Volume 13 (1866) (424 pages)

72 The Wining and Srientifie Press, Mining and Scientitic Lress. W. B. EWER,.c:ee0eet Det euaa sete ve oe ¢eee SENIOR EvItOR. Q.W.,M. SMITN. W. B. EWER, A. T, DEWEY. DEWEY & Co., Publishers. 4 ’ Ovrice—No. 505 Clay street, corner of Sansome, 2d floor. Terms of Subscription: + One copy; per annnm, In oy RAS oe One copy, six months, in adyanc Ba For sale by Carrlers Feel Nowsdealera. or «00-85 00 300 Payment 1n Advance.---This paper wlll not be sent t subseribers beyond the term paid for. The publishers well know that a good journal Sana be sustalued ou the ereditsystem. Favorable to Inventors.—Persons holding new Inventions of machinery nnd important Improvements, can have the same illustrated and explatned in the Minine anp Somntirig Press, free of charge, it in our judgment the discovery ls one of real merlt, and of sufficlent Interestlo our readers to warrant publiecation.~ ———— Mr. A. ©. Knox, Is our fully authorized Traveling Agent, and all subscriptions, or other favors extended to him, will be duly.ncknowledged at thls office. San Franoisco, Jan 11th, 1866. Mr. I. N. Hudson, is authorized to soliclt subscrip tlons, advertising, etc., for the MINING anp Sc.entTirto PREss, in San Fraucisco, and to receipt tor the same. It {s Impoxsibie for ealiors to know ALL the ete and demeorlts of their cor the reader must not recelve the opinions of our coutributors as our own. IntcUlgent discussion is invited upon all sides and the evidence ot any error which may ae will bore ceived in friendship and treated with respcct. San Francisco: Saturday Morning, Aug. 4; 1866.) , Superiority or Canirornta Hose.—An in. teresting test of the compurative merits of Eastern and Californin-made hose, took place ‘on Monday last, at the trial of tbe new steem fire-engine. Samples of 200 feet each of hose from two Eeetern manufactories were first taken, and subsequently samples of 100 feet eacb of California-made hose—tbe one from the establishment of M. M. Cook & Son, tbe otber from that of J.J. Fulton. The engine firet displayed ber splendid power. by playing four streams at once, fairly deluging the streets with wnter. After this the different samples of hose were taken up, with tbe following result . Tbe first lot of Eastern bose bureted under a pressure of 180 pounds to tbe square inch; the second lot of Eastern bose gave way at 205 pounds pressure. Tbe California-mnde hose was then brought on. Mr. J.J. Fulton’s reached a pressure of 215 pouuds, without wenkening, when the pressure was removed witbout allowing it to reach its bursting point. The hose of M. M. Cook & Son was then produced, after which the maximum test wus tried, the hose reaching a pressure of 225 pounds before bursting. ‘Tbe excitement of the trial up to this poiut was very grent, nnd the puffing monster tugged away so hard at tho atubborn hose, tbat the crowd begun to stand buck as if fearful lest the boiler sbould burst sooner thau the hose. Tbe result of this trial must be exceedingly gratifying to our California manufacturers, who have now proven, by repeated trials, that they can make a bose altogether superior to the best imported article. It should be stated thnt the California hose wae manufactured of Califoruia-made leather. Mr. Cook & Son nre now filling orders for hydraulic hose from various parts of the Stnte, experience having proven that leatber is cbeaper tban canvas, under most circumstances. Mr. Fulton’s hose was mude by Mr. Heury L. Zepf, at the Sixth street tannery, of which Mr. Fulton is proprietor. Tbe new fire engine, by which these trials were made, carries 160 Ibs. of steam to the square incb, and exerts a water pressure of 260 pounds. " Mar or tue Szat or War.—A. Gensonl, at the Pacific Map Depot, 511 Montgomery street, hos published n very correct and useful “ Map of the Sent of Warin Europe,” upon which the tracks of the great armies now moving over the political chess bonrd of Hurope can be distinctly traced. Tbis publication 1s both nseful and timely, and should be in the poseession of overy person who would read, understandingly, the great events now tranepiring iu thot portion of the world. Tue oldest house ia the United States now standing as it was originally built, is the Rev. Dr. Whitefield’s, at Guilford, Connecticut. It was built in 1639, THE NON-INTERMENT OASE. Tbe papers of this city during the past week hove had considerable to say about a cese of non-interment, wherein Mr. T: Cowing, of 323 First street, has seen fit to place the remains of bis wife, inclosed in an air-tight casket, in a vault in the rear portion of ae hase meut of bis premises. It appears tbat tbe wife died about two years and a half ngo,and that about gix weeks since the gentleman, for tbe first time, removed the woodcn panel over the glass