National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-02-05
SCIENTIFIC sCINTILLATIoNS.

NJ. Jose ]. sandeur in recent paper, places the
height of the earth's atmosphere at not less than
1000 miles.
At a late meeting of the French Academy of
Sciences Mr. Durand read o highly interesting
paper on a method of producing speech in electric
cOndensers, and particularly in the singing con-
denser
The first electric railway in Europe built for ord-
nary traffic is expected to be open to the public ON
the Ist of February It is situated in the city and
suburbs of Berlin, and it was constructed by
Siemens and Halskie.
All the lighthouses on the French coast except
three, which are provided with the electric-light,
have been lighted since 1873 with lamps burning
mineral oil, at a saving of $4,000 per annum, and
not single accident.
Buchanan street in Glasgow is lighted by cleo
tric lamps and it is said that several of the news
paper offices in that city have made arrangements
for lighting up their business and composing
rooms with electricity.
On August an international exhibition of cleo
tricity will open in Paris Every description of
electrical apparatus will be shown. 1t is con-
sidered quite probable that the Prince of Wales
will act as president of the exhibition.
MessrS. Garreau and Machelart (Con,ptes Re1,dus,
No. 23) have extracted from the stems of the sax-
frages, tannin, starch, and new pro ximate prin-
ciple, bergenine, which possesses valuable medic-
nal properties, and may rank between quinine
and Salcinine.
DR.. Werner Siemens has applied electricity to the
operation of elevators. His SYSTEM which oper-
ates through the transmission Of power by the
dynamo-electric machine, is as safe as the n.y.
draulic system and is claimed to be far less costly
and announcement.
A new method of obtaining grain in photo-en-
craving has been introduced by Major Water
house He presses sand or glass paper into gela-
tine reliefs, and as the shadows contain thicker
layer of the gelatine and as, therefore, the sand
or glass is strongly forced in very percepti-
BILE grain is produced.
John Duncan, a poor weaver of Aberdeen,
Scotland, who presented the University of
Aberdeen with his herbarium of nearly
twelve thousand British plants, collected
by him while engaged as harvest laborer,
is now an actual pauper. A little present assist
ment after his death.
The latest and not the least promising applica-
ton of luminous paint is in the production of a
safety lamp for coal miners 1t is said to give light
enough for practical use and it is obvious that as
it contains fire, it is absolutely free from risk
By this invention, in connection with compressed
air blasting, fire and the attendant danger of eX-
ploding fire-damp might be ruled out and the
most dangerous mines made comparatively safe.
The largest torpedo boat in existence has lately
| been launched at Copenhagen. She is called the
Nordenskjold, and measures 215 feet in length and
~ feet in breadth. Her displacement is estimated
at 200 tons. With engines of 500 horse power, it
is expected that she will sail at the rate of fifteen
miles an hour. Her armor is of steel, and is four
inches thick. She is to carry the heaviest breech-
loading Krupp gun ever borne by any ship-ofwar
in the Baltic.
Professor Balfour Stewart considers that the evil
dence is in favor of some connection between the
state of the suns surface and terrestrial meteor
oiogy, while at the same time It is Enthusiastically
indicated by all clements that this connection is
of such nature as to imply that the sun is most
powerful when there are most spots on its surface
He does not it will be perceived, commit himself
unrescryedly to this view. and he thinks that
| further research is necessary to clear up many
points still in doubt But he is free to say that
"in fine, this hypothesis is rapidly merging, if in
deed it has has not already emerged, from the
regions ofmere conjecture"
An interesting analysis of the various modes OF
sensbility Of the visual apparatus, the London
Times reports, has been made by Mr.. Charpentier
He has been experimenting by looking in dark
ness at an opaque screen in which were perforated
three or four minute holes quite near each other
but distinguishable when moderate light shone
through Light was raised from zero on the other
side; it was sometimes colored. The order of phe-
nomena was proved to be this: The first action of
the light entering the eye in very small quantity
is in all cases merely to produce diffuse luminous
sensation not differentiated either as to color or as
to form; with greater quantity one gets the no.
ton Of color If there be color in the light and still
more light is required to be able to resolve the
luminous object into its different elements. Lumi-
nous sensibility is the most simple reaction; then
comes chromatic sensibility, by which we dis
tnguish color, and, lastly, what the author terms
visual seusibility, by which we distinguish form.
The characteristic distinctions of human blood
and those of the blood of other animals are thus
set forth in No. of OrOsi by Dr. Vincenzo Pesety
Cervera. and if other Psychologists willtake the
pains to verify his work they may play very i'm
portant part in medical jurisprudence. When
blood is mixed with little bile small crystals not
over COOS of metre in size are formed; but these
crystals, the doctor says, will show whence the
blood had come. If from man the crystals will be
rectangular prisms if from the horse they will be
cubes; if from the OK they will be rhOmbohe-
drons; if from the sheep they will be rhombohe-
drc tablets if from the dog they will be rectangu-
lar pTisms, closely resembling the human forms;
if from the rabbit they will be tetrahedronS; if
from the squirrel they will be hexagonal tablets;
if from the mouse they will be octahedrons; and il
from common poultry they will be cubes more Or
less perfect. There would seem to be room for fur
Their and more accurate research in this direction.
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A WISCONSIN law, by which the designation OF
any person as " a id scoundrel" was made mis-
demeanor, has been repealed. What free use of
eloquent profanity will now be exercised in that
State.