The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-12-11
APPLIED SCIENCE AND ARTS.

A luminous crayon has been invented
which enables lecturers to draw on the
blackboard when the room is darkened for
the use of the lantern.
A new extract of meat called "oxin'' is
now being made into tablets in France.
They are said to be as digestible as raw
meat.
After many trials it is now shown that
color can be given to cotton while growing,
and beautiful red variety of this article
is now being raised in Georgia.
Scientists show that the mosquitoes of
the Arctic region become more and moro
numerous the farther they are beyond the
northern range of the swallow and the
martin.
An important discovery, by means of
which ordinary soft steel can be readily
used for all kinds of tools has been made
by man in Pennsylvania. The process
is still secret
A much sought desideratum, namely, a
really practicable method of waterproofng
leather and raw hides, is claimed to have
been practiced by an Austro- Hungarian
chemist with much success.
A recent improvement in making barrels
soft wood and somewhat thicker than the
Others. When the slaves are put together
and the hoops driven down, the hardwood
slaves are thus crowded into their softer
neighbors, making tight joint.
Corn husks boiled in caustic soda are
being utilized for the manufacture of pa
per. The cooking process results in the
formation Of spongy, glutinous paste,
which is subjected to heavy pressure SO
as to eliminate the gluten, the fibre re-
naming being made into paper in the Or
binary way.
A simple and practical method of apply
ing electricity to railroading has been in
vented by a French electrician. The steam
engine used supplies the electric power to
motors in each car of the train, and not
to the locomotive proper This relieves
the tremendous strain on the driving
wheels of the locomotive.
A French manufacturer has discovered
a substitute for celluloid, which he has
named hyaline, which possesses the very
great advantage of being non inflamma-
BILE. 1t is composed of colophone, lac,
copal, Dammara resin. essential oil of tur-
pentine, and gun cotton, and is described
grainless, odorless, transparent and tena-
cious
The fact that, in the manufacture Of the
little incandescent electric light bulbs, the
platinum wire used has hitherto been the
most expensive item, is now met by pro-
cess for combining glass with other metals,
a process which presents the advantage of
their being produced at a much less cost.
An important reason for the employment
of platinum for this purpose has been its
near approach, in point of expansion. to
glass.
Still another plan has been brought for.
ward-this time by an English ship Of
ficer-for spreading oil on stormy seas
with view to abating their violence, any
kind of crude oil being adapted to the
purpose. The oil is contained in tank
connected with a cylinder placed in the
forepeak Of the ship, and in such po-
sition that it will be slightly above the
water line; from the cylinder two small
copper pipes lead out through the bows on
either side, though the outlets of the pipes
are but the sixteenth of an inch in di-
ameter it is asserted that the amount of
oil which thus escapes is sufficient to bring
to state of calmness the most turbulent
waves. 1t is in the cylinder that steel
piston works, forcing the oil several feet
beyond the bows-about seven gallons OF
oil in the tank and FIVE in the cylinder
lasting, it Is said. four hours, with both
jets steadily running.