SCIENCE, LITERATURE, &c.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6063, 23 April 1881, Page 3

SCIENCE, LITERATURE, &c.

': : *— Water iu which flax has been steeped not only kills fish, but is injurious to vegetation. The steam engines of the globe represent, according to the latest estimates, the power of a milliard of able-bodied men. The best weeds from which to make the ashes for the extraction of iodine are said by Dr. . Thiercelin to be two varieties of the Fucus digitalis. He has succeeded in obtaining from the plant 3 per cent, of iodine. Some of the luminous protuberances on the surface of the' suiV since the late period of activity began, have been estimated by ■VI. T. Thbllon to have attained a height of 100,000 kilometers. -.■■'.!.-• The Journal de Pharmacies gives the following receipt for a mucilage which will unite wood or mend procelain or glass : To B.V ounces of a strong solution of gum arabic add 30 grains of a solution of sulphate of alumina dissolved in S of.ari ounce of water. Dr. Sauvage is said to have discovered the remairs of a reptile allied to serpents in the upper green saud formation of Charente. Hitherto fossil serpents'have not been met with in strata older thau the Eocene. The above reptile is stated to be quite a new form. A serins of scientific experiments in France, relative to the means of preventing the slipping of the wheels of a locomotive on tho rails, lias shown that the higher the rate of speed the greater the slipping, and that it is always more on a down than on.-a rising grade.. M. de Beaumont, the President of the Geographical Society of Geneva, proposes that longitude, .instead of being reckoned from Greenwich, Paris, Ferro or.Washinyton, as at present, shall be reckoned from an initial meridian passing through Behring's Strait, between North America and Asia. Like gold, tin ore is found only in association with very ancient rocks and, so far as has yet been ascertained,'has been detected only in veins traversing granite, gneiss, mica and other slates. It resembles gold furthermore in the fact that it is generally found anion;; the detritus of ancient river beds whence the name of stream tin. If a person of fair complexion exposes himself to the electric light for some time in examining the action of lamps, the hands and checks will show all the symptoms of "sunburn" even in midn-inter, and he will develope freckles on his countenance as quickly as when he goes about unprotected by a sun-umbrella in midsummer. The new nautical instrument, the navisphere, has been brought to the attention of the French Academy. It indicates without calculation the names of the stars above the horizon at a given moment, with altitude and azimuth, the angle of route for Rome; from one point to another by the arc of a great circle, and the distance between these points, &c. An article in Les Mondes states that pure coal, heaped up for nine months of a year, unprotected from the weather and not allowed to become heated, is changed no more than it would have been in a perfectly dry locality. As long as any increase of temperature does not exceed certain bounds, as from 340 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit there

is no appreciable loss of weight. Dr. Maclaren of Edinburgh, Scotland, states that the types of insanity have chauged within modern times. For instance, acvitc delirious mania is now- comparatively rare, but mental enfeeblement attended with paralysis is becoming more and more common, and ia the result of the overwork and worry of the struggle for existence of the present day. The Achard electric brake is a new French invention which operates on the wheel brakes by means of electricity generated during the motion of the train and applied at pleasure. The experiments so far have been successful, a loaded train having been stopped in 000 feet. Friction is applied to a cylinder under the car in about -the same way that air pressure is used in the Westinghouse system. The .Russian Government is well pleased with the new torpedo-boat called the Batoum, which has been thoroughly tested in the Black Sea. This vessel is 100 feet long, and carries two torpedo guns built into her hull forwaid, for discharging Whitehead torpedoes. In the boats of the same class now building there will be three torpedo guns forward instead of two. The Batoum behaves excellently at sei, and makes 22 knots an hour.