Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-01-23
POPULAR SCIENCE.
Trunks are now made Of paper pulp.

Trunks are now made of paper pulp.
A locomotives strength equals that of
900 horses.
A mountain OF sulphur has been dis
covered in California.
The temperature of man is ninety
eight degrees; that of ish seventy-seven
degrees.
Sugar made from charcoal is 300 times
sweeter than ordinary cane sugar, but it
costs $40 pound.
Southern Missouri has an animal that
combines the peculiarities of a dog, a
lynx aud hyena.
A smokeless fuel call "massute" is be.
ing used on steam rollers in Vienna,
Austria The fuel is composed of tho
liquid residuum of petroleum re6neries.
Notwithstanding the size, strength,
and great vitality of sharks, they are ex-
tremely susceptible to cold weather, and
will die at temperature that would not
iniure the smallest fish north of Mary
land.
Experiments made with oil aud
various other substances have shown that
oil alone will give the greatest heat. 1t
has been adopted for the boilers of the
big pumping engines at Brilliant, near
Pittsburg.
The remarkably beautiful green color
of some preserved 1eaas and other
vegetables is sail to be obtained by
boiling the vegetables III a copper vessel
while IN electric carrent is passed
through it.
Sir Robert S. Ball, astronomer royal
for Ireland, predicts thai within a few
thousand years a sheet of ice 1909 feet
thick will advance over the fairest por-
lions Of our globe, blowing ~ all vege-
tatioa aud leaving desolation for cen
turtles.
Tae heat conducting qualities of the
metals range as follows; Silver, 100;
copper, 1880; gold, $3.50; annesle /
aluminium, 1897 ;unanuealed a,u ninum,
81. SO; tin, IL so; iron, 1t.59; steel,
11.60; lead, $50; platinum, s 70; bis
muth, $50.
Albert EIelmaa, of New York City,
has applied fol- pl.en5 on what seems
to be wonderful discovery. 1t is a
chemical process whereby liguile, which
is coal of later stage THAI the anthra.
cite or bituminous article. may be trans.
ferrei into serv;clbic fuel. This can be
sold, he says, at 81 tol, and will elulf
our present coal.
Professor Arthur Auwers, the we'll
known Berlin astronomist, has nov COM
pleted the calculations based on the Oh
servations in Germany of the transit Of
Venus in 1892. He finds that the earth
is about %, O43, Oh miles distant from
the sun, and that the parallax of the SUI
is 800 seconds, with an error of three.
hundredeths of a second at most.
To cat sheet brass chemically the fol-
lowing method meets with great success:
Make a strong solution Of biciloride Of
mercury in alcohol. With a quill pen
draw a liue across the brass where it is
to be cut. Let 1t dry on, and with the
same pen draw over this line with nitric
acid. The brass may thea be broken
across like glass cut with diamond.
A device has Just been patented in
England by which all kinds OF WOO
can be cut into veneers or boards. The
logs are cut into suitable lengths, steamed
in a close box through which current
of electricity is sent and finally placed
in au lathe, where they are rotated
against knife The thin sheets are
afterwards nipped at the edges, a1l can
be used to make barrels, pals, etc,
from one stave.
N. Oovarof, a Russian scientist, has
discovered that whea lightning strikes
in a forest the white poplar (popllu5
alba is the frs. to attract it. lie cane
to the conclusion taae the tree en- b,
USED as a natural lightning ROD AMI he
submitted a me norilI to the Minister of
the Interior advocating that the planting
of white poplar before every house in
a village be male obligatory upoa tle
peasants to prevent fire by lightning.