The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-09-08
COBsptLed Tor The ATk0RsdW Traveller. SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

!
 Norway has more earthquakes than is generally supposed. Dr. Hans Reusch records g for 1887, all but three, however, being very slight.
 The fur of seals is concealed by coat of stiff overhair, which must be laboriously removed before the skin is ready for use. Seals from two to four years old have skins weighing from five and half to twelve pounds, and three of these skins are required for lady's sack.
 A curious monstrosity, lately ex- hibited to the Royal Horticultural Society, is an Alpine strawberry in which all the parts of the flower are more or less represented by leaves. The plant was described by old bota- nists, but had come to be regarded as a myth until it's reappearance in recent years.
 During the past year France has had 7,572 suicides, ore fifth of them in and around Paris. Of these 1875 were traced to mental alteration, 1928 to physical suffering, and only 4S3 to want and fear of it. Domestic trouble and alcoholism were the chief moral causes. Disappointed love resulted in 200, and jealousy in 27.
 Observations at sixty-seven stations in Spain show enormous differences in the rainfall, which is no less than 138 inches on the Serra da Estrella, and only II inches at Lerida, in Catalonia. The maximum rainfalls at all stations occurs in July and August, and the maximum fall at some stations in May and at others in October.
 COMBINED ANEsTHETIcs.-Ch form and cocaine have been used to- gether in twenty -four surgical opera tions by Prof. Obalinski, of Cracow. Most satisfactory results are reported, the advantages claimed being: A smaller quantity of chloroform is suf- ficient; vomiting is very rare and the depression on awaking is much slighter than when chloroform alone is used.
 AN EXPERIMENT IN EvoLUTroN-A striking illustration of the influence of environment on animal forms may be quite easily produced, according to Dr. Winslow Anderson. If the em- bryo of the land salamander be taken from the egg and kept in water of moderate temperature, abundantly supplied with oxygen, and amply fed with small water animals, the organ ism is remarkably changed even in a single generation. The embryonic lungs remain undeveloped and gills grow instead, rudder tail and even fins are gradually developed for the new function of swimming, and the unnecessary feet and legs become mere rudimentary appendsges.
 WHAT IS CLAY?-A common mis- take, often made of late in come ction with processes of cheapening alumin- ium, is corrected by MT. w. Mattieu Williams. The writers describe clay as alumina, or the oxide eofaluminium. even we'll established textbook on geology enumerating "alumina or pure clay" among the constituents of rocks, and an old dictionary of geology stat ing that "when clay is quite pure and unmixed it is termed alumina." But pure clay has far more complex com- position. "It is hydrated silicate of alumina, .. e., a compound of solid wa- ter with the oxide of silicon and alumina. Neither alumina nor silicate of alumina (whether wet or dry) has the characteristic plastic properties of clay. If clay were mere alumina, the problem of making aluminium would be materially simplified."
 As OTHER WORLDS SEE Us.- throughout the long night of 354 hours, the side of the moon toward us IS V" ed by magnificent reflector of
 rays. Always remaining in one fixed spot in the heavens, while sun and stars go by in regular cycles of 294 terrestrial days, the earth, as the moon may see it, passes through the phases from first quarter to full and to last quarter, shining at the lunar midnight with a light fourteen times stronger than that of our full moon. To our satellite, gravitating around us at a distance of 24O.OOO miles, the earth then appears four times as broad and thirteen times as great in area as the moon appears to us. As daylight spreads over this part of the moon, the earth dwiDdles away to thin crescent and finally disappears at the moment of new earth. Passing to its sister planets, we find the earth has lost its imposing appear ance. To Mercury, 37,OOO,OO miles from the sun, the earth Is an external planet, having the light of 6 first magnitude star, and analogous with Jupiter as seen by. us; to Venus, 6s,- COG, 900 miles from the sun, our globe exceeds the stars in brilliancy, and has perceptible diameter, with the moon plainly visible near the disc. To Mars, 1AS 000 000 vrai1oo fu,v~. L~