The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1870-07-29
Scraps of Science.

Scraps Of Science.
The Sarrncenia plant Is the new French
remedy for the smallpox.
Chromate Of lead. a dangerous poison,
Is extremely used In the adulteration Of
sugar. . ..f r..t ...n. .,- 500
Small quantities Of glycerine are added
to paper stock to give the paper greater
flexibility, but especially to give copying
paper the quality Of taking up color
readily.
Oudemons has succeeded In making an
alloy of zinc and iron. The new metal.
which contains 4-6 per cent Of iron Is 70.
niarkable for its whitencss and tenacity.
Plane irons for soft wood should be
ground to bevel of about 45 degrees; for
hickory or oak not over 80, for chisels, all
except heavy mortising, 60 degrees Is
best; for turning chisels about 45. Tools
for working iron or steel are bevelcd from
so to GO degrees.
The Manufacturer and Builder gives
.he following directions for a simp.e filter
to purify cistern water: Place on the
perforated bottom of u box piece Of Han.
mel, and on this some coarsely powdered
charcoal. then some coarse river sand.
and cover the whole with sandstones
broken into small pieces.
To destroy the red spider on fuschias
II Is recommended 10 fill barrel nearly
full of water and slack In It about quar-
ter of a peck of lime and let II stand until
perfectly clear. Hold the plants affected
In the water (bottom uP for about five or
ten minutes, then wash them with pure
water.
A recent discovery in the way Of street
sprinkling has been successfully used. a
cheap combination of salts and acids put
in water causes its dust.laying power to
be redoubled. Indeed. dust thus laid
seems to be 80 compacted together that
even after II has dried. 1t Is not In condi-
ton to bc blown about for some time.
The French claim the honor Of having
constructed the first LOCOMOTIVES. 1t was
made by one Crugnot In l76O, the same
eventful year which saw the birth of Nh.
poleon l., Wellington, Humboldt and
several other celebrated characters. The
first engine Is still preserved In the Con-
scryatoire dcs Arts ct Mctiorsat Paris-
Nitro-glyccrinc must ultimately be en-
tirely superseded by the now and moro
powerful explosive compound called
''lithO-fincture." II Is n black substance,
very plastic, and can be manipulated with
impunity. Unlike nitro-glycerine, 1t will
not explode from conclusion. but requires
the action of fro to evoke its startling
strength. ......
A recent number of an architectural
exchange says: ut Is often very difficult
for an architect to convince his clients OF
the value of plain design, even when they
desire expensive buildings; there Is han
kcring after display. after good show for
the money spent, which stands In the way
Of simplicity Of treatment; and we fear
that il Is sometimes too much the case that
the designer. too. especially If young In
practice, is tempted to show what he can
do W en- good opportunity offers, rather
than to exercise that due reticencc of
hand which Is often the very soul Of art,
in dealing with peculiar sites"
In l76l. man living In Sanford. Eng
land. made wager that he could live for
seven weeks on water alone, and won tho
bet. st. Simon Stylities ate nothing dur.
ing the six weeks Of Lent, and an insane
man ut Harlem. who imagined himself to
bc the Messiah. actually tasted forty days,
tasting nothing but water and y fair allow
ance of tobacco smoke. Catharine Nc
Leod, of Kincardine, England. after u
severe attack Of fever, fell into weak,
bloodless state. and for u year and three
quarters nothing passed down her throat
either liquid or solid. She after ard re-
covered. In 1861, u boy lived mt GrcnO-
bio who had long illness when about
eight years of age, and. on recovering
could eat nothing for more than year." !"
Paris Is much interested In q remedy
discovered by workman. who. to relieve
the pain from n severe burn, thrust his
hand into pot of varnish which happen
ed to be mt his side. The relief was so
sudden and the healing of the wound was
SO rapid. that the news spread. with the
result of bringing to him every one In the
neighborhood who had burn. Many
wonderful cures are said to have been per-
formed at Metz, last September, and the
discovcrer has been summoned to Paris,
to make some public experiments. In n
similar manner, Il has been discovered In
this country that petroleum makes nn ex-
ccllent pain relieving application for burns
and sc,llds, and II Is now extensively APP
Piled for this purpose. Experiences has
shown that crude oil Is better than the dis
titled article; that among the crude oils
the heaviest are to be perferrcd. and that
the crude filtered oil, which has not been
heated. (such rs Is used for lubricnting
purposes), Is the best Of all.