The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-05-17
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Germans Telephone-An Every Day
Misunderstanding a New Engine-An-
other Electric Furnace Metal--Life
Needs Spice-A Trail of Dust-A Nov
ell Theory-A Moths Knife.
The loud-talking telephone, easily heard in
any part of largo room and by large audiences,
seems to have received special attention from
French inventors. In the apparatus Of M. p.
German, lately adopted by the State to some
extent, the transmitter contains delicate MEM
branes of silicate of potash and magnesium,
which are extremely sensitive to sound vibra-
tions. The ordinary induction coil completes
the microphone. The receiver may be length
ened by trumpet yard long, and throws the
souno 10 OF 10 yaros AZ normal zone, even out OF
musical sounds being more intense than spoken
words. A short distance form of this telephone
is intended to connect the departments of fac
tories and other large establishments, and has
important advantages for noisy places. COM
bination of loud-talking telephone and phono-
graph offers interesting possibilities.
In striking experiment illustrating a late
Royal Institu ton lecture by Prof. 8. 7. Thomp-
son, an iron ring cut in half was linked-with-
out touching-with coil of copper wire around
which an electric current was passed. The in
duced magnetism in the iron ring was so strong
that the two halves could not be pulled apart.
"This is one of the familiar commonplace OF
science" said the lecturer, but say 1t is an
absolute miracle. There has been nothing like
it since the walls of Jericho fell down, but be-
cause 1t is so common we think nothing OF It,"
Dwarf plants are reported by German chem
Of the japanese e Secret fluid is injected near
the root. the effect being to stop growth, al
though the appearance of the plant continues
unchanged and flowers are produced as usual.
on the dangerous Cornish coast, states Sir
William Preece, the compass has varied whole
da0ree In ten years.
An organized effort to conquer the greatest
problem OF the age is urged by Prof. John Perry.
The worlds present comfort depends upon coal.
per cent. Of their fuel while the store of coal is
vanishing at such a rate that in another hum
dred years the English hamlets of contented
working folk that have become cities of lux
urious people will decay again into hamlets, in
ha6ited by g discontented poverty stricken
ing 900 times its national debt every year. The
yoltaic cell wastes less than 10 per cent. of its
seem to lead to a conversion OF the energy of
coal into mechanical work through electricity
with like small loss but the efforts of scientific
men are discouraged by the difficulties and the
small prospect of personal reward. The inves-
feel sure" Prof Perry concludes, that if one
or two chiefs like Lord Kelvin or Lord Rayleigh
were entrusted with the expenditure Of mil
power to impress the services of all scientific
workers likely to be of USE they would
bring the invention within the reach Of the or
binary engineer.
-
Tantalum has been known hitherto as more
or less pure powder, with density of about
1880 By heating ten minutes in very power
full electric arc, NJ Henri Moissan has succeeded
In reducing tantalic acid with powdered carbon,
and has obtained the metal in a fused state. 1t
has brilliant metallic appearance and density
an ysy Ss nns glass
fusible in the oxyhydrogen blowpipe. Certain
reactions class it with the metallofds rather than
with the metals proper.
Sanitarians are recognizing the need of re-
Heving the dullness of peoples lives. The lack
OF variety Is productive of much evil, and T.
n. Fitzgerald, in an address to the Australian
Association, lately declared that the bicycle has
done more than lectures to elevate people in
the matter OF temperance.
The great dust storm of March. 1901, has been
the subject of an elaborate report by He'll
mann and Meinardus. of Berlin. Dust fell in
southern Algeria on March 9Th to the 10th ; in
Italy and Sicily on the 10th; over the eastern
Alps on the night of the 10th and 18th /; in Cen
tral Germany on the forenoon of the 18th; in
northwestern Germany, on the afternoon and
evening of the 18th and in southern Denmark
on the night of the 18th and 18th. The storm
therefore passed through % degrees of latitude.
The microscope shows the material to be desert
sand, which must have come from southern Al
geria. and seems to have been carried by an
upper current that was travelling northward at
the time at the rate of about As miles an hour.
Lightning rods with rusted connections have
been found by X. r. Koch to act effectively
during thunderstorm In explanation he Of
fers the new theory that lightning discharge
has an oscillating character, electromagnetic
waves being produced, which act upon the i'm
perfect connections as upon coherer, restoring
conductivity for certain time. He is testing
the theory wiFh rapidly revolving camera, the
flashes thus far pictured, however having been
too distant to give certain proof.
A curious knife of Australian silk-producing
moths of the genus Antheraea has been describ-
ed by Mr.. = B. Dodd. 1t is short, hard black
and curved horn, situated in the thick joints at
the base of the fore wings one on each side, and
scales.
For bad cases of smallpox M. Pietri, a surgeon
of Nice, recommends five or six tablespoonfuls
of beer yeast daily. 1t has proven effective in
curing without disagreement.
Eastern Ireland averages 20S rainy days in the
year; England, about $50; Kazan, Russia, about
80; and Siberia, only Gu.
Property TransfersinB Baltimore County.
Deeds, Leases, Mortgages, Bills of Sale, etc.,
received for record in the Office of the Clerk Of
the Circuit Court for Baltimore county:
DEEDS.
William White and wife to G.. s. Everhart.
Rosina Schmeiser to otto Ratsch and wife. :.
Frank O'Neil and wife to Walter GOebel and
wife.
Nicholas Gross and wife to George Otto
w. q: Smith and j: j. Lindsay, trustees, to T..
Lilo