Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1885-05-13
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
1Comniled for the SPECTATOR.

raffe. the bison, the whale, the seal, anu
many others-which must soon be e4tlr,
pated unless protected from being hunted
to death. An interesting case OF animal
extinction is found in ''Steller's sea-cow
(Rhvtina tStelle1i), lately referred to by
Il Mr.. Henry Woodward before the London
Geological Society. This great animal,
which has been variously classed with the
whales, with walruses aid seals, and with
elephants, was toothless vegetable-feed-
err, living along the shore in shallow water,
and often weighing three or four tons. 1t
was seen alive and described in 174l, but in
1880 1t appeared to have become entirely
extinct This creature belonged to the Or
der .Strenia, and Mr.. Woodward looks upon
it as last surviving species of the great
group of Sirenians which lived in the ter
tiary age of geology.
In the last volume issued by the Geolo-
gical Survey of India is an account OF
fiery eruption from one Of the mud volca-
noes on Cheduba Island. A body OF Same
600 feet in circumference is said to have at
one time reached an elevation of 2, 400
feet, petroleum being the cause.
Experiments reported to the Paris Acad-
envy of Sciences prove that the pressure
necessary to cause the rupture OF blood
vessels is very much greater than that to
which they are normally subjected. The
carotid artery of dog requires from thir-
ty-fve to fifty-five times the normal pres
sure of the blood, aud the jugular vein
from thirty-two to thirty-five times the
usual force.
Acting on q scientific suggestion that
natural tints are beneficial to the eyesight,
an enterprising German publisher has just
issued book printed in dark-blue ink on
palegreen paper.
A LIVELY APPETITE-A reputable sci
entifc authority quotes the statement that,
by careful estimate, a spider ate four times
its weight for breakfast, nearly nine times
It's weight for dinner, thirteen times its
weight for supper, finishing up an ounce,
and at P. NJ, when he was released, ran
off in search Of food. At this rate, man
of 100 pounds would require the whole of
fat steer for breakfast, another with
half dozen good sheep for dinner, and two
bullocks, eight sheep and four hogs for sup
per, with about four bushels of fresh fish
as lunch before going to his club ban
quet.
SEASONS PREDETERMINED.-So time
ago the discovery was made by Mons. Oh.
Montigny, by means of beautiful instru-
meut called the scintlomer that blue
largely predominates in the twinkliDg of
the stars when there is much water in the
atmosphere, and that the preponderance of
green or of violet is Indicative of great
dryness. A late series of tables by this
Brussels savant indicates that he has hit
upon law by which wet or a dry season
may be predicted with great certainty.
Perhaps the best test Of the soundness of
his views is found in the fact that his scin-
tillometric forecasts of the increasing
drought in Belgium OF the years 1888 and
1884 were fulfilled to letter.
THERE'S NOTHING NEw.-The dental
processes familiar 10 us are not SO new as
may be supposed. In the museum of Cor
neto, on the coast of Italy, are two curious
specimens of artificial teeth found in
Etruscan tombs probably dating 400 or 500
years before our era. The teeth were evil
IDENTIFY taken from the mouth Of some ami
NAL, and had been carefully cut and fasten-
ed to neighboring natural teeth OF two
young girls by means Of small gold rings.
The dentists art was also applied to treat
ing natural teeth in various ways, but the
fact has hitherto escaped noticed on ac-
count of the rarity of Etruscan skeletons.
DR.. J. Miner Fothergill predicts a great
future for malt as a food. Among other
things, he commends lemonade made with
malt instead of cane sugar.
A FIND AT PoMPEH-One house recent
ly uncovered at Pompeii appeared to have
been undergoing repair at the time it was
overtaken by the terrible volcano storm of
Nov. %, A. D. 70. Painters pots and
bushes, and workmeD's tools, were scat
tered abont. and spots Of whitewash star
red wall and f1ofr. Pots and kettles had
been bundled up in corner by themselves,
but dinner had not been forgotten. A soil
tary pot stood on the stove. Tha oven was
filled with loaves of bread, and suakling
pig was awaiting on a brown dish It's turn
to be baked. But the pig never entered
the oven, and The bread remained in it
more than e ghteen centuries. Mons
Floreli's museum at Pompeli contains the
loavas-twenty one in number-rather
hard and black, but perfectly preserved.
DR.. Phipson advocates, in German sci
entific journal, the general use Of sugar as
a regular article of diet. For forty years
be has eaten at least a quarter of pound
daily, net counting sugar-forrning substan-
ces taken at the same time, and has found |
it very healthful. Mems condition would |
be greatly improved If the nse of sugar
should substitute that of alcohol
| The forecasts of the weather burta u of |
France were verified last year in ninety
cases ont of every hundred, the percentage |
having steadily risen from eighty-one in |
1881 to eighty-three in 1882 and to eighty |
seven in 1888. Out Of 139 alarm signals |
sent to the ports, 1913 were fully verified, |
twenty-four we're fairly correct, thirty sew
en- were incorrect, and only two gales were
..ot foreseen.
In Paris remarkable success has attend
ed experiments in photographing the coun-
try from captive balloon. The operators
remain upon the ground. and open the
valve Of q panoramic object-glass by means
Of ar electric current.
a gigantic crystal of spodnmene found
in Dakota, measures, according to Prof.
Blake, thiIty-six feet in length and from
one to three feet in thickness.
AN INSECT GoLIATH.-The bird-spider
of tropical America, according to a French |
writer, has a body as much as four and |
one-fourth inches long. or q diameter Of
seven inches with the legs extended, and |
is the largest of the several hundred known |
species of spiders. Its ncsts resemble I
those of the large caterpillars OF France, |
and consist of beautiful white silken It's
sue, of severelthick layers, and strength
ened by very strong threads capable Of ar
| resting small bird. In the centre are |
placed the eggs, perhaps 1900 or 2, 900 in
number. Tie creature is very powerful
| and is provided with formidable instru-
ments of attack, enabling it to destroy not
only young birds and adult humming birds |
but large lizards and reptiles.
1t has been observed by Prof Holdefeiss
that beet seed sown in pot in which the
soil was exposed to the electric light ger
minated two days earlier than similar seeds
without the action of the electric light. |
Another interesting observation is that of
Herr Scholler, who has noticed an excep- |
tional luxnrlance of beets in a small plot
which had been struck by tightening.
The metal gallium has been isolated by |
an industrial process devised by DR.. S.
Enrich, a German physicist. Gallium
melts at about 81 degrees Fahrenheit, and,
as its lustre is brighter than that Of mer-
curry, it is thouoht a useful annlication may