American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-06-19
INDUSTRIAL.

MIR. KELLOGG, a Northampton (Mass.)
blacksmith, although ninety years old,
continues busily at work at his trade.
THERE has been cut upon the waters
of the Pressure Isle, Maine, during the
past winter, some 100000 feet of lum-
Der.
IT is said that an onion-grower in
Massachusetts who refused three dollars
barrel for his crop lately sold 212
barrels for fifty dollars the best offer
he could get.
THE Springfield (Mass.) Republican
says tobacco raising has proved the
financial ruin of North Hadley. Recent
failures foot up 1926 900, real estate has
fallen one third in the town, and, bust
ness is almost bopelessly stagnant.
THE Taunton (Mass.) Gazette says
there is an old lady in that city, ninety
six years old, who every spring runs a
good sized garden, doing all the spading,
planting, hoeing, wedding. ETC., with her
started her peas and potatoes, and pro-
poses to obtain full crop if working
will do it.
THE celebrated "bath- bricks, I" which
are known in almost every commercial
market, are manufactured from the de-
posts of the River Parrett, BridgeWater,
England. Millions of them are made
annually, and large body of operatives
are employed in the industry, in some
cases whole families of both sexes and
almost all ages working at one moiding.
This deposit is not found anywhere in
the world besides, SO that Bridgewater
has to furnish the whole world with the
article, which for certain purposes has
long been deemed Indispensable. 1t is a
remarkable fact that these bath-bricks
are Just as well known in China as in
r1a known N India and
indeed, all over the world.
A FRENCH chemist has succeeded in
preparing a mineral compound or paste,
which is said to be superior to hydraulic
lime for uniting stone and resisting the
action of water. 1t becomes as hard as
stone, is Interchangeable by the air, and is
proof against the action of acids. 1t is
made by mixing together nineteen
pounds of sulphur and forty-two pounds
of pulverized stoneware and glass; this
mixture is exposed to a gentle heat,
which melts the sulphur, and then the
mass is stirred until it becomes thor
oughly homogeneous, when it is run
into molds and allowed to cool 1t melts
at about 100 degrees, Cent, and may be
rc-employed without loss of any of its
qualities whenever it is desirable to
change the form of an apparatus, by
melting at gentle heat and operating
us with asphalt.
THE testing of oils in a simple mode
has always been desideratum. Miss
Kate Crane, in the american journal Of
Pharmacy, gives an account of a series of
experiments instituted by her, which
tend to show that much reliance can be
placed on the figures produced by drop
ing oils on the surface of clean water,
first proposed by Tomlinson. In her ex-
periments n single drop of oil was al
lowed to fall from burcttc held at u
distance of four inches from the surface
of dish of clean water. The time re-
quired for the production of certain fig
ures was carefully noted, as 1t appears
that several oils will produce very SINH
lar figures ultimately, if sufficient time
be given. Oil of turpentine spreads out
instantly and begins intestine motions,
finally forming beautiful lace work.
Oil of cinnamon forms a figure not more
than half the size of the above. In a few
seconds small portions are detached and
separate into distinct drops. Oil of nut
meg forms large figure instantly, the
edge showing beaded line. Poppy
seed oil spreads instantly to a large fig
ure, retaining an unbroken form for a few
seconds; then holes appear around the
edge, and soon the whole surface is
broken up with curved lines. Codliver
oil spreads into a large film. A little
way from the edge small holes appear and
in a minute or two the surface is studded
with them These gradually enlarge,
assume irregular shapes, and become sep
arated by branching lines. As these oils
give different fix ures and behave differ
emily when mixed with one another or
with lard oil, this method may be of very
great use in the preliminary testing of
suspected oils.
"A reviewer in the New York Tribune
1AG~ nj atr hnC