The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-03-19
Correspondence Baltimore County linton.
SCIENTIFIC MIS- CELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
A Millionaire's Opportunity--A New
Source Of Fuel-A Weather Prediction;
"A Scientific Study OF Character Signs
Sand as a Building Observation-Disclosures
Spark Designing-Colors Of Autumn
Leaves.
A magnificent experiment awaits only an
appropriation from some capitalists wealth.
Sir Oliver Lodge mentions that twenty years
ago he proved that fog could be dissipated cleo
trcally, and in a dense fog he cleared a space Of
so to 90 yards radius by means of the discharges
from a Wimshurst machine. Only lack Of
means prevented an attempt to give London
clear atmosphere. Recent advances make pos
sible the desired kind of dynamo for a continu-
Gus current, and 1t is believed that an Excess
sive amount of machinery would not be neces-
sary, for the fogs occur in a still atmosphere
and are seldom Of considerable height. Sir OH
yer suggests also that rain might be electrically
produced, as in India, where the dark monsoon
clouds pass over without discharging.
~
Bitumjnous shale is estimated to cover $1,000
square miles in the United States to an average
depth of 30 feet. The newly patented process
of Otto Oppelt, Kentucky chemist, is expected
to produce from this waste material good
quality of gas and oil, and to supply these for
industrial purposes at a cost much lower than
that of the gas now used. The process will
yield also valuable by-products, including sili-
cate and sulphate of alumina, ammonia, suphate
of iron. parafline aud phosphoric acid.
A"s
A long weather cycle of about IS years seems
to appear in the British Isles. From records of
90 years, Mr.. Douglas Archibald concludes that
dry period has just passed and that the years
1908 to about 1920 will show moro than average
rainfall and low barometer. and two bushels
per acre deficiency in wheat yield.
80
London produces ten lunatics per day; New
York nearly as many, with greater proportion
ate increase.
While character may be often read from physi-
cal peculiarities. Mr. Karl Pearson, F. R. g..
points out that the value of the indications can
be estimated only from careful statistics. Tabu-
lated observations upon large numbers of school
children have given interesting results. The
color of the eyes seems to have some relation
to conscientiousness, II per cent. of boys with
light eyes being keenly conscientious, while the
percentage was only 81 in boys with dark eyes.
Curliness or smoothness of the hair has slight
significance, If any. The color of the hair is
being keenly conscientious. but only go per
cent. of the dark haired and So per cent. of the
black haired, The very dark-haired show twice
as many individuals of sullen temper as the
red haired. although the red-haired are much
more quick-tempered. The dark-eyed are
rather healthier than the light, but the latter
show rather higher intelligence. OF shy and
quiet people, 70 per cent are keenly conscien-
-.s~as- while the percentage in the self assertive
Is out 30. lad handwriting often attends great
nealtns go0Q t1nRvss s.S..ass A..- sa-
ness.
Houses of sand, as substantial as granite, are
offered by the new process of Mr.. L. p Ford, of
Gresford, Eng. A mixture of sand and quick
lime in suitable proportions is forced into very
stong steel mould, which is placed In boz, from
which the air is then pumped, when hot water
is admitted. The heat and pressure of the
Stacking lime and steam mold the materials into
q rock having 60 per cent. of the strength OF
granite. This building stone, ready for use in
eight hours is very durable, and its cost is low,
bricks by this process costing little more than
half as much as the ordinary.
-
Statements of the length of thread in a silk
worms cocoon have varied from few hun
dred yards up to eleven miles. Measuring four
specimens, Mr.. L. o. Howard has found the
lengths to range from $50 to LILO yards.
AFA
Some remarkable photographs of Prof. Ste
phan Leduc, of Nantes, represent kind of cleo
trio stencilng upon the dry plates. A symmet-
rical design cut from cardboard is laid upon the
plate, which is then sprinkled with an insulating
powder. such as starch, sulphur, or powdered
oxide or metallic salt, when the cardboard is re-
moved The non-sensitive surface of the plate
is placed on a metallic leaf connected to one
pole of an induction coil or electric machine,
while point in the center of the design is con-
nected to the other pole. A single discharge is
produced, the plate is freed from powder, and
the picture is developed in the usual way. The
result is always unforeseen. 1t may be varied
not only by different designs, but by distribu-
ting over the sensitive surface various bits OF
different metals and by using different powders
variously distributed. The beauty and diversity
of the designs pictured give great fascination to
the experiments.
"a
The changes of color of leaves in autumn are
found by DIR. Keegan. an English investigator.
to depend on the mineral matters, especially the
silica and lime. Leaves that become red are
those containing less than 10 per cent. of silica,
while those that become yellow or brown have
more than 10 per cent. The mineral matters
seem to flow to the dying leaf. in quantity pro-
portionate to the decay of its vitality, and the
American climate sustains the vitality of the
leaf to a degree not possible in England, where
Indian summer is rare.
-.
A recent study of the so-called rain-tree of
the tropics shows that it closes its leaves at sun
set, permitting dew to form on the ground be-
meath. at sunrise the leaves again expand, pre-
venting excessive evaporation, and in the shade
of the tree grass grows much more rapidly than
in the open.
Small herds of blesbok, bontebok, reedbuck
and zebra in South. Africa have survived the
Boer war, although previously nearly extinct.