The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-07-17
CURIOUS. ANh sn1ENr1rIo.


CIReUIAR SANs..L'Ehe smallest cir
cular saws in use are those employed
IN the maAnfacture of Qold-pens. and
are half-inch IN diameter. it is said
that some Of athe sarcophagi of ancient
Eye bear the marks of having been
followed out with tools of the crown or
cylih1er saw order.
ptRREEus IN HoLLow TREE.-A
pnmdert of Hardwick's Science
GeHslp ID ates that hollow tree was cut
iowa IN Kent, last February, when out
enmbled upwards of thirty squirrels,
1nust of which were dormant or in a
state of semi-sleep. On being reused,
: fissy dispersed to various parts of the
ascPse. They had stored a large stock
nuts in the hollow. 1t is common to
nd squirrels thus slowed away for the
winter, but not often in such numbers
aogether. -e
ALLOY RESEMBLING STEEL.-An al
10y with the properties of steel may be
formed, according to French patent,
by fusing together iron, tungsten and
nickel, in a crucible, by the aid of fux
prepared by melting together Sc parts
of boracic acid, 80 of calcined quartz
and 80 of carbonate of lime. For the
irst quality of alloy SO per cent, of
iron, u of tungsten and of nickel are
employed for the second quality, 50
per cent. of soft iron, Al of tungsten
and I half of nickel; for the third
quality, 81 per cent. of soft iron, q of
tungsten and of nickel.
TURPENTINE.-Venice turpentine is
obtained from the larch, and is said to
be obtained in peculiar sacs in the up
per part of the stem, and to be obtained
by puncturing them. It is a ropy IL
quid, colorless, or brownish green, hav
ing a somewhat unpleasant odor and
bitter taste. Oil of turpentine is the
most plentiful and useful of oils, 1t is
obtained in this country from species
of pine very plentiful in the Carolinas,
Georgia and Alabama. The tree is
known as the long leaved pine (Oi'luS
AIStrdLjs), and is found only where the
original forest has not been removed.
PRESERVATION OF PHoToGRAPHs.-
simple invention for the preservation of
cards, photographs, etc., from injury by
moisture or dirt consists of a prepare
tion of gutta-percha in solution. The
liquid is thrown, in a very fine spray,
over the article by an atomizer. When
the liquid has in part evaporated, which
it soon does, it leaves the object coated
over with a thin, translucent film, i'm
pervious to water. The gutta-percha
should first be purified, and it then is
soluble in chloroform or ether. The
process of dissOlving the gum is in it
self purifying. A drawing or photo
graph protected by this film can be
washed with safety. The preparation
softens at temperature of $50 degrees
Fair, but to this only a rare accident
would subject it.
TRAVELLING ON THE FARM.-Did any
of your readers ever think of the amount
of travel it takes to raise a crop of corn?
never saw an illustration in print, and
thought I would give you one. / have
a twenty-acre field, forty by eighty rods
To break this up would take one hun
dred and sixty-six miles; narrowing it,
about forty miles furrowing out, nine
ty miles planting, fOrty-tive miles, if
with planter, and if dropped and then
covered, ninety miles and for each
blowing of two burrows in a row, ninety
miles, or five plowings, four hundred
and fifty miles. Thus you will see it
takes about eight or nine hundred miles
of travel to raise twenty acres of corn,
not counting going to and returning
from the field. Besides, there is re-
planting, thinning, rolling, etc.-ITdi-
ana Farmer.
THE FISHING FRoG.-Wr;ters on ma
tural history describe hideous reptile,
known as the fishing frog, which angles
for its game as expertly and with as
great success as the most adroit fly
fisher. He is a clumsy, awkward swim |
mer, but nature has compensated him |
for his unwieldiness by furnishing him |
with an equivalent for a rod and line, |
with bait always ready for use. Two |
elongated tentacles spring from his nose, |
which taper away like actual fishing |
rods. To the end of them is attached |
by slender filament, which serves the |
purpose of line, bait in the form of
8 shiny bit of membrane. The hooks
are set in the mouth of the fisherman
below, and in order to induce the fish
to venture within reach of them, the
angler stirs up the mud at the bottom
with his fins and tail. This attracts the
fish and eonceals him from their obser-
walton. He then plies his rod the gilt
tering bait glows in the water like liv-
ing insect. The dazed fish are taken in
great numbers, perfectly circumvented
by the trick of the crafty angler.
An UNFORTUNATE ISLAND. Some
months ago, the little Island of Niceros,
in the Grecian Archipelago, was shaken
by a series of earthquakes, which did
much damage, aud eliminated in the
bursting of the highest peak on the
island, and the discharge of a flood of
steam and boiling water, which threat
ened to inundate the whole island and
destroy every living thing on it. The
mountain, however, sue denly ceased to !
boil over, and it was hoped for time
there would be no recurrence of the I'M
pleasant phenomena. But, the other
day, the mountain resumed its horrid
belching, emitting such volumes of
scalding water that existence on the |
island has become almost intolerable. |
The ground is convulsed with earth
quakes, and the people have taken to
the open fields, where they are safer
than in their lettering homes. A
scarcity of provisions is added to their
other troubles; and, without houses, |
without food, and a monster in view
perpetually pouring out streams of
boiling water, menacing them with a |
horrible death, their condition is by no |
means enviable.
SKUNKs AND HYDROPHoBIA.-An art |
icle In the American Journal of Science !
and Arts presents the unpleasant an |
imal In new attitude. 1t appears that |
at the vest these creatures have a habit |
of biting people at times, and that the |
bite always results in hyhrophobia. A !
large number of cases are cited in illus
tration. The hydrophobia produced by |
other animals is much less fatal than /
that from the skunks. From this it is
possible to infer that the disease orig