The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-08-28
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.


ACCORDING to Paris journal an in
tenesting experiment in the use of the
electric light will soon be made. The
great captive balloon will soon carry up
an electric light to an altitude of per
haps one thousand feet above the city
in Order to determine what effect such a
light viii have at such asheight upon the
streets.beneath.s This may possibly be
the precursor of a new system of city il
Elimination. -- nc LtN. "a - =. =
Il j The CHILDREN OF RUM-DRINKERs.-
Dr. Martin, of the Sdlpetr6eTe, Paris, has
made series of interesting observations
( ON. nervous affections among the off
spring of alcoholic parents. His results
maybe summed up as follows: In 80
/ families in which one or more members
showed nervous excitability with a his
! tory of alcoholic origin, there were 410
! children. OF these, 10S-more than a
quarter-had commissions, and in the
year 1874, 1863 were dead; pa were still
alive, but S3f, j. e., more than one-third
of the survivors, were epileptie. ....
PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE.-A striking
analogy between animal and plant life
has been discovered by NJ. Wander HART
of Utrecht. When the common garden
bean begins to sprout it is found to con-
tain ferment very closely resembling
pepsin, which can be extracted'by means
of glycerine. This ferment has the pow
er of changing albuminOuS into peptonic
substances and starch into glucose. 1t
is found exclusively in the cotyledons-
In the case.of the fesh-eating plants, all
the steps of digestion seem to take place
in the same manner as III animals
ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF
SPONGEs.-It is proposed to propagate
sponges by cutting the live sponge into
small pieces, attaching them to pieces of
rock, and sinking them TO proper depths
in suitable locations. Professor Schmidt
reports that in three years each piece
will attain a marketable size. He esti-
mates the cost of raising 1000 sponges
at $40, which will be worth $50, leaving
a net profit of $50. This subject is of
peculiar interest to the United States, as
a large stretch of the Floridian and the
Gulf Coast is suited to the growth of
sponges, and yielded in 1873 a product
valued at S120,OO0; with this plan of ar
tificial breeding it is probable that this
field could be considerably increased.
WHITE bricks are manufactured from
common red clays at Hull, England.
A cheap material, chiefly magnetism
limestone reduced to powder by being
burned and Stacked, is ground into the
common clay. This. mixture is passed
through series of mixing and grinding
mills, and then falls into the mods of
powerful steam pressing machine, and
is thence laid on, the delivery table, a
complete and almost dry pressed brick,
which, when turned in the kiln, pro-
duces Il white brick. The change effect
ed in the color of the red clay on being
burned is due to the presence of the
substance added to it. The oxide of
iron combines with the silica to form sill
cate of iron.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION.-The nitric
of amyl being a powerful agent in quick
ening the heartbeat, q few drops of this
drug have a powerful influence in re-
storing the functions of the heart in
cases of drowning, hanging or fainting
1t is suggested, therefore, that it should
always be used whenever attempts are
being made to restore to life an individ-
ual apparently dead, or when it is de-
sirable to settle the question whether a
person is really dead or not. The dread
full thought of being buried alive has
haunted the human race since its earli-
est days, and the discovery of some
means by which the risk could be, if not
evaded, at least greatly diminished,
would prove an ineffable boon to man
kind DIR. T. Lauder Brunton, to whom
we have referred this suggestion, con-
siders it to be good one. He adds that
in ascertaining death the nitric of amyl
might be used along with the cord test
of tying a cord around the finger. If
the circulation has entirely stopped, the
part beyond the ligature never becomes
any thicker; but if circulation continue,
however slowly, the finger tip beyond
the ligature will sooner or later begin to
swefi.-Britist Nedtcat Journal. '-''-