Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-08-12
Scientific Miscellany.

tea species one of these is naturally
sweet, having the taste of course con-
gou with plentiful addition of sugar.
1t is known only to the natives of Il
very limited extent of country. The
second variety iseven more remark
able, having natural flavor of milk
or-perhaps more exactly-of butter.
1t grows wild, and every part of the
plant except the leaves IS used in
making the infusion.
a new and valuable plastic ma
terlal for pressing into various
shapes, as into models, statuary,
etc., has been introduced into Ger
many, which is also being used for
the production of bas-reliefs and
other figures, and for various orna.
mental and other purposes. The
materia! is made as follows: Five
parts OF slfted whitening are mixed
! with a solution of one part of glue,
and on being well worked up into
paste proportionate quantity of
Venetian terpentine is added in or
der TO prevent britt!eGess; small
amount of Iinseed oil is also put in
to the mixture to obviate its cling
ing to the hands, and the mass may
be colored by kneading in any color
that may be desired. The substance
thus formed may be pressed into
shapes and used for many valuable
purposes.
About one-third the weight of an
egg is solid nutriment, and there are
no bones, or tough pieces. that must
be laid aside. Practically IN egg is
animal food, and yet there is none
of the disagreeable work Of the butch
er necessary to obtain it. The veg
etarians of England use eggs freely,
and many of these men are eighty
and ninety years old and have been
remarkably free from illness. Eggs
are best when cooked four minutes.
This take S away the animal taste that
is so offensive to some, but does not
harden the white or yolk so as to
make them hard to digest. Most
people spoil the taste of an egg by
adding salt and pepper. A little
sweet butter is the best relish. Egg
contain much phoshorus, which IS
supposed to contribute to brain pow
err. These facts should make it an
acceptable substitute for meat as
daily diet.
T"lars lake is probably the most
mysterious spot on the continent.
1t is located on great plain three
hundred miles south of San Francis.
co. At distance the water appears
to be higher than the l;:nd. A mile
or more before reachin, the water
the dry land of the PLAZA gives place
to damp soil, and when at last the
margin of the lake is found one NAV
wade into it for more than mile be-
fore finding it knee, deep. The lake
is about forty miles long. The bot
tom is formed of lam-shells, and
thers are hundreds Of small islands
and punches of tules. The islands
are tenanted by millions of white
birds of the gull kind, and upon one
of them fourteen human skullsranged
in circle were lately found, no 9TH
er bones lying near. Mounds have
been discovered along the shore,
and it is expected that the whole
bottom of the lake will reveal traces
of submerged city.
Col. Stephenson, of the United
States Geological Survey, has turned
another page in the sealed volume
of American antiquities. A large vii.
lage of cliff dwellers has been dis
covered between the James Noun
tains and the Rio Grande River, in
New Mexico. The cliffs rise to a
height of from fifty to 500 feet.
Some OF them contain two, some
three, and others as many as five
lines Of dwellings, rising line Above
line, and, back toward the noun
tain, tier above tier. The houses
on top of the cliff in the abandoned
city are rectangular in form, but the
caves are circular, being ten to fif-
teen feet in diameter. with arcbed
roofs. Within the excavations are
numerous small rooms. Before
each line of dwellings there appears
to have been pavements sometimes
four or five feet in width, in the
broadcast of which Col. Stephenson
found imprints of feet. Many pic
lures and HE roglyphics adorn the
face of the rock.
In Philadelphia the electric Light
has been so fully tried by leading
business houses, the post-office, no.
tells, ETC., as to afford trustworthy
calculation of the relative cost as
compared with gas; of the relative
amount and quality of the two kinds
of light there can be no comparison.
1t is found that with the United
States Electric Lighting Company's
lights. the post-office savas EO nor