The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-09-10
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
"A manuscript treatise By Copcrni
Gus has been discovered il the Stock
holm Observatory.
A model Of NJ. Trouve's electrical
boat will he exhibited in an artificial
basin at the Paris electrical exposition.
Certain species of animals have
regular cemeteries to which they repai
to die. The South American llama, fo
instance, has its district cemeteries, il
which bones are found in great numbers
In experiments to determine ths
depth beneath tue surface of the sea tt
which sight could penetrate, twenty-five
fatl,oms was found to be the limit o
visibility. It was also found that the
water is most transparent when its TEN
perature is highest.
An extraordinary interest is NANTES
ted in the Polar regions this year, two
expeditions being now en- route to that
locality from the United States, one eacl
from Norway ana Sweden and Denmark
q private one from England and an off
cial ore from France.
M. Tissander is having constructed
in France an elongated balloon, to bt
driven by u small and very light electric
motor. The force. in the first expert
mcnts will bc supplied by an electric &C
cumulator, which will develop consider
able energy for a brief period.
Near sightedncss is increasing 50
rapidly in France i'll consequences of the
bad arrangement of seats and distribu-
ton of light in the schools that a by
gienic commission has been appointed to
study the matter, and, if possible, find
some means whereby the evil may be
abated.
The singing hairs of the nettle con-
tain glands at their bases which secrete
the poison felt when nettle is touched.
The slightest touch breaks the point and
allows the poison fluid to flow out.
Under a microscope the contents Of the
hair are seen to be in a state Of constant
motion.
In single catacomb in Upper Egypt
thirty six well-prescrved sarcoplagi of
royal personages have been brought to
light. They represent nearly all of the
kings and queens of the earlier Theban
dynasty, and besides the m,1mnics con-
tain parchment rolls and other articles
of interest to the archaeologist
An enormous electro magnet has
been made for the University Of Grcifs-
Walf The case is formed of twenty
eight iron plates bent into horseshoe
shape and connected by rings so as to
form cylinder eight inches in diameter.
The height is four feet, and the weight
about fourteen hundred pounds.
The Rev. DR.. McCook has noticed a
black carpenter ant which is capable
of cffectng great destruction in wood
work, contrary to the general belief that
ants outside of the tropics are harmless
practically. He has seen {; rafter in
which this species, the FORMED Pcnnsyl-
raAico, had penetrated to an extent OF
five or six feet Of its length, completely
honeycombing it. 1t is evident that
such penetration of wooden structures,
and especially bridges, might cause their
disastrous and unexpected fail.
-Botanists in the Folfainebleau dis
trict of France have noticed a consider
able change in the flora of that region in
recent times. A number Of species have
chiefly on account of the
severe winters. The winters OF 1864,
1909, 1893, and 1579-8O were disastrous
to vegetation, especially in places but
little protected by snow. Among the
plants which have been frozen out, or
nearly 50, in Central France, arc the
maritime pine (thc loss OF which was Il
national misfortunr), the broom heather,
ivy, holly and box. The elder, the oak,
the chestnut and the walnut have all
seriously suffered. The loss to the Fon-
flora in these and other spe-
cics is replaced to some extent by the
appearance of various new species in re-
cent times.
One Of the most decided impressions
which non scientific people must receive
from the visit Of the great comet Of ISL
is that Of the ignorance Of science con-
corning these mysterious ysitants.
Whence they come or whittier they so
are problems none can solve; while the
predictions of the return of
certain comets show that calculations in
relation to the motions of these bodies
lmrtakc much Of the nature of yuesscs.
With all The skill and telescope pcnc-
tratlon of our astronomers, they cannot
J tl tidCC INC CoHtSt VI tlc Iollct, WHICH
in few days passes across the inn
cxpansc of space viewed
from this earth and disappears III the
depths beyond, to wander perhaps for
thousands of years before completing the
cycle Of its journey and returning to u
point in its orbit near the earth.
1t is stated, on authority of the
of the st. Petersburg Central
Observatory, that all the Arctic :neteoro-
logical stations Of the international
series will soon be opened. The stations
proposed are: At Jpernavic, by Den
mark i'll Northern Finnmarken, by Nor
WAY. on the Jan Maven Island and If