Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1899-05-03
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A French statistician has calculated
that the human eye travels over two
thousand yards In reading an ordinary
sized novel. The average human being
Is supposed to get through $500 miles
Of reading In a lifetime.
1t has been shown that. while Nan
sens observations prove that the North
Polar region is a great ocean cavity,
nearly two miles deep, the South Polar
region, on the contrary. is, apparently.
1 vast solid mass of land, surrounded
by belt of water about two miles In
depth. The area of the South Polar
continent is estimated to be about four
million square miles. one million more
than that Of the United States, exclud-
ing Alaska.
An anthropologist named Ammon
states that Bismarck's brain was prob
ably the heav on record. He judges
from measurements Of Schafer's bust
If the great chancellor that his brain
must have weighed 1857 grammes
over 50 ounces); Cuvier's brain weigh
I'd 1880 grammes; Bryon's. 1.SO7;
Kant's. 1,65O; Schillers. 1850; and
Dante's, 1,42O. The average for q
well-built European man Is given as
1880 grammes.
1t has been suggested that as ice at
only twelve degrees below freezing has
4 specific insula ton Of over one thou
sand megohms. II might be possible to
have hollow conductors which could be
placed in a trench filed with water and
used to carry brine for purposes Of Ice
making and refrigeration. The frozen
water would act as the insulatOr. and
the calculations have been made show
lng that the arrangement is feasible on
I commercial scale.
1t seems probable that We shall, with
In a few years, learn something more
about the wonderful volcano. 1900
feet high, which Sir James Ross saw,
half a century ago. discharging fame
and smoke amidst the vast snow and
ice fields Of Victoria Land. At the
Antarctic Conference of the Royal So
ciety in London. last February. the de
STABILITY Of q thorough scientific ex-
ploration Of the South Polar regions
was strongly urged, and still later the
German Antarctic Expedition Commit
tee at Leipsic unanimously resolved to
advocate the sending Of q ship toward
the South Pole to explore Victoria land
and its surroundings.
% A manufacturer of artificial limbs Is
putatiOns tend to enhance vitality
those who have lost an arm or Q leg
frequently having their lives pro
longed and their health improved as q
result of the loss. Even the mental
forces are represented as being
strengthened In cases Of amputation
The alleged explanation is that the re
moval of an important part Of the body
decreases the demand on the vital
forces. and enables them to concentrate
more effectually upon what remains.
It Is not likely. however, that anybody
will ever voluntarily sacrifice Q leg OF
an arm for the sake Of Frightening the
wit, or adding q year or two to the
length OF life.
Sisal is q fibrous plant abounding in
Yucatan, and now beginning to be cul-
tvated In Jamaica. Puerto Rico. and
Southern Florida, from which . subst-
ute for hemp 10 derived. 1t II reported
hat the English admiralty has adopted
dsal hbres in place Of hemp for making
,ope cables. The fbre is obtained from
the long leaves Of the sisal, which bear
I resemblance to the leaves Of the cen
tury plant But a perfect machine for
separating the fibres from the pulp is
greatly needed, and American inven-
nyeness 10 expected to supply the want