Volume 24 (1872) (424 pages)

March 30, 1872.] SCIENTIFIC PRESS. 195 ~ a MECHANICAL ‘Procress Metal for Bearings. The following ulloy hms been fonnd to give highly satisfactory results for plummer blocks, axles, hrasses, cte. To 30 parts of melted copper are added 70 parts of antimony; the mixture ix melted and run ont inte thin plates, These are then re-melted with tin in the proportion of 90 purts of tin to 10 parts of the copxx oand antimony, and run out aguin into thin ydates, Whben mused it is remelted, and rm into the form required, M. Volk, of Regensburgh, has employed an ley for many years, of which the following are the component parts: Coyqer. 5.6 per cent.; antimony, 11.2 per cent.; und tin, 83.2 per cent. fe also employs the following mixtures to produce metals for various purposes, For otide valves. . 819 por cent. 14.5 " For piston nnoge Hrass cuttingn. Copper cuttings, Pxeromatic Desratch Tunrs.—At the meeting of tho (Mnglish) Institute of Civil Engineers, C, Siemens read a paper on thissnbject, which is published in Lhe Hnyineer. The tirst system mentioned was laid in London and consisted of a tube throngh which carriers, containing messages, were forced in one direction hy compressed air, and in the other hy means of an exhanstcd recciver. This has a limited power of dispatch as one carrier must complete its passage in one direction hefore another eould be sent in the other direction, and it did not admit of intermediate stations, In 1863, Messrs. Siemens & Halske introdneed their system at Berlin. This eonsisted of two 2% inch tubes, forming a cirenit. Throngh these tlowed a continnous air eurrent, of courso passing in onc direction in one tubo and in the opposite direction in the other. Carriers could be put into the tubes at any point, The continuons air enrrent was produced by means of a steam engine working a double-ucting air pump. In Paris there was also a circular system, but withont a continnons air eurrent, tho carriers being driven from one station to another by air compressed by means of water from thé city mains. This was very limited in eapacity and reqnired a large expenditure of water. In London there was a large cast-iron tnbe of a & section for carrying yarcels, Here, in 1870, the Sicmens Brothers introduced their cirenit system with continnons air current, and this hus been fonnd to work well and has since been extended, As above, earricrs can be sent or received at any point. As to the speed of the carrier it was found that it traveled 4,116 yards, or over the whole cirenit in 7 min. 45 see. Instead of a steam engine and air pumps, the necessity of which was a hindranco to the general introduction of pnenmatic tubes, a simple and cheap arrangement, something like the Giffard Injector, has been used with very good snecess for producing the eontinnons air enrrent, CasE-HarpENtne.—It is often desirable to convert the surface of small iron articles into steel, to prevent wear and tear, and also to prepire them for a high polish. To do so is inch quicker and cheaper than to make these articles in the first plaeo ont of steel. The older process consisted in placing them in an iron case with burnt bone dnst or other charcoal, exposed for from two to eight hours to a dull red heat, and plnnged into oil or cold water, which eooling is called ‘‘ qnenehing.” The process is varied at times by leaving its subjects to cool in the case, and afterwards tempering them. A later mode is to use prussiate of potash. This consists of two atoms of carbon and one of nitrogen to one of potash. Its decomposition leaves no solid residium that can interfere with the chemieal change or injure the quality of the stcel. It is rubbed on the iron ata dnllred heat; the metal is then put in the fire for a few minntcs, and then tempered in water. : It was formerly customary to case-harden bnrglar-proot safes, the iron doors of banks, etc., so that they might resist the drills of thieves. Such articles are now made mostly from Franklin iron, which is mannfactured from an ore found ut Franklin, N. J., and nowhere else in the world. This iron iy peenliarly hard, and is fonnd to be abont as effective as if casehardened, Tue Sr. Louis Bemes is progressing rapidly. The eonercte or fonndation of the last pier has been laid, the masonry is two-thirds eompleted and the superstructure is commeneed. The caat-iron platea at the piers have been placed and prepared for the reeeption of the steel tubea forming the spacea, It will be eompleted in about a year from now, Steeled Wheels. This novel title is given to railway wheels made hy w process which most rink wong the preat nnprovements recently made in the working of metals, hy Mr. W. G. Hamilton, envineer, of the Ramapo Wheel und Foundry Co., which, after 4 years of experimental trinls, in now hrought prominently before the public. Mr. Hamilton, who is well known to the railway profession, throngh his '* Maunal of Useful Information to Railway Men,” has worked out the problem of making chilled car-wheels out of non-chilling