Polytechnic Association Proceedings. 673 



bleached, it is first cut into pieces about an inch long, and thro^Ti 

 into a rotating cylinder containing caustic lime and soda ash, under 

 a pressure of steam thirty pounds per square inch. The rotation, 

 continued for about ten hours, removes the silica which forms the 

 coating of the straw. After the fiber has been washed to remove 

 the alkali, it is submitted to the bleaching process and then placed 

 in bins, where it is allowed to drain for eight or ten days; the 

 longer it drains the softer is the paper produced from it. The 

 spent liquor di'ained from the material is used over and over; 

 enouijh fresh chloride of lime being added each time it is used to 

 bring its specific gravity to about two degrees Baum6. The 

 bleached stock has the consistency of stiff putty, when it is removed 

 to the pulping engine and brought to the proper condition for 

 making paper. From the pulping engine it passes to the " stuff- 

 chest," and then is pumped out and passed over the wu'c-cloth of 

 the ordinary Foudriuier machine, in the usual manner of making 

 paper. This process of bleaching is applicable to all fibrous and 

 textile materials. It is now used in about forty paper mills in this 

 country, and is protected by patents in both the United States and 

 in Europe. 



CREOSOTE FOR BURNS. 



Dr. O. E. Brewster, and several other physicians have used cre- 

 osote as an application for burns, and have found that it brought 

 instant and com^jlete rtjlief from pain. 



TDNGSTEN- 



Mr. E. Zettuor, of Germany, has deduced the atomic weight ot 

 tungsten or wolfram, from the composition of ferrous and argentic 

 tungstates. The mean of the two determinations is 91.976, and 

 ninety-two may be taken as the weight of its combining proportion. 



REMEDY FOR HEART DISEASE. 



Dr. Pecholier, avers that a milk diet, if strictly adhered to, will 

 relieve a person afilicted with certain forms of heart disease. Under 

 the influence of this diet the impulse of the heart diminishes, 

 together with the palpitation and the congested condition of the 

 face, the brain, and the lungs. The patient experiences unexpected 

 improvement, and by the adoption of this plan life may be pro- 

 longed, even in cases where a permanent cure cannot be hoped for. 



TO MAKE LIGHT FABRICS UNINFLAMMABLE. 



A cheaper method than using tungstate of soda with starch, is to 

 mix equal weights of sulphate of zinc (white vitrol), sulphate of 

 [Inst.] 43 



