The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-04-16
Acc,ursyAI DISCOVERIES.

Liner tobaccoc st looking dclefuNy
at hrs poor ne:ghbo,s gropins among the
the smouideri2s ruins Of his burned-out
shop, noticed that some Of them, after try
ing the contents Of certain canisters, care
6paded their waist coat pockets from them.
He followed suit and found the snufl had
come ont Of the fiery ordeal very much inn
proved in pungeucy and aroma. Like
wise man he said nothing, but took another
place, set up a lot Of ovens, and before long
Black Yard Snuh-otherwise "Irish Black.
guard" was all the rage with lovers of nasal
titillation; and in a few years Lundyfoot
wac q rich man, owing to the accident he
thought had ruined him. A would-be all
chemist, seeking to discover what mixture
of earths would make the strongest cruci-
bles, one day found he had made porcelain !;
he was on a sudden transformed from an
slchemist into potter. When one of Van
Eycks pictures cracked in the sunshine,
the artist experimented toproduce varnish
that would dry in the shade. He found
what he sought, and found beside that by
mixing it with his colors they acquired
greater force and brilliancy, and required nc
subsequent vanishing; and so came about
the discovery. or re-discovery, Of the art OF
painting in oil Mezzontinte owed its iu-
vention by Prince Rupert to the simple ac-
cident Of & sentry's gun-barrel being rusted
by the dew. Henry Schanward, Nurem-
berg glass-cutter, happened to let some
aqua-fortis fall upon his spectacles, and no
ticed the glass was corroded and softened
where the aqua-fortishad touched it. TAX.
ing the hint, he made liquid accordingly
drew some figures upon piece Of glass,
covered them with varnish, and applied his
corroding fluid, cut away the glass around
his drawing. SO that when he removed the
varnish the figures appeared raised upon a
dark ground, and etching upon glass wos
added to the ornamental arts Alois Sene-
fielder. playwright and actor, thinking it
possible to etch upon stone in lieu Of cop
per, polished a slab for the purpose. He
was disturbed by his mother coming into
his small laboratory with a request that he
would jot down her list Of things for the
wash, as the woman was waiting to take
the basket away. Lacking pen aud ink, he
scrib%led the items on his stone with his
etching preparation. that he might copy
them at his leisure. Some time afterward,
when about to clean the stone, he thought
he might 1s well see what would be the eff.
fects Of biting the stone with aqua-fortis,
aud in few minutes saw the writing stand.
ing out in relief. Taking up a pelt-ball
charged nth printing ink, he linked the
stone, K of a few impressions upon pa.
per, an he had invented lithography The
peltban used by Senefelder was long indis.
pensable in a printing Office. A Salopian
printer, in hurry to get on with a job
could not find his ball, and linked the form
with piece of soft glue that had fallen out
of the giue-pot; with such excellent results
that he thenceforth discarded the pelt-bal
altogether, and by adding treacle to glue
TO keep it from hardening, hit upon the
composition Of which printers rollers have
ever since been made. So much for happy
seeidants.