Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1880-09-10
SCIENTIFIC,

Inc discussion OF the old question OF
the geologists, whether the continent of
South America is rising or sinking, is
renewed. The weight of opinion seems
to be that it is rising.
1t would seem that the entire absence
of sunlight on the deep sea bottom has
the same effect as the darkness of caves,
in reducing to rudimentary condition
the eyes of its inhabitants.
During an ascent from Rouen, few
days ago, balloonist tried the expert
ment of photographing the land over
which he was passing, and succeeded in
securing dozen or more finely executed
views.
The reason why snow at great eleva-
tions does not melt but remains perman-
ont is, according to Nature, owing to the
fact that the heat received from TIE sun
is thrown off into stellar space so rapidly
by radiation and reflection that the sun
fails to raise the temperature of the
snow to the melting point.
Prof Babo of Frieburg has taken out
a German patent for coating the mouth
end of cigars with collodion, by simply
dipping and drying, in order to prevent
the leaf from unrolling and sofening
with the moisture of the mouth. Cigars
thus treated are affirmed to smoke more
pleasantly and longer. Cigars with thin
covering leaf are entirely dipped in col
lodion
According to an English astrologist,
the "Star of Bethlehem" will make its
first appearance for 1900 years, in the
eastern horizon soon. Later on, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are to be
in perihelion simultaneously, and the
very deuce will be to pay. There will
be plague and pestilence in this country,
and Ireland will be the only part of the
world that will escape with slight af-
Fiction.
What is the frankincense of the an
clients has not been accurately deter
mined; but some of the gum resin re-
Gently received in England from Alden,
with specimens of the plant, shows it to
belong to plant known to botanists as
Boswellia Carteri. There are many va
rieties of the article, gathered from other
species of Boswellia. The gum comes
to England in strips, often foot long.
Some is of whitish and other speci-
mems of reddish OF dark color.
The engravers and watchmakers in
Germany harden their tools in sealing
wax. The tool is heated to a whi, ,eness
and plunged into the wax, withdrawn
after an instant and plunged in again
the process being repeated until the stee
is too cold to enter the wax. The steel i;
said to become, after this process, almost
as hard as the diamond, and, wher
touched with a little oil of turpentine
the tools are excellent for engraving, anC
also for piercing the hardest metals.
Welay the great discovery of Newtor
to very trivial accident. When stu
dent at Cambridge, he had retired during
the time of the plague into the country
AS he was reading under an apple-tree
one of the fruit fell, and struck him {
smart blow on the head. When he OBJ
served the smallness of the apple, he wa
surprised at the force of the stroke. Thi
led him to consider the acceleratin!
motion of falling bodies; whence h
deduced the principle of gravity, ant
laid the foundation Of his philosophy.
A plant that catches insects to devou
them is quite common, is the drosera o
sun-dew, to be found in all parts of tn
northern hemisphere. While the dion@
catches insects by suddenly closing it
leaf on them, the drosera is provided
with gummy globules in which the vic
tim sticks fast. The transparent glob
ules, at the point of tiny bristles, give
the common name of sun-dew. Whel
| prey ndS DCCn pthCh Oll aIJ Vi UlCo
points the surrounding bristles BEN
toward it to fasten it more securely, an
as is now believed, to take their share il
devouring it.
An interesting experiment lately mad
perhaps shows the effect of the concen
tration of gas on the sides of glass. !
stout glass tube is closed at one end an
partially closed in the middle, care bein
taken to anneal it we'll The lower pal
is filled with sulphuric acid, care bein
taken not to wet the sides above il
The part above the partial closure
then filled with fragments of marble
washed, so that no particles shall fall i
the acid. The upper part of the tube
then closed and annealed, and then til
tube inverted. A great quantity of cal
bonic acid is given out, which is closel
confined. After some days, the liqui
will not adhere to the sides of the glas
but falls from it like mercury. The el
pertinent requires much caution.
7z----------------------=-
Wonderful Tree.
yu,11.> HILL E.o hoI - n,,o 4;,N,