The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-10-04
sc1EHcK AND INDUSTRY.

"A driver In the Toy ere depart
ment has invented oontriv4nco By
which his horses ara embarrassed by
simply pulling the reins.-TSoy { N. r }
Times.
DIR. Isador Kitsee, of Cincinnati, has
patented device for discovering fire.
damp In mines before the miners enter
them. Electricity Is used to fuse httls
pieces of metal at various points in .
mins, and if an explosion of damp occurs
. bell is rung.-N. Y. Post.
Tho Journal Of Science says that At
the soiree Of the Society of Chemical
Industry, held Of Owens College. Nj.
Fletcaa-, of Warrington, Eng. demon
strated the possibility of the combustion
Of gas without visible lame. the heal
obtained from Quarterback gas-pfpe
being sufficient to fuse iron into drops
"A gun invented by q man in Ripley,
Miss, is, if it is what it is claimed to be,
one of the most wonderful inventions Of
the age. 1t can be fired from ten to
twenty thousand times a minute, can be
elevated or depressed or turned to the
right or left, inclined to cover the slope
of a hill, contracted so as to bring the
fire to bear on one spot or expanded to
cover a wide area, aud all with the great
est ease and in the simplest manner, by
merely turning . crank. = Chicago
Times.
1t is said that alcohol equal to that
made from grain can be produced from
acorns. The acorns are freed from the
shell and ground finely; then they are
mashed with malt and allowed to fer
ment. Acorns contain about 20 per
cent. of starch and IL per cent of glu-
ten. They would be valuable article
for human food If it were not for the
fannie acid (about 8 per cent? which
they contain. Vast quantities which go
to waste every year. where hogs are not
fed in the woods, might be gathered by
boys and converted into alcohol for use
in the arts, thus freeing al equivalent
amount of grain for use as food.
Considerable progress Is being made
in reviving the mining industries OF the
Isthmus of Panama. For many years
! its mines excited the cupidity of Span
iards and buccaneers. Indian and ne
gro slaves were made to work in quarts
and placer by the most primitive proc
esses, and almost entirely without ms
| chinery, but their labors were very pro-
ductive, according to tradition Ii Ia
centuries, however, since most of the
| mines were abandoned. Some were
worked out, others were not rich enough
i to pay with hired labor, and all required
an investment of capital which the un-
settled condition of the country, and
especially the fear all foreigners enter.
tanned for isthmus fever, effectually pre-
vented from being made.-N. z. Sun
An impetus has been given to thu
nickel industry by the improved process
es of making it malleable. Many usefu
as we'll as ornamental articles are nov
made of this material. Nickel table
utensils especially are in great favol
abroad. This class of goods Is now be
ing manufactured largely in Prussia
and is preferred to similar articles o
other materials. The hardness of tht
metal renders it capable of receiving ,
high polish, which is not readily in
jured by friction of any usual kind; OF
account, too, of the peculiar smoothnes
of the surface, matters do not adher
firmly to 1t, and cleaning requires bu
little attention or effort It also pos
sesses the advantage Of not furnishing
like some other substances, when fire
quently used. Chicago Tribune.