irons, and at the same time increasing the strength of the mixture uhoye that of the most expensive churcvn] irons. The process consists in yart in melting serap stecl, with the ordinary charge of pig metal, in the enpola, by which an increase ot strength of from 2U to 5U_ per cent. is given to the metal. Messrs. A. Whitney & Sons, the extensive wheel founders of Philadelphia, have becn testiny the practical utility and value of the procuss, have made sorie 15,000 wheels, during a coutinnous working during the lust 3 months, und report it # most complete success. That this process will enable them, by adding to their usnal chilling churcoal irons a portion of non-chilling soft churcoul irons, or mithrucite metal, to produce acar wheel of greater strength, and at a much less cost, than with high-priced chilling ehareoal irons alone. To the railway community the valne ot this improvement will be nnderstood, when it is known that the supply of charcoal irons is yearly diminishing and the cost increasing, and that the stveled metal gives greater seenrity to their roling stock. Couvep Locomotive SuoxeSrack,—According to the Boston Transcript a Massachusetts invention has lately been tried on the Fitchburg railroad with good results. It eonsists of a curved smoke-stuck, of nearly the shape of a ‘thorn of plenty,” attached as ordinary sinokeslacks are, the month running heckward. Within, near the enlargement xt the npper eurve, is placed a wire screen at an angle of about 45° with the direetion of the smoke, and the nsnal sercen is placed over the immediate outlet. Just below the first screen x perforated steam pipe runs horizontally throngh the smoke-stack, and is connected with the hoiler by a valve-pipe under the eontrol of the enginedriver. As the refuse matter from the furnace passes throngh tho stack, it ismoistencd hy the fine spray ejeeted through the perforations, thns demlening the partieles and increasing their weight, Striking against the inclined sercen, they are deflected downwards and led through a proper tnbe below tho engine, falling on the track in a moistened and consequently harness stato. Tho aitangement does not hinder the draft. Not only is the trouble of cinders npon tbe train obviated, bnt damage from firos nlong tho track is also preventéd. Broap anp Narrow Gauce.—A writerin Van Nostrand's Mag. argues in favor of the broad (6 feet or more) over the narrow (4 7-10 feet) gange for railroads, claiming a gain in all respeets for the former. In regard to the present general nse of the narrow gange he says that it has been adopted ‘‘tor reasons which it wonld not be ereditable to our railway managers and to the profession to state’’-—a statement which may be satisfactory to the author, but which the general publie can hardly be expeeted to swallow. In his eomparison, however, he gives figures to prove that the cost of building und running rvads ot broad gange is less than for those of narrow gange. His argumentis by no means complete. In conelnsion he says that it is now understood that several leading engineers in Enrope, dissatisfied with the narrow gauge of 4 7-10 feet or 5 feet, are serionsly cousidering the question of reeommending the 6foot gange as the best uniform gange for the entire of Northern Europe and Asia, Inon Cars.—A model of a freight car is attracting considerable attention at St. Louis. Itis cylindrical in form, and is constructed of iron, By the peculiarity of its form, pressure on the sides is avoided, and having a false floor, better ventilation is attainable—a matter of great importance in the transportation of fruit, grain, flour, and many other perishable commodities. It is, moreover, fire-proof, and when constructed with equal strength and capacity weighs one ton less than a wooden car. We are not informed as to the comparative cost of construction. Examen, FoR Murrats.—M.' Pleischl, of Vienna, claims to have discovered a vitreons enamel for metals whieh combines the properties of extreme hardness, durability, freedom from noxious ingredients (lead and zine), and malleability by coutaet with the snbstances to which it is applied. Inon VessEts of a thonsand tons are now built whieh draw only eighteen inches of water, and a compuny has been formed in New Orleans to provide such vessels for the transportation of -the produets of the Mississippi Valley to that eity. TueEre are eight large establishments in the United States engaged in the mannfaeture of pins, one faetory turning ont an average of abont eight tons a week, Ameriean pins are eonsidered the best in the world, and the demand from foreign eonntries is eonstantly increasing, Scientiric Progress. Peculiar Phenomena Observed in Quarrying. W. VL. Nile, Prof. in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes in the AmeriJournal of Science, certain phenomena which ure often observed in quarrying, such as fraetures, sudden moverients, and expansions of beds of stones connected with quarrying, aud due apparently to the state of tension to which the hed was