The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-04-18
Compiled for THn AnKAsssAw TRAvRxxms
 SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

eseA1NAke experiment. in balloon steering by electricity.
 Wet and dry seasons % differently af- feet the wings of butterflies in India as .o cause broods of the same insect to be taken for distinct species.
 A new test for tea is the amount of ashes yielded, the quantity being greater in inferior and adulterated samples than in those of good quality.
 An Austrian astronomer, Professor Oppeizer. is preparing list of the eclipses- s,ooo solar and s 200 lunar-of the period be- tween Iao7 B. C, and so6r A. D.
 Horses having extra toes on the inner side of the fore feet are occasionally met with in South America according to Dr. lhreng, who suggests that they may be the remnant of an old native race of horses which escaped the notice of the early settlers.
 Among the many prize offers of the French Academy of Sciences is a sum equiv- alent to about $ao GOO which was left by Breant in r54o, and is still unawarded. is to be given to the person who shall find an effective remedy for the Asiatic cholera, or shall indicate with absolute certainty its causes.
 By microscopical examination, Messrs. Osmond and Werth have shown that molten steel possesses kind of cellular tissue, the iron forming the nucleus and the carbon the envelope of the cellules. These simple seli- uies form aggiomerations or compound cells, vvh he lv 6AA ;sA ,La. usually called the grain of the steel.
 Two prizes of $2 800 each are offered for essays on the use of soda nitrate as ma- nure. One essay is to indicate present knowledge and theory, and the other Is to be devoted to new experimental research made by the author of the paper before 1887. The prizes are given by the committee of the Salt petre Producers Association of western South America.
 A Hard Problem.-A Paris medical society, seeking evidence from many sources concerning the contagiousness of pulmonary consumption, has forwarded questions on the subject to every practicing physician in France. Similar inquiries in England and in Germany have net been particularly sue cessful, only 500 out of 23,ooo English prac- titioners answering, and but 200 Germans out of I6ooo
 A Transit of the Earth.-A curious ob- servation has been made by Dr. Copeland, an English astronomer. While watching one of Iupiter's satellites he was able to see it pass over its own shadow on the planet. For f0 hav hannauad he ek. satellites, and the part of Jupiter's disc oc- culted, must have been all in one straight line, and, as seen from Jupiter, the earth must have appeared making a transit across the sun.
 Celestial Death Missiles. -C Considering the number of meteoric stones which reach the earth's surface, it would not be surpris- ing if many lives had been destroyed by them. It is stated that loss of life resulted from large fall in Africa that about the year 1920 many persons and animals were killed; that in IsII about five o'clock one evening, priest was struck and killed: and that still later, in l65o, monk was killed. seem to be the only instances recorded of death from falling meteoriteS.
 Spider Sense.-A German entomolo- gist, F. Dahl, claims that spiders have per feet sight only at very short distances. Their sense of touch is consequently remarkably well developed, enabling them te locate dis turbances in their web. Their smell is so good that they can distinguish odors, and their hearing is excellent. Some of them show a remarkable instinct in building their webs-even their frst-in perfect geomet- rical form. A reflective power is evinced by their refusal of kinds of tough insects which have been once attacked unsuccessfully. Cholera Vaccination.-Some interest ing researches concerning cholera preven- ton are being made by Dr. Ferran, of Bar celona. He has prepared an attenuated cholera virus, with which three medical men have been inoculated. The inoculations were | followed by severe local pains and feverish symptoms, which suddenly disappeared after duration of about twenty-four hours. No | further i'll effects have been experienced. It now remains to prove, pr. Ferran con6- dently expects to do, that these inoculations have conferred complete immunity from at tacks of cholera. q
 A Thunderstorm Theory.-At a recent German scientific congress, pr. S. Hoppe. of Hamburg, endeavored to prove that the electricity of storms is generated by the fric- ton of vapor particles. This view was strengthened by experiments in which com pressed cold air was allowed to rush into a copper vessel containing warm moist air, a large amount of electricity being thus pro- duced. He concludes that the rise of a column of warm moist air into the colder att mosphere above will be followed by thun- derstorm if it acquires sufficient velocity to prevent naturalization of the electricity gem erated by the friction of the air. Hence, he regards open districts as more liable to thunderstorms than wooded regions, where the trees prevent the rapid rise of bur,id air