Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-03-17
SCIENTIFIC NOTES.

Several electric railways will be eX-
hibited at the forthcoming exhibition of
electrical apparatus at Paris, and will
doubtless attract much attention from
scientific men.
late novel application of electricity il
the construction Of 4 soldering iron, in
which piece of platinum is heated by
the electric current and employed to fuse
any kind OF solder.
By means of newly empowered pumps,
it is possible to secure vacuum so nearly
perfect that given space will contain not
more than the hundred -millionth of its
moral quantity of air.
The effect of alloying certain metals
with certain other metals is quite re-
markable. The presence OF one-twentieth
OF one per cent. of lead in standard gold
will render a bar ali inch thick so brittle
that it may be broken by Il slight rap with
Il hammer.
The body OF colossal rhinoceros was
recently found in Siberia, country most
rich in gigantic fossils. Like the nam
moth washed ashore by the Lena River in
1893, it is remarkably well preserved, the
skin being unbroken and covered with
long hair.
Recent Investigations have shown the
depth OF the ocean between latitudes 60o
north and 60o south to be nearly three
miles, or $500 fathoms. The greatest
depth which has been ascertained by
sounding is five miles and a quarter, or
4,620 fathoms, and occurs in the North
west Pacific Ocean. This represents q
thickness of the layer nearly equal to the
height of the loftiest known mountain.
An Australian correspondent furnishes
interesting proof of the provident and
| far-seeing instinct of bees. Last year the
drought in South Wales was of long dura-
| tion, and the denizens of the apiaries
suffered much from it. This year the
bees have made provision against a simi-
lar emergency by filling a large number
of the external cells in every hive with
pure water instead of honey. II is
believed that the instinct of the insects
leads them to anticipate a hot summer
and to provide against it.
After cruise of few months in the
South Pacific Ocean, q French man-of
war was recently found to have speci
mems of living coral growing upon its
hull which interesting discovery has
thrown some light on the question of the
rapidity of Growth of corals. The evil
dence tends to show that the vessel on
passing a reef of the Gambler Islands,
against which it rubbed, had picked up
young titHgid, which adhered to the
sheathing of the ship, and grew to the
size and weight it had when obServed-a
diameter of nine inches and weight of
| two and a-half pounds-in nine weeks.
The Journal de Hysigue-long edited by
| M. d'Almeida, lately deceased--narrates
this interesting episode During the in
yestment and siege of Paris by the Ger
man armies, in ls7u-7l. NJ. d'Almeida
took prominent part in certain attempts
to re-establish telegraphic communication
between Paris and the provinces, using
the River Seine as a conductor. This
suggestion originated with NJ. Bourbouze
tLa war craa,a1 a cb.v.Iiar for his sug.
v.atinn II was nrouos.d IN send nnvar-
| ful cnrrr.nts into the River Seine from
batteries at the nearest available point
ontsid. the German lines. and TO receive
in paris. by delicate galvanometers, from
the river such a norton of these currents
as might not have leaked into
tl.. earth. After some pr.liminarv
experiments. ii was decided to make the,
attsmnt and accordinrlv on December
I'm, $50 NJ. d, Almeid9 was dispatched
bv balloon 10 the provin,es in order To
trv 10 establish this novel mod. of t.l..
GRANNY without wires. The balloon de-
scended after sundry perils in the Area
disn solitudes of Champasne outside In.
prussian lines. Thence he proceeded to
Havre, where he was compelled 10 wait
for the arrival of apparatus from England. +.
The instruments we're conveyed 10 Poissy, :,
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