Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-01-05
MECHANICAL AND SCIENTIFIC.

Leaves Of the pineapple, now being
extensively cultivated in the East Indies.
are turned to account by being converted
into kind Of wadding, which is used
for upholstering instead Of hair. A sort
of flannel is also manufactured from them
from which substantial waistcoats and
skir,s can be made.
An interesting case Of arsenical poi
sOning was brought before the recent
meeting OF the Medical Society at Bonn
BY Prof. Zunty. Three, gentlemen who
studied by the light Of the same lamp
were troubled by dull feeling In the
head which finally ripened into long con
tinued headache. The shade Of their
lamp was Of green color and on exam
ination il was found to contain arsenic.
The heat had liberated the poison, and
change Of lamp-shades liberated also
the headaches.
One would say at first flush that sui
eide was the infirmity Of foolish men and
maidcns; but 1t appears that kind Of
st3r fish (luidia) must be added to the list
=. II. Gosse describes IL In his zoology
and Prof. Forbes gives his experience be-
fore he knew its romantic crOtchets. He
placed one on "A rowing bench and, to his
surprise the fish began to dismember
itself. Arm after arm became unlocked,
and the eyes, located one at the summit
Of each ray, opened and closed their
spinous eyelids In deathly winks with a
suggestion of triumph-as If 10 say "Oh,
Forbes, where is thy victory?" He made
other careful attempts to capture this
suicidal novelty, trying once to dip 1t up
in bucket OF water, but when the luidia
found that II was imprisoned in walls the
arms began to drop and the heartbroken
star fish lay in sections.
What science and the mechanic arts
have done for The worlds advancement in
comfort may he family guessed from the
survey OF q weeks work mt the manufact-
uring city of Birmingham alone. Its re-
suits are the making, among other things
Of 1900, 900 pens, 5000 bedstcads, 1000
guns, 800, OOO, 900 cut nails, 100 ,000, 900
buttons, 900 saddles, 100000 copper or
bronze coins, 10000 pairs of spectacles
ak tons OF papiermache wares, more than
G3O, 900 worth Of jewclry, 1900 miles of
iron and steel wire, ten tons of pins, five
tons OF hai.-1ns and hooks and eyes,
1870, 900 gross OF wood screws, 800 tons Of
outs and screw bolts and spikes, 80 tons of
wroughtiron hinges, $50 miles length of
wax for matches, 40 tons of refined metal.
40 tons Of German silver, 100 dozen of
tenders, 3 500 bellows and 800 tons of
brass aud copper wares.
AS illustrative Of the remarkable
Sapidity with which the sand blast accom-
plishes its work, the following facts, re-
garding the cutting of inscriptions on the
head stones designed to mark the graves
of soldiers buried in the national Gene
teries, may be cited In addition to the
one man employed to tend these machines
he has small force of boys whose duty it
h. to attach and remove the cast-iron let
tcrs which act rs stencils Thus equipped
The contractor Is able to turn out 800 head
stones a day, upon each of which is a
handsomely-cnt inscription averaging
eighteen raised letters. 1t is estimated
that TO accomplish like result by the old
process force OF 800 men would be need.
ed. Another instance OF the rapidity with
which these little sand-cngines do their
work is shown in the engraving of glass
globes, tumblers, etc, which can be done
AT the astonishing rate OF one minute. -
W, S. Ward, IN Popular Science KOahly