Morris tribune., 1884-03-19
English and French epicures have


long esteemed oysters with green gills
more highly than others, but in Amer |
lea the color is quite generally attri; !,
buted 10 copper AMI believed to be
poisonous. Recent investigations,
however, have proven that the green
coloring is due to apcrfcctly harmless
vegetable coloring matter absorbed
from the substances on which the Oys
ters feed. A quantity OF copper sui, !
fcient to produce Che green color
would necessarily be fatal to the oys-
ters themrelVeS.
An archaeological congress is 10 be
opened at Vienna on April 10th under
the auspices of the Crown Prince Ru- !
dolf. Among the important subjects
to be considered is that Of providing
means for Systematically studying III
all parts of the world the migratlons
and breeding habits of birds, of which
so little is now known. These matters
are already receiving attention in Il
small area of the globe at Il series of
ornithOlogical ObScrVatories which
the Grown Prince has caused to be
established throughout Austria-Hun-
gary.
The unknown country in the interi-
or of Australia has just been reduced
about 1000 square miles, an area Of ,
that extent having been explored
and mapped by Mr.. Charles Winnicke.
Two large rivers and an extensive
mountain range were discovered near
the Queensland bOHndry. The eXplor-
ing party traVcrScd many sand ridges
some of them 800 or 100 feet high
and very steep-and SO dry WAS the
region that many long stages Of the
Journey, ranging from 100 to 800 miles
each, had to be accomplished without
water
Speaking at Edingburg upon thun-
derstorm phenomena, Prof. i. q.
TAFT remarked that lightning is 100,
600 times as brilliant us it appears to
us, since the eye requires 0ne-tenth OF
second to receive the full light Of
the flash itself lasts only about one
millionth of second. AS we see the
landscape under the light of a spark
from the clouds. it is one thousand
times less bright than when illumin-
ated by the sup, but if the lightning
lasted One-tenth of aecQnd-S0 that we
could realize its full intensity-it
would blind us with the hriliiancy of
one hundred suns.
For producing anaesthesia Mons.
Phul Bert has found great advantages
in mixing chlOr0form with air in the
proportion of eight grams Of the form
er to one hundred liters Of the latter
~ e To gn11l-
cubic feet.) The administration of
the mixture is said to be not disagree
able, and to be unattended with strug-
Cling and sensations of suffocating.
Complete insensibility is produced in
six or eight minutes, and in one diff
cult surgical operation it has been
successfully applied in this way to
persons OF both sexes, all ages and in
all states of health.
In a consideration of the effects of
climate in India upon disease Nh. S.
A. Hill has reached the conclusion
| that crimes of violence in that country
are largely results of weather lnt1u-
ence, being proportional in frequency
to the tendency to prickly heat, that
circulating condition of the skin in-
duced by high temperature COM
bined with moisture. He believes
| that any person who has suffered from
this ailment, and knows how it affected
his temper. will readily understand
how the conditions which produce it
may sometimes lead to homicide and
other crimes.
It is stated that Photographic studios
are now connected with most of the
French hospitals, and certain classes
of patients are photographed on their
entry into the hospitals, and at regu-
lar intervals after. The pictures are
preserved in albums, and are valuable
aids in the study of disease. An cleo
trically-operated camera has been de-
vised for this class of work, and it en-
ables the photographer, when deslr-
able, to take series of views in rapid
succession. The photography of mi
! croscopic objects is also a valuable
branch of hospital service, the impor-
lance of which is rapidly gaining re-
cognization.
A piece of osphorescent limestone
from Utah was recently exhibited to
the Philadelphia Academy of Natu-
ral Sciences by Prof. HI. G. Lewis. 1t
emmitted a lurid red light when struck
scratched OF heated. On seeking
other specimens of limestone having
properties it was found that some
from India gave strong yellow glow
when heated, but yielded no such eff
feet when scrached Oh struck. These
two limestones havethe same external
characters, which are different from
those of other limestones-a fact
which is of great interest, as 1t con-
firms Becqucrels view that phos-
phorescence depends upon physical
rather then chemical conditions.
The first astronomical photograph
was Daguerrean picture of the sun,
which was taken in France by Flzeau
and Foucaulton April the Cd, 1915.
This was obtained in the United States
by Rutherford and in England by
Warren de la Rue. Later still, Ruther-
ford and Gould obtained Photographic
charts of the stars, and Draper sue
ceeded in photographing the great
nepula of Orion. In 1881 the first
photograph of a comet with it's tail
was secured at Meudon, France. The
photograph plate is now Oil the astron-
omer's important instruments Of in
vestigation, enableing him to pre-
serve accurate records of celestial
| phenomena, and showing him many
details in the appearance of the heav-
emily bodies which even the most pow
erful telescopes fail to reveal to the
eye.
DR.. George Schweinfurth has made.
an interesting discovery of plants in
the coffin of an Egyptian princess who
died about 100 years before the
Christian era. The find comprises
numerous wreaths, in which are
leaves of the datepalm, corn-poppy
flowers and corn flowers. The inner
parts of the poppies are so wonder
fully preserved that Dr.. Schweinfurth
declares that botanists rarely succeed
i'm getting such perfect specimens of