The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-08-21
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

A GERMAN physician asserts tina
railway employees are more liable to af
fectlons of the spinal chord than othel
men. ..... -.......
IT is reported that in the Azores the
entrance Of smoke into the conservator
les has been found to hasten the flower
ing ofcertain plants. '''' ''''a ''''i''''i
The Delaware peach crop this season
will, it is. estimated, reach 4.OOO.O0(
baskets, and the growers will make {
profit of over $1,500,000. The crot
for 1873, which was the largest evel
known, reached 7 200, 900 baskets.
IT is stated that adulterated sugar
may be detected by very simple test
A little pure sugar is taken in the
mouth, and when dissolved is replaced
by a little of the suspected article. II
the latter contains starch, glucose OF
chloride of tin, q distinctly bitter taste
will be present. $50 3T. uiau
EXPERIMENTS with. the solar engine
are yet being made by M. Mouchot, in
Algeria. With a cencave mirror twelve
feet in diameter, he concentrates the
heat of the sun upon a small boiler,
within which he obtains a steam pres.
sure OF about 100 pounds in an hours
time. In the preparation of chemicals
he makes a practical use of the heat
from the boiler. '' -''''''i 4''.'' fH
"CoMMON sense" says Prof Huxley,
" is science exactly so far as it fulfills
the ideal of common sense; that is, sees
facts as they are, or at any rate without
the distortion of prejudice, and reasons
from them in accordance with the die
tates of sound Judgment. And science
is simply common sense at its best; that
is, rigidly accurate in observation and
merciless to fallaey in logic."' 'eh
A COMMITTEE has been formed in
Hamburg for the purpose of arranging
for an International Agricultural ,Ex-
hibition, to be held in that city in 1882.
The first and only exhibition of this
kind held there was in 1868. In the
new exhibition the main object will be
to secure as large a show as possible of
horses, cattle, sheep and pigs, of Ger
man as well as of foreign origin; but
other kinds of agricultural produce and
agricultural machinery are to be in
cluded in the programme. lH,us4e dl
On the, slopes of Amethyst Mountain,
i'm the Yellowstone Park, are exposed at
different levels a large number of silici-
fled trees, many being rooted in the
position in which they grew, and from
twenty to thirty feet in hight.d Some
Lying down are of immense size The
series of sandstone and conglomerates
in which the trees are imbedded is more
than 5000 feet thick, forming vertical
mile of fossil forests. The woody struc-
ture is well preserved. Where cavities
have been formed by the rotting of the
wood they are filled with crystals of
amethyst and quartz. h@7" s#
INSECTS, although having no voice,
possess the power of occasioning sounds
by certain movements which to some
extent are characteristics of the various
species. The shrill, trumpet sound of
the mosquito and the busy hum of bees
and flies are produced by the rapid
motion of the wings while flying. The
harsh shrek of the grasshopper is caused
by the friction of the legs against the
wings. The chirp of the cricket is pro-
duced by rubbing the wing cases against
each other. The ominous click Of the
"death watch " is caused by the jaws in
the act of mastieating, ,.,,, ,,,,,,s ,.,,..