St. Landry democrat., 1883-04-07
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

fcO a plant was UlScOVeFed NLlcH Was
found to possess the property-when
schewed or crushed of stopping hemor-
4rhages. To the native Mexieans this
plant was known by name which may
be rendered as. "Fowlwort." The dis
scoverer carried specimen to Yer
sailles and planted it in 1867, and it has
since fourished, fowered and fruited
without apparent change in its pecu-
liar qualities. The action of this plant
lis said to exceed that of all styptics
known, and this valuable property is
likely to give it wide extension, es-
pecially as it seems to so readily accli-
mated in foreign lands. Its brotani-
cal name is IradescantiG erectd lJacq.)
Speaking of waste" favorlte
theme, DR.. Siemens lately said that he
had been experimenting at his farm at
fTunbridge Wells with the object OF
utilizing to the fullest possible extent
the heat applied to "a steam engine.
His engine drives a dynamo-electric
machine, which not only lights his
greenhouses at night, but also furishes
artificial sun-enabling him to rapidly
grow fruit in the depth of winter. Nor
is this all, for the escaping steam from
Che engine is made to heat the green
houses and other places in winter, SO
that he expends but little more fuel
since he started the electric light and
dynamo machine than he did before in
heating those houses.
Travelling in Japan, Mr.. G. Maries
found that plants of the same species
often appeared so differently in differ
sent parts of the country as to make him
doubt their identity until after close
examination. This was particularly
true Of coniferous trees.
Since 1S43 an average of SIS earth
,quakes year has been known to oc-
cur. Mallet has collected the records
of $3.50 earthquakes which took place
over period of 3,456 years previous to
1850 but 3,s40 of these occurred during
the last fifty years. 1t seems, there
fore, that our earth is almost constant
,ly shaking at some point, and no part
of the world is entirely free from tre-
anors of some degree. Prof. Milne has
recently urged that the study of earth
.quakcs should receive more attention
in countries little subject to their visi-
tations. Such countries may at long
intervals be shaken by earthquakes of
"a severe character, and it is suggested
that even. the stable ground Of England
may not be secure against disturbance
by commissions as calamitous as that
which suddenly swept away 10000 of
the inhabitants of Lisbon in 1755.
Water issuing from hydraulic pipes
exerts an astonishing erosive power.
In one hydrauli mine a pebble loaded
stream working eight months in year
has in four years cuta channel ID solid
slate rock three feet wide and fifty feet
deep according to Packard.
q A novel and remarkable thermo-
chemical battery has been produced by
Mons. Brard, of La Rochelle, which
he regards as solution Of the Difficult
ties experienced in getting an efficient
electric current from heat. The
battery consists essentially OF
slabs of prepared carbon containing nj
strate of potash. When these are.
burned a continuous current is genera
ted until they are consumed. A slab
six inches long, two inches wide an inch
thick lasts an hour and half or two
hours, and will ring an ordinary cleo
.tric bell !; and three or four slabs con-
!nected to increase tension will decom-
pose water.
Archaologists know that ropes date
from very remote period, and had
reached a state of considerable perfec-
tion at the dawn of the historical era.
The first ropes were probably made
from the fbres of the inner bark Of
trees, from grasses, or from the hides
of animals. Among the relics Of the
ancient Egyptians have been found
sculptures showing the process Of rope
manufacture practiced more than four
thousand years ago, while the oldest
records of that people represent we'll
made ropes capable of sustaining enor-
NOUS burdens. 1t appears that fax and
the fibres Of the date tree were en-
ployed for those ropes.
Herr s. Wolff endeavors to account
for sunspots by d new theory. He
thinks they may represent areas on the
sun that are vastly hotter than the
I. !. 4