The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-01-13
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

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soil-InOculating Experiment-Elec
tric Alcohol.
A Russian legend is that more than
six centuries ago, on June rs, 1890, St.
Prokopy caused threatened storm to
be diverted from the city Of Wiki
ustjug to desert spot fifteen miles
away. At this place were left lot Of
hre-marked stones, which did great
damage to vegetation and have been
assumed to be meteorites; but these
stones-extending over distance Of
four miles-have now been shown by
N. Melnikon, Of the Mining Institute Of
st. Petersburg, to be ordinary granite
and sandstone. This leads NJ. stanIs-
laus MeunIer to declare that, after all,
the long-cherished traditlon-may nave
been well founded. His own investiga-
lions have proven 1t to be quite possible
for a violent hurricane to transport
stones q long distance, or the stones
may have been already on the spot and
uncovered by the storm.
The Illuminating power Of gas or oil
is due to the incandescence of solid
particles Of carbon. This carbon is
usually present in such small percent
age that the combustlble material has
been found capable of raising a much
larger mass to incandescence, and this
has made the use Of nantes great
Improvement in the case Of gas. In
Germany attempts, more or less un-
successful, have been made with the
NANTES over alcohol and petroleum
burners, NJ penayrouze, French en-
glneer, now claims to have made a
great advance upon this idea by dis
solving hydrocarbons in alcohol, the
carburetted spirit giving a very brill
liant light both with and without
mantle. 1t is commended that this solves
the problem of brilliant portable
light.
The cold of liquid air has been
proven by Messrs. A. and L. Lumiere
to retard the action of light on a sensl-
tive plate, making it appear that pho
tographic action Is a chemical, rather
than physical effect The retarding is
only temporary, however, the plate re-
covering Its sensltiveness on removal
from the cold. and images already inn
pressed are In no way affected.
1t is startling thought. seemingly
only too true, that our finest birds are
being exterminated with rapldity
scarcely less than that which the buff
faio was hurried out Of existence some
years ago. From the reports collected
from thlrty-six states by Mr. William
]. Hornaday, 1t appears that the birds
of the country have been reduced 46
per cent within fifteen years. and that
the loss reached II per cent in Florida
and 70 per cent in Connecticut, Indian
Territory and Montana. North Carolina,
Oregon and California have maintained
their average of birds. while there has
been an increase in Kansas, Wyoming,
Washington and Utah. The western
part OF The state OF Washington shows
curious anomaly, the locality seeming
to have become filled with bird forms as
result. Of clearing away the timber.
There Is great wRnton slaughter by
hunters and boys, much sacrifice for the
adornment OF women's hats and surpris
lngly large loss from the abuse of egg
collecting.
An attempt to improve the goat as n
miIk-EiVer Is being made by NJ. j. Gre
kin, OF Paris. He has established a
model goat dairy, and has obtained
very satisfactory stock by crossing the
best native goats with the Nublan buck,
the latter being vigorous. Indifferent to
cold and hornless. Goats milk is rich
er In caseine and more dlgestible than
cows milk. In composition II Is more
nearly like the milk Of the human
mother than any other, and 1t has the
advantage OF being comparatively free
from risk OF infection, the goat being
seldom affected with tuberculosis and
other dangerous malHdles. The butter
like the cheese. is found to be remark
ably good
A sample of Egyptian porcelain, from
Memphis. has been found by lie Chate-
ller to be quite different from Chinese
porcelain, making II appear that the
ancient Egyptians understood the art Of
making true porcelain. The Egyptian
porcelain canbe duplicated by mixture
Of 80 parts Of fine sand and 40 parts Of
blue glass and parts OF white clay.
Arsenic has been proven by NJ Armand
Gautier to be a normal constituent of
the thyroid gland and probably other
organs in the herblVora, the cRrnivora
and man. This seems TO explain the
successful use of arsenic In certain dis
cases. such as anaemia.
One direction in which progress may
be expected in the twentieth century Is
that Of feeding plants with atmospheric
nitrogen through the action of root bRc-
terla In late society paper, Mr.. NJ.
b. Waite stated that the Soy bean,
which IS a native Of Japan. does not
usually form root tubercles in American
soil, because the necessary germs are
absent. 1t Is therefore unable to gather
free nitrogen, like other legumlnous
plants This has led to the expert
meTlt Of sowing In the drill with the seed
small quantities of soil imported from
Soy bean field In Japan, and the re-
suit has been plants that were much
larger, more leafy and darker green In
color. The product had nearly twice
the weight Of that from the untreated
soil. The roots were found to be well
supplied with the nitrogen.E gathering
tubercles, while the uninoculated plants
were clearly suffering from nitrogen
starvation. The experiment was tried
on newly cleared sandy land. poor In
combined nitrogen.
Ethyl alcohol. which Is being used in
Russia as fuel for the automobile, Is
be produced by the Villon process for