The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-05-13

Of Shooting 6tars-Tempering Copper
Tenuous Matter Oral Messages by
Mail.
Museums Of language will be of great impor
lance to the future historian. The idea was
suggested In Vienna six years ago. but has only
recently taken shape. although it has already
resulted in collection of 400 photograph rec
ords on durable metal. The purpose is to record
the languages of Europe and eventually of the
world, the music of the different countries, and
speeches of notable percentages. The collection
now embraces Slavic, Servian, Modern Greek,
Portuguese and Brazilian languages, with songs
and dialects of natives Of India, and of Arabians
and Bedouins. An expedition under DIR. Poech
has penetrated New Guinea, to reproduce the
speech of the Papuans.
e.
The value of evidence has been tested expert
mentally by Mile. Borst. Her subjects were
twelve males and twelve females, and within
period Of six weeks these were shown five scenes
from daily life, which they were afterward re-
quired to describe in writing. and about which
they we're then interrogated orally. State
ments under oath were required. The results
show that accurate evidence is rare that evil
dence improves by practice, that the evidence
of women is more faithful and complete than
that Of men, but that one-twelfth Of the sworn
statements are incorrect.
ss*
pike with benign bony tumor on one of it's
giil-covers is among the specimens that have
been submitted to the English Cancer Commits
sion. The growth was as large as good-sized
chestnut. and the fish was much emacated,
weighing less than pound, though 1SK inches
long.
An ape of the Dreslan Geological Gardens has
been successfully operated on for cataract, and
is the first of her kind to wear spectacles.
~
The MICROSCOPE of Cavalier Giuseppe Pine has
brought sensation of surprise that SO much of
the oceans secrets should be revealed with such
simple means. The apparatus is kind of tele-
scope for peering into the water. and consists Of
an extensible steel tube, with complex system
Of twelve lenses at the bottom. and an arrange
ment Of internal mirrors for rejecting the sub
marine views upward to an observing chamber
at the top. A very clear picture Of the sea bot
tom is produced. The water is better lighted up
than is generally supposed, and newspaper on
the sand at depth Of $50 feet has been read by
ordinary daylight. When the lenses are set in
ships bottom, a mine, rock or other object can
be seen in the water at distance of 60 to 90 feet
With the vestlcal floating tube and a special
hosting equipment a Spanish galleon sunk in
1702 was raised. though it afterward crumbled
away and was lost. and the old boilers have been
recovered.
With only 20 foggy days in 1903 Londoners are
flattering themselves that their atmosphere is
improving. Looking at the records for the last
80 years. F. J. Brodie finds an annual average Of
IS days of fog, 45 being in winter and only 10 in
summer. The greatest number was So in 1885,
and the least was 10 in 1900. Dividing the 80
years into three equal periods, the first II years
show an average of IS fog days. the second of 90.
the third Of only II.
The heights of many meteors have been meas
ured by W. F. Denning, the English astronomer.
It appears that the swift meteors become visible
at an average height of "a miles and disappear at
SO miles and fade away at IS miles. OF the very
slow meteors those that become visible at the
greatest heights come 20 miles nearer the earth
than those of very low radiant.
-
In q piece of the Canon Diablo meteoric iron
Henri Moissan has found not only diamonds and
other forms Of carbon but has obtained crystals
of silicon carbide. This is the first time the last
named substance has been met with in nature.
~
A German process Is claimed to give remarka-
BILE hardness to copper and its alloys without af-
fecting the ductility. charcoal fire at the
temperature of melting tin is preferable for
use and on this the object is heated for a suita-
BILE time-perhaps three minutes. The metal
and the surrounding blocks of charcoal are
sprinkled with powdered sulphur until covered,
the sulphur vapor being thus brought into d.
rect contact with the metal. On being taken
from the fire. the metal is plunged still hotinto
solution of copper sulphate, and is allowed to
remain short time. 1t is finally reheated, and
cooled without cooling mixture.
-.
The ether of space. If the new theory of Prof.
Mendeleef be true. is matter resembling argon
and helium in having no power Of chemical COM
bination, and it must be remarkable for ex-
tremely low density and great rapidity of male
cular motion. In order,that the ether may escape
from the sphere attraction of stars fifty times
as great as the mass of the sun. it must have an
atomic weight not more than .OOO,OOO 600 O53
This extreme lightness explains why it is not
likely to be isolated, and why it penetrates all
substances.
The new idea of postal photograph is ex-
pected to create small revolution. AS devel-
oped at Vienna, penny in the-slot machine is
to supply thin gramophone disc, made into
record of the senders message as spoken by him
into the machine, and this record is mailed as a
postal card. Being of tough material it sustains
no injury. A small photograph, to cost but a
few shillings, is to be manufactured to enable
the receiver to reproduce the message of the
disc.
A+s
A new peat fuel is known as "Osmond." The
moisture of the peat is driven out electrically
and the residue is ground to powder and made
into balls and briquettes. The fuel has no smell,
40, ar,nn and de a crroaf hoot