The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-01-12

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16l7llslI9 202l2l l5l16l71slel20|21
correspondence Baltimore County linton.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
The New vulcanology-A Game Clock
Ant Agriculture-Whatis q Cold Rub
Der Fruit-A Decorative Metal-Singu-
lar Transference Of Energy-The TWEEN
tieth Century Engine-A Bivalve Pom
peii, etc.
The mystery Of volcanoes is being gradually
cleared up BY the investigations Of radioactive
ty. If the conclusions Of Major @. &. Dutton. q.
s. A., are correct. It can no longer be supposed
that an eruption is an overflow from the earths
me.sen interior, thirty or forty miles or more
below the surface, but the evidence is strong
that the source Of the material is never more
than two or three miles deep, and the quantity
is sGall compared with the mass Of the earth
perhaps not more than three cubic miles of lava
having been discharged In the greatest recorded
outpour. The eruptons. moreover, tend to re-
cur in the same spot-perhaps thousands Of
times before the activity wanes. This could be
explained BY assuming that radium is being gen.
Grated at depth of two or three miles in each
active crater. as the heat from the breaking up
Of the emanation would accumulate until sufi-
Gent to melt portion Of the rocks and on the
discharge Of the molten mass through the action
Of steam or otherwise, the process would be re-
peated until the exhaustion of the radium.
ses
A chess players time keeper is the novelty Of
Herr VeenhoG. of Groningen. 1t consists Of two
similar small clocks. behind which is a double
lever 50 arranged that B can touch button to
start the clock Of as the latter begins to move,
and A can touch another button to stop his own
clock and start the otheras BIS play commences.
At the end OF the game the clocks show the total
time taken for the moves Of each player.
~
The much maliened white ant of South Africa
is credited by resident of Swaziland with doing
more good than harm if care is taken of build
ings. Ithas wonderful fertilizing effect on the
soil, and maize and other crops grow twice as
large near ant-hiIls as elsewhere.
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The common cold is now classed by some
authorities among the diseases due to bacteria.
It has not been settled that any particular or
ganism is the cause, but it seems that more than
one species may play an active part. and a re-
cent British Investigator reports that In one Sc
we're local epidemic he found Micrococcus ca
tarrhalis present in all cases, while in two other
epidemics. both of severely infectious charac-
ter, the bacillus Of Friedlander was recognized
in every case examined at its onset. The organ
ism, however. often disappears within "a or -
hours. In the second and third epidemics re-
infection sometimes occurred. producing either
second acute cold or else chronic cold lasting
for months and the bacillus was so virulent that
it killed inoculated mice. guinea pigs and even
rabbits.
A problem for the horticulturists Is the pro-
duction of a profitable rubber bearing fruit,
which would make possible an unlimited supply
of valuable material without injury to the
plants. The fruits of the ordinary plants con-
tain little rubber. but Prof. Warburg, Ger
man. points out that certain parasitic plants-the
caoutchouc mistletoes discovered three years
'=1ko IN Venezuela out the hope that the
ideal fruit may be realized. The caoutchouc in
some Of these species amounts to one fifth of the
weight Of the dried fruit. The fruit is not large.
but varies in size in the three groups of species
Of these mistletoes. The caoutchouc, instead Of
being milky juice, is in the form of solid en-
velope surrounding the seeds.
Srs
A novel alloy shown by ]. E. Stead at recent
soiree of the London Royal Society offers strik-
ing possibilities for ornamental effects. 1t con-
tains Is per cent. Of tin, 20 of anthony and of
arsenic, and on slow cooling from fusion it forms
semi spherical, shell-like crystals in the metal
matrfx. Dilute acids dissolve away part of the
matrix, leaving in relief the crystals, which re-
sist on account Of richness in antimony and
arsenic. The spherical patterns take high
polish, and may be given greater prominence by
running wax into the cavities.
~
The paradoxical scientific plaything of Prof.
L. R. Wilberforce has been entertaining British
physicists. A helicaI spring is fixed to an un-
yielding support, and at its lower end it carries
weight, with four screws whose nuts can be so
adjusted that the spring vibrates up and down
and twists on its vertical axis in approximately /
the same period. When the adjustment is made
the energy Of one motion is transferred to the
other In q very singular manner If the spring
be pulled down and released, it rapidly ascends
and descends. at the same time beginning to
oscillate like a balance wheel, the side turning
increases as the up-and-down motion lessons,
and then the latter ceases altogether. This is
but momentary, when q reverse action takes
place. That is. the rotation gradually slows
down and the vertical motion increases, the two
motions alternating in this curious way for half
an hour. and for more than two hours in one ap-
paratus that has been tried.
-
The development of the steam turbine is one
of the notable beginnings of twentieth century
science. The Hon. G. A. Parsons estimates that
six years ago the total horsepower of such tur-
bines was 10000 on land and $4,000 on the sea- and
that it is now more than 20 00O0 on land and
100000 on the sea. The chief land use is for
large electrical generating stations. The prin-
cipal savings, as compared with reciprocating
10 q ,fo frl In he
total capital cost of steam and from 10 to 90 per
cent in the cost of fuel with further economy
Of IS to 30 per cent. in the engine-room stan. A
late type of 1000 horse power turbine has 10000
to $1,000 blades the surface speed of the several
barrels being from $50 to 800 feet per second.
-
The oyster beds of the Bay Of Naples are ex-
pected to require two years for recovering their
normal condition. The cinders from the erup-
ton of vesuvius have smothered the bivalves
forming complete covering over them.
"a
The aluminium books for the blind now being
printed in Edinburgh are of thin sheets emboss-
ed in the usual way. They are easier to read
than paper books, do not soil, and are practically
indestructible. Their expensiveness is their
drawback.
Root penetration in the soil has been tested
by excavatiDg about six feet so as to leave
vertical wall. and then spraying from garden
hose The barred roots retained their natural
positions. Rye, beans and peas each showed
matted felt of white hbers reaching down about
feet. wheat had extended 81 feet in 7months, and
maize and clover were traced to depth of 10
feet in light, rich soil.
0-
CASTORIA
For Infants and Children.