Chapter V: Introduction (2)

Now let us see what England says of her thoroughbred: "He is no longer to be relied upon for fulfilling his twofold functions as a racer and reproducer of himself. He is degenerating in stoutness and speed. As a sire he has acquired faults of constitution and temper which, while leaving him the best we have, is not the best we should aspire to have. His stoutness and speed are distinctly Arabian qualities, to which we must resort for fresh and pure blood." We have shown that the Englishman says "his thoroughbred is full of radical and growing defects in wind, tendons, feet, and temper, and that his twofold functions are to run races and reproduce himself, which are the end of his purpose." Does our government want breeding farms upon which to nurse these admitted "defects," including the "confirmed roarer," for cavalry horses? I quote again: "Those who have had most to do with him are ready to admit that he no longer possesses the soundness, stoutness, speed, courage, and beauty he inherited from his Arabian parentage. As a sire for half-bred stock, he may do for those who will use him, but we must resort to the Arabian if we would revitalize and sustain our thoroughbred race horse."

In the face of these statements, in print abroad, would Lieut. Robertson make the base for our proposed national horse that of the English thoroughbred, scattering the weeds from such imperfect breedings among the farmers of our land?

I am writing as an old horseman and breeder, and not as a newspaper man or young enthusiast, although the enthusiasm of youth is still in me, for which I am thankful.

This question of horse breeding I have been deeply interested in for forty years past. Let me quote to the reader from one of many letters I have received from Sir Wilfrid Seawen Blunt during the past seven years. His practical knowledge of the English thoroughbred race horse and his blood cause, the Arabian, is the equal if not superior to any other one man of this present age.

With his wife, Lady Anne, he dwelt with the different tribes of the desert, studying the Arabs as a people, in their customs and habits, also traditions with beliefs. In matter of their horses, Mr. Blunt made a special study, while Lady Anne put her diaries in book form after her return, and which book should be owned by every cultured and educated lady in America. After spending a year in Arabia, traveling both sides of the Euphrates and through Mesopotamia, as no other Anglo-Saxons have been known to do, living with the different Bedouin tribes of the desert as they lived, Mr. Blunt and his wife, Lady Anne, came out with sixteen of the choicest bred mares to be found, also two stallions, the mares mostly with foal. These were placed upon their estates, "Crabbet Park," to continue inbreeding as upon the desert, pure to its blood. As this question in itself will make a long and interesting article, I will avoid it at present, quoting to the reader from one of my old letters:

"CRABBET PARK, SUSSEX, ENGLAND.

"Dear Sir: Political matters have prevented an earlier reply to
your last.

"I am well satisfied with my present results, and shall not
abandon what I have undertaken. The practical merits of Arabian
blood are well understood by us.

"Our sale of young stock maintains itself in good prices in
spite of bad times; indeed, my average within the past two years
has risen from £84 to £102 on the pure-breds sold as yearlings,
and we receive the most flattering and satisfactory accounts
from purchasers, although it is known that I retain the best of
each year's produce, and so have greatly improved my breeding
stock.

"You speak of the opinions of the press as against you. The
sporting press are not breeders, but are the mouthpiece of
prejudices. We have had them somewhat against us, but they now
view things in more friendly tone.

"For immediate use in running races (in which the sporting press
are chiefly interested), the Arabian in his undeveloped state
and under size will not compete with the English race horse.
This fact has caused racing men to doubt his other many and more
important merits; indeed, it is only those who have had personal
experience of him that as yet acknowledge them.

"The strong points in the Arabian are many:

"_First_, his undoubted soundness in constitution, in _wind_,
_limb_, and _feet_. It will be noticed that the Englishman must
have soundness in wind, limb, and feet, showing that their
thoroughbred is the thorn in that particular. The Arabian has
also wonderful intelligence, great beauty, and good disposition,
with an almost affectionate desire to adapt himself to your
wishes.

"In breeding, I have found the pure-breds delicate during the
first few weeks after birth, and have lost a good many,
especially those foaled early in the year; yet it is a
remarkable fact that during the eight years of my breeding them,
I have had no serious illness in the stables; once over the
dangerous age, they seem to have excellent constitutions, and
are always sound in _wind_, _limb_, and _feet_.

"_Second_, they are nearly all good natural and _fast walkers_,
also fast trotters; and from the soundness of their feet are
especially fitted for fast road work, being able to do almost
any number of miles without fatigue.

"_Third_, they are nearly all good natural jumpers, and I have
not had a single instance of a colt that would not go across
country well to hounds.

"They are very bold fencers, requiring neither whip nor spur.
They carry weight well, making bold and easy jumps where other
larger horses fail.

"_Fourth_, they have naturally good mouths, and good tempers,
with free and easy paces; so that one who has accustomed
himself to riding a pure-bred Arabian will hardly go back, if he
can help it, to any other sort of horse.

"There is all the difference in riding the Arabian and the
ordinary English hunter or half-bred that there is in riding in
a well-hung gig or a cart without springs.

"_Fifth._ As sires for half-bred stock, the Arabian may not be
better than a _first-class_ English thoroughbred, but is
certainly better than a _second_-class one, and _first_-class
sires are out of the reach of all ordinary breeders; for that
reason I recommend a fair trial of his quality, confident your
breeders will not be disappointed.

