The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-01-11
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

DIR. Bauer, an Erfurt chemist, is said
TO have sold to Paris perfumer for
So, 200 a patent for making artificial
musk.
"A new and valuable fiber is said to
have been found in the stalk of the okra
plant, of which two crops per year can
be raised in Florida. 1t is said to be
superior to jute or Sisal hemp.
"A trumpet producing its musical
note by the vibration of circular steel
membrane by means of electricity has
been invented by Captain Zinang. of the
Thirtieth infantry, in garrison at DOM
ront, Orne, France.
Nearly all foreign navies are using
electric-lighting devices of American
origin, and no vessels, so far as known,
have yet been provided with installa-
tions superior to those equipped by the
United States Government, either in
perfection of design or quality of work.
manship.
"A new sort of boot sole has been in
troduced in Nuremberg, consisting of
sort of trellis of spiral metal wire,
the interstices being filled with gutta
percha and resin. They can be fitted
with nails like ordinary soles, are fifty
per cent. cheaper than leather, and
vastly more durable.
In experiments made in France,
whore plates of celluloid were used for
sheathing ships bottoms instead of cop
per, it was found that the plates were
intact and free from marine growth,
which was abundant on parts not pro-
tected by the celluloid.
The Deutsche Fischerei Zeitung is
shown to be wrong in saying that the
device of packing fish in ice for trans
portation in hot weather was first used
in America. In book published in
Nuremberg in 1850, Erasmus Franciscus
refers to it as a Chinese custom, and
recommends its adoption in Europe, but
it was left for Yankee to reintroduce
, the practice nearly two centuries later.
An electrical instrument has been
invented which is designed to remove
the pain incidental to the extraction of
teeth. 1t consists of adjustable pivot
ally-connected prongs carrying buttons
and connected with an electric battery,
the buttons being placed on the face
over the nerves leading from the teeth
to the brain, and circuit established
| the moment the mountaineering instru-
ment touches the tooth to be removed.
Paint from potatoes is a new wrin-
kle in the arts and sciences. kuhlow's
| Trade Review gives the manner of prep
| aration. Boil kilo of peeled potatoes
| in water; after MASKING, dilute with
water and pass through fine sieve.
| Add two lsilos of Spanish white diluted
with four kilos OF water, and the result
will be a color of beautiful milk white.
| Different colors can be effected by the
addition of different ochres or minerals.
| Apply with brush; it adhereS to plas-
| ter and wood very we'll, will not peel,
and best of all is cheap.
"A great many people seem to be
| laboring under the impression that a
trip in the electric cars during a storm
accompanied by lightning is exceeding
| dangerous. Such however, is not the
| case, for so excellent are the precau-
! tons taken to insure that the discharge
is conducted to the ground that no harm
| can result. Each car is provided with
| lightning arresters, which protect the
apparatus from all damage, and abso-
lutely insure the safety of the passen-
| gers.-Electrica Review.
"A French inventor by a chemical
! process prepares silklilSe fabric from
| cellulosc, out Of which fabrics are woven
that closely resembly silk. Specimens
of the new fabric were recently OK
hibited to the members Of the Silk AS
sociation of America. They found that
it would take twice the quantity of the
artificial fabric by weight to produce
given quantity of cloth that it would of
pure silk, that it would not be as strong
as silk by about one-third, and that it
almost entirely lacked the elasticity of
silk. 1t resembled silk in appearance,
but that was all. Its relative cost or
cheapness as compared with silk has not
yet been demonstrated. 1t is hardly
probable that anything will be found to
| take the nlace of the Silk-WOrm'S thread.