The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-20
SCIENTIFIC.

An international exhibition of gardening
will be open at Hamburg next year, from
May to September, inclusive
An observer at Vadso, of the solar eclipse
of Aug. 8, found that the sudden fall of air
temperature Just after totality amounted to
about two degrees Fahrenheit.
Interesting experiments in the crossing of
horses zebras and asses are being made in
Scotland by Professor Ewart. A recent foal
is q hybrid between a male Burchard's
zebra and jet black mare, and it suggests
the zebra by the. fawn-colored bands on a
nearly black background, while in form it
closely resembles the thoroughbred
The Roentgen rays should be visible, DIR.
Brandes. of Halle. has assumed, to an eye
from which the lens has been removed, as
in the treatment of cataract He has sue
ceeded in finding girl who can see the
rays with her left eye, from which the lens
has been taken, while her right eye which
is normal, sees nothing. He asserts that the
rays affect the retina, and that the light
can be seen by normal eyes if the head be
Enclosed in an opaque vessel near the source
of the rays.
The phenomena known as the Fata Nor
CANA have long been observed at the Straits
of Messina, and have been described by
Humboldt and others. Rocks, buildings,
ETC., seen across a lake strait appear to
be greatly enlarged in vertical direction,
but M. Forel, of Lausanne, who has been
studying the subject, finds that the appear
anCo Is not Il real ENLARGEMENT, but num-
Der of different images, some erect and
some reversed, and explains it as a COM
pick mirage.
High-pressure boilers for steamboats, are
of very recent date. At meeting of the
British Institute of Marine Engineers, the
other day. it was stated that, in 1885. there
We're 122 British vessels with a boiler pres
sure under sixty pounds, while in 1895 there
were only forty; in 1855 there were 1850
vessels with pressures of eighty to ninety
d. iy,-t -NIk. i,,
teen Vesseis of 100 pounds pressure in 1885,
against 200 in 1895, and three vessels above
160 pounds in 1885, against 416 last year.
A pair of scales much like those of the
modern pharmacist is among the multitude
of objects discovered this year in excava-
tons about thirty miles from Thebes, and
recently exhibited in London. The scales
finely finished, turn on pin, have
beam about four and one-half inches long,
with ring at each end for the three cords,
and the pans about the size of an English
penny, are slightly convex. Other objects
of especial interest are tipcats and tops of
the boys of long ago, dolls of the girls and
pots of perfumed unguent-one, at least,
retaining traces of the original odor.
The running of a railway by power gen.
Grated by it's own cars seems to be practi-
cable in some cases, in that of a
road in northern Michigan. This road is de-
signed to take iron ore from the mines to
Lake Superior q distance of fifteen miles.
with total descent of 800 feet. The loaded
cars are carried downward by .their own
weight Each train of ten cars has an cleo
trio generator, by which current is pro-
duced to haul back the empty cars, and it
is believed that the difference in weight
between the loaded and empty cars win
give power enough to overcome all leakage,
friction etc. Further economy is expected
from using the dynamos as motors on the
return trip.
has been found by NJ. Edmond Gain to vary
greatly at different periods in the growth
of the plants. AS a rule, water is urgently
needed when the first leaves are appear
ing then is little called for until just be-
fore blossoming. when large supply is de-
handed The fruit is best perfected in COM
parative dryness. Very few plants require
constant moisture, and in all experiments
tried the plants that were watered at the
two critical seasons of first growth and the
beginning of blossoming did we'll
those that We're constantly watered. Mois-
ture in the soil favored increase in the
number of fruit, seeds and roots, while
dryness tended to promote greater size and
perfection of seeds and tubers.
catalogue of the earthquakes of Russia
and adjoining countries, begun by A. Or
loft. in 1869, and just completed by Prof.
Mushketoff enumerates about 2,400 which
occurred in $50 place, between $50 B. c. and
A. d. 1889. OF these. 10 took place in China,
$40 in East Siberia, sc in West Siberia. 202
in central Asia, 500 in Caucasia 12l in Asia
Minor and North Persia. and 1S5 in Euro
pean Russia. Considering only the periods
of continuous observation. the frequency OF
earthquakes appears to have been $40 in
each century in Caucasia, $40 in China. 900
in East Siberia and Turkestan. 13s in mid
die and South Russia and only IS in North
Russia Finland and the Baltic provinces.
Earthquakes are more numerous around
the Mediterranean. AS result of its first
years work the Seodynamic section of the
meteorological Observatory OF Constantf-
nople reports 1853 earthquakes for 1885, in
Turkey and neighboring countries, 400 be-
longing to the Ottoman empire 236 TO
Greece and SIS TO Bulgaria. There We're 225
strong very strong shocks and disas-
trous ones. The figures increase rapidly in
ANY locality under careful scis4tifie obser-
vation and only 40 earthquafsSs were re-
corded in Turkey in 1884
The misunderstanding efforts of Nj. Henri
Moissan have not been abandoned. Severa;
years ago he discovered that if molten IRON
saturated with carbon. was cooled under
great pressure. a portion of the carbon