Conservative * is
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Porcelain-violins and mandolins ,
shaped exactly like the wooden ones ,
are claimed to have greatly improved
tones. Their weight and liability to
breakage are disadvantages.
The chemical destruction of weeds
is advocated by learned French horti
culturists. One application of mineral
oil and water keeps down the grass in
walks for two years , sea-salt kills
thistles , and a spray of sulphate of
iron is effective against injurious
plants of all kinds.
Carbolic acid as a dressing for
wounds seems to be attended by risk
little understood. Dr. J. G. Sheldon
reports a recent amputation of the leg
made necessary by spilling weak car
bolic solution on the foot , and a Mass
achusetts physician some years ago
found records of more than 100 cases
of gangrene duo to free use of carbolic
acid much diluted for slight wounds
and bruises.
Artificial hair has been a difficult
material to make. Gocoanut and
agave fibers have been much used for
stuffing furniture and chemical treat
ment is claimed to make them im
pervious to wet , odorless , elastic , un-
feltable and unbreakable. ' But their
short length limits their use in
fabrics. The success of silk from
cellulose has led some manufacturers
at tfrankfort-on-the-Maiii to make
further trials , with the same sub
stance , and they seem to have pro
duced not only a very satisfactory im
itation horse hair but a very good sub
stitute for human hair for wigs. Brittleness -
tleness of the cellulose , the troublesome
difficulty , was overcome by spinning
several threads together.
Air soundings of the last few years
have given very unexpected tempera
ture results. The upper air is colder
than was supposed , the average being
about 13 degrees below /oro F. at
20,000 feet and 85 degrees below at
25,000 feet ; and the decrease of tem
perature gains in rate instead of becoming -
coming slower as the altitude in-
creases. The fall of 8 degrees for
each 1,000 feet in the lower strata be
comes nearly twice as mncli at the
greatest height reached. The influ
ence of seasons at high altitudes is
surprisingly great , and at 80,000 feet ,
the average March temperature is
about Co degrees below zero , while
that of August is only 44 below.
About sound wo have much to learn.
Describing some late trials of fog
horns , Lord Hayleigh stated that
these having elliptical , instead of cir
cular , cones best spread the sound hors -
\ r
s \
izontally when the long axis which
was four times tliu length of the
shorter was vertical. The anomaly
of the silent zone , on both sides of
which the sound is heard , is still a
mystery. It has been thought to bo
duo to interference between waves of
sound reaching the spot direct and
: hose reflected by the sea , but failure
; o recover the sound by climbing a
tall mast throws doubt on the theory.
One fog horn at a station may bo bet
ter than several , as two or more
sounds may tend to neutralize one
another.
Moving pictures of the electric arc
liave given Ruhrner , a German exper
imenter , some interesting results. In
the arc circuit were placed an induc
tion coil and a microphone , with a
liquid interrupter to be used as de
sired ; and a slit in front of the hori
zontal arc caused the image of two
carbons to fall upon the ground glass
of the kinematograph. The moving
photographic film recorded the steady
arc as a bright , continuous baud.
When the arc hissed tne band became
wavy , the liquid interrupter cut it in
to rectangles of varying lengths , and
whistling caused hundreds of vibra
tions to appear. Before talking into
the arc , the image was reduced by a
lens to a fine point upon the film
which was moved ton feet a second.
After the speech photograph was taken ,
the film was again passed through the
camera box at the same rate and the
picture was thrown by the arc upon
a sensitive selenium cell. The vary
ing brightness of the picture varied
the electric resistance of the selenium
so affecting the current passing
through it that two telephones in
the circuit reproduced the speech with
surprising clearness.
Such quantities of shingle are being
deposited by the sea at Dungeness , on
the English Channel , that in sixty
years a lighthouse has been loft half a
mile inland.
The "water kite" of Sjostrand , a
Swedish inventor , is a novel shoal-
water indicator , consisting of an
alumium plato , held by two wires
and so balanced by weights as to
swim beneath the vessel at a practical
ly uniform depth with speeds of five
to fifteen knots. If an obstacle is
struck , one wire is detached , causing
an alarm boll to ring.
This signature is on every box of the genuine
Laxative Bromo-Quinine Tablets
tbt remedy that cures a cold In one day
STOPS THE COUGH AND WORKS OFF
THE COLD.
Laxative BromoQniniuo Tablets euro
i cold iu one day. No Cure , no Pay.
? rice 25 ceuts.
It isn't the Cook's ' Fault ,
It isn't ' your Grocer's ' Fault ,
that the bulk coffee you just
purchased turns out to be differ
ent from the "same kind" bought
before. Coffee purchased in ,
bulk is sure to vary.
The sealed package in which
LION COFFEE is sold insures
uniform flavor and strength. It
also keeps the coffee fresh and
insures absolute purity.
Waukegan
Nurseries
Ornamental
Shade and
Forest Trees.
Evergreens- Shrubs , Etc.
RARE HARDY
BEAUTIFUL
Largest Stock in America , includ
ing Colorado Blue Spruce , and
Douglas Spruce of Colorado.
Wholesale and Retail
Price Lists on Application.
R. DOUGLAS' SONS.
WAUKEGAN , ILL.
