St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-09-23
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

fish. The brilliant glare of submerge
lamp is found to attract great number
OF fishes, which may be readily car
tnred in nets.
The specific gravity of liquid stet
has recently been determined by Hel
Alexjetf to be 500. 1t is therefore con
slderably heavier than solid steel. whic
las specific gravity of 7.S1 to .'S4.
The motion of heavy bodies like rail
way trains shakes the earth for con
siderable distances, and observation o
such facts is gradually giving rise to
pellet that the tOrce necessary to pro
duce earthq uake shocks has been owe
estimated. A delicate apparatus use,
by Prof. H. u. Paul showed quite stron,
vibrations on the passing of an expires
train third of a mile away; and lik
effects We're observed even at some
what greater distances. A perceptibl
vibration was transmitted through tn,
ground whenever Il stone was struck b,
the wheels OF a one horse vehicle pass
lng at distance of 400 or 500 feet.
Helmuth Drueberg, of Berlin, con
tends that the opposite side of the In 1901
from the earth may have air and water
and be inhabited. The same side OF
the moon is always turned to the earth
and the centrifugal force arising from
the moons motion around the earth
would throw such light and fluid
proportions of its substance as air and
water to the further side, while the
earth's attraction would contribute to
keep the heavy side toward us. AS an
illustration, a mOistened ball may be
swung by cord. The same side will
always be toward the centre of revolu-
ton, and the moisture will pass to the
outer side.
The value for agricultural purposes
OF the blood OF the 100000 animals
yearly slaughtered in France is eS'ima-
ted by French writer to be q 100000
francs. Various methods have been
proposed for treating the blood so as to
prevent nuisance.
According to paper from DR.. C. j.
Macgowan, the orange trees in portions
OF Canton, in China, are injured by Ger
tain worms, to destroy which the in
habltants import ants from the neigh
boring hills. The ants are of two spe-
cles, and .lnhabit nests suspended from
the branches OF trees. They are col
lected and transported in bladders, and
are placed in the tops of the orange
trees, which are connected by means of
BAMBOO rods so as to give the ants
ready access to all parts OF the orchard
Ihe remedy has been in constant use at
least since 1910, and probably dates
from much earlier period. Prof. C.
V: Riley wishes to learn if these species
OF ant have ever been determined.
Mr.. A. H. Swinton has endeavored to
show the relation existing between the
appearance OF insects and sun-sDOt |
cycles, and gives a tabulated record to
prove that certain insects are most nu-
merous during the years Immediately
following minimum OF sun-spots, and
a1ce rersa. 1t this theory may be APP
Piled to all species, a period of insect
scarcity should now follow the remark
able activity of the suns surface for
past.
The strength Of hosting cables for
mines has been investigated by French
Greater care is found to
be necessary with metallic cables than
with those OF textile materials, on ac-
count OF liability to corrosion, and pre-
terence is given to the latter for most
mines.
sCroll in his "Climate and Time" saws:
Here is one way of conveying to the l
mind some idea Of what a million of {
7ears is. Take a strip of paper an s
nch broad or more, and eighty three =,
eet four inches in length, and stretch =.
t along the wall of a large hall, or /
ound the walls of an apartment some e
What over twenty feet square. Recall f
0 memory the days of your boyhood,
@ as to get some adequate conception
t what period of hundred years is.
hen mark Oft from one of the ends of ,
be strip one-tenth Of an inch. The !
ent one hundred years, and the entire
sngth of the strip million of years. :
is well worth making the experiment. \
1st in order to feel the striking i'm.
resslon that it produces on the mind. W
ould we stand upon the edge of a Fl
orge, a mile and half in depth. that
ad been cut out of the solid rock nv
ny stream scarcely visible at the bot
,m OF this fearful abyss, and we were
formed that this little streamlet was
Die to wear off annually only one ~
nth of an inch from it's rocky bed. \
hat would our conception be Of the y
odIgious length of time that this
ream must have taken to excavate the
rge !? We should certainly feel Pl
artled when, on making the necessa-
calculations, we found that the
feam had performed this enormous St
aennt Of work in something less than to
million Of years." ia
BY an improved method, the quantity ~ :;
i..aOd in living mammals has been as In
rtahed to be between one-twelfth Sal
q 'one-thirteenth of the weight of the
dS. Under normal conditions this
'noTdon varies but little. A healthy =
WEI Ching $50 must therefore carry n
t twelve pounds of blood. II
idenee that the Dead Sea was once
t OF the ocean has been presented
Paris Academy of Sciences. PR