The record-union., 1899-11-02
Science, Invention
and Discovery

Nubu OIOVVuVty
At the bottom of the ocean the tenn
perature is down to freezing and often
below. There is no light and the enor-
nous pressure of a. ton to the square
inch in every thousand fathoms, or six
teen times more pressure than we en-
dure; twenty-five hundred fathoms deep
the pressure is thirty times that of an
engine drawing a tram Ground sharks
brought up from no more than 5OU
fathoms die before reaching the sur
face of the water. The fauna. of the
deep sea are modified forms of those
which live in shallow water to-day, and
they have been driven down to ocean
depths through the law of the survival
of the fittest. In the battle for exist
ence their stronger rivals triumphed
in the surface waters, and these beaten
and discouraged sunk below. OF course.
animals driven to these depths would
gradually change in form. Down to
800 fathoms their eyes have become
larger, SO that they may see by the
faint light. After 1000 fathoms the
eyes are huge or else disappear alto
gether and enormous feelers take their
place. At great depths eyes are of no
use.
To reduce the friction of car axles in
their bearings an Englishman has pat
ented an anti-friction bearing, in which
the under portion carries a reservoir OF
oil, with an endless chain Of sman
wheels running through the oil and
around the journal to divide the weight
on all sides of the bearing.
+
A Western man has applied system
of friction gearing to the propulsion of
a bicycle, having rubber covered hoop
mounted on one side Of the frame, to
connect the crank shaft and rear hub.
with an adjustable wheel placed under
the saddle to depress the hoop and in
crease the friction.
A frictional, self-tightening fastening
for pulleys has been invented, in which
a curved wedge is inserted in a pocket
formed inside the hub of the pulley,
with a wedge-shaped or eccentric slot
on the shaft, into which the wedge is
xOlCC0 ny lIAO lOl liiiiS VI tAC PAAASy'
+ F*
To prevent flags from wearing them
selves out in strong winds a New York
er has patented a device which stiffens
the edges and prevents fraying, pock-
cts being formed at the top for the
reception of a flexible wire or other
material, which bends slightly in wave
like curves.
Two Englishmen have patented leg
ging which can be rapidly strapped on
the leg, consisting of single sheet of
material whose edges lap each other
when in place with a buckle at the top
and bottom, a single strap being wrap
ped around the leg in a spiral and
fastened in the buckles.
The movement of drawer at both
ends is equalized when being opened or
closed by a new attachment, consisting
of a pair of levers formed into an x,
with a pivot pin at the junction, the
ends being secured to the rear of the
drawer and the inside of the case, to
move in equal angles.
Excavations on the right bank of the
Narenta, in Herzegovina, near CablJlna,
have resulted in the discovery OF an
exceedingly well-preserved and extern
sive Roman camp, which archaeolog1sts
say must have been erected during the
reign of Nero CA. D. 81 to 6S), and ex-
listed till about the time of the En-
peror Theodosius, who died A. D. :5''3,
ho DESTROYED
by fire, as is proved by the presence OF
numerous pieces of charcoal and other
unmistakable signs of conhagratlon.
Most of the walls and arched passages
can still be traced. The outer wall has
three gates, one of which is two stories
high The steps in the towers are ex-
tremely we'll preserved. The floor and
part of the decorations are still in good
condition Many utensils and weapons
have been dug up, which afford inter-
.esting information concerning the MODE
of life in the camp. An immemorlai
tradition has asserted that on this very
spot a great fire once took place. The
opening up of this Herzegovinian POM
peii has excited great interest among
savants.
The Tarahumare people, who live IN
the most inaccessible part Of Northern
Mexico, were described by DIR. Krauss
in the British Association as ignorant
and primitive, and many still living III
caves. What villages they have are at
attitudes of about 5000 feet above the
sea level. They are small and wlry
people, with great powers of endurance.
Their only food is ''pinoli," or maize
parched and ground They have a Pc
culiar drink, called 'teshuin," also pro-
duced from maize and manufactured
with considerable ceremony, Wnlcn
tastes like mixture of sour milk ana
turpentine. Their language is limited
to about 800 words. Their imperfecs
knowledge of numbers renders them
unable to count beyond ten. Their re-
ligion seems to be a distorted and I'M
perfect conception of Christian traoi-
tions, mixed with some of their own
ideas and superstitions.
In a lecture before the FreifeWald
Medical Society, DR.. Heimes takes the
ground that it is no unimportant mat
ter in it's relations to the sanitary con-
ditions of building with what klnd OF
paint the walls sdre covered. In his
experiments DR.. Heimes took equally
large pieces of oak. poplar and pine
wood, also of old iron and cement
plates, covering each piece with Oil
paint, size paint, lime paint or enamel
paint, as well as with few proprietary
compositions. After the paint had DRIED
perfectly the plates were coated with
"cultures" of various disease melting