The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-11-19
NUMBER II.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

According to DR.. K. Won Fritsch. the
cause of earthquakes does not exist at n
depth greater than ten or fifteen miles
below the surface Of the earth.
Tho experiments Of several saraa,s
have shown.tliat eighty per cent. of tho
power applied to drive either Grammo
or Siemens machine is converted into
available electric energy.
SO extensive and varied are the uses
to which paper is now applied that au
anthropologist has proposed calling the
present the age of paper, as we speak of
! the past ages of stone, bronze, iron, etc.
The conditions attending lightning
without thunder witnessed in Africa by
NJ. dAbhadie lead him to conclude that
the so-called heat liglltning' is not
always the reflection of a storm below
the horizon, as is usually supposed.
The Paris Electrical Exhibition con-
tains an extremely ingenious instrument
in the shape of an apparatus by which
any number less than 1000 is automati
cally signalled on one telegraph wire by
single NOV ement of the operator. tho
figures appearing at the distant eud at
IN opening i'll box.
NJ. Pasteur has resolved to extend hi.
studies in vaccination to yellow fever,
with Il view of determining whether or
not the disease is due to parasites aud
can be guarded against by incubation.
Great AS the results of Pasteur's labors
thus far have been, he seems to be as vet
merely standing upon the threshold Of
useful discovery.
Practical applications for luminous
paint are being found in England.
Among the latest is the plan of encirclinx
the openings of letter-boxes with the
paint so that they ars visible in the
dark. The letter boxes in the neixhbor-
hood of Cambridge have been treated in
this way.
Although considered mute, insects
have the power of producing sounds by
certain movements which to some extent
are characteristic of the different species.
The shrll chirp of tho cricket is pro-
dnced by the rubbing together Of tho
wing Cases. The harsh shrek Of the
grasshopper is caused by friction Of the
legs against the wings. f'ile shrill trum-
pet sound of the mosquito and the busy
hum Of bees and flies result from the
rapid motion Of the wings while flying.
| Among the many noteworthy applica-
| tons OF electricity during the past few
years, one OF the most remarkable is the
S.stroscope, an instrument for viewing
the con tents of the stomach The appa-
ratHs consists chiefly of a bent tube, at
the lower end Of which is q tiny ylass
lantern, while the upper end terminates
ia an eyc-piece. In use, the lower end
OF tho tube is passed into the stomach
through the mouth and esophagus, the
upper end projecting from the mouth far
enough for the convenience of the opera
tor. Small wires conduct an electris
current along the tube to the lantern,
where platinum -, is rendered in.
candescent by the electricity, thus ilu-
mlnutlny every part Of the stomach.
The lantern consists OF two globes, one
within the other, between which q
stream of water is passed toprevent any
heating of the outsidu.
Through the small window in the Ian
torn the images from the stomach travel
along the tube to the eye-piece, being
bent l'y pris'ns sufficiently to ass around
the curve, By an ingenious contrivance
the window is reyolved at pleasure, 70
that any portion Of the stonlAch's con-
tents may i'll turn be brought to view
This new scientific marvel has been in
actual use i'll Vienna, and will probably
prove valuable to medical men in study
ing digestion and diseases Of the stomach.
"There is nothing accidental" re-
marks DIR. +. L. Oswald, "and rarely
anything inevitable, about a disease; We
can safely assume that nine out of ten
have been caused and can be
cured by the sufferers Cor their nurses)
themselves. God made man upright;
every prostratins malady is deviation
from the state Of nature. The infant,
mewling and puking in its nurses
arms is an abnormal phenomenon. In
fancy should be period of exceptional
health; the yonng Of other creatures
IRE healthier, as we'll as prettier, purcr
md merrier, than the adults, yet the
childhood years of the human animal
Ire the years of sorest sickliness; statis-
les show that among the Caucasian
aces men of thirty have more hopes to
each good old age than newborn
child has to reach the end Of it's secnid
'ear. The reason is this: The health
heories Of the average Christian nan
md woman are egregionsly wrong, -
hat only the opposition of their better
Instincts helps th.n-against their Con-
science, as it were-to maintain the
struggle for tolerable existence with
anything like success, while the helpless
nlant has to conform to these theories
With the above results" Dr. O,wald's
emedies for this state Of aff,irs are
hose of all the hygienic writers VI the
|aY VIZ: better food ami less af IL nure