The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1893-04-08
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY

IL
a mex driving belt has beer
m ade in France by la'ct snting
the leather instesd of tanning it.
The belt does not stretch, and il
more durable than tanntd belts
The two sides Of the face a'e
never alike. A German biologist
say that the eyes are out of line in
two persons cut Of five; one eye is
stronger than the other in seven out
of ten; and the right ear is gene
rally higher than the left.
In the Engli-h, French and Ger.
man langus ges there are nov pub
lished each month over 10 issues
of periodicals devoted exclusively
to electricity, besides probably
twice az N any IA re scientific our-
mails which have occasional attcles
on electrical sui i4cts.
The Cancer Hospital, Of London,
has found it necessary TO correct a
widespread belief that tomatoes are
refused to its patients. There is
no evidence that tomatoes predis
pose to or excite cancer formation,
or that they are in any way injuri-
GUS to cancer petients or other
persons.
A new work by Mr.. II. NJ. VII
son, states that tl irrigation 25,.
900, 900 acres are made fruitful in
India alone. In Egypt there are
about 100000 acres, and in
Europe about 200, 900. The
United States has but asst begun
the work of improving its waste
area, but has already about 1000.
coo acres of irrigau d lands.
1t has been known for several
years that the germs of some dis.
eases pass unframed through the
digestive system of flies. A Ger
man bacteriologist has now added
Asiatic cholera to the list Of dis
cases, finding tia! the cholera
bacteria may survive - hours, or
even longer, in the intestines OF
flies, while it is probable that under
some conditions they may multiply
there.
Americas two grsa. celebration
years are stinguished by two
closey related achievements of the
utmost Importance to civiliz ID
humanity. The Centennial Exhibi,
ton brought out the telephone, and
showed the possibility of conveying
speech to distance; the Colum bian
Exposition comes to us with the
perfected telautograph, which con.
fers the scarcely less marvellous
power of writing in ones own hand
on a sheet of paper hundreds of
miles away.
INSECT CHEMISTS. The odd fact
that the forked.tail moth Dicianura
vinula) is a chemist Of considerable
capacity was shown at recent
meeting of the London Entomology.
cal Society. 1t was previously
known that it's larvae, like ants,
secrete foImic acid To this Mr..
Oswald Latter added the new and
surprising discovery that the mouth
of the adult moth secre,es caustic
potash, with which it sof.ens its
cocoon AID enables itself to emerge.
Caustic potash is a powerful eau
terry, capable of destroying the
human skin, and its secretion by
any animal is UNIQUE revelation.
TILIZtNG SCRAPS OF TIMED
IRON. In the process now being
worked by NJ. Lambotte, of Brus,
sells. tin is recovered in the form of
chloride from clippings of timed
iron. Chlorine gas is mixed with
air, and the mixture passes through
a spiral surrounding cylindrical
furnace, becoming warmed by the
heat OF the chemical action within,
aid enters the furnace from below.
The tin of the clippings in the fur
mace is attacked, and the stannic
chloride volatilizes and is collected
upon moistened condensing surf ces.
The iron, freed from its tin and not
acted upon by the chlorine, is again
used.
CURING LgrERs.- The notion
that fish diet contributes to the
development Of leprosy g upheld by