St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1892-09-17
POPULAR SCIENCE.

Teak Wood contain an oil which pre-.
vents the rusting of nails driven into
it.
Professor Rogers says that every pound
of coal contains dynamic force equal to
the amount of work man will do in a
day.
A French artist, NJ. Marcy, has sue
ceeded in photographlng flying insect
The time Of exposure was only 1-250Oth
of a second.
A marine biological laboratory is
about to be established on the island of
Jamaica in honor of the fourth centenary
of the discovery of America.
A block of carbon TO lrteen inches
square represents the amodnt of that ma,
teriul in the bodily makeup of a man of
the average of 155 pounds weight.
Cyrus Thomas claims to have discov-
cred the key which will unlock the mys-
terry of the Maya codices aud, probably,
of the Central American inscriptions.
Through % pneumatic TUBE seven hun
dred miles in length letters are whire,l
between Paris and Berlin in thirty-ive
minutes-at the speed Of twenty miles
minute.
In using what is known as the Ca
madam method of boring oil wells,
well 1890 feet was bored in 22S hours,
or an average of 4 Is feet per hour of
actual work.
According to DR.. Hansen the rcd in
flowers is single pigment soluble In
water and decoIorized by alcohol, but
capable of being restored by the atdi-
tion of acids.
Blaudyte is the name given to the new
material made of Trinidad asphalt and
waste rubber. 1t resists the heat of
high pressure steam and lasts we'll in the
presence of oil and grease.
A disease peculiar to Japan is known
as kake, which is thought to be the
result of rice diet. The disease is a
slow degeneration OF the nervous system
aud steadily increasing weakness of the
patient.
Some prominent German engineers
maintain that the application of test
loads to bridges has never yet led to the
detection or defects which could not
have been found by calculation and n-
spection.
Sir Ben anin Baker has recently shown
that crack or nick on the surface or
edge of bar of steel does not always
indicate its liability to tail by the gradual
Speeding of the nick AMI probable
breaking under very much smaller load
than sound bar.
The difference between the so-callel
"chemicaP' focus and the visual focus of
q telescope may be little or 1t may be
half an inch. In either case the photo
graphel image wii be decidedly out of
focus if allowance tor this difference be
not carefully made.
The rate of progression of storm is
often fifty miles an hour, and a series has
often been traced 10 a direct line from
north to south distance of 400 miles.
The average altitude of thunder stor rs
has been found to be not over 5000 feet
above the surface Of the earth.
Melvin Atwood, the aged San Fran.
cisco mineralogist, one Of the discover
ers of the great Comstock ledge, believes
the chances are excellent fos fnd1n, in
California one or more of the volcanic
pipes containing diamonds, as at Kim
berry, Du Toitspan and Baltfoutein.
DR.. Darestc has demonstrated that
monsters and monstrosities during ami
NAL development are not the result OF
pathological changes in the embryo, as
hitherto supposed, but notifications of
the processes Of organic evolution, such
as bring about the difference between in
dividuals and races 10 mankind.
In many of the out-of-the-way places
it has been found necessary to manufac-
ture nitro glycerine Oh the spot in order
to avoid the very high rates charged by
transportation companies. Such has been
the advance in methods of making this
explosive that, with ordinary I recau
ton, thorough washing, and careful
watching of the various changes of color,
it can be made without fear of serious
accident,