The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-11
SCIENTIFIC.

Enormous corns, with a tendency to govt
In wet weather, are stated to be common af-
fiictions of the kangaroo in captivity.
Long study of French prehistoric remains
has convinced NJ A. Thieuellen that the
finer flint implements-both paleolithic and
neolithic-were luxuries the ruder ones
having been commonly used.
A station for plant protection has been
established at Freihafen. Hamburg. It's du-
ties will include preventing the introduction
of injurious insects, combating plant dis
eases, overseeing the schools of viticulture
etc.
Free hydrogen is found by M. Armand
Gautier to be common constituent of the
atmosphere. The combustible hydrocarbons
of town air do not appear in the air of the
open sea or of mountains, but pure air con-
tains free hydrogen equal to about half its
carbonic acid
The new French phosphorus matches de-
vised by Sevene and Cahen to meet the re-
quirement of safer manufacturing, avoid
the dangers from yellow phosphorus by US
ing phosphorus sequi-suphide and chlorate
of potash. The sesqui-suphide is a grey
yelloWlsh substance, prepared by heating
and sulphur. The new matches look like
the old, ignite al 203 degrees F., being easily
lighted on rubbing, and burn quietly.
A trace of leather-cased steel ribbon is
being made by an English firm, and has
reached a tensile breaking strain of 4.575
pounds, while leather trace of the best
quality broke at 27OO pounds. The steel rib
bon is not only lighter and stronger than
the ordinary trace, but about 20 per cent
cheaper A similar ribbon, caSed in rubber.
is being placed in the ordinary tire. making
1t practically puncture PROOF, ana actually
increasing speed
The rapid development Of electrical indus
tries has been attended by a correspond
ingly rapid growth of mica mining. The
American demand for mica is partly sup
piled by Canada, New Hampshire and North
Carolina, but more than half the worlds
consumption is what is known commercially
as Behar mica, from the districts of HaZari-
bagh. Gaya and Monshyr, IN 1ndla. At tnese
Indian localities some three hundred mines
are now being worked. Last years output
reached NEARLY 100000 POUNDS, OF which
about half was exported from Calcutta,
chiefly to England and the United States.
A globe on which observers may plot the
paths OF meteors has been designed by M.
Pietro Maffii. 1t consists of a mounted hol-
low glass sphere, adjustable to latitude, and
with means of obtaining directly the right
ascension and declination of any point. The
outer surface is marked with the brighter
stars OF each constellation and the milky
way The inside contains two small cleo
trio lamps fed by aecumulators in the stand,
bringing the mapped considerations dis
tinctly inro view. The path OF each meteor
seen can De quickly plOIleU, d wet sponge
erasing fle lines after the exact position
as required by astronomers-has been duly
noted.
We should hardly expect to have hand
some and accurate portrait bust of an up
per-class lady from Neplithic times, says
DR.. D. G. Brinton, in Science But the mar
wells of science do not diminish. AT the last
meeting--in August-of the German Associ-
alton of Physicians and Naturalists, Prof.
] A. 1900
female whose skull and portions OF whose
skeleton had been exhumed from Neo-
lithic grave in one of the caVerns IN SOUTH
ern France. The principles OF the recon-
struction. as well as modern examples of
the method, prove its accuracy. The sort
parts of the head and chest can be restored
without the risk Of error The NeoHt1c
dame was rather good looking, and pre-
scented the undoubted features or the white
race. demonstrating, as professor hoilnann
insisted that empires may crumble and
states decay. but the essential features OF
each human race persist indefinitely and
unchanged.
An entirely new departure In metallurgic-
al practice is the Mond process for extract
ing nickel and one that should prove of i'm
portance in the great nickelliferous district
of Sudbury, in Canada. 1T depends on the
remarkable rkoperty of finely divided nickel
of forming a volatile compound with car
bon-monoxide, from which metallic nickel
may be released by simply heating to $50
degrees c. At a recent meeting of the Lon
don Institution of Civil Engineers Profess
sor Roberts-Austen described the process
and an experimental plant established IN
1892 at Smethwick near Birmingham where
about eighty tons of nickel has now been
extracted, the results having been very sat-
isfactory. The process begins with matte.
which is first roasted, after which 1t con-
tainS about 80 per cent. OF nickel, 4 OF cop
per and little iron. About two-fifths OF
the copper is then extracted by sulphurtc
acid, the remaining copper is reduced to the
metallic state by the hydrogen In water
gas the nickel is taken of by carbon mon
oxide in voiatiiizer. The ore circulates
between the redlicer and volatizer for seven
TO fifteen DAYS, the residue Of about one
third, not much changed from the original
composition, then going back to the nrst
operation. The nickel carbonyl from the