The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1889-11-30
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS

archives Of the Vatican, employed by
the German, Austrian, French. and
English governments IN studying the
histories Of their respective countries.
Watch springs, piano. strings and
similar articles have been successfully
tempered by electricity. The steel is
wound on a spool. placed in an oil
bath, and by the electric current kept
at the exact degree of rcdness necessary
for the temper required.
In engraving on glass by electricity
the plate to be engraved is covered with
a concentrated solution of nitrate of
potash, and put in connection with one
of the poles of the battery, and the de-
sign is traced out with fine platinum
point connected with the other pole.
That swallows are disappearing from
France is shown by a report laid before
the Geological society, which also re-
veals the cause of this decrease, aud ill.,
dicatcs the remedy. The authors of the
death of millions of these pretty birds
are the ladies, who wear the feathers,
wings and even the bodies of swallows
in their hats and bonnets.
The Breton peasants make all Their
butter from sour milk. The milk, as
drawn from the COW, is cmptied into q
large earthenware jar, and allowed to
remain, in the summer, till it is sour.
In winter tits continually warmed at
moderate fire till it has turned. The
whole contents Of these jars are empticd
into a churn worked by hand or horse
gear. The bu ter from this, if proper
ly handled, is as sweet as that malc
from cream in the usual mlnner.
Electrical science, beside filling the
place of hangman, has lately been en-
ployed for another beneiiccnt purpose
the elimination, namely, of wrinkles
from the faces of ladies of a mature
age. The inventor, Dr. Vcrnoy, says
that the process of ''electrolysis" is only
disagreeable, not pain full; that by its
means new life can be given to the most
cracked cpidermis, and the ruts and
ravages left by time eiIcctually smoot hcd
out.
DIR. Poyrand, a consulting physician
at Nlchy, claims TO have discovered an
efficient method for treating rabies. BY
injectin" rabbits with the essence Of the
herb called 'fansy," he produced what
he calls hydfophobic intoxication, OF
something very similar, and with viru:
thus obtained he mingled 10 per cent.
of choral. lie injected several animals
which had hydrophobia with this pro-
phylactic, and was ucccssfu! in curing
four out of six.
Heat is tran smttcd in three ways
by conductiOn, as when the end of Il
short rod Of iron is placed in fire and
the opposite end becomes warmcd-;his
is conducted heat, by conviction-by
means Of currents as the warm
Ing of a mass of water in boiler, fur
mace or saucepan; and by radiation, as
that dilTuscd from piece Of hot metal
or an open fire. Radiant heat Is trans
mitted like sound or light, in straight
lines in every direction, and'its intcnsi,
ty diminishcs inyccsely as the square of
the distance from its centre or point OF
radiation.
Mr.. c. A. Alexander of Wilkes
County, Penn, has for several years
been experimenting with an improved
cotton plant. Cotton usually has a
very dense foliage from It's solid I'M
broken leaves, which shade the stalk
and the ground beneath it. But The
plant which Mr. Alexander found grow
ing in his field had leaves with five
divisions, like the thumb and fingers.
He finds by experiment that the i'm
proved cotton is OF stronger, thriftie:
growth than the old. aud from the
opcnncss of its foliage sunlight is ad-
mittcd to the buds, and the bollS of
cotton are much less subject to mildew.
A Cpw Torn t1 Pieces by UOyS