The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-03-13
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.

prOpheSleC tnaG COcnln0dl mas Hdu It's
day, and that the new color will take
its place.
-Four parts of copper sulphate and
one part of borax, triturated together,
are said to form mass that can be
rolled into sticks at pleasure for eau
terizing purposes.
Recently in Holland a competition
was held for tarred and untarred rope.
1t was shown that tar diminishes the
tenacity of ropes against pulling
force, but maintained the tenacity
longer by protecting the rope
against atmospheric and other in
.iuences. The degree of tarring most
suitable for ropes is about fifteen per
cent.
A writer in the Bismarck Cd. T.)
Tribune argues that railroads and their
operations are among the greatest
sources of increased rainfall in coun-
tries reported arid; and expresses the
opinion that they have already changed
the climate along the Northern Pacific
Railroad, and that the same effect will
follow railroad construction everywhere
in the Northwest.
In q paper on the detection of Or
ganic matter in water, Tieman and
Preusse consider it very probable that
disease-ferments are present in polluted
water, but deprecate inference that all
impure water must necessarily prove
pernicious to health. When water be-
comes pernicious, neither the physician
nor the chemist can decide, though both
may point out when the water should
be avoided as suspicious.
The returns of vessels launched in
the Clyde in 1879 show falling off of
40, $50 tons as compared with 1873, but
an increase of 3,493 tons as compared
with 1877. Altogether last year 40
vessels of an aggregate tonnage of 49,
438, were launched, as compared with
-236 vessels and 222, $50 tons in 1878. A
feature of last years work was fleet
of steel vessels aggregating 1S,SO8 tons.
The damposcope" is the name
given by BIS inventor, Professor Forbes,
of Anderson's College, Glasgow, to an
instrument designed to detect the pres
ence of fire. damp in mines. The prin-
,cipal embodied in 1t is that when a
tuning-fork is sounded and brought
near tube of certain length, full of
air, the tube will resound to the note
produced by the fork. By this machine
the fre-damp in q mine can be esti-
mated to the amount of five per cent.
1t has already been adopted in some of
the mines in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Professor A. j. Cook, of the Agri-
cultural College of Michigan, well
known as an apiarian of experience,
says that within the hives honey bee
workers in killing the drones tear them
to pieces with their mandibles rather
than sting them, and he has thus seen
them kill q humble bee that had entered
the hive; it thus appears, what we may
judge will be quite new to entomolo-
gists, that the honey bee uses its man.
dibles, at least on some occasions, as
weapons of attack, quite as much as the
sting.
The latest and most wonderful
photographic discovery is that of M.
Lambrigot, who substitutes stearine for
tin foil and electrotypes the impressed
surface. 1t has been suggested, says
Nature, that these eleotrotypes, which
can be made very cheaply, may render
great service in the study of foreign
languages, for they preserve indefinite
ly and repeat as often as may be de-
sired words that are most difficult to
pronounce correctly, thus providing a
pronouncing dictionary of the most
satisfactory kind.
To Remove Old Paint.-A writer
to the English Mechanic says: "The
cheapest and best solution that know
of l accidentally discovered, and it may
be worth while to tell how, though very
likely some may know of it. In trying
experiments for press copying some old
letters, among others | used successful
ly q solution of one tablespoonful of
vinegar and one ounce of washing soda
to half pint of water. A little of this
was split on the painted window sill,
and in wiping it up the paint came en-
tirely off, leaving the bare board en-
tirely clean. Try it; a gallon will not
cost fifty cents"
lightning and tina building
rooted with tin is not less liable to be
struck by Lightning than shingled
rooted building. If neither house were
provided with lightning rod the tin
rooted building, if struck, would be
the safer, because the lightning would
be likely to divide and spread over the
metal, and find its way to the earth by
several different paths on the exterior
of the building, water leaders, cutters,
etc. The wooden roof offers no such
facility as metal for the spread or d.
vision of the electric charge, but is apt
to tear its way through the building to
the ground in one path.-Scientifc
-AnserscGn.
Wood Csrving.-Wood carving
is an industry which is carried
to considerable perfection among
the Germans. 1t is fostered by the
establishment of schools for carving
particularly in districts where the wood
used for the work the Spanish walnut
the finest and best walnut the Germans
have-is plentiful. Eighty of these
carving schools exist at the present
time in Germany, and eighty in Wur-
temburg, but so much Importance is
attached to the results which have
flowed or are expected to flow from
these institutions that the number of
the schools in Germany is to be in
creased to 200.
A Bachelors League.