The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-08-05
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.

RICE is now coming into use for brew
ing purposes. The beer produced from
it is said to be superior in color and
flavor.
AT MiddIetown, Delaware, an 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 il. In the past year the
society protec ted pa 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 at
which honey is sold is 25 cents pound.
So that, after paying their own board,
our bees present us with a revenue of
over SIS. 800. 900.
1T is stated now 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 a
simple 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 a certain cushion on which
she sat in church should be buried with
her, and as there was a difficulty about
getting it into 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,
as far as possible, take something out
of it.
GUNS and rifles may easily be cleaned
from lead by the following: If a muzzle-
loader, stop up the nipple or commuui-
cation hole with q little wax, or if a
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
1t up and down the barrel. shaking it
about for few minutes. The mercury
and lead will form and amaIgam, and
leave the barrel as 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
IN the following way, which is pro-
nounced a 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 feIted to-
Rether, forming a down almost homo
geneous and of great Iightness. It is
SAID to be lighter than natural elder
down, because the latter contains the
ribs of the feathers, which gives extra
weight. About one and six~tenths troy
ounces can be obtained from one puIlef.
and 1t sells in Paris for about two dol
lars a pound.
A FARMER boy in Ohio, observing
small flock of quail in lis fathers corn
field, resolved to watch their motions.
Ihey pursued very regular course in
their foraglng, 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 pull
ing up the corn, fred into the flock,
killing but one of them, and he pro
ceeded to examine the ground. In the
whole space over which ley had tray
eled, he found but one stalk of corn dis
turbed. This was nearly scratched out
OF the ground, but the ground still ad-
hered to it. In the craw of tbs quail he
found one eut-woIm, twenty-one striped
vine bugs, and one hundred chinch-
bugs, but not single grain of corn.