The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-08-12
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.

i y
which lies unthought of in the soul, and
imparts charm to our character.
LIQUID SULPHUR. "A mine of liquid
sulphur is now being worked near Pal.
ermo, Sicily-that is, the sulphur is
being removed rs it runs from the fis'
sures il the rock, at the rate of some
forty or fifty tons day. Tho sulphur
proceeds from n mine in the interior of
the mountain, which interior is i'll u
molten state. The laborers, it appears,
are often obliged to stop up the assures
from which the molten sulphur runs,
80 as to give it time to cool sufficiently
to be removed, after which the fssures
are unstopped. 1t seems that on re-
cent occasion on opening one of these
fssures no sulphur was found, and the
idea entered the heads of the workmen
to reopen the hole by blasting. They
succeeded in re-establishing commit
nication with the interior, but the pres
sure had become SO strong during the
obstruction that the expansion OF the
gas produced terrific explosion, in
yolviug a serious loss of life.
The POTATO BEETLE. The Colorado
potato beetles have appeared in full
force in Delaware, New Jersey, and Mary
land. From statistics gathered at the
agricultural department it is ascertained
that at the rate Of advancement east.
ward of the Colorado potato bug, that
destructive insect will have reached
Connecticut and Vermont by next year,
and it is estimated that it will cover the
New England States before the close OF
the year of 1877. They first appeared
near the base of the Rocky Mountains,
and reached the Missouri river in 1865,
travelling at the rate OF from sixty to
eighty miles year. Being of northern
origin, it is believed probable that the
bug can not stand the heat III states
further south than Virginia and Ken
lucky. The states most severely threat
ened this year are Delaware and New
Jersey and western New York, and ac-
counts are received from these sections
detailing devastations by the pest
A PLAN of prOpelling cars, omnibuses
and velocipedes by colled springs has
now for some time been employed in
England and it is said with encouraging
results. The motor used is an arrange
ment of powerful springs incased in
cylinders, like watch springs on very
large scale. The skill of French machin-
lists in this direction has been called into
requisition, and steel bands capable of
being coiled and exerting great pressure
have been made in lengths of one hun
dred wards each. In Sheffield some OF
the steel manufacturers have turned out
springs fifty and sixty feet long, and said
tc be capable Of the enormous pressure
of eight hundred pounds. 10 wind up
these springs requires, Of course, moro
power than is attainable by hand, and
it is therefore proposed to have them
wound at certain intervals by means OF
stationary engines. Some of these
methods consist of combination OF
spiral or helical springs.
HANDLING CogRAs.- "A correspondent
of the London Times who was present
at the Geological Gardens when about
dozen Indian cobras were removed from
the box in which they had Travelled into
1 clean, though narrow cage, describes
he mode in which those deadly reptiles
ware handled by the keeper as truly
With his long. handled
wire hook he from a respectful distance
to draw ont snake tail first,
nd, catching it by the tip, let it gently
Iown, head foremost, into it's new cage,
he lid of which, glass slide, was open
ust wide enough to receive it. Ono
.fter another eight cobras were thus re-
moved and safely housed, some dilatlng
heir "hood" and angrily kissing as
hey tried to strike whatever object they
,ould reach. Snake.charmers and Indian
upglers thus handle the cobras with
mpunity. Suspended by the tail they
IRE powerless to raise themselves and
wound the hand that holds them but
care must be taken lest the creatures
strike at the limbs.
A SAD DIsCovERY.-A very curious
case has been discovered at the treasury
department by the examination OF some
old accounts. A few days ago an officer
of the war department received notice
from the treasury that there was n
balance of 81, 600 in his favor ON m old
account. This officer knew no such
balance was due him, and caused an ex-
animation of the origin of the accouHt
10 be made. The discovery was then
made that, by an error in accounting
many years ago, this amount has been
deducted from the account of an officer
n another department, where it proper
v belonged, and credited to this officer
e tbo NOV Japortmant This discovery
.xplains very lamentable suicide which
occurred about the time this original
,rror was made. The officer from whose
account this sum had been wrongly de-
lucted was charged with dofalcation
# that amount. He was not able to
prove his innocence, and took his own
|ife. The accounts are said to clearly
show that tho suicide is due to the Grim
nal error OF some clerk in the war de-
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