The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-27
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

and Galicia
Nearly all the rope used by the Unite1
States navy is manufactured in the gov
eminent ropewalk at the Charlestown
Navy Yard. The plant has just been thor
oughly overhauled, and electrical motive
power has been installed there. At the
time of the outbreak of the Spanish war
the government ropewalk had been allowed
TO deteriorate, and the Navy Department
was obliged 20 buy large quantities of sup
plies outside; but the improve ments made
since then, at a cost of over 100000, have
so increased the capacity of the plant that
it is now one of the largest in the world.
"A patent has been granted to Ludwig
Schieeke of Magdeburg. Germany, for
new process of hardening steel The piece
of steel to be treated is first coated with
a protecting mass that is able to resist the
heat of the fire in which the steel is plac-
ed and cyanide of potassium is strewn
| upon the coating, after which the whole
is placed in the fire. The piece thus
| treated is then quenched. The coating Is
applied with the object of making the &C
ton of the cyanide as uniform as possible
| and 1t consists of chalk, clay, or similar
material bound together by varnish.
! through this porous coating the cyanide
| passes and exerts its effect uniformly on
| the surface of the steel. A development
| OF the PROCESS COllSISlS III SliSN MS a ma
ture of cyanide and salt upon the coating
while the steel is being heated.
An int esting branch of chemistry is
chat which is concerned with the manu-
facture of p rfumes In most cases these
substances are high-boiling oils, which
ara complex mixtures CT a number of com
| pounds and until quite recently they
| were obtained exclusively from flowers.
The essent al principles which give the
| perfumes their value belong to a class of
organic compounds known as terpenes'
and it is now possible to produce these
essential principles instead of mere imita-
| lions. Within ten years wonderful pro-
| gress has been made in experiments deal
ing with the terpenes by such chemists
| as Walach, Baeyer, and Tieman and 1t
is now known that nearly every substance
| having the properties of a perfume has IN
its molecule certain atomic groups, whose
presence has a marked effect upon the
odor. The more important of these groups
are the adehyde, ketone, ester, ether,and
alcohol groups.
-Roentgen ray apparatus for sew
eral years has been considered
necessary adjunct to modern
surgery and medicine, and the
sphere of its application is being constant
ly widened. For the diagnosis of diseases
of the chest its use is considered one of
the most promising developments of the
future and is now attracting the attention
of medical men. According to DR.. Lewis
Jones of st. Bartholomew Hospital Lon
don, who recently presented a paper on
Medical Electricity before the Institu-
ton of Electrical Engineers of Great Bril-
TAM il is possible to diagnose pulmonary
consumption and some other diseases of
the chest more satisfactorily, and at an
earlier stage of the disease, by means of
I III wxrtf ktNr 10th n
scope. In one case mentioned by DR.. Jones
an x-ray photograph showed clearly the
presenct of tuberles in the lung, where the
| ordinary methods of auscultation and per-
cussion had given uncertain results.
An improved method by which water
gas can be obtained under more economical
conditions has recently been devised by
Herr Carlo Dellwik Water gas, as is well
known, is composed of two nearly equal
parts of carbonid oxide and hydrogen, and
Is much used for illuminating purposes.
Here Dellwik's new method for its produc-
ton divides the operation into two periods:
~ where the hot air is blown under the
crate of the gas producer in order to raise
the charge of coke to a high temperature,
and (2) where the steam which is to be
decomposed is introduced into the gas pro-
Queer. During the first perior the appli-
ance works like a Siemens gas-producer,
|
bonic oxide and nitrogen compound which
is subsequently utilized for heating the
air and producing the necessary steam.
By the use Of this new method, which was
recently tested at Warsten, Westphalia,
more than double the usual quantity of
! gas from given amount of coal was OBJ
| tanned.
,, Considerable interest attaches to the
recent discoveries during the excavations
which are at present proceeding at the
Santa Sanctorum in Rome, says the New
/ World There are five vaults under the
Santa Sanctorum which have for ages
, been filled up with debris of all kinds.
This has been cleared away now to con-
siderable extent, but during the operation
several most valuable and priceless dis
coveries have been made Portions of COL
umns Of magnificent mosaic and marble,
an urn and pictures supposed to date back
T to the ninth century, all relating to sacred
subjects, are among the discoveries. The
excavations are being carried on almost
without intermssion, and as I write one
is attracting much attention. The work
men are engaged in breaking through sew
a eral walls of great antiquity and have
, r ached one which points 10 hollow space
inside, which presumably may contain
some especially valuable deposit. Some
learned persons are of the opinion that
this nay be the spot where Pope Leo III
I secrsted a number of most valuable reliq-
l uaries containing most precious relics.
; These deposits are alluded to 50 far back
, as A. d. ITO, and If they should now be
, brought 70 light 1t would be an astonish-
. ing discovery.
The cable dispatches from London tell
of a hoax that has recently been played
' upon the trustees of the British Museum.
= who include Lord Salisbury, Lord Rose
. berry and other eminent persons, says w.
, e. Curtis in the Chicago Record. Francis
Douce, famous antiquary who died in
1884, bequeathed to the museum a sealed
box with Instructions that II should not
be opened until the year 1900. Therefore at
-, the annual meeting Of the trustees on the
a first of May they were able to crafty their
! curiosity and to their amazement after
breaking the SEAL they found The box filled
with rubbish, upon the top of which was
a sarcastic letter from Francis Douce say
ing that If he had any valuable OF in.