Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-03-27
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

with most oil the French huspital-, anu
certain classes of patients are Photographic
ID on their entry into the hospitals, and
At regular intervals after. The pictures
are preserved in albums, and are valuable
aids 10 the study of disease. An elcctri-
cally operated camera has been devised
for this class of work, and it enables the
photographer, when desirable to take
series of views in rapid succession. The
photography of microscopic object, Is also
= valuable branch Of hospital service, the
Importance Of which is rapidly gaining
recognition.
During = years travel in Bolivia, Sig
nor +. P. Moreno, Of Bucnos Ayrcs, has
found many relics Of the early inhabitants,
has made plan. and photographs of the
remains Of ancient villages, and has secur
ed. a. he believes, abundant material for
. study Of the people who live in that
part of South America before the span
ish conquest.
1t is usually supposed that dew is the
moisture of the AIR condensed by contact
with objects which are colder, and that
II docs not form until radiation has re-
duced the temperature OF the earth and
other objects below that Of the atmosphere
Late observations, however, indicate that
the process is really the converse Of this,
viz. that the dew is formed by vapor
which rises from a warm soil and is con
densed by the cooler air. Probably both
theories are correct, neither bein. true in
al cases.
The period Of the great comet Of 1882
has been variously calculated at 7l2.l
1899 and S43.l years. If it were given
= perion Of 75l years it would appear to
be identical with the bright comets re-
corded in the year 375 b. {. and in A.
D. 1882.
For producing anrsthcsia Mons Paul
Bert has found great advantages in mix
ing chloroform with air in the proportion
Of eight grams Of the former to one hun
bred lites of the latter (about fourth
Of a. ounce to four cubic fcet) The adj
ministratiou Of the mixture is said to be
not disagrecable, and to be unattended
with struggling and sensations Of suiIo-
eating Complete insensibility is produe-
ed in six or eight minutes, and in one
difficult surgical operation it has been
continued for an hour and a quarter.
Chloroform has been successfully applied
in this way to persons Of both sexes, all
ages and in all states of health.
Speaking at Edinburgh upon thunder
storm phenomena, Prof. p. G. TAFT re-
marked that lightning is l00,00 times
- brilliant as it appears to us, since the
eye requires onc-tenth Of a second to re-
ceive the full light of the flush, while the
fash itself lasts only about one milionth
Of . second. As We see tho landscape
under the light Of spark from the clouds
i is one thousand times less bright than
when Illuminated BY the sun, but if the
lightning lasted one-tenth Of second so
that We could realize its full intensity-it
would blind us with the brilliancy of 100
suns
In consideration of the effects of eli
mate in India upon disease MIR. S. A. Hill
has reached the conclusion that crimes
Of violence in that country are largely
results Of weather influence, being sspro
portional in frequency to the tendency to
'pnckly heat. that circulating condition
Of the skin induced by high temperature
combined with moisture" lie believes
that any person who has suffered from
this ailment, and knows how ii affected
his temper, will readily understand how
the conditions which produce it may some
times lead to homicide and other crimes.
Dr. George Schweiufurth has made an
Interesting discovery of plants in the
coffin Of an Egyptian princess who died
about 100 years before the Christian
era. The find comprises numerous wreaths
IN which are leaves of the willow. leaves
Of the date-palm, corn-poppy flowers and
corn flowers. The inner parts of the
poppies are so wonderfully preserved that
DR.. Schweinfurth declares that botanists
rarely succeed in getting such perfect
specimens of those fragile flowers for their
herbaria, while the color--a dark brown
reds maintained in as high degree as
In the dried specimens Of the present. day
Pine cones which must have been EN-.
ployed as funeral offerings a. Thebes
LOO or 200 years earlier, are now to
DC seen IN a museum at Cairo, together
with variety of seed, grains, tubers and
Na hts.t,