subjected when in its original stute in the quarry, The Prof. mentions a sportaneons fracture in a hed of gneiss three fect and nine inches thick, which was sixty-one feet long, and mainly in the direction of the strike, but with some abrnpt transverso turns, ‘The transverse fractures were opened wider than the north and south—in two and a half months, the former fivo-cighths of an inch, the latter nowhere over one-fourth—showing that there was less resistauce to motion in the direc: tion of the strike. He mentions cases of antichnals formed by movements in heds. In one instance a bed of gneiss twenty inches thick had been elevated an inch and a half, the northem slope of the auticlinal measmving twenty-three feet. The fold trended east and west, and at one end there was a crack threesixteenth of an inch wide. In another instance in uw bed three inches thick, tho amonnt of elevation at the center was one inch, and there wasn fracture along’the whole length of the crest, trending east and west. Prof. Niles observed a bend torm in a bed two and three-quarter inches thick; in a few honrs the portion uf the hed forming the crest was elevated three inches and a quarter, and the crest—tive und a half feet lony—had a fracture along it. Sudden sonnds and explosions sometimes attend the movements and fractnrings; and the sonnds oceur in all seasons, thongh more frequent in snmmer, Sometimes they are londer than thu report from a hlast, and at one time led to the supposition that the powder magazine had expleded. The following is the example of the expansion ot tho rock during quarrying. A mass split off nlong one side, by wedges in w series of drill holes, for a length of 354 feet (requiring 1,200 wedges) in the direction of the strike, or nearly north and south, had a width of eleven feet and a thickness of three. By one end it was still attuched. Soon after the fracture was made, it was ohserved that the halves of the drill holes were not opposite, and at the free extremity the amonnt ot chslocation amounted to an inch and a half; or in other words, the stone was an inch and a half longer after the fracture than before. The snhseqnent exposnre of the stone to the varying temperature and conditions of the weather for two months produced no change. As the free extremity was higher than the other, the phenomenon was not produced by gravity. Three other instances are mentioned of similar efleets; on a smaller seale. TeHAUNTEPEC Suir Canat.—The Commission appointed to examine and report on the Tehauntepee ship canal project have pnblished their report. It may be found in Van Nostrand for Febrnary. The eastern terminns of the canal, as proposed, is at the junction of the Coahnapa and Goatzacoaleos rivers, abont 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the latter river forming an excellent harbor for that distance. It runswest to the summit of Tarita, 680 feet above the sea level, crossing on the way the Chalchijapa, Chicolote, Goutzocoalcos (at Old Mal Paso) and Malatengo rivers. From the summit it passes through a plain where a cutting 100 feet deep, for several miles is recommended, descends to the plains at the foot of the mountains—a descent of 360 feet, requiring 35 locks, — and thence with a fall of 240 feet in 14 or 15 miles reaches . the Upper Lagoon. Thenice to reach the Paeific one or both of the narrow peninsulas, separating the lagoon from the oeean, must be ent through, and an external harbor or entrance piers thrown ont. The plan is for a ship canal with an available depth of water of not less than 20 feet, with locks 450 ft. long and 50 ft. wide. Total length of artificial canal, 115 to 120 miles; number of locks, 120, with 10 foot lift; total rise, 600 ft. The country is healthy and very productive, laborers are easily obtained and building material is abundant. The extensive nse of timher instead of masonry is recommended, Ansorprron or Moisture By Brick anp STONE. Prof. Draper, of University Medieal College, New York, has been making some experiments with regard to the relative absorption of moisture by briek and stone, using brown stone, Nova Seotia stone of the best quality, fine red Philadelphia brick, and a compact, hardburned, white brick from New Jersey. His experiment showed that briek absorbs more moisture than stone, but parts with its imbibed moisture more readily, and theretore preferable as a building material, and that the white brick is superior to the red, absorbing only half as much moisture. In cases corresponding to the dews of summer or fogs, brown stoue absorbs more moisturo than tho Nova Seotia stone and both these more than brick, and hence are more favorable to vegetable growth and inferior for building purposes, On the whole the materials rank in relative value for building aa follows: 1, White brick; 2. Red briek; 3. Novia Seotia stone; 4. Brown stone, The Late Solar Eclipse. Accounts are slowly coming in, mostly by telegraph, frum the various stutious estublished to make observations upon the late celipse. It will be some