Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-09-27
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

tricity it has been pointed out that e1-
treme care is necessary. especially when
negative electricity is used
"A new English arc electric lamp
has the upper carbon fed by means OF
an electric motor. which drives a worm
and train of gearing.
According to Prof. Thurston the
engine of the future is that which ulti-
mately can be made to work up at once
to high temperature aud to high press
ures, and can be made at the same
time to develop its powers in the small
est and lightest engine.
A French manufacturing firm has
patented an alloy Of steel with two to
four per cent of copper. 1t is more
elastic and malleable than simple steel,
and capable of a far greater resistance.
1t is intended for cannon, armor-plates,
riAe-barrels and projectiles.
Some experiments lately made at
the Royal Polytechnic school at Munich.
show that the strength Of camel hair
betting reaches 6,Sl5 pounds per square
inch, while that OF ordinary betting
ranges between $3.50 and $3.50 pounds
per square inch. The camel-hair belt
is unaffected by acids.
Out of LOG persons treated within
a period of eleven months at the Pas
teur Institute at Rio de Janeiro only
one died, and that one had neglected
to follow the treatment as directed. In
sixty-two of these cases the dog by
which the patient was bitten was un-
questionably mad; in the others it was
impossible to determine positively the
dogs condition.
Ordinary filters, even if satisfac-
tory as strainers, fail TO remove all
bacteria from drinking water. So far
from lessening the number in the
original water the filtering substance
may allow a more rapid multiplication
than these micro-organisms would
ordinarily undergo in the unfiltered
water on standing. and the germs OF
disease, even if held back by the filter
ing substance, may be harbored in all
filters.
1t appears that, though the first
attempts at cultivating the American
cotton three in Central Asia proved
unsuccessful, new attempt, made
since 1884. under the leadership
~. T,.II,an+ ,oO-la1 forro apd with
seeds taken from America. has proved
to be a real success. In 1887 there
were no less than $500 acres under
that crop in Turkestan, and in the fol-
lowing year the area was trebled.
The crop OF 1887 was estimated al
6S, 900 cwts. of raw cotton.
The existence OF libraries and
schools before the exodus was shown by
a report at a recent meeting OF the Vic
toria Institute in London. Professor
Sayer, by personal investigation OF an
Gent tablets and inscriptions, found that
in the fifteenth century before our era
active literary intercourse was going
on throughout the civilized world OF
western Asia, between Babylon and
Egypt and the smaller States OF Pales-
tine, of Syria, of Mesopotamia- and
even of eastern Cappadocia. This IN
tercourse was carried on by means OF
the Babylonian language and the COM
plicated Babylonian script
There is but little doubt that
aluminium is destined to be the n tai
of the future, and will displacc IRON
and steel as surely as electricity is dis
placing gas and steam. Aluminium ex-
lists wherever there is clay bank.
Formerly the cost of reducing 1t to
metallic form was excessive, but now
the electric current is utilized in its
production, which is daily being
effected at cheaper rate. Aluminium
is a soft white metal which never rusts.
II is little more than one-third the
weight of iron, and, combining well
with other metals, it becomes. when
alloyed with copper. harder than steel.
Some novel processes in the manu-
facture Of paper have been suggested,
and it is ascertained by experiments in
this direction that the strength Of paper
is materially increased by the employ
ment of sea weeds, which form with
water-certain kinds of them in par
STANDARDIZATION liquids; resin soap
and aluminoYs cake or compound may
also be advaAtIgeously added, under
certain circumstances. Experiments
also show that a very bright surface
may be given TO paper by the following
simple method: A very concentrated
cold solution of salt : mixed with dex-
trine. and thin coating OF the fluid
laid on the surface of the paper, by
means of soft, broad brush, and it is
then allowed to dry. The most desir-
able salts for this purpose are sulphate
of tin, sulphate of magnesia, and
acetate OF soda, and size paper is also
essential.