"With good young mares who require a horse to give their
offspring quality, that is to say, beauty, with courage and
stoutness, and with a turn of speed for fast road work, the
Arabian is better than any class of English thoroughbreds that
are used for cross breeding.

"I trust then for that reason you will not allow yourself to be
discouraged by the slowness of the people to appreciate all the
merits of the Arabian at once.

"Our breeders are full of prejudices, and only experience can
teach them the value of things outside their own circle of
knowledge.

"I have no doubt whatever that truth will in the end prevail;
but you must have patience. Remember that a public is always
impatient, and most often unreasonably so.

"My stud I keep at a permanent strength of twelve brood mares,
and as many fillies growing in reserve.

"You ask me regarding the _pacing_ gait. I have seen it in the
pure-bred Arabs on the desert; and in many parts of the East it
is cultivated, notably in Asia Minor and Barbary. The walk,
pace, amble, trot, and run are found in the Arabian, and either
can be cultivated as a specialty.

"If you think any of my letters to you are of general value to
your people, I am quite willing you should so use them.

"I am, very truly yours,

"WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT.
"To RANDOLPH HUNTINGTON, Rochester, N.Y."

My experience with Arabian blood the past seven years justifies all that Mr. Blunt has predicted to me from time to time. So also do old letters by Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay hold out the same inducements to the breeders of Kentucky and Tennessee in their day.

From my long years of experience in all classes of horses, I am frank to say to-day that I would not be without a thoroughbred Arabian stallion on my place, and journalists who inform their readers that they "are liable to splints, ringbones, and spavins," give themselves away to all intelligent readers and breeders as exceedingly superficial in matter of horses; for ringbones and spavins are positively unknown among the Arabs. The way to get rid of such imperfections in our mongrel breed of horses is to fill them up with pure Arab blood.

Such paper men also talk about "_fresh Diomed_" and "fresh Messenger blood," as though there had been a drop of it in never so diluted form for any influence these many years, of course forgetting that _Diomed_ was a very strongly _inbred Arabian_ horse. He came to this country when 21 years old.

He was foaled 1777, and arrived in Virginia in 1798. From his old age and rough voyage in an old-fashioned ship, it required nearly a year to recuperate from the journey, and was 23 years old before he could do stud service to any extent. Then, at no time to his death was he a sure foal getter, even to a few mares. He died in 1808, thirty-one years old, long enfeebled and unfit for service.

Between 1808 and 1887 is quite a period of time, during which we have had four different wars, beginning with 1812, and how much Diomed blood does the reader suppose there is in this country? Yet I take up daily and weekly papers devoted to horse articles, extolling the value of _Diomed_ blood as cause for excellence in some young horse. Are we a nation of idiots to be influenced by such nonsense?

I wish there was fresh Diomed blood; thus the public would know what Arab blood had done for England. So I can say of imported Messenger. What our breeders want is good, solid information in print, and not the; dreamings of some professional writer for money. For myself, I am on the downhill side of life, but so long as I can help the young by pen or example, I shall try.

RANDOLPH HUNTINGTON.
Rochester, N.Y.

* * * * *

SCENES AMONG THE EXTINCT VOLCANOES OF RHINELAND.

In the province of the Rhine there is a range of mountains, including several extinct volcanoes, which offer grand and beautiful scenery and every opportunity for geological study, leading the mind back to the early ages of the earth.

Let us take an imaginary trip through this region, starting on our wanderings from the Rhine, where it breaks through the vine-clad slate mountains of the Westerwald and the Eifel. A short distance above the mouth of the Ahr we leave its banks, turning to the west, and entering the mountains at the village of Nieder Breisig. A pretty valley leads us up through orchards and meadows. The lower hills are covered with vineyards and the mountains with a dense growth of bushes, so that we do not obtain an extended view until we reach an elevated ridge.

The valley of the Rhine lies far below us, but the glittering surface of the river, with the little towns, the castles and villas and the gardens and vineyards on its banks are still visible, while in the background the mountains of the Westerwald have risen above the hills on the river. This range stretches out into a long wooded ridge crowned by cone-shaped peaks of basalt. To the northwest of this lies Siebengebirge, with its numerous domes and pinnacles, making a grand picture veiled in the blue mist of distance. On the opposite side we have a very different view of curious dome and cone shaped summits surrounded by undulating plateaus or descending into deep ravines and gorges. It is the western part of the volcanic region of Rhineland which lies before us, and in the center of which is the Laachersee or lake of Laach. The origin of these volcanoes is not as remote as many suppose, but their activity must have continued for a comparatively long period, judging from the extent of their lava beds.

There was a time when the sea covered the lowlands of North Germany, and the waves of a deep bay washed the slopes of the Siebengebirge. Then the bed of the Rhine lay in the highlands, which it gradually washed away until the surface of the river was far, far below the level of its old bed; and then the volcanoes poured forth their streams of lava over the surrounding plains.

