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, FACTS AND FANCIES.J
FACTS AND FANCIES. J THE GRILLOT M. The machine employed in French ptlblio executions has the reputation of being the in- vention of Dr. Guillotin, but the ma.chinewas used long before the doctor had seen one. All he did was to publicly encourage a preference for this means of death as being painless, and in consequence someone, unhappily for the doctor's humanity, named the machine after him. The guillotine was really prepared by a German mechanic named Schmidt, under the direction of Dr. Antonine Louis, and hence at first was called a "louison," or louisette." And here it may not be out of place to men- tion the cognate error that Guillotin was its first victim. He nearly became a victim of the Revolution, but he escaped, and, after the end- ing of hie political career, he resumed his duties as a physician, and became one of the founders of the Academy of Medicine in Paris. He died May 26th. 1814, aged seventy-six, but the French Revolution died twenty years earlier. The first man executed by the guillotine was a highwayman, who died in 1792. 0 A MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT. The largest catch of fish ever taken in a single net was the 5,000 hogsheads, or about 1.100 tons, of pilchards taken off St. Ives, Cornwall, in 1861. The total catch was roughly calculated at 16,500,000 fish. The net was about a mile and a-half long, and the value of the take was some £ 11.000. ■ ♦ ELEPHAXT SOLDIERS. The Siamese Army has an elephant corps. Eight hundred of these animals, which are stronger, though smaller, than those of India, are organised into a special corps, commanded by a retired Anglp-Indian officer, and their heads, trunks and other vulnerable parts are pro- tected against bullets by indiarubber armour. » Ax EXCELLENT POTTER. Did you ever think of Nature as a potter? Why, she makes most wonderful pots, as well as bottles, jugs, and vessels of other kinds, out of gourds and calabashes, which are largely em- ployed for such purposes in the Tropics. But perhaps the most remarkable pottery of natural origin is a by-product, so to spe.ak, of a cactus plant. In the region south of the Gila River and west of the Sierra Madre, woodpeckers excavate nests in the trunk of the most gigantic of all cacti, which attains a height of 50ft., and branches, and to protect itself the plant emits a sticky juice, which soon hardens, foriring a woody lining to each hole made by a bird. Eventually the cactus dies, and being composed mainly of water, shrinks to a mere skeleton; but the bowls remain intact, and are used by the Indians for dishes. IT TAKES A LIFETIME. A piece of genuine Japanese lacquer costs the native artist almost a lifetime to perfect, and is produced by hundreds of thin coats of lacquer laid on at considerable intervals of time, the value consisting rather in the labour bestowed than in the quality of the material used. First- class lacquer work can scarcely be scratched by a needle. « RACE AND LONGEVITY. The coloured race is certainly shorter lived than the white, and has a very high infantile death-rate; it is especially liable to tuberculosis and pneumonia, and less liable than the white race to malaria, yellow fever, and cancer. The Irish race has a rather low death-rate among its young children, but a very high one among adults, due to a considerable extent to the effects of tuberculosis and pneumonia. The Ger- mans appear to be particularly liable to dis- orders of the digestive organs and to cancer. The Jews have a low death-rate and a more than average longevity: they are less affected than other races by consumption, pneumonia, and alcoholism, but are especially liable to diabetes, locomotor ataxy, and certain other diseases of the nervous system. fr. A LOXDOX EARTHQUAKE. The most severe shock of an earthquake experi- enced in modern times took place in London, March 8th. 1750. It was preceded by continued, though confused, lightning' till a minute, or two of its being felt: then a noise like the