The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-07-10
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

The Ceylon pearl fishery last season
was the second largest on record during
the present century.
The Florida orange crop during the
season inst closed was about 1000, 900
boxes heavier than was estimated. The
yield was figured at 100000 boxes,
whereas it was fully 100000 boxes
Boston Journal.
Prof. Shaler, of Harvard college,
and President Morrison, of Boston uni
versity, have discovered a petrifed hui
man body in Falling Spring Cave,
Sequache Valley, Tennessee. The body
is perfect. Many curious weapons of
copper were at it's feet
The observatory at the summit of
Great Blue Hill, Massachusetts, was
built by Mr.. A. Lawrence Rotch as a
private enterprise. 1t commands an IN
broken view of the horizon thirty three
miles distant, of the mountains in New
Hampshire seventy miles away, and
displays weather signals for 100 towns
and villages.
Philadelphia may by outsiders be
considered slow and quiet, but its resi-
dents laugh in their sleeves as they say
nothing but continue vigorously to saw
wood BY the new census we learn
that the value of it's annual manufac-
lures aggregates 500, 900, 900, exceeding
those of New York by S5O,OOO,OOO. In
1850 Philadelphia had 1926, OOO,O 900 and
New York S475, 100000
The Milan museum has recently
come into the possession of a repidr8Sas
BILE clock. This unique time-piece is
made entirely of bread-crumbs A poor
italian workmen made it. Every day
he set apart portion of his modest
meal in order to carry out his curious
project. The bread-crumbs saved by
him he hardened by the addition of salt,
and at last his tedious task is com
pleted.
There is no doubt but the form of
roof has much to do with the draught of
a chimney. The fiat roof offers no re-
sistance to the passage of air, but as
the pitch is increased the current is
more and more disturbed, until with a
high-pitched and many-gabled roof it is
broken into innumerable eddies, some
of which are sure to curl down and
force the smoke and gases in the fue
into the rooms below. Chimneys on
such roofs should be built higher than
ordinarily. American.
On a valley farm, two miles east of
Parkersburg, w. Va, well-diggers came
across an extensive graveyard of an an
tiquity probably exceeding that of the
Cherokee era. The skeletons were
found in Ciftinc 90
west: but they crumbled at the slightest
pressure, though several of the tombs
were protected by superstructure of
massive stones. Many ornaments of
bone and shell We're found, but no
weapons of the kind the warlike red
skins of the Ohio valley used to bury
with their dead.-Belford' Magazine.
When the earth was young, says DIR.
Ball, astronomer royal for Ireland, it
went around so fast that the day was
only three hours long. The earth was
liquid then, and it spun around and
around at that fearful speed, and as the
sun causes ever increasing tides upon its
surface it at last burst in two The
smaller part became the moon, which
has been going around the earth ever
since at an increasing distance. The in
tiuences of the moon now rises tides on
the earth, and while there was any
liquid to operate on in the moon, the
earth returned the compliment.-Iri
Times.
In 1890 the foreign importation of
prunes amounted to $4,000, 900 pounds,
tritle heavier than in 1885, while in 1887
the shipments from abroad reached a
total of 92,0O0,O0O pounds. California
produced in 1887, 1850, 900 pounds,
against $4,000, 900 for 1890 The foreign
importation of figs has increased steadi-
ly for the past three years, and the an
nual shipments amount to about 10, OO0,-
900 pounds. In California this produc-
ton has increased from 80, 900 pounds in
1887 to 200, 900 in 1890.
"A French geologist has made a care
full calculation of the amount of solid
matter yearly carried off into the ocean
by the action of the rivers of the world
and other causes. He estimates that the
reduction of the average height of the
surface of the solid lands is OOO6 inches
each year. Making allowance for the
corresponding rise in the bed of the
ocean and taking no account of the oc-
currence of volcanic and other eXcep-
tional phenomena-the general tenden-
cy of which is to hasten the process of
6iSintegration-the period at which the
solid land will have ceased to exist, and
the surface of the earth will be covered
with water has been estimated. AS,
however, that period is 1900 900 years