In the course of time the surface of the country has changed so that these lava beds now lie on the mountain sides overhanging the valleys of to-day. Some of the volcanoes sent forth melted stones and ashes from their summits, and streams of lava from their sides, while the craters of others cracked and then sank in, throwing their debris over the neighboring country. In the Eifel there are many such funnels which now contain water forming beautiful lakes (Maaren), which add much to the scenery of the Eifel. The Laachersee is the largest of these lakes. In the mean time the channel of the Rhine had been worn away almost to its present level, but the mountains still sent forth their streams of lava, which stopped brooks and filled the ravines, and even the Rhine itself was dammed up by the great stream from Fornicherkopf forming what was formerly the Neuwied. The old lava stream which obstructed the river is still to be seen in a towering wall of rock, extending close beside the road and track that follow the shore.

After having made these observations, we descend from the height which afforded us the view of the Vinrt Valley. A clear brook flows through green meadows and variegated fields stretch along the mountain sides, while modest little villages are scattered among the fruit trees. On the other side of the valley rises the Herchenberg, an extinct volcano. As we climb its sides we see traces of the former devastation. Loose ashes cover the ground, bits of mica glittering in the sun, and on the summit we find enormous masses of stone which were melted and then baked together. In the center lies the old crater, a quiet, barren place bearing very little vegetation, but from its wall an excellent view of the surrounding country can be obtained. Not far from this mountain lies the mighty Bausenberg, with its immense, well preserved crater, only one side of which has been broken away, and which is covered with a thick growth of bushes. The ledges of this mountain are full of interest for the mineralogist. Nearer to Lake Laach are the Wahnenkopfe, the proud Veitskopf, and other cone-shaped peaks. To these we direct our steps, and after a long tramp over the rolling, cultivated plateau, we climb the wood-covered sides of the great basin in whose depths the Laachersee lies. From the shore of this lake rise the high volcanic peaks which tower above all the other mountains.

Tired from our climb through the ashes, which are heated by the sun, we rest in the shade of a beech-wood, looking through the leaves into the valley below us, with the old cloisters and the high Roman church which the monks once built on the banks of the lake.

To the south of the lake rise other volcanoes, lying on the border of the fertile Maifeld, which gradually descends to the valley of Neuwied. Here, at the southern declivity of the group of volcanoes which surrounds the Laachersee, remarkably large streams of lava were ejected, covering the surface of the plateau with a thick layer. The largest of these streams is that from the Niedermendig, which consists of porous masses of nepheline lava. In the time of the Romans millstones were made from this mass of rock, and the industry is carried on now on a larger scale. It is a strange sight which meets one's eyes when, after descending through narrow passages, he finds himself in large, dark halls, from which the stone has been cut away, and in which there are well-like shafts. The stones are raised through these shafts by means of gigantic cranes and engines. Because of the rapid evaporation of the water in the porous stone, these vaults are always cool, winter and summer, and therefore they are used by several brewers as storehouses for their beer, which owes its fame to these underground halls.

Although the traces of former volcanic action are evident to the student of nature, the Rhine with its mild climate and luxuriant vegetation has covered many marks of the former chaotic state of the land. Very little of this beauty is seen on the higher and, therefore, more severe and barren mountains of the Western Eifel, through which a volcanic fissure runs from the foot of the high unhospitable Schneifel to Bertrich Baths, near the Moselle. From the ridge of the Schneifel the traveler from the north has his first glimpse of the still distant system of volcanoes. The most beautiful part of this portion of the Eifel is in the neighborhood of Dann and Manderscheid. Near the former rises a barren mountain with a long ridge, on each side of which is a deep basin. These are sunken craters, which now contain lakes, and near these two there is a third, larger lake, the Maar von Schalkemehren, on the cultivated banks of which we find a little village. The middle one, the Weinfelder Maar, is the most interesting for geologists, for there seems to have been scarcely any change here since the time of the eruption. On the other side of the mountain lies the Gremundener Maar, the shores of which are not barren and waste land, like those of the middle lake, but it is surrounded by a dark wreath of woods whose tops are mirrored in the crystal water. Farther to the south, near the villages of Gillenfeld and Meerfeld, there are more lakes.

The grandest picture of these ancient events is offered by the Mosenberg, near Manderscheid, a mighty volcano which commands an extensive view of the country. Two old craters lie on its double top, one of which has fallen in, forming a short rocky valley, but the other retains its original regular shape. In the circular funnel, whose walls consist of masses of lava stone, rests a quiet, black lake, that looks very mysterious to the wanderer. Only low juniper bushes grow near the crater, bearing witness to the barrenness of the land. From the foot of this mountain an immense stream of lava, as wide and deep as a glacier, broke forth and flowed into the valley, where the end of the stream is still to be seen in a high, steep wall of rock.

Similar sights are met all through this western volcanic region, and we can consider the mineral and acid springs, which are very numerous, as the last traces of the former disturbances, the products of the decomposition of the volcanic stones buried in the earth. At Bertrich Baths there are hot springs which were known to the Romans, for numerous antiquities dating from their time have been excavated here. Near these springs, at Bertrich, there is a "Cheese Grotto," which is a break through the foot of a stream of lava, the stones of which have not assumed the usual form of solidified columns, but have taken flat, round shapes which resemble the forms of cheeses.

Now we have completed our wanderings, which required only a few days, although they extended over this whole volcanic region, and which end here on the Moselle.--_Ueber Land und Meer; Allgemeine Illustrirte Zeitung._

* * * * *

[NATURE.]

