52 



SCIENTIFIC NE^VS. 



[May 2nd, 1887. 



Railway Whistling is not only a source of annoyance to 

 persons dwelling near the lines, but is a positive loss to the 

 Railway Companies. An American engineer estimates that 

 the whistling expenses on a single line of railway, the New 

 York, New Haven, and Hartford, amount to 15,000 dollars 

 a year in the shape of coal burnt to raise the necessary 

 steam. 



The Formation of Briquettes by combining molasses with 

 small coal is rapidly gaining favour in France, Germany, and 

 Belgium. Molasses are very abundant and cheap in these 

 countries, and the addition to the ash of the fuel is not more 

 than 1 5 per cent., owing to the comparative absence of any 

 mineral substance in the molasses. The total proportion of 

 ash is about ii| per cent. 



Competition for Domestic Motors. — The Society of Arts 

 recently offered prizes for motors suitable for electric light- 

 ing, but we regret to learn that the committee appointed to 

 deal with the matter have felt themselves obliged to post- 

 pone the competition owing to the insufficient number of 

 entries. They, however, hope that at the beginning of 

 next year another opportunity will be given to those willing 

 to compete. 



Heating Railway Cars. — The Secretary of the Ameri- 

 can Treasury has issued a circular inviting correspondence 

 upon the best methods of building railroad cars and heat- 

 ing the same, and constructing steam vessels so as to prevent 

 loss of life and property by fire. Sketches or drawings are 

 requested from parties offering suggestions. A report will 

 be made to Congress at the commencement of the session 

 in December. 



The Largest Bronze Casting ever made in America has 

 lately been produced by the Henry Bonnard Bronze Com- 

 pany, of New York. Its destination is Philadelphia, where 

 it is to form part of an equestrian statue of General 

 Meade. In making this casting 7,500 lbs. of metal were 

 used, the proportion being 10 parts tin and 90 parts copper. 

 The completed statue will weigh about 10,000 lbs., and will 

 be 16 feet high. 



Acid Solution for Zinc Batteries. — Dr. Eisenmann, of 

 Berlin, has found that an acid solution capable, when used 

 in a zinc battery, of being regenerated by mere exposure to 

 the air may be obtained by forming a solution of 30 gr. of 

 tungstate of soda and 5 gr. of phosphate of soda, dissolved 

 in 350 gr. of water, with the addition of a small quantity 

 of sulphuric acid. The phosphate is added to increase the 

 solubility of the tungstate. 



The Electric Theory of Earthquakes. — M. Ch. 

 Naudin, in a paper recently read before the French Academy 

 of Sciences, suggests that earthquakes may be due to the 

 resistance, greater or less, which certain parts of the solid 

 crust of the earth offers to the electricity generated in our 

 earth itself. He remarks that the countries ravaged by 

 earthquakes have always been regions void of forests, which 

 may serve for the escape of the electricity. 



How TO be Healthy. — Bell's Climatology says that after 

 all that has been stated of the effects of the atmosphere 

 in high altitudes or at the level of the sea, the influence of 

 forest and ocean, of sea coasts and interior places, humidity 

 and dryness, cold and heat, the winds, electricity, and ozone, 

 and no matter what of other conditions, the paramount 

 considerations for the promotion of health are an abundance 

 of pure air and sunshine and out-door exercise. 



Rags and Paper Waste in Paris. — In the report of 

 M. de Luynes, lately submitted to the Committee of 

 Hygiene for the Seine, the following curious statistics are 

 given : — The trade in rags, old paper, etc., etc., gives 

 employment to about 2,000 men and 20,000 women for 



sorting the materials, and including the collectors and 

 others it is estimated that from So,ooo to 100,000 persons 

 live by this trade. 



The Strength of Snails. — From the Zoologist we 

 learn that recent experiments have shown that a snail 

 weighing \ of an ounce, when crawling up a window, was 

 able to lift vertically 2| ozs,, or 9 times its own weight. 

 Another snail, weighing \ of an ounce, was able to draw 

 horizontally on a table 17 ozs., or 50 times its own weight. 

 The same snail, when crawling on the ceiling, was able to 

 move with a weight of 4 ozs. suspended from it. 



Compressed Wood. — A substitute for the boxwood used 

 for loom-shuttles is sought by compressing cheaper woods, 

 especially teak, in a powerful hydraulic press. A force of 

 fourteen tons per square inch is applied. It is thought that 

 a similar process will be used in toughening cheaper woods 

 for use in carriage work, where strength is required. Ash 

 carriage-poles, steamed and then compressed endwise, are 

 far superior to those made from wood not so treated. 



Alarming. — From an American paper we learn that 

 some of the electric tramcars in the United States, which 

 are run from overhead conductors, contain a notice to 

 the effect that " the engineer is to oil the travellers 

 every three hours." Electricians will, of course, under- 

 stand that the passengers are not referred to ; but it is not 

 surprising to hear that the notice gives rise to a good deal 

 of uneasiness in the minds of many people. Probably the 

 Company will find it as well to adopt the term " trailer " 

 instead of " traveller." 



Captive Balloons. — To counteract the difficulty of captive 

 balloons blowing down in a strong wind, Mr. E. Douglas 

 Archibald, of Tunbridge Wells, has devised a combination 

 of kite with balloon, for military or scientific observations and 

 signalling. As the " earth-line," which consists of phosphor 

 bronze or electro-plated steel wire, is attached to the side, 

 instead of to the bottom, the kite balloon cannot be turned 

 round or depressed into a horizontal position, as is the case 

 with ordinary captive balloons. 



A New Non Conducting Composition, which is insoluble 

 in hot or cold water, and will stand the atmosphere or steam 

 without deterioration, has been lately produced by a Danish 

 firm. It is made chiefly from sawdust prepared by special 

 process, and is quite harmless to any metal upon which it 

 is used. It is said to be almost everlasting ; it is quite 

 porous, so that any leakage passes right through without 

 damaging it, and is therefore quite perceptible. It is said 

 to be already in extensive use in Denmark. 



The Jubilee Naval Review. — The torpedo flotilla at 

 Portsmouth has been for sometime preparing for the Jubilee 

 naval review, and the ship basin is crowded with these craft. 

 There are twenty first-class boats of 125 feet long at Ports- 

 mouth, and six a trifle smaller. The crews of these will 

 all require training, and it is therefore arranged for them to 

 go to Spithead, four at a time, for a trial of their steaming 

 capacities and quick-firing guns. The review is to be held 

 on the 23rd of July. 



A Nearly Perfect Pendulum. — Mr. J. T. Bottomley, of 

 Glasgow, suspends a shot of about one-sixteenth of an inch 

 in diameter, by a single silk fibre (half a cocoon fibre), 

 two feet . long, in a glass tube, three-quarters of an inch 

 internal diameter, and he exhausts the tube to about one- 

 tenth of a millionth of an atmosphere. Starting with a 

 vibrational range of one-quarter of an inch on each side of 

 its middle portion, the vibrations can be easily counted after 

 the lapse of fourteen hours. — Philosophical Magazine. 



Infection from Telephones. — Dr. Astvatzaturoft', of Tiflis, 

 has drawn attention to the danger of infection arising from 



