, over one
short land line and six cables, in all under six thousand miles.

Perhaps some of our readers may remember having read in the newspapers
of the result of last year's Derby having been sent from Epsom to New
York in fifteen seconds, and may be interested to know how it was
done. A wire was laid from near the winning post on the race course to
the cable company's office in London, and an operator was at the
instrument ready to signal the two or three letters previously
arranged upon for each horse immediately the winner had passed the
post. When the race began, the cable company suspended work on all the
lines from London to New York and kept operators at the Irish and Nova
Scotian stations ready to transmit the letters representing the
winning horse immediately, and without having the message written out
in the usual way. When the race was finished, the operator at Epsom at
once sent the letters representing the winner, and before he had
finished the third letter, the operator in London had started the
first one to Ireland. The clerk in Ireland immediately on bearing the
first signal from London passed it on to Nova Scotia, from whence it
was again passed on to New York. The result being that the name of the
winner was actually known in New York before the horses had pulled up
after passing the judge. It seems almost incredible that such
information could be transmitted such a great distance in fifteen
seconds, but when we get behind the scenes and see exactly how it is
accomplished, and see how the labor and time of signaling can be
economized, we can easily realize the fact.

The humors of telegraphic mistakes have often been described; we will
conclude by giving only one example. A St. Louis merchant had gone to
New York on business, and while there received a telegram from the
family doctor, which ran: "Your wife has had a child, if we can keep
her from having another to-night, all will be well." As the little
stranger had not been expected, further inquiry was made and elicited
the fact that his wife had simply had a "chill"! This important
difference having been caused simply by the omission of a single dot.

-.-. .... .. .-.. .-..
c h i l l = chill
-.-. .... .. .-.. -..
c h i l d = child

--_Hardwicke's Science-Gossip_.

* * * * *

ELECTRICITY IN TRANSITU--FROM PLENUM TO VACUUM.[1]

[Footnote 1: Presidential address be