THE "METEOROLOGISKE INSTITUT" AT UPSALA, AND CLOUD MEASUREMENTS.

The Meteorological Institute at Upsala has gained so much fame by the investigations on clouds which have been carried on there during the last few years, that a few notes on a recent visit to that establishment will interest many readers.

The Institute is not a government establishment; it is entirely maintained by the University of Upsala. The _personnel_ consists of Prof. Hildebrandsson, as director; M. Ekholm and one other male assistant, besides a lady who does the telegraphic and some of the computing work.

The main building contains a commodious office, with a small library and living apartments for the assistant. The principal instrument room is a separate pavilion in the garden. Here is located Thiorell's meteograph, which records automatically every quarter of an hour on a slip of paper the height of the barometer, and the readings of the wet and dry thermometers. Another instrument records the direction and velocity of the wind.

This meteograph of Thiorell's is a very remarkable instrument. Every fifteen minutes an apparatus is let loose which causes three wires to descend from rest till they are stopped by reaching the level of the mercury in the different tubes. When contact is made with the surface of the mercuries, an electric current passes and stops the descent of each wire at the proper time. The downward motion of the three wires has actuated three wheels, each of which carries a series of types on its edge, to denote successive readings of its own instrument. For instance, the barometer-wheel carries successive numbers for every five-hundredth of a millimeter--760.00, 760.05, 760.1, etc.; so that when the motion is stopped the uppermost type gives in figures the actual reading of the barometer. Then a subsidiary arrangement first inks the types, then prints them on a slip of paper, and finally winds the dipping wires up to zero again.

An ingenious apparatus prevents the electricity from sparking when contact is made, so that there is no oxidation of the mercury. The mechanism is singularly beautiful, and it is quite fascinating to watch the self acting starting, stopping, inking, and printing arrangements.

We could not but admire the exquisite order in which the whole apparatus was maintained. The sides of the various glass tubes were as clean as when they were new, and the surfaces of the mercuries were as bright as looking glasses.

The university may well be proud that the instruments were entirely constructed in Stockholm by the skillful mechanic Sorrenson, though the cost is necessarily high. The meteograph, with the anemograph, cost £600, but the great advantage is that no assistant is required to sit up at night, and that all the figures wanted for climatic constants are ready tabulated without any further labor.

But the Institute is most justly celebrated for the researches on the motion and heights of clouds that have been carried on of late years under the guidance of Prof. Hildebrandsson, with the assistance of Messrs. Ekholm and Hagström.

The first studies were on the motion of clouds round cyclones and anticyclones; but the results are now so well known that we need not do more than mention them here.

Latterly the far more difficult subjects of cloud heights and cloud velocities have been taken up, and as the methods employed and the results that have been obtained are both novel and important, we will describe what we saw there.

We should remark, in the first instance, that the motion of the higher atmosphere is far better studied by clouds than by observations on mountain tops, for on the latter the results are always more or less influenced by the local effect of the mountain in deflecting the wind and forcing it upward.

The instrument which they employ to measure the angles from which to deduce the height of the clouds is a peculiar form of altazimuth that was originally designed by Prof. Mohn, of Christiania, for measuring the parallax of the aurora borealis. It resembles an astronomical altazimuth, but instead of a telescope it carries an open tube without any lenses. The portion corresponding to the object glass is formed by thin cross wires: and that corresponding to the eye piece by a plate of brass, pierced in the center by a small circular hole an eighth of an inch in diameter. The tube of the telescope is replaced by a lattice of brass work, so as to diminish, as far as possible, the resistance of the wind. The vertical and horizontal circles are divided decimally, and this much facilitates the reduction of the readings.

The general appearance of the instrument is well shown in the figure, which is engraved from a photograph I took of Mr. Ekholm while actually engaged in talking through a telephone to M. Hagström as to what portion of a cloud should be observed. The latticework tube, the cross wires in place of an object glass, and the vertical circle are very obvious, while the horizontal circle is so much end on that it can scarcely be recognized except by the tangent screw which is seen near the lower telephone.

Two such instruments are placed at the opposite extremities of a suitable base. The new base at Upsala has a length of 4,272 feet; the old one was about half the length. The result of the change has been that the mean error of a single determination of the highest clouds has been reduced from 9 to a little more than 3 per cent. of the actual height. At the same time the difficulty of identifying a particular spot on a low cloud is considerably increased. A wire is laid between the two ends of the base, and each observer is provided with two telephones--one for speaking, the other for listening. When an observation is to be taken, the conversation goes on somewhat as follows: First observer, who takes the lead--"Do you see a patch of cloud away down west?" "Yes." "Can you make out a well-marked point on the leading edge?" "Yes." "Well, then; now." At this signal both observers put down their telephones, which have hitherto engaged both their hands, begin to count fifteen seconds, and adjust their instruments to the point of cloud agreed on. At the fifteenth second they stop, read the various arcs, and the operation is complete.

But when the angles have been measured the height has to be calculated, and also the horizontal and vertical velocities of the cloud by combining the position and height at two successive measurements at a short interval. There are already well-known trigonometrical formulæ for calculating all these elements, if all the observations are good; but at Upsala they do far more. Not only are the observations first controlled by forming an equation to express the condition that the two lines of sight from either end of the base should meet in a point, if the angles have been correctly measured and all bad sets rejected; but the mean errors of the rectangular co-ordinates are calculated by the method of least squares.

