KIDD’S OWN JOURNAL. 
multiply by 2.25, andadd 32. To reduce degrees 
Reaumur below zero to degrees Fahr., multiply by 
2.25, and subtract from 32.] 
The Value of Observation.—Many people are 
too apt to take things upon trust. By so doing, 
they often commit serious error, and do a positive 
injury to science. For instance, it was objected 
(says Archbishop Whately) to the System of Co- 
pernicus (when first brought forward), that if the 
earth turned on its axis, as he represented, a 
stone dropped from the summit of a tower would 
not fall at the foot of it, but a great distance 
to the west—in the same manner as a stone 
dropped from the masthead of a ship in full 
sail does not fall at the foot of the mast, but 
at the stern ofthe ship. To this it was answered, 
that a stone, being part of the earth, obeys the 
same laws, and moves with it; whereas it is no 
part of the ship, of which, consequently, its 
motion is independent. The solution was ad- 
mitted by some and opposed by others; and the 
controversy went on with spirit. Nor was it 
till one hundred years after the death of Co- 
pernicus, that the experiment being tried, it was 
ascertained that the stone thus dropped from 
the head of the mast does fall at the foot of it. 
How requisite it is, my dear Sir, for everything 
to be fully proved before it be put forth as fact! 
—Heten W. 
[Your observation is very just. We are daily 
discovering that many things recorded as facts 
(particularly in natural history) were merely 
surmises. Later experiments have fully proved 
this. ] 
How to obtain perfect Impressions from the 
Leaves of Trees and Plants.—Allow me, my dear 
Sir, to present the following recipe to the notice 
of the readers of our Journau. It is not, I 
believe, new, but possibly will be so to many; 
and it may be the means of affording them a 
little pleasant and instructive occupation for 
their leisure hours:—Take a small quantity of 
bichromate of potash (say a teaspoonful), which 
may be had at any druggist’s or colorman’s 
shop; dissolve it in a saucerful of water. Then 
pass the pieces of paper, on which the impressions 
are to be taken, through the solution; and, while 
wet, press the leaves, &c., lightly upon it, and 
expose it to the sun—which should be shining 
powerfully. When quite dry, remove the leaves, 
and a perfect fac-simile will remain in a light 
lemon shade, while the rest of the paper will be 
of a dark brown tint. Bichrome, as it is gene- 
rally termed, is in dark yellow crystals. It 
should be powdered previous to using it.—J. R. 
The “ Life” im an Oyster.—The liquor of the 
oyster contains incredible multitudes of small 
embryo, covered with little shells, perfectly trans- 
parent, swimming nimbly about. One hundred 
and twenty of these in a row, would, it is calcu- 
lated, extend one inch. Besides these young 
oysters, the liquor contains a great variety of 
animalculee, five hundred times less in size, which 
emit a phosphoric light. Nor does the list of 
inhabitants conclude here ; for besides these last 
mentioned, there are three distinct species of 
worms, called the oyster worm, half-an-inch long, 


125 
found in oysters, which shine in the dark like 
glow-worms. The sea-star, cockles, and mussels, 
are the great enemies of the oyster. The first 
gets within the shell when they gape, and sucks 
them out. While the tide is flowing, oysters he 
with the hollow side downwards ; but when it ebbs 
they turn on the other side.—Viotxet, Worcester. 
Germination of Old Seeds ——Humboldt states 
that an aqueous solution of chlorine possesses the 
property of stimulating or favoring germination. 
Its action is so decided as to be apparent on old 
seeds, which will not germinate under ordinary 
circumstances.—R. O. 
Strange Fish—In the Mediterranean, Chin- 
nereth, and Semechomitis, as also in the Jordan, 
are found many kinds of fish, which are neverthe- 
less essentially different from the European ones. 
Some are found which weigh thirty pounds. In 
the sea near Jaffa, there is found at times a species 
of fish which emits a phosphorescent light in the 
dark, not unlike rotten wood. This peculiar pro- 
perty of the fish is only destroyed when it is put 
over the fire, or immersed in hot water. There 
is found likewise, in the sea Chinnereth, a very 
fat fish, called Al Barbud. It has no scales; 
therefore it is not eaten by the Jews. There are 
two kinds of fish known as Shebuta, Al Sabuta; 
one of these is as large as a hog, and is very fat 
and well-flavored. Itis not met with in Palestine, 
and is only caught in the Indian seas; especially 
near Fiume. It is known among the Italians as 
Tanina. The other is a smaller species, has 
tender flesh, and is salted before being eaten — 
Herartsease, Hants. 
Lifects produced by an Earthquake in the 
Tropics.—The impression which the first earth- 
quake makes upon us, even if it is unaccompanied 
by subterranean noise, is an inexpressibly powerful 
and quite peculiar one. What moves us so power- 
fully is the disappointment of our inherent faith 
in the repose and immutability of the firm solid 
earth. A moment destroys the illusions of a life. 
We are undeceived as to the repose of the earth, 
and feel transported within the sphere of destroying 
unknown powers. We scarcely trust the ground 
on which we stand ; the strangeness of the occur- 
rence produces the same anxious uneasiness in 
animals. Pigs and dogs, especially, are over- 
powered by it; the crocodiles of the Orinoco, 
(Humboldt tells us) generally as dumb as sour little 
lizards, leave the agitated bed of the river, and 
rush howling into the forests. To man an earth- 
quake appears as something omnipresent, un- 
bounded. We can escape from an active eruption, 
or from a lavastream flowing towards our dwelling; 
but during an earthquake,wherever one flies seems 
the hearth of destruction—Hrten W . 
Degeneration of the Races of Fruits and 
Flowers.—The wearing out of certain varieties of 
fruits and florists’ flowers seems a subject well 
worthy of further investigation. It might be 
useful to bring to notice the genera, or the species 
of plants, most subject to such decay, and thus 
direct attention principally to the obtaining of 
new seminal varieties of the species most requiring 
renewal of good sorts. The apple seems particularly 

