The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-04-04
Scientific and Useful.

Bottle or green glass is made of the
commonest materials in about the fol-
lowing proportions: Sand, 100 parts !;
kelpor impure soda, 80; wood ashes, 40 !;
potter's clay, 100; cullet or broken
glass, 100.
Professor Newcomb says: $50 small
is the earth compared with the celestial
spaces, that if one should shut his eyes
and fire at random in the air, the
chances of bringing down bird would
be better than that of a comet of any
kind striking the earth"
Formic acid has recently been found
to possess powerful preservative proper
ties, exceeding, when added to acid solu-
tions, even carbolic acid; and to be par
ticularly suitable for adding to fruit
juices. From one-quarter to one-half
per cent. is the quantity requisite to
preserve vinegar, fruit juices, glue, ink,
etc.
Charles Napier, an English scientist.
has been testing the truth of Liebig' S
theory that liquor drinking is compati-
BILE with animal food, but not with a
farinaceous diet. The experiment was
tried on twenty-seven liquor drinking
persons, with results substantiating the
Liebig theory.
A burning chimney, when the SCOT
has been Liz GIFTED by fire in the fire.
place, can be extinguished by shutting
all the doors in the room, so as to pre-
vent any current of air up the chimney
then by throwing few handfuls OF
common salt upon the fire in the CRATE
or on the hearth, the fire in the chin.
ney will be Immediately distinguished.
The philosophy of this is that, in the
process of burning the salt, mu1iatic
acid gas is evolved, which is a prompt
extinguisher of fire.
An eminent French scientist lately
presented a note to the French Academy
on the antiseptic properties of bichro
mate of potash. Experiments had
shown him that the addition of one
hundredth part of the bichromate in or
binary water prevents the putrefactior
of all sorts of organic matter such az
meat, urine, etc. A thousandth part Of
bichromate prevents beer from turning
sour. After three months immersion il
solution, meat was hardended and dry
French scientific papers contain ac
counts of an experiment by a Mons
Carrelet, who took two dwarf pears
pears grated on the ounce and grated
the stem of one, inverted, on the stem O
the other growing, SO that the roots O
the grated one were on the top, a
branches are. These roots finally be
came true branches, pushed out leave
and shoots, and in time bore ounces
| 1t is thus argued that not only can root
become branches, but that the sap cal
flow upward through inverted stems, a
we'll as when the stems are in their nor
NAL condition.
If we say of the surface of the cart
that it is the limit of the earth and tn
beginning of the atmosphere, we ar
not correct in reference to the latter
The air begins much below the ground
and we ought to say that where tn
ground, which is mixture of earth
water and air, ends, from there the al
mosphere exists alone. 1t is no wonde
that no particular attention was paid t
the air in the soil; its presence ther
does not make any direct impression o
any of our senses; we infer its presenc
more from other experiences and const
quent conclusions. The human min
formerly locked upon the air as som'
thing unsubstantial, spiritual, althoug
men saw the effect of hurricanes n
wonder, then, no one thought of the a
hidden in the ground, which cannt
even blow the hat from our head.