REMARKS
Mercury is brightest this date, and furthest from the sun August 13. Venus will be at her descending node August 17. Jupiter will be near the moon August 17, 4h. 20m. morning, being the moon's apparent diameter north; this will be an occultation south of the equator. Saturn will be near the moon August 16, being about 7° south.
There will be a partial eclipse of the moon August 16, in the evening. The moon will rise more or less eclipsed east of Kansas, west of which no eclipse will be visible.
| Middle. | End. | ||||
| H.M. | H.M. | ||||
| Boston | 7 24 | eve. | 8 50 | eve. | |
| New York | 7 12 | eve. | 8 38 | eve. | |
| Washington | 7 00 | eve. | 8 26 | eve. | |
| Charleston | 6 48 | eve. | 8 14 | eve. | |
| Chicago | ———— | 7 44 | eve. | ||
| St. Louis | ———— | 7 33 | eve. | ||
| New Orleans | ———— | 7 34 | eve. | ||
The following shows the appearance of the moon when the eclipse is greatest -7·1 digits, or 0·596 of the moon's diameter.
The size of the eclipse will be the same for all places. The time of middle and end for any other places may be obtained by applying the difference of longitude from Washington, converted into time, to the Washington time of middle and end, adding if east of Washington, and subtracting if west.
[ An Interesting Astronomical Observation.]
To the Editor of the Scientific American:
While viewing the planet Jupiter, at about 5 minutes past 10 o'clock P.M., a very strange sight presented itself to the observers, who were looking for a transit of one of the satellites. A very dark spot much larger than a satellite was seen on the eastern edge of the disk, as shown in the above diagram. It moved rapidly westward along the upper margin of the northern belt and passed off at 1 o'clock 24 minutes A.M. (12th). From its first internal contact till its last external contact was just 3h. 19m., Pittsburg time. It appeared to be a solid opaque body, truly spherical, very sharply defined, and most intensely black. The transit of the satellite occurred at 15 minutes after 11 o'clock, and had no unusual appearance. Now what was that dark body? We are constant observers of the heavenly bodies, though not deeply versed in the science of astronomy, and are anxious to know if any one can give us some light on the subject. The telescopes used were a 2½ inch and 5 inch achromatic, magnifying 154 and 216 diameters, but the 154 was chiefly used. was chiefly used.
Joseph Wampler.
James R. Gemmill.
McKeesport, Pa., July 11, 1878.
[ Some of Professor Marsh's Recent Discoveries.]
Mr. S. W. Williston, the assistant of Professor Marsh, has been giving to the Omaha Bee some interesting facts with regard to the great reptilian fossils recently discovered in Wyoming and Colorado. The bones found represent reptiles of many sizes, from that of a cat up to one sixty feet high. The latter, found at Como, Wyoming, belonged to the crocodile order; but the remains give evidence that the animal stood up on its hind legs, like a kangaroo. Another found in Colorado is estimated by Professor Marsh to have been 100 feet long. A great many remains of the same general class, but belonging to different species, have been collected and sent East. Among them from three to four hundred specimens of the dinosaur, and about a thousand pterodactyls, have been shipped from Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. The wings of one of the latter were from thirty to forty feet from tip to tip. Seventeen different species of these flying dragons have been found in the chalk of western Kansas. There have also been found six species of toothed birds. Comparatively little has been done toward classifying the late finds, the task is such an enormous one. Great importance is attached to them, however, since nothing of the kind had been found in America until a little over a year ago and great stress had been laid by certain geologists on their absence. Another remarkable feature of the discovery was that the fossils which had been reported as not existing in this country had hardly been brought to light in one locality before thousands of tons of them were simultaneously discovered in half a dozen different places.
[ Trying to Save a Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars a Year.]
