American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-03-06

When the plant is raised in large guam
titles, and when factories, erected in the
neighborhood of production, save the
cost of distant transportation, the cult
walton of this fiber will become more
remunerative. Next year extensive
trials will be made in the raising of the
Devils Plant and it is the object of
this note, through the courtesy of your
columns, to ask Western farmers to col
lect as large a quantity of the seed as
possible, in order to facilitate expert
ments which may yet greatly rebound
to their own interests"
THE VELOCITY OF SOUND.-A memoir
is published by William w. jacques, in
the american Journal of Science and Arts,
on the velocity of very loud sounds.
The author gives an account OF expert
ments, made at the United States Arsen-
al at WATERFOWL, Mass, for the purpose
of obtaining automatic measurements
of the velocity of sound near a cannon.
Behind the cannon-a siX-pounder brass
field-piece-he placed, at n distance of
10, 80, so, 80, and 100 feet from its
mouth, ingeniously constructed MEM
branes, having an electrical connection
with chronograph capable of record
ing OOOO1 of a second. He found that
the velocity of the sound was
not greatest at the immediate
rear of the cannon, but at some
distance from it, where it rose to a
maximum considerably above the or
binary velocity, and then fell gradually
to about the velocity usually received"
When the cannon was turned at right
angles to the line of the series of mem
branes the distance of the maximum
velocity of the sound came nearer the
cannon. From these facts the author
concludes that the velocity of sound is
function of its intensity, and that the
experiments upon the velocity of sound
in which a cannon is used contain an
error, probably due to the bodily motion
of the air near the cannon. The employ
ment of a musical note of slow intensity
is, therefore, recommended to correctly
determine the velocity of sound.
ONE OF THE SMALLER INDUSTRIES
The manufacture of thimbles has now
been SO far perfected by means of inn
proved machinery and processes, as to
involve a complete revolution in this
comparatively small but useful industry.
In the first operation, lot of bright sill
yer dollars, fresh from the mint, are put
into crucibles and melted into solid
ingots. They are then rolled into the
required thickness, and cut by stamp
into circular pieces of the desired size.
These circular disks are placed under a
solid metal bar of the proportion of the
inside of the projected thimble, which,
moved by powerful machinery, descends
in bottomless mold of the outside of
the thimble, and presses the metal into
the needed shape at a single blow. The
remaining operations of Frightening,
polishing and decorating, are performed
by means of lathe First, the blank
form is fitted with rapidly-revolving
rod; a slight touch of a sharp chisel
takes thin shaving from the end, an
other does the same on the side, while a
third rounds off the rim. The polishing
is done by round steel rod, which is
dipped in oil and pressed upon the sur
face. Small revolving steel wheels held
against the revolving blank pierce the
indentations on the lower half and the
end of the thimble; the ornamentation
is done by a similar process. All that
remains to be done to the thimbles is to
brighten and polish the insides, boil |
them in soapsuds to remove the oil,
brush them up and pack them for the
market-being sent to all parts of the
world.