The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-10
SCIENTIFIC.

More than 1000 varieties of microscopic
sea shells have been enumerated.
The international cloud observations,
which were commenced May / and are to
continue one year, will include determine
tons OF the heights, directions and velocities
Of clouds, and will be made from stations in
Batavia. France, Norway. Portugal. Prussia,
Roumania, Russia Sweden and the United
State.
The great telescope of the Berlin exhibit
ton, when completed, will have two objec-
tives-one of forty-three inches aperture and
about twenty feet focus. the other of twen-
ty-eight inches aperture and sixty-eight feet
focus-in one mounting 1t will have no
dome, but will be curiously mounted in an
immense cylinder, supported only at the in
ner end.
Plants in the tropics can be literally seen
to grow. NJ. Gregory Kraus has been
making measurements in the Botanica!
Garden of Buitenzorg, Java, and records a
growth in bamboo of 42.z5 cenrimeters
Q6.n inches) in single day. Another bam-
boo added to It's height 1913 centimeters a
day for fifty-eight days. and two others 1919
and IS centimeters, respectively, for sixty
days
During recent voyage around the world.
Mr.. z. d. Fridlander made observations
with pocket dust counter Of the amount of
dust in the atmosphere at various places:
The dust was found not only In the air OF
civilized countries. over the water near them,
and up to 5000 or 1000 feet in the Alps. but
was fairly abundant over the ocean far
from land, while ii has been proven to exist
at height Of more than 13, 900 feet.
The relative strength of various kinds OF
iron and steel at temperatures OF GA de-
grees above zero, Fahrenheit, degrees and
100 degrees below, have been determined in
Germany by Professor NJ. Rudeloff. Zach
material was tested in tension, bending and
compression. Reduction in temperature in
al vsn16 nfv1$ or,d rr1ffx 80
strength in tension, while greatly reducing
the elongation. The metals all became
much harder in compression. and all except
rivet and rolled iron could be bent much
less at 100 degrees below zero. although
there was practically no effect at degrees
below zero.
An artificial tornado cloud is produced by
an English meteorologist in a hexagonaf in
closure made Of two three-leaved glass
screens two feet high, which rest on table
and are covered with board having a hand
operated ventilating fan In a hole In the CEN
ter. Vapor is supplied by a shallow vessel
of water over a. spirit lamp at the bottom
of the inclosure. When the fan is worked
funnel cloud. with a distinct rotary motion.
increasing toward the center. This is very
accurate imitation of the natural cloud.
formed, however, under conditions very I'M
like those Of nature.
Potassium platino-cyanide Is still preferred
by Jackson. the English physicist. as the
fuorescing substance in experiments with
Roentgen rays. He gets twice as much light
as from calcium tungstate. and is able. with
moderate electric energy, to zee distinctly
the bones In the thickest part OF the body.
skull He uses two-thirds Of an ounce Of the
potassium salt in a mucilaginous vehicle
over a six-inch disk of black cardboard, and
affirms that Edison tried too little. Zickler,
German experimenter. has made RADIO
graphs With and without visible fluorescence,
and finds the latter results equal to or better
than the former with the same exposure.
thus demonstrating that the rays have
direct chemical action on the plates.
The terrible scourge Of domestic animals,
known as the tsetse hy-including six
species-has been one of the most formula
BILE obstacles to the settlement of equator
ial and southern Africa 1t swarms In hot
low land along river banks. eagerly suck
ing the blood of man and animals, and in
horses. dogs and cattle setting up vast
On man and wild arlmals no effect is pro-
duced beyond temporary irritation. The
Ha,aa government through surgeon Major
the mysterious fly disease, or nagana, as
1t is called by the Zulus, and finds it to be
due to the presence in the blood OF flag
ellated infusorian. very closely resembling
the haematozoon described by DR.. Lingard
as the cause of horse surra,'' a disease of
horses-but not of cattle-in India. The flies
innict no injury on healthy dog unless
they have previously drawn blood from a
diseased animal Where the flies obtain the
been determined, but the fact that animals
the dies are at rest Soes 70 pro nsn thai wnsn a
disease Is not transmitted in the air. Ar
senic SEEMS to have so marked an effect
that II Is expected to serve as a preventive
in future DR.: Bruce confirms an over
looked Observation, that the f1ies are vivi-
| parous-a fact which, ii Is pointed out
a