VARIETIES. 
377 
batxttits. 
Water-proof  Glue. — Fine  shreds  of  india  rubber,  dissolved  in  warm  co- 
pal varnish,  make  a  waterproof  cement  for  wood  and  leather.  Take  glue, 
12  ounces,  and  water  sufficient  to  dissolve  it ;  then  add  3  ounces  of  resin, 
and  melt  them  together,  after  which  add  4  parts  of  turpentine.  This  should 
be  done  in  a  water  bath,  or  in  a  carpenter's  glue-pot.  This  also  makes  a 
very  good  waterproof  glue. — Lond.  Chem.  News. 
New  Substitute  for  Silver. — M.  Traluc,  of  Nismes,  has  recently  proposed 
as  a  substitute  for  silver  for  various  uses,  a  white  alloy  which  has  the  pro- 
perty of  resisting  vegetable  acids.  It  is  formed  of  375  parts  of  Bancatin  ; 
55  nickel ;  50  regulus  of  antimony  ;  20  bismuth.  One-third  of  the  tin  is 
put  in  a  crucible  of  the  proper  dimensions  with  the  nickel,  antimony,  and 
bismuth  ;  upon  this  first  layer  is  put  another  third  of  the  tin,  and  then  a 
thickness  of  an  inch  and  a  half  of  wood-charcoal ;  the  crucible  is  then  to 
be  covered  and  brought  to  a  white-heat ;  by  means  of  an  iron  rod  also 
heated  to  redness  it  must  be  ascertained  that  the  nickel  is  fused,  and  the 
antimony  reduced  ;  the  remainder  of  the  tin  is  then  introduced  through  the 
charcoal,  and  the  mass  stirred  until  the  metals  are  thoroughly  combined  ; 
it  may  then  be  cast  in  ingots  or  otherwise  Cosmos. 
Durability  of  Hemlock.  By  T.  Guilford  Smith,  C.  E.  M.  and  B.  M. 
Railroad. — In  laying  pipes  to  supply  a  water  station  on  the  top  of  the 
Broad  Mountain,  in  Schuylkill  County,  on  the  line  of  the  Mahanoy  and 
Broad  Mountain  Railroad,  we  found  it  convenient  to  make  use  of  the  dam, 
and  to  follow  the  ditch  originally  made  by  the  Danville  and  Pottsville 
Railroad  Company,  32  years  ago. 
To  our  suprise,  we  found  the  hemlock  trees  which  had  been  bored  for 
pipes,  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation,  wherever  submerged  or  surrounded 
by  moist  earth.  The  bark  was  still  adhering,  and  the  sapwood  presented 
that  rosy  hue  seen  in  freshly  felled  hemlock.  Wherever,  on  the  contrary, 
the  surroundings  were  dry,  the  timber  was  decayed. 
The  pipes  varied  in  depth  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground  from  1  \  to  2 
feet.  They  were  in  excellent  condition  for  over  1000  feet  in  a  continuous 
line. — Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute. 
