The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-07-06
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

having good TING AZ allif he did,"
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
A Constant Battery-House Light
ing-Anti-Fat of Ancient Greece.
India's Mannn-corsica's Chest
nuts-Measurement of Taste-oxy-
gen for seasickness-Hnil Cloud
Observation-Disclosures Temperature.
Elconal.
In the new electric battery OF Pop
penherg, the positive electrode is hol-
low cylinder of rctort carbon filed with
depolarizing matter and closed at the
bottom by an insulating. plate, the neg
ative is i cylinder of zinc. and the two
rest on horizontal porous plate or
diaphragm, beneath which is thick
layer of sulphate OF soda. with or with
out little common salt, When water
is poured into the cell. part OF it
passes through the porous diaphragm,
dissolyins the salt. The solution passas
by cndosmose into the water above.
forming an. ,electrolyta that varies but
slightly with time, and causes. the bat
terry to retain its strength for long
period. The elec,romotive force Is
about two volts.
The color and character, OF the wallis
have much to do with the lighting of
room, and experiments have shown
theee percentages OF reflection By differ
ent wall materials. Black velvet. O.4:
black cloth. 1.3; black paper. As; dark
blue, ca; dark green. 1o1; pale red, 16,2;
dark yellow. 20; pale blue, 80; pale vel.
low. 40; pale green, 4G5; pale orange,
5i.S; pure white, 20; mirror covering.
o.. Dull or vanished paint also has
effect. Aside from mirrored walls.
white yarn!sh ensures the best lighted
room, and this may be Lcvantugeously
used In conjunction with inc0ndescent
gas light as the most economical source
of artificial illumination.
or nearly five hundred treatlses
mostly on medicine, alleged TO have
bcan written by Galen, less than one
hundred accepted as genuine are now
known. A hitherto unknown Greeh
text on the lessening of obesity has just
been published by DR.. kallAeisch, OF
Fribourg. Among the recommended.
tons are to eat birds which are found
in arid mountains and fish which fire.
qucnt rocky shores, and to avoid vege-
tables which are round
Records OF more than 5000 observa-
tons showing the deviation Of the
magnetic needle from the voyage of Co
lumbus in 1892 to 1850. have been COL
iected by n German physicist.
.ural history hns been more seemingly
miraculous than the finding OF an edi-
BILE gum exuding from the bamboos of
Central India at time when the pcp-
Pile are suffering from their greatest
famine. This substance Is pleasantly
sweet. occurs in white or brown stalac-
THORN rods about an inch long, and Is
found by David Hooper. of the Indian
Museum nj Calcutta. to consist mainly
of sugar related to, IL not Identical
with, cane sugar. The strange ap-
nearance In the bamboo forests of
Camboo mamma of history. which Is
not n sugar, but white. gritty body
occurring inside the stem Of the plant,
and now called Tnbashir by Europeans.
Tnbashir contains about so per cent OF
silica. with varying proportions OF nj
knlics and organic matter. It has been
much used In medicine.
Wherever extensive forests cover the
land, special Industries arc growing at
their expense. Immense forests OF
sweet chestnut trees exist In Corsica,
and the most ilourIshing Industry OF tho
Island is probably the extracting of
fannie aCid from thesa trees, abou;
10000 tons OF the. wood being now re-
Huircd annually for the 1000 tons OF H.
1uid extract sent away. Without COM
pulsory replantiug, this wholesale de-
structlon Of forests is likely to bring
Bcrlnus consequences In time. II Is
feared that not only will the climate b.
affected. but that the peasants viii SUI.
fer the loss OF their staple food Of flour
from the dried fruit OF tho chestnut,
Attempts to measure the sensation of
taste are being mndc by +. ToulouseunI
n. Vaschlde. French psychologists
They test with sodium chloride for
salty tastes, saccharosc. for sweet
tastes. dibromhydrntc ,of uulnine for
oittetu, and cltric acid for su,lrs-solu-
tons OF thesc substances. varying IN
strength along decimal scale, being
prepared with distilled water. A ape
cia' dropped gives DROPS OF unvarylng
ai2e' Another series OF solutions Is
used for determining "odor.,astcs,',