Frederick citizen., 1895-01-25
prepared weekly for the Citizen J

lander named Thompson, in ISIS
about 45 years before they were used
for bicycles. In a recent series of tests,
two box buggies were employed-one
having the usual steel tires, A and As
inches in diameter, and the other hav-
ing pneumatic tired wheels, 81 and "a
inches in diameter. The first vehicle
weighed 354 pounds and the other hut
2S2, but weight equal to the differ
ence was placed on the lighter. On a
new hard pine floor lengthwise of the
boards, the pneumatic tires required u
pull of pounds to start from stand
still and 81 pounds to keep in motion
at a SLOW walk; while the steel tires
were started with pounds and drawn
by It to 8 pounds. Over instructions
of SIG inch and upwards, however
the pneumatic tires gave much the b t.
ter results When loaded with 800
pounds, the rubber-tred vehicle, start
ed with pull of s pounds, and Ike. t
steel tired requiring II pounds to start
and pounds to keep in motion. On
q good gravel road, the vehicles with
the same load Were hauled by an aver
age of 20 and 40 pounds respectively,
and maximum of 25 aud 10 pounds.
With Il load of $50 pounds on sandy
road, the steel tire required 81 and
an average of 40; and the rubt er an eX-
treme of 3S and an average of l6. 1t Is
predicted that the elastic tires, doub-
ling the loads horses may draw, will
soon revolutiouZe the building not
only of pleasure carriages but of heavy
wagons for truckmen and eXpressmeu.
The projected Simpson tunnel is to
run from the left bauk of the Rhone,
near the Swiss village of Breig, south
east through the Monte Leone to the
left bank of the Dtveria, u little below
the Italian village of IseIle Its length
will be 64,7lS feet, or l2f miles, which
is three Inlles greater than the length
of the St. Gothard the longest existing
tunnel. Two slngle-track tunnels, IS
feet between centres, are contemplated,
the first to be constructed in 5l years,
and the second in an additional 4
years.
What is known of amusa, the loss
of the musical faculty, has been puh-
lshed within the last few years, and
has now been cAviewed by Prof Ed
gren, of Stockholm. The disease
proves to be strictly analogous to apha-
sia, the loss of speech which may or
may not accompany it. Two general
forms are recognized-the sensory
form, where tones cannot be appreci-
ated by the ear. or notes read by the
eye. and the motor form, in whicn the
patient cannot sing, play, or write
notes. Ballet places the expression of
music between the emotional and the
artificial or verbal language. Music
is less complicated and earlier apprC-
sing before they speak, and Reyer has
t)ld of a child of nine months, who
could repeat the notes exactly as play
ed on the piano while Dvorak, the
musical composer, is said to have had
son who sang the Fatinitza March
with his nurse at the age of one year.
A Bavarian work advances the som L.
what startling discovery of the long
sought "missing link between man
and the higher apes. The link is the
PtthecdlthrOpuS erectuS, of which
three fragments of three skeletons have
been found in the early pleistocene
strata of Java. This hitheto unknown
species representing also new genus
aud family of the primates, the high
est order of mammals. The skull has
about two-thirds of the capacity of that
of man. 1t is distinctly dolichoophalic,
or long headed, aud the forehead strk-
ingly resembles that of the famous Ne
andertbal skull. The teeth are some
what advanced from those of other
apes. The femora are singuarly hu-
man, proving that this creature habit
ually walked on two legs, its height be-
ing that of the average man. Regard
ing this ape as mans ancestor, the au-
thor of this bIok finds the southern
slopes of the Himalayas to have been
mans early home.
An English naval Ell sineer finds
that electricity has been applied as mo-
tive power to winches, cranes, steering
gear capstans and fans. for use spec
tally on shipboard. Electric latnes,
drills, refrigerators, pumps, ash hoists,
ETC., have been succeeded on land, and
these also may be readily adapted for
the use of ships.
A normal heart aud normal kidneys
are rare among the adult residents of
Munich. Recording to DIR. Bollinger.
The excessive use Of beer accounts for
the kidney disease, and the cardiac
hypertrophy and degeneration are
mostly secondary lessons.
Snakes IN captivity are fairly hearty,
though by no means a long-iived race,
says Dr. Arthur Stradling in KnoWJ-
edge. The oldest and largest and old
est specimen in the London geological
Gardens is the great reticulated py-
thon, measuring about 26 feet, which
has been in the C Election since 1876
or the life duration of serpents in the
natural stale, as Of other animals,
nothing is known. But snakes are
comparativel defrncele--. exceedingly v
popular Ms fooi with vast number Of
creatures. aud but for their ahun,iant
fe .undi'y-brnnls of ynnng arying
from 30 u 100 in nuInbrr would
doubt es+ soOn be eexirrninated. Their
dangerous diseases in esp ivity are fe .
They have common l.i-. flatu'ent
d. spepsia, and something akin to mus
cuar rnrumatisn, hut of their serious
cnnp aiits he deadly onr-resenblIng