The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1872-12-21
SCIENTIFIC.


SCIENTIFIC
mechanic has invented ana
nlied for a patent on a vehicle, IN ,et -
ndad 70 carry freight or passengers RE.
er ordinary streets or roads, the pro- pos
fling power of which Is asmAll ma p pn
inc weighing less than one hundred he
,unds but being capable OF moving pu
cavity loaded wagons up any gr~Ne y
,,eI1, 70 he encountered in our country e gl
highways. The motive power Is al al
nrinp. and the machine is wound up II
Ike n clock. The inventor claims 'n"' )
10 vehicle Will run fifteen miles at " u u
single winding Coast Z
n,.-,ev has been making explorations OF
Iate among the Aleutian Islands, anu
hos discovered various remains OF pre-
historic natives, such as lamps, knives,
aroo,,s orrow-heads, hearthstones' ana
ei,oletons Around the sites OF ancient
villages he found several specimens u
roonIior WAYS of burial. In certain
nlaces a sort of cave was formed ''ii'le
averhanqing rocks, and here were P",
the bodies of the dead, preserved "il''
C,o,,lv dressed. Some OF them were
7,,.,orad entirely with wooden armor
occasionally the cave had the''rlc''l
o,S,,ooronce the bodies of renowned |
',p - we're placed III canoes, armed
and apparently rowing Women w.
l.......aasxted- engaged san' si1des ,eslsI Ensfa
I ~cre scace1 1D0TT the walls, seeming
| to beat the drums to whose rough music
their fellows once danced in Winter.
CLOTH MADE or GLAss.-A glass
spinner of Vienna manufactures glass
which he spins into threads finer than
cotton fibre or that spun by the sill
worm. Great dexterity and constant
care are required, and it is very trying
to the sight of the spinner The wheel
he uses is five Austrian yards in diane
ter. and he runs off three thousand
yards a minute, The glass yarn is sold
for one dollar and thirty-six cents in
gold, an ounce. This thread is nearly
as fine as silk lint. 1t is used as sub
stitute for wool wrappings by patients
suffering from the govt, and also by
chemists and apothecaries for fltering,
as it resists acid and heat. The thread
has lately been wove into cushions,
carpets, table-cloths, shawls, neckties
and other garments, also for weaving
figures in brocaded silk and velvet. As
a material for fancy dresses, embroidery,
tapestry, laces and dressing for the hair,
/ I. /
| 1t is almost as soft as silk, and to the
touch like to finest wool or cotton. 1t
| is remarkably strong, remains I'm
changed by light, heat, moisture or
acids-wiu wash and does not fade or
burn Cloths of glass fabrics are said
to be warmer than cotton or wool,
which seems hardly credible.
PREPARArToSs are being made at the
Woolwich Arsenal for the erection OF
the 30-ton Nasmyth steam hammer, the
largest ever constructed. tt viii be
able to strike a blow equal to the weight
of about 800 tons, and the bed for an
anvil has, therefore, to be of enormous
strength An excavation 10 feet square
and 20 feet deep has been made, then
piles, about 100 in number, driven into
the solid gravel about 20 feet and the /
interstices filed up with concrete; on /
these was placed a block Of iron 80 feet |
broad and II inches thick, weighing /
leo tons, and on this two layers of oak |
| baIlzs On this timber was next placed
I another iron plate, 10 inches thick ana
twenty seven feet square, weighing III
tons, and then followed number of
oak balks as before, standing vertically
and bound together 214 tons have also
been lowered upon the oak balks, and
one heavier than any yet placed viii
shortly follow. Upon this the anvil
block, shortly to be cast, which is to
weigh 1O2 tons, viii rest, and it viii be
surmounted by the anvil face, which
viii be u feet III diameter and weigh
go tons
The SINKS or FLORIDA-You find
here these subterranean streams and
Lime sinks in perfection, and these I'M
! foreground connections are so abundant
that roaming through the woods is at
tended with considerable danger. Cat
tie and hogs are frequently lost. Some
Of these passages form as perfect a
well as if cut by art. saw one four
feet in diameter and seventy feet deep
communicating with a running stream
at its bottom In this well that Nature
saved the gentlemen the expense Of
digging, bucket had come Y a subter-
ranean passage from where no one
knew. The sides of these walls or sinks |
are of solid limestone rock. They vary !
in diameter from one foot to two hun |
bred feet. saw one that was formed |
few years ago that was two hundred /
feet in diameter. It soon filed up with
water to within ten feet of the top. any
animal or person getting in there could
not get out without assistance. 1t has
been fathomed with a line two hundred
feet long, and no bottom reached.
Whether the bottom of this State viii
ultimately fall out L am unable to
determine. There are some very. I'M
pleasant features connected with this
sinking. A gentleman who had taken
great pains with his winter garden. and
had every thing growing finely, went
out one morning to find his garden had
disappeared, and a pool of water occu-
pied its place. Another gentleman was
visiting hia D,alsine1. sIrss slssrlN ritslre.
His horse Ton his return suddenly
stopped, and could not be made to go
forward. The gentleman becoming
wearied with his persistent efforts to
induce the horse to go on in the road,
concluded to give him the reins, when
the horse, making a wide detour, passed
on. Curiosity brought the man back to
the place in the morning, when he dis
covered a freshly made sink, some
thirty feet deep, that would have de-
stroyed him and his horse had he gone
over.
FossILIzED FRUT.-S5ome very curl
Gus specimens of fossilized fropicaI | ,