time yet before full reports will he received, and still longer before these reports will be collected, compared and properly worked np so as to determine their reul value, Se far us yet appears, the olwervations have not developed any new facts; hut have in seyeral instances furnished important confirmation of conclusions which had already been measnrubly attained on previous occasions, but not with sufficient evidence to secure the entire acquicsecnee of all astronomers, One in:portand point thus detinitely attained is the assumption that the corona is not to any considerable extent the effect of the atmosphere of cithcr the earth or moon, hnt that rinys, rays, rifts, streamers and all is a trne solar appendage only slightly modified by our own atmosphere, Dr, Janssen, one of the observers ,at Mindostan, writes to Prof. Newton that bis observations proved that, independently of the cvosmieal unitter which should be fonnd near the sun, there exists ebont this hody, an atmosphere of yreat extent, execedingly rure, and with a hydrogen base. ‘This atmasphere which donbtless forins the lust gaseous enyelope of the sun, is fed from the mutter of the protnbermuwes which is shot up with great violence from the interior of the photosphere—in tho mamuer shown in the recent illustrated description viven of one of these phenomena as observed by Prof. Young. Prof. J. supposes that it is this atmosphere which produces tbe luge part of the phcnomene hitherto denoted hy the name of solar corona, The question of the polarization of the corona light scems to be still left in donbt, owing to the puzzling inconsistencies, as heretofore noticed, between different instrmments and observers, Prof. Young, the American. astronomer, who has pretty carefully analyzed the brief reports already received, writes to the Boston Journal of Chemistry that when we get the full reports, with photographs, cte., it may possihly happen that their comparison may lead to some cntirely new discoveries, and almost certainly some new question will he raised which cun be settled only at the next eclipse. Sotm Iron Froatminc on Mexrep Iroy.—E. Schott writes coucerning this to the Bery. w. Hutt, Ay. Tu casting wheels he divided tbe molds in two parts and snrronnded these witha spring ring. _Assoonas tho melted iron poured into the mold began to cool the ring opened and that up to 14 inch, the wheel being 18 inches in diameter. After cooling the eusting shrunk to less than the original size of the mold. From this it follows that iron when heated has a greater, and when cooled a smaller yolume than when iluid. The larger volume must, therefore, possess a less specitic gravity, as is confirmed by the phenomenon of solid iron floating on melted iron. Commonly thin pieces of iron are employed for observing this phenomenon. The iron being a good condnetor of heat, speedily acqnires the temperatnre of the fluid mass up to a hright red heat—the degree necessary for the greater expansion—and thns acquires a smaller specific gravity than tho fluid bath and conseqnently swims on it; and this it does the more quickly, the thinner it is, and vice versa, Thicker pieces sink at first, but rise to the surface as soon as they are expanded by the heat,—somewhat analogous is the relatiou of ice to water. Sxec-System or Norarion.—Dr. Lehmann, of Leipzig, according to the Afechanics’ Magazine, proposes a new system of notation with 6 asa basis, counting and reckoning with half-dozens instead of tens, To avoid confusion, tho name six may be changed to see, so that we would connt one, two, three, fowr, five, sec. The higher figures might be called twosee, threesee, fonrsee, secsec or sess. This latter wonld be equivalent to 36, but would be written 1 and 2 nonghts. It is further proposed to change the type so as to suit the new system. Among the advantages noted is the reduction of the extent of the muiltipheation table so tremendons now to sehool-beys and others. The following shows the extent of the tables nuder the sec-system. In making use of the ordinary type, it must be bornein mind that 10 is equivalent to 6: I= 4 3X2=10 4XI=12 5X<I=14 923=10 383=13 4¢3=20 5523=93 Ol4=512 382d 20 44d S439 5H 382523 ABQ BST The greater ease of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division wonld guarantee the decrease of errors in arithmetieal caleulations, ete., ete. ExpLoration or Romz.—Renewed interest is now being shown in the exploration of the buried rehes of Rome. The new government shows a disposition to take the matter in hand and private parties also are in the field. Two schemes have been prominent of late. One is to divert the river Tiber from its chanel, with the idea that from its bed many relies of valno will be obtained. Another is that of au Englishman, J. H. Parker, who has already made exeavations aud discoveries of no small interest, and who now proposes to form a eompany with a paid np eapital of $250,000, with the objeet of pnrehasing land in Rome, exploring it to the ntmost, aud then reselling it an advanced price,

