St. Landry democrat., 1881-12-03
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.


itself to the throat and grows and
multiplies upon its intlamed surround
ings. The spread of these plants to the
blood, either poisoning it themselves
or conveying poison to it, produces the
tliphtheria. The possibility that diphth-
eria may be prevented by artificial vac
cination is pointed out.
1t has often been doubted that the
ancient sculpturings found in different
parts of the world could have been cut
without the aid of iron tools; but
arcl:eologists have in recent years sue
ceeded in reproducing such sculptures
in granite with the use Of stone imple-
ments only. An example of the extent
20 which granite may be modelled with
tools OF stone is found in the great
sculptured stone of Montezuma, in Mexi
co. 1t is recorded of this stone by
Gama that ten thousand Indians were
employed in transporting it to the city
of Mexico, where thirty workmen with
stone axes sculptured it.
With hyposulphite and acetate of
soda-two chemicals found in every
photographers laboratory-a very pref
" experiment may be easily performed.
\ solution of the former may be pre-
pared with one-tenth of its weight of
water. If such solution be placed in
a vial it will, if kept quite still, remain
without crystallization, and will allow
another solution-acetate of soda IL
quefed with one-seventh its weight of
water-to be poured on it without mix
ing. fkept quiet the solution will re-
main liquid; but if crystal Of hyposul-
phite, held by thread be carefully
passed through the upper solution to
the lower the latter will solidify at once,
while the former remains as limpid as
ever. If, however, an acetate cystal is
lowered.into the acetate solution, the
latter quickly solidifes.
A singular case of the production of
sound without the aid Of living creatures
has been observed by NJ. Reuleux
while hunting in the Roderbacherthal,
near the highest point Of the Rhine
province. The ground is, in the main,
gently undulating and heavily wooded.
The valley, spacious on the eastern side,
narrows rapidly to a sort of pass,
through which the Roderback flows
westwards for about half a mile. A
southwest wind was blowing, and NJ.
Reuleux, coming along the hillside from
the east, heard what appeared to be
the strokes of fine deep-toned bell in
rapid succession. There was no such
bell in the neighborhood. and some
other sounds soon heard satisfied him
that the effects were of natural origin.
Tones were heard growing in force to
a maximum, then dying away +; they
were like those of organ-pipes at first,
but their "clang" came to resemble
that Of violin OF harp. At the mouth
of the pass, whence the sounds seemed
to radiate, there was a strange agita-
ton in the air, and mixture of sounds,
some of which abruptly stopped. NJ.
Reuleux supposes bodies of air in vorti-
cal motion, or t'0mbes, to have been
carried along from the pass, and the
sound to have been due to conflict be-
tween the outer and the inner air at the
mouth Of such trombes, producing os-
citations. The marked difference in
temperature between the higher and
lower parts of this musical valley is re-
garded as an important factor in the |
case the cold air above pressing on the
the warm below, and closing the pass to
a sort of tube. The wind seemed to be
quiet except in the lower parts.
-Self-luminous photographs, which
shine in the dark, can be made by lay
ing a transparent positive" upon a
sheet OF Balwain's luminous paint, and
then exposing the latter to sunlight.
The picture lasts very short time.
In investigating .the effects Of the
electric light, German scientists have
found that it is not only healthier than
other methods Of illumination in leaving
the air purer, but that it increases the
power OF. vision in some respects, espe-
cially in distinguishing colors. Red,
blue and yellow are made much more
distinct and marked under this light
than by daylight. This is also true of
green.
A regularly interrupted beam of
Iight-obtained by rotating disc with
a circle of apertures in the path of the
selenium cell in an
electric circuit with a telephone, pro-
J,,ooe a ,,,us;oa1 enuu1 II, tho +olonhnna |