St. Landry democrat., 1884-02-16
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

A French and an American party-the
latter accompanied by two English as
tronomers-hope to witness the total
eclipse of May 9th from small islands in
the South Pacific. A special effort will
be made to discover any planet which
may exist nearer the sun than Mercury,
and the unusual duration of this eclipse
nearly six minutes-will greatly favor
the observers in their search.
After a series of interesting expert
ments in Paris, Mons. P. P. Deherain
has concluded that while the radiations
from an electric arc lamp may maintain
mature plants in vegetation for a con-
siderable time without aid from the sun,
the light is not sufficiently powerful to
cause the growth of terminating seeds
or to allow of the maturing of fruit on
the older plants.
Mons. Jansen has found the high
desert plateaux Of Algeria to have an
atmosphere so remarkably clear that
the moons of Jupiter are visible to the
naked eye.
A new book Of Siberian travels men
tions that the native winter fishermen
stir up the surgeons, which lie congre-
gated in the muddy hollows of the river
Irish, by dropping red-hot Jumps Of
clay through holes in the ice. The heat
rouses the fish, which rise, swim up the
stream, and are caught by spring-lines
previously set for them.
A prize. of about $3.50 has been offered
by the Agricultural Society of Breslau
for cheap, easily applied and effective
destroyer of field-mice, proposals to be
sent in before September.
Baron Nordenskjold is to undertake
an Arctic expedition to North Green
land this year.
The excavation of Pompeii was be-
gun in 1748, and about two ifths Of the
city have since been brought to light,
giving to the modern world a remarka-
BILE monument OF ancient civilization.
This work has also shown something
of the nature and extent of the catas-
trOphe which overwhelmed Pompeii. \
The destruction was not caused by lava,
but by burial in a rain of ashes and Gin
ders from VesuVius. The larger part
of the inhabitants had time to escape,
but there is good reason to believe that
at least 100 persisted, about $50 bodies
having thus far been found. It was a |
happy thought Of Fiorelli, some twenty
years ago, that by pouring plaster of
Paris in the moulds left in the soft ash
casts might be made of the victims in |
the attitudes in which they met their
death. This plan has been carried out
since then whenever human remains
lave been discovered, and the result is
hat an extraordinary collection of por-
raft statues of the men and women of
Eighteen centuries ago is now being
made. The psychologists are not only
estoring the stage but they are also
bringing before us the actors in the ter
ible Roman tragedy of August, 70.
Herr Wagner has found that the APP
,lication of phosphoric acid to soils al
eady rich is rot always desirable; and |,
N excess of the acid may-especially
u dry soil-prove actually injurious,
by Fastening the death of the
,lants' organs of nutrition.
Tyndall has supposed the color of the
ca to be due to Ar election by the wa
er of the blue rays Of sunlight, red :
avs being transmitted. Were this
lew correct the light which passes
through the water must be red, but
ions. Spring of the Belgian Academy
nds that such is not the case, dis
lnctly blue color being seen through a
0ng tube of pure water.
Attempts have been made by various
elicate experiments to measure the
Ime which elapses between the moment
rhen a PERSONS sense Of touch, sight or
caring is excited and the moment when
Q indicates by signal that he has be-
ONE conscious of the sensation. Mons.
eaunis, Of Nancy, has of late been try
lg to determine the length of the in
,rval-or reaction time" so-called-int y
lie case of smell. With ten substances.
. has obtained determinations ranging {,
ON 81 hundredths of second for am a
onia, and 46 for aceticsacid, to So for
int, and 81 for carbolic acid. With :
usk he has been unable to FIX precise
the moment Of the smell-sensation.
though he has repeatedly attempted
do SO. DR.. Buccola, of Turin, has al