March 30, 1872.] SCIENTIFIC PRESS. 195 ~ a MECHANICAL ‘Procress Metal for Bearings. The following ulloy hms been fonnd to give highly satisfactory results for plummer blocks, axles, hrasses, cte. To 30 parts of melted copper are added 70 parts of antimony; the mixture ix melted and run ont inte thin plates, These are then re-melted with tin in the proportion of 90 purts of tin to 10 parts of the copxx oand antimony, and run out aguin into thin ydates, Whben mused it is remelted, and rm into the form required, M. Volk, of Regensburgh, has employed an ley for many years, of which the following are the component parts: Coyqer. 5.6 per cent.; antimony, 11.2 per cent.; und tin, 83.2 per cent. fe also employs the following mixtures to produce metals for various purposes, For otide valves. . 819 por cent. 14.5 " For piston nnoge Hrass cuttingn.. Copper cuttings, Pxeromatic Desratch Tunrs.—At the meeting of tho (Mnglish) Institute of Civil Engineers, C, Siemens read a paper on thissnbject, which is published in Lhe Hnyineer. The tirst system mentioned was laid in London and consisted of a tube throngh which carriers, containing messages, were forced in one direction hy compressed air, and in the other hy means of an exhanstcd recciver. This has a limited power of dispatch as one carrier must complete its passage in one direction hefore another eould be sent in the other direction, and it did not admit of intermediate stations, In 1863, Messrs. Siemens & Halske introdneed their system at Berlin. This eonsisted of two 2% inch tubes, forming a cirenit. Throngh these tlowed a continnous air eurrent, of courso passing in onc direction in one tubo and in the opposite direction in the other. Carriers could be put into the tubes at any point, The continuons air enrrent was produced by means of a steam engine working a double-ucting air pump. In Paris there was also a circular system, but withont a continnons air eurrent, tho carriers being driven from one station to another by air compressed by means of water from thé city mains. This was very limited in eapacity and reqnired a large expenditure of water. In London there was a large cast-iron tnbe of a & section for carrying yarcels, Here, in 1870, the Sicmens Brothers introduced their cirenit system with continnons air current, and this hus been fonnd to work well and has since been extended, As above, earricrs can be sent or received at any point. As to the speed of the carrier it was found that it traveled 4,116 yards, or over the whole cirenit in 7 min. 45 see. Instead of a steam engine and air pumps, the necessity of which was a hindranco to the general introduction of pnenmatic tubes, a simple and cheap arrangement, something like the Giffard Injector, has been used with very good snecess for producing the eontinnons air enrrent, CasE-HarpENtne.—It is often desirable to convert the surface of small iron articles into steel, to prevent wear and tear, and also to prepire them for a high polish. To do so is inch quicker and cheaper than to make these articles in the first plaeo ont of steel. The older process consisted in placing them in an iron case with burnt bone dnst or other charcoal, exposed for from two to eight hours to a dull red heat, and plnnged into oil or cold water, which eooling is called ‘‘ qnenehing.” The process is varied at times by leaving its subjects to cool in the case, and afterwards tempering them. A later mode is to use prussiate of potash. This consists of two atoms of carbon and one of nitrogen to one of potash. Its decomposition leaves no solid residium that can interfere with the chemieal change or injure the quality of the stcel. It is rubbed on the iron ata dnllred heat; the metal is then put in the fire for a few minntcs, and then tempered in water. : It was formerly customary to case-harden bnrglar-proot safes, the iron doors of banks, etc., so that they might resist the drills of thieves. Such articles are now made mostly from Franklin iron, which is mannfactured from an ore found ut Franklin, N. J., and nowhere else in the world. This iron iy peenliarly hard, and is fonnd to be abont as effective as if casehardened, Tue Sr. Louis Bemes is progressing rapidly. The eonercte or fonndation of the last pier has been laid, the masonry is two-thirds eompleted and the superstructure is commeneed. The caat-iron platea at the piers have been placed and prepared for the reeeption of the steel tubea forming the spacea, It will be eompleted in about a year from now, Steeled Wheels. This novel title is given to railway wheels made hy w process which most rink wong the preat nnprovements recently made in the working of metals, hy Mr. W. G. Hamilton, envineer, of the Ramapo Wheel und Foundry Co., which, after 4 years of experimental trinls, in now hrought prominently before the public. Mr. Hamilton, who is well known to the railway profession, throngh his '* Maunal of Useful Information to Railway Men,” has worked out the problem of making chilled car-wheels out of non-chilling irons, and