The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-12

800. - ~
Asomewhht original Iins OF thought has Just been
expressed BY Str Martin Conway before the Royal
Geographical Society, England, in regard to glacial
formations. He declared that A. long as a flowing
body u land ice ia contained within DEFINITE water
sheds and mountain ranges It lie a glacier and not an
ice sheet. while the juxtaposltion Of no'matter how
many glaciers does not form an leo sheet, but merely
. glacial area. Again, the old theory OF glaciers eX-
cavatinE their beds to any considerable extent IL
practically abandoned; It's supporters naturally con-
sidered that the larger the mass Of leo the moro
vigorous would be its excnvatirg action. and n
great Arctic Ice sheet vas believed to be an
extraordinarily powerful excavator. It is now
known. however. that moving land Ice did
not operate upon its bed, but, beyond poll hin :
tho surface of tho rock II covered and cutting down
convex excrescences, had mainly q conservative
eject upon II. In the case OF acountry like the in.
terior OF Greenland. buried wholly under ice. the
buried land surface ia being modelled to a very slight
degree, but on the other hand, in the case of a glacial
region, where mountains rise above the mean level.
and where rock faces are exposed to the rapid denu'
dalton OF all snowy regions, great developments of
surface formation are going forward. Briefly, under
an loo sheet the forces acting on tho land surface are
conservative. while in the case OF n glacial region the
acting forces are formative.
Builders OF steel structures have been confirmed,
incidentally, as to the adnptedness Of steel framed.
nreproof buildings to Withstand the effect OF hoRt. by
the recent burning OF the great shoeneman building
in Chicago. This structure was seven stories in
height. and Immediately adjolned the notable Old
Colony building. some seventeen stories high, OH the
north side, and the Manhattan building. which rises
sixteen stories, on the south. The heat to which the
last mentioned two buildings were subjected In this
ordeal was intense, and gave as fair and thorough q
test in this respect as could be desired. The wall be.
tween the shoeneman and Manhattan buildings was
n marty atTINtuFo and Nvhan tho huFnnd hutlhin0
collapsed, It pulled the party wall one inch and a half
out Of plumb where the greatest strain was aus.
tAined; but otherwise the Manhattan gigantic pile
suffered no injury from heat or IRE, except that some
window castings were burned and nifty or sixty win.
dows broken. The effect on the Old Colony building
was even less. according TO the report OF the archi.
tects who were employed to make a professional ex.
animation.
/ Tho name of perchoid 10 given to a new product. a
substitute for gutta percha, the invention Of DR.. Ma.
| pier Ford. location not mentioned. The article is an
oil which has undergone a high degree Of oxidation.
Is heated with litharge. stirred long and continuously,
and then allowed to cool. Specially prepared tow is
then dipped in II. and. placed in wire baskets. sub.
jocted to currents OF air, the oil, adherlng to the
nlaments of the hemp. becoming wholly oxidizod;
under the microscope these hempen threads appear
sheRthed with a coating OF amber. The operation Is
carried on through rollers and comes out az a leath.
cry material. closely allied to. II not Identical with.
rubber, the tenacity OF tho substance being increased
by q mixture with sulphur. It can be rolled as thin
ala piece of tissue paper or any faorc, and II rem
doris leather impervious to moisture, though not to
air, while It possesses the advantage of being not
only more durable but many times cheaper thar
rubber. 1t is thought that one of its greatest neldl
may be the making OF neumatic tires. 1t should be
invaluable also to the electrician. as It does not be
come brittle and never leaves the wire. two most
valuable qualities in an i~nsulator.
From experiments made at the water works II
power gas engine. with an expenditure OF one pound
Of coke-heating value 1909 centrigrade units-doei
actual water lifting to the extent OF LAS. $50 foot
pounds. At the Carlsruhe water works a similal
steam pump does s7e. 500 foot. pounds OF work PEE
pound OF coal. The Deutz works guarantee for ga
motors above 90 horsepower an hourly consumption
not exceeding o.e9 pound of Belgian anthracite auc
oil pound OF coke. While a steam engine use
about 81 gallons OF water per indicated horsepower
the Basel gas motor uses about 8o gallons; the latte
is the largest as yet built in Germany. and has tw,
cylinders. Whom beyond 80 horsepower. tho ga
motor Ia considered moro economical than the steam
engine, when worked with producer gas used direct
Probably the largest canal in the world-a dis
tinction of some note in these days of wonderful en-
cheering feats-is the Chenab Irrigation Canal in tn
Northwest Provinces OF India. Its breadth ia co.
| Leot, WIN . main cnanne some aaU miles long, whil
tho principal branches have an aggregate length o
1000 miles. and the village branches will extend
when completed. some 1000 miles additional. Blu,
apart from irrigation. the longest canal in the worl
10 that which extends from the frontier OF China t
St. Petersburg. and Is 4.472 miles in length. Tn
Bengal Canal. connecting with the river Ganges, 1
900 miles long. and In all India there are "a 90
miles OF canals. %irrtgating 5000, 900 of acres.
Tho coming textile hbre. according to Tertfl
America. is that of the ramie plant. Already, It or
pears. manufacturers OF hosiery and fancy goods ar
using the nbre on q large scale. and the facilities 70
washing such textures have contributed to their II
creasing manufacture for table linen. bed sheets. g.
The fact iS also important that the different test
made with this and other vegetable nbres, such q
fax. hemp. cotton. &C. have been in favor of tn
ramie, and for this reason IL is gradually gainin
favor in another branch. namely. the production c
s~ailcloth. awnings, and coverings for carriages, o
huenccs, acids. and septics. Knitted underwea
made OF ramie-this industry. II may be remarked
being one in which the material has been most su,
cessfully introduced-is not only one that has o.
quired quite a liking from the public because of II
extreme durability and silky finish, but also for Il
estimated hyRienic advantages these latter are base
on the substance admitting of normal perspiratio
without generating or retaining the disagreeable hes
caused by textures made OF other nbres, while he
water and soap will also cleanse It without any O.
posture to strong friction.