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

ldCE 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, m 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 n 'ssociety 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 214 nests, from which
came 904 birds.
THERE are two million bee hives in
the United States. Every hive yields,
on an average, a little over twenty
pounds of honey. The average price ut
which honey is sold is 25 cents q pound.
30 that, after paying their own board,
our bees present us with a revenue of
over a8. 100000. fGE N n =
1T is stated how that the secret force
which the Keely motor operates by is
nothing more nor less than carbonic
ACID. The water is enormously charged
with it, and then it is liberated, by
s,mple process, in such quantities and
strength as the operator may desire.
so that, after all, the basis of the whole
business is nothing but tremendously
strong soda>water.
An old lady in New York particularly
desired that n certain cushion on which
she sat ln.c church should be buried with
her, and as there was difficulty about
getting it iuto her coffin it was luckily
proposed to cut it, when several thou.
SAND dollars in greenbacks came TO
light. The old lady was clearly re.
solved that, if she did bring nothing in
TO the world, she would at all events.
MS Tar as possible, take something ont
of it.
GUNS and rifles may easily be cleaned
from lead by the following: If a muzzle-
Ioader, stop up the nipple or communi-
cation hole with little wax, or if q
breech-loader insert cork in the breech
rather tightly; next pour some quick
silver into the barrel, and put another
cork in the muzzle, then proceed to roll
it up and down the barrel. shaking it
about for few minutes. The mercury
and lead will form and amalgam, and
leave the barrel ms clean and free from
lead as the first. day it came out of the
shop. The Same quicksilver can be
used repeatedly by straining it through
wash leather; for the lead will be left
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 tho 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-
Rether, forming n down almost homo
g geneous and of great lightness. It is
G sald 70 pc lighter than natural elder
down, because the latter contains the
ribs Of the feathers, which gives extra
s weight. About one and six-tenths troy
2 ounces can be obtained from one puilet
and it sells il Paris for about two doI.
lars pound. SD
"a FARA1ER boy in Ohio, observing a
small flock Of quail in lis fathers corn
neld, resolved to watch their motions.
Ihey pursued very regular course in
pnelr foraglng, commencing on one side
OF the field, taking about five rows, and
following cllt them uniformly to the oppo.
site end, returning in the same manner
{ oyer the next five rows. They contin-
ued IN this course until they had ex-
Rlored the greater portion of the field.
z Inc lad, suspicious that they were pull
ing up the corn, fired into the flock,
shiiiig but one of them, and he pro.
ceeded to examine the ground. In the
whole space over which they had tray-
-eled, he found but one stalk. of corn dis.
turbed. This-was nearly scratched ont
of the ground, but the ground still adss
; hared to it. Sc In the, craw Of this quail he
. found one cut-wol m, twenty. one striped
VINE. bugs. and one hundred chincb-
% bugs, but not single grain of corn.
= ! The Land Of Horse. s,J