The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-09-07
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.

The tusk ofa mastodon has been
cXhumcd at Brocton, Western New
York.
At o coal Mine in Cooper, county
Missouri, one solid block of coal was
taken out, which when broken into
smaller pieces, measured six hundred
bushels.
The State of Michigan contains
five thousand one hundred and
eleven inland.lakcs, covering an area
of eleven hundred and fourteen miles,
besides water front on the great
lakes gilmore than eighteen hundred
miles.
The Paris papers state that the
Committee of Engineers appointed
to report upon the construction of
n channel across the Channel between
England and France have accepted
the plan Of M. Thomc dc Gamond,
and that the works will shortly be
commenced on one side at Dieppe,
and on the other side at New la.
ven. The cost of the work is esti.
mated atabout $50,00O0OO, andthc du.
ration of the work six, years.
The discovery of an ancient outlet
to Lake Superior is mentioned by
Professor Winchcll, the director Of
the State geological survey of Michi-
gan, in his last report. 1t is deep
valley bordcrcd with high bluffs,
and runs from Lake Superior to
Green Bay, in Lake Michigan, sug-
gcsting the practicability Of ship
canal along the same route, with q
view to shortening the voyage be-
tween the ports Of the two lakes.
NJ. Esposito, of Naples, has invcn.
ted al apparatus, called the "nausis-
mograph," and designed to record
automatically on paper all the mo-
tons of a vessel, either under sail or
steam, while at sea; which it is said
to do successfully. The instrument
is intended to be placed in the COM
mandant's cabin in order that ho
may have constantly under his eye
this check upon the results of the
observations presented by his subor-
dinatcs.
At Richmond, Virginia, the other
day, workmcn who were engaged in
digging out the foundation on the
lot where the SpootswOOd hotel late
ly stood, came across n side of lcath-
cr. More than forty years ago on
this lot, had been tan yard, and tho
leather was found in one of the vats.
The leather was in n perfect state of
preservation, and must have been
there ever since 1920 or 1926.
a series of papers from William
f. Roberts, State Gcologist. Of Ar.
kansas, are being published in the
Philadelphia Press. He calls Arkan-
sas the Crystal Statc," saying that q
greater variety and larger amount of
crystalizcd rocks and minerals arc
found in Arkansas than any other
State Of the Union. Mr.. Roberts
says: "Thc limonetc' beds in some
places cover acres of surface, and
where there is great abundance of
the best kinds Of timber for making
charcoal; also, limestone OF the best
quality for fluxing purposes. Never
failing, large watcr-powers are con-
tiguous to the iron-ore deposits, and
constant river navigation thence to
the Mississippi. No State in the
Union presents greater facilities for
manufacturing charcoal iron econOm-
ically than Arkansas, and there is a
home market for very large pro-
duet
, From experiments lately tried by
one of our most skillful chemists, the
fact seems well established that cor
, tain articles, such as old wearing ap-
parcl, wcll-dricd wood, ETC., are ca
! pablc of generating sufficient heat to
induce combustion without the ap.
plication Of fire. A piece of cotton
saturated with linsecd oil and pack
cd in chest with old papers and
rags, he found after eight days so
shrivellcd up that the rags looked as
if they had been held near q fire.
Again, some old rags to which no oil
had been applied were wrapped up
with two or three matches and placed
in u tin box, which was hung in
loft exposed to the rays of an after
noon sun during a very hot day.
After three or four days of this test
the box in which the rags had been
deposited was found to contain only
some well-blackencd cinders. In
short, the various tests proved very
satisfactorily, we think, that not a
few of the numerous fires supposed
to be the work of an inccndiary" arc
! cause by, perhaps, a rag which has
been used with benzinc by the frugal
housewife to clean u coat, or by the
heat which is known to be generated
from articles silk, cotton, etc, shut
up in close room.
a French inventor proposes the
use OF petroleum for locomotives,
and recently exhibited n model of
small engine heated by this means,
for which complete success is claim
cd. This locomotive carries two
thousand litrcs, or about five hundred
gallons of oil, in the tender, hand
pump TO cling the oil intOa small res
crvoir near the boiler. The process
OF lighting the oil is said to be ncith-
or difficult nor dangerous, owing to
the oil being KEEP. in compartments
a small quantity only being lighted
at one time, then another division,
and 50 on, until the whole furnace is
alight. This engine consumes its
own smoke perfectly, and it is said,
to be extremely easy TO drive, on ac-
count Of the simplicity of the appara-
tus. y larger locomotive, with
slight improvements, has since been
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