The gale., 1888-02-25
SCILNTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.

An English engineer proposes by
means of electricity to condensc the
solid part of smoke and send che solitli-
fed portion back to the furnace.
A coast survey of Iceland is to be made
by Denmark, at an expense OF $50, 600.
Not much is yet accurately known of
the depths and channels of many of the
great bays and inlets.
Experiments with bearings of com.
pressed vegetable parchment, instead of
brass, are being made on Prussian rail
ways. 1t is claimed that the material is
very durable, tough and smooth, and
requires much less oil than metal. The
bearings are in successful use in Ger
man saw mill.
Professor Horsely alluded to the series
of experiments on the influence of alco
hol upon plant life carried out by DR..
Ridge, of Enfield, who found that one
sixteenth per cent. of a solution of alcohol
checked the growth of watercrcss, and
that tenth solution of alcohol killed it,
seeds. The position of the medical pro-
fcssion with regard to alcohol as a food
was becoming more and more defined.
Some curious results produced by cx-
ploding marked blocks of gun cotton on
flat plates of wrought iron have been
described by Mr.. G. f. Monroe. The
gun cotton blocks were placed with the
lettered side down, and the letters
stamped in relief appeared in relief on
the iron after exp osion, while, on the
other hand the letters dcrcsscd in the
gun cotton were also depressed on the
iron plate.
Moore than 200, 900 bird skins are now
contained in the Natural History MI
scum at South Kensington, London. A
recent acquisition is the collection OF
$4,000 specimens made by the late mar
quis of TwecdaIe. This was presented
by Captain w. Ramsay, the naturalist's
nephew, who has included in his gift the
Tweeddale library, embracing nearly
5000 ornithological volumes, many OF
them very rare and valuable.
The value of the various condiments
in the preparation of combination dishes
is great. Used with discretion they
stimulate the appetite and promote di,
gestion, red pepper being specially valu-
| able in this connection. The various
herbs and spices are exceedingly valu-
able; salt is absolutely necessary tc
health, despite all contrary assertions OF
| the food cranks, and the condiments en-
| poycd in making salads promote the
| digestion and ass initiation of all food
eaten at the same time
A paper that resists the action of botl
| fire and water has it is said been recently
invented in Germany by Herr Iade
wigg. The manufacture is accomplished
/ fsuo of tNt
fiber with from twenty five to thirty
parts of aluminium sulphate, and tht
mixture is moistened with chloride o
zinc and thoroughly washed in waite. 1
is then treated with solution of on
part of resin soap in eight to ten parts o
solution of psre aluminium sulpEate
after which it is manufactured into pape
like ordinary pulp.
The human race is not the only on
that has the privilege of furnishing cen
tenarians. There are several birds tina
have the pretension to easily reach tn
age that Mr.. Chevrcul has attained
Among the candidates for the prize o
| longevity, says the Eleveur, must b
cited the eagle, the swan, and the raven
| which live for over century The par
| roquet, as we'll the heron is content tt
become sexagenarian. The sparrow
hawk lives to the age of forty, which i
the age likewise reached by the duck ano
| pelican. The pea fowl lives to be twenty
| five, the pigeon twenty, the crane twenty
four, the linnet twenty five, the goldfnch
| fifteen, the lark thirteen, the black.
headed warbler fifteen, tkc blackbird
twelve, the canary bird twenty-four, the
pheasant fifteen, the thrush ten, the do
nestle cock ten, the red throat twelve
and the wren three.