The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1871-11-15
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.

!, QleC mas cIuSetl me 'CecreSSe In leprOSy IN
Europe since the Middle Ages.
A Prussian engineer has invented ma.
chine which will manufacture ice without
chemicals, merely by compre ssiOn and ex-
pulsion of air. The specimen machine no n
at New York ,nak' two tons of ice per day,
and the capacity c. be increased to twenty
tons.
Two-thir3s of ali the zinc produced is
manufactured into sheets. The remainder
is employed in making brass, in wire. in
Zinc-white as substitute for lead in paipt
and for castings. Tie two chief require-
ments for zinc sheets are roofing and sheath
ing the bottoms Of ships.
! An English chemist has been experiment.
ing for the purpose of ascertaining how
much of various kinds of food must be eat
en- in order to make one pound of flesh. BE
comes to the conclusion that 1t requires d
pounds OF milk, 100 of turnips, so Of pota-
toes, 20 Of carrots, s Of oatmeal, 7l-2 of bar
leg meal, and 3i-2 Of beans.
The phosphcresccnt matter in fishes is as-
serted to be merely fat, In paper lately
read before the association Of Naturalists
and Physicians at Turin. Baron de Selys
Longchamps, In communication to the
chronological Society Of London, estimates
the number OF known species of dragon fish
at l,34i.
| Some recent preparations have proved
dangerously explosive on being mixed by
the apothecary. A lady in England re-
Gently put box Of pills which had been
prescribed for her, in her bosom. In short
/ time there was severe explosion, and she
was bsd.y burned. The recipe was mix
ture of oxydc of silver, muris.e of mOrphia,
and extract of gentian.
Another effort to demonstrate aerial navi-
! CATION is soon to be made in Washington.
The plans have been submitted to scientific
men there and elsewhere, and have GER
tainly awakened an interest, which Is O trib-
ute the demonstration may regard as valua-
bic. 1t is understood that movements are
Oh foot TO organize company to give prac-
| tical reality to the theory which has been
cOnsummated.
A party of gentlemen connected with the
Coast Survey are engaged In triangulating
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The work
has been in progress in Missouri and Illinois
for some time past. When the work Is fin
ally completed-after about twenty-five
years-sciGnce will be enriched by knowl-
edge of the exact dimensions OF the globe,
and the Russian, French and English calcu-
latioas based on the surveys by those coun-
| tries Of an arc Of the meridian tie proved
and rcctified.
/ Hydrato ul cEloral may, in many cases,
according to German pharmaceutical
journal, be conveniently applied to the re-
ductiOn of precious metals. For this pur-
pose solution of gold, platinum, ETC., is
/ mixed with hydrate of chloral and an ex-
cess Of caustic potash or soda, and the
! whole heated together. After boiling for
about one minute the reduction is complete,
and the precipitate is ally washed. In the
case of silver the action Is especially salts.
! factory, but solutions OF salts of mercury
are not reduced.
: From paper on the vertebrate animals OF
Australia, lately published by Mr.. krefit,
the curator of the Sidney Museum, we learn
/ that no wo0dpeckers or humming birds
have ever been met with In that country.
Among birds, the parrot is the most promi.
rcnt. there being more than sixty species.
| Reptiles abound. among them z species of
crocodile. individuals of which frequently
grow to the extraordinary length Of thirty
feet, and occasion much trouble to the
! colonists. No one of the five venOmous
! snakes Of the country is so deadly rs the
1 English viper. The number of known
harmless species is scventY-tive.
The English journals report that during
recent explorations in the moss on the shores
of Loeb Etive. Argyle county, Scotland, the
remains Of an extensive lake dwelling were
discovered. The platform Of this structure
is sixty feet in diameter, and the dwelling in
the middle fifty feetlong and twenty-elght
feet broad. There was also discovered in
large cairn structure composed of huge
stones, and consisting of two chambers, each
twenty feet long, connected by passage OF
I nearly the same length. One broken urn
and the remains of four others were also dis
covered. Lech Etive is an inlet to the sea
| on the northwest coast of Scotland, running
up for oyer twenty miles, and varying in
breadth.
A new alloy Of copper and iron has been
Invented which is regarded a. n discovery
CT much practical Importance. The blend
ing of the two metals produces substance
of great strength, which, it is said, can be
tempered TO greater hardness than steel,
and when soft is easily worked. One of the
most important advantages claimed for
this new alloy is that it is not liable to Oxi.
dation on exposure to the atmosphere. But
the principal object OF the invention is to
make perfectly malleable metal which can
be tempered to the utmost hardness, and
which, being cheaper than fine steel, can be
substituted for 1t In many important appli-
cations for which the latter il now rarely
employed. The tests to which the new alloy
has been submitted show its peculiar adap-
tation for the purposes In question.
The extraordinary drouths which have
prevailed throughout the country during TIN
past summer have given new impulse to
the study OF the problem Of the manufacture
of rain. A leading physicist has rsas-ay ~
P"hliehn1 hcci- - sho" ,nnt lhiS caA Ue
done. The author starts with the fact from
a great range Of examples, that heavy artil-
lery firing in great battles has invariably
been followed by rain and argues that artil-
lery firing will always produce like result.
The explanation of this phenomenon Is not
easy, but the phenomenon stands rs fact.
tn conclusion is that the Government
oa, ht to take the matter in hand, and by
series of experiments at different places
test the practical value Of the principle. 1t
Is argued that the expense would be incOn-
siderable compared to the beneficial results,
and the Government could supply rain
gauges and charge for the amount each
Elrmer would receive.
FRENCH SUBSTITUTE FOR MAHoGANY.-I
The difficulty fprOcuring mahogany ard
other valuable woods, and the consequent
cXhorbitant prices demanded for the same,
whether in a crude or manufactured state,
have brought into requisition tho art of the
chemist, and certainly with very satisfactory
results. 1t has been c0ntrived TO render any
species of wood of close grain, so nearly
to resemble mahogany in the texture. den-
sity and polish, that the most accurate jutlecs
are incapable Of distinguishing between the !
imitation and the native prOuRct. The first |
operation III this process, as ROW practiccd
in France, Is TO plane the surface as 10 ren. !
rubbed with diluted nitrous acid, which pre- |
f. Il