The Colfax chronicle., 1890-11-22
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

About 2, 900 species of insects, on an
average. have been discovered yearly
during the last century.
I'm some portions of the world at the
time of full moon there is said TO be
tendency toward q dimunition OF clouds.
--Becrs, an Austrian sculptor, has
succeeded in discovering a process for
molding marble fluid precisely as bronze
is nodded.
Tho electric spark has been photo
graphed by means of a special camera,
in which the sensitive plato rotated
2, 500 times minute.
-One car building company in Penn
sylvania has on hand orders for 10000
freight cars. The largest order is Tor
10000 cars
Col. Zilimboff, of Siberia, claims to
have discovered in ordinary eggs an oil
by which he can greatly increase the
force of explosives.
Mr.. f. A. Swinden. of Brownwood,
Tex, has an orchard of 11,000 pecan
trecs-the largest orchard of the kind
in the world. The average yield OF
full-rrown tree is about fourteen
bushels year, which sells from 50 to "a
bushel.
The camphor trec flourishes at
Tampa, Fla, and its cultivation is said
| to be more profitable than any other
| business in the State. Camphor can be
distilled at any season of the year and
the tree is not affected by heat or cold.
It grows very rapidly. The process OF
distillation is very simple.
"A new gas detector, proposed by Mr..
H. N. Warren, is formed by saturat-
ing asbestos yarn with solution OF
platinum oxalate, and then igniting
| in platinum crucible. When heated
to eighty degrees Fahrenheit, this pre-
pared yarn becomes incandescent in an
atmosphere containing 0.5 per cont. by
volume of coal gas.
The making of wooden shoes is quite
business in New York. Not only is
there a big demand for wooden-soled
shoes required by workers in certain
trades, but for the wooden sabots such
as are seen in pictures of life abroad.
French and German women are the
principal buyers of wooden shoes. These
shoes cost about S1.25 pair They are
mostly worn in the East Side tenement
district.
The question, "How is it that tele'
graph lines make a musical sound wher
there is no perceptible breeze blowing?'
is thus answered by the Scientific
American: There seems to be particu
lar directions and strengths OF wind
that correspond with the natural vibra
ton period of the wires. A strong wint
out of accord may have little effect
where a slight wind in accord has I
powerful effect
The economy of small electric mo
tors for industrial purposes is shown il
a shoe factory in Brockton, Mass. wher'
for the last year and half a twenty
fve-horse power motor has been run
ming the machinery. This is being re
placed with three motors of fifteen, tel
! and five-horse power respectively, ant
a saving of six-horse power is looked TO
; from the change. The electric powe
, company that furnishes the curren
!. a,rees to charge less for the curren
, for the three small motors than it di,
for the one large one.-N. Y. Sun.
j. w, Fewkes tells in the American
Naturalist that vegetation exists in ho
springs. The highest temperature o.
record in which it occurs is 200o
This indicates that vegetation may hav
occurred at much earlier stage of tn
earth's history than has been general
supposed. Tho prevailing form of vege
! tatioa in these heated waters is alga
Diatoms also occur. but sparingly. The
have been found in Nevada at temper
ature at which the vegetation of he
springs is most flourishing, but usual
. occur in great abundance in the coole
waters of hot springs.
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