The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-08-26
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

American watches are fast driving
Swiss watches out of the market 0ul
factories make SIS, 900 watches week.
There are more bee hives in the
United States, where there are ., 500.
600 than in any other country. Greece
famous for its love of honey. has only
30, 900 hives.
Canon Bagot stated at the British
dairy farmers conference that $1,000
900 had been expended in the erection
of butter factories in Ireland, and that
a factory in Limerick receives 81, 00C
gallons of milk daily.
OF the II, 900, 900 women in italy
nearly 1000, 900 are employed in indus
trial labor, and over 5000, 900 in agri-
culture. They are in the majority in
the cotton, linen and jute industries,
and in the silk trade there are III, 900
women employed, and but 1900 men.
Excluding forests and pastures,
there are 5000, 900 acres of cultivable
lands in Italy. Returns for 1890 show
the main crops to have been: Wheat,
100, 900, 900 bushels; corn. IS, 900, 900; bar
ley, 5000. 900; rye, $500, 900; rice, 10, 650,-
900: beans, 1850, 900; potatoes, 10000,
000 tobacco. 5000, 900 pounds.
The photographic bureau at Wash
ington for two years has been trying to
learn something of the characteristics
of the Atlantic ocean as great moving
body of water by bottles. AS a result
the whole Atlantic is shown to be cir.
culating round and round like an enor.
nous pool.
1t is claimed to be possible to dem
onstrate differences in the colors of ink
which cannot be seen, the one ink APP.
pearing light and the other dark 1t is
well understood the tints os the inks
that are called black are either brown,
red, green or blue in shade; such tones
have but little effect on the eye, as it is
chiefly sensitive to the yellow and red
rays.
The bladderworts are wonderful
things in the ponds just now The
plants float upon the surface of the
water by means of countless little bags
full of air, joined to the seaweed like
leaves. The ripe seed falls to the bot
tom, takes root and grows there in soil
When the Towering time arrives, the
bladders fill with air, buoy the plant
upwards, dragging it, roots and all, to
the surface, in order that the flower
may breathe air and sunshine.
The want of sufficient strength to
withstand the pressure resulting in
boiler explosions is fact to which con-
e,l a., Il, Al.
directed, and, although it is admitted
that the lack of strength may be inner
snt in the original construction, the
opinion is expressed that it is most fire.
quently the effect of weakening OF
the iron by strains due to unequal ex-
pansion; the cause of such unequal ex-
pansion, and also of weakening by
burning and blistering the iron, is
usually the presence of deposit or scale
on the heating surface
The railway mileage of Canada has
just about doubled in the past ten
years. In 1881 there were 1850 miles
of railway in the Dominion, and last
year there were 14,O09 The earnings
last year were s4S, 1872, 099, and the ex-
penses 1874, $50, 449. The Canadian Pa
cific earned SIS, 672, TIA, of which S7,134,-
040 was net. The Grand Trunk earned
81, 423, $50, of which 81, 500, 3S1 was net.
Commenting on these figures one prom
inent Canadian newspaper congratu-
lates the country, but regrets that a
satisfactory growth of settlement has
not followed the extension of the rail-
way system, and points out that there
is much room for Improvement on that
especial point
"A new and convenient protective
for small abrasions of the skin is sug-
gested by an English chemist 1t is
prepared by mixing equal parts by
weight of camphor and absolute alco-
hol and dissolving gun cotton in this
solution in the proportion of one part
to forty. When applied to the skin it
rapidly dries and yields an elastic film,
which is an excellent substitute for
ordinary collodion. 1t readily dissolves
| salicylic acid. carbohc acid, iodoform
and many other indictments intended
for external application. As a con-
venient protective it is likely to super
sede sticking plaster, as the skin film
| formed is not unsightly. does not pre-
sent awkward corners liable to catch,
and is not washed off even when moder-
ately warm water is used. Healing of
small abrasions rapidly follows the ap-
plication of this solution, either alone
| or when mixed with small quantity of
| salicylic acid