The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1885-02-27
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

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A new metal has been discovered b,
Professor WebsEy as one Of the compo.
nents of native vanadate of lead. Ua
proposes calling it "idunium "
4 new spider, the female of which
measures six and a-haIf inches from Tin,
to tip of the fore and hind legs. has
been discovered in ca ye Of Tasmania
In Birmingham, Eng. a company has
been organized for the novel purpose NJ
distributing 10 the manufactures MP
the town air strongly compress. d at 4
central station.
THE number of fossil plant species
now known is estimated to be not less
than 1900, and may be considerable
greater. A catalogue Of all that have
been described down 10 the present year
is being pre- pared at the National Muse.
um.
Sir Henry Bessemer has announced
that, by the use OF very pure charcoal
pig iron and its treatment by a special
method, a Bessemer steel is produced
which on analysis is found equal in pDr.
ity to the highest brands Of steel made
from blistered bars.
The discovery was recently announced
of a fossil air-breathing animal Of an
earlier age than any before known
scorpion from the upper Silurian depos.
its OF Sweden. A cockroach's wing
dating from still more remote period
the middle Silurian-has since been
found in France.
In the seed Of the cotton tree, several
varieties are cultivated in Bolivia a
correspondent of the French Academv
announces the discovery Of the richest NJ
all known grains in heterogeneous sub
stances. He is convinced that the -four
Of this seed is destined TO become An
important article of food.
a new building material mixture
of cork, silica and lime-is coming into
/ extensive use in Germany. Il has the
advantage Of keeping out heat and cold.
/ and II is also claimed to be an excellent
preventive of damp and deadener OF
sound. 1t i0 substantial, light aud dur
/ able, and seems to be especially adapted
I for ceilings and wall Innings.
a German psychologist. Prof. Eulen.
berg, has found that different parts Of
I the body are very unequalIy sensitive to
/ differences Of heat and cod the sense
/ Of temperature being most acute an ths
I forehead and in the back of the hands
/ and least active in the back and upper
/ part of the abdomen. At the former
spots difference of about third OF
/ Fahrenheit degree were distincly per.
/ ceived, but a. the other two points diff
/ erences were only detected when reach.
ing nearly two degrees.
/ The largest stationary engine iu the
world is at the famous zinc mines at
/ Friedensville, Pa. It is known as the
/ president" " and there is DO pumping
/ engine in the world that can be com.
/ pared with the monster. The numbel
( of gallons Of water raised every minute
/ is Il, 500. The driving wheels are thir-
y-five feet in diameter and weigh forty
tons each. The sweep rod is forty feet
long, the cylinder 10 inches in diane
ter, and the pistOn-rnd eighteen inches
in diameter, with ten-foot stroke.
Basket-making in Germany, which
was begun IN a modest way not many
years ago, developed into an important
branch of industry. It employs no few
er than SO, 600 people, and the ware finds
a profitable market, not only at home
but in many foreign countries. The
demand for the raw material has given
quite an impetus to willow culture in
Germany. and trees better adapted to
the needs of the manufacturer have
been introduced. About 1000 hun
dredweight of willow withes are auuu-
ally imported. The people of the vii
lage Of Heinburg, who redeemed 800
acres of swamp lands a few years since,
and devoted them to willow planting,
this year realized about 81, $50 from the
sale of the withss to the Saxon and
Wurtemburg manufacturers.
Since 1873 no less than 19, $50 relics
of the PrOto-Helvetians. as the pre- his
tOric lake dwelleTs of Central Europe
have been named, have been dug from
the beds of lakes Neuchatel and Rienne.
Swiss museums have received Is .67S Of
these objects, while DIT. Goss. Of NeuYs-
lille, has nearly 6,OO0 Dr. Goss finds
evidence that the progress Of this van
ished race was marked by three success
i've stsges-an age of stone, an age Of
bronze, and an age of iron. There may
also have been an age Of copper. pre-.
ceding that of bronze. Remains OF VIZ
lagos Of the stone age are most abul5-
ant-thiIteen having been found IN
Lake Bienne, with only two of the
bronze age-bnt those belonging TO The
era of metals are much more extensive.
Besides the stone and metal implements
various wooden objects have been
found, such as canoes. an OK yoke, frag-
meuts of tables aud benches. toy b1ais
hammers and spades. No complete
dwelling has vet been found among ne
villages of the lakes, but charred planss
and timbers remain to tell of the uys
terio1s cOnfiagration in which persisted
a remarkable and ancient civilization.
THERE never has been offered the people