This figure shows the peculiar ocular part of the altazimuth,
with the vertical and horizontal circles. It also shows the
telephonic arrangement.]

The whole of the calculations are combined into a series of formulæ which are necessarily complicated, and even by using logarithms of addition and subtraction and one or two subsidiary tables--such as for log. sin²([theta]/2) specially constructed for this work--the computation of each set of observations takes about twenty minutes.

Before we describe the principal results that have been attained, it may be well to compare this with the other methods which have been used to determine the height of clouds. A great deal of time and skill and money have been spent at Kew in trying to perfect the photographic method of measuring the height of clouds. Very elaborate cloud cameras, or photo-nephoscopes, have been constructed, by means of which photographs of a cloud were taken simultaneously from both ends of a suitable base. The altitude and azimuth of the center of the plate were read off by the graduated circles which were attached to the cameras; and the angular measurements of any point of cloud on the picture were calculated by proper measurements from the known center of the photographic plate. When all this is done, the result ought to be the same as if the altitude and azimuth of the point of the cloud had been taken directly by an ordinary angle measuring instrument.

It might have been thought that there would be less chance of mistaking the point of the cloud to be measured, if you had the pictures from the two ends of the base to look at leisurely than if you could only converse through a telephone with the observer at the other end of the base. But in practice it is not so. No one who has not seen such cloud photographs can realize the difficulty of identifying any point of a low cloud when seen from two stations half a mile or a whole mile apart, and for other reasons, which we will give presently, the form of a cloud is not so well defined in a photograph as it is to the naked eye.

At Kew an extremely ingenious sort of projector has been devised, which gives graphically the required height of a cloud from two simultaneous photographs at opposite ends of the same base, but it is evident that this method is capable of none of the refinements which have been applied to the Upsala measures, and that the rate of vertical ascent or descent of a cloud could hardly be determined by this method. But there is a far greater defect in the photographic method, which at present no skill can surmount.

We saw that the altazimuth employed at Upsala had no lenses. The meaning of this will be obvious to anyone who looks through an opera glass at a faint cloud. He will probably see nothing for want of contrast, and if anything of the nature of a telescope is employed, only well-defined cloud outlines can be seen at all. The same loss of light and contrast occurs with a photographic lens, and many clouds that can be seen in the sky are invisible on the ground glass of the camera. Cirrus and cirro-stratus--the very clouds we want most to observe--are always thin and indefined as regards their form and contrast against the rest of the sky, so that this defect of the method is the more unfortunate.

But even when the image of a cloud is visible on the focusing glass, it does not follow that any image will be seen in the picture. In practice, thin, high white clouds against a blue sky can rarely be taken at all, or only under exceptional circumstances of illumination. The reason seems to be that there is very little light reflected at all from a thin wisp of cirrus, and what there is must pass through an atmosphere always more or less charged with floating particles of ice or water, besides earthy dust of all kinds. The light which is scattered and diffused by all these small particles is also concentrated on the sensitive plate by the lens, and the resulting negative shows a uniform dark surface for the sky without any trace of the cloud. What image there might have been is buried in photographic fog.

In order to compare the two methods of measuring clouds, I went out one day last December at Upsala with Messrs. Ekholm and Hagström when they were measuring the height of some clouds. It was a dull afternoon, a low foggy stratus was driving rapidly across the sky at a low level, and through the general misty gloom of a northern winter day we could just make out some striated stripes of strato-cirrus--low cirro-stratus--between the openings in the lower cloud layer. The camera and lens that I use habitually for photographing cloud forms--not their angular height--was planted a few feet from the altazimuth with which M. Ekholm was observing, and while he was measuring the necessary angles I took a picture of the clouds. As might have been expected under the circumstances, the low dark cloud came out quite well, but there was not the faintest trace of the strato-cirrus on the negative. MM. Ekholm and Hagström, however, succeeded in measuring both layers of cloud, and found that the low stratus was floating at an altitude of about 2,000 feet high, while the upper strato-cirrus was driving from S. 57° W. at an altitude of 19,653 feet, with a horizontal velocity of 81 and a downward velocity of 7.2 feet per second. This is a remarkable result, and shows conclusively the superiority of the altazimuth to the photographic method of measuring the heights of clouds.

Whenever opportunity occurs, measures of clouds are taken three times a day at Upsala, and it may be well to glance at the principal results that have been obtained.

The greatest height of any cloud which has yet been satisfactorily measured is only 43,800 feet, which is rather less than has usually been supposed; but the highest velocity, 112 miles an hour with a cloud at 28,000 feet, is greater than would have been expected. It may be interesting to note that the isobars when this high velocity was reported were nearly straight, and sloping toward the northwest.

The most important result which has been obtained from all the numerous measures that have been made is the fact clouds are not distributed promiscuously at all heights in the air, but that they have, on the contrary, a most decided tendency to form at three definite levels. The mean summer level of these three stories of clouds at Upsala has been found to be as follows: low clouds--stratus, cumulus, cumulo-nimbus, 2,000-6,000 feet; middle clouds--strato-cirrus and cumulo-cirrus, 12,900-15,000 feet; high clouds--cirrus, cirro-stratus, cirro-cumulus, 20,000-27,000 feet.

