The daily gazette., 1879-08-15
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

lne instantaneous photographs Sccuf-
ed by Mr.. Muybridge, of san Francisco,
represent horses in the most ungainly at
titudes some of them appearing so ab-
surd as to excite many expressions of
doubt as to their accuracy. An Engiis''
gentleman has, however, so applied the
pictures, by taking advantage of the prin-
ciples of newly-mproved toy, called
the praxinoscope, as to form a very in
teresting experiment, and at the same
time set at rest all doubts as to their
faithful portraiture' Twelve plain mir
rors were arranged vertically in circle
with their rejecting surfaces outw ard.
Twelve instantaneous photographs, rep
resenting the twelve successive attitudes
of a galloping horse, were then fas ened
upon the inside of metal ring so ar
ranged that each picture faced one Of
the twelve plane mirrors. Upon revolv-
ing this apparatus rapidly the reflections
from the mirrors exactly reproduced all
the motions of galloping horse, every
separate movem mt of the head, tail aud
legs, and the alternate contraction and
expansion of the various muscles, with
the up and down motion of the rider,
being described as absolutely true to ma
ture.
An electrical alarm compass has been
invented, for use on shlpboard. The in
strument may be adjusted 10 any limit
Of variation in the ships course desired,
the automatic ringing of bell promptly
announcing the passagr of the pi escr'bed
limit by tue compass needle.
An international congress under the
auspices of the King Of Belgium and
Court of Flanders is o meet in Brussels
in September to discuss all questions re-
lating to the ethnology, phiology and
history of America.
Major Pinto, the Portuguese explorer
of Africa, describes race of white men,
hitherto unknown, which he found in
the interior of the "dark continent"
They are called Cassequeres. They are
whittier than the Caucasians, and have
their heads covered with small tufts OF
very short wool. They live on roots
and animals, and are the only people in
Africa that do not cook their food in pots.
hey never sleep two nights IN the same
encampment, but wander about, in
groups of four to five families, over all
| the territory between the Cuchi and the
Cubango.
A Parisian claims to have discovered
a process by which an absolutely perfect
imitation of silk may be produced from
fax fibres, and it is reported that Lyons
| manufacturers have purchased the pro-
cess for 3,O0O,OO0 ancs.
| Experiments with the electric light
on board Hamburg steamer have
proved very satisfactory. The
( light was tested as a means OF illuminat-
ing the decks, and for lighting the ships
| course where desirable-as in pa sing
through narrow channels.
Experiments made by German phar-
macist incicate that under certain at
mospheric conditions there is danger OF
the Spontaneous ignition of fabrics wash
ed with benzine having low boiling
point. 49,.
According to the Bergmdnfa, $34 o1
gold has been extracted from ton of the
residues of petroleum stills. The source
of the petroleum has not been ascer-
tained.
| A bill is pending before the French
Senate for instituiing an inquiry into the
means of increasing the fish production
of French rivers.
M. Sebillot, French engineer, has a
plan of alternate ship railway aud canal
for crossing the Isthmus Of Panama, the
cost of which he estimates at at SoO,OOO,
900. His proposed railway consists OF
rails fifteen times as heavy as the ordi'
nary Il rail, laid about thirty-fve feel
anart. over which vessels up to sever
thousand tons burden may be transport
ed in immense docks or cars supported
bv wheels a foot thick. Friends of thi:
scheme claim that speed of nine t.
eleven miles an hour can be attained
the whole distance from ocean to oceaI
, being traversed in five hours. Th'
length of the railway would be abou
twenty miles, with twenty-five miles o
canal 1t is stated that as long ago a