Volume 26 (1873) (431 pages)

January 4, 1873.] MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS. Userput Information. How to Varnish. Varnishing shotild always be done In a warm atmosphere 72 deg., or as warm aeyoucancomfortably work in. In arednced atmosphere water is always prescnt, an invisibledew, and will giveto varniehamilkyand clouded appearance, even on a fine snmmerday this may happen, . and the only way to obviate the difficulty is to heat to 72 degs., sufficient to keep the moisture suspended in the air until the solvent has ontirely evaporated leaving the gums in a thia glossy coat; the brilliancy and defensive value of the varuish will depend upon this. To prodnee a brilliant surface have your work In the varvish room a few houra before varnIshing that it may ncqnire the same temperature as the atmosphere. Smooth the eurface, wash off and wipe dry with a chamols skin or piece ofold silk, removing all traces of dust, moisture or grense—no oi! or grease should be allowed or uscd—have your brush as large as the nature of the work will admit—soft, clean aud free from loose hair. Lift the varnish lightly with the brush, charging moderately, and apply a thin coat. Begin at a little distance from tho ede or at the insido of the panel, highest point first, and work to the outside edge in direct, long, rapid, and steady strokes with a moderate pressure, sparingly upon the cdyes atl angles, working alternetely toward the ends; spread eyeuly aud qnickly the thickness of paper and draw lightly for finish, In this great care and watchfulness arerequired. After varnishing expose yourwork tothe heat of the sun or keepin heat free from dnst and dranght. Cold sir and draught passing over varnish will dull the surface wherever they extend. Ifthe varnish should so become chilled, the hrilliancy and clearness may be restored by giving the surfaco another thiu coat, andimmediately hold near the fire to dissolve the chilled coat but not too near to blister. Tue Water Tevescope.— For seeing under water, consiste of a tube to enable a person. louking over the gunwale of a hoat to rest the hend on onsend, while the other is helow the surface of the water; the upper end being so formed that the head may rest on it, both eyes seeing freely into the tnhe, Into the lower end is fixed (water-tight) a plate of glass, which, wheu used, is to he kept under the surface of the water; so that thespectator, looking down the tube, sees all objects at the bottom whose reflective powers are ahle to send off rays of snflicient intensity to be impressed on the retlua, after enifering the lose of light cansed by the ahserbing power of the water. Light in passiug through pure sea-water, loses half its intensity foreach 15 feet throngh which it passes, says Sir John Leslie. In clear waterthe bottom may thus be seen at the depth of twelve fathoms. This contrivance is much used in scalehooting along the northern and weatern islands of Great Britain, where, sometimes in the form of an ordinary washing-tuh with a piece of glass fixed in its bottom, the shot seal is looked for, and the grappling-hook let down to bring him to the snrface. The Norwegian fisherman also often use this telescope when their anchors getinto foul ground, or their cables warped on a roadstead. Moron or THe Exe.—On comingintoa room, we think we see tho whole side of it at once— the pictures, the cornice, the chairs—but we are deceived; being nnconscious of the Motions of the Eye, and that each object is rapidly, but successively; presented toit. Itis easy to show that ifthe eye were steady, vision would he nickly lost; that all those objects which are distinct and hrilliant, areso from the motion of the eye; that they would disappear if it were otherwise. For example, let us fix the eye on one point—a thing difficult to do, owing to the very disposition to motion in the eye. When we have done so, we shall find that the whole scene becomes more and more obscure, and finally vaniehes. Ifwethen change the direction of the eye but ever so little, at ence the whole scene will be again perfect before ne. Theee phenomena are conseqent upon the re-, tina being eubject to exhaustion, by the lights, ehades, and colore of objects continning to etrike npon the the same relative parte, and thus exhansting the nerve; but when the eye shifts, there is a new exercise of the nerve. Cuurrvate Hapits or CAREFUL OBSENVATION.— Prof. Buckland in alate address aeked his audience, which he snpposed contained young men who one day would be among the rulere and chief men of ourland—to see for themeelves, to hear all they could, but not accept ae gospel what they heard till they had proved it. He wished to encourage a habit of examination and inquiry among young and old, and gave amusing inetances of attempts that had been made to impose on himself. A ‘‘monster,”’ said to have heen shot in the woods of Japan, wae hrought to him, and a large sum aeked for it. A hideous wretch it was when produced, hut he soon discovered that it was made of gutta percha, and was ingeniously fitted with eyes, teeth, uails etc., from veriousincongruoue animals. Userun ir Errective.—A citizen of Bedford county, Va.,has invented a machine to melt the snow and ice on a railroad track ae the train rune, by means of a flame of eufficient intensity to produce the result instantly. The invention ie just in time, if effective ‘ Power oF tHe Kye rw Virwrsc Mrcre On yects.