SCIENTIFIC GOSSIP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6504, 31 December 1881, Page 3

SCIENTIFIC GOSSIP.

[By Saltia.] " Wbat cannot art and Jndartrj perform When science plane." Bratob.— The Isthmus of Suez has been aeoerteined to consist of fresh-water river formations, passing on the south side into the marine deposits of the Bed See, and on the north into those of the Meditemaear. Herr Fuchs has lately studied (he question how a river came (0 form a partition between two seas and their faunas. He accept* a theory expressed by Captain Vassal, that in the diluvial period the Nile entered the eea la the middle of what is now the isthmus, and with' its large body of fresh water • » fillfd (be narrow stmt os to form a true dividing well between the faunas of the two eea*. A striking illustration of this mode of oetion Herr Fuchs finds In the present condition of one of the straits leading into (he Japan Sea—viz., that between this sea and toe Sea of Oohotsk on the north, the Amur Gulf, or Amur liman, which is 15 miles long and three to five broad, receive* the water of the Amur This river (comparable to the Danube) hoe brought much sediment into the gulf and transformed it into a lagoon nowhere more than three fathoms deep, quite filled with fresh water. Looking at the map, one might suppose the faunae of the North Japan Sea and the Sea of Ochotsk to bo in free communication with each- other, bat in reality it is not so; the water of the gulf hoe only fresh water oonphylia, and {urovente exchange between the two marine aunai. True, the faunas are not so distinct os those of the Bed Sea and the Mediterranean t a certain portion of the Arctic ipecies of the Sea of Oonotsk are found south of the Amur Liman. There is reason to believe, however, that these have come, not direct through tho A mar Golf, bnt with the Eourile current through the Strait* of Bandar, in which a large numbsr of these Arctic species are found alone with true tropica! forms. Wen this way closed, the migration of northern forms would probably be prevented, and in that case the two marine faunae might come to be as sharply separated a* in tho case of the Isthmus of Sue*. ’g 11 !-* 1 " ” "I 1 ". Among recent advances in the practical application of electricity, the improvements effected in electric accumulators or secondary batteries are conspicuous. On Sept 16th, these were brought into play in connection with the lighting by electricity of the smoking-room of the Junior Carlton (Sub. The lighting is intended to be corned on at present by overhead wires from the Heddon street works of the British Electric Light Company, but in order not to delay the lighting, tho electricity for the illumination of tho smoking-room was supplied by accumulators. The room, which is a large, square one, has hitherto been lighted by o&o central gas light, with about 25 burners. The electric lamps, to the number of 16, of the form known as the " British Incandescent Lamps,” are placed in an umbrella-shaped shade, and the light seemed to be about double that of the gas as regards actual quality, but the illumination of the room was clearer and purer than with gas. Tho number of accumulators need, which were of the most recently developed form of U. Faare, was 40, sufficiently charged to keep the 15 lights going about six hours. The work I* being earned out by the British Electric Light Company, under the personal (uperintendenoy of the Company's engineer, Mr Badoliffe Ward. The same Company are completing arrangements to light the Scottish Club, in Devon street, by overhead wire from their works. The following notes on the fungus trade of Now Zealand appear in,a scientific contemporary : Daring recent years the exportation of the edible fungus, Hirheola polytrichia, has become on important industry in New Zealand. Thia fungus is seuoer-shaped, Sin to 7in in diameter, dark reddish brown on the inside when dried, and gray on the outside. It is said that the odour of these plants distinguishes them for botanists, but their chief peculiarity is their growth. They epring up, it is believed, by hundreds and thousands m a night, being produced, not from seed, but by » spawn which bears organs of fructification. Another peculiarity is that they absorb oxygen and give out carbonic acid, like animals, while other plants absorb the latter and give out tho former. The commercial fungus of New Zealand ie found in the North Island, on various kinds of decayed timber, all the fungi, os is well known, favouring damp •ituutiona. Kin®*tOßths of tho Province of Taranaki, 80 miles by 70 in extent, where it ie found, la densely wooded. The plant is found in what are celled new bush settlements, made by laborious clearing. The branches are lopped off and burned, the trunks, resting on their own spur* and sometime* on scaffolds built for them to fall on, begin to decay—not lying prone on the ground—and the fungus grows. It is prepared simply by letting it dry. China ie its market, and it was at first bought up by collectors for a cent per.ponnd, and sold in San Francisco for fifteen and in Hong Kong for twenly-three. According to tho Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, the fungus Is much prised there as a medicine, administered in tho form of a decoction, to purify the blood 1 it has also been reported to be in use in China and Japan as a dye for silks. But it* principal use among the Chinese is as an article of food 1 it forms the principal ingredient in their favourite soup, for which it is highly regarded on account of its gelatinous qualities and its rich Savour.