The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-21
SCIENTIFIC SCRiPS

There are thirty-seven tunnels @.
more than !, 900 yards in England, the
longest being that OF the Severn, 664
yards.
It is believed that the myths ssd
folklore of different peoples, when
properly studied, will add a valuable
chapter to the history of the human
mind.
The largest flower is the Raaesia, al
extraordinary parasite of the forest
trees of Sumatra, which measures three
feet "a diameter, and weighs fifteen
pounds.
If person is suffering with hic-
coughs, he can cure them by stopping
his ears with his fingers, exertiag some
pressure, and drinking few sips of
any liquid from glass held to his lips
by another person.
Professor Poel, Of st. Petersburg,
Russia, has found fifty per cent. OF pc
troeum in the cod liver oil sold by one
druggist, the adulterated article having
the taste, smell and appearance of the
genuine Mineral oil is also fre equently
found in olive oil.
1t is reported that chloride of nitro
gen has been discovered to be decom-
posable under the action of light and
hence is likely to furnish another chem
ical for use in photography. Ole of the
drawbacks to its use, however, is that it
is a violent explosive, and few chemists
care to experiment with it even in small
guam titles.
The parrot the heron, the goose ana
pelican have been known to reach sixty
years, tho peacock twenty five, the
pigeon twenty, the crane twenty, the
gold finch fifteen, the lark thirteen, the
blackbird twelve, the canary twenty
four, the pheasant fifteen, the thrush
ten, the cock ten, the robin twelve, the
wren only three.
In the early forms of electric incan.
descent lamps the filament was of plati-
mum, and it was noticed that thin film
of the metal soon formed Oh the inside
of the glass bulb In recent investiga-
tions Dr. Alfred Berliner has found tho
phenomenon to be due to the tearing
away of solid particles by the viole Mt
emission Of gases the platinum had ab-
sorbed.
At Alderney, England, breakwatel
blocks of stone, nine tons in weight,
were LITE d from tho foreshore by tho
action of the waves, and hurled over
the top of the wall, a height of ID feet.
The iron pile light house, erected on
the Bishop Rock, was carried 1ay by
unbroken seas striking the d cling,
the floor of which was IS feet above
high water.
A wire rope half a mile long, six and
one-fourth inches in circumference, aud
weighing seven and one-half tons, has
Eeen manufactured at Gateshead, Eng
land. There are six strands Of nineteen
wires each in it, the breaking strain Of
the whole being 175 tons, and that Of
each wire in the rope 120 tons to the
square inch. This immense rope is to
be used in colIiery in North Wales.
Although there is an old saying that
lightning never strikes twice in the
same place, an old walnut tree near
polti~,oro MI bo, hoo, 1tr,,of1 fro
times. The first time that it was struck
ten sparrows that were taking shelter
in it from the storm were killed. In
the tree was a nest OF three crows, and
they were saved only because their nest
was blown out just before the tree was
struck.
According to NJ. Blavier's theory, the
great earthquake disturbances of 1856,
1884 and 1897 are to be associated with
the north pole. He supposes such 40
cumul ations to have caused a DETECTION
of the Gulf Stream away from Europe,
producing great climatic changes, and
q slight disturbance of equilibrium in
the sea bottom, followed by a possible
local fracture along the line Of least
! resistance.
The public monuments of Vienna are
being not only disfgured but actually
destroyed by the guano deposited by
pigeons. Wire trelIises have proven
unavailing for protection of the statues
and buildings, and as last resort N.
TRICKY the engineer having charge of
the monuments, urges war of exter-
miuation upon the birds. He recon-
mends the novel plan of intoxicating the
pigeons by feeding them with alcohol
soaked peas, which would render
slaughter easy, while the volatile in =
toxicant would not impair the value Of
the flesh as food.
Mysteries of the Sanctuary.