St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1881-10-08
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

star, which was observed in 945, 1864
and 1912. This star was seen at its
last appearance by Tycho Brahe, who
reported that it became suddenly so
brilliant as to be seen at noon, then
gradually faded away, and was lost to
view in about sixteen months after it
was first observed.
4 Neapolitan gardener, after years
of experiment has produced camelia
with delicate perfume, and thinks
it probable that these flowers may in
the near future be so cultivated as to
rival the rose in fragrance.
NJ. Troupeau has lately made numer-
Gus experiments with headgear, in its
relation to heat from the sun. He
reaches these conclusions, which may
serve as useful hints: 1. Head-cover-
ilgs of conical and rounded form are
cooler than those of fat shape; the
helmet is accordingly preferable to the
kept in hot climates. 2. A thick body,
formed Of a substance which conducts
heat badly, protects efectually against
the suns rays. 3. No metal should be
used in the construction OF head-gear.
T. A good ventilation, obtained by
means of lateral air-holes at the top,
and a gallery at the base, isolating the
head, causes very sensible lowering
of the interior temperature. A head
cover of bad construction may be made
cool by good ventilation.
Experiments have been made in Paris
with new kind of military telegraphy,
which consists simply in reading large
letters by telescope. 1t is hoped to
to succeed at 60 miles distance.
Leschmidt, whose observations have
been confirmed by Stoney and Sir W.
Thompson, calculates that each mole
Guile of hydrogen measures, at the most,
not more than fifty -millionth of an inch
in diameter-a minuteness of which we
can form absolutely no conception.
With the most powerful microscopes,
lines ruled Oh glass the ninety thous-
andth of an inch apart can be perceived,
although confusion of the lines begins
at the seventy four thousandth of an
inch, rendering distinct vision beyond
that limit impossible with any instru-
ments now known. Soreby believes that
length of one eighty thousandth Of an
inch would contain from five hundred
to two thousand molecules-say, five
hundred in albumen and two thousand
in water. It appears, therefore, that
the smallest spere of organic matter
clearly visible in the most powerful
microscopes would contain many mil
lions of molecules of albumen or water.
In his address before the British AS
ISOLATION Of Science at its recent fifty
first annual meeting, Sir John Lubbock,
the president, said: Summing up the
principal results which have been at
tanned in the last half century, we may
mention lover and above the accumu-
lation of facts) the theory of evolution,
the antiquity of man, and the far
greater antiquity Of the world itself,
the correlation Of the physical forces
and the conservation Of energy; spec
trum analysis and it's application to
celestial physics; the higher algebra and
the modern geometry; lastly, the in
Vulnerable applications of science to
practical life-as, for instance, in pho
Biography, the locomotive engine, the
electric telegraph, the spectroscope,
and, most recently, the electric light and |
the telephone
Marble is generally considered to be
a very rigid nlateriak A remarkable
case, however, is given by NJ. Guebhard,
in which marble slab at one side of a
door in the Alhambra Of Grenada has
been bent considerably out of shape by
superintendent weight, without break
ing. The slab is ten feet high, nine
inches broad and two inches thick. /,
In lecture delivered some time ago,
Prof. L. w. Peck, to illustrate the ex-
of mixture of dust and !
air, said: If large log of wood were {
ignited, it might be week before be-
ing entirely consumed. Split it up into /
cord wood, and pile it up loosely, and
it would burn in a couple Of hours.
Again, split it up into kindling wood,
pile it up loosely, and perhaps it would
burn in less than an hour. Cut it up
INTO shavings and allow a strong wind
10 throw them in the air or in any way
keep the chips comparatively well sep .
.rated from each other, and the log .
would perhaps, be consumed in two