Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-30
Notes of Science and Industry.

The ingenious practice Of mercerizing
warn material. though OF recent lhtrouuC-
tion. Is said to be largely on the increase
and as now perfected, can be used sue
ceesfullv on either bleached or unbleached
goods. It's application TO yarn ehapIeN
manufacturers to produce very sauSiac-
tory limitations Of silk fabrics, combining,
as they do. the lustre of that materlal
With the strength Of the cotton. Briefly
etoted This result is obtained by subject
inc the fibre either i'm the raw or the
manufactured state, 10 the action or
coustic soda or caustic potash. and after
ward 10 that of dilute sulphuric ACID, or
chloratc of zinc, Of the proper strength
and temperature. The result or TINS pro-
cess Is TO change the relation of the fibres
and cells of which the fabric is composed
I'm such a way that the rays or lght ran
ing on the fabric are reflected instead OF
absorbed, thus producing lustre Whlch
IS said to be permanent. 1t may be said
nerhaps. that technically the yarn Is
neither bleached nor colored. but is made
translucent; this makes the fibre appear
darker in shade than II was before.
An interesting paper was presented
lately before Copenhagen scientific So
cietv by Professor La Cour. on wind as
q motive power. With regard TO the
hest construction Of a windmill. he point
ed ont the fallacy of the opinion COM
monty entertained that the greatest effect
Is obtained from horizontally moving
winds. As to the construction OF the
wings, Notwithstanding the attention
given by practical mathematicians TO this
point all their careful calculations are
declared to have led to no positive re-
sults. Their physical suppositions were
70 he
idea that the effect upon the mill depend
cd upon the pressure of the wind when
a strikes the wings. The fact is adj
mitted that the absolutely best shape for
wings has not yet been ascertained. But
: the most important practical point in the
paper is the solution of the problem how
hest TO neutralize the inconvenience
caused by the irregularty of the wind.
Professor La Cour has for this purpose
constructed an original instrument, a
regulator. by means Of which a wind
mill can very well be used for working
a dynamo.
The suggestion is made by NJ. Couriot,
the eminent French scientist that the
Roentgen rays may prove as efficient IN
showing the intimate structure or sill
ceous skeletons of Goals as they are in
defining the calcareous skeletons OF ami
mails. and that by means of n powerful
Crookes tube and a fiuorescent screen IL
NAV be easy to determine the purity OF a
fuel Carbon. in all its forms. is rams
parent to the rays, while silica and Sill
Gates are Opaque and. on placing a lump
of coal between the tube and the screen.
all the minute details Of the Stag and
clinker forming details of the fuel at once
appear. In this way NJ. Couriot has test
ed anthracite coal Ignite, peat, coke,
and block fuel The finest particles of
silIcate show Up at once on the screen as
dark spots or bands upon n bright
ground. The differences in the quality OF
n series OF coal can be traced step 10y
stem showing at once the variations In
the purity of the fuel. The conglomerate
structure of block fuel is clearly exhibit
ed while with coke the particles or iron
sulphide are indicated by black spots on
the fiuorescent image. Carbon Is so
TRANSPARENT that II is unnecessary that
the samples should be regular blocks,
rough lumps serving perfectly.
In connection with the recent disastrous
ending OF the company that established
works in Maize for obtaining from the
ocean the gold contained in It's salts, a
statement appearN In the Mining Press OF
San Francisco from Mr.. Pack, assayer or
the United States mint In that city. con-
corning his OWE experiments in this line.
He has found gold In the ocean water
proper only In solution and amounting TO