The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1877-07-19

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
animals also discloses copper. 1t has yet
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
some unprincipled persons had been
adulteratiDg -four with gypsum. DR..
| Vohl gives this method for testing the
purity of fonr so treated: Mix twenty
! grammes of the -four with twenty
} grammes of potash saltpetre, and having
| placed the mixture in a platinum vessel
! ignite it with a red-hot platinum wire.
| IF the flour is pure the melted mass
will dissolve almost entirely in water,
and the solution Will give no preclpitate
with hydTOchloric acid. If there is a
precipitate silicates had been employed
in adulterating the -four. The calculated
solution should give with barium chic
ride a slight turbidity, and a decided
precipitate indicates lime of baryta.
AUToMAToN TAKERS.
A talking machineis said to have been
invented which is able to say " was
born in America. speak all languages,
and I am very pleased to see you. 1
thank you for your visit" It has been
humOrouslv suggested that an apparatus
| of I'D h b
the stations to railway passengers This
service is now performed by brakemen,
and often in a way that makes the names
almost unintelligible. The machine is
said to contain a mechanical reproduc-
ton of the human lungs, larynx, CLOTHS
and tongue. It is operated by bellows,
and is supplied with a keyboard and
pedals. If the sound can be reproduced,
there would be no difficulty in arranging
the apparatus to run automatically, like
music box. Imagine a mysterious
voice in each car of train saying at in
tervals, " the next stop is at New
York In connection with this sub
ject it may be mentioned that Psyche,
. the famous autOmatOn chess-player OF
London, continues to be a great success,
after about two years of constant exhibit
ton. No one has yet been able to dis
cover the mode by which it is operated.
MOUNTAIN OBSERVATORIEs.
It 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 Wahsatch and Rocky
mountains, and finds that the popular
sUppOsitiOn is unfounded. Instead OF
the air being better in those regions, it is
E probably not so good as at his observatory
on the Hudson. Out of fifteen nights in
the best season of the year, only two
were exceptionally fine. AS rule the
i, transparency of the atmosphere was
greater and thesteadiness perhaps little
less than in New York. The Lick OBJ
servatory, which the endower intended
: to place on a mountain top, might, after
all, do better on the plain. Nevertheless
: it is possible that in the extremely dry
regions of the southern part of our cen
! trail area, say in New Mexico, the atmos-
pheric conditions may be favorable,
There precipitation is extremely small at
heights under six thousand feet, and the
seven months of winter which would
make observatory work impossible on
the mountains, would not be encoun,
tered.