The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-04-14
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

The consumption of rubber in this
country is steadily on the increase, the
imports last year having been 27,OOO,-
900 pounds, the greatest amount ever
known.
DR.. Schliemann has discovered the
location of the temple of Aphrodite
Urania in Cythera. Rain-storms and
an inundation of the river compelled
him, however, to return to Athens via
Sparta.
"A large steel company in Chicago
has decided to substitute crude petro-
leum for coal. This oil will be used as
fuel for thirty-six large boilers, and if
every thing goes we'll an attempt will
be made to use the oil in the heating
of ingots and blooms. The oil will be
forced into tanks and supplied to the
boilers by the force of gravity.
In a carefully compiled table of
labor statistics in the United States,
France, England and Germany, it APP
pears that labor of all kinds, skilled
and unskilled, is paid over one hundred
per cent. more in the United States
than in any of the other countries
named. In some cases-notablv in the
wages of women-the difference is over
three hundred per cent. in favor of the
United States.
-Typewriting and stenographic Of
fees are multiplying with unusual
rapidity in New York. 1t is said that
not less than seventy-fve to one hun
dred young girls and men "graduate'
every week and start out to earn liv-
ing in this trade. 1t has been recently
shown by statistics that the difference
between the wages of men and women
in that city who do the same work is
from one dollar to twelve dollars a
week in favor of the men.
Palladium, metal of the platinum
group, but of far lower density than
the latter, may be substituted for steel
in the manufacture of watches. Palla-
dunn is absolutely non-polarizable, and
it is unaffected to any noticeable ex-
tent by the presence of a magnetic field.
Besides this, it has the incidental adj
vantage of being rust-proof. The dis
covery is due to G. A. Pallard of
Geneva Switzerland, and watches are
now being constructed with this metal.
Sir John Herschels opinion that
the full moon has tendency to clear
the sky of clouds is supported by recent
observations. In reference to the COM
mon belief that ring around the moon
is indicative of the approach of storm,
it is stated that, out of sixty-one lunar
halos observed near London, thirtv-four
were followed by rain within twenty
four hours, and nineteen within four
days. Meteorologisrs generally agree
that the moon exerts some influence on
the weather; but as to the extent of that
influence they differ greatly.
The calculations of a recent writer
on the subject show that an enormous
amount of vegetable matter is required
to form layer of coal, it being esti-
mated that it would take not less than
1,000,000 years to form bed of coal
100 feet thick. The area of the coal
fields of the United States is between
10000 and AGO. 900 square miles, which
is quantity sufficient to supply the en-
tire world for a period of 1000 years.
One million tons of coal are taken from
these beds every year.
Artists always seem at loss to
deal with the color of the sea, and few
are those who please the public. Prof
Tyndall has come to their aid. He
recognizes three principal hues in sea
waves-blue, green and yellow. Solid
particles held in the water act as mi
mute mirrors, rejecting the light which
penetrates the liquid. The rays which
are sent out, after having traversed
only thin stratum of water, preserve
their yellow parts; but if the reflections
are attenuated the water appears green,
and if they do not exist at all, the sea
being clear and free from muddy mat
tiers, the color is deep blue. In an in
digo sea the crest of the waves will
appear green on account of their lack
of thickness. Seaweed, animalcules,
and other local or accidental causes
may have much influence on the color