The Bossier banner., 1891-11-12
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

American petroleum has been shut
out of the Peruvian market owing to
the discovery of oil fields in that coun-
try covering an extent of seven thousand
Eve hundred square miles.
There is place in San Francisco
where the skins of dogs are made into
gloves, their hair is used in plaster, their
bones are ground for clarifying sugar
and their fat is manufactured into oil.
Jupiter is larger than all the other
planets and satellites of the solar sys-
tenn. The sun is little more than 1000
times larger than Jupiter. But Arcturus
is $50, 600 times larger than the sun.
The apparent f1attening of the vault
of the heavens has been found to have
an annual period, and to depend on
clouds 1t seems least fat with misty
horizon, and less by night than by day.
The erosion of hig guns is thought
to be largely due to igniting slow-burn-
ing powder at the base of the charge,
whereby the bore receives attrition
from the hard, unburnt portions of the
powder.
"A recent order from an Australian
firm for twenty million feet of lumber
will require twenty-five large vessels to
carry it. Recent extensive develop
ments in mining interests in Central
and South America have led to large
shipments of timber from this country.
The census office reports, concern
| ing the tobacco statistics of Virginia,
that the total number of planters in the
State during the census year was "a,
O34; the total area devoted to tobacco,
110,57 acres: the total product 4s, 522,'
655 pounds, and the value of the crop to
the producers, estimated on the basis
of actual sales, 81, 323, $40.
The American red plum (prunas
Americana), instead of fruit, often bears
nothing but crop of bladders. This is
owing to the attack, in the earlier stage
of a small fungus which is allied to the
fungus which causes the curl in the
peach leaf The latter is called Elk
oascus defor mans; the plum bladder
fungus is Exoascus pruni
Acting (British) Consul Hosie, a
Wenchow remarks in a recent report
that it is not generally known that th'
fruit of the Chinese tallow tree pro
duces oil as well as tallow. Chines'
tallow is white, hlrd fat, formed OF
the surface of the seeds. 1t is separ
ated by a process of steaming and press
ing through sieves 1t is from the harC
black kernels left behind that th'
Chinese obtain what Mr.. Hosier de
scribes as a good lighting oil, of
brownish-yellow color.
1t is well known that carbon exist
in three different forms-charcoal
graphite and diamond-and that hither
to every effort to transform the on
into the other has been in vain. It i
said, however, that charcoal has recent
ly been transformed in graphite b,
passing cyanogen through a red no
porcelain tube containing charcoal o
coke, sprinkled with powdered cryolite
The carbon separates into bulky mas
of very slender filaments, which, afte
being subjected to pressure, can not b
distinguished from graphite. Perhap
some further experiments in the sam
line may give the crystalline carbon O
diamond New Orleans Picayune.
The village of Ludlowville, i
Tompkins county, N. Y, has taken a
unexpected boom. Three years ago tn
citizens of Ithaca contributed severs
thousand dollars to find out just wha
was below the surface of Ithaca sol
They hoped to find gas, but did no
strike it in paying quantity, but they di
hnd that Ithaca was over great sa
bed short time ago some capitalist
began work there. At the depth {
1,45O feet they struck salt, and aftt
drilling in solid salt seventy-6ve fe'
they stopped work.
According to a recent estimat
; four-ffths of the engines now workir
in the world have been constructt
during the last twenty-five years. II
steam engines of the world represen
approximately, the working power
1000, 600, 600 men, or more than doub
the working population of the wor
: the total population of which is usual
estimated at 1,455, 923, 900 inhabitant
Steam has accordingly enabled man
treble his working power, making
possible for him to economic his phys
cal strength while attending to inte
lectual development.