St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-07-28
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

Dr.. Neuber commended the
virtue of peat or black earth,
which is put into loose gauge bags ana
tied over wounds by means OF gauge
bandage. AS used in Kell, this dress
ING is seldom changed or not at all. In
DR.. Neuber's opinion the turf absorbs
all secretions rapidly, and BY its poros-
ity favors their evaporation, while
healing takes place as under a scab.
DR., Thomas Taylor finds it quite pos
sible that flies may convey the germs OF
Infectious or contagious diseases from I
nlace to place. Whether diseases are
really ever so distributed is q question
of great Importance.
A doe with horns seven inches long,
which gave it the appearance OF the
male animal, was recently killed near
Aix-la- Chapelle. Horned does are rare
although some of the old ones. are
known to have small rudiments OF
horns.
The removal Of the electric lamps
which light the foreign settlement al
Shanghai has been ordered BY the Chl-
nese Governor of the district, who says
he has heard of the terrible accidents
which have been caused by electricity,
and he cannot allow his people to be
exposed to the frightful risk OF having
hundreds of thousands of houses des-
troyed, millions Of persons killed, Or
fhe walls OF the city blown down, by
any irregularity in the working OF the
electric machines.
Tt is reported that in parts OF SWltz-
erland there had been two hundred
rainy days last year, up to the end OF
November, with only fifty days OF sun
SHINE. 5#s
From observations of the planet Ju-
piter from September, 1879, to Decem-
Der, 1881, Herr Kortazzi has concluded
that the great red spot must be either
of liquid or a solid nature. In the
former case it may be considered as
large lake in an ocean of other liquid.
If it is a solid body it must be q floating
mass on the surface of an ocean, as It IS
only on this hypothesis that we can ae-
count for the changes in its position
which are observed.
One of the glaciers mentioned in the
s.Himalayan Journals of DR.. Joseph
Hooker has vertical height OF 14,O0O
feet. It's source is the great kinchln-
junga mountain, whose summit reaches
an altitude of $4,000 feet above the
sea. sgIs
The loss Of human life caused by
snakes in India is alarming, 19,060 per-
sons having perished from snakebites
an 1880 and 1860 in 1881. Rewards for
the killing of yenomous reptiles have
leen offered, but this measure has been
found to give insufficient protection,
and the adoption throughout India OF
an organized system for the extermina-
tion of all dangerous kinds OF snakes is
urged.
IT was one time believed, according
@ DIR. Keller that the opening. of the
Suez Canal would be followed by q
rapid and extensive interchange of fish
between the Mediterranean and the
Red seas. but such has not been the
case. Some Of the smaller Mediterra-
mean fish have been found in the Red
Sea, and for some unknown reason the
tide Of migration appears to take thai
direction in preference to the other
The pearl oyster is said to be now NOV
ing toward the Mediterranean, Syitl
very slow progress but in considerable
numbers. IS. .fff . oss A
In Germany, the increasing consump.
stion of rice has led Prof. Volt, as we'll al
DR.. KONG, to Investigate the question
of the relative nutritiye value Of thi'
article and other kinds OF food-espe
eially potatoes. The conclusion reached
is that rice is very efficient food
while potatoes largely consumed fai
to satisfactorily nourish the body
making the muscles weak and thu
blood watery DR.. KONG estimates
that, when equal quantities Of the twt
articles are considered, rice has fou
times the value of potatoes in reall.
nutritive properties. A further advan
4age of rice is that it's quality is Away
the same, while great variation in po
satoes is caused by the State OF. tn
weather during their growth.
a spot which appeared in the sun,
southern hemisphere on April 18th Q
last year was measured by Rev. r