The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-05-30


so as TO show the danger side, is e1-
tended TO transmit current of electric
ity to little projection between the
rails. When the engine passes over this
spot a metallic brush hanging between
its wheels strikes on the projection and
sweeps over 1t, at the same time trans
hitting the current to an electTO-msg-
net which pulls the whistle open. The
latter, by continuously sounding, warns
the engineer
THE HEAT OF THE SUN.-Father Sec
chi, the distinguished Italian astrono-
mer, has recently published the result
of his Investigations IN the solar tenn
perature, made during last summer, and
states that his efforts were directed to-
ward the determination of the relation
of the solar radiation with that of the
electric light. The instrument used
was a thermo heliometer of the investi-
gators own invention, and the conclu-
sion reached was that the radiation of
the sun would be 364 times that of the
carbon points. If, therefC re, the tenn
perature at the surface of the latter is
lfxed at 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit, a
number not exaggerated, and suppos-
ing the radiation proportional to the
temperature, we obtain for the potential
temperature of the sun 30, $50 degrees
Fahrenheit.
WHENCE THE NAME OF I" PENNsLYvA-
MA. The origin of the name of the
state of Pennsylvania will be found in
a letter of William Penn, its founder,
dated January 6, 1851, fIom which the
following is an extract This day,
after many watchings, waitings, solicit
tings and disputes in council, my coun-
try has been confirmed to me under the
seal of England, with large powers and
privileges, by the name of Pennsylva-
MIA name the king would give it in
honor of my father. I choose New
Wales, being a billy country and when
the secretary. a Welshman, refused to
call it New Wales, I proposed Sylvania,
and they added Penn 10 i, though I
was much opposed to it, and went to
the king to have 1t struck out He said
1t was past, and he would not take it
upon him for I feared it might be
looked upon as a vanity in me, and not
as a respect in the king to my father,
as it really was"
New TREATMENT OF CANCER Anoth-
er treatment OF cancer has been brought
out by DR.. Hasse, of Berlin. An ac-
count is given in the Medicinishe Cen
trail ZeituDg, February 18th. DR.. Hasse
injeCts, Ewith a hypOdermio syringe.
pure alcohol, to which one per cent. OF
ether Is added, not into the new growth,
but around its edges, thus obliterating.
he claims, the vessels, especially lvm-
phatics, which convey the infection, and
causing the atrophy of the growth It
self The plan Is rather severe but Is
much reduced by ice-bags. and lasts on
ly about two hours. The injections are
repeated every eight to fourteen DAYS.
and have no alarming reactions. He
claims striking success in carcinoma OF
the mamma. and in caulifower excres-
cence of the uterus, but has failed in
epithelioma of the lip, which he attrib-
utes to the impOssibility of obliterating
by the large and closely adjacent coro-
nary artery. and Surgical
Reporter.
CURIosIrIEs OF THE BIBLE.-A maj
who was condemned to solitary confine.
ment for life in a prison, relieved the
tediousness of the years by ascertaininl
the following facts: The Bible contains
$3.50, 489 letters, 773, 692 words. 81, I7s
verses, !, lS9 chapters, and Sc books
The word land" occurs &c. OFT times
the word "Lord" occurs ]. $50 times
the word g Reverend occurs but once
which is in the 9th verse of the It'll
Psalm. The middle verse is the ST
verse of the 18th Psalm. The 21s
verse of the 18th chapter of Ezra contains
ali the letters OF the alphabet excep
the letter j. The finest chapter to reaS
Is the 26th chapter of the Acts OF tn,
Apostles. The 10Th chapter of II. King
and the 9th chapter of Isaiah are alike
The longest verse Is the 9th verse of tn
9Th chapter of Esther. The shortes
verse 10 the 35th verse of the 18th chap
ter of st. John. The 9Th, 18th, 21s
and 31st verses of the 10th Psalm ar
alike. All the verses of the 136th Psalm
end alike. There are no words or name
OF over six syllables.
HARDNESS OF MINERALS AND METALS
: In physics one body is said to be harde
than another when it is capable O
scratching the specimen with which /
Is compared. In minerology, in which
science the hardness Is an importan
characteristic, ten bodies are usuaIl-
taken as points of comparison-th,
softest being termed l and the hardes
10. These are: 1, tale; 2, gypsum;
carbonate of lime 4. fuor spar 3
phosphate of lime; 6, felspar 7
quartz; s, topaz; 9, c0rundum: 10
diamond. Hence, when scientific works
speak of the hardness OF a body being
6, 8, 4, etc, reference is made to the
relative hardness expressed by he lis
above given. The tenacity OF metals is
estimated by the resistance which wires
passed at equal temperature through
the same hole of a draw bench. The
following gives the relative tenacity o.
various metals and alloys Steel al
ready drawn, 100; iron already drawn
50; brass already drawn, II; gold al
O.S75, annealed, 70; steel annealed, 65
copper already drawn, 6S; silver al
0,750, annealed, So; silver at O.S75, 81
brass annealed, 46 iron annealed, 80
platinum annealed, 50; copper annealed
IS i; fine gold annealed, 81; fine silver
annealed, 81; zinc, 81 tin, IL lead, 4
THE WALL OF CHIxA.-The wall O.
China is a greater wonder than the Pyr
amids of Egypt, and must have been
heavy drain on the wealth ard labor Of
the Empire when it was built. Mr.
Seward has some interesting comments
on it: The Chinese have been for two
or three thousand years a Matchmaking
people. 1t would bankrupt New York
or Paris to build the walls of Pekin.
The great wall of China is the great
wall of the world. 1t is forty feet high.
The lower thirty feet is of hewn lime
stone or granite. Two modern carriages
may pass each other on the summit. II
has a parapet throughout its whole
length, with convenient staircases, but
trcsses. and garrison-houses at every
quarter of G mile, and runs, not by cut
ting down hills and raising valleys, but
over the uneven crests of the mountains
and down through their gorges, dis
lance of one thousand miIes. Admiral
Rodgers and calculated that it would
cost more now to build the great wall
of China, through its extent of one
thousand miles, than it has cost to build
the fifty-fve thousand miles of railroads
In the United States. What a COM
mensary it is upon the human intellect
to see this utilitarian enterprise, so nee
essary snd effective two thousand years
ago, now not merely useless, but an in
cumbrance and an obstruction.
NEVER illuminate the understanding:
it should shine like the sun. by its own
light. Nevertheless black your boots.