Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-08-30
CURIOUS, USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
TURPENTINE FROM sAW-DUsT

TURPENTINE FROM SAW-DUST
Spirits of turpentine is now made from
saw-dust and refuse of the saw-mill. i
is extracted by sweating process, anC
yields fourteen gallons of spirits, three
to four gallons of rosin, and a quantity
of tar per cord. The spirits produced
has different odor from that produced
by distillation.
EARTH TIDES,
The question of the existence of earth
tides, or oscillations of the earth's crust
corresponding to those produced in the
sea by the attraction of the moon, is be-
ing investigated by a British commits
sion. A pendulum is SO suspended that
It's slightest motion turns a mirror and
causes the point of light reflected by it
upon a distant screen to move very per-
ceptibly. The pendulum is proved to
be in continual change of position, for
the motion of the reflected light is inces-
SAINT and so irregular that it is hardly
possible to determine it's mean position
on the screen within five or six inches.
GLYCEROn IN BEER.
To estimate glycerol in beer, Claus
nitzer recommends the following meth
cd: In tarred basin on a water bath
SO C. C. of beer are to be warmed. The
gas having passed away 3 grammes
slaked lime are to be added and the
whole evaporated to syrup. Then 10
grammes of coarse MAJ BILE is introduced
and stirred in until all is in Jumps aud
dry. After weighing the contents of the
basin are powdered and an aGquot por-
ton extracted at SO deg. for four hours
with 20 C. C. of alcohol. The extract is
then mixed with Is C. C. anhydrous
ether and after standing is filtered into a
weighed flask and the precipitate washed
with alcohol ether. The glycerol will
be found In the flask after vOlatiliZation
of the ether; it is afterward ignited to
determine the ash.
AN ANTI-AIALARIAL PLANT.
Another plant possessing anti-malarial
properties, as allied, is receiving public
attention. This is the jussieua gru9adi-
fora, or floating giant of the bayous and
lower lakes of Louisiana, waich has been
long observed to prevent the develop
ment of malaria III regions peculiarly
adapted to its generation. The claim IS
put forth for it that 1t purifies all stag
nant water in which it grows; that the
lakes and bayous inhabited by it are
singularly pure to the sight, taste, and
smell; and that to it's presence, and it's
undoubted hygienic or health-preserving
qualities Is to be attributed the remarka-
BILE exemption of the people of lower
Louisiana FROM malarial OF miasmatic
diseases. 1t is also stated that in the
region thus reputedly preserved from
oil, c,to ont
waters and swamps than in any other
part Of the country.
PHOTOGRAPHING RUNNING HORSES.
The method by which Muybridge took
his instantaneous photographs of horses
while racing is thus described. At one
side of the track is long building con-
tanning battery of twenty-four cameras,
all alike, and standing one foot apart.
On the other side of the track is screen
of white muslin and a foot-board. The
screen is marked with vertical and hori-
zontal lines, and the foot-board bears
numbers indicating seprate intervals of
one foot each. The instantaneous shut
tiers of the cameras are operated by cleo
tricity, and their movement is governed
by such powerful springs that the expos
ure is estimated to be about one five
thousandth of a second. The contact
by which the shutters are sprung is made
by the breaking of thread drawn across
the track at about the height Of the
| horses's breast, there being one thread
| for each camera. In his flight through
the air, therefore, he brings each of the
twenty-feur cameras to bear upon him
at the moment when he passes in front
of it, and that camera represents his Pc
sition at that moment.
CLIMATE ON PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
A correspondent of the Knowledge
writing from Cape Colony, points out
several facts showing the marked inhu,
ence OF climate on plants and animals.
Plants, he says, feel severely the change
in their usual habits which takes place
when they are transplaDted from Europe
to South Africa. The curator of the
botanical gardens at Grahamstown states
that this is markedly the case with fruit
trees. The reversal of the seasons, occa-
stoned by the change of hemisphere. be-
wilders the plants, which are III some
cases educated to such a degree that
they are not able TO survive the shock.
The only chance of getting them to grow
is by grating, when they borrow the
| constitution of the tree on which they
are grated, and acclimatize readily.
Ordinary deciduous trees behave very IT.
regularly also. Sometimes they will
pull through, sometimes they die, but
the first cuttings never appear to thrive
Evergreens are not affected. Birds take
to the change of season we'll, if one may
judge by the few European sparrows
which have been introduced. European
dogs generally die. Imported oxen and
horses appear to do well, provided they
receive the same amount of care which
they experience at home. Cats thrive.
! SoLTDIFYING OLEIC ACID.
Muller-Jacobs, of Moscow, has invent
ed method of utilizing oleic acid for
candle making, etc. The oleic acid, OF
any of its natural glycerides, like cotton