The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-02-20
SCIENTIFIC NOTES

Sicily, once the granaries of Italy, have
suffered the penalty of their thought
lessness by exterminating the forests.
Two thousand years ago, those lands
were celebrated for their wonderful
productiveness, and were said to be the
most beautiful in the world. In 1900,
Humboldt visited Venezuela, South
America, and was informed by the ma
tives living in the valley of Araguay
that they had noticed, with great .ston-
ishment; that lake which lay in the
middle of the valley has decreased in
volume every. year; the cause of this is
clearly traced to the telling OF a great
number of trees which grow on the sur
rounding mountains. In Hungary the
periodical droughts are universally at
tributed to the humiliation of the
forests In Cairo, Lower Egypt, a great
many years. ago, rain fell but seldom,
only soneejn three or four years; but
since the time of -Mohammed Ali,
twenty to thirty millions of trees have
been planted. and the result is now that
the people have from thirty to forty
rainy days every year. Surely these
few of the many examples are warnings
sufficient to put us on our guard.
SINSVnAR kCAANeEs5 IL IRoN.-Prof
Mayer gives some interesting statements
-theS result of careful and prolonged
researches made by regarding the
effect of magnetism ON iron He states
that he has discovered by means of tho
Saxtou0 comparator, that rods of iron
suffer a permanent-eleagatien by mag
netization of one hundred and fifty mil-
lionts of an inch. English refined
iron gives the maximum of this elonga-
tion, and scrap iron the minimum.
Whether the current is gradually in
creased in intensity, or whether it is
sent full charge at once, it,produces the
same degree of elongation. Prof.
Mayer found, on his experiments, that
with one cell the eIongation took place
in six-tenths of n second with twenty
I five cells it took place in two-tenths of
| a. second. 1t is thought that this
elongation of iron under magnetism
being fact, it might make, I'm its effect
on the earth, an- appreciable difference
in the length of the day. This can be
detected by the means which astronomy
affords; even SO infnitesimal a change
in the day as that of sevcn-hundredtbs
of a second would be perfectly easy to
discover now.
! SOLAR PHENoNESA.-One of the most
remarkable phenomena at present en-
gaging the attention of astronomers is
what are known as the solar prominen-
ces. Observations made with the largest
telescopes declare these prominences tc
be streams of intensely heated hydro
gen, which are elected from the SUI
with such velocity that they would
reach the earth -in a few hours if of sufi
| cient volume. That there is enough
| hydrogen in the sun to produce such 1
volume is not at all doubtful, if only
\ the forces which leads to the erHptiOni
should unite sufficiently at one time
MoveOver, such thing is not without
precedent. In May, 1868, the star Il
of the constellation Corona Borealis
which had not been visible to the Hnas
sisted eve, suddenly brightened up to {
star of the second magnitude. An ex
animation showed that it had become
cnveloped in vast atmosphere of heat
ed hydrogen, which extended from it as
far as from the sun to the earth, and
subsided in about three days. It is
argued, therefore, that our sun is es
sentially of the nature of that star, and
that such an event is as possible there
as it was in the other case.
! IMPROVED INDIA RUBBER TUBEe.-
! 1t is well known that ordinary vulcan
iized india-Fubber tubing becomes satu.
! rasedswitllsgas, which again eyaporate'
at its outer surface, causing a most
offensive odor. An invention for pre-
venting THIS, by coating the india-rub-
Der with varnish, has lately been
brought forward in England. The
principal feature III this method is, that
the varnish is easily. made. and it rem
ders the substance of the tube imper-
vious to gases. The yarnish is com
posed of lmseedr oil and fine htharge,
or white lead in the proportion of one
quart of oil to one of Iitllarge. These
substances are vel, boiled together un-
til breught to n proper thickness OF
| body. and, wI1iie hot, the composition
is applied by furming It through the
tube 70 be coated or lined. The var
nish for the outside is made by mixing
one quart of linseed oil with a hall
pound Of litharge and adding to the
same about gill Of gold size. These
ingredients are we'll boiled together
and, while hot, are applied with brusf
or sponge.
AesrRANGE phenomons has; is seems
been discovered by the British survey
ing ship Shearwater, Viaioh vessel, lIay
! ing accomplished her task for tlIii
season, has lately returned to Gallipoli
The Iabors Of the surveying parties OF
board have, says the Dardahelles cor
respondent of the Levant Herald
been crowned With satisfactory results
I and Ollc fllGnlN interesting idct tltts ptti
aseertained of which the existence wa
never before sHrmised. 1t was fount
that the proverbially rapid curren
i which runs. frola north to south both il
the Dadanelles and the Bosphorus i
only superficial, for at the depth of p
fathoms the surveying party discovered
in the course of their soundings, tina
there exists an under current RUNNING
with prodigious force into tn
Black Sea. So test tle strength Of thi
under. .current a special apparatus wa
constructed and attached 70 the ship
boats, when astonishing to relate tn
boats were IN many places driven alon
against the upper current with a velocit
greater than that Of the steam iaune
belonging to the Shearwator.
THERE was once an old woman whc
in answer 10 q visiting almoner's inqu
ries rs 70 how she did. said so, sii
Al. ..F - ,-,.-.H -. 49, Tr.-a lr.a.s -.