Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-08-11
NOTES ON SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

lit VI paper Cdl
wheels once pronounced chimera,
has already become no insignificant
industry, and by the improved mothod
of production lately introduced, their
advantage appears unquestlonably
assured. The process is one of en-
tire simplicity. In the first place, six
sheets of ordinary brown paper are
pasted together and subjected to a
hydraulic pressure of some 400 tons
weight: these sheets being then taken
to the Thickness, of half an inch, and
subjected to the same pressure, and
the layers thus formed continue to be
thus pressed until Of the right thick
ness and firmness. There is no
chemical preparation. When made
into the right shape, iron plates are
set on each side of the paper interior,
and ali are firmly fastened together
by system of rivets; then an iron
band or tire is added, and this con
stitutes the car wheel. An illustra-
ton of the durability of the article is
afforded in the fact, as stated, that
one Of these wheels. which had made
revolutions sufficient to travel $4,000
miles, when taken apart showed the
paper portion to be twice as compact
and serviceable as at first
What is considered an improved
method OF solidifying petroleum, and
in which state it only burns like tai
low. is due ton the researches Of Mn.
Frezon and Dumont, their plan being
simply that of mixing the crude
petroleum after it has undergone
the first distillation- twenty five
per cent of the juice of the plants
belonging to the "euphorbiace@'
family. To this end, the two ingre
dents are put in boiler fitted with
an agitator and heated together to
about fifty degrees, the whole being
agitated until the mass becomes a
uniform milky fluid. On arriving at
this state the mixture is distilled
again and refined in the ordinary
manner, when it solidfies, and is
equally good for lighting or as n
lubricant.
An interesting fact is~mentioned
by Herr Kepner, at Saltzburg, in the
Tyrol, namely, the attractive or re
pellant force on compass, which he
observed to be exercised by some old
bricks. 1t appears that, from each of
eight varieties of clay in the neighbor
hood two bricks were moulded, and
one of the two in each case was
baked. The unbaked bricks had no
action on a magnetic needle, but seven
of the eight baked bricks proved
polarly magnetic. In some further
experiments made in this direction,
it appears that particles of powder
of the magnetic bricks adhered to a
steel magnet Again breunerite,
mica slate, argillaceous iron garnet,
chlorite, and hornblende were. before
heating, unmagnetic, but intense
heating produced a magnetic polarity,
the axis of which seemed to be per
pendicular to the plane OF stratitica-
ton.
The production of what are termed
seamless steel casks and barrels ap-
pears to have proved a successful
venture in England, the article be
ing more durable than wood, as well
as less bulky and lighter. In its
mechanism, the two edges OF the
sheet of steel which form the cask are
brazed together in such manner us
to be practically seamless; the head OF
the barrel is also riveted to the body,
50 as to leave no seam, and the end
rims are shrunk on hot, thus making
very solid end--the time being like
wise thick enough to insure a good
purchase for the graphing hooks OF
hoists and cranes, for loading and
unloading purposes. The bush for
the top does not project beyond the
rim, so that the nozzle is not likely to
be knocked about and injured. In
shape, the metallic barrel does not
differ from we'll formed wooden
one.
The number OF calf skin tanners in
Continental Europe is estimated to
be some 10000 or so, but of all these
only about fifty are known by their
brands in America and England, the
remainder manufacturing for local
trade-the quality of the skins turned
off being as various as the tanneries
are numerous. 1t is stated as a
curious fact, that all the best brands
go to America and England, the skins
which are consumed at home are, for
the most part. inferior and below the
standard. In the case of the French.
German, and Swiss calf-skins. the
leather is tough, soft, and yielding;
but, in respect to tineness, these
skins are coarse as compared with
the best tannages of England and
the United States. That the former
are softer and their fibre longer than
the latter is notable fact, and yet
contrary to the common opinion,
lime water is used in their prepare
ton, and not soft water. The peculiar
characteristics of the Continental
skins are independent Of the water
employed, however, being due, rather,
to tanning in very weak bark liquor
fully nine months being occupied in
the process-the breaking of the
nerve skin by hand labor, and various
others details of vigorous and pro-
longed manipulation, so that, when
finished, the skin weighs ten per
cent, less than an English skin.
The CARDINAL AND THE SMOKER