The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-06-05

tation has ever been laid upon the pres
ent Assembly by its various enemies,
or upon the administration of justice,
that we have ever heard of.-New York
Independent.
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.
ORrnoGRAPHY OF WHISKY. The word
whisky is II corruption of the Celtic
word "nisge," or water-a verbal root
which appears in the names of the
Wisk, Esk, Usk, Exc, Thames, and
other Celtic rivers and "grog" is con-
nected with the name of the British
Admiral Vernon. sailor used to wear
Il grograin coat and the seamen gave
him the nickname of cold Grog, u
which was afterward applied to the rum
and water, the use of which was intro
duced by him INTO the navy.
IRRIGATION BY CANALS. 1T is more
than 100 years since the Spaniards set
tied in New Mexico and introduced the
practice of terrace irrigation. In the
valley of San Antonio, Western Texas,
the same system of watering land was
commenced in 17lS, and perfected in
l740, or 1873 years ago. Preston, the
historian, describes, or rather notices,
irrigatng canals in Mexico 500 miles in
length, constructed by the unknown
but more civilized people of this CONT
nent, who preceded the Indians found
by Columbus. Our industrial develop
ment has not reached the point of dig
ging canals 500 miles long to manure
cultivated and impoverished fields ; but
we are rapidly Fastening to that neces-
sary work.
DECAY OF FRuITs. The rapidity with
which fruits decay after they have
ripened is owing to the development Of
certain fungi. OF one of these, the
we'll mildew MuCOr StOLO1HJcr,
Wyville Thomson says "This species
is often found on Juicy fruits, covering
them with white woolly patches scatter
ed over with small black heads. and
producing very rapid putrefaction be-
meath the surface of the fruit. A num-
Der of delicate branching filaments
form rich network in the substance of
the fruit flaments, which are easily dis
tinguished from those of some nearly
allied forms by their loog, simple tubes
without partitions. These delicate fila
mentous tubes, which are the parts
first to appear and form the basis, as it
were, of the fungus, are called the
Mycelium, and are found in almost all
fungi
An ExTRAoRDINARx SURGICAL OPERA
woN.-The Lancet gives an account OF
an extraordinary operation in which the
nerves of the left upper extremity, from
their origin at the vertebral column al
most to their insertion at the hand, were
raised from their beds and subjected to
stretching and pulling. The patient
was soldier who had been struck on
the nape of the neck by the butt end OF
n musket, and following the injury
there was the most violent contraction
of the muscles of the upper extremity,
attended by loss of sensation in the
skin over the same. This continued
for nearly two years, when the opera
ton was performed by making three
long incisions, one on the arm, one III
the axilla and one over the left clavicle;
the nerves were raised, submitted to the
manipulations described above, then re-
turned, and when the wounds healed
the parts were entirely restored to their
normal state.
"KEEpING" ANIMAL LIFE IN lcE.-
Some curious facts with respect to the
freezing of certain animals have long
been known. During his voyage to Ice
land, in 1928 or 1929, Gainmard, having
exposed in the open air box filled with
earth in which toads were put, opening
il after certain time, found the reptiles
frozen hard and brittle; but they could
be restored to life when put in warm
water. Many ancient authors cite simi-
lar cases, and we can almost bring our
selves to understand how great Eng
lish Psychologist might for moment
have given them the whimsical inter
probation that he did. John Hunter
fancied it might be possible to prolone
life Indefinitely by placing man in
very cold climate, and there subiectine
him to periodical freezing. The man,
he said, would perhaps live a thousand
years, if, at the end of every ten years.
he were frozen for hundred, then
thawed out at the end of the term iof
ten wears. more, and so continuously
"Like all inventors" Hunter ADDS