Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-07-06
INDUSTRIAL, STATISTICAL
AND TECHNICAL.

OF the 30, 900 persons employed in
matchmaking in Switzerland, one
third are women.
THE gold in the vaults Of the Bank
of France at the present moment eX-
ceeds 800 tons in weight; III other
words, it weighs about as much as
twenty locomotive engines OF the first
size
THE small grain crop from Dallas to
Mineola, Tex. along the line Of the
Texas & Pacific Railroad, will show a
most satisfactory yield. The acreage
this season. as compared with last
wear. was increased from 80 to $50 per
cent.
THERE are now fifty-One anthracite
furnaces in the Lehigh region, with a
capacity for producing in the aggregate
about Co., 900 tons Of iron per annum.
Half of the number are, however, not
in blast at this time The raw mate
rial used in making the above quantity
of iron is about as follows: Coal, 900, :
900 tons; ore, 900, 600 tons, and lime
stone, $1,000 tons, making a sum to-
tai, in tons, Of 2,O7O, 900 for one years
product.
THE impression that the British ma
rine suffered severe losses, last year, is
borne out by the returns, the wrecks
and casualties on the coast of the
United Kingdom in 1915 numbering
$3.50, or double the number Of the pre-
vious year, the loss Of life being 920 us
against 800. The German steamship
Schiller contributed 331 to the loss of
life In the year 1874-5, 1871 British
vessels, bearing ,450 lives, sailed away
and were never heard from, over 100
of them sailing from British and Brit
ish-coIonal ports. This affords pretty
good excuse for Mr.. Plimsoll's reform.
In nineteen years, about -, 600 lives
have been lost on the coasts Of Great
Britain by Wrecking, and rs, 600 lives
saved from wrecks. -Sprj12Qtield
(1H0&s. Republican.
DURING recent experiments on fire
prOofing materials at Vienna, the fol-
lowing mixtures of salts were success
fully employed: TO twenty parts by
weight Of water add three of bOraX and
two and quarter of sulphate Of mag
neSia. This forms an insOluble bOrate
of magnesia, which surrounds and i'm
pregnateS the threads or fibers to which
it is applied, and renders either the
development of gases OF the spread OF
flame very difficult. To one part liquid
sal ammoniac, add two parts sulphate
of lime a single coating of this acts
as an excellent preSerVatiVe for wood
structures against burning. Old roof
ing soaked with tar and oil failed to
catch fire after being impregnated with
this mixture.
At the recent meeting of the Man
chester Philosophical Society Dr. Joule
gave an account of some experiments
he made few years ago on kite-fying,
which have been brought to his re-
membrane 10y the attempts made d
few weeks ago at WoolWich. He
found that the steadiness of a kite il
the air depends on the fact that the
wings yield to the wind. If the bow
is too stiff and the surface nearly Z
plane, instability results The best
shape is the conveX-Spherical, which is
readily made by fixing two bows cross
wise. The string should be attached a
little above the center of the vertical
bow He found kite of this descrip-
ton stood in the air with almost abSO-
lutte steadiness, q very light tail being
sufficient. Prof. JOule found, by pull
ing strings attached to the right and
left Of the horizontal bow, that the
kite could be made to fly thirty degrees
or more off a wind, and, consequently
that it would be possible to use a kite
in bringing a vessel to Windward, es-
pecially as the power could be applied
low down, and thus avoid excessive ca
rppnlnG.