at the same time increasing the strength of the mixture uhoye that of the most expensive churcvn] irons. The process consists in yart in melting serap stecl, with the ordinary charge of pig metal, in the enpola, by which an increase ot strength of from 2U to 5U_ per cent. is given to the metal. Messrs. A. Whitney & Sons, the extensive wheel founders of Philadelphia, have becn testiny the practical utility and value of the procuss, have made sorie 15,000 wheels, during a coutinnous working during the lust 3 months, und report it # most complete success. That this process will enable them, by adding to their usnal chilling churcoal irons a portion of non-chilling soft churcoul irons, or mithrucite metal, to produce acar wheel of greater strength, and at a much less cost, than with high-priced chilling ehareoal irons alone. To the railway community the valne ot this improvement will be nnderstood, when it is known that the supply of charcoal irons is yearly diminishing and the cost increasing, and that the stveled metal gives greater seenrity to their roling stock. Couvep Locomotive SuoxeSrack,—According to the Boston Transcript a Massachusetts invention has lately been tried on the Fitchburg railroad with good results. It eonsists of a curved smoke-stuck, of nearly the shape of a ‘thorn of plenty,” attached as ordinary sinokeslacks are, the month running heckward. Within, near the enlargement xt the npper eurve, is placed a wire screen at an angle of about 45° with the direetion of the smoke, and the nsnal sercen is placed over the immediate outlet. Just below the first screen x perforated steam pipe runs horizontally throngh the smoke-stack, and is connected with the hoiler by a valve-pipe under the eontrol of the enginedriver. As the refuse matter from the furnace passes throngh tho stack, it ismoistencd hy the fine spray ejeeted through the perforations, thns demlening the partieles and increasing their weight, Striking against the inclined sercen, they are deflected downwards and led through a proper tnbe below tho engine, falling on the track in a moistened and consequently harness stato. Tho aitangement does not hinder the draft. Not only is the trouble of cinders npon tbe train obviated, bnt damage from firos nlong tho track is also preventéd. Broap anp Narrow Gauce.—A writerin Van Nostrand's Mag. argues in favor of the broad (6 feet or more) over the narrow (4 7-10 feet) gange for railroads, claiming a gain in all respeets for the former. In regard to the present general nse of the narrow gange he says that it has been adopted ‘‘tor reasons which it wonld not be ereditable to our railway managers and to the profession to state’’-—a statement which may be satisfactory to the author, but which the general publie can hardly be expeeted to swallow. In his eomparison, however, he gives figures to prove that the cost of building und running rvads ot broad gange is less than for those of narrow gange. His argumentis by no means complete. In conelnsion he says that it is now understood that several leading engineers in Enrope, dissatisfied with the narrow gauge of 4 7-10 feet or 5 feet, are serionsly cousidering the question of reeommending the 6foot gange as the best uniform gange for the entire of Northern Europe and Asia, Inon Cars.—A model of a freight car is attracting considerable attention at St. Louis. Itis cylindrical in form, and is constructed of iron, By the peculiarity of its form, pressure on the sides is avoided, and having a false floor, better ventilation is attainable—a matter of great importance in the transportation of fruit, grain, flour, and many other perishable commodities. It is, moreover, fire-proof, and when constructed with equal strength and capacity weighs one ton less than a wooden car. We are not informed as to the comparative cost of construction. Examen, FoR Murrats.—M.' Pleischl, of Vienna, claims to have discovered a vitreons enamel for metals whieh combines the properties of extreme hardness, durability, freedom from noxious ingredients (lead and zine), and malleability by coutaet with the snbstances to which it is applied. Inon VessEts of a thonsand tons are now built whieh draw only eighteen inches of water, and a compuny has been formed in New Orleans to provide such vessels for the transportation of -the produets of the Mississippi Valley to that eity. TueEre are eight large establishments in the United States engaged in the mannfaeture of pins, one faetory turning ont an average of abont eight tons a week, Ameriean pins are eonsidered the best in the world, and the demand from foreign eonntries is eonstantly increasing, Scientiric Progress. Peculiar Phenomena Observed in Quarrying. W. VL. Nile, Prof. in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes in the AmeriJournal of Science, certain phenomena which ure often observed in quarrying, such as fraetures, sudden moverients, and expansions of beds of stones connected with quarrying, aud due apparently to the state of tension to which the hed was subjected when in its original stute in the quarry, The Prof. mentions a sportaneons fracture in a hed of gneiss three fect and

