384 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the fibres, than to one transmitted along 

 them, the average difference being as seven 

 to one. In muscles that have passed into 

 the condition of rigor mortis (stiffening of 

 death), this difference almost entirely dis- 

 appears. A similar difference in the amount 

 of resistance offered to the passage of an 

 electric current is observed in the case of 

 the nerves, though the ratio is somewhat 

 less, being about five to one. 



New Fossil Fish. Sir Philip Egerton 

 has just described a new genus of fossil fish 

 from the lias of Lyme Regis, to which he 

 has given the name Prognathodus. Dr. 

 Giinther is of opinion that in its dentition it 

 establishes an additional piece of evidence 

 in favor of the connection between the Ga- 

 noid and Chimaeroid forms. 



The liability of glued articles to come to 

 pieces when exposed to the action of water, 

 especially hot water, is familiar to every one. 

 By adding to the water, with which the glue 

 is mixed when required for use, a small 

 quantity of bichromate of potash, and after- 

 ward exposing the part to which it is ap- 

 plied to light, the glue is rendered insol- 

 uble, and articles fastened with it resist the 

 action of water. The proportion of bichro- 

 mate of potash to be taken must be deter- 

 mined by experiment, but for most pur- 

 poses one-fiftieth of the amount of glue 

 employed will be sufficient. 



The Emperor William, who, during the 

 late war, became noted for his disinter- 

 ested generosity in ascribing the numerous 

 German successes to the favoring hand of 

 Providence, is now furnishing more sub- 

 stantial, and if possible more high-sound- 

 ing tokens of his regard, in the shape of 

 church-bells, which the Builder tells us are 

 being cast in great numbers from the can- 

 non captured from the French, for use in 

 German churches. 



Certain minerals, such as rose-colored 

 silex, native arsenic, and red arsenic, under- 

 go a change when the solar ray falls upon 

 them. The last-named mineral is reduced 

 to a powder, and its red crystals change to 

 orange-color. M. Jannetay, of the French 

 Geological Society, has studied the action 

 of the various luminous rays in this regard, 

 and finds that the red rays alone do not 

 alter the minerals in question. 



M. Louvel proposes to store grain in 

 air-tight granaries from which the air may 

 be partially exhausted by means of a pow- 

 erful air-pump. He claims that in this way 

 grain may be much better preserved from 

 decay, and the ravages of insects are effect- 

 ually stopped. The cost of such a granary 

 capable of holding 300 bushels of wheat 

 would be, in France, about 150 dollars. 



The subcutaneous injection of morphia 

 in cholera has been satisfactorily tried by 

 Dr. Augustus Werry, of Constantinople. In 

 from 15 to 20 minutes after the injection, 

 the patients fell into a calm sleep, and 

 awoke in two or three hours bathed in a 

 warm perspiration, and saying that they 

 were " well again." Dr. Werry treated in this 

 way 22 cases of cholera, presenting almost 

 every phase of the disease, violent vomiting 

 and cramps, dyspncea, reduced temperature 

 of the body, diarrhoea, weakened circula- 

 tion, etc., and always with beneficial results. 

 The dose of morphia injected varied from 

 one-twelfth to one-half of a grain. 



According to a correspondent in Har- 

 per's Weekly, the horned frog of our West- 

 ern plains is ovoviviparous, that is, produc- 

 ing eggs that are hatched before leaving the 

 mother's body, the young being brought 

 forth alive. He states that, while crossing 

 the plains some years ago, he carried with 

 him several of these animals, and, on ex- 

 amining them one night, found that 24 

 young ones had suddenly made their appear- 

 ance, each one about the size of a dime, and 

 all very lively. 



A certain M. Donac has recently laid 

 before the French Academy of Sciences a 

 project for liquefying dead bodies and trans- 

 forming them into a syrup without color or 

 smell. According to his calculations, a mod- 

 erate-sized man could be got into six bot- 

 tles. The size of each bottle is not stated, 

 but the Paris Journal appears charmed 

 with the idea, and exclaims, " What an open- 

 ing for the exercise of filial piety ! " Lan- 

 cet. 



One of the ostriches in the Zoological 

 Gardens, London, recently dying, an exami- 

 nation of the stomach showed the cause of 

 death to be copper-poisoning, that organ 

 containing a number of copper coins, and 

 pieces of coins in a much-worn state. 



The death is announced of Professor 

 von Mohl, the eminent botanist, who ex- 

 pired on the 1st of April last, at Tubingen, 

 aged sixty-seven. At thirty years of age 

 he was appointed Professor of Botany and 

 Director of the Botanic Garden, at Tubin- 

 gen, retaining the position until his death. 

 Since 1843 he has been editor of the Bota- 

 nische Zeitwig, and for the last thirty-five 

 years was one of the foreign members of the 

 Linna?an Society. Giving special attention 

 to the study of vegetable anatomy and phys- 

 iology, he has written extensively on these 

 subjects ; his works contain the result of 

 much original observation. 



Nature records the occurrence of seven 

 earthquakes in January last. Two were in 

 Central and one in South America, three 

 in India, and one in Asia Minor. 



