Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-07-09
DUBIOUS AND soIENTIFIo.

a splice, and has been made for the
Siemans telegraph company. It is made
of three strands, the diameter of the
completed rope being two inches.
The SEASON IN EUnopE. spring
ly hot weather in Europe, but soon af-
terward severe cold seems to have set
in Tho sudden change is accounted
for by nj. De Fopyielle, French ga
want, by the fact that the earth is pass
ing behind ring of asteroids, which
absorb portion offthe suns warmth,
due to us. while it remains above the
horizon. The temperature will not re-
sumo s ascensional movement until
the annual rotation shall have carried
our sphere from the shadow of the null
titude of small planets which is always
projected On the same point CT on- orb.
GULF STREAM SoUND1Nas. 1t ap-
pears from the soundings made by the
Challenger expedition, from both the
New York and the Halifax sections, that
the true Gulf stream or Florida cur
rent is limi ed river of superheated
water of which the breadth is about
sixty miles near Sandy Hook, while near
Halifax it has separated into divergent
ppiChiuoS 1O1mllR u SOI1 VI uSlbftp 1Ib
depth Gas determined by the use of the
current drag) being nowhere more than
one hundred fathoms. This river rests
upon tho remarkable stratum of sixty to
sixty-five degrees, the thickness of
which distinguishes the Western from
the Eastern Atlantic between Bermuda
and Azores, while at less than double
the depth Of that layer we come into
what is clearly polar water.
IRON DIRECT FROM THE ORE.-Mr. +.
w. Gerhard, of Staffordshire, has lately
introduced new process by which pud-
died iron is obtained direct from the
ore, the blast furnace being dispensed
with. Instead of using pig-iron, Mr..
Gerhard employs compound of ore of
any substance containing iron, the nee
essary. fuxes, and the equivalent of
carbon. A lump of this compound is
put into the furnace, and by the single
process known to the puddler as "ball-
ing," cheat" may be obtained in
much less time and with considerably
less labor than under the old method !;
the process of melting" and boiling
being entirely dispensed with. The
SPECIAL features Of the invention is the
great saving of fuel, it being estimated
that 8, 76O pounds of coal are saved in
manufacturing 2,40O pounds of iron.
In the opinion of some iron-worker this
method of making wrought.iron must
very soon supersede the present labo-
rious and costly mode of manufacturing
it from pig-iron.
DANGERS OF METHYLIc ALCOHOL
Serious maladies, says the Lyons Med.
ical, have been engendered among the
workmen in two industrial establish
ments by the employment of methylic
alcohol-that is wood naptha, or aico-
hol derived from wood. The material
is used in: the finishing of felt hats and
silk fabrics. Its action is directly upon
the mucus membrane exposed to it's
emanations, and also through the nerv-
ous system upon the entire organiza.
tion. The effect is first noticed upon
the ocular conjunct;va, which become
infiamed and injected, producing SEN
sation'of nd in the eyes. A copious
flow Of tears and extreme sensibility to
light 1photophobia) follow, incapacita-
ting the sufferer for work Further
symptoms include. intense coryza and
inflammation of the pharyx and bron-
chial tubes, together with trouble of
the digestive organs. Severe headaches
and feeling Of heaviness and depres-
sion are always present. The rigor of
the malady depends upon the extent to
which the person is exposed to theaIco-
holic fumes. The workman who fin
ishes the bottom of hat is attacked
more severely than the one who pre-
parcs the rim. It has also been noticed
that cabinet-makers who use the mate
rial in varnish are frequently attacked
with tetanic cOnvulsions of the fingers,
unknown previous to the employment
of the alcohol.
OLD HATS PAnAp1sE.-The gro.
tesque fancy of savages for the cast-off
,hablllments of civilized races is a
source of amusement to travellers the
world over. 1t is rare, however, that
tho fancy rises to such passion for Il
single article rs is exhibited among the
Nicobar Islanders: Young and old,
chiefs, and subjects, in these Summer
Isles of Eden," alike endeavor to
outvie each other III the accumulation
of old hats, priding themselves on the
extent and variety of their collections
as"other people do on their wealth of
gold or jewels or works of art. Curl
ously, second hand hats are most in re-
quest, new ones being looked upon with
suspicion and disfavor.s The singular
passion is taken advantage of by the
traders of Calcutta, who make annual
excursions to the Nicobars with cargoes
OF old hats which they barter for cocoa
nuts, the principal production of the
islands. good tall white hat, with q
black band, fetches from ffty.tive to
slxty-five prime cocoanuts-someti
more, as, during the intense excitement
which nerYedes the islands while Tho