The National tribune., 1884-12-25
SCIENTIFIC CHAT.

- Those who tend the great cattle herds on the
Texas plains seldom have other than salt meat TO
eat. They cannot afford to kill beef just to get a
siron and in that climate the balance of the ami
NAL will not keep long. It Is now proposed to stock
with German carp the trenches which they dig to
catch rain water for themselves and their Herds,
and thus they may have fresh fish as food while
living on the great interior plains.
- Scientists now argue that black ink upon white
paper is running the eyes of the reading world.
The rays of the sun are reflected by a white body
and absorbed by a black one; hence our books and
newspapers in direct opposition to the pianest
principle of optical science.
There is a vast bed of rock salt in the Colorado
desert near Idaho. and the Southern Pacific Rail-
road, in laying the track to the salt mine, have
been obliged 10 grade the road for 200 feet with
blocks of these beautiful Jumps of salt crystals.
This is the first instance of railroad roadbed being
laid and ballasted salt The sea that once rolled
this place dried up and left a vast bed of salt
about 30 miles in length. The quality Is superb,
and the supply ineXhaustible. GrasshOppers of an
enormous size and giant centipedes have been
picked in this chloride of sodium and are to-day
after the lapse of centuries in full size and perfec
ton of shape. The vast salt bed will some day be
valuable to the producers of ore in California Ari-
zOna and New Mexico, and can be supplied in
boundless quantities.
In the United States there is now but one olive
grove whose fruit Is used in the manufacture of OIL
That is at CannOn's Point, Ga. The grove contains
100 bearing trees. They We're planted over q cen
tUry ago, having been brought from Spain by the
United States Minister to that country. The grove
yielded this year 300 gallons of oil in three grades
The olives are first passed through mill which
cruSncS the buJ iOt Ifle Kernel ms pup Il
placed in small crocus bags, which are dampened
with cold water and kneaded like bread on an in
clined table with trough attached. The water
washes out the oil and both drain into the trough
The oil, being lighter, floats and is skinned of
and filtered. This makes the first quality, which
sells for from S. to SO per gallon. The pro-
cess is gone through with warm or tepid water,
which yields second grade of OIL almost twice the
quantity of the first and is sold at from So to So per
gallon. third washing or kneading in warmer
water still brings out the crude oil in quantity
equal to the first and which sells at from $50 to
$3.50 per gallon. The proportion is D per cent
pure 80 medium or merchantable, and . crude.
- The subject of the aluminium supply of the
world is attracting attention. The largest
known auminia deposits are those recently dscov-
cred at Steamboat Springs. New. Experiments
prove that when mixed with sand a very light
porous brick is formed that is capable OF resisting
any degree of heat. Most aluminium is made by
the Frischmuth process, which consists in reducing
aluminia by generating sodium vapOr in suitable
retorts from a mixture of sodium salts and carbon,
or other suitable reducing agent, instead of en-
plOying metallic sodium for the purpose.