The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-05-23
POPULAR SCIENCE.

aveaage have been discovered yearly
during the last century.
The Department of Education in
Vienna has prohibited the use in the
schools of books printed in small type
as destructive to the eyesight. 80 =
A Georgia man has iuss patented q
'family ice macbize:; IN which that lux
ury can be made in less than ten minutes
and at a cost Of 1-5 of a cent per pound.
English physicians once fed two dogs
with nothing but sugar. At first they.
fattened rapidly, then weakened, sick.
ened and died, simply because sugar did
not contain the elements of food needed,
to sustain life. =.
Silver, generally q very desirable metal,
is source of great annoyance in the
manufacture of white lead, for if present
in an appreciable quantity it spoils the
color of the finished product, owing to
the well known blackening effect OF
light upon salts Of silver. ..s2sls ;
There has rencetly been discovered in:
Southern Kentucky very fine grade OF
onyx. Heretofore onyx has been found
only in Mexico. The mineral Is extern
sively used for decorative purposes, and
the discovery of it in the United States
will tend to cheaper it and extend its
use. ~. :, zs5 -. K. 5 9 &
The seedless raisin is produced by
simply arresting one of the processes of
nature. When the grape is ABOUT one.
half ripe the end Of the vine is. bent
down and buried in the ground. This
prevents the formation of seed and the
full development Of the fruit, but it
ripens all the same, and has q delicious
flavor. ~: -. >. ',s -
The French authorities are attempting
to make use of carrier pigeons for con-
veying information from war ships at
sea to certain stations on land, and with
this object have fitted up on the st.
Louis dovecote, painted the most gor-
geous colors, il order to permit the birds
to recognize their home from great dis
tance. !. i, =.
Considerable attention has been drawn
to the peculiarities of manganese steel by
paper read before the Institution Of
Civil Engineers by Mr.. Had6eld. Not;
only is such steel entirely non-mag-
netic, but its electrical resistance is ex-
tremely high. As compared with ger
man silver its resistance is as 6S to ~. 8,
and with ''platinoidn as 8s to. 32.S. q
The attention of the French Academy,
of Sciences has been drawn by NJ. Faye.
the eminent astronomer, to the apparent
geological law that the cooling OF the
t.rrestrial crust goes on more rapidly
under the sea than with q land surface
From this he argues that the crust must
thicken under oceans at q more rapid
rate, so as to give rise to a swelling up.
and distortion of the thinner portions OF
the crust; in other words, to the forma-
tion of mountain chains. =se. 5:es
An aeronautical exhibition. the first of
the kind ever held in Vienna, has been
opened in the Prater. 1t contains 9 va,
riety of models of balloons, with mum.
erous instruments and apparatus en-
ployed by aeronauts.. Much interest IS
shown in the journal lie Ballon Po.te,;
which in 1870, during the siege OF Paris,
was carried by balloons from the capital
to the provinces of France. The exhibit,
tion includes three balloons in practical /
operation. The largest Of them is filed
with 1000 cubic metres of gas It car
ries eight persons, and will make regular
aerial journeys, conveying visitors short
distances. =, :,
The molecular theory is classed by Dr..
Roscoe, president of the British Associa-
ton, among the most notable of modern
scientific landmarks, and recent inyesti-s
gatinn has accomplished, as regards thet
size of the atom, what was formerly re-.
earded as impossible. Recent researches
have extended the methods of atomic
measurement, with the amazing conciu-..
sion that the distance between the CEN
ters of contiguous molecules is less than
fvc-millionth and greater than a bill
ionth of centimeter-that is, assurn-
ing that the best microscopes magnify
6, 600 to s, 900 times, microscope which
would magnify that result as much
again would show the molecular struc..
ture of water. .,. -, IS.