold for cinnamon, that will sift out the Prussian-blue from the tea-leaves, that will keep out of flour the plaster of Paris and soapstone, that will separate the one quart of Ridgewood water from the one honest drop of cow's milk, that will throw out the live animalculae from the sugar. Heaven knows what they put in the spices, in the butter, or the drugs; but chemical analysis and the microhave made wonderful discoveries." scope The Youth's Companion," in a recent article on the adulteration of food, says,

"A system of inspection is necessary to protect the public from the adulteration of food which is so common in this country, especially in the poorer quarters of our large cities, where the prices are low and the purchasers not fastidious. . . . Large quantities of unwholesome meat are sold to the poor, such as poultry which has been thrown out of the better class of markets, 'bob' veal, the meat of calves killed too soon after birth, and beef that comes from animals that have been unhealthy before slaughtering. . . . The health of a community can be seriously injured by the tricks of dishonest tradesmen, and people should be careful in buying food that is offered at unusually low prices."

These strictures may, perhaps, strike the average reader as foreshadowing a crusade against the compounders and venders of adulterated food; but this is not our prime object. The combined power of the pulpit and press is

almost incalculable, and the batteries of the latter are being levelled against this "common enemy along the whole line. That men, induced by the hope of gain, should adulterate the staples of life, and thus add crime, and, as often follows, murder, to their account on the "Great Ledger" of eternity, seems almost impossible of conception; and yet it is only too true. This criminal practice is as old as the hills; and its recent condemnation by the clergy and press is only another exemplification of the value of free speech and a free press, - two inestimable boons to Americans.

II. SPOILED FOOD.

It is a fact, lamentable enough in itself, that food has a natural tendency to decay, which men have heretofore unsuccessfully attempted to check. Especially is this true of animal food and its after-products, such as butter, cream, milk, cheese, lard, etc. The problem of pure, fresh, healthful, cheap food, in all climates and seasons, is a field broad enough to command the attention of all philanthropists. To the rich man all things seem possible; but to the laboring classes this problem of fresh and cheap food is, and ever has been, a veritable Gordian knot.

The laboring man looks forward to Sunday for a day of rest and a good dinner. The steak, oysters, chop, chicken, and such delicacies are procured on Saturday, and kept over for this sabbath meal. It goes without saying, that a lack of ice, a warm room, a muggy day, a poorly ventilated cellar, and a myriad of such every-day causes and circumstances, conspire to spoil these viands. Even slightly salted, they lose their fresh flavor; smoked, they are even less desirable; immersed in pickle, or corned, they become impregnated with the deadly saltpetre; placed in a refrigerator, they are practically frozen.

iv

"All such food is injurious to health,' says a learned Cincinnati judge; yet, left alone to the influences of climate, weather, and natural surroundings, they speedily spoil. What, then, shall rich or poor do to insure the coveted luxury of fresh, healthful food?

The problem has been a knotty one since the advent of man upon this terrestrial planet. The criminal cupidity of many dealers, on the one hand, and the hosts of natural causes of decay, and man's inability to find a reliable, safe, and cheap food-preservative, on the other, are obstacles which have always heretofore confounded the world.

III. FOOD-PRESERVATION.

One of the largest elements of risk in general farming and in dealing in food-products is the loss on perishable goods, both from decay and deterioration, as well as from the frequent necessity of forcing such goods upon an overstocked market at ruinously low prices. The world has long needed some substance, at once harmless and efficient, to maintain in their production that freshness and sweetness in provisions so essential to remunerative returns. Salted meats are distasteful to many, and repugnant and unhealthful to all, where a regular diet of such material is maintained. Once salted, a piece of beef is immediately lowered in value. Millions of dollars' worth of poultry, lamb, veal, and mutton are annually lost to the world through the lack of practical means of preservation. Milk and cream cannot be kept longer than a day or two, and tons of butter every year become rancid and are sold for grease. The want of a thing always directs scientific inquiry and inventive genius toward its discovery. It has been known for many months past, in commercial and scientific circles, that this important discovery had been made in a food-preservative by Prof. R. F. Humiston of Boston. series of experiments was conducted to prove beyond a doubt the success of his invention, which resulted most satisfactorily to a number of leading capitalists and scientific men, who determined to bring it before the public in a large commercial way.

Α

Professor Humiston must hereafter go down to posterity as an inventor or discoverer as great as Franklin, Morse, Fulton, or Sir Humphry Davy, and for the sufficient reason that he has, after long and patient years of study and research, with thousands of experiments, discovered and perfected a combination of antiseptics, harmless in their nature, which

In brief, the new process is based upon truly scientific principles, perfectly adapted to the preservation of a great variety of animal and vegetable products. The basis is a tasteless, innocuous white powder, which is dissolved in water, forming a solution in which the beef, or turkey, or mutton is immersed and treated, or which may be injected into the carotid artery of large animals as soon as the blood ceases flowing. By this simple and inexpensive process, the article thus treated may be hung up in ordinary temperature, remaining sweet and wholesome for an indefinite term. Upon the closest scrutiny and the most practical and exhaustive experiments, certain well-known business gentlemen of Boston and vicinity have associated themselves into a corporation, under the name of The Humiston Food-Preserving Company, choosing Mr. J. Willard Rice of Boston, of the well-known paper firm of Rice, Kendall, & Co., as their president, and Dr. R. C. Flower, secretary and treasurer. This company has established a large manufactory at Salem, Mass., with a daily capacity of five tons of Rex Magnus, and their headquarters at 72 Kilby Street, Mason Building, Boston, where may be seen and examined a most interesting exhibit of fish, fowl, game, beef, mutton, and like perishable articles of food, treated with Rex Magnus, and exposed to the atmosphere of a business office, and to the rays of the sun.

