Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-08
BITS OF SCIENCE.

1t is stated that the ''serpents' eggs of
the toy shops contain a grain of sulpho-
cyanogen, quite enough to kill a child
should it swallow one of them.
Nj. Corson, III the journal dc I7hdr1RdCie,
says that a piece of boraX weighing two
or three grains will, if allowed to dissolve
slowly in the mouth of singer, remove
all trace of hoarseness.
Fine writing on glazed paper will give
one or two fair copies without calling in
the assistance of press or water if use
is made of writing solution of three parts
of good jet-black ink and one part of gela-
tine.
A useful mucilage for labels, ETC., can
be made of two ounces of deXtrine dis
solved in one ounce of acetic acid and five
ounces of water, and the addition of about
an ounce of alcohol when the deXtrine is
well dissolved.
The possibility of obtaining Illuminating
gas in considerable quantities from the
drOppings of cows and horses has been
demonstrated to the French Academy of
Sciences by NJ. Gayot. The process does
not lessen the value Of the fertilizer.
A luminous waterproof paper, which
may be Of use in places not well adapted
for the application Of the so-called lumi-
nous paint, may be made from a mixture
of forty parts pulp, ten parts phosphores-
cent powder, one part of gelatine, one part
of potassium bichrOmate and ten parts of
water.
Paper spokes for wheels are among the
latest appliances for that eYer-increasing
article. The paper pulp is forced into iron
molds under heavy pressure, where 1t dries
and hardens, and the spOkes thus pro-
duced are said to be much superior to
wood. Paper is fast supplanting wood in
many useful ways.
The new ships now built in Maine have
many appliances unknown to the ship
builder Of a quarter of a century ago.
They have steam engines which can be
used to pump water out of the hold, to
raise the anchor or to load and unload
heavy articles. Their masts and rigging
are of steel, as being more durable and
stronger than rope.
The brilliancy in the eyes of cats is
caused by carpet OF glittering fbres
called the tOpeum, which lies behind the
retina, and is a powerful reflector. In
perfect darkness no light is observed in
their eyes, fact which has been estab-
lished by very careful experiments. New
ertheless, a very small amount of light is
sufficient to produce the luminous APP
pearance.
The height and velocity of clouds may
be determined by means of photography.
Two cameras are placed GOO feet apart and
provided with instantaneous shutters.
which are released by electricity at the
Same moment. The angle of inclination
OF the Cameras and the position of the
cloud as photographed are thus obtained.
and simple trigonOmetrical operations
give the height and distance from those
data.
Alligator leather is initiated to quite an
| extent and sold, it is said, in lieu of the
genuine. The Mechanical Engineer says
it is made by taking an impression of the
| real leather in plaster, thus forming a
mold from which the die is cast. The
counterfeit can easily be told from the
genuine, as the depressions in the latter
are much deeper and the scaIe-lil1e sur
face has very different appearance. At
ter little use the real alligator is much
more flexible.
According to the Journal of The Societe
de Ld ChiD1ie InduStrelle, bituminous coal
| takes fire at 1872 degrees Fahrenhite, coke
at 4S2 degrees and anthracite at 573 de-
grees Fahrenhite. This spontaneous COM
bustion has been attributed to the pres
ence of sulphate of iron, but recent
experiments demonstrate that the Goals
absorb oxygen and ignite quicker than
the sulphate, and that the rate OF this alb
sorption depends entirely upon the tenn
! perature and other conditions of the air
! and upon the size of the Goals.