Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-10-13
CURIOUS, USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
A RIVER OF BLACK INK.

the union OF two branches, one coming
from region of ferrugious soil, and the
other from peat swamp. The iron of
the one and the gallo acid of the other
unite and form true ink.
vARNIsH MADE OF BLOOD. u'9e,
Chinese varnish is made by mixing
three parts of fresh blood, which has
been deprived of it's fibrin by beating
with small twigs or broom straws, four
parts of slaked lime and little alum.
This may be used at once. 1t is said
that straw baskets coated with it are
rendered water and air tight, and that
paste-board to which it has been applied
becomes as hard as wood. - ~
a.' ,5, SINGULAR PHENOMENON.
A French journal is responsible for
/ the following: During a recent violent
storm young man was walking with all
unhghted carriage lamp in his hand.
Suddenly he experienced severe shock
in his arm, and concluded that lightning
had either struck him or some point very
near. But what was his establishment
to find that his lamp had been lighted?
! Several persons near him witnessed the
remarkable phenomenon. ~ '"'
|
At the meeting of the British associa-
ton, Sir w. Thompson described an ex-
tremely ingenious mode of keeping out
air and admitting water into his new fly
ing sounding apparatus for navigation
1t is simply the utilization of fine cam
brio, which, while it is wet, allows water
to pass freely, but it is impervious to air
at low pressures. The apparatus now
works perfectly, and surroundings can
be taken between IL and 70 fathOms
while steamers are going at full speed.
THE MILK OF RUMINANTs.
According to the researches of DR..
Bush, the milk of ruminants, when
swallowed, is coagulated by the acids of
the stomach into hard mass. Hence
| calves, lambs, ETC., which have taken no
food but the milk of their mothers, al
ways chew the cud. Animals which do
not ruminate consequently find diff
Guilty in digesting the milk of ruminant
species. On the other hand, human
milk, and that of mares, asses, and other
non ruminant animals, coagulates into
small granular or hocculent masses,
which are easily digested.
VERTICALLY ASCENDING LIGHTNING.
A paper by M. TrecHl on a remarka-
BILE case of vertically ascending lightning
was recently read before the French
Academy of Sciences. The phenomenon
occurred during storm on the 10Th of
August. The sparks appeared to come
from some lightning conductors in the
place, some rising singly and disappear
ing at a small height, after spreading in
to magnificent, nearly circular flash,
the light of which diminished from
center to circumference. In one case
| two luminous columns rose stimuli
taneously, pursued parallel course for
some distance, and then bent at right
angles and struck each other.
SMOKING MEAT.
According to a recent German patent
for rapidly smoking meat, the meat is
put into a chamber which is closed by a
cover with water Joint, and heated in an
oven below till the thermometer shows
| about thirty degrees c., whereupon an
outlet tube at the top is closed. Juniper
berries, to the amount Of ITO gr. for
every 200 kgm. of meat, are now intro
duced into space under the chamber,
and their vapors enter the latter by pas
sage in the bottom. By moving valve
these vapors can be drawn off into a
chimney. After about forty-fve minutes,
air is forced into a chamber through a
lateral pipe, SO as to drive out the smoke;
the cover is taken off, and the dried meat
is removed.
NOISE IN CITIES.
A writer in the Journal of Science re-
marks that noise is a contributor to tear
and wear of modern city life to a very
grave degree, and wonders why, while a
steady war is waged against many other
sanitary agencies no really serious
and persistent attempt has been made
for the abolition of superhuous sounds.
No complete and satisfactory account has
yet been given regarding the cause of
the injurious effect of sound in excess
upon The nervous system. Nervous ir
ritability and cerebral disease appear to
keep pace with the multiplication of
sounds, especially among thinkers. He
proposes, therefore, as a palliative, the
absolute prohibition of street music and
of church bell ringing, and the proven
ton Of such sounds as proceed from dogs
which bark persistently, and from har-
moniums, organs and wind instruments
in general, except in houses which are
! detached.
PEARL THREAD.
A Paris firm has begun the manufac-
ture of "pearl thread or ''beaded
thread which has the appearance of
thread on which beads are attached at
regular intervals. The process consists
in impregnating the thread at proper in
tervals with drops of pasty substance,
like wax, resin, lac, gum, etc., which on
cooling becomes CLASSY or crystalline.
The apparatus used is as follows: The
liquid bead material is held in trough
Like vessel, from the bottom of which
extend obliquely downward large num-
Der of narrow tubes, which are closed at
the lower ends, but have each an open
ing little above the end, through
which the liquid comes out in the form
of bead. The female worker brings
the thread in a horizontal position sim