The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-01-02
Scientific

Mercury is firmly believed by the
Chinese to possess wonderful virtues
They hold that it not only prolongs life
but expels bad vapors, poison, and the
gloom of an uneasy mind. The doc.
trine Of the transmutation of mercury
into other metals prevailed in China
1000 years ago. Cinnabar was known
to the Chinese in the seventh century
before the Christian era
The skin or outer cover of the insect
consists of the cuticle not comparable
with any part of the skin of verte-
brate, and underlying tissues. The
cuticle consists of two very distinct
layers one thick and transparent, the
other, in which also pigment is de-
veloped, thin and opaque The pigment
is disposed in beautiful, microscopic
markings. differing in different species
Not only, says Brudenell Carter has
the acuteness of vision of civilized man
fallen below the standard common
among savage nations, but at the same
time the eyes of civilizedman often de-
part from the normal or approximately
spherical formation, either becoming
hattened from front to back so rs to
bring the retina too near the surface, or
to remove the retina too far from the
surface.
Two methods are in use in Philadel-
phia to prevent chemical distractions in
water pipes. One is to coat the in
terror with coal tar pitch, which
does well enough for large mains
and keeps the passage tolerably
clear for more than quarter of GEN.
tury. The other method is the one
called "bower-barff," which consists in
subjecting the pipes at q high tempera-
ture to the action of steam air, SO that
there is film of magnetic oxide ac-
quired by the metal, which insures q
clean surface for q long time.
1t is proposed to establish six Govern
ment scholarships for deserving aud
promising natives of India, preference
being given to statutory civil servants
who are desirous Of passing a proba-
tionary period in the British Isles, the
scholars to be allowed to reside in any
institution connected with any univer-
sity in Great Britain OF Ireland which
provides for supervision of conduct, en-
forces residence within definite local
limits, and receives the approval of the
Secretary of State for India.
1t is stated that the Jews in Toulon
and Marseilles have scarcely been af-
fected by the cholera The Jewish
journals attribute this comparative i'm
munity to an observance of the dietary
and hygienic laws of Judaism An
authority on this subject says that this
claim is unquestionably justified by fact
and experience and adds that it is not o
little singular that Christianity, in
adopting from Judaism its high spiritual
conception, should have made so little
of the wonderful body of hygienic
science which the Mosaic law contains.
Black, the color always in demand for
felt hats, presents the greatest difficult
ties IL dyeing it properly. A technical
journal gives this method: Generally a
copper-boiler is used, filled with pure
water and brought to boil Add .
pounds potassio dichromate, Al pounds
cream of tartar, and pound of sui
phuric acid. Boil for some time. Enter
the felt from 60 pounds to IS pounds,
and simmer for two hours. Lift and al
low to cool, set to drain for "a hours,
rinse well, and finish tire dyemg i'll a
decoction made with 80 pounds of Brazil
wood. Felt dyed by this process does
not become white by wear, and it resists
the influence of the air and dilute acids
EAnother fine specimen Of a Roman
well Lane, Bath, England, in the course
of some excavating work. The pattern
is composed of octagons 2 feet Z inches
each way, the intermediate space beirg
filed i'll with squares. Iu the centre OF
each octagon is double quarterfoil with
circle in the centre, aud at each end
are pointed leaves The tesser@ are
small, from half to three-quarters of an
inch square, and the colors used are red,
white, blue, and black. On one side OF
the pavement is broad margin made of
Roman tiles, about inches by II inches
each laid herringbone fashion. So
much of the original work as can be re.
covered is to be carefully removed and
kept in safe place for future examina-
ton and inspection.
One of the largest establishments oil
the kind in the world has recourse to the
following processes in the manufacture
of soda: Sulphuric acid is made from
pyrites smalls in the usual lead cham
bers. The sulphuric acid is used to
decompose common salt into hydro.
chloric acid and sulphate of soda. The
sulphate of soda, mixed with a certain
proportion of limestone aud small coal
is fuxed into uniform mass in large
revolving cylinder to produce "blacl
ASH" BY lixivation of the black ash
with water solution of carbonate O.
soda is obtained which can be reduced
to the dry state by evaporation. This il
further refined by resolution and allow
ing all soluble impurities to settle out
and the refined liquor when evaporatet
yields ordinary washing soda. Th
hydrochloric acid is collected by passing
the gas into towers supplied with waite
(similar to gas works scrubbers) an'
packed with brickbats. 1t is nsed TO
the manufacture of bleaching powde
(chloride of ime.)