The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-05-28
POPULAR SCIENCE.
HAVE WE PHOSPHATE CHAlKS
IN TEXAS2
A Rich Find in Eneland-Ths March OF
Scienre-MInd Reading Clouded-Lons
Telephone Lines-H"use Telephon-
ing-When to and Not to Eat.

Quite an interest has lately been reused
| in England over the discovery Of rich phos-
phate challs at Iaplow. OF course chalks
have long been known to exist there but
till of late no one thought of them as par
ticularly phosphate On learning of the
discovery Mr. Strahan was sent out by the
director-genera of the geological survey L.
investigate. He reports that farmers Of
that region have long been spreading
chalks upon their lands, finding them highly
beneficial, though they had no kind of idea
why they were beneficial. He found the
chalks very rich in phosphates-fully as
rich, we infer, as are our best phosphate
rocks q South Carolina.
WefHrve very large chalk area in Texas.
As vt our chalks have never been eN-
amineh with any particular thought of 4
phosphate character. Who can now say
that we have not immense beds of rich
phosps satic chalks here, A remark once
made to US by Professor Robert T. Hill
leads Us to rather suspect it. We were in
deep railroad cut where the chalk strata
were well exposed, and pointing to the
thin earthly deposits between the chalk
strata he stated that they We're really very
rich marls.
Phosphate chalks are not new to the
world by any means. but this discovery Is
something entirely new for England. Had
the English biologists have been looking
after the phosphate character of the chalks
it is entirely more than probable that this
discovery would have been made long ago.
Just so it has been in our case-our geolo-
gists studying the cretaCcOus of Texas have
not been looking for pnOsphates. One eau
not be surprised at anything that turns up
in Texas With our immense chalk area
there would be no very good grounds for
surprising that we may not have in il rich
phosphate deposits of sufficient magnitude
to enable Us TO supply all agricultural
America with phosphoric acid. The thing
IS certainly worthy of especial search al the
hands of our scientists
Professor Stubs of Louisiana says
science has made rapid strides within tho
past fifty years. Its progress is onward.
With undauntcd mein ii boldly inyades the
great arcana of life. and seeks, without IT.
reverence to learn those principles b.
which plants grow and produce food for
man and beast. In spite of ignorance and
prejudice its efforts have been partially
successful, and its devotes, trusting to L
continuance of the progress Of human dis
covery, lose none Of their energies in al
tanning this great aim.
n.
We have many people who believe that
there is such thing IS mind readins-on-
person takes hold of another persons hand
and thereupon is able 10 read everything
passing through the mind of the person
whose hand is held. After 4 long and care
full investigation of the matter DR.. Charles
Gatcheu writes through the Forum for
April that the whole thing is a humbug
the work OF self-sty.ed conjurers and true
mountebanks.
\ telephone line IS now in successful
operation between London and Paris. .
distance of 297 miles, twenty-three miles of
which is oy cable, laid under the British
Channel. The only trouble about the line
lies in its want of capacity to accommodate
all the patronage offered. The people man
aging the concern say they could keep ten
similar lines constantly al work. The pres
ent charge is 81 for a talk Of three minutes.
-
Everything would seem to indicate that
long telephone lines are soon TO come into
quite general use. The Scientific American
reports the successful working of an ex-
pertinent between New York and Cleve-
land, Ohio, u distance Of $50 miles. The
advantage OF the telephone over the tsls-