The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1843-11-20
FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
SITTING OF SEPTEMBER IS.

SITTING OF SEPTEMBER IS.
A communication was made respecting new
and, as il stated, perfectly efficacious mode OF
preventing horses from taking fright and run
ming away when in harness. Hitherto several
means, all Of them imperfect, have been devised
to prevent accidents of this nature. One of them
most in favor is a mechanism Tor detaching
horses from the traces, and setting them sud-
denly free, but the mechanism is not always
certain in its action; and 1t can be easily conf
pretended that if the horses take fright on de-
scent, the sudden detaching Of the carriage may
be attended with very great danger. The au-
thor of the paper before the Academy proposes
a very simple remedy. Having remarked that
horses rarely take fright at night, (the paper
says neoer but this is mistake, for there have
been instances of the kind, the author imagined
that all that was necessary in order to check a
horse when running away was to cause HIM TO
be visited with temporary blindness; and in or
der to do this, he contrved, by means OF spring
connected with the reins, to cover the eyes sud-
denly. This was done when the animals We're
at the top of their speed and the result was their
instantaneous stoppage; for the light being sud
denly excluded, horses no more rush forward, he
says, without seeing their way than would
man afflicted with blindness. The theory of the
invention is so reasonable, that we are strongly
disposed to believe in the utility of it, and we
sincerely trust that we may not be disappointed.
How many calamities may be prevented by the
adoption of this simple means Of checking horses,
if the inventor be correct in his assertions; and
whilst we hail this discovery as blessing, we
cannot but regret that to the absence Of some
efficacious means of arriving at the desired re-
suit France owes the loss of one OF her most
amiable princes. If such continuance as that
spoken of in the paper before the Academy had
been under the control Of the postillion who
drove the Duke Of Orleans, and had been as eff
fective as the inventor says such check must
be, the Prince would have been spared 10 his
country and his family.
| very curious paper was read from the pen
of Dr. Plouver, of Lille, on the application Of the
cornea of one animal to the eye Of another. The
doctor states that he has rabbit which was
blind, but to whose eye he has applied the cor
nea Of another rabbit and that the hitherto
| blind animal now sees perfectly. This is an ex-
traordinary operation Of surgery; but, however
successfully it may have been practised, we do
not think that it is applicable to the human race,
for what man would consent to have the cornea
removed in order that another person might be-
neft by his blindness? .J
A paper was read on the use Of plaster of Pa
ris as manure for artificial grasses. According
to the author M. Boussingault, it is highly valu-
able for trefoil, luzerne, and sanfoin In the
same paper the author treats on the use of salt
| as manure, and comes to the conclusion that
| it is very useful on calcareous SOIL as carbo-
nate Of soda is the result and that product ma
terialy enriches the land.