The public will naturally wish to know the means or the action by which this Humiston food-preservative performs its important work. In fact, the question is already asked, “Why is it that this preserves, perfectly sweet and pure, for an indefinite period, meats, fruits, vegetables, milk, butter, etc.?"

It is the office of Rex Magnus to oppose and prevent putrefaction by the utter destruction, or holding at bay, of those parasites that prey upon organic matter. Meats, poultry,

game, cream, milk, or oysters, preserved by this method may be carried across the continent, or shipped to Europe, retaining their freshness and purity without the use of ice or any refrigerating appliance, or they may be kept at home for days and weeks, even in the hottest weather, improving in taste, besides saving much expense in the cost of ice, and time and trouble in going to market. There is ample testimony that these are stubborn facts. It is infallible in its power to preserve, of great strength, and concentrated in form, tasteless and unobjectionable to the palate, harmless in its effect upon the human system, and, finally, capable of almost universal and simple application to such food-substances as are subject to speedy decay. The food treated with Rex Magnus carries no unusual or unnatural taste. Its use is so simple that a child may direct the operation of preserving food. The article to be preserved may be wrapped in cloths wet in the solution, and occasionally redampened, or it may be plunged into a tub or jar full of the solution, and allowed to remain for several hours. The powder may be worked into butter at the time of making, or the balls of butter may be placed in vessels filled with the solution, and allowed to remain for weeks and months. Dairymen have preserved butter with all the freshness and aroma of the June product for six months, and Professor Humiston has preserved eggs entirely fresh and sweet for fourteen months at a time.

V. THOROUGHLY INDORSED.

It has been subjected to the most severe and thorough tests, both by scientific, medical, and business men. Professor Samuel W. Johnson of Yale College, after testing it to his entire satisfaction, made a report, in which he says,

"My tests of thirty-five days, in daily mean temperature of 70°, on meats, etc., bought in open market, have certainly been severe; and I am satisfied that the different brands of Rex Magnus, The Humiston Food-Preservative, with which I have experimented, have accomplished all claimed for them. So far as I have yet learned, they are the only preparations that are effective and at the same time practicable for domestic use. At the banquet on treated' meats at the New-Haven House, I could not distinguish between those which had been sixteen days in my laboratory and those newly taken from the refrigerator of the hotel. The oysters were perfectly palatable, and fresh to my taste, and better, as it happened, than those served at the same time, which were recently taken from the shell. The roast beef, steak, chicken, turkey, and quail were all as good as I have ever eaten. I should anticipate no ill results from its use, and consider it no more harmful than common salt."

Rex Magnus is a valuable discovery, a boon to agriculturists, a legitimate business enterprise. It is not to be classed for a moment with the numerous humbugs of the past,

ozone, and a host of such, the impossible projects of scheming men or the visionary dreams of laboratory scientists. Professor Humiston has devoted many years to studying to assist the millions to get cheap food, and, as the great aid to this end, made intense application and active research in the matter of antiseptics alone. He perfected his process, he proved his theories, he demonstrated the feasibility of his methods, he enlisted his co-operators, he secured the necessary capital, the company was organized, who bought extensive works, and they commenced on a commercial basis before they took measures to inform the publc of this wonderful preservative.

VI. A BUSINESS BASIS.

This company is not seeking capital of the public: they simply propose to manufacture this preservative on a large scale, to offer it for sale eventually in every grocery and provision store in the land in large or small packages. All classes now have an opportunity of purchasing the preservative in small and inexpensive packages, and of testing, each for himself, its value in his own home and business. There is no opportunity or design for any misrepresentation or serious disappointment in a fair, open transaction like this. There are no territorial rights or patent licenses for sale, but every one may have equal and ample chance to use Rex Magnus. company offer, however, to supply any one— in case his grocer, druggist, or general storekeeper hasn't it on hand - with any brand of Rex Magnus which he may desire, upon receipt of the price. They will prepay postage charges on sample packages, which cost but fifty cents per pound for meats, milk, and seafood, while cream and other special brands cost one dollar per pound.

VII. PREVIOUS FAILURES.

The

The wretched failures by which the public has heretofore been deceived have pretended to preserve all kinds of food with the same compound, an idea which is preposterous on the face of it. Meat is different in character and substance from sea-food, and this from milk, cream, and butter, these from eggs, and eggs from vegetable juices or fluid extracts. Professor Humiston has treated the subject in a scientific way. Having thoroughly inveg