SCIENCE NOTES,

Otago Witness, Issue 2202, 14 May 1896, Page 48

SCIENCE NOTES,

• . • The mescal plant, technically known as Anhalonium Lewinii, ia found in certain partß of Mexico, and amoDg the Klowa Indians is held to possess wonderful medical and physiological properties. The plant is a email cactus, having the general size and shape of a radish, and covered on the exposed surlace with the characteristic cactus prickles. So numerous and important are its medical applications, and so exhilarating and glorious its effects, according to the statements of the natives, that it is regarded as the vegetable incarnation of a deity, in consequence of which ceremonial eating of the plant takes place ; and this has become the great religious rite of all the tribe 3of the Southern plains. Despite the fact, however, that tbe use of the plant for medical and religions purposes is probably as ancient as the Indian occupancy of the region over which it grows, it is only quite recently that any scientific investigation has been made into its physiological effects. Investigations into its physiological action by Drs Prentioe and Morgan are, to say the least of it, disappointing. These observers have in reality nothing very remarkable to say respecting tte cflGotf. Poihasa tfea «awt noticeable

result of their inquiry was evidence to tbe I effect that mescal buttons possessed tbe power of production of visions of colour, and hence it is suggested that the plant should be given a trial in cases of colour-blindness, — Medical Press. I ■ . ' A balloon filled with automatic instruments was sent up recently in Paris, and ■ came down safely. The Instrument showed that it had risen to 17,000 metreß, 56,000ffc, or over ten miles and a«half." At that height the temperature outside .the balloon was 102deg below zero, while inside it was 12deg above. The apparatus for taking in a sample of the air seems to have worked satisfactorily, but the result will not be known until the analysis of ,its contents is made in M. Barthelot's laboratory. • . • The products from a ton of ordinary bituminous or gas coal may be reckoned as 1401b of coal tar and 15002b of coke, besides 20gal of ammonia water. The tar, when subjected to destructive distillation, will yield 6961b of pitch, 171b of oreosote, 141b of heavy oib, 9 51b of yellow napbtha,v6-31b of naphthalene, 4 751b of Baphthol, 2 251t> of alizarin, 161b of phenol, 121b of aurine, 1 lib of benzine, besides solvent naphtha, aniline, toluidine, anthracene, and toluene. From the latter substance saccharine Is obtained, which is reckoned to be 230 times sweeteV than the best cane sugar. • . • Professor M'Kendrick's series of six lectures at the Royal Institution. London, on " Sound, Speech, and Hearing," came to a conclusion in February. Perhaps the most interesting lecture was the concluding one, when the professor explained the mechanism by which insects, birds, and mammals produced the varied sounds peculiar to them. It was shown, experimentally, that the tones in the human voice came from tho vibratiops of the elastic folds connected with the larynx which are known as the vooal chords, and a model of the parts, in which the chords were represented by thin indiarubber capable of being tightened and relaxed by ! attached mechanipm, was made to sing the diatonic scale with accuracy. The model could also say " Papa " and •• Mamma," but here its vocal efforts ceased. We are reminded by these experimeats that a talking machine which employed iadiarubber chords, lips, palate, &c, was exhibited in London about 20 years ago. It was most ingenious in coust ruction, aud was worked by a keyboard. Unfortunately it took almost a lifetime to learn how to manage it, and then the results were not very satisfactory. It was of course totally eolipaed by the phonograph. ' . ' The Taka diastase is the name given to a ferment discovered by a Japanese chemist named Jokichi Takamine. It is sometimes called Taka Koji in the commercial form. The history of the discovery is a most interesting one. Takamiue, whilst studying at Glasgow under Professor Mills, thought he could obtain a better ferment than the one usually employed for brewing and distilling, and on returning to Japan he continued his studies, with Professor Atkinson, of Tokio -University, on mould growths. After many researches on many kinds of bacteria, Takamine discovered what he required In the mycelium of one of the Aspergillus family. Takamine'g discovery proves to us what modern chemistry can do, and we have in Taka Koji a remedy ponesßing two distinct properties — viz., the property of converting starch into sugar, and a fermenting property. These two properties may be separated. What we want in medicine is, of course, the diastatic property. The Taka diastase will digest nearly a thousand times its weight in starch. The new ferment promises to become the remedy for amylaceous indigestion. It may be taken in doses of one to five grains, either immediately before or after meals.. Taka diastase has now passed the ezpeiimental stage, and many excellent reports have been made from physicians of repute on its value. • . • The power of electricity to do heating under every variety of conditions, to handle all varieties of the atoms of matter, and to operate as a chemical and physical agent directly in and through all parts of the living system, necessarily gives it ivn almost unlimited field. Not only can It supply light by heating to brilliant incandescence either carbon or platinum, but it can no less readily fill any demand for heating, or for cooking by moans of heating. It, with great sureness and refinement of aclion, executes plating and electrotyping. Its immense and irresistible energy attacks with complete snocess the difficulties of smelting and of the reduction of refractory ores. It also comes to the help of the surgeon and tbe physician, on lines of medical efficiency almost coincident with those of creative energy. • . • Why do some violin bowa give euch a much sweeter sound than others ? This has for a long time bsen a tradu secret, but if we pass our finger over a horsehair, of which we all know the violin bow is composed, a slight; j roughness is observed very much like the barb of a fine fishhook. In a very firstclass bow these infinitesimal points are arranged so.as to fall in opposite directions ; in this way the up and down strokes will give the same tone. Many artists are very particular in the point of bows, some even Motmz to the estreEw of ifih&ii-kjg thok bows

