Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-08-30

POPULAR SCIENCE.

Is is said that Russia has lately been
using gun cotton us the explosive COM
pound for shells.
y new agricultural machine distributes
ranurcs and insecticides, and sows grain
by means of an air blast.
The deepest artcsian well in Russian
opens with :: depth of 1000 feet. The
sinking operations took two years.
\ wonderful pump has just been in
troduccl which weights 700 pounds and
occupies three feet square, and will pump
10000 gallons per hour.
The Russian army will soon lie pro-
vidcd with breccilloa,!ing rifles which
will carry distance oc 5000 feet.
NoisclcSs powder will also DC used in fu-
tire by the array.
The quality of the effects produced by
aluminium and copper diaphragms for
telephones is very remarkable, as they
give the iinbrc Of sounds and ar:iculatc
speech FAR bette: than iron.
One of the me, Interesting features in
inc coming electrical exhibition in Eny-
land will he an introduction of the new
system of transportation by electricity.
whereby such almost fabulous speed is
said to be possible.
Very few consumers Of wheaton pro-
ducts are aware of the fact that crackers
are the oldest form of bread Fragments
ot unicrncGt.i cakes were discovered in
the Swiss Lake dwellings, which belong
10 the ncolithic age.
Mr.. Wallace considers Ike complexion
found in Asia. the Monaghan, when i.
midway between The black OF the 4 frican
and the white ri the Caucasian. TO he The
natural primary color Of mankind. Gil
mate turncd this color into black in
Africa and into white in Europe.
In recent paper on the hygiene of
.Iapnncsc houses the common idea that
dwelling houses in that country are very
unhealthy was dis.incly disproved. The
remarkably small infant mortality among
the Japanese shows that their houses arc
healthy and suited Ia their modes of life.
1T is said that patent has been taken
out to abolish sand in casting pipes.
Pipes are cast lin supcrhcatcd steam or
"'ls- jackctcd metal molds" and are said TO
haze many excellent qualities. Beyond
not being porou, the pipes are uniform.
sound, and true us if turned or bored by
lathe
An ingenious device for preventing the
odnr of coakiny from escapin. into n
room has been patented The invention
is of the simplest description, and con
sis;s of Il hood with folded sides OF leaves
which covers The sides of the stove. The
"'or passes into the hood ana is carried
directly into the chimney.
The wisdom of planting willows has
been justified during the recent floods.
The Government Engineer in charge OF
the Potomac River improvements states
that where willows were planted the land
was protected from washing. and prac:i-
cally no dama"c WAS done, while in i'll.
improved lands not SO protected there
was great loss.
NJ. Boulc HIS shown the French Acad.
ciny that animals having aiiin.,ies with
ihc dogs existed in France in the Miocenc
epoch, and that the Quatcrnary epoch
had species identical with those of to-day.
This makes il difficult to admit rs has
oI:cn been done, that our races of domcs-
tic dogs are all notifications Of their con.
s;cners, the wolves and iaakals.
There is Il little consolation in the queer
fact tha' great cpidcmics do not increase
the annual death rate OF u city Although
there were upward of seven hundred
deaths from the cholera scourgc in Phila-
dciphia some years ago, the total number
of deaths during that year were nearly
three hundred below the previous year.
The same strange fact is noticeable dur
ing the las: epidemic of smallpox.