The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-19
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS

Electrical moters arc 10 be introduced
on the underground rail ways in London.
\ paste of chloride OF lime and water
well rubbed il will take ink staia. from
silver or plated ware. Wash and wipe .
as usual
The pendulum governor for steam and .
gas engines has appeared in this country. .
1t has only one ball, is not rotary, anc .
consumes no power in driving.
\ hitherto uncharted island, twt
miles long, is reported TO exist in lad .
tuds 5 deg. Is mia. south, longitude
130 deg. 80 min. east
Portions OF the Andes seem to be sink
ing, the altitude of Quito having dimia-
ished 76 feet in 1872 years, and that OF
another peak 21s feet. \ crater has
sunk 425 feet in 2j years.
The telephonograph consists of an ap-
paratus for recording IN legiblc charac-
tiers articulated aud musical sounds. 1t
has a II xible diaphragm to be yibrated
by the impact of sound waves and to
vibrate an ink-discharging pen, which
marks upon paper ribbon.
It has been found that old crowbars
made of the best Swedish iron and used
by the early settlers Of New England
/ have become so rotten that they could
not be welded together when broken,
and had an offensive smell when the
welding heat was applied.
At a recent meeting of learned mon
in Berlin it was said as a fact that when
bee has filled his cell with honey and
has completed the lid he adds drop of
formic acid which he gets from the
poison bagconnccted with the sting.
To do this he perforates the lid with tho
sting. This acid preserves the honey.
A writer in Science comes to the con
clusion that as result of his investiga-
tions 'it seems idle to discuss further
the influence of forests upon rainfall
from the economic point of view, rs it
is evidently too slight to be of the least
practical Importance. Man has not yet
invented a method of controlling rain
fall"
A veteran of the late war, who re-
sides at Croydon, n. H, claims to have
invented a new engine of war, which he
calls a Time Torpedo" It has no
clockwork and no chemicals, but by a
subtle combination of forces known to
every schoolboy the charge explodes at
any given time, varying from two min
utes to two weeks.
The statement has recently been
made by practical iron worker Of fifty
years experience, that not only does the
metal rot from age but that continual
iarring has the effect to weaken the
tensile strength, an illu3tration of a IA
miliar kind in this line being afforded
by the step of a carriage, which, when
new, may be bent back and forth with
out breaking, but after few years ser
vice will certainly break no matter how
we'll preserved.
Professor Morgan caught scorpion
and pierced it in three places with 1T
own sting, on which in each case there
was a drop of poison, but the creature
remained alive and active. But these
and subse quent experiments led him tc
believe that the poison has some effect,
causing sluggishness and torpor for
while He also agrees with Professor
Bourne, that it is possible for 8cor
pion to sting itself in Vulnerable place
Messrs. c. II. Hartwig and G. Hunte
have recently succeeded in reaching TIT
crest of the Owen Stanley Range, il
2 R~itish Nc ity'-,;- They had SOM
: difficulty my an earnest p-ynoei.ion o
, the tribeer them for Heaven continu
tain, Parags upon their welded life
, Ii " to be ind auspiclously begun.
the depart RoANo'et
placated, aLrth, n. c., ~e trlb'
l followed thol 10TH, - in the ascent
l A metho6---==-.l to support electri
r WI c. xe ground in such a way as t
pra4fhl,,ues OF OF :, lie the dangers and diff
l fcattcnr e.-.ne Cd pole system, as vel
: csco.expense and Inconvenience tha
ID most of the propo ed under
ld-round remedies, IS the tower syster
being introduced in New Orleans. tn
< towers are to be quadrangular, an
: where placed at the corners Of street
their legs are at the street corners.
pipe Of suitable size is to be permanent
ly fixed upon each tower for fire pur
, poses. There are to be about $50 {
these towers in New Orleans, 300 to 40
feet apart. Their height IS to be from
. 125 to $50 feet.
q Dangerous in Leap Year.
Gus: $50 you really think Of going