The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-13
SCIENTIFIC.

A small piece of paraffin, which melts and
spreads in an air-tight layer over the
surface of the liquid. is found by German
chemist to prevent change i'll the taste of
milk on boiling.
A tantalizing fact pointed out by an En-
glish astronomer is that Herr Wits new
planet between Mars and the earth was i'm
January, 1894, in a more favorable opposi-
ton for observation than it will be again
until 1924.
incubation against plague bids fair to
become universal in India, one town of a
population of about forty thousand having
only about five thousand uninoculated
while many have been inoculated twice
The results justify the practice, a. report
for one week in September showing only
sixty-nine attacks among thirty-two thou
sand inOculated persons and AT attacks
among $500 uninoculated.
Evidence of industrial quickenihg in Spain
may be the suggestion in Madrid that in
candescent lighting by petroleum be de-
Veloped. 1t has been found that the heav-
lest oils, which give a very bad red light
i'll ordinary lamps, afford in incandeScent
lamps a far higher Illuminating power than
do light oils Spain's bituminous shales and
inferior coal are we'll adapted to yield by
distillation the heavy oils needed for mean
descent lighting.
Saki, or rice wine, has been used in Japan
more than two thousand years. DR.. Loew,
of Munich, says it is prepared by first
with a. species of ferment. mixing with
water, and fermenting with the aid of
yeast from rice straw. A remarkable fact
is that "pasteurizing," or heating to a GER
| tain degree in closed vessels, has been prac-
ticed for ages to give this wine q keeping
quality. Sah contains from IA to 16 per cent.
of alcohol, or about five times as much
German beer.
The Duran, or snow hurricane, of the
Pamirs. is meteorological phenomenon of
great interest. a work by Sven Hedin states
that even in midsummer the temperature
during a snow Duran frequently falls to Il
| degrees Fahrenheit while in the winter
of 1928 it dropped to 45 degrees below
zero at the end OF January, and SnoWstormS
were an everyday occurrence. The Duran
comes with startling SuddenneSS the atmoS-
phere growing dark with whirling snow
fakes where scarcely minute before the
sky was perfectly clear. 1t is impossible to
see yard ahead and separation from ones
caravan by even a few PAGES would mean
and even the report of a rifle would be
drowned in the awful roar of the hurricane.
Next to palms, ferns are the most con-
| spicuous feature of tropical vegetation, and
| Nicaragua is described by Mr.. B. Shimek
as the worlds fern paradise. No other like
area is distinguished by such a number of
! species, by so many peculiar to itself, or by
| such variation in form, size, structure and
| habits of growth. The topography Of tropi-
| cal America, giving. within narrow limits,
| every degree of moisture and temperature,
| explains this. In size, the species vary from
| those a fraction of an inch high to splendid
| tree ferns or vines with single fronds thir-
| ty feet long; in texture, some rival the
! fiimsiest lace, while others develop thick,
| leathery fronds, and in habit, the range is
/ as great some ferns of western N1caragl la
enduring parching droughts on bare vol
| canic rocks, While others In the ever moist
| and shady eastern jungles develop delicate
| or gorgeous forms under the conditions
| most favorable to them.
earthquake Of June 70, 1897 which was the
| largest and possibly the most violent on
record, was given at the British Associa-
ton meeting by Mr.. R. D. Oldham. The
shock was felt over an area of not less than
1.750O00 square miles, while the focus occu-
pied area 200 miles long and 30 wide.
Landslips on an unprecedented scale were
produced in the Cars and Khasia hills and
in the Himalayas north Of lower Assam. A
number of lakes have formed in the depres-
sions caused, mountain peaks were moved
both vertically and horizontally, and stone
monuments and forest trees were broken
across by the violence of the shaking Com
munications of all kinds were interrupted
Bridges were overthroTn and in some cases
thrust upward twenty feet, while rails on
the railways were twisted and bent. Earth
than the United Kingdom, and solid streams
of sand and water We're forced 10 nelgnt
of three to five feet above ground from
countless sand vents.
The color Of natural waters has been
/ specially studied by Prof. W. Spring, Of
the University of Iiege. In a recent adj
dress To scientific men, he showed, expert
mentally. that the true color Of pure water
is blue and that this is a characteristic of
| the water itself and Is not due TO reflection
from the surface nor from suspended par
/ ticIes. Lake Geneva is an example Of the
/ blue of pure water When pure water mas q
very slight cloudiness. due 70 nnely divided
/ whitish or colorless particles In suspension,
] even when these particles are OF pure rock