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To the Editor of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: I have seen in one of your SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN publications an article concerning "Manufacturing Perfumes at Home." You recommend a still for the distillation of flowers; also illustrate such a still. I wish to call your attention to the fact that such still must be registered with the collector of the district in which such still is located, not only before operation begins, but immediately after the still comes into the possession or custody of such person, whether it be a new still, distillery apparatus, or not. The law requires all stills set up to be registered if for use or not. This applies to all stills, of whatever size and for whatever purpose intended. Any still which is not registered is subject to forfeiture to the United States, together with all personal property in the possession or custody or under the control of such person and found in the building or in any yard or inclosure connected with the building in which the same may be set up. The person whose duty it is to register any still, failing to do so, is subject to fine and imprisonment under section 3258 Revised Statutes (Internal Revenue Department). Kindly bring this to the attention of your subscribers to avoid any difficulties. Newark, N. J. H. H. FREUND. RAISING THE "MAINE." To the Editor of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: The recent act of Congress authorizing the raising of the wreck of the U. S. S. "Maine" has given rise to many suggestions for raising her. The wreck has rested on the bottom of Havana harbor for nearly twelve years, and has doubtless settled considerably in the mud. The "Maine" was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines. Apart from the loss of life, the results of this explosion were that the vessel from the bow to frame 41 was terribly shattered. Therefore it can be said that the "Maine" from frame 41 aft is structurally sound, although it is doubtful if anything could be done to repair the shattered forecastle. The debris of the bow could be destroyed by dynamite, and the afterpart raised. A new bow would then have to be constructed, Which could be later joined to the old afterpart. A similar thing was accomplished in 1907, when the White Star liner "Suevic" was wrecked off the English coast. Her afterpart was separated from the bow, which was held fast by the rocks, and she proceeded under her own steam to Southampton, where she was docked. A new bow 212 feet long was built at Belfast, towed to Southampton, and joined to the vessel. Within a year the "Suevic" was able to resume her regular duties as one of the White Star Line's Australian steamers. GERALD ELLIS CKONIN. Brooklyn, N. Y. HOW LARGE DOES THE SUN APPEAR TO BE ? To the Editor of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: Ask ten people how large the sun looks to them when it is in mid-heaven, and you will get ten different opinions of its size, which range from a silver dollar to a cart wheel. The varied opinions are due to the fact that there is nothing with which to compare it when looked at by itself. Before any accurate estimate of its size can be made, we must have some known object with which to compare it. Thus, when the sun is on the horizon and appears to be close to houses, trees, and hills, it looks very large. To some people it seems as large as a house or tree. Moreover, there are more persons who will agree that it appears to be a certain fixed size under this condition than will agree when it is viewed at the zenith. The diversity of opinion in the latter case results from the inability of the eye to "size up" an isolated object. This has been proved by projecting a narrow beam of light on a perfectly black, non-reflecting screen so placed that the observer could see nothing but. the beam of light and had no way of judging his distance from the screen. The observations of several people under these conditions revealed the fact that there was no certainty about the length of the beam, the apparent length being estimated all the way from a few inches to several feet. This being the case when the sun is in mid-heaven, how can its size be reduced to some uniform standard? The most logical answer is found by representing it as a circle located at a fixed distance from the eye. The average reader holds the printed page about one foot from his eyes when reading. At this distance he can estimate fairly closely the size of the type or an illustration. In. fact, a dozen good judges of dimensions can tell the size of an illustration, that does not exceed a few inches, w thin a small fraction of an inch. These same men, if asked to draw a circle on the sheet that would just cover the sun's disk if held between them and the sun at a distance of one foot from the eye, would produce a series of circles of magnitudes ranging from a twenty-five cent piece to a saucer. The real size of the circle should be only three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The method of representing the sun's exact size by a circle one foot from the eye is simple. Take a smoked glass, hold it one foot from the eye and scratch pin marks tangent to the sun's disk at the four quarters. When the diameter of the circle inclosed within these marks is measured, it will be found to be very close to three-sixteenths of an inch. In other words, if a circle of this size were drawn, and in its area were reproduced in proportion to an average sun spot, the observer would be able to ex-amiHe the small dot at a distance of one foot from his eye with just about the same ease that he could examine the real spot on the sun through a smoked glass. Or, again, if the moon, which is the same apparent size as the sun, and whose disk can be represented by the same small circle, were to he reproduced in milliature within its area, an observer holding it one foot from his eye could examine it with the same scrutiny that he could examine the full moon with his naked eye. Detroit, Mich. E. C. LANDIS. The Cnrreut Supplement. The British Antarctic expedition has started on its journey for the South. Consequently the opening article of the current SUPPLEMENT, NO. 1798, in which the equipment of the expedition is described, will prove of interest. Not so many years ago, in his famous book on education, Herbert Spencer put forth a powerful plea for the study of science. Nowadays, however, an advocacy of that kind is not called for, and his book is at present largely of historic value only. Since that time the pendulum has been swinging too far toward the scientific. Prof. Albert G. Keller, in an article on Science and the Humanities, argues for the inevitableness of the humanities and of humanity. He asserts not only that our lives may be enriched by the pursuit of culture in diverse forms; not only that our destinies must be impoverished by the renunciation of all lines save one, but also insists upon the more concrete contention that our special scientific work is bound to suffer as a consequence of the neglect of that for which the humanities stand. In all parts of the civilized world, the least desirable element in the population, from a physical and mental standpoint, is producing more numerous progeny, and it would seem that unless means can be devised to stay thjs flood of the unfit, in the course of time the entire race must descend to a lower level as regards physical and mental qualities. Of late, the aid of eugenics and more recently still, that of Mendelism, has been invoked to keep the race at a high standard. The methods adopted are outlined in an article entitled "Eugenics and Mendelism." Mr. Paul F. Bauder writes instructively on the quality of light. A sympathetic and appreciative biography is published of the late Sir William Huggins. Elihu Thomson contributes a thoughtful paper on atmospheric electricity. One of the most interesting problems of archaeology has been solved by the recent excavations at Arlesia, that ancient city of Gaul where Vercingetorix headed 80,000 of his countrymen in a last gallant, though futile attempt to stem the advance of the victorious legions of Caesar. The wonders of these excavations are. told in an interesting article. Mr. Leon A. Hackett contributes a very exhaustive paper on the processes of cotton spinning. The removal of ashes by conveying them to a waste bank hydraulically is done in connection with the temporary plant built to supply power during the construction of the Rainbow Falls hydro-electric development of the Great Falls Water Power and Town-site Company on the Missouri River, near Great Falls, Mont. The power house is on the side of a hill directly above the edge of the river bank. The bituminous coal used is dumped by gravity from cars on a trestle to a bin at the rear of the firing floor of the boiler-room, and runs down on this floor, from which it is fed by hand to the furnaces. As the ashes fall through the grates they are drawn out Into a transverse concrete-lined trench in the firing floor. This trench is sloped to one side of the building, where it connects with a flume extending on a grade of about five per cent to the edge of the river bank. When the grates are cleaned the ashes are pulled into the trench and a hose stream turned into the latter to start them. They are thus picked up by and carried out to the river through the flume, only a small amount of water being required. No difficulty is experienced from clogging in the trench or flume, and the current in the river prevents an accumulation at the edge of the bank.
