Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-29

'"There is in the far west a little insect
called the 'tule gnat.' which is remark
able for its almost total lack of weight,
observed naturalist To a Star man re-
Gently This tiny insect has a nearly
microscopic body, but a relatively large
spread of wing. which give it the apparent
size Of a mosquito In some parts of Call
fornia l have seen tuIs gnats' swarm so
densely alb Ut burning lamps that several
times during the evening the dead had to be
cleared away to give the lamp a chance
to burn. In brightly illuminated stores the
g1ats are v-ritab., pests. and it was in a
Lake county. Cal. drug store that l re-
Gently saw a curious experiment made with
the insects As many SHGtS We're collected as
could be- heaped on the delicate apOthe-
cary's scales; the smallest weight. used in
measuring the iightest drugs, was then
put upon the opposite pan, and it was
found to ovcrbalanCe the mountain of
gnats.
although a large number of American
made ploughs. harrows and other farm i'm
plements are exported TO foreign countries
the demand for American harvesting ma
chinery is far greater than for any of
them said a leading wholesale dealer in
agricultural tools to u Star reporter. Our
harvesting machines. mowers. reapers and
binders are used all over the world. and in
many countries, such as South Africa and
Australia. extensively. These machines
like all other Yankee products. are of
course copied by foreign manufacturers,
but the foreigners are generally a year,
and sometimes more. in adapting our new
Ideas The American mac hines placed on
the market contemporaneOuSly with the
foreign copy is likely to contain improve
ments over the machine copied from one of
AVID
to have some touch of superiority in detail
or workmanship.
American harvesting machines are the
finest in the world-the Nghtest, the strong
est and the best adapted for the work for
which they are intended. For these rea-
sons in many foreign lands they are now
no longer a strange or even 4 novel sight,
and they are used wherever grain grows.
x
Not the least important Of the many
valuable uses to which aluminium Is now
being put is the manufacture of a variety
of culinary and household utensils like
water kettles, tea and coffee pots sauce
pans. grill irons and wash boilers" said a
wholesale dealer in the metal to q writer
for The Star recently. For the making of
all such articles aluminium is an ideal ma
terial. Besides being very light and hence
far less cumbersome than any other me- tai
Of equal strength and Durability now used
in cookery. aluminium is practically incor-
robbie. Then, too. it is claimed by chem
lists that no food now known 10 man can
aLeCJ TINS metal in the slightest degree.
II IS wholly free from every form of poi
son and it will not faint food. These are
GudHtieS that are possessed by net her iron.
copper, tin nor lead. Furt hermore it is a
better conductor of heat than either Of the
other metals and is much CHEAPER than
most of them
The inuucuous nature Of the metal has
also been found very useful in surgery. It
mas recently been substituted for silver a :
the material Of which tubes are made TO
be inserted in the windpipts OF patients on
WhOm the operation Of trachcOtoIny IS per
formed For dental plates also aluminium
Is particularly well adapted"
x \ X
A remarkable feature in connection with
the construction of steam vessels on the
clyde. observed prominent Scotch ship
builder TO a reporter for The Star recently.
mas been during the past two years the al
most total disuse of the single screw and the
paddle wheel as means of propulsion for
small OF large vessels intended for ocean.
harbor and river navigation. For high
speed the single screw and the paddle have
given way almost coSnpletely to the twin
screw. The diffculty hitherto has been the
draught of water available the paddle re-
quiring less water in which to work than
the screw propeller. which must be COM
pieteiy Immersed. But when It is rernefn-
bered that in action the screw propeller IS
similar 20 wheel revolving il will be I'M
dersiood that by increasing the revolutions
II mas been FOUND possible to reduce the
diameter and still get the same speed 4
feW years ago ninety revolutions was high;
now 80 are exceeded in some vessels and
over 100 have been reached in torpedo
craft.
Another circumstance which makes the
screw preferable is that IL has as a rule
only half the slip of the side paddles. Slip
IS used in the same sense as IN the case Of
a locomotive wheel The Sip Of a twenty
knot paddle steam vessel is - to ST pc,
cent the forward motion. against Is to T.
per cent in a twin screw steamer Again
the proportion Of weight Of machinery Il
the total weight Of the vessel is less in q
screw steamer, since more has been done Il
tighten Jhe parts than with The paddle en-
gine- In the latter II. !. II. p has been
got per TON weight, in the former II l. H.
r per ton In a paddle steamer ~ PEI
cent Of the total weight goes in engines:
In screw Steame.. where more prov isiDn
Is made for carR" or Passenger accOmmcda-
ton. only II pr cent of the total is for
machinery"
"One Of the latest uses TO which paner
has been put is in the making of paper bot
ties said a wholesale d aler in paper
made novelties in New York TO a writer
for The Star recently. Such bottles are
intended particularly for use on ocean
81, an -TipS. on which in rough weather,
much damage has hitherto been done to
glass bottles containing expensive wines
and liquors. despite the precautions taken
against breakase in the store rooms The
new bottles are German invention. and
ar manufactured Of a composition which.
with the solution in which they are made
water tight, Is the inventors secret After
-
per bottles are slowly dried in gas stoves.
and this process Of drying must be watch
ed carefully. for otherwise the bottles
would remain porous ard allow the fluids
% leak out. The great advantage claimed
Tor these bottles is that they can be han
died roughly without the least apprcheD-
sion. for neither the pitching nor the rolling
OF a great steamerdurtng rough weather nor
the hrca king down ~ a fr11rL 1,-,nr, rrl,i.h