New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-06-28
SCIENCE FOR THE PEOPLE

c.poxtrfcA TTON OF MINERAL OILS.--Mhuy
s,,emo,s saws The English Mechanic. have been maui "
.aoonlfy the mineral oils. but small success mas
.,tendca The epdeavor new process has lately been
atented In England, which has, It Is said proved SUE
factory The patent applies not only to those OILS Non
are found native. such petroleum. but also 70 'oe
that are obtained from coal, schist aspht anu V'"
minerals In order render such oils capable oi SaP"
acation they are nrst aoidhed by the addition OF con
crete fatty matter either animal vegetable ana tne
mixture is then sapOnied In the usual way by the au
,,on Of alkaline ye The soaps thus produced may DC
varied I'm hardness and sodty according 70 the nature
of the fatty matters and yes employed but IN All cases
they are powerfully detergent and dlslniec'an'' am
baths formed by them do not putrefy even aiIer use,
sncb being the general Of the and improved
process the manner IN which It can be pracucay car
80 into effect may be best explained by particular
example: Assuming the oil TO be treated 10 DC INC
yecthed oil OF petroleum and the concrete FATTY ha
stearie acid the atteri melted In water oatn anu
poured into the petroleum, which Is at ordinary tenI
,re tho stearc acid being added to the petroleum IN
The noportion Of about fifteen parts OF the former 10 LOU
parts OF the latter by weight After thorough ni
by stirring for short time the COMPOUND can M 20
1ed in the usual 1t is, howeyer Of adyauIago ~
combine IT, before sapOnincstiJn Win aH, ai W 10
table fatty matter sood & rroen 10 three of the
faftv matter Either soda potash may De employer
to s5pGn eI %a hard or sot according TO he alkai
aud the proportions adopted in the sapOmncauon'
ARE THE POLAR REGIONS HABTALE AT
The reception given day by the san Francisco
ACADEMY Of Sciences 10 the members OF the Bennett TX
ploriug Expedition 10 the North Pole MI Charles Voc
ot Brooks discussed the questions OF the existence oi
an Arctic Continent, and the probability OF Its Deng III
babted II we carefully examine, says Mr. Brooks the
almost universal of all land known TO U.s. we
and n prevailing form wherever we turn. Zach terri
oriol area of magnitude seems TO have au appendaee
trendng southwark. If we apply this rule by turning
the North Pole Of gobo toward u.s. we readily see a'a
glance that Greenland which is known TO US may pear
IN auuuknovn Arctic Continent the same relation that
south America does TO North America, or Atrica 10
Europe Hence 1t is perfectly logical TO infer by the
reat analogy ef nature that Arctic Continent exists
beneath the North Pole, extending three ana ha 10
four degrees south from tie northern axis OF the eaflh
A. previous Arctic expeditions have advanced 10 90
2G north atitude-or within 1914 miles OF the Poe-the
distance thence 10 such continent would not exceed
about $50 10 $50 miles. This intervening space how
aver is difficult TO traverse 1t presents very roush
,urface If the sea, during the height OF gale, when
waves ran mountains high were instantly frozen't
would pre- much the appearance here encountered
For eibuoogsts the question H. Con an Arctic Cont
nent he inhibited should exist This may be met
by the well-knOwn TACT, that the latitude OF ~ ~
earth n about thirty-seven miles less III diameter at the
equator than from pole To pole having tulrgeu ~ one
LINT and Natteued al another because of Is revolving
motion Now, II is well known that lower Temperatures
ore encountered ascend nigh attitudes and the de
preston AT the poles may by essenng the distance OF
Inc surface from the caThs centre, afford warmer
Temperature. which will enable the hardy hsqmmau'
Amos, or HyperDorean race, to exist upon an
Arctic Continent
PLOUGH1SG BY ELECTRICITY.-At recent
meeting OF the Paris Acadc my Of Sciences. NJ Tresca
gave an account Of some experiments in ploughing by
electricity which he witnessed at Sermaise, III the
Marne A Gramme machine, making LOU REVOLUTIONS
per minute and driven by steam-cnHne, was con
nected TO second Gramme at distance OF 44O yards
and caused the latter to revove the rate of LAO
revolutions to the minute the electricity produced by
the first machine being thus converted into work The
second machine was connected TO third AT distance
OF 210 yards and these two worked cables attached TO
double Brabant plough. According TO NJ. Tresca the
experiment was very suGCcssv yhiIe
one-half of The motive power obtained from the steam
engine really transferred 10 distance O more thdh
1000 yards from the furnace
New BONE CAVERN IN IRELAND.-The bone
cave at shandon near Dungarvan, in the County Of
Waterford accidentally discovered some twenty years
ago. was the first Irish which produced animal re-
mains belonging to the peistocene period In IT were
md remains Of the mammoth horse, hear, wolf and
reindeer. Another cave has recently been discovered
near Cappoqun, distance OF about seven miles from
the shandOn cave This cavern is Of large size ana
appears TO have been occupied at very remote period
by bears portions whose skeletons to be met with
IN the lower deposits Of the oor but the chief interest
in this discovery In the fact that remains of the
great IRISH elk tnegdcerOs Hberntcus we're found IN It,
I'm conjunction with the other deer aud of bears
aud along with a polished greensboro celt (neolithc-
and several stone rubbcrs There were also some re
marabe strong evidences met with OF the assoca-
ton Of man with the great Irish elk for Professor Leith
Adams in presence these remains were taken out
OF the cave. and by whom they packed up for
further observation that many OF the bones OF the
megacerOs evidently split for their marrow, and
several elk cannOn.bOnes were found fashioned into
nwls and gauges, showing that man was not only con
tempOraneOus with the giant stag OF Ireland, but also
may nave in measure helped 10 cXeTmiuate II.
The explorations OF this cave st gong on and they
promise to open out IN the prehistoric history
OF Ireland.
CAST NICKEL AND COBALT.-Her Fleltmam
has succeeded in obtaining cast nickel IN maeable and
ductile form. His process consists in adding 10 the
fused metal through hole in the lid of the crucbles,
l. per cent Of metallic magnesium, which pos
sesses remarkable power Of destroying carbonic oxide
Cobalt, prepared in the same manner possesses such
hardness that Herr Fleitmanu thinks u could be used
for cutting instruments, while III the hot state II is both
malleabe and ductc. Cobalt, besides when so pre-
parod has none reddish color attributed to It in
The textbooks, but eXcels nickel In Wilderness and bril-
lancy. metals have been welded To IRON and
steel at white heat, and strips rolled out to the finest
number without causing any separation OF the metals