The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-05-24
POPULAR SCIENCE.

Search lights Of high candle power are
bsing experimental with.
The car speed on the electric road at
Omaha and Council Bluffs is often more
than fifteen miles an hour.
Haze is claimed to be often due to
local convection currents in the air,
which render it OFFICIALLY heterogeneous.
Cryolite, for making candles, is brought
from Greenland, where important and
little-known mining operations are car
ried on.
It is now claimed that the whole do
main of optics is annexed to electricity,
which has thus become an imperial
science.
In testing forty-two boys between nine
and sixteen years OF age for color blind
ness not one made an error in matching
the colors.
Jamaica lies within the influence of the
Gulf Stream current, which is held to &C
count for the unknown fruits collected
on its shores.
sedimentary rocks occupying whole
regions bear evidence of profound mod
ifications without its being possible to
discover the slightest eruptive cropping
out.
Three new asteroids have recently been
added to the system by Palisa at vi
emma. The new planets are all extremely
small, of the eleventh or twelfth mag
nitude.
The mists of the British Channel
change on their upper surface sometimes
to cirro-strati, sometimes to cumuli,
and twice within two years to thunder
clouds.
The results of photographs of the
mons fVe-foot telescope to test the
figure of the silver on glass speculum
are highly satisfactory.
The temperature of Siberia was once
much milder than at present. This
change OF climate is said TO account fol
the conversion of what were once sed-
entary birds there into birds that migrate
TO South Africa and elsewhere.
The greatest improvements in electric
apparatus appear to nave been developed
on shipboard. All % the modern built
ships are gradually receiving their equip
ment. The ocean gong passenger ships
are all provided with the latest improve
ments, and the innovation appear to be
popular with the patrons of the various
lines.
Some years ago, the greenish color OF
some of the sloths was attributed to the
presence of an alga upon the hair
Madam Weber Won Bose has recently
described two genera aud three species
of these parasitic plants. The one new
genus is green, the other, with its two
species. is violet. From $50, 900 &c
200. 900 individuals of these alge may
occur upon single hair.
According to Miss Eva NJ A. Bew.
sher, of Mauritius, it is well authenti-
Gated fact that each hive in tropical
countries has its ''Tentilating bees" dur
ing the hot season. Two or three OF
these bees are stationed at the entrance
of the hive, and cool the interior by H.
cessant tanning with their wings. They
are relieved at intervals by others, and
while on duty are kept constantly at
work by sort of patrol of bees.
A Canadian ornithologist, Mr.. E.
E. Thompson, attributes considerable
ventriloquial powers to some birds.
When surprised in the act of singing
these feathered yentriloquists become
silent for few moments, and then give
forth a faint song that seems TO come
from far away, though the singer may
be only a few feet distant. This curious
deception is especially noticeable in
sparrows, but has been observed also in
thrushes and robins.
The Boston Adrertiser prints de.
scription of the device of W. C. Trus-
sell, of that city, which he claims will
largely take the place of ice. The
patent covers the construction of q
modest tin box, and the chemicals en-
ployed to lower the temperature. The
box is made of tin, and is one foot long,
eight inches deep and four inches wide.
In it are placed the proper chemicals,
and it is then placed in the refrigerator,
in the room, in the closet, or wherever
it is desired to produce low degree Of
temperature. Its primary use is to sup.
plement the use Of ice in refrigerators
and refrigerator tests we're those made
by the party referred to.