Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-08-29
Scientific and Practical.

Scientific and Practical.
METALLIC roofs are rapidly coming
into use as the best safeguards against
lightning, as the roof instantly distrib-
utes the electric fluid over its surface,
and by so doing prevents all danger.
A THORN two-thirds of an inch in
length was taken from the head of Jas.
Meadow, at Carlinville, ILL.,, few days
since. 1t has been imbedded in the
flesh for thirtysix years, and was petri-
fed. w.
On farm near Cayuga Lake is Gu
rious freak of nature. An oak and q
pine tree are grown SO close together as
to present the appearance of one tree,
and no division line can be seen at the
root.
A New YORK housekeeper has dis
covered that the wistaria creeping
plant will keep out house.flies. The
pestiferous insects will not enter win
dow where one of these creepers is
growing.
PROF. TYNDALL has engaged passage
for New York, and may be expected in
October. He is to remain in this coun-
try six or seven months, lecturing in
the principal cities, six lectures and a
two weeks stay being promised for the
metropolis. Prof Henry, of the Smith.
sonian Institute, Washington. will en-
terrain the distinguished guest during
his visit.
A PARADISE for biologists is being
opened up at Arapahoe station, on the
Kansas Pacific, where a we'll digger,
now at the depth of four hundred feet.
has been for several days penetrating
beds, filled with a general variety Of
creatures with long names. Two hun
| dred feet below he passed through q
| thick oyster bed, and at the depth Of
3S9 feet took out the upper Jaw of
reptile with tusks an inch N length.
THERE was lately found near Rio Wis
ia, Cal, the skeleton of mastodon, al
most entire and unpetrifed. Some of
the bones crumbled to pieces on contact
with the air, but, if report speaks cor
rectly, there are sufficient portions of
the skeleton left to make better spec
linen of the extinct species to which
the animal belonged than any of the
museums of the country contain.
THROUGH efforts of persons interested
| IN experimental tea culture, several
| specimens of the soil in which the plant
IS raised have been secured and brought
| to this country. An exhaustive analy-
| sis of their constituent elements will at
once be made, the object being to see
wherein American soils are deficient.
and, if possible, to supply the wanting
o1apoantc b,y ortj is oia1 ,,,oa,s
AN establishment in Pittsburgh has a.
process for treating paper which makes
it much harder and tougher than
| leather, and so elastic as to resist al
most any blow without perceptlble COM
preston, while it can be worked yery
easily and cheaply. A French inventor
has similar process, and he is now in
this country making arrangements for
an exhaustive trial of the material for
ship armor. 1t has been approved of
by several naval officers who have seen
it, and who express an opinion that
most valuable service can be rendered
by it.
THERE are not a few young people
who find both enjoyment and profit in
keeping a scrap-book. One difficulty
with which they have to contend is in
getting paste which will neither mold
nor stain the paper. For the benefit of
such we pass along the statement that
the best paste for scrap books is made
of corn starch. Dissolve quantity in
cold water, then cook it thoroughly,
using care not to have it too thick. It
should be thin enough when cold to
apply with brush. This is the kind
used by daguerreotypists on "gem"
pictures.
| SCIENTIFIC research, it is stated, does
not make such rapid progress in Great
Britain as it does either in Germany or
France. Thus, in regard to chemistry,
the number of papers describing origi.
nal investigations which were published
in 1866 amounted to 1878, and were
written by sos chemists, giving 1.5S
essays for each investigator. Of these,
Germany contributed AS authors and
TT papers, or LIS essays for each in
vestigator France, ITO authors and 245
papers, or LA essays for each investi-
gator, and Great Britain 81 authors and
l29 papers, or 1.31 essays for each in
vestigator. Other countries furnished
SO authors and l24 papers, or 1.33 es-
says for each investigator. A large pro-
portion of the papers contributed by
Great Britain were written by Germans
residing in that country.