The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-10-09
ouR1oUs ANp soTENTIFIo.

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/ A PARTY of scientific men has, accord
ing to the London Times, recently vi
tied the famous Croszness Well-boring in
London, an undertaking Of great inte-
rest to geologists at large, as promising
to throw light upon the unknown rocks
which succeed the Gault clay in the
London district. The present depth of
the boring is nine hundred and ffty
feet, and it may be mentioned that IS
this depth the cost Of boring amounts to
e14, per foot ~ msna 81
TIE way nails came to be designated
by the word "penny,, as regarding
size, is thus explained In the early
history of our country all nails we're
wrought (forged by hand); our currency
then was pounds. shilIings, lence and
farthings Each sized nails were sold
by so many pennies per hundred. The
usual way was to ask for four-penny
nails, six-penny, ten-penny, etc. Hence
in mercantile circles the sizes are desig-
mated by the price in pennies per hun
dred. When cut-nails were introduced,
the sizes were still designated by pen
nies and this has been continued, and
in all probability viii be as long as nails
are used.
USES OF PURPURINE.-Pmpurin can
be used for dyeing cotton, wool or silk
of black, red, rose or lilac color. Cot
ton is printed with the usual madder
mordant, colored and soaped at one
hundred and twenty-five to one hundred
and forty-four degrees to restore the
whites and clear the oolors. Passing
through bran improves the whites.
Wool is mOrdanted in alum and tartaf,
or bichloride of tin and tartar, and dyed
by bsiling half an hour In purpuring
bath. A little tannin may be added
with advantage to the mordant, For
printing wool, about three hundred
grains CT purpurine and sixty grains of
carbonate of soda are1 dissolved in
hot water thickened with starch, !,
and increased to about one quart,
printed and steamed. For crimson,
alum and tartar are. used as. mordants.
Silk takes colors beautifully, especially
reds, by mordanting with acetate of
alum and chalk, drying and cumming
slightly with tragacanth solution Zone
to two hundred), printing with q solu-
tion of four hundred and eighty grains
purpurine and one hundred and eighty
grains crystalEzed carbonate of soda in
water. filtered and thickened with three
thousand grains of roasted starch, then.
steamed and soaped at one hundred and
forty-four degrees $50.
THE pollution of water by typhoid
ereretG has long been established, and
the fact that water is the transporting
agent in the spread of many diseases.
The British medical association, stimu-
lated by the Marrylebone epidemic,
have recently discussed the spread of
the fever by means of milk. In Dr..
Billiards. report on the earlier Islington
outbreak, he created some amusement
by suggesting that the foul water had
probably been used to rinse out the
cans. On subsequent occasion the
same explanation was for time &C.
cepted; but it was ultimately discovered
that the milk in that case had been
regularly diluted with 10 per oent. of
water. That which is supplied by the
company which is responsible for the
Marylebone outbreak is obtained from
farmers of responsibility and substance,
and is tested in London before it is sent
out. If dilution were detected the
milk would be returned to the farmer,
and it is quite certain that no dilution
on large scale can have been praoticsdy
But DR.. Billiards. suggestion abonU
rinsing the cans viii, in the way that OP-
peration is performed, account for the
presence Of perhaps half pint of wa
ter in each and there is the obvious
possibility that labors employed about
the dairy may substitute small quanti-
ties of water for milk on their, own ac-
count. The dilution here suggested
could not be detected by any of the or
binary tests, because it would keep
within the limits of natural variation.
. A New ANILRsE RED.-According to
F. Hamel, the addition of few drops
Of chloride of sulphur to 375 grains of
aniline, in flask, with continued, care
fuI stirring. produces, in from five to
ten minutes, sometimes Immediately. a
red solid, which, when treated with
acetic acid and filtered, gives a red
liquid that yields on evaporation b9l7
liant black substance, soluble in acetic
acid, ether and alcohol. Addition of
water to its solution in any Of these pro-
duces a gray preeipitate.
THE quill appears to have been first
in use about the year six hundred the
word penna meaning quill, is not found
in any work older than that period
previous to which we find the word cal
anus, a reed. This word still exists in
the modern Italian word caIGDIGjO,
which signifies inkstand. Instances are
on record of pens being used for many
/ years. Leo AIlatius used the same pen
for forty years and did not wear it out
at last; he lost it by some accident, and
! DSMalAeQ LIS lDssb btbtC44lr < AANAAtAtA -
/ the translator of Pliny, completed that
work with a single pen, and celebrated
/ the achievement IN rhyme:
81 - with one cole pen wrote this beck.
1 Made Of gray goosn quill;
A pen it when i took
A pen I leave it STILL"
IN view OF The present high price of
nickel, DR.. Percy, the eminent metallur-
gist, proposes to substitute manganese
for it in the preparation Of German
silver, and maintains that it is impossi-
BILE for the most experienced manipula-
tor to determine the difference, except
chemically. A further article on this
subject, in the Chemical News, indicates
the best method Of obtaining manganese
sufficiently pure for the purpose, as also
for rsfping it and It IS there suggested
that there is nothing 70 prevent rure
metal being obtained in large quantity
and at a comparatively low price.