The Washington herald., 1909-02-07
ODDITIES GATHERED
ALL OVER THE WORLD

Muslin Is being manufactured rom tiie
fiber OF the banana tree
The emoiuments Of the officers OF the
French Academy Of Sciences were hxeo
by Napoleon BOnapaTte, and nave HO1
been changed since that time
Cracks in floors may Be neatly and
pernanently filed with paste made
from old newspapers. -four, alum. ana
water, thoroughly boiled together
Acetylene. exploded by en- electric spark
js being used for blasting In Germany
1t does not scatter the shattered rock as
much as dynamite.
4 scaled injector may be cleaned by
soaking in a solution Of one part murlatic
acid TO nine TO twelve parts Oh water
until the scale Is dissolved.
By using barriers OF wire. heavily
charged with electricity. the japanese
are driving the savages OF FormoSa oacK
into the mountains.
According to the Federal Bureau OF
Animal Industry. 81 per cent OF the csttie
OF the United States are afflicted with
tuberculosis
The Italian government has estaoiishsG
a bureau 70 deal exclusively with the
electrifcatiOn Of the state railways WHICH
Is making rapid strides
The cultivation OF tobacco in Spain Is
prohibited. a company which has mono
poly IN dealing in It IS paying the govern
ment about $S5, ,ooo.0o0 a year.
Colombia produces platinum second IN
quantity only 70 Russia, washing II rom
the gravels OF the Choco River. where 1t
always IS found mixed with gold
A patent has been granted on an auto
matte crossing gate. operated BY com
pressed air. the gate being raised or
I lowered by the action Of passins trains.
A German surgeon has invented an cleo
/ tricaI scalpel, which. IL Is claimed. steri-
lies as II cuts. and is much more rapid
to use than the usual form OF knife.
The square OF the cylinder diameter in
/ inches. multiplied by the number Of
cylinders and divided by %. VIII give
very nearly the horse power OF gas En-
gines-
4 nest for poultry. Che door OF which
I locks automatically 10 keep out In
/ trlders OF all se.ts when the rightful oc-
cupant leaves Il, is the invention OF ar
Iowa man.
| Two Cornell University students. John
lC. Burkhart and Oscar Frolicht, have
Invented a heavier-than-air flying machine
which has made several successful fights
/ within the ten years that Christmas
/ Island. in the Indian Ocean. has been
/ inhabited. the natives rats have been ex-
terminated by the brown rats introduced
from Europe.
! Headaches caused by handling nitro
glycerine and its products may be cured
/ By drinking strong black coffee ana ap-
plying cold Vet bandages TO the forehead
and neck
I An automobile street sweeper in uss
1 IN Paris. which sprays water on the pave
ment ahead OF a revolving broom, uses
/ but a gallon OF water to each 200 square
/ feet Of surface
| The German colonial authorities are con-
sidering the establishment Of a forest re-
serve IN the CamerOons in order that the
rare fauna OF the tropics may be pre-
served from extinction
1 4 mixture Of sulphuTic ether. denatured
/ alcohol. benzine. gUtta percha, glycerine
/ and amyl acetate Is used to waterproof
paper and textile fabrics by q Partisan
| scientist
The first steel ingot ever produced IN
/ Denmark, cast recently at Copenhagen.
will be used as . pedestal for bust Of
G.. A Hagemann- director OF that city s
( polytechnic school
An electric rapid transit line Is 10 be
built from Frankfort 10 Wiesbadea. Ger
many, by private enterprise, the govern
ment reserving the right 70 buy it after
a number OF years.
To save time in restaurants. q Phiiadel-
phian has patented a spigot for coffee and
tea urns which opens a valve and allows
the contents 10 run out when cup is
pressed up against IT.
A scientist has succeeded In perfectins
a camera so rapid that 1t not only photo
graphs flying bullets, but the waves OF
condensed air In front OF them and the
rarefed alr behind them.
/ In Denmark artificial butter Is made
by stirring q little salt and sugar into
cocoanut fat, then knesding it with mill
/ containing lactic acid bacteria, yolk oi
eggs. and g colOring substance
A recent German invention is an auto
matte life belt, which is inflated by car
bonic gas generated by the action OF va
ter on carbonate OF soda and tartaric acid
which are contained inside the belt
| According 70 q Massachusetts doctor
who recently returned from an African
trip, the monkeys and gray squirrels OF
I the dark continent use blue clay which
contains creosote 70 kill nerves IN decayed
teeth
] A recently patented nOn-jarring attach
ment for tools that must be held IN the
hand when struck, such as chisels and
drills. consists Of = sleeve around which
a coil spring. is attached to provide elias
ticity.
4 Great Lakes steamship company
which operates a feet o. vessels in tTs
ore carrying trade. is experimenting with
concrete floors for them on the plea that
they are more durable, therefore more
economical
! As 7.3 per cent Of the gross earnings oi
the railroads Of the United States is spent
each year for fuel, officials OF forty OF
the principal lines have formed an asso-
citation to discuss economies in this line.
The United States produced go tons oi
chrome ore IN 1907. while &. $50 tons were
imported from other countries, chiefly
Asiatic Turkey and New Caledonia, tc
! supply the demand for making ferro-
chrome alloys and hardening steel.
Sand blown from the Sahara desert. 10.
miles away, painted q steel steamer, wficE
recently arrived at Philadelphia, a dull
red, the particles sdheTiag so tightly tt
the metal that they were removed only
by the hardest work