The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1882-10-21
For the CARBON ADvocATE1
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

Prof. o. Silvestri has found crys-
thllised paruffiue ia the lava near Mount
Etna
or the 229 nst'r roi's now known, for
t'-nre we're discovered 10y DR.. Peters and
thirty -siX ny Dr. Palisa.
TIE opinion ofau eminent analyst il
quoted TO show that potatoes produce
symptoms of poisoning more frequently
than We suspect, especially among people
whose diet is chiefly these vegetables.
The tubers often contain much solanine,
1t is asserted on eminent medical
suthoritytbat cigarette produces
a more marked depression of the pulse
than the smoking of either cigars or
pipes, and its effects upon the system are
more injurious. The i'll effects ure es.
pecially apparent in young men not fully
grown.
DR.. Hanamann has pointed ont that
the practice OF rem wing leaves and twigs
from wood covered land is a pernicious
one, as it deprives the soil of the nutri-
tnent which the decay of the vegetable
matter would bave returned TO it ard also
impairs the soils power of retaining
moisture.
TO obviate the great risk to which
turonauts in war ballons are exposed, Mr..
A. Cooper Key has suggested method
of securing the desired observations by
photogtaphing the enemy's positions
from small captive balloons carrying the
necessary cameras, which may be operat-
ed by electrical means.
In the report of n committee of the
British Associate it was stated that the
maximum pressure of the wind on small
plane surfaces had been ascertained to
exceed eighty and even ninety pounds to-
the square foot. The pressure over any
large area was considered matter of
much uncertainty, but it was possible
that the maximum pressure of fiity-six
pohhds allowed by the Board OF Trade
might take effect over the whole of very
exposed structures.
Experiments upon over four hundred
individuals of all classes, ages and cccu%
pations show how great i the diversity
of opinion as 10 the size of objects seen
through the microscope. The object
used in the experiments WAS a common
louise magniied to Theoretical size Of
4.66 inches. The majority of observers
underestimated this value, two estimates
were only one inch, seven were over u
foot. and one was at least five feet. New
students of the microscope usually ie-
esive an impression somewhat larger than
the real value, and adhere to il for q con.
siderable time.
DIR. Mittendorf states that American
students are less afflicted with near-sight-
edness than German students The af-
fcction Is developed by oedentary occupa-
tions and lack OF exercise, women being
therefore more liable to contract it than
men. 1t usually appears in childhood.
rarely after the twepty-fitst year. Weak
glasses of slight blue tint SHOULD 90 worn
early to stay its progress, as blindness
of,en follows neglect of treatment. In
his paper on this subject Dr. Nj. tells OF
a fne horse in Berlin which bucurie in.
trdctahle and was found to be suffering
from near-sigh ghttdn,s s., hut WAS rs docilO
as ever after II lair OF glasses had been
fitted TO its eyes.
The existence of prebensible tree in
certain isl ,nds of the Pacific is reported
by Lieut. IloughtOn. The branches of
the tree send ont long slender tendrils.
which touch the gtound Without tai pg
root lrd twiue about any ol ject within
reash These tendrils contract after
time so that they do not to uch the ground.
and in this way they often lift objects of
considerable weight around which they
have become Goiled The tree seems to
BE- allied to the banyau, which ssnds
slender flores from i,s branches down to
thr lround where they ev,ntu lily he
: c M I, oted aud form new stems, which
have the same function; single tree thus
gradually extending into complete for
: est in which the trunks are united to each
other by the branches.
Efforts are still being made to Trovs
a connection between the Appearance OF
the SIMS surface and terrestrial phenom.
ena. That sm-spois are in some way
associated with the earth's magnetic con-
di,iop seems to be quite well establil he'd,
but II has not been so certainly shown
that the causes which produce the spots
and magnetic variations have an influence
upon the meteorology Of OuF globe This
theory is still hone Of contention. As
bit of evidence beating upon the sub
+ feet, Prof Balfoar Stewart cites certain
inquiries into the heights of the rivers
Elbe and Seine in Europe and Nile in
Africa which indicate that these great
streams reach their greatest heig1' at q
, time closely correspondii G to the maxi
mum Of the eleven year sun spot eS elo,
snd their lowest point al the minimum
of the sgine period The ram all in these
: riYer-Mleys must therefore he greatest
when tG" disgthAhcts on the sun are
, most ekteiilrdaud vi"l-ntaud vice versa.
------------.------
DR.. II. V. Plrrce's Golden Medical Dis
cn,cry" cures every kiad Of humar, iron,
; The cotnmou PinIpirur eruption 10 the worst
serdiua
-Four to siN bottles cure salt-rhenm or
teller
, One To Ave hotties cure the worst Kind Of
pimples nn the ftt,.