The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-08-01
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.

A prize of St20 is offered for the best
work on electromagnetic, by the Italian
Electrical Society.
Scientists say there is no plant that
does not serve as food for some animal
but the only article used as food from
the mineral kingdom is common salt.
In some improved English dry plates
the developing mixture is fixed to the
back of the glass, SO that the photo
graphic negative is developed by simple
immersion in water.
A new theory is that shaving the
beard, if long continued, tends to
weaken the hair of the head and cause
it to fall out. The increasing number
of bald heads has TO be accounted for in
some way.
Electric rifles are the latest. Instead
of the ordinary percussion firing device,
a dry chloride of silver battery and a
primary coil WILL so it was lately stated
before the American institute, fire the
rifle 3j, 600 times without recharging.
A Nuremburg inventor has produced
shoe sole composed of wire net, over
laid with a substance resembling india
rubber These soles, which cost but
half the price of leather, have been tested
in the German army, and found to be
twice as durable
The meteorologist of the Pic-du- Midi,
in France, attaches much importance to
the systematic observation of clouds at
his mountain observatory, and stated
that such observations since 1880 have
enabled him to issue local weather pre-
dictions which have acquired great ac-
curacy.
One of the most remarkable mechan.
ical changes of the day is the settin q
as de of steel and the re-adoption OF
iron for some of the most important
parts of locomotives on many railroads.
1t is only comparatively few years
since the change was made, on most
roads, from iron to steel.
The smallest circular saw in practical
use is tiny disc about the size of a
British shilling, which is employed for
cutting the Sits in gold pens. These
saws are about as thick as ordinary
paper and revolve some 4, 600 times per
minute. The high velocity keeps them
rigid, Notwithstanding the thinness.
The banana is mentioned by DR.. B.
w. Richardson as one of the best of
foods. 1t may almost be looked upon as
milk, its composition being
seventy-four per cent. water, twenty per
cent. fuel, five per cent. flesh formers,
aud seven one-tenths per cent. min
eral; while milk contains eighty-six per
cent. water, nine per cent. fuel, four
per cent. flesh formers, and seven
tenths per cent. mineral.
The use of oil for the fuel with which
to fire brick kilns is rather novel idea,
which seems to be now in fair way to
be reduced to practice. Mr.. d. V.
Purington, of Chicago, brick manu-
facturer, has been making experiments
in this direction, and as result he
thinks he has solved the problem of how
to burn brick, He recently superin-
tended the burning of his first kiln of
brick with oil for fuel. The oil used,
while called "crude oil" was in reality
nothing but the waste from which the
naphtha has been extracted.
Disease of the coffee plant caused many
successive failures of the crops in Cey-
lon, running many planters and produc-
ing great distress, and ultimately led to
the growing of tea in place of coffee. A
like revolution in planting may have
been averted in Java by recent timely
discovery. DIR. Burck, of the Botanic
gardens at Buitenzorg, has found that
an attenuated solution of chloride of
iron prevents the disease applied to the
under side of the leaves, while touching
with strong sulphuric acid kills the
germs in the spots that may be seen on
the plants already attacked. These
specifics will be somewhat expensive,
but, if successful, will prove an inestim-
able boom to Java planters.