Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-04-29
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
The influence on health Of the farms
which receive the sewage of Berlin IL
attracting much attention among Ger
man medical men, aud is a question
that concerns cities everywhere. 1t
has been alleged that an outbreak of
typhoid fever in the vicinity of these
drinking water by the sewage. An in
quiry into these cases, however, does
not seem TO have justified this charge,
and has LED Professor Virchow to de-
clare that the public health on these
farms is very good, and that the system
OF sewage irrigation involves no dan
ger. An interesting fact concerning
this system is that the sewage passes
into drains only few feet below the
surface as perfectly clear water, but in
this fishes thrive so surprisingly as TO
indicate some influence of organic mat
ter that filtration through the soil has
not removed.
new and simple process for the
electro-deposition of metal upon glass,
porcelain, etc, has been perfected by
French chemist. A paste Of finely di-
vided silver, plumbic borate and oil is
first applied to the article 10 oe decora-
ted, which is then heated in a muffie
furnace to a moderately high tempera-
ture. A strongly adhering film results
This possesses high coDductiyity, and
upon il a very firm and satisfactory
coating can be readily deposited by the
ordinary electrolytic methods.
The experiences of French engi-
neer have convinced him that the cost
of maintaing rope gearing is three
times that of belts, The weight of the
ropes. moreover, is 2.64 times that of
belts, while the loss in transmission Is
~ per cent with ropes and only LA
per cent with belts.
The first steam hammer ever fitted up
to work on shipboard is probably one
that has been placed in a British war
vessel. which has been converted into a
floating factory at the Davenport dock
yard.
So delicate test for iron is potas-
sium sulphocyanide that il has revealed
the presence OF .OOOO0OO33 of n gram.
Yet this quantity represents 800, ,000,-
900, 600, 900 molecules.
The epoch called the reign of human
ity, observes DIR. g. Blnet. is nearing
its summit. What will become of the
different human races is problem VI.
Zaborowski, the distinguished anthro-
pologist, has attempted 10 solve. The
globe has now l.500 600, 900 people,
which will doubtless be doubled in a
very short time. People representing
about one. fifth of humanity now visit
all parts of the globe and are gifted
with power of expansion never before
realized. Their civilization will efface
all distinctive race peculiarities In
effect, the greater part of the races will
disappear, but for long time, in cer-
tain conditions of climate, there will
be place at the side of the Europeans
for very different races endowed with
ability to work. and thus capable Of
competing for n great part OF the
globe. These races are not very
numerous, but at their head is
the Chinese, who alone repre-
sent one-third of humanity. Others
will disappear in more or less distant
future Among these are the Lapps,
many of the inhabitants of ancient
Asia, the Veddahs, the Malays, the
little blacks of the Philippines, of
Borneo, and all the other people who.
for thousands of years, have rejected
all culture and are the only survivors,
surprising to themselves, of an almost
vanished age. These include also the
Indians of North America and the ia
tives of Polynesia. Less than three
centuries ago, outside OF China and
Europe, the whole world was peopled
with savages, and in less than three
fenturies more these races will have
| disappeared and been replaced by the
descendants of the European rae IS
'medlSg as auxiliaries as many Chimes,
isarrnegroes as adapted to the needs O
: civilization.
1t has been proven that the use o.
| glue was known $500 years ago. A
sculptor of Thebes as early as the third
! Thothmes. who is supposed TO have
| been the Pharaoh of the Exodus, rep
resents some carpenters applying ve'
neering with glue.
A new surgical instrument is an ar
tinfoil covered glass tube. 1t locates
! PARTICLES of iron or steel in the body
and is capable of detecting a piece OF
wire an eighth of an inch long at dis
| tance of six inches
An extraordinary natural history has
! Madagascar, declares Canon Fristram.
One would suppose that this would be
| that of Africa. but it is o unlike as 10
prove that the island has been separ-
ated from Africa for an immense period
| of time. Its animals and plants, as
well as its people, have far greater
| resemblance TO those of India than 70
those of the near mainland The mon
keys and lemurs of Madagascar are not
to be found in Africa, while all the
great African animals of prey are alb.
sent. Among the lemurs is one
known as the ayeaye, the formation
OF whose digits is unique. The egg
of an extinct bird of Madagascar is
fifteen times the bulk of that of an
ostrich, and yet the bird itself does not
| appear To have been larger than the
New Zealand moa. an extinct bird TO
which il had an affinity. This same
popularity runs through all the birds
of Madagascar. The water birds aud
sea fowl are of course those of Africa,
but there are one or two extraordinary
| exceptions. The beautiful snake bird,
allied to the cormorant, is an Indian
species. There is also water hen
which is peculiar to Madagascar, and
which has the remarkable features of a
long tail and long foot. 1t is a great
puzzle to naturalists A group of
cnckoos is peculiar To the island, with
no relations in Africa or India, while a
bird allied to the thrushes is not Afri-
cah, but is allied To species in the
Mauritius and all the Mascarene
islands.
The curious statement was made no
long ago that palladium is the mos
valua BILE of any of the metals excep
platinum A recent list of current