The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-10-21
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

81 uC 60ttt0Ag0 Vi GuU D0n . Sesssk,Asssssee
now most generally received is that OF
Prof. Rosetti Of Padna, who places 1t at
about 5000 degrees Fahrenheit.
A new Thermometer, devised by n.
Nicholson, has proven 90 sensitive in its
experimental form that the inventor
hopes to be able to measure tue thou
sandth Of q degree centigrads with 1t.
A cast iron containing twelve per cent,
Of silicon has been adoptsQ by German
inventor for the manufacture of bottles,
ETC., that compound being capable, it 10
said, Of resisting the action Of the strong
est acids.
The membership roll Of the American
Association for the Advancement OF
Science embraces q total Of 1899 names,
according to the latest report Of its Sec
rotary. Death has removed 1874 mem
bers.
Tho medical officer Of the Ezra expedi-
ton, M. w. H. Neale, expresses the
opinion that Arctic explorers may escape
scurvy by living on the meat If the
country-tbat is, walrus aud bear-even
without vegetables.
The observations upon tree-growth in
Mexico made by Mons. Charney tend to
show that in damp tropical climates the
concentric rings, from which the trees
age is usually calculated, may form at
tho rate of ono I. Month instead Of one
year.
A picture representing the Judgment
of Solomon has been unearthed ut Pom
peii. Archaeologists will doubtless re-
gard this relic with peculiar interest, as
it is reported to be the first picture OH q
sacred subject that has been discovered
in the buried cities.
DR.. CDnstan tins Fahlberg recently de-
scribed to the German Technical Society
u new substance which he estimates 70
possess from twenty to thirty times the
sweetness Of cane sugar. In chemical
language the new body would be called
" Observation-Disclosures acid"
Mons. Camille ILLUMINATION, the French
astronomer, endeavors to account for the
recent remarkable changes which have
appeared on the surface Of Mars by sup
posing that foundations and other move
ments of great bodies of water are more
extensive ON that plsnet than on the
earth.
A distinguished German pathologist,
Prof. Schmale, advises all who wish to
attain u long life to swallow daily the
juice of six OF eight lemons. He believes
that the citric acid will quickly dissolve
aud carry of the surplus Of food aud de-
caying matter, and almost indefinitely
preserve health.
A" bent equatorial telescope, an in
vention Of Mons. Loewy, is now i'll oper-
alton at the Paris Observatory. The pc
culiarity of ths instrument is that, il
consequences Of the bending and the use
Of two rejecting mirrors, the astrono-
mer can observe NIL the celestial bodies
without rising from his table.
In an experiment described to the
French Academy by Mr.. Bergeron, q
miniature imitation of the Orators in the
moon is produced. by sending a current Of
hot air through u brass tube into u mass
Of melted but gradually cooling metallic
alloy. Mons. Bergeror looks upon the
experiment as a suggestion of the man
ner in which the lunar craters may hav,
been formed.
A disastrous FIRE i'll Sicily sulphur
mine had very curious origin. A rop'
broke when drawing a heavy LOADED
wagon up an incline, and the rapid mo
ton of the wagon rs it rushed back int
the mine developed heat enough to in
flame the highly combustible ore. TIL.
fire spread 80 quickly through the mine
that thirteen workmen were unable t,
escape, and maHy others were injured.
| Mr.. w. II. Preece, the electrician Q
the British, Posts Office, has tried the il
teresting experiment of telegraphiD:
without the aid Of wires across the chan
nel separating the Isle Of Wight fror
England. Large metal plates were III,
mersed in the sea at opposite ends Of II,
Solemt-namels, at Portsmouth an
Ryde, separated by six miles Of water, an
ut Hurst Castle and Sconce Point, witt
one mile of channel separation. TIL
Portsmouth and Hurst Castle plate
were connected by q wiro passing
through southampton, and the Ryd
aud the Sconce Point plates by wir
passing through Newport, the circni
being completed by the seq. Signal
were readily passed by the Morse system
but telephone speech was impracticable
Concerning Observation-Disclosures, D,
G. w. Sielnens, in his address as Presi
dent of the British Association for til
Advancement of Science, stated that b
had only to add to his previously record
ed observations that wheat, barley, oat
and other cereals sown in the open Al
had show much acceleration Of growth
under the influence Of the electric light
This was not very apparent until to
wards the end Of February, when wit
the first appearance Of mild weather tn
plants under the influence of an electric
lamp of 1000 candle power, placed about