The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-09-25
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.

10 DcluB mh06. TO Introduce Iuo prairie
chicken intovarious waste tracts in Eu-
rope and America, and with every pros
pect of success. 1t is stated that few
years ago several pairs were transferred
to district of Maryland, and that, IN
consequence of proper protection, the
progeny already amounts to several
thousands.
New FUE1.-The English papers note
the claim of the Dutch chemist who
processes to have discovered what he
calls the successor of steam, which
he gives the scientific name of carbide
UNI. 1t is q form of carboIc acid, and
MIR. Bemis, the discoverer, says it can
be made to perform many OF the duties
now performed by steam, besides being
much more portable and more quickly
available. The beauty of the discovery
to the English mind, supposing it to be
of practical importance, is that it will
lead to the utilization of the chalk cliffs
and lime deposits of England, so that
as the end of coal mining draws near
new resource for fuel will be available.
BIsMUTH.-M. Carnot reports the dis
covery of a bed of bismuth in the
mountainous region which separates the
departments of Bresse and Dordogne
The bed has been known to him for a
considerable time, but not until recently
has he found that it can be profitably
worked. It occurs in combination with
lead, antimony, iron and calcium; but
NJ. Carnot has devised a process by
which the bismuth may be extracted in
n pure state. Already tolerable guam
tity has been supplied to dealers in
I IL. t,yrM .,
deemed a valuable one, as bismuth has
lately brought high price, owing to its
increased use, and to she near exhaus-
ton of the deposit in Saxony, which
has been one of the important sources
of its supply. OF late the Bolivia
mines have almost exclusively sustained
the requirements of commerce in this
line.
THE FLORA OF FLoRIDA.-The fora
OF northern Florida includes 1911
species of heterogeneous or Towering
plant, S75 of which occur in the north
ern states. OF the remainder, 234 ex-
tend to North Carolina, 113 to South
Carolina, 108 to Georgia, 3 to Tennes-
see, 53 westward, and Is to southern
Florida. OF the 125 species which be-
long exclusively to Florida, only 9 have
been found in the southern part of the
state and of the ], 81 species referred
to Florida, 1,4S7 are not known To
grow IN the southern part. Only 81
species are pc vet known IN be peculiar
to southern Florida, but 231 species are
found within its borders which do not
extend north of Tampa bay. But s
species of West Indian woody plants
occur in Florida, and but 6 in Key
ha NJ Of bnyF 10
has not yet been explored by botanists,
and tho distinctive characteristics of its
vegetation are not known.
PHoTo -ENGFAvING. Material progress
is made in the application of photo
graphy to various branches of engrav-
ing. The arts of phOto-lithograpby and
phOto-plate printing have lately been
supplemented by certain processes,
which ere 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 bi-chromatized gelatin, from an ordi-
nary glass negative of the drawing or
engraving, a relief plate In metal, either
an electrotype 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 q 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
g. ,#, id Nar1
and Philadelphia.
STRENGTH OF METALS, WOODS, Ere
It is a remarkable provision of nature
that iron, which is the most abundant
material yielded by the earth, is also
the strongest of all known substances.
Made into the best steel, rod one
fourth of an inch in diameter will sus-
tain 5000 pounds before breaking :;
made into soft steel, rod of the same
dimensions will sustain 1000 pounds !;
into iron wire, 5000; wrought iron 4, =
600 inferior bar iron, 2 600. and cast
iron 600 to 5000. A bar of copper
wire of the same size will sustain 900
pounds; of silver, 1000; gold, $500 /;
tin, 300 cast zinc. 100; cast lead, so,
and milled lead, 200. OF wood. a bar
of box and locust of equal sizo will
sustain 1,200 pounds of toughest ash,
1000, elm, 500; beech, cedar, white
oak, pitch pine, 600; chestnut and
maple, $50; and poplar, 400. Wood
which will bear a heavy weight for a
minute or two will break with two
thirds the force acting long time. a
rod of iron is about ten times as strong
as hemp cord. A rope an inch in diam
eter will bear about 2 tons, but in prac-
r, A.. L. - =.
of more than about a ton. Decrease
the rope in diameter one-hslf, and its
strength will decrease three-fourths.
Thus a rope half an inch in diameter
will sustain one-fOurth as much as a
rope an inch in diameter.
GRAssHoPPERs As FooD.-In view of
the famine which Minnesotians are suf-
fering in consequence of the ravages of
the grasshOpper, the editor of the Nat
uralist gravely advises the people to
turn to and devOur the pests that are
devouring them. From his own per-
sonal knowledge, he states that the
grasshOpper makes a very palatable
article of diet, when killed by boiling
water and fried in butter. Care should
be taken, however, to cook the beast
thoroughly, as it is apt to be infested
with parasites that die haTd-the hair
snake, for instance, which, as we have
heretofore mentioned, has a habit of
occupying lodgings for a good portion
of its life in the interior apartments of
the grasshoPper. In portions of Africa
and Western Asia, and we may add
Western America, the gTasshopper is
eaten with great gusto. The Arabs,
the Hottentots and the Dakotas take
theirs roasted whole, minus the legs, or
roasted and afterward powdered and
made into cakes. Various modes of
serving grasshopper steaks might be
devised by the ingenious Blots of the
Minnesota plains; and, as necessity is
said to be the mother of invention, no
doubt the sharpened wits of a hungry
people, once set at the task, would pro-
duce miracles in the way of grasshopper
roasts and stews, not to speak of grass
hopper sausage and 'grasshopper hash
a not secondary advantage resulting
from this course of dietetits would be
the depletion of the hordes of yoracious
jumping jacks that are now carrying all
before them, save the starvation which
they leave in their track