The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-19
SCIENTIFIC

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The stick insect of Borneo. the iars-
! est insect known. is sometimes thirteeR
inches long. 1t is wingiess, but some
species OF stick insects have beautiful
colored wings that fold like fans.
Among the effects of camphor. now
being used by fashionable Partisan
ladies to freshen the complexion. are
given mental torpor. somuolence ans
general weakness. The face soon be-
comes quite expressiOnless.
Reference to sounds attractive to
mosquitoes has led DR.. s. n. Lawrence.
of Trinidad. to tell OF the influence ri
the human voice. AS a boy, he and
his companions lured quickly formed
swarms of the insects by a note ne
thing like a continuous 100" pitc.el in
a medium key, and then suddenly
changed to a lower 'ah." drawn out in
the same way.
A connection between thhnderstorms
and the moons phases y now claimed
by meteorologists. Some months ago
a greater frequency OF such storms At
new moon than at full moon was ne
ticed in Che records at Greenwich for
thirteen years, and from other inquiE
it appears that Madrid observations
for twenty years give similar evidence.
The Spanish records show g per cent
of the thunderstorms near nav moon
22s first quarter. 21.S near .1li moon.
and 26.4 near last quarter.
Fishes, like trees, have their "an-
nual rings" The scales OF many
fishes show a series OF parallel eccea-
trio lines, which indicate successive ias
crements of growth. and these lines
OF growth prove to be more widely
separated in that part OF the scale
formed during the warm season OF the
year than in that OF the cold season.
MI J. Stuart Thomson, who has been
studying the markings, has reached
the important conclusion that in many
species the ages OF individuals may
be determined quite accurately.
A portable street light Of great iIlu-
mnating power is the device OF the
Westminster County Council for less
eping accidents from London fogs
cylindrical tank eighteen inches in d.
ameter and two feet high is charges
with twenty-five gallons OF petroleum..
and compressed air forces Vapor from
the oil into a standpipe provided with
a burner. On igniting the torch flares
up eighteen inches to two feet. with q
power of 1000 candles. A certain NUM-
Der of these fog lamps are kept ia
readiness. and when need arises they
are quickly sent TO the most dangerous
points.
Trephining the skull is known as a
probable treatment used by prehistoric
surgeons. 1t appears that the ancient
practice still survives in Melanesia, ami
Rev. j. A. Crump reports that natives
81 New Britain treat fractures frOLa
sling stones by trephining with a piece
Of shell or flake OF obsidiau IN 20
per cent of the cases recovery follows
IN two or three weeks. the deaths oeing
mostly due TO the original INJURY. IN
New Ireland treDhining is also per- !,
Termed for epilepsy and certain forms
OF insanity, and the natives declare /.
that the cures are numer0us. while in z
,uil"ts results are rare.
One Of the promising discoveries that
have been almost forgotten is that ar
writing on glass with aluminium. mag
nesium and some other metals. II was
i've or six years ago that Professor
Margot Of Geneva announced that the
metallic traciDgs adhere firmly and do
not wash or rub off the metal seem
ing TO form some union with the glass.
The writing resists even fluids that
corrode the glass. Professor Berger
OF Brussels has lately taken up the
matter, and has had especially good
results with the aluminium pencil on
glass moistened with silicate OF potash
solution. The method has special value
Ior giving permanent labels TO dan
serous liquids, like poisons and expio-
siyes.
a FORM OF electric resistance furnace