The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1903-11-26
! sSclIEiCEIT5l,giAuNcs
~|' y

I VVLbtVL&4 kgUxReNlWNV
~I' aN
Sir w. Ramsay and Professor Soddy
have found distinct evidence Of the
presence of helium in the spectra OF
gases emanating from radium bromide.
Present observations, therefore indt-
cate TINT radium shines largely by
the light of the rare gas helium which
1t evolves.
A public analyst Of London reports
the finding OF a notable quantity of
arsenic in a sample Of candy sent him
from the Isle of Wight. The poison
occurred in small, apparently choco-
late colored, sugar cubes. As mat
ter of fact, however, the dark brown
coating wds not due to chocolate, but
to oxide Of iron, which almost in
variably contains traces Of arsenic. Mr..
Hehner, the analyst, also refers to
finding the same dangerous coloring
substance in such food substances as
bloater paste, anchovy sauce, and
chocolate powders.
An English paper says that the Brit
lsh Consul General at Co0urg states
that a simple process has just been
Invented for manufacturing petroleum
briquettes, very similar in appearance
to those made from coal. A mixture Of
100 grammes Of soft soap, 100 grammes
of resin, and 800 grammes Of soda lyc
are added to one litre Of petroleum
and the whole heated and well shaken.
The briquettes can be used within an
hour or two of being manufactured.
BY the addition Of sawdust and sand
the brlquettes will be more solid and
at the same time cheaper. From eS-
periments said to have been conducted
on tugs the inventor claims it to have
been clearly shown that these
briquettes give out three times as much
heat as ordinary coal.
Mr.. Edgar r. Waite, OF the Austral-
ian Museum at sydney in support Of
Mr.. Henschels account (recently given
In this column of the duet which his
bullhnch and canary used to sing, cites
a somewhat similar feat performed by
two magnies. The first one had been
taught a simple little song, which he
piped very often and accurately, even
maintaining 1t exactly in #, the key
in which it was first given to him.
A second maybe was purchased, and
this bird soon learned the tune from
the other one. When the first bird
commenced its song the newcomer inn
mediately came to attention, and with
half-open beak awaited a certain note,
at which point the other bird stopped,
and the song was finished by the Sec
ond singer. No matter how far sep
arated, If the birds were within hear
ing distance OF one another, the duet
was always sung in this way.
The most reliable method to deter
mine the steam consumption Of an en-
CINE is to make an evaporation test;
that is, to measure the water fed to
the boiler in given time and delivered
to the engine in the form Of steam.
This method, however, entails consid-
cradle trouble and expense. So epgi-
neers often figure out the water con-
sumption from indicator diagrams. The
terms water consumption and steam
consumption are here used indiscrim-
inately, for a pound OF water will
produce pound Of steam at any pres
sure. Figuring that way can never
be wholly accurate. because the data
requisite to insure results are not thus
procurable, states the Mining and Sci
entinc Press. That is, the amount of
water accounted for by the indicator
is always less considerably than 1t
ought to be, because Of cylinder con-
densation, valve and piston Leakage, to
the extent that 1t might be that only
fifty per cent, or at best not more
than ninety per cent, Of the water
passing through the cylinder would be
accounted for by the indicator. But
IL the cylinder were properly steam
jacketed, or IL superheated steam were
used, and there was no leakage of
steam from valves and pistons, the
water consumption could be closely
calculated from an indicator diagram.