Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1891-09-24

D Mr.. f. Walter says that an alloy o
95 per cent of tin and 5 per cent o
copper will strongly cement glass t.
metals.
The intense heat of the eIectri,
arc has been successfully used il
Sweden for blasting. The expan
sion at the point where the arc il
placed splits the rock.
Prof. Tacchini, at Rome, has found
that the marching of regiment Of
, soldier $50 yards away was register
} ed by the earthquake apparatus
located in the tower of the college
at a height of 125 feet above the
city.
The fourth edition of the Russian
Pharmacopoeia is soon to be publish
ed, and will describe sos substances
used in medicine. In the third edi-
ton the number 1926, of which 31S
have been discarded, while 100 have
been added.
DR.. NJ. q. Cooke, of London, finds
that 1900 species of mushrooms and
toadstools are now known to science,
400 of them being found IN the
British Isles. Only 134 can safely
be regarded as edible, while 80 are
decidedly poisonous.
A Lyons anatomist has examined
the skeletons of Sc monkeys-chim-
panzees, gorillas and orang-outangs
and has found diseases of the
lone to be as frequent as in man,
and of strikingly similar character.
There were several cases of ephi-
physes, 5 of fracture, 5 of deformed
Joints, and s of Justification. Frac-
tured bones had knitted together
perfectly.
Artificial bitter almonds are now
produced at trifing cost, and with
such deceptive skill that they can
scarcely be detected when used as
an adulterant of the genuine. They
consist chiefly of grape sugar. This
is favored with very small GUAM
tity of tro-benzole, and when
pressed in molds the product is
made to resemble the natural seeds
very closely.
In the heat engine of Mr.. Shell
ford Bidwell, advantage is taken of
the fact that nickel becomes sudden
ly non-magnetic at temperature of
about $50 F. A pendulum of
copper carrying slip of nickel is
attracted, at ordinary temperatures,
to a magnet at one side, but on
placing a lamp under the nickel, the
metal becomes so heated as to lose
its power of becoming attracted,
and falls off. The swing of the
pendulum thus produced cools the
nickel below the critical point, so
that on its return it is again held by
the magnet until again heated. The
movement of the pendulum is con-
tinued quite regularly.
| CoLoR-BLINDNEss FROM FATIGUE.
A Russian physician, DR.. NJ.
Reich, has reDorted the interesting
case of locomotive engineer, 40
years of age, who was dismissed
from service on account of color
blindness. The man was able to
distinguish colors correctly and with
confidence up to the summer of
1889, when over-woYk and loss of
sleep gave him a violent headache
for two weeks, after which for three
months all objects appeared red,
and then all sensation of color dis
appeared. In May, 1890, he again
came for examination, and had fully
rega1ned the power to distinguish
colors.
AN ELECTRIC ORGAN.
4 musical novelty, called the
Electromagnetic Palsiphone," has
been brought out in France by
Messrs. Guerre and Martin. The
sound is produced by a sonorous
body, which is vibrated very rapidly
by the interrupter of a Ruhmkorff
coil. An electromagnetic is placed
underneath with the interrupter out
side, in such a way that the gong,
or sonorous body, vibrates between
them and becomes the vehicle of
the current. The sound is continu-
Gus, resembling that of al organ
pipe, and is said to be very pleasing.
The arrangement may be used for
electric bells, substituting a grave
note for the harsh rafting; while it
is anticipated that the principle may
be applied without difficulty to the
production Of an electrical organ.
THE BEE AND ITS VOICE.
In recent work on the bee, Mr.,
T. W. Cowan states that the insect
can draw twenty times its own
weight, can fly more than four miles
az hour, and will seek food at a dis