* * * * * In the island of Goa, near Bombay, there is a singular vegetable called "the sorrowful tree," because it only flourishes in the night. At sunset no flowers are to be seen, and yet after half an hour it is full of them. They yield a sweet smell, but the sun no sooner begins to shine upon them than some of them fall off, and others close up; and thus it continues flowering in the night during the whole year. * * * * * THE CRUTO INCANDESCENT LAMP. An electrical exhibition on a comparatively small scale was opened in Paris, March 22, 1885, with considerable eclat, the President of the Republic being present. Engines to the extent of 200 H.P. are employed to work the lights. Among the exhibits is the Cruto light. _Engineering_ says: At the first glance it presents the same appearance as an Edison lamp, having the same form of globe, and apparently a similar luminous filament. But this latter is made in an entirely different manner. A platinum wire is employed, 1/100 of a millimeter in diameter. This is obtained by the Wollaston process, that is to say, a piece of coarse platinum wire is covered with a stout coating of silver, and drawn down till the outside diameter is 1/10 millimeter. The silver coating is then dissolved in a bath of nitric acid, and the platinum wire is left behind. This wire is then cut into lengths, bent into a U form, and placed in a glass globe, in which circulates a current of bicarbonated hydrogen obtained by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol. This gas, previously purified, circulates around the platinum filament, through which an electric current is passed sufficient to bring it to a red heat. This decomposes the gas, and a thin coating of absolutely pure carbon is deposited on the wire. The operation is continued until a sufficient thickness of carbon has been deposited for each type of lamp, and the method of regulating the amount of deposit is effected very simply, and, in fact, almost automatically. Indeed, one of the most interesting features of the process is its great simplicity, although it is somewhat more costly than the ordinary methods of producing incandescence lamps. After having been subjected to the action of the gas for two or three hours, the filament is taken from the glass globe, its diameter is carefully measured, the length is calibrated, and it is set on a platinum support, to which it is soldered by a very ingenious process. The filament is then introduced into a second glass globe charged with bicarbonate of hydrogen; it is placed between pincers that hold the carbon near its union with the platinum, and the platinum some millimeters below. These pincers are then thrown into circuit, and a powerful current is passed through the part which is to be soldered. The platinum and carbon become incandescent, the bicarbonate is decomposed, and a fresh deposit of carbon solders the filament to its support.