The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-07-26
Old WINE.

be wine, with II fair percentage Of alcohol
and the other usual constituents Of fer
mented grape juice. 1t is supposed to
have been an Offering TO the dead.
EGYPTIAN PETROLEUM.
1t appears from the experiments of DR..
Well that Egyptian petroleum has a
specific gravity Of 0,953. The Pennsyl-
vanian and Canadian oils have specific
gravity ranging from $3.50 to q, 1870. The
Egyptian variety gives very fine lu-
bricatng oil, free OF all tarry matter
but AZ an Illuminating oil it il inferior to
American oils. 1t is better adapted,
however, to serve as a fuel for steam
generators, az it does not take fire until
it attains a temperature Of 1856.
ARTIFICIAL BUTTER.
Olcamargarine, when sold as butter on
employed to adulterate it, can easily be
detected by the following simple method,
suggested by Prof. &. Lecharticr FIX
anime the butter under the microscope
and if it appears to be composed of ovoid
grahulcs without any crystals it il both
fresh and genuine, and it has never beer
melted to be mixed with grease. Melt
the butter, and il it turns at once to Il
clear oil, it ispurc, but oleamargarine, on
butter containing it, will m,It slowly at
the same temperature and first form Il
whitish sort Of sauce.
LOCUSTs AND DEAD FISHES.
This is a great year Tor the study of
natural history. The latest interesting
problem is whether there is any connec-
ton between the appearance Of the
sevcntccn.year lOcusts and the mortality
among the fish in the Delaware river.
In 1860, it is stated, the fish in that river
and the ponds throughout the Delaware
valley died in large numbers, and thi.
year, with the return Of the locust, the
plscatcry mortality is renewed. There
is theory that the fish die from eating
locusts which drop into the river, but Il
large number Of dead fish having been
examined, in only one of them was q
locust found; 30 that it would appear
that the rec ircnCc of the iish-aIl is only
Il cOnCldcaGc.
FERN LORE.
"The Fern World" is the title of a
new book by Mr. Heath, author of "The
Fern Paradise" The volume, which is
in the pless, deals with the structure,
classification, distribution, uses, and
" folklore" of ferns, fern culture, "fcrn
hunting" etc. 1t will include descrip.
tions OF rambles through the combes and
glens Of north Devon. Considerable
space will be devoted to the description,
and culture Of British ferns,
and the text will be illustrated through,
out by colorcd autographs Of fern groups,
printed from nature, etc.
DIVlsIRlLITY or GOLD.
The divisibiity os gold almost sur
passes belief Mr. A. f.. Outerbridge, Jr.,
Of the Philadelphia assay office, recently
exhibited before the Franklin institute
some thin films of gold obtained by cleo.
trio deposition upon copper and after.
ward detached. These pieces of gold
leaf were transparent, and gave a green
color to transmitted light. Mr. Outer
bridge has thus produced films of gold 50
thin that one grain Of the metal would
cover nearly four SQUARE feet This il
ten thousand times thinner than ordinary
writing paper, and ?,79S 600 Of such films
.ogethcr would only make one inch.
A PENNSYLVANIA INSECT.
There is n general notion that only
rnNianl nj i,,G, I'll 40, l.
hat are capable Of doing serious damage.
This. it appears, is mistake. There is
/ black carpenter ant, whose name,
tormjco Pcnnsyirania, indicates its resi-
lcncc, that IL capable OF chtctins much
destruction in woodwork. The Rev. Or,
NcC0ok has seen Il ratter which these
lnts had penetrated to an extent OF five
n six feet OF its length, completely
loney-combing it. The raiter was in
he roof of II porch. The attention of
he Philadelphia academy of sciences
vas called to the matter as it is evident
hat such penetration of wooden struc-
ures, and especially bridges, might cause
heir unexpected fall. Wooden bridges
reed at least us frequent and AS thorough
as iron structures.
'LANTING WHITE SKIN ON A BLACK MAN,
Says the Abbeville, N, c., Medium
There is coal.black man in our vicinity
Who will soon have stomach covered
With as white democratic skin as ever
rev in Edgeiield. This no doubt sounds
10Th ridiculous and alarming, but we
will explain. Some weeks ago, DR..
Walter Hill and DR.. Wallace Bland cut
rom the stomach of this negro huge
umor weighing many pounds, and upon
he large bare spot left by the operation
hey have planted numberlcss little stars
{ skin nipped from their own arms.
'hese stars have taken root and are
lst spreading out to meet each other, 80
hat the black man will soon have
'hitc stomach outside. Skin is about
u the radicals and negroes have left us,
nd to be thus generous with it is Ger.
linly very magnanimOus.
DEATHS ny AN .EsTHETICS.
Although deaths during the admins.
alton OF anm'thetics are comparatively
small percentage, yet their total mum.
sr, If a considerable period of time is
nbraced, seem somewhat formidable.
r. Charles Anderson recently prepared
It of deaths during the Use of chlorolorm
and near Cincinnati for thirty years
lst. IL, f. IS twenty cases, and in the
urnal which records this there happens
be mentioned four other cases of death
chloroiorm or ether-they being
cent, but not all occurring in this
untry.
USEFUL MILITARY INVENTION.
a very useful invention has been I