Amador ledger., 1906-08-17

A new respiratory apparatus which
shas resulted from late experience in
French mining, consists externally of
rubber bag, which is worn in front
about waist high. and is supported
by strap over the shoulder. The
miner breathes from and into the bag
through mouthpiece. The exhaled
gases pass through two tubes contain
ing grains of oxylith, which retains
the moisture and carbonic acid and
renews the air for breathing by sett-
ing free corresponding quantity ct
oxygen. The circulation through the
bag is sufficient, and enables the
miner to work IN suffocatirg gases an
indefinite time.
The oldest living plant has been
claimed to be some individual among
the dragon trees of the Canary Islands.
A once famous specimen of Teneriffe,
whose age has been variousIy estimat-
ed at 1000 to 5000 years, retained its
full height of 10 or 80 feet until 1919,
when storm carried away portion,
and like storm in 1867 tore off the
branches remaining.
Snake venom. says a British physi-
clan, has been shown by recent re
search to lie highly composite sub
stance, containing various poisonous
proteid bodies, which are variousIy
affected by heat and fuorescent solu-
tions in sunlight. That it has so
little toxiu effect when taken by the
mouth is due to its slight absorption
by heastomach and alteration by the
bile and pancreatic juice.
Examining the four vases contain
ing the embaImed viscera of Rameses
ii, who died 1858 t. e., Prof Lortet
has found the stomach, liver and
intestines represented by indetermin
able granular substance, while the
heart has become horny oval plate.
requiring saw to cut 1t.
CALCIUM is practically new metal,
its recent isolation in the electric
furnace having made it commercial
product. Experiments described by
Il. Stockem, European metalIurgist,
prove that it cannot serve in steel j
making, as it does not alloy with
iron, but it is likely to be useful in
refining copper and nickel. Deoxida-
tion can be effected by it without risk
of any of the calcium being left be-,
hind as impurity. 1t readily forms
alloys when molten copper is poured
upon it, but these are so brittle that
a bar two inches thick containing
seven per cent of calcium can be
broken by light taps with hammer.
An alloy Of ~ per cent with so OF
copper is white and decomposes in
the air. Very brittle alloys are FORM
ed with aluminium and magnesium,
and a mixture of calcium with ten
per cent of either of these metals can
be pulverized in mortar. Calcium
gives toughness to an alloy of alum:
mum and zinc that is much employed
for electrical purposes.
The death of Drake, the venerable
giant tortoise or Testuda abingdoni
of the London geological gardens,
removes one of the last mem Eers of a
vanishing race, for whose fellows a
recent search has been made IN vain,
and one OF the earth's oldest inhabit$
ants, whose life may have reached
back to the days of Elizabeth and
Cromwell. The age of this tortoise is
estimated at between 30O and AGO
years. When captured in the Gala
pages Islands late in the eighteenth
century, Its she'll bore half-effaced
date beginning with 16, and 1t was
supposed to have been marked by the
seventeenth century pirates when it
was at least 30 years old AS Drake
often kept motionless for days, even
the date of death is not exactly
known. 1t ate enormous quantities
of lettuce-hearts, it's only food a.. Is
A remarkable botanical specimen of
Japan is a hollow tree-trunk 60 feet
in circumference containing living
tree nine feet in circumference. The
older tree was destroyed about 1870
years age, leaving 30 feet OF trunk.
and the inner tree is about ITO years
old. -
Ire diffic llties of concentrating
tidal power and making it available
are great, and so far it has been used
only on a nall scale and in prlmi
tive way, bat the near future will
probably see great electric generating
plants estal Ii SIZE at favorable Iocali
ties where the tides run high and
there are natural storage basins.
Some months ago plan was worked
out for u ilizing the ebb and flow of
the river Seine. Assuming that tidal
emil bark neuts we're needed for guild
ing the channel through the estuary,
it was proposed that these be con-
nected to the shore on either side so
as to form two large reservoirs, each
of which should be divided into
high water basin and a low water
basin, the discharge from one to the
other to drive turbines. The avail
able tide is about ten feet, Each
reservoir would have an area of about