The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-03-14
SoIgNTIFIC MISCELLANY.
The LowoH Dry Land-,Skin Erup0o,

rom observation-disclosures Not !
Glass -Eater-Britain's New Cola |
Nine - Earthquake Somds-SeB-
Stopped TrainS--A New Propeller
Blade-1he Nec System in Typhoid |
Cloth VenNlating Pipes.
a spray of heavy oil added to the ,
fuel of blast furnaces has been found
in France TO facilitate reduction of ore !
and increase the yield.
The Eucomiu ulmoides, in which
Professor Dybowsky has found 2S per
cent. of gutta percha, is abundant in
some of the British colonies, but has
been hitherto regarded as worthless
plant.
The divining rod, as a means of find
ing underground water, Is being made
subject of scientific investigation by
French commission, who seek infor-
nation from everybody having 1T.
The results are expected to prove moro
interesting than important.
A new treatment of arc light carbons,
patented by j. Il. Robinson, is claimed
TO increase the durability, improve the
light, and lessen the consumption of
energy. The carbon pencils are soak
ed two to four days IN q solution of
caustic soda or potash containing pow
dercd talcous asbestos.
The well known powerful action of
iiuorine upon glass is shown by NJ.
Moissan to depend upon the presence
OF hydroiiuOriC acid and moisture as
impurities. Perfectly clean, dry glass
is unattached after weeks of contact
with pure tluorinc, but the merest trace
of organic matter on the glass leads to
the formation of hydrofuori: acid and
corrOsiOn.
Air pipes of strong sail-cloth
imprcgnated with rubber, are made by
Dusseldorf firm for use in mines.
They are air and water tight, and pos
scss numerous advantages over pipes
of wood or zinc, being cheaper and
lighter, easily put up and made fast,
and readily removed out of danger
from blasts and replaced. Steel rings
are inserted at intervals to keep the
piping from kinking around sharp
curves.
In the Laffas system of automatlcal-
ly stopping railway trains, to prevent
accidents, block in the middle OF
the track is set by the signal
man. This block has curved surface
which, when the signal is standing at
danger, is so raised that rod with q
little wheel makes contact and actuates
the valve of the air brake placed either
on the engine or on one of the cars
In recent English test, train of an
engine and nine cars, with q tota
weight of 1G0 tons, was run on slight
downward incline. On touching the
block at speed of 20 miles an hour
the train stopped il 14G yards, at &c
miles in 200 yards and at 35 miles in
21O yards.
Anti-typhoid NEGOTIATIONS made by
l'rof. A. E. Wright among British
troops in India seem TO have given
very promising results. The tota
, number Of men under observation was
IL ,295, of whom 2,S35 had been inocu
lated and S,460 had not, and the inocu
lated were mostly newly arrived young
men, especially liable to typhoid fc> er
while the uninoculated were mainl,
more seasoned and less susceptible
,, , individuals. Yet the percentage of the
uninoculatcd attacked by typhoid fever
: was 2.5 and among the inoculated i
was O.95. The deaths were less af
fectcd, having been O.34 per cent
among the uninoculatcd and OF among
the inoculated.
a curious case of nettlc-rash due tt
, eye-strain has been recorded by DR.. G.
, A. Oliver, a Pennsylvania physician
The patient was an active, health,
3 woman OF AZ, who up to her forty-f frs
year had suffered from an unaccounta
= bic eruption, which disappeared when
she was fitted with pair of lenses fol
, constant use to correct defects of hel
vision. -Four years later return OF
the eye trouble, with the eruption, led
| her to seek new glasses. This time
there was an elaborate correction oi
, eye defects, and the skin disturbance
vanish ed. Further experiments proved
a true relationship between the general
, vasomotor disturbance and the refract
i've and muscular anomalies.
One OF the most remarkable hollows
in the earth Is the Lukchun depression
discovered short time ago in Central
Asia. Results of meteorological obser.
vations in the place for two years have
just been made known in Russia by
General Tillo, and from his barometric
comparisons it appears that the lowest
spot in the region must be about 4OO
feet below sea-level. The metcoroloyi.
cal conditions are of unusual interest.
The barometer has greater yearly
range than in any other spot known,
the monthly averages for January be-
ing 1.2 inches greater than those for
July, and the highest July temperature
Q1S degrees f. is one of the highest
observed in Asia. The dryncss of the
air equals that of the Sahara.
The shape of propeller blades is a
shipbuilding detail that seems TO be
not yet fully worked out. On the
theory that some projection on the
blades should give better grip of the
water, f. S. Snowdon and w. j. Orr
have fitted two battens on each blade,
and in small craft tested in New Zea.
land waters the effect of The change
has been to give an increase of over
ten per cent. in speed. The same
propeller was used, while the load and
the number Of revolutions of the engine
were the same as before the addition
of the battens. Two channels are
formed by the battens, which are