It would be premature at present to speculate on the physical significance of this fact, but we find the same definite layers of clouds in the tropics as in these high latitudes, and no future cloud nomenclature or cloud observations will be satisfactory which do not take the idea of these levels into account.

But the refinements of the methods employed allow the diurnal variations both of velocity and altitude to be successfully measured. The velocity observations confirm the results that have been obtained from mountain stations--that, though the general travel of the middle and higher clouds is much greater than that of the surface winds, the diurnal variation of speed at those levels is the reverse of what occurs near the ground. The greatest velocity on the earth's surface is usually about 2 p.m.; whereas the lowest rate of the upper currents is about midday.

The diurnal variation of height is remarkable, for they find at Upsala that the mean height of all varieties of clouds rises in the course of the day, and is higher between 6 and 8 in the evening than either in the early morning or at midday.

Such are the principal results that have been obtained at Upsala, and no doubt they surpass any previous work that has been done on the subject. But whenever we see good results it is worth while to pause a moment to consider the conditions under which the work has been developed, and the nature and nurture of the men by whom the research has been conducted. Scientific research is a delicate plant, that is easily nipped in the bud, but which, under certain surroundings and in a suitable moral atmosphere, develops a vigorous growth.

The Meteorological Institute of Upsala is an offshoot of the Astronomical Observatory of the university; and a university, if properly directed, can develop research which promises no immediate reward in a manner that no other body can approach.

If you want any quantity of a particular kind of calculation, or to carry on the routine of any existing work in an observatory, it is easy to go into the labor market and engage a sufficient number of accurate computers, either by time or piece work, or to find an assistant who will make observations with the regularity of clockwork.

But original research requires not only special natural aptitudes and enthusiasm to begin with, but even then will not flourish unless developed by encouragement and the identification of the worker with his work. It is rarely, except in universities, that men can be found for the highest original research. For there only are young students encouraged to come forward and interest themselves in any work for which they seem to have special aptitude.

Now, this is the history of the Upsala work. Prof. Hildebrandsson was attached as a young man to the meteorological department of the astronomical observatory, and when the study of stars and weather were separated, he obtained the second post in the new Meteorological Institute. From this his great abilities soon raised him to the directorship, which he now holds with so much credit to the university. M. Ekholm, a much younger man, has been brought up in the same manner. First as a student he showed such aptitude for the work as to be engaged as assistant; and now, as the actual observation and reduction of the cloud work is done by him and M. Hagström, the results are published under their names, so that they are thoroughly identified with the work.

Upsala is the center of the intellectual life of Sweden, and there, rather than at Stockholm, could men be found to carry out original research. It redounds to the credit of the university that it has so steadily supported Prof. Hildebrandsson, and that he in his turn has utilized the social and educational system by which he is surrounded to bring up assistants who can co-operate with him in a great work that brings credit both to himself, to themselves, and to the institute which they all represent.

RALPH ABERCROMBY.

* * * * *

[Continued from SUPPLEMENT, No. 610, page 9744.]

[JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY.]

NOTES OF A RECENT VISIT TO SOME OF THE PETROLEUM-PRODUCING TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

BY BOVERTON REDWOOD, F.I.C., F.C.S.

CANADIAN PETROLEUM.

When I visited Canada in 1877-78, the refining of petroleum was principally conducted in the city of London, Ontario. At the present time Petrolia, Ontario, is the chief seat of the industry, and it was accordingly to this city that we made our way. Here we were treated with the greatest kindness and hospitality by Mr. John D. Noble, vice-president of the Petrolia Crude Oil and Tanking Co., and his brother, Mr. R. D'Oyley Noble, and were enabled in the short time at our disposal to visit typical portions of the producing territory and some of the principal refineries.

The development of the Canadian petroleum industry may be said to date from 1857, when a well dug for water was found to yield a considerable quantity of petroleum; but long previously, indeed from the time of the earliest settlements in the county of Lamberton, in the western part of the province of Ontario, petroleum was known to exist in Canada. In 1862 productive flowing wells were drilled at Oil Springs, but these wells, which were comparatively shallow, quickly became exhausted, and the territory was deserted on the discovery in 1865 of oil at Petrolia, seven miles to the northward, and about 16 miles southwest of the outlet of Lake Huron. Recently the Oil Springs wells have been drilled deeper, and are now producing 10,000 to 12,000 barrels (of 42 American gallons) per month. Petroleum has also been found at Bothwell, 35 miles from Oil Springs, but this district has ceased to yield. Quite recently a new territory has been discovered at Euphemia, 17 miles from Bothwell, where, at the time of our visit, there were four wells producing collectively 70 barrels per day. This territory is by some regarded as part of the Bothwell field.