—The smalleet particle ofa white snbstance distinguishable by the naked eye npon a black gronnd, or ofa hlack suhstance npon a white ground, isabent the 1-400th of an inch square. It is possible, by the closest attention, and by the most favorable direction of light, to recognize particles that are ouly 1-540th of an inch square; bnt withont sharpnese or certainty. But particles which atrougly retleet light may be distinctly eeen, when not half the size of the leest of the foregoing; thns, gold dust of the fineness of 1-1125th of un inch may be discerned with the naked eye in common daylight. When particles that cannot bs distinguished by themselves with the naked eye, are placed in a row, they hecome visible; and hence the delicacy of vision is greater for lines than for single particlee, Thus, opaqne threads of no more fen 1-1900th of an inch ucross, or ahout half the diameter of the silkworm’s fibre, may be diecerned with the naked eye when they are held towards the light.—Canrentrr’e Andnal Physiology. Boous Cutxese Peants, — Minute descriptions have been written of the manner in which the Chinese claim that they ohtaiu real pearls by placing foreigu substauces within the shell of the fish which prodnces pearls, when the animal, unable to get rid of it, makes a deposit of ‘pearl’ matter aroand it, so that it becomes areal pearl. Professor Buckland has recently shown that this is possibly a deception which has beeu qnite successfully practiced upon the “outside barbarians.” During a recent lecture he exhibited a large pearl shell in which were scyen or eight imuges of the God Buddha, coated with a secretion of mother of pearl. The professor said it was claimed hy the person who presented the shell thatthe oyster deposits this secretion itself, when Master Johu Chinaman iuserts these images. Mr. Buckland was sceptical, but said nothing till he had proved that the secretion was as much artificial as the little images themselves. It was a solutiou of the real mother of pearl, artificially apphed and painted over the images. How rue Diamonp Cots Gusss.—Dr. Wallaston ascertained that the parts of the glass to which the diamond is applied sre forced asunder, as by a wedge, to a most minute distance, withont being removed; so thet a superficial continuous crack is made from one end of the intended cut to the other. After this, any small force applied to one extremity is sufficient to extend this crack through all the whole anbstance and across the glass; for since the atrain at each instant in the progress of the crack is confined nearly to a mathematical point at the bottom of the fissure, the effort necessary for carrying it through is proportionally small. Dr. Wollaston found by trial that the cnt caused by the mere passage of the diumond need not penetrate so muchas the twohundceth part of aninch. He found also that other mineral bodies, recently ground into the same form, are capable of cntting glass; hut they cannot long retain that power, from want of the requisite hardness. Force or Licutyina.—In August, 1816, St. George's church, at Leicester, England, was entirely destroyed by the effects of a thunderetorm) The steeple was hurst asunder, and parts of it were blown thirty feet; while the vane-rod and top part of the spire fell perpendicularly down, carrying with it every floor in the tower. Mr. Highton, in compariug the power of this discharge of lightniug with some known mechanical force, states, that one hundredtons of etone were blowu a distance of thirty feet in three seconds; consequently a 12,220 horse-power engine would have been required to resist the effects of this single flash. Sunstances tHat Most Bests? ra# ACTION oF . Co1zp.—Pure eleohol, ether, hisulpbide of carhon, and glycerinedo not freeze at any tem perature to which they haveeveryet been subjected. Ammonia freezes at about 45° below Fah. zero, and pure nitric acid at ahont the same point. Mercury freezes at—39° Fah., sulphuric acid and eome other eubstances reqnire also a temperature far below the zero of Fahrenheit scale to produce eolidification. The union of any liquid, which by itself remaine fluid at a very low temperature, with water, will raise its freezing point. Tue Por Fisu.—That little fellow, croseed with blue stripes, that is said to pilot the ehark to its prey is really no pilot at all. The ideais a delusion. He ie no more a pilot to a ehark than the starling is to the eheep. Do we think the starling is in love with the sheep that it settles on its back? No; it is then busily ridding the eheep of its natural tormentore—its Norfolk Howards. Such en office does the eo-called pilot fish fill in regard to the ehark, Uriazixa Corron Wasts.