of the casket, and to bis surprise found the remains ulmost as perfect es when first. placed there. ‘The flesh upon the fuce wns plump, as in life; the eyes quito natural, having merely sunk back into their sockets ; the hair adhered apparently as firmly to tbe scalp as 1n life ; the. skin, however, had assumed a tawny hue, aud tbe body appeared somewhat mummpyfied, but without the dried and shrivelen appenrence usually atteuding such preservation ; tbe flesh is moist, and yielding tothe slightest pressure ; it is also elastic, an indentation disappearing alinost as quickly as in the living body. Recollecting that some extrnordinary circumstances . attended hie wile’s decease, he called in the aid of some medical parties, bad the remnins more carefully examined,and a portion of the stomach taken out for onalysis. Dr. Lanszweert, who has had lerge experience as a chemist, in post moriem exeminatione, was subsequeutly called in, the body again examined, aud portions of the liver, kidneys, and other organs removed for further exaniinations, which are row in progress. Our object in tbe present notice is simply to cell attention to tbe scientific interest attached to the casc, wilbout any reference to tbe truth of the various reports which have been circulated witb regard to the offair in the newspapers.We called at tbe premises yesterday and examined the corpse. Ite preservation is certeinly very remarkable, especially ne no embalming process has been employed, as has beeu ezroneously stated. For the furtherance of science, Mr. Cowing allowed a photograph to be taken of the face, to preserve, so fur as possible, its exact eppeerance at tbe present time. After the first incision had been made by the geutlemen first called, the fluids of the body appear to have escaped, ond in the prepara tions for tbe second incision, this fluid was removed. ‘The “ bose wasbings,” of which men/tion hae been made in the daily papers, was the removal of a portion of this fluid from the floor of an open roow in the basement. The fluid, at the time of removal, wus, of course, somewhat offensive, -At the time of our visit, yesterday, we perceived no unpleasant odor, forther than tbat which would be uoticed from a body just placed in a damp tomb. ‘The presence of tbe body certainly could not bave been suspected by any one standing nenur the closed door of tba vault. The party baving the body in his possession bus beeu complained of under Sec. 6, Chap. 3, Order 677, for allowing his premises to hecome natseous, foul and offensive, and prejudicial to public healtb and comfort. Tbe case vame up yesterday, and was postponed until to-day, with the underetanding thnt tbe body would in the meantime he removed to a proper vault in the cemetery. Tbe canse of justice and science baving been fully satisfied, the request of the Court will be complied with. This is one of the most singular cases of remurkable preservation of bodily tissue on record. We append two or three similar cases, which have been recorded in the aunals of science: Francis Miron, a descendant from the Mirons, who wero successively physicinns to the Kings of Frnnce, from Charles VIII to Henry ITI, died in 1609, and plaeed in a hermetically closed casket. His tomb was receutly opened, und his body fonud in nn admirablo state’ of proservation. The tomb of Henry IV, ot France, was opened in 1782, and his body fonnd in-snch a good state of preservation that his fentures were perfectly recognizuble. The coffin containing tho remuine of Gustavus III, of Sweden, wns recently opened, and tbe face of the deceesed was fonnd to be in a perfect state of preservation, altbough his body bnd falleu into decay. There ure numerous other instances of similar preservation on record, to which we cannot now refer. preservation have never been pointed out. IEfforts are being made in the present case, in this city, to ascertain the cause. Should any discoveries in that direction be made, we shall not fail to record the result. A NON-RECOIL GUN—A NEW PRINOIPLE IN EXPLOSIONS. A Mr. Harding has been making experimeuts in England, with open steel tubes, in which be inserts a charge of gunpowder, backed by n Ielt wad, nnd a short distance in the rear of tbat another felt wad is introduced, leeving a considerable air space between the two wads. The powder is tben placed upon the top of the first wad, and no ball in immediate contact witb the charge. The charge is then ignited in the nsual manner, aud the propulsive effect is seid to be equal to that of a gun witha breech, while the wads at the rear cnd are torn into lint. The tube has no recoil. Tbese are the facts, in brief, in relation to this experiment, which, if correctly stated, iuvolve.a principle in the resistance of gases hitherto entirely unknown. ‘The genuineness