378 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



question, only 182 had escaped ophthal- 

 mia; 163 had suffered from one attack of 

 the disease, 151 from two attacks, HO 

 from three, 75 from four, 54 from five, 58 

 from six, 22 from seven, 25 from eight, 7 

 from nine, 11 from ten, and 204 from more 

 than ten attacks. In a considerable pro- 

 portion of these cases sight would event- 

 ually be greatly impaired, and in many it 

 would be wholly lost. 



Portuguese Agriculture. The art of 



agriculture is in a very primitive state in 

 Portugal, the instruments of husbandry em- 

 ployed being very little different from those 

 in use during Roman times. Two kinds 

 of ploughs are used, both very rude. The 

 harrow, too, is of the rudest construction, 

 having 15 to 20 teeth of iron or wood, set 

 quincunx fashion into a strong, oblong- 

 square wooden frame, with one cross-bar. 

 As a substitute for the roller, the harrow 

 can be reversed, loaded with stones, and 

 drawn sledgewise over the land. The hoe 

 is indispensable in Portuguese field-hus- 

 bandry ; ground can be prepared by it for 

 seeds, or for planting, more quickly than it 

 can be dug by a spade, though it is less 

 completely stirred and turned over. The 

 cart has two low wheels of solid wood, 

 with iron tires, fixed immovably to an axle 

 which revolves with them. The yoke is 

 fixed to the necks of the oxen, or, in some 

 localities, to the horns. 



Lightning among a Flock of Geese. A 



singular occurrence, which took place on 

 March 16th, in the northern part of Sutter 

 and the southern part of Butte Counties, 

 Cal., is narrated as follows in the Sutter 

 Banner: "On that day, just before sunset, 

 a large thunder-cloud came up, apparently 

 from the northeast, accompanied by an un- 

 usual amount of chain-lightning. First a 

 small amount of hail fell, and then followed 

 sufficient snow to whiten the ground. As 

 the hail began to fall, and the lightning 

 flashed, thousands of wild-geese, which 

 were in the ponds of shallow water which 

 exist in that locality during very wet win- 

 ters, suddenly rose up in a great flutter, as 

 if many hunters had discharged a volley 

 among them. They went up and up, ap- 

 parently to rise above the fearful cloud. It 



was nearly dark, and those who saw them 

 rise thought no more of it until morning, 

 when they began to find dead geese, and 

 hear of hundreds being picked up by the 

 neighbors. Some 700 were found. One man 

 picked up on his farm all that two horses 

 could haul. Their heads were badly torn, 

 and their bills split into fragments. The 

 portion of the country thus affected was 

 about a mile and a half wide, and reached 

 several miles into Butte County. The ter- 

 rific lightning in this cloud was witnessed 

 by people on the Honcut, in Yuba County, 

 and in the central portion of Sutter. The 

 thunder was heard at the distance of twen- 

 ty miles." 



Artificial Furs. Anew method of treat- 

 ing fur has been patented in England, by 

 Mr. Joseph Tussaud, one of the proprietors 

 of the well-known wax-work establishment 

 founded by Madame Tussaud. Mr. Tussaud 

 removes the hair or fur from the skin, sub- 

 stituting for the latter an artificial skin. 

 First, the piece of fur to be treated is 

 soaked in lime-water, for the purpose of 

 loosening the hair. Then it is washed in 

 water, and hung up to dry. Next, it is laid 

 on a board, with the hair-side up, and a so- 

 lution of glue applied, care being taken not 

 to disturb the natural position of the hairs. 

 The glue having dried and become hard, 

 holds the hairs so firmly as to allow the 

 natural skin to be pulled off. An artificial 

 skin is now applied to the roots of the 

 hairs, by pouring over them liquid India- 

 rubber, boiled drying-oils, or other water- 

 proof substances, which, on drying, will 

 form a continuous membrane supporting 

 the hairs. The glue is then removed by 

 steeping the fur in warm water. Furs pre- 

 pared in this way are moth-proof, and su- 

 perior to the natural skin for many pur- 

 poses, such as mats, rugs, etc. After the 

 removal of the hair, or fur, the skins are 

 still available for the manufacture of leather. 



Siamese Medicine. A Siamese manual 

 of medicine contains the following recipe for 

 a poultice to cure snake-bite : " Take the 

 eyes of vultures, crows, and cats, together 

 with three sorts of animal deposits found 

 on trees ; mix all these together, then place 

 nine wax-candles on as many floats made of 



