SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL

New Zealand Graphic, Volume X, Issue 13, 1 April 1893, Page 292

SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL

LATEST AN.ESTHETIC. The newest anaesthetic is named ‘ pental, discovered by Professor Von Mering in Halle. It is a preparation of tertiary amyl-alcohol, and is for small operations only. RAPID LETTER TRANSMITTED. It is stated that a Spaniard, Senor Barbozo.de Sousa, has invented an appliance for the submarine transmission of letters in pneumatic tubes of great length, by which a letter deposited in the tube at Rio de Janeiro would arrive in Europe during the same day. NERVOUS CENTRES. At a recent meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences a paper was presented by M. A. Chauveau, in which he gave reasons for believing in the existence of distinct nervous centres for the perception of primary colours. Thus, if'the light from the sky is allowed to shine on the closed eyes of a sleeper, the coloured object in the room will appear to him to be illuminated by a bright green light at the moment of waking from sleep. It is concluded that the green centres are those which first regain activity on the sleeper recovering consciousness. The experiment must be repeated many times with different persons before accepting ihis statement as a fact; and the question may be asked— Do not people perceive colours in dreams ? Green, however, is the colour which would be supposed to be most actively perceived, whether wide awake or only just recovering from a dream.

AN ELECTRICAL BICYCLE. An English inventor has piojected an electrical bicycle with batteries which will weigh forty pounds when filled, the entire machine’s weight having been computed at 155 pounds. KNOWING ANIMALS. Bortase tells a very interesting story of how a lobster got the better of an oyster. The lobster several times inserted his claws in the half-opened shell, but the oyster always closed in time to save himself. The lobster then seized a stone, and inserted it quickly into the cautiously-opened shell and devoured the oyster. Monkeys secure oysters by the same trick ; but there is nothing so remarkable in that, as their intelligence is well known. Kirby tells of the bees, that after repeated raids of the ‘ death’s head ’ upon their stores they build a sort of bulwark of wax about the hole of entrance to keep him out. Dnges observed a spider which bad seized a bee from behind, and thus hindered it from Hying. The stronger bee, however, had its legs free, and walked off with the spider, which tried to drag her into his den. The struggle lasted some time, when the spider lowered itself with its prey by a thread. The bee’s legs were useless in midair, and the spider clung to her until he had accomplished his full purpose.