The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-09-23
SCIENTIFIC NOTES.
Strange Discovery on the Potomac.
From the Washington %. C.l Chronicle, Aug Is,

u
The constant discovery of things which
appear strange afford a study for those
whose inclinstions lead them to sift out the
mysterious workings of the natural world
The Cardiff Giant, whose mighty remains
were represented as having been dug from
the bowels Of the earth, afforded an oppor-
tunity to our geological savans to expOund
to the world the result of the diagnosis and
prognosis. so TO speak, made by them Of
that wonderful curiosity. Each day brings
| with 1t Q succession of new discoveries, and
here, almost within the limits of the Dis
trict of Columbia; a tiller OF the soil has
found upon his homestead curious phe-
nUmen0n of nature which should engage
the attention of the scientific world.
On the banks of the Potomac, near Fort
! FoOte, lives one Wm. DUR, by occupation
g farmer, and who directs the manage
Insnt Of farm of. some 200 acres. Upon
/ taking possession of this property, some
! time during the year 1869, MIR. Durf found
several Indian relics, such IS stone toma-
| hawks, arrow heads, etc., and subsequent
/ ly has found others, in common use among
/ Indians, which led him to the conclusion
that either an Indian settlement had at an
early day been located near this farm, or
/ that en- Indian warfare had been waged
/ thereon. The eastern end of the estate is
bordered by q wooded grove of fine timber
/ land. Through this grove Mr.. DUR had
] occasion to pass almost daily in the pros
ecutiOh of his usual work. His
attention had some time since
teen drawn to what, from all sp-
pearances, resembled large stone, shaped
almost in The form of mound or a grave.
Many times he passed it, and seemed
n 1rov Inv 10 nj 70.
give il more than a passing glance. Coup
ling the fact thet he had already found
many articles of natural curiosity upon the
place with the. thought that the stone
might reveal something still stranger, he
last week made mp his mind TO provide
himself with the necessary tools and un-
iathOm the mysteries 1T might reveal. On
Tuesday he commenced operations, and
upon striking the stone, found TO his
establishment that It had an outer cover
ing of the same substance, which
welded readily TO the hammer, consist
= 2 Of layer of white sandstone, vary
in from one TO three inches in thickness,
which, after having been removed, left
smoother surface, and revealed the eompar-
atiye distinct outlines OF a petrified bear,
about seven feet IN length and three feet in
heighth and thickness. After further re-
search was found the distinct outlines OF
female face and child, and over the forms
of which the bear was complete covering.
The head of the animal, from the indica-
lions IN the petrife6 form, had been clsav-
ed open. and rested between the two fore
paws, it lying in that position. The hind
legs were evidently broken of, no further
outline Of the ''grizzly" appearing
The question to be solved by philOsO
pliers Is: Was the mother ana child killed
by the bear2 or was the animal killed and
placed over the remains of tho human be-
ings IS a yigilant watch over the dead?
One thing is certain, and that is, that the
bear (or what is supposed TO be such) COW
CTS the entire forms of Che two bodies.
The discovery is of such a character as
should engage the attention of some of our
leading scientific men, who, no doubt,
could form a conclusion ana eniighten
those VINO may have desire for more in
formation on the mysterious crl5jcot. Tire
farm of Mr. Durr is accessible from Fort
FoUte, being but two miles therefrOm.
Discoveries Made by Accident.
Not few discoveries in the arts and
sciences have been made or suggested by
accident. The use of the pendulum sug-
gested by the vibrating of chandelier in
4 cathedral; the power of steam, intimated
by the oseillstiug Of the lid of tea-kettle;
the utility of coal gas for light, expert
mented upon by an ordinary tobacco-pipe
Of white clay; the magnifying property of
lens, stumbled upon by an opticians ap-
prentice while holding spectacle glasses
between his thumb and fipger-are we'll
known instances in proof of the fact.
GalTanism was discovered by accident.
FOraf al of in fol lvT
gave his name to the operation, but his
wife is considered as actually entitled to
the credit of the discovery. She being in
bad health, some frogs were ordered for
her. IS they lay upOn the table skinned,
she noticed that their limbs became strong
" convulsed when near an electrical con-
ductor. She called her husbands atten-
ton to the fact he instituted a series of
experiments, and in 1889 the galyanic bat
tery Was invented.
Eleven years later, with that discovery
for his basis, Professor Allessandro Volta,
also an Italian, announced his discovery
Of the "volatie pile.
The discovery of glass making was effec-
ted by seeing the sand yitrifed upon which
fire had been kindled.
Blancort says that the making. of plate-
glass was suggested by the fact of work
man happening to break crucible filled
with melted glass. The fluid ian under
one OF the large fagstones with which the
hoor was paved. On raising the stone to
recover the glass, 1t was found in the form
of o plate, such as could not be produced
by the ordinary process OF blowing.
Glass pearls, though among the most
beautiful, inexpensive and common ornR
ments worn by the ladies', are produced by
avery singular process. In 1856, aVene-
tian named joaquin discovered that the
scales of a fish, called bleakfsh, possessed
the property of communicating a pearly
hue 70 the water. He found, by expert
menting, that beads dipped into this water
assumed, when dried, the appearance of
pearls. 1t proved, however, that the
pearly ceat, when placed outside, wes
easily rubbed of, and the next improve
meat was to make the beads hollow. The
making of these beads is carried on to this
day in Venice. The beads are all blown
separately. BY means of small tube the
insides are delicately coated with the peas-
~ liquid, and a waxed coating is placed
over that. 1t requires the scales of four
thousand fish to produce half pint OF the
liquid, to which a small quantity of sal
anmonia and isinglass are afterYard added.
Lundy Foot, tue celebrated snuff manu-
facturer, originally kept small tobacco
mist shop 1T Limerick. On ono night his
house, which was Uninsured, burned to the
ground. As he contemplated the smobingi
ruins eli the following morning. in state
bordering on despair, some Of tbs poor
neighborF, gropingsamong the -embers for
what they could find, stumbled upon sever
aEcanisters OF unconsumed bat half-baked
sauff, which they tried, and found if so pleas
ant to their noses that they, loaded their
waistcoat pockets with it. Lundy Foot,
aroused from his stupor, initiated their
example, and took q pinch OF his own
property; when he was struck by the-su-
perior pungency and fiavorithad acquired
nom the great heat to which it had Been
exposed. Acting upon the hint, he.-took
another house in a place called Black
Yard, erected ovens, and set about the
manufacture of that high dried commodity
which soon became known as Black Yard
snuff. Eventually no took larger house
in Dublin, and making his customers pay
literally through the nose, amassed q
great fortune for having been ruined.
A NEW mineral, named nadorite, discov-
cred in the province ofConstantine, Alge-
ria, has been analyzed by II. Pisani. Its
chief constituents are the oxides. of lead
and Of antimony. 1t also yields small