The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
SCRAPS OF SCIENCE.


Es1INEST oculists having pronounced
the reading of German text to be inju-
rious to the eyes, the Bernese Govern
ment has resolved to discontinue its use
as much as possible, and all their official
announcements will henceforth be
printed exclusively in Roman characters.
The report of the second geological
survey of Pennsylvania contains, in a
description of the coal fora by Prof. Leo
Lesquereux, one of the most remarkable
geological accounts In existence of the,
forms and habitats of plants once grow
ing in the swamps of our American coal
fields, or fioated out into open water and
embedded in the deposits at the bs tom
of the carboniferous sea- Every gems
of ancient sea-weed, fern, bamboo Ike.
calamite and cone tree which up to the
present time has been brought TO light
in the mining of the American coal-beds,
or In surveying the surface of the coal
fields, is here described. Every species
hitherto discovered is named, and az
many of them represented as seemed
needful to assist the mining geologist in
the Identification of beds, so far as plant
remains can do that, or to enlighten the
scholar of nature in this branch of learn
ing.
of the Stanley expedition is on an
elevated plateau below the Yellala falls.
1t is now small town containing the
dwellings of Mr.. Stanley and his European
staff, workshops, warehouses and huts
for his laborers and garden producing
vegetables of almost every description.
From the rivers edge to a distance of
/ about thirty miles upwards along the
hllly banks of the Congo, where he has
established second depot, road about
twelve feet wide has been constructed,
serviceable for carts and wagons, which
latter, together with a number of don
keys. have recently arrived from Europe,
to be employed in the transport of stores
and supplies Mr. Stanley has with him
about 125 natives. The trade on the
lower Congo is very large and increasing.
The highest point where traders are
established is at Noki, which can be
reached by vessels drawing eighteen feet
of water at any season without the least
difficulty.
APooRYPHAL as it may appear, there
are some fishes capable of swallowing
and slowing away entire, others several
times larger than themselves. This ex-
traordinary fact is rendered possible in
the first place by the great size of tho
mouth, which is cleft far backwards, and
in the next by the excessive distensibility
of the stomach and the abdominal in
teguments. The captor sizes the larger
fish by the tail and climbs over it as il
were by alternate movements of the
lower and upper jaw, until finally the
entire animal is stored in the stomach.
Meanwhile. the stomach and the adjoin-
ing soft parts become more and more
distended and hang down like an enor-
nous sack. The most remarkable ex-
ample of such capacity have been found
in the ChiostOodOn niger, a species re-
lated to the cod family, but several
others are likewise prone TO att-.-A.
larger than themselves.
DIR. SANGFELDT has tried number of
substances for destroying microscopic
life in drinking water, the most striking
results being obtained from citric acid.
When one part of the acid was added 70
two thousand parts of water, life ceased
in from one-half to two minutes
Microscopic examination showed that
those forms of animalcula having thick
scaly covering are not affected by the
dilute citric acid, but only those with
thinner coatings. The greater part of
these unwelcome visitor belong, how
ever, to the latter class, while the former
are visible to the naked eye, so that
solution of the strength mentioned will
suffice as safeguard. The dead ami
malcula Immediately settle to the bottom
of the vessel containing the water, and
may be found in the sediment. The
solution of citric acid spoils quickly,
and it is recommended that it be freshly
prepared every day.