Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1904-02-20
TlyDMSCienCe
8. : SssssIllveantion
~~~~~~~~~~~

novel use by Paris surgeons in teach.
ing students how to perform yariop.
surgical operations.
To show the shadows cast bv som.
Of the brightest stars, NJ. e. Toucbot
places some object in long box blact.
ened inside, and closed by grouna
glass. The shadow cast by Sirius on
the glass has been photographed.
Its hand and its wonderful intelu.
gence give the monkey advantage over
all other lower animals. 1t cannot we'll
endure cold and temperate climates
and this fact, it is suggested, has pra.
vented the close association with man
that would have made the monkey the
most useful of domestic animals.
In the experiments of Prof. John
Trowbridge, powerful electric current
is passed between terminals of wood
and cotton wool saturated with dis.
titled water, and gap of four inches
is bridged by a torrent of bright
sparks, with deafening noise. This ia
thought to prove that thunder is large.
ly due to explosions of hydrogen and
In his scientific p4arl farming, Pro
fessor Dubois has transplanted a col.
ony of pearl oysters from the coast
of Tunis to point near Toulon. OF
these oysters, one in 1900 yielded n
pearl. Acting on the theory that the
pearl disease of the shell is due to
the accretion of mother of pearl under
the action of a parasite, the expert
menter has tried to transmit the
disease to other oysters, and has sue
ceeded in producing one or more pearls
from every ten oysters.
An ancient Chinese tomb of the Han
Dynasty, B. G. 220, was recently open
ed and was found TO contain bronze
mirror decorated with raised animal
figures. These figures, which were of
an astrological character, represented
the twenty-eight mansions of constel-
lations of the moon, and although the
signs were nearly defaced. the serpent
coiled around the tortoise was distinct
ly visible. In addition to the mirror,
some small red glazed bowls were
found of considerable beauty and finish
and bearing a glaze of great smooth
ness and uniformity of coloring.
The farmers of Germany are noted
for their adoption of scientific methods,
particularly in the cultivation of po-
tatoes, which is their great specially.
To avoid the effects of inbreeding, the
scientific German farmer rarely plants
seed potatoes from his own fields. He
either gets new varieties from the ex-
pertinent stations, or exchanges with
his neighbors whose farms possess soil
differing from that of his own farm.
An interesting fact is that potatoes
grown on high hill slopes produce best
when planted in valleys, and that po-
tatoes from the heavy, wet land make
the best seed for use in light, dry
soils.
Curious Effect of Tornadoes.-One or
two remarkable examples of the effect
of the sudden expansion of air inside
buildings when the partial vacuum
produced by a tornado passes over
them was noticed in the storm that
devastated Gainesville, Georgia, last
June. The walls of a mill were blown
outward, and the roof was lifted into
the air and suspended there for several
seconds. A stand-pipe 40 feet in diam
eter and so feet high, placed so feet
above the ground lost it's sheet,iron
cover, which weighed several tons. 1t
was lifted bodily off, carried high into
the air, and dropped 100 feet away.
In its fall it killed several persons
Prof. Hans Molisch, of Prague, has
reported to the Vienna Academy Of
Sciences the discovery of a lamp light
ed by means of bacteria, which he
claims will give a powerful light, and
be free from danger, thus being valu-
able for work in mines and powder
magazines. The lamp consists of a
glass jar, in which a lining of salt
peter and gelatine, inoculated with
bacteria, is placed. Two days after
incubation the jar becomes Illuminated
with wonderful bluish-green light caus-
ed by the innumerable bacteria which
have developed in the time The light
will burn brilliantly for from two to
three weeks afterwards, diminishing
in brightness. 1t renders faces recog-
nizabe at a distance of two yards and
large type is easily legible by it. Pro-
fessor Molisch asserts that the lamp
yields a cold light which is entirely
safe.