St. Landry democrat., 1881-07-16
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

Becouerel has proven that frost pene-
trates grass covered ground much more
slowly than bare ground.
A Roumanian engineer is reported to
have produced new submarine boat
capable of remaining under water for
twelve hours and which may be sunk
to a depth of seven or eight hundred
feet. Illumination on board the vessel
enables it's officers to see for distance
of one hundred and thirty feet under
water. In the light of recent progress,
the realization of Jules Verne's "Twenty
Thousand Leagues under the Sea y
seems an almost probable event of the
near future. ~ as..
The tracing of the evolution of the
tidesr is work in which Mr.. G.. H.
Darwin, son Of the great naturalist, has
long been engaged. The results of his
labors formed the subject Of a recent
lecture by DR.. Ball, the Astronomer
Royal for Ireland. The effect of the
tides on the earth is to reduce its rate
of rotation and lengthen its day. As
the earth from this course turns slower
and slower the moon must be gradually
receding from it. This has been going
on for ages, and millions of years ago
how many millions cannot he told-the
earth must have revolved on its axis
in two or three hours, while the moon,
then very near to the earth must have
whirled around the larger globe in a
period equal to the earth's day. Mr..
Darwin traces the tidal evolution to
this primeval condition of things.
Farther back is uncertainty, but he
coniectures that in very remote period
a mass of matter must have been vio-
lently thrown off from the earth, form
ing the moon. In the early days of
the latter, its effect on the earth's sur
face must have been tremendous, pro-
ducing tides thousand or two thou
sand feet high.
Faure's new secondary or storage
battery brings that valuable agent,
electricity, within easy reach of the
surgeon. A practical application of the
new battery has been successfully made
by DR.. George Buchanan, of the uni
versity of Glasgow, in the removal of a
tumor from the tongue. AS the new
instrument enables one to carry stores
of electricity in small compass, DR..
Buchanan believes the use of the electric
current will now be greatly extended.
It is asserted that the common black
ant is largely cultivated by the leading
orchardists of northern Italy and
southern Germany. They believe the
insect to be the fruit-grower's best
friend. They establish ant hills in their
orchards, and leave the trees in the
exclusive care Of the tiny colonists,
whose time is devoted to climbing the
stems of the fruit trees and cleansing
their bark and leaves of all malefactors,
mature as well as embryotic. The spoils
thus secured are brought to the ground,
and consumed or safely stored away,
They never NEEDLE with sound fruit,
but invade only such apples, pears and
plums as have already been penetrated
by the canker, which they remorselessly
pursue to it's Businesses within the very
heart of the fruit. Nowhere are apple
and pear trees so free from blight and
destructive insects as in the immediate
neighborhood of large ant hill five or
six years old. The favorite food of the
ants appears to be the larvae and pupa
of those insects most destructive to the
tender shoots and young leaves of fruit
trees.
For several years, French chemist
has been engaged in the interesting
experiment Of raising plants in soil
produced artifcially. His plants have
been unusually thrifty. -
A discovery of more than usual in
terest in connection with the history of
ancient man, has been made in Spain.
Some lead miners in the province of
Segovia, about seventy miles northeast
OF Madrid, recently broke into an i'm
mense cavern, in the interior of which
they found, upon an argillaceous de-
posit and in the midst of stalagmites,
the remains of about five hundred hu-
man skeletons of both sexes. Clipped
stone and quartz implements, and frag-
ments of rude pottery, were also obtain
ed. Ten we'll shaped and perfect skulls
of prehistoric type were recovered.
The personal interest taken in scien-
tiic matters by the Emperor of Brazil
is shown by a note which he has re-
Gently transmitted to the French AGA
DENY upon the time Of Jupiter's rota-
ton. The sharpness Of outline and dis
tinctness of the color Of the great brown
spot which has been so long visible upon
Jupiters sufaee has enabled Brazilian
astronomer, Mr.. Grail, to deduee from
nearly 100 rotations period Of 9 b. 80
N. 36 i. as the length Of day of the huge
planet.
The largest photographs ever pro-
duced have been made by q photo
grapher Of Sydney, Australia. Among
his subjects are two panoramic views of.
the cities Of Sydney and Melbourne,
each composed of about a dozen separate
sheets tremendously united. One pic
ture, printed from single negative, is
Eve by three feet.