The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-01-14
roRB1eN SCIENCE.
nnnth nf the AIDE.

a wnvs remarkably WulNeg hONCuUSldICe WQlCn
the author attributes to the almost exclusive
use of cousCoussou as an article of food and
of coffee without sugar as beverage, besides
water But this is not all: the Arabs rinse
their mouths several times at the beginning of
each of their TOUR daily abutlons, and thereby
any small ahmentaty particle that may have
stuck between the teeth is carried away. They
also chew, about once week, a bit of bark of
a tree. called 5OOdt and which seems to be akin
to the walnut tree; the bark must not, however,
be CheWed TIL IL IS reduced to the consistency
of pulp, but when sottened by the saliva, It
is taken out, the teeth are rubbed with IT,, and
then wiped with the buGnous, which is white.
A New Fire Alarm.
EThe Union Medicdie has paper by DR.. Outlay
on a curious and useful invention, due to the
ingenuity of celebrated ex-coniuror, NJ. Robert
HoudIn. The object in view is to give the
alarm Of fire at the very commencement of the
threatened catastrophe, aud the following de-
scriptlon will show how this is accomplished
SupDOse q copper lamlna and steel one to be
soldered together by their surfaces, so as TO
form single blade, copper on one side and
steel on the other Let II be liked vertically by
one of its eXtremlties to board, without, how
ever, quite touching it, in order to avoid all
friction. The arrangement will be best under
stood by suppOsing knife 20 be brought close
TO the board, as il with the intention OF cutting
it through. Now suppose metal KNOB TO be
fixed on the board, on the steel side OF the
blade and at q short distance from 1t. This
knob is connected with one OF the poles OF
VOltaic battery, the other pole OF which COM
muniCates with the screw which secures the
fixed extremity Of the blade, and with one of
those bells or alarum5 which we see used in the
telegraph offices to prepare the clerks tor the
reception OF a message. Now let the blade be
Warmed-as the dilaton OF copper by heat IS
greater than that of steel, 1t follows that the
blade will be bent the concave side being the
cton nI anH ii no hpQ
q contact viii be elected between the blade and
the knob. No sooner does this take place
than the bell begins to ring, and continues
doing so until the contact is INTERRUPTED.
very small degree of heat will be sufficient TO
produce the requisite curvature of the blade;
even a burning cigar will do so at distance
Of about three inches.
Value of Ants.
1t has often been asked what ants are chiefly
good for, especially the termites, which arc
the terror of the inhabitants Of tropical coun-
Jries. The Cosmos answers the question by
stating, on the strength Of the testimony of
traveller recently returned from Western Africa,
that the equatorial regions would be uninha0i-
table were it not Tor the ants that are con-
stantly engaged in clearing a way all putrescible
matter. Their number Is ncalculable, and their
VOraCity astonishing. The hives they build
themselves in Liberia are, in an ARCHITECTURAL
W,
huts of the negroes; they are in the shape of
pyramids, sometimes thirty leet high, and up
wards of ten feet IN diameter.
Rain.
While Western Europe had been drenched
with rain throughout the summer it appears
from the latest accounts that they have been
eleven months without either rain or snow at
Pekin. This is, in China, a great public
calamity, which is sought to be averted by fast
ing, prayer, and eXpiatoTy ceremonies. In the
summer OF 1864, the drought was so great that
the Emperor himself made VOW "to rectify
his conduct and be more anxious for the vel.
fare of his people,"
Amber.
This word is derived from the Arabic. The
well-known substance so called is a fossllized
resin of certain unknown coniferous trees, OF
the fir or pine genus. Great virtues are at
tributed to it by the ancients. Plny tells us
that Sophocles held amber to be tbe petrifed
tears which the birds of Meleager dropped to
the memory of that great hero of mythology.
Amber has been among the moderns subject
of great discussion. The mystery in which il
was involved was increased by the circumstance
found engraved upon 1t, 10 perfectly legible
state. DR.. Thomas, OF Kenisberg, has given us
the explanation of this singular fact by stating
that the pieces OF amber so engraved were
are preserved in the Museum Of Portici,
but chiefly brought thither from Herculaueum.
IT is certainly astonishing that, having invented
SEALS the Romans should not have followed up
the idea, and invented some sort of printing
process for their writing. Never was there a
broader hint given to man, and set it took q
thousand years to bridge over the gulf which
lies between two seals and movable types
The largest known deposit OF amber lies on the
Prussian coast of the Baltic; it is found in a bed
OF Ignite, which is supposed to extend fal
under the sea. Another deposit of amber lie:
almost horizontally on the outskirts of Dlrsch
helm, at depth of only four feet from the sur
face. Pieces of amber are often found lying OF
the coast after storm; thus, on the lst o
January, 1S4S, upwards OF 400 kilOs. of this sub
stance were thrown out of the sea within a very
small space. Amber has been known from Tho
highest antiquity, and important medical pro
pertes were attributed to it; even now il
maintains its place in our pharmacopmias
together with the oil distilled from it, as
stImulant, an astringent, and nianti-spasmodic
Amber necklaces have been found in Celtic
tombs both in England and Brittany. RegnarC
tells us that in his time the Margrave of Bran
denburg presented the Emperor Of Russia with
an arm chair entirely of amber and the DauphiI
with mirror of the same material.
Gas from Coffee.
At late meeting of the Paris Academy 0
Science, Nj. Babinet read paper on the eyolu
ton of gas in the making of coffee. If col,
wafer DC poureu upoh IoasIeu couee reduced u
powder, such as is generally used with boilin,
water, considerable quantity of gas is gene
rally evolved. This gas is probably air, and
equal in volume to that of the coffee used. II
bottle be half filed with the powder, and col
water be poured in until the cork is reache
which is to prevent the escape of the gas,
violent explosion, sufficient to force the cork ou
of the bottle, or even to break the latter will
the consequence.
The MeeeOrs,
M. Faye, in a communication TO the Pari