Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-09-24
CURIOUS AND soIENTIFrc.


CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.
New FUEL. Tho English papers note
the claim of the Dutch chemist who
processes TO have discovered what he
calls " the successor of steam,n which
he gives the scientific name of carbele-
um. 1t is form of carbolio acid, and
Mr.. Bemis, the discoverer, says ii can
be made to perform many Of the duties
now performed by steam, besides being
muoh more portable and moro quickly
available. The beauty of the discovery
to the English mind, supposing it to be
OF practical Importance, is chat it will
lead to the utilization of tho chalk cliffs
and lime deposits of England, SO that
as the end of coal mining draws near q
new resource for fuel will be available.
BTsMUTH.-M. Carnot reperts.. the dis
covery of bed of bismuth in the.
mountainous region which separates the
departments of Bresse and Dordogne.
The bed has been known to him for o
congiderable time, but not until recently
has he found that it can be proftably
worked. It occurs in combination with
lead, antimony, iron and calcium; but
M. Carnot has devised process by
which the bismuth may be extracted in
q pure state. Already o tolerable quan-
tity has been supplied to dealers in
Paris. This discovery by M. Carnot is
deemed q valuable one, as bismuth has
lately brought high price, owing TO its
increased use, and to the near exhaus-
tion of the deposit in Saxony, which
has been one of the important sources
tc ~ 1ota x,;o
mines have almost exclusively sustained
the requirements of commerce in this
line.
The FLORA OF FLORIDA. flora
of northern Florida includes 1,511
species of heterogeneous or Towering
plant, 875 of which occur in the north
ern states. OF the remainder, 234 ex-
tend to North Carolina, lib to South
Carolina, 1O8 to Georgia, 3 to Tennes-
see, 53 westward, and Is to southern
Florida. OF the 125 species which be-
long exclusively to Florida, only 8 have
state; and of the 1,511 species referred
to Florida, 1,497 are not known to
grow IN the southern part. Only 81
species are as yet known to be peculiar
to southern Florida, but 231 species are
found within its borders which do not
extend north of Tampa bay. But 8
species of West Indian woody plants
occur in Florida, and but in Key
West. The interior of southern Florida
has not yet been explored by botanists,
and the distinctive characteristics of it's
vegetation are not known. ~
PHoTo. .ENGRAvrNa.- Material progress
is mado in the application of photo
graphy to various branches of engrav-
ing. The arts of to-lithography and
photo-plate printing have lately been
supplemented by certain progresses,
which are called by those who employ
them "photo. craving" These opera
tions, though their details are jealously
kept secret, may be safely said TO de-
pend largely upon producing, by means
OF bl-chromatized gelatin, from an ordi-
nary glass negative of the drawing or
engraving, relief plate in metal, either
nm eleetrotype or stereotype, as may be
desired: This may then be employed
as usual in the printing press. Origi-
nal pen drawings and copies from wood
cuts, steel or photographic engravings
are reproduced with exquisite fidelity,
and it is said very cheaply. The ability
to employ relief plate in the printing
press of course greatly lessons the .ex-
pense of subsequent printing as com.
pared with other methods. Photo-en-
craving of the character here referred
to is at present carried on in New York
and Philadelphia.
STRENGTH OF METALS, WooDs, ETc.-
It is remarkable provision of nature