Amador ledger., 1909-11-12

dium compounds nave come Chiefly
from .Joachmsthal, in Bohemia, but
the mines of Cornwall, England, have
now become an important source of
supply. The two active mines at
Joachimsthal belong to Saxon COM
pany. The pitch blende or uranium
oxide occurs in detached lumps-some-
times weighing several pounds-in the
lodes, which range from one inch to
ten feet in width, and number II eX-
tending east and west in the mica
schist, with like number crossing at
right angles. Most of the ore is sold to
the uranium works of the Austrian
government. The uranium is extracted,
and the residue is then worked over for
radium salts in an adjacent laboratory.
From disused mine of the government
has been taken water OF the highestradio
activity of any yet found, leading to the
expectation that .Joanchimsthal will be
come radium watering place. In pro-
ducing pitchblende the Cornish mines
bid fair to equal or surpass those of
Bohemia, but the ore is sent to Ger
many for treatment.
Knowing that the Arabs use vinegar
to improve retarded dates, A. E. Vim
son, of the Arizona Experiment Station,
has tried spraying punches of the green
fruit with acetic acid for II or Is hours,
and in three days has produced perfect
commercial dates of the best natural
flavor. The process may be aided by
sunshine or heat of 1l0 deg. F. 1t is
anticipated that this process will be of
much practical importance, as the dates
can be shipped while green and hard,
and ripened after reaching their desti
nation. Other chemicals had ripening
effect, the flavor being impaired by
some.
1t is rather surprising TO consider that
only or 9 elements are more abundant
than titanium Chemists of the United
States Geological Survey find that it
makes up about two-ffths of per cent
of the earth's crust, and exceeds in
quantity all other heavy metals together
expect iron. The proportion of iron is
about per cent. The bulk of the
crust, it will be remembered, is non
so per cent being oxygen and
rs per cent Silicon.
From the smoke pollution investiga-
tion that has been in progress for a
number of years at Leeds, Eng, it
appears that the solid impurities in
the air at this industrial cent'r are 20
times as great as three miles to the north
east. The SCOT washed down by rain
over four square miles in the industrial
center averages 100 tons per square
mile per year, or half ton per sqaure
mile per day, and tone station reaches
the rate of 300 tons per square mile per
year. The waste in unburn fuel is rep
resented by about 100 tons per square
mile per year. The tar deposited with
the SCOT has been estimated to be "a
times greater in town than 9 miles away,
and has been shown to be 80 pounds per
acre per annum in the center and only
IA pounds three miles to the northeast,
although the proportion is higher in do
mestic smoke than in industrial smoke.
The free acids-sulphuric and sulphur
the air at the center represent
an annual deposit Of 80 pounds per acre,
or rs or 80 tons per square mile. The
solid impurities in the air often reduce
daylight one half, the tarry matter
causes the SCOT to adhere to buildings
and vegetation, the suplhurous acid
makes town fog irritating when breathed
and is very injurious to agriculture, and
the enthusiastically common salt
are sufficient in industrial centers to
damage plants. The ammonia and other
compounds in smoke, on the
other hand, have some beneficial action
as fertilizers and in neutralzing the
acids.
Phosphorescent photographs have an
image consisting OF white calcium sui
phide, which shines in the dark after
being exposed to luminous rays. The
process requires care, but French
authority states that there is no real
Into moderately warm solu
tion of one ounce of gelatine in 10
ounces of water 50 grains of potassium
bichromate and 200 grains of phos-
phorescent calcium sulphide, are
stirred, This solution is used to coat a
film of plain celluloid, and after drying
the plate thus prepared is exposed under
a positive for abot the time needed for
a carbon print. Warm water is the de-