The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-21
Eorzs Or surNor am urDUsTRr.

An unusual instance Of mountain railway o~onrsruo.
ton, which Ht the present time Il being carried on
with remarkable rapidity. IL the lire from seheIdsrx.
Switzerland, round the great glacier Of the Eiesr.
pastthe N6nch. up 70 the very topmost point nearly
Of tho J~unEfrau. the height OF the station near the
summit being 18,e0s feet above the level Of
the scA and this Il Justly considered one
Of the most notable OF modern engineer.
ING achievements. During the past season travel
has been practicable from InterlAken 10 soheaaerr
By rack railways already IN operation. one Of thess
leaving the adhesion road ~ Zuroi Luasohinen. the
other at Lautsrbrunnsn The new railway viii vhon
completed take passengers 1000 feet above sohsi.
deg. The Locomotives are to have cogvhsels ntted
into = rack, the openings In which correspond 20
the teeth Of the wheels. the nek being placed be-
tween two steel rails of the ordinary adhesion pat
tern. The motive power IL 70 Be supplied By cleo
ticity, Wills the tunnels and GALLERIES VII Be light
edthroughout By inoandescent electric lamps. his
expsctsd that ne line vtn Be In operation 10 the tsp
Of the JunEfrsn In three or four yearu.
Photographers VIM prUbNbly no. BE- siov 10 svnn
Themselves Of the new form Of actinorrAph which,
without mention Of the inventory name orrssidenoa,
has recently been described. and which r. claimed
10 possess the advantage OF great portability. and
allows the use Of Interchangeable light scales for all
ATTITUDES. The Hight scale IL in the form Of q card,
having on its back . table OF factors. which slide In
SroovsS At the back Of the boxvood plague upon
which the data necessary for calculating the s1pos.
uro are engraved. There are four Scalea. correspond
ing respectively with the light. the lana, the szpos.
ure and the speed Of the plata. The Light - indi.
Gated by means OF curves for sverT day IN
the year and for every hour Of the DAY
whom II IL photoEaphicAlly active. The
amount Of light apart from atmosphero in
influence 10, at any given hour or any given day,
nxed. being . function OF the sums altitude. The
unit ofllsht IN the HOO part of the brightest popsi-
BILE dinuSed daylight when the altitude Of the sun IL
ninety degrees. This 10 one actinograph degree.
Tho lens scale shows the ratios Of a~pertures TO focal
length IN general use, and the exposure scale indi-
Gates exposures nnging from 40 Of q second TO one
minute. The speed scale In based upon clearly de-
nned limits, Sliding between this and tho exposure
scales iS . smaller Aide. upon the upper edge Of this
being I'VE points. pointing simultaneously to nvo
different times Of exposure, and marked very
bright" " bright" mean " dull very dull"
tho exposure being selected opposite that point
most nearly corresponding with the atmospheric
conditions.
anew process ofclay casting. or porcelain producta,
termed "Thongusa.' has been introduced In Ger
many. says the NeuEtte EEfRd,moea. It seems that
In this case the mas is not, as heretofore, worked
cold upon the potter's lathe or pressed into n mould,
but IL finely ground after careful drying. then melted
at o prescribed heat in an electric furnace and poured
into . heated. hreproof casting mould. Glazing be-
comes necessary In most cases. II the walls Of the
mould are sufficiently smooth. otherwise IL 10 allowed
tocool OF after the solidincaton Of the cast to certain
temperature. and finally powdered glass IL thrown
on in . uniform. thin layer. The advantage Of
the new process, as set forth. conaists-aaidO
from . considerably reduced eost-in an
almost complete prevention Of tho unforeseen
shrinking OF the mass on cooling; and thus IL follows
that hencefoTth instruments of precision and accu-
rately divided measuring vessels Of every descrip-
ton can also be made from porcelain. By means OF
n still undeveloped process, viz, the admixture of Q
IL n a A IL
to render the cooled mass Observation-Disclosures
also to make the operation of q remelting consider
ably more difhcult.
The peculiar system by which the city Of Am.
sterdRm obtains its water supply from the sand
scientific interest by any other method in any part
Of the globe. These dunes are composed of sand
blown up from the seashore. their basis also con-
ssting of sand. although this is mixed with peat at
some points. and at the sea level layers of COM
pressed peat arc frequently found. II is noticeable,
too. that these peat lAyers are never found on the
sides of the dunes next the sea. The rainfall in the
dunes percolates through the rand and hows land
ward and seward. 30 that the surface IL q cone
whose apex is the summit of the dune. which, slop-
ing both ways. forms n continuous watershed. Now,
not only is the dune water fresh above sea level,
but It is perfectly fresh to . depth of some sixty-six
below sea level. This fresh water being found
ut such depth under the dunes. while the water at
the same depth in the immediate neighborhood IL
goes 70 prove that either the subsoil must be
based on fresh wAter-the hydraulic pressure Of the
dune water preventing sea impregnation-or that the
water. originally salt. has become freshcned by this
dune-Water pressure.
A report IL made by C. Il. Benjamin of Cleveland,
OF a series of experiments conducted by him to
the bursting strength Of cast iron cylin-
lers. The conclusions considered fairly deducibl0
rom these eXDPHmentR arr piypn as fOllowa. Eirak
hat such cylinders of the form ordinarily used for
are. when subjected 10 internal pressure.
luite as likely to fail by tearing on a circumference
by splitting: second. that by reason Of local weak
lesses and distortion the cylinder may fail when the
tress. as calculated by the ordinary formula for thin
'hells. is only about one-third of the strength shown
,y a test bar: third. that the principal cause of weak
Is the sponginess OF metal due TO uneven cool
NJ. and thus, in order to insure good castings. the
should not be materially thicker than tho
hell. the cylinders should he cast on end and suit
bile visors provided for the escape If dirt and gas.
The internal diameter OF the cylinders expcrimrnted
NTH and pointing to these conclusions represented
hree different sizes. six. nine. and twelve inches.
heir lengths being nearly twice their diameter. The
were also bored in such manner as 10 insure
practically uniform thickness in each shell, and
he nanges were faced and eounterbore1.
In an article written for the LumberBEdH by b. J.
,cymour attention is called to the almost unlimited
arety Of uses OF which the red cypress is suseepa-
lie. principally for house work. inside and outside.
or natural beauty Of appearance, the red cypress u
is especially notable, and is extensively
sed by manufacturer for all descriptions OF cis-
rms. tanks. tubs. for brewery. creamery. and SINH
,r applications. and for durability and strength
annot be equAllsd in the case of large railroad tanks.
ar builders and railroad companies have lori been
ArtiAl to this material for siding and roofing on boE
eight cars. 1t possesses the advantage Of taking
nd holding paint in a degree equal TO white pine.
eng also free from pitch or gum. When used for
utide work. including beyel siding. porch hoor0
nd columns. step plAn%s. CUTTERS. &C. it is more
than any other wood in use.
What il considered q valuable improvement On
10 ordinary method OF securing yarn is noted
Iyorably in the Boston Commercial Bulletin For the
ner classes Of this material the proportions may be.
treating 100 pounds. two pounds Of mild potAAh
nd three pounds Of carbonate Of potash. This forms
he nrSt bath. and. after it has been treated sum