The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1871-02-09
Scientific and Practical.

| The inside of the pals should never
be painted with paints containing white
lead or baryta, either of which, may in
jurously effect the water standing il
tl,em.---Pilcs driven under the Lon
don Bridge FIVE hundred years ago arr
arc still in good condition.--A Maine
mechanic has invented ship, the mo
tive power of which is be the roll of the
waves Of tho sea. A model has beer
constructed.
Do our readers generally know what
. mighty work the leaves, now withered
and fallen, have been performing all
summer: A leaf is pump. Its func-
ton is TO lift water DIT of the earth
through The innu,ncr;iBe little tubes in
the trunk Of the tree. 1t has been cs-
timatcd that every square inch of foil
age lifts three fivc-h,pldredths of an
ounce every twcnty-fours. Il
The demand for good beds is constant
" increasing, and good materials for
them'--hair, feathers, and down, are
growing scarccr. Feathers are not fit
though some people can sleep on moth
ing else, and arc bad enough for pillows.
1t is no interesting and unimortant fact
that the sea combs to our aid here, fur
nishing a variety of sponge. which is
coming into wide use as material for
mattresses. When dried, this sponge
becomes hard, but when prepared by
being moistencd with glyccrine which
never dries, elasticity is perpctuatcd.
Sponge is Lighter, for the same bulk,
than either feathers or hair, and a num-
Der of tests and experiments might be
mentioned to chow its fitness for the
purpose specified.
On the north shore of Lake Superior
is an island, one hundred feet by forty,
and mostly submerged at high water,
which has been discovered to contain
silver, and mining operations upon an
extensive scale are there being carried
on. The island was first surrounded
with watcr-tight crib, the water was
pumped out, vein of ore eight feet i'll
width and ,vcraging seventy per cent.
Of pure silver, laid bare, and already one
hundred and twenty three barrels of orc,
valued at nearly 100000, have been
taken out and shipped. Forty men
arc now engaged in the work, and the
yield of the mine up to''the close ofncxt
spring, it is estimated, will not fall short
of one or two millions Of dollars. AL
together it is the most remarkable dis
covery Of silver which has been made
in ibis country for many years.
Opium and its uses are believed to
have been known to the Romans humid
reds of years before the Christian era,
and among the Semitic peoples the
drug found e0rIv markets and cons,,m-
crs. 1t was probably carried by the
Moslems i" lH' I,.Hjcr of Gina by the
tenth ccn,.gr1- e. So vnare, however.
the importaiu," {. "4i,> I'D not cx-
coed 200 packages aE,:aat!y. Ia 1867,
it is estimated lilLt AU,OuO,0O0 pounds
were carried into that empire from Hin
dustan alone; this exclusive of the
quantity struggled in. In 1854 the
Chinese paid the East India Company,
for opium alone, sum exceeding the
total value of all their exports of tea.
and silks. The statistics of opium forthe
United States are even more startling.
The importations in 1S4o-lndia being
then as now the chief source Of
supply-wcrc $4,000 pounds: in 1876;
they were nearly 10000 pounds, the
prime cost of which was upwards of
S525,o0D. The increase in the pop
ulation from 1910 to 1856. is 2lO: 100:
in the importion of opium for the same
period, the ratio of increase is $50: 100
Compctut authorities Of the opinion that
a large allowance over the above figures
ought to be made on account of the
contrahand trade. Eighteen prominent
.apothccarics of New York City Judge
that one-flth Of the opium sold by re-
tailers would cover all the prescriptions
of physicians proper.