The Van Buren press., 1893-07-01
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

The ruddy color of Mars is thought
By Herschel to be due to an ochery
tinge in the soil; by others it is attrlb-
uted to peculiarities of the atmosphere
and clouds. Lambert suggests that the
color of the vegetation on Mars may be
red instead ofgreen.
The production of pig iron in Ger
many is reported, in metric tons, at
4,79l ,O56 for 1892, against 4,452,6l9 in
1891. The increase in the total was ~
per cent. but the production of basic
iron increased 17.7 per cent, while that
Of Bessemer pig increased 1873 per cent.
baltimore Manufacturers Record.
Prof. ]. Simms. NJ. D., says there is
undoubtedly "A faculty in the human
mind which gives knowledge of i'm
portant events before they transpire,
and he gives over three closely printed
columns of the San Francisco Elevator
to prove it. The dector is close OBJ
server of the workings of the brain and
has earned wide reputation as phys
iognomist-
Some idea will be formed of the
amount of traffic in Rio when it is
stated that it is a harbor of the first
class, and that on an average 5000
steamers and other vessels touch at 1t
every year. In its snail stuffy ware
houses millions of sacks of coffee are
accumulated in the course of every
twelve months-in fact, Rio is the chief
-. -hal In
per's Weekly.
NO living germ of disease can re-
sist the antiseptic power of essence OF
cinnamon for more than few hours"
is the conclusion announced by NJ.
Cumberland as the result of prolonged
research and experiment in NJ. Pas
teur's laboratory. 1t is said to destroy
microbes as effectively, if not as rapid
", as corrosive sublimate-
"A horticulturist says there is no
plant so universally detested by the
animal world as the castor oil plant.
that even the goat will starye before
biting off leaf. army worms and
ocusts will pass it by though eating
every other green thing in sight. and
here is no surer way to drive moles
lway from lawn than to plant a few
sastor beans here and there.
President Diaz in his annusl mes
sage to the Mexican congress >avs. In
.he last six months a05 miles of rail-
way have been constructed. and there
lre now 6,S3l miles altogether. Plans
nave been presented by five new rail
way companies. 1t is hoped that the
rehuantepec railway will soon be COM
oleted. The harbor works at Tampico
md Vera Cruz are in satisfactory
state. Mexico is able to meet all her
obligations.
Murray (of the Challenger expedi-
tion) states the greatest depth of the
Atlantic Ocean at 1896 feet: Pacific
Ocean. 80, 900 feet; Indian Ocean. 1889
feet: Southern Ocean. a5, 200 feet: Arctic
ocean. 5000 feet. The Atlantic Ocean
has an area, in square miles. of a4.536,-
700: Pacific Ocean. 50.309. 900: Indian
Ocean, 1s.0S4.000: Arctic Ocean 4.7s1.-
800; Southern Ocean, 80. .59a. 900. The
highest mountain is believed to be
Deodhunga, one of the Himalayas, 30
)Oa feet.
The following are the lowest baro-
meter readings on record in various
parts of the globe: In London, read
ng of 21.93 inches on the morning of
Christmas day. 1sal; over the British
stands generally reading of 27.SS
nches on January 90, 1854: in India, a
'eading of 27.12 inches at False Point
lear the southern mouths of the
1anges, on September %, 1885, this
)eing the lowest authentic reading OBJ
erved in any part of the world.
Suppose human being migrating
rom globe to globe and spending so
7ears on each, he would require 1OO,-
,55, 600, 900, 900 years for the round. If
le stayed only one hour, he would save
nnch time, but still need $50, 400, 900
years for the task. Yet these nebula
ire only part of the universe Out
tide the nebul8 limits we know of
,ther nebule not resolvable into stars
they appear to be primitive nebula,
pure unused wOrld-stuff-matter for
new creations.
An incident related recently in the
Trinidad Field Naturalists' club goes to
Indicate that the bite of the tarantula
is not especially poisonous. A laborer
was badly bitten in the foot, and was
much frightened. He was taken to
the infrmary. hopping all the way on
the other ,ot. A fermentation of water
and spirits of ammonia was applied
and he was given dose of ether mix
ture. He ate his dinner heartily about
two hours later, and slept well at
night. In the morning he complained
Of no pain and went to work as usual.
No local swelling or inflammation was
observed, and but little pain at any
time. Fright was the only i'll effect
Philadelphia Ledger.
Previous to the appearance of the
phylloxera, France exported about
80 and imported only 5000, 900 gallons
of wine; her imports for the first eleven
months OF last year amounted to 204,-
200 gallons, and her exports for the
same period fell short of 80, 600, 900. In
Algeria, too, owing to the unfavorable
state of the weather, the vintage
amounted to only 1900, 900 gallons, as
against more than 80, OO0,O 900 gallons in
1891, and the only subject upon which
the official report dwells with satisfac-
tion is the cider crop, which amounted
TO $40, 0,0O0. 600 gallons, being about Co.,
900, 900 gallons in excess of last year
a.,l h kok In -