SCIENCE NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 47

SCIENCE NOTES.

- . • The evidence 'supporting the sensational ' claim -of Dr Eugene Dubois that a genninelink between man and the apae had been discovered has been submitted to scientific meetings, and its substantial character is admitted by even tbs most conservative anatomists. 1 The remains were dug tip in 1892 from the , bank of the Bsngawjui River, in Java, where i they were enrroanded by bones of the hippo- ! potamus, the hyena, several species of deer, a | gigantic pagolin, and other atrinrals. Among all these bonea there were four— a wißdom tooth, a skull cap, a left femur, and a second molar— that undoubtedly represent an animal hitherto unknown. It seems quite , certain that the four bones belonged to one ] iadividnal, although they were Bcattared 50ft '' ;in the gravel. The skull has twice the iuternal capacity of any modern ape, but is j small for a man of the size indicated by ths ' femur. The femur is decidedly liuman, and its possessor must have walked erect, but ap to this the human remains have sever been , found in lower pleistocene deposits ; the i teeth are larger than human teeth, with a ' development that is characteristically simian. , Pithecanthropus erectus, as the animal is now known, seems to be assigned by all to a

place -between .existing man and -apes, bat opinions differ as to whether it was a manlike ape or an apa-like man.

• . ■ Professor Jtf'Keen OatteH, an American ■ psychologist, has been testing the memory of his students with a view to discover what degree -of reliance is to be plaoed on the testimony of quite honest witnesses. The subject Is 01 great legal importance, for It may Happen that an honest witness is discredited In the eyes of judge and jury by questions which indioate a failure of memory in some particulars. If, therefore, we had some sort of criterion as to the degree of reliance to be iplaced on the recollection of certain kinds (of Sacts, it would be a gain. Profeßßor ■Oattell asked his class to write an answer to the question, " What kird of weather wbb it a week past to-day ? " and to indioate the . degree of confidence with which they replied by meana of three marks signifying " ocr- i tainty," " doubt," " guesswork. The anewer -went far to show that the average person has about as much notion of the weather a weak : .past as he has of that a week to come. Not a tingle student of the class, numbering about ■ half a hundred, answered -correctly. Many : other questions were asked, with doubtful results, from which, however, it would seem ' that in general there is a tendency to overestimate weight and uodemtimate distance/ ! The forms of buildings and rooms were given .without mttob approach to acouracy.

' . * Wo axe all familiar with cases where travel, amusements, and constant ruah-. ing about from place to' place T»to baen recommended as curative agents .for people who have Bsstained great flhocke, ! or have had cause for deep aud heartfelt sorrow. "Medioal science Ebb demon- ' &!trated that vlolen't and depressing emotions ' cause many neiiona physical ills, and that it is almost impossible to restore health until tihe causes are xemoved. Wild creatures that have mourned themselves to death held in captivity have Iteen carafnlly examined. Although th»ir food web sufficient And of proper quality, and enough waß consumed to tuabain life under ordinary cSfcumbtances, tihe tissues were found to be in an unnatural condition, and all of the organs had undergone degeneration similar to that -brought j about by ordinary infectious diseases. Grief, ra short, generates a poison in the tysiem, and should be treated like many of the other ills of life brought about through poisonous , infections. The relations between mind And ' body are much closer in some persons than • in others. ''This state of things is not by any means confined to the higher orders of life, as death from grief or loneliness or captivity is not uncommon among creatures of all grades. It is supposed that the sudden and violent depression of spirits oausea chemical changes that develop toxic atoms of great j virulence; sufficient, indeed, to change the character- of the tißßues and cause degeneration in the blood and brain and spinal cord, j It is believed by 6ome excellent authorities ■ that what is known as softening of the brain may originate in a longing for something flfiat; the -patiant as ntiable to secure.

- . ' Science advises the use of fruit as an aid to digestion of other f cod*, such, for example, as apple sauce, little sweetened or, still better, sour apples baked, or, for more developed digestive aotion, the Taw apple or other imit. The mandate of science is that fruits Bhouid be used as an aid to digestion much more than they tire now. The fruits supply acids which particularly astist the acids of. the stomach. On the same ground, lemon juice in tea instead of sugar is helpful to digestion. Physicians now largely prescribe lemon juice to help weak digestion. A great many persons who -get ' up with bad feelings in the morning would find themselTeß cured if they regularly *te , an apple with a sßce ol Tsraad or Oth«r pi: in j food a little while before bedtime.

* . ' One of the most carious natural ! phenomena, and which has never as yet been explained by the philosophers, is that in . reference to the expansion of freezing water. The case of water is a singular exception to the natural laws of expansion by heat and contraction'^ cold which apply to all other known liquids. When wattr is freezing it contracts in bulk down to the point wfaere the mercury reaches the reading of 39£3 eg, or 7£deg above freezing, from whlbh point it slowly expands according to tbßiatecsity of oold. No other liquid is known to posses t this remarkable property, exoept that oertain metals expand slightly in passing from a liquid to a solid state. Bat if hoat be applied to water after it has o -soled down ton temperature of 39£deg (the point where it is ready to begin expanding should a greater degree of oold be applied) it will immoctl- , ately expand by the universal law. Bat should we lower the temperature to 32dag it will-ex-pand by its own spocial law. Another ■Gurious point to be noted h«re is this — that ' the amount of expansion is as in water lowered from -39$deg down to 32deg as It is , m water that has bean heated do that the ' temperature runs up Jtrom 39£3 eg to 47deg. These points are certaiely odd, and worthy of attention and experiment.

■ . ■ The glass used in the manufacture of leases of all Mods is •called optical glaes.a material which is heavier, whiter, and far more refractive than the material need for common pnrposes. Up to within recent years the TRTietles of .glass at the disposal of our opticians 'have been about half a dozen in , number, font now, thanks in greafc'measare to ( German enterprise and reßearoh, the list has , been considerably increased. TXzvr descriptions of glass -have made it possible to construct Jensas posse»nt\g properties which formerly would Lave beendeemed quite beyond achievement, and the most marked improvement has been seen In lenses intended > for photographic pnrposep. One of the most, racftnt of thsese is kaown ub the "CJooka " , lens, iind is tariniifaotnred by Messes Taylor, Taylor, and Hobaon, of Photographers will understand its value when it Is stated that, with fall aperture, fine definition i 3 secured up to the cages of fire -plate. It will be of vary great .service ior hand camera work. ■ . ■ R-'Ce&tily Thomas A. Edison said he was tired oi electricity and tvas going into J mining. Ha ooald easily turn his attention ] to raining without giving up his interest in , progresp, for electricity has present intimate connection with mining in all its branches. Just now lie is experimenting with ProJesßor Koentjeri's recent '"lay 3ia- ' covery " or "new light," and Is disposed to begin where others leave off. He is testing the value of the x-ray in connection with

metallurgy, and gives out probabilities <A practical developments in that direction.