Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-01-05
CURIOUS, USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
NEW HYDRAULIC CEMENT.

THE ELEPHANT.
The elephant hunters of Ceylon and
India cerroborate Sindbad's story that
elephants, when they feel the approach
OF death, retire to solitary and inacces-
sible valley, and there die in peace. The
superintendent of elephants to the gov
eminent of India states that no living
man has come across the corpse of a wild
elephant that has died a natural death.
NEW KIND OF WOOL.
Stag WOOL as it is called, is being
successfully employed abroad for cover
ing steam boilers, and for other purposes
where it is desired to prevent the radia-
tlon OF heat. To obtain this ''wool,"
Jet OF steam is made to strike against the
stream OF viscous molten Stag as it runs
OFT from the blast furnace. This Jet
scatters the molten Stag into stream of
shot which is projected forward near the
mouth OF large tube, in which steam
Jets cause an induced current of air; this
tube opens into a wire-gauze receiving
chamber, and as each shot leaves the
stream of Stag it carries fine thread or
tail with it; the shot, being heavy, falls
to the ground, while the fine woolly
deposited in the chamber.
MEDICINAL PLANTS.
1t is a fact that medicinal plants are
disappearing from this continent. al
though they were once abundant here.
The causes of their extinction have not
been described except in a general way.
No doubt, as Mr.. G.. W. Sloan has indi-
Gated, the introduction of herbaceous
plants from Australia and Africa may
have much to do with it, and the de-
structiOn OF forests, with the climatic
and other changes implied In that still
more. But man has at his disposal
means to prevent the loss of plants which
have been of value in the restoration of
health aud strength, and it would be well
for special organizations such as phar-
maceutical societies and state boards of
agriculture to give systematic attention
to this matter
LEATHER WORKING MACHINERY.
Among the most efficient appointments
in the shoe manufaC Jories of the present
day are the boot and shoe crimping ma
ch1nes-two entirely separate inventions
the former being capable of perfectly
clfnplng twelve to sixteen cases OF boots
daily, better, also, than can be crimped
by hand, and the shoe crimper finishing
in perfect manner over four hundred
pairs per hour. In leather machinery
there are CLOSING, stoning, pebbling,
and polishing jacks, tanning and stufing
mills, also the hide unhairing machines
that will do the work of four to eight
men, taking oIt the lime, dispensing
l. 4ho IL 1oo4 IL,
ing, and doing eight hundred sides daily
with ease. There is likewise a new ma
chine for softening leather, by which
every fibre is loosened and softened with
out injury.
SAwDUsT UTILIZED.
It is found that sawdust can be con-
verified into "liquid wood, - and af ter
wards into a solid, flexible and almost
indestructible mass, which, when incor-
porated with animal matter, rolled and
dried, can be used for the most delicate
impressions, as we'll as for the formation
of solid and durable articles. To ac-
compl1sh this the method pursued is to
immerse the dust of any kind of wood
in diluted sulphuric acid, sufficiently
strong to affect the fbres, for some days,
thefner parts being then passed through
a sieve, well stirred and allowed to settle.
The liquid is drained from the sediment
and the latter mixed with a proportion
ate quantity of animal matter, similar to
that used for glue; the mass is then
rolled, packed in moulds, and allowed
to dry
PRINTING ON CARPET.
A most ingenious process for printing
gold and silver designs on carpetings
and other textiles have recently been in
troduced abroad The bronze powder
is, in this case, united at once to print
ing material. The liquid silicate of pot
ash or Of oxide OF sodium answers this
purpose. One part, by weight, of gold,
silver, or bronze powder, along with two
parts of the silicate, will give a print
color which is easily transferable by
rollers to paper, oilcloth, woods, and
metals. The bronze thus printed dries
very rapidly and cannot be taken off by
oil OF water unless they are boiling. 1t
bears light and heat well, and especially
sulphuretted hydrogen, which has such
destructive effect on bronzes put on in
the form of powder. It is recommended
to thin the mass by an addition Of ten or
twenty per cent, SO as to keep 1t from
becoming too hard during the process
of printing.
A CHANCE FOR THE INGENIOUS.
In offering it's series of prizes, the
German Railroad Union suggests the
especial desirableness of devising the
following improvements: First, the in
vention of locomotive tender, or car
wheel, of simple but safe design, by
which the loosening of ties will be effect
lively prevented; second, the invention
of simple apparatus, but to be depend
ed upon under all circumstances, which
will render it possible for train men on
different parts of long train to commu-
nicate with the engine man; third, the
invention of a cheap but reliable signal
apparatus for the automatic blocking of
trains which follow each other closely
upon the open road, for regulating and
rendering safe the traffic on crowded
sections of the road; and fourth, the in
yention of apparatus which will make it