The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-03-30
MiscelIa1reoms.
%
For THE HERALD.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

aIity. Fo- example, white stripe
on a black surface is apparently
broader than q black stripe of
equal width or a white surface.
Peter Scherffer hiss sought an ex-
PLANTATION Of the phenomenon, and
thus accounts for it. When one
Of our senses receives i double
sensation, Que being strong and
the other weak, the latter is not
felt. Especially is this the case
when both impressions are of the
Same kind, or when a strong effect
upon one of the senses is followed
by a weaker one ofthe same kind.
Eight prizes Of s125 each have
been offered by the Royal Society
of New South Wales for the best
communication giving the results
of original study or observations
on as many specified subjects.
The subjects have special refer
once TO Australian progress.
Recent attention has been drawn
to the value Of the Quillia tree Of
Chill, on account Of the powerful
cleansing properties of it's bark.
1t is said to be more effective un-
der certain conditions than the
best soap. 1t is already used to
somo extent in washing silk and
wool.
An aeronaut ascending from
Paris on a cold and cloudy day in
February recorded a temperature
of 68 degeees at a height Of 5000
feet. This result occasioned no
little aStonishmcnt.
The increase Of interest in elec
trical matters is remarkable. A
London publisher is selling 1000
copies a month off new work on
electricity.
y singular occurrence. striking
ly showing the powerful effect Of
ice III rendiug rocks, was lately
related by Herr Bergh. An en-
tcnsivo pronoutory in Western
Norway was, in 1717, deluged
with water during thaw, filing
every crcvicc in the rock. A
severe cold quickly followed, sud
denly freezing the water and
bursting the mass of rock, which
was projected from a height Of
1900 feet into the neighborlng
ford, which cngulfed the entire
promontory with lis cultivated
fields and farmstead. The fall
caused ! huge wave in the ford,
which not only swept away all
the fishing boats within a distance
Of two miles and a balf but also
carried away a church which had
stood fifty feet above the water II
mile away from the promontory.
Of the latter only a low ledge
now remains.
The latest publications of Aus
tralian statistics show that the
death rate of tue continent is re
markably low, being only IA in
1000 in 1880. The English rate
for the same year was over 20 per
1000.
A wealthy Paris banker, N.
Bischofst elm, has undertaken the
expense of an expedition to Africa
to observe the total solar eclipse
of May II.
Col. Veniukoff, a Russian trav.
eller, estimates that third OF
Asia, as we'll as thirtieth part OF
Europe, still remains 10 be ex'
plored.
A rumor of the existence of a
race of pigmies in Africa, to the
southeast Of Kaffa, has reached
DR.. Schweinfurth.
Considering the merits Of glass
as roofing material, a German
authority finds that hail is not so
destructive to glass as is usually
believed, as it seldom damages
panes an eight of an inch thick,
and thickness of a quarter "f an
inch is almost absolutely sate.
Observations upon meteorlc
dust, the minute particles which
reach tho earth from the regions
of space, are attended by much
difficulty and uncertainty, as there
ale few localities accessible TO mar
to which terrestrial dust does moi
penetrate. TO secure freedom from
the interference Of these terrestrla
atoms it is suggested that captive
balloons be employed and sent tt
the greatest uttaiDable attitudes.