The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-12-12
Compiled for TER ARKANsAw TRAvxLER.
 SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY

In Turkey 'he notion prevails that lep- rosy may result from a stroke of lightning.
 A new alkaloid has beeA found in pickled cabbage by Mons. Tuyagopu. who asserts that the substance aLays delirum tremens.
 A commission of the Spanish govern. ment considers Dr. Ferran's system of inoc- ulalion for cholera to be not only useless but positively dangerous.
 The union of the rivers Vnlga and Don was thought of by Peter the Great, and its now proposed to construct the canal The rivers are fifty miles apart, and the distance is gradually iessening through the washing away of the western bank of .he Volga.
 Signor Bartoli h's calculated that if all the known clements were present in a body, in a solid state and in the ratio of their atomic we 'ghts, the mean density, or specific gravity, would be 5 776 It is interesting to note that this clos ly agrees with Cav, ndishS calculation of the mean density of the earth VIE, o7.
 A strong decoction of the roots and leaf butts of the New Zealand fax (Phor. mium tenex) has been used by Surgeon Ma. jor Monckton as a dressing for wounds, and he asserts that nothing is equal to it for pro- ducir a healthy healing. in the climate of Inc la the decoti quickly ferments, but il is preserved for use by the addition of lite tie carbol acid and glycerne
 n ,h,lo.
 ity as one of the general roper,ies of m atter, and the experiment of forcing water through g'id has often bet repeatt d since Io6t. Tho pores have been proven, however, 10 be de- fects of casting. HaMmering destroys the porosi'y of the gold, and glass has been re- gently sh' wn to be imp rmeable to gases under pressure of I26 atmosLheres.
 Heights of Clouds - Measurements of the heights of clouds have been made at the Upsala Observat ry during the past summer. The results are apprexim uely as follows: Stratus aooo f+et: nin bus, or rain cloud, from 3 Goo 10 7,aoo 'eet: cumulus, from geo to i8eoo iest; cirrus, a 400 feet Cloud measurements are always some shat d ficult and uncertain, but tn. SC figures are consd- cred fairly exact.
 Alkaloids in Flour.-The investigations of Mons. Ballaud indicate that flour becomes un 4holesome after long k. ep,ng in sacks, alkaloids being formed in cons. quenc- of the acidity of the old flour during the transfor- nation of gluten uuder the natural ferment Of when. races Of the alka oids are found in flour year or wear and half old, but are more marked in that which has been ground two or three years.
 N.,ure's Agricul,urists.-Prof Henu Drummond remarks that there can be no suc- cession of crops without the most thorough agncHlture, and that where man is not ing this work nature employs other agents. Oar w'n has sh' wn ho~ the soil of England is titled by sarthworms to the extent Of hay ng ten tons of dry earth per acre annually trans- ferred from beloS v 10 the surf. zee, by passing tn' ough their bodies and b, ing deposited as theic casts. But ir the hard baked soil of tropical climates the worms are unable to operate, and other agencies are demanded, an effective one bs ing, Prof. Drummond fnds, the termie, or white ant" his creature livrs upoa dead vegetable matter, and D tunnelings, like the action of the eartnxorns, constantly bring fresh layers of soil to ihs surface. Unlike the eaIthworms, however, it is very d. structive to mans works, and in { spite of it's >uosoh po sing is rather | dreaded foe than a valued friend.
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