The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-08-14
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

posits Of sufficient extent to supply the
wants of all Europe for an indefinite
period.
A Vienna chemist has produced a
new coloring matter on silk, which is q
nice blue by day and a beautiful pink
by artificial light. The alcoholic solu-
ton Of this color is dark violet in a
transparent. but red in direct light.
c. Rene, of Stettin, claims to have
discovered that IL wood be exposed to
the action Of a heated current of pure
oxygen 1t becomes proof against mois-
TURF and changes of temperature. and
is especially adopted for the manufac-
ture of musical Instruments.
The martyrs to science In Africa dur
ing the present century have been very
numerous. This fact is graphically in
dictated on a recent map Of Africa, by
M. M. Dnyeyrier and Cortambert,
which gives the name and date Of each
explorer in the locality where he died.
The following is a very simple and
pretty electrical experiment: A small
box Of p~asteboard is closed with q lid
of fine glass, to the upper surface OF
which collodion is several times applied
care being taken not to apply sufici-
ept to render the glass opaque. Insect
forms, OF sponge or cotton, are placed
in the box, and move about in q curious
manner when the lid Of the box is rub
bed with dry fingers, in dry weather.
The researches OF Prof. Flower, the
well-known English anatomist, show
some interesting results In relation to
the comparative sizes Of the heads Of
different races Of people. The largest
normal skull he ever measured had a
capacity Of as much as 2,075 cubic GEN.
timeters; the smallest, belonging to an
individual of the nearly extinct people
inhabiting central Ceylon. measured
only 800 cubic centimeters. The larg-
est average capacity Of any human head
he has found belongs to a race Of long,
~iat-headed people on the west coast Of
Africa. Although of small stature,
the Laplanders and Esquimaux have
very large skulls, the average measure
ment Of the latter being 1,546. The
English skull, Of lower grades, meas
ures 1,542; the Japanese, 1,486; the
Chinese, 1,424; the modern Italian, l.
475; the a ,cient Egyptian, 1,464; the
Hindoo, 1906.
Ar official publication Of the Ger
man post office ~containsa report on the
disturbances in telegraphic commune
alton caused last August by q display
of the O borealis. 1t Is well known
that both storms and the aurora bore
alis disturb the electric currents pass
ing over Geographic cables, but recent
experience seems to prove that the dis
turbing influence of storms chiefly az
fects short lines, while the longer lines
are more liable to be affected by the
northern lights. There was a strong
disturbance Of the latter kind from the
18th to the l4th OF August, 1880. 1t
seems to have manifested itself through
out the greater portion Of the northern
section Of the eastern hemisphere,
sending off, however, e southerly
stream in the direction Of Mozambique,
which reached to Natal. 1t does not
appear that the Western Continent was
affected. The general features of the
disturbance consisted in manifestations
OF the presence OF strange currents
('searth currents" as they are called)
Of auctuating intensity, the duration
and fluctuations varying in different
localities, and the direction Of the cur
rents changing frequently.
Concerning the growth Of third set
of teeth, Prof. Owen says: ''Teeth are
organs that, as a rule, have a term Of
existence more limited than that Of the
organism of which they form a par I.
In many of the lower veterbrates they
are shed very soon after they are CON-
pleted and in use, and are as quickly
replaced by others. In the mamma
liza, however, there is but n uccess
ion of teeth naturally shed, but though
the successors of the so-called milk
teeth last long enough to acquire the
title of permanent they are rarely re-
tanned to a very advanced age. There
is, however, n belief entertained by
many Of the occasional acquisition OF q
third set in human centenarians. Thus
it Is recorded Of the countess Of Des-
mond, in 'Fynes MorIson's Itinerary
(1617), that, not many years before her
death, which is said to have occurred
at the age of 140 years, she had all her
teeth renewed / was led to q dis
cussion on this point by q worthy clergy
man at the house of a friend whom I
was visiting, and to my skepticism as
to the alleged age and third set OF teeth
of the old countess, he replied that
there then lived In his parish an old
woman alleged to have passed her hun
dredth year, who was actually then
cutting her third set of teeth. I re-
joiced at this instance. / had long
been convinced that actual phenomena
had suggested the statement, but that
the nature Of these had been misinter-
preted, and 1 deemed myself most fort
innate in having an opportunity OF test