The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-03-23
@atseelIa''sons. g
For THE HERALD.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

the opinion that Alcyone, the chief
star Of the Pleiades, is The centre
about which our solar system re-
wolves. Very curiously, an ex.
traordinary importance seems also
to be given this group of stars by
many savage and semi-civilized
tribes, who have peculiar beliefs
coucering it, apparently handed
down to them from antiquity.
Another prehistoric canoe has
been discovered in the old bed of
the Rhone, in France. tbs about
SO feet long, three feet wide and
two feet deep. 1t was excavated
from an oak log, which was left in
its original form with the excep-
tion Of the ends, which were
be7eled so as to give sharp prov
and stern.
Numerous cases of fire from the
spontaneous ignition Of coal have
been recorded. After considera-
bic experimenting, Mr.. W. NJ.
Williams has concluded that spon-
taneous combustion takes place in
some degree in all cases where
coal is exposed to the atmosphere,
although the combustion may pro-
ceed so slowly that the rise of
Temperature will amount to only
few degrees.
Granular vegetable carbon, sat.
urated with sulphuric acid, of
which it holds about seventy
times its own volume, is now
being tested as a destroyer of
phylloxera. Buried amongst roots,
it gradually gives off suIphurous
acid gas, and this being heavier
than air, not only perm meales the
soil, but hangs about the snrlace
aud asphyxiates the phylloxera.
Prof. G. Bing has announced the
discovery of sleep producing quail
tiles in ozone.
lcebergs are often of enormous
size, measuring miles in area and
many hundred feet in thickness
Hayes saw one reaching an alti
tude Of 315 feet above the sea, and
most ofthe Arctic explorers have
encountered bergs of 200 feet OF
more in height. Pyer has esti
mated that 10 an iceberg 200 feet
above the water a total height oi
800 to 300 feet may, as a rule, be
inferred. An exception to this
rule must be the bergs Capt. Ross
saw aground in 1900 feet of W ater
A mass Of ice floating in The
Southern ocean is reported by
Capt. d'Urviile to have been tbir
teen miles long with vertical walls
100 feet high.
In recent address IN justifca
tion of compulsory vaccination
Dr.. W. B. Carpenter, the eminen
British Psychologist, presented
some interesting statistics show
ing the decrease Of smallpox il
Great Britain with the adoption
Of modern protective measures
From 1860 to the commencement
Of the present century the averag
annual number of deaths from
smallpox was upwards Of 400
for each million of inhabitant is
For the decade 1801-10 the year
ly smallpox mortality was 2.04
per million inhabitants In 1873
-35 it had fallen TO $50. In 1874
means for vaccination were pro
vided by the government, and :h
annual rate fell to 400 per million
Then came compulsory vaccina
tion in 1853, and in the decad
1870 there were each yea
but 278 deaths from smallpox i
each million inhabitants. In 1861
20 the mum Der was ZIG. In 1871
80 the rate was greatly increased
but the circumstances were s
decidedly exceptional that thes
, years can afford no basls for d
argument against vaccination.
Archaeological researches hav
: shown indisputably that tie al
of weaving YVES practiced in pr
: historic times. 1t may even dat
back nearly to the creation of NAL
as fragments of woven cloth has
, been found among the relics
the Lake Dwellers, who are saI
!! posed TO have been about the fri