West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-08-17
SCIENTIFIC ITEMS.

The harp upon which Nine. Roland
played an extempore requiem i'm front
OF her cell in the Cenciergerie Of Parisis
said to be in the possession of a grand
nephew of the old man, NJ. DE la Marche.
whom the heroine inspirited on his way
to the guillotine.
TITIAN's Madonna with the Veil.
which was generally believed TO have
been destroyed at the storming and
sacking of Rome by the Constable of
Bourbon, has been found again among
the pictures in an old chateau belonging
to the late DIR. Riteri. The professors of
the Academy of Turin pronounce it
the genuine picture.
The value Of the process of hello
graph or sun engraving upon copper.
is shown by the experience Of the Aus.
trian Military Geographical Institute.
Maps are drawn on paper, and then, re-
duced by photography, transferred to
copper, touched up and printed. The
advantages Of this process are cheap
ness and rapidity of publication.
The Swedish ethnographical section
in Irocadero is most attractive from the
number and variety of its wooden
models of the peasantry, taken from life.
The figures are so arranged as To rep-
resent scenes of ordinary occurrences
the setting out for church is an actu-
allty-every room in the house is pre-
scented TO view, with its furniture; and
a young lady giving the last flourish TO
her head-dress is charming.
The question as to whether Wagner is
genius or not, is still agitating must
clans. His claim tOoriginality, melody.
effect, instrumental aud superb conn
terpoint is founded on his really great
operas, Rienzi, Tannhauser, and Lohen-
grin. There is sweetness and breadth
in each of these masterpieces, and a
wealth of musical inspiration and ex-
preston. But it remains for the future
TO Judge with justice the music of the
future"
III sometimes seems hard to believe,
but birds are the staunch friends of
every man who raises fruit, grain or
grass. They are the constitutional check
put upon depredating insects. Every
cherry that the robin eats he paws for
five hundred times over by countless and
nameless insects devOured as part of
his meat diet. Woodpeckers, larks, laws,
sparrows, and the whole tribe of
thrushes, are indefatigable friends of
the garden and the farm.
Mr.. DARWIN publishes letter from
Mr.. Arthur III. Gray, of Davenport.
Mass, with an illustration, showing a
common mussel, or clam, attached To
the foot of a blue-winged teal. When
the bird was shot the shell-fsh was
alive. The author of "The Origin of
Species" considers the case we'll worth
recording, as it serves to account, i'm
part at least, for the fact that animals
and plants inhabiting fresh water have
az a general rule very wide distribu-
ton; yet each river system, with all
the pools and lakes in connection with
1t, seems completely cut off from every
system of the same country" Mr..
Gray, in his letter, SAYS the shell-fish
would undoubtedly have been trans
ported to some river or pond, perhaps
miles from its original home, had the
bird not been shot, and might have
propagated its kind"
HAWTHORNE had an idea that paint-
lngs ought to be hung i'm separate rooms.
by themselves, and not together i'm n
gallery. He alleges that the effect of a
single picture is spoiled by comparison
with others of greater merit i'm its
neighborhOod. His views are very
nearly true, and, of course, if art com
mittees of exhibitions could afford the
expense, there would be provided separ-
ate places for every one of the MANY
pictures in the exhibitions. 1t indeed
take the charm away from cool gray
landscape, for example, to have it placed
near very gorgeous figure piece, or
fruit piece. The modest merit of one
picture is quite overlooked by the
spectators in the gallery, the imprudent
glaring and defiant tints and forms of
the one pictures quite concealing the
other: Then it is hard to Judge of the
individual merit of a gallery where
there are many excellent works, and
where the eye is bewildered by the
signal merits of each. A visit to an art
gallery is apt, therefore, to produce the
effect of "dream of beautiful scenes"
medley of color, tone, and not the
esthetical impression one gets from CON
temPlating and studying a single fine
picture