Polytechnic Association Proceedings. 657 



culture of coffee in texas. 

 A resident of Titus county, Texas, has made experiments in 

 forcing the growth of coffee. The ordinary grains are placed in 

 water and under the direct rays of the sun. When the shoots put 

 forth, they are transplanted to rich soil. 



IMPROVED SOLDER. 



Deville has lately found that the addition of zinc amalgam to 

 ordinary solder, makes it applicable to aluminium bronze, and 

 other alloys and metals, where the mercury in the amalgam would 

 not be objectionable. 



THE HIGHEST FOTHSTTAIN, 



Mr. S. B. Hunt, of Maple Grove, Bennington, N. Y., has con- 

 ducted the water from a mountain spring through a six-inch iron 

 pipe, three miles long, to a basin one hundred feet in diameter, 

 which is three hundred and twenty-five feet below the fountain 

 head- The water is thrown from the basin to the height of one 

 hundred and fifty-four feet. This jet is said to be the highest in 

 the world. 



THE LONGEST RAILWAY TRAIN. 



One train of cars, 3,350 feet long, recently passed over the Lehigh 

 Valley railroad. The load drawn consisted of 275 cars, having an 

 average weight of six tons each, making a total of 1,650 tons. This 

 is said to be the longest train ever moved on any railway, and may 

 be cited as the strongest argument yet made in favor of a solid, 

 smooth, ii-on track for land transportation. 



TO DETECT WOOL IN SILK. 



Wagner has given a chemical test, which depends on the pre- 

 sence of sulphur in wool. The material to be examined is boiled 

 in a strong and pure^ caustic alkali solution; if wool be present, 

 some sulphide will be formed. This will be revealed on adding 

 to the solution a small fragment of nitro-prusside of sodium, which 

 will produce a beautiful violet color. 



TO SEPARATE SILVER. 



M. Conduri6 finds that by adding zinc to melted argentiferous 

 lead, the zinc and silver form an alloy. After stirring the mixture 

 for some time, the zinc alloy comes to the surface; the zinc is then 

 oxydized by a current of heated air driven over the alloy, and is 

 thus easily separated. The silver is then separated from the lead 

 which was necessarily taken up with the alloy by the ordinary 

 process of cupellation. 



riNST.] 42 



