The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1882-01-14
Communicated.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

Late Investigations OF German Sclen-
fists have shown that the electric light
is not only healthier than other methods
Of illumination in leaving the air purer,
but that il increases the power Of vision
in some respects, especially in distin-
gushing colors. Red, blue, green and
yellow are much more distinct under
this light than by daylight.
Two Leipsic chemists have devised a
process for obtaining sugar in perma-
nently liquid form. This result is said
to be effected by adding to purified
sugar solution small quantity Of citric
acid, which combines with the sugar
and dcprives il Of its tendency to chrys-
tallize.
Some experiments by M. Gautier APP
pear to prove that human saliva pos
sesses, in a milder degree, the same
poisonous property as that Of serpents.
The human saliva injected under the
skin of bird caused death, with symp-
toms very closely resembling those re-
sulting from serpent bites.
a new theory of the so-called fascina-
ton Of birds by snakes is that the bird
mistakes the snakes tongue, which the
reptile keeps in rapid and constant mo-
tion, for lively worm, and watches il
intently with the anticipation Of devour-
ing il.
NJ. Pasteur has resolved to extend his
studies in vaccination to yellow fever,
with view of determining whether or
not the disease is due to parasites and
can be guarded against by inoculation.
A broad field OF investigation is open to
Pasteur, as il is suggested by his discov-
cries thus far that all contagious mala-
dies may be due to parasitic growths the
virulence Of which may be so reduced
by his method of inoculation as to rem
der this class of diseases no longer a
matter Of dread.
A Neapolitan gardener, after years of
experiment, has produced camelia
with a delicate perfume, and he thinks
it probable that these flowers may in the
near future be so cultivated as to rival
the rose in the fragrance of its odor.
Mr. {. Shaler Smith has given the
results OF extensive observations in rela-
ton to the pressure exerted by the wind.
The most violent gale recorded by him
was at East st. Louis, in 1871, when the
wind overturned locomotive, the force
developed in so doing being no less
than % pounds per square foot. At st.
Charles Jail was destroyed in 1877, the
pressure required being 80 pounds per
square foot. At Marshheld, in 1880, a
brick mansion was leveled, the force
necessary being 5S pounds per square
foot. Below these extraordinary pres
sures, Mr.. Smith instances numerous
cases Of trains blown off rails bridges,
ETC., blown down by gales Of ~ to 81
pounds per square foot. In all the ex-
amples the lowest force required to do
the observed damage has been taken rs
the maximum power Of the wind, al
though, Of course, il may have been
higher.
Enthusiasts who make 4 special of sun
spots and attendant phenomena believe
that the corner. stone Of a new science
is being laid by discoveries pointing to
an intimate connection between solar
and terrestrial nIeteorology. Just what
the connection is they are not yet able
to clearly define, although electricity is
suspected of being the agent through
which the effects are manifested upon
our planet. lis known that the gaseous
envelope of the sun is affected by erup-
tions Of such prodigious magnitude as
to be utterly beyond our power Of con-
ception, these disturbances appearing to
us in the form of rapidly changing spots
and protuberances. The eras Of the
| spots-or sun-storms-occur al remark
ably regular intervals, complete cycle
Of the various stages of activity from
maximum to minimum and again to
maximum being performed in about
eleven years the so-called "sun-spot
period" The sun-spot physicists claim
coincidence Of the periods Of maxi
mum spots and yearsof great atmospheric
and physical disturbance in the earth.
The present has been a year Of great
solar disturbances, while it has been
marked by violent storms and earth
quakes upon our globe. Further than
this, these scientists claim TO have recent
ly detected by simultaneous observation
minor atmospheric changes as the result
Of corresponding movements in the sun.
Many difficulties attend these observa-
tions, but the Astronomer Royal for
Scotland and others believe that the state
OF the sun will some day become an i'm
portant factor in weather forecasts and
like calculations.