Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1888-01-28
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.

An English engineer proposes by
means of electricity to condense the
solid part of smoke and send che solidi-
fed portion back to the furnace.
A coast survey of Iceland is to be made
by Denmark, at an expense of $50, 900.
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 solution of alcohol
checked the growth of watercress, and
that tenth solution of alcohol killed its
seeds. The position of the medical pro-
fession with regard to alcohol as food
was becoming more and more defined.
Some curious results produced by ex-
ploding marked blocks of gun cotton On
flat plates of wrought iron have been
described by Mr.. c. E. 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 explosion, while, on the
other hand, the letters deressed in the
gun cotton were also depressed on the
iron plate.
Moore than 200, 900 bird skins are now
contained in the Natural History Mu-
scum at South Kensington, London. A
recent acquisition is the collection of
81, 900 specimens made by the late mar
quis of Tweedale. 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 to
health, despite all contrary assertions of
the food cranks, and the condiments en-
poyed in making salads promote the
digestion and assimilation Of all food
eaten at the same time.
A paper that resists the action Of both
fire and water has it is said been recently
invented in Germany by Herr Lade-
wigg. The manufacture is accomplished
by mixing twenty-five parts Of asbestos
fiber with from twenty-five to thirty
parts of aluminium sulphate, aud the
mixture is moistened with chloride of
zinc and thoroughly washed in water. 1t
is then treated with a solution Of one
part of resin soap in eight to ten parts of
a.,soluton of pure, aluminium sulphate,
after which it is manufactured into paper
like ordinary pulp.
The human race is not the only one
that has the privilege of furnishing cen
tenarians. There are several birds that
have the pretension to easily reach the
age that Mr.. Chevreul has attained.
Among the candidates for the prize of
longevity, says the Eleveur, must be
cited the eagle, the swan, and the raven,
which live for over a century, The par
roquet, as well the heron is content to
become a sexagenarian. The sparrow
hawk lives to the age of forty, which is
the age likewise reached by the duck and
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, ike 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.