The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1880-07-17

efage daily evaporation Te8IsCeftu " tne
Bengal instruments III October is two
inches. Tho amount Of heat absorbed by
the conversion into yapor Of this amount
Of water daily over SO large an area as
the Bay Of Bengal is enormous. Roughly
estimated, it is equal to the continnouf
working power Of 100000 steam eni
gines Of 1000 horse power each. A simple
calculation will show that it snflices to
raise over Al, 900 cubic feet Of water every
twenty -four hours from every square
mile of the surface Of the bay, and trans
port it to the clouds above. When the
calculation is extended from single
square mile to the area Of the whole In
dian gulf, the mind is lost in the effort to
conceive the force which, in days time,
can lift SO, O0O, 600 tons. Yet it would be
easy to show that such figures, fabulous
as they seem, do not adequately repre-
sent the cyclonic forces Of a single
storm.
4 Late experiments has shown slight
| " increased tenacity in iron when mag
| netised.
| After prolonged observation, NJ.
Montigny finds that a very vivid scintil-
lation of the stars indicates agitation or
o fall of temperature in the upper regions
Of the air, and consequently approach of
bad weather.
There has been for some time on ex-
hibition in London a seal, which, for it's
extraordinary intelligence, is called /" the
learned seal. 1t is kept in an immense
tank, and has been taught to draw .
small boat in which is seated a lad who
steers the craft, and whose commands are
implicitly obeyed by the animal. After
being embarrassed the seal thrnms the
strings of a guitar which the attendants
place beneath its fins, to the delight and
amusement of the spectators.
| An eminent botanist claims that the
| farther from the equator fruits are grown
the richer becomes their flavor. This is
thought to be due to the prolonged day
| light of the summer months in high lati-
! tudes.
1t has just been shown that an alloy
of lead and rhodium has the curious
property Of exploding on exposure to
| heat.
"A paper house, equipped with paper
furniture, paper carpets and curtains, a
paper stove and paper dishes, together
with stylish paper clothing for its occu-
pants, is among the curiosities Of the
| Sydney, Australia, exhibition.
DR.. J. NJ. Anders asserts that the
presence of house plants is not injurious
to health, but quite the contrary, and
that persons accustomed to the moist air
of green houses are not as rule short
lived or consumptive.
An Oxford museum contains a
strange stone. It is composed of corbo-
nate of lime, and was taken from a
col!icry drain. When the miners were at
work the water running through the
drain left a deposit colored by coal. dust,
bnt when they were not at work the
water ran clear and left white deposit
In time these black aud white layers
made a stone Of considerable thickness
which constitutes quite calendar. Each
day Of work has left its black streak, and
is followed by white streak for the
night. Wide white streaks mark the
Sundays and other holidays, from which
circumstances this remarkable stone is
called "The Sunday Stone"
On the slopes Of the volcano of San
Salvador, in Central America, exist a Gu
rions intermittent spring. It is known
to the natives of the country as the Rio
Huido, or fugitive river. During seven
years sufficient water flows from it to
form veritable river, when, at a fixed
time, the water suddenly disappears, and
the bed of the river becomes dry and
dusty. At the end Of another period of
seven years the water again commences
to flow from the spring, period of flow
covered the years from 1866 to 1873, and
was succeeded by q period of dryness
from 1873 to 1880. In January of
this year the water promptly rearpeared
The phenomenon is not new, butr the
length Of the period of intermittence and
its regularity are remarkable in the pres
ent instance.
"A new skating surface, called "crys-
tai ice,' is being tried in London. No
freezing apparatus is necessary. as the
new substance is solid at ordinary tenn
c.atures. 1t consists chiefly of mixture
Of carbonate and sulphate of soda, which
forms a crystalline mass over which
skates glide with as little friction as up
on ordinary ice. A floor of this material
will last for many years at slight expense.
When the surface becomes worn and
rough, it is readily smdothed by a speci-
ally adapted steaming apparatus.
Articles made Of imitation amber are
now produced in immense quantities aud
sold for the natural material. The re-
sesnbling substances thus employed is
principally colophony-a resin obtained
by the decomposition of turpentine-al-
though numerous other ingredients arc
also employed to give it the requisite
qualities. So perfect is the imitation
said to be that the false substance has
the well-known electrical properties of
t1n frun opl Soma ;,,n,,;..,. r.,..: