The Van Buren press., 1893-11-18
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

two pupils to each eye, an upper and
q lower one. When the fish is swim
ming it keeps this upper optic. which
protrudes above the head, out OF the
water.
The discharge of river is the vol
ume of water it pours into the sea with
in given time, usually expressed as so
many feet per second. 1t is estimated
by finding the breadth, the average
depth and the average rate OF river
at its mouth, and multiplying. =
"A plan has been formed to irrigate
a portion of Southern California. which
is said to be the largest tract OF land
in one body to be found in the state.
This will be accomplished by damming
q river and SO making lake nine
miles long, three miles wide and one
hundred and thirty feet deep.
"A member of the Royal Meteoro-
logical society has experimental on
the size of rain drops, which vary from
q speck SO small as to be almyst invisi-
BILE up to a diameter of two inches.
Drops of the same size do not always
contain the same amount of water.
Some of the largest drops are hollow.
The powerful instrument known as
the Bruce" telescope, which has been
building for some time past at Cam.
bridgeport, Mass. and is now almost
completed, is destined for Areqnipa,
Peru, for the observatory maintained
at that place. under the charge Of Prof.
Pickering, by Harvard university.
Whether water wheel runs faster
1T night than in the day is problem
over which scientific readers of Ger
man paper have been puzzling The
leading opinion is that the wheel does
run faster at night. for the reason that
the water is then cooler and somewhat
more dense than when warmed by the
sun.
-English-speaking countries have
four different miles, the ordinary mile
of $3.50 feet, and the geographical or
nautical mile Of 6,Os5 feet. making q
difference of about one-seventh be-
tween the two Then there is the
Scotch mile OF 5,92s feet, and the Irish
mile of 8, 720 feet In fact. almost every
country has its own standard mile.
According to the census figures, the
silk manufacturing industry in this
country has grown wonderfully in the
past ten years. In 1890 goods to the
value of 500, 900, 900 were turned out, as
against e34. 500, 900 in 1880. The number
Of hands employed here also increased
from about 1900 to $1,000, and the
number of spindles have expanded from
sos, 1871 to 1854 79S.
"A recent writer asks whether ants
talk, and relates that he saw drove
Of small black ants moving apparently
to new quarters. Every time two met
they put their heads together as though
they were chatting To investigate
the matter he killed one, and the eye
witnesses of the murder hastened away
and laid their heads together with
every ant they met. The latter imme-
diately turned back and fed.
-Metallurgy is tending to become
one of the most efficient producers of
manures in the world. Twenty years
ago 10000 tons Of phosphoric acid were
as poison to the 1000, 200 tons of cast
iron which England produced while
English ships were ransacking the
most distant regions of the globe for
phosphoric acid for agriculture. The
basic process has been the end of this
anomaly. Apparatus attached to the
furnaces in Scotland for the recovery
of the ammonia out of the furnace
gases have furnished new and inn
portant source Of sulphate of ammonia
for agriculture.
The results of six months observa-
kions of Mars have led an astronomer
At the Lick observatory to the conclu.
sion-contrary to the generally-re-
ceived views-that the dark portions
If the disk represent land and the
light portions water This is supported
by observations Of San Francisco bay
from Mount Hamilton, in which the
bay appears brighter than the neigh
boring valley and mountains at the
same distance. On this hypothesis the
canals" would correspond to ridges Of
mountains almost wholly immersed in
water. while their doubling may rep
resent parallel ridges of which our own
earth furnishes examples.
Ned Buntline.
He was prodigious producer, He
was capable Of turning out long
serial in five or six weeks. His favorite
posture while writing was lying on q
rug or animal skin, face downward,
leaning on one hand and with the other
iashing of in lead pencil his fast.
rushing thoughts, on large-sized coarse
paper, He seldom revised his copy, or
read 1t over, His fecund imagination
was equal to all occasions. He was
one of the finest extemporaneous
speakers ! ever listened to. He was
the most genial of companions, and I
cherish pleasant memories Of a number
Of fishing excursions we made together
in the Catskills. During the last years
Of his life he resided in q trim villa
situated on the outskirts Of the beauti-
full village OF Stamford, in Delaware
county, N. Y. A few hours before his
death he is said, in spite Of his age
and enfeebled condition, to have stood
up in bed and addressed most effec-
tive and soul-stirring prayer to the
Almighty. He realized that he was
face to face with the grim specter, and
the profound solicitude he entertained
for his eternal spirit gave him this
singular temporary strength to rise
and, with sobbing voice, to implore
mercy and forgiveness of the Omnipo-
tence, whom he was SO soon to con-