—The experiment at Westville, Conn., of afactory forthe extracting of oil from cotton waste has proved a decided succese, By this process old grimy, greasy rags and waete cotton are rendered perfectly pure, odorless and merchantahle. The waste of the Connecticut and Massachueetts cottou mills will more than supply the Wes.ville Oil Extracting Works with materials. New Use ror Mica, A new use has been found for mica. Itis now attracting public attention as a material for roofing buildings, for which purpose it has been found to be peauliar. ly adapted. Goon Heart. The Blood. Blood, in its ordinary condition, is always fluid; withdrawu from the vessels of tha living animal and left for a time to itself, it separates iuto two portions, a semi-solid mass, and a liquid portion, in which the masa floats; the eolid part is called tho clot. This phenomenou (the formation of the clot) is due to tho presence of fibriue iu the bleod; it is held in solution iu the serum during life; hut when thie loses its intlucnce over it, it solidifies, enclosing with it the plobules; and thus forming the red gelatinous mass called the clot. Blood is the special agcut of nutrition, and is the general restorer of what is lost. But in nddition it is proved, by simple experimente in blood-letting, and of transfusion, to form an essential stimulus for the performance of the functions of life. By severe loss of blood we hecome enfeebled and seemingly dead; but if, before this happens, the blood of another animal be transfused into the veins of the suffering individnal, the vitahty is restored. The importance of the globules is also proved hy the same experimeut; for if simpleserum be so transfused, death takes plaec. The fibrine of the blood also plays an important part; for when the blood is deprived of its fibrine and injected into the veins of a dog, the animal dies with symptoms resembling those of putrid liver. The influence of the hlood over nutrition mey also he readily demonstrated. Withdraw the blood more or less from an organ, and it gradually wastes away in proportion to the quantity withdrawn, while, on the contrary, the greater size of the muscles in those who employ them actively, and hence draw to them a larger amount of hlood. To the important functions and uses of the hlood, some physiologists go so far as to assert tbat “the life is blood,” in that the entire principle of life exists in the bleod, A morhid condition of the blood is the fruitful sonree of many diseases. Cleanse the vitiated blood whenever yon find its impurities bursting through the skin in pimples, eruptions or sores; cleanse it when you find it is obstructed and sluggish in your veins; cleanse it whenever it isfoul. Keep the blood healthy and all is well; but with this vital fluid diseased, there can he no lasting health. Potsonous Conrectiovery.—Ifa report just presented to the Neweastlc (England) town council had been available at the time Christiana Kdmnnds was on her trial, it might have heen found useful in support of the theory of her lunacy. No onebut a lunatie, it might have boen nrged, would take the trouble to poison confectionery and thereby incur suspicion, where there are, ready-made to hand and openly sold in shops, sweetmeats artistically coated with deadly poison. ‘That such is the case in Nowcastle-upon-Tyne, is shown by a report of Mr. Pattinson, analytical chemist, upon which the local corporation have decided to take immediate action. Mr. Pattinson says he has cxamined various samples of euger confectionery sold in Newcastle, and finds thet nearly the whole of the articles colored yellow and orange are s0. colored by chromate of lead. Out of thirtyfive different kinds of sweetmeats examined, obtained from twenty different dealers, twentyeight were colored by this poison, Someof the articles contained upwarde of a tenth of a grain of motallic lead, the eugaging substance being supplied to manufacturers under the names of ‘demon chrome” and ‘‘orange chrome.’’ Mr. Pattinson adds that ‘‘Some of the confectiouery contained plaster of Paris to the extent of 134 per cent., besides a good dealof wheaten flour.” If parents were allowed their choice, they would doubtless prefer this last named adulteration to the lead salt mentioned above, Mecuanism or tH” Bonzs.— In the human ekeleton there are commonly enumerated 260 bones, which present every variety of size and figure. But all these varieties may ke reduced to three classee: the long ‘and round, as the hones of the upper extremities; the hroad and flat, as the bones of the skull; or the ehort and square, as the separate bones that compoee the vertebral column. The long hones are adapted for motion, the flat for protection, and the square for motion combined with strength. Accordingly, the long bones are moulded into lengthened cylinders, and form eo many levers, exquisitely constructed and combined. In the employment ofthe flat honee for the covering of eome of the more teuder and delicate organs, as the brain and spinal cord, the form of these bones adde to their strength, aein the vaulted roof of the skull; while in the constrnction of the vortebral column, composed of the ehort and sqnare bones, which are so adjusted, as to afford a limited renge of motion with a greatdegree of etrength, so many and euch opposite purposes are effected by means 60 simple yet so efficient, that no fabric constructed by human ingenuity approaches the perfection of this admirahle piece of mechanism. An Inveiicent Druaoist.