Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-09-18
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

is generally supposed, as he has seTera
times observed it since it attracted :
much attention 10 India in September.
1888. He. i. disposed TO ascri5's tn
phenomenon to an abnormslly thick STRAIT
INN Of Transparent water vapnr, aud n"
70 volcanic dust. Its rarity may be due,
he suggests, to the fact that the water
v.por, when present in suficisn. quantity
70 produce the appearance, Is usually
partly precipi,ated, forming clouds. An
unusual electrical state may possibly
times give the air great elearness whei
highly charged With vapor. Prof. snl.'l
points oct that the air mi ht hold enough
volcanic dust To produce the sunset GLOW
which followed the green sun Of India
and still have its Transparency unaiiee'ec
and cause no change in the suns appear
snce.
Speaking lately in favor Of cremation
in infectious cases, Sir Spencer Well
!. nsos;ored that an epidemic Of scarle'
fever had been caused in country town
By the opening Of graves Of persons "lio
had died with the disease thirty year
previously, the germs Of infection hasin-
retained their vitality for nearly thir'
Of . century.
Natures oxidizers-peroxide Of hydro
gen and osone-are suggested as possib.'
bleaching agents Of the future. Perox
ide Of hydrogen differs from water in
compoeisson only in having twice as mud
oxygen, Will. half of which it parts read
ily and becomes water. Ozone, the nat
ural nrifer Of the air, is probably the
nost powerful oxidizing agent known,
I'D has remarkable bleaching power.
The expense Of obtaining these substances
now prevents their extensive use for
bleaching purposes
Researches in France BY DR.. Schultz
have shown that ciiric acid possesses pow
erfal sntiseptic properties, which may
give il an important place as food pre-
serving substance, since il is believed to
be free from the objection Of unwhole-
someone's urged against other antiseptie
acids Meat fragments placed in five
pen cent solution Of the acid were in a
state Of perfect preservation at the end
Of fifteen days. Experimenting upor
organized germs, DR.. Schultz found tina
90 drop Of a solution Of one part acid Il
1000 Of water placed in liquid contain
ing bacteria and other forms Of microscop
ic life instantly caused they death.
The mongoose, which was some year
ago brought from India to stop the raw
I 5ago Of the mgar-canc rat in Jamaica
has inctsased 10 that island to such Al
extent, and has become 80 destructive Il
poultry and even to fruit and vegetables
tAa9 il Becms liable soon to become yer
itabh pei. Since being introduced from
Europe, the dog has become very hume,
!, Gus ire wild state in Australia, but, in
stead Of con6ning itself to subduing tn
Australian plague Of rabbits, it now cause
agreat slaughter Of sheep. The wease
and the stoat which New Zealand peopl
have imported from England to keel
down tie nbbits have multiplied SO rap
81 idly thai tie remedy is expected to be
come worse than the original affection i,
very short time.
Prof. Young states that recent nc
searches show it to be extremely doubt
fai whether any portion Of the moon
surface ever reaches a temperature a
high - 100 degrees f., although Lor,
Rose estimated that some parts mus
rise to 500 degrees during the lunar da,
Of whole month and fall to 100 degree
below zero At night.
The last annual report gave the mem
benhip Of the American Association fo
Tie Advancesacnt Of Science as 2,Oll.
Recent discussions BY English autho,
: tiles show that doctors are far from agree
Dent concerning the distance to which
smallpox germs may be conveyed by tn,
ai,. Dr.. Bingham has supposed that in
lection could not be given at a greater
distance than two or three feet in ou,
b door air; Dr.. Hill has placed the limit a
i've or six feet; DR.. latham, at six t,
! eight feet; and Dr.. Greive, At eight to te,
. feet. Others have given Is, 30, so, rs
100, $50, 300 and 500 feet as the prob
able width of the dangerous zone around
smallpox hospitals Sir VIM. Jennc,
has insisted that il is half mile. and
sseyfEal eminent physicians have favored
the theory that infection may be dissem-