Professor Riley, recently appointed Government Entomologist and attached to the Agricultural Department, reports that specimens of insects injurious to agriculture are constantly being sent to the department from all parts of the country, with requests for information. In every instance, if a proper examination could be made, an effectual remedy could be found, and not less than $150,000,000 saved to the country annually. Recently a worm entirely new to science was sent to the department by an Iowa farmer, whose orchard of several thousand apple trees had been rendered unproductive for several years by the new depredator. For the interests of Western fruit growers this insect should immediately be investigated. Professor Riley asserts that the $5,000 recently voted by Congress for the investigation of the cotton worm, which has sometimes damaged the cotton crop of the South as much as $20,000,000 in a single fortnight, might have been used to better advantage by the department; the salary of the entomologist will use up all the money, leaving next to nothing for experiments for the eradication of the pest.
[Industrial Education.]
All are agreed that some education is necessary; but what? The great proportion of those having the direction of our educational system and facilities in charge still cling to a system which was established long before the first mechanical operation came into existence. Before the present system of man's relation to man, socially, industrially, politically, or commercially, was heard of, and notwithstanding the revolutions and advancement in all other things, there is a determined resistance to any attempt at revolution in what shall be considered education.
There is an effort to establish compulsory education; but what is the child to be taught? As if in league with the false theories of the rights of labor, these efforts take the apprentices from the shops, force them away from where they would learn something, and confine them inside a school house to learn—what? Certainly nothing of the materials, or tools, or pursuits by which they are to obtain their livelihood. The child knows nothing of when or by whom the compass was discovered, the printing press, the use of powder, electricity, of steam, or of any one of the thousand mechanical operations now controlling every department of life. Does any school boy know how many kingdoms there are in the natural world, or whether an animal, a vegetable and a mineral all belong to the same or to different ones? Will he know that from instinct the young of animals seeks its food and expands its lungs, as by the same instinct the root of a seed sucks up its nourishment from the soil and sends its leaves up to breathe the air? Will he know anything of the nature or requirements of the soils or the plants that grow in them? Will this compulsory education teach the boy anything of the iron furnace, the foundry or rolling mill, or the uses or handling of any of their products? Will it teach him anything of woods and their value, or for what and how they are useful to man?
Will this knowledge, for which the powers of the State are to be required to force him to know it—will it teach him anything of the nature or uses of metals, of metal working, or the business depending upon them? Will it teach him anything of gold or silver, copper or brass? Anything of pottery, of bone, ivory, celluloid, etc.? Will he learn anything of hides, leather, or the production of these necessary articles? Will he know whether the word textile applies to anything but a spider's web or the wing of a butterfly? Whether the United States make, import, or grow cotton, wool, silk, flax, and hemp?
Will he know anything of commerce, railroads, telegraphs, printing, and the great number of clerk labors in the larger towns? Will he have learned a single thing which will assist him in his work of life? Will not every boy thus taken out of the shop and placed at the compulsory schooling find after he has mastered all it has to give him that he yet knows nothing; that he must then commence where he was and serve his apprenticeship; that instead of compulsory education his past years have been wasted in obtaining but a compulsory ignorance?
[Business and Personal.]
The Charge for Insertion under this head is One Dollar a line for each insertion; about eight words to a line. Advertisements must be received at publication office as early as Thursday morning to appear in next issue.
Lubricene.—A Lubricating Material in the form of a Grease. One pound equal to two gallons of sperm oil. R. J. Chard, New York.
Assays of Ores, Analyses of Minerals, Waters, Commercial Articles, etc. Technical formulæ and processes. Laboratory, 33 Park Row, N. Y. Fuller & Stillman.
Manufacturers of Improved Goods who desire to build up a lucrative foreign trade, will do well to insert a well displayed advertisement in the Scientific American Export Edition. This paper has a very large foreign circulation.
Cutters, shaped entirely by machinery, for cutting teeth of Gear Wheels. Pratt & Whitney Co., Manufacturers, Hartford, Conn.
18 ft. Steam Yacht, $250. Geo. F. Shedd, Waltham, Mass.
Electrical instruments of all kinds. One Electric Bell, Battery, Push Button, and 50 feet Wire for $4.00. Send for catalogue. H. Thau, 128 Fulton St., N. Y.