—It is said a Syracuse druggist receutly received the following prescription, with a request to put it up:—Fix kramps—Tinct kamfire, won ounce; tinct lodenum, 4 little tinct hot drops, a few drops; tinct kyan pepar, five cents worth; klouform a little, but not mnch, as it is dangerous medicine. Doee, half-{easpuneful when the kramps come on, Nourishment in Food. The wholeeome or unwholesome character of any aliment depende, in a great measure, on the state of the digestive organs, in any given case. Sometimes, a particular kind of foodis called wholesome becanse it prodnced a beneficin] effect ofa particular character on the system of an iudividaal. In thie casc, however, it is to be considered as a medicine, and can be called wholesome only for those whose systems are inthe same condition. Very often a eimnie aliment is made indigestible by artificial ceokery. Aliments ahounding in fat are unwholesome, hecause fat resists the operation of the gastric juice. The addition of too much spice makes many an innocent aliment iujurious, because epices resist the action of the digestive organs, and produce an irritation of particnlar parts of the system. _ many giveu case, the digestive power of the individual is tohe considered, in order to determine whether a particular aliment is wholesome or not. In general, we can only cay, that aliment is healthy which is casily soluble, and ia suited to the power of digestion of the individual; and, in order to render the aliment perfect, the nutritious parts must be mixed up with a certain quantity of innocent substance affording no nourishment, to fill the stomach; because there is no doubt that many persons injure their health by taking too much nntritious foud. In this case, the nutritious paris, which cannot be dissolved, act precisely like food which is, in itself, indigestible. It isa very mistaken idea that the nourishment in food is according to the quantity; a person may eat a great deal of some articles, and receive very little nourishment from them, The quantity of nonrishmeut depends greatly on the aromatio flavor contained in food; and whatever is insipid to the taste is of little service to the stomach. Now, the difference between good cookery and bid cookery lies principally in the development of the flavor of our food; articles properly cooked yield the whole of it; hy good cookery we mako the most of every thing—by bad cookery, the least. Power or Man tro Enpure Corp.—One who took part in a telegraphic expedition in Siberia writes as follows:—“I didn't helieve that it would be possible for me to lie out inthe snow, without shelter, iu a temperature of even 20 deg. below zero, but I have done it once in 50 deg. below, and repeatedly in 45 deg. One of Bush's parties, in Fehruary of last year, passed the night on an opeu, barren steppe, with their spirit thermometer standing 78 deg. below zero, or 100 helow the freezing point. Quicksilver thoy molded into solid bullets with four minutes’ exposure to thenir. It is true they did not dare to go to sleep that night, but I believe that, had they been properly fitted out with heavy furs and wolf-skin sleeping hags to tie over the héad, they might have doue it with perfect sefety. “T'm afraid you would think that I was availing myself of a traveler’s privilege, and relating a very large ‘yarn,’ if I told you how comfortably Ihave slept on the snow in a temperature of 30 deg., 40 deg. aud 45 deg. below. We are obliged to sleep in fur bags, of erurse, with onr faces entirely covered, to take the utmost care to have our fur stockings perfectly dry; but I have slept in that way through the long Arctic nights as comfortably as ever I did in hed at home.”’ Tur Ant or WALEING.—Ina graceful human step, the heel is always raised before the foot is lifted from the ground, as if the foot were pert of a wheel rolling forward; and the weight of the hody supported by the museles of the calf of the leg, rests for the time on the fore part of the foot and toes. There is then a bending of the foot in a certain degree. Bunt where strong wooden shoee are used, or any shoe so stiff that it will not yield and allow thia bending of the foot, the heel is not raised at all until the whole foot rises with it; so that the muecles of the calf are ecarcely used, and, in consequence eon dwindle in size, and almoet disappear. For the eame reason in Parie whore the streete have (few or) no side-pavementsa, and the ladies have to walk almost constantly on tiptoe, the great action of the musoles of the calf hae given a conformation of theleg and foot, to match which the Parisien belles proudly challeuge all the world—not aware, probably, that itis a defect in their city to which the peculiarity of their form ie in part owing. BrsvuLPHDE oF Carwon on THES ysTeM.—Thia eubsteuce is a deadly poison. Ite vapor when inhaled converts the iron of the blood into snlphide of iron, causing death. It isa very volatile liquid; and ite manufacture ie quite dangerous from the above mentioned xreesons. A vossel of it placed in a close room would canse death about as rapidly as cerbonie acid or charcoal fomes. A cup full of the bisulphide placed in a tight apartment filled with grain willin a few houre kill not only every weevil hut also ite larvae and eggs. It is a very useful eubstance, bnt at the eame time, under certain couditions, an extremely dangerous one. A correspondent of the Scientific American calls attention to the danger to be apprehended from the efforte now being mede to free it from its very disagreeable emell, and says:—‘*What on earth people want to smell bisulphide of carbon for, I cannot nnderstand. The more disagreeably it emells the better, for thereby some warning is given of its presence, ;

