The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-04-15
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

i It has lately been proven experimeu
) tally that ealomel may be decomposed i
! the human system with the formation q
corrosive sublimate-a powerful poison
In an experiment by NJ. Paul Ber
upon a live crocodile, the animal bein
} made to forcibly close its mouth exerte,
pulling force of 308 pounds upon
rope attached to the ends of its uppe
, jaw. The extremity Of the jaw bein,
the end ola long lever, the real powe
exerted by the muscles was much greater
and was computed to be 1910 pounds
This experiment was made upon
crocodile already weakened by cold anf
, fatigue. 49,
} A year or more ago a gate-post whicl
had been painted with so-called zinc
white was noticed to appear black al
day, gray in the twilight aud white
during the night, changing to black
again very soon after sunrise. Mr.. I'll
Phipson was led to Investigate this
singular chameleon property of the paint
and after much research has shown the
cause TO exist III new metal, which has
been named actinnm on account of its
peculiar actinic effects. 1t is found in
zinc ores, and resembles zinc.
Attention has been called to some new
facts in relation to color-blindness
Careful Investigations have shown the
Chinese and the Nubians to be practi-
caliy free from the defect DR.. Roberts
has observed that color blindness is most
common among persons of reddish or red
hair, and it is very prevalent among the
jews, who are the most decidedly red
haired Of all known races. 1t is thought
probable, therefore, that there may be
some correlation of eolor-b blindness with
fermentation, and indirectly with racial
peculiarities.
A schoolmaster of Nice has formed
among his pupils society for the
protection Of vegetation. The members
are to destroy injnrions larvae and pro-
tect harmless birds. Their interest in
the work is kept Up by the election of
laureates and the award of prizes. In
four months of 81 the children des-
troyed 1855 beltsaof moth-eggs, repre-
senting no fewer In 1868 500 larvae;
1914 ,s2s cabbage Aae; 1883 grasshop-
pers; 629 butterllls ss; SOIL slugs and
Esnails; 1874 grubass ssand s5,7s1 insects O
various kinds. TIg work is both very
valuable and very obstructive.
Sounds producoin certain individuals
| the impression of: color. This curious
phenomenon, which was first described
by Nnssbanmer> y 1873, has recently
been made the subject of systematic
study by Herren BleuIen and Lehmann
of Zurich. They find that the colors
associated with different notes differ Will,
the individuals, bgng as a rule light for
high notes aud ;ark for low notes
Chords either casye tie colors which
correspond to theH notes to appear to
the mind side by stt7'o or give mixture
of those colors. II same note in diff
ferent keys changeiin color, and to many
persons different Cd .ors appear when the
same piece is playe by different instru-
ments. Noises, as well as musical notes,
are accompanied by colors, varying with
the intensity and pitch Of the sound. Of
$50 individuals examined, one-e;ghth
were " color-hearers." Four persons per-
ceiyed sound as result of sensations Of
light and color. A broad, quietly burn
ing gas flame led to the perception of
sound formed of ,c and a light vowel like
e; but when the fame flickered the
sound became that of. These cases can
generally be explained by an association
of sounds with colors by the individual
minds, and the phenomenon is largely
hereditary.
Astronomers knowledge of the re-
markable ring of small planets travelling
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
commenced with the first day Of the
present century, when Piazzi discovered
the first of these objects, which he named
Ceres. Other discoveries followed at
irregular intervals until, in 1s45, the
number Of these small planets-or as
teroids, as they are usually called-was
increased to five. Since that year the
list has extended very rapipily, and 220
have now been discovered. No estimate
can be formed of the total number of the
asteroids. They ATE very small, and
Leverrier has computed that their COM
bined mass is probably less than one
fourth of the earth's mass. From the
size of Vesta, which is estimated to be
3l9 miles in diameter, they dwindle to
an unknown minntencss. Herr Horn
stein has communicated to the Vienna
Academy the result of recent researches,
which appear to prove that the number
of asteroids with a diameter of over 25
miles is extremely small, and that pro-
badly all such were discovered before
1859. The number with diameter less
than five miles seems also to be very
small, at least III the inner parts Of the
asteroid zone next Mars: in the outer
regions next Jupiter there may be IA more
considerable number OF these very SINAI.
bodies. Most asteroids seem to have
diameters between five and Efteen miles.
The average number with diameter of