The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-07

ing upon the spot. During the visit Of the
Car Of Russia to Paris magic glasses,
showing the Cars portrait only when
These were made by applying to the glass
for certain time a rubber stamp moisteneu
with fiuorhydrate of ammonia and 1uorhy-
dric acid. the glass being so slightly etched
by this process that no trance IS visible
until moistened by the breath
The lack of inventors in lands of con-
slant sunshine doubtless accounts for the
small use that has been made Of vast
supply of energy An Italian genius has
now devised a sun-heated oven. which is
simply a mirrOr-lined wooden box, at the
bottom of which is small copper boiler
receiving the rays concentrated by the mir
rors. glass cover serves to retain the the
kind of food can be quickly boiled, SteWed
or baked, and any degre of heat desired
may be reached by making the box OF suit
able size.
The stability of the solar system. demon
strated by Laplace from Newton's law of
attraction, is shown by M. H. Poincare to
be a mistaken inference, overlooking the
modern conception OF energy Everywhere
energy is being dissipated work taking the
form of heat. and instability is the law
of all natural phenomena. Even the heaven
~ bodies do not escape the law tending to-
ward final repose Their energy is being
slowly dissipated through the friction of
the tides and we are approaching state
will all revolve with the same speed about
a common axis. This condition cannot be
permanent. Even if there is no resisting
medium in space. the planets magnetism
will continue to have a retarding effect and
in the end all planets will fall to the sun.
Legislation against finishing cloth with
misunderstanding chemicals was urged by
Mr.. r. p. Carse at a recent meeting of Brit
ish textile manufacturers. With no sympa-
thy with those who rail against filling cloth
with harmless materials, he objected to
the use of such ingredients-principal
zinc magnesia and EPSON salts-as are be-
ing employed to-day for filling many classes
of cotton goods, more especially flannel
cites and waste sheetings. While put in to
give weight. these materials have the pecul-
lar properties of absorbing and retaining
moisture and preventing midew They
make the cloth as dangerous damp bed,
declaring that he had been forced to fill his
goods after trying vainly to sell them pure
said, Il would not sleep in pair of my
own sheets for a hundred pounds"
There is good reason to believe that Aus
tralia may become diamond-producing
country second only to South Africa. at
present gold mining is more certain and
profitable than the search for diamonds, but
these stones are being continually found,
especially in New South Wales. and every
year considerable numbers from Bingera,
Inverell and other places are sold in Europe
at good prices. Some of the diamonds are
of good size and color: Others on account
of their unusual hardness are priced for
diamond drills and like purposes. The true
matrix has never been found. but the
abraded appearance of the stones shows
that they must have been transported a
considerable distance by ancient and
now unknown river. and it is believed that
their source will be discovered near the
great dividing range Near this point the
stones will doubtless be of larger size
British India the best-known large area
in the torrid zone, embraces tropical islands
and hot plains, as we'll as the snow-covered
peaks of the Himalayas, and contains the re-
gion of the greatest annual rainfall-600
inches-with arid sands where rain is some
times unknown for years in succession. Great
diversity of animal and plant life is to be
expected. The Indian government has I'M
dertaken to give information concerning
this, and has just completed the Flora of
British India, in seven octave volumes.
and the vertebrate section of the Fauna of
British India, in eight volumes. The
Flora includes only the Towering plants
Il, $50 species. The Fauna" gives 402 spe-
cies of mammals. 1.626 of birds, 534 of rep
tiles 100 of batrachians and 1,41S of fishes.
also have been published, describing the
moths (5,61S species) and the bees and the
waspS 1895 species.) Europe, with more
than twice the area, has less than two
thirds as many Towering plants less than
half many mammals, about third as
many birds, and only an eighth as many
reptiles.