The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1879-12-19
AS showinetheE Edurability ofstilnber,
the fact is cited that the piles of a bridge
ht1iiE hv ktha Ross1ss,1k En- ne,.nls Tss.oi N

4 As SHOWING durabiiity of tim Der,
the fact is cited that the piles of a bridge
built BY the Roman Emperor Trojan
were found, after having been driven
some 1900 years, to be petrified four
inches, the. rest of the wood being in its
ordinary condition. The elm piles
under the piers of London bridge have
been in use more than zoe years, and are
not yet materially decayed, and beneath
the foundation of Savoy place, London
oak, elm, beech and chestnut piles and
planks were found in state of perfect
preservation, after having been there
down the old walls Oft Tunbridge Castle,
Kent, ENGLAND. there was found III the
middle Of 4 thick stone wall timber
curb which had been enclosed for 700
years, and some timbefO an OLD bridge
was discovered while digging for the
foundations of house at Windsor which
must have been placed there prior to
the year 1896. -ssss2- "a. sis@z--
The Washington Post is of the opinion
life-saving service deserves more atten-
ulO1
than it has yet received. Its was only
after long inportunity and lumberiess
appeals from hunanitarians that the
government was induced to adopt .. sys-
TEN of saving life and property along
esarp penilous coastsA The service has
fully justified all that was ever claimed
III its behalf and is richly deserving of
naosthearty and liberal support. There
is no duty requiring a rarer combina-
tiOn Of skill and courage than that of
the heroic men who .occupy the life
saving stations. AS the telegraptiic re-
ports Of the oft-recurring marine dis
asters have appeared in the newspapers,
they llaveA told how these men have
gone to thereseue of sinking ships and
Stranded crews; have told the story in
plain and business like terms, and few
have thought Of the courage manifested
OF the vast good accomplished ~ Yet
there were 2O49 lives and 81 ,445, ,O86
worth of property saved BY this institu
ton during the last fiscal year,
The reward offered by the American
humane association fol. a cattle car that
port stock without cruelty, should
AIC lCtr 1Q1 OIL
invention that viii meet all the fequiro-
ments is 5000. As cattle are now
transported, one great cause Of com
plant is lack of water. Under existing
arrangements the animals suffer, and to
a degree that sometimes lessons their
value, The budding of numbers to-
gether isean evil, as in addition to the
cramped quarters, which do rot permit
fee movement, unruly or vicious ami
mails sometimes wound sand 5eveu kill
others. The jolting of the Ioars also
causes sores, which impair the value of
the cattle.s 1t is otilikely that the re-
ward offered will accomplish what the
nest=witted railway men and stock
importers have failed to discover, but it
may possibly be the means of suggesting
methods that. will at least mitigate the
evils complained of. The man who can
devise means by which cattle can be
transported great distances without
suffering as they do now, or without the
loss now experienced, can make a hand
some fortune. But to do that he must
not require much. more room than is
occupied by q cattle car, nor must he IN
crease the weight very muchA Al
The protection OF ships bottoms from
corresienshas proved a difficult prob
LEM to owners; but the fortuitous dis
covery that the juice of plants Of the
order esphorbiGce3, common and slu xl1ld-
ant ia tropical climates, preserves iron
from rnstliss likely to be nsefAlly ap-
piled to The preservation of those por-
tions of ships. below the water line, not
only from ooTrosion but from fouling.
Itseems that during the sarvey. of Natal,
some two-or three years ago, one Of the
officers found that when certain plants
of the order named were cut during the
clearing, the knives were firmly coated
with TIE abundant gum which exuded
from them, and that the knives thus
coated did not rust. In consequence.
experiments with the gum in question
were afterwards made by Sir Andrew
Clarke, who some two, years ago had q
sheet Of iron coated. with it immersed
in the waters of the Chatham dockyard,
where everything becomes rapidly foul.
On being taken out it was found to be
quite clean.s 'rhe gtimi is intensely bitter
and poisonous, which prevents the ad-
hesioii of natine animals to any sub
stance with, which it may be covered,
and as the plants Supplying it are found
in abundance on5t the sea side, in low
latitudes, even If this agent should prove
only moderately efficacious it may prove
of great service to the shipping interest
- y aN