The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-08-27
POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.


A steam digging machine has been in
vented and successfully used in England in
breaking ground for grain. The machine
digs up the earth at the rate of ten acres per
day, leaving the soil in better condition
than when stirred by plow
IN order to enable NJ. PasIeur 10 carry
out his researches on The contagious diseases
of animals, the French government has al
lotted him the sum of $4,000 francs A
similar undertaking in this country would
doubtless prove of valne generally. and the
subject is deserving, at least. Of being agi
tated
Some Of the most learned scientists in The
land are Of the opinion that the polar regions at
one time possessed tropical temperature.
and were the original home of man, and
combat the ordinary theory that the Aryan
race of mankind originated in the Pamir
highlands ofCentral Asia, spreading thence
into Europe and India.
J. Reiset finds in 10O,O 900 parts of atmos;
pheric air 29.78 parts, by volume, of carbonic
acid, the greatest differences observed only
reaching hundred thousands. The air in
the night contains more earbonic acid than
in the day. The maxima observed CORE
spond to foggy weather. He has not de-
tected any decrease in The proportion of car
bonic acid as weather indication however.
| On the subject of "Infanticide among
Ancient and Modern Nations" DR.. Carl
Haberland, an eminent scientist, who has
given much attention to the matter, traces
the origin of the custom to the difficulty of
subsistence, the sacrifice being at the outset
urged by the male parent and opposed or
| reluctantly submitted to by the mother.
Among the lower animals parallel cases are
of frequent occurrence, where the young are
destroyed by the father, and are defended
against him and concealed by the mother.
The well known writer of books of adven-
ture and travel, Captain Wayne Reid, has
been engaged the past three years in expert
menting with seed potatoes, with a view to
escape the blight which has been so disas-
trous to the potato crop in England and Ire
land. As result of his experience, those
brought from Mexico alone showed not o
spot Of blight, all the other kinds having
been found to be diseased in greater or less
degree. The Mexican potato, he claims. will
also yield almost double as many bushels to
the acre, and suggests that the government
take in hand the importation of the seed in
large quantities.
The severest hail storm witnessed in the
United States, if not in the world, the pres.
ent summer, took place July /. in Warren
county, Missouri. The stones were of various
sizes, ranging from the size of o walnut up to
blocks of ice 104 inches long, s inches wide
and inch thick, and fell toa depth of inches
on a level over forty square miles of terri
tory. The damage was necessarily great, the
| crops being totally destroyed, and many
fowls, sheep and hogs were killed outright
The ice smashed not only windows but sash
| es and blinds, and so injured the roofs of
houses in the path of the storm that new
ones had TO be put on.
A public laboratory for the analysis OF
chemicals and patent medicines has been
established in Japan. and no patent medi-
cine or mixture can be sold in that country
until after it has been thoroughly tested and
pronounced Of merit ct such laboratory.
Should such an institution be established and
similar law enacted in this country. no
doubt but very large portion of the worth.
less and injurious so-called remedies and
mixtures which food the United States at
the present time would justly be buried SO
deep that they would never again rise to the
surface. 1t is to be hoped that congress may
at an early day take action in this matter
and have excluded from our land the thous.
ands of worthless and dangerous articles that
are imposed upon our people.
The Manufacturer and Builder, most ex.
cellent scientific journal. published in New
York, is authority for the statement thai
printing was first introduced in America by
the Spanish Viceroy Mendoza, at the City Of
Mexico, in the year 1886, and the first book
is believed to have had the title g Escula
| Espiritual de San Juan Climaco." Nc
copies of this book are known to exist at
present, and the name of the printer is a
matter of doubt In what is now the United
States, Cambridge, Mass, has the honor Of
having first introduced the printing press.
This was about the year 1888. Stephen
Daye was the first American printer, and his
book was the " Bay Psalm Book" issued in
1640. The first newspaper was issued al
Boston, by John Campbell, on Monday, April
"a, 1704. 1t was called the Boston News.
Letter, and was regularly published for about
Y years.