roaring of a park of artillery was heard, the houses reeled, and many of (hem fo'l in. Some damage was done to Westminster Abbey, and a number of chim- neys collapsed. ♦- — WHAT IS SICKNESS? That which we know as sickness is in reality but the effort of nature to overcome disease, eays Good Health. Nature is always kindly, al- ways benevolent, and is for ever seeking to over- come the follies growing out of the ignorance of mankind. Thna it is, that after a time of habitual violntion in mme way, or various ways, of the laws of our being, nature, to prevent the final catastrophe of death, steps in to compel a discontinuance of our vicious courses, and to de- mand the restoration of health. This creates a convulsion of the system, which manifests itself in accordance with the constitution of the patient and the nature of the violations of law. Sometimes it is fever, sometimes dysentery, neuralgia, rheumatism, cholera, or one or more of the ills that flesh is heir to. But whatever it is. it is but the outward evidence of the struggle of nature to restore to health a constitution vitiated by habits of indulgence, more or less protracted. and more or less pernicious. It fol- lows. then, as the nig-ht follows the day. that all healing efforts can have use and efficiency only as they work in harmony with and aid nature in this stniggle to restore health. ■ ■ ——-—— — — -i EGG AS CYREENCT. In some parts of Peru—for in the province of Jauja—hen's egrs are circulated as small coins, ten to twelve being counted for a shilling. In the market-places and in the shops the Indians make most of their purchases with this brittle sort of money. One will !!ive two or three egg's for brandy, another for indijro. and a third for cigar*. These eggs are packed in boxes by the shopkeepers and sent to Lima. THE RUSSIAN Cun. The Russian girl asserts herself in the world, and, as in the English-speaking countries, before she is a woman she is an individual. No one in Russia thinks the less of a girl for her wish to learn, to lead an independent life, and Wirth- fichaH" is not considered a unique occupation for a girl. If her scientific career is cut short, as it undoubtedly is sometimes, it is more for political reasons than any others. In appear- ance the Russian girl is oftener blonde than dark. She generally has a good figure and well- shaped hands and feet. She dresses well, for, like the Pole, she has the instinct for beauty that is characteristic of the Slavonic woman. From her earliest childhood, the Russian girl becomes the companion of her parents, a cus- tom that makes her sociable and at her ease with grown-up people. BLACK BABIES. The negro baby when it comes into the world presents a delicate pink colour, the second day it is lilac, ten days afterwards it is the colour of tanned leather, and at fifteen days it is chocolate colour. The colouring matter which lies between the layers of the epidermis is semi-fluid, or in the form of fine granulators; in the Indian it is red, and in the Mongolian yellow. It is influ- enced not only by sun and by climate, but by certain maladies, and the negro changes in tint just as the white person does. > IN the churchyard of a Welsh village there are four large yew trees, and a hollow in one of them, which is protected by a door, is used for storing coal needed to heat the church during the winter months. Japanese children begin to go to school when six years old. During the first four years they learn Japanese and Chinese; in the next four years every child has to learn English. The total demand of the world for champagne is about 22,000,000 bottles annually, a demand which can be readily met for some years to come from the supplies held in stock in the vast cool cellars at Rheitns, where one noted firm alone keeps a standing reserve of 9,000,000 bottles. The greatest distance that a shot has been fired is a few rods over fifteen miles, which was the range of Krupp's well-known monster 130-ton stem gun, firing a shot which weighs over a ton pad a quarter..
. SCIENCE NOTES & NEWS.