of these experiments, and the eccuracy of tbe fecte ns reported, are credited by highly respectable journals on both sides of the Atlantic, We are not ndvised, however, whether tbey have been verified by eny other party tban the one which originally announced them. Taking it for granted that the experiments are genttine, it is interesting to inquire into the philosophy of this new principle in gases. The Scientific American puts forth the following theory : Between the charge aud the bull there is uo inclosed nir space, but hetween the charge and the eud wad there is. ‘he resistance of the end wnd niust be equal, or nearly so, to tbe force exerted upon the projectile, yet one presents but a slight mecbanical obstruction, while the other has the resistance of gravily and the column of air hetween it and the muzzle of the gun. In commenting upon this experiment, tbe law relating to the transmission of sound io waves forces itsell upon our attention, but does not seem to explain satisfactorily the facts iuvolved in these trials. ‘he only solution which seems at all promising is that of the wedging or tronsverse jamming of the particles of compressed air between the two wads. It is known thot agun barrel can be burst by a slight obstruction placed in the muzzle, confining the air above the projectile-and charge. But in this cuse tbe fracture is not always toward the muzzle, where the greatest compression would be likely to occur, but at the breech, the strongest part. We can account for tbis only on the supposition that the temporary obstruction at the muzzle compels the particles of the explosive gas to force themselves upon those immediately in front, thus producing a strain upon the walls of the tube. In the case of an open brecch, temporarily closed by wads inclosing an air space, the air tbue confined is compressed, and finding uc immediate exit or relense, ve may consider the ‘globular particles of tbe air to be forced into wedged-shaped or cone-like forms, tbus pressiug laterally ‘against tbe sides of the tuhe, ond forming foran instant a diaphragm of resistance ng a substitute for tbe solid breech. It is well kuown tliat waves of sound can be propelled ouly at the rate of 1,100 feet per eecond, while the velocity of a ball propelled’ from a gun by an explosive is nbout 1,600 feet per second, There is, therefore, a loss of time between tbe movement, of the ball and that of the resisting wads. In otber words, tbe compressed atmosphere confined hetween tho two wats behind the charge, does not have time to resist or recover lrom the sudden compression natil the. projectile is driveu from the gun. The following law with tbe regard to the flowing of angulor fragmeuts like sani, may render more clear the above explanation of the Scientific American, with regard to tbe compression of the pnrticles of air into angular shapes, which, iu their normal condition, are supposed to be round :—When a perpendicular tube is filled with sand, very little of the weight is sustained by the bottom of tbe tube; only so much, iudecd, as would equal the weight of The ceuses which prodnced such . a cone of sund, standing on the bottom of that tube. Nearly the whole weight of the column is supported by the walls of the tnbe. If a ‘tube an incb or so in diameter be filled for about six incbes or more with sand, and leid borizontally on a table, all attempts tn push the sand out of tbe tube, by a stick of uenrly the seme diameter, will fail, on account of the large nmount of pressure which will be brought to benr on the:sides, by the wedging of the irregular particles of sand. It is probably in this monner that tbe perticles of air, changed from their globnlar to an angular shape, are mede to press egainst the sides of the gun-barrel with such force us to supply, for. an instant, a breech to the sanie. is CONTRIBUTED FOR OUR OABINET, Under this heading we shall erin tomentlon and deseribe, according to merit, such specimens of orcs, min: crals, fossils, curiosities, cte., as nay be presented, or forwarded tous a mall or er press: prepaid. Each article will be numbered and placed in our cabinet, aud recorded with the name of the donor, and the clalm or locaton from whence it cnme. Dr. R. A. Cocuran, of Downieville, Sierra county, sends us a very fine collection of speci* mens from some of the representative mines of tbnt county. We observe, among the number, tbe Sailor Company, a new discovery elsewhere noticed; the Sierra Buttes Company, onc of the earliest and most importaut quartz Jevelopments in that part of the State ; the Oak Flat, recently sold for $40,000 (specimen sbowing coarse gold, and very much resembling the rich quartz of the Eureka and otber deep mines in Grass Valley); tbe Primrose, -a brownish colored friable quartz, stained with green