Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-05
POPULAR SCIENCE

VI CdAh SOA1SNUE-O
Strychninc, when administered in
heavy doses to mammals, acts, accord
ing to M. Richet, partly like chlol.al
and partly like curare.
Adolf Mayer has discovered that
oxygen has no direct influence upon
fermentation. When potassiumhv-
drogen tartrate was added to strong
syrup containing Yeast, the cells OF
the yeast grew rapidly and the fer
mentation was easily accomplished.
Precipitated silica attracts and fixes
aniline colors, turkey rcd much better
on fabrics than silicous infusoral earth,
but, argues writer in Remnants
Far6er ZeituNg, in opposition to En-
gel, these properties of SILICA cannot
be, due 10 capillarity, because, Of the
two substances, the iniusorial earth
can only be said to possess capillarity.
Gamhoge is the hardened juice Of
tree very common III Siam, Cochin
China and Cevlon. The trees are tap
pei and the sup or juice is caught in
cocoanut shells and put into large
earthCn vessels to thickcn. Before it
i; hard it is poured into hollow joints
of bamboo, where it hardcns intoround
sticks, though it is sometimes made III
other shapes. The best gamboge is of
orange color, dark yellow when dry,
but producing u bright yellow when
rubbed in water. 1t is used i'll medi-
cine and IS paint. The word gam
boge OF calnboge comes from Calnbo-
dia, the name of the country from
whence it was first brought.
In q paper on the earth as conduc-
tor OF electricity, Prof. Trowbridgc,
or Harvard, arrives at these cOnclu-
sions: 1. Disturbances in telephone
circuits usually attributed to effects
of induction arc in general rule due to
contiguous grounds of battery circuits.
\ return wire is the only way to OBJ
yiale these disturbances. 2. The we'll
finch equipotential surfaces in the
neighborhood OF battery grounds
shows the theoretical possibility Of
;c.egraphing across large bodies of
water without the employment of IL
cable; and leads us to extend greatly
the practical limit set by Steinheil. ).
Earth circuits have all intermittent
character, with periods Of maxima
and minima, which may occur several
times minute during the day. This
Intermittent character is seldom absent.
Lord Raylcigh has described plan
for demonstrating that yellow color
can he formed by combining red and
blue. He mikes red solution of
cliromate of potash with blue solu-
ton of linus, and, on filling it into o
glass cell of certain thickness, the
light transmitted through it seems to
be yellow. Plates Of glass coated with
aelatine impregnated with chromate
of potash, placed side by side with
plates coated with gelatine impreg-
hated with litmus, also transmit yell
low light. Lord Rayleigh finds, how
ever, that the eyes of different persons
vary considerably i'll their power Of
approaching the tinge Of the trans
United yellow; but this has nothing
10 do with color blindness, since all
the persons tested could distinguish at
once the components with accuracy.
Two new preservative wrapping-pa-
pcrs have been recently brought out,
one designed for fruit and one for
lurs, cloths, etc. The first is made by
dipping soft tissue-paper in bath
OF salycilic acid and hanging it in the
air to dry. The bath should he made
from strong alcoholic solution of sal
ycilic acid, diluted with as much wa
ter as it will bear without precipi!a-
ton. The apples, oranges, or other
fruit may be wrapped III the paper
before packing, and when the fruit
reaches its market the paper can bc re-
moved and used again. A manila
wrapping-paper may be prepared for
resisting moths and nlildeW by dip
ping it III prepared bath, squeezing
it and drying it over hot rollers. THIS
bath is made by mixing seventy parts
of the oil removed by the distillation
of coal tar naphtha, five parts Of crude
carbolic acid containing at least 81 per
cent Of phenola, twenty parts of thin |
coal tar at 100 deg. Eahr., and tive
parts of refined petroleum.