The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-10-21
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

tured in Japan for home consumption,
but small quantity has been exported
as a venture to Vancouver, and should
the demand there justify further ex-
portations bricks could be shipped
there rs ballast at nominal rates.
AT the recent conversations of the
Royal society, DIR, Gill projected on the
screen Photographic star map con-
tanning the images of about A., 900 stars
AS every star is a sun, we may infer
therefrom something concerning the
immensely of the scale on which the
universe is established.
The color of certain shr imps and
crabs, and also the color of tlcir eggs,
are known to vary great, with the
surroundings Those living in green
sponges are much better lay vastly
more eggs, which are also little larger,
and the shrimps are green Or yellow,
and the large claws are always orange
red, while those of the brown sponges
are red. blue or brown.
For the last three years, in my
early spring walks, says a correspond
ent of Popular Science News: 81 have
run across snakes of every size, varying
from five feet long down to six inches.
I usually find them lying on hill slopes
in their torpid state. never saw them
lying straight, but they were all in the
form of a letter s. In this state have
noticed also that invariably the first
movement they make when aroused is
toward the tail"
The number of volcanic vents still
existing was fixed by Humboldt at 407,
of which 225 have been active within
the last century; 1t has since, however,
been estimated that the Indian Archi-
peiago alone contains more than 900.
The most active volcanoes known are
those on the island of Stromboli, in the
Mediterranean, at Sangar, in Peru, and
Mount Etna. For more than ., 900 years
the Stromboli mountain has discharged
lava constantly; the one in Peru has
been throwing out masses of cinders, at
tended by terrific explosions, for $50
years, and Etna has record of 81 erup-
tons since the sixth century, b. c.
Tho utilization of waste tin scrap
has been the subject of much investiga-
ton by inventors The scrap is treated
by various processes for the production
of stannate of soda, which is a useful
mordant or by heating and beating the
tin is converted into oxide, which is
used in certain glazes for pottery. The
residual iron is melted and run into
molds, sold as sash weights and other
useful articles, The pieces Of tin which
are of sufficient size are cut by special
IA.
menting tobacco, buttonmolds, orna-
mental baskets and other ornamental
articles
Prof Dewar. in lecturing before the
Royal institute, London, handed around
to the audience an entirely new thing
in the way of tipples, in the shape of
clsret glasses filled with liquefied air.
The boiling point of liquid air is 1872 de-
grees centi-rade, or ten degrees lower
than that of oxygen. After liquefying
oxygen Prof Dewar said that it is not
true, as has been supposed, that the
oxygen in the air liquefes before the
other elements in the air; on the con-
trary, the air liquefies as air and is not
resolved into its elements before lique-
| flying. If this globe were cooled down
to 200 degrees below the zero of cent?
grade it would be covered with sea of
liquefied gas thirty-five feet deep, of
which about seven feet would be liquid
oxygen.
Cotton yarn is imported into China
In immense quantities from Bombay,
and il is said that yarn spinning will
soon develop into a very large industry
in Shanghai Only one cotton mill has
been built as yet in Shanghai, but that
has been in existence, in full working
order, for over a year, and has demon
stratcd satisfactorily that Chinese cot
ton can be worked into coarse cotton
cloth of a superior quality, The power
of this mill at present is $50 looms and
81, 1000 spindles and the turnout is $50, 900
yards per week. All the operatives are
Chinese, and the company is also purely
native. The present outlook of such
an industry in China is excellent. All
the cloth thus made has ready sale at
high prices