The Baltimore County union., 1886-02-27
Correspondence Baltimore County On'0"'
soIENTIFIo MISCELLANY.
LIFE IN THE DEEP SEA

2
/ Perhaps no more remarkable additions 10 nu-
49, Inowledee have been made during the last
twentv wears than those pertaining to the oceans
,,hose dark ADVISES have now become compare
.;relv familiar regions. The physical features
have been quite clearly determined, wnlie nos'
surnrising. and until recently unsupported, iacts
concerning the life forms of the depths nave Deeh
revealed. The most extensive expioratlon's, VIZ
maae bv the British expedition on the Chdttenger
,h;cb retprned home in 1875 after three ana a
half wears of investigation in all the oceans. by
this famous expedition thousands OF new organ
;sms were discovered, in all localities anu a' al
Santbs in the sea, and have been or are now oeing
described pseiasfa ais s saacaeSafS a aensffJefS raised
barrier to life in some of its many forms. Even
in the greater depths all the great divisions OF
the animal kingdom are represented. Descend
ing into the deeper waters and proceeding further
seaward from the borders of the continents, species
and the number of individuals become fewer and
fewer, till minimum is reached in the greatest
depths farthest from continental land In the
adaptation of organisms to deep. sea conditions
curious notifications have occurred, such the
disappearance or enlargement of the eyes, the
elongation of fins and antennae, the increase in
size and decrease in number of eggs, and the de-
velopment of phosphorescent organs.
DETERIORATION OF BOILERS.
In late paper read before the Scotch Institu-
tion of Engineers, Mr.. Peter Carmichael stated
that all qualities of iron become hard and brittle
after service in boilers for more than dozen
years, especially where exposed directly to the
fire. In the furnaces even the best iron becomes
as brittle as common iron in that time, and great
care has to be taken in making repairs to prevent
the plates from cracking. For-this reason sixteen
to seventeen years is long enough for boiler to
be in use, at o pressure of forty to forty-fve
pounds. If used longer the pressure ought to be
lowered. In two boilers which had been used
nineteen years even the rivets wereA brittle that
their heads few off on being struck. ft,j
s&s ssPHYsICIAN, HEAL THYSELF.
From English mortality statistics extending
over a considerable period, DR.. VIM. 0gle finds
that the deathrate among clergymen is lower than
that n any other occupation. If the mortality
for the three years 1880 SO among ministers be
represented by 500, that among farmers will be
denoted by 631, among lawyers by SAL, and ply
sicians by 1,122. The high mortality rate among
the doctors is a source of alarm to an eminent
medical authority, and is regarded as demanding
the most thorough investigation.
-ss THE NOVEMBER METEoRs.
Reports concerning the meteoric showerof Nov.
9th place it in the first rank among such pho
nomena. At places favorable for observation about
one meteor per second or 5000 per hour were OBJ
served. The appearance of the shower according
to prediction confirms the theory that a dense
stream of meteoric matteris travelling in the orbit
of the lost Biela's comet.
cooL-AIR DRYING.
A new American process for rapidly drying
timber, hides, wool, grain, and other substances
surcharged with moisture has been attracting con-
siderable attention in England. 1t is called the
cool-dry air process, and consists in passing
through the chamber containing the moisture
laden material continuous current of furnace
dried air having temperature between 50 and
go degrees Fahrenheit. The moisture is absorbed
by the air in so remarkable manner that oak
- c. III
days. although natural drying would have requir
ed three or four years. The temperature is so
moderate that delicate fbres, fabrics and chemi
Gals are not injured.
A METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENON.
noticeable feature in the climate of southeast
ern India, according to Col. B. R. Braniii of the
London Geographical Society, is the frequent
lightning storms, which occur daily for weeks to-
gether before the setting in of the southwest mon
soon, unaccompanied by rain or by any sound of
thunder. This curious phenomenon is most fire.
quent in districts where land and sea breezes alter
nate with much regularity.
MISCELLANEOUS
The finest lines separable under the microscope,
according to Mr.. Crisp of the Royal Micruscopi-
cal Society, may be taken as 146,543 lines to the
inch with white light, but the use of monochro-
matte light gives increase to 15SS45 lines to the
inch, and 193,O37 may be photographically re-
corded. ..
In new process introduced at Frankfort arti-
fetal lithographic stones are made by compress
ing finely powdered cement or carbonate of lime.
A garnet crystal weighing nine and half
pounds was lately found eight feet below the sur
face of New York street.
A new Illuminating agent, which an eminent
Russian chemist predicts will supersede kerosene,
has been tried in st. Petersburg. 1t is called
pyronaphtha, and is prepared from the waste
products of the Baku distllation of petroleum.
1t burns with brighter light, without smoke or
vapor, and is not liable to take fire accidentally
or to explode.
The New Zealand government is seeking to
promote scientific mining by sending competent
lecturer to the various mining districts. The
lectures are well attended. -
The singular report is made by two French
experimenters that silicon, though unaffected by
temperature of 1870 degrees F., volatizes at S24
degrees.