The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-11
SCIENTIFIC.

Finding portable filters unsatisfactory.
DR.. Schumberg, of the German Army Med-
cal Academy adds solution of bromine
to water to destroy disease germs, then
ammonia TO make the water palatabe.
The ideal oil-resisting rubber has not yet
been produced, according to Mr.. w. l..
Terry. The hydrocarbons. petroleum
and rosin oils, are least injurious to the
rubber used. while animal and vegetable
oils represented by sperm and rape, are
most destructive.
A new fowl has been systematically Gre
ated in France by Nj. Gourgaud, who has
crossed the breed there known as Gatinais
with the bantam and eliminated by selec-
ton those Of the chickens having double
fixed dwarf breed, with rosy toes and
single crestS.
A notable new alloy claimed to be prac-
tically unaffected by most acid and alkaline
solutions, has been announced by Herr
Reith. of Bockenheim, Germany, who sug-
gests it's for laboratory vessels and fit
tings in place of ebonite, vucanite and
porcelain. 1t contains - parts of copper,
2.34 of tin. 1.S2 of lead and / of antmony.
The tuning fork, struck and applied TO
the crown of the head, has been found by
DR.. T.. n. Malioutine of Moscow, to trans
nit it's vibrations to the vocal chords.
causing them to- vibrate in unison. In this
way he has cured, with vocal exercises, a
case of hysterical loss of voice that had
resisted all other treatment, including sug,
gestion. He believes that the process would
aid in training and improving the voices
of singers.
Reds, browns, yellows and blacks in the
scales of butterflies and moths are shown
by Mr.. A. G. Mayer to be always due TO
pigments. Greens. blues, violets, puppies
| other structural conditions, but sometimes
| to pigments. Uric acid and its derivations
certain moths are impaired by the blood,
| and some brilliant reds, yellows, etc,
| suit from more complex pigments.
| The most important scientific discovery
since the X rays of Roentgen is thought
| to be that of DR.. p. Zeeman, of the Am
| sterdam University, that the lines of a me-
tallc spectrum are broadened when the
source Of light is in an intense magnetic
| field. This seems to substantiate the hy-
| pothesis that radiation from a luminous
| body depends upon electrification and
opens up new possibilities of discovery con-
corning the nature of light. electricity and
the ether.
Bacteria. as one might infer from their
simple structure, TO have appeared
with the first life on earth. In study of
the early rocks NJ. b. Renault has found
indications of the presence of microbes in
bones, teeth, scales and coprOlites. as Well
as abundantly in vegetable tissues espe-
cially the spores and sporangeS of ferns.
The cOccOfd or gl0bular form appears to
have been earlier than the bacillar or rod
shaped, the species, rule, having been
different from those now living.
Cloud measurements were begun i'm 1914
In that year, NJ. Schneider tells the Belgian
Astronomical Society. Riccioli and Grimal-
| di, two Jesuits near Bologna by the usual
| trigometric method. determined the height
| of a bright white cloud to be 1922 metres.
| Riccioli mentions that another Jesuit, of
Metz, had learned that no clouds were more
| than 400 metres high. He speaks of a
| method of measuring the altitude OF clouds
| by their shadow and that of thunder clouds
| by the time between the lightning and the
| report Riccoi was familiar with the lumi-
| nous night clouds that have been lately at
| tracing much attention.
When the hair whitens. says a writer in
Cosmos, the phenomena that take place
are easily understood and they have been
made a special study by Pincus The GUAM
tity of air contained normally in the hair
cavity increases, and at the same time
there disappears or diminishes a augmented
oil that is secreted by the hair folices
and that gives to each hair its characters
tic color. 1t is well known what influence
the nervous system has on the secretions
and in general the. Sebaceous glands
1t would be surprising if those of the hair
| should escape this influence and so the
sudden whitening OF the hair, whose posi-
bility has sometimes been denied is easily
| explained from the Psychologists point of
| view.
America is bound to develop" declares
! Dr. Henry E. Armstrong, in contrasting
| British with German industrial science,
| land not only on account OF the restless
| energy of her people. Her government de-
partments have attached to them many
| active men engaged in initiating or con-
Quoting scientific Inquiries: and when the
various departments are organized inter Sc
| the country will have in its service a
| highly-trained body of scientific experts
| guiding all branches of public work and
cooperating to minimize the faults of de-
mocracy. And universities are arising all
| over the country. in which German models
| are being followed, not English. 1t is safe
| the United States will suddenly burst into
| prominence. and probably into predomi-
| nance, as a nation promoting scientific in
/ quiries of all kinds, so surely is founda-
ton being laid.
| A singular experience in cable repairing
| has been lately brought to the notice of the
London Institution of Electrical Engineers.
| The cable between the Senegal coast Of
west Africa and Pernambuco. i'm South
| America. laid five years ago and
i! broke within three months some $50 miles
from the African coast On being repaired
/ IL quickly broke again. Investigation failed
| TO show the usual weli-defined cause but
instead the cable at this point was found
| TO be surrounded by great mass OF what
| appeared to be river weed, i'm which were
bird feathers: orange peel. gourds, scraps
| of carpet and other land debris. while the
| sea changed to the dirty brownsh-green
betokening the presence OF fresh river
water. Iet all this was local, no similar