Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1884-04-24
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

1t has been recently SHOWN, eAPci'
mentally, that atmospheric electricity is
not produced by the evaporation of vapor,
A German investigator, l.. Zehuder, now
expresses the opinion that it is caused by
the friction of air currents on the surface
Of the earth. At the equator the posi-
lively charged air rises and becomes dis
turbed throughout the upper regions Of
the atmosphere. The tension Of the
electricity, according to this theory, is at
first slight, but it is increased by the in
flow Of slightly charged air until it be-
comes 80 great that the positive electric
ity is discharged by combining with the
negative electricity of the earth, thus Civ
ing rise to thunder storms, aurora, etc.
The objects collected by the French
scientific expedition to Cape Horn are to
be publicly exhibited in Paris. In add'-
ton to large number Of neurological,
geological and geological specimens, the
collection includes living plants, and it is
proposed to acclimatizc these as far AZ
possible in Frerch forests.
Two German chemists have investigat-
ID some cases of poisoning BY asparagus
which had been put up in tin cans. They
we're surprised to find that the juice which
had been in contact with the cans con-
aained no tin while the vegetable itself
yielded about one twenty fifth Of one per
cent. An analysis Of canned apricots
aud strawberries gave similar results,
showing no tin in the sirups but small
proportion in the fruit. They consider
that the tin is injurious to health if the
use Of the canned substances is long con.
timed.
The action Of the arc electric light in
fading colors is similar to that Of the sun,
according to Mons. Decaux, but has only
one-fourth Of the power.
It il reported that most interesting
and important discovery has been made
by the German doctors who have been
investigating the cholera epidemics Of
Egypt and India. In water tank near
Calcutta these scientists have found the
microscopic organisms, or bacilli, which
they had already proven to exist in all
cases Of cholera and in no other disease.
The tank was used by persons among
whom the cholera appeared, and il ha,
been shown that the organisms diminished
in numbers as the disease died away. Il
now remains to determine whether the
bacilli Of the tank were the cause or .
result Of the cholera, as it has not YET
been proven that the organisms produce
the disease.
The causelessness Of excluding Amer.
lean pork from French markets has been
nccognissd by the Paris Academy Of
Medicine by nearly unanimous vote
against prohibiting the sale Of such pork.
Mons. Colin stated to the Academy that
trichinosis in man is extremely rare, at
least in Fraacc. Trichinous pork is
moreover, rendered harmless by sailing
and by cooking. BY experiment he ha.
asccrtained that the trichinm are CON-
plctely destroyed within an average tune
Of aftcen or twenty days after the sailing
Of the pork, although in large pieces they
may live two or three months.
Cold winters are not certain Destroyer
Of caterpillers. The eminent lady ento
nologist Of England, Miss Il. A. Ormerod
states that many caterpllers can resist Z
very low temperature when in their win.
Ter quarters, and may even BE- frozen hard
without suffering any permanent injury.
The dried leaves Of the Japan allspice,
Chinonanthus fragrans, have a tea-ike
favor, and are said to be superior to much
Of the green tea sold. The plant Is grown
= England rs towering shrub.
A work by DR.. Otto Krumuel, Of
Gottingen, gives the following calculations
Of the extent Of the different seas Of the
globe: Atlantic ocean, 49, 429 ,A6S square
miles; Pacific ocean, 99,s97,9l7 square
miles; Indian ocean, As, 462, O4O square
miles; Arctic ocean, 9,4sl ,294 square
miles, of which an area of 663, 249 square
miles |. covered by Hudson's Bay and
7,7l5 square miles BY the White Sea;
Aatartic ocean Il, 500, 236 square miles.
The Australian Sea covers 5,ll2,49l
square miles; Mediterranean, 1888, O2s
square miles; Baltic, 257,589 square
niles; Red Sea, 27s,944 square miles;
Penian Gulf, l46,s37 square miles. Oh
those bodies Of water which may be term.
ed coast seas, the North Sea has q super
fetal extent of 339, 526 square miles; the
Irish Sea, l26, 290 square miles; Sea Of