Amador ledger., 1910-07-15

One of the successful devices for
diminishing London's smoke seems to
be the "Calorizer" of Sherrard Cow
per Coles, the British metallurgist.
This simple apparatus is described as
formed of number of quadrants of
special material having very high
power of absorbing and transmitting
heat, and when these are arranged as
combustion chamber behind the fire,
the effect is to maintain a mean tenn
perature above that needed to burn all
gases and smoke. No steam jets,
mechanical appliances or special
CRATES are required. Automatic
draught regulation may be used, and
this in some cases has contributed to-
ward the 8 to IL per cent of economy
gained from the same fuel. In the
tests made, a charge in the furnace of
three times the usual amount of refuse
slack coal failed to show the slightest
trace of smoke at the chimney top.
Not only is it affirmed that no carbon
or gases can escape complete combus-
ton, but it is claimed that the even
temperature maintained greatly lessons
the varying strain on the plates of the
boiler heated by the furnace.
Great sunspots seem to cool the
earth 20 times as much as can be ac-
counted for by the decrease in radia-
tion from the dark spots themselves,
and DR.. w. j. Humphreys, of the
United States Weather Bureau, points
out that this may be explained by a
change in the power of the earth's at
mosphere to absorb and retain heat.
This power is variously influenced
by sunspots. The dark spots must
diminish the ultra violet radiation
reaching the earth, and this would
lessen the ozone in the upper air, but,
on the other hand, sunspots increase
auroras, and these tend to produce
ozone.
Fabric from nettles is not new
product, but the snow-white mass of
fiber of Vienna firm indicates that
the gums and waste can now be
separated on commercial scale. Be-
tween cotton and linen in merits, the
fiber should be cheaper than either as
nettles can be readily grown in vast
quantities on many places.
Automatic stability of the aeroplane
"a troublesome and important pro-
blem-is claimed to have been ach-
ieved by Lieut.. j. w. Dunno, a
British aeronaut. His machine is an
odd looking biplane, and is especially
remarkable in being without tail and
having no steering surfaces. or rudders
except two small steering flaps hinged
to the rear extremities of the upper
surface for altering the course during
flight. The carrying planes, crescent
shaped in plan, are curved sharply
backward. They have double curva-
ture, and IL is claimed that this gives
the automatic stability. The late test
at Sheppy seems to have been very
satisfactory. After short run the
machine left the ground, and at
height of about 60 feet it made a
flight of two miles, without the touch
ing OF lever or wheel by the avia.
tor, and maintaining absolute equili-
brium. With carrying surface of $50
square feet, the entire machine, in
cluding its so horsepower Green en-
gine, weighs 100 pounds.
Forestry in the Philippine Islands
has been given much attention since
the American occupation, and most of
the forests have been thoroughly
classified, estimated and mapped. The
virgin forest area is stated by H. N.
Whitford, chief :of the Investigation
Division of the Forestry Bureau, to
comprise 25,0O0,OOO acres with 200 bill
lion board feet of timber. The high.
priced cabinet woods, though impor-
tant and valuable, do not hold the
leading place usually assigned them,
and the great wealth is in the cheaper
structural timbers, such as can be used
in place of the Oregon pine, Baltic fir,
etc., of Europe and America. DR..
Whitford favors plan for exploring
other tropical forests, believing that
they will reveal timber wealth be-
yond all dreams so far entertained.
Butterfly farming, for supplying
entomologists with specimens, is a
curious industry said to have developed
in France and elsewhere in Europe.
One establishment is located on the
southeast of London. This covers an