St. Landry democrat., 1882-06-10
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

The coal required in London for light
mo purposes and motive power Sir
Henry Bessemer would have burned
at the mines from which it is ]
procured. The GOALS energy might
then be transmitted to the metropolis
over a copper wire in the form OF cleo
tricity, at IL vast saving OF expense. lie
estimates that $4,000 horse power re-
curing an annual consumption OF over
a million tons OF coal, might IN tins
way be conveyed to London over q sin
Gle copper wire one inch in diameter.
An important advantage of the plan,
i'll addition to the saving in cost, is
that the combustion of so large an
amount of coal at a distance instead OF
IN the city limits would considerably re-
duce the quantity Of smoke in the Lon
don atmosphere.
The great earthquake record of NAL
let catalogues between 5000 and 1000
earthquakes between the years, l6o6 3.
c.. and A. D. 1912. Probably the most
memorable of these is the terrible earth
quake which destroyed Lisbon in ITS,
With scarcely moment OF warning
rumble, violent shock came which
urertutned the city, and in six minutes
$4,000 persons had persisted and a por-
ton of the town was permanently en-
Quilted at a depth of 900 feet below the
service of the bay. The shock was
felt with greater or less severity over a
great area, extending from the Baltic
to the West Indies, and from
Canada to Algeria. Hombolt estimates
that a portion of the earth's surface
equal to four times the size Of Europe
was affected.
Herr Kohlrausch has recently made
experiments disproving a common no.
ton that sunshine affects the draught
of chimney.
Extended microscopical examinations
have convince Prof. Relnseh that coal
is largely formed Of remains Of a low
order of marine life, and not entirely
from land plants.
Ninety per cent of the yellow sand Of
of the Sahara desert is found to be
quartz grains, the angles OF which are
remarkably rounded-evidently by at
triton through the action OF the wind.
Of the inconceivable minuteness of
certain forms of life, some OF which are
of vital concern to mankind, Prof.
Proctor says "The minute organisms
capable Of inducing changes analogous
to the fermentation caused by yeast
have received great attention OF late
years and several important diseases
are distinctly traced to them. Bechamp
estimated that OO0,000,000 Of germs one
micro-ferment only occupied one cubic
twenty-tifth Of an inch Not one OF
these minute bodies could develop ex-
cept by carrying on complicated PRO-
cesses of chemical nature, involving
very active movements OF its atoms and
molecules. The mathematicians have
L. -: fn,,rlal hn
sure exerted by the gases, and other
considerations, which show that par
ticle Of the sort Of matter-such as al
bumen and protoplasm-chiet1y con-
cerned in life processes, contains In a
space of one cubic thousandth of an
inch more molecules than any one
conld form any possible conception OF.
Sorby, taking probable mean OF such
calculations, supposes one cubic thou
sandth Of an inch of water
to contain 100000, 0O0,0OO,000 MOLE
molecules. A sheet OF ordinary note
paper is about one-hundredth of an inch
thick. One tenth of this would, OF
course be one thousandth of an inch, and
little square box Of that size each
way would hold the amazing number
If water molecules mentioned: Per
flaps few thousands of such molecules
lkldY SuElCt IOf NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. VI
life, but even if many millions should
be requisite for the structure OF the
humblest and simplest germ, we could
never expect to see the actual begin
nings of life"
French photographers find the water
of the Mediterranean sea to be salter
and denser than in the Atlantic.
The electrical piano Of Boudet is a re-
cent novel application of electricity. An
ordinary instrument is provided with
two sets of hammers, the upper or cleo
trical hammers, which continue striking
the wires rapidly SO long as pressure
on the corresponding keys is given.
Prof. Rofer states that the heat in the
deepest workings of the Adalbert sill
yer mines in Bohemia-about 3,4O0 feet
below the surface-is far from being
excessive. The temperature OF the
rock is but about rs degrees Fahren-
heit, while that of the atmosphere is a
small fraction Of degree higher. In
some parts Of the Comstock Code in
Nevada the temperature is 100 to 157
degrees at depth OF 800 to 1000 feet.
It is generally known that biologists
find the average increase in the earth's
internal heat from the surface down
ward to be one degree tor every sixty
feet of descent. In the case Of the Ad-
albert mines the increase,-all allowing the
surface temperature to be so degrees
would be one degree for each 131. feet
of descent; and the highest average in
the Comstock Code cannot be less than
one degree to every 10 feet.
Kaltenback has described an aston
ishing number of insects as found on
some kind Of forest trees in Europe,
only comparatively few OF which are
particularly destructive. Thus, 537
ral.a;n. o.,o IL; 1,rinns 70 tho OOH and 10y