Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-04-12
Curious and Scientific.

ORCHILLA Is a peculiar moss found on
bushes near the sea in Lower Califor-
mia, from which brilliant red dye is
procured.
AN inventive genius in Mound City,
ILL.,, has built life-boat, which he
claims cannot be kept upside down
in the water. 1t balls itself automati-
cally.
The River Atrato, in Darien, is cross
ed by curious natural floating bridge
of thick grass, the roots interlacing
two feet below the surface of the water.
THE cock of the rock, South Ameri-
can bird, found on the western slope of
the Andes, is noted for it's trick of fall
ing, as if killed, when shot at and I'M
hurt, and subsequently, flying off.
One Won Hochstetter, of Vienna, has
been putting himself to considerable
trouble in getting up experimental vol
canoes for scientific Illustration He
puts quantity of melted sulphur in
deep vessel, and as crust is formed by
cooling from without, he keeps hole
open to the still molten mass within.
On the top of large granite bould-
er lying apparently on the surface of
the ground in Sheffield, is a spherical
excavation constantly filed with water
even i'll the dryest time, yet with no
visible inlet. What makes it the more
curious is the fact that it never was
known to run over, but is always full
Ii the water is dipped out it imme-
diately regains its usual fullness.
The microscope revals the fact that a
speck of potato-rot the size of pin
head contains about two hundred fe-
rocious little animals, biting and claw
ing each other savagely; and micro
scop1sts find in every teaspoonful Of
raw sugar about thousand of the ug-
lest little wretches wriggling about,
with horns and daggers ready to poke
them through our vitals at any moment,
and without the slightest conjunction;
in fact, they rather like it.
PROF. r. GRACE CALVERT, of Eng
land, has discovered that the carbon
ates of potash and soda possess the
same property of protecting iron and
steel from rust as do those alkalies in a
caustlc state. Ii an iron blade is half
immersed in solution of either of the
above named carbonates, it exerts SO
protective an action that that portion
of the iron which is exposed to the in
fiuence OF the damp atmospheric air
does not oxidize, even after period of
two years Similar results have been
obtained with sea water, to which have
been added the carbonates of potash
or soda. The application of this fact
are numerous and important
A FOREIGN gentleman (M Basin) pro-
poses to improve the half-tints of pilot
ographic pictures by allowing some rays
of red light to enter the camera at the
same time as the rays which produce
the Photographic image. To this end
four holes are made in front of the
camera, which are fitted with pieces of
glass colored red by solution of car
mine in ammonia. The red lights enter
by these holes greatly improves, it is
stated, the character of the half-tints,
and also diminishes by one-third the
time necessary for taking the impress
sion.
The white of an egg has proved of
late the most efficacious remedy for
burns. Seven or eight successive APP.
pllcations of this substance soothe pain,
and effectually exclude the burn from
the air. This simple remedy seems
preferable to colodion, or even cotton.
Extraordinary stories are told of the
healing properties of new oil, which
is easily made from the yolk of hens
eggs. The eggs are first boiled hard,
and the yolks are then removed, crush
ed and placed over fire, where they
are carefully stirred until the whole
substance is just on the point of catch
ing fire, when the oil separates and
may bepoured off, One yolk will yield
nearly two teaspoonfuls of OIL 1t is in
general use among the colonists of
South Russia as a means of curing cuts,
bruises and scratches
ReB@ LET EVERY Young MAN read the
advertisement of r. X. Swift & Co., in another
column, addressed to :. Young Men"
ny@H HAND & SEYMOUR, 49, and 1884
Broadway, Milwaukee, headquarters for Mill.
merry and Straw Goods See advertisement
ONE of the most important discover
les made by the San Domingo Commits
sion was new breed of scorpions.
They are virulently poisonous.