| Show scientific miscellany A novel method of feeding plants grown in pots is credited M georges a french horticulturist the needs of the living plant are first ascertained by analysis when the salts necessary for a certain number of months are weighed out and formed into a pill by enclosure in a metal covering and the pill is planted in the pot the slowly diffuse through the metal without acting on it such regulation of the thickness of the metal and solubility of the salts being said to be possible as to give a pill to at last either three or six months it is not clear what advantages are expected to justify the expense of periodical analyses but it is stated that large well colored plants axe are grown in pots of less than half the usual size much of the danger attending the use of acetylene according to prof vivian B lewes may due to the making of the calcium carbide from impure materials an appreciable amount of sulphur phosphorus of silicia compounds in the coke may give als rise in the resulting acetylene to ed hydrogen and similar gases liable to spontaneous Agni ignition tion and giving off on combustion products injurious to health and to fabrics the pure acetylene can be decomposed abruptly into carvon carbon and hydrogen by contact with a detonator or by heat the danger however being slight between two atmospheres mo of pressure and grea teras the pressure increased the successful plating of aluminum with copper has been announce by a german named many objections to aluminum are thus overcome and the copper coating is so thin as not to add materially to the weight while the union of the two metals is so perfect that plates may be rolled or stretched without peeling the copper covered wires may be plated with silver or gold five or sax ax years ago so called dark meteors were observed by M du cel uee muller to cross the moons disc announcements of this discovery were received with much scepticism by astronomers tron omers some of whom that the dark bodies were birds in flight others that they were seeds floating in the air and still others that they were particles of dust in the eyes of the observer subsequent observations have proven beyond all ajl doubt if we may accept as conclusive a recent paper to the british astronomical society by mr fritz hopman that the objects are really bodies moving in space outside the earths atmosphere the size of these bodies varies greatly most of them appe appearing axing very small but two having looked as large as the lunar crater tycho and their apparent velocity also is very different for different meteors the passage across the lunar disc having occupied from a fraction of a second to three seconds the dark meteors have been seen passing before the sun too in considerable number curious s results have been agen obtained by M guillaume in experiments with bilth alloys of iron aud and to lo 49 8 per r cent of af the object of th ass eang to determine the most suitable for measuring instruments on accost permanence in length under v temperature A rule made of an anji ji with 26 per cent of nickel ana healed continued to elongate el kept at a lower temperature an containing 22 per cent of nickel banded on heating considerably than ordinary steel but with 37 cent of nickel the character of metal was entirely changed the scarcely expanding at all vaccination has received fresh 41 0 dor from the late severe epidemic 2 lc ic of smallpox small pox at gloucester england p dr sidney coupland reports a total 4 t f 1878 cases with deaths the mortas mortals 1 bl ity having been per cent amoo 0 eln the unvaccinated and only 98 per cent e 9 among the previously vaccinated vaccina ted ohly 3 cases moreover of the accounted severe were among the vaccinated vaccina ted f the severity of the epidemic is altri buted to the large number of W y bated children f the best color for school exer jerolee xe rolee boards is stated by an authority to jj cream white with ordinary cm crayons of sky blue and extra colors yellow and a clear dark green is the worst of all for the eyes the effects of seawater sea water on 3 during prolonged immersion have studied anew in france various m lie objects dredged from the ha brest having beell bee presented f for t A bronze harquebus arque bus s posed to date from the end of the 1 century was found to eo aoi somewhat more than 80 per cen copper about 9 per cent of sulpha sulp copper about 95 per cent of tin traces tracer of lead and the metal wa lelh an excellent state of preservation f was the case also it is recalled the bronze guns of the english i mary rose which were recovered i being under water years ca cast shot found at 91 brest however lat come so soft that they could 1 bia with a knife but wrought iron oba were w ere a little better kept having havin ae a of sound metal under the rust r st same effects op iron were noted note I 1 in n cannon cann on of the royal george e after ing sunk only 2 years while alchemy has been the united states the divining rod nis TTO gained a fresh hold in england fig i mystery of this instrument is explained by prof M E wadsworth of A michigan school of mines who has ha otten shown his classes that if any twig fork is grasped with the pal palal r upward the branches entering casp t clenched hands from the sides farthest wh apart the twig will bend down wai whenever the grasp is tightened ug ajas harder the grip the more it must musi atay water or no water mineral or ni n i miner ral the result must always be the baxa when the conditions are fulfilled as it can be easily understood prat wadsworth adds how an ignorant agnora at operator may deceive himself and ft perfectly honest in supposing that soft occult force and not his hands fo force the fork downward color hearing is found by dr W jb pa colman to be of two kinds in 90 transparent colored film seems to 4 t pear in front of the person on hearing certain sounds as those of the vowels musical notes or particular musical ma la 1 st in the second group grotty t letter or word wien when spoken or oi tha thi of lir is brought to view in a chart color dr colman regards i I 1 phenomena as associated sen sAti lt analogous t to shivering at elgi thought of an accident or at squeak streak of a slate peg the e axe are rarely the same in two ind |
