Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-11-05
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.
sUBTERRANEAN STORE.

posed to be one or the suDterranean
stores of the ancient Germans mentioned
by Tacitus. 1t contains charcoal, got
sherds of rough descriptions, and remains
of bones, and on the lime wall is the
drawing of a running horse. apparently
scratched with q hard stone and evincing
a certain amount of skill. ~
CHLORAL AS AN ANEsTHETIC.
New experiments have been made by
Mr.. Arlong, on the mode of action of
choral as an anesthetic. He concludes
that the choral is decomposed into chic
reform, and alkaline formiates in the
blood of animals, that the anesthetic
effects are due to the chloroform, and
that these effects aided by the increase
of the circulation caused by the alkaline
fOrmiates.
A WAKEFUL HOUR.
1t is good thing sometimes to propose
a topic for discussion, in a scientific
journal, about which every body may say
something. In one foreign weekly paper
page after page has been devoted to the
publication of anecdotes endeavoring to
prove the existence of intellect in brutes.
The abundant crop of inverted anthro.
pomorphic processes having become too
tedious, some one has suggested the in
quiry, Why do all animals, man includ-
ed, that sleep out of doors, have one
wakeful hour, toward 2 o'clock in the
morning?
GRANITE ROCKS.
Granite rocks consist of crystals
wedged irregularly into each other, with
no definite arrangement. These crystals
are composed of silica, with silicates of
alumina and other materials of less
quantities. Between the particles is
little pure water, but by heat of 6000
Fahrenheit will fill the space entirely,
showing that the rock was formed by
fusion. The vacancies sometimes con-
stitute five per cent. of the bulk of the
rock, and there may be thousand mil
lion of them in cubic inch. The veins
of granite are g proof of an inner hot
nucleous under the solid crust, showing
the position of old vents. In the west
ern states and territories abundant evil
dence of these vents is found. The three
great classes of rocks in the earth's crust
forming the land are the sedimentary,
organic and igneous.
ORIGIN OF PLANTS.
Cabbage grew wild in Siberia; celery
originated in Germany; the potato is a
native of Peru; the onion originated in
Egypt; tobacco is a native Of South
America; millet was first discovered in
India; the nettle is native of Europe;
the citron is native of Asia; oats
originated in North Africa; rye came
originally from Siberia; parsley was first
discovered in Sardinia; the parsnip is a
native of Arabia; the sunfower was
brought from Peru; spinach was first
cultivated in Arabia; the pear and apple
are from Europe; the horse chestnut is
q native of Thibet; the ounce came
from the Island of Crete; the radish is a
native Of China and Japan; the pear is
supposed to be of Egyptian origin; the
horseradish came from the south of Eu
rope.
WELDING CRACKED CAST IRON.
The Chinese practice of welding crack
ed cast iron wares with moulten iron is
thus described in the Iron Age: "In
the case, for example, Of a cast iron pan
requiring such treatment, the operator
commences by slightly breaking the
edges of the fracture with hammer, in
order to enlarge the assures, after which
the fractured pieces are held in proper
position by means of wooden braces.
The pan being ready, a clay crucible,
charged with pieces of iron, is laid on
ignited charcoal in a small portable
furnace Of sheet iron, provided with a
horizontal bellows. AS soon as the iron
in the crucible is melted, it is poured on
a layer of partly-charred husks of rough
rice, spread on pad of folded cloth to
prevent the sudden cooling of the metal.
While yet liquid, the metal was forced
with Jerk into the assures, and paper
rubber is pressed over the obtruding
metal inside the vessel, making strong
and thorough lob.
GREAT DISCOVERIES.
Had not the steam engine been discov-
cred, it is likely that railways, steamships
and all the numerous uses to which that
instrument is now applied would have
been comparatively unknown. The dis
coveries of nitric acid, hidro-chloric acid
oil of vitriol and washing soda by the
alchemists led to the erection of the
numerous great manufactures of those
substances which now exist in all civil
liked countries The discovery of zinc
has led to an improvement in telegraphy.
The discovery of nickel has led to the
modern use of German silver in the con-
struction of electro-plated and other
articles. The discovery of chlorine
formed the basis of nearly ali our mod.
ern processes of bleaching cottons and
other fabrics. The discovery of oxygen
has enabled us to understand and i'm
prove in great many ways the numer-
Gus manufacturing, agricultural and
other processes in which that substance
operates.
GETTING RID OF SNAILs.
A farmer in the Grand Duchy of
Hesse lately discovered by accident
very simple way of getting rid of slugs
and sDails which in wet years work such
ravages in fields and gardens. Plough
ing field Tin March, which still con-
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