The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-10-02
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.

USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
PROF. MARSH, in. his address at Sara
toga the. other day, favored the view that
man existed in Europe 250, 900 years
ago, and that he probably had a yet
earlier existence in America.
THE calculations of the British OBJ
servers of the last transit of Venus es-
tablish a value of 8.76 for the solar par
allax. This interpreted means a dis
lance of $4,000 900 miles as the distance
of the sun from the earth.
A MIEK-CURE institution, first started
by DIR. Grub at Stuttgart, and since imi-
tated at Frankfort, Berlin, Strasburg,
Munich, Cologne, Vienna, Basic, and
Zurich, is to be erected at Berne for the
benefit of infants and invalids.
PROF. RICHARDSON considers absinthe
drinking worse than opium eating. In
the worst examples the absinthe drinker
becomes a confirmed epileptic. One or
two wineglassfuls of it day will pro
duce permanent dyspepsia. "A more
consummate devil of destruction could
not be concocted.'' H sf-
DIR. THOMPSON of San Francisco is
in London showing the profession there
his new method of replanting teeth. 1t
is said that he takes them out, keeps
them in warm cotton while he fills them
or builds them up, and then replaces
them.
Mr.. w. MATTIEU WILLIAMS, who for
more than thirty years has closely studied
the electric light, and noted all its de-
velopments, does not hesitate to affirm
that, " although as a scientific achieve
ment the electric light is a splendid sue
cess, its practical application to all pur-
poses where cost is a matter of serious
consideration, is . complete and hope
less failure, G1sG must Of necessity con-
ti1late to remain So
MIR. MARTIN of Paris has made a
series of observations on nervous affec-
tiOns among the offspring of alcoholic
parents. His results may be summed
up as follows: In eighty-three families
in which one or more members showed
nervous excitability with n history of
alcoholic origin, there were 410 chill
dren. OF these, 108-more than one
quarter-had COMMISSIONS. In 1874 169
were dead, and 241 still alive, but SO, l.
e., more than one-third of the survivors,
were epileptic.
The fact that no odor of sewer gas ex-
lists, says a correspondent of the Chica-
90 Times, is no evidence that it does not
exist in quantities sufficient to produce
its evil effects in its insidious way. The
following is a reliable and delicate test,
which will show the least trace of gas:
Take piece of clean white paper, dip it
into the solution called "Crane's ChlOri-
dunn, and suspend the paper over and
! near the orifice where gas is suspected
of ct If remain Oxya1. niCrht
when, if gas has escaped, the paper will
be found darkened in color. The in
tensity of the color will be in proportion
to the amount of gas escaped.
THE British Medical Journal remarks
that during the last time the plague was
epidemic at Vetlja nka, Russia, not q
single case occurred among the Kali
mucks, who lived not very far from that
place. This fact is surprising, as the
Kalmueks live totally regardless of san
| itary rules. Their religion does not per-
NIT them to eat flesh except that of ami
mails which are found dead; they do not
| bury the bodies of persons who die, but
| simply throw them into the fields; and
in person they are far from being scrupu-
| lousy clean. The conclusion seems to
be that anti-hygienic conditions alone
do not produce the plague, and that
there is some other agent to which this
disease is really due.
THE chirping and singing of the crick-
ct and grasshOpper are frequently spoken
| of; but they do not sing-they fiddle.
By rubbing wings and legs together
in such a manner peculiar to the species
| these insects produce the sounds
which characterize them. Perhaps our
best insect instrumental performer is the
q katydid." Each wing contains a lit
tie tambOrine, and by the opening and
shutting of the wings these are rubbed
against each other and produce the
sound of katy-did-she-did, - which can
be heard at such long distance, and
gives the insect its name. These sounds
/ are supposed to be useful in enabling in
sects to find their mates, or they may
| indulge in them for their own gratifica-
| ton and to add to the general harmony
of nature.
! A LECTURE, delivered at the Berlin
University some months ago by Prof.
DubOis-Reymond, bears the OminOus
title, 90 The End of Our World" and
| says that every movement upon our
| planet, with the exception of the ebb
and flood, which are caused by the at
| traction of the moon, is occasiOned by
solar heat. As, however, the sun loses
every year a portion of his caloric,
science has lately come to the conclusion
that he will not exist as an emitter of
warmth longer than for seventeen mil
lion years to come. During that space
of time our earth viii get colder and
colder, in proportion as the solar heat
shall diminish. The ice will advance
from the poles to the equator; the
earth's populations will gradually re-
cede before the advancing glaciers; the
sun will become less and less luminous,
until he will present the appearance of a
dark-red ball; and finally ice will ami
hilate all vitality on our planet.