January 4, 1873.] MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS. Userput Information. How to Varnish. Varnishing shotild always be done In a warm atmosphere 72 deg., or as warm aeyoucancomfortably work in. In arednced atmosphere water is always prescnt, an invisibledew, and will giveto varniehamilkyand clouded appearance, even on a fine snmmerday this may happen, . and the only way to obviate the difficulty is to heat to 72 degs., sufficient to keep the moisture suspended in the air until the solvent has ontirely evaporated leaving the gums in a thia glossy coat; the brilliancy and defensive value of the varuish will depend upon this. To prodnee a brilliant surface have your work In the varvish room a few houra before varnIshing that it may ncqnire the same temperature as the atmosphere. Smooth the eurface, wash off and wipe dry with a chamols skin or piece ofold silk, removing all traces of dust, moisture or grense—no oi! or grease should be allowed or uscd—have your brush as large as the nature of the work will admit—soft, clean aud free from loose hair. Lift the varnish lightly with the brush, charging moderately, and apply a thin coat. Begin at a little distance from tho ede or at the insido of the panel, highest point first, and work to the outside edge in direct, long, rapid, and steady strokes with a moderate pressure, sparingly upon the cdyes atl angles, working alternetely toward the ends; spread eyeuly aud qnickly the thickness of paper and draw lightly for finish, In this great care and watchfulness arerequired. After varnishing expose yourwork tothe heat of the sun or keepin heat free from dnst and dranght. Cold sir and draught passing over varnish will dull the surface wherever they extend. Ifthe varnish should so become chilled, the hrilliancy and clearness may be restored by giving the surfaco another thiu coat, andimmediately hold near the fire to dissolve the chilled coat but not too near to blister. Tue Water Tevescope.— For seeing under water, consiste of a tube to enable a person. louking over the gunwale of a hoat to rest the hend on onsend, while the other is helow the surface of the water; the upper end being so formed that the head may rest on it, both eyes seeing freely into the tnhe, Into the lower end is fixed (water-tight) a plate of glass, which, wheu used, is to he kept under the surface of the water; so that thespectator, looking down the tube, sees all objects at the bottom whose reflective powers are ahle to send off rays of snflicient intensity to be impressed on the retlua, after enifering the lose of light cansed by the ahserbing power of the water. Light in passiug through pure sea-water, loses half its intensity foreach 15 feet throngh which it passes, says Sir John Leslie. In clear waterthe bottom may thus be seen at the depth of twelve fathoms. This contrivance is much used in scalehooting along the northern and weatern islands of Great Britain, where, sometimes in the form of an ordinary washing-tuh with a piece of glass fixed in its bottom, the shot seal is looked for, and the grappling-hook let down to bring him to the snrface. The Norwegian fisherman also often use this telescope when their anchors getinto foul ground, or their cables warped on a roadstead. Moron or THe Exe.—On comingintoa room, we think we see tho whole side of it at once— the pictures, the cornice, the chairs—but we are deceived; being nnconscious of the Motions of the Eye, and that each object is rapidly, but successively; presented toit. Itis easy to show that ifthe eye were steady, vision would he nickly lost; that all those objects which are distinct and hrilliant, areso from the motion of the eye; that they would disappear if it were otherwise. For example, let us fix the eye on one point—a thing difficult to do, owing to the very disposition to motion in the eye. When we have done so, we shall find that the whole scene becomes more and more obscure, and finally vaniehes. Ifwethen change the direction of the eye but ever so little, at ence the whole scene will be again perfect before ne. Theee phenomena are conseqent upon the re-, tina being eubject to exhaustion, by the lights, ehades, and colore of objects continning to etrike npon the the same relative parte, and thus exhansting the nerve; but when the eye shifts, there is a new exercise of the nerve. Cuurrvate Hapits or CAREFUL OBSENVATION.— Prof. Buckland in alate address aeked his audience, which he snpposed contained young men who one day would be among the rulere and chief men of ourland—to see for themeelves, to hear all they could, but not accept ae gospel what they heard till they had proved it. He wished to encourage a habit of examination and inquiry among young and old, and gave amusing inetances of attempts that had been made to impose on himself. A ‘‘monster,”’ said to have heen shot in the woods of Japan, wae hrought to him, and a large sum aeked for it. A hideous wretch it was when produced, hut he soon discovered that it was made of gutta percha, and was ingeniously fitted with eyes, teeth, uails etc., from veriousincongruoue animals. Userun ir Errective.—A citizen of Bedford county, Va.,has invented a machine to melt the snow and ice on a railroad track ae the train rune, by means of a flame of eufficient intensity to produce the result instantly. The invention ie just in time, if effective ‘ Power oF tHe Kye rw Virwrsc Mrcre On yects.