Wheels and Pinions, heavy and light, remarkably strong and durable. Especially suited for sugar mills and similar work. Pittsburgh Steel Casting Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Boilers ready for shipment, new and 2d hand. For a good boiler, send to Hilles & Jones, Wilmington, Del.
Best Steam Pipe & Boiler Covering. P. Carey, Dayton, O.
Foot Lathes, Fret Saws, 6c., 90 pp. E. Brown, Lowell, Ms.
Sperm Oil, Pure. Wm. F. Nye, New Bedford, Mass.
Power & Foot Presses, Ferracute Co., Bridgeton, N. J.
Kreider, Campbell & Co., 1030 Germantown Ave., Phila., Pa., contractors for mills for all kinds of grinding.
Punching Presses, Drop Hammers, and Dies for working Metals, etc. The Stiles & Parker Press Co., Middletown, Conn.
All kinds of Saws will cut Smooth and True by filing them with our New Machine, price $2.50. Illustrated Circular free. E. Roth & Bro., New Oxford, Pa.
"The Best Mill in the World," for White Lead, Dry, Paste, or Mixed Paint, Printing Ink, Chocolate, Paris White, Shoe Blacking, etc., Flour, Meal, Feed, Drugs, Cork, etc. Charles Boss, Jr., Williamsburgh, N.Y.
A Practical Engineer and Machinist, 24 years' experience. Best of reference, marine or stationary; forge; fit; repair. W. Barker, 433 2d Ave., N. Y.
Hydraulic Presses and Jacks, new and second hand. Lathes and Machinery for Polishing and Buffing metals. E. Lyon & Co., 470 Grand St., N. Y.
Nickel Plating.—A white deposit guaranteed by using our material. Condit, Hanson & Van Winkle, Newark, N. J.
Cheap but Good. The "Roberts Engine," see cut in this paper, June 1st, 1878. Also horizontal and vertical engines and boilers. E. E. Roberts, 107 Liberty St., N. Y.
The Cameron Steam Pump mounted in Phosphor Bronze is an indestructible machine. See ad. back page.
Presses, Dies, and Tools for working Sheet Metals, etc. Fruit and other Can Tools. Bliss & Williams, Brooklyn, N. Y., and Paris Exposition, 1878.
The Scientific American Export Edition is published monthly, about the 15th of each month. Every number comprises most of the plates of the four preceding weekly numbers of the scientific American, with other appropriate contents, business announcements, etc. It forms a large and splendid periodical of nearly one hundred quarto pages, each number illustrated with about one hundred engravings. It is a complete record of American progress in the arts.
Bound Volumes of the Scientific American.—I will sell bound volumes 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 28, and 32, New Series, for $1 each, to be sent by express. Address John Edwards, P. O. Box 773, New York.
For Solid Wrought Iron Beams, etc., see advertisement. Address Union Iron Mills, Pittsburgh, Pa., for lithograph, etc.
Pulverizing Mills for all hard substance and grinding purposes. Walker Bros. & Co., 23d and Wood St., Phila.
2d hand Planers, 7' x 30", $300; 6' x 24", $225; 5' x 24", $200; sc. cutt. b'k g'd Lathe, 9' x 28", $200; A. C. Stebbins, Worcester, Mass.
J. C. Hoadley, Consulting Engineer and Mechanical and Scientific Expert, Lawrence, Mass.
Best Wood Cutting Machinery, of the latest improved kinds, eminently superior, manufactured by Bentel, Margedant & Co., Hamilton, Ohio, at lowest prices.
Water Wheels, increased power. O. J. Bollinger, York, Pa.
We make steel castings from ¼ to 10,000 lbs. weight. 3 times as strong as cast iron. 12,000 Crank Shafts of this steel now running and proved superior to wrought iron. Circulars and price list free. Address Chester Steel Castings Co., Evelina St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Diamond Saws. J. Dickinson, 64 Nassau St., N. Y.
