The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1880-06-19
Compiled for the CARBON ADVOCATE.
POPULAR SCG ENCE NOTES.

POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.
Mr.. Henry G. Vcnnor, meteorologist Of
Montreal, whose weather phrophesies have
heretofore been pretty generally verified,
makes some direful predictions of storns,
cold, ETC., for June and July. In late let
ter he says "I believe that June will be an
intensely hot month, on the whole, but the
end Of May and first Of June, will be fall
like with frosts. July will be terrible
month for storms,w with terms Of intense heat,
but another fall-like relapse, with frosts, s,wili
in all likelihood occur few days before the
goth. fear the storms of thunder and hail
will be Of unusual severity during July.
must claim the verifcation of my prediction
relative to cold waye with frusts, over a
large portion Of the the United States, be-
tween the 10th and 18th of May. The re-
lapse toward the close of the present month
will be more severe than that Just past.
The advance in the price of paper which
presses hardest upon newspaper publishers,
may be accounted for in measure by the
varied and continued new uses to which
that article is applied. Among the thous-
ands of articles Of this material, some Of the
latest are car-wheels, water buckets, window
shutters, boats, bath tubs, wsah-basins,
blankets, etc. But the very latest use of
this material is in stoves, which is being
successfully accomplished by German paper
makers. A writer says of this new inven-
tion that, fire blazes cheerfuly without in
fiicting the slightest damage to the paper
that incases il.
In the Ionian Islands, in the neighbor-
hood of Argostuli, water-power is utilized in
a peculiar manner. A swift stream ofwater
running through a rocky channel for short
distance into the island, suddenly sinks into
the earth, in downward course, and goes,
no one knows where. The earth has been
cleared away for some distance down in
kind of shaft and the body of water being
conducted through an artificial tunnel, is
forced in single stream beneath an under
shot wheel. Thus power enough has been
obtained TO drive two mills which are now
in successful operation.
M. Pinart, French scientist, has been
working on the Pacific coast for more than
year, gathering prehistoric treasures from
Alaska TO Panama, and ii is said has already
sent over to Paris nearly shipload of speci-
mems. This field for exploration has been
considered one of the most important on the
globe, but to the present time no systematic
effort has been made by American scientists
TO gather together the valuable treasures to
be found along the Pacific slope, and our
country is sadly neglecting the treasuring
up of her own historical monuments.
A new street sweeping machine has been
invented, which promises to greatly reduce
the cost of keeping streets clean. The ma
chine is propelled by two horses, is attended
by two men and will it is claimed, clean
over a mile Of street in an hour, and do its |
work thoroughly. The dirt is swept by re-
volving brushes upon travelling canvas on
which it is carried to a cart, attached to the |
rear of the machine.
An eminent scientist estimates the prob
able number of optic fbers, in the human |
eye to be about 4SS,OOO and of the retinal
cores 3,3e0,000.
A new process for copying tracings, draw
ings, pictures, writings, etc., on the photo
graphic plan has been recently introduced
in this country that is not only of much val |
ue in many ways, but is an interesting am
usement and pastime for young people in |
producing duplicate pictures, portraits, ETC. |
The process in brief, is about as follows: The |
copying paper is prepared with sensitiziug
solution composed Of IL OF. citrate of iron |
and ammonia and OF. clean water; and
also, II OF. red prussiate of potash and OF.
clean water; dissolve these separately and
mix them, keeping the solution in dark
place. Apply a coating of this to the paper
with a sponge. Keep this in a dark place
also until dry. Make your drawing on thin
or transparent paper or render the picture to
be copied transparent. Place the drawing
over the scnsitized sheet which has been
stretched on a smooth surface; place glass
over the whole To keep the paper down
smoothly and expose the same to sunlight
some four or FIVE minutes. This having been
done, wash the sensitized sheet in clean water
and the result will be surprising.
The irrigation with the discharge from the
sewers of Paris, of the peninsula Of Genne.
villiers, has been attended with splendid re-
suits, and the Municipal Council propose to
irrigate other lands in the forests of St. Ger
main.
To found and maintain meteorological sta
tons at the mouth of the Lena and on the
islands of New Siberia, the Government has
granted yearly subsidy OF $4,000 rubles, to
the Russian Geographical Society.
Over FIVE hundred tons of sslver dollars
are now reported on hand IN the Govern
ment vault at Washington, and Secretary
Sherman has been notified by the Assistant
Treasurer of the United States that unless
the increase is soon stopped he will really be
in distress to know what 70 do with them.
At scheveain, on August 2sth to SOth
next, will be held an exhibition of apparatus
aud products relating to bee culture.
, New A AdVprtiSpnnntS