The present producing oil belt extends from Petrolia in a northwesterly direction, to the township of Sarnia, and in a southeasterly direction to Oil Springs, but in the latter direction there is a break of about four and a quarter miles, commencing at a point about two miles from Petrolia. At Oil Springs there appears to be a pool about two miles square. The extension of the belt then continues in the same direction, with another break of about nine miles, to the new oil field of Euphemia, the average width of the oil belt being about two miles. In all, about 15,000 wells are believed to have been drilled in the Canadian oil fields, and of these about 2,500 are now producing, the average yield being about three quarters of a barrel per well per day. The aggregate production is probably about 700,000 barrels per annum, the greater part of which is obtained in the Petrolia district, and the stocks were at the time of our visit stated to amount to from 400,000 to 450,000 barrels.

In the Canadian oil fields the drilling contractor usually employs his own derrick, engine, boiler, and tools, furnishes wood and water, cases the well, and fixes the pump; the well owner providing the casing and pump, and subsequently erecting the permanent derrick.

The wells in the Oil Springs field were formerly from 200 ft. to 300 ft. in depth, but the oil stratum then worked became waterlogged, and the wells are now sunk to a depth of about 375 ft., and are cased to a depth of about 275 ft. to shut off the water. The contract price for drilling a 4-5/8 in. hole to a depth of about 375 ft. under the conditions mentioned is 150 dols. (£30), and the time occupied in drilling is usually about a week when the work is continued night and day. The wells in the Petrolia field have a depth of 480 ft., the contract price, including the cost of 100 ft. of wooden conductor, being 175 dols. (£35), and the time occupied in drilling being from six to twelve days. Pole tools are used in drilling, the poles being of white ash, 37 ft. in length. The derrick is about 48 ft. in height. An auger some 4 ft. in length, and about a foot in diameter, is used to bore through the earth to the bed rock, the auger being rotated by horse power.

The drilling tools commonly consist of a bit, 2½ ft. in length by 4-5/8 in. in diameter, weighing about 60 lb.; a sinker bar, into which the bit is screwed, 30 ft. in length by 3 in. in diameter, weighing about 1,040 lb.; and the jars, inserted between the sinker bar and the poles about 6 ft. in length, and weighing 150 lb. The tools are suspended by a chain, which passes three times round the end of the walking beam and thence to the windlass, with ratchet wheel fixed on the walking beam, by means of which the tools are gradually lowered as the drilling proceeds. The cable is thus only employed in raising the tools from the well and lowering them into it.

The sand pump or bailer is frequently as much as 37 ft. in length, and is about 4 in. in diameter. The casing (4-5/8 in diameter) costs about 45 cents (1s. 10½d.) per foot, and the 1¼ in. pump, with piping, costs from 65 dols. (£13) to 85 dols. (£17), according to the length of pipe required. An ordinary square frame derrick costs, with mud sill, from 22 dols. (£4 8s.) to 27 dols. (£5 8s.), and the walking beam about 8 dols. (£1 12s.) In many cases, however, a three-pole derrick, which can be erected at an expense of about 10 dols. (£2), is employed. A 100 barrel wooden tank costs, erected, 50 dols. (£10).

THE CANADIAN TORPEDO.

The wells are torpedoed on completion with from 8 to 10 quarts of nitroglycerine, at a cost of 4 dols. (16s.) per quart. The torpedoes employed in the Canadian oil field are much smaller than those used for a similar purpose in the United States, the tin shell being only 6 ft. in length by 3 in. in diameter. We were enabled to witness the operation of torpedoing a well, and the following particulars, based on notes taken at the time, may be of interest: The torpedo case, which was furnished with a tube or "anchor" at the lower end, 8 ft. in length, was placed in the mouth of the well and suspended so that its upper end was level with the surface of the ground. Eight quarts of nitroglycerine, which was in a tin can, was then poured into the torpedo case, and the torpedo was carefully lowered into the well, which contained at the time about 250 ft. of water, until the end of the anchor rested on the bottom of the well. A traveling primer or "go-devil squib" was then prepared as follows: A tin cone, 14 in. in length by 2 in. in diameter at the open end, was partially filled with sand to give it the necessary weight. A piece of double tape fuse, 2 ft. long, was inserted into a Nobel's treble detonator, and over the detonator and a portion of the fuse a perforated tin tube or sheath was passed. This tube was then inserted through a hole in a strip of tin fixed across the mouth of the conical cup into the sand, so that the detonator was embedded. The sand was then saturated with nitroglycerine, the fuse lighted, and the primer dropped into the well. In about 45 seconds there was a perceptible tremor of the ground, immediately followed by a slight sound of the explosion. After an interval of a second or two there was a gurgling noise, and a magnificent black fountain shot up twice as high as the derrick, upon which all the spectators ran for shelter from the impending shower of oil and water. The well not being a flowing one, the outrush was only of momentary duration, and within a few minutes the drillers were at work removing from the well, by means of the sand pump, the fragments of rock which had been detached by the explosion. On the table are specimens of this rock, which I obtained at the time.

The maximum yield per well is ten barrels per day, and the minimum yield for which it is considered profitable to pump is a quarter of a barrel per day. The yield being in some cases so small, it is usual to pump a number of wells through the agency of one engine, the various pumps being connected with the motor by means of wooden rods. In one instance I saw as many as eighty wells being thus pumped from one center. The motive power was a 70 h.p. engine, which communicated motion, similar to that of the balance wheel of a watch, to a large horizontal wheel. From this wheel six main rod lines radiated, the length of stroke of the main lines being 16 in., and the rate of movement 32 strokes per minute. Some of the wells being pumped from this center were from one-half to three-quarters of a mile distant, and altogether about eight miles of rods were employed in the pumping of the eighty wells.

