Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-08-21

the first commercially operated cleo
trio railroad in the United States was
built in Denver, Col, in 1885, and
that it was an underground trolley
system. He says that he knows this
because he built the line.
lightning is said by scientific men
to be visible one hundred and fifty
miles. AFrench astronomer declares,
however, that it is impossible for
thunder to be heard more than ten
miles. An English savant has counted
a hundred and thirty seconds between
flash of lightning and the report. If
this be true, thunder is audible dis
tance of twenty-seven miles. If the
thunder, succeeding a flash of light
nlng cannot be heard, it is impossible
to estimate the distance away of the
fash. If an allowance of one mile is
made for every five seconds after the
flash the distance of the electrical dis.
charge is quickly known.
The best way to prevent fog is the
consumption of smoke and the re-
moval of dust. Hot bodies repel dust
by molecular bombardment; cold
bodies attract it, For this reason
furniture in room with an open fire
is less dusty than when the heating is
done by furnace. A discharge of
electricity also dispels dust. A thun-
derstorm clears the air, not only by
the fall of heavy drops of rain, but by
the electrical disturbance. The part
icles of dust are thrown down, and the
germs falling into milk and other
foods produce fermentation. It is
for this reason that when there is
thunder in the air, it is bad keeping
weather.
NJ. Charles Janet, of Beauvais,
France, has proved by experiment
that little India-rubber balloons are
capable of supporting in the water
persons who cannot swim, and that
they are very effective in quickly
bringing to the surface a swimmer
who has been submerged by wave
or eddy. He proposes their adoption
as -preservers. Four little bal.
looms, rolled up with yard of small
cord, and not too bulky to be carried
in a lady's purse, constitute his appa.
ratus. In case of need, the balloons
are to be inflated to about half their
full capacity, as in that condition they
offer the greatest resistance to the ac-
ton of the waves.
NJ. de Garlache, the leader of Bel.
gian exploring expedition which has
just returned to Montevideo, Uru.
quay, sums up as follows the results
of his journey to the Antarctic re.
gions: discovery of a channel,
which was named the Belgian chan
mel; discovery of an archipelago, for.
merly believed to be an isolated
island rectitication of numerous errors
in the British admiralty maps con.
cerning Fireland and Shetland
Islands; the water temperature per-
mits the supposition that there is a
continent far to the South; important
discoveries referring to flora and fauna;
discovery of unknown lands, espec-
tally Davidland.
The utilization of powdered coal in
the production of steam is being more
and more considered, in its advan-
tages, by engineers. The method
now being resorted to is that of feed
ing into hopper in front of the fur.
mace coal ground to pass through six
ty-mesh screen, at the bottom of this
hopper being grating which can be
agitated say $50 times minute. The
powdered coal drops, OF course,
through the CRATE into the bend of an
air supply pipe which enters the fur
mace at the top of the furnace door, as
it falls an induced draught carrying it
into the furnace, which is lined with
tirebrick at a length of ten feet, and
having two tirebrick bridges. In this
arrangement there is no CRATE and no
fire doors, combustion being observed
through two small apertures. What
is known as the Wegener system has
been experimental with onsiderably,
the most important results showing
that the dry, powdered coal evapor-
ated, from and at 242 degrees, 9.12
pounds of water per pound of dry coal
as compared with Gas pounds solid
coal fed by hand stoking. 1t is fig
ured that grinding costs about ten per
cent. of the first value