St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-18
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.


THE.ExHILARASTo or OArs.-Late research
rs have shown that oats contain nitrogen
Gus substance easily soluble in alcohol and
apparently Of an alkaloid character, which
has an irrstaEt action on he uOter cells OF
TIE nervous system The quantity present
varies with the quality of the grain and the
soil on which IL Is grown. The darker varie-
ties contain more than the light The bruis-
Ing and milling Of oats very rapidly dimin-
ishes the quantity OF this substauce-which
SAMSON calls Avenin, but quickens its &C.
ton.
In paper read before the Academy del
Lineei, Of Rome, Prof. Carlo Maggioranl has
described some experiments proving that
the presence Of powerful magnets exerts q
rcmarkab!e influence upon the Matching OF
eggs. The efec: Is 70 arrest the develop
fnent of the eEusryos or 10 50 retard il as to
produce imperiec; chickens.
In receEt lecture II the Lowell institute.
Boston Pr0l. r :. Ball, Astronomer ROYAL
OF Ireland, decla;ed it to be ais belief that
the masses Of stone sud iron which fan 10
the earth As meteorites were originally
thrown out bv terrestrial volcanoes al a ~
mole period in our planets geological his
tory II so, the fragments must have been
projected beyond the influence OF the earth's
"ttrAetion By explosions giving them the ire
mendous initial velocity of SIX miles a sec
ond.
Spectroscopie researches have led Mons.
L FieveE, Of the Royal Observatory of Brus-
seis, to infer that sun spots have higher
temperature than the bright solar disc
A German, hnfarf.. ~. -.
The modification of planets by insects so as
to produce new varieties.
collection OF stockings colored with in
iurions aniline dyes is shown at the London
Health Exhibition.
A MUcH BURNT LAND.-During the mast
summer a geologist Of Iceland, Mr. Thorod-
dsen, has Systematically explored consider
able portion OF that country under a CON-
mission from the government In the pep-
insulz VI Rsykjanes and is upland connec-
tons lac determined the existence and site OF
no less than thirty volcanoes aud at least
seven hundred eTaters, although up to the
Time OF his visit Il was ouly supposed that
there were two volcanoes in these parts which
had been active within historic times. In
other localities volcanoes OF colossal size ar
found, in addition to many hot springs. SOL
fataras and boiling ciay-plts. Mr.. Tborod-
dsen believes this peninsula to DC one of the
most thoroughly burnt spots on the face of
the globe.
The HOTEL des NEUoHATELoIs.-A great
rock standing in the middle OF the Aar glac-
Ter, in the Alps Of Switzerland, formed the
principal part OF the Hotel des Neuchatslois.
rough shelter used by Agassiz and his
friends while investigating the phenonepa
of glaciers from 1910 To 1s43. Frost has
since split the rock into a thousand pieces
three Of which have just been identified by
Mons Forel- From the record Of the Hotels
original position left by Agassiz and the
measurements made by Forel, ii appears that
the fragmentary blocks have been carried
down the mountain by the glacier at the rate
Of about $50 feet year.
Prof. Aoseley, OF the famous Challenger
expedition around the world, has discovered
eyes in the shells OF ehitonidal, no less than
1000 being contained in the shell OF a sim
gle animal. As the shell grows larger new
eyes are formed. No other moIIusca have
any sense-Organs in their shells, but the
chitonidal, in addition TO eyes, have elabor-
ate organs Of touch permeating their shells.
Van Rysselberghe, in Belgium, has sue
ceeded in transmitting telephone aud q
telegraphic message along the same wire at
the same time, aud has exhibited the achieve
ment at the Antwerp Universal Exhibition
ordinary instruments and ordinary telegraph
lines being employed.
SroRN-REGULAToRs. In paper read be-
fore the French Academy Of Sciences, Mons.
Minard has proposed diminishing the vio-
lence Of storms by attaching a large number
Of lightning rods TO tall telegraph poles and
connecting them with the metals OF RAILWAYS.
Others have advocated the discharge of artll-
lery for tho same purpose. The simpler
plan OF oell-ringing has been suggested 10
Mr.. w. Mattieu Williams by a recent refer
euce In the French Academy TO the s'deplor-
able custom" Of ringing church bells during
thunderstorms which still prevails in certain
parts of France. "If," remarks Mr.. WILL
Jams, ''there is any truth in the theory
which assumes that the aerial agitation of
sound waves promotes a gradual discharge
between oppositely electrical strata OF air, or
between the air aud the solid surface of the
earth, this bell-ringing may have better
foundation than the superstition which pro-
notes the practice. The sum total of dis
ringing Of large bell would equal that OBJ
tsinable by the explosion Of very large
quantity o. gunpowder.
Snakes are never found in the Island of
Iona, of the west coast of Scotland, although
they exist in the Island Of Null, only three
quarters Of a mile distant The Duke of
Argyll reports that during the hot weather OF
last August an adder succeeded in swim
ming across the dangerous channel to Iona,
and was about to land, when it was seen and
killed.
A student Of the eolors Of flowers, Mons.
Schneider, contends that only one coloring
substance exists In plants. and that the var
ious eOlors Of flowers are due simply TO the
notifications made in this substance bv the
acids or alkalies contained in the plants
themselves
A curious phenomenon observed BY Mons.
Colladon is that hailstones. two or three sec
onds after falling, sometimes spring into
the air again, TO u height Of ten or twelve
inches. as If struck upwards by the earth.