El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-11-26
Industrial and
Commercial.

Personalities For Dried Fruits.
The manufacturers for dried fruits
in the United States have found q
good market for their products in some
of the European countries, notably
Germany. This trade should be foster
ed and built up till it is able to take
all of our surplus in heavy fruit years
as we'll as in years when we have q
limited supply. But an obstacle ap-
pears in the custom of many of our
shippers using sulphurOus acid for the
i'm provement of the appearance of
their fruits. Already the German au-
thorities have taken the matter up and
are doing what they can to stop the
further importation of fruit 80 treat
ed.
Some of the California papers are
saying that the sulphuring is good
thing, at least a thing that does not
make the fruit detrimental to the
health, and they claim that some ply
sicians have said 30. We are in very
grave doubt on that point. We have
many kinds of preservstives in use,
and it is probable that all of them are
more or less harmful. Yet we know
that it is possible to get medical
opinion in favor of anything that
brings a good price on the market. Let
US cite the case of Preservaline. Med
ical Investigations have decided that 1t
is harmful to the health, especially to
the health of little children and in
vslids. Nevertheless the makers and
defenders of Preservaline declare that
they have medical opinions to the ef-
| feet that it does not act injuriously.
We cannot help feeling that il is not
right to put any powerful chemical in
to foods that are to be consumed by all
classes OF people, the weak as we'll as
the strong. We have great deal of
sympathy with the foreign nations that
have very strict DISQUALIFICATION laws,
| and we can but wish that our own
laws against adulteration were strong
er.
We desire the foreign market for
our dried fruits, and we should there
fore see tosit that only pure articles
are sent across tho swater. The
United States cover nment:should take
up the matter, but it Is dOubtfu if 1t
will do SO without an initial move be-
ing made by the shippers of fruit or
other parties directly interested.-Pe-
cos Times.
It has been calculated thai ordinary
gunpowder, on exploding, expands
about 1000 times, or fills q space this
much larger as q gas than when in q
solid orm.-San Antonio Light.
While building the railway up the
Swiss Corner Graf, about 10000 feet
above sea level, it was ascertained that
the altitude and mountain sickness re-
duced the laboring capacity of the men
by one-third.-San Antonio Light.
An explosive of great power is made
by pouring liquid air containing 40 to
80 per cent. of oxygen on Rranulated
wood charcoal mixed with cotton wool.
In thick cardboard cases it retains it's
explosive power for five to ten min
utes. 1t Is being tried at Munich and
in q coal mine at Pensburg.-Ex-
change.
The plan of Herr Carl Wagner for
avoiding smoke consists in the use of
pulverized coal and special feeder
which Sits the dust over the entire
fire, causing 1t to be at once inf1amed
without smoke and with very little
ash. This also effects q considerable
saving of fuel, and opens q way for
utilizing the waste coal dust of mines
and storage places.-San Antonio
Light.
The force of men at work digging
holes for the Conway Telephone COM
pany of Paul's Valley yesterday struck
a water connection on the north side
of town, and till midnight last night
accruing. Mr.. G. N. Barton, attorney
and genepal manager of the company,
said to Herald reporter this morning:
"We expect to get connected with
DentsOn in very short time now.
would feel like saying that we will get
connected up with Denison by Monday
night If we have no further bad luck,
but will not promise that. We are at
the edge of town now with the line, and
all We need Is to get the poles up and
get wire strung to get in. We have
fifty miles of the Denison-Tishomingo
end of the line completed, and when
We get into this point, we will have the
best telephone system In the country,
covering every interior town in the
Chickssaw nation. This will put Deni-
son in touch with all the interior
closer than she now Ia. and think will
be beneficial to the town." The Office
of the Conway company will be with
the Postal Telegraph and Cable Co.,
In the American and Pacific Express
Office, on Main street.-Denison Her
aid.
The success of raising fax In Mexico
is justifying the establishing of mills
The factory at San Luis Potosi was
started in 1892. Heretofore fax from
Belfast, Ireland, has been used, but
Jalisco fax will be used from now on
Flax is not indigenous to Mexico, but
it assimilates to the soil and the eli
mate in many parts 70 the republic. It
is cultivated successfully in the states
of Morelos, San Luis Potosi, Jalisco,
Guerrero, Guanajuato and Vera Cruz.
When at it's worst, flax grows
from Is inches to 2 feet in
height. Flax ia raised not only for