Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-03-05
SCIENTIFIC lINELLANY.

An eleesrc log fOr s~alEHg vessels
Is among the l.;s pr.etical APPiScA-
tons u eaectrlcziy.
Cyelones are observed 10 s~esP
Aeruss vast areas q the ssUs sSr-
face at velocity t~o hzDirea E1es
greater than that q 9 -AnnO1 tall
The Intsrnatlonsl COEferenos %
Arr;lc EIPlOrAilon, whseh has h-er
IL SesssoE at Hamburg, Advocates
tie grzda4l estAbli-hmeui Ct eaAiE
Of stations towards the polar regions
Dynamite has been tined 81 Monte
Cx;Illo. near TIvoL. for palvennnE
rock adapted to the cultivation Of the
olive, and the eHpermen; l. de
scrIbed As indicating q satisfactory
result.
A large workshop IN France has
been lighted during the present Win
ter by means of Diamonds thermo-
electric light, the electricity being
generated by the heat used TO warm
the shop.
Mr.. Henry +. Nenuor claims TO
he fast reducing TO rule the principle
of recurring period ii the weather,
and expects to soon be able to prog
nosticate the general behavior of en-
tire seasons.
In one Of series of photographs
of the moon, taken by Mr.. George
Berwick on very sensitive plates,
three we'll defined rings around the
moon are shown. The cause OF the
singular appearance has not been
determined.
Wasps' nests are frequently ignit-
ed by some chemical action, supposed
to be that of the wax upon the paper
like substances of which the nests
are formed. Spontaneous colnbus-
ton of this nature is believed to
have been the cause of many mys-
FERROUS fires in haystacks and farm
er's buildings.
The rare and beautiful phenome-
non of the tata morgana was lately
observed at Freisburg, in Breisgan.
While the sun was shining brightly
the fine pyramid of the Cathedral
tower was reflected in the atmosphere
just above its summit, of course with
the point downward.
Measurements of trees. taken in
Scotland in the Summer seasons of
1878 and 1879, show u growth from
ten to forty-one per cent. less during
the latter year than in the former.
The mean temperature of the Sum-
mer of 1878 was fully five per cent.
higher than in the corresponding Pc
Rod of 1879.
The inhabitants of the Andaman
Islands carry necklaces composed of
fragments of the bones of deceased
relatives, while the widows among
them are stated to actually wear the
skulls of their late husbands on their
shoulders. In recent lecture on
ethnology. Prof. Flower exhibited
the skull of an Andamese man, to
which was attached very elegant
webbed sling by which it had been
Suspended from the neck OF the wild
ow.
The annual prize of the $4,000
francs, given by the King of the
Belgians for works of a scientific
character, lis now offered for the
year 1881. It will be awarded the
author of the best work ON the means
of improving seaports situated upon
low and sandy coasts-such as Bel
gian ports. The competition is an
international one, open to all. All
works must be sent to the Minis.
tere de pInterieur," at Brussels, be-
fore January LIST next.
Mr.. r. Russell calls attention to
the fact that the essential conditions
required to enable men to fly to q
moderate distance now exist-name.
ly, the means of conveying force
with ease, and, secondly, the con-
vertibility of force thus conveyed
into the mechanical rotation or o.
cillation ofvanes. I" I cannot" says
he, "be wrong in assuming that a