The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-02-10
SCIENTIFIC.

Ing pamphlet of S. V. Dorrien on "erhc
4 Protection of Forests" the author
points out these beneficial efforts of
Y forests upon climate; (D Forests in
. crease the amount Of moisture in a re-
gion by promoting the formation of
clouds and causing more fire.
quent precipitations, at the same time
retardiug evaporation. i2)Thcy reduce
the extreme heat of Summer and the
extreme cold of winter. (3) They
prevent, in steep Mountain sites, the
oose soil from sliding down, aud pro.
tecC against avalanchcs and landslips
(4 They are, especially on the coast o
the sea or in mountainous regions, an
Indispensable barrier against drying
winds and sand-driits. Strange us il
may seem, adds Mr.. Dorrien, that a
protection againsta Il drying wind should
be needed on the coast, it is, ncverthc-
less, in the main, correct. During the
:, seasons when vegetation is in pro-
gress, ana drying winds are apt to do
the greatest harm, the sea has generally
a lower temperature than The land /;
hence tho sea brazZes are cool in COM
parlson with the atmosphere over the
land. The warmer the air grows, the
greater will be its capacity of receiving
yapor without being saturated and fol-
lowed by the formation Of clouds or tin {
words, the relative moisture Of the air
decreases rs its temperature grows high
er. Consequently, the air carried in
by the sea brccZes, becoming warmer
by being brought into contract with
the land, absorDs Il portion Of it's moist
urc, and thus has drying effect. EX-
pericncc shows that this effect extends
over many miles from lhG coast, unless
forests or mountains serve rs Il COyCr.
Il NC,D Knitting Lo0m.--A new loom
has recently been brougnt out in Eng
land, which has excited much inlc, est
among the manufacturers OF textile
fabrics. 1t is a loom for knitting on
what Is claimed to be an entirely new
principle. The yarn, which is drawn
direct, from l32 cops, Is arranged over
the width required like Il warp for the
ordinary power loom, BY a simple con-
trivance the whole of the threads arc
shifted to such an angle that the nt dies
are enabled to catch each thread at the
same instant, thus kniLting the entire
width at one revOntion. The loom
occupies less space, and requires less
than half the power necessary for The
powcr-l0Om now in use. 1t makes
from twelve to fifteen inches OF closely
knitted fabric in one minute. In two
hours and twenty minutes, including
stoppages, fOrty-eight and u half yards,
sevcnty-two inches wide, can be pro-
duccd. TEc fabric produced has been
pronounced by competent judges to be
superior in strength and durability to
the ordinary woven cloth. Euch Stich
or loop being locked, the c!oin will not
unravcl. variety OF designs has been
produced. Amy mixture and variety
OF colorlng can be Introduced, and the
selvagcs arc perfect, aud may be fancy
or plain, us required. The loom has
also been tested with tender yarns, and
found to work satisfactorily.
at the Industrial Exhibition of Cha
uN-de- e-Fonds (canton of Neulchalc), re-
Gently held, II clock was exhibited
which is described as p"rlect marvel
of mechanism. 1t indicates hours,
minutes. seconds and half-srcondS, the
seven days Of the week with their
planets. each day OF the month as it.
comes round, the decades, the twelve
months, with the signs Of the zodiac,
the number Of days OF the respective
month, the SUMS perihclion. the phases
OF the moon, the solar system, sunrise
nnd sunset according to the calandcr,
the 1cur seasons, the cluinnNcs and the
solsticc. On the number VI. of the d.
al are two chr0m0mctcrS Of different
systems, and the pendulum is Il barom-
etcr. The clock strikes the hours and
Iuartcr-hours. After striking the hour
1t plays tune, and by means of mech
anism the eight pieces Of music which
tho work contains may be inlcrcl anucd
The name OF the artist workman is
Rapin.