The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-01-24
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 SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY. A member of the Royal Meteorological Society urges . more uniform system of measuring wind force
 At late meeting Of . Bexiin society # was stated that four polar expeditions are now in preparation, one of them to 70 to the Antartie regions. B. A new metal has been discovered by Professor Websky as one of the components of native vanadate of lead. He proposes calling 1t iduaium."
 A French investigator has found tha, the sugarbeet gradually loses it's sugar when grown a second year, the quantity be- ing very small when the seeds are fully ripened. = The juice of the curious ink-plant of New Granada requires no preparation be- lore being used for writing. The color is reddish when first applied to paper, bu, soon becomes deep black, which is very dura- ole. This ink is now used for public records and documents.
 A factory is said to have been estab- lished in Sweden for making into paper the half decomposed moss which has accumu lated in many places in Norway and Sweden to thickness of a foot or more. The suh- stance may be pressed into boards, ~hi... have the desirable qualities of wood withou, such defects as warping and splitting.
 By method of spectroscopic observa- ton, MT. w. N. Hartley has reached the con ciusion that ozone is a constant constituten, of the upper atmosphere, that it is bresen, there in larger quantity than nearer the earth's surface, and tha, it is the cause of the blue color of the sky. Either in its gaseous form or condensed into liquid, ozone appears of deep blue.
 A project has been brought before the French Academy of Sciences for the con- struciion of sewer abou; 100 miles long, to convey the sewage of Paris to the sea, pump ing stations being established at two places. It is estimated that during two-thirds of the year almost the whole quantity of sewage would be absorbed by irrigation without it's reaching the sea at all.
 Another Cholera Microbe. Believing Dr. Koch's comma bacillus, which has been found only in the contents of the intes,ines, to be insufficient to account for cholera, Dr. Rudolf Emmerich, a Bavarian patholopist has sought for more potent germs in the tissues and organs of the body. AS a result of his investigations, he has reported the dis covery of bacteria, bling in form and size those found in diphtheria, in the blood of cholera patients and, furthermore, he has escribed experiments in which he appears to have produced the disease in guinea-pigs 55 iRoeulation with these bacteria.
 The Baltic Level.-ln I7so a series of water marks was established along the en- tire lengths of the coasts of Sweden; and these marks or gauges were renewed in 1881, and again in 1854. They have been inspected at short intervals, systematic record of the observations being preserved. The results have shown that in the 34 years the northern part of Sweden has risen seven feet, the eie- vation gradually growing less to the south ward until, al Bornholm, a point is reached which remains at the same level as in the middle of the last century. The average ele- vation of the Swedish coast has been about fifty six inches. During the same period the coast limiting the Baltic on the south has been steadily sinking.
 Work in Hot Places.-The limit of temperature at which men can work depends upon the length of their exposure, the amount of exertion they put forth, their con dition. and the nature of the atmosphere, particularly as to it's degree of moisture. Men have been employed on railways at ro4 degrees, in mines-under very favorable con ditions-at I25 degrees, and are said to work occasionally in the stoke-holes of tropical steamers at Is6 degrees. Prof. Du Bois Ray mond has estimated that a temperature of I2a degrees can be endured when the air is as dry as possible, but that even ro4 degrees is likely to be fatal in an atmos phere satu- rated with moisture. It is considered certain that men cannot become accustomed to stand, for any considerable time, a higher temperature than from TAO to I6s degrees. even when they keep perfectly still and are in quite pure air.
 The Vitality of Seeds.-The seeds of the willow will not germinate after having been once dry. The seeds of coffee and various other plants do not germinate after having been kept for any considerable time. Wheat over two centuries old has been found quite fit for food, but the grains usually lose their power of growth after lapse of seven years. Specimens of rye and wheat known to be Is5 years old could not be induced to germinate. "The stories of mummy wheat, sproutisg after having lain dormant ia Egyptian tombs for thousands of years, are, 70 say the-least of them, very dubious" de- clares Dr. Robert Brown, F. L. s. "No well authenticated instances of such finds are extant, while among other articles sold by the Arabs to crsduious travellers, as coming out of the same tomb as the ancient wheat. have been dahlis bulbs an3 maize, the de- position of which in the receptacle from which they were said to be extracted necessi-