Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-05-18

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| According to a German patent the
toughness and durability of aluminium
can be much increased by the addi-
ton of phosphorus. The addition Of
seven to fifteen per cent. makes thF
metal extremely hard and tough, and
we'll adapted for forsih5s. Three per
cent. produces good horseshoe metal.
and with a two per cent. addition 1t
can be easily rolled.
A smoke stack which is said to be
both sparkless and smokeless has been
invented by Virginian. This feature
is secured by the introduction into the
interior Of the stack OF number of
tiny water-jets which are said to thor
oughly purify the smoke by throwing
down all particles The streams OF
water are said to give no interference
to the draft whatever.
Two coats of hot oil, carefully ap-
piled after thorough cleaning OF the
metal, are recommended by Cana
dian artisan as an improvement over
any process now in use for preventing
rust of structural iron and steel. The
oil would fill crevices, cracks and holes
where paint cannot enter. 1t would
cover rough places often imperfectly
coated in ordinary painting, and 1t
would be a fine preparation for subse-
quent painting or covering with cement
coating.
While much has been Said and writ
ten about the sprinkling of oil on roads,
principally as a means of preventing
dust the use of the oil in the same
way ON river levees in some parts OF
the United States is said to have been
found to be an excellent protection
against the borrowings of gophers and
ground squirrels, which threaten the
security of the barrier raised against
the encroachment of the food waters.
Crude oil IS so distasteful to these
that they shun the ground covered
with it.
1t Is reported from Germany that an,
eXperimenter there has found alumi-
mum an excellent substitute for n
milestone in giving q fine, keen edge
to blades. When examined with n
microscope, the edge Of knife that
was sharpened on the metal appeared
much straighter and smoother than
one sharpened on a stone. One peculiar
effect OF the honing is that the surface
Of the aluminium becomes coated with
i greasy substance with a great power
of adhesion to steel, and to this is at
tlibutod the fine edge produced.
The great increase In fhe utilization
of water power is one of the notable
signs of the times. Waterfalls are
now running factories, driving tram
cars, lighting cities, irrigating farms
and doing various other kinds Of SET
vice, in many cases at a distance OK
miles from the fall itself. Italy is
conspicuous for the progress 1t has
made in this way, the Alps and the
Apennines abounding in waterfalls.
Now it is proposed to make use Of the
Doogh Sagar River, IN India, to pro-
duce fifty thousand horsepower.
~ very VI tlt Nc
terioration of leather, produced under
conditions demanding quicker tanning
by the use of various chemicals, thus
decreasing the durability Of the ma
terial is afforded by the fact that the
British Museum eXpends $4,000 q
year in rebinding books In leather.
Modern leather is widely different
from the material produced by what
is now regarded as an effete process,
its life being limited to fifteen years.
In the search for cheaper and quicker
processes of making leather, large
quantities of sulphuric acid are used. 4
and this chemical, in combination wlthf
others, causes the material to decom.'
pose rapidly in the course Of few
years.