carbonate of copper, carrying iron pyrites rich in gold, and free gold in the quartz ; the Wheeler ledge, represented by n ricb specimen of partially decomposed sulphurets, show. ing gold all through it ; the Fac Simile, so much resembling the Wheeler that we are inclined to think it took its namo from that resemblance (the eulphurets of tbis mine ure said to be worth $1,500 to the ton—the sumples before us ure worth five times thet amount), and the Good Hope, which, though it does vot show any free gold, gives great hope of a most reliable mine, well cbarged with gold hearing sulphurets. The entire collection certuinly presents a most encouraging evidence of great value in the quartz mines of Sierra connty. Wit S. Grery, sende a number of copperepecimens from Colusa connty, showing yellow sulphurets ef copper. ‘Tbe percentage of sulpburets is emall, but as the snmples were token Irom near the surface, they aro quite sufficient to indicete a good supply of velunble mineral in depth. Tbe character of tbe sulpburets is exceedingly good, and when found in a concentrated form, will assey as bigh as any eimilar ore in the State. C. Annerson sends us several specimens of iron pyrites, almost entirely free from quartz, but interstratified witb galena. They are from tbe Swedenborg mine, West Poiut, Culnverns county. Wehave uo iuformntion as to tbe value of tbcse sulpburcts ; but ebould judge froin tbcir appearance that they must contaiu n large amount of gold. J. B. Baccus, Jr., has sent a specimeu of cop-per ore from Capparum, Red Cove district, Klamatb county. ‘The specimen ie made np of copper pyrites, red oxide, green carbonate and native copper—exceedingly rich. Wa. R. Bransaaw contribates a lot of opals from the famous opal mine, on Stockton Ridge, near Mokelumve Hill. They come to us embedded in their encloeing eurtb, a trachyte of eedimentary formatiou. a Mons. Nevin contributes a specimen of brown silicious rock, seamed witb ugate. Wn. Surrey seuds a box of specimens from Indian gulch, Mariposa county, mostly copper and copper “indications.” He also sends a epecimen of tremolite, of a ycllowish-white color, with radiated needle-form crystals. This mineral is composed of silica, magnesia and lime, in about the proportione of 60, 25 and 13, with traces of iron, munganese and aluminum. The Nos. with which these epeciweus were marked becume detached, from being loosely packed. .

72 The Wining and Srientifie Press, Mining and Scientitic Lress. W. B. EWER,..c:ee0eet Det euaa sete ve oe ¢eee SENIOR EvItOR. Q.W.,M. SMITN. W. B. EWER, A. T, DEWEY. DEWEY & Co., Publishers. 4 ’ Ovrice—No. 505 Clay street, corner of Sansome, 2d floor. Terms of Subscription: + One copy; per annnm, In oy RAS oe One copy, six months, in adyanc Ba For sale by Carrlers Feel Nowsdealera. or «00-85 00 300 Payment 1n Advance.---This paper wlll not be sent t subseribers beyond the term paid for. The publishers well know that a good journal Sana be sustalued ou the ereditsystem. Favorable to Inventors.—Persons holding new Inventions of machinery nnd important Improvements, can have the same illustrated and explatned in the Minine anp Somntirig Press, free of charge, it in our judgment the discovery ls one of real merlt, and of sufficlent Interestlo our readers to warrant publiecation.~ ———— Mr. A. ©. Knox, Is our fully authorized Traveling Agent, and all subscriptions, or other favors extended to him, will be duly.ncknowledged at thls office. San Franoisco, Jan 11th, 1866. Mr. I. N. Hudson, is authorized to soliclt subscrip tlons, advertising, etc., for the MINING anp Sc.entTirto PREss, in San Fraucisco, and to receipt tor the same. It {s Impoxsibie for ealiors to know ALL the ete and demeorlts of their cor the reader must not recelve the opinions of our coutributors as our own. IntcUlgent discussion is invited upon all sides and the evidence ot any error which may ae will bore ceived in friendship and treated with respcct. San Francisco: Saturday Morning, Aug. 4; 1866.) , Superiority or Canirornta Hose.—An in. teresting test of the compurative merits of Eastern and Californin-made hose, took place ‘on Monday last, at the trial of tbe new steem fire-engine. Samples of 200 feet each of hose from two Eeetern manufactories were first taken, and subsequently samples of 100 feet eacb of California-made hose—tbe one from the establishment of M. M. Cook & Son, tbe otber from that of J.J. Fulton. The engine firet displayed ber splendid power. by playing four streams at once, fairly deluging the streets with wnter. After this the different samples of hose were taken up, with tbe following result . Tbe first lot of Eastern bose bureted under a pressure of 180 pounds to tbe square inch; the second lot of Eastern bose gave way at 205 pounds pressure. Tbe California-mnde