—The smalleet particle ofa white snbstance distinguishable by the naked eye npon a black gronnd, or ofa hlack suhstance npon a white ground, isabent the 1-400th of an inch square. It is possible, by the closest attention, and by the most favorable direction of light, to recognize particles that are ouly 1-540th of an inch square; bnt withont sharpnese or certainty. But particles which atrougly retleet light may be distinctly eeen, when not half the size of the leest of the foregoing; thns, gold dust of the fineness of 1-1125th of un inch may be discerned with the naked eye in common daylight. When particles that cannot bs distinguished by themselves with the naked eye, are placed in a row, they hecome visible; and hence the delicacy of vision is greater for lines than for single particlee, Thus, opaqne threads of no more fen 1-1900th of an inch ucross, or ahout half the diameter of the silkworm’s fibre, may be diecerned with the naked eye when they are held towards the light.—Canrentrr’e Andnal Physiology. Boous Cutxese Peants, — Minute descriptions have been written of the manner in which the Chinese claim that they ohtaiu real pearls by placing foreigu substauces within the shell of the fish which prodnces pearls, when the animal, unable to get rid of it, makes a deposit of ‘pearl’ matter aroand it, so that it becomes areal pearl. Professor Buckland has recently shown that this is possibly a deception which has beeu qnite successfully practiced upon the “outside barbarians.” During a recent lecture he exhibited a large pearl shell in which were scyen or eight imuges of the God Buddha, coated with a secretion of mother of pearl. The professor said it was claimed hy the person who presented the shell thatthe oyster deposits this secretion itself, when Master Johu Chinaman iuserts these images. Mr. Buckland was sceptical, but said nothing till he had proved that the secretion was as much artificial as the little images themselves. It was a solutiou of the real mother of pearl, artificially apphed and painted over the images. How rue Diamonp Cots Gusss.—Dr. Wallaston ascertained that the parts of the glass to which the diamond is applied sre forced asunder, as by a wedge, to a most minute distance, withont being removed; so thet a superficial continuous crack is made from one end of the intended cut to the other. After this, any small force applied to one extremity is sufficient to extend this crack through all the whole anbstance and across the glass; for since the atrain at each instant in the progress of the crack is confined nearly to a mathematical point at the bottom of the fissure, the effort necessary for carrying it through is proportionally small. Dr. Wollaston found by trial that the cnt caused by the mere passage of the diumond need not penetrate so muchas the twohundceth part of aninch. He found also that other mineral bodies, recently ground into the same form, are capable of cntting glass; hut they cannot long retain that power, from want of the requisite hardness. Force or Licutyina.—In August, 1816, St. George's church, at Leicester, England, was entirely destroyed by the effects of a thunderetorm) The steeple was hurst asunder, and parts of it were blown thirty feet; while the vane-rod and top part of the spire fell perpendicularly down, carrying with it every floor in the tower. Mr. Highton, in compariug the power of this discharge of lightniug with some known mechanical force, states, that one hundredtons of etone were blowu a distance of thirty feet in three seconds; consequently a 12,220 horse-power engine would have been required to resist the effects of this single flash. Sunstances tHat Most Bests? ra# ACTION oF . Co1zp.—Pure eleohol, ether, hisulpbide of carhon, and glycerinedo not freeze at any tem perature to which they haveeveryet been subjected. Ammonia freezes at about 45° below Fah. zero, and pure nitric acid at ahont the same point. Mercury freezes at—39° Fah., sulphuric acid and eome other eubstances reqnire also a temperature far below the zero of Fahrenheit scale to produce eolidification. The union of any liquid, which by itself remaine fluid at a very low temperature, with water, will raise its freezing point. Tue Por Fisu.—That little fellow, croseed with blue stripes, that is said to pilot the ehark to its prey is really no pilot at all. The ideais a delusion. He ie no more a pilot to a ehark than the starling is to the eheep. Do we think the starling is in love with the sheep that it settles on its back? No; it is then busily ridding the eheep of its natural tormentore—its Norfolk Howards. Such en office does the eo-called pilot fish fill in regard to the ehark, Uriazixa Corron Wasts.—The experiment at Westville, Conn., of afactory forthe extracting of oil from cotton waste has proved a decided succese, By this process old grimy, greasy rags and waete cotton are rendered perfectly pure, odorless and merchantahle. The waste of the Connecticut and Massachueetts cottou mills will more than supply the Wes.ville Oil Extracting Works with materials.

