Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-02-01
BITS OF SCIENCE.

Ii has boon asceItaned mat sunlight
penetratas the waters Of Lake Geneva to
deItl Of 40 metres.
The whale swims by striking the water
up and down, instead Of laterally, with &
Tin Ike horizontal tail.
BY means Of the new electric brake. in
vented by an American named WalcBer,
ii is said that a train running at a speed
of about % miles per hour was stopped in
the short space of six seconds and within
a distance Of 20 yards.
The proper allowance of air in barracks
is 600 cubic feet per man in Europe and
/ 1000 in India. For hospitals, POO cubic
| feet per bed in Europe and 1,S00 in India.
| Horses require IN England 1,GC0 cubic feet
each, or nearly as much as three men,
! Tae WOOD q the chestnut tree Yields
I fannie acid in quantity and quality supe-
/ rior to that Of any wood hitherto used for
/ the purpose. A process Of extraction has
been found which viii enable it to be sold
at less rates than any other fannie acid.
A box or safe has been made of asbestos
and silicate, formed into solid, stOne-like
/ material. 1t is said to be proof against
sound and yermin, as well as fire, and
will be useful in preserving valuable pa
pers. 1t is light though massive in APP
pearance.
At NEE ting of the Royal Geological
Society Of Cornwall, England, Prof War
ringtOn Smyth drew attention 10 the tenn
perature Of deep mines, especially those
of Nevada, the great heat of which he
aScr1bcd to cbe@ical changes going on in
the lode itself.
1t is reported that Prof. o. Sars, of
ChristIana, received two years ago some
mud taken from the bottom Of an Aus
tralian lake by Norwegian geOIOgist
Recently he placed the mud in small
aquaria and succeeded in producing from
it quite fauna Of Australian fresh water
Invertebrates.
An interesting experiment to ascertain
the effect OF artificial heat on vegetation
has been made by Barthelemy. He ar
ranged number of hyacinths in glasses
in circle around the pipe Of a stove, and
after some time he found that the roots
assumed nearly horizontal position, or
a direction almost at right angles with
the pipe.
The latest surgical luxury is an instru-
ment by which missions may be made
without giving pain. 1t consists Of a
knife which is regulated by watch at
tachment, so that it advances at the rate
of only Oneinch in six yours. A slightsen-
sation of uneasiness is produced, which
does not, however, prevent the patient
from going to sleep.
Inc FFenCn Government is having con-
stTucted abroad large and costly special
machine tools to aid III the construction
of light-2rmored, swift cruisers. One Of
these appliances is a shearng apparatus
for cutting up steel plates one inch in
thickness. The total weight of this ma
chine and the engine to operate it COM
bined) is about So tons.
Monuments and statutes cast from re-
fined zinc are given a sparkling appear
ance by directing a sand-blast under
steam pressure upon them so that the
sand cuts the surface but does not adhere
to il. A thin film Of oxide is thus formed
which stands atmospheric exposure adj
mirably, yet the film is so thin that it
scarcely admits of ordinary measure /
ment.
One ton 1000 pounds avoirdupois) Of
gold or silver contains %, 1853 troy ounces /
and, therefore. the value Of a ton of pure |
gold is $500, 100 81, and a ton of silver /
So, 704 81. A cubic foot Of pure gold I
weighs 1,2lS.75 pounds avoirdupOis; a
cubic foot Of pure silver weighs 6552j |
pounds avoirdupois; Sl,000,000 gold coin
weighs 3,GSJS pounds ayOirdupOis; 81 ,000,- |
600 silver coin weighs 5S,9299 pounds |
aYOaTdupois.