nine inches thick, which was sixty-one feet long, and mainly in the direction of the strike, but with some abrnpt transverso turns, ‘The transverse fractures were opened wider than the north and south—in two and a half months, the former fivo-cighths of an inch, the latter nowhere over one-fourth—showing that there was less resistauce to motion in the direc: tion of the strike. He mentions cases of antichnals formed by movements in heds. In one instance a bed of gneiss twenty inches thick had been elevated an inch and a half, the northem slope of the auticlinal measmving twenty-three feet. The fold trended east and west, and at one end there was a crack threesixteenth of an inch wide. In another instance in uw bed three inches thick, tho amonnt of elevation at the center was one inch, and there wasn fracture along’the whole length of the crest, trending east and west. Prof. Niles observed a bend torm in a bed two and three-quarter inches thick; in a few honrs the portion uf the hed forming the crest was elevated three inches and a quarter, and the crest—tive und a half feet lony—had a fracture along it. Sudden sonnds and explosions sometimes attend the movements and fractnrings; and the sonnds oceur in all seasons, thongh more frequent in snmmer, Sometimes they are londer than thu report from a hlast, and at one time led to the supposition that the powder magazine had expleded. The following is the example of the expansion ot tho rock during quarrying. A mass split off nlong one side, by wedges in w series of drill holes, for a length of 354 feet (requiring 1,200 wedges) in the direction of the strike, or nearly north and south, had a width of eleven feet and a thickness of three. By one end it was still attuched. Soon after the fracture was made, it was ohserved that the halves of the drill holes were not opposite, and at the free extremity the amonnt ot chslocation amounted to an inch and a half; or in other words, the stone was an inch and a half longer after the fracture than before. The snhseqnent exposnre of the stone to the varying temperature and conditions of the weather for two months produced no change. As the free extremity was higher than the other, the phenomenon was not produced by gravity. Three other instances are mentioned of similar efleets; on a smaller seale. TeHAUNTEPEC Suir Canat.—The Commission appointed to examine and report on the Tehauntepee ship canal project have pnblished their report. It may be found in Van Nostrand for Febrnary. The eastern terminns of the canal, as proposed, is at the junction of the Coahnapa and Goatzacoaleos rivers, abont 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the latter river forming an excellent harbor for that distance. It runswest to the summit of Tarita, 680 feet above the sea level, crossing on the way the Chalchijapa, Chicolote, Goutzocoalcos (at Old Mal Paso) and Malatengo rivers. From the summit it passes through a plain where a cutting 100 feet deep, for several miles is recommended, descends to the plains at the foot of the mountains—a descent of 360 feet, requiring 35 locks, — and thence with a fall of 240 feet in 14 or 15 miles reaches . the Upper Lagoon. Thenice to reach the Paeific one or both of the narrow peninsulas, separating the lagoon from the oeean, must be ent through, and an external harbor or entrance piers thrown ont. The plan is for a ship canal with an available depth of water of not less than 20 feet, with locks 450 ft. long and 50 ft. wide. Total length of artificial canal, 115 to 120 miles; number of locks, 120, with 10 foot lift; total rise, 600 ft. The country is healthy and very productive, laborers are easily obtained and building material is abundant. The extensive nse of timher instead of masonry is recommended, Ansorprron or Moisture By Brick anp STONE. Prof. Draper, of University Medieal College, New York, has been making some experiments with regard to the relative absorption of moisture by briek and stone, using brown stone, Nova Seotia stone of the best quality, fine red Philadelphia brick, and a compact, hardburned, white brick from New Jersey. His experiment showed that briek absorbs more moisture than stone, but parts with its imbibed moisture more readily, and theretore preferable as a building material, and that the white brick is superior to the red, absorbing only half as much moisture. In cases corresponding to the dews of summer or fogs, brown stoue absorbs more moisturo than tho Nova Seotia stone and both these more than brick, and hence are more favorable to vegetable growth and inferior for building purposes, On the whole the materials rank in relative value for building aa follows: 1, White brick; 2. Red briek; 3. Novia Seotia stone; 4. Brown stone, The Late Solar Eclipse. Accounts are slowly coming in, mostly by telegraph, frum the various stutious estublished to make observations upon the late celipse. It will be some time yet before