The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1879-12-30

And you snail wear upon your Orov
Mems noblest crown OF beauty.
SCIENTIFIC MIyCELLANY.
Berlin rejoices in the possession OF q
scientific cooking association. formed
by ladies Of the city It has . school
Of instruction in cookery. and . quail
fed chemist gives members cf the
society lectures IL practicsl chemistry.
A laboratory has been established, ia
charge Of the chemist. for the exam.
ination Of articles of food. aod. also, oi
utensils employed in cooking.
Although the near approach to the
earth Of several comets has been
known, the least distance OF only two
have ever been determined with any
degree Of accuracy. On July lst, ITO.
. comet WAS within 800. 900 miles Of
the. earth tho closest approach of one
OF these bodies Of which astronomers
have any eertsin knn~l-dge Its ap.
parent diameter was two and ons-hsIi
degrees. or nearly Eve times the appar.
ent diameter OF the moon. 1t is not
surprising that the appsrition Of sucl,
monster should cause o panic OF
terror among unenlig htenod and super.
s:itious inhabita ants Of the earth.
After S,ne 1000 examinations, DR..
Jeffries afirms that about one male in
twenty I've j, color-blind to . greater
or less degree. He finds the defect to
be largely hereditary. although some-
times caused by disease or injury. In
the former cass it is incurable. but in
the latter it may be only q Temporary
difficulty.
The electric light ha, teen found /.
useful signal in surveying. In late
work Of trianeulation in Algeria i. is
stated that the tight was sees ct .
distance OF one hundred and sixty four
miles.
FROM study Of the action Of tea,
Mr.. W. J. Morton has arrived ut these
conclusions: As with any other drug.
there 10 proper and an improper use
Of it. In moderation il is . mild and
harmless stimulant. Its i,nmoderate
use leads 70 serious symptoms. such as
headache. vertigo. ringing in the ears, /,
tremulousness nervousness. exhaustion.
irIegulsr action of tho heart. and dye
pepsia. Many Of the symptoms of
excessive tes-drinkers are tuch as may
occur without suspicion Of the real
cause.
Recent comparative measurements nf
the crania OF eminent men and of
criminals show that. While . capacious
intellect requires . large skull. large
Uranium 10 not always atte"ded BY .
high order Of intelligence. Tie crauia
of . considerable number Of c,im,nals
were found to have . capacity much
above the average.
A recently discovered fossil animal,
Amphicallias ragilissimus. 10 described
- monster considerably mure than
one hundred feet in length, with spiral
vertebrae six feet across. hind legs
forty feet long. and large and power.
ful tail. Imagine the monster in life.
standing on its hind legs in the water
and catching its prey With its fore
paws. and picture 10 presented TO the
mind from the ages long agone.
A recent estimsts Of the date of the
neolithic period by Mr.. Sidney B. J.
Skertchly. an English sciensist. fur
nishes good illastratiCn ef one Of the
processes by which the ages OF the
different spochs in the sxistencs Of
mankind are alphabetically determined.
It 10 known that during long period
prior to historic times the supplements
II the human race were made solely of
stone. These relics. with the bones Of
pre- historic man and contemporary
animals. ere new fonnd covered with
the earthly deposits Of ages. The
earlier forms Of stonS implements were
very roughly fashioned. while at
much later date they were we'll formed
and polished. From these facts the
stoue ago 10 considered in two distinct
psriods-the poleolithie (old stous)
aud the neolithic (new stons.) The
latter perioi. although Of much shorter
duration than the former. 10 regarded
with greater interest on account Of it,
nearer approach to historic timss Il
is the probable date Of this period
Which Mr.. Skertchly discusses. The
European district of the Fenland occu-
pies On area Of thirteen hupdrsd square
miles bordering the great bay Of the
Wash. The inland portion consists OF
psst. buried in which are found
neo.itaic implements Between the
peat and tho see wide strstch of silt
land has been gradually deposited hy
the waves. Az this land has been
built up. from the time ot the Roman
occupation. at least. banks have bsen
erected TO reclain the newly formed
ground. The dates Of these banks ore
known. aud thus very accurate estimates
can bs made Of the rate at which max
imum rate il going On il different
parts. Ths genloeicsl evidences shows
that - the silkieg went On and the
area became converted into land. peat
grew ard gradually spread over the
lan.l. In the course Of time. however.
the climate becane united Tor the
growth Of puas. which ceased - form.
Hence. . vide stretch bnsdors tbs vasb.
on which no peat ever existed. From
the Roman hanks to the seA is dis
tancc oe four miles. for the aocunuls-
lion of which l.7O0 yeass hsvo been
reouired. BsAweco shess hnks ssd
The psat lie twslvs miles oe sils lard.
which at tAs ssDe rate of fdgDattna
vould b aeeunulsAed h S.lOO ysass.
"A li~a sheee auabers togethee eiseA
3. 600 ysass - ~ least pn1hae go ct
80 ac-aH nonk - 49, The DGn1Io-