The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-09-01
fk1nScience !
MN @.- 40
SS.fllventiOn

packing water pipes, consists or very
small ribbons of lead, cut by patented
machinery In lengths Of three feet.
Hemp or yarn is first pressed into the
socket, and then the strand OF lead
wool is twisted in and we'll caulked at
each turn until the whole space is tight
" packed with a mass of lead. It Is
claimed that the joint Is stronger and
more satisfactory than when closed by
the usual troublesome method OF run
ming In molten lead.
In the tests recently made over coun-
try roads between New York and New
Haven to determine how far two gal
Ions of gasoline are capable OF driving
an automobile, sixty-five machines OF
many sizes and types were used. The
best performance was by four-cylin-
der machine of twelve horse power.
which ran eighty seven miles. Another
machine of the same make and pattern
ran only fifty eight miles. The Iron Age
points out that weight of 1900 pounds
was moved eighty-seven miles on two
pounds of gasoline, which means a ton
mile for half cent.
One of the queerest Of odd creatures
is the mud skipper or jumping fish Of
the large rivers of India and the neigh
boring sea coasts. At ebb tide these
little fishes leave the water to hunt for
tiny crabs, flies, ETC., and their strong
pectoral and ventral fms, aided by their
tail, enable them to move about easily
and to climb upon trees, grass and
leaves. With their huge eyes, seeming
to project far out of the sockets, they
can see as we'll on the land as In the
water They progress In short. quick
leaps, effected by sharply bending the
rear third of the body to the left and
suddenly Strengthening it. In color they
are usually light brown with dark
bands, though they sometimes appear
light green. They are easily caught
and are much used In Burma for live
bait
Asbestos porcelain, the new material
of Garros, a European chemist, Is
claimed to have the desirable properties
of true porcelain and certain advan-
tages in addition. AS asbestos fbers
are very thin, with diameters between
one one hundred thousandth and one
two hundred thousandth Of an inch,
they can be crushed to an exceedingly
fine powder; this Is made into a paste
with water, and after repeated knead-
ings the mass Is poured into molds.
When the objects thus shaped are heat
ed in a crucible to 100 c., a trans
parent product like ordinary porcelain
Is obtained. If the powder has been
washed with sulphuric acid, porous
asbestos porcelain Of pale yellowish or
white color results when the nodded
articles are kept for eighteen hours at
1900 c.
1t occurred to Prof. r. w. Wood re-
Gently to try to represent by under
water photography the appearance Of
the out-of-water world as viewed by
the eyes Of fish. The results are very
curious, depending on the refraction Of
light by water. For instance, with a
box filled with water, having a photo
graphic plate at the back and pin
hole covered with glass at the front,
the situation of a fish looking out Of the
side Of an aquarium Is initiated. With
such an arrangement Prof. Wood found
that all three sides and the complete
ceiling and floor of room could be
photographed at one view. Placed at a
point where three streets meet at a
right angle, it gave view looking down
all three streets, including the ground
up to the base Of the tripod, and the
sky from the horizon to the zenith.
From a balloon such a camera would
photograph the whole visible surface Of
the earth out to the horizon on all sides.