The Tucson citizen., 1901-12-17
SOME LOST SECRETS.
FAMOUS PROCESSES THAT WERE
KNOWN TO THE ANCiENTS.

Gus strides we have made In almost
every branch Of knowledge during the
last 200 or 300 years, 1t seems exceed
ingly strange that our forefathers
should have been able to do things
which we find impossible and that we
cannot discover secrets which were al
most common knowledge hundreds of
years ago. But despite the fact that
the average modern man knows more
than did the learned men Of long ago.
there are mysteries of knowledge and
science which our most advanced sci
entists cannot solve.
Thousands OF years ago. for instance.
the Egyptians used to embalm the
bodies OF their dead kings and nobility
no perfectly that the bodies are In won
derful preservation today, ~ may be
seen at the British museum. Clever an
We are In this age. we cannot do the
same. The valuable secret IL lost and
modern science cannot recover the lost
knowledge. We can. Of course. and we
% srnbalm bodies, hut only for tenn.
DOfary preservation ard. comparatively
speaking. In 3 most unsatlsfactery nan-
ner. Bodiea which ars enbalmtd now
adays Wi noE b preserved for more
than ! fsra days, # most Very mAny
Of the, ,bcdies the Egyptians enahalmsd
bsfsre, tAet birth ofs Christ ara sttll %
perfect that the linssi Of thairs faces are
still 10 eleafiy marked % when they
were aFet efAhalmed. s-a 5aSf
gheAdeid 'turns. out the finest, hardest
and most perfect steel the world pro-
dnee1, but even She6Heid cannot pro-
dncs,, q. sword, blade. 10 1comnare with
th0se the Haracens made and used hun
deeds OF years ago. and the Saracens
never possessed the machinery we
have or had the advantage OF knowing
90 much about metals az we are sup
posed to know. A huge fortune awaits
the man who discovers the secret
which enabled the Saracens to make
sword blades 30 keen and hard that
they could cut In two most Of the
swords used today.
There are dozen different methods
Of the stones produced by these meth
ods can compare with those made of
old French paste. the secret OF which
is lost. So perfect were paste dia-
monds that 1t was difficult for even Il
person with expert knowledge OF dia-
monds to tell that they were artificial.
ly produced. whereas most OF the mod
zfAe M
detected, and their durability, is moth
ing like so great as the old paste dIa-
monds.
Probably not one out OF every ten
Thousand buildings standing In all
parts of the world. and built by mod
ern masons. will still be standing 500
years hence. We do not know how to
put stones and bricks together as the
ancients did. and consequently the
buildings we raise nowadays are really
mere temporary structures and will be
In ruins when the ancient buildings OF
Greece and Italy. which were built
thousands of years ago, are In 40 good
condition as they are now. The secret
is not In the bricks or the stone. but
In the cement and mortar. neither Of
which essentials can we make as the
made them.
In modern buildings the cement and
mortar are the weakest points: In
buildings which the Romans and
Greeks raised thousands of years ago
the cement and mortar are the stron-
gest points and hold good while the
very stones they bind together crumble |
away with age. We cannot. with all /
our science. make such cement and |
mortar. and therefore we cannot build |
such buildings as the ancients raised.
Chemistry one might imagine. ia the
scieuce which has, perhaps. made the |
greatest strides. Yet modern chem
ists cannot compound such dyes as
were commonly used when the great
nations of today were still unborn.
Now and again 1t happens that search
FRS after antiquities come across frag-
Inents OF fabrics which were dyed
thousands of years ago and they are
astonlshed by the wonderful richness
VI the colors of the cloths. which. de-
spite their age. ore brighter and purer
han anything we can produce.
Modern artists buy their colors ready
made and spend large sums on pig
nents with which TO color their can
fascs. The pictures Of modern artists
viii he coDorless when many OF the
sorks OF ancient masters are as bright
s they are today. Just as the secret Of
iyeing has been lost. so has the secret
II preserving the colors OF artists
'aints. Yet the secret was known TO
very ancient artist. for they all mixed
heir own coiors.
How to make durable ink is another
reat secret we have lost. Look at any
rtter five or ten years old and you will
notice that the writing has
nded to a brown color and Is very In
lstinct. Go to any big museum and
ou will find ancient MSS. the writing
1 which Is as black and distinct MS If
he MSS. were written the day before
csterday.
The secret OF glass blowing and tint
* Is not yet entirely lost There are
TIL few men who can produce glass
'ork equal to the things OF this kind
'hich the anclents turned out hun.
reds of wears npo Riif thu oyap, nn !