The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-12-10

the Gull Stream from the shores OF
OF the United States and the British
Provinces, interposing cold wall Of
water between the land and genial
warmpth Of the current from the trop.
les BY building a dam across the
narrow straits Of Belle Isle-about ten
miles wide and averaging $50 feet in
depth--Mr. John c. Goodridge, Jr..
suggests that the icy stream might be
turned aside into mid-ocean. Then,
it is believed, the Gulf Stream would
skirt the American coast and materi-
ally change its climate from Cape
Hatteras to Newfoundland, freeing
the Gulf Of st. Lawrence from ice
bergs and giving to Nova Scotia the
mildness Of Cape May.
UsNG THE EARTH's HEAT.-There
is abundant reason for beliving that
the earth's crust is very thin, asserts
Mr. ]. Starkie Gardner, and it seems
not impossible that some means may
be devised for utilizing the intense
heat OF the molten mass below. This
is already being done in fact to some
extent, an artesan we'll having been
bored at Pesth to obtain warm water
for public baths, etc. From a depth
Of about 5000 feet large quantity Of
water heated 161 degrees Fahrenheit
pours forth, and the boring is to be
continued until water at 17S degrees
is yielded.
BRAINS IN tertiary TIMEs.-In a
paper on the size Of the brain in ex-
tinct animals, Prof. Marsh, of Yale
College, has brought forward the re-
markabie fact that in the race for life
during past ages the survival OF any
particular group Of animals depend.
ent on the size of their brain as COM
pared with that Of their contempora.
ries Of the same class Brains won
then, as now, and the brain OF ami
mails crushed out OF existence was al
ways found to be relatively smaller
than that OF those OUTLYING them.
REPLACING NERvEs.-Successfu ex.
periments have been made in joining
and restoring the functions Of divided
nerves. even nerves Of different func.
ton being used TO replace those par,
tally destroyed. It is thought that
even sight and hearing may be re
stored, after injury to the nerves or
which they depend, by bringing other
nerves into service by artificial un
ion.
A REMARKABLB INSTRUMENT
Among the fiints OF the chalk forma
sions is occasionally found one which
emits clear musical sound wher
struck with another flint. Tissandiel
tells Of distinguished French musi
clan, H. Baudre, who is jealous col
lector Of these musical stones ant
who has just succeeded in making {
unique "piano" from them. In thi
instrument the flints are suspended
by wires above a sounding board, ant
are played upon by two other flints
The stones of the piano number twen
ty-six, forming the two chromatic oc
taves, and were collected with mucl
patient labor during a period of NOR
: than twenty years. There seems t
!. be no relation between the sizes Q
the stones and their tones.
FLOWER FIGMEETs.-Hanson, a Gel
manchemist, finds that the colors Q
: fruits and flowers are furnished by
very small number Of pigments, whic
he classifies into three groups: frs
reds; second, yellow; third, blues an
yiolets. He omits chlorophyll greer
because 1t is comparatively rare i
!. flowers Orange is produced by
thickening Of deposit Of the funds
mental yellow pigment, the colorin
D. matter being the same in the rind {
an orange as in yellow buttercu
n Roses and carnations show the cha
acteristic red pigment, in which var
" ations are produced by the presence
81 acids.
a. UNIVERSAL CoLoR-BLINDNEss.-
Color-blindness, as usually understoo
IS y blindness to red, to green, or
:. = blue or violet; and about one male
e every twenty-five appears to beunab
d to discriminate between the princip
= colors of the spectrum. In strict
sense, all persons are color-blind, Il
le although Chevreul is said . to ha'
hs been able to distinguish 14,420 ton
: Of color, il has been proven that u
human eye is totally incapable Of ]
4. ceising all the vibrations Of col
which must exist in the spectrum,
IT. CoPPER-PLArIxG CoRPsEs.--A not
rie French chemist proposes coatil
bodies with skin Of copper
means OF the well known electro-pl
ing nrocass. A second plating Of &c