The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1883-06-15
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

1t has been aSceftalneu Dy MF. u w.
Boutelle that the magnesium light. as used
by the U. S. Coast Survey, is an effective
night-signal for distances as eat as forty
FIVE to seventy miles, Even the ordinary
student lamp with a parabolic reflection
may be seen as much as forty miles away.
Sir Charles w. Dixie, Mr.. w. Mattieu
Williams and other observers think that a
tendency exists among Caucasian races to
acquire in America the red Indian type of
physiognoay. The change is beived to be
due TO the dryness of our climate; and evil
dence is given to show that even a tenn
porary sojourn in this country may cause
Europeans to become thin, hnk jawed and
sallow-a state which Mr.. Williams son
terms ''acute Americanites, and which
soon disappears after recrossing the At
lantic. A comparison of the family por-
in Edinburgh, proved to the satisfaction of
all present that the descendants of mem
bers who had emigrated to America gen
Grafton before displayed deviation of fea-
ture from the family type toward that of
the best examples of ''the noble red man. ''
Mr.. Combe seems to have shared Mr.. Will
iams' opinion that such deviation is general
among the descendants of early English
settlers
By experimenting upon dogs, rabbits and
Guinea pigs, Mons. Poincare has sought to
determine whether petroleum vapor is liable
to injure persons inhailing much of it. In
an atmosphere resembling that breathed by
most petroleum Guinea pigs lived only
from one to two years, but the other ami
mails appeared unaffected. He recommends,
however, that the vapor be breathed as
little as possible, attention being given to
ventilation, keeping stock in closed vessels
etc.
G.. A. Young in a late astronomical lecture,
'tas saying that there is no mystery about
the planets motion. There is just the one
single mystery-gravitation it is a
very profound one How it is that an atom
of matter can attract another atom, no mat,
ter how great the disturbance, no matter
what Intervening substance there may be-
how it will act upon it, or at least behave
as if it acted upon it, do not know, I car
not tell Whether they are pushed together
by means of an intervening ether, or what
is the action, ! cannot understand. II
stands with me along with the fact that
when will thatmy arm shall rise, it rises
1t is incrutable. All the explanations that
have been given of it seem to me merely tC
darken co unset with words and no under
standing. They do not remove the diff,
Guilty at all. If I were to say what l really
believe, it would be that the motions of the
spheres of the material universe stand in
some such relation to Him in whom all
things exist the eyer-present and omnipo
tent God, as the motions of my body do to
my will do not know how, and never
expect to know"
1t has been estimated that at least 5000
meteoric stones reach the earth annually.
These stones are usually of inconsiderable
size, but as they have been falling since a
very remote period in geological history,
the aggregate mass which has thus been
added to our planet must be very great.
The laI5est meteoric stone ever found is in
the Royal Academy of Stockholm, and
weighs twenty y-five tons. The museum at
Copenhagen contains one of ten tons; the
British Museum, one of more than five tons
the museum at st. Petersburg, one of 1886
ponnds; Yole College, one of 1925 pounds
and the Smithsonian Institution, one OF
400 pounds.
Under date of November 7, 1918, the
diary of Richard Cocks contains the follow
ing entry concerning the earthquakes Of
Japan more than two centuries and hall
ago: "And, as we returned, about lC
o'clock, happened greater earthquake,
| which caused many people, to- run out Of
their houses. And about the lyke houel
the night following happened an other, this
cuntrey being much subject to them. And
that which is, comunely marked, they all
wais hapen at a. HE water (pr,full seaS so il
is thought it chanseth per reason is much
wind blowen into hollow caves underground
at a loe water, and the sea flowing il
after, and STOPPING the passage out, causetf
these earthquakes, to fynd passage or vent
for the wind shut up-'
A remarkable mirage is reported to hav.
been seen recently at Sala, Sweden. If il
has been correctly described, it showet
clearly a sea-shore town in Eastern style
with temples and minarets. To the left
appeared forest of cypress trees, while il
front was moving train, and body of sol
diers marched along a.road with their bay
onets cleaning in the sun. The apparitlor
lasted nearly an hour, the time being be-
tween eight and nine O'Clock A. M.
Mons. de Sesseps states that the evapo
rating power of the sun is less on the site
of the proposed inland sea of the Sahara
than on the Red sea, and he, does not an
ticipate that the waters will dry up.
For sale?
| For long time there has been in the
| GAZETTE office an over abundant supply