The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-05-31
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

The United States Fish Commission
has issued a bulletin on the subject of
oysters, which states that the annual
production amounts to thirty-tive
million bushels, of which thirty million
are Americans, and of these eleven
million bushels are from Maryland.
Prof. Dewar, in course of lectures
at the London Royal Institution, ex-
hibited liquid air, liquid oxygen, and
frozen alcohol floating on liquid
oxygen. The liquifying of air and
oxygen is accomplished by extreme
pressure and low tempera ture. Liquid
air boils and becomes a gas again at
100 degrees below freezing point of
Centigrade scale.
The West Indian Island of st. Vim
cent has become the principal center
of arrowroct culture. The exports of
arrowroot from the island grew from
Is, ass barrels in 1883, to 23, 433 barrels
in 1892. This rapid increase of produc-
ton was induced principally by the
enhancement in the price of the pre-
pared product.
Tea growing has become an impor-
tant and rapidly increasing industry
in India and Ceylon. The Indian crop
for 1898 was the largest ever produced
there, exceeding by twelve million
pounds that of the preceding year.
The total crop of Ceylon was larger by
eight million pounds than that of 1892,
the combined crops supplying an in
crease of twenty million pounds over
any previous crop.
"A sewage farm of fourteen hundred
acres is owned and worked by the city
corporation of Birmingham, England.
The farm receives the sewage of the
city, the population of which is $50, 900,
and immense crops of potatoes, turnips
and other vegetables are raised yearly,
besides grass and other forage for the
large herds of dairy cows and fatten-
ing cattle, sheep and swine. The sales
Of vegetable and animal products of
the farm amount to one hundred thou
Band dollars per year.
The government of Victoria, Aus
tralia, has pursued a very liberal policy
In giving bounties for the encourage
ment of various agricultural industries.
export butter, the trade grew to large
and profitable dimensions. Similar
bounties have since been offered for
export cheese, fruits and honey, and
considerable sum has been set aside to
develop the wine industry by cash
loans for the purpose of aiding in con-
structing wine cellars, stills, etc.
1t is said that a German officer has
invented motor in which fine stream
of coal dust is utilized to drive piston
by explosions in the same manner as
the gas in the gas engine. The Krupps
are now making the engine in their
works at Essen. 1t has long been
known that finely pulverized coal in
suspension in the air is highly eXplo-
sive, and it has been held responsible
for some of the most frightful colliery
disasters, but this is the first attempt
to utilize it in this way.
Gen. Hazen, chief of the govern
ment weather bureau, expresses the
opinion that all the conclusion expert
ments made for the purpose of produc-
ing rain have been failures. Those
conducted in Connecticut, last sum-
mer, he says, seems to prolong the
drought in that locality, while there
was plenty of rain in all the region
round about. The attempts thus far
made have been by charlatans, who
really have brought little more of real
science to the undertaking than the
savage and ridiculous rain makers"
of South Africa. Sometimes, possibly,
the effort to cause rain may be re-
warded by success, but that time is not
vet