The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-02-25
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Venus, the morning star. is
brighter than it ever appeared to any
man now living, and nearer to the
earth than it will be again for $40
years.
German experiments have shown
that cast-iron pillars remain nearly up
right and sustain their load in very hos
fires, while those of wrought iron bend
to such a degree rs to be valueless as
supporters.
Cherry tree gum is an emulation
from the trees of that name, and occurs
in shiny red Jumps. With water, in
which it is only partially soluble, it
forms a thick mucilage. This is not
used commercially.
Electricity on railroads will surely
not be long in coming. We are at the
eve of greater changes than we have
yet seen. The New York street ear
lines are experimenting with promise
of immediate action. Tho julien
SYSTEM" at present, meets with most
favor. In Europe electric lines are a
decided success on small scale.
An important announcement to
chemists is the recent synthess of
glucose, or grape.sugar,, by Drs.
Fischer and Tafel, at the University of
Wurzburg. A remarkable attribute of
the artificial product is that, unlike
other sugars of the same composition,
it will not rotate beam of pOlarized
light
Since the first appearance of the
great red spot on the planet Jupiter
some nine years ago, Mr.. w. T. Dem
ming, the well-known English astron-
omcr, has made about three hundred
observations of the phenomenon. He
believes the red spot to be feature of
Jupiter's atmosphere, and not of the
surface of the planet
1t still seems to be an unsettled
question whether wood can be ignited
by the heat of steam pipe in contact
with it. 1t is admitted. theoretically,
that it is impossible for wood to take
fire at temperature of 212 degrees, or
somewhat higher; but it is we'll known
that there have been large number
of cases of fire reported as occurring
from this cause, and the evidence is
very conflicting.
According to Besnier, loprosy is
spreading rapidly. Since the extension
of the French colonial possessions. SOL
diers, sailors, traders and missionaries
have fallen victims to it in large num-
bers. Besnier, therefore, exhorts phys
icians in all countries to study tho fell
disease in order to find means of coun-
teracting its ravages. for it has active
focuses of infection in every part of the
globe.
An electrical heating stove. in
vented in France, presents some inter-
esting points of arrangement and
operation. In it the conducting wires
are led through apertures in plates of
refractory clay and plumbago, and in
which wire bobbins are placed as part
of the electric circuit. To carry out
this plan the bobbins are heated by the
passage OF the current, and in turn
heat the air, which is allowed to pass
freely through the apparatus,
Scientists are asked to tell why
land that has been densely shaded, or
protected from the sun by piles of lum-
Der, brick, wood. stone or any thing
else, for few years. always becomes
richer than adjacent land that has not
been thus shaded or protected, 1t is
alleged that a great number of facts
have been collected showing thas there
is no doubt of the enrichment of land
thus protected from the sun for any
considerable period of time. but that
no explanation of the phenomenon has
yet been reached.