The Opelousas courier., 1886-09-11
POPULAR SCIENCE.

Ihs German newspapers state that
startling experiments have been made at
Berlin with o new description of shell,
charged with gun cotton, which pro-
luees most extraordinary results. No
kind OF defensive WORKS, no matter how
solid, it is stated, are capable of resit-
ing SO destructive a projectile. .
Remarkable accuracy is now attained
oy engineers in cutting tunnels through
mountains, working from both ends.
Thus at the Muscontecong tunnel, ON the
Lehigh Valley Railroad, the alignment
tested to 0.04 feet or less than one-half
IN Gncho In this case levels were run
5000 feet long.
The curious suggestion has been made
by Mr.. Francis Gallon, of the London
Archaeological Institute, that some of
the colors of the italian mosaic workers
be employed as standards for describing
the tints of the skin Of the varions races
aud tribes of mankind. These coloSs
have great durability, mosaics in st.
Peters at Rome having shown no signs
of change after more than a century. A
great variety of tints is available, there
being about 500 appropriate to the flesh
of European nations alone.
1t is possible to keep the adult lobster
alive for a long period in g moist, cold
atmosphere. At45oF., in a proper de-
vice, HOLSTERS have been kept alive and
in good condition for fifteen days, and
in a moist atmosphere only, their gills
not having been immersed in water dur
ing the whole period. This discovery
renders it possible to transport living
| adult Holsters across the continent, and
to stock the waters of the Pacific coast.
1t is also possible to pack the lobster
eggs in seaweed in a similar manner and
| to transport them for long distances.
BY recent soundings the London Geo
graphical Society has ascertained that
| the ocean-bottom in the North Atlantic
is formed Of two G eat valleys. One
reaches in width from the tenth degree
| of cast to the thirtieth of west longitude,
extending to the equator, at a depth OF
lot less than Is, 1000 feet; and the other
| lies between the thirtieth and iftieth de-
| grees of west longitude. The interven-
ing mountain-chain with a maximum
breadth of nearly 500 miles. extends
northward toward Iceland and southwark
to the Azores, and is volcanic in charac-
| ter at the ends.
The spectroscope-capable of indicat-
ing the millionth part of a mllligram OF
| Bodium-has been regarded as the most
| delicate of all means of analysis. Its
keenness proves to be far surpassed, how
| ever, by that of the sense of smell, late
| European Investigations having shown
| that the nerves of the nose are sensibly
affected by one 400, 900, 000th part of a
IN lligram of mercaptan-a mill gram be
ing only. O154 of a grain. And if such
be the delicacy Of human smell, what
7 must be the minuteness OF the smallest
particle which may produce an lmpres
zion on the nose of a dogi
Prof. Richard A. Proctor maintain
that most of the meteor streams will
| which the earth comes in contact are de
rived from the earth itself; that is, thrown
of by volcanic action at a time when thu
internal forces of our planet were suffi
GENTLY active to give them the initla
velocity requisite to carry them beyond
the earth.s attraction some twelve mile
a second. Comets, which he regards a
the parents of meteor streams, he think
may have originated outside u solaf
system. Most of the comets whose or
bits belong to our system he think
originated in the larger planets. TIL
sun is now perhaps giving birth fire
quently to comets which probably pas
beyond the limits of its attraction.