New-York tribune., 1879-11-22
SCIENCE FOR THE PEOPLE.


ar,h nj the close II the Glacial epoch. and offers ev
once 10 prove that the antiquity OF the race cannot DC
taken al less than 100000 years. Ater tue
Glacial epoch. geologsts have recosnizeu, "
their effects. three others, namely, the .h""i-
rlau the Terrace and the Delta all supposed 10 DC "
nearly cqunI length His argument for estimating 'he
duration OF these epochs IA as follows; lie takes Tue
case OF the Delta the Mississippi and notes the ae'
that for a distance OF about eco miles OF tms uo-
ros,t there are 10 be observed buried forests OF
large trccs one over the other. with inter
spsces OF sand. Ten distinct forest growihs OF
this nature have been observed, which must nave
succeeded one another. "these trees are INC
bald cypress Of the Southern states Some have been
ohserved over % feet in diameter and one contained
57OO annual rings. In some instances these huse trees
have grown over the stumps OF Others equally large
and such instances occur in all or nearly an ING ten
forest beds" From these facts IL is not assuming 100
much TO estimate the antiquity OF oaeh OF these oes
crowths AZ OCC ycars, 100000 years Tor inc 10
forests. This estimate would not take INTO account
the interval OF tlme-whch doubtless was con-
siderable-that clapsed between the ending OF
one forest and the beginning OF anoIhers; such
ceived in any court OF law as sound satisfactory
We do MT how such proof Is 10 BE- discarded wnen
tofy evidence that nan lived in the Champain epoch
But the Terrace epoch or the srea.er Part OF H. 9,sr @
adding 10 my 100000 II only rs much time Is
given 10 both these epochs a.. TO the Dei'a epoe"'
100000 years is the total result.
ECONOMICAL lLLI NlNAIlNN NAS.--hNNViN'HH
to The Journal Of the Franklin Institute Mr. l. Commeln
has discovered "A new industrial application Of hydro
gen lie places retorts mbes Of metal or refractory
earthenware In the OF furnaces or generators III
hoal apparatus elsewhere where they are eAposeu
TO red They are 1lled with charcoal coke, or
ciuders and small jet of yapOr is introduced when
produces by decomposition aud rccompOsition hydro
gen carbonc oxde aud carbOnic acid The apparatus
raised red heat and steam Is obtained WIN
out expense Each tube which contains % kilos oool
OF coke Yields. IN ten hours. 100 cubic metres
1851 65s cube e of gas, which passed into puri-
her end thence casoncter. Its illuminating power
is increased ~ mixture with the Vapor or gas OF No-
solid ny hydrocarbons, so as 70 yield, al about one
sixteenth the cost. winter and more briliant name
than tndt OF coal-gas.
COMPAEATIyE VALUE OF FOODS.-ln re-
cent lecture on the chemistry OF food, by Professor
Church, suggestive points Of dietc;ios were wei
brought or all the cereals Ar Church. "re"t
Yields tao bread. This is believed to be due prnc-
pay TO the character N ;he nitroGeneons matter OF
wheat The main constituent a brine, and II can be
readily obta ned fOr examination by making little -four
into dough with water, and then washing the starch
out by of stream OF water. There Is then leit
gray ish-yelow, tough elastic mass. which iS gluten
Speaking of Ieas beans, and various kinds of pulse,
was pointed ont how much more nearly the different
kinds agree IN composition than the cereals DO The
great drawback the of various kinds Of pulse
that they difficult 10 digest They arc an excel
theoretical food according to analysis, but they are
severe tax digestion. OF all the beans none pre-
scnts better typical food than the Soy bean. Lentls
have been much spoken Of lately as good food and
they undoubtedly approach TO a good typical food, but
they bitter astrngent and not easy OF digestion.
IL has come be pretty well recognized that the
food OF a man<Sng hard work should have neshfO
10 heaf-vers proportion of To AZ and that the food
OF a child should have 10 4 Bread gives to7le where
Is not a good food 6v itself Pulse gives taking an
sverage to 24. which is far TOO small In these cal.
culatOns heatgivers reckOned starch. Potatoes
give TO l6 according to the latest ANALYSES, the ola
10 beng evidently an error onion Is TO L. an excel
Ieht pryp2 ti1n, tVuEn @ onous ~ o. ~ - ~ u, s
food In looking at the relative values OF n,ShoInieIs
must not be forgotten.
New METALLURGICAL PROCEss.-Mr. Jacob
Reese, OF Pitsburg. Penn. says The American Manu-
Jdc;rer puts forth some remarkable claims regarding
an alleged discovery in metaliurcy. He says he is
able melt instantly bar Of cast steel one inch In d-
ameer-wmch cannot be fused in less than five minutes
IN the highest heat etainable-simply by throwing
against II a column OF air having the velocity OF 25OOO
feet minute. The instant the air touches the metal
the takes place. lie further says: BY furnace
requires many hours. and some lines many days.
to annea metals. BY recent discovery which have
made can anneal bars steel the rate OF one
foot per Second thus increasing the ductility OF the
metal 100 per cent. without the OF other fuel than
that contained in the metal itself simply unockthe oc-
cluded atenf heat 1t becomes sensible and enlarges
the metal by the method of doing this the enlarge
nent made permanent; that H. IL does not contract
10 It's original limit Now, anneang and fusing iron
and in second OF time may seem absurd but
Is isnevertheess fact and reduced TO practical utility in
the arts"
FORESTS AND CLMATE.-In an interesting
pamphlet by s. " DOrrien The Protection OF For
est the author pouts out these beneficial effects OF
forests upon climate: % Forests Increase the amount
of moisture in region by promoting the formation Of
clouds aud causing frequent precptations at the
same time rctardns evaporation. 2 They reduce the
extreme heat summer and the extreme cold OF VIM
tea go They prevent steep mountain scs the Ter
tile sol from sliding down. and protect against ava
lanches aud landsps. il They especially on the
coast of the sea in mountainous regions. On in
dispensabe barrier against drying winds and sanddriits
Strange as IL may seem adds Mr. DOrrien. that prOtec
ton against drying wind should be needed on the
coast II s nevertheless, in the MAN, correct During
the when vegetation is In active progress. ana
drying winds apt to do the greatest harm, the sea
has generally lower temperature than the land hence
the sea breezes are cool comparison with the atmOs
phere over the land TIE warmer the air grows, the
greater will capacity of receiving vapor without
being saturated aud followed by the formation Of clouds
or The precipitation of moisture. In other words the
nistmre Of The air decreases as its temperature
grows higher. Consequently the air carried IN Oy the
contact with the land portion OF It's moisture,
and thus has "a drying effect Experience shows that
This effect extends over many miles from the coast
unless forests or mountains serve as cover.
A New KNITTING LooM.--A new loom has
recently been brought England. which has ex-
cited much interest among the manufacturers of textile
fabrics It Is loom for knitting on what is claimed TO
entirely principle. The yarr which is drawn
direct from 432 cops, Is arranged over the width
required like a for the ordinary power ioom ana
by a simple conrivance the whole Of the threads are
shifted such angle that the needles enabled 10
catch thread at the instant. thus knitting the
entire width revolution. The loom occupies less
space and requires less than half the necessary
for the power loom now In use. II makes from twelve