The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-07-12
ro~riirS fsv TSs ArkarsG- T,assie-.
 SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

| SSA&N ArlS mlSCGLAANH. A black rain, ;he coloring matter be-
 ing carbon, lately fell in Shropshire, Eng
 land.
 From chemical anylysis and the char
 acter of the prevailing vegetation, Kellner
 and imai find Japan's soil to be poor.
 Mons. ]. C. Houzen has attempted to
 prove that an object which has been oe-
 casionally seen since r67,, and which
 some astronomers have regarded as
 satellite of Venus, is really little planet
 revolving about the sun between Venus
 and the earth. He names 1t Meth.
 Probably a large majority oi scientific
 men connect the remarkable sunrises and
 sunsets of last year with the volcanic
 eruption of Krakatoa- This fact gives
 especial interest to a recent letter from
 NJ. E. Nelson, F. K. A. S., stating that
 the brilliant sunsets were seen by him in
 Natal in February, 1885, more than six
 months before the eruption of the Javan volcano.
 Bees in New Zealand. Glover does not ! seed in New Zealand because there are no humble bees to fersilize the flowers. Various attempts which have been made to introduce the insects have proven futile. but Mir. ]. C. Firth has succeeded al length in getting consignment of humble-bees, which were transported in torpid state in chilled room. If suc- cessful in acelima,izing them, Mir. Firth expects them to save him 5 GOO year in clover seed, all supplies having now to be imported.
 At the London Health Exhibition Mir. Frances Gallon has established labora- tory for the measurement of human fac uly." Each visitor will leave record of name, age, sex, occupation, place of birth, color of hair and eyes, height stand- ing and sitting, weight, length of span of arms, strength of squeeze and pull, swift ness of direct blow, capacity of chest, acuteness of vision, conditions of color sense, and acuteness ot hearing, and will take away duplicate. Mir. Gallon re- gards the art of measuring human facul- ties as the dawn of a new and interesting science.
 An Attack on London Fog. O. I. Lodge has been engaged in certain re- searches concerning atmospheric dust, a summary of which he has given in a lecture to the Royal Society in Dublin. Dr. Lodge believes that dust-which properly includes fogs, smoke, and clouds or mis.s-may be artihcially withdrawn from the atmosphere, and by experiment. he has shown that small quantity of air may be freed from its dust by dis charging electricity into it. He thinks that it may be possible to clear the air of railway tunnels in the same manner, and that some impression may be made on a London fog by sufficiently powerful electrical discharges. He intends to ex- pertinent in a genuine London fog with large machines.
 The Victims of Tooth Decay.-At a recent meeting of the Physiological so- ciety of Berlin. Prof Busch called atten- ton to the fact that carries of the teeth appear to be peculiar to man, as it has been observed in no other animal. It is not. however, a characteristic of civilized man alone, as it has been seen through out large collections of skulls, even in those of prehistoric time. Some races are more disposed to it than others, the Celtic, Arabian and Polish races being but little affected with unsound teeth. Certain families are particularly predis- posed to carries. General habit of body and certain diseases have great influence upon its development. Teeth with un- dulating enamel have much less power of carries than those whose surface is quite smooth. As is we'll known, dis eased teeth are rendered practically sound by removing every particle of carl ous substance and covering the sound dentine with protective coating of gold, gutta percha, or other acid-resisting 
 Tornado Forecasts--The results of 'pecial investigations of fomadoes in 1882 and 1883 have led the United States Sig aal office to adopt plan for thoroughly studying tornado phenomena. The work $ now carried out by about Soo observers, called tornado reporters, whose stations are mostly located in the states Of Ala bama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Missouri, ArkaDsaw, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Wis -onsin and Minnesota. Since March 10, 1884, according to Sergeant ]. P. Finley,