The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-11-02
C0fTsw0ndmce Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Solar Acknowledgements Grain-Left
Handed Lobsters-An Artificial Face
Bending ofthe Land by 6torms-Eczeme
from Dentriices--A Workshop Tele-
phone-A Drop in Liquid Epilepsy from
Eyo-ssrain.
10 show the electricity produced by the sun
and moon. Albert Nodon. the French meteor
ologist. has used an apparatus including an
aluminum-leaf elecsrometer 30 perfectly insu-
lated that Il would retain q charge Of 1900 volts
for fortnight. and has proven that the rays Of
the sun af high altitude in a clear sky induce q
positive charge in well insulated metal leaves.
Clouds or damp air overhead cut on or absorb
this charge. though screens OF black cardboard
or Insulating material have no influence. The
elcctFlncation Is changing constantly, and strik-
Ing variations precede wind and rain-storms,
while especially violent ones indicate tremblings
Of the earth. The full moon produces similar
effect. The changes are barely observable at
sea-level. probably on account of the electric
dissipation by water vapor. but at the Pic du
Midi observatory they sometimes reach 400 volts
per minute. This suggests an important new
line Of work for mountain stations.
sss
new area in British farming seems to be de-
veIoping from the experiments at the Cambridge
University farm at Impington. During the last
eight years all known varieties of wheat have
been collected. and, while most of them could
not be acclimatized. a few have been selected
for resistance to rust. good cropping capacity,
free milling quality. stiff straw, ETC., and have
been crossed with British wheats so successfully
as to promise an immediate increase in value Of
= -
barely and other plants is anticipated.
-
That Holsters are right and left-hand-
ed is a new discovery by Sir J. Crichton- Browne.
About 90 per cent. have sharp teeth only on the
right claw. but few have those teeth on the
left side.
A mechanical face is the chef d. oeuvre of DIR.
DeIaire, French surgeon. and replaces q mans
chin part of the lower jaw and the whole of the
upper jaw. part Of the tongue, and the entire
nose, all of which had been blown away by the
bursting Of a shotgun. When shown to the
Academy Of Medicine, the ingenious restoration
appeared quite natural at distance of ten or
fifteen feet. The man Is able to masticate his
food. and he speaks without serious difficulty,
but his face is taken on daily for washing. OF
the four parts making up the new feature. the
nst Is an apparatus Of silver and tin holding the
lower teeth. Nine upper teeth are fixed in q
plate Of gold and vulcanite. and this is kept IN
place By two small protubennces fitting into
the nasal cavities. while at the back is a gold
mechanism with hooks to fasten on the face
piece. The third part comprises the chin and
lower lip. with a false beard over the chin. two
small bolts passing through the teeth to TX the
lip to the artificial lower jaw. An upper lipand
49, frI fo4o ~.
attached. form the fourth part, which is fixed
BY two small clasps to the upper dental piece
and Jaw.
The fitting Of the ground in storms has been
studied by Prof. Omori. of Japan. In October.
1904 cyclone, the center of which passed over
the sea to the east, tilted the ground at Toxic
3k seconds toward the area of low pressure;
and in January, 1905. cyclone center passing
northeastward over the land near Toxic gave q
fitting first to the east and then to westward as
the low pressure moved onward, the total
change of inclination being 2.S7 seconds. The
ground rose under low pressure while in the
former case 1t sank-a difference explained by
the fact that the rise Of sea-level commonly
more than compensates for lowered air pressure,
so that the pressure on the sea bottom is actu-
ally greatest with low barometer.
81
Having noted Is cases of eczema of lips or chin
from tooth powders or liquid dentrifices. a Ger
man physician has investigated, peppermint oil
proving the common irritant, though other oils
sometimes have like effect.
~
The photograph of NJ. H. Turner, which has
been attracting attention in London, is a novel
telephone designed to give convenient COM
of business house or factory. A box foot
long, half as wide and third as deep, has two
recessed openings on its outer face, and a row
of switches along its base gives connection with
the different departments in the building.
Flexible wires lead to the regular system Of
conductors of the establishment. The openings
are transmitter and receiver, and special micro
phones of great sensitiveness focus and magni-
fy the sound waves. Speaking ia an ordinary
tone. the persons conversing may attend to their
usual work, walking about the room ten or If
teen feet from the instrument. The words spo-
ken at that distance from the transmitter are
loudly sounded at the receiver. but depressing
lever throws the loud-speaking attachment
out Of gear, when a small receiver at the side of
she box is held to the ear in the usual way.
"a
Even the splash of drop is of sufficient i'm
portance to receive scientific Investigation.
Prot. A. NJ. Worthington, of the Royal Engineer
ing College at Davenport. Eng, has found that
q drop of water falling into water excavates q
perfectly spherical hollow, which is lined with
the liquid of the drop, reaches its greatest depth
as the water rising attains its maximum height,
but is enormously greater in volume than the
water thrown out. With fall of so inches, the
pit has $50 times the volume of the elected
water, with fall of 10 inches A times.
a.
Suitable eyeglasses are reported to have re-
Gently cured victim of severe epileptic attacks,
after he had undergone two surgical operations
with no relief. The patients own conviction
that his eyes had something to do with his treu-
BILE was entirely disregarded as quite contrary
to all previous experience.
MORE TURs are now produced in the United
States than at any former time, the place of
beaver, offers and buffalo having been taken
by minks foxes skunks and muskrats. The
best fur dressers are the Germans, though
most of the skins they treat are imported. 1t
is an art that should be studied in this country.
IT Is officially reported that vessels in the
United States Navy have conversed with each
other by wireless telephones up to twelve
miles. The discovery, which was accidental,