Machine Cut Brass Gear Wheels for Models, etc. (new list). Models, experimental work, and machine work generally. D. Gilbert & Son, 212 Chester St., Phila., Pa.
Holly System of Water Supply and Fire Protection for Cities and Villages. See advertisement in Scientific American of last week.
The only Engine in the market attached to boiler having cold bearings. F. F. & A. B. Landis, Lancaster, Pa.
Hand Fire Engines, Lift and Force Pumps for fire and all other purposes. Address Rumsey & Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y., U. S. A.
For Shafts, Pulleys, or Hangers, call and see stock kept at 79 Liberty St. Wm. Sellers & Co.
Wm. Sellers & Co., Phila., have introduced a new Injector, worked by a single motion of a lever.
NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.
Metals and Their Chief Industrial Applications. By Charles R. Alder Wright. London: Macmillan & Co. 12mo; pp. 191. Price $1.25.
In this neat little volume we have the substance of a course of lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1877, with thirty or more engraved illustrations of various metallurgical operations. The author discusses briefly, yet with sufficient fullness for popular purposes, the principal processes for reducing metals from their ores, the natural sources of metals, the metallurgy of the different metals, the physical properties of metals, and their thermic, electric, and chemical relations. The style is simple and the matter well chosen.
Dosia. A Russian Story. Translated from the French of Henry Greville, by Mary Neal Sherwood. Boston: Estes & Lauriat. Price $1.50.
This is the seventh of the Cobweb Series of choice fiction, a bright, wholesome but rather thin story, as befits its associations. Novel readers will find it an amusing companion for a rainy day in the country, or for beguiling the tedium of a summer journey.
[Notes & Queries]
(1) H. P. says: Please inform me of some recipe for removing superfluous hair. A. Make a strong solution of sulphuret of barium into a paste with powdered starch. Apply immediately after being mixed and allow to remain for ten or fifteen minutes. See also p. 107 (8), vol. 38, and p. 25, current volume.
[ (2) M. A. C.] writes: I would like to know how to dissolve bleached shellac, to make it a cement for stone. A. Dissolve it by digestion in 3 or 4 parts of strong alcohol, or by the aid of ¼ its weight of borax in about 4 volumes of boiling water.
[(3) A. K.] asks: 1. In rating substances as to hardness, diamond being No. 10, how do aluminum, osmium, iridium and steel as used in steel pens, number, also common and tempered glass? A. Aluminum about 3, iridosmine 6.5 to 7, steel 5.5 to 6, glass 5 to 5.5. 2. Can glass 1/32 inch in thickness be ground to angles of 15 per cent or less, and points as fine as pins, without difficulty, and how? A. No.
[(4) D. C. S.,] asks for a good recipe for cleaning and polishing dirty and tarnished brass. A. Dip for a short time in strong hot aqueous solution of caustic alkali, rinse in water, dip for a few moments in nitric acid diluted with an equal volume of water, rinse again, and finish with whiting.
(5) C. J. H. asks for the simplest way of producing a coating of the magnetic or black oxide of iron on iron plates 3 feet x 6 feet. I think it is called the Barff process. A. See pp. 1041 Scientific American Supplement, and 232, vol. 36, and 4, vol. 37, of the Scientific American.
How can I make tissue paper impervious to air and water, and yet strong enough to confine gas? A. You may pass the fabric through a solution of about 1 part caoutchouc in 35 parts of carbonic disulphide, exposing it then to the air until the solvent has evaporated.
[(6) J. H. J. ]asks how to use hyposulphite (?) of soda to neutralize chloride of lime in cotton and linen goods after bleaching the same. A. After washing from it the large excess of the hypochlorite, the fabric is passed slowly through a solution containing about 10 per cent of the hyposulphite, and then again thoroughly washed in clean water.
(7) Columbus asks for a recipe for making ink to rule faint lines, such as he is now writing on. He wants it to rule unit columns in books. A. Dissolve in a small quantity of warm water 20 parts of Prussian blue by the aid of 3 parts of potassium ferrocyanide, and dilute the solution with thin gum water until the proper degree of color is obtained.
