The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-05-05
soINrILLArreNs OF scrENcA.

From an investigation instituted by
the Rev. ]. E. Tennison- Woods, it ap-
pears that the large trees of the forests
Of Tasmania are only half as old as they
are popularity supposed to be. Instead
of adding only one ring of wood to
their circumference In year, they add
two rings, so that tree which seems to
be 100 years old is in reality only 30
years.
DR.. 7. d. Boeke, Of the High School,
Alkmaar, says that Notwithstanding the
restrictions attending the sale of "white
arsenic" in Holland, poisoning by that
compound is by no means rare. In not
less than seven cases submitted to him
for analysis, white arsenic proved to be
the agent which had produced death in
six, and severe and painful illness in the
seventh.
Prof. E. Ray Lancaster suggests grave
doubts whether chlorophyll has the pow
er to decompose carbonic acid so as to
fix the carbon and Iiberate a portion of
the oxygen of that acid when in the
presence of sunlight. Instead of assign
ing it the highest rank Of "the hand
wherewith the organic world lays hold of
the carbon of the inorganic world" he is
inclined to believe that the green pig
ment is little more than screen for pro-
toplasm.
M. P. Derome has submitted means
of separating phosphoric acid from iron
and aluminium with very accurate re-
suits. He mixes the substance contain
ing the phosphoric acid with five or six
parts Of its weight Of dry sulphate Of
sodium, and shakes up the mixture very
strongly for about 10 minutes. When
the mass is cooled he treats it with water,
thus efecting the dissolution of the phos-
phoric acid as tribasic sodium phosphate,
and leaving the iron and aluminium as
oxides.
The Committee of the International
Potato Exhibition declare that the prac-
tice Of planting small refuse seed has
contributed in most material degree to
the deterioration Of the potato, not only
in Ireland, but throughout Europe. Any
seed tuber weighing less than an ounce
and half is unfit for planting, and it
is to be preferred that tubers averaging
two to four ounces should be selected.
Seed that has sprouted but little, or not
at all, is to be preferred to that which
has made much growth in store. ,.
| An Antarctic expedition is proposed
by Italy. 1t is intended that the vessel
leave Genoa on the 1st of May next
year, manned with men selected from
the royal navy and from Italian whaling
vessels. When on the voyage out, Mon
tevideo, Terra del Fuego, Falkland ISL
ands, and South Shetland Islands will
be visited. Two winters will be spent in
the Antarctic region, during which ex-
cursions will be made on the ice in order
to gather as much information over al
wide an area as possible. On the voyage
home the ship will call at Hobart Town
or Cape Town. The cost Of the expedi-
ton will not, it is thought, exceed 600, 900
lire.
The Engineer says that two Germans
have made new form OF machine for
separating the turnings and borings OF
brass and copper from those of iron and
steel. The mixed metals fall upon a
magnetized drum, to which the iron and
steel adhere, leaving the copper and brass
to fall into special reservoir below
There are two cylinders rotating in the
same direction, 50 that the iron which
escapes from the first cylinder is retained
by the second. The surface of the cyl.
inder is formed by fiat bands or strips Of
soft iron alternating with strips of cop.
per, and each Of the iron bands is in
contact with a row of horseshoe mag
nets. The adherent metal is removed by
revolving brushes.
A remarkable shower of meteoric dust
and rain is reported by Professor Sil
vestra, of the Catania Observatory. 1,
occurred on the night Of March 10Th,
The Paris correspondent of the London
Times states that, besides the usual char.
acteristics Of color, chemical compost.
ton, and the mixture of mineral and
organic particles and minute infusoria
there was considerable proportion Of
iron, either in purely metallic state OF
in metallic particles, coated with oxide.
The size varied from tenth to hun
dredth part Of a millimetre, and the
form was either irregular or spherical
as if it had undergone fusion. This
kind of phenomenon was, it is said, first
observed in the Indian Ocean, south of
Java, in 1859, and has been corroborated
by Nordenskjolds Arctic observations.
The ship canal which is to be mad'
from the Bay of Kiel to Brunsbuttell il
the estuary Of the Elb, will, it is esti
mated, cost about $20000,000. 1t vii
have uniform depth Of 20 feet 9 inches
Its width at the surface of the watel
will be 100 feet, and at the bottom g.
feet; and there will thus be no danger o.
the banks falling in. In such emergen
cies as will neeessitate the transfer o
, iron-clads from the Baltic to the Ger
Z man Ocean without sailing round Den
5 mark, it will be possible by means Of ,
peculiar system Of locks and reservoir
to increase the depth of the canal to 2f