274 
VARIETIES. 
become  greatly  increased  in  strength,  and  though  hitherto  no  large  quan- 
tities of  cloth  thus  prepared  have  been  printed,  owing  to  the  expense  of 
preparation,  advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  process  to  prepare  the  cotton 
fabric  used  in  the  production  of  the. endless  web  known  to  calico  printers 
as  the  india  rubber  blanket,  which,  when  made  with  prepared  calico,  is 
rendered  much  more  durable. — Lon.  (Them.  News,  July  12,  1867,  from 
Proc.  Lit.  Phil.  Soc.,  Manchester. 
A  Sodium  Catastrophe  Averted. — In  the  course  of  last  winter  the  river 
Irwell  rose  nearly  twenty  feet  above  its  ordinary  level,  and  flooded  the 
works  of  the  Magnesium  Metal  Company  on  the  Salford  side  to  a  depth  of 
about  seven  feet  in  every  part.  There  were  then  from  three  to  four  hun- 
dred-weight of  sodium  in  stock,  and,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the 
flood,  the  room  in  which  the  sodium  was  stored  was  two  feet  deep  in  water ; 
but,  as  it  rained  in  torrents,  it  was  then  considered  best  not  to  run  the  risk 
of  attempting  to  move  it  off  the  premises.  The  sodium  was  stored  in  long 
narrow  jars,  with  loosely  fitting  covers,  made  air-tight  by  allowing  the 
bottoms  of  the  lids  to  rest  in  a  circular  groove  filled  with  oil.  As  the 
flood  did  not  abate,  and  the  position  began  to  grow  more  dangerous,  one  of 
the  men  volunteered  to  go  on  the  roof  of  the  sodium  shed  and  watch  the 
water  rise,  and  for  hours  he  lay  upon  the  roof  in  a  soaking  shower  of  rain, 
watching  the  sodium  jars  Inch  by  inch  the  water  rose,  and  at  last,  when 
it  was  only  half  a  foot  from  the  top  of  the  jars,  he  drew  his  head  out  of  the 
the  hole  in  the  roof  where  it  had  been  sticking  so  long  and  summoned 
the  rest  of  the  men.  They  unslaterl  the  roof  of  the  store  room,  let  them- 
selves down  into  the%  water,  now  reaching  nearly  to  their  armpits,  and 
removed  the  sodium  lump  by  lump  into  other  vessels  placed  among  the 
rafters  of  the  roof.  By  accident  one  little  ingot  of  sodium  fell  into  the 
water,  causing  the  'courage  of  the  men  to  falter  ;  but  the  lump  fortunately 
only  fumed  and  fizzed,  and  dissolved  away  without  exploding.  After  kthe 
flood  was  over  the  Magnesium  Metal  Company  built  a'  platform  near  the- 
roof,  on  which  all  sodium  is  now  stored.  We  have  not  heard  what  bonus 
the  Company  voted  to  the  men  who  removed  the  sodium,  especially  to  the 
one  who  stuck  to  the  top  of  the  roof  like  a  limpet  to  a  rock  in  a  storm, 
but  doubtless  it  was  something  handsome. — Lon.  Chem.  News,  July  12, 
1867,  from  British  Journal  of  Photography. 
Simple  and  Durable  Label. — At  a  lnte  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  of  Boston,  Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder  made  a  statement 
relative  to  a  new  method  of  labeling  trees,  accidentally  discovered  by 
him.  In  the  use  of  zinc  labels,  which  were  the  most  durable  in  character, 
an  indelible  ink  was  used  ;  but,  not  having  the  ink  at  hand  on  one  occa- 
sion, he  wrote  upon  the  zinc  with  a  lead  pencil.  This  writing,  although 
it  could  be  rubbed  when  first  made,  grew  more  distinct  and  durable  with 
age,  and  after  several  years  could  not  be  erased  except  by  scraping. — 
Jour.  App.  Chem.,  May,  1867. 
