Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-10-08
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

"A submerged steel tube forty feet
below the surface is the latest sugges-
ton for the crossing of the English
Channel.
A Massachusetts man has discov-
cred that for coloring sheepskins a
beautiful vermilion the potato-bug has
no equal.
-Celluloid is now employed fer the
making of stereotype plates, with the
result, 1t is claimed, of great advantages
over the present electrotype. Acompa-
ny in New York has gone into the busi-
ness.
"A great clothing house at Paris ex-
hibits several sewing machines which
move by electricity with wonderful
speed and regularity. The establish
ment uses them for its own sewing, and
thereby greatly lightens the task OF the
hard-worked seamstresses. ua
-Priestly & Sons are running 1,50O
steam looms on fine dress goods at Man
chester. Convinced that England's in
dustrial greatness is on the wane, they
sent an agent to Philadelphia to study
the situation. As result factory has
been secured there and 100 looms put in
The branch has done so well that the
firm will probably soon remove their
entire business TO this country.
Considerable quantities of beauti.
full objects of artificial amber are now
being produced in Vienna. The sub
stance employed in its manufacture is
chiefly colophony or resin, obtained by
decomposition of turpentine, though
several other ingredients are used to
give it the requisite qualities. The i'm
itation is said to be perfect, and the
production has even the electric prop
critics of amber. Ingenious manufac-
turers have even introduced into the
substance foreign bodies, insects, etc.,
to make the similarity more striking.
Natural amber requires a temperature
of 285 to 287 degrees G. to fuse it, while
the imitation becomes liquid at much
lower temperature.
The value of the cotton plant
(GOSSypi,m herbaceuD,) has been in
creased by the discovery that the bark
of the roots yield promising dyestuff.
Mr.. w. c.. Staehl reports that when the
bark of cotton root is exhausted by al
cohol of the specific gravity of 0.S4, a
dark reddish-brown liquid is obtained,
which, when distilled to recover the
spirit, leaves o resinous matter which
amounts to per cent. of the original
weight of the bark. The new product
thus obtained appears black and shin
ing, but when pulverized takes the color
of cochineal 1t dissolves in IA parts OF
alcohol, Is parts of chloroform, and 122
parts of benzol. 1t dissolveS also in
caustic alkalies, and is precipitated from
these solutions by acids. Hydrate OF
; potash colors green. Sulphuric acid
dissolves it with a red-brown color.
Experiments lately made at Black
burn sGs, With II al train mass aR In iMitatlNe
|, the train standing in Blackburn Station
to test the statement of the driver tina
he reversed his engine as soon as n
4 ! found that the brakes did not check hi
j train, are of some interest, though the.
elected the fact that the reversal OF ar
engine of train running at a high We
: locity has but very little effect in reduc
9 ing the speed. A high speed was at
tained, and the engine was reversed
quarter of mile before reaching tn
station, but the train ran through tn
}, station at about twenty miles an hour
9 and had to be stopped by the brakes
II Locomotive driving wheels, when run
ming the reverse way, are not effectiv
n in stopping train. The experimen
T. shows how little can be gained by rt
versing an engine under such circun
10 stances. .lH