Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-04-23
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY

nave proved
that the level of the Baltic sea 10
nearly two feet higher at C, onstadt
than at Reval, and that the height
decreases regularly from north to
south. This conclusion is fully sun.
ported by Prus, N measurements ar
Memil and II! Kell. The electric
light Is not without its dangers.
Some time ago a bit OF red hot car
bon dropped from one of the lamps
of the British Museum to table U.S.
ualIy occupied By readers; and o
repetition of the accident a few DAYS
later set fire to some loose paper on
u table in the same room. It ia
conceivable that single spark might
de irretrievable damage to some
unique manuscript or other literary
treasure. TO intercept such stray
pieces of carbon as may full in the
future, transparent saucers have
been hung under the lamps of the
reading room; and il has been pro-
posed to ensure greater safety by
lighting the room from the outside.
While it has long been known
that fishes return each year to about
the same place to spawn, recent OBJ
servations of their habits show that
they go up the left hand side of the
stream and come down on the oppo-
side.
A Norwegian, Ernest Frolich.
thinks he h as found in the Indian
rice of American swamps a living
proof of the truth of Snorre Stull-
sons history of Left Ericsson's visits
to this country nearly nine hundred
years ago. The voyagers reported
finding in Vinelapd, not only an
abundance of wild grapes but also
kind of grain which MIR. Frolich
believes to have been the Indian
rice, or wild rye. 1t grows plenti-
fully in swampy localities, as did
the grain described by Ericsson.
Herr Fischer thinks the extensive
planting of forests in the countries
of North Africa would prove much
more etfectual in restoring those
desert regions to their ancient fertil-
ity than the proposed inland sea in
Algeria.
1t has been found that larger
amount of ammonia exists in the at
mosphere when an epidemic of yell
low fever is at its height than at
other times, decreasing as the dis
ease lessons.
" 1t is singular" says Mr.. Proctor,
" how strongly some errors retain
their hold on mems minds. When
Nader announced his belief that
Alcyone, the chief star Of the PIE
ladies', is the central star of the uni
verse, mems minds we've attracted by
the thought that the stellar system,
like. the solar system, revolves around
q centr.. Yet astronomers know
perfectly well that the evidence on
which Nader based his theory was
exceedingly feeble * l be-
lieve that no astronomer of repute
would now venture to maintain the
theory that Alcyone is the central
sun of the stellar system; while
scarce any, if any, would maintain
that there is any central cum at all.
Yet l find That not only is the belief
widely spread among the general
public that Alcyone is the central
sun, but that this theory excites far
more interest than most of the real
discoveries, interesting though they
are, which have been made during
the last half-century."
DR.. G. w. Siemens finds by ex-
pertinent that the electric light and
sunlight light produce practically
the same effect upon plant-growth.
He shows, furthermore, that a re-
markable increase of growth may
be effected by exposing plants
growing in daylight to the adj
actinic energy of the
electric light at night-his investiga-
ions seeming to indicate that plants
require no period Of rest during the
.wenty-four hours of the day. The
1eat radiated from powerful electric
.rcs can be turned to account as pro-
lection against night frosts. Elec-