St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-03-11
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

among tn6 HUxelLCS VI Wy Wy S'e'i
Palace Electrical Exhibition, in London,
are electric till tell-tales-said to be
capable Of recording the amounts
placed in the tills and to be SO arranged
that they cannot falsify a silk-testing
machine, which records by electrical
means the defects in a thread of silk
passed through it at the rate OF mile
in eight minutes; an electrical water
level indicator, showing, at any dis
tance and by means of a single wire,
fluctuations in the height OF water 10
reservoirs, tanks, steam-bollers ana
tidal ways and a system OF time-keep-
ing in which any number OF clocks are
worked by one regulator, the whole ar
rangement being electrically self-act-
ing, neither the regulator nor the clocks
requiring winding, or setting or adjust
ing.
A prize of about $1,000 is offered by
the Reale Istituto Veneto for the best
history of the experimental method"
in Italy. The application OF this
" to he expounded. Memoirs must be
sent in before the end of February,
1885. A
Experimenting upon dogs, M. Leven
has found that coffee prudnces anamia
of the stomach and retards digestion.
It's habitual nse must, therefore, lead to
dyspepsia. Continuing his experiments,
NJ. Leven has become convinced that
sugar acts powerfully in aiding diges-
ton, and he freely prescribes its use in
cases Of dyspepsia. From these ex-
Deriments he draws the practical lesson
that the infusion of coffee should be
sufficiently sweetened to stimulate the
secretory function, and thus assist dl-
gestiOn.
Meteoric stones sometimes fall in one
or two masses, and at other times in q
large number of fragments-thOusa
perhaps-which are scattered over
acres or even miles of territory, while
on some occasions the fall takes the
form of showers OF fine dust. The
quantity Of mineral matter thus falling
is often very considerable. In 1911 a
shower Of many hundred stones occur
red in Crema, one of the pieces weigh
ing 300 pounds and another 12O.> On
the west coast of Greenland were
found the largest unbroken masses on
record, and the largest specimen, weigh
DENY of Stockholm. A well-founded
estimate places the number of aerolites
which reach the earth annually at 5000
at least. It is probable that ia early
geological ages the fall was much
greater than now. 1t has continued
year after year through vast lapse OF
time, furnishing good grounds for the
extending belief that the earth has de-
rived material additions to its substance
from the accumulation Of meteoric
matter.
A WE'LL finds the decay of teeth to
h, oor,,oI hv ho 6ouolnnnanf of
fungus. The acids of the mouth may
promote decay. but cannot give rise to
IL. He concludes further that diseases
Of various parts of the body may be
clearly traced to excretions from the
mouth and teeth.
a. Cases of diptheria are reported by a
medical authority to have resulted from
damp walls. The walls became wet,
then mouldy, and clusters of fungi soon
appeared, when the children sleeping
in the room were attacked by diptheria.
From observations Of the diffusion Of
sunlight by clouds, M. Clemandot was
induced to experiment with mineral
wool, or spun Stag, in order to ascertain
its effect upon the light of the electric
arc. He has found that when the rays
pass through this substance, seventy
five or eighty per cent Of the light be-
comes available for illumination; while
the ordinary processes make useful not
more than forty-fiye or fifty per cent.
Transits Of Venus across the face of
the sun have been employed by astron-
omers to determine the suns distance
from the earth. These transits recur at
alternate intervals of and 1911 and
and 1861 years. The transits of 1861,
1869 and 1874 were observed with great
care from various parts of the world.
The transit of 1874 especially was a
matter of great interest and attention,
as it was hoped that the errors from
previous observations might be correct
ed. Observing parties were sent out
by many countries, and improved
means of investigation-notably photo |
graphy-were employed. Results have
not yet been given in full, but as nearly |
as can at present be judged the dis
lance of the sun iss about $4,000, 600
miles. The next transit of Venus will |
occur Dec. 9th of the present year, and
will be the last for nearly century and /
a quarter. The occurrence of this
phenomenon will form the astronomi-
cal event OF the year. Already observ-
ing expeditions are being organized in
various parts of the world, and locali-
ties for observing stations are being
selected. Bad weather interfered se-
riously in 1874, and stations will be
chosen with special reference to the
probability of clear weather.
The following was sent to the Liver
,no0i Marcurv nv Edward Anne .sT an,