Scientific and Useful.

Western Star, Issue 1055, 12 June 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

Scientific and Useful.

I • ,-,. ECONOMIC,;, .... ..~, [| Much of the dripping from a joint of treat ' is lost iby'evaporation in the kitchenroyons., This can bo avoided and a, large quantity of • good dripping saved by taking out the dish. ' when the joint is about half done and pour- ' ing off the fat. ! THE WltfTEB TBMFEBATtrE. \ The extraordinarily low temperature of the '' past winter has, it appears, not been equalled ' in the memory of the "oldest inhabitant," i for in many parts of the country, the ground i has been icebound since .the beginning of the year. There have been iri many years lower ' minimum readings of the thermometer, but ' never so low a maximum. ..The cold weather I has prevailed in other countries—even from i Florida we learn that the ; temperature has been so low that it is, expected that, the orange* trees will lose their leaves, arid 'that some millions of fruit trees '' have been'de--1 stroyed by the frost.—Glasgow Herald. ■ ■-' 1; : 'l 'USES 03? SPINES IN CACTI.' ■'.' "' r ~ J ; ' Mr Thomas Meehan, the well-known Amb- ', rican naturalist and botanist, that r 'j -'one! of th'e uses of spineßWith Which 'cacti are •! covered is to break the full force of the sun on . the plant. Plant lovers.set out their treasurers ,! in summer under arbours of fish netting or ' galvanised wire,,and those who have had ex--1 perience wbuld be surprised to find how the moving shadows of the twine or wire lower the temperature. A mass of spines on,a cactus must certainly have the A cactus does not need much light on its epidermis to keep it healthy, and Mr Meehan believes that one use of the spines is to. furnish the required partial shade, v, A HINT TO ENGINEMEN In some engine-rooms that we know of, says an exchange, there are carpets down the centre,and a bright oilcloth close to the en-: gine and all about it'. There are even pictures o'njthe walls, and plants in pots in* the windows., The engine does not say a wordr Beyond the sighing of the exhaust and the "creep'' of the' main belt, as it parts from the, pulley, there is not a sound to indicate that there is a tremendous force at wiirk. Contrast this with the hammer,'and tongs, a clatter' like Bedlam broken loose, broken windows, arid floors like an oilworks for filth,, and we haye, j ust. the difference between thrift and sloth,,,between care and b-tween'proper economy; and the"wilful waste" that sooner or later *'makes wofulwant." 1 '-' l " ' !. ;hi3 : A f HAPBT:i?AMII.TJ ' ' :>■■■>■ <■■ There is, a little brown and very comical owl who, along with the small "desert" rattlesnake, ; takes up residence with the prairie dog, but he makes at least a show, of I earning his rent by remiining at the entrance as janitor to everybody that passes. Neither snake, dog, nor owl, seems to mind the other's presence,but are exceedingly sociable. The' : strange .companionship is explained thus : : — The prairie dog's burrow is, -\he only shelter afforded the snake from the intense;heat. qf| those (arid plains; and as the dog alwavs sinks a well on his premises, it is 5 the snake's only.means of getting water,'and I have demonstrated to my satisfaction that rattlesnakes speedily perish .without it. In : return for this hospitality, the snake takes t cha-ge of the census, and thoughtfully prevents the: prairie dog from accumulating a larger family than he'can conveniently support. '■' ...'., ' '"irHBfiMpMBTBS." J. .','..'•''j,, i Whatever differences of opinipn, Bajfs a correspondent .of the "English 'Mechanic'' there maybe as' to tlie expediency of adopt-; ing a decimal system of weights and mea-; sures, and :as to whether In the decimal; system should be the metrical, or one,j found- j ed upon Brirish".units, all, I ; fancy, .must; agree to the desirability of' supplanting the Fahrenheit by! the Centigrade thermometer.' To carrv this out two arrangements appear to be; sufficient: l.Thafy during the transi-; tion period at least, our common thermoma-: ter should be made with both scales attached j and 2, that some very simple mode of distinguishing the'one from the other should 1 be devised. The latter object would, I believe, be secured, if we alwayß recorded the height o£ the,. Centigrade thermometer in: grades. Tbus, \ instead.of saying that; oh such a temperature was ,50 degrees ,of Fahrenheit's Or'lO degeees of the Centigrade thermometer, we wouldjsimply state lit at 50,deg., or 10 grades of heat, • which could; be printed more compactly thus : Tempera-; ture 3se 60 deg. or otherwise = 101; the arrangement;, rendering it unnecessary; to .use I the name of the thermometer employed. ! TOUCH TBANSMISSION BY ELECTRICITY IN THE; . 1 (,-.j / EOTJOAWON OP DEAB-MUTES;; ■ •'' 1/, Progress in electrical science is daily caus-1 ing the world to open its eyes in wonder and | the scientist to enlarge his hopes for yetgreater achievements. The practical uses to which this subtle fluid, electricity, is being put are causing changes to be made in timetested methods of doing things in domestic,! scientific, and business circles, and the time has passed when startling propositions to accomplish this or that by the assistance of electricity are dismissed with credulous smiles. This beiDg the case, no surprise need follow the announcement of a device t > facilitate the imparting of instruction to deaf children which calls into requisition some service from I electricity. The sense of touch is the direct medium contemplated, and it is intended to oonyey, with accuracy and rapidity, messages j

from the operator (the teacher) to the whole clasß simultaneously by electrical transmission.; An alphabet is formed upon the left hand and the inner side of the fingers, which to : those becoming familiar with it, requires'but: a touch upon a - certain point of the hand to indicate a certain letter of the alphabet. A rapid succession of, touches upon various points of the hand is all that is necessary in spelling a sentence. ''"' t> A ■ BEMABKAB&E SNOW PLOUGH ■..; Much interest has been excited in railway circles.at the West during the past few weeks by the performances of the new Leslie rotary steam snow shovel, on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company's lines. ■ The head of this maohine is provided with angular cutting blades, which rotate with enormous velocity and cut and loosen the snow which then passes behind the blades, where it u received on the flat spokes of another wheel, turning in a contrary direction, arid is thereby thrown out sidewise from the machine with tremendous power. The snow is .delivered in the form of a great stream, forming an arch through the air, and strikes the ground at a distance of from one to two hundred feet from the track. The machine, when in operation, is said to be a wonderful sight to behold. It is mounted on a special car, which also carries an engine for driving the mechanism. During the late heavy snowstorms, when tracks were blockaded with; three to ten feet of enow, packed so hard that the ordinary snow ploughs would make no impression on it, and could not have been cleared, except by band shovelling, involving several' dajs delay, this machine went through some of the worst drifts at the rate of a mile «n hour, and through the lessor drifts at umch ; faster. speed, —. Science. ; Amori* 'can. ' ' '.