The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-06-30

Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
An Electric Forecast-Sea-Water Gold
Storms Of Mars-The Life Problem-Ja-
pans Sea Interests-Tee Tablets-An-
other Risk for Balloonists-Met al-Beor-
ing Rocks-A Steady River.
The next ten years, in the view of a prophetic
British engineer, will bring enormous develop
ment of electric traction, especially In supplant-
ing steam on suburban branch railroads and
short main lines. The incandescent lamp will
be improved, cheapening electric lighting, pos
sibly to the extent of driving out all other ilum-
inants. Longdistance telephony will be greatly
developed and wireless telegraphy will become
established on ships, chiefly for safety. The
generation and transmission Of electric power
promise little advance unless some new source
Of electricity is discovered. Direct production
Of current from coal remains only dream, and
Tesla's transmission of power without wires Is
no better. The universal adoption of the steam
tubine will BIZ the only advance in power stations
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The gold in sea-water has been estimated by
Prof. Liversidge at one grain per ton. In his
British Association address, G. T. Beilby calcu-
lated that q pin-head drop Of cyanide solution
of this richness-that is. a cubic millimeter of
the weakest solution obtained in treating gold
ore contains number of molecules expressed
by 125 followed by IS ciphers, and that of these
molecules $500 million are gold, which are less
than 10000 inch apart. Another computer
shows that even in this dIlution the point of the
finest needle would cover LOO gold molecules,
Thus we touch gold everywhere In the sea, but
we are not likely to separate it at profit.
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A blizzard which confined members of an
Antarctic sledge expedition to their tent for
five days was terrible experience, but polar
storm on Mars in 1890 lasted Al days and another
continued two weeks. The recent observations
show that long storms with prolonged clear in
tervals are characteristic of the weather on our
neighbor planet.
While it is not proven that life has been
generated artificially, the work of the last year
or two has shown by so many experiments as to
be conclusive that unfertiized eggs may be
made to develop by inorganic chemicals, like
magnesium chloride, This indicates that life
itself is a chemical process not necessarily de-
pendent upon antecedent life, but rather upon
proper combinations of elements and favorable
conditions. 1t is now reported by q French
biologist that If an egg be properly cut it will
develop into as many as sixteen small but other
wise normal individuals whittier these ex-
periments are leading cannot even be guessed,
but we may well heed the caution to be prepared
for surprise.
The prosperity Of Japan depends very largely
upon the sea. thousand varieties of fish
including the shark-are eaten by the inhabit-
ants. the annual yield of the fisheries being
100000 TONS or three times the consumption
in the United States. The value of this product
is $3O,OOO,OOO. The coasts also supply an edible
alga known as laver, and other sea-weeds from
which good gelatine is extracted, together with
large quantities of salt. From Japan. moreover
comes large part of the worlds coral and pearls.
A Souchony tea compressed into cakes almost
brick-like in hardness is supplied to Russian
officers In Manchuria. 1t is creamy and sweet
in taste, requiring less sugar than ordinary tea,
and the infusion is made by simply putting into
a cup piece the size of thimble and pouring
In hot water. 1t is suggested that similar cakes
would be luxury to cyclists and other travellers.
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Poisoning from gas inhalation is now added to
the recognized dangers of ballooning. The ny
drogen-itself non-poisonous-is often contami-
mated with arsenic. selenium and anthony, and
fourteen cases of i'll effects have been reported
to the French Academy of Medicine. In one of
the two forms of poisoning death results in two
or three days.
As no two mineral fields are exactly alike, it
is unsafe to say, without a knowledge of the
special conditions, that metals do or do not
exist in certain rocks. ]. G. F. johnson, an
English mining engineer, states that in his own
experience, payable gold has been found in the
also in quartz of nearly every color and appear
ance-saccharoidal, crystalline, even in clear
glass-like six sided prismatic crystals-and as
ISOLATED with silver. copper lead, arsenic, iron
as sulphide, oxide, carbonate and tungstate,
anthony, bismuth nickel, zinc, lead. and other
metals in one form or another; in slate, quart
nte, mica schist, granite, diorite, porphyry,
site, GAZETTE, dolomite, common carbonate of
ION, and silicious sinter from hot spring; as
alluvial gold in drifts formed of almost all of
these materials; and once-perhaps the most
curious matrix of alias a small lump of APP
parently alluvial gold imbedded in piece of
shaly coal. This specimen is in the Sydney
Museum. 1t is added as quite certain. however.
that gold is always more or less intimately as
ISOLATED with some form of silica or quartz; and
that cassiterite, or oxide of tin is always found
in or near granite containing white mica.
In its regular habits, the Nile is found by Sir
Colin Scott Moncrieff. the British engineer, to
be a model for other rivers and source of salts
faction to engineers. 1t rises steadily from June
to August. then falls-rapidly at first and after
ward slowly-until the next June. The changes
never vary a month in time. The country's
we'll being depends upon the rivers absolute
trustworthiness, as while the waters level
changes 25 feet, an extra rise of 3K feet would
bring great danger to the whole region, and a
failure of six feet in the rise would leave Upper
Egypt as hard as flint and the November sowing
would be impossible.
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About 800 species of mosquitoes have been
described and it is estimated that 200 more exist.
Giles recognizes only SO species in the whole of
North America, but Florida alone claims %
species.
They ARE threshing wheatin Texas and some
Of it has got North already. In spite of the
estimated crop of FAC, 900 900 bushels this year
the price of wheat is favorable, while that of
corn is upward. But prices are now specula-
tive. One must wait a month before making
an estimate of cereal values.
O
THE ADULTERATIoN of food products, and un-
cleanliness in handling them are matters that
no enlightened government neglects. Santa
ton requires that they be treated with vigi-
lance, carefully maintained all the time.
CASTORIA