Morris tribune., 1884-04-30

black dust which was noticed at vari-
GUS places along the Clyde, in Scot.
land, on March lst. At eight O'Clock
A. NJ, the snow was pure and white,
but when next seen, about an hour
and a quarter later, 1T presented a
sooty appearance. On melting the
snow from square foot of surface
four grains of dust was obtained. Mr..
Muirhead found it probable that the
! fall extended over an area Of ut least
| $40 square miles, and he has estimated
that not less than $3.50 tons of dust
must have fallen.
Dr.. Zintgraff is about to take a
speaking photograph into the interior
of Africa for the purpose of fixing the
speech and melodies of hitherto un-
known tribes. If successful, he will
forward the indented photograph
plates to Berlin, where German Scien-
tific men will place them upon II du.
plicaie instrument and cause them to
re-emit the sounds received, thus re-
producing in the seats OF European
learning the utterances of simple
savages who have never left rhe heart
of the clark continent" AS this
will be the first experiment of the
kink ever made, the result will be
awaited with much interest.
The Magnetic Sense.--Prof. w. F.
Barrett, of Dublin, states that certain
individuals have really appeared to
experience peculiar sensations when
near powerful magnets, and points
out that the magnetic sense which Sir
VIM. Thomson believes to exist may
be apparent in some persons and not
so in all. He gives several instances
in which persons have been able to
tell, by an unpleasant sensation in the
head, when the electric current was
passing through an an electromagnetic
BY experiment he has convinced him
self that one gentleman, at least, GER
tainly does perceive the influence of a
powerful magnet when his head is
near it, the keennes5 Of the magnetic
sense if such it be, varying consider
ably on different days, and being most
acute in this person when he is suf.
fering from facial neuralgia.
Mr.. Geo. H. Barton states in science
that the lava stream which burst
from the side of the Hawaiian volcano
of Mamma Loa on the 9th of Novem-
Der, 1880, continued to flow slowly
down the mountain and across the
country for more than nine months,
at the end of which time it had eX.
tended over distance of about As
miles. A part of it's course passed
through forest, where the lava be-
came sufficiently solid before the
large trees were burned to retain
complete moulds Of their trunks, and
from these perpendicular moulds the
lava was found to average twenty
feet in thickness at this point. Nh.
Barton roughly estimates the quantity
of lava emitted at something more
than 500,000,000 cubic yards. The
rapid cooling and solidifying of the
surface of the lava while the interior
was still flowing caused a considerable
part Of the stream to take the form of
a tunnel:
The art of sewing has been known
from a very remote period, as is shown
by the fact that bone needles have
been found among the Oldest remains
of the Swiss lake-dwellings and in the
caves Of France and Great Britain
which were frequented by man dur
ing the reindeer age. Some of these
early needles were perforated in the
middle which was the thickest part
and others were pierced at the larger
end. a French cavern has yielded
needles much superior to those of the
ancient Gauls and to the ivory need
les Of the modern Esquimanx. ess
pecial skill having been applied to
the bearing of the eyes, which must
have been done with fine flint drill.
The Swiss lake jewellers used linen
thread or bark fiber for sewing, and
made garments from woven fabrics
OF linen and bark as we'll as from the
skins Of animals, The cave people
employed thread made from split
tendons and perhaps strings of gut,
and the tineness of some of their need
les has suggested the probability that
they performed some more delicate
work then the sewing of the skins,
To the universally recognized five
senses sight, hearing, taste, smell
and touch-Sir VIM Thomson, follow
ing out a suggestion by Dr.. Thomas
Reid, adds sixth by dividing touch
into the sense of roughness or of
smoothness and the sense of heat. It
has been suggested that we should al
so have sense which can perceive
the remarkable force which is exer-
ted by magnets. Every schoolboy
knows how iron and steel are attract
ed, and Faraday discovered that If a
piece OF copper OF silver is dropped
between the poles of a powerful elect
ro-magnet it falls slowly as if sinking
through mud. TQ determine how
this magnetic force is felt by the hui
man system, Lord Lindsay and MI.
G. f. Marley made an electromagnetic
SO large that any person might place
his head between the poles in the CEN
tire of the powerful influence which
Thomas declares that the result was
marvellous, the wonderful thing be-
ing that not the slightest effect was
perceived by the human body. He is
unwilling to accept this experiment
as conclusive, and thinks that it may
yet be shown that we have a magnet
ic OF electric sense-which, however,
has nothing to do with what he terms
''that wEetched superstition of animal
magnetism, and table turning, and
spiritualism, and mesmerism, and
clarivoyance, and spirit-rapping.''
Revelation of the Deep.-In it's
cruise last summer off the coasts of
southern Europe and northern Africa
the French steamer Talisman found
surprising abundance eff animal life at
great depths in the ocean. Many
forms new to Silence were brought on
board. A remarkable feature of some
of these creatures is seen in their pc
culiar organs, some OF the fishes hay
ing curious mother-of-pearl colored
bodies imbedded in the skin of the
head, sides or back, and appearing to
be producers of light and possibly ac-
cessory eyes; while others have long
organs which are brilliant
ly phosphorescent. On being brought
/.