POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



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present terminal moraine lies the former 

 extension of it, constituting naked plains ; 

 and below the still more ancient moraine, 

 showing the former size of the glacier, and 

 comprised of a series of well-wooded hills. 

 A muddy stream runs north from the end 

 of the glacier. 



Sensitiveness of the Leaves of the Com- 

 mon Teasel. On closely examining the 

 glandular hairs of the leaves of the common 

 teasel, Mr. Francis Darwin observed pro- 

 truding from them translucent, highly-re- 

 fracting threads, capable of spontaneous 

 movement. These filaments were found to 

 consist of protoplasm, containing a large 

 amount of resinous matter. They not only 

 possess the power of spontaneous move- 

 ment, but can also be made to contract 

 violently under the influence of sundry re- 

 agents, of temperature, electricity, or simple 

 mechanical irritation. In nutritive fluids 

 the movements are very remarkable. Thus, 

 in an infusion of meat, the filaments became 

 rounded or sausage-shaped, or very long 

 and bulky ; sometimes they coalesced with 

 one another, or again became completely 

 detached and floated freely in the fluid. 

 The movements resemble the " aggregation 

 movements " observed in the tentacles of 

 the Drosera. Mr. Darwin is of the opinion 

 that these anomalous structures are con- 

 nected both with the production of resin 

 and the absorption of nitrogenous matter. 

 In the adult teasel the leaves form, by their 

 union in pairs across the stem, large cups, 

 in which water collects, and in which in- 

 sects are caught. The decomposing bodies 

 of these insects form with the water a 

 strongly-nutritive fluid, which is absorbed 

 by the gland-hairs and their filaments. 



Gas as a Domestic Fnel. Gas as a fuel 

 for domestic use possesses many notewor- 

 thy advantages over all other kinds of fuel, 

 and there is, apparently, nothing to hinder 

 its universal substitution in place of grosser 

 fuels, save its greater cost. By using a gas- 

 apparatus, we may do away with dust, 

 smoke, ashes, cinders, and kindling-mate- 

 rial, save time and labor, and escape many 

 vexations. For summer use, gas-stoves 

 possess special advantages even on the 

 ground of economy. " It is desirable," 



says the American Gaslight Journal, " to 

 keep as cool during the heated term as is 

 consistent with the pecuniary and mechani- 

 cal means at our command ; therefore, we 

 should have our artificial heat so arranged 

 as to be used only when desired for active 

 work, and employed no longer than is neces- 

 sary. With a good apparatus, the gas act- 

 ually used for cooking and performing all 

 necessary fuel-labor, during the warm sea- 

 son, costs no more than the coal and kin- 

 dling used for the same purposes, and we 

 get the comfort, saving of time, convenience, 

 and sanitary influence, thrown gratuitously 

 into the trade." The case is diiferent when 

 it is proposed to employ gas for the purpose 

 of warming houses. "It is," the Journal 

 admits, " more expensive to run a gas-stove 

 for a given amount of heat than it is to run 

 a coal-stove for the same. Hence, when 

 the heat is to be continuous, the coal-stove 

 has the advantage so far as cost is con- 

 cerned." Our contemporary then suggests 

 to the gas companies the advisability of set- 

 ting up in houses of gas-consumers a special 

 metre connected with the heating and cook- 

 ing apparatus, and of selling gas for these 

 purposes at half-price, so as to encourage 

 the use of gas in this way. 



Impure Water fatal to Fish-Breeding. 



Mr. Seth Green takes advantage of an 

 accident which occurred lately at the State 

 fish-ponds, to caution people against draw- 

 ing off the water of old mill-ponds, except 

 they do it very slowly, especially in warm 

 weather. "Last week," he writes to Forest 

 and Stream, " the State ponds at Caledo- 

 nia came near losing all their breeding-fish. 

 The head of the stream is about one mile 

 above the ponds. Half of the water comes 

 out of the ground at the head of the stream, 

 and a dam was put across the creek sixty 

 years ago, about forty rods from the spring, 

 making a pond of several acres. It is full 

 of moss and all sorts of animalcula. Last 

 week the owner of the pond opened the 

 gates, and let the water down with a rush. 

 It killed all the trout in the stream for a 

 half-mile below, and if it had not been for 

 many large springs coming in on both sides 

 of the creek, all the trout in the stream and 

 ponds would have been killed, and it would 

 take many years to restock the ponds as 



