St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-04-26

one time wore. them were imprisoned and
starved to death in the mine, either by acct
dent or through the action of rebellious
poems.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
A SOUTH ATLANTIC CLIMATE.-While the
work Of the international stations was in
progress in the Arctic regions, German
scientific party was making similar observa-
lions in South Georgia, a desolate island con-
tanning about 1905 square miles and lying,
in latitude 81 degrees south and longitude
81 degrees west, directly east of Cape Horn.
The lowest temperature registered by the
party during little over a wear was de-
grees above zero Fahaenheit, and the highest
was ga degrees, but the usual range of the
thermometer in all seasons was from % to
10 degrees, the difference between winter
and summer consisting chiefly in the length
Of days. Snow covered the ground from
April to August and several snow-storms
occurred in the middle of the summer, as
for instance, at Christmas. The lofty and
inaccessible mountains of the interior,
were partly covered with glaciers. The land
animals consisted Of a few species of birds
and two or three kinds of insects, and in the
sea were found two mammals. two fishes
and a variety of lower animal forms. Only
about forty species Of land and marine plants
were seen, and an attempt to cultivate
northern food-plants failed.
WHAT Fossils TEACH:-In a recent lecture
DR.. 2. II. Carpenter, of Elton College, men
toned the case of Greenland as an illustra-
ton of the manner in which the earth's his
tory is read from fossils, those remains Of
by-gone life which in the Middle Ages were
regarded as "sports Of Nature" Fossils Of
four climates, all warmer than the present icy
one, are found in that country. Remains OF
the oak and the maple tell us that the climate
was once very similar to that Of England to-
day, and the COAL found lower down, shows
that something approaching tropical heat pre-
vailed at an earlier period. The fossils OF
certain sea creatures appear on the land, and
prove that Greenland once lay beneath the
sea and that its water was temperate, while
the coral, obtained still lower down, must
have grown when the waters were still warm
er.
TREE FEATHERs.-The famous book of
travels of Marco Polo, the Venitian traveller
Of the thirteenth century, tells Of the feath-
ers Of a monstrous African bird known as
che roc, and mentions specimen sent from
Madagascar to the great Khad as being nine
ty spans in length and having a quill two
spans in circumference. 1t is supposed by
Col Henry Yule that these so-called feath-
ers were fronds of the rofia palm. The Brit
ish consul at Zanzibar has lately forwarded
to London four of the mid ribs of this tree,
stripped of their leaflets and with their tips
broken off, and they are said to greatly re-
semble enormous feathers from twenty-five
to thirty-ive feet long. This palm, called in
Central Africa the Devils date, is credited
by Capt. R. T. Burton with producing the
largest leaf known.
Besides proving that the so-called baccili
of cholera are the actual cause of the disease,
DR.. Koch has discovered that these germs are
quickly destroyed by drying, and that they
will grow only in alkaline solutions. Even
the healthy stomach appears to contain sufff-
cient acid to resist their development, infec-
ton with cholera probably taking place dur
ing some gastric disturbance. With a
knowledge of these facts some means of pre-
venting cholera ought soon to be found.
QUICKLY FORMED oRE.-The time required
for the formation of mineral veins appears to
be much less than has generally been sup
posed. A ditch which was filled up two
years ago with common clay containing iron
has just been opened again by DR.. Fleitman,
who has found to his great surprise, that the
clay has become white and is permeated by
cracks filled with compact iron pyrites, these
veins being from twenty-fifth to sixth of
an inch in thickness.
To the very abundant and harmless-ap-
pearing Mexican weed toloachi, much re-
sembling our northern milkweed most dan
gerous properties are ascribed. 1t does not
kill, but if few drops of its tasteless fluid
be taken the frain is Immediately affected,
the results being violent insanity followed
by hopeless idiocy.
The researches Of DR.. A B, NJ. Lancaster
have shown that the life of the astronomer
qniet and regular is conducive of longevity,
the average life term of 1741 astronomers
having been found to be Ga years and three
months, while the most diligent of these
students appear to have enjoyed the longest
lives.
At a late meeting of the ROYAL Microscope
cal society, of London, attention was called
to the existence of two societies containing
only lady microscopes. One of these was
last year incorporated in San Francisco us the
California Microscopical society, and the
other comprises students of Wellesley Col
lege.
Another astronomical observatory has
been added to the small number in exis-
tence in the southern hemisphere. 1t has
been established by the government of Nat
al, South Africa, at the capital of the colony
and private citizen has donated a telescope
having an eight-inch object glass.
The manufacture of asbestos rope-for
purposes requiring fire-proof qualities-bids
fair to become thriving industry in Eng
land Asbestos has about one-fourth of the
strength of hemp, a rope of the former ma
teral an inch and half in diameter support
ing about a ton.
Western chemical science is being adopted
in China. A large sulphuric acid factory
has just been established, and two English
chemical textbooks have been translated into
Chinese.
Mr.. T. J. Savery has called the attention of
the London Chemical society to hitherto
unnoticed constituent of tobacco, for which
he proposes the name tabacotannic acid.
Prof. Reinsch states that copper and sill
yer coins in circulation soon become cover
ed with bacteria and microscopic algae.
The Queen of Tahiti lately stated in Paris
that deaf-mutes are unknown among the Ia
hitians.
Incomes of Literary Men.
George Augustus Sala does not put in as
much hard work as many Of our American
journalists do, but he leaves his competitors
miles and miles out of sight when it comes
to growing and grumbling. Mr.. Sala is paid
$4,000 year by the London Illustrated
News for page week. He gets another
$4,000 year from the Daily Telegraph for
an occasional column editorial Besides
this he has an income from his books and
magazine articles. This is very fair pay-in