(8) A. I. B. asks: Can I add anything to Arnold's writing fluid which will cause it to give a good free copy in my letter book? A. Try a little sugar.
[(9) R. & C.] ask for information in regard to the process of printing copies of drawings made on transparent materials, by using chemically prepared paper and exposing to the sunlight. A. It is based on the fact that an acid in the presence of potassium dichromate strikes a blackish-green color when brought in contact with aniline. The paper is prepared by floating it on a bath of aqueous solution of potassium dichromate and a trace of phosphoric acid, and then drying it in the dark. Aniline is dissolved in a little alcohol, and the mixed vapors allowed to come into contact with the sensitive paper that has been exposed to strong sunlight beneath the drawing, when the portions not changed by the sunlight assume the dark color mentioned. All that is requisite is that the paper or cloth original should be fairly penetrable by the light. A piece of paper sensitized as indicated, a sheet of glass to place over the drawing, and a box in which to place the exposed print to the aniline vapor are the only necessary plant.
(10) P. Y. P. writes: 1. To find the number of acres in a farm of valley and hillside land, is it by measuring the general contour of the land, allowing its actual surface, or by measuring and allowing only the imaginary face of the plane of it? A. The latter is the correct method. 2. Can more grain, say rye, be raised on a farm of valley and hillside land, as described above, than on a farm having a flat surface, the area of which is equal to the plane of the former, all other things supposed to be equal? A. No.
[(11) Inventor] asks: 1. Can you tell me of a book on sound boards? A. We do not know of a book especially devoted to the subject. 2. Also the best kind of wood to make them out of? A. Spruce.
[(12) F. C. A.] writes: I wish to construct a bar electro-magnet to go in a cylinder 1 inch in diameter and 1 inch long. 1. What size ought the core to be? What number of wire shall I use, and what number of Léclanché cells shall I use (not to exceed twelve) to obtain the greatest possible attractive power, distance 1/10 of an inch? A. Make the core 3/8 inch, wind it with No. 24 silk covered wire. Use 6 or 8 cells. 2. In the same space, could a horseshoe magnet be used, with a gain of power over the bar magnet? A. A cylindrical magnet, which is substantially the same as a horseshoe, might be substituted with advantage for the bar magnet.
(13) W. C. H. writes: In turning a tapering shaft in an engine lathe, will the tool if raised above the centers of the lathe turn the taper true from end to end, i. e., neither concave nor convex, the taper to be made by sliding the tail center the required distance? A. The taper will be concave.
[(14) H. E. H.] asks how to make lime light. A. The lime light is made by directing the jet of an oxyhydrogen blowpipe against a cylinder of lime. The blowpipe is contrived to take the proper proportion of oxygen and hydrogen gas, and the lime is placed in the reducing focus of the jet.
(15) L. F. asks: 1. How many Daniell's or Smee's cells would it require to produce the same effect as 50 Bunsen cells? A. About 100. 2. Is the diaphragm equally necessary in Bunsen's, Smee's and Daniell's cells, or can it be omitted in any one of them easier than in the others, and why so? A. The diaphragm or porous cell is required in Daniell's and Bunsen's batteries, but is not used in Smee's. The porous cell is used only in two fluid batteries; its object is to allow the current to pass, but to prevent the mixture of the two liquids. 3. Is the thickness of the zinc of any importance? A. Only that the thicker zinc lasts longer. 4. Which is the cheapest way to produce electric sparks and to charge a Leyden jar, and what will be the expense? A. By means of a frictional electrical machine. The machines cost from $10 upward.
(16) R. C. K. writes: I am an engineer by trade; have been at it 9 years. Am out of a position at present and want to learn mechanical draughting. How long would it take me to become a good draughtsman by taking a special course at some university? And with my knowledge of engineering and draughting, would my services be likely to be in fair demand? A. If you are familiar with mechanical operations, you might become a good draughtsman by close application under a competent instructor for one or two years. At present there are many excellent draughtsmen looking for positions.
