In my presidential address, which I had the pleasure of reading before this society at our first meeting this year, I called attention, somewhat hurriedly, to the results of a few of my experiments on induction, and at the same time expressed a hope that at a future date I might be able to bring them more prominently before you. That date has now arrived, and my endeavor this evening will be to... more...

"TRY, TRY AGAIN." T is a true story that I am going to tell you now. It is about a little boy whose name was William Ross. Having had a present of a pencil, he thought he would make use of it by trying to draw.His first attempts were poor enough. One day, when he had been playing ball with a young friend, he stopped, and, taking out his pencil, began to draw a picture on the wall. "What do... more...

BISHÂRÎN (the anc. Ichthyophagi), a nomad tribe of African “Arabs,” of Hamitic origin, dwelling in the eastern part of the Nubian desert. In the middle ages they were known as Beja (q.v.), and they are the most characteristic of the Nubian “Arabs.” With the Abâbda and Hadendoa they represent the Blemmyes of classical writers. Linguistically and geographically the Bishârîn form a connecting... more...

COCOS PYNAERTI. This is an acquisition to the dwarf growing palms, and a graceful table plant. It first appeared in the nurseries of M. Pynaert, Ghent, and is evidently a form of C. Weddelliana, having similar character, though, as shown by the accompanying illustration, it is quite distinct. The leaves are gracefully arched, the pinnules rather broader than in the type, more closely arranged, and of a... more...

STEAM ENGINE VALVES. By THOMAS HAWLEY. In considering the slide valve in its simple form with or without lap, we find there are certain limitations to its use as a valve that would give the best results. The limitation of most importance is that its construction will not allow of the proper cut off to obtain all the benefits of expansion without hindering the perfect action of the valve in other... more...

PART I PUPPYHOOD "What other nature yours than of a child Whose dumbness finds a voice mighty to call, In wordless pity, to the souls of all, Whose lives I turn to profit, and whose mute And constant friendship links the man and brute?" Still half in dream, upon the stair I hearA patter coming nearer and more near,And then upon my chamber doorA gentle tapping,For dogs, though proud, are... more...

CHÂTELET (from Med. Lat. castella), the word, sometimes also written castillet, used in France for a building designed for the defence of an outwork or gate, sometimes of great strength or size, but distinguished from the château, or castle proper, in being purely defensive and not residential. In Paris, before the Revolution, this word was applied both to a particular building and to the... more...

RENAISSANCE PANELS FROM PERUGIA. The carved walnut panels from the choir stalls of the Church of San Pietro de' Casinense in Perugia, designed by Stefano da Bergamo in 1535, which are given as illustrations in this number, are excellent examples of the ornament of the later period of the Italian Renaissance. This form of ornament was first used in flat painted panels upon pilasters, such as the... more...

SUPPOSE that a habit of minute observation of nature is one of the most difficult things to acquire, as it is one which is less generally pursued than any other study. In almost all departments of learning and investigation there have been numberless works published to illustrate them, and text books would fill the shelves of a large library. Thoreau in his “Walden” has shown an extremely fine and... more...

ROMAN REMAINS AT LEICESTER, ENGLAND. The Roman tessellated pavement in Jewry Wall Street, Leicester, discovered in the year 1832, is well known to archaeologists; it has also been known as difficult of access, and hardly to be seen in a dark cellar, and, in fact, it has not been seen or visited, except by very few persons. Some time ago the Town Council resolved to purchase the house and premises, with... more...