St. Landry democrat., 1882-08-12
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

1t is reported that q telegram and ;
telephone message from Brussels Were
recently received simultaneously owe
one wire at Paris The system is th,
work of the Director of the Belgian
Meteorological Bureau, Herr Van Kis
selberghe, and if successful must prove
very valuable.
A peculiar effect is produced upon the
Workmen i'll a Russian bichromate OF
potash factory. The partition of the
nose is attacked, a hole is eaten through
it, and after time it is totally destroy
ed, both nostrlls being converted into
one. An inspection has shown that
about fifty per cent of the men employ
ed have diseased noses, some having
been attacked during their first month
OF work while others have been en-
ployed ten years without being affected
entirely painless.
The first effects of small doses of ar
senic taken from time to time are
shoWn-hy experiments of M NJ. de
Poncy and Livon upon cats-to be a
fattening Of the body, increase of APP
petite, and general appearance of inn
proved health. This is soon followed,
however, by emaciation, loss of appe-
| UlIc, duitlllia, duu UehLu.
Remains of a remarkable bird of the
Eocene epoch have been found near
Rheims by NJ. de Lemoine. The bird
was at least ten feet high when erect,
with a much larger skull than that OF
the ostrich, and atfinities-it is believed
to the duck.
During a shower in the neighborhood
of Paris 200 flashes of lightning were
counted within period OF two hours.
A recent paper by Major Hallett
gives instances of the remarkable re-
suits which have followed efforts to
improve food plants by regularly con-
tinued practice of selecting the seeds of
the best plants for planting. Vines,
beetroOts, cereals and potatoes have
greatly improved under the system of
selection, in some cases the annual
yield per acre being trebled in a few
years.
Several English collieries are testing
blasting cartridges of caustic lime in
place OF the ordinary gunpowder or dy-
Mantle cartridges. The coal is broken
by the expansion of the lime in shaking.
There is no cOncussion, and the danger
from flame, and premature explosion is
avoided.
Mr.. Edward Muy bridge predicts that
In the near future the aid OF photogra-
ply will be sought to determine the
result of all important horse races.
With an invisible thread stretched
across the track to operate camera
slide, 1T is a simple matter to photo
graph the animals in the twinkling of
OF an eye as they pass the winning post
In the operation OF this system there
could be no" dead heats' on account of
the disagreement of judges, as the
record of the photograph would show
with unerring accuracy the winner of
the race.
An estimate of the quantity of sedi-
ment carried down by Chinese rivers
indicates that if the deposit continues
at the present rate the yellow Sea will
be converted into dry land in $4,000
years.
Colors fade under the influence of the
electric light as in sunlight, but NJ. |
DecauX finds that the effect is weaker. |
With an arc light of 200 candle-power,
the influence upon oil and water paint
ings and colored wool seemed to be |
about one-fourth as powerful as sun
light influence.
The botanical literature of the Chi
nese is quite extensive and important,
and dates back to 1897 B. c.
The size and weight Of the human
brain are absolutely greater than in |
any animals except the elephant and |
elephant is said to weigh from eight to
whale between five and six pounds.
to the bulk and weight of
the body, the brain Of man is exceeded
in size only in some small birds and
i
of sea-waves have been proposed. In
the system of NJ. Gauchez, the rise and
fall of large float produce correspond
ing motions Of bell-shaped iron ves-
sell by means of pulleys. AS this ves-
sci rises air is drawn through valves in
it's top and as it falls the air is forced
through pipes into COMPRISING reser-
voir. By the other plan, suggested by
Prof. Wellner Of Brun, species Of air.
Trap in the sea-wall serves as an air.
under the beating Of the
waves. Prof. Wellner produces mo-
i've power from the compressed air by
'unning pipe from the reservoir un-
ler an air wheel (resembling an over
shot water wheeD immersed in water.
The air displaces the water from the
cells and drives the wheel round while
and rising to the surface.
The electric light has become so i'm
)ortant feature in building operations
hat the Royal Institute of British
Architects is considering the merits Of
;he various systems with reference to
and is trying to decide
Students to pass an examination in
physical science as preparation for
he study of electrical apparatus.