Amador ledger., 1906-06-29
SCIENTIFIC
MISCELLANY
Reported weekly for the Ledger.

OA
Languages-A Padded Stomach-The
Fluid Lens-Aerial Distribution of
Power-AutomobiIe Agriculture.
The colors of vegetation are in
tensified by strong sunlight and a
certain degree of GOODNESS, as we see
in the redness of northern apples and
the deep tlnts of Alpine plants, and
other conditions-such as the COM
position of the soii-have an influence.
A recent attempt to color flowers
artificlally by chemicals added to the
soil has been recorded by Henry
Kraemner. Aluminium sulphate and
potassium sulphate deepened tho color
of yellow roses, and tended to streak
the petals of the white carnation with
red, and ammonium sulphate, alumni
mum sulphate, iron citrate and citric
acid brought out white streaks on
scarlet carnations. The effects were
too slight, however, to promise COM
mericaI Importance.
The great earthquake catalogue of
Comte de Montessus de Ballore now
records III, 434 distinct shocks. The
list confirms the already formed con-
cIusions that earthquakes and volca-
noes are independent, and that the
former are most abundant in recent
elevations, where the slopes are steep
est and longest. Nine-tenths of the
shocks have originated in one or two
per cent of the earth's surface.
Almost all have been distributed
along certain lines, of which the most
important are the great girdle of the
Pacific, the line running from the
Sunda Islands through Arracan. the
Himalayas, Caucasus, and Alps to the
western Mediterranean, and another
running from the Caucasus through
Central Asia to Lake Baikal.
Superstitious people formerly re-
garded with awe the turning red at
long intervals of Lake Moret IN
Switzerland. Botanists have now
shown that the phenomenon is due to
plant which propagates every tenth
year, and which, though very minute
grows so rapidly that the whole lake
is soon turned crimson.
Strong evidence of periodicity in
the cereal crops of Eastern England.
has been found by DR.. W. N. Shaw,
director OF the Royal meteorological
office, in the statistics for 1855 to
1905. A good year follows bad one
in very regular alienation, and
maximum average seems to be reach
ed once in eleven years, with mini
mum average at an intermediate
period In 1894, 1896 and 1898, for
instance, the yield was abundant,
while in 1893, 1895 and 1897 il was
deficient. A year of greatest average
was in 1885 and 1996-eIeven years
later-was another; and in 1886 and
1897 low points we're reached. DR..
Shaw has noticed that there is an
inmate relation between the rainfall
of the autumn months and the wheat
harvest of the following year. From
such considerations he computed that
the eastern counties of England would
produce 31.9 bushels of wheat per
acre in 1905, and the returns at the
end of the season showed an actual
yield of 81 bushels per acre.
Two languages have died out in
modern Europe, according to Rev.
". S. LachSzyrma. In a recent
paper to British archaeoIogIsts, he
doubted whether anybody could fix
the time of place when Prussian dis:
appeared, for the death of language
may be lingering and obscure one,
but Cornish seems to have passed
away in its English ghome IN quite
recent times. The last Cornish
drama bears date of 1911. A con-
siderable Cornish literature is pre-
served in manuscript and printed
works, and the language has left its
impression in the names of places
and families. A few words, including
the numerals, are still used by the
miners.
A remarkable hair ball from the
stomach of a young girl has been
brought to notice by Prof. Won
Bramann of Halle. She had habit
of swallowing ends bitten from her
long hair. forming in bulky aucumu-
lation, though felt only as slight
pressure and when the mass was re-
moved by an operation it was found
to have shaped itself to the cavity,
like cast in a mold. Iron tonicE
had changed the light color to black.
The glass lens has been brought tt
diameter of about five feet for as
Economical purposes, but when O.
such size the cost Is tens of Thousands
of dollars and several years of time
The Hungarian chemist who has a
last made a successful fluid len
claims that it equals the glass pro
duct in performance. 1t consists o
two curved plates of thin and un
usually hard glass, between which i
hermeticalIy sealed the fluid sub
stance, and the retroactive power anc
other properties are so adjusted tha
the usual defects of lenses are over
come. Time and temperature do no
affect the fluid, while the contraction
and expansion are practically tn
same as those OF. the enclosing glass