The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-16
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


local water mains are in use in offices en-
the Rock Island road.
AS is well known. gylcerin is a by-pro-
duct of soap and candle factories, and
sometaIng like 1000 tons of this commo-
dity are made yearly. The South African
war has resulted in an increased demand
for glycerin.
"A French newspaper announces a
new eccentricity of American ladies'" 1t
seems. according to this authority, that
in this country japanese mice are sup
planting dogs as ladies' pets. One mouse
costs 800. The French newspaper init
mates that in the near future an exhibit
ton of these pets is to be held, ito follow
the exhibition of cats
Our consular agent at Efbenstock. Ger
many, Mr.. Harris, states that in 1880 2,000,-
900 tons of logs were imported into Ger
many. In 1898 2, 10000 tons were import
ed, or an increase of 80 per cent During
this same period sawed lumber increased
from 1,2JO,OO00 tons TO 100000 tons, or an
increase of about 100 per cent. Sawmill
owners of the German Empire are begin
ming to agitate in favor of a higher tariff
on sawed lumber.
"A company has recently been organ
lied in Milwaukee, Wis, to construct one
mile of road to test a new electric system
of elevated railroad. The inventor claims
that under ordinary conditions a speed of
sixty miles an hour can be attained, and
with perfect management an even higher
rate. 1t is a single rail system, and the
chief objection TO it at present is that the
cars will be so narrow that they cannot
accommodate passengers enough to pay
on short runs.
Genealogical explorations in Algeria
are tagging, owing to lack of funds. Only
about $4,000 a year is available for the
work at Timgad. The government has as
signed 100000 10 pay for researches in
Delphi and all the objects found become
the property of the Greek government,
so it is little wonder that Frenchmen are
dissatisfied at the favor shown TO Greece.
There are still over 100 acres to be eX-
cavated at Timgad and the work can be
carried on but slowly.
In Springfield, Mass, there is pending
an ordinance which provides that the
emission into the open air of dark smoke
or dense gray smoke for more than two
minutes continuously, or the emission of
such smoke during twelve per centum of
any continuous period of twelve hours,
shall constitute a nuisance" A fine of not
less than $40 or more than 500 for each
violation is to be collected; but no viola
WI VI TIC plOpOSSd i4CeloulC 10 ~ bO AAiAON
twice in any one week.
"A portable searchlight is being made
which has all the essential features of
the large projectors. The arc is in the
focus of a Mangin mirror having a diam
eter of seven inches. The lamp is so ar
ranged that it can easily be brought in or
out of focus, so that the beam may be
concentrated or diffused as desired. The
total weight of the lamp is fifteen pounds
in aluminium or twenty pounds in brass.
With ten amperes of current it is said to
be effective at a distance of half a mile.
Artificial sponges are being made in
Germany by DIR. Gustav Pun of Graz.
His experiments are based upon the action
of zinc chloride solution upon pure eel
lulose, says the Trade Journals Review.
The resultant product swells enormously
with water, but turns to a hornlike sub
stance on drying In order to retain for
the product the property for also absorb
ing water after drying, alkali-haloids are
employed in treating the cellulcse with the
zinc chloride The mass after manipula-
ton and molding is said to take the place
of sponge in adj its uses. 1t is claimed
that a real rubber substitute may come
from this field.
India rubber nails for use in places
where ordinary nails are liable to corro-
sion are a German novelty. 1t is said that
they may be driven into soft woods in
sizes up to one inch long, without boring
a hole for their reception. In larger sizes
it is necessary to bore holes to start them,
and for the largest sizes holes for their
entire length. They are said to be use
full i'm chemical factories, dye houses,
breweries etc, and they are also used in
building accumulator cells and other cleo
trical apparatus 1t is said that they
oil fair well They ba
about explosives where a spark from a
nail head when struck by a hammer
might prove fatal
Heretofore the geological history of the
earth has been studied only in the record
of stratified rocks and their contained fos-
sis, says the Popular Science Monthly
But in every place there have been land
periods in which, of course, erosion took
the place Of sedimentation. This kind of
record is very imperfect, because there
are no fossils. Until recently no account
was taken of these erosion-periods except
as breaks of indefinite length in the rec
ord-as lost intervals. But now, and
mainly through the work of American
biologists, interpreted ton of these erosion
periods has fairly commenced, and so i'm
portant has this new departure in the
study of geology seemed to some that
ii has been hailed as a new era in geol-
Ogy, connecting it more close
ly with geography. Heretofore former
| land periods We're recognized by uncon-
formities and the amount of time by the
degree of change in the fossils, but now
the amount of time is estimated in exist
ing land surfaces by topographic forms
alone This idea was introduced into geol-
ogy by Maj. j. w. Powell, and has been
applied with success by William Morris
Davis, w. j. McGee,- and others.
These interesting details concerning
the relative merits of steel wire and cut
nails are given in the American Manu-
facturer: Steel cut nails can be prepared
to equal the iron cut in corrosion resisting
quality at an additional cost of five cents
or less a hundred pounds. A similar
treatment of wire nails would not have
an equally beneficial effect owing to the
trace of acid remaining after deoxidiza-
ton. This together with the carbon con-
dition in the wire promotes the tendency
TO corroson. Government and private
tests have proved that the adhesion or