New-York tribune., 1879-12-21
SCIENCE FOR THE PEOPLE.

ing OF some dry Dusn IN my pasture, was
surprised to see a ground lizard (Ldcertd G0ilis)
run up to the flames and stop on a bed of hot
ashes. MY little son who was with me en-
deavored to turn 1t aside with a stick, but on
his trying to do so, II darted into the fire and
was soon consumed. This | thought at the
time accidental, but later in the day we re-
turned to the same spot, and In a few min
utes larger lizard of the same species dellb-
erately ran up to a burning bush 1t paused
on the warm ashes, wagglng Its tail TO and FRO,
apparently enjoying the heat, when all OF a
sudden it darted into the flames, and like the
first one was instantly willing holocaust.
| turned to the negro, who was burning the
bush, for explanation, but like most of his
race he accepted the fact as n matter OF course,
remarting lizard seem to love fire. My idea
went back TO the legends of the salamander.
The story of the French consul at Rhodes on.
Pothonier). who one day found bis cook IN a
terrible fright. thinking the devil was In the
fire. and when he looked into the bright
flames. saw there a little animal with open
mouth and palpitating throat, and on trying
to secure it with the tongs, it ran into heap
of hot ashes. He secured 1t and gave 1t to
Button, who found it to be q small lizard,
whose feet and a portion of the body were
half roasted. Nj. Pothonier first thought it
was incOmbustible, having remained in the
fire three minutes, but imagined that it might
have been brought in with the fuel: Mean
der Dioscorides and Pliny all allude to the
fire-proOf qualities of the salamandra.' Ars-
tOtle speaks of the salamaDdras power of ex-
tiDguishIng fire with the copiOus secretion Of
saliva which 1t has the power of ejectlng INTO
the flames. As far as my own observation
goes, all lizards have the power of ejecting
saliva. The negroes have a dread of the
croaking lizards (Gecko) splitting at them
/ do not believe that any Jamaica lizard has
poisonous saliva. but that the saliva Is delete
ri0us | am quite sure. That cats get fits
from eating lizards is a well accepted fact ;
their hair falls out. and they become sick and
droOp. confirming the belief in the depilatory
properties of the salamander's saliva"
CAN EARTHQUAKES BE PREDICTED M.
Delauney. the French astronomer, believes he
has established connection between earth
quakes and the position OF the two great
planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Taking for data
NJ. Alexis Perrey's earthquake tables from
1850 TO 1912, and noting the maxlma of the
curve obtained, NJ. Dclauney finds first group
of maXlma commencing III 1903, and having
period OF about II years, second commen-
cling III 17J6, also with a period of II years,
and third and fourth group, commencing IN
1856 and 1773 respectively, and each having
a period OF Is yealS Now the epOchs OF max
ina Of the first and second groups coincide
with the epOchs wien Jupiter attalns his mean
lOngitudes OF 265 and 1855, while the epochs
OF maxIma of the third and fourth groups cor
respond TO the times when Saturn Is found at
the same two lOngitudes. Thus earthquakes
seem 10 PASS through maximum when Jupl-
mean lOnglludes 2650 and 1852. NJ. Delaney
further thinks tins influence Is due to passages
OF these two planets through cOsmc streams Oh
meteOrs. de gives an approximate table
OF future earthquakes, indicating paTtieu-
lary the years 1856, 1891, 1sYS, 1900,
numerous earthquaEcs.-A Among recen, earth
quakes the most noticeable were those IN
Hungary These seem to nave been coupled
with phenomena OF remarkable nature. lhe
81 Nnigl low.
was completely cleft in two 10y one OF the
shocks. From the chasm thus formed Il glgan-
tie column of water shot forth partly flooding
the island On October Is the giant fountain
suddenly ceased to tlew, but numerous iun-
uel-slaDed craters had formed from which
black sand and clay were elected. Near Weiss
kirchen tie old iuins OF tie Castle GClu-
bacz have fallen III completely, and III the
vicinity several caves have been rendered mac
cessibe. These caves were the brceullS
places of the dreaded kOlumDac mosquitoes, and
If this insect IS thus externinated the earsh-
quake may, with all the damage 1t did. have
vet been of some use. violent earthquake
is reported from Iceland. 1t occurred on Sep
tember "a last and Il ascribed to volcanic
eluptiOns IN the Krisuvik Mountains, locality
wneie cruptiOns have not been known within
the memory OF the present generation.
HEALTHY HOMEs.-ln an address before the
Sanitary Congress at CraydOn, DIR. Richard
son. OF London, gave IA few golden rules FOR
securing health at home. First lie would put
sunlight. Whether your nome be large or
small, give 1t light Not only was the mind
saddened in home that was not flushed
with light, but sunlight was OF itself directly
useful 10 health. 1 he practice of placing sick
Deoule in dark and close y-curtaiped rooms
was alike peIniciOuS to body and spirit and,
moreover, he had found 10y experiment that
certain organic polsOns analogous TO the
p0isOns winch propagate epidemic ana con
iagious diseases were rendered lnnOcuOus by
exposure to tight. LII IL were good to
make all possible use OF sunlight 1t
was good equally to make as little use
as possible OF artificial hght. Artlnclal
lights, so far, had been sources OF
waste not only of the material out of which
they were made, but of the air on which they
burned. In the ar OF the closed room me
present commonly-used lamps, candles and
gaslghts robbed the air OF part OF Its vital
constituent, and supplied In retuIn products
really injurious to llte. Gasli2ht was IN tins
respect most hurtful, but the others were bad
when long kept burning III one cOnnned space.
The fewer hours after dark that were spent IN
artificial light the better, and this suggested,
of itself, that within reasonable limits the
sooner we went TO rest after dark the better.
1t was of the greatest Importance IN healthy
home to let every person have separate Deu,
aud the clothes should be light and warm. AS
the bedroom was the room IN winch One-thiu
nj least of the whole life was passed. that
ought TO be the room on which most trouble
after health should be bestowed. The rule
followed was the reverse OF this. Inc
bedroom should be so planned that
never less than 400 cubic feet of
space should be given to each occu-
pant. however good the ventilation might be.
The walls should be colored with distemper
or with paint, that, like the sllicate paint,
could be washed three or four times year.
The windows should have nothing more than
a blind and hall muslin curtain. The floors
should have carpets only round the beds, with
out valances from the beds. The furniture
should be as simple and as scanty as was pos
sible the chairs free of ali stuffings covers
that could hold dust. OF all things. again, the
room should be kept clear OF vestments not
III use. From time to time a fire should be
made in every bedroom, that free current
of atmospheric air might sweep through 1t