Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-05-08
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

of Southern Europe and Northern Aiiica
the French steamer Tali.man found q
surprising abundance Of animal life at
great depths in the ocean; many form:
new to science were brought on board
A remarkable feature Of some Of these
creatures is seen in their peculiar organs
some of the fishes having curious mother
of-pearl colored bodies ilnbedded in the
skin Of the head, sides or back, and ap.
pearing to be producers of light aud pos.
sibly accessory eyes; while others hay,
long filamentous organs which are bril-
liantly phosphorescent. On being brought
the surface from the tremendous pres
sure of the deep-sea. the expansion in til,
bodies Of many fishes caused their scale
to fly of, their eyes u be squeezed from
the sockets and their air .bladders TO be-
forced through their mouths. The great
est depth from which a fish was taken
was 1882 fathoms, a specimen havin,;
previously been secured by the Challen-
ger expedition from depth Of 2,,34
fathoms. Among the geological results
Of the French party's dredging was the
finding of polished and scratched stones
On the sea-bo,tom between France and
the Azores, showing that iceberss must
have existed in that part Of tbs Ati-n,i
during the glacial period; together with
the bringing up Of rock fragments bear
ing impressions.of trilobites, which may
be taken as evidence of the former exist
ence Of the traditional lost continent At
lantis.
Mons Poincare has found that a pc
troleum. laden atmosphere proves fatal to
guinca-pigs in from one to two years,
while dogs and rabbits are affected with
-languor and loss Of appetite, although
workmcn exposed to snch an atmosphere
notice no seyerer symptoms than irrta-
ton Of the membrane Of the nose and
headache.
An English experimenter planted &
hyacinth bulb in October, 1882, and as
soon as It commenced to sprout removed
it to perfectly dark but well ventilated
place. In March, 1888, stem Of darA
purple flowers was produced, the leave
Of the plant being totally colorlcss. In
October, 1888, the same bulb was AGAR
planted, and was grown in the ligh
through the winter. Ii has Powered agar
this year, md the flower cluster is small
or and less deeply cclored than that which
came forth last year in the darkness.
Mr.. l.. p. Muirhead has given an ac
count of fall Of fine black dust which
was noticed at various places along til.
Clyde, in Scotland, on March LIST. A,
3 O'Clock am, the snow was pure and
white, but when next seen, about an houl
and quarter later, it presented a sooty
appearance. On melting the snow from
= square foot Of surface four grains oil
dust was obtained. Mr.. Muirhead found
It probable that the fall extended over an
area Of at least $40 square miles, and he
has estimated that rot less than $3.50
tons of dust must have fallen.
The director of the Botonic Garden at
Port Spain, the capital Of Trinidad, re-
ports that the parasol ants infcst the
island in vast numbers, and are very de-
structive to vegetation. A settlement OF
these insects sometimes covers thousand
square feet, and the efforts of q dozen
men, who force boiling water or sulphur
fumes into the nests, may fail to destroy
! single colony in less than week or a
fortnight.
Prof. Y. Ball has shown that land
slides may sometimes make lakes by
danming up valleys, and he mentions u
lake at Naiua Tai in the Himalayas which
appears to have been formed in this way
Land slides also cause a Swallowing OF
river channels and sea borders which
might be mistaken for evidence of the
rising Of land; and they produce boulder
deposits resembling those left by glaciers.
An early human skull has been found
near Prague in bed of chalk from which
the tusk Of mammoth had been dug a
few days previously. The skull has an
extremely low forehead and great devel-
opment Of the ridges.
Two cases have been reported to an
English medical society in which the ;elec-
tro-magnet has been successfully used for
removing pieces of iron from the eye.
Without the magnet it is thought that
the sight Of the injured eye must have
been lost in each ease.
Prof W. i. Barrett, Of Dublin, states
that certain individuals have really ap.
peared to experience peculiar SENSATIONS
when near powerful magnets, aud points
out that the magnetic sense which Sir
VIM. Thompson believes to exist may
be apparent in some persons and not so
in all. He gives several instances in
which persons have been able to tell, by
IN unpleasant sensation in the head, when
the electric current was passing through
an electromagnetic BY experiment he
has convinced himself that one gentleman,
at least, certainly does perceive the inhu-
enee OF powerful magnet when his head
y near II, the keenness of the magnetic
sense, if such it be, varying considerably
on different days, and being nost acute
IN this person when he is suffering from |
facial neuralgia.