The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-09
POPULAR SCIENCE.

All the consultations may be seen
! with the naked eye. t
The size used for gold lettering on
glass is made principally from the blad4
ders of fishes.
There are enormous patches of coal
scattered all over the world, tho extent
of which is unknown. !
A flexible cement which is not injured
by remelting is made of equal parts of
gutta.percha and white-pine pitch.
Chicago lard is composed prlncipallyi
of cotton seed oil, stearine and tallow,4
with small proportion of genuine lard.
An insect preying upon boots and
shoes has been discovered by Professor
C. V. Riley. Bisulphide of carbon vapor
kills it.
A full .blooded man, weighing 200]
pounds, and in the best of health, will
freeze to death in a Dakota blizzard inJ
about thirty minutes. #t.
By spraying the region of the external
ear with ether, Drs. Henoque and Fridel,
of Paris, render the dental nerves in3
sensible, and extract teeth without painl
or general anasthesia.
Careful experiments have shown that
waste silk is the most effective OF all nons
conducting coverings for steam pipesy
and the demand for this purpose promises
to be great, Notwithstanding the high
price. q
Fluff, bits of paper and WOOL dustss
waste, etc., seems especially attracted t0
the neighborhood of steam pipes, and by
self.ignition are the cause of the CON!
demnation of ill-set steam pipes as
veritable fire-bugs.
-@The human voice is capable, it has
been estimated, of producing seventeen
trillions, five hundred and ninety-two
billions, one hundred and eighty-six
millions, forty-four thousand four hum
dred and fifteen sounds.
An Eastern mechanic attributes sonel
of the mysterious fires which are Of fre-|
ouent occurrence to "blisters" in the
window panes. If these blisters arel
convex enough to form lens and COM
bustiblcs are stored within its focal dis-(
lance fire would be very likely toI
occur. ~,
The plan of utilizing the suns energy
BY means of thermopile placed in theI
focus of a mirror or lens has beer
patented by Mr. Edward Weston. With
the efficiency of thermopiles at not more
than three or four per cent, this givel
little promise of proving the sun-engind
of the future. ~
Experiments made for the, Frenchl
Minister of Agriculture indicate that
sugar is a better preservative of meat
than salt. 1t is more expensive, but thel
powdered sugar forms coating retain-
ing the juices of the meat without loss,
while the nutritive qualities of the meat
are considerably lessened by the salt.
Ono of the newest devices for utilizing
sawdust is the scheme of q ,Canadianf
mechanic. He claims that by grindingy
the refuse into a uniform fineness, mix
ing it with the refuge gas tar from the
gas house and COMPRISING the substance
into cakes, fuel can be made in every
way superior to soft coal for open fires.
The peculiar property of popcorn is
simply more oil than any other varieties
of maize. When gradually exposed to
heat over brisk fire the oil in the grain
becomes converted into gas, which, ex.
panding, tears open the starch cells o.
the corn. The heat at the same tim9
cooks the starch and enlarges its pat
ticles, so that the popped grain is snow
white and many times larger than befori
| it was heated. ... .'-! .."aa5e