The pipe line system in Canada has not been fully developed, and accordingly the well owner has to convey his oil by road to the nearest receiving station. Thus from the Euphemia oil field the oil has to be "teamed" 17 miles, to Bothwell. For the conveyance of the oil by road a long and slightly conical wooden tank or barrel, resting horizontally on a wagon, is employed. These vessels hold from eight to ten barrels of oil. The Petrolia Crude Oil and Tanking Company is the principal transporting and storing company. The storage charge is one cent (½d.) per barrel per month, and the delivery charge two cents per barrel. The petroleum produced in the Oil Springs field is stored separately from that obtained in the Petrolia field.

The storage takes place for the most part in large underground tanks excavated in the retentive clay. These remarkable tanks are often as much as 30 ft. in diameter by 60 ft. in depth, and hold from 5,000 to 8,000 barrels. In the construction of the tanks the alluvial soil, of which there is about 18 ft. or 20 ft. above the clay, is curbed with wood and thoroughly puddled with clay. On the completion of the excavation, the entire vertical surface is then lined with rings of pine wood, so that the upper part down to the solid clay is doubly lined. The bottom is not lined. The roof of the tank is of wood, covered with clay. The cost of such a tank is about 22 cents (11d.) per barrel, or 1,760 dols. (£363) for an 8,000 barrel tank, and the time occupied in making such a tank is about six weeks.

The crude petroleum from the Petrolia field usually has a specific gravity ranging from 0.859 to 0.877, while the specific gravity of the petroleum from the Oil Springs field ranges from 0.844 to 0.854.

The oil occurs in the corniferous limestone, and buildings constructed of this stone frequently exude petroleum in hot weather.

Canadian crude petroleum is of a black color, and possesses a very disagreeable odor, due to the presence of sulphur compounds. These characteristics are shown by the samples on the table, for some of which I am indebted to Mr. James Kerr, secretary of the Petrolia Oil Exchange.

The stills used in the process of refining the crude oil are horizontal two-flued cylinders, 30 ft. in length by 10 ft. in diameter, provided with six 2 in. vapor pipes. The charge is 260 barrels, and the following is an outline of the method of working. Assuming the still to be charged on Monday morning, heating is commenced about 7 A.M., and the naphtha begins to come over about 8 A.M. Of this product about six barrels is obtained in the case of Petrolia crude, or 7½ barrels in the case of Oil Springs crude. The distillation of the naphtha takes from 2 to 3 hours, say till 10:30 A.M. The heat is then increased, and the distillation of the kerosene commences about noon, and continues till about 10 P.M. Of the kerosene distillate about 80 barrels are obtained. The first portion of the kerosene distillate is usually collected separately, is steamed to drive off the more volatile hydrocarbons, and is then mixed with the remainder of the kerosene distillate. The product which then commences to distill is known as tailings. This is collected separately and is redistilled. The distillation of the tailings continues till about 5 A.M. on Wednesday, by which time about 80 barrels has been obtained. Steam is then passed into the still through a perforated pipe extending to the bottom, and about 21 barrels of "gas oil" is distilled over. The additional quantity of kerosene obtained on redistilling the tailings brings up the total yield of this product to about 42 per cent. of the crude oil. The gas oil is sold for the manufacture of illuminating gas. The residue is distilled for lubricating oils and paraffin.

The agitator in which the kerosene distillate is treated commonly takes a charge of 465 barrels. To this quantity of distillate two carboys of oil of vitriol is added, and the oil and acid are agitated together for 20 minutes. The tarry acid having been allowed to settle is drawn off, and seven carboys more of acid is added. Agitation having been effected for 30 or 40 minutes, the tarry acid is removed as before. Another similar treatment with seven carboys of acid follows, and occasionally a fourth addition of acid is made. The oil is next allowed to remain at rest for an hour, any acid which settles out being drawn off, and cold (or, in winter, slightly warmed) water is allowed to pass down through the oil in fine streams, this treatment being continued, without agitation of the oil, for half an hour, or until the dark color which the oil assumed on treatment with acid is removed. The water is then drawn off, 10 barrels of solution of caustic soda (sp. gr. 15° B.) is added, and agitation conducted for 15 minutes. The caustic soda solution having been drawn off, 30 barrels of a solution of litharge in caustic soda is added. This solution is made by dissolving caustic soda in water to a density of 18° B. and then adding the litharge. Agitation with this solution is continued for about six hours, or until the oil is thoroughly deodorized. About 100 lb. of sublimed sulphur is then added, and the agitation is continued for another two hours. The oil having been allowed to settle all night, the litharge solution is drawn off, and the oil run into a shallow tank or "bleacher," where it is exposed to the light to improve its color, and is, if necessary, steamed to drive off the lighter hydrocarbons and raise the flashing point to the legal minimum of 95° F. To raise the flashing point from 73° F. to 95° F. (Abel test) is stated to involve in practice a loss of 10 per cent., the burning quality of the oil being at the same time seriously impaired, and upon this ground the Ontario refiners in 1886 petitioned for a reduction of the test standard.