The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-08-04
Compiled for The ATkansGsV TrovsIey. SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

A German chemist has found that chlOrofOrm may be detected in the lungs of animals four weeks after death.
 The death of Cleopatra has been in- vestigated by Dr. Grand Marais, of Nantes. He finds evidence that she was not bitten by a viper, but was suffocated by carbonic oxide.
 The singular "canals" seen on Mars are explained by M. Fizeau on the supposition that the planet has gla- ciers much larger than those of the earth, and with greater crevasses and movements.
 Numerous cases of diarrhea have been traced by Dr. L. W. Sedgwick to the use of fruit from tin cans. Such fruits invariably contained salts of tin which have been hitherto supposed to be harmless.
 Tests of various kinds of coal have shown that only coke is sufficiently good electric conductor to be used as an earth connection for lightning rods. Specimens of anthracite and bitumin- ous coal and charcoal were mostly lacking in conductivity.
 A remarkable strip of the new rail- road from Buenos Ayres to the Andes is probably the longest tangent in the world, extending 211 miles without a curve. It is further notable as having no bridge in the entire distance, and no cut or fill exceeding about yard in depth or height.
 A curious phenomenon of last Jan uary has just been reported from the fishing village of Kerschkaranza, on the White sea. The shore ice, piled to a height of several hundred feet, sud- denly commenced moving from the northwest, and in four hours extended a mile inland, burying the village.
 SOLID PETRoLEUM.-A successful Russian method of solidifying petro- leum consists simply in adding to the heated oil from one to three per cent of soap, which dissolves, and on cool ing the mixture becomes & cement like mass having the hardness of compact tallow. This forms a con- venient and economical fuel, which is hard to light, burns slowly and with out smoke, but develops much heat, and leaves about two per cent of a hard black residuum.
 THE ONWARD MARCH.-Scientific activity will be stimulated in 1889 by a variety of remarkable exhibitions and meetings. The most interesting of these displays and gatherings will, of course, be those connected with the universal exhibition at Paris, the sci- entific features of which will include congresses of zoology, anthropology, physiology, electricity, dermatology, hygiene, etc. Among the noteworthy exhibitions planned outside the French capital is one of appliances for saving human beings from accidental injuries, which will be held in Berlin during April, May and June.
 LIGHTNING PICTURES. - Amateur photographers may find interesting scientific work in securing photo graphs of lightning flashes, specimens of which are requested by the Council of the Royal Meteorological Society. No particular difficulty need be en- countered, for if rapid plate and an ordinary rapid lens are left uncovered for short time at night during thunderstorm, flashes of lightning will, after development, be found in some cases to have impressed them selves on the plate. The focus should be that for distant object. In re- sponse to a call made last year, about sixty photographs were received, and these have disclosed facts about light ming which were before quite unsus- pected.
 AN IMPORTANT INNovATIoN.-The possibility of welding by electricity has been known longer than is gener- ally supposed, Prof. Elihu Thomson having accidentally melted together the wires of an induction coil some eleven years ago. This mishap was the germ of process likely to find an almost infinite variety of applications, such as the welding of gold rings, steel axes, parts of locomotives, boiler plates, tubes, wire lines, lead pipes, etc. Among the advantages of cleo tric welding, according to MT. O. K. Stewart, are an absolutely pure heat Chat is, heat free from harmful gases), absolutely perfect means of regulation, heating constantly before the eyes of the operator, neatness to which ordinary methods cannot at all be compared, an increased economy of at least 800 per cent. in most cases, absolute safety of handling apparatus, and portability of the apparatus for use in repairing, etc.
 RHEUMATIsM.--An interesting anal ysis has been made of 500 consecutive cases of acute Rheumatism admitted to A LOndnn hoarSfkal Of fhooo ne aAso.4s