The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-03-06
SCIENCE AND INVENTION.

been put in working order in the St
Jacques Tower in Paris 1t is Al feet
o inches high.
Indian ink is made in some unknown
way from burnt camphor. The secret
is known only to the Chinese, and they
refuse to reveal 1t.
1t has been proposed to make the
upper half of war balloons of very thin
steel and the lower portion of ordinary
balloon material, the whole so con-
structel as to hold hydrogen instead of
ordinary gas.
Backing the nose and cheeks under
the eyes has been found an effectual
preventive of snow blindness or the
injurious effect of the glare from illumi-
mated snow upon eyes unaccustomed to
it Scientific American
a certain amount of air admitted to
the furnace above the live coal is ad-
vantageous rather than otherwise if the
supply be regulated. The oxygen of the
air, thus introduced, assists in the more
effective combustion of the gases.
NJ. Faye, member of the French
ShNt''hIN VI bNiNhNNs tileib ~ IL
feasible to predict storms twelve hours
i'll advance of their coming by the sounds
which the changing atmospheric con-
ditions produce and which the telephone
will tranSm
"A druggist in St Petersburg has in
vented method of tipping cigars With
a preparation, so that they are lighted,
liLp "a IN Tl, lx- ,tt1,l,ip,r apainCt
hard surface. a manufacturing COM
pany is said to have paid him 90, 900
roubles for the patent
An illuminated cat is among the curl
osities of the Patent Office at Washing
ton. ID. c. 1t is made of pasteboarl or
tin painted over with phosphorus, and
1t is intended to frighten away rats
and mice and such small deer, in the
darkness of cellars and garrets.
Among the new inventions seen at the
Mechanics Fair at Boston is a method
of making ice by simply dropping n
few crystals in water--the secret of
whose composition is only known to the
inventor Not only is the ice made in a
remarkably short space of time, hut ice
cream is also manufactured and eaten
by those who stand and wait
There is proposition to construct an
atmospheric railway 81 miles long up
the Jungfrau. According to the plans
there will be two parallel tunnels nearly
10 feet in diameter, finished cylindrical,
and provided with rails for the cars;
the cars will be cylindrical, and will be
forced up the inclii g by compressed air
operating against their ends Il Ameri.
can Mac!iinist
a peculiar phase of the use of rover.
full projectors in naval warfare has been
brought out in some tests made by the
French naval authorities. 1t appears
that in misty weather the reflection and
glare of the light from the project rs
served only to blind the ship, and the
torpedo boats were able to approach
within easy distanc, and discharge their
torpedoes without being discovered.
The ordnance bureau is correct in its
determination not to decide upon
smokeless powder until European ex.
periments have decided which is the
best for our purposes. The delicacy of
the chemical combinations which these
powders necessitate is so great that de-
terioration rapidly ensues when they
are stored in bulk, and the experience
of the French in this regard is quite
sufficient to caution us
Philadelphia manufacturers have a
process for cating all kinds of metallic
substances with lead, thereby making
them rust proof They exhibit mum.
ber of articles coated with lead that
have been exposed to the weather and
immersed in acids, that do not show
any change, either from the action of
the weather or the acids. Some shngle
nails so treated, placed side by side
with galvanized nails and exposed for
long time. show no appreciable change,
while the galvanized nails show signs
of rust.
1t seems probable that the great, at
least the immediate, future of astronomy
lies in the judicious use Of spectroscopy
and photog a hy, rather than in the in.
crease of optical power by the con-
struction of large telescopes. Give
small telescope with plate attached to
it time enough and it will see rs much
as big one will show to the most
sensitive eye. AS dry plates will retain
their sensitiveness, exposure can be con.
tinued as long as desired, and such
plate will show stars that are not visible
through the most powerful telescope
to the naked eve