SCIENCE NOTES & NEWS. ARTIFICIAL GUTTA-PERCHA. 'Artificial gutta-percha for telegraph cables is a mixture of india-rubber and palm wax, having the same point of fusion as india-rubber. It melts at about 60deg. C., and as an electric non- conductor it has the same value as gutta-percha, though it is 35 per cent. cheaper. LIGHT ACTION ON GLASS. Changes in the colour of glass are caused by lubjecting it to the action of ultra-violet rays of light. Something of the same sort may be ob- served on high mountains, where old glass from bottles, originally green, after exposure to the light of a great elevation, becomes a beautiful pale purple. AGATE-CUTTING. The agate-cutting industry is centred at Ober- stein in Germany, whore the river Idar in its descent to the Nahe presents a succession of falls through a distance of twenty-four miles, and supplies power for some sixty polishing works. Precious and somi-precious stones are received for polishing from all parts of the world, and the development of the industry has necessitated the use of steam engines and electric motors in place of the water power originally employed. The agates are ground on sandstone wheels; the workman, lying horizontally, presses the agate against the grindstone, obtaining purchase by pressing his feet against a block fixed to the floor. An important branch of the industry is the preparation of blanks for cutting onyx cameos in Paris and Italy. The cameos are cut on stones that have layers of different colours, 80 that the design appears in white on a red, brown, or black ground. THE GENESIS OF THE PEARL. At a meeting of the Paris Academy of Science M. Edmond Perrier, the well-known naturalist, made public an extremely interesting communi- cation which he had received from M. Seurat. This gentleman has been making some very painstaking researches at Tahiti with respect to the genesis of the pearl, and his investigations are likely to alter very materially the prevalent idea as to how the pearl is formed. M. Seurat states that the gerin of the pearl round which the substance is formed composing the pearl is a parasite of the oyster and the giant skate, in the intestines of which it is developed and repro- duced. The parasite is a little tenia of the genus tylocephalum. The fact that pearls are found in fresh water shells goes to shew that another fish in all probability acts the part of the skate in fresh water. A METEORIC MYSTERY. For a quarter of a century museums and col. lectors throughout the world have eagerly sought specimens of the meteoric iron from Canon Diablo, in northern Arizona. This iron has become famous from the number and size of the fragments, from the minute diamonds found in some pieces, and from peculiarities of the locality. It now appears that the crater of Coon Mountain, or Coon Butte, must have r. pro- duced by collision with the earth of the very large meteorite, or possibly small asteroid, which these fragments represent. The investi- gations have shewn that the formation of the crater and the deposition of the meteoritic mate- rial were simultaneous, that meteoritic material has been found 500ft. below the surface of the crater's centre, and that sandstone, supposed to be in place, exists at a depth of less than 1,000ft. The crater had been previously attributed to vol- canic steam explosion. IGUANODONS IN BRUSSELS MUSEUM. Probably the finest collection of the remains of that remarkable reptile the Iguanodon in the world is that in the Royal Museum of Natural History, Brussels. So great is the number of specimens that a special gallery in the museum has been set apart for their display. The iguanodon. a huge herbivorous reptile, which habitually walked upright on its hind legs, was first found in the Woalden of Tilegate Forest in Sussex by Dr. Mantell—the name Iguanodon be- ing given on account of the resemblance of the teeth to those of the little American lizard, the iguana. The Wealden rocks near Mons, in Belgium, occupy a remarkable position, and the renin in? of iguanodon in them were discovered in a:) jn teresting way. These Wealden strata, in fact, fill up a subterranean valley in the Coal Measures of Hainaut, some 800ft. in depth, and running east and west. This valley has bran th- ing out from it at right angles into the sur- rounding coal measures deep, narrow gorges, also filled up with Wealden strata. In driving a gallery in the colliery of Bernissart, at a depth of 1,056ft.. the miners came to what they would call a fault—the coal seams came to an end, and the rocks were replaced by others of a dillcrejit character, seams of fine sand and day. It was one of these old ravines filled up wiih the much younger rocks of the Wealden. b these sands and clays the remains of iguanodon were found. In some cases the bones of the skeleton were all in place, shewing that the animals had been entombed entire. These re- mains were carefully collected, and in three years twenty-nine skeletons of iguanodon, besides crocodiles, tortoises, a salamander, and many fishes and plants, were obtained. The bones, being fragile, were covered with plaster as they were laid bare. The study and restoration of these bones was undertaken by Dollo and Bou- langer, and they are now set up in their special gallery in the Brussels Museum. The spe. ies was named Iguanodon Bernissartiensis, after the colliery of Bernissart, where it was discovered. It thus commemorates the immense service which mining may render the science of