Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1883-12-27
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY


s.roiula and consumption. as they have
discovered the presence Of the peou,iar
parasites of ,ubeicu'o i. in several ii-yi1-t
forms Of scroiCla.
An eel ic screw balloon, mad ~
Messrs. A and q, Tiasandier, has made
= trial trip at Paris The experiment j,
st-.ed to have been partially Successful,
although the apparatus was powerle-s To
prevent the spinning motion of the bal
lcen when he4dipg against the wind Ger
tin Improvements are to be made in the
eleeiromotor Of the balloon, when another
trip will he made
A new fu.l, c.l,ed -turoalo,' is now
being made in Mexico. 1t CONSISTS prin,
cipa'ly Of bog peat, which is mixed with
= proper Irol".tfion of bitumen. The
fuel is said to burn freely and with !i,;le
smoke, giving more heat tl.aa wood arj
nearly as much a. the bn,t bituminOa.
coal. 1t c,.n be sold in Mexico at lower
price than vunl OF coal. as the Ingredients
necessary for its manufacture exiss in
inexhaus:;ble quantities ia that country.
Wood diminishes the durability Of pa-
per in which it has been used, and it Is A
matter Of Importance for dealers and con
sumers to be able TO decide whether a
given sample Of paper contains woody
fibers or not A scientific authority rec
ommends for this purpose solution Of
sulpha.e Of Aniline, or mixture consist
ing Of one part sulphuric atd and three
parts nitric acid Either of these mix
lures at once produces yellow color upon
che paper if wood is contained therein,
the depth Of the yellow shade increasing
as the proportion of wood increases
A new method Of purifying iron is
proposed by DR.. Hermann Wedding, OF
Berlin. He points to the fact that when
melted cast iron is allowed to chill the
first crystals which form are nearly pure
iron, and he suggests that by repetitions
Of the erystallizing process metal Of
high quality msy be obtained from poor
pig iron.
A new fiber for paper making has been
discovered by Mons. Reynaud in Algeria
1t exists in the dwraf palm, great enemy
Of the asriculturists. The plant is full
Of fiber and means have been found fo
utilizing the whole Of it above the roots
Numerous examples of the sprcadin;
Of disease by milk have been atfol ded b,
late fever epidemics in England and SEQ,
land. In Dundee an epidemic of scarle
fever has been followed closely by on
Of typhoid fever, and it has been foun'
that the victims Of each were chiefly per
sons who used milk bought from vende
whose family was affected with the disease
In paper read before the Philosopher
Society Of Glasgow, DR.. John Dougal
has given the results Of investigation
which prove that milk is specially liabl,
10 absorb impurities from the atmosphere
Milk exposed for short time to tn,
cmana'ions from strongly scented sub
stances acquired the peculiar odors, ant
retained them as long as IA hours, 1t il
probable that both milk and cream quick
ly imbibe contagious germs as well, which
makes them formidable agents for dis
tributing certain diseases In case of any
uncertainty as to the purity of milk i
would certainly be wise to boil it, as sug
gested by DR.. Dougall, as it is believe,
that boiling destroys the poisonous germs
Persons handling large quantities o
vanilla pods are very liable to experienc,
skin affection, which DR.. Layet finds i,
due to contact with an insect living OF
the pods.
1t appears that the phenomenon of a
green sun, as recently witnessed in India
has been observed at various times anc
from various places on the earth. Al
entirely satisfactory explanation of tn,
appearance has not yet been suggested
The Government Astronomer of Ind,
regards sulphurous vapor in the atmos
phere as the probable cause, but othel
observers have had reason to suppose tina,
the phenomenon may arise from the pres
ence of aqueous vapor alone-in thick
strata, and before it has become sufficient,
ly condensed to be visible as clouds.
Many cows in France are fed upon
beet-pulp. An investigation into the
physiological effects of this food shows
that it causes the milk to increase in guam
tity but deteriorate in quality.
A new semi.ipcandescent electric lamp.
giving the brilliancy Of the arc light, has
been exhibited to the Industrial Science