The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-04-06
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.

The average "fall'' or slope of North
American rivers is about four inches
per mile.
Fish, fruit and rare steak should
be the diet of the aged, according to
magazine writer.
Six centuries before Christ, ThaleA
Of Miletus measured the height OF the
Pyramids by trisngulation.
I A new telephone transmitsa whisper
to distance of 500 miles, and keen
ear, if familiar with the speaker, cap
recognize the voice.
A medical journal figures that the
United States has the highest death
rate from diphtheria, $50 in 10000.
According to the same authority Hol-
land and Sweden come next with 44O
zach.
A thrifty resident of Atlantic City,
N. j., is making money by shipping
| barrels of salt water to various parts
Of the country to persons who desire
! 10 take a saltwater dip in their own
,ath-~ ms.
II, male wasps and hornets are the
scavengers of the community, being
required to keep the nest clean. They
remove the bodies of the dead, and
when these are too heavy they bite of
the head and divide the body again at
! the waist.
Experiments made by the scientists
appointed for the purpose by the
French Government, Show that the
resistance Of the atmosphere to the
motion of a high speed train: Off,
amounts to half the totsl resistance
which the locomotive must overcome.
About the last thing done to silver
| ware in the factories is to cleanse the
s.rface of all grease and other material
used in the polishing, q process that
| usually involves deal of hard labor.
A mechanic who had noted the expen-
sive character of this work invented a
bath in which the foreign substances
that cling to the surface of silverware
are easily and quickly removed. From
this bath the silverware comes clean
and brilliant. The employers of the
in, entor have patented the process
with his consent, and the patent is re-
garded as valuable property.
1t has generally been assumed that
considerable time elapsed, say from
three to nine minutes, from the time
when the blood left the right side of
the heart, traversed the whole system
and then again returned to the start
ing point. Professor Dalton's expert
ments make it appear that the time is
| much shorter than that. Dozens Of
| carefully tabulated tests, says Pro
fessor Dalton, show that the blood Of
! man makes complete circulation
| once every fifteen to twenty five
seconds, according to the physical con-
ditions of the subject experimental
| upon.
The sting of a bee is composed OF
two spears of polished horn held in q
sheath. One gets notion of the
sharpness of the weapon by a very
simple comparison. The edge of a
very keen razor, when examined under
good microscope, appears as broad
as the back of a thick knife, rough,
uneven and full of notches. An ex-
| ceedingly small and delicate needle
similarly scrutinized resembles
rough bar from a smiths forge. The
sting of bee, viewed through the
same instrument, shows a hawless
polish, without the least blemish or
inequality, ending in point.
Mineral water syphons commonly
in use are subjected when full to a
pressure of about $50 pounds per
square inch. The best Of them are
made in Germany and tested up to 200
pounds per square inch, but the most
careful makers of mineral waters test
their syphon bottles up to 800 pounds
per square inch The glass, after
having being placed in ice-cold water,
Is suddenly plunged into boiling
water. The loss from breakage in the
testing process is very great. A
syphon bottle has been known to keep
pure and sweet for seven years small
quantity of mineral water accidentally
left unused. This accidental test OF
water and bottle was thought highly
satisfactory.