The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-01
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

1 rels are finished in accordance with trade
| demands. For convenience in carrying
! they are provided with a handle like the
| handle used nowadays so extensively in
carrying bundles or the folding-dOwn
! handles of the old-fashioned painted
washtubs.
The calla-lily, the pampered pet of the
conservatory in this latitude, thrives in
some parts Of California in the fields. and
multiplies as generously as the thistle or
/ the wild mustard. 1t blossoms fair and
| white and tall in the open air, and the
! flowers hold their beauty for almost q
| month. The lily is so common, indeed. as
to be despised by many people, and some
| gardeners root it up as a nuisance Though
| having the finest decorative qualities, the
| flower is overlooked for something more
dlthcult to obtain, and 1t only holds its
\ place in church decorati ton because of
| the massive effect TO be obtained al the
! minimum of effort and expense. Recently
| IN an Oakland church there hung a cross
| OF 1900 callas, the flowers crowded as
closely as they could be arranged ana
| the whole backed, as foil, with a cross
ten feet high of roses, shading FROM pales,
PINK at the top TO deepest crimson at the
| base
| The resources of modern mechanical
ingenuity, in an emergency, are rarely
disappointing, as is illustrated In recent
| case in Worcester Mass, saws the New
| YORK sun. To build sewer inside of a
sewer there was the problem, and a cof-
| erdam was constructed the materials be-
! ing delivered to the workmen in electric
scows which worked to perfection The
sewer in that city is a large one eighteen
| 1eet wide and thirteen feet high carry
| ing Off both storm water and sewage. AS
IL was desirable to separate the two a
| smaller sewer six feet wide was built in
side the larger, utilizing the bottom and
one side of it for the walls double
trolley system was used in the work. the
wires being hung from insulated brackets
| In the arch in such a manner that a troll
| ley could be run on each, two wires being
| necessary, one for the return current
There were six electrically propelled boats
that were run to and fro, and they readily
handled the large quantity of twelve thou
sand bricks, fifty barrels of cement, and
one hundred barrels of sand daily. Elec-
trio lights supplied the necessary illumi-
nation, electric fans provided ventilation,
and electric pumps aided largely in rapid
| construction.
The air pressure against which an tx-
press train must make Roadway is known
to be very great, but only recently has an
| attempt been made to measure it, SAYS an
exchange. This was done by a mechanic
of Western road. He stretched a sheet
of paper over a small hoop, placed this
hoop over the mouth of a pipe connected
with an air-compressing engine, adjusted
a gauge to show the pressure, and register
{ the pressure when the paper burst. He
next took this hoop with the same kind of
paper and fastened it in front of one Of
the locomotives used in hauling the fast
trains. AT a speed Of ffty-eight miles an
hour the air pressure burst the paper. The
pressure from the engine in the first test
made in the shops showed that the paper,
which was eleven inches in diameter, had
stood a strain of twenty-eight pounds. The
experiment gave a basis for calculating
the pressure against the sixty eight-inch
diameter of the boiler front, against the
sides Of the cab, the front of the stack,
dome, headlight and other exposed parts,
and it proved that even on an engine alone
the air resistance is considerable, and is
increased in a ratio corresponding with
the Increase of speed. With a train of
eight cars, most of them open at the ends,
and built so as to accumulate air pressure
against the trucks. roofs and side ventla-
tors, the atmospheric resistance is, of
course, tremendously increased.
The bleaching and disinfecting of
fbrus materials by a greatly improved
process is now reported to be realized by
certain French chemists, names and loca-
ton, not given, says the New York Sun.
Their experiments are said to show that
bleaching by sulphurous acid resulting
from the combustion of sulphur contains
impurities coming from impure sulphur,
which when in contact with the air be-
comes mixed with compounds such as sui
phuric acid and arsenious products, these
causing staining of the bleached fbres. To
obviate this the new method consists in
employing a sulphurous acid that has
been specially prepared in gaseous or IL
quid condition, and subjecting the fibers
to its action, air being perfectly excluded.
The fbrous materials are kept In a YES
sci from which the air is
exhausted by pump, the yes
sci being provided with suitable
cocks for passage Of air, sulphurous acid
and water, and with a pressure and va
cuum gauge. The materials to be treated
are introduced by a charging opening.
which is then closed air tight and the air
is exhausted. When sufficient vacuum
is obtained the air cock is closed and the
cock for acid opened, admitting it from a
reservoir; the sulphurous acid rushing in
| penetrates the interstices of the fbrous
material, which, owing to the vacuum, are
swollen and Open the bleaching being
thus effected with great rapldity, and with
an expenditure of acid much less than is
usually required and in much less time
than that occupied when sulphur has to
be burned. After a little time the cock is
again opened to the pump and the sui
phurous acid is extracted, after which the
water for washing can be admitted
-Baltmore's approaches, like those of
New York, have been strewn with mines,
and thereby made dangerous to friends as
well as foes, says the New York Sun. Ter
rifying demonstration of this fact was
given on Tuesday, when the steamer Hes
tia of the Donaldson line was proceeding
down the channel, between Fort McHenry
and the Seven-Foot Knoll at a high rate
of speed. Her propeller became entangled
with q submarine mine, bursting that for
mdable object open and throwing it out
of the water. Besides injuring that par
ticular mine it is said that the entire sys-
tenn at that point was very much injured
and disarranged. Had the mine been one
of the sort that Is exploded by contact
the Hestia would certainly have been
blown to pieces, and IL is something of a
wonder that she escaped as it was for