St. Landry democrat., 1882-02-04
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

layer OF air resting upon the sand to
the eye of the observer, and irresistibly
gages rise to the impression of reflect
ing surface of water at the point in the
desert from which the rays are projec-
ted. A second form is that observed in
the Arctic regions, of which many
beautiful illustrations have been given
by Scoresby. The principal phenome-
non is what is called "looming"-dis-
tant objects showing an extravagant
increase of vertical height without al
teration in breadth. Distant hummocks
OF ice are thus magnifed into immense
taWeIA and pinnacles, and ship is
s~snetimes abnormally drawn out until
it appears twelve or fourteen times as
high as it is long. The celebrated .tata
norgaaa OF the Straits OF Messina is of
this character. Rocks are seen drawn
up to ten or twelve times their proper
height; and houses, as we'll as human
beings and animals, appear in like ex-
aggerated shape. The most remark
able instance Of this kind OF mirage
was observed in 1888; when from Hast
ings portion of the French coast forty
or fifty miles away was seen as plainly
rs though but few miles distant, al
though ordinarily hidden by the eartli's
convexity. The third and perhaps
most extraordinary form of mirage is
that observed by Vince in 1899, in which
q ship at sea showed three distinct
images-a lower and an upper one in
an upright position and an interme
date one in which the object stood
inverted.
Physicians of Rio Janeiro recon-
mend the oil of anda, a Brazilian tree,
as substitute for castor Oil. It is
pleasanter to take, and the dose is
smaller.
An iron chess board provided with
magnetic chess-m men is a Berlin novelty.
The small magnets concealed in the
figures cause them to adhere to the iron
board and retain their place il, spite of
considerable shocks, such, for instance,
as are received on shipboard or on rail-
way trains.
DR.. Fleck, Dresden chemist, attri-
butes the production Of pimples and
inflammation on the forehead Of some
persons, in hot weather, to the presence
of fat or fatty acids in the leather lin
ing OF hats. BY experiment he has
lately shown that the fat is contained
in all feathers, and, although small in
quantity, is sufficient to produce the
result in question. To avoid the nm
pleasant effects he recommends rub
bling the greasy leather with burnt
magnesia.
A French Government vessel has re-
Gently succeeded in dredging in the
Bay of Biscay at a depth of 1900 feet,
or three and one-fifth miles. The ami
mails found at that distance beneath
the surface were numerous, but of
small size. s..,.. .....z..g..
A novel application of the electric
light is intended to diminish the risk of
collision at sea, The light, with a re-
Hector, is placed on a movable arm in
such position as to move with the rnd-
der, thus indicating by the direction of
its beam the course steered by the YES
sci. s4sss.g gs4rys
Logs and planks split at the ends be-
cause the exposed surface dries faster
than the inside. If. muriatic acid be
saturated with lime and applied to the
ends like whitewash, the chloride of
calcium formed attracts moisture and
pre- vents splitting. wf9Ra |
Herr Kepner, at Salzburg, in the Ty-
rol, has observed that heating earths
and rocks causes them to become mag
netic. With various specimens of |
baked and unbaked bricks he has tested
the accuracy Of the observation, which
is still further confirmed by expert
ments with several minerals by two
other scientists. The magnetism of
newly-heated rocks appears to dimin-
sh somewhat in time, but, some speci-
mems Of Stag, perhaps thousands Of
,ears old, we're found to be still mag
letic. ss
AS the use of electricity becomes
more and more general, the great i'm
,ortance of some method of storing
he current for future use becomes
more widely appreciated. Since the
of Faure's electrical ac-
unulator some months ago, this SUBJ
ect7 has been much studied, and seve-
al storage batteries have been pro-
uced by eminent electricians. The
lost promising apparatus of this kind ,