The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-12-25
Especial to the Citizen.l

While light motor carriages nave
been brought to a practical stage ny
the introduction of pneumatic tires
and gasoline engines. great improve
n,euts has been made in the use OF me-
chanical power for heavier ROAD vehi-
cles. Steam is thus far the only prom
isinv mower. France has taken
leading part in the experiments, ana
a hat manufacturer of Epernay, M.
Scotte, has been espt cialiy suecesstul
in working out satisfactory steam
omnibus. after ten years of effort. In
it's latest fOim this consists of a steam
carriage and trailer, the former seat
ing IA passengers and the latter "a.
The forward half of the steam carriage
is occupied by two-cylinder vertical
engine of 16 horsepower, a vertical
boiler, and fuel box for 44O pounds
of coke, 4-hours supply. The steam
carriage is IL feet long and feet
wide, weighing 100 pounds when
empty; the trailer, II fest 10y feet,
weighing 8, 300 pounds. The tain can
turn in circle of III feet radius.
Trials in the department of the Meuse
seem to justly the belief that steam
omnibus lines must soon become gen.
eral in cities and suburbs.
Surprising thugs have been told of
formic aldehyde, hich recent exper-
fence recommends as a dlsinfecIant
in place of destructive sulphur fumes,
chlorine and bronIine, or the olsonouS
corrosive subllmate. DR.. Paul R"srn-
burg, of Berlin, finds it tn be undoubt-
eddy the most powerful germIcide
known as solution OF to 10000 kills
all disease germs. but most won ierful
of all is the effect he reports ii to- have
ON whooping cough. A 60 per cent.
solution of commercial fOrnIalhyde i'll
mrthlic lcOhol il used, with the at
| diliOn of nenthtl to overcome the ir-
ritating property. From sixth To a
third If an ounce il placed in an evap-
Grating appara' us on the floor, and II
! il claimed that inhalation of the air Of
the room at once reduces the paroX-
ystns ot whuOping cough from IL To
% per night To 4 or 5, and soon causes
them to disappear entirely. Children
in the early stages entirely recover
from the cough III few days. The
fprnIic aldehyde, administered in small
doses in milk-sugar s luton, was
thought to have favorable effect also
in tuberculosis, ervsipelas aud diph-
iberia.
PhellOsine is the name given by a
| French Inventor t. substance claim
To. En ..f ..rlx
investigation to- determine whether u
factory should tie permitted H. ar Paris
has disclosed the fact that the product
is r,aly cork bark finely pOwdertd
aud agglutinated 10y solution of nit
rncellulOse in acetone, the doughty
mixture being nodded, compressed,
ami allowed to dry. The material 81
prepared Is practically very fine-
grained cork. Ii Contains only ten or
twelve per Cent. of nitrocellulOse, and
is little more combustible than cork
itself, but the manufacture is attended
by much risk on account of The COM
bustiiillty of the fine dust and the va
pOrs of the extremely volatile acetOue.
"A veritabl, picture of the early resi-
dents In "a remote part of Europe-Of
the Chuds, who lived in western and
northwestern Russia-has been pre-
sented by one of the very remark BILE
archaeological finds of the past season.
Near Perm, on the billy left bank of
the Kama River. M. s rguetff discov-
cred tIace of an earth fort, with All ex-
tensive bur,al-piace, from which has
been tak+n an immense quantity of
relics, including many earthenware
vessels and Carloads of fragments.
Many of these are engraved with
men on horseback aud in b0ats, bees,
flies, mammal, snakes and her pic
lures. There were also FOUND engraved
plates of silver and bronze. bronze
staIuettes, masks, and an immense
number of rings, stars, TELLS, small
models of sledg+s. thimbles, arrow
heaps, hatchetS, knives, gilded bronze
pearls, skulls of avs. carniverous an
lmals' aud other objects.
A patented sanitary coffin, described
by Welsh physician in the London
Lancet, consists of an outer using of
wood, which is lined with zine. aud
inside OF this with half-inch layer Of
u very absorbent cement.lIke material
whose composition Is not stated. The
lid is secured by fresh mixed cement,
Theoretically sealing the coffin. The
absorbent layer takes up the gases as
they are generated from the rOrpse,
thus dung away with the moist de-
composition. The C areas of a sheep
was found after eighteen months to be
far advanced in decay. but quite dry
aud emitting Ohly faint musty odor.
IS
The lateet catalogue gives IL ,O92 spe-
ci'nens as the numher Of snakes Ia the
British Museum. This Is the most Com.
plete collection ever made, re, resent
ing, according to DIR. G.. A. BouIen-
ger, 1897 Of the 1859 species that
are known to have existed.
Few metallurgical facts are of greater
interest and Importance than the
amazing influence exerted upon iron
by u minute admixture of carbon.
wrought iron being nearly free from
this substance. the alloys known as the
various steels cuutaining from O. 25 To
Spsr cent, and cast iron having a
nlgher proportion. A recent lecture at
ontmeId. England. brought out the
varying pfapOl tiOns Of carbon in steel.
Frot. AruolnS stated that experiments
nave shown theNnlaximum tenacitv az
hardened steeis c0utAininx stout 10
per cent. of carbon h. I,o uhont 90 -