Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-03-02
SCIENCE.

points out that the success Of Laeerda
In Brazil was only In treating CsSss
where the wound had been inflicted Dy
the viper. whose venom is blood pos.
ON. while the poison OF the serPens
most dreaded in India, the coora' Ac,S
directly on the nerve centres. AT All
events his observations thus far tend
10 show that the permanganate OF pot
ash a only efficacious against cobra
poison when brought into direct con-
tact with the poison itself. Thus a
ouantitv Of cobra poison sufficient 10
cause death was administered 70 a oog
without injurious effects where a so
luton of the permanganate was intro
duced under the animals skin at the
same place within three minutes; but
the drug was of no avail If the treat
ment was delayed until symptoms OF
poisoning showed themselves. Dr.
Richards is still going on with his
experiments. He suggests, however.
that inasmuch as the permanganate OF
potash certainly has some neutralizing
power over the virus of the snake, 1t
ought 10 be tried in cases Of hydropho-
bia, rs Il may likewise be effective
against the virus Of rabies.
The report OF the lightning-rod con-
ference held in England at the instance
of the Council of the Meteorological
Society has been published. The mem
bers OF the conference represented not
only that society. but also the Royal
Institute of British Architects, the
Physical Society, and the Society Of
Telegraph Engineers. Among the del.
eQates were Professors w. G.. Adams,
G.. G. Foster, w. +. Aryton, and ID. +.
Hughes. The principal conclusions
arrived ut were the following: The
conductor should be simply bevelled,
not pointed. at the top, but ring Of
three or four Gnely-pointed copper
needles should encircle the rod about
n foot below the extreme end. Copper
and iron are both suitable materials
for n conductor. but copper is the
cheaJest and best under ordinary cir
cumstanceA A round rod of copper
should not be less than three-eights Of
an inch in diameter; OF iron, nine
tenths Of an inch. IL Is very import
ant that the joints Of the conductor
should be perfect. The evidence be
fore the members indicated that pro
perly adjusted conductor would protect
conical space the radius Of whose
base was equal TO its height.
In letter In Nature from Zanzibar,
containing an account of c
pet babOon, the writer asserts
that this animal Is capable Of
actual laughter. We quote; IL want
very much 10 know whether other
people have noticed that these balloons
really laugh; have heard somewhere,
am sure, that the power of laughter
Is the distinction between man and
animals. But Judy certainly used 10
laugh.-not at n Joke, confess; and
nothing made her so savage as being
laughed at. But when she romped
with me she used TO open her mouth
and show all her white teeth, and reg.
ularly laugh like a child, especially
when she was tickled." This testimo-
ny Is direct and clear, and the accura-
cy and truthfulness of the writer are
vouched for by Miss Julia WedgwOod,
who sends the communication 10 the
paper.
The suggestion Of a possibility that
the proposed canal across the Isthmus
Of Panama might divert the warm
waters Of the Gulf Stream into the Pa
cihc ocean. has called out an expression
Of opinion on the subject from Mr.
James Gelkie, f. II. s., who declare:
that TO bring about any such a result
that part OF Central America would
have TO sink eight hundred and prob
ably thousand feet. "The grear
work Of the famous French engineer,
he says. twill have as much effect up
on the Gulf Stream and the climate o.
northwestern Europe as the emptyinC
Of tea-potful Of boiling water int
the Arctic Ocean would have in rails
ing the annual temperature Of Green
land" Even this innnitesimal effec
does not seem likely to be produced
very soon.
The announcement IL made that &c
Ologists can become members. of tn
chronological Society Of Japan (which
is devoted to the observation Of earth
quake pheDOmena) by an annual pay
ment of Eve dollars, which will entitl
them to receive the publications Of tn
society. The value of this privileg
depends upon the language TO be EN-
ployed In printing the proceeding
The Journal Of the Geographical Sc
ciety Of Toxic for last year, just pub
lished, Is wholly in the japanese char
acter.
One OF the ablest physicists who ha
lived In England in our time was tn,
late Professor James Clerk Maxwell
An account OF his life and scientif,
work Is In preparation. which will con
tain also a large collection Of poems o
which he was the author. This fea
ture OF the memoir is a novalty i'm On,
life OF a man Of science The late ST
John Herschel, IL Is true. TRANSLATED
the Had Of Homer into English verse
but was not. we believe, the author o.
any original poetical compositions.
The new bell for St. Paurs, London
Is said 10 be the largest ever cast II
England. IL has just been finished a
Loughborough, IN Leicestershire, ant
weighs seventeen and n half tons
There are emily two bells in western
Europe which surpass II in weight
those Of Olmutz and Vienna. The
famous Moscow bells however, ar,
much heavier, the estimated weight Of
the largest being two hundred anC
twenty tons. and Of another one hun
dred and ten tons
The officers and men who are 4
establish q scientific observing station
ON the shore Of the Arctic at the mouth
OF the Siberian river lena. left 81
Petersburg on the 9th Of December
and expect. n they meet with no un
foreseen obstacles on the journey, h
reach their destination by the first o
August next so as to have at least on
q a. -