St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1891-08-22
POPULAR SCIENCE.

The husk Of maize is being used IN the
manufacture of paper
LIQUID chlorine is now supplied as an
article of commerce By chemical cstab-
lshment on the Rhine.
A spirograph for drawing splrais and
volutes in simple manner as one draws
circles las been devised in Paris.
The Manila hemp plant, which IS very
similar to the banana, is found to thrive
best in soil composed OF dec"ycd ycGc-
table rlatter.
The sun is tremendously large. 1t IS
equal to / $500, coo earths, but owing 70
its small density its weight equals that OF
only 1872. 600 earths.
Strychnine has been found to increase
the amount Of gastric juice sccreted N
the stomach, the general acldlty and the
ouaptity CT tree acid in the secretion,
Rerent German tests have shown that
thc loss in weight Of steel rails from
wear and rusting is in about an inverse
proportion to the tensile strength OF til"
metal.
Among French dairymen the use OF
hot water for milch COWS Is growing Ill
favor, 1t is alleged that one-thlrd more
milk is yielded than when cold water IS
given.
4 "pneumatic bridge has lately been
designed for comparing the reSiS'alc07
of various orlfces, as electric reslStlLccs
are compared by the "N hehslone
bridge"
The idea that the action of liGhtPo
fugitive dyes will eventually teacIf Us
something concerning the character amt
size of molecules has been advanced by
Captain W. de W. Abncy.
Nitrate of soda has again been tried 10
fertilizer of tomatoes The result was
4 very marked increase OF crop IN every
case, the most profitable increase coming
from the use of nitrate alone.
Late statistics credit Prussia with nine
tv-one persons over 100 years Old, and
show that of over 1000 persons Of mere
than 100 who died between 1854 and
1883 not less than 155 were more than
100.
It has been sho1n that the climate OF
many Italian provinces has becen changed
by the steady destruction of the forests.
The Government is seeking to remedy
the matter by offering valuable prizes tor
tree planting.
\ new switch for electrical work looks
like an ordinary door-bolt. When the
bolt is thrown forward it makes con
tact between two Tugs on split copper
ring. When thrown back the contact is
completely broken.
Hitherto all the fuel use1 on the
Italian railways has been imported, but
an attempt is now being made to use the
Ignite of which the country possesses
large beds. Very satisfactory results
have so far attended the experiments.
A woman in one of the London hospi-
| tails is afflicted with an ovarian cyst
weighing more than 154 pourds-much
more than the patient herself. Such NOR
bid grovths Of great size are not rare,
| but this is the lar est on record. Ia more
| than 1000 cases known to Sir Spencer
Wells, none had exceeded 1875 pounds in
weight.
The great prevalence of locusts in Cg>
prus in modern times is believed by Sir
Robert Biddulph to be due to the de-
struction Of the forests. The resulting
barrenness of the soil has favored locust
life, and, as the wood growth is not
likely to be restored, the crowdin@ out
of the pest depends on the increase OF
population and cultivation.
The use of nitrogen as an anasthetic
was recently successfully tried in Eng
land. Nine patients took the gas, and
in every case the result was the produc-
ton of complete anasthesia. The pulse
was first full and throbbing, then feeble.
In the advanced stage the respiration was
deep and rapid and there was liyidity OF
the surface, the pupils were dilated, ard
there was more or less jactitatlon OF the
limbs.