St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-02-11
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

The remarkable discovery has been
made by two German chemists that the
life principle is capable of producing
chemical effect upon salts of silver.
They report that living organic cells
readily reduce solutions of silver, but
the action ceases when dead cells are
substituted for the living ones.
Insects are endowed with much grea-
ter muscular energy, in proportion to
their size, than other animals. Had
man Of six feet muscular power pro-
portioned to that Of flea, he could
leap more than three hundred feet, and
lift weight of ten thousand pounds.
4 species of beetle supports five hun
dred times its own weight; and another
has been discovered which is stated, on
good authority, to have gnawed hole
Of an inch in diameter in the side Of an
iron canister by the power Of its jaws.
It has lately been noticed that liquors
kept in colorless bottles exposed to the
light soon acquire disagreeable taste,
while those contained in brown or green
bottles remain unchanged even If
placed in direct sunlight. The effect.
is due to the chemical action OF, light,
and liquids liable to similar change
should be preserved in red, orange. vel.
low or green bottles-these colors ex-
GLIDING the chemical rays.
Observers Of the sun believe that the
maximum Of sun-spots in the "eleven-
year period" will be reached during the
present year, although M. Duponchel
thinks it may be delayed until 1890 or
1899 on account Of planetary influences.
The use of gas as fuel is suggested as
a means of freeing London from the
intolerable smoke with which it is now
afflicted. It is thought to be not alto
gether improbable that, with the gene
raj adoption of electricity as a source
of light and the employment Of gas for
heating purposes, the dream OF smoke
less London may be realized at no very
distant period.
By the adoption of preventive meas
ures to guard against expected cpl
denies in certain English towns, Mr..
Edwin Chadwick estimates that three
fourths Of million lives and three mil
lion cases of sickness have been saved.
This seems somewhat startling state
ment, but the figures are the result of
statistical comparisons, and are probab-
ly correct.
DR.. Won Fritsch, Of Halle, maintains
hat the cause Of earthquakes must ex-
NC near the earth's surface, and does
not reach greater depth than ten or
fourteen miles. They must be pro-
duced, he believes, by the increase and
decrease Of volume Of rocks under the
influence of chemical and physical
forces, and by the conclusions due to
the opening Of assures in the rocks.
In 1850 the Hoang -Ho River, Of China,
emptied into the yellow Sea; now this
mouth is dry, and the river has new
channel opening to the Gulf of Pc
chele, nearly 800 miles north of its for
mer outlet, and the stream turned aside
from it's old bed at distance Of more
than 800 miles from the coast. This is
the last Of many changes, back and
forth recorded by the Chinese during
the past 5000 years. The changes be-
gin in floods caused by rain in the dis
tant Knenlun Mountains.
Natures fiat that soon or late all men
must die, fails to satisfy vast number
of discontinued human creatures who
hasten the execution of the stern de-
cree by prematurely cutting short their
own existence. DR.. Morselli, of Turin,
has given some curious and interesting /
facts and statistics concerning suicides,
from which it appears that the victims
of self-destruction are rapidly becom-
ing more numerous in nearly all civil
Lied countries. I'm France, for instance,
during the quarter-century from 1897
to 1859 the annual number Of suicides
increased from forty EIGHT to
nearly eighty three per million Of in
habitants, and the number in later
years is stated 10 be $50 Per million.
The causes which lead to suicide are Of
course various climate, religion and
family relations being conditions which
sxert a marked influence. DR.. Morselli /
inds that during the change from cold |
o heat in spring suicides are more nu-
nerous than at other seasons. Very |
suicides are more frequent
during the first third of
ny month than in the second, and
Turing the second third than in the