Scientific and Useful.

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1735, 26 March 1886, Page 6

Scientific and Useful.

ELECTRIC APPLICATION. The latest font in tbe way of elrctiio lighting is the application of cell storage <o piai os. The c.'iae of tlie instrument conceals the materials for an illumination lasting over ten hours. TOUGHENING PAPER. A plnn for rendering paper as tough ns wood or leather lias been recently introduced on tho Continent ; it conoiets in mixing chloride cf zinc with ih« pulp in the course of manufacture. It has bern found that, tho giealer the decree of concentration of the zinc solution tho greater will bo the toutrhnos* of tie paper. It can bo used for making boxes and for roofing. PREHISTORIC IMPLEMENTS. An interesting discovery of bronzo hatchets and other warlike instrument* has been made in Llantwit Major, Glamorganshire. As a number of workmen woro engaged digging up a foundation for building, they discovered three spearheads, six hntchetß, like celts, and several other interesting relics, which were concealed under an ancient wall. Some bones were also discovered, ar.d the whole matter is under investigation, and a further search is being organised. ; STEEL NAILS. It is predicted by an American p<r, or (hat in tho course of the next four years the steel i nail will have as completely supplanted the iron nail as tho steel rail has its iron predecessor. Already one half of the nails manufactured in Wheeling are made of steel, and the machinery and plant necessary for ther manufacture are being set up at every nail centre and at nearly every nail factory. It is said that, under present conditions, steel nails can be made about ten cents per keg cheaper thun those made of iron, even where the manufacturer has to purchase his ingots. NATTTBAIi GAS. From present indications, (says the Mechanical World) it seems doubtful if the Bupply of natural gas, which has produced such a marvellous effpet on the industries of Pitteburg within the past few months, is likely to be permanent. Several of the mills along the Aileghany river have changed the hours of work because of a deficient flow from tha wells. One of the largest now commences work at eleven a.m. instead of three a.m. as heretofore, the supply of gas in the morning being iijßuffici'*nt to meet ihe heavy demand necessary to heat the many furnaces which are lighted at that time. THE TEMPEBATUBB OF THE ATLANTIC. Tho captain of the steamer Olympia has been accustomed for FOtno time pasfc to make daily observations of the temperature of tho surface water of tho ocean during his transAtlantio voyages. On his last westward trip, in tho early part of November, he found the average temperature of the Atlantic along the 40th parallel to be about 725 deg. from Gibraltar to 68 deg. west longitude. In crossing the Gulf Stream, however, the warmth was considerably greater. In previous years the average fcemperahire was only about 70 deg. for the month oi October, and considerably less than this in November, so that this year the water seems to havo been at least three degrees above the temperature of former years. This difference is slight, but it shows a backwardness in the approach of winter compeneating in a measure for our tardy spring. DEIVING AT NI&HT. How to illuminate a road in front of the horses in driving at night is an important matter. The usual side lamps on carriages, or the attaching of a lantern to the daeh board, fail to reflect the light where it is most needed, and the suspending of a lautern to tho front axle is objectionable for many reasons, but it is the best plan for shedding the light where it is most wanted that we have seen tried. But a Philadelphia physician suggests the attaching of the lanterns to the breast collar of the harness, which he saya he has tried with perfect satisfaction ; and he has evidently had some experience with the ordinary method of lighting, for he says the various forme of dash lights are pretty much the same, in that they put the light just where it is not wanted, illuminating the horse's tail and hips and the buggy thills with a brilliance quite unnecessary, which intensifies the blackness of the shadow cast by them just where one most wishes to see clearly. — Scientific American. DEAD BLACK POE OPTICAL INSTBTTMENTS. Those who are the possessors of optical instruments have, at some time or other, been in need of a dead black paint or varnish for brass work, such as tubes, diaphragms,' &c. All the formula? and receipts given in books are unsatisfactory because of the vaguenpas. The following cau bo relied upon to give a first rate dead black, and it is easily made : — Take two grains of lampblack,, put it it into any smooth, shallow dish such as a saucer or a small butter plate, add a little gold size, and thoroughly mix the two together. Just enough gold size should be used to hold the lampblack together ; about three drops of such eize aa may be had by clipping the tip of a lead pencil about half an inch into the gold size will be found right for the above quantity of lampblack ; it ohould be added a drop at a time, however. After the lampblack and size are thoroughly mixed and worked, add 24 drops of turpentine, and again mix; and work. It is then ready for use. Apply it thin with a camel's hair brush, and when it is thoroughly dry the articles will have as fine a dead black as they had when they came from the optician's hands. 11 anchor" frosts. On the night of Friday, January 8, thore was an anchor frost in tho Uherwell such as has not been known for twenty years, according to people who have lived at a mill on the river, ((Jlifton Mill, near Aynho Station) for that period. In a mild form the phenomenon is fairly frequent there. The moßt marked tffeevs are seen in comparatively still water. Thus, in the mill pond, where the current is stopped by the mill during the night, the whole stream becomes semi-viscous. Koots beneath the water, the brickwork at tho sides of the mill pond, &c, are gpen to be coated wj^h ice beneath the water as far down as can bp seen, and between this ice and the surface ice-crystals form, not in a sheet or block, but interlaced loosely, like snow crystals in a drift. The maps thus formed blocks the channel, and it is suid that water coming upon it from above will rise in level arid flow over ifc, as aver v solid' obstruction. This 1 have not seen myself. When the mill is started, at first tho water will hardly flow past the wheel j but at length the cx*ystals are forced to the surface, where thoy remain ia floating masses, under which the water flows as usual. Tho surface is not covered with a sheet of ice in these frosts. In a broad, shallow ditcli at right angles to the river, where tbe water is comparatively still, similar effects could be seen ; the pebbles at the bottom coated with ice and tho water filled with loose crystals. One consequence of the ice forming on this occasion was that the flood-gates were frozen down on Friday evening, so that they could not be drawn up as usual, and the river overflowed during the night. In the morning, when they were at last raised, the vater would hardly flow through, as already mentioned in the case of the water wheel. — T, Hands, in Future,