The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-08-28
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.


PLATE glass is formed of silica IS
parts, potash, ?, soda Is, lime and
Alumni ? parts
A QUANTITY Of scrap iron placed in
impure water viii most effectually re-
move organic matter, but the water
must necessarily be subsequently, passed
through a bed of sand and gravel to
separate all the oxide of iron which is
formed.
ACCORDING to a Paris journal an in
teresting experiment in the use of the
electric light viii soon be made The
great captive balloon will soon carry up
an electric light to an altitude of per
haps one thousand feet above the city,
in order to determine what effect such a
light viii have at such a height upon the
streets beneath. This may possibly be
the precursor of a new system of city IL
Elimination.
THE CHILDREN OF UM-DRINKERs. -
DIR. Martin, of the Sdlpetr,iere, Paris, has
made series of interesting observations
on nervous affections among the off
spring of alcoholic parents. His results
may be summed up as follows: In 50
families in which one or more members
showed nervous excitability with his
tory of alcoholic origin, there were 40
children. OF these, 10S-more than a
quarter-had commissions, and in the
year 1874, 169 were dead; 241 were still
alive, but S3f, /. e., more than One-thirCi
of the survivors, were epileptic.
PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE.-A striking
analogy between animal and plant life
has been discovered by NJ. Wander Harrt
of Utrecht When the common garden
! bean begins to sprout it is found to con-
tain ferment very closely resembling
| pepsin, which can be extracted by means
of glycerine This ferment has the DOW
/ er of changing albuminous into peptonic
| substances and starch into glucose. 1t
is found exclusively in the cotyledons.
In the case of the fesh-eating plants, all
| the steps of digestion seem to take place
in the same manner as in animals.
ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF
! SPONGES.-It is proposed to propagate
! sponges by cutting the live sponge into
! small pieces, attaching them to pieces ot
rock, and sinking them to proper depths
in suitable locations. Professor Schmidt
reports that in three years each piece
will attain a marketable size He esti-
mates the cost of raising 1900 sponges
! at S45, which viii be worth $50, leaving
a net profit of S35 This subject is OF
| peculiar interest to the United States, as
a large stretch of the Floridian and the
! Gulf Coast Is suited to the growth OF
! spOnges, and yielded in 1873 a product
valued at $4,000; with this plan of ar
! titicial breeding it is probable that this
| field could be considerably increased.
| WHITE bricks are manufactured from
| common red clays at Hull, England.
A cheap material, chiefly magnetism
! limestone reduced to a powder by being
burned and Stacked, is ground into the
common clay. This mixture is passed
through a series of mixing and grinding
mills, and then falls into the mOlds of a
| powerful steam pressing machine, and
| is thence laid on the delivery table. a
complete and almost dry pressed brick,
which, when turned in the kiln, pro-
| duces a white brick. The change effect
ed in the color of the red clay on being
burned is due to the presence Of the
! substance added to it. The oxide ot
| iron combines with the silica to form sill
cate of iron.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION.-The nitritt
of amyl being a powerful agent in quick.
| enin@ the heartbeat, 2 few drops of this
drug have a powerful influence in re.
| storing the functions of the heart il
cases of drowning, hanging or fainting
1t is suggested, therefore, that il should
always be used whenever attempts are
being made to restore to life an individ
ual apparently dead, or when it is de
sirable to settle the question whether
person is really dead or not The dread
full thought of being buried alive ha.
haunted the human race since its earli
est days, and the discovery of som,
means by which the risk could be, if no
evaded, at least greatly diminished
would prove an ineffable boon to man
kind DR.. T. Lauder Brunton, to whom
we have referred this suggestion, con
siders it to be a good one. He adds tina
in ascertaining death the nitrite of amy
might be used along with the cord ties
of tying a cord around the finger.
the circulation has entirely stopped, tn
part beyond the ligature never become
any thicker; but if circulation continue
however slowly, the finger tip beyon,
the hgature will sooner or later begin t
=: swell.-Brjtisb Medical Journal.