The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-03-26
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
The birds of Labrador, according Il
Mr.. l.. M. Turner. embrace 7fi4 spocies

The birds of Labrador, according TO
Mr.. L. M. Turner, embrace 764 species
A substitute for qunine, described rs
being even superior to that remedy. has |
been obtained from Peruvian plant
known TO botanists as Lantana Brazil
lieusc.
In Zanzibar the leaves of n species of
fig are used for polishing wood, just rs
we employ sand-paper, and are said to
give finish which sand-paper cannot
impart.
A German chemist has ascertained
that poisons-such as prrissic acid, cor
rosive sublimate and sulphurettcd hy-
drogen-destroy the terminating power
of seeds.
A butterfly-a creature supposed to
live at most only two or three days
was last year kept alive in glass cage
in England for l21 days, its age at con-
finement being unknown.
The difficulty experienced in solder
ing pieces of aluminium together with
other metals has been removed in
France by the use of alloy of tin and
aluminium instead of pure tin.
The beautiful red plumage of South
African species of bird has been chemic-
ally examined and found to be due to
copper. When the birds are kept from
food containing copper they entirely
lose the tint produced by that mineral.
The Japanese government proposes
making adequate provision for imstruc-
ton in medical science by dividing the
country into six sections, i'll each of
which will be established 4 college for
the training of future physicians and
surgeons.
Not single instance of color-blind-
ness has been found by SchwarZbach in
an examination of 1000 Hottentots, Ma
LAYS, Melanesians, Australians, Mooris
and Polynesians; and he concludes that
the defect is confined to the white race,
and is due to influences connected with
civilized life.
A novel gas-light, devised by Dr. Auer,
has been in operation in chemical
laboratory in Vienna. A cotton wick,
saturated with an incombustible metal
solution, is introduced into the flame of
an ordinary Bunsen lamp, the result be-
!, ing light similar to the incandescent
electric light.
DIR. G. Rolhfs considers wooden cloth
ing to be unhealthy for wear in the
tropics. He finds support for this theory
in the fact that sheep from cool coun-
tries soon lose their wool i'm central
Africa and become covered with a thin
coat of hair, while lions lose their heavy
names in hot regions.
Iv,aIoo,, hands cann, IN ha on nm
avoidable evil. DIR. Forster, an Italian
investigator, has shown that after the
most thorough washings and brushings
with soap and water and rinsings with
carbolic acid and disinfectants of vari
GUS kinds the hands are still so impure
8 that upon touching them to steriliZed
: gelatine micro organisms are devel
! Oped.
1t is often a matter of surprise thai
& drunken men sustain little or no injury
i from falls which might have been eX
pected to result fatally. The reason o
q this immunity is that the nerve CENTER
). are so paralyzed in the drunken man a!
y not to be affected by the shock of thu
y fall, which, in sober man, would hav,
p acted upon them so violently us to stol
the heart, arrest the circulation, ant
a cause instant death.
# Professor German Sec, the eminen
It French psychologist, declares that MAJ
5, is omnivorous, and is destined to live OF
r the clements furnished by the thre
O Kingdoms of nature. He cannot main
# tain robust health OH meat alone a
h food nor can he live on vegetable
d alone. The practice of pure vegetarian
d ism is simply impossible, and the SC
called vegetarians are compelled t
= make up the deficiency in their food b.
y consuming a quantity of such anima
e substances as milk, eggs and butter
Of From the mineral kingdom must be ha
1t pure water, which can be replaced b
he no other fluid.