hose was then brought on. Mr. J.J. Fulton’s reached a pressure of 215 pouuds, without wenkening, when the pressure was removed witbout allowing it to reach its bursting point. The hose of M. M. Cook & Son was then produced, after which the maximum test wus tried, the hose reaching a pressure of 225 pounds before bursting. ‘Tbe excitement of the trial up to this poiut was very grent, nnd the puffing monster tugged away so hard at tho atubborn hose, tbat the crowd begun to stand buck as if fearful lest the boiler sbould burst sooner thau the hose. Tbe result of this trial must be exceedingly gratifying to our California manufacturers, who have now proven, by repeated trials, that they can make a bose altogether superior to the best imported article. It should be stated thnt the California hose wae manufactured of Califoruia-made leather. Mr. Cook & Son nre now filling orders for hydraulic hose from various parts of the Stnte, experience having proven that leatber is cbeaper tban canvas, under most circumstances. Mr. Fulton’s hose was mude by Mr. Heury L. Zepf, at the Sixth street tannery, of which Mr. Fulton is proprietor. Tbe new fire engine, by which these trials were made, carries 160 Ibs. of steam to the square incb, and exerts a water pressure of 260 pounds. " Mar or tue Szat or War.—A. Gensonl, at the Pacific Map Depot, 511 Montgomery street, hos published n very correct and useful “ Map of the Sent of Warin Europe,” upon which the tracks of the great armies now moving over the political chess bonrd of Hurope can be distinctly traced. Tbis publication 1s both nseful and timely, and should be in the poseession of overy person who would read, understandingly, the great events now tranepiring iu thot portion of the world. Tue oldest house ia the United States now standing as it was originally built, is the Rev. Dr. Whitefield’s, at Guilford, Connecticut. It was built in 1639, THE NON-INTERMENT OASE. Tbe papers of this city during the past week hove had considerable to say about a cese of non-interment, wherein Mr. T: Cowing, of 323 First street, has seen fit to place the remains of bis wife, inclosed in an air-tight casket, in a vault in the rear portion of ae hase meut of bis premises. It appears tbat tbe wife died about two years and a half ngo,and that about gix weeks since the gentleman, for tbe first time, removed the woodcn panel over the glass of the casket, and to bis surprise found the remains ulmost as perfect es when first. placed there. ‘The flesh upon the fuce wns plump, as in life; the eyes quito natural, having merely sunk back into their sockets ; the hair adhered apparently as firmly to tbe scalp as 1n life ; the. skin, however, had assumed a tawny hue, aud tbe body appeared somewhat mummpyfied, but without the dried and shrivelen appenrence usually atteuding such preservation ; tbe flesh is moist, and yielding tothe slightest pressure ; it is also elastic, an indentation disappearing alinost as quickly as in the living body. Recollecting that some extrnordinary circumstances . attended hie wile’s decease, he called in the aid of some medical parties, bad the remnins more carefully examined,and a portion of the stomach taken out for onalysis. Dr. Lanszweert, who has had lerge experience as a chemist, in post moriem exeminatione, was subsequeutly called in, the body again examined, aud portions of the liver, kidneys, and other organs removed for further exaniinations, which are row in progress. Our object in tbe present notice is simply to cell attention to tbe scientific interest attached to the casc, wilbout any reference to tbe truth of the various reports which have been circulated witb regard to the offair in the newspapers.We called at tbe premises yesterday and examined the corpse. Ite preservation is certeinly very remarkable, especially ne no embalming process has been employed, as has beeu ezroneously stated. For the furtherance of science, Mr. Cowing allowed a photograph to be taken of the face, to preserve, so fur as possible, its exact eppeerance at tbe present time. After the first incision had been made by the geutlemen first called, the fluids of the body appear to have escaped, ond in the prepara tions for tbe second incision, this fluid was removed. ‘The “ bose wasbings,” of which men/tion hae been made in the daily papers, was the removal of a portion of this fluid from the floor of an open roow in the basement. The fluid, at the time of removal, wus, of course, somewhat offensive, -At the time of our visit, yesterday, we perceived no unpleasant odor, forther than tbat which would be uoticed from a body just placed in a damp tomb. ‘The presence of tbe body certainly could not bave been suspected by any one standing nenur the closed door of tba vault. The party baving the body in his possession