Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1885-03-25
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY
.fGobm5 piled for thh the SPECTATOR. j

fCpmpned for the SpEcTAToR.]
LUNG DISEASES IN WILD ANNALS
In the period from October, 1881, to the
close eff 1884 there died in the gardens of
the London, geological Society 5S3 man.
mails, 140s birds, and 1888 reptiles. Mr.. J.
Bland Sutton states, in report to the
Pathological Society, that of the deaths
among mammals only five were from gen
uine pulmonary tuberculosis or consump-
ton, showing that the general notion that
wild animals in captivity are especially liza
BILE to that disease is erroneous. Of the
mammals 300 were quadrumana, and of
them thirty per cent. had other forms of
pulmonary affection. Bronchitis attacks
very great variety of animals, but other
well known chest diseases appear to be
chiefly confined to certain groups. The
carnivora, fyr instance, are very liable to
double pleurisiss and pneumonia, while ru
ruinantia have the peculiar disease known
as "Perlsucht,L so.called bovine tu-
berculosis. In birds is noticed liability
to Inflammation of the air-sacs, which gives
rise to peculiar exud ations in which mould
develops and spreads through the lung.
BALLeess IN THE SeUDAN CAMPAIGN.
The first attempts at British military bal
looming are to be made in Africa, three bal
looms having been sent out for the purpose
of making ascents fer watching the ene-
mys movements A hundred or more iron
cylinders containing compressed hydrogen
for initiating the balloons form part of the
equipment and q gas-factory and pumping
station will be established at Suakin for re-
filling these reservoirs. Telephone COM
munication will be maintained between the
balloons and the ground. u
The parasitic character Of diphtheria has
been established by two Investigators
Klebs and Eofier@ who have independently
found organisns which have been proven
by experiments on guinea pigs and birds to
be the spe cific germs of the disease.
THE PoIAR I.IaHr.HF ollowing up small
experiments made in 1871, + Prof. selim
Lemstrom, of the! Finnish Meteorological
Station at Sodankyla, Lapland, attempted
in 1882 to- Produce aif aurora on a large
scale from the electricity to be flowing from
the ain To the 1earth, the means employed
being a. ssaisehafgipg apparatus, = consist
ing of a. network Gof spointedewire conduc-
tors spread over the topiof q mountain, in
suated and connected with a galyanome-
ter ana the earth at the footaof the noun
tain. IA, difpsea light which the spectre
scope showed to be,identieal tho aurora
borealis, was often seen towering over the
wires, and on some occasions rays became
visible,ql Continuing ibis researches in 1883
and 1884, Prof. Lemstrom now finds him
self able to assert very positively that the
aurora borealals, which has long been
disputed enigma .is5the result Of an atmos-
pheric electric current, and that this cur
rent can be measured and studied by means
CT his t'dischargngt apparatus.' * The zone
of frequent auroras in the northern hemi-
sphere is a narrow belt Jencircling the mag
netic pole, ahdJ crossing the neiidian-o Of
Washington in latitude456o and that of St.
Petersburg in ZIP. Prof. 9Lemshoms finds
the existence, Of 3 belt of terrestrial cur
rents similar to the belt of auroral cur
rents to be very probable. ~ o.i '-ni-aiiaf
An interesting exhibition of whale skele-
tons and products has been held in Ham
burg: The most impos, ng exhibit was the
skeleton OF lthe blue whale, the greatest
animal on EARTH It measured IS feet in
length, and was mounted in its natural po-.
sition. s7t al ri lGE ln4d,I4it 81 4ezIll sl9
According to Herve- Mangon, the system
of telegraphic weather warnings in France
was created by Leverrier in 1855. In 1878
a central meteorological bureau was estab-
lished,, and 5, numerous bhserqyatories had
been erected all over the country, while
Paris was in telegraphic connection with
1sno st,4l;1,s1 b9j }fD9TtJ sds 1i--:Lt I1Iai
1ooO sPatiops'i 10 as.io ,ajsrN I / i t}ual
AN, AGE OF HORN. "a variety of prehis-
toric objects in hornA-such as amulets,
cups, knives, aaggers, hrings,n buttons, 4
bracelets, letc,-7have been found in a.
stratum existing at depth of about five
feet in the mid Of, Lake Neuenburg, il
Switzerland The finder, Herf "a Il Kaiser,
b Ii : es them to be older than, the stone
and bronze plemsnts Of the same local /,
ity, and he proposes to, call the period to /
which they belYpg the age Of born y
may well be- doubted y, however, whether 8
the ancieut lake people ever experienced an j
epoch for which such name would Be ia JUS "a