West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1890-03-27
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.

Captain Charles III. Townsend, of New
Haven, Conn, has invented an instru-
mcnt which serves as n scxtant, a theodo-
lite, transit, a pelorus and an azimuth
circle.
Willis Barnes, of Charleston, Ind, has
invented little machine which Is oper-
ated by clockwork, and marks, automat-
ically, on glass, $4,000 lines on the
space OF an inch.
A dog in France which was struck by
lightning and considered dead, afterward
partly recovered. II continued deaf and
blind, and had TO depend on its smell for
recognition of persons and things.
A correspondent Of Nature urges that
boys should be tested for color blindness
in school-before they go out into life
so that they need not lose the time re-
quired for working up to positions on
railroads or elsewhere in which ability to
distinguish colors is essential.
Riveting by electricity has been sue
cessfully accomplished. The cold rivet
is placed in the hole, and when heated to
the proper temperature il can be closed
by any of the ordinary apparatus now in
use. The heating of half-inch rivet Of
two or three inches in length takes about
half a minute.
A cork core floating rope has been in
vented. The inventor claims that his
floating rope of one inch thickness will
stand "A strain of more than one thousand
pounds. 1t can be used in life lines, on
life RATS and as a heaving line TO tie
heavy hawsers TO. At life-saving sta
ton such rope would be very valuable.
A company has been formed in France
for the purpose of diverting the Guiero
River to st. Christophe, where fall of
200 meters would be thus obtained, repre-
senting force of 1000 horse power,
which would be utilized in developing
electricity for the production of alum
MUM by new process from the clay
there found
A portable house of paper has recently
been constructed in Hamburg. The
walls consist of double layers of paper
of which the interior one is impregnated
against fire, and the exterior one against
moisture. The paper is fixed in frames,
which can easily be attached 10 each
other. The house is intended to serve as
a restaurant, and contains dining room
ninety feet long.
At Kansas City recently, it WAS au-
nouuced that Thomas A. Edison would
deliver nm address, though he was thou
sands Of miles away. One of his inn
proved monographs was set in operation,
and though it did not deliver an address,
it spoke the inventors apology for not
having prepared one, and spoke it so loud
throughout the hall.
According to naturalists, scorpion
will produce sixty five young, a common
fly will lay IA eggs, n leech $50,
spider 10, frog 100. A female moth
will produce 100 eggs, and tortoise
1000; gall insect has laid so, 600 eggs,
a shrimp 5000 One naturalist found
over IL, 600 eggs in a lobster, another
2l,OOO. Leuwenhoeck computes 4 ,000,-
600 as the crabs share.
The eruption of Krakatao, East In
dies, in 1888, destroyed all animal and
vegetable life in the sea around it, aud
covered the coral reef of the shore under
bed OF ashes and pumicc stone over
sixty feet thick. Nevertheless, according
to the observations of DR.. SHUTTER, Dutch
naturalist, a young shore reef is now
forming on this volcanic layer, and has
already attained the breadth of meter
French metcorologists, it appears, have
just discovered that the Eiffel tower will
prove far more valuable to them for OBJ.
servation than was at first imagined. In
deed, it is said that it possesses most of
the advantages of an observatory built
upon mountain. In confirmation of this,
it is stated that, recently, while severe
frost prevailed in the city, a strong, warm
breeze was blowing at the summit of the
tower, and it was three days before this
temperature reached the ground