The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-08-07
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.


lacE is now coming into use for brew.
ing purposes. The beer produced from
it is said to- be superior in color and
flavor.
AT Middletown, Delaware, IN immense
peach refrigerator is to be built, ca
pable of holding 100000 baskets of
fruit, which the protector guarantees to
keep by peculiar freezing process for
six months.
IN one Of the French departments
there is society for the protection of
birds useful to the farmer" All nests
found are reported to the society and
protected by it, In the past year the
society protected Oh nests, from which
came 904 birds.
THERB are two million bee hiyes in
the United States. Every hive yields,
on an average, n little over twenty
pounds of honey. The average price Mt
which honey is sold is 25 cents a pound.
30 that, after paying their own board,
our bees present us with a revenue of
over a8. 100000.
1T IS stated now that the secret force
winch the keely motor operates by is
nothing moro nor less than carbonic
acld. The water is enormously charged
with 1t, and then it is liberated, by
smple process, in such quantities and
strength as the operator may desire
80 that, after all, the basis of the whole
business is nothing but tremendously
strong sodn-water.
AN Old lady in New York particularly
desired that a certain cushion on which
she sat III church should be buried will,
her, and as there was difficulty about
getting 1t irto her coffin it was luckily
proposed to cut it, when several thou.
sana dollars III greenbacks came to
iight. The old lady was clearly re.
solved that, if she did bring nothing in
TO the world, she would at all events,
MS Tar us possible, take something ont
G1Ns and rifles may easily be cleaned
from lead by tue following: If a muzzle-
loader, stop mp the nipple or communi-
cation hole with little wax or if
brccch-loader insert cork in the breech
rather tightly; next pour some quick
silver into the barrel, and put another
cork III the muzzie, then proceed to roll
1T up and down the barrel. shaking it
about for few minutes. The mercury
ana lead will form and amalgam, and
leave the barrel rs clean and free from
shop. The same quicksilver can be
used repeatedly by straining it through
wash leather; for the lead will be loft
behind in the leather, and the quick
silver will be again fit for use.
THE French utilize chicken feathers
III the following way, which is pro.
nounced decided Improvement on the
old method The plume portion of the
feathers are cut from the stem by means
OF ordinary hand scissors. These are
placed IN quantities in course bag,
which, when full, is closed and sub
lected to thorough kneadipg with the
hands At the end OF five minutes the
feathers disaggregated are felted to-
gether, forming n down almost homo
geneous and of great Iightness. It is
SAID to be lighter than natural cider
down, because the latter contains the
ribs OF the feathers, which gives extra
weight. About one and six-tenths troy
ouaces can be obtained from one pullet,
and 1T sells in Paris for about two dol
lars Donnd.
A FARMER boy in Ohio, observing n
small flock of quail in Lis fathers corn
field, resolved to watch their motions,
Ihey pursued very regular course in
rnelr toraglng, commencing on one side
OF the field, taking about five rows, and
following them uniformly to the oppo
site END, returning in the same manner
over the next five rows. They contin.
ued IN this course until they had ex-
plored the greater portion of the field.
The lad, suspicious that they were phil
ing up the corn. fired into the flock,
killing but one of them, and lie pro.
ceeded to examine the ground. In the
whole space over which tley had trav
eled, he found but one stalk of corn dis.
rurned. This was nearly scratched out
M the ground, but the ground still ndes
nefed to it. In the craw Of tbs quail he
1o1lnd one cut-woim, twenty-one striped
VINE, bugs, and one hundred chinch-
bugs, but not single grain of corn.