The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-08-01
foaeleN SCIENTIFIC ITEMS.

Some interesting relics we're recently found At
Authieux lie Port St. owen, France, which appear
to date from the Roman occupation OF the country,
consisting OF the remains OF the apparatus used by
the ancients for warming their houses. Among them
were found the furnace of the stove, and pipes
through which the not air was carried throughout
the building
The Journal des Conndissdnces Xtdtcdles Of Paris
publishes an interesting account Of the varieties Of
tannin obtained from different plants. 1t is the
astrngent principle OF the banks Of trees and exists
in large quantities In the horse chestnut, now very
common plant, which proves to be quite as usefu as
II Is ornamental: Inc .annin aer a,s IRON ~
to the air 1t becomes red owing TO It's absorption OF
oxygen. II imparts green color to the salts OF
iron, but 1t Will turn them violet II little potash or
ammonia be added. II will preclpitate gelatine, but
exercises no action on tartar emetc. It's concen.
eneq By or s
acid but II acctc acid be added there VIII
be no precipae. N, ae n,nn,,ss Of noas aoa
soda and hydrosuphste OF ammonia. The precpi
tate obtained Is soluble In water containing acetc
acid; this shows that II Is pure tannln which may
also be obtained separate by the addition OF few
crystals OF rock salt. Acetate OF lead will throw IL
down In the shape OF a chamois coored mass, sou-
bic I'm acetic acl at the common temperature. When
heated at one hundred degrees Centgrade with sui
phuric or hydrochorid acid the watery solution OF
the annin obtained from the horse chestnut becomes
red and deposits lakes Of q cinnabar hue; when in
contact with potash 1t Is transformed into phloro-
over, new one mentioned by our author, which he
calls capsule. because Of his having extracted IL
from the capsules shells OF the chestnuts gathered
In 1885, while. singular TO say none Of those OF the
following years contained any. The tannns ex-
tracted from chn0ya, ratanhia, &C., behave IN tne
same way only with diluted acids they yield glucose,
and red which is peculiar to each kind oil tannin,
and which. consequently, In trade goes ny ,ne
respective names OF Peruvian, ratanhia chiho'"r eu'
and so on. , -
At recent sitting OF the French Academy
Sciences an account was given Of curious is."".e
OF the effects produced by terrestrial elec'rc.N. n
M. Devaux, an Official OF the Paris Gas Sompany,
being the sth OF June, nc ten r. NJ, III .ie , ue
Thonn, at the time OF the storm, suddenly ,e' mn
self sinking down on his knees wniie =. VI. nc ,
moment, he was dazzled by brgnt nssn ". nsns "
ming He felt a painful sensation in .se IeR,vu ~.
the stomach and was seized with Nus OF .reno o
that lasted two DAYS. On examining MS voo.s NC
found to his astonlshment that nearly al ,he scvms
securing the soles had been wrencned our. "a. beC
auerel remarked that this was owing 10 tne pneno
menon called the return shock, when takes p,sc
when the electricity Of cloud combines wi.h IN
of the earth: in which case person near tne spc
and charged with the former mud, may receNS
part of the terrestrial one, and thus even nsec
life Marshal valiant remarked that simiain
cident occurred q few years ago In the bois de me-
cennes In that case the man was killed. 49,
shoas the nails OF which had disappeared W"
found Al some distance from the body,