Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-04-28
SCIENTIFIC NOTES,

The germs which give rise to malari-
al fever have been found by two Ital-
ian Psychologists.
| PROCTOR argues that every celestial
body must at some time pass through
q Incorporating period.
IN the Arctic region there are 1852
kinds of flowers. Fifty OF these are
confined to the Arctic region.
BODILY exercisegreatly increases the
activity of the lungs. Itcannot, there
fore. be truly beneficial to the whole
system, unless carried on in pure air.
NATURAL1srs now count 1 $40 differ
ent kind of fishes in North American
waters, OF which 500 live in rivers and
lakes and $50 kinds belong to the Pa
citic. Of the remainder los dwell only
IN the deep waters of the Atlantic and
Gulf OF Mexico, never approaching the
shore or the surface.
LAYERS of stone containing some of
the supposed human footprints lately
found near Lake Managva, in Nicara-
qua, have been sent to the Vienna
Natural History Museum. The stone
is volcanic tufa, and theimpressions
are extremely sharp and distinct, and
II genuine footprints, prove the exist
ence OF man IN Central America at
very remote period.
In communication to the Meteoro-
logical Society of Austria, M. G. Ligner
has described the remarkable discov-
cry that the moon has an influence on
magnetized needle. The phenome-
non is said to be more prominent
when the moon is nearest to the earth,
and to be very marked when she is
passing from the full to her first or
second quarter. The disturbance
reaches a maximum when the moon is
In the plane of the equator, and is
greater during the southern than
northern declination.
AT g. recent meeting of the Academy
of Science of Paris, M. Duclaux de-
tailed the results of some experiments
which he had made to determine the
effect of sunlight upon the vitality of
microbes. He found that q few hours
of exposure to the direct rays of the
sun were sufficient to weaken, and
finally destroy, the pathogenic micro
| cocci used in the experiments. He ar
gued, therefore, that the sun is the
best disinfectant which we possess,
the most universal, the most econom-
ical and the most active.
The adaptations with which plants
are provided for making the most of
| the water that comes to them in the
| form of rain or dew are thus classified
| by Lundstrom, who has made them O.
subject of special investigation: De-
pressions, in the form of leaf.cups or
of grooves in the epidermis; hair for
nations, in tufts or borders; hydro
scopic membranes, as spots or stripes
or spots on the epidermis; and an
atomical adaptations, such as water
absorbing textures and swelling glands.
| None of these features arefound in the
submerged parts Of plants.
AFTER g. study of nearly 10000
cases, DIR. Herman Brehmer, an able
German physician, rejects the theory
of the contagiousness of pulmonary
consumption. He finds the disease to
be due to deficient nutrition of the
lungs, which may result from various
J antecedent causes, such as inherited
defects of constitution, and vital or
gans impaired by disease, injury or
mode of living. He believes that the
operation of all the causes may pro-
duce such changes that it may be pos
sibIe years, even decades, in advance
to predict with great probability
which members of g. given family will
be afflicted with pulmonary consump-
ton and which will remain healthy.