The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-10-08

tion of head-gear. a. A good ventilation
obtained by means of lateral air-hole
at the top, and a gallery at the base
isolating the head, causes very sensible
lowering of the interior temperature. 4
head-cover of bad construction may b.
made cool by good ventilation.
During last winter the experiments O
Mr. G. w. Siemens on the action of elec.
trio light on vegetation-with results
which he has just described to the Brit.
ish Science Association-werec continued
He noticed the curious fact that plants
exposed to the direct rays of the electric
arc soon became sickly and withered,
while i'll the light of tho arc enclosed in
glass glob6 the vegetation flourished
to as remarkable extent as in his pro-
vious experiments. The unfavorable ac-
tion of tho open arc is supposed to arise
from certain non-luminous rays which
are intercepted by the glass. The bota-
mist has here.a subject for study.
In lecture delivered some time ago
Prof. L. W. Peck, to illustrate tho explo-
siveness of mixture of dust and air.
said If largo log of wood were
ignited, it might be week before bcing
entirely consumed. Split it up into cord
wood, and pilo it up loosely, and it would
burn in couple Of hours. Again, split
it up into kindling wood, and pile it up
loosely, and perhaps it would burn in less
than one hour. Cut it up into sbayings
and allow strong wind to throw them
in the air or i'll any way keep the chips
comparatively we'll separated from each
other, and the log would, perhaps, be
consumed in two or three minutes; or,
finally, grind it up into fine dust or pow
der, blow it in such manner that each
particle is surrounded by air, aud it
would burn in less than second !"
Experiments to determine the changes
of color procueed in flowers by ammonia
have given these results: Over a dish of
ammonia was inverted funnel, in the
tube Of which were placed the flowers
experimentcd upon. Blue, violet and
purple flowers We're found to change to a
beautiful green; deep red flowers to
black, and white to yellow. These
changes are most striking when the
flowers have seyerally different tints, in
which the red lines are turned dark, the
white yellow, etc. If the flowers thus
changed are placed in pure water they
retain their new colors for several hours.
gradually resuming their original tints
after that time. Another observation
made in this connection is that the
flowers OF the aster, which are naturally
inodorous, acquire very agreeable per-
fume under the influence of ammonia.
Lescllmidt, whose observations have
been confirmed by stoney and Sir w.
Thompson, calculates that eacl, molecule
of hydrogen measures, at the most, not
moro than q fifty -miIIionth of an inch in
minuteness of which we can
form absolutely no conception. With
tho most powerful microscopes, lines
ruled on glass the ninety -thousandth of
an inch apart can be perceived, although
confusion of the lines begins at the seven
ty-four-t -thousandth Of All inch, rendering
distinct vision beyond that limit impos-
sible with any Instruments now known.
Soreby believes that a length of one
eighty y-thousandth of an inch would con-
tain from five hundred to two thousand
molecules--say, five hundred in albumen
and two Thousand in water. It appears,
therefore, that the smallest sphere of Or
ganic matter clearly visible in the most
powerful microscopes would contain
many millions of molecules of albumen
or water.
A paper BY DR.. D. w. Prentiss, calls
attention to two cases in which tho in
PRODUCTION Of pilocarpin-th active prin-
ciple of the powerful Brazilian drug, ia
borandi-into the human system has
caused a very marked change in the color
ofthe hair. In the first case the pilocarpin
was administered at intervals during
period of ten weeks with the object of
" sweating" the patient. In few days
the patients hair, originally very light,
was observed to be growing darker, and
in six months it had become almost pure
black. III the second case tho hair had
become perceptibly darker in week
after treatment with pilocarpin was
commenced. The patient in the first
case was Il young lady Of twenty-five,
and the other was an infant. The intro
duction Of ja5orandi into medicine is of
so recent a date that little opportunity
has been afforded for studying its varied
action On the system; but there appears
reason to believe that the color of the
hair is due to an oily pigment, which is
increased under the influence Of the drug
With the steady march Of improvements
in science and mechanics, medicine has
kept even pace. It low gives us remedies
in perfection of form and cos position that
the crudities Of earlier medical science
never approached. Among the most etTec-
tive of medicines are DR.. j. G.. Ayers Pills
sugar-coated, gllstenins glo-
buIes-universally known and used as
reliable family physic. These pills possess
great efficacy as preventive Of, Or cure
for the diseases incident to this section of