The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1882-12-02
For the CARBoN ADVOCATE
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

"A wire G 600 feet long over the river
K'stnah in India is the longest in the
world. It is stretched between two hills
1900 feet high.
Sir Joseph Hooker hes described
new genus Of rubber-produoin plants
Of Malayan origiu-to which tho name
Dyer1 has been given.
It is pointed ont that many wines,
and especially those of Bordeaux, hold in
solution larger proportion of iron than
most of the so-called cbalybeetc waters.
--Iu Norway woodpeckers kore into
telegraph posts, being misle1 by the
humming Of the wires iuto the belief that
the wood contains insects; and bears mis-
take tie sound for the noise &C. bees.
Recent analyses are stated to show
that the water of the Holy Wcll' at
MeccG-so eagerly drank by pilgrims
is sewage about ten times as strong as the
average London sewage.
1t is well known That many fine
bronzes soon tara q1iie black while 9th.
ers equally exposed do not. The Berlin
Society of Architects finds that the black
ening is probably due to the presence of
zinc ia the troi zes so-offected.
The entomologist of the British Roy
al Agricult Society, Miss A. L. Or
merod, says that some kinds Of caterpil-
lave ,,.. ~ l., rr,,,,, -, ,a;~ - sl
so that they may be broken like sticks
without being injured by the free tzing.
"A zone of country in Hungary re-
markutly affected by meteofites has been
noted by Herr e. Doll. Of the eight
known meteorite falls recorded during
the twenty-five years up 1877 six occurred
in this region, and subsequently two
more.
"A very durable artificial ivory has
recently been prepared by dissolving
shellac in ammonia, mixing the solution
with oxide of zinc, driving off the am
mona by heating, powdering, and strong
ly compre 81 lg in moulis.
The smallest insects are proportion
ally the strongest of all animals, accord
ing to some ingenious experiments by
Mons. Pateau. 1t was found that a horse
can pull six-sevenths of its weight, n
cockchafer fourteen times its weight, and
a bee twenty times its weight.
t., tlo ,nu;roo, or Do;I;a.. M.
Lisch has discovered whole Gallo Ro-
man town, which he declares to be "a
small Pompeii, in the centre of France
Excavations thus far made have disclosed
entire streets, in which are temple,
theatre and many other buildings.
After considerable difficulty, tie
Cavaliere d'Amico has succeeded in &C
complishing the important botanical re-
suit of accllnutizipg number of foreign
plants in Sicily. Among them is the tea
plant, and it is hoped that Sicilian tea
may ere long become not unimportant
article of commerce,
Prof. Bruins, of Tubingen, has made
some experiments on dogs which he re-
CARDS as proving that bone-marrow, COM
plctoly separated from the bone, may be
transplanted under the skin of the same
animal at remote part of the body with
the result of giving rise to the formation
of bone and cartilage.
A 1nrr,o cub ., o,rOflO hoe haan
discovered in the side of a mountain at
BorgNli, in the Island of Sardinia. 1t
has many beautiful stalactites, and there
are fifteen long lateral galleries, the arch
of oae Of them resting on range of high
pillars having whiteness like that of
marble. A marvellous effect in colors is
produced when the grotto is lit up with
torches.
Mr. Vacher has assured the British
Medical Association that milk from tuber-
culous COWS must be regarded as danger
Gus, but The transmission of consump-
tion by milk is almost incapable of proof
beoluse 80 many other possible sources
Of the disease exist in all cases where per-
sons become affected, A wise course is
to boil all milk to be use as food.
Mr.. Gill, the astronomers. the Cape
Town Observatory, reports an obserya-
tion there made which is quite without
precedent in the history of comets. o.
September 18th the comet was followed
by two observers with separate instrn'
ments until it reached the very edge OF
the suns disc, where it suddenly disap'
peayed. This observation is AIN extraar.
dinary illustration of the intense brilli.
ancy Of the comet at perihClion.
1t has recently been discovered that tle
faded ink on old purcLments may be re-
stored by moisteuiug the lines OF writing
, with solution of sulphide of ammonia
The writing will turn quite dark, and il
on parchment Will retain the color, re,
cords treated in this way in the Germau'
ic Museum of Nuremburg being still il
the same condition as Immediately after
the application ten years ago. On papei
however, tho restored writing gradually
fades again, but may he revived at pleas.
ure by fresh applications Of the sulphi1e.
On the 18th of October was com
mencsd the fourth century Of the New
Style of time-register!ug Tho true year
does not contain Sn exact number OF
days, so the fractions have been allowed
to accumulate and have been added as
whole days at such times rs have been
considered sufficiently accurate for pIec-
teal purposes. As the p,Sa introduced
by Julius Caesar of adding Que day to
every fourth year was found TO make the
average civil year few minutes too long.
Pope Gregory XIII in 1852 ordered that
he year be corrected by dropping ten
days giving 10 the next day after Oct.
4th the date Of Oct, l5th-and that the
l. a.