PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1640, 9 January 1883, Page 4

PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE.

A rkckxt number ,ofjfj*Bildormaun's Otntrulblati twAtjrikallar-V hcmiv" records the following .research ,by Elnhardt. (i -He allowed ryo-'see'ds ,to,, germinate for pelioi,U of time, varying fcoin, li> '^to 103 hours, and at'the titne of each perioll/ihe seeds weie dilcd. They were' aftcVwards placed under conditions which \\ould enable, them to, grow again', when it was found that of tliose wlucli had genhinatcd ior 18 hours 1)0 pel cent', wore'still alive, while ot those whose first period ol growth extended over 103 hours, only 5i per cent, resumed their giowth. It appears that 'the longest period during which a seed, may goi inmate \\ith any piobahility ot its remaining alive alter drying is .ibout IUU hours. It was previously known' that the seeds ot cereals which had commenced to germinate might have the process stopped, and yet would ag.iin resume their, giowth, but the length of time diinug which the tiist glow th iiugtit be extended had' not before been submitted to quantitative estimation. In studying the subject of influence of the weight ot seed on the yield of the crop, Messrs Birner and Troshke divided various samples of oat seed into three qualities, which they distinguish as heavy, medium, and light, and in every case it was found that,the best crop was obtained from the sample in' which the individual seeds were heaviest. Similar experiments with beans gave corresponding results. This investigation is one which deserves to be widely confirmed, and, as it is ot an extremely simple character, it commends itself at once to the attention of all cultivators. Konig, after examining maize which had undergone ensilage, recommends that green maize should be packed in pits and allowed to ferment, and it may then be used for feeding along with fresh meal or oil-cake. It is true that in fermentation it loses some of its carbo-hydrates, or heat givers, but, on the other hand the "sour make," as it is called, contains lactic acid and aromatic compounds, which make it more acceptable to cattle, and, at the same time, more digestible. A foediug cake is made by Antlion as follows:—He mixes 100 parts of dried brewers' giains at a temperature of 140 degrees, with S3 parts of beetroot molasses, and then adds, 33 '3 parts of either barley or wheat bran. The c'otigh so formed is baked. Orain exposed ircely to the atmospheie is found by Muntz to yield twice as much cai bonic acid as is given off when the grain is kept in closed vessels. Moreover, as the volume of oxygen absoibed by the grain is greater than that of the carbonic acid set free, this shows that a seeondaiy and incomplete oxidation must simultaneously be taking place within the seed. Further, as the moistuie ot the seed increases so does the evolution ot the carbonic acid, as but little of tins gas is set free from dry grain. It is interred fiom these results that in gianaries the stored grain should be kept dry, of an equable and uniform trnpeiatuie, and excluded fioin the air a3 much as possible, this latter effect being obtained by piling up the grain in bulk.

Tun young skipper who takes a party of skirls out sailing should content himself with hugging the shore. A PuiLADhUMiu boy was asked if he overplayed in chuicli, and answered: " Oh, I always say a prayer like all the rest do, jiibt befuie the sermon begins." " Indeed," responded the astonished queiist, ''■what do you say?" "Now I lay me down to sice])."' ]}WUJYIU)I7hTI'.t IHNT«U.ITIKS OF LVWN Tk.nnk —Woolwich cadet (suddenly, to his poor grandmother, who has had army on the brain ever since he passed his exam.)—" The service is awfully severe, by Jove ! Look at Colonel Pendragon — he invariably shoots or hangs !" His poor grandmother —" (iood heavens, Algy ! I hope you won't be in his regiment !" —l'uiich. It seems stiange that the deaf-and-dumb sign language has not come into more geneial use in poJite society. It would be so handy at dinner-parties for the man who wants to talk with his mouth Inll.—Zourtl Cdizin. AWDIKK ILLUSTRATION OF Till. VALUK ok Advertisings : —A gentleman went into a newspaper office late the other nicht, and advertised the loss of a valuable dog. When he reached home, fiftpon minutes later, he found the dop sitting on the dooi step. A yoi7.no fellow naked another at a ball if his pul was there. "Yes." said he. " Do you see that girl dressed in pink ?" "What, that splendid woman with such magnificent eyes ? You don't say. How lucky you are !" " Just so. Of course I am. Well, my girl is the next one to her." Cuss ix (ti:ogkvpjiv. —Teacher: "Name the great bays." Small Boy : "Bay of Fundy, Bay' of Biscay, Arabi Bey "' Teacher : '(Oh, Pashaw ?'' A St. Loris man visited Milwaukee, and while there indulged in the luxury of a Turkish bath. He died one hour after. Verdict of coroner's jury : "He should not have got so much mud off him at one time." Emily (little sister): "What a large family the spinsters must be ! I hear in Church ovary Sunday that they are going to be manied." Frances (elder sister) : " Oh, you little stupid ! Don't you know what spinsters are ? Bachelor ladies, of course." —Boston Journal. Tifk teacher wanted to give his class the benefit of what' he knew about the inevitable circle ; but before doing so he asked : '" What can't bo squared ?" No answer for a few seconds, when a treble voice piped out: "The account that Jim Claik owes father." A web boy heaet his mother to talk to him, and say something funny. "How can I?" she asked. "Don't you see how busy I am, baking those pies. " Well, you might say, ' Charlie, won't you have a pie ?' That would be funny for you." , Said the night watchman, when, about dusk, he was invited to drink a cup of coffee : " No, thank you ; coffee keeps me awake all night." Then he saw his blunder, looked very embarrassed, and tried to explain; but it was no use. — Frank Leslie's. , It is expected that Oscar "\yilde is going to Japan. ; >Vhat, he is going to Japan for the report does not say, but it will please the pubtib'to learn that it is not from lacquer work in other callings that he is about to varnish from tfift lecture field. —Yonker'i Gazette Aue Mushrooms Poisonous.—Professor Ponfic'k, of Breshuy has lately made, experiments on the common mushroom, of which the following are the practical results : —All common 'mushrooms are poisonous, but cooking deprives them"4n] a greater or less degree'of their poisonous qualities.' The repeated washing with cold water, which they usually undergo to clean them, takes away a portion of the poison, and boiling 1 does the rest'; but the w.ater in Mich" they have been boiled is highly poisbnous, and should always be carefully got rid of.. Exper,u ments made on 'dogs' showed that if a 'dog ate ' one per ■ cent., of its i own weight of raw mushrooms it fellisick, bvit recovered l; if itJ-atcone dnd;one-half per cent.' fche'poisori had' a' more .violent, but not fatal, -effect' jand if it ate 2 pei~ cent, it waslihevitably fatal., • iThe, water* in 'which'&ie mushroom's had'been boiled was far more poisonous than.even the raw' mushrooms''; while (thenmushrooms thus'boiled could be takenwithout' hurt to th'e'auiduhtitof'ilO perifcentit of ♦&$' weight bf? • the tlog's ' body.", \Vashing ' wittt'teold* water floes lfot Remove x all the .'poiidii^'so.that miiBhioomMthu3jpjipared fwe*e^>p&iBQnfou¥;Hrnetf' $alse»uijtt ilarger itriantiti^si'''Dried. -iintihrooinu! are 54aiJgVoUs?for flrohi^LS.t'taf'^i^i >nd. also the water in which they^tave been boiled. be ,dfiM jfor, &t