Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-08-14
scrnNr1r2c MISCELLANY.

It has been recently shown that mucl
moro sonosous tone in stringed instru
meuts can be obtained with metal strings
than with those now in use, the best re-
suits being given by steel wires plated
with silver or copper.
DR.. Carlos Finlay, Of Havana, main.
taius that mosquitoes may spread yellow
fever, and reports having seen. under mi
scroscope, spores and filaments Of par
ticuhr nature on the sting Of a mosquito
that had just bitten yellow fever pa
tient.
IN his presidential address to the Royal
Society Of New South Wales, Mr.. II. G.
Russell, government astronomer, has dem
onstrated the folly Of trying to bring
drouths to an end by firing cannon or
building large fires in the hope that fall
Of rain might thus be produced.
It would probably surprise many to b.
told that the sun is ut least on.
thousand times as bright as the moon, as
the unaiied eve gives US little idea Of the
veal difference in the brightness of the
two bodies According TO very careful
determipations by Zollner, the suns liah,
is $4,000 times as gr at as that Of the
full moon. The heat received Fl, m the
two is not in the same ratio, that emitted
BY the sun being only $500 times AS
much ~ that Of the full moon, as found
DO Lord Rosse and Mons. Marie Davy.
The unknown country IN the interior
Of Australia has just been reduced about
10000 square miles, an area Of that ex-
tent having been explored and mapped by
Mr.. Charles Winnicke. Two large rivers
and an ext. rs W mount in nge were dis
covered near the Queensland boundary.
The exploring party traversed many sand
ridges-sume Of them 300 or 400 feet
high and very stecp-and so dry was the
region that many long stages Of ,ha jour
ney, ranging from $50 to 300 miles each
had 70 BE- accomplished without water.
A piece Of posphorcscent limestone
from Utah was recently exhibited to the
Philsdell hia Academy Of National Scicn-
ses by Prof. II. c. Lewis 1t emitted a
lurid red light when struck, scratched or
heated. On seeking other specimens Of
limestone having such properties, it was
found that some from India gave strong
yellow glow when heated, bu, yielded M
such effect when scratched or struck
These two limcstones have the same tx,
ternal characters, which are different from
those Of other limcstoncs--a fact viii. b
u Of great interest, as it confirms Becvnc
rels view that phosphorcscence depends
upon physical rather than chemical con-
ditions.
The 6rst astronomical photograph was a
Daguerrean picture Of the sun, which was
taken in France by Fizcan and Foucaul-
ton, April 2nd. lS45. This was very
soon followed by photographs Of the
MOON; obtained in the United States BY
rutherford, and in England by Warren
Dc b Rue. Lister still, Rutherford and
Gould obtained photographic charts Of
the stars, and Draper succeeded in photo.
graphing The great nebula Of Orion. In
1881, the first photograph Of comet
With il tail was secured at Msndon,
France. The Photographic pluto is now one
sfthe astronomers important instruments
Of investigation, enabling him to preserve
accurate records Of celestial phcnomena,
showing him many details in the appear
ance Of the heavenly bodies which even
he most powerful telescopes tail Ito reveal
% The eye.
When seen from the temperate zone the
aarosa borealis appears very high above
Ne earth's surface, the estimates Of its
minimum height, which have been mode
being stated to average hardly less than
lZS miles. In tho Arctic regions, how-
ever, the aurora Is often very much lower.
a member Of the Danish Circum polar
station, which was maintained 1t Gud.
thAab, 10 Greenland, during the winter Of
1898, reports that his party several
imes saw aurora below the clouds, and
even % lOw aud 80 near the tops Of low
mountains, Eve or six miles away, were
seen above and far beyond them. O.hcr
observers have given accounts Of Of au
rsral which seemed to be not more than
few yards above sea-level. Prof. Streen.
strup, IN eminent Zoologist, even INSERTS
that, while walking in Iceland in l84O, III.
nd two companions saw auroral stramcrs