The Republican journal., 1870-10-06
DISCOVERIES MADE BY ACCIDENT.

Not a few discoveries in the arts and
sciences have been made or suggested by ac
cident. The use of the pendulum, suggested
10y the vibrating of a chandelier in Il cathed-
raj the power Of steam, intimated by the
oscillltng of the lid Of "A lea-kettle the utili-
ty of coal gas for light, experimental upon
by an ordinary tobacco-pipe Of white clay
the magnifymg property of the lens, STUN
Died upon by am opticians apprentice while
holding spectacle glasses between his thumb
and finger are Wcllknown instances in
proof of the fact
Galvanism was discovered by accident
Professor Galyani of Bologna, in Italy, gave
his name 10 the operation, but his wife
is considered rs actually entitled to the cred
it OF the discovery. She being in bad health
some frog were ordered for her As they
lay upon the table, skinned, She noticed that
their limb, became strongly convnsed when
near IN electrical conductors She called her
husbands attention TO the fact he instituted
Il series OF experiments, and in 1889 the gal
yanic battery was invented.
Eleven Years later, with that discovery for
his basis, Professor Alessandrn Volta, also
an Italian, announced his discovery of the
"voltaic pile"
The discovery Of glasa-making was effect
ed by seeing the sand yilifed upon which u
fire had been kindlcd.
Bancort says that the making of plate
glass was suggested by the fact of a work
man happening TO break Il crucible filled with
melted glass. The fluid ran under one of the
large tlagstoncs with which the floor was
paved. On raising the stone TO recover the
glass. it was found in the form of Il plate,
such rs could not be produced ny the ordi-
nary process of blowing
Glass pearls, though among the most
Al
ment~ worn by the ladies, are produced by Il
very singular process. In 1896, Venetian
named Joaquin discovered that the scales OF !,
fish, called bleak-tish, possessed the property
OF communicating pearly hue to the water.
lie found, by experimenting, that beads
dipped into this water assumed, when dried
the appearance Of pearls. Ii proved, how
ever, that the pcary coat, when placed out
side, was easily rubbed of; and the next
Improvement 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 a small tube the
msides are decatcly coateG with the pearly
Liquid, and a waved coating is placed over
that. 1t requires the scales of four thousand
fish 10 produce half a pint of the liquid, tc
which Il small quantity Of sal ammonia and
i-inglass are atterWard added.
l.undy Foot the celebrated snuff manu-
tacturer, originally kept small lobacconisl
shop at Limerick. On one night his house,
which was uninsured, burned to the ground
AS he contemplated the smoking ruins on the
following morning, III n state bordering on
despair some Of the poor neighbors, cropping
among the embers for what they could find
stumbled upon several canisters of uncon-
slmed but half baked snuff, which they tried
and found it 50 pleasant to their noses that
they loaded their waistcoat pockets with it.
Lundv Foot, aroused from his stupor. imitat.
ed their example and took a pinch of his ow,
property, when ne was struck by the super
or pungencv and flavor it had acquired from
the great heat to which ii had been exposed
Acting upon the hint, he took another hous.
IN a place called Black Yard, erected ovens
and set about the manufacture of that high
dried commodity which soon became Widcl
known US Black Yard snuff Eventually h,
took a larger house in Dublin, and maxim:
his customers pay literally through the nose
amassed great fortune from having bee,
ruined.
SHOT AS MEDICINE. Dr. May,lieu, O
France, has revived the old practice of givins
shot for bilious collie. His method is, to tax
No shot, after carefully washing then
with sweet oil, and give a dessert spoonful
every hall hour. He claims that in five o
SIX hours the vomiting ceases. The Editor
"i The Pacific Medical and Surgical Joul
MAJ relate the following anecdote, illustrl
tive to this treatment: A CLERGYMAN wa
taken very sick and stopped at the house of
good "ld lady, who was familiar with tn
treatment, who stated that she had no shot
hut n bullet which would answer the purpose
She gave it to the divine, who after bcinr as
sured of its great efficacy, swallowed it, an
to his JOY and surprise found that in YER
short time he was entirely relieved of tn
collie Before leaving, he expressed som
doubt TO the old lady about the piece of lea
so heavy finding its way through the bowels
sob, N.Y." she replied, ''you need have n
anxiety about that as it has been throug
me ten or twelve times"