The National tribune., 1906-04-05
SCIENCE AND INVENTION.
Work of the Worlds Busy Brains in Discovering Invenng and
Creating.

! r. NJ. Wright, President of the Kan
sas Historical Society, says that the
Inirages, which formerly were so much
q part of Kansas scenery. have now
disappeared, and that the plow is re-
spensible. The country is now fairly
well under cultivation. and the sun
beats less fiereeIy on the lower strata
of air, so that the tendency to form the
rnirages is prevented. 1t is believed
that the sudden heating of the lower
strata of air makes an unequal retrac-
tion, which causes the mirage. a mi
rage never appeared except when the
sun had been unusually warm. With
the plow the soil was stirred, the moist
ure brought to the surface and the
Temperature of the lower strata did
not rise so suddenly. Many a man mas
lost his life on the Kansas prairies by
being drawn off the trail in search OF
lakes and water courses which ap-
peared in mirages. stranger going
out of town would be told that the
next town was so miles distant and he
could expect to reach it in two or three
days. but would be lured away by the
vision of a beautiful lake on the right
or left of the trail and his bones picked
by the coyotes.
Prof P. de Wilde, of the University
of Brussels. is the latest adventurer
into the field of sea gold. He is firmly
of opinion that he can extract gold at
q price so low as to make the opera
ton profitable. His method Is to treat
q ton of sea water with concentrated
solution OF tin chlorid, which forms
purple of Cassius.' This is precipi-
tated by magnesium hydrate, and the
gold then obtained by the ordinary
methods. He finds that there is a very
great difference in the amount of gold
in sea water of various localities. with
none at all in the water OF the North
Sea. He thinks that organic matter
precipitates the gold there. He be-
lieves that nothing can be easier or
more profitable than the extraction of
the precious metal from any water in
which there is as much as 80 milli
grams of gold to the ton.
The Indiana State Laboratory has
made 1,400 analyses of foods and drugs,
and finds that out of 1,2S7 samples of
food 679. or SIS per cent, are adulter-I
ated. OF the samples of olive oil. 3s.1
per cent were found to be below stand
ard. and of lemon extract 93.4 per cent.
OF the ia samples of drugs 76, or 43.6
per cent, were adulterated. Alcohol is
generally adulterated. and lime water
frequently found to be merely well wa
ter Tincture of iodine was found to
be s05 per cent adulterated-that is.
less than one sample In every 10. ac-
cording to pharmacopeia-
The United States Geological Survey
Is paying much attention to magnetic
weiIs-that is. wells whose castings will
attract and hold bits Of iron. Most
of these will hold only small objects,
SUCH as nails. but occasionally one Is
found in which the attraction Is SO
strong as to hold hammers or
wrenches. The Bureau desires all those
who have such wells on their premises
or knowledge OF such to write to the
Bureau, giving ell the Information that
they possess.
Even the Patent Office has some
comical sides. Recently It demanded
a working model of a certifugal pump,
having declared the plans imperative.
The Office was asked 10 send an Exam
tner TO Trenton to see the machine in
actual operation. but declined. and re-
iterated its demand for a working mod
eI. whereupon the patent attorney sent
from Trenton. n. J.. a seven-ton pump
which required 81 men to carry into
the Office of the Examiner.
The highest dam IN the world is now
in construction on Salt River, Arizona,
and when II Is finished. in 1908, the
little town Of Roosevelt will be ITO
feet below the surface of the water,
which will have a strong tendency to
depress the price OF town lots and dis
courage future settlers from moving
tn. 1t is expected that an immense
amount of water power will be devel-
oped. as well as the use Of water for
irrigation.
The Senate Committee on Commerce
has reported favorably the House bill
to incorporate the Lake Erie and Ohio
River Ship Canal. which will make a
continuous waterway from New York
TO New Orleans. Senator Platt's amend
ment will probably be adopted. which
provides that no water from the Nj
agara River above the Falls be divert
ed to the canal.
Tobacco leaf has gone up so much
in price that the Pennsylvania farm
ers are now receiving more for their
crops per acre than the value Of the
land upon which the tobacco is raised.