St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-03-24

Since 1875 accurate measurements
have been made to show the range OF
the changes in level of many kusslan
rivers, and some of the results are given
in recent paper by Mons. Tlllo. ~
appears that the highest range is
reached by the Okla at Kaluga, the dlf-
ference between the highest and the
lowest levels being as much as 45 feet /;
while the average range OF the same
river from it's source to its mouth IS
80. 2 feet. The average range from
source to mouth of the Volga is 50.
feet /; of the Kama, 30.1 feet; OF the
Duna, 25. Q feet ]; of the
Don, 23. feet; and Of all other rivers,
less than 90 feet. Of course this range
diminishes very much toward the
mouth Of e1ch river; yet it reaches u
feet for the Volga at Astrakhan, ana
9 feet for the Duna at Riga. The
greatest range of variation observed IN
the lakes of Northern Russia was only
2. 1 feet. The number of hydrometrl-
cal stations on the river of Russia was
increased in 1880 to 341.
The electric current used by Mons.
Deprez to work plow at the Munich
Electrical Exhibition is transmitted
over distance Of about 40 miles.
Prof. Feichtinger Of Munich has OBJ
served that of varions kinds of writing
and printing paper examined all those
that had been sized with resin had
more or less acid reaction, while this
property did not appear in paper with
animal sizing. The acid reaction was
| found to be due to free sulphurlc acid,
which must impair the durability OF the
paper in which it exists, and must also
gradually destroy the black color OF
writing on the paper. Resin sized pa
per would therefore seem to be unit
for records and other writings intended
to be everlasting.
Herschell's labors showed the Milky
Way to be great nebula containing at
least fifty millions of huge blazing suns,
with our sun and IFS attendant planets
near the center Of the system. Thls
nebula is distributed in two nearly par
allel layers having the form Of pair OF
millstones, being very thin but
extending laterally to distances OF
which we. can form no conception.
While with an uninterrupted track a
lightning express train might pass
around our world-which seems large
/ to us-in less than one short month, 1t
could not at its highest rate OF speed
accomplish the distance to the sun in
1.-TWO hundred years! But a beam OF
light flashes across that space in eight
minutes. And yet this beam OF light,
which vastly transcends ia speed any
thing we know, requires more than
three years to travel from the nearest
/ fixed star to the earth. and to cross the
extreme width of the Milky Way itself
must occupy nearly three thousand years !!
Even this expresses no idea of the limits
of the visible universe. Other nebni1
than our own are visible in space, and
! il as large as our own must be so dis
tant that the light cannot reach oul
system IN one million gears
+ Experiments by Koch and Wolfhugel
T to determine the disinfecting power oi
!, hot air have led to the conclusion that
j so high a temperature and SO long an
exposure are necessary to secure dIsln
lection that most articles-such as
clothing-are liable to serious damage
by the operation.
The great red spot which has been
] visible on the surface of the planet Ju-
! inter for several years is reported to be
growing fainter, and the early disap-
pearance of this remarkable object
| seems imminent.
| In warm -blooded animals the hearts
action ceases in very few minutes af-
fer the destruction of the nervous cen.
tires or after the circulation of the blood
in it's own vessels is by any means ar.
rested. Not so with cold-blooded ami.
mails. however, as the heart Of one Of
them may continue to beat for many
hours after it has been emptied of bloot
and even after it has been cut out O
the chest. The pulsations of the hear
), Of an eel have been seen to continue fo
six hours after separation from the res
of the body; Of torpedo, for nin'
, I.hours; and of a salmon for twenty -fou
. hours.
II hoa l,aan ascartained that The frs