Daily inter mountain., 1899-04-03
SCIENCE.

4IZlIlS5 llIlStSu dIlU OlLct NG6Cts1DAS DAAHt
Mr.. Charles Grist claims to have pro-
duced a very satisfactory substitute for
rubber which is now being employed for
a. variety of articles in a large English
factory. Tow soaked with the oil is
placed in a centrifugal machine. which
throws out all oil except that ciinglng n
minute giobuies to the fiber. The bunch
es Of tow are then put on metallic grids
n current OF warm air for "A hours,
When the on becomes completely oxl-
dlZed. and the material ls then ground,
mixed with coloring matter and rolled
into sheets. The product has many of
the properties of rubber and gutta-
percha. 1t is resilient. but less elastic
than rubber, resists chemical action and
a heat Of 240 degrees Fahrenheit. and can
be used for electric insulation and for
wheel tires of high quality. Dissolved in
ethereal spirits. 1t serves for giving any
fabric i waterproof coating.
Almost every suggestion ever made as
70 the origin of atmospheric electricity,
ana the part 1t plays in meteOrology has
been repeatedly tested with only negative
results, states Professor Cleveland Abbe
and we must conclude that this problem
IS too difficult for Immediate solution. 1t
is one of many that a following genera
ton viii doubtless cope with successfully
turning to the simpler associated phe-
numena. we find the best physicists not
yet whully clear as to the method of for
nation of lightning and auroral dis
charges. the phcsphorescent glow of the
clouds, bau-lightrHng, and other every
day phenomena, and full explanation of
these must await the invention of appro-
pirate methods of investigation.
\ single fiy. resembling a large horse
dy. IS reported to exist near Redding,
Cal. 1t s called the sulphur fly. was un-
lyroIs
the locality three years go, and seems to
live and breed in sulphur heaps, N the
midst Of dense suIphurOus acid fumes
from the roasting ore.
Reports from % British towns show
that London. the only one supplied with
river water, has almost the lowest dea til
rate from feVer-57 per million. The rate
at Plymouth IS 10, while at Glasgow it IS
1874. and al Belfast it reaches 1867.
The influence Of the American nechan-
&c upon our times IS due in no small de-
gree 10 his automa tic machinery. Among
such devices lately introduced into Eng
land are machines for equipping an IN
men&e cycle factory at Leeds. and a ma
chine for making metal hinges. Ia the
latter, coils Of metal are fed through
rolls having cam motion. and then grad
uailv manipulated into the separate
"
is fed at the proper time to supply the
connecting bolt for the hinge. The entire
process is automatic, and butt hinges
ready for Use are turned out at the rate OF
forty or fifty per minute.
The effects on the internal organs Of
i Turkish bath have been studied with
the rhonendoscore by Drs. BIanchi and
RegrauIr. In the hot room, the lungs
and heart dilate reaching their greatest
size at about 10 degrees F.. the liver and
spleen are variousIy affected, and the
bowels and empty stomach dnate the full
stomach being contracted by expulsion of
food The cold plunge contracts all the
organs, which, except the stomach, re
turn to their usual volume IN 10 to 35
minutes The baths are recommended
not only for the exercise they give the
organs in health. but also d means of
estimating the elasticity Of the organs,
which IS diminished by age and disease.
The openircy of the Hiualayas to ex-
p20ration ara travel will doubtless be
one of the white mans twentieth century
achievements. A large section of the tenn
perate IONS. is here practically unknown,
and it IS o region of magnificent scenery,
geological rarvels, varied climate, and
rich fauna and flora. Even its highest
mountain IS yet to be found, although our
list of those exceeding IS 600 feet is mot
snail. In Il recent work, Major L. A.
Waddell states Ihatths ThiheCars know
Of 4 peak north of Everest that is taller
than that slant. which has long been
named As the highest in the world.
The remarkable theory that UNDER
ground waters. Ike the ocean, are affect
eC, by the moon is advanced by 2. Gulch-
ard. L French chemist. He Is led to this
conclusion by an inyestigatlou OF certain
wells near the coast, the water of which
rises ard falls with the tides yer has
composition disproyirg the explanation OF
q direct connection between the wells ana
the sea.
The otto of roses the preciOuS narfrtne