The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-08-28
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

From observations made in Swift
zerland it appears that mortality from
organic diseases of the heart decrease
as the altitude of habitation rises, and
that it is greater in towns than in the
country.
The tea trade of Japan is constant
ly increasing, while that of China is
diminishing. The increase is at the rate
of more than $500, 900 pounds yearly.
Most of the japanese tea is consumed
in the United States and Canada.
"A railway is to be built across En-
gland that will enable a passenger to
make direct trip from Mersey to the
shores of the North sea. 1t will be
about $50 miles in length, and the ex-
pense of purchase and construction will
be at the rate of about $500, 900 per
mile
A Connecticut meteorological informs
mankind that next winter is to be an
extremely long and cold one. The nut
crop, he says, is unusually large this
year And he adds: Mature never
takes the trouble to prepare big crop
of nuts unless they are going to be
needed"
The banana, which is of Malayan
origin, is developed tropical lily from
which by ages of cultivation the seeds
have been eliminated and the fruit for
which it was cultivated greatly ex-
banded. The ground that would grow
ninety-nine pounds of potatoes or thirty
three pounds of wheat, would also grow
1000 pounds of bananas.
The United States is exporting more
steel railsevery year. During the ten
months ending April 30, 1890, the total
exports were S,055 tons at d valuation
of S276, SIT, or an average of S34. So per
ton. During the ten months ending
April so, 1891, there were exported Is,
100 tons at valuation of S5l7,5lS an
average price of SSH per ton.-Pitts-
Ourgh Dispatch.
One concern at Waterville, Ne,
made last year enough cloth to make a
tent that would cover $40 acres and hold
all the people of Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Vermont and Massachusetts COM
fortably seated, with a ring of 1GS acres
in the center. In that ring the $4,000
horses of Maine could be exhibited at
one time without crowding.
The government has been for nine
years digging up and putting together
the vast collection of fossils that will
occupy fully one-half of the National
museum in Washington. In the collec-
ton are the gigantic skeletons of pre-
historic reptiles one hundred feet in
length, flying dragons with twenty
five foot spread of wings and other
curiosities well worth seeing.
The horseshoe crab chews it's food
with its legs, which is very curious
thing even for crab 20 do, while the
oyster feeds with his beard. The oys-
ters would starve to death if they had
to wait as long as little boys and girls
do for their boards to grow, but fortu-
nately they have to do nothing of the
sort, although, to tell the truth, the
oysters beard is hardly more percepti-
BILE than that of the smoothest-faced
little boy or girl in the world.
"A method of fastening steel tires to
car wheels for railway service has been
recently announced, which will be
looked at with Il good deal of interest,
for it said to give entire satisfaction.
The system lies in placing small
notched steel plate between the tire
and wheel, and bending each alter
mating projection into corresponding
grooves in the tire. and the remaining
projections are bent over the edge of the
wheel, making solidly fastened tire.
There are three well-defined classes
of stars, judged by the quality of light
they yield. In the first class are the
clear white and BLUSH white stars like
Sirius and Vega These are supposed to
be the hottest stars and the most lumin-
Gus in proportion to the extent of their
surface. Then there are the golden
yellow or pale orange stars, of which
Arcturus and Capella are fine examples.
These have begun to cool. Finally, we
have the deep orange and red stars, like
Aldebarah and Antares. These have
advanced still further in the cooling
process
CHINESE PRINTING OFFICE.