New Use ror Mica, A new use has been found for mica. Itis now attracting public attention as a material for roofing buildings, for which purpose it has been found to be peauliar. ly adapted. Goon Heart. The Blood. Blood, in its ordinary condition, is always fluid; withdrawu from the vessels of tha living animal and left for a time to itself, it separates iuto two portions, a semi-solid mass, and a liquid portion, in which the masa floats; the eolid part is called tho clot. This phenomenou (the formation of the clot) is due to tho presence of fibriue iu the bleod; it is held in solution iu the serum during life; hut when thie loses its intlucnce over it, it solidifies, enclosing with it the plobules; and thus forming the red gelatinous mass called the clot. Blood is the special agcut of nutrition, and is the general restorer of what is lost. But in nddition it is proved, by simple experimente in blood-letting, and of transfusion, to form an essential stimulus for the performance of the functions of life. By severe loss of blood we hecome enfeebled and seemingly dead; but if, before this happens, the blood of another animal be transfused into the veins of the suffering individnal, the vitahty is restored. The importance of the globules is also proved hy the same experimeut; for if simpleserum be so transfused, death takes plaec. The fibrine of the blood also plays an important part; for when the blood is deprived of its fibrine and injected into the veins of a dog, the animal dies with symptoms resembling those of putrid liver. The influence of the hlood over nutrition mey also he readily demonstrated. Withdraw the blood more or less from an organ, and it gradually wastes away in proportion to the quantity withdrawn, while, on the contrary, the greater size of the muscles in those who employ them actively, and hence draw to them a larger amount of hlood. To the important functions and uses of the hlood, some physiologists go so far as to assert tbat “the life is blood,” in that the entire principle of life exists in the bleod, A morhid condition of the blood is the fruitful sonree of many diseases. Cleanse the vitiated blood whenever yon find its impurities bursting through the skin in pimples, eruptions or sores; cleanse it when you find it is obstructed and sluggish in your veins; cleanse it whenever it isfoul. Keep the blood healthy and all is well; but with this vital fluid diseased, there can he no lasting health. Potsonous Conrectiovery.—Ifa report just presented to the Neweastlc (England) town council had been available at the time Christiana Kdmnnds was on her trial, it might have heen found useful in support of the theory of her lunacy. No onebut a lunatie, it might have boen nrged, would take the trouble to poison confectionery and thereby incur suspicion, where there are, ready-made to hand and openly sold in shops, sweetmeats artistically coated with deadly poison. ‘That such is the case in Nowcastle-upon-Tyne, is shown by a report of Mr. Pattinson, analytical chemist, upon which the local corporation have decided to take immediate action. Mr. Pattinson says he has cxamined various samples of euger confectionery sold in Newcastle, and finds thet nearly the whole of the articles colored yellow and orange are s0. colored by chromate of lead. Out of thirtyfive different kinds of sweetmeats examined, obtained from twenty different dealers, twentyeight were colored by this poison, Someof the articles contained upwarde of a tenth of a grain of motallic lead, the eugaging substance being supplied to manufacturers under the names of ‘demon chrome” and ‘‘orange chrome.’’ Mr. Pattinson adds that ‘‘Some of the confectiouery contained plaster of Paris to the extent of 134 per cent., besides a good dealof wheaten flour.” If parents were allowed their choice, they would doubtless prefer this last named adulteration to the lead salt mentioned above, Mecuanism or tH” Bonzs.— In the human ekeleton there are commonly enumerated 260 bones, which present every variety of size and figure. But all these varieties may ke reduced to three classee: the long ‘and round, as the hones of the upper extremities; the hroad and flat, as the bones of the skull; or the ehort and square, as the separate bones that compoee the vertebral column. The long hones are adapted for motion, the flat for protection, and the square for motion combined with strength. Accordingly, the long bones are moulded into lengthened cylinders, and form eo many levers, exquisitely constructed and combined. In the employment ofthe flat honee for the covering of eome of the more teuder and delicate organs, as the brain and spinal cord, the form of these bones adde to their strength, aein the vaulted roof of the skull; while in the constrnction of the vortebral column, composed of the ehort and sqnare bones, which are so adjusted, as to afford a limited renge of motion with a greatdegree of etrength, so many and euch opposite purposes are effected by means 60 simple yet so efficient, that no fabric constructed by human ingenuity approaches the perfection of this admirahle piece of mechanism. An Inveiicent Druaoist.