themselves, not allowingjthem to be done by anyone else. As soon as 'he roughness wears off, there is a disfcinot difference in the ton*, and the hair is oast aside. Some of the moat noted violinists re-hair their bows before every conoert, not caring to run the risk of using a bow which might possibly give an uncertain sound. The bows are made from long hair taken from the horse's tail. * . ■ The regions of the Little Colorado River in Arizona abound in wonderful vegetable petrifications, whole forests being found in some places which . are as hard as flint, but which look as if but recently stripped of their foliage. Some of these stone trees are standing just as natural aB life, while others are piled across each other just like tbe fallen monarobs of a real wood forest. Geologists say that these stone trees were once oovered to a depth of 1000 ft with marl, whioh transformed them from wood to solid rook. The marl, after the lapse of ages, washed our, leaving some of the trees standing in an upright position, The majority of them, however, are piled belter skelter in all directions, thousands of logs being sometimes piled up on an aore of ground, ■ . ■ Our scales of heat measurement need thorough revision The degrees of Fahrenheit is tbe only thing to recommend his system. They are far better than the degrees of either the Centigrade or the Reaumur, which are nearly twice too large. The trouble with Fahrenheit is that it begins I with a false zero and an absurd boiling point, while the Centigrade has a positive zero and a positive boiling point ; were it not for the fact that lOOdeg are not sufficient to cover the length between the freezing and boiling point of water, the system would be nearly perfect. It is now suggested to do away with the minus sign in all practical meteorological observations and to adopt the Fahrenheit de- ! gree, but to place the Fahrenheit zero not less than 40cleg lower than at present. •.•Mr W. Gentsch has been exercising his brain on tha subject of Calming tbe sea. Soap has rcoently been praised as equally eflteotive as oil. Solutions of two or tbres par cent, are said to give satisfactory results. The captain of a French ship, the Sduegal, tried a solution of three kilogrammes of soap' in 37 litres of water (about 61b in 60 quarts) on the Adriatic, and obtained a quiet helt of about 30ft- in width. German statistics show, however, that this snap solution is useles* unless fairly concentrated. According to Admiral Clone, who lately reported to the Paris Academy, oil may be simply poured over tow, fish oils being by far the most suitable. The admiral says that the layer of oil floating on the waves could not be more than 1.90,000 th millimetre thlok. The effect is supposed to be due to an increase in the surface tension. In the opinion of Dr M. M. Eichter, of. Hamburg, it is essentially the oleic acid, whioh, though very eparelysoluble in water, particularly sea water, spreads with wonderful rapidity on the waves. TJiis would perhaps explain Oloue's observation on the advantage*) of fish oil. When the sea is to be calmed at a distance ahead, oil bombs are thrown. Some of these consist of an iron tube encased in wood, held by a*bag with a calcium phosphide cap in front to mark the position, and a combnstible valve block at the end to keep tbe discharge holes dosed ] until the projeotile is shot. Sometimes the oil capsule is projected by a sort of sling. An ! oil cylinder attached to a float was recently tested at Kiel aud Bremerhafcn with very good results.