Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-01-19
POPULAF5 SCIENCE,

Dr.. Hirzsl, Of Lelpsic, has recently
patented III Germany Gas and watcc tight
cloth.
The expectation Of finding gold in
paying quantities IN New Guinea appears
20 be untosnded, the party which sailed
from Sgtney i'll the Colonist in April
last having met with but little success.
Mr.. Joteph Adams. of Washington,
d. G., has patented an improved gas reg
ulatOr. designed 10 cut off the oas entire
ly, or to lie On 3 larger amount of gas
than its automatic action would ordinar-
lly parmlt,or 70 allo" the regulator to
operate with an automatic acEien as
usual.
The largest diamond hitherto found at
the Cape i the ''Spaulding" diamond,
found III tie river diggings some years
since, Whscl weighed 2S6 1-2 carats. At
DutoitspG-held another large diamond
has recentl been found, weighing 244
caIats, With is said to be free from flaw.
and will c,s we'll.
The revnue Of the English Patent
Office IS bAng greatly in reased by the
number OF applications in connection
with the electric light. It is said that as
may as >"o OF three applications are filed
every dav, and the inventive genius of
the Old World has never, been SO active as
at the present time.
Az interesting experiment has been
made to determine whether the head
waters Of the Danube found their way
through subterranean 5passages into tie
ZACH. Some f1curesceln was placed in
the waters CT the Danube, and in three
days the splendid green color and gold
en- reflections were quite distinct in the
waters of the Aach
A prominent refiner says that benzine
ls tie first product that arises from the
process Of refining crude oil, and bears
the same relation to naphtha that dis
tillae does to refined oil. In other
wor0s, benzlne is crude naphtha The
reasoa it is not quotable under the name
OF beizine, therefore, is because it has to
be reduced to naphtha before it is mar
ketaFle in any extensive quantity.
In Irecent number of the Nineteenth
Century, by Mr.. Lockyer, the writer very
strcnAy questions Dr. Henry Draper's
discowry OF oxygen in the sun Recent
observations at Greenwich, by Mr.. Chris
tie, ard DR.. Jno. @. Draper, Of the city of
New York, have led to similar con-
clusion, and the whole subject, so far as
the opinions of scientific men are con-
cerned, may be said to be il an unsettled
state.
Some time ago it was reported watches
we've bling made il Switzerland with
phosphoreScent dlals, so that the hour
could be ascerrained from them at any
time Of night without the aid Of artificial
1,.,hL
pany has been manufacturing clocks
with this kind Of self-llluminating faces,
and they have been on exhibition in
the windows Of several Of our city stores
A new exploration OF the vast districts
between the Gulf Of Carpentaria and the
Indian O5e&n, in the so-caled Northern
Territory Of South Australia, is about be.
ING undert sken by My. Ernest Giles, the
Well-kn0wn and successful traveller. The
object is TO carry some 10000 to 10000
sheep anG 10000 cattle across the con-
tinent to the vast tracts Of grass lands
along or lying nea: the Indian Ocean in
the Northern, Territory.
The last German triumph in chcmica
science IS q method of keeping fish by
impregnatiug it, by means Of hydraulic
pressure, WIKI g weak solution Of salicy-
Chi acid, q new antlseptic, originally ex-
tracted from willow bark, bat since found
IL large proportions in meaoow-sweet
(Sp53g1 uInGriu). TIE fish is then pack
ed IL boxes and covered with gelatine, to
prevent its drying. 4 short soaking in
water restores it to pristine freshness.
It is found in England that many of
the artifcialEnapures act chiefly as slim
ulant, and that alter time the land re-
fuses to answer the spur. This is most
apparent On the poor and lighter soils,
but even strong land loses heart unless a
fair proportion of farm-yard manure is
applied. The lOudest agricultural COM
plants in Great Britain are from districts
where scientific farming has been carried
to its highest pitch, such as the Scotch
Lothians, and in Norfolk.
The following is an easy method of
making g hole in plate glass: Make a
circle of clay or cement rather larger
than the Intended hole; pour some kero-
sene into the cell thus made, ignite it,
place upon moderately hard support,
and with stick rather smaller than the
hole required, and hammer, striking a
rather smart Blow. This will leave s.
rough edged hole, which may be smooth
ed with file. Cold water is said to
answer even better than blow
The great robbery of the Manhattan
Savings Bank has melted Herald writer
to look up the more notable burglaries
of the past fifteen years. The list en-.
braces some seventy five or more banking
institutions that have suffered in this wa;T,
the aggregate loss footing up about SIS
100000. Thus it appears that IN this
country alone, in one class of robberies,
an average loss Of 81 100000 year has
been sustained. A single years burglar
tax would probably supply time locks and
electric alarms to every bank vault in the
land.
From paper read by Professor Join
T.Ordway, at a recent meeting of the New
England Cotton Manufacturers Associa-
ton, il appears that many of the oils used
for lub1icating machinery may be
classed as dangerous, because when heat
ed to sufficient degree they throw off an
ln1ammable vapor. In this respect it is
claimed that some of the animal and veg
etable oils are even more hazardous than