[(17) G. B. M.] asks for the cause of the ribs or ridges on the surface of a piece of timber which has passed through a planing machine. A. They are frequently due to the intermittent motion of the feed.
[(18) A. F.] writes: Having a small quantity of gold and gold plated things, I would like to know the simplest way to melt it. A. Put it in a small crucible with a little borax and melt in a common kitchen fire.
[(19) J. H. S.,] writes: I have three drawings each 21 x 30 inches, which I wish to mount upon cloth like a map, placing them end to end so as to make one whole sheet 90 inches long. The drawings are upon heavy Whatman paper. A. You should stretch wet canvas or factory cloth upon a frame, and while it is still damp apply paste to the backs of the drawings and lay them smoothly on the stretched cloth. When the paste becomes thoroughly dry cut the cloth from the stretching frame and paste a tape binding around the edges.
(20) P. M. asks: What is the difference between the inner and outer rails of a 10° curve 100 yards in length, gauge 4 feet 8 inches? A. If this 100 yards is measured on the center of the curve, whose radius in feet is R, the length of the inner rail is
R - 2-1/3
———— x 100,
R
and of the outer rail
R + 2-1/3
———— x 100.
R
[(21) W. B. K.] asks how to make a shoe dressing for ladies' shoes. A. Soft water, 1 gallon; extract of logwood, 6 ozs.; dissolve at a temperature of about 120° Fah. Soft water, 1 gallon; borax, 6 ozs.; shellac, 1-1/2 oz.; boil until dissolved. Potassium dichromate, 3/8 oz.; hot water, 1/2 pint; dissolve, and add all together. It is preferred to add 3 ozs. of strong aqua ammonia to the liquid before bottling.
[(22) J. D.] asks: What chemicals can be put into water to increase its efficiency in extinguishing fire? A. Carbonic acid; sodium carbonate.
(23) H. P. writes: Please give me the advantages and disadvantages of substituting a galvanized iron tube 18 inches in diameter and 20 feet high for a wood tank, 5 feet wide and 6 deep, as a container of water in a dwelling house in the country. Would the narrower body of water keep fresh or sweet longer, etc.? Also the thickness of iron necessary to safety, and the number of gallons of water this tube would hold. A. The advantages are in favor of the wooden tank; zinc lined vessels (galvanized) are unsuitable for reservoirs for potable water. See p. 369, vol. 36, Scientific American. 0.3 inch iron would be stout enough. A pipe of the dimensions specified would contain about 327 gallons when full.
[(24) F. L. M.] asks: 1. What is the process by which wire is given a copper finish? A. Clean the wire by pickling it for a short time in very dilute sulphuric acid and scouring with sand if necessary. Then pass the clean wire through a strong bath of copper sulphate dissolved in water. 2. Can wire be thus finished and also annealed? If so, how? A. The wire should be annealed first. 3. What other finish can be put on iron wire (annealed), and by what process? A. Zinc—by passing the clean wire through molten zinc covered with sal ammoniac; tin—by drawing the wire through a bath of molten tin covered with tallow.
Minerals, Etc.—Specimens have been received from the following correspondents, and examined, with the results stated:
J. H. McF.—A fine quality of kaolin.—F. C. H.—The floury powder consists chiefly, if not altogether, of calcium carbonate.—C. L. G.—They are all silicious limestones. We cannot judge fairly of their value for building purposes from the powders sent.—D. K.—Ferruginous earth or marl.—A. E.—It is a partially decomposed feldspar. The white powder is for the most part an impure, silicious, kaolin.—E. H.—It consists chiefly of basic carbonate and hydrated oxide of lead—poisonous.—J. B. V.—It is a fair quality of pipe clay—impure silicate of alumina—probably worth about $2 per ton in New York.
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED.
The Editor of the Scientific American acknowledges with much pleasure the receipt of original papers and contributions on the following subjects:
Religion. By W. M. E.
Cause of Explosion in Flouring Mills. By G. M.
[OFFICIAL.]