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

devised by Mr.. !. n. Holmes, 1t CON
sists of bomb which can be fred a dis.
lance of two miles from the coast or from
n ship, and is so contriyed that it will
float upon the surface Of the water and
emit very powerful light for about an
hour. BY its use in war the approach of
hostile fleet during the night might be
disclosed, and in time Of peace il could
be employed with advantage in rcscuing
crews of vessels stranded in the darkness,
or in occasionally warning ships approach.
ing too near 4 dangerous and Iow-lying
coast
COPPER IN BLOOD.
At last it has been apparently proved
that copper is normal constituent OF
the blood, not only Of man, but of the
lower animals. In the case of the blood
Of man, the presence Of copper might be
thought to be accidental, and introduced
through the use of vessels Of that mate
rial, in the preparation OF food. Bat an
analysis Of the blood Of wild herbivorous
animaIsaIso discloses copper. 1t has yot
to be ascertained whether the copper be-
longs to the plasma or to the blood glob.
ules, or both, or whether it is introduced
in the food or drink,
GYPSUM FLOUR.
Among the recent dispatches relating
to matters connected with the Russo
Turkish war there was one stating that
sons unprincipled persons had been
adulterating -four with gypsum. DR..
Vohl gives this method for testing the
purity Of flour 20 treated; Mix twenty
prammes Of the -four with twenty
gramme4 of potash satpetre, and having
placed the mixture in platinum vessel
ignite it with rod-hot platinum wire,
If the -four is pure the melted mass
will dissolve almost entirely in water,
and the solution will give no precIpitate
with hydrochlorc acid If there is
precipitate siicates had been employed
in adnlteratine the -four. The acidulated
solution should give with barum chic
ride slight turbidity, and a decided
precipitate indicates lime of baryta,
AUToNiAToN TAKERS.
A talking machine is said to have been
invented which il able to say was
born in America. speak all languages,
and / am very pleased to see you. |
thank you for your visit" 1t has been
humorously suggested that an apparatus
of this kind could be used to announce
the stations to railway passengers. This
service is now performed by brakemen,
and often in a way that makes the names
almost unintellgibe. The machine is
said to contain mechanical reproduce
ton Of the human lungs, larynx, CLOTHS
and tongue. 1t is operated by bellows,
and is supplied with keyboard and
pedals. II the sound can be reproduced,
there would be no difficulty in arranging
the apparatus to run automatically, like
Il music box. Imagine mysterious
voice in each ear Of train saying at in.
tervals, the next stop is at New
! York In connection with this sub
jet it may be mentioned that Psyche,
the famous autOmaton chess player Of
London, continues to be great success,
after about two years Of constant eXhibi-
ton. No one has yet been able to dis
cover the mode by which it is operated.
MOUNTAIN oBsERvAToRIEs.
1t is quite commonly supposed that
high mountains possess one advantage
over lower levels for astronomical obser.
vations in a dryer and less tremulous air.
But Prof. Henry Draper has tested this
question in the Wahaatch and Rocky
mountains, and finds that the popular
T.. 4 T.