Huntsville gazette., 1884-05-24
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.


I'm CALI 'ornia last year 10000
pounds of salt were extracted from sea
water.
1t is said that wheat kept sealed in
lan air tight receptacle for some length
of time will not germinate.
Pure linseed oil, an expert OBJ
serves, has bright amber color. it
runs freely, sparkles when flowing from
the can. tastes smooth and mild, and
has the smell of fiaxseed poultice.
An improvement has been effected
in wooden block flooring. The common
manner of laying the block flooring
often results in disappointment, because
the blocks soon become loose. The inn
,provement consists in the blocks being
keyed to cement flooring, firmly fast
lenine them, and the cement obviates
both dampness and dry rot.-Ch Chicago
journal.
The height and velocity of clouds
may be determined by means of pho
Biography. Two cameras are placed
six hundred feet apart and provided
with instantaneous shutters, which are
released by electricity at the same mo-
ment. The angle of inclination of the
cameras and the position of the cloud
as photographed are thus obtained, and
simple trignometrical operations give
the height and distance from those data.
Exchange.
The Polyclinic states that the use of
paper towels in cleansing wounds has
been found very satisfactory. Sponges
have always been regarded wits suspi-
cion by surgeons, as it is so difficult to
keep them in perfectly purified condi-
ttion. But the paper towels are to be
used once only, and, as they cost
only from Sc to $3.50 per 1000, are
available in the sick room. They are
from Japan, and the pale colors with
(which they are decorated are found to
ibe unob. ectionable.
"A fisherman of Un on Springs, Ala,
: has invented an attachment to fishing
hooks which is quite an improvement.
About midway of the staff of the hook
he has placed a straight projection,
which serves three purposes-viz: First,
it prevents fish from swallowing the
hook second, when fish bites at the
hook if his mouth strikes the projection
he involuntary closes it and is thus
caught; third, it prevents bait from slip
ping up the hook. The hook has been
tested by several expert local fishermen,
and all pronounce it a decided success.
-CaicaJo Times.
"A Maryland journal seasonably re-
marks that the idea of planting edible
nut bearing trees where shade is des red,
instead of those which are solely orna
mental, is not new, but the suggestion
is one that will bear thinking about by
those who contemplate planting shade
or ornamental trees. Chestnut, walnut.
Ihickorynut and butternut trees are all
nearly as fine in appearance as horse
ichestnut and maple, and, aside from
the source of revenue which will in time
accrue to their owners from the fruit,
the timber of such trees is always in de-
rmand, and the tree itself may become
profitable sho I'D it become desirable at
any time to remove it.
"A genius of Sing Sing, N. Y, has
invented dry battery which he expects
will revolutionize the working of the
telephone. 1t is little oblong box,
four and half inches by one and a
half, and three-quarters of an inch deep,
and is attached to the instrument instead
of the ordinary battery. BY its use it is
possible to carry on a conversation with
"a person thirty or forty miles away, and
to hear and be heard distinctly. The
inventor claims that his dry battery will
last as long as the instrument without
losing its power. He has had one in
constant use for three weeks, doing
work that would have used up the or
dinary battery in ten minutes.-N. Y.
Herald.