Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-12-20
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

forts of DR.. Lannelongue, All eminent
specialist Of Paris, to give intelligence
to q little idiot girl. Though four
years old, the child could neither walk
nor stand, and never smiled nor took
notice Of anything. The doctor con-
cluded that the abnormal narrowness
OF the head Obsiructed the growth Of
the brain, aud in May last he made an
incisiOn in the center of the skull and
cut q piece of bone from the left side.
The result was marvellous. Within
less than u month the child could walk
aud she has become quite bright
playing, smiling aud taking notice OF
everything around her.
PAIN-JoY.-A German anatomis'
has called the attention of his class to
certain hysterical women who are at
iected with kind Of "pain-jOy"-nOi
only experiencing no pain from surgi.
cal mulilation, but having u morbid
desire TO bear, without anesthetics,
operations which should prove very
painful. A young woman was intro
duced who had seriously injured her
lower jaw during a paroxys,n OF hys-
terra, but who had insisted upon hav-
ing the necessary removal Of part OF
the jaw aud ligature of two arteries
performed without an an@sthetic, and
subsequently declared tina: the opera
tons had given her great pleasure.
THE MooN-WEATHER PROBLEM
From tables made by the use of syn
optic charts, eliminating local disturb
ances, DR.. G. Meyer believes he has
accomplished what other investigators
have sought TO without success
shown an influence of the moon OH
the weather. The height Of the ba-
rOmeter in months of September 10
January, is lowered at the time Of full
moon aud raised during the first quar-
ter. No effect can be traced for other
months.
Observation-Disclosures GUNs.-In
new invention, a small dry battery, an
electro magnet and a circuit-closer OF
mercury are so arranged in the stock
of gun that the weapon can he dis
charged when elevated TO a predeter-
mined angle. At other positions the
trigger is locked and cannot be pulled.
III" device is claimed TO ensure pre-.
rision in range, and accuracy of firing
Al night when the range has been pre-
viously obtained.
ANOTHER SILK.-A substance hav-
ing all the essential qualities of silk
has been made from wild hemp by
Nayemura Sakusaburo, OF IIikOnc.
Japan. The plant grows on moor>
AID hilsidrs, and could lie cultivated
The fibre is strong and glossy, aud
several silk factories are said to have
found it ~ be in no way inferior 10
silk.
The PoTATo DTsEAsE.-In Denmark
son,e interesting aud perhaps very
valuable researches into the potato
disease have been made by Prot. j. l.
Jeuson. The disease is found to CON
>ist Of a fungus, whose spores are car
rird by the wind, and which first at
tacks the foliage of the plants. II
spreads to the tubers in about seven
days by spores washed down from the
stem and foliage. Considering these
facts, it was thought that the tubers
light be protected by moulding the
soil into a broad ridge three or four
inches high and Ten or twelve inches
ide, after the first wedding, aud a
further earthing up on one side only
causing the plants to bend so that the
spores would fall away from the ridges
within seven days after the appear
ance of the disease on the foliage.
Some $50 farmers are said to have ex.
perimented in this way, with these as
tonishing results: Where no mould
ing or earthing up was done the per-
centage Of diseased potatoes was "a;
where the moulding was imperfect, II
and where the moulding was perfect
only one. Infection during harvest
was prevented Ivy allowing The tubers
to remain in the ground for month
after the whitening of the tops.
COLD WAvEs.-A cold wave is de.
fined by Prof. I. Russell as fall OF
temperature in "a hours ot % degrees
over an area of $4,000 square miles,
the temperature in some art of this
area descending To 81 degrees. Be-
tw em 1850 AMI 1890 no lie, than G9l
cold waves were rvcorded IN the Uni
ted States. In the great cold wave of
Jan. II, 1889. the fall OF 20 degrees ex-
tended over an area of l.l0l 900 square
miles, aud the fall Of 10 degrees in
cluded 2,929,0O0 square miles. In six
cold waves of the ten years the area
of the fall of 90 degrees was more
than million square miles. Cold
waves follow day after an area of
low pressure. or occur TO the southeast
of an ara of high pressure, reaching
their greatest extent when both cOndi-
tons are present.
NEsTs FOR GRRMs The impurities
that collect under finger nails have
hneu inypStiuated In the bacIPriulu1i.