The Russellville Democrat., 1881-06-02
SCIENCE.


 lin for the Vienna observatory by Mr. Howard Grubb. "The Americans" says the English Mechanic, "who had a fine instrument at Washington, were disap- pointed that the commission was not given to them. In his recent lecture at Dublin Mr. Grubb made some humorous remarks on the point, and stated that so far from the Washington telescope not being able to find certain star, Ameri- cans have found four that no one else ever saw" Of course this last remark was not intended to be taken seriously. The new refactor has an aperture of 27 inches, and is 333 feet long the tube be- ing made wholly of steel. The principal difficulty in it's construction was to pro- cure glass that should be sufficiently pure and fine. An object-glass of the very first quality could probably have been obtained in this country, but it was believed that a steadier and more stable instrument than is made in America was necessary.
 CONSIDERABLE knowledge concerning the plants Of Italy in the time of the Ro- mans has been gathered from the fires coes at Pompeii. So many new pictures have been unearthed in the course of the excavations which were made on the ighteen-hundredth anniversary of the eruption that destroyed the town, that an Italian botanist has been able to add from them considerable number of plants to the list of those already known Fifty species have been certainly iden- tified on these frescoes, and 20 others probably but not positively determined. The oriental plane tree and other trees and plants not native to Italy appear to have been well known to citizens of Pompeii.
 IT is proposed to introduce a system of compressed air clocks into London by which any number of clocks in the city can be wound and regulated by means of pneumatic air currents. There can be one central motor, or motor in each of several districts if necessary. The plan is to have 10 in London and it's environs. Of course every clock in the same circuit will indicate exactly the same time. The introduction of the system is ap- proved by the municipal authorities, and bill on the subject is now pending be- fore Parliament. In Paris clocks so con- nected and controlled have given great satisfaction.
 A GEOLOGICAL exploration of the region y, west of St. Johns, where gold is said to exist, has recently been made at the in stance of the colonial government A large area of auriferous country was dis covered, but whether gold mining would be remunerative there or not can not be ascertained without experimental opera tions by practical mining en, ineers. The probability is, however, that in any event ample capital would be necessary to any successful work in this gold field, if such it be; and that it would offer no inducements to the individual miner.
 A SPECIMEN of the coca of South Amer ica (EiythroTyIon c0ca) in flower was re- gently exhibited in London at a meeting of the Royal Botanic Society, and Prot. Bently stated that the consumption of coca on the South American continent was probably 40,0o0,000 pounds per an- mum. Great efficacy is attributed to it in sustaining strength and appeasing hunger, but we believe that physicians in Europe and the United States have found it less useful in these respects than native opinion in South America led them to expect.
 PROF. JOSEPH LISTER, of Kings College, London the eminent surgeon, has been awarded the Boudet prize of an amount equal to Sl POO, by the French Academy of Sciences, in recognition of his discov- cries in antiseptic surgery. The prize, under the terms of the bequest by which the academy acquired it, was to go to the persons who had most advanced the healing art by ivestigations or inventions suggested by Pasteaur's well-known re- searches concerning germs and their development.
 A COMPARISON of iron and steel with reference to the resistance which they offer to corrosive action has been made in England by MT. D. Phillips, a member years ago of an Admiralty commission to investigate the corros on of steam boilers. He has informed the Institution of Civil Engineers that his experiments demonstrate the superiority of iron over steel in this respect-more particularly the harder sort of iron.
 THE French Association for the Ad- vancement of Science meets in the spring, unlike it's British and American name sakes, whose meetings are always held in the summer, usually after the middle of August, we believe. This year the French Association crossed the Mediter- ranean to the colony of Algeria, and met April l4, at Alglers.
 SELF-LUMTNoUs photographs, rendered visible in the dark by the application of phosphorescent paint in peculiar man. ner, are now very popular in Vienna. The chemical students in the Technical High School first brought them to the notice of the public.
 CoLLIDINE, the newly discovered aka Ibid which has been found to exist in tobacco smoke, IS described as liquid of penetrating but agreeable odor and very poisonous. Atwentieth part of one drop is enough to kill frog.
 A NUMBER of analysis of sea-weeds eaten in Japan are published among the chemical contributions to the Transac- tions of the Asiatic Society of that coun- try. Here is hint to epicures in search of novel dishes.