Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-01-14
POPULAR SCIENCE.


Ginger essence contains twice as much
alcohol as whisky.
A scientist states that icebergs some
Zines last for two hundred years.
During the last decade the birth rate
IN England has fallen from 3i.7 to 3o.2
ger thousand.
A new discovery OF platinum and IT.
ldiun has recently been made in the
Nudge District of New South Wales.
Small electric lamps, as substitutes Tor
the old bull's-eye lanterns hitherto USED
BY the police, have proved gratifying
success in London.
The Natural History Department oil
the British Museum received last yeai
1886 presents, one of which comprised
290 heads of Indian mammals.
The iron columns of the Pniladelphia
CITY Hall are the first extensive iron
work to be eectrolytically plated with
aluminium as a preventive OF rust.
There are volcanoes all over the world.
They occur all along the Pacific Coast,
On the western side as well "a the east
ern, all the way from Bring Strait to
New Zealand.
The highest average speed attained by
trains on the various railways in Eag-
land is fifty-one miles per hour, made by
the Great Northern Railway and the
Midland Railway.
Professor Coetz has been experiment
ing with brainless dogs. One animal,
deprived of all its psychic faculties, sur
vived eighteen months. 1t could neither
see nor feel ald its me nory was utterly
gone.
George Westinghouse sets the cost of
a powerful passenger locomotive OF 1919
horse power at $4,000. To do the
same work by electricity would require
1900 horse power steam plaat and cleo
trical apparatus costing SSl, 900.
The Milky Way holds probably at
least %, 1911, 900 stars, and as each is u
sun, we presume it is encirclei by at
least fifty planets. Counting up these
figures, we arrive at the magnitude OF
1000, 955, 900 stars. A thousand mil
hon of stars Who can comprehend ita
Among the latest buildings discovered
at Epidaurus, one of great Importance is
the crepidoma OF small temple built OF
poros lithos, which is thought to be the
Aphrodition named in one OF the iu-
scriptions of the Asclepi@ in. This is
probably the shrine OF which Pausanias
speaks, calling it the temple of Aphro-
dite.
The number of electric lamps now
used In Paris is said to b. about us, 900,
maintained by central stations, the en-
ergy of which corresponds with 1909
horse power. Out of the IS, 900 houses
in Paris, only 30, 900, or not one quar-
ter. are lighted by gas, the consumption
of which in 1891 was 2S3, 900, 900 cubic
metres.
If it should be Of interest for any one
to know, the fact may be stated on
authority, that the Columbian half-dollar
souvenir coins weigh 335 S 10 grains, Of
which 347.2! grains are silver 40 |
IS. So grains are copper. This fact has
been ascertained by an official assay Of
two of the new coins sent on to the
director of the mint for that purpose.
Quartz is considered one of the most
refractory OF sub stances, but DR.. Leger,
German chemist, claims to have actu-
ally volatilized some pieces of quartz by
heating in a simple form of furnace and
using retort carbon as fue'. A piece OF
quartz weighing 2t grams lost over forty
per cent. of its welght in the first heat
ing, and on repeating the operation
twice it entirely disappeared.