The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-10-16
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Magnetic Records il Ancient Ru-
ins --CelIuold for Surgeons
Splints- Romance of Pha.
gocytosis-Primary School Sci
ence In Russia-The Heat OF
FIowers-A Valuable Material
Awaiting Use
wri,,en for The CrrrzEs.I

written for the CTTIZKSJ
/ A Curious Investigation has been
begun By an italian physicist. Meas
urements al Paris since l761, when
regular observations were first COM
I menced, Indicate continual diminu-
( ton of the dip OF the ezrth's magnet
F.; ism from 75' 10 So s. 1t has occurred
+ t. DR.. @. Folgheraiter that data for a
much longer period, which l. needed
F for tracing ttie secular variation OF tie
T dip, might be obtaIued from auci-nt
I terra Gotta. II is understood that clay
retains permanently auy magnetism
I that may be induced duIing the process
( OF baking, and practical test u this
F idea shows that Tricks in villas aud
I tombs of the Roman Empire, as we'll
as Etruscan vases from the eighth Cell
4 fury b. C., have the axis OF magnetI-
T cation IN various directions. proving
/ that the polarity corresps nding with
\ the earJh's magnetic axis during the
baking Of the oijecis has been retained.
/ Ii now remains To determine the posi-
+ ton in which objects OF known period
+ were placed III the kiln.
At the MedicO- Mechanical Iusti-
/ iute Of Stuttgart, according to Prof.
Landerer and DR.. f. Kirzch, cel!ulOId
/ has proven "A greatly superior substi-
-sute for plaster Of Paris Tor splinis aud
corsets. The celIUloid IL put III small
pieces iuto a Wide-nlOuthed bottle OF
acetOue, where IL slowly GIsSolyss. A
7 plaster cast Of the diseased or injured
T part l. taken, and covered with felt or
( fianLel, into which the celluloid sOlu-
! ton il rubbed with the gioved hands,
! the process being repeated from four To
six times. Lighlness, hardness, abil-
I ity. elasticity aud cleanliness are adyau-
( tages claimed.
Z An investigation to determine
I whether ROentgeu rays can start, ac-
( CELEBRATE or retarJ chemical change has
given negative results. Differences in
( radiogfaphs OF a European hand and
a Hindu hand are supposed to be due
/ to o. aciiy Of the skin pigment Of tie
! latter.
The bison is be coming extinct ina Rus
STA. as N America, the carefully pre-
tected herd Of the forest of BjelUwjesba,
il Lithuauis, having dwiudied from
l 800 TO less than 800.
Ii ever there was romantic chapter
III Therapeutics, said sir Joseph Lister
IL his Pres,Lei tial address 10 the Brit
ish AssociatiUt, II las surely teen that
Of the story Of phago ytosis. 1t has
long been known that If Ine microscope
was placed at such d distance from ~ he
fire as TO have the temperature OF the
human body, the white c0Ipusclus III
a drop Of blood might be see TO put
out aud retract little processes OF pseu-
dopOdia, and by their meaus crawl
over the surface of the glass, just like
the extremely low forms Of animal
life termed anOebae. LISA somewhat
weird spectacle that Of seeing what
has just been constituents of our own
blood moving about like independent
creatures. Similar facts concerning
the fixed compcneDts of the animal
frame have been noted, however as,
for INSTANCE, that the lashiBg filaments (
that keep up a constant flow OF fluid !
over frogs tongue still retain their /
motion when the cells to which they
are attached are scraped off into d drop
of water. Cohnheim, the German I
pathOlcgist, observed that the white I
corpuscles in SINE inflamLnatory cou-
uitlons passed through the pores of
some OF The finest blood-vesseIs, and
thus escaped into the interstices of the
surrounding tissues. He attributed
this to blood pressure. Extraordinary
new interest las been given t. these
coTpuscles by the researches If Met chiui-
koff, the Russian naturalist and path
ol9glst, mo observed that, after pass
ing through the walls of the vessels,
the corpuscles not only crawl about
like amoebae, but, like them, receive
nutritious materials into their soft bod
les and digest them. Ii is thus that
tue effete materials Of tadpOle's tail
are got rid of; so that they play a most
important part in the function IF alb
sorption, Continuing his rest arches,
he found that microscopic crust aceau,
kind OF water-hea, is liable TO be iu-
fected with fungus, whose sharp
pointed spores often penetrate into tue
intestine, where group of cells CORES
pondiug to our white blood Corpuscles
at once surround the invader aud at
| tempt TO dIvour it. If they succeed
the Water-f1ea is saved, but if the spores
are too numerous to be overcome ty
the devouring cells (phagocytes, Met
chlkon calls Uhem) the animals sue
culno 10 the parasites. Starting from
THIS fundamental observation, he as
certaiued that the microbes of infec-
tive disease are subject to the same
process of devouIiug and digestion.
carried on 10y both the white corpuscles
and by cells that line the blood-vessels,
aud has firmly established tine gre at
truth that phagocytosis is the main de
fenslve means of tile living lody
against Its microscopic foes. Sir jos
eph has Teen peculiarly Impressed by
nrst intention under putrid dressings. |
The light of the starry sky has been
recently found by Capt. Abney to be |
about LA that of the full moon, which |
is placed AT l 900, 900 that of the sun.
School gardens. or small model farms.