The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-07-17
Scientific Miscellany.

Drouth Forecast in India,-From ob
soryations extending over period of
eighteen years, it appears that an UNI
usually heavy or late fall of snow in
the northwestern Himalayas is followed
by season OF drought in northwestern
and western India, and vice versa, dry
northwestern land-winds being pro-
duccd during the summer months as
an effect OF the presence OF unmelted
snow in the mountains. During the
spring of 1888 it became evident that
the outer ranges of the Himalayas con-
tanned an unusual quantity Of snow, and
on June "a warning forecast of dry
summer was published. This forecast
is shown to have been justified by the
event, the rainfall in July and August
over large portion of India having
been much below the average.
Libraries Printed by the Stars. Prof.
Lockyer, +. r. A. s., who has just re-
turned to England from n visit to the
observatorics of the continent, express
es the belief that in the future all astro-
nomcal observations will be made
photographically, the success of Mr..
Common in photographing the nebula
of Orion with the aid of his great tele-
scope having proven that the most mi
mute details may be thus pictured. He
imagines the existence, in 100 or 1000
years hence, of rooms filled with pho
tographs accurately showing every
part of the heavens from tho North
Pole to the South, and he urges that
the work of obtaining such complete
Photographic chart of the celestial
bodies should commence at once.
British Sea Science. The secretary
and treasurer of the new Marine BiolO-
gical Association of the United King
dom have invited contributions for es-
tablishing on the south coast of En-
gland y laboratory similar to the Zoo
logical Station of Naples and the
American Laboratories of Newport
and Chesapeake, the institution being
intended for the use of naturalists
wishing to investigate marine life, ami
nal and vegetable, and to study the
various conditions affecting the welfare
of British fOod-tishes and mOllusks. 1t
is thought that $50, 600 will be required
to establish the laboratory, and that an
income of $500 year will be neces-
sary to maintain it.
French vine-growers often protect
their vines from frosts by smoke from
burning straw and other combustibles.
An electrician has suggested that, in
| case of sudden and unexpected cold,
the fires may be lighted automatically
by the electric current, simple con
trivance causing the electricity to pas;
from a battery through wires and ignite
| the fuel as soon as the thermometer
falls to the dangerous temperature.
According to Prof Il. H. Tucker, jr.,
between 500 and 700 comets have been
recorded, and 2Sj of them have their
orbits determined with greater or less
eXactness. A probable estimate of the
number of comets which have come
into our solar system since the begin
ming of the Christian era, under such
conditions as to have been visible by
the aid of our modern appliances, is
1000.
A plan for lessening the violence Of
storms has been submitted to the
French Academy of Science by Mons.
Minard, who proposes TO use great
number of lightning rods elevated on
telegraph posts and connected with
the iron tracks of railways,
A German chemist has obtained q
new link between the vegetable and
animal kingdom in the shape Of an ami
NAL gum closely resembling the plant
gums in its physical and chemical
properties.
Statistics published since the late
earthquake in England show that q
total of 255 shocks have been recorded
in the British Isles, the severcst having
occurred on November l4th, 1918.
The sanitary value of towering
plants has been shown by DR.. j. NJ.
Andcrs, who has demonstrated the ex-
halation of ozone from them.
Pale phosphorescent flames of sui
phur are often observed during the dry
ing of gunpowder, states H. Schwartz.