April 27, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NKW3. 



391 



©^enteral MoU$. 



Red Snow. — The curious phenomenon was observed 

 the other day in the Gail Valley, Tyrol. It appeared the 

 size of the hand on the white surface of the snow, and 

 when left to melt on a piece of paper there remained a 

 brick-coloured sediment. 



American System of Water-purification. — This 

 system, proposed by Dr. A. R. Leeds, consists of three 

 processes — artificial aeration under pressure, precipita- 

 tion by alum, and lastly, mechanical filtration under 

 pressure. 



A CURIOUS Drug.— Attention has lately been called to 

 an acid extracted from Gyinneina sylveslns, a climbing 

 plant from India. This acid deprives the tongue for the 

 time being of the power of distinguishing sweet from 

 bitter substances. It does not interfere with the taste of 

 saline substances. 



The Use of Cotton Oil as an Adulterant. — The 

 French papers seem at present much exercised concern- 

 ing the use of cotton-seed oil in the sophistication of 

 olive-oil. They pronounce the former oil a decided 

 poison. We must confess that we know no facts on 

 which this charge can be based. 



Two Forms of Deafness. — According to Dr. Boucheron 

 {Comptes Rendus), certain deaf persons do not hear the 

 fundamental sounds— those produced in the larynx — but 

 perceive the harmonic sounds produced in the pharynx, 

 the mouth, or the nose. Dr. Boucheron shows that there 

 are also inverse effects where only the harmonic sounds 

 are heard. 



Heating of Railway Carriages by Gas. — Experi- 

 ments have been in progress of he;iting railway carriages 

 by gas. The method adopted is the invention of Mr. 

 Foulis, Gas Engineer to the Corporation of Glasgow. The 

 feature of the invention is the placing of a small boiler 

 above the lamp, which is fixed in the usual way in the 

 roof of the compartment. The water in this boiler is 

 made to circulate by means of an arrangement of valves 

 through pipes, placed under the seats. The experiments 

 have been carried out in carriages belonging to the 

 Glasgow and South- Western Railway. 



Mirage.— On April 4th, for an hour or two, the coast 

 of East Lothian and east as far as St. Abb's Head was 

 seen as clearly from the High Common, Arbroath, as if 

 it were not ten miles distant. It was chiefly covered 

 with snow, while between the hills, there being no snow, 

 the surface was dark. So vivid was the mirage that woods 

 or even buildings could be seen with the naked eye, whUe 

 the general view extended for miles inland. 



To Break Cast-Iron.— According to the Iron and Sled 

 Trades Journal, a method of breaking large pieces of 

 cast-iron is to drill a hole in the part to be broken, say 

 one inch in diameter and of proper depth, a steel plug is 

 then fitted fairly tight to the hole, and then one half or 

 two-thirds of the hole are filled with water. If the plug 

 be inserted and driven down hard with a heavy hammer, 

 the desired result will be obtained. 



Preservation of Individuality in Schools. — Mr. D. 

 S. Marvin, in the Popular Science Monthly, points out the 

 necessity of giving free play to individuality of tastes, 

 faculties, and character. Nothing can be more fatal to 

 eminence than the notion of " Standards." From the 

 same reason military men are, of all others, the least 

 qualified to act as inspectors of schools, heads of colleges, 

 etc., since their entire training leads them to arrest every 

 manifestation of originality in persons placed under their 

 orders. 



What is Orosnes ? — Orosnes, the root of Stachys 

 affinis, much in use in Japan as an article of diet, is 

 coming into use in France and Belgium. The esculent 

 portion consists of small root-stems, of about the thick- 

 ness of a finger. The flavour is said to be not strongly 

 marked, but agreeable, recalling at once the artichoke, 

 the potato, and salsify. The plant is very hardy, 

 flourishes in poor soils, and bears the severest weather. 

 The crop is fit to gather in November.^^w/fe^w Agrie, 

 du Midi. 



Monument to Pierre Belon. — A statue to this emi' 

 nent naturalist has just been erected at Mans, more than 

 three centuries after his death. Belon was born at 

 Souletiere, a hamlet in the parish of Oise', in Maine, 

 about 1518. He studied medicine, travelled much in 

 Germany, Bohemia, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, and Asia 

 Minor. Besides an account of his travels he published 

 works on birds and fishes, and was engaged on a work on 

 agriculture, when he was assassinated in 1564 in the 

 Bois de Boulogne. 



Seeming Death and Premature Burial. — The 

 Journal des Savanls, in discussing the signs of death, 

 mentions three cases of resuscitation after apparent 

 death. In one of these the body, a General killed, as 

 it was thought, in the retreat from Moscow, had 

 been already buried, but was dug up with the object 

 of removing it to France, and was found to give signs of 

 life. In 1826 a young priest returned to life at the 

 moment when the Bishop of the Diocese was chanting 

 the De profundis over his supposed remains. 



Penalties for Adulteration in France. — A butter 

 merchant of Lisieux lately convicted of having sold as 

 "pure Normandy" butter, mixtures containing from 25 

 to 40 per cent, of margarine, was sentenced to three 

 months' imprisonment, a penalty of 3,000 francs and full 

 costs ; 20,000 lbs. of the mixture were confiscated. It 

 was further ordered that the sentence should be published 

 in 20 specified papers, and_posted on thedoors of the town 

 halls, and in the market places of three towns on three 

 consecutive market-days. — Analyst. 



A Shower of Mud. — ^^The Courier de F Europe records 

 a shower of blackish mud which fell at Naples, on 

 March 17th. Professor Palmieri shows that the phe- 

 nomena is very simple in its origin. Violent winds in 

 Africa raise up columns of dust and sand, which are 

 swept over the south of Europe. It readily happens that 

 rain, faUing through these clouds is rendered turbid. If 

 the dust is black there is a shower of mud. But if it is 

 red, ferruginous matter the rain is red, and we have the 

 stiU more alarming phenomenon of a "shower of blood." 



Bacteria !N Icf — According to Prudden (^Revue Scien- 



