l^esf American Scientist. 149 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



M. De Valayer claims to be the inventor of the postage stamp. 



The first daily newspaper appeared in 1702. 



Two human vertebrae found at Saratoga Bay are regarded by 

 Prof Heilprin as conclusively proving the existence of prehistoric 

 man in Florida at a very remote period. 



It appears that there are now inhabited cave dwellings in 

 Saxony. They are dug in a sand -stone hill, have different rooms, 

 light and dark, as well as chimneys, windows and doors, and are 

 said to be very dry and habitable. 



Five attempts have now been made to replace the diseased 

 human eye by the healthy eye of an animal, and in one case the 

 experiment has been successful. 



An Italian physician recommends the daily administration o^ 

 about 75 grains of borax as a preventative of cholera, his obser- 

 vations having shown that workers in borax factories in cholera 

 districts always escape the disease. 



The world's 94 geographical societies contain 48,600 members. 



The postage stamps of Russia are the only ones in the world 

 printed in water colors. 



A TWO FOOT RULE. — Keep your feet dry. 



A German investigator, Semmola, has succeeded in producing 

 musical tones from a metal plate by electrifying it intermitantly 

 from an induction machine, the wires being attached to opposite 

 sides of the plate and the path of the current interrupted so that 

 sparks strike across. 



Nitro-glycerine is probably the most popular of the new 

 remedies recently adopted by physicians. 



The larger animals are beir^g rapidly exterminated in Algeria, 

 and the lion of the desert is fast becoming a myth. During the 

 eleven years from 1873 to 1884 bounty was paid on 202 lions, 

 1214 panthers, 1882 hyenas and 27,000 jackals. 



An autograph letter of George Washington recently brought 

 $75 at auction. 



An unusual number of white varieties of animals have been 

 noticed it Germany this winter. A white chamois was shot in the 

 Totengebirge, a white fish- otter was caught near Luxemburg, 

 white partridges were shot near Brunswick, and a white fox was 

 killed in Hessen. 



It appears that the crocodile, like the faith which formerly 

 esteemed it sacred, is practically extinct in Egypt. The steamers 

 plying the Nile have had more to do with driving it from that 

 river than the guns of sportsmen, according to Prof, A, H- Sayce. 



The medical school of Japan is 1,100 years old. 