full reports will he received, and still longer before these reports will be collected, compared and properly worked np so as to determine their reul value, Se far us yet appears, the olwervations have not developed any new facts; hut have in seyeral instances furnished important confirmation of conclusions which had already been measnrubly attained on previous occasions, but not with sufficient evidence to secure the entire acquicsecnee of all astronomers, One in:portand point thus detinitely attained is the assumption that the corona is not to any considerable extent the effect of the atmosphere of cithcr the earth or moon, hnt that rinys, rays, rifts, streamers and all is a trne solar appendage only slightly modified by our own atmosphere, Dr, Janssen, one of the observers ,at Mindostan, writes to Prof. Newton that bis observations proved that, independently of the cvosmieal unitter which should be fonnd near the sun, there exists ebont this hody, an atmosphere of yreat extent, execedingly rure, and with a hydrogen base. ‘This atmasphere which donbtless forins the lust gaseous enyelope of the sun, is fed from the mutter of the protnbermuwes which is shot up with great violence from the interior of the photosphere—in tho mamuer shown in the recent illustrated description viven of one of these phenomena as observed by Prof. Young. Prof. J. supposes that it is this atmosphere which produces tbe luge part of the phcnomene hitherto denoted hy the name of solar corona, The question of the polarization of the corona light scems to be still left in donbt, owing to the puzzling inconsistencies, as heretofore noticed, between different instrmments and observers, Prof. Young, the American. astronomer, who has pretty carefully analyzed the brief reports already received, writes to the Boston Journal of Chemistry that when we get the full reports, with photographs, cte., it may possihly happen that their comparison may lead to some cntirely new discoveries, and almost certainly some new question will he raised which cun be settled only at the next eclipse. Sotm Iron Froatminc on Mexrep Iroy.—E. Schott writes coucerning this to the Bery. w. Hutt, Ay. Tu casting wheels he divided tbe molds in two parts and snrronnded these witha spring ring. _Assoonas tho melted iron poured into the mold began to cool the ring opened and that up to 14 inch, the wheel being 18 inches in diameter. After cooling the eusting shrunk to less than the original size of the mold. From this it follows that iron when heated has a greater, and when cooled a smaller yolume than when iluid. The larger volume must, therefore, possess a less specitic gravity, as is confirmed by the phenomenon of solid iron floating on melted iron. Commonly thin pieces of iron are employed for observing this phenomenon. The iron being a good condnetor of heat, speedily acqnires the temperatnre of the fluid mass up to a hright red heat—the degree necessary for the greater expansion—and thns acquires a smaller specific gravity than tho fluid bath and conseqnently swims on it; and this it does the more quickly, the thinner it is, and vice versa, Thicker pieces sink at first, but rise to the surface as soon as they are expanded by the heat,—somewhat analogous is the relatiou of ice to water. Sxec-System or Norarion.—Dr. Lehmann, of Leipzig, according to the Afechanics’ Magazine, proposes a new system of notation with 6 asa basis, counting and reckoning with half-dozens instead of tens, To avoid confusion, tho name six may be changed to see, so that we would connt one, two, three, fowr, five, sec. The higher figures might be called twosee, threesee, fonrsee, secsec or sess. This latter wonld be equivalent to 36, but would be written 1 and 2 nonghts. It is further proposed to change the type so as to suit the new system. Among the advantages noted is the reduction of the extent of the muiltipheation table so tremendons now to sehool-beys and others. The following shows the extent of the tables nuder the sec-system. In making use of the ordinary type, it must be bornein mind that 10 is equivalent to 6: I= 4 3X2=10 4XI=12 5X<I=14 923=10 383=13 4¢3=20 5523=93 Ol4=512 382d 20 44d S439 5H 382523 ABQ BST The greater ease of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division wonld guarantee the decrease of errors in arithmetieal caleulations, ete., ete. ExpLoration or Romz.—Renewed interest is now being shown in the exploration of the buried rehes of Rome. The new government shows a disposition to take the matter in hand and private parties also are in the field. Two schemes have been prominent of late. One is to divert the river Tiber from its chanel, with the idea that from its bed many relies of valno will be obtained. Another is that of au Englishman, J. H. Parker, who has already made exeavations aud discoveries of no small interest, and who now proposes to form a eompany with a paid np eapital of $250,000, with the objeet of pnrehasing land in Rome, exploring it to the ntmost, aud then reselling it an advanced price,