geology. ETHERISED PLANTS. At Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., extensive experiments in the etherisation of plants have been under way for some time, under the djrcc. tion of Professor Craig, head of the horticultural department. The objects of the work, says the New York Tribune, are to test the efficiency of ether on the forcing of such herbaceous perennials as aquile- gias, golden glows, and astiibi japonicas, bulbs of the narcissus, tulip, hyacinth, Easter lily, and of various miscellaneous plants, to determine, if possible, the number of hours plants should bo exposed to ether to obtain best results, to acquire an idea of the amount of .ether required, to test the use of ether on forcing of rhubarb and aspa- ragus, to see if common shrubs respond alike to the action of ether, to determine whether it is possible to ripen berries, and thus make saleable for Christmas such plants as the aucubas, and, finally, to obtain an idea of the efficiency of the FORCING OF PLANTS BY ETHER from the commercial standpoint. The shrubs are obtained in the fall shortly after the cold weather has set in, and are placed in a room where the temperature is kept as near freezing as possible. When plants are required for use they are taken out a few hours before placing them in ether, in order that they may become comparatively dry before etherisation. The etherising apparatus consists of an airtight, galvanised iron box, made especially for this pur- pose, 3ft. 3in. by 2ft. 6in. It contains two tran. rendering it possible to have three tiers of bulbs or plants undergoing the experiment at onc{'. The trays are composed of heavy wire mesh, in order that the other may permeate every part of the box. In order to render the box absolutely airtight, the cover is so made that it fits down about 5in. over the body of the box, resting on a flange or ridge which is overlaid with thick felt. Precautions being taken to clamp the lid on firmly, the box is practically airtight. In plac- ing such plants as aquilegias, golden glows, and Bpirssas, in the box care must be taken to re- move as much dirt as possible from the roots, giving the ether free access. Shrubs, lilacs, &c., are placed in the box without being potted. When the preliminary work is completed, a small ball of felt containing the required amount of ether is introduced into the airtight box, and the lid clamped down as rapidly as possible. When removed, after twenty-four, thirty-six, or forty-eight hours, as the case may be, the plants are aired 'before being placed in the forcing- house. Other specimens of the same plant, known as check plants, are put at their side to enable the experimenter to MAKE HIS COMPARISONS. The lilac has given the best results, etherised lilacs coming into bloom from eight to ten days earlier than the untreated ones. With Japanese quince and deutzia the results are not so marked. Under the head of herbaceous plants, golden glows or aquilegias gave little or no results, while on the other hand spiraeas sestiboides shewed the action of ether in a most remarkable manner, the ,I.,nt, cominer into full bloom from ten
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Odd Bits. Will you £ Vitut me one last fa.vour before I go V asked the rejected suitor. Yes. George, I will," sho said, dropping her eyelashes and getting her lips into shape. What is the favour 1 can grant you?" "Only a little song at the piano, please. I am afraid there is a dog outside waiting for me, and I want you to iscare him away." Mike McCarty and Ja.cob Schmidt were fishing from a pier one day, and finally one of them bet the other that he would catch the first fish. The other took the bet, the two kept on fish- ing earnestly until noon. It was a warm day, and Schmidt, overcome by the heat, fell over- board into the water. This aroused McCarty, who also was dozing. "If you're going to dive for thim the bet's off," he said to his companiom struggling in the water. Jones asked hi.) WHO: Why is a husband like dough? He expected she would give it up, and he was going to tell her it was because a woman needs him but she said it was because it was hard to get off her hands. Were your theatrical entertainments for charity a success?" asked one girl. "Yes, in- deed! We got £ 5 8s." "Really! You must have had a large audience." "No, we took in 8a. at the ticket-office, and father gave us £ 5 never to do it again," Anxious Old Lady (oil steamer): I say my good man, is this boat going up or down. Surly Deckhand: ""Well, she's a iea.ky old tub, mum, so I shouldn't wonder if she was going down; tben, again, her b'ilers ain't none too good, so she might ffo UD
. SCIENCE NOTES & NEWS.
days to three weeks before the unetherised. Khu- barb treated in a like manner was ready to cut five days before the untreated rhubarb, and yielded a much larger proportion of edible stocks. In the case of asparagus, a remarkable pheno- menon was observed. The plant grew riotously, becoming tall and spindly, and was absolutely unfit for use. The stately Easter lily shews indi- cations of blooming from one to three weeks be- fore the unetherised sample. The use of ether on plants marks a revolution in horticulture. The whole subject is still in the experimental stage, but Its supporters predict more startling results to come. The specimens subjected not only grow with increased rapidity, varying with the particular specimen, but the flower seems to attain a fuller bloom and maturity.