Omaha daily bee., 1889-04-24

Z BEE: MEDNESDA.
notes the interesting fact that the
Ethiopians compWreft with smoke, but
regard 1t as distinot from 1t.
M. d'APbadie agrees with Prof. Tyn-
dali that this ebrfSus haze commonly
appears in horizontal layers, often OF
similar form. He Notes the fact that
the Ethiopian scholars, In commenting
on the tenth chaptsr Of Exodus, state
that the darknesss referred to in the
twenty second verse was an intense
form Of this haze. to which they give
the name of qolIar.na naThey furthermore
explain that the'uight fen joyed by the
children OF Israelnfs fully borne out by
the fact that the ad6bar may sometimes
be present in one place and absent in
another. The learned writer suggests
that this Alpine haze is only dry air,
which, as is we'll known TO astronomers,
is less transparent than very moist air.
He apparently regards these hazy
layers as bands of air exceptionally
free from watery yapor. Last of all, he
notes the interesting fact that the
natives OF countries in which the qobar
abounds, are remarkably swarthy, and
he asks the question whether or not it
operates to darken mems skin. This
suggestion is probably of no value ex-
cept for its amusing nature. That
haze, which is always high above the
earth, could serve in any way to darken
mems skins, when we know that such
darkening is sufficiently effected by the
suns rays alone, is the very extremity
of speculation.
1t is worth while, says the New York
Sun. for our observers in this country
to make some study of this peculiar
haze. 1t probably occurs in the noun
tainous parts of America, as well as
elsewhere; or, if it is wanting in our
country, that fact of itself will be an
important observation.
A New Process of EmbalminG.
A Chicago man has been experiment
ing upon body at the morgue with
some powder which he says was used by
the ancient Egyptians in embalming
their dead, says the New York Times.
Monday the body was placed in a box
and the alleged discoverer Of the Egyp-
tian embalming process produced clay
colored powder on plate and set fire to
it. This was put into the box and the
cover was screwed on. After six hours
the box was opened and the operation
was repeated. Wednesday the body
SU1ll SSeUlSu W De III u 1dlT SbtUS VI
preservation. The man said that he
had body in Chicago that has thus
been preserved for ten months, and
that is long enough for it to be taken
all round the world. The cost OF this
embalming, he said, was only so cents.
Why Are Deserts Rocky and Sandy?
The answer is that without vegeta-
tion there is no such thing as soil on
earth anywhere. The top layer of the
land in all ordinary and we'll behaved
countries is composed entirely OF vege-
table mold, the decaying remains of
innumerable weeds and grasses. Earth
to earth is the rule Off nature. Soil, in
fact, consists entirely OF dead leaves.
and where there are no leaves to die
and decay there can be no mold or soil
to speak of. Darwin showed, indeed,
in his last great book that we owe the
whole earthly covering of our hills and
plains almost entirely, TO the perennial
eXertions of that friend of the farmers,
the harmless, necessary earthworm.
Year after year the Silent worker is
busy every night. pulling down leaves
through his tunneled,. purrow into his
underground nests and there converting
| black mold which, produces in the end
for lordly man all ohis oultivable fields
and pasture lands and meadows. Where
there are no leaves and no earth worms,
| therefore, there can be no soil, and un-
der those circumstances we get what we
| familiarly know as Il desert. The nor
| NAL course of events, where new land
| rises above the sea, Is something like
| this, as oceanic isles have sufficiently
demonstrated. The rock, when it first
| emerges from the water, rises bare and
| animal or vegetable, is harbored on Its
| naked surface. In time. however, as
rain falls upon its jutting peaks and
| barren pinnacles, disintegration sets in ,
| or, to speak palmer English, the rock
| crumbles, and soon streams wash down
! tiny deposits of sand and mud thus pro-
| duced, into the valleys ana hollows of
| the upheaved area. AT the same time
| lichens begin to spring in yellow
patches upon the bare face of the rock.
A London Strect-Sweeper.
A new machine for sweeping the
streets and automatically elevating the
sweepings into a cart in front of it,
while travelling, says the London Times,
was exhibited in operation yesterday
| on several city streets. 1t consists OF u
series Of horizontal brushes fixed on a
pair of endless chains, revolving around
spindles. These brushes sweep the mud
up a short incline into receiver,
which is continued upward as thin
| iron casing. Inside this casing is q
series OF scoops or buckets fixed on end
less chains and these dip into the re-
ceiver and lift the mud to delivery
shoot, whence it is delivered into an
ordinary mud cart, to the rear OF which
the apparatus is connected in such a way
that it is easily removed. When the cart
is full the sweeping mechanism is de-
tached from it and attached to an empty
cart, the full one being sent on it's way
to discharge it's contents and return.
The apparatus is mounted on travelling
wheels and motion is impaired from
them to the mechanism by gearing.
| The machine does its work in a cleanly
| and nractical manner