The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-09-03
SPARKS OF SCIENCE.

In genuine wines the ash bears TO the
extract the proportion, almost constant,
Of one to ten.
A French chemist thinks that phyl-
loxera can be destroyed by electricity.
He sends current by means of the
Ruhmkorff coil directly to the roots of
the vines, killing, az he says, not only
the insect, but its eggs.
THE Russian battlefields of 1912 are
still being explored for bones, which are
converted into bOne-black. 1t may thus
happen that u man of the present day
may consume sugar which has been de-
colorized and purified by means of the
bones Of his forefathers.
AN Alexandrian physician tells of IN
English boy who survived fearful fall.
On June !, 1870, the lad fell measured
distance of III feet, striking upon gran
lite pavement. Both legs were fractured,
but he ultimately completely recovered
from the effects Of the accident.
THE adulteration of milk by starch may
be detected by this simple process: Add
u few drops Of acetic acid to the suspect
cd milk; boil the milk and filter the whey.
If the milk contains the slightest trace of
starch II single drop of iodine solution
will givea blue tint to the whey.
To remove stains from statuary marble,
take equal parts of fresh oil of vitriol and
lemon-juice; shake up these substances
very thoroughly in bottle; wet the
spots with the mixture, and III few
minutes afterward rub with soft linen
cloth, and the spots will be found to
have entirely disappeared.
A DIGESTIVE ferment has been discov-
cred by Bouchut in the milky juice of
the fig tree. He placed five grammes of
the partially cOagllated juice in glass
with sixty grammes of distilled water
and ten grammes of moist fibrine, and
brought the whole to a temperature of
5O0. The juice digested the tibrine.
PROFESSOR KLINKERFUEs, of Gotten
gen, says of the great comet discovered
last February by DIR. Gould, at Cordoba,
and which approaches within 100000
miles Of the suns surface, that it is prob
ably the one seen by Aristotle, b. G. 81,
when he was only thirteen years old. Its
return, he thinks, may be expected in
the autumn Of 1897.
In the course of inquiries as to the
phOsphorescence of the sea, a German
naturalist has found that the phenOme-
non occurs whenever sea fishes are
brought into per cent. solution. The
luminosity begins apparently in the
eyes, spreading gradually over the body,
and increasing in intensity day by day
until, after considerable period, the
fish seems luminous throughout. The
phOsphorescent substance is kind of
mucus, appearing dirty white during
the day.
FROM experiments made on young
soldiers by Marcy, it appears that after
gymnastic course the men breathed
about twice as much air as before, and
although the number of respiratiOns is
reduced from twenty to twelve per min
ute, the amplitude of these respirntions
is more than quadrupled. At first the
respiration is considerably modified by
running at the rate of 600 metres in four
minutes, but after from four to five
months practice ut this kind of exercise
there was no perceptible effect.
A FRENCH physician recommends the
treatment of sciatica and neuralgia pains
by electricity, for which he improves Il
simple apparatus, consisting merely of
tiat-iron and vinegar. The iron is heat
ed until sufficiently hot to vaporize the
vinegar and then is covered with some
wooden fabric, which is moistened with
vinegar, and the apparatus is ut once up
piled to the painful spot. The opera
ton may be repeated two or three times
day. AS rule the pain disappears
within twenty-four hours, and recovery
Mt once ensues.
The London Echo says "The Use
of steel for marine boilers has increased
rapidly; but, il the latest news from the
Clyde is trustworthy, the board of trade
will need to be very cautious in sanction
ing its employment, for it is reported
the steel boilers for the ears yacht
Livadia have failed under the test, and
have all been condemned. Some emin-
ent marine engineers refuse to use it,
but several new passenger steamers have
been fitted with boilers of steel, and q
grave responsibility has been incurred by
their owners"
The following is the system of disin-
lection recommended by the Austrian
government for vessels that cases of
smallpox on board: Sulphur to the ex-
tent OF 12 grains per cubic metre of
space to be disinfected il to
be burned in IN earthenware
basin, placed in the centre of some sand
to prevent all risk of fire. All the linen,
clothes, &C., are to be hung across her
cabin, which is to be Theoretically closed
for three hours, and afterwards exposed
to the strongest possible draughts of mir
for twelve hours. Then the walls, floor,
ceiling, &C., are to be washed with one
kilogramme of lime or One-half kilo-
gramme of chloride of zine, to every hum
dred litres Of water.
NATURE can do her own silver-plating.
In the Lord of Lorne mine, of the
American Flat section, the sides next to
the veins and the hanging walls of the
lodge are covered with thin coating of
natural plating of pure silver rs smooth
us glass. The vein itself is narrow, and
is being prospected by means of tun-
mel. The superintendent says this Pc
culiar feature of the inclosing walls il
observable 40 far ~ the tunnel has fol-
lowed the ledge. The ore of the vein it.
self is Of u soft, easily-worked nature,
showing considerable chloride Us well as
sulphurets, yet not giving very high
assays. The flimsy deposits of silver on
the walls was evidently condensed and
forcibly deposited there under immense
pressure, as it has smooth, FURNISHED
appearance.
The discovery of adiamond in waste
pipe is an accident related by Montreal
correspondent of The SANITARY En-
gineeT. The loss of u solitaire diamond
of great value was reported to the
plumbers after it had been missing for
several weeks. All the traps in the
losers house were carefully examined
without success, but reasoning that the
diamond being heavy might still be
lodged in thehOrizontal part of the waste
pipe, the plumbers cut the pipe and
found the stone embedded IN the slime
with which the waste-pipe was coated
and only short distance from the basin
in which il must have dropped. The
state of the interior of this pipe called
attention to the mistake made in running
pipes larger than can be properly flushed
by the water intended to run through
them. The pipe in question, IL lead,
was heavily coated inside by dirty
slime, fast adhering to the sides of the
pipe. The opening in the pipe, which
had been in use several years, being ex-
actly proportionate to the quantity of
water that would run through the basin
plug and plate, when full basin OF
water was emptied.
The only way to hang murderer in
Texas is to charge him with stealing Q
four-dollar mule -