The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-01-12
TPe DoQaldsoQvilIe C3ief'
FT,r,, Dolaorp a voor
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

The tea-plant has been successfully &C.
climatized at Auckland, New Zealand.
Prof. Edland of Sweden believes that he
has proven that perfect vacuum is a good
conductor Of electricity.
A professor of the Faculty of Sciences OF
Marseilles is reported to have examined a
section Of French railway with the result
OF finding that all the rails which had been
in use for considerable time had become
converted into magnets capable of strongly
attracting pieces of iron. After being taken
up the rails gradually lost their magnetism.
The supposed germ OF pneumonia-be-
longing to the class of microscopic organ
ism known as micrococci-has been dis
covered by DR.. Friedlander and exhibited
to the medical societies of Berlin. When
the germs were introduced into the bodies
of mice, either by incubation or inhalation,
true creupous pneumonia was invariably
produced.
Among the many substances formerly
considered valueless but utilized by modern
science is the nettle. This weed is now &C.
tually being cultivated in Germany, where
its fiber is made into variety Of textile
fabrics. A Dresden manufactures has pro-
duoed from it the finest thread known to
the trade, of which length of sixty miles
weighs only two and half pounds.
DIR. Saoh of Buenos Ayres furnishes as
surance that the world is not in danger of
having quinine famine. The plantations
established experim antally in Java and the
Island Of Reunion have been very success
full in producing this drug, while in Bolivia
the trees have been cultivated by the mill
ion for ten years. At three places in the
last named country, taken in order, the
number of trees growing is given, severally,
at 10000, 100000, and 100000.
A disease peculiar to persons who dig po-
tatoes has been described by Prussian
physician. It appears to be an affection of
nerves of the legs and feet, and is produced
by the strained position into which the
lower extremities are thrown, as the laborer
gathers his potatoes. The patient finds one
or both feet and legs to be heavy, cold,
numb and sometimes painful, while his
gait becomes clumsy and limping. The di-
sease may be of short duration, or it may
continue for years.
Dust-either volcanic or cosmic-is the
rejecting medium to which the brilliant
sunsets witnessed in November from
large part of the world seem to be quite
generally attributed. Some scientists sup
pose that the dust had drifted with the air
currents from the JavaHrvolcanoes, and
others believe that the earth encountered
dust cloud misplace. In this connection it
may be noted that falIl of dust covered
the snow of q valley in Central Norway on
the night'of November IT,. lit will be inter
esting to learn how this dust compares with
that from Krakatoa, whichshas been chem
ically and microscopically examined.
The remarkable storm which crossed the
British Isles between September / and has
been traced by Mr.. @. Harding, F. r. NJ. s.,
to two original centers Of disturbance, one
being first shown at point about 45O miles
to the south of Bermuda on August 26, and
the other to the east of the Rocky Noun
tains on the 9th. These two disturbances
merged on the 29th, when about 800
miles north of Bermuda, and formed one
great and destructive gale, which continued
to grow in violence as it crossed the Allan
tic until it reached the British coasts. This
storm crossed the Atlantic at an average
speed Of fully forty miles an hour, which is |
more than double the usual rate of storms
which traverse that ocean.
The term telpherage" has been applied |
by Prof. Fleming Jenkin to the transmits
sion of vehicles by electricity to distance
Independently of any control exercised from
the vehicle" In q system of telpherage
worked out by Profs. Jenkin, Ayrton and
Perry, trains of buckets, each bucket car
rying 200 or 300 pounds of freight, are
drawn by small electro-motors over sim
gle rail Of rods or ropes suspended on posts,
the movement of trains being controlled
entirely by operators at the stations. By
keeping constant stream of these light
trains large amount of freight may be for
warded, while the expense of fitting up such
a line is very small compared with that of
building railways for concentrated loads.
An experimental telpherage line has been
constructed in England.
!