Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-04-22
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

were lately captured III the Yang
tse kiang.
Prof. Silvestri finds that the sum-
nit of Mount E'na has been lowered
about forty feet rs Il resu!t of recent
volcanic activity.
The British Museum contains
wig which was found in good state
of preservation at Thebes, rand is
probably 5000 years old.
In selecting a location for house,
advises prominent physician, make
Il note of the prevalent winds, that
they he from the house towards all
swampy and miasmatic localities and
not from miasmatic localities towards
the house.
Some experiments with various
soils rs filters for removing organic
matter from water have shown that
gravel produces little result, sand
being much more effective in remov-
ing the impurities and fine loan
forming a still better filter.
Probably few persons while watch
ing the light of the Slow-worm or
the FREELY have failed to wonder and
speculate as to its cause. a French
naturalist, after series of observa-
tions, believes the glow worms
phosphorcscence to be due to an
emission of phosphuleted hydrogen
gas.
A very simple model enables us
to realize III some degree the vast
size of the sun rs compared with
the earth. When tho sun is repre-
scented 10y ball of three inches in
diameter, minute ball Of 3-l00
of an lrch in diameter must be placed
at Il distance of 30 feet from it to
represent the earth and its distance
from the sun.
Prof. Marks recently stated that
he had made some calculations rs
to the maximum speed ut which 10.
comotiye engines could be driven
before the centrifugal force on the
tires of the Grivins-wheels would
become SO great as to cause them
to burst. These calculations, which
were only approximate, gave limit
of speed in the neighborhood of $50
miles per hour. Of this speed, IS
miles an hour, OF more than half,
has already been attained.
The Public Health Department
of Germany has officially sanctioned
the use of the following coloring
matters in confectionery, etc: For
white-tiour and starch; for red
cochineal, carmino, madder-red, and
the juice OF carrots and cherries; for
yellow saffron, safllower, and tur-
merle; for blue--indigo aud litmus;
for green-juice of spinach and mix
lures of tho above blues and yell
lows; for brown-burnt sugar and
Spanish juice; and for black-ln-,
dian ink.
1t is popular sanitary error to
think That the mere u man eats the
fatter and stronger he will become;
to believe that the more hours child
rem study the faster they learn; to
conclude that if exercise is good the
more violent it is the greater is the
benefit; to imagine that whatever
remedy causes one to feel immedi-
ately better is good for the system,
regardless Of the Interior effects.
Despite the advance of hygienic sci
ence these mistaken idens remain
a monument to the public apathy
concerning health matters.
Near Beaver lake, in the National
Park Of the Yellowstone, a recent
party of explorers came up on re-
markable mountain of obsidian or
volcanic glass, which rises in COL
umnar cliffs several hundred feet IN
height. 1t being desirable to pass
that way, the party cut road by
building huge fires on the glass to
heat and expand it and then dashlnS
the cold water of the lake against
the heated surface-the sudden con-
traction thus produced breaking
large fragments from the side Of the
mountain. In the grand canyon OF
the Gibson river the explorers also
found precipices of yellow, black
and banded obsidian rising hundreds
IF feet Tho natural ,rlosS of these