Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-03-01
SCIENTIFIC NOTES.

Professor Edland, of Sweden, believes
that he has proven that a perfect vacuum
is a good conductor of electricity.
observations taken at Colon by the en-
gineers engaged on the Panama Inter
oceanic Canal indicate that the great earth
quake wave caused by the Java eruption
made its way in about thirty hours from
Java round the Cape Of Good Hope to the
east coast of Central America.
Wood knots are in great demand, to
meet the increased esthetic taste of the
day. They are subjected to a steaming
process, which softens them and develops
their color, and are then used in excep-
tionaly fine veneering. Persons who are
experts in judging what knots are of value,
make considerable money by going about
looking for them. Two were recently
shipped to New York from Caledonia, In
that State, which weighed respectively
l,l50 and l 400 pounds.
Professor Putnam, of Harvard, lecturing
upon his own explorations of the Tarner
altar mounds OF OHIO, said that among the
200 900 specimens found were some show
ing how large space the mound builders
and their trading allies covered on this con-
tinent. There We're some grizzly bears
teeth that muet have come from the
Rocky mountains, aliigators' teeth from
the Soata, and pearls from the sesshore.
Thousands of pearls were found in one
altar, all drilled for stringing.
DR.. Louis Fitzpatrick writes to the
Lancet that he has never seen single in
stance in which the stye continued to de.
veiop after the following treatment had
been resorted to The lids should be held
apart by the thumb and index finger of the
left hand, or lid retractor, if such be at
hand, while the tincture of iodine is painted
over the nhamed papilla with fine camefs
hair pencil. The lids should not be al
lowed to come in contact until the part
touched is dry. A few such applications
in the twenty. four hours are sufficient.
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 Java volcanoes, and
others believe that the earth encountered
a dust cloud in space In this connection
it may be noted that fall of dust covered
the snow of valley in central Norway on
the night of Novepabe l7sh. 1t will be in
teresting TO learn now this dust compares
with that from Krskstoa, which has been
chemically and microscopically examined.
The newest discovery in plastic mater
ials is zylonite. 1t is superior III many re-
spects to celluloid, in that it can be formed
into fiat plates almost transparent, so it
can be used instead of glass for stained
windows. The discovery OF this compost
ton was made about fifteen years ago, al
though the company at present engaged in
its manufacture has been in existence less
than two years. The basis of zylonite is
white tissue paper, made from colt IN or
linen rags. 1t receives bath of sulphuric
aud other acids, which produces a chemi-
cal change. After the acid is carefully
washed out the paper is treated with a
mixture of alcohol and camphor. 1t now
assumes an appearance resembling parch-
ment. In this condition it may be worked
into plates of any thickness, will receive
the most brilliant colors, OF may be made
perfectly transparent.