The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-02-18
Popular Science Notes.

with branch line TO Crosse Kadette,,-
haus. A company is also being organ
lied in Paris, France, for the purpose
of establishing lines OF electric street
railways in place of the present system
Of horse railways.
NJ. I.ullman, a French savanl. has
discovered that an oil can be distilled
from American grapevines which re-
fuses TO CONCEAL at a temperature above
eight degrees Fahrenheit, while other
oils are solid at twenty-seven degrees.
lie recommends the oil as especially
valuable for watch making and other
similar purposes.
In Brazil, large quantities of the best
quality of pottery are being manufac-
tured from the ashes of the hard, silice-
GUS bark of the carsike tree, which is
powdered and mixed with the purest
of clay obtained from the beds of the
rivers. The ware is said to be ex-
tremely hard and smooth and in every
respec. superior to that made by any
ether process.
There are now four comets visible 10
this earth, through good telescope,
none of which can be seen with the
naked eye. The first was discovered
by Mr.. Schaerbele at Ann Arbor,
Michigan, the second by Mr.. Hartwig,
at Strasburg, Germany, the third by
Mr.. Lewis Swift, at Rochester, New
York, and the fourth By NJ. Faye, of
Paris.
A new telegraph line has just been
completed by the signal service, across
the northwestern territories from Bis
mark, Dakota, to Dayton, Washington
Territory, crossing tho Rocky Noun
tains at the Sohor Pass. Offices for
transaction of commercial aud other
business have been established at the
following points. Bismark, Rapid
City and Deadwood, Dakota; Bote-
man, Helena and Deere Lodge, Mon
tana; Spokane Falls, Colfax, Almota,
Pomeroy and Dayton, Washington
Territory, and Lewiston, Idaho.
A considerable number of very an
cient tombs and objects of antique art
nae been revealed by recent land
slide on the right bank of the river
Simet In Sicily, near the town of Cata-
MIA. Investigations having been made,
1t is generally believed that these
tombs belonged to the ancient town of
Simeatus, indicated by Pliny and Ptole-
my, the situation of which historians
have never been able to agree upon.
The discovery Is of great archie illogical
Importance and will 10 doubt prove OF
value in throwing more light on the
geological history Of the wide valley of
the river Simet.
The scheme of Capt. Rondaire for let
ting the waters of the Mediterranean
into the great low-lying basin of the
Schatts, and turning the great North
African desert into all inland sea, is
thought to be inexpedient and impracti-
cable by many scientists and engineers
who haye been canvsssing the matter
: and surveying the territory. 1t would
take canal rivsling that of the Suez
to attain the end in view, while
Iooser, Neptha, and other Of the most
Furnishing cities OF the Schatt region,
would be submerged by the deluge,
and as a result, it is feared the large
date forests OF the Djerid would be
destroyed by the production of d
change of climate. which would natur-
ally follow.
The wonders of the telegraph are
shown in the recent sending of dis
patch of siXty-nine words from Austria.
liza to London, distance of 1885
miles, the time occupied in its transit
, being thirty-three minutes. The mes
sage was dispatched at l PM, and
reached its destination at 8 :43 AM. or
the same day, or nine hours and seven
. teen minutes before the hour of its dis
3 patch. The route of the message was
! over the lines of the Victorian anG
South Australian Colonies, the cables
of the Eastern extensions, Australasia
. and China Telegraph Company, the
lines of the Indian government, the
cables of the Eastern Telegraph Com
pany, and the lines of the Egyptian ant
French governments.
A novel method for the taking w
and putting off of passengers without
7 the stopping of trains, is proposed by
NJ. HarenZ, of Paris, and railway o.
that section is preparing to put The
proposition to practical test. A
= waiting car is provided at every sta
ton into which passengers gather be
fore the arrival Of the train. AS the
. train passes the station the rear car
. which contains only passengers fol
. such station, Is cut loose and side
= tracked, whiIo the waiting car at the
, depot 10 gathered up by simple device
/ and Is coupled on, TO at as q real
coach of the train to the next station
where the same cutting off and grab
bling up process takes place-the mo-
. ton of the train being but slightly
; checked at each poiut,
One who has been experimenting
predicts the day not far distant wheT
seeing by electricity will be looked up
on with no more wonder or amaze
ment than the present mode of talking
: aud sending off the human voice hun.
dreds of miles, and that instantaneously
by means of tho telephone. In fact, the
former has actually been accomplished
and the inventor asserts that the cleo
trio current takes up and transmitt
, the features OF a person, landscape oil
writing, as it does modulations o.
sound, and is confident that when hi
invention shall have been perfected, 4
will be an easy matter to take the pho
, tograph of person or landscape
, though they be hundreds. of miles dis
tant. We shall await anxiously fol
, further developments of this inven
! ton.
Scientists have for some time beer
experimenting to determine the virtu,
of the Australian Fever tree, known N
the Eucalyptus, in banishing the un
wholesomeness of malarial districts
|. and the results are said to be very sat
isfactory. In many fever plagued re
gions in Southern Italy, Corsica, and
Algeria, where, during certain seasons
the atmosphere has been literally pes
; tilential, the planting of these trees ha
. almost literally banished epidemic
: fevers, and large tracts of Low
: ground near Algiers, heretofore unoc
cupied on account of the unhealthful
/, ness OF the region, have been trans
formed through the agency of the feve
tree, and rendered wholesome ant
habitable. Many districts in thi
country need to profit by the exneri