Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1907-03-23
EkslANSCience
.1&SS Arp
|Ssgi1VentiOn

The largest alcohol locomotive con-
st~ucted at Deutx, Germany, is rated
a. about 80 horsepower, with a range
Of speed from 23a to 7 miles an hour.
This engine weighs about eleven tons
wI~n ready for service.
M adhesive liquid glue can be made
according to the following recipe: Dis
solve forty parts white gelatin In
fortn parts acetic acid In water bath:
add ten parts spirits Of wine and two
parA alum for its better preservation.
The japanese are celebrated not only
for their skill in making decorative
articles, but also for the beauty Of the
materials used. 1t Is said that the
secret Of the composition Of some of
their alloys Of brass and copper has
only lately been revealed. The finest
Japanese brass, called "sinchu," con-
slsts Of ten parts Of copper and five of
zinc. Another very beautiful alloy,
named "shadko," to which splendid hues
are impaired by treatment with acids,
Is formed by mixing gold and copper,
the proportion Of gold varying from
1 to 10 per cent of the entire mass.
According to the results Of expert
ments by DR.. Jean Chalon, aromatic
plants charged with essential oils
which exhale a perfume that spreads
like an atmosphere about them when
touched by the rays of the sun, are
to slight degree warmed by the pres
ence of this agreeable atmosphere. 1t
acts In retaining the solar heat like
the glass covers of a dollhouse, although
Of course far less effectively. Prof.
Spring has shown that the relatively
high temperatures of large cities Is
probably due, at least in part, to the
carbonic anhydrid in the air above
heat rays.
An attempt to give a scientific ac-
count Of the destruction Of Sodom and
Gomorrah has been made by DR.. Die
ner of Vienna. A study of the peculi-
arities Of the Dead Sea basin and OF
the overwhelmed "cities of the plain"
leads him to conclude that a violent
earthquake must at some time have oc-
CURED there, which affected the entire
basin, and was accompanied by the
inundation of the shores. An old vol
canic crater on the eastern side of the
sea was, he thinks, simultaneously
thrown into eruption through the dis
turbance produced by the earthquake
These occurrences would supply the
principal phenomena mentioned In the
scriptural account.
Another specimen of the singular
African animal known as the shy
okapi has recently been obtained by
Major Powell-Cotton. 1t was killed II
the Ituri forest by native hunter. 81
far as Major Powell-Cotton has beer
able to learn, only one European ha(
previously seen a living okapi. TIL,
Mambutti natives (pygmies) say tina
the okapi Is solitary in Its hablts-tha
even the two members of pair invari
ably feed apart although when the.
have a calf they frequent the SAM
region of the forest. The female keep
her calf concealed in covert, but visit
1t at intervals to feed 1t. The native
usually see the animals In rainy wealth
er, when they sometimes seek shelte
under an abandoned roof.
One Of the greatest difficulties to b
overcome by the telephone reproduc
ton of the human voice, especially a
great distances, where microphonic re
lays must be employed, Is the produc
ton of an exact correspondence be
tween the variations In intensity o
the electric current and the varyin
vibrations Of the microphonic mem
brane. In a new microphone, recent
introduced by the Telephone Compan
Of Zurich, Switzerland, 1t Is believe
this difficulty has been so far overcom
that strong and weak voices are almos
equally well reproduced, and the ar
paratus permits of the use Of a niue
stronger battery. The various aud
phonic devices for the deaf should Der
eft from this improvement as well
long-distance telephone lines.