The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-06-18
VOTES ON SCIENCE AND IND UsrRY.
The new French apparatus, now sup

Inv hoW rIoocu apparatus, hOW sup
piled to all the vessels Of that Government, is
nothing more than a small set Of blades similar
to those Of a screw propeller, secured to YER
tical shaft. These blades, as the apparatus
decends, rotate the shaft, and the number OF
revolutions is registered by suitable dials in
connection with simple transmitting mechan-
Ism. The lower part of the device Is OF lead, OF
the usual weight for deep sounding. The prin-
cipal advantage of this invention Is alleged to be
Its Indifference to submarine currents OF to
rough seas. The blades are rotated only by its
downward movement, and, Of course, the more
rotations registered, the deeper must be the
water. The dials show the depth In metres. Its
adoption by the French Government would
seem to indicate the superior adaptedness Of
this device.
n Ia claimed, as the result Of abundant
experiment, that the most practicable, convent
ent, and economical method Of utilizing coal
dust for fuel consists in thoroughly mixing
about seven per cent. Of clay with the Hne coal,
and forming the mass into balls, and then dip
ping these into a bath OF benzine containing
some rosin In solution, the object Of this opera
ton being to render them impervious to moist
The solution penetrates the Jumps to the
extent OF about one-fourth OF an inch. and after
the evaporation of the benzine, Which takes
place rapidly upon exposure to a current OF air,
Aim Of rosin Is left behind, which enectually
stops up all crevices One great point In favor OF
this method Ia the slight cost which 1t involves,
and the compactness OF the material thus
formed il an advantage which allows OF lite trans
portation without breakage.
A mervsutile correspondent Of the
Scientific Amertc7n-one who Imports nearly all
tho N Ia xvh o. the Uulted States
states that the only region Of production of
this remarkable material thus far discovered,
IL the East India islands In the immediate
vicinity of Singapore. The principal use made
OF the article, at present Is for Insulating tele-
graph cables and for cementing. But india rub
Der Is far more widely distributed being col
ected In localities all around the globe, between
| the tropics The best quality OF rubber comes
| from the banks Of the Amazon river Brazil pro-
| duces annually the immense quantity OF about
| fourteen million pounds, and the Central Amer
lean states, Africa, and the East Indies together
| about fifteen million pounds. The consumption
Of the material is about equally divided between
| Europe aud the United States.
1t is proposed to execute the work Of
| tuDnelling between England and France with the
aid Of the recently Invented Brunton machine,
| all apparatus which works after the fashion Of
an auger and the debris excsvated falls upon an
| endless band which carries IL to the wagons in
the rear. 1t Is stated that by this means a drift
way, seven feet In diameter, can he advanced at
| the rate Of about yard and a quarter per hour.
at which rate II would only require two years to
| pierce the channel through, a machine being
| worked from both sides. II seems that the
| statement heretofore made has been confirmed
| by repeated experiments, namely, that provided
the chalk be solid, the water will not perineate
| It and, taking everything into consideration, II
would appear that the only natural obstacles to
| the accomplishment Of the work are existence
| Of open, untitled nssures-if any such there be
| Ia the bed rock, reaching from the sea bottom
| to the depth of two hundred feet through the
| rock.
A writer in one OF the technical journals
asserts that, in all printed garment fabrics, mus
| Inns, cacoes. &c, the ornament should be Hat,
| without shadow or relief. He also lays down
| the following az the rules to be observed in the
| production Of this class OF fabrics: IL flowers,
foliage, or other natural objects are the motive
| they should not be direct limitations OF nature,
| but conventonalzed In conformity To the nrst-
named principle; the ornament should cover the
| surface either 10y diaper based on some geomet-
rical figure, or growing out Of itself by graceful
| flowing curves-any arrangement that carries
lines OF pronounced figures In the direction OF
| breadth and the effect produced by the
| folding Of the stur are to be carefully avoid
ed; the size Of the pattern, too should be
regulated by the material for which 1t Is In
tended-that is, small patterns for close, thick
fabrics, such rs ginghams, &c, and larger ones
for fabrics Of more open textures, such mus
lin, bareges, &c.
The depilation OF hides with charcoal APP
pears likely to supersede, altogether, the usua
lime process. As is well known, charcoal has the
| property to take up large quantities Of oxygeI
from the atmospheric air, and the oxygen II
this form seems to exert chemical infuenc,
on the fatty substance present in the neighbor
hood OF the glands of the hair roots. Al
| oxidation takes place in the pores OF the skin
| which destroys the glands and loosens the hair
| Finely powdered charcoal Is mixed with sum
cient water to make a thin paste, and the hides
immersed for four or Ave days and well turned
over In the mean time, when the hair can b,
| taken OF at once. Hides treated with charcoal
require no other operation, az in the case OF tn
lime process, and, after being washed will
water, they are ready for tanning. Animal q
vegetable coal can be used In any quantity, hav
ing no deleterious property whatsoever. For eacl
hide, six or ten pounds, with the necessar
| quantity OF water, are sufficient and the TEN
perature to he maintained is sixty-one OF seven
~ degrees Fab.
A new metallurgical furnace, invente,
in England, is constructed with chamber o
| generator, In which gaseous fluid, consstin
mainly OF carbonlc oxide is generated, tn
gaseous fuel being conducted over a hollO'
bridge or hot air fue into a reyerberatory cham
Der, In which copper is melted, or the pudding