The Delaware ledger., 1883-09-15
Scientific.
Steel nails are the latest novelty.

The weight of the female Uranium is
about one-seyenth less than that of the
male.
The effort made in the French Cham
Der to force the railroad companies to
adopt cars similar to those usad in this
country was defeated.
According to Eggertz, steel made
from an iron containing 50 small pro-
portion as 0.5 per ceAt. of copper is
| found to be worthless.
| DR.. Sturtevant has made an examina-
tion of the depth to which the roots of
the potato run. One root was found !
to reach thirty-four inches below the |
surface, which seems to indicate the |
necessity of deep soil for the success
full growth of the potato.
DIR. Paul Gussfeldt, who. had under
taken to ascend the Aconcagua, the
highest peak of the Chill Cordilleras
(16.934 metres), failed to accomplish
the task owing to the extreme cold, but
he succeeded in taking some instructive
photographs of very remarkable
region.
Professor Fritsch has found that the
electric organs of the torpedo are de-
veloped from the outer gill muscles of
the fifth gill arch. These which in rays
and sharks form the powerful lower
jawmuscles are absent in the torpedo,
the electric apparatus taking their
place.
, A certain fungus (Archorion schoen-
linii) produces in rodents fatal cut
= aneous disease, and DIS. Joseph and
4 Crampe propose taking advantage of
!, this fact as a means of destroying field
= mice. They would apply the fungus
to the skin Of captured mice, and then
T turn the captives loose to spread the in
:, fection.
A very interesting exhibit at the COM
a ing Institute Fair in Boston will be
Il made by the Willimantic Thread Com
Al pany, who will show~the process of
spinning and spooling cotton and silk,
=, the entire process being manipulated by
- women operatives; and even the en-.
a gineer, who is to run the engine tC
a furnish, power, will be woman.
or A new electric light regulator ha;
IN been invented by M. Tommasi. Sci
TX enium is the principal agent as the re
q sistance of that substance varies witt
III the intensity Of the light. As yet tn,
10 instrument is only adopted for fxinl
y the position of the flame on the Jab
of lochkoff candle, but perhaps the inven
tor may be able later to fit it for tn
I'd regulation of the other arc lights.
N. NJ. Margis, of Paris, has succeede,
Ter in obtaining oxygen directly from tn
zee atmosphere by dialysis. By forcing al
m through series of membranous bag
OF prepared by immersing taffeta in ethel
ed sulphide of carbon or alcohol, and covel
on ing with fine layer of caoutchouc,
has secured an increase of the pei
DIV centage of oxygen-fn respect to nitroge
~n till the fourth bag gives 95 per cent. {
tie pure oxygen.
o The greenhous es of the Dutch ga
.bo deners have been recently infested by
myriapod, heretofore unknown, calle
- the Fontarie gracils, which has the sil
mo gular faculty of emitting a strong edC
rLn Of prussic acid when attacked.
,,r chemist of the country, NJ. Guldel
,1h steeden-Egeling, has ascertained ths
"a the animal really fabricates and secret
hydrocyanic acid. This substance HI
in, hitherto been regarded as exclusive
lin, of vegetable origin.
raj Ferns, of which several thOusaI
> a species have been described, formed
very important part of the earth's We
rit- citation in early geological ages, as
the apparent from remains brought to lig
int in the coal fields. They now grow ;
ing over the world, but especially in t
warm and moist climates. In the A
'ere titles they comprise about one-tenth
day the vegetation in Oceanica, about Oh
rev fourth or one-fifth in st. Helena, on
the third in Juan Fernandez, one-half, al
we in England, one-thirty fifth.
eln' NJ. Morin's new electric candle can
0,y extinguished and relighted at any tin
'iOn This is ACCOMPLISHED by the use of
'no piece of soft iron, which is attracted
'ouo tlattened solenild. Fixed on the sal
VI axis as the piece of iron is cam, whi
us determines the distance at which {
'ouy carbons stand from each other.
ond A plaid dress to be success requil
srit much care in. the making. You C
tell pla' ! lross made by an artist a
o+ glance. Give true hand a fabric
man this pattern to make up, and you "
n of have it sent home SO judiciously mingl
hon with plain silk matching one of [
INV dark colors of the plaid, that you wot
ir, never take it for the same dress ma
,aor by an inartistic person. Some of t
him most stylish checks are box-plaited frC
the waist down, every three plaits or
for having fan-pfaits of silk or satin insert
- around the lower half of the ski
NOT These plaits are sometimes made
n+l, velvet or wOolen material.
me !:
the Scraps.