Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1884-01-30

DR.. Beau, French physician, has
observed that the finger nails grow at |
the rate Of one-thiytieth of au inch q
week, while the toe nails increase in
length only one-fonIth aa fast. He
finds that the growth Of tie thumb
nail equals It's own length every TWEEN
ty weeks, but the nail OF the great toe
is replaced completely only once in
ninety-siX weeks.
Prof S. p Thompson has shown
that il electricity be regarded us a
self-repulsiva medium, surplus in
one place and Il deficit In another would
give rise to motion between them
that is to attraction. He extends the
hypothesis until he infers that either
the ether is electricity, or the ether
is electrified formor conclusion
being the more probable.
Several instances have been record
ed Of probable injury to the brain as
result of too little activity in some
part of the body, and u case of brain
wasting arising from the anputa-
ton of Il limb has been commnnica-
ted the Paris Academy of Medicine by
Mons. Bourbon. A soldier, who lost
his left arm some forty years ago.
lately died, and post-mortem exami-
nation showed differences in the two
sides of his brain which indicated
that one side had been affected by the
removal of the arm. Towards the
close of the mans life his left leg
gradually became lame in consequence
Sc I,nnnSn1 nf thn in tn
the brain.
From his own observations Dr.. Law
son TAFT concludes that eongenital
! deafness is not known to occur in any
animal but Il cat; although its eXist->
ence has been suspected in - white
mouse, and that no cats but those en-
tirely white are ever deaf. AT one
time Darwin had tie impression that
white cats with blue eyes were invar-
iably deaf, but he afterwards found
this view to be an error. DR.. TAFT
gives another interesting result of his
observations, which is every kind of
a white animal kept by him as q pet
has been the subject Of epilepsy. He
considers this association of color
with the disease to be suggestive
when we are told that epilepsy is I'M
known among negroes.
DR.. J. j. Wild, F, r. G. s., sums up
as follows the results of recent inves-
LEGATIONS into the cauess Of the color
of the sea, and OF the apparent dis
coloration of the sea-Water in certain
areas of the ocean; '',The various tintS
of blue and green which constitute
what may be called the proper color
of sea-water are due to q greater or
less proportion of salt held in solution,
the water being an intense blue where
the water is very salt, and changing
by degrees to q green blue, OF blue
green, and green color as the water
becomes more fresh. On the other
hand the abnormally colored red, vel
low, brown and inkey seas owe their
appearance to the accumulation of
large masses of seaWeeds, from the
gigantic Algae, which fringes the
shores of oceanic islands, to the mi
croscopic Diatoms; bnt almost as fire.
quently the discoloration is caused by
myriads of animal organisms collect.
ed in shoals at the surface of the
ocean,
A letter from Mr.. Edward Whymp
Ell to Prof. J. Norman Lockyer, the
English astronomer, gives some inter
, esting particulars concerning an erup
: ton Of the South American volcano
: of Cotopaxi which occurred in 1880
At the commencement of the erup
!; ton Mr.. Whymper was making his
, famous ascent of Chimborazo, and was
: more than 10000 feet above sea-level
5 and about sixty-ive miles from Coto
: paxi. A dense column of smoke
{ was seen to rise suddenly from the
s volcano to a height of about 10000
e feet above the sea, when it was born;
: westward some twenty miles by ;
: stroug wind, and then gradually spreat
t in all directions. In q few hours thu
: cle9td passed between the observer
S and the SIM, and color effects surpas
J. sing in vivid intensity those of TIN
e most gorgeous sunsets were then wit
5 messed, the sun ITSELF appearing green
s AS the cloud passed overhead and sui
s rounded the mountain-climbers tn
: brilliant colors ceased to be seel
It while an exceedingly fine dust fel
It upon everything. This remarkabl
J. observation seems strongly confirma
j. tive of the view that late unusual sun
Il sets and other atmospheric phenonc
e ma have been due to volcanic dus
# floating high in the air.