The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-02-29
POPULAR SCIENCE.


Scientists say that shutting the eyes
makes the hearing more acute.
During the past season two naturalists,
G.. W. and E. G.. Peckham, have found
that wasps remember the locality of their
nests for ninety.six hours.
President Agassiz has decided to send
twenty-five tons of concentrated ammonis
down the burning shafts of the Calumet
and Hecla mine at once, to put out the
fire completely if possible.
To keep frost, etc., off plate glass
windows, keep the inside air dry, or
inner sash tight, so that the air in win
dow inclosure will be cold, and yenti-
lated from the outside. A partial remedy
is to have ventilating openings in the top
of the window casing. -
A German named George Ruo,. en-
ployed as q clerk in PIttsfield Mass
factory, claims to have discovered pro-
cess for the manufacture of copper from
acids and scrap iron. He says that he.
will be able to produce fine copper crystals
at eight cents a pound.
A pressed glass tumbler nine inches
tall with capacity of eighty ounces, the
largest in existence, was made in
Rochester few days ago. A special
press was constructed to shape the glass,
and glass workers regard it as much of
masterpiece in its line as the great steel
gun cast at Pittsburg recently.
The American Manufacturer says that
MIR. Jacob T. Wainright, a well known
metallurgical engineer of Pittsburg,
Penn, has succeeded in making pig iron
with natural gas as fuel. His furnace
differs from the ordinary blast furnace
in this, that. while dispensing with coke,
it has overcome the great difficulty noted
IN connection with other experiments In
gas furnaces by mechanical device for;
supporting tho burden.
DR.. g. a. White thinks he, has solved
the mystery of what becomes of all the.
anters that deer shed every year. al
though the antlers when the deer is
killed before they are removed will with
stand all weathers for years, it is very
rarely that pair that have been shed
are found. DR.. White asserts that he
has discovered small insect that attacks
the antlers, and within a short time after
they are shed destroys them by burrow-,
ing through and through them.
The Elieson Electric cars have run a
total distance of 20, 900 miles in London
in the most perfect and punctual man
ner. Statements of the number OF pas
sengers carried have been supplied by
the north Metropolitan Tramways Com,
pany, which conclusively prove that the
public prefer this mode of conveyance
to horse cars, and we shall not be sur.
prised if an outcry be raised against the.
use of horses for hauling heavy cars, now
that it has been clearly proved that the
problem of drawing them by electricity
has been successfully s;lved, and that it
is unattended by the risks, dirt, smoke
and offensive gases which appear insep-
arabic from the use of steam.
Professor Ramsay believes that the par
ticular defect giving rise to color blind
ness lies, not in the eye itself, but in the
brain. Certain persons, he points out,
are incapable of judging which of two
musical tones is the higher, even when
they are more than an octave apart. Yet,
as such persons hear either tone perfect,
ly, the defect is not one. of deafness.
He accordingly argues that in such per-
sons the brain is at fault, and thence
proceeds to the assumption that it may
be equally true that the inability to per.
ceiye certain colors is not due to a.defect
in the instrument of sight by the eye,
but to the power of interpreting the inn
pressions conveyed to the brain by the
optic nerve.
One well-known drawback to torpedo
boats is the visibility of the fame and
smoke when within distance of 1850
to 5000 yards of the OF. .ect to be at
tackled. Experiments at the Rochefort
Arsenal and on the Seine with an appa-
ratus invented by an engineer of the
name of Oriol!o, of Nantes, as is report
ed, have demonstrated that his arrange
ment is capable at night of quite OBJ.
scuring the torpedo boat. The fame and
sparks disappear, the smoke, which is
reduced in temperature from 100 degrees
to 80 or 40 degrees, spreads itself out In
a horizontal layer over the water, and
envelopes the boat in an impenetrable
vapor, which defes the electric search
light to discover the boat. A notable
point in the application of the GRANGE
ment is that it in no way whatever inter.
feres with the proper working of the
engines or boat. The steam pressure and
the speel remain undim ;nished. The
improvement is confined exclusively to
the funnel, and the extra weight which
it adds to the boat is insignificant.
France is engaged in applying this i'm
provement, and Spain and Italy will,