Scientific.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2230, 23 October 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

Scientific.

A Boy with: Cat's Eyks.— A case with this heading i* reported as now exciting the attention of oculist* of Chicago. Mrs Quinn, of 471 Wells street, reoently visited the State Eye and Ear Infirmary in Company wi*"h her 'son, who possesses the peculiar power of seeing in the claik. One of the- surgeoKS, Dr. Charles P. Sinclair, called in sevenil other oculists to examine the anomaly. The boy was taken into a dark room, and various tests were applied. The eyesballs glistened like balls of fire. Tho larger portion of the it is is missing, only a small portion being visible on tho outer side of each eyo. When taken into a dark room an immediate expansion takes place which enables the boy to see perfectly. A strong light blinds him, and from this same peculiarity tho boy is able to see objects at a distance with much more clearness than those close at hand. It seems to be case of coloboma of the iris and ohoroid, >\ ith defective development offtho pigment, and perhaps with a hypersensitive retina. — Lancet. A Great Charge.— An extraordinary projectile has been prepa'ed at the Royal Laboratory for the trill of the new submarine gun, and has been sent from Wool ■vrich in the Earl do Grey and Rlpon steamer, for Pembroke, where the trial is to take place. The shot, if such it can be called, is nearly as long as tho gun, and bears a strong resemblance to the Whitehead " fish " torpedo. It was fully charged with several thousand pounds of guncotton before leaving the Arsenal, and the doubts which have to be solved by the experiment are not only whether the projectilo can be sent an effective distance under water and in the desired direction, but whether a compound so sensitive as gun-cotton will stand the ihock of discharge without a premature explosion. A Strange Clock.— A clock has recently been patented, which in appearance consists of a tambourine, on the parchment head of which is painted a circle of flowers corresponding to the hour ngn* of ordinary dials. On examination two bees, one large and the other small, are discovered crawling among the flowers. The BtnaU bee runs rapidly from one the other, completing the jcircle in an hour while the other one takes twelve hours to finsh tho circuit. Tho parchment membrane is unbroken, and the bee.s are simply laid upon it; but two magneto, connected with the clockwork inside the tambourine, move jin>t under the membrane, and the insects, which are of iron, follow them. A Test ok Dkath. — At a recent meeting of the Socittee Medicale d'Amiens, M. Lessenne mentioned the following as a sign of death. After pricking the skin with a needle the puncture remains open, just as when a piece of leather is pricked. On the living body even if the blood does not come to the surface, as would happen if the person were hysterical, the pinprick closes at once, and does not leave the slightest trace. A New Boat.— lt is stated that M. Goubet, a French engineer, has invented a new type of boat which is destiued to revolutionise naval tactics. This bateauz poisson, as it is called, is designed to place torpedoes under the very keels of ships.