SCIENCE. 



SCIENCE IN FRANCE. 



Paris, February 12, 1881. 



There is so much at present which is both novel and 

 important in the scientific world, that I fear, in my en- I 

 deavors to do full justice to everything, I shall, by at- 

 tempting too much, find myself in a position analogous 

 with that of a certain unfortunate person mentioned in 

 history, who, while striving to seat himself upon two 

 chairs simultaneously, fell ignominiously to the ground. 



But let us not waste time in odious comparisons ! The 

 news has probably long since reached you of a wonder- 

 ful fossil forest which has recently been discovered in 

 Hindoostan, and of a prehistoric grotto somewhere on 

 the border line of France, containing various kinds of 

 warlike weapons of an exceedingly primitive design, to- 

 gether with a single human tooth. It is not of these, 

 however, that I intend to speak, as beyond the facts 

 themselves nothing of particular interest remains to be 

 told. 



In the medical world a little instrument newly invented, 

 is attracting considerable attention. It is called the 

 crayon feu and is worthy of something more than a pass- 

 ing description. 



That all intelligent physicians recommend instant caut- 1 

 erization when a person has been bitten by a mad dog, j 

 or indeed a dog of any sort, is a well-known fact. It is | 

 not, however, generally speaking, an easy matter to find 

 an appropriate piece of iron and a lighted fire all ready 

 for the operation, and consequently it usually happens 

 that some time elapses before the remedy can be applied. 

 Of course we all know that delay in such matters fre- 

 quently proves fatal, and it was of this undoubtedly that t 

 Dr. Moser was thinking when he invented the tiny, port- 

 able apparatus which he calls the crayon feu, and which 

 is so simply constructed that it can be used alike by phy- 

 sicians, travellers, hunters, or indeed any one who has 

 either been bitten himself or who is required to treat an- 

 other person. 



Tnis little instrument consists of a pencil made of 

 some peculiar composition which ignites instantly when 

 a match is applied to it and becomes red-hot while the 

 patient's wound is being washed. The point of the pen- 

 cil is then introduced directly into the wound, and the 

 cauterization is performed in an instant. The patient 

 merely experiences a slight sensation of being burned, 

 as the operation is over before he is able to feel any defi- 

 nite pain. A little wooden or metal cover is placed over 

 the pencil when it is not in use, and at the other end is a 

 small receptacle for the particular kind of wax matches 

 which are required to light it. 



The crayon feu is indeed multum in parvo and can be 

 carried in the vest pocket. Medical men, scientific socie- 

 ties, and all public administrations in Paris have given it 

 a warm welcome — no pun is here intended — and their 

 example has been followed by a host of others, while Dr. 

 Moser himselt, is looked upon as a veritable benefactor 1 

 to humanity. 



No less interesting are the curious experiments recently 

 made by a Hungarian, M. Kerdig, by means of a combus- 

 tible substance which is undoubtedly destined to be used 

 at some future time for illuminating purposes. 



M. Kerdig begins by placing upon a table a number of 

 lamps filled with this fluid, which, indeed, gives forth a 

 most brilliant light. He then announces to the inter- 

 ested spectators that it is in no danger whatever of catch- 

 ing fire or exploding, and in order to illustrate this fact 

 so that even the veriest skeptic shall believe, he pours a 

 quantity of the liquid upon his hat and calmly sets fire to j 

 it. A mass of lurid flame rises instantly almost to the J 

 ceiling, but M. Kerdig, in nowise disconcerted, places his 

 hat coolly upon his head, and waits until the flame grad- 

 ually dies out. He then exhibits the hat triumphantly to 

 the audience — it is uninjured. He next sets fire to the 

 floor, then to his handkerchief, saturated with the sub- | 



stance, and finally goes so far as to pour some of it into 

 the palm of his hand and light it ; but the floor, the hand- 

 kerchief and the hand are all alike unharmed. 



Of course all this appears most extraordinary at first 

 sight, but a little careful investigation is in this case, as 

 in many others, capable of reducing mountains to mole 

 hills. The vapor of M. Kerdig's mineral substance pos- 

 sesses considerable expansive force, so that in reality it is 

 the vapor which burns and not the liquid. The latter 

 being at a very low temperature, produces no sensation of 

 heat upon the hand, notwithstanding the flame above. 



Now, I suppose you would like to know of what this 

 interesting product consists. M. Kerdig says that it is a 

 very volatile essence of naptha, to which is added a com- 

 pound of various evaporating substances. Other people, 

 however, affirm that it is a product derived from natural 

 oils recently discovered in Hungary, which, when properly 

 distilled, results in a peculiar substance, very volatile, 

 and, what is of still more importance, very cheap. A 

 faint odor of petroleum pervades it, accompanied by a 

 slight aromatic fragrance, and when spread upon the hand 

 a sensation of cold is felt. 



We have just received intelligence from the south of 

 France of the terrible ravages made upon the olive crops 

 this season by an insect designated by the entomologists 

 as the Dacusolea, It is a little gray fly, with several legs, 

 and long yellow antennae. There are two generations of 

 them every year, one appearing in July, the other in Sep- 

 tember. The eggs are deposited in the fruit, and the 

 larva, which resembles a little yellowish-white maggot, 

 consumes the pulp, intersecting it with tiny passages. 

 The adult leaves the olive and makes its way to the 

 ground, where it is transformed into a chrysalis and re- 

 mains buried during the winter months. 



Speaking upon agricultural topics reminds me of an 

 unprecedented phenomenon which has just occurred in 

 one of the districts of Jonzac. Upon the estate of a 

 certain M. Delaume, who lives at Seville, there is a 

 grape vine which for five years has been infested with 

 phylloxera, and the greater part of whose branches have 

 borne nothing whatever — neither leaves nor fruit during 

 that period. But a most unforeseen and extraordinary 

 thing suddenly happened. From one branch, which has 

 hitherto been looked upon as quite dead, has sprung a 

 magnificent grape vine, well formed, and of a beautitul, 

 dark green color. No one, as yet, has been able to ex- 

 plain this singular occurrence. 



Still less can we account for another most remarkable 

 event, a description of which I lately read in a Hungarian 

 paper. A criminal, it seems, had been hanged, and the 

 physician in attendance declared that life was quite ex- 

 tinct. An autopsy was subsequently made upon the 

 body, and the latter subjected to the action of a strong 

 galvanic current. Within the space of two hours, signs 

 of life were distinctly observed. The dead man recov- 

 ered his senses completely, but succumbed, on the second 

 day following, to cerebral congestion. 



If this account be true, we cannot too greatly encour- 

 age the use of electricity as a resuscitative and vital 

 agent, nor can we fail to admit that the present age is 

 one of unparalleled phenomena. COSMOS. 



Laws of the Disengagement of Electricity by Pres- 

 sure in Tourmaline. — The authors announce the following 

 laws as resulting from their experiments : — The two ends 

 of a tourmaline evolve quantities of electricity respectivelv 

 equal, but of opposite signs. The quantity liberated by a 

 certain increase of pressure is opposite in its sign, but equal 

 to that produced by an equal decrease of pressure. This 

 quantity is proportional to the variation of the pressure, in- 

 dependent of the length of the tourmaline, and for one and 

 the same variation of pressuie per unit of surface it is 

 proportional to the surface. — M M. Jacques and Pierre 

 Curie. 



