The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-02-13
Compiled for THE ARKAHsAw rRAvRLrR,
 SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY

Sompheu Ior ThE ARKAHsAW TRAvRLER.
 SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY
 A substitute for quinine, described A. being even superior to that remedy, has been obtained from Peruvian plant known to botanists as Lantana Brazilieuse.
 In Zanzibar the leaves of a species of fig are used for polishing wood, just as ". employ sand-paper, and are said to give . finish which sand-paper cannot impart.
 A butterfy-a creature supposed to live at most only two or three days-was las, year kept alive in glass cage in England for I2r days, it's age at confinement being up. known.
 The difficulty experienced in soldering pieces of aluminium together or with other metals has beeen removed in France by the use of an alloy of tin and aluminium instead of pure tin.
 The beautiful red plumage of a South African species of bird has been chemically examined and found to be due to copper When the birds are kept from food contain. ing copper they entirely lose the tint pro. duced by that mineral.
 Not single instance of color blind. ness has been found by Schwarzbach in an examin ation of 2,ooo Hottentots, Malays, Me lanesians, Australians, Mooris and Polyne- sians; and he concludes that the defect is confined to the white race, and is due 10 in. fuences connected with civilized life. 
 A novel gas-light, devised by Dr. Auer, has been in operation in a chemical labora- tory in Vienna. A cotton wick, saturated with an incombustible metal solution, is in. troduced into the flame of an ordinary Bun sen lamp, the result being light similar to the incandescent electric light.
 Although tried quite a number of times, surgical operations for the removal of tumors or foreign bodies from the stomach have al. most invariably been unsuccessful. The sec. ond successful case is just reported from England, where large mass of hair, weigh ing about pound, was removed from the stomach of young lady through an incision hve inches long, followed by recovery.
 Sprouting Temperatures.-The lowest temperature at which the seeds of common cultivated plants germinate has been deter mined by Mons. Hellriegel. Barley and oats were found to start in soil having tempera. ture of 35 degrees rye and winter wheat at B oegrees' Indian corn, at 48 degrees the turnlP, at 32 degrees; flax, at 35 degrees the pea and clover, at 3s degrees the bean and lupin, at 3s degrees; asparagus, at ss de 40 I ! at 40 degrees.
 Flameless Cartridges.-In some of the English collieries experiments have been made with "water cartridges" in which the gun-powder of the charge is completely sur. rounded by water. It is stated that no flame followed the explosions, even when heavy bla,ts were made. The water cartridge and ordinary gunpowder cartridges were fired in bags of coal-dust. the dust being ignited by the latter, while the former simply dispersed It Tn dark cloud mixed with steam. The new cartridges are expected 10 render great service in mines where hre-damp is present
 An Omnivorous Animal Prof. Ger. main See, the eminent French physiologist, declares that man is omuivorous, and Is des- tined to live on the elements furnished by the three kingdoms of nature. He cannot maintain robust health on meat alone as food, nor can he live on vegetables alone. The practice of pure vegetarianism is simply im- possible, and the so-called vegetarians are compelled to make up the deficiency in their food by consuming quantity of such animal substances as milk, eggs and butter. From the mineral kingdom must be had pure wa ter, which can be replaced by no other fluid.
 French Rewards to Scieuce.-The Academy of Sciences at Paris now has about $I5.ooo year to disburse in prizes, of which thirty three are at its disposal. Although in most cases the competing essays or memoirs may be written in any modern language, prIzes often remain unawarded on account of the lack of merit of all papers presented. The 1883 prizes awarded in December include one to Mons. Celladon, of Geneva, for the application of condensed air as a motive power in tunnelling mountains one to Dr. Edlund, of Stockholm, for a memoir on the electrical tension of the atmosphere, in which he treats the earth itself as a great magnet; and one to Mons. Chamberland, Pasteur's principal assistant, for chinavare filter which is said to stop any and every germ or organic particle of any kind. In addition to the amount mentioned, the academy holds $aoooo as the Breant cholera prize for cure for that disease, the interest of this sum hay ing been edissEibsted amoag several minor writers oa the causes of sAs aalady.