National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-02-12
SCIENTIFIC SC!NTILLATIONS.

The fumes of burning coffee have been
shown to have decided disinfecting power.
A project is OH foot to illuminate the
| entire length of the st. Gothard Tunnel by the
electric light.
According to Prof. Silvestri the summit
of Mount Etna has been lowered about forty feet
as result of recent volcanic activity.
During a late thunderstorm near Lon
don, England, a great ball of fire was seen to
descend from the clouds into a lake. After the
storm over hundred dead fish, including two
carp weighing together twenty three pounds, were
found floating on the surface near the spot where
the re-ball was seen to strike.
There are 100000 tons of water annu-
ally pumped from the Comstock mines at an aver
age temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit, which,
if heated by artificial means, would require
yearly consumption of $1,000 tons of coal. In some
of the deepest shafts the water has temperature
of 157 degrees Fahrenheit.
The northern magnetic pole of the
earth is at present near the Arctic circle ON the
meridian of Omaha. Hence the needle does not
everywhere point to the astronomical north, and
is constantly variable within certain limits. At
San Francisco it points about seventeen degrees to
the east of north, and at Calais, Me-, as much to
the west.
Dr.. Cutter states that the increase of
nervous diseases, decaying teeth, premature bald
ness, and general lack of muscular and bone
strength are greatly due to the impoverished quail
ity of flour now in use, the gluten being thrown
away in order to make the -four white. He urges
| the use of unboted -four, and of eggs milk, and
butter. He denies that fish is brain food or that
Agassiz said that it was, and claims that but
ter, being nearly all fat is better kind of brain
food than any other.
One of the advantages pertaining to
the new method of engraving by electricity-an
electric spark pen having been invented for the
purpose in Paris-is that the artist does all parts
of his work, and with no more trouble than if
working with an ordinary pencil, and can even
| operate in q dark room, without any other
light than the glare from the induction spark If
sheet of thin paper be attached to plate of cop
per or zinc it is said that an engraving may be
made with extraordinary facility by this device.
From observations made during nearly
twenty years in forest in the Jura it appears be
prOved-frst that when light strikes the ground
without having been sifted by foliage it stimulates
the production of car5onic acid in the soil: sec
ondly, that the growth of wood is diminished when
the underbruSh is so thick and tall as to impede
the passage of sunlight to the soil and its reflex
action on the branches of the trees; and, thirdly,
that mould in too great thickness becomes inert,
with barn yard manure when too deeply buried.
If elastic gum is warmed, then eX-
banded and wound in Il spiral upon glass tube
or wire, and cooled for short time in cooling
mixture it shows tendency to contract; but
when it is submitted to hot water it returns
quickly to its original length. The phenomenon
can also be made to appear without the use of the
cooling mixture. If one holds heated gum a sec
ond in an expanded condition it shows no dispo-
sition to return to its original length; but if one
holds it in hot water it contracts to onefourth or
found that similar phenomena are produced in
gutta- percha.
The New York board of health issues
a circular for free distribution, giving instructions
what to do when diphtheria enters a household.
An employee of the board says that the most i'm
portant part of this circular is its description of the
early symptoms of the disease. "Giye heed" he
says in his Interpretation of this part of the cir
cular, "the moment you observe signs in your
child of unwonted weakness, fatigue, or physical
debility, particularly if it is accompanied with
little fever make the child frequently open its
mouth, so that you observe its throat. 1t is in
the throat that the lay observer will first discover
any certain signs of diphtheria. Never mind how
red or how much inflamed the throat appears that
does not indicate the disease. But the instant you
see white spot and detect bad odor run for the
doctor. The white spot will grow. Other white
spots will appear, and eventually they will to-
gether in great blotches if the disease is not
checked. The time to seek medical assistance is
before these spots run together"