—It is said a Syracuse druggist receutly received the following prescription, with a request to put it up:—Fix kramps—Tinct kamfire, won ounce; tinct lodenum, 4 little tinct hot drops, a few drops; tinct kyan pepar, five cents worth; klouform a little, but not mnch, as it is dangerous medicine. Doee, half-{easpuneful when the kramps come on, Nourishment in Food. The wholeeome or unwholesome character of any aliment depende, in a great measure, on the state of the digestive organs, in any given case. Sometimes, a particular kind of foodis called wholesome becanse it prodnced a beneficin] effect ofa particular character on the system of an iudividaal. In thie casc, however, it is to be considered as a medicine, and can be called wholesome only for those whose systems are inthe same condition. Very often a eimnie aliment is made indigestible by artificial ceokery. Aliments ahounding in fat are unwholesome, hecause fat resists the operation of the gastric juice. The addition of too much spice makes many an innocent aliment iujurious, because epices resist the action of the digestive organs, and produce an irritation of particnlar parts of the system. _ many giveu case, the digestive power of the individual is tohe considered, in order to determine whether a particular aliment is wholesome or not. In general, we can only cay, that aliment is healthy which is casily soluble, and ia suited to the power of digestion of the individual; and, in order to render the aliment perfect, the nutritious parts must be mixed up with a certain quantity of innocent substance affording no nourishment, to fill the stomach; because there is no doubt that many persons injure their health by taking too much nntritious foud. In this case, the nutritious paris, which cannot be dissolved, act precisely like food which is, in itself, indigestible. It isa very mistaken idea that the nourishment in food is according to the quantity; a person may eat a great deal of some articles, and receive very little nourishment from them, The quantity of nonrishmeut depends greatly on the aromatio flavor contained in food; and whatever is insipid to the taste is of little service to the stomach. Now, the difference between good cookery and bid cookery lies principally in the development of the flavor of our food; articles properly cooked yield the whole of it; hy good cookery we mako the most of every thing—by bad cookery, the least. Power or Man tro Enpure Corp.—One who took part in a telegraphic expedition in Siberia writes as follows:—“I didn't helieve that it would be possible for me to lie out inthe snow, without shelter, iu a temperature of even 20 deg. below zero, but I have done it once in 50 deg. below, and repeatedly in 45 deg. One of Bush's parties, in Fehruary of last year, passed the night on an opeu, barren steppe, with their spirit thermometer standing 78 deg. below zero, or 100 helow the freezing point. Quicksilver thoy molded into solid bullets with four minutes’ exposure to thenir. It is true they did not dare to go to sleep that night, but I believe that, had they been properly fitted out with heavy furs and wolf-skin sleeping hags to tie over the héad, they might have doue it with perfect sefety. “T'm afraid you would think that I was availing myself of a traveler’s privilege, and relating a very large ‘yarn,’ if I told you how comfortably Ihave slept on the snow in a temperature of 30 deg., 40 deg. aud 45 deg. below. We are obliged to sleep in fur bags, of erurse, with onr faces entirely covered, to take the utmost care to have our fur stockings perfectly dry; but I have slept in that way through the long Arctic nights as comfortably as ever I did in hed at home.”’ Tur Ant or WALEING.—Ina graceful human step, the heel is always raised before the foot is lifted from the ground, as if the foot were pert of a wheel rolling forward; and the weight of the hody supported by the museles of the calf of the leg, rests for the time on the fore part of the foot and toes. There is then a bending of the foot in a certain degree. Bunt where strong wooden shoee are used, or any shoe so stiff that it will not yield and allow thia bending of the foot, the heel is not raised at all until the whole foot rises with it; so that the muecles of the calf are ecarcely used, and, in consequence eon dwindle in size, and almoet disappear. For the eame reason in Parie whore the streete have (few or) no side-pavementsa, and the ladies have to walk almost constantly on tiptoe, the great action of the musoles of the calf hae given a conformation of theleg and foot, to match which the Parisien belles proudly challeuge all the world—not aware, probably, that itis a defect in their city to which the peculiarity of their form ie in part owing. BrsvuLPHDE oF Carwon on THES ysTeM.—Thia eubsteuce is a deadly poison. Ite vapor when inhaled converts the iron of the blood into snlphide of iron, causing death. It isa very volatile liquid; and ite manufacture ie quite dangerous from the above mentioned xreesons. A vossel of it placed in a close room would canse death about as rapidly as cerbonie acid or charcoal fomes. A cup full of the bisulphide placed in a tight apartment filled with grain willin a few houre kill not only every weevil hut also ite larvae and eggs. It is a very useful eubstance, bnt at the eame time, under certain couditions, an extremely dangerous one. A correspondent of the Scientific American calls attention to the danger to be apprehended from the efforte now being mede to free it from its very disagreeable emell, and says:—‘*What on earth people want to smell bisulphide of carbon for, I cannot nnderstand. The more disagreeably it emells the better, for thereby some warning is given of its presence, ;