Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-16
POPULAR SCIENO


ton which c. A Parsons recently
to the Royal Society relative to nri
of experiments which he has made
carbon at high temperatures and uf
great pressures, and in contact "
other substances. 1t would appear til
he has succeeded in producing diamond
dust artificially. The arrangement
| of the experiment was as follows l.
y massive cylindrical steel mold OF \
| about three inches internal diameter
and six inches high was placed under q
hydraulic press, the bottom of the mold
| being closed by n spigot and asbestos
! rubber packing, similar to the gas check
in guns; the top was closed by piunger
similarly packed; tins packing was per-
| fectly tight at all pressures. In the
| SpigOt was a vertican- bored hole into
which the bottom end Of the carbon rod
to be treated fitted: the top end of the
| carbon-rod was connected electrically to
! the mold 10y a copper cap, which also
| helped to support the carbon-rOd in q
! central position The block and spigot
were insulated electrically from the
| mold by asbestos, and the leading
wires from the dynamo being connected
| to the bloc}, and mold respectively, the
current passed along the carhon-rod i'll
| the interior of the mold The free space
i'll the mold was filled in turn with differ
| ent hydro carbOns and with other mate
rails. Among the liquids acted on were
| benzine, puraifine, treacle, chloride and
bisulphide of carbon, and the solids in
| cluded silica, aiumina, carbonate and
oxide of magnesa and alumina. The
pressure employed ranged from five to
thirty tons per square inch. In the eX-
pertinent with silica the dem
sitv of the carbon was increased
30 per cent and in no other case. The
| most interesting set Of experiments was
when the mold around the rod was filed
with layer of Stacked lime about one
fourth of an inch thick, surmounted by
two inches of silver sand, followed by
layer of lime of the same thickness, and
finally by Il layer of coke dust. The
preSSures used ranged from five TO thirty
tons, and the current from 200 TO 800
ampereS, the carbon being in different
experiments from One-fourth inchs to
fve-siXteenth inch in diameter. Under
these conditions there was obtained on
the surface of the carbon-rOd Il powder of
Il gray color, harder than emery. and
capable OF scratching the diamond. The
powder is, therefore, very probably the
diamond itself.
DANGER IN THE USE OF POSTAGE STAMPS.
The Sanitary News calls attention tc
the fact that postage stamp may in va
riOuS ways contain contagiOn. One Of
the simplest and most plausible is that in
which a postage stamp, partially attached
to a letter TO pay return postage is sent
by a person infected with some disease to
another person. The disease is trans
ferred in the first place to the adhesive
stamp through the saliva, and in being
attached to the letter by the receiver the
poison may be transmitted to him i'll turn
through the saliva. Another cause may
be the infection of the stamp with
disease germs. The stamp, having
been exposed in a room where diseased
person lies may become slightly moist
tened and thus retain the germ. That
this is true can be proved very simply by
Il micrOscOpical examination. We often
see person holding change for mo-
ment in the mouth, probably not know
ing that investigation has shown that dis
ease germs can be carried by money. II
one could see through what hands the
money has passed they would hesitate
before using such third hand. Silver
money is as bad as paper money, but
while many would hesitate to hold dirty
bank note i'll their mouth, they think
that a silver piece, because bright, is ap-
parently clean.
HOW THE CHINESE DRILL WELLS.
The French Able Hue thus describes
the system of deep-earth boring practiced
i'll the district i'll which he has for some
time resided. wooden tube six feet in
length is first driven down through the
surface soil This tube is held Mt the
surface of the ground by a large flag
stone, having n hole in the center to
allow the tube to pass through and to
protect a little above it. A cylindrical
mass of iron weighing about 400 pounds,
hollow and pointed at its lower end,
and having lateral notches or apertures,
is jerked up and down III this
tube at the end of lever, from which it
is suspended by a rope. This kind of
''monkey'' disintegrates the rock, the
debris of which, converted into sludge by
water poured in, finds its way through
the lateral apertures into the interior of
the cylinder. By raising the latter at in
tervals, this sludge is removed from the
bore hole. The rate of boring in rock Of
ordinary hardness is one foot in twelve
hours. Only one man is employed at one
time to work the lever. By this means
wells of 1900 feet deep are sunk in about
two years by the labor of three men, re-
lieving one another every six hours.
DESTRUCTION.
The police department of Berlin re-
quires unequivOCal disinfection i'll case of
AsiatIc cholera, of variola, of typhus and
relapsing fevers, and in diphtheria, and
disinfection when eff cially directed in
case of scarlet fever, of epidemic dysen-
terry, of measles, of whooping cough, and
of phthisis. Besides, disinfection of
dwellings, is obligatory in the affections
mentioned, consisting of scrubbing with
per cent. solution of carbOlic acid, and
rubbing the walls with bread. Guttman
recommends spraying with a suitable APP
paratus, the walls with per cent solution
of corrosive sublimate and subsequently
wetting the walls with l per cent. solu-
ton of carbonate of sodium, TO render
the sublmate innocuous. The oxychlor-
ide of mercury is precipitated, which may
be readily removed. DR.. Haustein states
that l per cent solution of corrosive
sublmate may be unhesitatingly applied,
alone or with per cent. solution of
carbolic acld. Those engaged in the
work have.not suffered in the slightest, if
they have worn masks. The disnfectiOn
of a moderately large room occupied two
workmen three hours.
THEME AND ITS QUALITIES.
Thaiua * SOLELY main rplipypr hut in