The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1874-07-23

The Portland Me-, Industrial Exhi-
bition affords general satisfaction to all
concerned.
"A tract of coal and timber land con.
tanning 4, 400 acres in Clearfeld County,
Pa, was recently sold for $3.50, 1000.
"A company is forming in Missouri
for working the lead deposits in q tract
OF wv acres in the Joplin District.
Prizes for the best loaves of bread,
to be made by the students, is a new and
hopeful feature in several female semi
naries this year.
There are only two fifty-ton steam
hammers in the world. One is at Krupp's
works in Essen, Prussia; the other at the
Government steel works in st, Peters.
burg.
Glassware has been ordered in Pitts
burgh by Hamburg firm for the South
American market. This is owing to the
American pressed ware being very much
cheaper than the cut ware of Europe,
while it is almost as good
Ten thousand tons of the hay crop of
1873 have been shipped from Belfast, Me.
About $4,000 tons surplus have been ex-
ported from Waldo County, for which
the farmers were paid an average of SIS
per ton. 1t went to Boston and Southern
ports.
The tobacco industry is making fair
progress in California. A company at
Gilroy have planted sevesal hundred
acres OF plants, and recently sent to mar
ket for the first time a consignment of
10000 cigars and 5000 pounds of to-
bacco.
The value of the imports from Great
Britain to the United States during the
first three months of this year was $751;
499, go, a falling off of $4,216, 74O COM
pared with the corresponding period in
1873, when the imports amounted to &c.,
716O1O.
San Francisco purposes opening an
grand industrial exhibition in August,
for which a large building is being erect
ed. Exhibitors will be supplied with
motive power free of charge, and are in
vited to apply for space before the Goth
of July.
The great undertaking, which has re-
Gently been so successfully achieved, of
constructing tunnel through the Hoosac
Mountain, in Western Massachusetts,,
shows, in it's results, that engineering
science and skill on this side of the water
are actually in advance of what is to be
met with of this character in Europe.
An interesting example of the in
dustries and important results which
have sprung recently from the. scientific
treatment of substances long overlooked
or unthought of is that afforded by the
silky vegetable downs which clothe the
seeds of many trees. These are now
largely employed in some parts of the
country for stuffing beds, quilts-in the
place of cider down-also ladies' skirts,
and for other purposes.
Porous blocks of charcoal, for the
filtration of water, have proved much
superior to the loose charcoal system,
and they are now an article of extensive
manufacture. The purest animal char
coal is first reduced to fine powder and
is then mixed with tar and other COM
bustible materials also in u state of fine
powder. This mass is kneaded into a
plastic condition with liquid pitch, and
is afterward nodded into blocks of any
required size or shape. These nodded
blocks are then exposed to great heat, by
which means all the combustiblc ingre-
dents are burnt out, leaving the pure
carbon in solid form.
"A very singular action in iron has re.
Gently been detected by Mr.. johnson, an
English chemist. 1t appears that iron
was immersed in hydrochloric acid one
or more hours, and then tested for elonga-
ton and breaking strain, after which, on
being heated and again tested, the fol-
lowing results were shown, namely:
That immersion in acid diminishes the
breaking strain of iron wire from ! to
8 per cent, and of steel wire about A
per cent; and that immersion in acid
appears, in some cases, to diminish and
in others slightly to augment the elonga-
ton of iron wire, and to promote the
elongation of steel wire about 30 per
cent