The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-01

Lisbon has been suffering from a
pest of rats for which the general an
tidote of cats, traps and poison proved
abortiVe. AS last resource bacili were
employed and the municipal doctors
were commissioned to inoculate some
rats with an infectious disease. A
suitable virus, harmless to man, was
found, a few rats were captured and
inoculated and then released. The ex-
pertinent proved a great success, for
the bacillus rapidly spread and The
rats died with wonderful rapidly, so
that in very short time the city was
freed from the rodents. 1t is now pro-
posed to clear vessels from rats in the
same way.
M. Goubet the inventor of the
French submarine boat, is endeavoring
to adapt that style of craft to the
channel traffic between England and
Euorpe, and has constructed a model
of a boat designed for this particular
purpose. This has been shown in
working order to a number of persons
whom he hopes to interest in the
scheme. The craft is to be fastened 10
a cable and thus work it's way back
and forth at a uniform depth. under
the surface. The advantage claimed
for this kind of a service is that the
discomforts almost invariably expert
enced by the trip on the surface Will
be avoided.
A feature of new steam engine
exhibited at the Glasgow exhibition Is
a mon explosive boiler, which is built
uron a new principle. The essential
point is the reduction of the water
space to the smallest possible limit,
and the retention of large reserve
steam power by the use of copper slabs
as heat reservoirs. The slabs are plac-
ed in the furnace and their outer sur
faces exposed to the hot gases: Inc
feed water, having been previously
heated in a cooler part of the boiler,
is forced by a pump into passages IN
the copper slabs, provided for the pur-
pose, where it ds instantly transformed
into steam. According to the inventor,
should any sudden demand for steam
arise, it is only necessary to force In
more water the heat stored in the
copper slabs being sufficient to prompt
ly evaporate the required larger
amount.
A cable from Paris says: Dr. La
borde has made an interesting COM
munication to the Academy of Science
by a method of rhythmical traction
which he discovered. The system has
been tried with gratifying results in
several cases of attempted suicide by
hanging, drowning and suffocauon,
rhythmical traction in each case being
applied to the tongue. The successful
experiments described to the Academy
were the cases of two apparently still
born infants. In one instance after OPP
Grating for an hour the infant came to
life as if awakening from slumber. In
the other case alcoholic friction, fiagel-
lation and artificial injection of air
into the lungs were vainly tried before
the traction system was employed
This, after prolonged effort, establish
ed respir alton. DR.. Laborde has now
constructed an electric motor, by
means of which rhythmical traction
can be maintained for hours.
1t is proposed to try an experiment
in the way of cooling the air at the
st. Louis Fair grounds, the proposition
being to reduce the high temperature
during the summer months by draw
ing down cool currents from an alu-
tude 800 or 1000 feet above the ground,
and flooding the grounds with Air from
ten to fifteen degrees cooler than the
surface temperature. The plan compre-
bends the construction of an aerial
tower or stand-pipe of the aforesaid
hight, with lower termination about
fifty feet above the ground, where large
fans or blowers are attached that will
draw a current downward at the rate
of twenty or thirty miles an hour,
equivalent to the pumping capacity OF
half a million cubic feet of air per min
ute. This volume of air will cover an
acre ten feet deep-in an hour sixty
acres, and in six hours, $50 acres. 1t
is expected that calefaction through
the action of the suns rays will be
counterbalanced and neutra1ized by the
constancy of the current during the
daytime After shutdown the tempera~
ture, it is claimed, can be held below
eighty degrees Fahrenheit. The fans
are to be started at o'clock a. M,
when the air is coolest. By 10 o'clock
the buildings and grounds would be
filled with fresh air and so maintain
ed during the day.
A dispatch from Tulsa, I. IT., Of re-
ceent date says: One of the largest
lakes of oil in this vicinity caught fire
from a falling meteor, and is now a
burning mass. The display of shoot
ing stars was magnificent one, and
began at o'clock yesterday morning.
Meteors came down in a great shower
for about an hour and q half. They
travelled in every direction, save
straight up. 1t was almost as light
as day, and occasionally large meteors
of exceptional brilliancy were seen.
These would explode and send out
hundreds of fire balls, which would IL
illuminate the heavens and die away in
stantly. Each explosion was accom-
panied by a distinctly audible report,
as of an airgun. The phenomena last
ed until almost daylight, and even at
that time some of the more brilliant of
the meteors could be plainly seen. Eye
witnesse say that the meteor which
fell into the lake was several feet in
diameter, and looked like big ball of
fire. AS it came in contact with the oil
there was a loud report, followed by a
kissing noise and Immediately the ter
ritory around became as bright as day.
All efforts to extinguish the flames
have been futile, and the owners OF
the gushers are now directing their eff
forts to keeping their other property
from being consumed. The lake COW
ers about one acre.
The American opossum is one of
the most curious animals in the Unit
ed States, says the Chicago News. 1t
is the only one carrying it's young in
a pouch or maruspium, Like a kanga-
REQ. 1t is the only animal which can
feign death perfectly in order to escape
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