The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1892-03-12
SCIENCE AND. INDUSTRY.

S0itNCE AND INDUSTRY
Since 1850 sia. ooo. 900 has been ex.
pended in constructing 1900 miles of
canals and 1000 miles of distributing
bitches, which now furnish irrigation
for 10000 600 acres Of land.
Aluminium promises to be of great
value in the construction of sounding.
boards 1t seems possible from its free
dom from the metallic tone-color to i'm
prove very much the quality of the tone
OF the monograph, by getting rid of
the metallic sound so offensive to the
ear.
1T Is said that half the tin of the
world is exported from the Malay Pc
ninsula, where mining is carried on al
most exclusively by the Chinese The
mining Is that of food tin, and the
metal is taken from the lowiands near
the mountains. where IL is found in
POCKETS ten to twenty feet or moro be-
low the surface. , - ~
The length of the structure over the
Mississippi at Memphis is to be 5000
feet-bridgc, 1900; iron viaduct. $500
feet; timber trestle, 3, 100 feet Its eight
piers are to be III to 1917 feet in height.
The deepest foundation is 1871 feet be-
low low-water mark. The central span
is to be 62l feet in length, with canti-
lever arms 1859 feet in length.
1t has been proposed that the car
bonic acid gas that is liberated during
the process of fermentation in brew
cries be utilized by ..ondensing it into a
liquid form that can be sold for eight
cents a pound. 1t is estimated that
25.000,oo0, 900 gallons of this gas are
produced annually in the breweries of
Great Britain. * f{kEE
Chlorine in water indicqtes pollu-
ton. The state board of health of
Massachusetts has sent ont a map show
ing the normal amount of chlorine in
the water supply throughout the state.
If in the future the chlorine exceeds the
normal, it is. with some limitations, to
be considered as an indication that the
water has been polluted by sewage or
household waste.
An interesting archaeological dis
covery has Just been made in the forest
of Eawy, near SSaiut-SaenS The exca-
vations undertaken by Mr.. CASTOR lie
Breton have recently brought TO light
the walls of building seeming to be
the remains of little antique temple
belonging to the second or third Gen.
fury. 1t is quadrangular in form, and
stands completely alone. Among the
debris they have found some statues of
the Venus Anadyomene in baked earth.
Paris La Nature.
Herman scientists, who have re-
Gently investigated the subject, assert
that the heart of the oak begins to de-
cay at the age of 800 years The pine
tree lives to the average age of 500, but
some of them have hourished for 700
years They assign 4s5 years to the
silver fir, 275 years to the larch. PAS
years to the red beech, ato to the aspen.
200 to the birch, ITO to the ash, las to
the alder, and 1870 to the elm.
Contrary to the general belief that
the dragon fly is dangerous and has a
vicious sting. Prof Bickmorc says that
it is not only harmless but good friend
to man, because it skins over the stag
nant pools and quiet lakes where mos
quitoes breed. and eats them. Some ex-
periments had been made TO ascertain
if dragon flies could not be bred in suffi-
cicnt numbers To completely extermi-
nate the mosquito. but they had not
been successful.
Iowa. 3s1. $50. 900 bushels of corn;
Illinois, 24t, org 900; Missouri, POI, l76, 900;
Kansas, 1863. 1858. 900; Nebraska. 145,00i,-
600; Indiana. 1i6, 400, 600; Ohio. 96, $780,.
600; Texas, 92,122, 900; Kentucky, S6,
O4O 600. and Tennessee, Sl,S24, 600, are
the ten leading corn-growing states nc
cording to the estimates of the depart
ment of agriculture. Iowa is also at the
head of the list in point of averags
yield. her rate being 367 bushels pei
acre; Ohio's average is placed at 1877
Indiana's 81. Illinois 3L2, Missouri:
29.9. Kansas 267, Nebraska's 36.3.