Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-12-09
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL,

A paper recently read before the
Linnean Society in London describes
a species of seal, attaining enormous
dimensions, to which the name of sea.
elephant has been given on account of
trunklike appendage on the fore
part of the head. A specimen killed
in the Falkland Islands was nearly
nineteen feet in length. The trunk
is only foot long. These seals are
peculiar to the Southern Hemisphere.
On account of the very large guam.
! tity OF inferior foreign cement which
is being sent to the United Kingdom,
English manufacturers have asked
that the authorities should forbid the
importation of cement until the bags
! bear mark that will enable the con.
sumers to know that the cement is
made abroad. English cement bear
ing the name of portland" is often
sold without knowing where it was
made.
During the eight years ended with
1880 the coal consumption, as an aver.
age for all classes of service, showed
decrease of 1858 pounds per train
mile, or about 1872 por cent. This
was effected, Notwithstanding the in.
creased loads and speeds, by revising
the design of the engine, and by build
ing locomotives Of greater pow err, and
therefore better capable of dealing
with the heavier trains
Dyspepsia is cause OF eye troubles
too little considered, in the view OF
NJ. Grandelmont, of Lyons. To faulty
assimilation of food may often be
traced, for example, diffused pain in
the eyeball, darkness, half sight,
double vision, and the moving objects.
Such disturbances may be cured or
lessened by attention to diet and
hygiene, and by the use Of moderate
doses of saline laxatives and alkalies.
The production of artificial sponges
by the process of DR.. Gustav PUN,
of Graz, depends chiefly on the action
of zinc chloride solution on pure Gel
lulose. This product swells up with
water but turns hard and horny after
drying; and to retain the property of
absorbing water readily treatment
with some such salt as sodium chic
ride is included, and the plastic mass
is made porous by compr sssion in a
press mould lined with perforating
pins. The excess of salts ia after
ward removed by washing day or
two in alcohol and water. These arti.
fetal sponges not only serve all the
ordinary purposes, but are especially
recommended for sanitary and indi.
vidual filtering, filling life preservers,
making anchor buoys and III surgery
for absorbing secretions.
An interesting and significant fact
is that the average hourly number of
meteors is only hall as great in the
evening as in the morning, and in the
evening their velocity is lower, says
Professor G. c. Young. The reason
is that at sunset we have before us
the point in the heavens from which
we are moving in our orbital journey
around the sun, while in the morning
we face the point toward which we
are advancing; in the evening we are
in the rear of the earth, at sunrise in
'front.' This increase in the number
and speed of the morning meteors 10
just what ought to happen il they are
bodies moving Unfortunately in all
directions under the suns attraction,
and with the velocity (about twenty
six miles second which body
would acquire in falling toward the
sun from q distance very great as
compared with our planetary orbits.