The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-24
NOTES ON SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

A fact Of some interest in railroad construc-
ton Is the great diversity in the number Of tics
used TO the mile on different lines as well as
in the sire and quality Of timber. Thus, &C
cording 10 the construction details Of the Now
York. New Haven and Hartford railway, the
number Of ties used on that line Is $500 10 the
mile, threo.quarters OF these being chestnut and
one-quarter oak. while some roads use 1000 only
or 2, 500. " the mile More than 90 per cent Of
the ties are cut eight feet long IL per cent nine
feet and the rest eight and one half feet long
the nine foot ties are used chiefly by the Southern
and Gulf group Of railroads. where pine timber
is very abundant and cheap. The New Eng
land roads have their ties cut from 1--WE TO six
inches in thickness, while the Southern roads
seem to prefer scven-inch ties: the width Of the
ties likewise varies from five TO six inches In New
England TO eight inches in the Central Northern
and the Southern roads
A new and efficient wool. securing material
known as lavolan. has been brought TO notice
in Adelaide South Australia, a trial of which
has been made lately in that city. under the in
spection Of large company Of persons interested
In the wool industry. According TO what Is set
forth by the inventors. the process as affected
by the material In question Is cheaper and quicker
than anything yet orcd to, the statement
to fifteen seconds. satisfactorily. while the cost
so far the solution is concerned does not ex-
coed two and one quarter pence pcr bale As
reported by experts, the wool Is not in any way
injured by tile new appliance. the locks under
treatment being the worst that could be selected.
The lavolan is stated to be fully as effective in
cold water as In warm. requiring but little
moro time nor is there any spelling OF the wool
by a stoppage, even though left in the solution
for a day
Whatever may be the wbacks, artistically.
10 the much heralded color printing machine
invented by Ivan Orlo0, a Russian engineer and
now used by his government for turning out its
paper money, 1t seems TO admit e. a long felt desid
eratum - OF the colors being all put at one
time The blocks which take the different colors
are fixed 10 large cylinder, each block receiv-
ing the supply Of coored ink intended for il, and
az the cylinder revolves, the ink on each block
Is transferred to composition roller very similar
to an ordinary hiking roller. After the colors
each In its proper position arc transferred 10 the
roller, an engraved block or form follows and
receives perfect impression from the compost
ton roller and. thus impressed. the form passes
on and comes in contact with the paper the
impression cylinder where IL prints all the colors
al one operation II takes only one revolution
of the cylinder to effect the whole OF these various
transfers and the number OF coors that can be
used Is limited only by the number OF blocks and
the size OF the machine.
The uso OF oak bark for preventing scale In
boilers, now much resorted to- is not without
its drawbacks. il being found in fact, that the
tannc acid OF the oak Is very apt To settle in quiet
places where the circulation is deficient and
pittng A case Is recorded where this kind OF
bark was used. and the boiler on being opened
up month Afterwards, was found in many places
TO be covered with patches Of holes varying in
diameter from ono half inch 10 fivo-cghthA These
holes were round. as II drilled with drill, and
were filled with strong corodng acid from the
oak Common soda crystals are pronounced by
some a far better and reliable remedy. one-fourh
pound OF the soda being used for every one hundred
gallons Of water this Is considered entirely safe
for tho boiler. and preventive against the scale
increasing TO a dangerous thickness But there
IL engineering authority for the advantage de
rived from thin scale not more than about one
sixteenth inch in thickness in protecting boiler
from Its greatest dangers viz. rust and pitting.
Two vast schemes, combining the geogra phical
and commercial, a magnificent engineering
scale arc now being discussed One of these ia
the reconversion Of the great Sahara desert which
was once an inland sea, to its former state; that
Is II is argued, a canal sixty miles long connect
ing with the Atlantic the immense depression
which runs close up TO the coast nearly midway
between the twentieth and thirtieth parallels OF
latitude, would solve the problem. The water
would not OF course cover the entire surface Of
the desert here and there portions remaining
above sea level these becoming the islands Of the
new Sahara ocean. Another proposed enterprise in
this line is that which has In contemplation the
submersion Of the Yuma desert In Southern Cal
ifornia and this plan il carried out. will involve
tract Of absolutely uninhabitable territory COM
prising nearly thirteen thousand square miles.
and the greater portion Of which lies between five
hundred and one thousand feet below sea level
Prodigious ore these plans. modern engineer
ing science views their realization as among the
possibilities Of the future.
communication lately made TO the French
Physical Society gives the results of some pains,
taking experiments conducted by him TO prove
the correctness OF wel-known theory relating
to the origin Of atmospheric electricity a summary
Of which appeared in the London Electrical Enoi-
neer. II was supposed, according to this. that
ages ago, and. In fact observed. q considerable
amount OF electricity was conveyed to the atmos.
phere through the evaporation Of water from the
earths surface To prove this, Prof Pellats
experiments were undertaken. Two brass YES
sells were insulated from the earth and equally
charged with electricity; the one was filled with
water and the other left empty, then sot aside for
one and half hours In a room at normal tempera
ture: at the end Of this period Il ascertained
with the aid Of an electrometer that tho vessel
containing water had parted with the greater part
| OF its charge. while the other had not lost any
appreciable amount The obvious explanation