Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-11-06
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY,


1t night than in the morning, and may
be over a pot nd and half lighter in the
morning than in the evening before
From one evening to the next be may
increase one pound or decrease three
fourths Of round A chiIds weight
shows three marked periods of variation
during the year. viz; period Of decrease
from the middle Of May to the middle
Of July; next period Of much increase
from the middle Of July to the middle
of November, and then period of little
or no change from the middle Of Novem-
Der to the middle Of May. On the whole
the increase in childs weight is limited
to ne-fourth or one fifth OF the year, the
rest Of the time showing either loss OF
weight or compensation for loss. The
appetite varies greatly but regularly with
the months, being creates, in March and
least in January. Boys eat one-hith
more than girls, but often grow heavy
less rapidly.
Sir Joseph Fayrer considers it most
remarkable that poisonous snake cannot
poison one Of its species, and only slight
" any venomous snake, although it quick
" kills harmless snakes. A vigorous
cobra can kill several dogs or from doz-
en- to twenty fowls before its becomes
impotent; and then the rapid re-secretion
Of virus coon makes it as dangerous as
ever.
An imperial degree forbids the circu-
lating libraries to issue the works of Oar
win, Agassiz, Huxley, Lubbock, Adam
Smith, Lewe and Spencer to Russian
readers.
Mons. Andries contends that hail is
produced during ascending whirlwinds.
How much Of the pleasure of living
comes from the exercise Of the little con-
sidered sense Of taste or that Of smell it
is hard to estimate. Harriet Martineau,
the English authorizes, seems to have been
one Of the few persons having no sense
of taste, as recent writer asserts that
she was entirely destitute Of it. She re-
ported that the faculty came to her once
when the deliciousness Of leg Of mutton
aroused an eager anticipation Of the enjoy
ment Of her next dinner; but nothing
came Of it, for her tasting power wa
withdrawnsas suddenly as it had bee,
given. The sense Of smell was also de
MED her, as il was Wordsworth. In hi
case the lacking sense also appeared on
single occasion, when he ''smelled bean
field and thought it heaven"
Persons who are color-blind are usual,
either red-blind or grcen-blind, and thei
in6rmity is almost always confined to on,
color. Cases Of violet blindness are rar,
and no instance is known of person un
able to distinguish between blue ant
yellow. 1t is a remarkable fact TINT
while about one man in Is is more or les
color-hind, the affection seldom occur
among women, only one case having beef
observed by Dr. B. Joy-Jeffries in an ex
animation Of l, 400 ladies.
After much experimenting, DR.. Rich
ardson has found satisfactory means
causing painless death, and has introduce
it into the Home for Lost Dogs, in Lon
don. The animals to be killed are place
in a'chamber charged with mixture Q
carbonic oxide and chloroform vapol
when they TRANQUILITY fall asleep and wax
no more.
The curious fact is mentioned BY NJ,
l. Stejneger that the ptarmigan, as We
as some other birds, regularly sheds it
claws every summer.
Messrs. Clouet and Ritters find tina
grape-sugar is rarely free from arsenic
introduced in the process Of making.
According to late papers by Profs
Julien and Bolton, sonorous beach-sand
are far from being the rarities they wer
considered some years ago, as they ar
already found in "a American and /:
foreign localities, and the number is con
stantly increasing. When suddenly com
pressed between the hands, musical note
are emitted by these sands, the pitch ri.
ing as the quantity is diminished. Tn
loudest sound may be made by suddenl
bringing together two divided portion
OF sand enclosed in bag. Prof. julie.
considers that the conditions of sonorous
ness are perfect dryness, uniformity o
grain ranging from about one-tenth I,
one-fffh Of an inch in diameter, and free
dom from dust. He thinks that any san,
satisfying these conditions may general,
become uuicksapds.