The record-union., 1896-05-24

some of your correspondents tell me how
to prevent the outside of my lamp be-
coming oily, when it is unused?
! Clayton, Cal. STELLA
Always after filing and trimming
turn down the wick into its sheath and
YOU will have no "oil crawling" or only
50 much oil as by evaporation escapes
and settles.
Eds. Record Union: Would the
idea of a revolving stage, a stage in
floor sections moving on pivots to make
quick changes of scenery be new and
novel? S. I. S.
| Sacramento.
No; for in the Residenz Theater
| Munich, the mana agement has intro
duced a revolving stage. by Which
changes of scene can be effected i'm
twelve seconds, and the interval be
tween the acts reduced to quarter OF
a minute. The contrivance is run by
electricity. Years ago a double decker
stage lifting and falling was tried to
| effect changes Of scenery rapidly 1t
soon went out of use. however. As to
revolving floor sections, that may be
new. but parts OF stage floors turning
with scenery have long been in use
: = .
Eds Record Union" Can you refer
me to anything on the new plan of
winding steampipes with wire to
strengthen then-any work or article
on it? NJ z.
Stockton.
No. We have seen only this floating
in the press: THE plan of winding steam
pipes over eight inches in diameter with
-siXteenths inch copper wire. thus
rearly doubling the bursting pressure.
IS pronounced by competent judges to
be an important change in engineering
practice. Further that the thickness of
sheet copper forming the pipe may be
reduced to the minimum and at the
same time insuring the full advantage
OF wire winding, an improved system OF
manufacturing steam pipes has been
devised, described as consisting in sim
ply using copper of the thinnest possible
gauge to form the interior or core of
the pipe. while the body proper is com
posed of steel wire wound Closely around
the core the interstices being filed in
solid with copper by electro-deposition.
Increased strength comes from wire
winding"
! Eds. Record Union: Is there any
thing in it, this idea of Mark Twain's
in his Pudd'nhead Wilson story about
! the print of the ball of the thumb being
for each person always the same and
like that of no other person, or is it an
fiction? MAIN
Sacramento.
1t is not fiction. 1t is not Mark
Twain's idea. 1t has always-or long
been known that as means of identity
the skin prints of the balls of the fingets
and thumbs were valuable Whether
they are the same from infancy 20 man
hood is not. however we'll established.
| though claimed. But after maturity
they do remain the same. we believe
Current Literature" says on this sub
ject: The accuracy of finger prints
! as a test of personal identity is well
shown by some recent photographs of
Francis GaltOn. III a case of twins,
their photographs and measurements
Were closely alike, but the minutiae Of
their finger prints We're quite different
An enlarged photograph of the print of
the hand of a child ei@hty-six days old
shows the development OF the distinct
i've little ridges on the skin even at that
early age.
Eds. "Record-Un Is there such
thing as q portable electric light
lamp? J. II. f.
Sacramento.
Oh, yes, several forms; but costly and
not greatly successful except tGey are
so large as to be clumsy.
Eds. Record Union: Can you tell
US why cur spools of thread are num-
bered so oddly? Why are they not
numbered from one upwards so we
would understand it better
TWO GIRL READERS.
Sacramento.
Because the numbers refer to the
hanks of thread required to make one
pound of thread. The very finest SPIN
ring rarely exceeds 300 hanks to the
pound, while in the very coarsest there
is about half-pound in each hank
The more common qualities, however,
those from which sewing thread is
usually made, run from ten to fifty
and sixty hanks to the pound, and the
spools on which it is wound are num-
bered from 10 to 90 to 60, in accord
ance.
I@tS. ItCOIu- Union w III you pleaSe
state the actual size of the big dam at
Folsom to settle d dispute? ). & G.
Livermore.
1t is $50 feet long. 50 feet high, 81
feet wide ait base, % feet at crest, and
its masonry is 4S $40 cubic yards.
Eds. Record Union: Can you give
me some information about the SUBJ
stitute for leather that is spoken of in
the papers? MECHANICAL.
Sacramento.
Only what we gleau from recent sell
entific notes in technical magazines.
One of these tells us CIndustries and
IronD: THAT the Franklin Institute
Of Philadelphia, through its Committee
of Science and Art, has given a medal
and award of merit 10 this new substi-
tute for leather. The report of the COM
n9ittee is based on two years investi-
cation into the best substitutes for
leather. Pautasote is made by coating
tough paper and leather fabrics of vari-
GUS kinds with a gummy composition
which becomes incorporated with the
substance of the fabric. this gum be-
irg cOIored before it Is used. The pau
tasote fabrics are stated to be superior
to leather in several desirable qualities
such as pliability under extremes Of
temperature, imperviousness to water
and cleansing qualities
Young Subscriber" Sacramento. is