The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-08-09
SCIENTIFIC AND MECHANICAL.

For period of forty-four years
none of the men employed in a Ger
man ultramarine had been observed
to suffer from consumption. The
immunity of the employees is attribut-
ed to the constant production of sui
phurous acid by the burning of sui
phur in the course of the making of
the ultramarine.
Contrary to the statement in the
last edition of the United States Dis
pensatory, that 1.-The drops from full
bottle should be less than from one
emptied," Prof. c. F. Hines, of Car
Isle, Penn, has eXperimentally dem
onstrated-what anybody can find
out for himself in few minutes
that drops diminish in size as the bot
tie is emptied.
1t is mistake to suppose that the
crumhling of brick is due solely to
great variations of temperature. NJ.
Parive places the dislntegration to a
microscopic organism. ATMOSPHERIC
action will. of course, readily second
the destructive effects of that pioneer
penetrator of all but the most COM
pact and well burned bricks.
Although earth when first dug, and
loosely thrown out, swells about one
fifth part, so that a cubic yard aver
ages about one and fifth yards
when.dug, or one cubic yard dug is
equal to five-siXth of cubic yard in
place, yet when made into embank-
ment earth gradually subsidies, set
ties or shrinks into less bulk than it
occupied before being dug.
Nickel crucibles, instead of silver
ones, are recommended by M. Mermet
for use in chemical manipulations
Nickel, indeed, is slightly attacked by
melted potash, but so is silver itself
Nickel crucibles cost at first much less
than those made of silver, and, more
over, they have the great advantage
OF melting at a higher temperature
It often happens that inexperienced
chemists melt their silver crucibles in
heating them over gas lamp; but
such an accident is not to be feared in
working with crucibles made OF
nickel.
Maj. White, says the Journal of the
Franklin Institute, has provided the
steam fire engines of the city of Der
lin with pipes for the discharge Of
|
steam chamber. When the engine
starts from the station the boiler il
heated; on arriving at the fire the
carbonic acid is first employed as {
motor, then the gas and steam work
used. By this arrangement the en-
CINE is brought into action four OF
five minutes sooner than would bt
otherwise possible.
A comparative table of railway
speeds, as given in an English journal
| shows that some of the fastest trains
| in the world are those run between
Leeds and London. From Kings
Cross the distance by the Great North
ern is 1863 miles; and from st. Pan
creaS by the Midland line it is 19C
miles. The fastest train on the Grea
Northern makes the run in four hour
and five minutes, or an average speed
of 45.4 miles an hour; the MIDLAND
trains traverse the distance in fou
hours and thirty minutes, giving al
average velocity of 43.5 miles an hour
The fastest train i'll the world is thu
Flying Dutchman, broad guage
which makes the run to Swindon a
$50 miles an hour. The Great North
ern trains run from London to York
1888 miles, at forty-eight miles al
hour, and at least one train runs II
Peterborough at fifty-one miles al
hour. There is not in the world {
train timed to run at sixty miles al
hour, although it is, of course, certain
that such velocity is often exceeded
but, so far as the machinery of rail
way is concerned-thati is, the road
rolling stock and signals-an averag
speed of sixty miles an hour is Ger
tainly practicable.