The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-11-18
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.


in incandescent electric lamps by using
crystalline silicon in place Of carbon
Tie silicon can be fused into hars which
may be heated to whiteness in the ail
without undergoing any change.
By vaporizing two quarts of tobacco
Juice over slow fire, Baron Rothschild's
gardener at Paris, Nous. Boiazard, de.
stroys all the troublesome insects that
may be contained in the hot-house In
which the operation is performed. He
considers the remedy infallible, and says
it rarely injuries the tend-rest plants.
DR. Caudeze has recently proven the
practicability of photographing land
scapes from railway trains running at %
high rate as forty miles an hour. He
uses for the purpose modified camera
which he calls the gyograph, and with
| which it is said wonderfully distinct
| views can be obtained after little prac-
tice i'll exposure Of only hundredth of
Il second may be had.
A system of pipes aud tanks is being
placed at the entrance to Aberdeen har-
Dor to serve as Il permanent means for
pouring oil on the water to calm it in
stormy weather and thus facilitate the
passage Of vessels. 1t is confidently be-
lieve.l that the scheme will prove entire
ly successful, the only difficulty that has
thus far presented itself being that tho
pipes will ohstrnct dredging operations.
Common fish-oil, procurable at low price
is The material which will be used to
soothe the troubled ocean.
It seems probable that the electric
light may be found very valuable in sub
marine work, such as the examination Of
wrecks, etc. In an apparatus devised
for this purpose by NJ. Bazin a powerful
afc-lamp is placed in a cylinder closed by
glass plate at the bottom aud by Il re-
fleetor ut the top, and II circular space at
least one hundred feet in diameter is bril-
iian;ly Illuminated, while the light
reael,.s much farther. The spectacle
presented by such Submarine illumina-
sion is said to he remarkably ine.
1t is we'll known that minute metallic
particles are often collected in places re-
mo:e from terrestrial sources of dust. Re-
cent Investigation shows that many of
these particles must have undergone fns-
ion, which evidently proves that they have
cone from the smoke of factories, from
volcanic fires, or that they had mete-
oric origin. 1t is found by chemical an-s
aiysis that, I'D addition to iron, they con-
tain nickel aud cobalt, and neither of
aklssse I'D Sfe~sla1
known to exist i'll similar particles from
factory smoke or froyn volcanic dust.
The evidence il therefore on the side of
the many who have maintained that the
so-cal'ed lneteoric dust really comes to
rs from space.
Among the curious phenomena reveal
ell by the sinking Of wells in Algeria ia
the existence Of fishes; crabs and fresh
water mollusks at considerable d-ptns il;
the snbterrauean waters, as has been
found in the artesian wells called Meier,
situated in the desert OF Ued-Rir, quite
near one Of the Lrackisl lakes SD con-
mon in the region. These creatures we're
still alive when brought hy tie sounding
line from depth of $50 feet, and ore of
the crabs was boiled by it's captor aud
proved to be of excellent taste. The
fishes were covered with sand-mud, but
tho shells Of the crabs were quite bright
and glitteriug-ovilence that they had
Inhabited pure water.
Among the creatures which attracted
Prof. Haeckel's attention during recent
tour in Ceylon was the great black scor-
pion-uearly a foot long-which he found
to exist in such numbers that lie col
lectsd half dozen specimens in the
ticad i'll great abundance. Slender green
snakes hung from almost every bough,
aud at night the great rst-snakes hunted
rats over the roofs Of the hutk. Although
these rat-snakes are harmless, Prof.
Haeckel considers it by no means
pleasant surprise when one of them, FIVE
feet long. suddenly drops through Il hole
into eno's rooi., perhaps a.ightinx Oh tue
bed. S
DR.. Mittenaorf states that American
are less afflicted with near
,ightadness than German students. Tie
affection is developed by sedentary oe-
,upations and lack of exercise, women
being therefore more liable to contract
il than men. Il usually appears in child
loota. rarely after the twenty-first year
Weak glasses of slight blue tint saonid
,e worn early TO stag its progress, as
1liu,lness often follows neglect of treat
aseut. In his paper on this subject DR..
VI. tells of 4 fine horse in Berlin which
became intrsetatle and wac found to hs
suffering from nearsigh.eanesa, hut WAS
rs doeila. az ever after pair Of gIasses
nad been fitted toits eyes.
Frank I.essie's Sunday xagaslnc.
The December number Ia fall Of delightful, |
ntertaiEing and alifyin9 reading; indeed it |
Eould be hard to fnd grouped within two
covers more varied, interesting and asnsrslly |
instructive matter. The editor, the Rey Dr. |
ralmase, has some peculiarly interesting :. Es-
;ays on Timely Topics," and sermon IN the |