The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-03-10
SCIENCE AND ART.

THE theory that hydrophobia is a
disease of the imagination and can be
cured by force of will is advanced by an
English magazine.
TIE unfavorable weather which has
prevailed in Sicily has hindered the
construction of the astronomical OBJ
servatory on the top of Mount Etna.
A METHOD of obtaining ammonia from
nitrogen derived from atmospheric air
has been patented by William Muller of
Antwerp and Edmund Geisenberger OF
Brussels.
A PROCESS of printing labels directly
upon bottles has been invented in Ger
many which is said to be great inn
provement upon the old method OF LABEL
ing, and costs no more.
A VEIN of platinum has just been dis
covered in South Granville, Washington
County, N. Y. The discovery will
probably exercise some influence on the
price of this expensive but necessary
article.
"HURRAH grass " is taking possession
OF a great many fine farms on the Ar
kansas River bottoms. This botanical
specimen, on account of the lives lost in
trying to kill it, is called eternity weed.
The negroes entertain a superstition
that the seeds are sown by the devil.
SUIZER has found thaton mixing an
equal volume of nitric acid with a
sample of suspiciOnsly colOred wine, the
color, if natural, will remain unchanged
for at least an hour, while if artificial
it will be changed within minute.
The reaction has been found to take
place with coloring matter of whortle-
berries, logwood and BrazilwoOd, as
we'll as with carminic acid and fuchslne.
A TRANSPARENT cement of extreme
tenacity ard serving excellently for
Joining fragments of wood, porcelain,
glass or stone, is made by triturating in
a mortar two parts of nitrate of lime
with twenty-five parts of water and
twenty parts of pulverized gum arabic,
After the application of the cement, the
fragments should be held together by q
rubber band or string until perfectly
dry.
IT is thought that a crisis in the his
tory of Vesuvius is approaching; either
there will be a great discharge, such as
will terrify the neighborhOOd, or as is
more likely, there win be an overflow
| ing of lava, covering the cone with 8
mantle of fire, and silently inficting
more destruction on property than 8
grand eruption. VesuVius has been III
| an active state now for several years
and Prof. Palmieri has from the first
prophesied that the eruption would con
sist in the overlooking of lava.
l. In a letter recently received by Mr.
! Grote from Matthew Arnold occurs q
passage which is of general interest anC
| is fattering to the cause of letters and
| science in America. The English poet
and critic says: "The progress being
made lust now in America is more evil
| dent to me than the progress IN my
own country. You are entirely right when
YOU say that the broader intellectual
| basis created by the invention of print
ing gives to our modern civilization an
advantage which the older civilization
! had not"
THE communication made to the
French Academy of Sciences, by NJ
PhipsOn, of new coloring matter closely
resembling human blood, will be found
interesting to dyers. The colOring mat.
ter is obtained from the Pamela cTUe1ltG,
which is an alga found at the bottom OF
damp, whitewashed walls. It resembles
| coagulated blood in the summer time,
and the round cells to be found in a
kind of mucus in the plant are very
similar to blood glObules. The plant is
dried thoroughly and then put in a
porcelain vessel with glass stopper,
After twenty-four hours the liquid can
be decanted off. The color is a magnii-
cent red, with orange-yellOw reflections.
1t contains iron, just as blood does, and
in other respects shows a great similar
| ity of structure. This new colOring
matter has been termed "palmelline. y