Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-11-14
SCIENTIFIC GLEANINGS.

Fly-wheels with rims of steel wire are
now made in Westphalia, and may be run
at three times the speed of feast iron wheels,
which are limited to about forty yards per
second for the rim.
Waxed paper bags are new idea for
holding coffee, fruit, confectionery. etc.
They are also useful for packing furs and
woolens away from moths, the paraffine
coating rendering them both air and wat
er-tight.
Berthelot has found the sceptre of Pepi
dating back to $500 or 1000 years B. c.
to be of pure copper. He agrees with
many archaeologists that the use of pure
copper must have preceded that of bronze,
and believes that the introduction of
bronze cannot date back beyond fifty to
sixty centuries.
The electric beam from the Eiffel tower
lantern has a luminous intensity of about
$4,000 candles. Catadipotric rings are
arranged to make the light stronger and
stronger as it travels from the tower, so
that In clear weather its range-if not
limited by the earth's' curvature should
be 1877 miles, with an intensity of $780,
600 candles.
IuC IUIlCC1OIl VI al IcSIO UIdCh Sh1u Is
supposed to have the conversion of the
suns light into heat. That heat thus
generated remains in the skin. and does
not penetrate the deeper tissue. Being
thus provided with a n-proof armOr, the
negro can stand an amount of heat that
would be fatal to white man, and he runs
hardly any risk of sun-stroke
A sunken vessel, which runs flush with
the water line and carries a powerful ram
or piston driven by a steam cylinder
for the purpose of ramming out an en-
emy's vessel. has been designed in this
country. The ram will be driven by a
force of $50 tons, which is sufficient to
pierce the side of an ironclad. The speed
of the vessel will be about twent. knots an
hour.
Simultaneous observations, taken in al
parts of the country, show that nearly all
graat storms follow the same general dill
rection, from thel west to the east. The
same is true of cold or hot waves. There
fore, to tell what the weather will be in
we have only to find out the con
ditions prevailing west of u.s. This is
practically the course pursued by the sig
nal service.
1t seems that the highest point at which
regular meteorological observations are
made is on the Andes, in Peru, at
height of 14,300 feet. Harvard College
has weather observatory in Colorado
only few feet less than the former. The
station on Pixies Peak is at an alti-
tude of ia, 100 feet. In Europe there are
but two stations at any considerable height
these being about 10000 and II 900 feet
The hygroscropic quality of table salt
and It's tendency to pack together in cruets
and containers, may be entirely overcome
by thoroughly drying the salt, and init
mately mingling it with small percent
age of dry starch orr arrowroot. From
to 10 per cent. is amply sufficient for the
most humid atmosphere Gas on the COAST,
while much less percentage of the starch
is sufficient for ordinary use.
M. Ungerer believes that flowers, and
the perfumes distilled from them, have a
salutary influence on the constitution, and
indeed, may be regarded as a therapeutic
agency of high value. He says that a resi-
dence In a perfumed atmosphere forms a
protection from pulmonary affections, and
arrests the development of phthisis. He
adds that in the town of La Grasse where
the making of perfumes is largely carried
on, phthisis is rare, thanks to the odorous
vapors exhaled from the numerous distill-
cries.
Miss Gordon Cummings has drawn at
tention to the cleansing effect of petroleum
on soiled clothes The best way to employ
it is to fill an average boiler, say of four
teen gallons, with water, adding half a
pound of soft soap, and when all is boiling
pour in one and half table
spoonfIls of petroleum. Then put in the
clothes and boil them for half an hour be
fore lifting them out and rinsing them in
several waters. A little more soap, water
and paraffine should be added to make up
for loss as successive lots of the clothes are
boiled