Morris tribune., 1883-03-07
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

\ spectrum line of helium, the ele
ment of which no traces have hitherto
been found except In the spectrum o
the sun, has heen discovered by Mons
Palmieri in the lava of Mount Vesu
vius.
One of the late finds at Pompeii is ;
collection of surgical instruments, thu
extent and nature of which indicate
that the practice of surgery had at
tanned high development in thai
city.
Sir William Thomson accepts Dr.
Thomas Reid's enumeration OF six
senses-namely, the sense of force, o
heat, OF sound, of light, of taste and oI
smell-instead of the five we have been
accustomed to attribute to man.
| So vast is the weight of the atmos-
phere resting upon the surface of the
earth that it is not surprising if the
considerable local fluctuations of its
pressure, as shown by the barometer,
produce some effect upon the earth's
crust. 1t has been fouud by Mr.. Bald
! win Latham that the streams flowing
through the chalk yield an increased
supply of water when the pressure
upon the everything earth is decreas-
ing, and diminished supply when
the pressure is becoming greater-or,
in other words, when the barometer is
rising.
From records of the hippopotamuses
of the London Geological Gardens it
appears that the maximum age
reached by these animals is about
thirty years.
Mr.. Frank atoftat has described to
the Edinburgh Photographic Society
a process for obtaining photographs by
moonlight which he has successfully
tried. A picture exhibited shows a
house and trees very distinctly, while
the differences in level on a grassy
lawn may be clearly seen.
Mr., FL. Faraday has offered a novel
view al Ni!sseAse gsrms and epidemics.
He states that Pasteur's researches
show that certain deadly microbes may
be the action Of oxygen be modified
into comparatively harmless orga-
nisms. Assuming the change thus
demonstrated it appears not improba-
ble that, on the other hand, harmless
organisms may become altered into
disease parasites Whea lacking sufi-
cient Oxygen; and Just as this lack of
aeration may give deadly character
to the organisms so may an abundance
of oxygen destroy the virulence of the
germs. A gale of wind may therefore
be more effective in stopping epide-
mics than any amount of disinfectants
which, after all, may be really harm
full by reducing the proportian of
oxygen in the air, and 1t is possible to
imagine fighting disease with a steam
engine and fan.
A Finnish meteorologlst, Prof. Lem
strom, announces that he has made a
remarkable experiments, IN which he
placed on the apex of a hill galvanic
battery with conductors covering an
area of about 10000 square feet. The
cone became sursounded by halo
which family hut neffeetiy yielded the
spectrum of the aurora, and the expe=
regards this result, with
some subsequent ones, as direct prn"'
Of the electrical nature Of the mvsteri-
Gus light which so often dances in
northern skies.
Mons. Samson has Investigated the
property of oats, and finds it
to be due to nitrogeniZed substance
which he names "avenine." This
principle exists, in varying proportion,
in all oats, but, as rule, it is con-
tanned in greater quantity by the
dark-colored than by the white varie-
ties. Crushing or grinding the grain
weakens considerably it's excitant ac-
ton upon horses, probably by altering
the exciting substance. No excitant
action is sure to be produced by oats
less than nine-tenths of
one per cent of avenine, but with
greater proportion of the latter the eff
feet is certain.
A prize of $500 has been offered by
the Prussian Society for Encourage
ment of Industry for the best account
and estimation of the methods of work.
ing coal mines, including modes of
ventilation and precautions to ensure
the safety of miners.
European observations seem to in
dicate that the condition of the soil
and the atmosphere has much to do
with the development of cancer, the
disease being extremely prevalent in
low, alluvial situations, and seldom
seen in dry unlands