The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-05-24
[cs~sflei Eov 7ze Avksaszw 7Ssseiey.l l SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

A meteorological observatory has been erected by Pope Leo XII at Carpineto- Romano, his native city.
 Baron \ ordenskjold. the eminent Swedish navigator of the Arctic seas, contemplates voyage to south polar re- gions next year.
 A French astronomer remarks that Sirius, the dog-s;ar, which appears 10 us of a brilliant white. was described by Horace and Cicero as red.
 A watch with only two wheels, which are driven by electricity from tiny bat tery. is reported from L. Petersburg. It is said to be good time-keeper.
 Mir. James Manning states that the black aborigincs of Australia have gen. eral belief n deity. all knowledge of whom is concealed from the women and children.
 Mons. E. Juny has found violet lish; to be favorable 70 the develop ment ofthe egg of various animals, while an in- lurious, or al least retarding. influence Is exerted by green and red lights.
 According to Mons. P. Gibier, rabies can be communicated to birds, which, uONCsCi, AS\OsSt mals inoc ulated from the diseased birds die with the usual symptoms sf rabies.
 By experiments on infected hams, Messrs. Mignon and Touard have proven that trichina may be rendered entirely harmless by an exposure for an hour to a cold of four degrees below zero Fahren- heit.
 Mir. Hugh Browne has drawn attention to the fact that the Suiley, one of the srea, streams of British India, Is pro5a- ply the swif;es, large river ia the world, having a descent of ie GOO feet in iSo miles-an average of about O. feet per mile.
 A London medical authority dissents from the common view that dampness is a great cause of disease, of the respir- aioy organs especially, Tn the British Isles. since TO special increase III the deaih-rale Eas been shown 10 resul, from a rainy season, whereas an unusually cold period produces an immediate and and notable increase in the number oi deaths
 A Paris physician, Dr. Gelle. has found that from 70 10 ; per cent of school children have imperfect powers of hear ing, and that the poorer classes of ohii- dren are especially liable to partial deaf ness. These observations have led to d practical result IT rance. where pupils are 10 be seated al distances from the teachers desk corresponding with thelr keenness Of hearing.
 Last Years Earthquakes. Prof. (. C. Kockwood's record of American earth quakes in lSS; includes 7S notices, nine of the reports being doubtful, and one appearing 10 refer to a meteoric pheno- menon and not to be an earthquake Canada furnished of the reported earth quakes; NewEnglaad, :; Atlantic States, 2; Mississippi Valley, IT; Pacific Coast, 3; Mexico, I; West Indies. !: Central America, Colombia. Nenezucla and Ecuador, I+ Peru and Chili, 10 {; and were not counted.
 Daily Wind Variations Recent re- searches indie ate that on land the winds show considerable variation in strength al different times during the day. being strongest during the greatest neat, or from one 10 three and a half hours after the sun passes the meridian. On the summi,s of many large mount aims, how ever, like Mt. Washington, the wind IS weaker in the middle of the day than in the morning and a, night: while in the middle of the ocean there is scarcely any aPpreciable daily variation in the winds force.
 Al late meeting of the London Med ical Society, sketches were exhibited rep resenting a curious method of putting young children to sleep which is prac- ticed by mothers in the Himalayas. The infant IS swathed in large mass or clothes and placed upon a piece of bark or mating in one of the small wooden irrigation channels which run from springs near almost every village, the child's position being such that a small stream of water falls upon the top of its head and, glancing of, runs Under the bark or mating without further wet;ing the body or the clothes. Children so placed sleep quietly for hours.
 Life Under Great Pressure-Mons. r. Regnard has communicated to the French Academy of Sciences the resul, Of some experiments on the inaueace of extremely high pressure on liying organ isms. In water under a pressure of So atmospheres soluble ferments were en- tirely unaffected infusoria, leeches and mollusks were rendered insensible at 6oo atmospheres, but recovered when the pressure was remoeed: fishes with swim ming bladders resisted 100 a,mospheres. became insensible at 200. and were killed at 500. The addition of even a single atmosphere to the ordinary pressure often causes great inconvenience to the human body, and life would become extinct un- der very few a,mospheres. The pres sure borne by the fishes-Ioo a,mos- Pheres-is equivalent to 1900 pounds to the square inch.
 Progress in Dog Teaching John Lubbock's experimen, in teaching a dog to express his wants by means of printed cards are giving very encouraging results The dog, whose name is Van, now selects from an assortment of cards one bearing the word :" food wken wisAing some thing to eat, and repeats the operation until his hunger IS appeased He shows his desire s0 take q ~zit bx r;1L:rr ,,-