July 27, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



79 



General &ott$. 



The French Academy of Sciences. — Professor Langley, 

 of the Allegheny Observatory, has been elected, by a 

 large majority, a corresponding member of the Academy 

 for the astronomical section. 



The Adulteration of " Spanish Juice." — According 

 to Mr. B. Dyer, F.C.S., the substance sold as Spanish 

 juice is largely adulterated with starch and glucose. The 

 worst samples are those of French origin. 



Anti-rabic Hospitals. — According to Cosmos there 

 now exist in the world twenty-three establishments for 

 the preventive treatment of hydrophobia on the principle 

 of Pasteur, and all conducted by his pupils. 



The United States Signal Service. — It appears pro- 

 bable that this department, which has rendered such 

 signal services in meteorology, will be administered in 

 future by civilians instead of, as heretofore, by military 

 men. 



Expedition to Lapland. — A Russian expedition, under 

 the direction of M. Bashlund, an eminent astronomer, 

 will be despatched to Lapland in August or September. 

 M. Latkin, a St. Petersburg merchant, is providing the 

 necessary funds. 



Small-Pox in Martinique. — In this island, containing 

 a population of only 170,000 persons, there have been 

 already, according to a communication of Dr. Talairach to 

 the Academy of Medicine, 2,300 deaths from this disease. 

 The epidemic still continues. 



Joint Action of Air and. Light upon Metal 

 Plates. — MM. Bichat and Blondlot communicate to the 

 Academy of Sciences that if the rays of an arc-light are 

 thrown upon a sheet of brass, and a current of air is 

 directed against it at the same moment, a well marked 

 electric action is set up. 



Carbo-Dynamite. — In this explosive, patented by 

 Messrs. W. Borland and W. Reid, the nitro-glycerine is 

 combined with carbon instead of kieselguhr. Its explo- 

 sive force is greater than ordinary dynamite, owing, it is 

 said, to the carbon absorbing a greater quantity of nitro- 

 glycerine than the kieselguhr. 



Discovery of an Old Road. — In making the Manches- 

 ter Ship Canal an old footpath or road has been discovered 

 near Netherpool, about a mile and a-half from Eastham. 

 The road is fifteen feet below the surface ; it is paved in 

 the centre with pebbles or boulders from the shore, and 

 the curbs are built of blocks of red sandstone. 



Brandy from Sawdust. — A certain Herr Zeterlund, by 

 boiling sawdust with hydrochloric acid under pressure, is 

 said to have converted a part of it into glucose, from 

 which alcohol was then obtained by the ordinary process. 

 He calculates that each hundred-weight of air-dried 

 sawdust might be made to yield at least 27 quarts of 

 a 50 per cent, brandy. 



The Effects of Emancipation on the American 

 Negro. — A medical contemporary states that the deterio- 

 ration of the race, physically and socially, is unquestion- 



able. Before the secession tuberculosis was almost un- 

 known upon full-bred negroes ; to-day their death-rate 

 from this disease is twice that of the whites. Insanity, 

 also, is becoming fearfully prevalent among them. 



Arsenical Glucose. — According to the Journal des 

 Brasseurs arsenical glucose, i.e., containing arsenic 

 derived from the sulphuric acid used in its production, 

 is met with in commerce, and may be used in brewing 

 and in the preparation of articles of food. The Societe 

 (F Encouragement pour V Industrie Nationale offers a prize 

 of 2,000 francs for the production from pyrites of sul- 

 phuric acid free from arsenic. 



Silpha Opaca. — We have already referred to the fact 

 that this beetle has developed a taste for beet, and is 

 giving French farmers a good deal of trouble. According 

 to Miss Ormerod, this carrion beetle has also developed 

 a taste for mangolds, and she has just issued a caution to 

 farmers, but unfortunately no remedy is known which 

 will check the depredations of the insects if they appear in 

 sufficient numbers. 



The Hittites. — It seems probable {American Natura- 

 list) that the renowned Hittite city, Carchemish, is to be 

 sought at the site of Jerablus, from which the British 

 Museum obtained, a few years ago, most of the Hittite 

 monuments in its collection. The heads sculptured in 

 these monuments are in many cases adorned with a pig- 

 tail, similar in shape and position to that worn by the 

 Chinese. The wearers of the pig-tail have Mongolian 

 countenances, and it seems that a Mongolian race had 

 obtained supremacy in some of the Hittite cities. 



Grasses. — Mr. W. Wilson, jun., of Alford, N.B., has 

 made some interesting observations on the growth of 

 grasses. He found the first to appear above ground is 

 the vernal grass, and is of opinion that it would make an 

 excellent early fodder if introduced into sheep pastures. 

 The crested dog's tail persistently throws up leaves 

 throughout the year, and Mr. Wilson thinks that 

 in many situations a liberal introduction of it would 

 afford succulent food for the whole season. Red, hard, 

 and sheeps' fescue were the latest grasses to start into 

 activity. 



A New Thermometer. — A new thermometer for 

 measuring the temperature of the air has been con- 

 structed by R. Assmann. In order to protect it from 

 influences of radiation and other sources of heat, he in- 

 serts the bulb of the thermometer in a metal tube which 

 is open at its lower end. An aspirator is fastened to the 

 tube near the bulb, and a continuous current of air of 

 about seven feet velocity passes the latter. Thus it 

 assumes the true temperature of the air. The tube is 

 made of highly-polished nickel-plated brass, in order to 

 protect it from radiation. Experiments show that this 

 thermometer gives entire satisfaction. 



Influence of the Moon. — A recent writer upon the 

 subject mentions that at the Cape and in India wood- 

 cutters insist that at full moon timber is full of sap and 

 unfit for cutting. At the Cape, nuts and other provisions 

 are said to spoil rapidly if exposed to moonlight, though 

 this may be due to the fact that the light serves as a 



