The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-02-13
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

the property of becoming almost as
hard as stone under the action of light.
A slab covered with this material and
duly exposed behind a Photographic
negative for some twelve hours, was
scraped, and rubbed with spatula and
brush, leaving the hardened portions
raised in low relief, and capable of be-
ing used as block for printing.
One of the novelties of Breslau is a
paper chimney, about fifty feet high,
rendered fire-proof by chemical treat
ment.
i Observations of snow collected on
mountain tops, and within the Arctic
circle, far beyond the influence of facto-
RIGS and smoke, confirm the supposition
that minute particles of iron float in the
atmosphere, and in time fall to the
earth. Many scientists believe these
floating particles to bear some relation
to the phenomena of the aurora. Gron-
emann, of Gottingen, for instance, con-
tends that streams of the particles re-
volve around the sun, and that, when
passing the earth, they are attracted to
the poles, thence stretching forth as
long tilaments into space; but, as they
travel with planetary velocity, they be-
come ignited by friction with the earth's
atmosphere, and in this way produce
the well-know luminous appearance of
the aurora. Prof. Nordenskjold found
minute particles of iron, phosphorus
and cobalt in the snow of the far north.
The uniform green color of the vege-
table world is due to chlorophyll. This
substance, however, exists only in mi
mute quantity in plants, the leaves of a
large tree containing perhaps not more
than one hundred grains. 1t appears
to be direct product of the action of
the sunlight upon vegetation, as it does
not exist in plants kept in darkness.
The changes in the color of leaves in
autumn are supposed to be due to the
oxidation of their chlorophyll.
Four-fifths of the atmosphere is nitro
gen, and it has been asserted by an ag-
ricuftural chemist that the man who
first makes the nitrogen of the air avail
able as fertilizer at small cost will
bo the greatest material beneiactor the
world ever produced.
The Glasgow artificial diamonds, late
ly announced, have been examined by
probable combination of fsilica-certain-
ly not diamonds.
For several years the attention of
| physicians and scientists has been di-
| rected to learning the nature of the poi
son producing those remittent and in
termittent diseases variously known as
marsh fever, malarial fever and fever
and ague. The problem is at last solv-
ed. After exposing themselves for
three weeks in that fever-stricken dis
trict, the Roman Campagna, Signor
Tomasi, of Rome, and Prof. Klebs, of
Prague, have discovered the source of
| malaria to be microscopic fungus.
The next step for the benefit of man
kind is to find some. means of destroy
ing these fungi, or rendering them in
nOcuous.
Prof. Proctor thus sums up the effect
of climate upon mortality: "Fcwer per-
sons than usual die after bitter win
ter, not because it kills off many of the
weaker lives during its progress; and
more than usual die after mild win
ter, not because such winter is unfa-
vorable to life, but because it leaves
alive many who would have died dur
ing its progress had it been of the aver
age sort"
A fact probably but little known is
that the U. S. nickel tivc-cent piece fur
nishes key to metric measures and
weights. This coin is two centimetres
in diameter and its weight is five
grammes. Five of them placed in a
row will give the length of the decline
tire, and two of them will weigh deca-
grammc. AS a kilolitrc is cubic me-
tire, the key TO the measure of length is
also the key to measures of capacity.
A curious belief among the natives of
Burmah is that fireflies are employed as
lamps by the weaver birds, the insects
being caught by the birds and glued to
their nests by pieces of soft mud. Mr..
E. l.. Layard finds this belief supersti-
ton. He says, however, the bits OF
mud are always to be found in nests OF
the weaver birds, being probably used
TO cleanse the birds bills. During the
cleaning process IL is probable FREELY
is occasionally removed from birds
mouth and stuck in the mud, being
thus unintentionally made to serve as
lamp instead of as breakfast.
Several cases are reported i'm which
scarlet fever, measles and other infec-
tious diseases have been spread by cats
and dogs.
Concerning the subject of voice in
fishes, Mr.. S. Il. Poole states that some
) six years ago he made an interesting
observation. While seated in a small
canoe OH the Disang river in Eastern
| A hn 81
the presence of number of fish called
"mahsir." They were evidently at
tracted by the canoe, and Mr.. Poole
surmised that they might possibly think
, it hinge dead fish. While watching
their movements, he became aware of &
peculiar "chuck" or persuasive sound
frequently repeated on all sides, anC
coming from below, but near at hand
This was soon traced to the mahsir, ani
one of them made distinct sounds whicl
were answered by others. Mr.. Pool,
also says that in some parts of Eastern
Assam large bivalve sings in concer
with others. q
Sir William Thompson last year com
: menced new and curious experimen
Y on shoemakers' wax as viscous mate
|
D eighteen inches across and three niche
f thick, was made. This was put into
= shallow cylindrical glass vessel, whicl
s was filed with water to prevent an
S sudden change in the temperature
: Several corks were put beneath tn
Y cake, with some bullets on its uppe
8 surface. The result is that, in year
y the corks have floated up through tn
n wax and are coming out at the tor
s while the bullets have sunk through tn
: wax and come out Mt the bottom; an
n this has gone oil while the wax was a
all times in such condition as to be eS
cessively brittle to any suddenly-appl
ed force, such as blow from han
mer. Mr.. j. Il. Bottomley has bee
o experimenting with the same materia
70 and has constructed miniature glacier
70 in wooden channels, which present a
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