SCIENCE, MECHANICAL INVENTIONS, ETC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12955, 26 August 1905, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE, MECHANICAL INVENTIONS, ETC.

NATURAL SOAP.

Nicaragua boasts a lake so strongly impregnated with bicarbonate of potash and soda that when rubbed into greasy hair a natural soap is formed. Not only is the water used as a shampoo, but the addition of some grease to the hands enables one to dispense with soap entirely. The diluted water is said to possess medicinal properties, but no effort has been made to build up a trade, the exports last year being four demijohns sent to Guatemala. SELF-OPENING UMBRELLA. A British patent has been recently obtained by a. French inventor for a self-open-in" umbrella. In the invention referred to a "spiral spring contained in the umbrella stick constitutes the motive-power. ilio spring, which is in a state of compression when the umbrella is closed, on being released by pressing a stud in the neighbourhood of the handle automatically extends the ribs to the open position. The Loudon buns science writer says a similar invention to this seems somewhat of an old acquaintance. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY MILES AN HOUR. A prominent. French automobile engineer decently stated that it would not be possible fur a modem racing automobile to exceed the speed of 130 miles an hour while it is maintained at. the present weight. M 1 Serpollet, the designer of the well-known steam car of that- name, has therefore decided to approach this maximum as near as possible daring this year, lie is now constructing a. steam"' ear which he is confident will accomplish the kilometre in 18s., or at an average, speed of 125 miles an hour. The motor will develop over 200-horsc power, and the weight of the engine without ihe steam generator or boiler will be only 150 kilogrammes (330 pounds). MILK MELONS. One of the latest French agricultural lads is beinfj agitated by a farmer near Marseilles, who declares that watermelons supplied with milk freely poured around the fools will grow twice their normal size, and offers proof in the shape of prizes from many fails which, lie asserts, lie was enabled l-o win through this practice. According to his theory the melon L provided with the proper combination of foods in exactly the right proportion;, ami is enabled to'throw all of its energy into its growth instead of sending foitli bmg roots in order to draw from the soil what it require.': as food. The process is said not only to increase the sine of the melon, but to ensure firm red pulp of delicious flavour.

HOW ISLANDS GET FORESTS. When travelling among the islands of the Pacific or Atlantic one often wonders how it is that lands so far away from great continents have become covered with forests; but Darwin and other naturalists have solved the difficulty for us. Thus we learn from Darwin that lie took from the foot of a woodcock a, cake of dry earth, in which was a seed of the toad rush. He planted the 'seed, and it germinated and flowered. Professor Newton sent him the leg of a partridge. Attached to it was a clod of earth weighing 6| ounces. He broke up the clod and placed it under a bell glass. No fewer than 82 plants sprang from it. It is the more interesting to know that the clod of earth containing this treasury was kept three years before planting. In connection with this it is interesting to note the surprising fact of malaria being originally found "on both sides of the Atlantic, seeing the improbability of multiple origin of microbes. Infected mosquitoes might have got across on driftwood. CHICAGO'S NEW UNDERGROUND RAILWAY. Every business house its own, railway station" seems to be the fundamental idea of Chicago's new underground freight railway. The stations will simply be lifts connecting with the cellars of large establishments. Thirty-two miles of tunnels have been completed and equipped with overhead electric wires. The whole undertaking has been acquired lor £10,000,000. The cars to be used are capable, if carrying seven tons of coal, or twenty-four barrels of flour, or two largo upright pianos in cases. A number of contracts for the supply of coal to the large business blocks, hotels, and manufactories in this district have already been made, ihe foundations of many of the new buildings in course of construction in Chicago are being excavated 40ft, and will be on a level with these freight railways. The enterprise will be watched throughout the world by those interested in me locomotion difficulties of modern cities. It may suggest a method of still further relieving the congested condition of the streets of London.

COSMOS, THE NEW ALLOY. Wherever you find machinery, there it is necessary to reckon, with friction; it is a great dissipator of energy, and heat is produced. To the uninitiated the slight modifications in an alloy do not seem of enough importance to be noticed. Those who have made a careful study of alloys find that just this feature may work direful results. M. Bischoff states that he can detect the deteriorating effect of one part tin upon ten million parts of pure zinc. Mr. Thurston found half of a per cent, of lead to reduce the strength of a good bronze nearly one-half, and to affect its ductility to an almost equal extent.

The success of an anti-friction alloy depends largely upon the combination in suitable proportion of the metals, producing a well-balanced alloy. An anti-friction metal, which has proved an unqualified success and stood the most crucial tests in actual service, is worthy (says a New York paper) of careful study. One of the more recent of these alloys is called cosmos, and has proved to possess certain extraordinary qualities. This alloy not only reduces friction and lubrication, but it sustains, within reasonable limits, great pressure without undue abrasion or compression. ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH IN THE INDIAN JUNGLE. An official of the Indian Telegraph Department tells an amusing story of how the telegraph line between Mercara, in Coorg, and Mysore was interrupted regularly between the hours of three and ' five p.m. for over a fortnight, and although he had sent runners along the whole route and inspected the line himself he failed to discover the cause. In his perplexity he asked a. local woodcutter if he had seer, anyone meddling with the telegraph wires, who, to his delight, replied " Yes." He agreed to take the engineer to the scene of the disturbance on the condition that he came alone and carried no gun. These terms being accepted he led the way through the jungle, to a small open glade. .Across it ran the telegraph line. They laid in ambush until three o'clock, when they heard the sound of many voices, and, peeping through the bushes, beheld a troop of huge monkeys. They split themselves into two sections, one crowding off to one pole and the other clustering round the opposite one. One by one the monkeys proceeded to " swarm" up the poles, and one by one they clambered out on to the wire, till the foremost of the two bands met midway. More and more they laid out on their improvised tight-rope, and lower and lower came the wire, till the united weight of the creatures bore it to the damp ground. This, of course, diverted the flow of the current, and was the sole cause of the vexatious interruptions. There was a sudden rise in the ground between the two poles, and the wire only hung some seven feet above the earth. The native who had brought the official to the glade was a monkey worshipper, and this is why he ' would not allow his companion to bring