The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1884-12-27
Correspondence baltimore County Unit
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SIX BRAINS YEAR.
The novel computation has been made bv
German histologist that the human brain is com
posed of no lessthan 300,00O,0 600 nerve cells. each
an independent body, organism and microscopic
brain so far as concerns its vital relations AS
each nerve cell is estimated to live about sixty
days, 100000 must die every day, about 200 600
every hour and nearly $500 every minute. The
dying cells are replaced by an equal number of
their progeny, and once in every sixty days
mans brain is entirely renewed.
GUEssEs AT HUMAN ANTIQUITY.
While the great antiquity of the human race has
been established beyond doubt, it is inn -sible
to assign any accurate date to mans frstf u~
ance upon earth. ain making soundngs Il
Shiny soil of the Nile valley" says Prof. N. 10
Of the Science Faculty of Toulouse, "two bakss
bricks were discovered, one at depth of twenty,
the other of twenty -four yards. If we estimate
the thickness of the annual deposit formed by the
river at eight inches century, we must assign to
the first of these bricks an age Of $4,000 years,
and to the second that of 1900. By means Of
analogous calculations, Burmeister supposes 49,
600 years to have elapsed since the first appear
ance of man upon the soil of Egypt, and Draper
attributes to the European man who witnessed the
last glacial epoch an antiquity of more than $780,
600 years.
VITALITY OF sNAILs.
Snails are possessed of remarkable vitality
Mr.. r. e. G. Stearns has mentioned one--of the
species Helic Veatchii-which lived without food
from 1859 to 1865, and another-Balimus palli.
dior-which appeared to be in good health after
fast of two years two months and sixteen days.
Both of these species inhabit nearly rainless re,
gions.
sIAMEsE MEDICAL SCIENCE.
The Siamese, according to account lately
given by Dr. E. A. Surge, regard all nature as
composed of four eements-earth, water, fire and
wind. These same elements are supposed to make
up the human body, which is composed of twenty
kinds of earth, twelve kinds of water six kinds of
wind, and four kinds of fire. The body is divided
into thirty-two parts, such as the skin, heart,
lungs etc. 1t is thought to be subject to ninety
six diseases, due to the disarrangement of its ei
ments. Too much fire causes fevers, an excess Il
water produces dropsies earth gives rise to disease
by invisible and impapable mists and vapors and
wind can cause all manner of complaints. While
almost everything is used medicine the bones
and skins of various animals, and the gals of
snakes, tigers, lizards, etc. are favorite remedies
Burnt human bones, powdered and mixed with
alum are used on ulcers the eye teeth of various
animals such as bears, tigers and lions-ground
up together form the favorite curative for fevers
and the ashes of earth worms and human hair,
mixed with cocoanut oil, are often employed for
cuts. The Siamese know little of anatomy They
not aware that the heart is connected with the
circulation, but suppose that organ to be about
the size of an almond and to be cavity filed
with fluid which changes color and consistency
with our passions
THE SOLIDS INHABITANTS.
Were the human inhabitants of the globe US
numerous as are the humbest of our servants, the
earthworms, every acre of land would have to sus-
tain great city In his memoir showing the i'm
portance of the work done by the worms in fitting
the soil for the use of plants. Darwin estimated
that 26,SS6 Of the creatures existed in an acre Of
nj oStu LAM xyhi Ia h. ,bo.
for garden sell as 53,767 per acre. Recent re-
searches by Mr.. 7. A. Urquhart indicate thai.
these figures are much too low for some localities,
as in a pasture near Auckland, New Zealand, he
has found 1884, per acre, with an aggreg gate
weight of more than 600 pounds.
MISCELLANEOUS.
1t has been asserted that the common white lily
grows in Palestine only as cultivated flower and
is not native of the country, and that conse-
quently the lilies of Scripture mast have been de-
rived from some other plant. French botanist,
however, states that many wild specimens of this
lily have been obtained from the Lebanon, one Of
which he possesses
So perfect are the incaudescent electric lamps
now made that one Of the Swan type has sustain
ed $500 hours of use Many have lasted 1000
hours.
HydrochIorate of cocaine,a new local anaesthetic
discovered accidentally by a vienna student, is
now being tried in dentistry. 1t has already
been very successfully used in producing nsensi-
bility of the eye, rendering operations upon that
organ painless nearly SO.
Late Belgian experiments have had the object
of preserving wood by exhausting the air from
the pores and causing liquid gutta- percha to take
its place. The gutta-percha is liquefed by being
heated with parafine, and it hardens on cooling
after being introduced into the wood
The plan of making charts of the stars by pho
tographic means is rapidly gaining favor among
astronomers. photograph exhibited the other
day to the Royal Dublin Society showed seventeen
stars in part of the heavens to which the best
published star maps assign but i've
In France symptoms of poisoning have follow
cd the eating of vegetables grown on soil e~bch
had been treated with chemical poisons roy
the phylioxera inseet -nf-sh he crane vim -.