Amador ledger., 1902-11-28
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Snapshots in a New Field-Saving the
Lobster-Novel Decoration of Glass-A
Hit = Signalling Target-The Worlds
Earthquakes Seeing by wire-Tiny
Backbones Heat = Powdered Metals
New Luminous Paint.

Submarine photography is not
likely to become a popular pastime.
But it is introducing US to unknown
regions, and NJ. Louis Boutan, who
began by investigating the animal
life of the waters, has become an en-
thusiastic sea- bottom camerist. Some
of his remarkable photographs OF
submarine scenery have been recent
ly published. He uses a hand cam
era, which is enclosed in tight cop
per box having plates glass window,
and is mounted on cast-iron tripod.
Suitable mechanism is provided to
expose and change the plates. The
pressure of the: water, inconvenieut-
ly great even at 20 or 80 feet, was
an early difficulty, but this was
counteracted by nj cans of a rubber
ball, holding aboGt gallon, from
which air was forced through a tube
into the box as the pressure in-
creased. Light fades rapidly in
sinking below the surface, daylight
exposures being impracticable at a
depth of 25 feet Magnesium pow
der is burned in oxygen in suitable
glass globe, and by this powerful
illumination instantaneous expos
ures are made with interesting re-
suits.
The biological stations of the New
England coast have solved the prob
lem of lobster culture. Several
thousand of the young fry are put
finto a cylindrical scrim bag about
three feet in diameter aud four feet
deep, and the water in the sub
merged bag is constantly agitated
by dasher driven by gasoline en-
gine. This prevents the fry from
smothering ordevouring one another
and at the same time keeping their
food of soft-clam fragments within
reach. In nine to sixteen DAYS from
the eggs the creatures are able to
take care of themselves, thiss stage
being reached by 16 to more than 40
per cent of the fry, although no
previous experiment had even one
per cent of survivors.
That certain substances adhere so
tenaciously to glass as to bring away
scales was observed long ago by
Prof. Cailletet. For etching he ap-
plies two coats of thin glue, and
after twenty-four hours places the
article on kitchen range at not over
1O5 degrees F. The glue will detach
itself with numerous flakes of glass.
The designs may be varied by add
ing various salts, the best results
being had from glue containing alum.
The electric target of Capt Chas.
| Chevallier, of the French army, is a
series of metal segments. When a
proJectile strikes segment, an cleo
trio circuit is completed by one or
more spring-supported rods at the
back, and the exact spot struck is
signalled upon an annunciator.
About so earthquakes yearly dis
turb the world throughout it's mass.
Prof. John Milne notes that between
Jan. l, 1899, and Jan. 1, 1902, the
Notwithstanding earthquakes number
ed 1856, of which 25 originated west
and south of Alaska, IA west of
Cen tral America, 16 west of the
Antilles, II west of the Andes, 29
east of North Japan, Al south and
east of Java, II north of Mauritius,
% on the east side and 3 on the west
side of the North Atlantic, 3 in the
North Atlantic, and IA in the Bal
kan, Caucasian and Himalayan reg
ions. These sources-all submarine
but the last three-are near the base
of the steepest flexures, with bound
ary ridges mostly lined with vol
eanic peaks. Both on land and
under sea, the great earthquakes
seem to attend deepening of the
burrows and an elevation of the
flanking ridges: and the elevation
may reopen long-sealed volcanoes,
as in the eruptiops in the Antilles in
1893, 1719, 1766, 1897, 1902, 1872,
1886 and 1902. The small earth
quakes-of which 10000 a year are
recorded-have no sensible connec-
tion with volcanoes.
The new image-t transmitting ap-
paratus of a Belgian engineer in
cludes two synchronous motors, each
the size of an egg, which are mount
ed at the two stations, and are
driven by the same current at the
same speed of 500 revolutions a
second. On each armature is a
small lens which in every so revolu
tions oscillates five degrees from the
axis. The transmitting lens thus
''sees" over a circle of ten degrees,
and the variations of light and Shade
in the spiral path are instantly
transmitted through selenium cell
to the same points on the receiver,
and are thrown on a screen by the
second lens. The entire spiral be-
ing passed ten times a second, the
image on the screen appears con-
tinuous.
The smallest vertebrates hitherto
known have been several fishes of
the southern states, the shortest
about an inch long. A new goby-
named Mistichthys luzonensis- re-
ported from a lake of southern
Luzon, and averages only about half
an inch in length. Caught in great
numbers by the natives, this tiny
species is a food-fish of some i'm
portance.
Various metallic substances are
pulverized in the electric furnace by
heating to volatilization, and then
forcing into a collecting chamber by
a jet of air or inert gas. Among
useful powders produced are those
of bronze, tin and aluminium; of
| 1,+ j. i