Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1859-05-25
Z STRING OF CURIOUS FACTS.

Z STRING OF CURIOUS FACTS.
The following striking scientific facts
were picked up in the course Of oul
reading, from various authorities. We
think many of them viii be new to read
ers:
The difference between the skull of a
domestic hog snd the Wild bore. is as
great as that between the European and
the negro skull. Domestic animals thai
have subsequently run wild in the forests
after few generations. lose all traces OF
their domesticstion. and are physically
different from their tame originals.
Il is not natural for 2 COW, say more
than for any oiher female animal, to give
milk when she has 40 young 10 nourish.
The permanent production of milk is a
modifde animal function produced BY
an artificial habit. for several generations.
In Columbis. the practice of milking
COWS having been lsic aside. the natural
state Of the function has been restored.
The secretion of milk continues only du-
ring the sucking Of the calf, sad is only
al occasional phenomenon. Ii the calf
dies, the milk ceases to how, and it is
only by keeping him with his dam by
day, that an opportunity Of obtaining
milk from cows by night can be found.
The barking of dogs is an acquired
hereditary instinct, supposed TO have
originsted in an attempt to initiate the
human voice. Wild dogs and domestic
breeds which become wild, never bark,
but howl. Cats, which So disturb civil
iged communities by their midnight
"csterwauls." in theiy wild slate in
Srulh America, are quite silent.
The hair of = negro is not wool, but
curled Aad twisted hair. The di.tinc-
ton between hair sud wool is Gle arly re-
yealed by the microscope.
The dark races have less nervous SEN
sibility than the whites. They are rot
subject TO disease. They sleep souadly in
every disease;uor does any mental disiur-
bance keep them awake. They bear surg
icalopera,ious much better than the white
people.
A certain species Of fungus hiss been
known to attain the size of gourd in
one night; and it is calculated tha, the
cellules, of which it is composed, must
amount to forty-seven thousand millions.
II it grew in twelve hours, this would
give four thousand millions per hour, or
more than sixty six millions each min
ute.
Aninalcu,es have been discovered SO
small that one million would not exceed
6 grain of sand, and FIVE hundred nail
lions would sport in drop of water
Yes each of these must have blood ves-
sells, nerves, muscles, circulating fluids,
&c, like large animals.
One of the most wonderful achievements
of Astronomers. is the Weighing of the
bodies of the solar system. II is certain
that the mass of Jupiter is no more than
329 and not less than 922 times the mass
of The globe-so accurately has this work
been accomplished. The mass of he
sun is 339. 551 times greater thsn that of
the earth snd moon, and 700 times
greater than the united masses Of all the
planets.
The planet Saturn is composed Of mat
ter half as hesvy as water; 4urcury is
considerably heavier than quicksilver,
and third heavier than lead and our
own globe is twice as heavy as common
rock, and half as heavy as lead-a fact
which shows the density of internal parts.
A fash OF lightning on the earth would
be visible on the moon in second and a
quarter on the sun in eight minutes;
on Jupiter, when fsrthest from US, in fif-
ty.tWo minutes; On Urbanus in two hours
and quarter; on the star Vega, of tie
first magnitude. in forty-fve years on
star Of the eight magnitude in four
thousand years and such stars are visi-
BILE through the telescope.
La Place, the great French astrono-
mer, says: 81 have ascertaiaed that be-
tween the heavenly bodies all attractions
are transmitted with velocity which, if
it be not infinite, surpasses several thou
sand times tie velocity of light. His
annotator estima ates it at eight million Of
times greater than that of light.
The circumference Of the earth is 25,-
600 miles. A railway train travelling
necessarily night and day. az the rate of
twentv.six miles an hour would require