Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-05-28
SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL.

Lumber made nom black birch Is be-
ing used to considerable extent in Eu.
rope, where Il is manufactured into fine
cabinet ware. It Is also used to some
] extent In interior finishing, where il ID
sometimes mistaken for mahogany.
Woodbine and ivy on brick building
absorb all the moisture there is in the
bricks and mortar, and the presence OF
foliage acts as a shield, turning severe,
driving rains away from the walls. The
vines derive most Of their sustenance
from the ground, and do not give out
moisture from the roOtlets that cling to
the walls.
A new explosive, known as kinetite,
Is at present being studied in Germany.
IL consists, 1t Is said, of q mixture OF
oils and gun cotton, and is superior to
dynamite, as its manufacture and ma
nipulation are absolutely without dam
ger; il will detonate only under certain
peculiar and well-defined conditions of
shock. Only the part exposed to shock
etly with brilliant light. The true
composition is being carefully kept Sc
cret.
1t ought to be generally known that
a mans hat will serve, I'm most cases, as
a temporary life-preseryer to those in
danger of drowning. When a person
finds himself in the water, he should
lay hold of his hat between his hands,
keeping the crown close under his chin
and the mouth of the hat under water.
The quantity of air contained in the
cavity of the hat will keep the head
above water-sometimes for several
hours.
Italian antiquarians have discovered
false teeth in u skull which has been
excavated in an ancient Etruscan cem-
etery, with many other curiosities at
present safely slowed away at the mu-
seums at Corento, in Tuscany. The
sepulchre out of which the skull was
taken dates, according to experts, from
the fifth or six century b. c., and the
false teeth are nothing but animal
teeth attached to the human teeth by
means of small gold plates.
On the principal street of Berne are
three watch-towers. The clock tower,
originally built in 1191, stands nearly
in the center of the town. Its droil
clockwOrk puppets always attract an
admiring crowd of idlers, mouth agape.
A minute before the hour strikes, first,
wooden cock appears, crows twice
and flaps his wings, and then, while a
puppet strikes the hour on bell, pro-
cessi0n of bears appears and passes in
front of a figure on a throne, which
marks the hour by yawning and by
lowering his sceptre.
The coyote is the sneak-thief, the
pick-pocket of the Rocky Mountain re-
gion. Although the dog belongs to the
same genius of animals, yet the hunt
ers and trappers in expressing their
contempt for Digger Indian, will COM
pare him to a coyote, but never to a
dog. Even the Indian dog, which is
coyote tanned through long generations,
despises his ancestor and fights him at
every opportunity with great show of
contempt. So cowardly is this animal,
that he never dares to seize bird which
faces him, but springs when it's back is
turned.
A test of the comparative value of
different kinds of life-preservers has
just been made in New York. 1t re-
quires only ten, pounds of huoyance to
Keep q live persons head above water.
A cork buoy weighing six pounds was
thrown overheard and was found to
support thirty-three pounds; o buoy of
California tule held up fifty pounds, and
an Alaska down buoy of five pounds
held up sixty-four pounds. The COM
pany recently fitted out several yachts
with antelope hair, or Alaska down
cushions, which can be thrown over
board, and each will support a dozen
persons.
On the subject of olor-blindness, a
correspondent writes to The Pail Mail
Gazette: IA very large portion of the
cases of so-called color-blindness is, l
am convinced, due to ignorance, and, in
confirmation of this opinion, there is
the undoubted fact that it is rarely found
in examination of female candidates.
If color-blindness is an organic defect
of the visual apparatus, surely it ought
to exist in somewhere about the same
ratio in the male and female. l don't
for a moment deny the existence of
genuine or-blindness. but I do con-
tend that the genuine defect is rare
one. My suggestion is that instruction
in colOrs and their names ought to
form distinct item in the curriculum
of all elementary schools"
The strong coffees, Rio and Santos,
are mostly grown in Brazil. The West
and South are the principal customers
of Rio. A very small amount of Mo-
cha is brought into this country, that
sold under name not being Mocha at
all. The most prominent of all mild
coffee is Java. 1t is raised OIL the
islands of Java and Sumatra, and ranks
first in the estimation of the coffee
drinkers in the United States. Ceylon
is the rival of Java, but we seldom get
any plantation Ceylon coffee here, as it
is sent to England. Mexico raises some
coffee, and there has been wonderful
improvement in the last five years.
Between 5O0,0O0,000 and 100000, 900
pounds of coffee is consumed in the
United States yearly.
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