The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-09-18
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.


Compiled for the Leader.
1t has been calculated that the intes
tines OF flies and other insects contain
blood-vessels 30 minute that two hum
dred thousand Of them placed together
in q bundle would only equal q hair In
size.
1t is calculated that the amount Of
force daily expended by an adult weigh.
ing $50 pounds in the performances Of
the ordinary work of the body would
raise 3400 tons one foot, IL applied me-
financially.
Despite the terrible force Of the shock
Of the electric eel-a power equal to
fifteen leyden ia rs-it is preyed upon by
u little parasitic fish, some two or three
inches In length, which appears utterly
obvious Of the shock.
In Japan spiders interfere consider
ably with the telegraphic service by
spinning long webs from the wires to
the trees and to the earth, which, In
wet weather, become good conductors
Of electricity. and carry of the current.
Forces Of men have to be employed to
keep the lines clear, 50 great is this evil.
A certain peculiar plant is known In
New South Wales as the 'shoeblack
plant" The flowers contain alarge
proportion of a mucilaginous Juice,
which forms IN excellent substitute for
shoe-blacking, producing a brilliant
polish. This juice is used by Chinese
ladies for dyeing the hair, and 1t is said
that-in Java the flowers are really used
for backing shoes.
1t Is learned from a private report that
on the southern seaboard of the Chinese
province Of Kwangtung are found wild
silkworms which feed on the camphor
tree and whose silk is utilized in a sing
ular manner. When full grown, the
caterpillar is cut open and the silk ex-
tracted in a form much resembling cat
gut. This substance is subjected to y
hardening process and made into fish
lines.
Prof. Raoul Pictet, Of Geneva, is en-
gagged in working out a problem In ma
rine architecture, the proper solution Of
which he believes will effect q revolu-
tion In shipbuilding. His object Of
study has been the construction Of q
keel which shall cause the ship to glide
we the water instead Of pushing Its
way through it. The resistance Of the
water to the passage ola vessel 10 In
this way reduced to q minimum. He is
now experimenting with a keel upon
this principle.
I'm the Inguidi," says NJ. LEM In a
recent communication to the French
geographical society, "a region Of sand
dunes very difficult to cross, l observed
a phenomenon which was a rare as 1t
was interesting-resonant or musical
sand. All at once n hears in the des-
ert, issuing from a sand dune, q pro-
longed, smothered sound quite like the
noise Of a trumpet. 1t lasts for some
seconds. and then stops, to resume itself
in another direction. The phenomenon
renders the traveller anxious. I sup
pose it proceeds from the friction against
one another Of the burning hot grains
Of quartz, which are simply laid one
over the other and are always in mo-
tion."
The remarkable discoveries of Jenner,
Pasteur, and others, showing that some
Of the most fatal virulent diseases may
be rendered comparatively harmless by
incubation with q weakened virus,
have led to the suggestion Of the pos
sibility Of combating tuberculosis In
the same manner. 1t is now quite gen.
orally believed that this disease, ike
smallpox, chicken cholera and anthrax,
is due to the very rapid increase of GER
tain minute organisms In the body, and
1t seems reasonable to hope that inocu-
lation with its weakened germs may
produce as favorable results,ashave been
achieved In the case Of the other mall
aides. This is an important problem
for science to solve. {
At the National industrial exhibition
in Milan has been exhibited an electric
al voting apparatus, designed by SIgnor
Roncelli, a member Of the italian par
Lament. The idea is simply as follows:
Each member OF the house has in front
of him a metal plate bearing his name.
The plate is furnished with three metal
buttons. marked respectively aAye,"
'No," and Abstain" This plate is
in connection with a central printing
apparatus, which prints In three sepa-
rate columns the ayes. noes, and alb
stainers, according as the members de-
press their respective buttons. A fourth