The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-19
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

bone. from Its original or crude form to
mat OF its mary applications. use
ful and artistic. Most OF this article r.
landed at San Francisco and shipped east
ward TO be distributed at the various CEN
tiers. Before leaving the Pacific coast the
bone is split. sorted according to color,
and tied up I'm bundles; after splitting, the
pieces are termed stalks or slabs" are
from . to II feet In length when ready for
shipment. and weigh from 5 to q pounds
each. When received by the manufac-
turer each slab Is fringed with strong,
glossy black hair; this has a separate
value of its own. and Is used for certain
furniture manufactures. and is also mixed
with horsehair In brushes. On the hair
being removed the slabs are scrubbed Wig
orously and then put to soak in water for
about a week; when sufficiently softened
they are subjected to the action of steam
In strong receptacles of special design.
being thus ready to be split into ''shell'
or grain" bone. and finally cut into
stays. whipstocks. etc.
One serious and at the same time unsus-
pected source of fog in photography is
often due to the fact that the backing
has slightly worn OF the lens mount. and
there Is a reflection which results in n loss
of brilliancy in the negative. Constant
use and endless cleaning of the lens I'm
time wears the backing on. and this
should be attended to and all metal parts
kept well BACKED: where lenses are
mounted in aluminium still more care is
necessary I'm this respect, as. wherever in
such cases the backing wears OF. white
light instead of yellow light is reflected
into the lens. Sometimes disaphragms of
the iris pattern are greatly at fault in
this respect. BY reason OF its construc-
ton, the leaves or vanes in this dia-
phragm are in constant friction while be-
H. -. - 49, - -
Elective, for which reason some photogra-
pliers avoid having iris diaphragms in
their lenses, Notwithstanding their con-
venience. A careful examination Of the
| apparatus will insure safety i'm this mat
ter. Stops of the ordinary pattern become
in time little better than bare metal. espe-
cially at the edges of the aperture.
A remarkable discovery of sodium car
Donate is announced as having lately been
made i'm Sonora, Mexico. two miles inland
from Adair bay. an indentation from the
Gulf of California. 100 miles south of the
Colorado river. The deposit covers an area
of about 20 acres in extent. in the center
of which are several flowing springs. the
water being strongly impregnated with
the salts. This water has spread over the
surrounding area. and evaporation has
formed "A crust of the crystallized salts.
one to three feet in thickness. beneath
which Is a foot or Is inches of water: as
this crust. which is the product. is exca-
waited and taken away, the water from
below quicly fills its place, and very
shortly, by evaporation, IL is completely
renewed, making the deposit practically
inexhaustible. it being that
there are fully 100, 900 tons OF the material
available in this locality.
And now an enthusiastic French engi-
neer. NJ. Paul Issartier. proposes a tunnel
TO the center of Mont Blanc, ascending
from this vertically a mile and a half to
the summit. such n tunnel to be nearly
1900 feet long. terminating at 1850 feet
above sea level, after a rise of 600 feet in
its length. and from this a vertical shaft.
10 by Is feet in size. to the summit. somo
$500 feet above. To accomplish this the
~eXcavating would be done from below: a
strong. two-storied steel m would
be raised on steel racks at the corners of
this shaft. the upper floor carrying the
compressed air drills and the lower one be
caught on steel gratings. pulverized. pass
ed to the bottom of a shaft in a 12-inch
tube, and then washed away in a stream
from centrifugal pumps. Before making a
blast the hambe would be rolled TO the
other side of the shaft.
AS stated in the Scientific American
lately. Prof. A. Gray has been devoting a
considerable part of his time to determin-
ing the circumstances which specially af-
feet the conductivity and specific capacity
of glass. From manufacturers In London
and Jena various specimens of glass were
obtained for this purpose, these being all
richer i'm lead and freer from soda than
glasses formerly available. Specimens of
the material used for thermometers. and
a barium crown glass. were also subjected
70 the different tests II was sought 10
ascertain whether by increasing the lead
oxide and diminishing the amount of soda,
the c~onductivity would go on diminishing.
The resistance was taken after five min
utes electrificatlon. The jena glass
showed considerable of dielectric polariza-
ton. and lowell glass did the same; the
barium glass showed hardly any, but IL
had a very high resistance. and behaved
like lead and lime glasses. The Jena glass
had low resistance. from its high percent
age of soda and complex composition.
There has just been brought forward "A
portable electric safety lamp for use in
special cases when an open flame. or even
one safeguarded. as In the miners lamp,
would prove dangerous. The combination
consists of a dry battery arranged to be
carried I'm a holder at the belt or i'm the
pocket. the battery being controlled by a
small rheostat. maintaining an even sup
ply of current to the lamp and allowing
Il to burn with the same brilliancy during
the life OF the battery. Tit electric lamp.
connected to the battery by a flexible
cord. il the miners lamp manufactured
by the Edison Electric company. and Is of
six-candle power. set in a small white
enameled parabolic reflector and provided
wit. a stickpin to allow IL to be attached
to the hat or any part of the clothing, the
light having SUFFICIENT luminosity to per-
nit of ordinary matter being read at a
distance OF 100 feet from the lamp. This
unique combination Is manufactured at
the w~ell-known establishment of Elmer
l.. Mcintyre. Pittsburg, and is admirably
adapted for gas inspectors in reading
meters I'm dark cellars. by repair men ex-
ploring cellars and trenches for gas leaks
and defective pipe connections. also by
miners and mine inspectors In gaseous