Amador ledger., 1909-09-24
Endowment

OarO IN 1915, IS mace ny nearing CHI
cium carbide in the electric furnace in
a current OF nitrogen, 1t has been
proven to be a useful nitrogenous
which also adds lime to the
soil, and the trails made since 1901
show that its effects are about the same
as those of sulphate of ammonia plus
the lime. The experimenters have re-
commended the Use of about 275 pounds
per acre for cereSfs to $50 pounds for
potatoes and beets. Within recent
months the manufactures of the new
fertilizer has been begun in the United
States, Italy, France, Switzerland, Nor
way and Germany, factories are about
% be opened in Hungary and Bavaria,
and others are being considered in
Canada, Japan India and South Africa
The first plant at Niagara Falls has a
capacity of 5000 tons year; that in
France lis making 10 tons day at
present
The microscope, so long an essential
scientific instrument, is rapidly finding
general employment in the Industries
and everyday work. 1t is now used by
the engineer and metallurgist fOr testing
architects for Judgment of the
quality of stone; by brewers and all
makers Ot beverages, dairy workers,
and @atersupply authorities; by
chemists and druggists; by paper manu-
facturers, cement makers, foundrymen,
printers, half tone block makers, tex
tile manufacturers, and many others.
One of the most novel OF recent appli-
cations is found in laundres and dye
works, some of which now test certain
textiles, thus avoiding possible claims
for damagers, while at the same time
showing the best means of renovating
A curious method of sterjlizing the
air of rooms has been adopted by Prof.
Charles Richet of Paris. Glycerine in
smalls drops is scattered along a
cylinder containing suction fan and
the air pumped in is thus charge with
fine glycerine particles, which fall to
the floor, carrying all dust and germs.
Vast quantities of goldbearing sand
are said to exist in Southern California,
New Mexico and Arizona, as well as in
ea-beaches and sea- water, but no
economical method has been yet at
tempted for separating the precious
metal from the great amount of other
material to be handled. The gold par
ticles are too minute to, be collected
by gravity, Amalgamation seems to
fail on account of some oily or other
coating of the particles that prevents the
mercury from having effect, but it has
been recently pointed out that upper the
influence of ar electric current the |
nascent mercury released by decompos-
ing its salt is more active, while the
current tends to clean the gold. BY |
Using a sluice box with copper bottom,
adding a solution of chloride of mer-
curry as the water carrying gold bearing
material flows over, and passing an cleo !
ric current through the water and the
copper, the latter is made to take up a |
.hick coating of an amalgam of gold and |
mercury. Some modification of this |
process, it is suggested, may prove
profitable with low grade ores, and pos.
,ibly may solve the problem of extract |
ing gold from sea-water.
An attempt to classify human ears by
form and structure has been made at
Manila by R. B. Bean, who finds the |
locality especially suitable for such |
study, as the mixed population includes
about all races of mankind in varying |
degrees of purity, To the various types
Of ears he has given such names as
Malay, Negroid, Cro-magnon, Alpine,
etc; but the ears most common in Ger
.ain races are found also in men OF
similar physical type in other races.
The Alpine ear, for example, is the |
ear of fat man. The European types
Of ears in the Philippines are not as
Did as those of other than European
origin, and this suggests that the ears
may give interesting lessons in the
evolution of the FilipinOs.
For glass that is good conductor of
electrcity-its resistance being only one
housandth of that of ordinary glass,
G. S. Phillip fuses mixture OF 81
parts OF sodium silicate, 5 OF boraX,
),8, OF lead oxide, and OF, OF sodium
Acids do not attack this
glass. The new material is chiefly |
Used for the disks OF electrometers and