The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-16

G. Won Neissl, the average height, when
first seen, was ninety-one miles, while one
which was observed from Servia to France
over a path of no miles, was seen.frcm
the extraordinary height of 4S3 miles to that
of ll5 miles.
The increased cost of deep mining, ac-
cording to Mr.. b. n. Brough, is not serious
where the output is considerable. Only two
mines-shafts in the Lake Superior districts
reaching 1890 and ALSO feet, respectively
have yet been sunk below 1900 feet, but
Tour mines in Germany, two in Belgium
and one in Austria-Hungary range between
$500 and 1000 feet in depth. The deepest
British mine-the Pendleton, near Manches-
ter-is 3.474 feet deep; the deepest in Scot
land-the Niddrie. at Porto Bello-is 2,1l0.
Steel cables hoist loads of six tons at the
rate of a mile in a minute n a half at
the deep mines of Calumet. and in Eng
land the speed has reached tifty-seven miles
an hour.
The common belief that high barometer
or anti-cyclonic conditions in winter are
likely to be accompanied by unusual cold
is refuted by Mr.. w. H. Dimes, who always
expects a frost in England to break up
when the barometer gets much above 5000
inches. He has tested this theory by tab
ulating the height of the barometer for
the cold periods of 1871 to 1890. Out of sew
enty-four frosts in these fifty years he
found that sixteen only had a pressure
exceeding 1920 inches, and these were cold
waves of short duration. In thirty-three,
or less than half, the pressure exceeded
5000 inches. In twenty-one the pressure
was below $3.50 inches. and these included
nearly every cold period remarkable for
its length or severity.
The oft-repeated suggestion that music be
employed as a curative agent in hospitals
gives interest to a recent investigation by
A. Binet and j. Courtier, who have studied
the effects of musical sounds upon the
respiration, heart and capillary circulation
of a ~well-knOwn composer. Major chords,
and especially diScords, quickened respira-
ton, While minor chords tended to retard
it. All melodies-grave or gay-quickened
the respiration and increased the action
of the heart, lively tunes having most eff
feet. Single notes or chords, entirely un-
associated with emotional IDEAS, ~quickened
the hearts action in a less degree than
melodles; the greatest acceleratlon being
produced by operate or familiar pieces.
The capillary circulation was usually
slightly diminished by musical sounds,
lively airs having greater influence than
sad melodies.
Carbon monoxide, or carbonic oxide, is
the most dangerous of all the gases given
off from coal fires, as it is a true poison,
and, instead Of destroying life by suffoca-
ton or exclusion of oxygen, it has a direct
action on the blood, apparently altering
the character of the red corpuscles. 1t
and not carbon diOXide or carbonic acid
causes the headaches and sense of oppres-
sion sometimes experienced III coal-heated
rooms. so small a proportion as 0.5 per
cent. in the air occasionally giving rise to
alarming symptoms. But a late paper to
the Paris Academy of Sciences suggests
that there may be risks from furnace heat
ing yet unknown, as in only one case out
of ten of mysterious accident attributable
to carnations from heated iron pipes was
carbOnic oxide found to the extent Of 0.04
per cent. The delicacy of the means of
testing was shown by experiments with an
iron stove kept at a dull red heat, the pres
ence of 0015 per cent. of carbonic oxide in
the air being demonstrated.
AS mystifying as life itself is the latent
vitality of seeds. NJ. c.. De Candolle de-
scribes experiments tending to. show that
the seeds lead a retarded life for a brief
period, after which their prOtoplasm be-
comes wholly inert, though unchanged in
composition and internal chemical struc-
ture, and thus remains for years, possibly
for centuries, ready to spring into activity
under suitable moisture, temperature and
aeratiOn. The terminating power of peas
ana beans was retained even after expo
sure for four days to a cold of 1928 degrees
below zero. Fahrenheit, a temperature at
which ordinary chemical reactions no
longer take place. This power is destroyed
by carbonic acid, although it is not lost in
a vacuum, protOplaSm in latent life SEEM
ing to resemble certain miXtures-such as
explosive miXtures-in which certain sub
stances, if unchanged by surrounding sub
stances, may rest in contact until the con-
d1tlOnS favor their combination. This state
of chemical and vital inertia may continue
for a very long time, as, While the growth
of mummy wheat is undoubtedly q decep-
ton, seeds known to have been $50 years
old have terminated. Various ,observa-
lions seem to prove that seeds may lie dor
mant in the ground for great periods, one
notable instance being that of an unknown
plant discovered at Laurium in 1875 in a
position indicating that its seed was buried
under scOria by ancient miners at least
l 800 years ago, while Professor Peters, of
Gottingen, has recently produced numer-
depths in plantless forest soil. Such facts
caused Alphonse De Candolle to suggest
%soundings beneath the SHOWS of the Alps.
his idea being that we might recover from
the buried soil surviving germs of the veg
citation that existed before the glacial
period.