The Republican., 1891-12-18
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

A French professor has recently
analyzed the waters of the Dead Sea
and found that they will kill every mi
crobe, with the exception of gangrene
and tetanus bacillus. With this discov-
cry he hopes to render service to the
French hospitals.
Clouds tend to form around storms
in a continuous sheet, thickest near the
center of the storm, and thinnest and
highest at the outer limits The tenn
perature is high in front of storms and
low in their rear The first indication
of an approaching storm are the finely
drawn-out fbrous clouds, which may be
one hundred miles in advance of the
storm.
The marsh lands back of Atlantic
City are to he filed in and reclaimed.
The dredgings of three hydraulic steam
dredging machines in the inlet are to be
forced through pipe mile and a quar-
ter in length to the main land. The pipe
is to be supported by scows or pom
tOons. The centrifugal pumps are to
have a capacity of ten cubic yards a
minute in stiff blue clay, and a larger
capacity in lighter material from the
bottom of the inlet.
The interesting claim is made for
Arkansas of furnishing the finest whet-
stones of any to be found in the United
States for the sharpening of fne-edged
tools. there being in that state remarlia-
BILE beds of the substance called novoca-
lite, or what is scientifically known as
an altered schst; this means a deposit
of finty nature, usually combined
with limestone, the rock thus produced
being changed in such manner mole
cularly, by processes not altogether un-
derstood, as to supply surface pecu-
liarly suitable for grinding.
Humboldt estimated that Asia
stands at an average height of 1.150 feet
above the level of the ocean; South
America. l, 1870; North America, $50; Eu-
rope. 670 feet. The average height of
all the land above sea levcl-omitting
Africa and Australia, which are mostly
south of the equatOr--is about $40 feet.
The landed surface of the nerthern
hemisphere is about $4,000, 900 square
miles; that of the southern hemisphere
about 14,000000 to 10000, 600 square
miles. leaving difference Of say IS
0Oo, 900 square milcs of land of an aver
age height of 02O feet above the sea
level
An ingenious kind of stop motion
for cording engines is being introduced.
In this arrangement the shaft of the
upper calendar roller is prolonged lie.
yOnd its bearing for a short distance and
a worm affixed to the end gearing into
n worm wheel mounted on a stud at
tached to bracket on the framing the
wheel also having affixed to its face n
pin which engages with lever, the lat
ter in turn acting upon one erd of
another lever. The other end of this
last named lever is bent in such a man
ner as to pass under catch pivoted to
one side of the doifer lever the latter
being supported in working position by
the catch.
Three colossal statues ten feet in
height, of rose granite. have Just been
found at Abukir, Egypt, few feet be-
low the surface. The discovery was
made from indications furnished to the
government by local savant, Daninos
Pasha. The first two represent in one
group Rameses II. and Queen Hont-
mara seated on the same throne, an ar
rangement unknown before among
Egyptian statT0s. The third statue
represents Rameses standing upright
in military attire, scepter in his hand
and a crown upon his head. Both bear
hieroglyphc inscriptions and both have
been thrown from the pedestals face
downward. Their site is on the ancient
Cape Zephyrium, near the remains of
the Temple of Venus, at Arsinoe
Relics of the early Christians have been
found in the same locality.