Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-24
THE WORLDS WONDERS.
Natures Many Forces and Some
 of Arts Great Triumphs.
Scientific and Practical Discoveries Made During Recent Years-Historical Notes and Domestic Suggestions-Loca-
 dons of the U. $. Capital.

and Domestic Suggestions-Loca-
 dons of the U. s. Capital.
 REMEDY FOR THE WHITE GRUB.
 The use of benzlne has been found effect ual in France in destroying the white grubs (the larvR of the May or dor bug), which often do immense damage, especially in dry seasons, to lawns, strawberry plants, seeding plants and other nursery stock. Holes are made in the ground infested with the grubs with one of the sharp iron dib- bles used sometimes in transplanting small plants, and the benzne is poured into them. Fifty grains of benzine are used to the square yard, and care is taken to insert it above the feeding-ground of the grubs. In an experiment recently made by one of the French forest officers and reported at meeting of the National Agricultural So- ciety, the grubs on twelve acres were de- stroyed at cost of three dollars and twenty cents per acre.
 AN ELECTRIC CLOCK.
 great deal of interest has been created in France by the novel form and operation of an electric clock, recently introduced, the peculiarity in the construction of which con- sists in the presence of two kinds of batter ies, one wet zinc-iron element and the other dry zinc iron element. The former consists of an iron bottle five and one-haf inches high by three and one-half inches in diame-
 
 electrode is zinc rod passing through an lndia-rubber stopper into the center of the | bottle, this being filled with caustic potash | and oxide of mercury. There is no dia- 1 phragm, and the zinc is gradually consumed, while the oxide of mercury is reduced; the | G. m. f. is 13 volts, and the internal resist ance is 9 of ohm. These clocks receive an impulse forty times minute, and ex | hibit no weakening of the power either in the dry the wet cell An ca1p111a- | tion will show the interesting fact that the total number of electrical impulses exceeds | twenty-one million per annum-certainly most severe duty for any battery. MICROBES DESTROYED BY STEAM The experiments of steam disinfection, recently tried in Jacksonville, have proved | that the steaming process is thoroughly efhcacfous in destroying microbes in gen eral, and also the yellow fever microbes. Active germs placed by Dr. Gibier in a gelatine filled glass tube germinated, show ing unmistakable life and activity. Microbes l subjected to the Steaming process, though | for only ten minutes, and under very inn | perfect conditions, were afterward sub jected to the same cultivation, but re l mained entirely inert
 | NEPTUNE's SATELLITES. M. Tisserand has presented report to | the Paris Academy of Sciences concerning | some remarkable observations of the sat elites of the planet Neptune, which was dis l covered in 1S47. The angle which the plane of the orbit of this satellite made at that date with the ecliptic was about thirty de- | grees, but this an gle has now increased by at least six degrees. The satellite moves around it's principal in an opposite direction | to that usually followed by other satellites, | so that question might be raised whether in the course of time this variation in the inclination of the plane of it's orbit might not end in it's movement around its prin- | cipal becoming normal M. Tsserand showed that this variation of inclination was due to the oblate or flattened condition of Neptune at it's poles, and that it will con- plete it's limit within period of five hun | dred years, at the end of which time it will | be as 1t was in 1S47.
 VARIOUS LOCATIONS OF THE CAPITAL.
 The Capital of the United States has been | located at different times at the following places: At Philadelphia from September 5, 1T4, until December, 1776; at Baltl- more from December 20, 1776, to March, 1777; at Philadelphia from March 4, 1777, to September, TIT; at Ian ncaster, Pa., from September 27, 1777, to September 30, TIT at York, Pa., from September 30, TIT, to July, ITS; at Philadelphia from July 3, IT'S, to June 30, 17s3; at Princeton, N. J., June 30 17S3, to November 20, 17S3; Annapolis, Md, November 26, 17S3, to November 30 17S4; Trenton from November, 17S4, to January, 17S5; New York from January H. 17S5, to 179O; then the seat of Government was removed to Philadelphia, where it re- mained until 1900, since which time it has been at Washington.
 KEEN SENSE OF PRESSURE.
 The relative sensibility to pressure of diff fefent parts of the body is ascertained by placing weights of the same size, but of diff ferent amounts, upon the skin. By this means it has been found that the parts which have the keenest sense of pressure are generally those in which sensibility te touch is most developed. The smallest weight which can be perceived is three one hundredths of a grain, and this is recog nized by the skin of the forehead, the tenn pies, the back of the hand and the forearm The tips of the fingers can perceive { weight of three-thirtieths of grain, the chin and the nose one of three-fourths of grain, while the finger nails do not notice one weighing less than fifteen grains l Considerable pressure may be exerted | without it's being perceived, if it is uniform Thus when the hand is plunged into mer' cury the increased pressure is only at the line corresponding with the surface of the fluid.
 l SMOKELESS GUNPoWDER.
 The British Government has at last set tied on white, almost smokeless, powder l TOT use III ureaImS. 4uo lulpor CauCo oA Cnis statement is evident in view of the fact that until the powder had been decided upon it was impossible to ascertain ac curately the length of the cartridge, and consequently, the proportions of the coming weapon. There is, therefore, no longer any obstacle in the manufacture of the new magazine rifles, the production of whict will make rapid progress after the new year. The powder gives out a very small report-not much greater than that of ar air gun.
 l FANS FOR MOVING VEHICLES.
 A fan for cars and other moving vehicle: is a most admirable invention. To one ol the wheels of the vehicle a-pulley is at | +ocbod hu a holt to a uortical ohaft havin (