The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1881-12-15
soI1nT1r1o nlsoELLANY.


= A Neapoiitan gardener, after years of
experiment, has produced o camelia
with delicate perfume, aud he thinks
It probable that these flowers may In
the near future be so cultivated as to
rival the rose in the fragrance ofits oder.
A new theory of the so-called fascin-
elton of birds by snakes is that the bird
mistakes the snakes tongue, which the
reptile keeps in rapid and constant mo-
ton, for lively worm, and watches it
intcntly with She anticipation of de-
vouringit.
Two Leipsic chemists have devised q
process for obtaining sugar in a perma-
'nentIy liquid form. This result is said
tosbe effected by adding to purified
sugar solution small quantity of ci,ric
acid, which combines with the sugar and
depriyes it Of its tendency to crystalline.
Some experiments by NJ. Gautier APP
rpear TO prove TINT human saliva possess
e., in nilder degree, the same poison
Gus property as that Of serpents. The
human saliva injected under the skin of
. bird caused death, with symptoms
very closely resembling those resulting
from serpent bites.
Late investigations of German scien-
lists have shown that the electric light
is not only healthier than other meth
DDS of illumination in leaving the air
purer, but that il increases the power
Of vision in some respects, especially in
distinguishing colors. Red, blue, green
and yellow are much more distinct un-
der this light than by daylight.
M. Pasteur has resolved to extend
his studies in vaccination to yellow fc-
yer, with view of determining wheth-
er or not the disease is due to parasites
and can be guarded against by inocu-
lation. A broad field of investigation
is open to Pasteur, as it is suggested by
his discoveries thus far that all contag-
ious maladies may be due to parasitic
growths, the virulence of which may DO
80 reduced by his method of incubation
ss to render this class of diseases no
no longer a matter of dread.
Mr.. c. Shaler Smith has given the re-
suits of extensive observations in rela-
ton to the pressure exerted by the
wind. The most violent gale recorded
BY him was at East st. Louis in 1871,
-hor fh N xr,;,,I ,x-ort, OIL N l,,..o,,,~t;,-o
the force developed in SO doing being
no less than SO pounds per square foot.
At st. Charles q jail was destroyed in
1877, the pressure required being "a
pounds per square foot. At Marsh
. field, in 1880, brick mansion was lev
eled, the force necessary being So pounds
per square foot. Below these extraor-
binary pressures, Mr.. Smith instances
numerous cases of trains blown off rails,
and bridges, ETC., blown Down by gales of
"a TO 81 pounds per square foot. In all
the examples the lowest force required
to do the observed damage has been
taken as the maximum power of the
wind, although, of course, it NAV have
been higher.
Enthusiasts who make special study
of snn-spots and attendant phenomena
believe that the cornerstone of new
science is being laid by discoveries point
ing to an intimate connection between
solar and terrestrial meteorology. Just
what the connection is they are not yet |
able TO clearly define, although electric
ity is suspected of being the agent
through which The effects are mani
tested upon our planet. 1t is known
that the gaseous envelope of the sun is
affected by eruptions Of such prodig-
ious magnitude as TO be utterly beyond
our power of conception, these disturb
ences appearing to us in the form of
rapidly changing spots and protuber-
ances. The erss of the spots-or sun
storms-occur at remarkably regular
intervals, a complete cycle of the vari-
Gus stages Of activity from maximum
to Ininimum and again to maximum be-
ing performed in about eleven years
the so-called "sun-spot period" The
sun-spot physicists claim coincidence
Of the periods of maximum spots and
years Of great atmospheric and physi-
cal disturbance in the earth. The pres
ent has been year of great solar dis
turbances, while it has been marked by
violent storms and earthquakes upon
our globe. Further than this, these
scientists claim to have recently detected
by simultaneous observation minor at
mospheric changes as the result of cor
responding movements in the sun.
Many difficulties attend these observa-
tons, but the Astronomer Royal for
Scotland and others believe that the
state of the sun will some day become
an important factor in weather fore
casts and like calculations.