bus beeu complained of under Sec. 6, Chap. 3, Order 677, for allowing his premises to hecome natseous, foul and offensive, and prejudicial to public healtb and comfort. Tbe case vame up yesterday, and was postponed until to-day, with the underetanding thnt tbe body would in the meantime he removed to a proper vault in the cemetery. Tbe canse of justice and science baving been fully satisfied, the request of the Court will be complied with. This is one of the most singular cases of remurkable preservation of bodily tissue on record. We append two or three similar cases, which have been recorded in the aunals of science: Francis Miron, a descendant from the Mirons, who wero successively physicinns to the Kings of Frnnce, from Charles VIII to Henry ITI, died in 1609, and plaeed in a hermetically closed casket. His tomb was receutly opened, und his body fonud in nn admirablo state’ of proservation. The tomb of Henry IV, ot France, was opened in 1782, and his body fonnd in-snch a good state of preservation that his fentures

were perfectly recognizuble. The coffin containing tho remuine of Gustavus III, of Sweden, wns recently opened, and tbe face of the deceesed was fonnd to be in a perfect state of preservation, altbough his body bnd falleu into decay. There ure numerous other instances of similar preservation on record, to which we cannot now refer. preservation have never been pointed out. IEfforts are being made in the present case, in this city, to ascertain the cause. Should any discoveries in that direction be made, we shall not fail to record the result. A NON-RECOIL GUN—A NEW PRINOIPLE IN EXPLOSIONS. A Mr. Harding has been making experimeuts in England, with open steel tubes, in which be inserts a charge of gunpowder, backed by n Ielt wad, nnd a short distance in the rear of tbat another felt wad is introduced, leeving a considerable air space between the two wads. The powder is tben placed upon the top of the first wad, and no ball in immediate contact witb the charge. The charge is then ignited in the nsual manner, aud the propulsive effect is seid to be equal to that of a gun witha breech, while the wads at the rear cnd are torn into lint. The tube has no recoil. Tbese are the facts, in brief, in relation to this experiment, which, if correctly stated, iuvolve.a principle in the resistance of gases hitherto entirely unknown. ‘The genuineness of these experiments, and the eccuracy of tbe fecte ns reported, are credited by highly respectable journals on both sides of the Atlantic, We are not ndvised, however, whether tbey have been verified by eny other party tban the one which originally announced them. Taking it for granted that the experiments are genttine, it is interesting to inquire into the philosophy of this new principle in gases. The Scientific American puts forth the following theory : Between the charge aud the bull there is uo inclosed nir space, but hetween the charge and the eud wad there is. ‘he resistance of the end wnd niust be equal, or nearly so, to tbe force exerted upon the projectile, yet one presents but a slight mecbanical obstruction, while the other has the resistance of gravily and the column of air hetween it and the muzzle of the gun. In commenting upon this experiment, tbe law relating to the transmission of sound io waves forces itsell upon our attention, but does not seem to explain satisfactorily the facts iuvolved in these trials. ‘he only solution which seems at all promising is that of the wedging or tronsverse jamming of the particles of compressed air between the two wads. It is known thot agun barrel can be burst by a slight obstruction placed in the muzzle, confining the air above the projectile-and charge. But in this cuse tbe fracture is not always toward the muzzle, where the greatest compression would be likely to occur, but at the breech, the strongest part. We can account for tbis only on the supposition that the temporary obstruction at the muzzle compels the particles of the explosive gas to force themselves upon those immediately in front, thus producing a strain upon the walls of the tube. In the case of an open brecch, temporarily closed by wads inclosing an air space, the air tbue confined is compressed, and finding uc immediate exit or relense, ve may consider the ‘globular particles of tbe air to be forced into wedged-shaped or cone-like forms, tbus pressiug laterally ‘against tbe sides of the tuhe, ond forming foran instant a diaphragm of resistance ng a substitute for tbe solid breech. It is well kuown tliat waves of sound can be propelled ouly at the rate of 1,100 feet per eecond, while the velocity of a ball propelled’ from a gun by an explosive is nbout 1,600 feet per second, There is, therefore, a loss of time between tbe movement, of the ball and that of