This article is a collection of scientific items that were included in the "Editor's Repository" section of a magazine published in January of 1860. A few of the items are quite odd and surprising. —fadedpages.com

BAY OF PELUSIUM.—This bay is the terminus, on the Mediterranean side, of the Isthmus of Suez. It appears that the set of the currents in that part of the Mediterranean is eastward, and that the solid matter brought down by the Nile is borne along in that direction and deposited at the rate of twelve feet yearly. From this it results that the places washed by the sea in Strabo's time are now eight miles inland. This conclusion also renders it doubtful whether it will be possible to establish any permanent harbor for ships at the mouth of the canal.

STEAM LANES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.—Broad as the Atlantic Ocean is, the route taken by steamboats between this country and England comprehends a belt only three hundred miles wide. In 1857 there were always fourteen steamers, seven each way, plying within that belt, exclusive of man-of-war steamers; the number is doubtless greater now, whereby the chances of collision are multiplied; and seeing that the number of passengers conveyed in 1857 was 54,700, any practicable measure for diminution of the risk would be worthy of attention. Lieutenant Maury proposes a practicable measure; namely, to set off a lane twenty or twenty-five miles wide on the northern edge of the belt for steamships going west, and a similar lane on the southern edge for those going east, leaving all the middle space, one hundred and fifty miles in width, for sailing-ships. Were this proposal followed, it is clear that steamers could never meet, though they might overtake each other; and this latter contingency would be an advantage, because, in case of accident, a disabled vessel would be sure of assistance within a few hours. When once such lanes are properly laid down on the charts, a sailing-ship, if compelled to cross them, would do so as quickly as possible, and would know on what side to look for danger. The fate of the Arctic, Pacific, and Tempest is not yet forgotten; had the steam-lanes been followed three years ago, it is probable that those terrible wrecks would not have been attended by so great a loss of life.

SELF-REGISTERING ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS.—Father Secchi, of the Observatory at Rome, has constructed a self-registering apparatus, by which the barometer, anemometer, thermometer, and ombromometer all write their own records on the same sheet of paper, by which a real advantage is gained in the comparison of observations, and in judging of the approach of storms and their accompanying phenomena. It already appears that a change in the height is attended by a proportional transport of the atmosphere; by the passage, in fact, of an atmospheric wave.

AN ANTIQUARIAN RELIC.—Twenty years ago an engraved stone was found in a tumulus near Wheeling, Ohio, and proved for some time a complete puzzle to archæologists; but the characters are now known to be those in use among the Berbers, and M. Jomard says their purport is in the ancient Libyan idiom, which, according to Herodotus, was spoken all over northern Africa.

EFFECT OF THE SPOTS ON THE SUN.—An English astronomer says the new spot now appearing on the disc of the sun is about 60,000 miles in diameter. Of the effect of these spots he says that from about five hundred recorded observations which he made from April, 1848, to April, 1852, he is convinced that these spots or holes exercise an immediate influence on the temperature of our atmosphere. He finds that when there is a large spot on the sun there is a feeling of increased heat from the sun, which is confirmed by the thermometer.

FOSSIL FOOTMARKS.—The first of these was found in the valley of the Connecticut river in 1835. Since that time no less than one hundred and nineteen species of animals have been distinguished and described from their footprints, some of them of unheard-of size. Specimens of the tracks of every species but one, are preserved in the Appleton Cabinet at Amherst College.

A WATER METER has been invented and patented by a grandson of Professor Silliman. It is said to be perfectly accurate—not only measuring a definite portion of a stream, but is so adjusted as to work truly even where there is a varying force or velocity in the stream.

BIG TREE GROVE occupies a level plateau in the Sierra Mountains, at a level of 4,500 feet above tidewater. The "grove" covers only fifty acres, and numbers only ninety-four of these monsters. The trees are of a species unknown except in California, and are called sequoia gigantea. It is estimated, from the rings or layers, that the largest of these trees are not less than three thousand years old. The largest of these trees—now blown down—has a circumference of one hundred and ten feet, or over thirty-three feet diameter, and had attained the enormous bight of four hundred and fifty feet! Most of the ninety-four exceed three hundred feet in hight, and few of them have limbs less than one hundred and some not under two hundred feet from the ground. One, by a process of boring, was cut down in 1853. Its stump, seven feet from the ground, measures thirty feet in diameter. The bark on some of the larger trees is nearly two feet thick. The wood is of a red color like the cedar. Taken altogether, these giants of the forest exhibit the most remarkable phenomenon of the vegetable world.

NEW ARRANGEMENT FOR LIGHT.—Doctor Smith, of Rochester, has just perfected a new arrangement for light, which is reported to be far superior to the celebrated Drummond light. The light has been placed on one of the locomotives of the Central railroad, and an experimental trip made a few nights since. The track was perfectly visible from the machine for a distance of from twelve to fifteen hundred feet, so that the slightest obstruction could have readily been discerned by the engineer. It was found that a man with optics of ordinary power could, solely by the light reflected from the lamp, readily read a newspaper printed in ordinary type a full quarter of a mile from the locomotive. This seems incredible, but it is literally true. The distance was carefully measured by a professional engineer who was in the party.

LIQUID QUARTZ.—A discovery of a. mode of liquefying flint and quartz has been announced, and is said to be brought to such a degree of perfection that it can be made of great practical value. The liquid flint and quartz is applied like varnish, with a brush, and can be used on any thing that is desired to be made incombustible, and can be put into the paint used on houses. It can be dissolved in water, and makes a water-proof cement. Any color or form may be given it, even that of the precious stones. It will make sandstone as solid as marble, and make marble pure and white. Thus imitations of marble of the finest quality can be made at very slight cost, compared with the real stone, and will be just as beautiful and durable. Artists are especially excited about the discovery, as it will enable them to varnish a clay model with the dissolved quartz, colored to imitate marble, and thus make a statue without the labor of chiseling a huge hard stone for months.

A NOVEL WORK.—A considerable piece of engineering has just been completed in southern France. It is the excavation of a subterranean communication from the Lake Blen, a beautiful little sheet of water, the charm of that fashionable watering-place, to the river Adour. The Lake has an area of only one hundred and twenty acres, but it is 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, and very deep, and it is estimated that a stratum of seventy feet deep may be taken off during the summer months for the purposes of irrigation along the banks of the Adour. The tunnel was run under the bottom of the Lake, and up to within a few yards of its bed, where a large room was excavated, into which communication was made by submarine blasting, charges of from sixty to one hundred and twenty pounds being let down to the bottom of the Lake.

WARM WEATHER IN ENGLAND.—The London papers note the great heat of the weather and the unusual prevalence of the aurora borealis. On October 4th the thermometer rose to 77 1/2° in the shade and 93° in the sun. On the 5th it stood at 73° in the shade. The heat on the 4th was greater than in any October for the last sixty years. The nearest approach to it was in 1802, when it reached 75°. The aurora does not seem to have elevated the temperature of our atmosphere. We have had very early and severe frosts.

Warning - This information has been transcribed from a source that is well over 100 years old. It may be incorrect or outdated in some cases. It is also possible that errors were made during the transcription process. This information is being made available for entertainment purposes only.