Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1859-02-16
A STRING OF CURIOUS FACTS.


The folIowing striking scientific fac
were picked up in the course of our read
ing, from various reliable authorities. =
We think many of them will be new
our readers:-
The difference between the skulls c
the domestic hog and wild boar, is a
greaI as that between the European an
negro skull. Domestic animals that hav
subsequently run wild in the forests, af
Ter few generations loose all traces @
their domesIicalion, and are physically
different from their tame originals.
1t Is not natural for COW, any NOR,
than other female animals, to give mil
when she has no young 10 nourish. Tn
permanent production of milk is modi
fed animal function, produced by an ar
tlfcial habit for several generations. Ii
Columbia, the practice OF milking COW.
having been laid aside, the natural STATE
OF the function has been restored. Tn,
secretion of milk continues only dur
ing the sucking of the calf, an,
is only an occasional phenomenon.
the cali dies, the milk ceases 10 iliw, ant
II is only by keeping him with his dan
by day, that an opportunity of obtaining
mile from cows by night can be found.
The barking of dngs is an acquired
hereditary instinct, supposed to have
originated in an attempt to initiate the
human voice. Wi id dogs and domestic
breeds which become wild, never bark
or howl. Cats, which disturb civilized
communities by their midnight '.cater.
waui," in the wild state in South Ameri.
Cd, are quite silent.
The hair OF the negro is not wool. bur
a curled aud twisted hair. The distinc.
lion between hair and wool is clearly
revealed by the microscope.
The dark races have less nervous sen
sibliity than the whites. They are nol
subject to nervous disease They sleep
slundly in every disease: nor does any
mental disturbance keep them awake
They bear chirurgical operations much
better than the white people.
a cerain species OF fungus has been
known 10 attain the siz4 of gourd in
one night; aud it is calculated that the
cellules, OF which it is composed, must
amount to forty seven thousand million.
Ii II grsw in Twelve hours, this would
give four THOUSAND millions per hour or
more than sixty six millions each minute.
Animalcules have been discovered so
small that one million would not exceed
IA grain of sand, and five hundred millions
would support in drop of water. Yer
each OF these must have blood vessels,
nerves, muscles, circulating fluids. &c Z,
like large animals.
One ct The most wonderful achieve.
menis of asironomsrs, is the weighing of
the bodies of tie solar system. Il is Ger.
tain that the mass of Jupiter is more than
322, and less than 323 times the mass of
this globe-so accurately has this work
heen accomplished. The mass of The
sun is 339;55l times greater than that
OF the earth, and moon, and 100 times
greater than the united masses of all the
planets.
The planet Saturn Is composed of mat
Ter only half as heavy as water; Mercury
Is considerably heavier than quicksilver,
an a 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 great density of its inter.
nal parts
A fash of lightning on the earth would
De visible on the moon in a second and !
quarter, on the sun in eigh, minutes; on
Jupiter, when farhest from us, in ffiy.
wo minutes; on Uranus in two hours; on
VrPtune in four and a quarter, on The
tar Vega, Of the first magnitude, in
oriy five years, on a star of the 8 n mag.
Iitude in focr thousand years, and such
iars asare visible through The telescope
La Place, The great French astrono,
ler, says; 81 have ascertainod that be-
veen the heavenly bodies all attractions
re Transmitted with velocity which, i'll
be not infinite, surpasses several thou
and times The velocity If light" His
nnotator estimates il a; eight million of
mrs greater than that of light.
The circumference of the earth is 25,.
90 miles A railway train, travelling 5
Icessanlly light and say, at the rate OF
'eniy six miles an hour, would require $
x weeks TO go round il. A tunnel
rough the earth, from England to New I
ealand, would be nearly eight thousand
lies long. d
1t all the world were conservative, So
ETY. would be like a long train of cars.
lthout an engine. And il everybody
ere radical it would be like train of