Scientific.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1016, 7 June 1878, Page 7

Scientific.

■•- ■ A MACHINE POE PRESERVING FRESH BEEF, ETC. t Ever Bince the question of the transportation of perishable property, such as fruit, fresh meat, &c, for long distances by land-and water was first raised, scientists have been experimenting' for the purpose of contriving some method of preserving such articles for a greater or less period of time at the lapse of which they shall be in as good a condition as at ! first. Various results were attained, and the enormous amount of fresh beef at present shipped from the Eastern seaboard to Europe shows the desired results to have been practically attained. Professor J. Gamgee, at present stopping at the Palace Hotel, is the iuventor of a machine, which he claims more fully > 'covers the requirements of perishable property transportation than anything now extant; Some of the results achieved by its use, and the purposes, for which it may be employed, as claimed by Professor Gamgee,- are given.below. , The materials used are ether, glycerine and water, manipulated by an engm¥ of moderate size. By a complicated process a sheet of ice can be made for a skating rink of the largest size, and afresh iee 'constantly formed which can be maintained in the hottest weather, of, course in a^building. ,On the steamers which cross the Atlantic with fresh beef for England, it is found necessary to use from 60 to 80 tons of ice' to keep the temperature of -the huge refrigerator low 1 enough -to preserve the • meat. Professor 'Gamgee claims that his machine will - no more space than is, taken , by about ten tons of ice. No ice whatever is necessary, , his .process keeeping the temperature '* of the room in which the meat is stored at as low a degree as may be desired, or, if desirable, keeping the meat frozen. By his process he claims Californians v can - ship, , fruit, vegetables, butter, &0., all over tho country, arriving at its destinat'ibn in as good a condition as when shipped. TEMPEBATUBE OF FLAMES. In the ' Gazetta cbimica Italiaoa ' an account is given' 'by E. Bosetti of some experiments dri the 'above subject. To examine the temperatures he employs a thermo electric element consisting of an iron and a platinum wire wound closely together and connected with the galvanometer. This, latter was v , graduated^ to various temperatures by r observing the deviation consequent on bringing the ele-, ment in contact with a copper cylinder heated to known temperatures ; these being determined by introducing the cylinder, _d to a calorimeter. W^ith such an arrangement he has investigated the flame of a Biinsen's burner, finding that in the same horizontal strata there were but slight alterations in the temperature, ,-with the exception of the dark interior portion. Thus where the external envelope showed- 1350 deg., the violet portion of the flame was 1250 deg., the blue 1200 deg., but the internal portion much lower, its temperature gradually decreasing from the base of the flame upwards. Af lame produced by the combustion of 1 'two volumes of illuminating gas and three volumes' of 'carbonic oxide, showed' a temperature of 1000 degs. BPUB-OT.S TOBACCO AITD CIGABS. England's enormous duty on tobacco and cigars drives fabricators to strange and desperate imitations. Among the - - spurious stuff and burnt last year were, " smoking . . tobacco—a ( superior article — warranted " — manufactured of lime-leaves, husks of wheat and oats, cotton-yarn, tonquin bean, string, wood, grindinga of old tobacco pipes, old hemp matting, cigar-stumps, and other refute. . Cigars- were made of the same odds and ends, and to secure adhesion, gum and amidine, blue, gum-arabic, glue, glycerine, ' and essential oils were used.