The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-12-24
sCINTILLAriONs OF SCIENCE.

Electricity has been applied in France
by M. Dalmas to the destruction of phyl-
loxera. Through a copper wire wound
around the stems of the vines powerful
current is sent, with the effect of destroy.
ing the insect in its various stages of de-
velopment.
Prof. Bottger notes the fact that when
two parts, by measure, of silver oxide; in
dry state, is rubbed in mortar with
one part of antimony sulphide, or if
amorphous phosphorus is substituted for
the sulphide, the mixture takes FIRE easily.
When drop of phenol is let fall upon
the silver oxide the oxide is partially re-
duced, while sparks are given off.
Schlesing and Muntz claim to have
isolated the nitric ferment. The corpus
cles are very abundant, small, and elon-
gated. If the ferment is exposed to a
temperature of 1902 centigrade it is killed,
and its action is arrested at a tempera-
ture 10 lower. Oxygen or dry air is un-
favorable to it. 1t is not found normal
ly in air. Mold is its chief medium.
1t has been thought that forks were
used by mankind in eating food at a
very recent period in history. But the
arr of eating with fork is proved to be a
revival Of very ancient one. The fork
is by no means an invention of modern
times. Lately, in the debris of the lake
dwellings, forks evidently designed for
table use have been discovered. They
were made of bone. The spoon is a still
more ancient instrument.
There is no reason to be surprised re-
garding the decline of the foreign de-
mand for British cotton goods, if writer
in the Wollengwerbe gives honestly and
without malice this striking analysis Of a
sample 1t is stated that piece of calico
contained only So per cent. of cotton
fibre, but not less than 26 of alumina,
12 of starch, 2.5 of fatty matter, 2 of
magnesium chloride, l.5 Of zinc chloride,
8 Of calcium chloride, and rs Of water.
Last wear, it will be remembered, the
celebrated hot springs at Teplitz disap-
peared on account of the subterranean
source of supply having been accident
ally tapped in the working of some coal
mines in the neighborhood. During the
past spring efforts were begun to recover
the supply by sinking the old we'll deeper.
As the boring has to be made through
porphyry,, the progress is very slow.
Still more strenuous attempts are to be
made to recover the old springs or es-
tabish new ones before the next summer
season. If these are unsuccessful, the re-
suit will be serious, as the people of
Teplitz derived their support altogether
from the visitors who came every year to
try the curative effects Of the waters.
The Nature reports that the recent
Hungarian earthquakes were attended
with phenomena Of most remarkable
character. One Of the shocks divided
the large Danubian island near Old
Moldavia in two, and from the chasm
thus formed huge column of water was
elected sufficient to partly food the
island. Suddenly, on October 18th, there
was cessation of this flow, but black
sand and clay were thrown up from many
funnel-shaped craters in the fissure.
Mouths of caves near Weisskirchen had
fallen in, and the ruins of the Castle Of
Golubacz were demolished. But, as the
caves were the breeding-places of the
Kolumbacs mosquitoes, the visitation
will not be considered an unmixed
calamity if it has also caused the utter
destruction of these insect pests.
The extraordinary statement that Mr..
Robert Packer, while travelling in Ne
hfaska, had conversed with his wife and
friends at his home at Sayre, Penn, by
means of telephone, though distance
of 1000 miles intervened, is thus modi-
fed by the Scientific American: "We
now learn, on good authority,
that though Mr.. Packers friends re-
ceived his communication by telephone,
it was not 80 sent by Mr.. Packer. The
message was sent from Nebraska to
Mauch Chunck, Penn., by telegraph
thence it was telegraphed to the Sayre
Office of the Pennsylvania Canal and
Railroad Company, of which Mr.. Packer
is Superintendent, and from there it was
transmitted to Mr.. Packers house by tel.
ephone, falling short of the first report
of the telephones performance by some
1899 mile and fraction"
At recent meeting Of the Physical
Society, London, held on November 22d,
DR.. Shettle gave an account of some ex
periments which suggested to him that
the blood exercises an inductive power
on the various structures of the body o1
animals. Copper and zinc wires, we'll in
sulated from each other with parchment
paper and paraffined silk, were wound
closely together in spiral form. Connect
ing, then, one extremity of the copper
and one of the zinc wire to the terminus
of galvanometer, while the other end
of the wires were free, the needle wa
; DETECTED. There was no indication of .
current when the adjoining free end
were placed in an intimate connec
| ton; the needle remained stationary
, When hot water was poured insid'
the coils 80 as to increase the tempera
J ture of the wires, the DETECTION of tn
needle of the galvanometer was consider
ably augmented. DR.. Shettle then be
+. gan to trace an analogy between thi
physical arrang 'ment, with its results