Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-10-18
CURIOUS, USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
REMARKABLE PETRIFACTIoN.

REMARKABLE PETRIFACTIoN.
A curious petrifaction recently &-
hibited at Salt Lake City consisted ola
bunch of wheat heads upon which
cricket had fastened himself. All hal
been turned to stone in the short spae
OF six months by the action of a sob
spring.
THE WEIGHT OF AIR.
All know that air has weight, but one
is apt to have very vague ideas as to the
weight of comparatively limited quanti-
ties of 1t. A cubic foot of air weighs
$751; grains, or something over one
ounce; 1906 cubic feet weigh one
pound. About sixty-fve cubic feet of
air furnish one pound of oxygen. An
apartment eight feet high, twelve feet
wide and thirteen feet long contains
about 100 pounds of air; and room
forty feet square and eighteen feet high
contains about ton.
A USEFUL PLANT.
Hop plants can be used for various
purposes. Thus the wires, or twigs,
are of service for basket and wicker
work, and the leaves furnish food for
farm stock and sheep; from the tendrils
vegetable wax is obtained, and from
their juice a coloring matter. The
young shoots, too, are eaten, tasting,
when boiled, like asparagus, and when
bleached they can be made into strong
paper and cardboard; from their fiber,
in Sweden, yarn and linen are spun, and
the ashes are used by the makers of
Bohemian glass; while from the flowers,
which Criua on 1,1I- I1i4%o1, +oc4o 10
beer, tincture is derived, and me-
dioinal extract; and pillow filed with
hops will often cause sleep, and is a
great specific with old country DANES.
BLACK POTTERY.
A correspondent in the west of Eng
land writes: "Some interest will be felt
in claim just put forward on behalf of
the Marland Pottery Works, situated
near Great Torrington, Devonshire.
For a long period the art of making
what is known as Egyptian black pot
terry has been lost to the world. This
black is OF peculiarly beautiful, bril-
liant appearance, and can hardly fail in
q display of art pottery to arrest atten-
ton. 1t is now asserted that the works
named have rediscovered the art, and at
a bazaar recently held In the county they
exhibited a vase ornamented with
groups of flowers of bright blue hue,
but With a body made of the brilliant
black material. 1t was much admired,
ard it is said that the body OF. the vase
is the only example in the world at
the present day corresponding to the
ancient Egyptian black. st. James Ca
sette.
OLEIC SOAP.
Fullers use large quantity of oleic
soap. Its manufacture is different from
other hard soaps because it saponifes
very rapidly and the greater part of the
lye must be in tie copper before the
oleic acid is added Oleic acid, like
resin, works best in carbonated lyes, and
so In preparing oleic soap ash lyes of
from 200 to 500 Baume are used. This
is the method of saponifcation: About
1900 pounds of I've of 200 Baume are
run into the copper, and when this boils
1000 pounds of oleic acid are added
while the mixture is being constantly
stirred. Then go pounds OF oleic acid
and 700 pounds of soda lye of 20o Baume
strength are introduced. When the
saponlfcation is complete some common
salt is stirred up in the mass. The soap
is now boiled until it becomes clear. It
is then kept at rest for from II to Is
hours IN the covered copper, after which
it is poured into the frames. This soap
is silvery, firm, and pleasant to the
nostrils.
OBSERVATIONS ON SOUND.
| The following curious observations OF
sound have been carefully verified by al
extended series of experiments: The
whistle of a locomotive is heard 3, 300
yards; the noise of a railroad train 2, 800
the report of musket and the bark of a
| dog 800; an orchestra or the roll of 6
drum, l, 900; the human voice reaches tC
distance of 1000; the croaking Of
frogs, 900; the chirping of chickens
800. Distinct speaking IS heard in the
air from below up to distance of SOC
yards; from above it is only understood
to range of 100 yards downward. Il
| has been ascertained that all echo is
well reflected from the surface of smooth
water only when the voice comes from
an elevation. Other similar phenomens
connected with the transmission o.
sound have been observed, but the re.
suits disagree, either from inaccuracy IL
the observations or from the varying
nature of the circumstances affecting the
numbers obtained. Such variations oc
cur to an extent of ten to twenty pc.
cent. and even more. The weather be
! ing cold and dry Or warm and wet a1e
| the chief influencing causes. In th9
first case the sound goes to greater and
IN the second to lesser distance.
THE DRAFT OF OHIMNEYs.
At the closing meeting of the British
Association, Lord Rayleigh read paper
before the mechanical section on the eff
feet of wind on the draft of chimneys
based upon experiments made with
tubes and a fan driven by hydraulic
power. He stated that a horizontal
wind would usually promote draft, ex.
cept in cases where the chimney opened
out upon large expanse of wall, and
so was Indirectly affected. The cure in
this case was to carry the chimney
higher. When the wind was inclined
downward to the chimney at an angle
of thirty degrees and upward there Wfs,