the resisting wads. In otber words, tbe compressed atmosphere confined hetween tho two wats behind the charge, does not have time to resist or recover lrom the sudden compression natil the. projectile is driveu from the gun. The following law with tbe regard to the flowing of angulor fragmeuts like sani, may render more clear the above explanation of the Scientific American, with regard to tbe compression of the pnrticles of air into angular shapes, which, iu their normal condition, are supposed to be round :—When a perpendicular tube is filled with sand, very little of the weight is sustained by the bottom of tbe tube; only so much, iudecd, as would equal the weight of The ceuses which prodnced such . a cone of sund, standing on the bottom of that tube. Nearly the whole weight of the column is supported by the walls of the tnbe. If a ‘tube an incb or so in diameter be filled for about six incbes or more with sand, and leid borizontally on a table, all attempts tn push the sand out of tbe tube, by a stick of uenrly the seme diameter, will fail, on account of the large nmount of pressure which will be brought to benr on the:sides, by the wedging of the irregular particles of sand. It is probably in this monner that tbe perticles of air, changed from their globnlar to an angular shape, are mede to press egainst the sides of the gun-barrel with such force us to supply, for. an instant, a breech to the sanie. is CONTRIBUTED FOR OUR OABINET, Under this heading we shall erin tomentlon and deseribe, according to merit, such specimens of orcs, min: crals, fossils, curiosities, cte., as nay be presented, or forwarded tous a mall or er press: prepaid. Each article will be numbered and placed in our cabinet, aud recorded with the name of the donor, and the clalm or locaton from whence it cnme. Dr. R. A. Cocuran, of Downieville, Sierra county, sends us a very fine collection of speci* mens from some of the representative mines of tbnt county. We observe, among the number, tbe Sailor Company, a new discovery elsewhere noticed; the Sierra Buttes Company, onc of the earliest and most importaut quartz Jevelopments in that part of the State ; the Oak Flat, recently sold for $40,000 (specimen sbowing coarse gold, and very much resembling the rich quartz of the Eureka and otber deep mines in Grass Valley); tbe Primrose, -a brownish colored friable quartz, stained with green carbonate of copper, carrying iron pyrites rich in gold, and free gold in the quartz ; the Wheeler ledge, represented by n ricb specimen of partially decomposed sulphurets, show. ing gold all through it ; the Fac Simile, so much resembling the Wheeler that we are inclined to think it took its namo from that resemblance (the eulphurets of tbis mine ure said to be worth $1,500 to the ton—the sumples before us ure worth five times thet amount), and the Good Hope, which, though it does vot show any free gold, gives great hope of a most reliable mine, well cbarged with gold hearing sulphurets. The entire collection certuinly presents a most encouraging evidence of great value in the quartz mines of Sierra connty. Wit S. Grery, sende a number of copperepecimens from Colusa connty, showing yellow sulphurets ef copper. ‘Tbe percentage of sulpburets is emall, but as the snmples were token Irom near the surface, they aro quite sufficient to indicete a good supply of velunble mineral in depth. Tbe character of tbe sulpburets is exceedingly good, and when found in a concentrated form, will assey as bigh as any eimilar ore in the State. C. Annerson sends us several specimens of iron pyrites, almost entirely free from quartz, but interstratified witb galena. They are from tbe Swedenborg mine, West Poiut, Culnverns county. Wehave uo iuformntion as to tbe value of tbcse sulpburcts ; but ebould judge froin tbcir appearance that they must contaiu n large amount of gold. J. B. Baccus, Jr., has sent a specimeu of cop-per ore from Capparum, Red Cove district, Klamatb county. ‘The specimen ie made np of copper pyrites, red oxide, green carbonate and native copper—exceedingly rich. Wa. R. Bransaaw contribates a lot of opals from the famous opal mine, on Stockton Ridge, near Mokelumve Hill. They come to us embedded in their encloeing eurtb, a trachyte of eedimentary formatiou. a Mons. Nevin contributes a specimen of brown silicious rock, seamed witb ugate. Wn. Surrey seuds a box of specimens from Indian gulch, Mariposa county, mostly copper and copper “indications.” He also sends a epecimen of tremolite, of a ycllowish-white color, with radiated needle-form crystals. This mineral is composed of silica, magnesia and lime, in about the proportione of 60, 25 and 13, with traces of iron, munganese and aluminum. The Nos. with which these epeciweus were marked becume detached, from being loosely packed. .