The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-13

NOTES ON AND " USJH II
new gold mining process adopted by the workers
OF . m,ne In the Cauc ,sus and OF another in Siberia
10 represented M saving from ninety to ninety.nve
per cent. OF the assay value. In this process the
pulp coming from the stamps Is run through an I'm.
mersion nmalgamator. in which II has to pass
through about ten inches of mercuryi on It's way
through this apparatus Il leaves all it's free gold,
however nne or coarse It may be, md the remaining
pulp runs from the amalgamator through a sepa.
rator. IA which tho mercury that may have been
carried along Is recovered. From tho separator the
pulp goes TO the concentrator and from there to
the teaching tanks. working by an electrolytic chic.
rination processi q series of teaching tanks forms n
battery, and while the first tank is niling tn, last
one is ennptyinG. the intermediate ones being in tho
different stages OF teaching. Tho liquid " con.
stantly tegenerated by the electric current, and the
gold is obtained in the shape of n dark brown slime.
Messrs. Holborn and Wien arc reported in the
Chcntkcr ZeftunD as having made thorouHh tests of
the different methods of measuring high tcmpera.
lures. In making these measurements three
methods arc known. In one OF these an air Their.
mometcr OF refractory material is used; the sec.
ond depends on the change in the resistance of a
platinum wire with change in temperature, and the
third is based on the employment of thermo.
couple OF difficult fusibie metals. Tho air thormom-
eter method was valueless until recently. Us suita.
bis vessels could not be made; but now they are
produced from some refractory clays and permit OF
measurements up to g. 732' Fair. the results being
vitiatcd. however, by tho effects OF cnpillarity in
the interior OF the vessel. The resistance method
has some great disadvantages. AT high tempera.
lures the absolute resistance Ia generally found to
Increase constantly. but the coenlclent OF the TEN
perature diminishes very irreguIarly. The third or
thcrmopIie method has proved the best; and the
most favorable cIr,u it consists OF platinum and an
alloy OF the latter with ten per cent. of rhodium.
-
An estimate OF the possible profit to be realized In
utilizing pine stumps aud pltehy waste may be
made, according to the Lumber World. by assum.
Ing that every cord OF fat pine will yield forty
bushels OF the best quality metallic charcoal. TWEEN.
~ gallons OF turpentine, forty gallons Of tar. forty
g-llons Of tar oil. and sixty gallons OF pytoiigncoGs
acid. by a process OF redstillation this pyrolic.
noous acid will yield one and one half to t~o
gallons OF alcohol. with from four to six gallons of
acetic acid. besides n quantity OF crposote. Calcu.
lating these lrst fve.namod products at the lowest
usual price. the returns from n cord Will net
SIS. Young sap wood will yield more than one.
half this quantity of products. A plant for this
purpose can be built in the shape OF retorts, each
retort OF sufficient size for one half cord OF wood.
at an outside expense OF, say, $500. The time re.
quired for each charge of one half cord of wood 10
eight hours. each rctort thus handling one and one.
half cords OF wood in twenty. four hours, Resulting
therefore in SOM $50 profit per day from a retort
costing not more than a coke oven.
That the barometer shouli be so important a fac.
tor In Indicating meteorological conditions is to
many an unsoivable mystery. There should, how.
ever. be no difficulty in understanding that the sim.
oic principle underlying the construction is that the
free and unfertered air balances a column OF mer.
curry varying In height according TO the circumstan-
ces of the moment. whose average elevation at the
level OF the sea Il thirty inches. II is known, be-
cause directly ascertainable, that thirty cubic
inches OF mercury weigh close upon fifteen pounds
avo'rdupois. and therefore. as commonly expressed.
the pressure OF the atmosphere ia. under normal con.
iitions. fifteen pounds on every square inch-eauiv.
aient to nearly a ton on q square foot, moro than
eight and one half tons on n square yard, and of
100 tons on a squire of ten and one quarter feet
side. Scientific calculation also places the aggre-
gate weight OF the atmospheric envelope surround.
ing the world at about i've trilllons OF tons. aud this
may be represented as the weight OF q solid leaden
ball having n diameter OF sixty miles. Such fig.
urcs. says n writer In Longmnn's Nd0a-ine, are
really beyond human comprehension.
In considering the important subject Of smoke
prevention. recently. the Cleveland Engineers
Ciub listened to a paper by C. II. benjamin.. who
stated that n number of experiments were made
several years ago on u very black and dense smoke;
It was all collected. the amount of solid matter
was determined by weight. and 1T was found to be
In all one third of one per cent. or one three hun.
dredth OF tho weight of coal burned at the time
probably one. half of this solid matter being car.
bon. showing the amount Of coal actually was ed In
SCOT 10 be ono six .hundredth part OF the coal. In
preventing smoke. the principal requirements emu
mrra:ed by Mr.. Churchill are three. namely. that
the coal ue evenly heated. that there be a free sup.
ply OF not air raised 10 the temperature OF com.
bustion, and that the volatile matters distilled from
the coal shnil pass through gases OF such rempera.
ture that they VIII be burned, thus making IL I'm.
possible for the gases that dIsriil from the coal to
escape by the chimney or to become cooled after
go -,V-- N,A- atfa nh -.-. -
thinks. that many manufacturers have made in at
tempts TO invent a smoke. preventing device by the
Introduction of air about the fuel, or at the bridge
wall. is that the air has not been made hot enough.
The Introduction OF cold air is a disadvantage,
rather than an advantage. so far Us preventing
smoke is concerned. the fact being that 1t will pro.
duce smoke where none existed before.
A favorable notice appears in the London pa.
pors OF n patent recently issued by the English of.
nee TO II. l. Cashier. an American. for the produc.
ton OF cyanides by q direct combustion OF carbon,
nitrogen, and n metal. the latter being prepared
in a particular manner FOR the purpose. The reac-
ton takes place al q very much lower temperature
and produces a much greater yield when instead OF
the metal carbonate or hydroxide Is used. The re.
action Is carried out In u vertical iron retort which
stands in a furnace; n nlling lube In the form of a
siphon connects with the tube of the retort, and.
through this melted sodium nows; at the bottom
u the reiorti Is an emptying pipe, also provided with
n siphon. through which the melted cyanide is
drawn on: side pipes near the top ami the bottom
Of tn, rctort allow or the Introduction OF heterogeneous
gases, while an autom attic cover on the top OF the
retort allows OF tho Introduction of small coal or
other solid materials. and so the process goes on
without interruption.
A French method OF producing beautiful patterns
in velvet by the removal OF the pile has been sue.
~cessfulIy introduced ut the works of Kussel & Cie OF
EcuviIe'sur saone. Chemical means are employed.
consisting OF caustic sodl when applied to silk or
wool. or n mixture OF oxalic and %auiphurie acids II
used for cotton. Tho exact quantity Of each In.
gredient required depends on the character OF the
thickening used, as we'll as upon thar OF the ma.
terIaI. these factors having necessarily a great In.
huence upon the action. For wool and silk, thirty
grammcs OF oxaiic acid for each 100 grammes OF
thlcksnlng are about the average quantity, while for
cotton forty grammes of s%ulphurlc acid for each 100
grsmmes OF thickcning are sufficient. In carrying out
the process. rollers or plates cut In relief do ser
vice. by means of which the agent is applIed IN ia.