Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1906-10-19

A Novel Sounding Method. Rock as
Fertilizer. Optical Magnet.
Water That Stops Ships Pollen
Poison. Cement Chimneys. New
Wave Measurements. Stood Chemis-
try. A Wireless Lookout.
The depth indication for torpedo
boats designed by Harold YarIow, the
British shipbuilder, depends upon
the fact that a vessels bow rises as
shallow water is approached. The
apparatus consists of a base, with
fixed level and an adjusting screw,
and two uprights carrying a series of
six adjustable spirit levels. The
levels are given inclinations cores
ponding to different speeds and
depths as shown by experiment. The
first level being set for an inclination
of = inches in 70 feet, for instance,
the passage of the bubble across the
level when the boat s speed is IL knots
would indicate a depth of 30 feet,
and the other levels would respond
to shaIIower water. AS the water is
usually calm IN fog, the indicator
would be available when most needed.
The formation of virgin soil from
the rock is supposed TO have taken
thousands of years, and this may be
true when the source of the material
has been lodges and boulders. 70
determine how quickly pulverized
rock can support plant life is the
object of the experiments now in pro-
gress at Washington. II water re-
leases the potash of ground fetdspar
the first season n promising new
fertilizer is available, but il longer
time is necessary the application of
the feldspar would not be profitable.
The plane of polarized light was
rotated or twisted by Faraday by
passing through plate glass in
magnetic field. Cotton and Moulton
have now developed a permanent
transparent magnet, which consists
of mixture of colloidal hydroXide
of iron and gelatine solidlfied under
the influence of powerful magnet.
This optical magnet gives twist to
right or left according to the direc
tion from which the light enters.
a singular balkiness was shown by
the Fran IN August, 1893, few weeks
before entering the ice on its long
DRIFT across the Arctic Ocean. 1t was
steamlng between two ice-tringed is
lands off the Siberian coast, and its
engines were working at power that
should have given a speed of about 8
knots, but it slowed down to little
more than one knot. The water was
smooth, the current very slight.
Nansen recorded this as an encounter
with 'dead water,' mysterious con-
dition already known to Norwegian
navigations, and some years later he
obtained from Prof. Bjerknes the
suggested explanation that when a
layer of fresh water rests on the top
of salt water, ship Will not only
produce the ordinary waves at the
boundary between an and water but,
will also set up invisible waves on the
boundary between the fresh and salt
water, and the work of generating
these Invisible waves gives great re-
sistance to the ship. DIR. Ekman, of
ChIistiara, has now confirmed
this theory by experiments with small
ship models, He finds that vessels
may suddenly enter or leave the
dead waters, that 1t is mare often
noticed by sailing vessels than by
steamers, and that disturbance like
the passage of another vessel or a
sudden change of speed may break up
/ he resistance.
Hay fever has been proven to be a
form of pollen poisoning, and ia
plants-includng wheat, rye and
other gIains-aFe now known to have
toxic pollen. The toxins, which vary
greatly, can be used for producing
antitoxins. Late experience has been
that mixture of sugar and antitoxin
from one of the principal polIens
generally cures hay fever and confers
certain immunity, ODD cases having
been treated with success IN l27, i'm
provement in II, and failure in "a.
Reinforced cement is now the favor
lite material with British builders OF
large chimneys. One already COM
pleted in London is $40 feet high
with a base 20 feet square, and pro-
Jected one at Nortbtieet will be PAT
feet high and 81 feet in diameter,
with foundation IL feet square.
The height and length Of waves
have been over estimated, If Nj. Ber-
tin, French engineer, is correct in
his conclusions. The observations
are usually made from small vessels,
and as their decks are constantly tilt
ed by the waves, the results are great
ly exaggerated. With care to avoid
this error, the highest wave has
measured 43 feet NJ Berlin believes,
however, that in southern seas a
height 10 feet greater may be reached,
and waves may have the rare maxi
mum of about 2600 feet, or nearly halt
mile. There is q relation between
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