Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-02-24
Scientific. etc

The microscope reveals the TACT at + speck
Of potato rot the size O. a pin leas ! clntsins
two terocious Little snim ale, biting Al j claWing
eSch other savagey.
A substance has 5e en- found in Ps nca ke Noun
tain, Neyata, whIcl is said 10 p isis intense
heat better than aT Ything heretofore dis covered
ani it is 60 be usf / in lining lelt ing furnaces
in the 81 yer mir es
Professor c. Nicsti has investigate the c. usei
OF the curiou reluess Of the snow, sometin es
seen on the Grisons, Switzerland, al d seems iC
have demoI stratei that it is produ :el by the
dust Of th desert Of sahara trans i1rtei over
sea and h nj by siroccos.
An ir1 .eui0us and simple method e exsmin-
ing the structure Of flames has been suggested
The fAfle is TO be cut scross h0riz3ntt by by a
fat lar lellsr jet Of water OF Of air, and msy then
be ex mined at leisure by looking doE upon
1t frr n above
a scientific lecturer on walking says his ex-
per imeuts show that one side Of he body always
tends % outwalk the other side Il is NJ possl-
be when the ewes are shut TO walk in It rsigh,
line for sny length Of time, and il VIII be found
where persons lose their way, that they a most
invariably wander of 80 the light rather than
TO the eft
The rain which vas wanting in Engls 1i and
France as we, as in the United States, last VI n
lAtLs hll went TO lAuselh. A hllA ASH " AZ
where it fell in extraordinary quantities.
A Salt Ls'-e paper, in refutstion Of he com
mon idea h Al the process of petrfactio :, except
in certain springs possessing rare ami very pc
culisr pro pertief, requires an indefinite period
Of time fC its accomplishment, tells this In
the fall o last yesr several pe;es Of potato were
thrown under the imposing stone in the typos
office, " acre they have remained ever since. No
notice taken Of them until to-day, when it
was 10 aud that the process Of peJriisctIon was
going on, being 50 perfect IN some Of the pieces
that they had more the appearance Of dark flint
rock than anything else, and required a smart
blow Of "a hammer to break them.
Despite the droutb Of last fall, 1t appears by
meteorological record KEEP, in Providence, R.
l., thst the total fall Of rain for the year 1870
was more than five inches above the average
Nearly two-thirls, however, Of the whole quan
tity fell during the first half Of the year. which
left the deficiency felt in the fall The rainy
month for 1870 was June. when - inches
were recorded, against the average Of SIS.
Alta late meeting Of the Conpe,tic u academy,
in New Haven, communication was made by
Mr.. Clarence King concerning some recent
discoveries upon the famous peaks Of the Pacific
coast. Mount Shasta, Mount Rainier and Mount
Hood lt appears that during the isst autumn
Mr. King and his associates iu three parties,
discovered the existence of active glaciers where
they have never before been noticed on the
northern slopes Of Mount Shasta in Cslfornis,
as well A. on Mount Rainier in Washington,
and M-unt Hood in Oregon This is the first
instance 10 which, within sl the territory Of the
United S.stss (Alssks, Of course. excepteD. .
''l live glaciers " have been found, thou gh III
the East, As well in the West, there Sre so
many indications Of glscial action in former
geological eqoohs.
4 standing rewsrd exists in France for any
person who shall produce some certain test by
which real and sppSrsnt death may be dis
tnguishei from each 9TH #. There are many
" tests 80 known to physic ans, but the difficulty
always Is to subject them TO the crperinentenl
erucis The latest proposed is that Of Dr.
Lsborie Of Paris, who maintsint that real can
be distinguished from apparent death by the
eaeetproduced On a bright needle inserted IN
The aesh. When the death is apparent only,
the needle is 0Iydized but when il is real the
neehe remains bright, the theory being that
ms o1ydizstion in the dead body results from
tne superior demand for oxygen made by the
TISSUES dl1ng life, while in death they readily
give IT up 20 the needle.
In lecture IN England recently Mr.. James
Nla-sneI' T. X. :, SAID The whole of the
ram hsd It's origin aud fall 800 feet frcm the
eSith. Desiring 70 discover the influence Of the
moon on the elements. he tool obss-vstions
snd discovered, aiier long series Of observa-
tons, that on the 9th day Of the MON there
was much the most rain. aud that an the first
and last week Of the moon there v-ss ,l,a Iaas,
amount He had taken account from 1s15
to 1863 Of every dsy on which there hal l,een
an inch Of rainfall, and he had found thar on
July 26th, 1867, he rainfall an ountei 10 ? in
7-l0ths-the largest amour, that had fallen in
one day at the Royal Observatory. Fron
careful observation he had made. be bs3 n,
doubt that the moon did exercise an influence
upon rain. Another Investigation that he
made was as to the time Of day that rain fell
most, and he had found thst the largest guam
tity Of rain fell at about four O'Clock in the
afternoon.
England is gradually approaching America.
II the process which hss been going on for many
hundreds Of years continues unchecked for as
many thousands, the inhabitants Of the State
Of Labrador may look across the gradually
narrowing waste Of waters in the yesr Of our
Lord l,oIl, and see the west coast Of England
so near that the Atlantic will be reduced TO a
strait. 1t is well known fact that the tes is
eneroAehlng slowly upon the east coast Of Eng
lsnd, and that on the west the land is gaining
on the sea. The latest startling reminder OF
TINS is Andslip at Whitby in December last,
when large part Of the village ami the whole
Of the village graveyard WAS pushed out to te4.
II If elghty-three years since \ similar slip oc-
CURED near Whit5y, bat elsewhere on the cosst