Morris tribune., 1884-06-18
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

BY q new process Of treating petro-
leum tarS a French chemist has eX-
tracted u NEW waX-liEe substance, to
which the name ''petreOline' has been
given It has antiscptic properties,
and is said to valuable as q f0ol-Drc-
sentative.
A method of growing house-plants
without soil is claimed by captain
Halford Thompson, similar plan
having been previously suggested by
a Frenchman named Dumesnil. The
plants are reared in . prepared or
sfertilized'' mess, and are said to
grow even more luXurantly than in
soil. Specimen baskets Of plants cul-
tivated in this way have been exhibit
ed in London.
An English writer asserts that the
opinion that the electric light may
hasten the growth Of plants and the
ripenihg Of fruit is q delusion. He
bases this declaration on the results
of experiments with potatoes, q lot
which yegetated in total darkness
and another which was exposed to the
glare Of the electric arc throughout
each night having shown no difference
in growth or general appearance,
According to MI. Leo Grindon, who
recently referred to the subject at
Manchester, Eng, not less than about
100000 fioWer-bearing plants are
known to bOtanists, and not more
than 10000 of them-including 500
kinds OF fruit trees, all sorts Of yegc-
tables, timber trees, plants yielding
fibre for clothing, etc.-can be said to
be of direct service to man. He
thinks there may be about 5000 plants
which are more OF less poisonous and
hurtful, and it a surprising and i'm
portant fact that many of the deadly
plants are useful medicines in the
hands of competent physicians.
While the atmosphere Of populous
cities is crowded with microscopic
organisms, it has been supposed that
the air oyer the open sea is remark
able free from them, and two French
investig ators-Messrs. Moreau and
Plantymantion-ha just proven by
direct observation while crossing the
| Atlantic that such is really the case.
Over the open sea at distance from
their vessel the air was found to con-
tain very little solid matter of any
kind, although Immediately ABOUT the
ship the atmosphere sWaTmed with
microbes. The germ destroying In.
Auence which the sea appears to eN
ert is regarded as a reassuring matter,
as it probably prevents the conveying
of epidemics by winds across the
ocean to distant countries,
'sSince," says Prof. G. A. Young,
sthe superstition as to the moons in
fuence upon the wind and weather is
so wide spread and deep seated, word
on that subject may be in order. In
the first place, since the total heat
received from the moon, even accord
ing to the highest determination (that
of Smyth), is not so much as one hun
dred-thOusandth of that received
from the sun, and since the only hold
the moon has on the earth's weather
is through the heat she sends us { |
ignore here the utterly insignificant
atmospheric tide, it follows necess-
arily that her influence must be very
trihing. In the next place, all care
fully collated observations show that
it is so, and not only trifling but gem
orally ABSOLUTELY insensible. "
The latest announcement from
Mons. Pastem promises the human
race perfect safety in future from
hydrophobia. 1t appears that after
being bitten by mad dog q man or
any other animal may be saved from
an attack of hydrophobia by being
inoculated several successive times
with hidrophobic virus in different
degrees of strength. Vaccination as
a preventative of smallpox is applied
before exposure to the disease, al.
though it has been maintained that it
can be done successfully after the
poison has entered the system, while
incubation with hydrophobia is quite
unnecessary until after q bite has
been received from a rabid dog.
Whatever may have been the origin
of hydrophobia, Pasteur believes that
it can now be impaired only by actual
biting, lie hopes, therefore, that
the disease may entirely disappear il
his system be applied to every case in
which an animal is bitten by mad
! dog.