The Van Buren press., 1893-08-19
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

French doctors are finding that Dr..
Brown-Sequard's ''elixir," which sew.
eral years ago was pronounced useless
after creating much newspaper contro-
versy, has very valuable properties for
the cure of certain diseases which here
tofore have been considered incurable.
Snoring isn't confined to sleep; per-
sons with some forms of nasal catarrh
snore continually. But healthy man
snores, as = rule, only when asleep, be-
cause then he does not control himself.
He gets into some position with his
mouth open and inhales through his
mouth. If the mouth were shut he
wouldn't snore.
DIR. Koeppen, in his ANNALS Of Ma
rine Hydrography and Meteorology,"
published by the Observatory Of Ham,
burg, details the effects upon the waves
of the sea Of different sorts of oil, and
comes to the conclusion that soap pro-
duces still far superior effects. He REC
ommends the use of black soap dis
solved in 1000 times Its weight Of
water.
Chemists now turn scrap iron into
ink, old bones into lucifer matches, the
shavings Of the blacksmith's shop into
.Prussian blue, fusel oil into oil Of ap-
Piles and pears, the DRAWINGS of COW
houses into fashionable perfumery, beg
gars' rags into new pilot coats, cesspool
filth into ammonia and tar waste into
aniline dyes and sacchsrine.
-Corals increase by eggs, spontane-
GUS udivision and termination. The
rate Of growth has not been fully de-
termined. Prof. Agassiz indicates the
growth of reefs at Key West ct the rate
Of six inches in one hundred years, and
adds that II we doubled that amount II
would require 1000 years to form the
reefs in that place, and hundreds Of
thousand years for the growth Of Flor
ida.
AT the speed of an electric current,
which is nearly the same a. that Of
light, 10000 miles per second--sup-
pose q message to be sent at this speed
from point on the earth's surface. It
would go seven times around the earth
in one second. In eight minutes .
message would get to the sun, but to
reach Alpha Centauri, the nearest Of
all the stars, 1t would take three years.
People who are interested In know
ing what the temperature Of their feet
was after travelling over street car
tracks and other places where salt was
used to melt the snow during the past
winter should remember that . mix
ture Of two parts OF pounded ice and
one of common salt will reduce the
temperature Of body surrounded by
1t from so degrees to zero.
Prof. H. M. Ward states that there
are probably more than 800 species Of
oaks (Quercus), of which the majority
belong to North America. Europe,
China, Japan and other parts Of Asia.
There are none in Africa south of the
Mediterranean region, nor In South
America or Australis. Some remark.
able species are found in the Hima.
lsyas, and many in the Malsysn archi.
pelago.
AN important industry has arisen
In France, the selling Of milk frozen
solid in cans. 1t has been discovered
that milk can be kept perfectly fresh
In frozen condition for more than .
month. II Is frozen by means Of an or
dinary ice-malxing machine, and dos
patched by road, rail or steamer to ita
destination. The customer who pur-
chases the frozen milk has amply to
thsw 1t when 1t Is required for use.
Nicaragua, which il attracting 20
much attention just now, has popu-
lation Of about S0O,0 900, and Il ono Of
the richest countries In the world In
natural resources Besides valuable
mines of gold, silver, copper and quick
silver, II produces al kinds Of tropical
fruits, rs we'll Is cedar, indigo, coRee
and sugar. Its sugar cane grows to
enormous proportions and often attaina
such size that the plantations resemble
groves OF trees.-Aberdeen Is. D.)
News
The area planted In cotton the
present year IL estimated st IL, 701 ,805
acres, an increase over last year Of 7.2o
per cent. snd about the same - In 1887.
also showing very little difference from
1883. The total acreage for 1897 was
IL, ,Se2, 900; in 1891 1t was "a, ,Sos, 900; In
1890, 20.910, 900; in 1859, 50. 0.17a, 900; In
1883, 10, ,7S1, 900; and in 1887, 10, AS, 900.
The average yield has varied from l02
pounds Of lint cotton TO the acre TO 80
pounds, the greateat yield being in
lso1-o9, when the crop was s,0so. 900
bales. Memphis Appeal-Avalauche.