The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-22
SCIENTIFIC NOTES.

ABOUT CoMETs.-Comets, if not the most in
teresting are certainly the most mysterious
members OF the solar system. Regarded IN old
times with feeling of supersttious dread by
the ignorant, they have now become a subject
OF eyer-ncreasing wonder to the most able
scientific men. The whole history Of comets
presents series Of marves-not marvels in that
sense merely in which all creation is marvel
lous-but marvels by comparison with all other
OBJECTS presented to our contemplation. The
paths followed by comets show no resemblance
either to the planetary orbits or to each other.
Here we see comet travelling in a path Of
moderate extent, and not very eccentric; there
another which rushes from distance of two or
three thousand millions of miles, approaches
the sun with ever increasing velocity, until
nearer to him than parts OF his own corona
(as seen in eClpses) sweeps around him with
inoonceiyable Tadidity, and makes Off again to
where the aphelion of It's orbit lies far out in
space beyond the most distant known planet,
Neptune. Some planets travel in direct,
olhers In retrograde path: few near the
plane OF the earth's orbit, many in planes
showing every variety of inclination. Some
comets regularly return after intervals of q few
years; some after hundreds of years; others
are only seen once or twice, and then unac-
countably vanish; and not few show by the
paths they follow that they have come from
lnterstelar space to pay our system but a single
visit, passing out again to traverse we know not
What other systems or regions. Among the
periodic comets there is one called Biela's, from
the name OF its discoverer 1t presents, or
rather presented, since it has vanished no one
rest TO ourselves. Its path interseCts that of
the earth, and it Is not impossible that some day
we may encounter that comet. There is reason
Ior sunposing that the earth actually
passed through the tail of the comet Of
1861 At about the hour when it was calcu-
lated that the encounter should have taken
place, strange durOrGt gledn1 was seen in the
atmosphere, but beyond this no effect was per.
ceptible. Most persons know that the name
comet, is derived from the word coma or hair,
and Is applied to celestial objects which appear
TO have hairy appendage. Modern astrono-
mer5 do not, indeed, use the word coma in this
sense, but draw distinction between the coma
and the tail. The coma is used to designate the
misty, hazy light about the nucleus or head.
1t might be supposed that the hairy, broom
like, or tail-like appendage so commonly seen
In comets is really distinctive feature of these
Objects This, however, is far from being the
case. A very large number of comets have no
visible tails. We refer, of course, principally
to telescope comets; for very few comets
which have been conspicuous to the naked eye
have wanted this appendage Some comets
have more than one tail. One appeared in
l744 which had no less than SIX tails, symmetri-
cally disposed iii one can trust the pictures
handed down to us) In the figure of a half
opened fan. Others have presented q vet more
peculiar appearance, having besides a tail in
the usual position, second Uncomfortable"
tail at right angles to the first inclined to it
at some incongruous, out-of-the-way angle. The
great comet OF March, l943, had a tail whose
real length was at least two hundred millions
OF miles. SO near did this comet pass to the
sun that many astronomers did not expect ever
to see the comet again. But after all but graz
ing the sun-sWeeping round him at a distance
OF less than one-tenth of his diameter-the
comet escaped, and passed back again into
spaCe,-Ifnp(e Bar.
EXPERIMENTS ON THE SENSITIVE PLANT-The
experiments on the sensitive plant conducted by
M; Bert have been taken up by NJ. Gu. Blondeau
who has tested the leaves with the induced gal
vanic current of a Ruhnukorff's coil He sub
mitted three plants to the influence of the cleo
tlc current. The first was operated on for FIVE
minutes; the plant, when left to itself seemed
prostrated, but after a while "a quarter of an
hour, the leaves opened, and 1t seemed TO
recover Itself. The second was acted on for ten
minutes. This specimen was PROSTATE for an
hour, after which 1t slowly recovered The third
specimen was galvanized for twenty-five minutes,
but IT never recovered, and in twenty.four hours
had the appearance OF plant struck by light
ning A fourth plant was ethersed, and then
exposed to the current. Strange to say the lat
ter had not any effect, the leaves renamed
straight and open; thus proving says N. Blon-
deau, that the mode OF contraction of the leaves
of the sensitive plant IS iu way allied to the
muscular contraction OF animals.
PASCAL VS.. NEwToN-The lively controversy
concerning the supposed letters OF Pascal and
Newton has been dropped by the French
Academy, but the question of the authenticity
of the documents in NJ. Chases possession is
yet far from being decided. NJ. Chasles still
adheres to his original belief that the letters
genuine; but NJ. Leverrier, the French Astro.
nomer Royal, holds an opposite opinion. NJ.
Faugere asserts positively that the letters with
PascaPs and Madame Perrier's signatures are
both forgeries, and are by the same hand. Sir
David Brewster, in a letter to the Academy,
also contends that those letters are forgeres
and points out two important facts in evidence
First, that Newton's letters to foreign GaUdns
we're always written in Latin not French and
second, that he never signed his name as it ap-
pears in NJ. Chasles' correspondence. Sir
David suggests that the letters should be ex-
amined in England, and be compared with the
authentic handwriting of Newton.
ANIMAL ELECTRICTTY.-The origin of the elec-
triOity with which animal bodies are charged is
no longer a mystery, according to Herr Schultz,
of Berlin, who announces the theory that the
electricity of the tissues results from the action
of the common salt which is abundantly distrt-
buted through the system. he has found that
the electricity Is much more abundant when
the proportion of salt present is large than
when il is small. NJ. Schultz has described
numerous experiments which support his views
and begs the French Academy to submit his
memoir to O commission.
BONE CAvERNs.-M. Dupont has been extend
ing his researches in the Belgian bone-caverns
AZ recent meeting of the Royal Academy of
Belgium he announced that in a cavern known
as the Trou-Madame he found in the' strat6ed
mud series of human bones, remains of pot
terry, bones of deer and other animals. Among
the human remains is a very perfect skull with
its lower jaw, both being entire.
Here They Spike the English,