Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-07-16

Industrial.

Millions and millions of caterpillars,
.ocording to the Salt Lake Neaos, are
potcb;ng on the trees in Utah, and
threaten to destroy the fruit crop.
-Hay-cakes, composed of hay and
straw. very finely cut, well mixed with
crushed oats or rye, and moistened with
q solution of rapeseed or linseed oil-cake,
and then well worked and formed into
tablets under pressure, have been for
some time employed in France as con-
yenient and portable food for horses.
The Journal of Chemistry announces
that the potato of civilization is rapidly
deteriorating, and calls upon Congress
m detail a competent person to South
America to "select specimens from the
bealthiest wild potato-vine, cultivate
them to a proper degree of edible perfec-
tion in their native climate, and then inn
mort them hither for adoption by iAmeri-
can agriculturists."
The quantity of timber used in the
mining districts of Utah is enormous. 1t
Is said that more lumber is used in crib
hing and walling up silver mines than is
nsed for building all the cities, towns,
dwellings and fences in the Territory
This seems an incredible story, and is
nrobably an exaggeration but it is grave
" asserted as fact by the correspondent
of St. Louis newspaper.
A new invention in carpet manufac-
ture promises to afford handsome ar
ticle at much lower figure than now re-
ouired. The carpet can be made of any
desired pattern, and the colors are very
bright, so that when laid upon the floor
it has all the effect of a costly article. 1t
is very durable, and judges who have
seen it say it will supersede other carpet
ing to large extent as soon as it becomes
known.
1t is said that hens can be laugh
to eat potato bugs by sprinkling corn in
the potato patch, and by gathering the
bugs and feeding them to the hens,
mixed with the corn When they once
learn to eat them, if your potato patch
is accessible to them all further trouble
with the bugs is at an end. We know of
several farmers whose hens you could
not purchase at any price, on account of
their fondness for potato bugs-PortLand
(Nich.) Observer.
"A Leipsic journal describes an in
genious kind of screw, the design, of
which is to fasten locks in such a man
ner as to insure much greater degree of
security against the arts of tampering
than is afforded by any of the devices at
present in use. Its popularity is that it
has a right-hand wooden thread at the
head end and smaller left-hand iron
thread on the other end, or Uice Uers0,
the latter being supplied with nut. An
effort to remove it from one side by I'M
screwing.at the head only tightens the
nut, while an attempt to drive out the
screw on the other side after taking off
the nut is etfectually resisted by the
wooden thread, an arrangement which
involves almost perfect security.
Large quantities of enameled cloth,
of the finest quality, are now made in
this country, some Of it being superior
to anything of the kind produced in
Europe, while the process of manufac-
ture is extremely simple. A piece of
cotton texture is passed between two
cylinders, the upper one of which per
mits mixture consisting of oil, rosin,
iampbiack, and other matters to flow
upon the slowly-moving canvas From
the cylinders the fabric is wound upon
drum made of wooden sticks, so arranged
that the successive layers are kept apart
from one another. When the whole piece
has been wound upon the drum, the lat
ter is placed with the oiled cloth upon
it, in a drying chamber; after drying,
the cloth is smoothed, by means of pun
ice stone, and passed second time
through the cylinders, receiving another
coating of varnish. 1t is then dried, and
these alternate operations repeated at
least five times in order to make the
coating sufficiently thick. Finally, by
leather is impaired to the cloth.