The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-08-18
ObsspGIsd for TRs Avk0ssasO IFopsisr. SCIENTIFIC MISCELLA NY.

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 The work of the United States Ge- ological Survey employs at the prin- cipal office in Washington from 70 persons in summer to 225 in winter
 Dr. M. w. Taylor, an English physician, has convinced himself that diphtheria has it's origin in common mould fungi, which he thinks must acquire virulent properties under special conditions.
 A Russian physician reports the case of boy five years old whose pulse was only thirty-two to the min- ute. Under treatment for cerebral anaemia, the pulse gradually rose to sixty, but could not be made to go higher.
 It will probably surprise most peo- pie to learn that both cessation of re- spiration and of movement of the heart are rejected as signs of death by a French lecturer. In considering the precise moment when lite ceases. Heart beats have been known to con- tinue for an hour after the body was beheaded, while, on the other hand, they may temporarily cease in fainting.
 A Spanish physician gives a new method of distinguishing between human and animal blood. Mixed with little bile small crystals form in the blood, which in man are right-angled prisms; in the horse, cubes; in dogs, right-angled prisms very similar to those in human blood in sheep, rhom- boidal plates; in pigs, rhomboids; and in chickens, more or less regular cubes.
 From an analysis of over 5000 cases of scarlet fever, it appears that liabil- ity to the disease is very slight during early infancy, reaches maximum in the fourth or fifth year, and dimin- ishes every year afterward. The se- verity is greatest in the first two years, lessening year by year through out childhood and adolescence. Fe- males are more liable to attack after infancy than males, but attacks among males are more fatal.
 A TROUBLESOME RocK.-A patch of coral, reaching to within fifteen feet of the surface, has been found in the midst of deep water in the Red sea, after three expeditions had unsuccess- fully sought for it. Attention was first directed to it by the loss of two vessels which struck on 1t during 1887. The dangerous and quite remarkable rock, whose presence is not betrayed by broken or discolored water, is al- most out of sight of land and not far from the course over which hundreds of steamships pass yearly, 80 that this discovery is fortunate and important one.
 NOVEL SCIENCE.-Writer of fiction are not distinguished for scientific accuracy. In his latest novel, Grant Allen buries some barrels of petroleum and Ruhmkorff coil, with secondary wires, at the foot of big poplar, and by this expensive arrangement brings about the apparently natural destruc- tion of the tree in the next thunder storm. Whereat electrician doubters propound these questions: 1. In order to successfully attract flash of light ming to tree, is it necessary to bury beneath it's roots an induction coil? ?. Do Ruhmkorf coils exist which are without secondary wires? 8. Will an electric discharge ignite commercial petroleum oil?
 | FLOWER FARMING.-An important branch of agriculture in southern France is the raising of flowers for perfume making, the chief center of the industry being at Grasse. Among the flowers grown are the violet and jonquil, which are gathered in winter or early spring; roses, orange blos- soms, thyme and rosemary, in May and June; jasmines and tuberoses, in July and August {; lavender and spike nard, in September; and the acacia, in October and November. The flowers thrive best at attitudes of 500 to 2,0OO feet, and in soil rich in lime and shel- tered from cold winds. The flowers are collected daily in the season, and, while yet fresh, are used for making essences, oils and pomades.
 DEATH-GIvING OxYGEN.-It is a curious fact, discovered by Dr. B. w. Richardson, that pure oxygen becomes devitalized by repeated inhalations. Animals confined in current of fresh- ly-made pure oxygen were differently affected, but never became sleepy; but when the oxygen once inhaled was freed from all known impurities and again supplied, the animals invariably became drowsy, fell asleep, and, under successive inhalations of the purified gas, expired. It was evident that, in breathing, the oxygen had undergone some change unknown to the chemist. What the change is can only be con- jectured, though Dr. Richardson has found that if the exhausted oxygen be electrically charged it is revitalized, and will again support life.
 | BURNING HE DEAD.-Cremation