The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-06-12
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.
A NEW IRON.

| metal has been extensively produced IN
| France which is q combination of iron
and steel. The two metals are Iun sep
arately into a mold divided into two
parts by q thin plate of sheet iron,
when the whole becomes welded together.
The new metal is particularly adapted
for armour-plating, anchors and sates.
MANS FIRST APPEARANCE UPON THE
EARTH.
In paper reviewing some of the facts
disclosed by recent cavern explorations,
pointing to the existence of man on the
earth in the period of the now extinct
animals, Callard endeavors to maintain
that the weight of the evidence supports
the view that the mammalia referred to
became extinct at q much more recent
day than is usually supposed, and that
the remote antiquity of man is not
thereforeathus conclusively established.
"BLooD RAIN"
Last May the phenomenon called
90 blood rain occurred in the Jebel
Sekra, a summit of the Rist, at the
western extremity of the Atlas ridge in
| Morocco. Prof. Brun, of Geneva, has
given an account of his observations
of the wonder~producing circumstance.
The Grain appeared on the rocks
in the form of bright red spots.
It consisted OF a mixture of siliceous
sand and very fine lime, with abundance
of unicellular algs OF the species Proto-
coccus fuvialis, and containing a large
proportion of peroxide of iron.
ARTIFICIAL MARBLE.
A patent has just been issued to Miss
Harriet G. Hosmer by the United States
! patent Office for her process OF making
artificial marble, regarding which 90
much has been said. The claims set
forth that limestone, or other like sub.
stance, including alabaster stone, may be
given the appe srsnce of q uniform hard
ness throughout of natural marble in its
various colors by the application of moist
heat or heat in the form of steam, in
combination with a bath of alum and
water, or with various baths composed of
different chemicals and chemical ma
terials.
A GREAT ENGINEERING FEAT.
| Owing to the immense weight, the
iron shoes in which rest two of the spans
of the long Lehigh Valley railroad bridge
lately sank bout an inch, throwing the
| bridge out of grade. As it was certain
| that the depression would continue,
owing to the fact that the inside ma
/ SOnIJ VI TIC plC4 10 lCGo oCllQ tEdA1 LAC
| outside, an iron casting II feet long, 3
feet 8 inches wide, and three inches
thick, weighing 1000 pounds, was sue
cessfully placed under the spans in order
to elevate them. The spans weigh 100
tons each. Hydraulic jacks were used.
The spans were raised, the masonry
redressed, the castings placed in position
and the spans lowered without the stop
page of 8 single train. This is the
greatest engineering feat that has b. en-
attempted and successfully carried
through in this regien.
FORESTS AND FERTILITY.
Forests preserve fertility; their re-
moyaI or destruction makes deserts.
Our desolated fields become dry arid and
verdureless; the rain that falls upon
them Is quickly evspOrated, and there is
no reservoir or moisture in the woods
near by. A distinguished writer has
shown how the great African desert
could be made fertile. He would begin
by planting trees upon the fertile edge;
these, by the gathering of moisture and
the shedding OF their foliage, would
widen the border of fertility, when he
would plant again and again, until the
whole waste should be turned into a
blooming forest. It would be q work of
|
hardly be denied. Our farmers have not
Saharas to cover, but almost every one
of them has fields that need the rest and
regeneration that half q century under
forest growth would give, and other
fields would be benefited by even the
tiniest bit of forest near at hand.
: SALMON ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE
Mr.. G. NJ. Dawson contributes some
6 interesting particulars regarding the
salmon on the Pacific slope. He confirms
the general opinion that the salmon of
! the Fraser river never return to the sea
after spawning, He has seen them
during August, spent, their siivery
color changed to a livid red, with the
exception of the fins and tail, which are
darker, still heading up stream and cons
tinuing to do SO until they became so
= weak that the current carried them
t away. Many dead salmon are then
a found floating down the stIea n
n or stranded on the bars or banks of the
|, river. There are smaller fish which may
q be called land~lOcked salmon, in Okana-
+ gan, Shuawap, and other lakes. They,
3 like the salmon of the large rivers, have
g the singular instinct of struggling, until
Q they die, against the current of the
|, streams which they ascend in August for
J, the purpose of spawning. J. K. Lord
y says the dog teeth salmon do return to
8 the sea, and then return to the rivers in
l. the following years but the most of the
o salmon of the Fraser perish after they
= have spawned.
CONCERNING TEA.
= The addition of few drops of lemon
4 juice or of any other vegetable acid
renders tea more exciting, and this Gus
n tom prevails among poor Chinese and
= many Russians. The addition of an al
" kali, on the contrary, makes tea les;
; stimulating and in some measure nareotr
= zeal. In the east some drugs are put into
> tea to give it sphrosidiacal qualities
:. Tea excites the movements of the heart
less thsn coffee, is less hostile to sleep
4 and is less fit to sustain intellectual
= labor; but, more than coffee, it increase:
h the eliminative activity of the skin res
. piration. In many persons tea produces
an sstIinsent effect on the intestines anC
( a troublesome constipation, The add.
. tien of a few drops of generous wine car
a prevent the wakefuIness which ties
. causes. More than everything, expert
! ence availeth to indicate to any one
= whether from the state of his nerves
: his brain or his digestion, he ought tC
prefer tea or coffee. In every fashion il
= seems to be proved that, after dinner, the
=. Chinese leaf ought to be preferred to the
i Abyssinian berry. In very cold countries
= and on very cold days, and consequently
= with supreme reason in the Arctic zone
: TEA is the best of drinks, as all travellers
= | hava Houoougfrof o1 Tlr -