Part 37

[19] The celebrated “Maelström” is one of the currents that flow down the submarine incline between these islands when the tide is falling. Although I have ridiculed some of the accounts of this now innocent stream, I am not prepared to assert that it was always as mild as at present. If the ancient glaciers were stopped suddenly, as they may well have been, by the rocky barrier of Mosken, between Vaerö and Moskenesö, and they then suddenly concluded their deposition of till, a precipice must have been formed between this and the deep sea outside the islands, down which the sea would pitch when the tide was falling, and thus form some dangerous eddies. This cascade would gradually obliterate itself by wearing down the precipitous wall to an inclined plane such as at present exists, and down which the existing current flows.

[20] The largest of the Norwegian lakes, the Mjosen, is 1550 feet deep, and its surface 385 feet above the sea-level. Its bottom is about 1000 feet lower than the sea outside, or 500 to 800 feet below the bottom of the Christiana Fjord. The fjords, generally speaking, are very much shallower near their mouths than further inland, as though their depth had been determined by the thickness of the glaciers flowing down them, and the consequent limits of flotation and deposition.

[21] This has been recently overcome to a great extent by using glycerine instead of water.

[22] Since the above was written I have made some experiments with a solution of shellac in borax (obtained by long boiling), and hereby claim the invention of its application to this purpose, in order to prevent anybody from patenting it. I shall not do so myself.

[23] Written during the coal famine of 1872–73.

[24] From 1870 to 1880 the amount has risen from 110,431,192 to 146,818,622 tons per annum, an average increase of 3,638,743 tons per annum.

[25] At the present time (1882) we are receiving the excessive supplies consequent upon the opening of new pits that, under the stimulus of high prices, were in the course of sinking when the above was written. Hence the present low prices. Presently the annual increase of consumption will overtake this increased supply, and another “coal famine” like that then existing will follow. This is not far distant.

[26] “The Coal Fields of Great Britain,” pp. 447, 448.

[27] In a paper on the Comstock mines, read at the Pittsburg meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in 1879, by Mr. John A. Church, the hot mine waters are described as reaching 158° Fahr. (so hot that men have been scalded to death by falling into them). The highest recorded _air temperature_ there is 128°. These are silver mines, and vigorously worked in spite of this temperature and great humidity. A much higher temperature is endurable in _dry air_.

[28] The scientific pedant of the Middle Ages displayed his profundity by continually quoting Aristotle and other “ancients.” His modern successor does the like by decorating his pages with displays of algebraical formulæ. In order to secure the proper respect of _my_ readers I here repeat the equation that I enunciated many years ago, “_c_ = _s_/_p_” where _c_ stands for civilization, _s_ for the quantity of soap consumed per annum, and _p_ the population of a given community.

[29] Geologists who may be interested in seeing the results of this experiment, will find on the Edgbaston Vestry Hall, in Enville Road, near the Five Ways, Birmingham, some columns, massive window pieces, doorways, and ornamental steps cast from the fused Rowley Rag and slowly cooled.

[30] In each of my three visits to America 1 lost about thirty pounds in weight, which I recovered within a few months of my return to the “home country” (of English-speaking nations).—RICHARD A. PROCTOR.

[31] Since the above was written, a correspondent in Paris tells me that a caricature exists, representing a Frenchman enjoying an open fire by standing on his head in the middle of the room.

[32] See foot-note, page 365.

[33] I tried the seeds given to me by Messrs. Carter, and find them to produce the same plant as my own, which I still cultivate very successfully. I now sow it in the spring as a kitchen garden border.

[34] Subsequent experiments induce me not to recommend this economy, on account of the bagging which results from excessive width between the frames; 3 feet should not be exceeded.

[35] I have followed up Mr. Trewby’s hint, and find that more than one quality of scrim is made. The best, made entirely of flax, costs rather more than the 2¼_d._ stated in the estimate, but it is the cheapest practically. The best I have seen is that used in the Houses of Parliament.

[36] Watt’s own figure for the latent heat of steam at 212° was 950°, but I adopt that which is now generally accepted.

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

The original text contained many typographical errors. The simple ones were corrected without comment here; others are noted below.

Unbalanced quotation marks were corrected, as proper placement always could be determined.

Some typographical errors probably remain undetected.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained; occurrences of inconsistent hyphenation have not been changed.

Text uses both “Acadamy” and “Academy”; both retained here.

Page 336: “The disagreeable sensation experienced by Dr. Siemens in the stove-heated railway cars, etc., were probably due to this” was printed that way. Either “sensation” should be “sensations” or “were” should be “was”.

End of Project Gutenberg's Science in Short Chapters, by W. Mattieu Williams