Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-08-07
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

places. " It'll two guides, Nf. "
Graham has climcd loo feet higher
than any other human being, reaching a
point ID the lIimalayas 23,100 feet above
sca-levcl. OF the experience Of bis party
Mr. Graham says, in an account given to
the Royal Geographical Society Of Lon
don: 'Nei,her in this nor in any other
ascent did We feel ans Inconvenience in
breathing other than the ordinary pant.
ing inseparable from any muscular cxcr-
ton. Nausea bleeding at the nose, tam
porary loss of sight and hearing, wer,
conspicuous only hy their absence, and
the only organ perceptibly affected was
the heart, whose 5eatings became very
percept,ble, quite audible, while the pace
was decidedly increased "
Cases Of remarkable intimacy between
animals Of different species are not rare,
although they have only recently attract
ed particular attention. A writer in
China mentions the shooting Of snake
under conditions which make i, appear
that the creature was crossing river on
the back Of tortoise, and this circum-
stance gives some color Of probability TO
an assertion often made among the Chi
nese that the greatest affection exists be-
tween these two animals.
Mons. Daubree believes that all the
phenomena Of earthquakes may be salts
factorily explained on the assumption that
they result from the action Of supcrhea,ed
steam. He gives many objections to the
theory Of falling rocks in internal chasms.
The Australian blue gum tree Euea-
lyptus globulus) does not thrive in Ire
land, and severe weather has lately killed
trees which were expcrimcn,ally intro
duccd there thirteen years ago, and which
had reached height Of sixty feet.
A prepondercnce of blue in the spec.
trum Of twinkling stars has been found
by Mons. Chas. Montigny, Of Brussels,
TO indicate the presence of aqueous yapor
in the air, and to be an inlallible sign Of
rain, while deficiency Of blue and pre-
pondercnce Of green and violet show that
the air is in an abnormally dry state.
From such indications he predicted that
1883 would be drier year in Brussels
tLan those which had Immediately pre-
ceded it, and his prediction was accurate
" fulfilled. Relying on the persistence
OF this same sign. he now announces tina,
the period Of wet years, which commenced
in 1876, has passed, and that series OF
6ner and drier seasons may be expected
Further results of Mons. Montigny's at
tempts to roughly forecast the character
Of coming seasons viii be awaited with
much interest.
A new and brilliant ring round the
planet Saturn has been discovered by two
French astronomers, Messrs Paul Henry
and Prosper Henry, who express surprise
that it has not been observed before. 1t
is suggested that the oversight confirms
the suspicion that Saturn's rings are in a
state Of constant change, as it appears
most prob>ble that the reason why the
new ring was not earlier seen is that it
was formerly much less discinct than
now.
The fact that steam pressure guages
for boilers are sometimes unreliable has
led Sig. G. Clodig to propose the use of
Thermometers to replace or accompany
them, as the temperature of the water
gives them an accurate indication Of the
pressure Of the steam.
For many years Prof II. w. vogel
has conducted researches on means Of
photographing colored objects in their
natural shades. it's known generally that
certain eolors-such as blue, green and
rcd-giyc very unnatural pictures, but
Prof. Vogel has at last succeeded in OBJ
tanning photographs satisfactorily show
ing colored objects without, of course
reproducing the colors themselves.
OF q supposed risk attending the use
Of mackerel, Prof. Huxley says at is
perfectly true that mackcrel, ike all other
fish, are more or less infected by parasites,
one Of which small thread-worm. is of.
ten so abundant as to be conspicuous
when the fish is opened. But it is not
true that there is any reason to believe
that this thread.worm would be injurious
to man even If he swallowed it unlocked
and alive, and to speak of it as possible
cause OF cholera is sheer nonsense"
A project for lessening the duration of
droughts has been submitted to the Aus
italian Minister for Watar c,,.l 7.