The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-01
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY
A NEW ILLUsIoN-RAD1uM AND
 COMETS.
A Metalurgical Hospital-The Dis ease of obesity-Tempsring Cop per-A Neurological Freak
 Iron from Sand-A Novel
 Danger from Explosives.

adelphia. It is the apparent movsm.r. or distant bright light-such as m in candescent electric light two ar thre. miies away-and 1t can best be obse,yc, kpy looking steadily at the light on A dar,r nisnt' with precautions to shut from the meiu ., view othcr lights Or objects that would tend to fix the location of tbs noint under observation. With the right cve aione. the light seems to move slowly to me rignt and often upward; while tbe ieTt eye usually but not always. seas tbo hght move to the left and sometimes also l upward Dr. Gould supp oses the move. ments to be caused by the mechanism or physiology of the brain center for vision
 ana ne suspects that this hitherto unde
 ecriDed phenomenon may prove of far reacning interest as connected with ghosts telepathic visions, the illusions of delirium tremens, etc.
 The idea that comets are connected with radioactive substances was suggested bv T. c. Chamberlin as long ago as Iulv
 1901. Prof. c. V. Boys now considers that radium, whose particles are shot out At a tweirth or the velocity of light. may ex- piain some or the phenomena of comets tails. as these particles would he sent away from the electrically charged sur- race of the sun in a single. double or mul- tiple stream. The negatively charged rays that radium Is said to give out would be attracted, giving the tails that on a few occasions have pointed toward the sun.
 The diseases of metals are becoming so well recognized by German metallur- gists that the Imperial Navy Yard at Wilhelshafen regularly sends samples to the dissecting tables of Prof Heyn, who diagnoses the maladies and endeavors to prescribe remedies.
 The shortness of breath and heart weakness of fat people are found by Dr.
 L. Menard French physician. to be not wholly due to superahundance of flesh. The disease of obesity is that of imper- feet assimilation and disassimilatior. the blood beng filled with the incomp,c ctely | oxldiZed products of the latter process and by training and systematic exercise 1t is possible to correct the faults of nutri- tion, so that health and strength may be enjoyed. even without reduction of weight. The worlds champion wrestler in 190l-excelling in running as well as in strength-weighed c97 pounds although only feet inches in height. this weight being 132 pounds above the accepted stand- ard for his height. The disturbance of nutrition may even be brought about by | lessening the weight through diet cures or the too exclusive use of meat, but slightly reduced diet, especially diet of milk and vegetables together with meth odical exercise. usually gives both reduc- tion of weight and a correction of the l lung and heart Arrangements of obesity. Hardened copper, states a German au- thority. has been sought not so much | for providing instruments with razor | like cutting edges as for coating them with a case-hardened surface to resist | changes from exposure. A lately pub lished patent claims that copper may be satisfactorily tempered by heating solw- ly to a certain temperature. and sprink | ling with powdered sulphur during the heating. The objects. while still hot, are plunged into a bath of blue vitriol. A novel watch in Zurich is in the form | of a ball which moves imperceptibly down an inclined plane without rolling | There is no spring, the sliding giving motion to the hand and the trip from | top to bottom of the inclined surface. a distance of Is inches, requires 24 hours. The ball is then lifted again to the top.
 The birds of Lapland are reported by H. Goebel to number 19S species. Of these, 133 certainly breed in that coun- try. 34 probably do so, II are stragglers
 
 species. and seven are seen only in the Solovetiski Islands.
 The best iron sand, quite black and con taining thlrty-five or forty per cent. of metal, is claimed by the British colo nies It Is calculated that there are 1,200 miles of 1t along the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. POO miles in New Zealand, and about 30 in British Co., lumbia, and it is also found in Ireland | A prize of about $100.000 has been of | fered by the government of New Zea- | land for a satisfactory method of extract | ing the iron. Many processes have been | patented. but one of the most promising | seems to be now under test at Lambeth. | England. where the iron is first separat- | ed by magnets, then formed into bri- | quettes through the aid of a secret fluid. | and is finally heated in the furnace. As | only half the ordinary amount of coke | is required, the process is expected to | materially reduce the cost of pig-iron.
 Some mysterious deaths of cattle in Alderney have been traced to a curious | source Mercury was found in the dead | animals. and also in many meadows and | gardens. and the presence of the poison | Is attributed to a recent explosion of a | factory for illuminate of mercury. The | fumes from the explosion were carried | to distance by strong gale AS | result of the inquiry. the manufacture of | explosives in the island has been pro- hibited.
 The migration of birds Is being stud led in a new manner by German ornith- ologists Hundreds or thousands of | crows are being captured at Rossitten. in East Prussia, and after being tagged | with number and the date are again liberated. It Is requested that when one | of these birds is killed the tag and the | date and place of killing shall be for warded for record.
 tree using aluminium almost to the exclusion of other mineral elements has been reported in New South Wales by H. C. Smith of Sydney It Is known bot nnina Ilu as Oritas eNcesa R Rr md tha