Chapter 33

Air extracted from pure water, under an air pump, contains 34.8 per cent. of oxygen. Fish breathe this air, respiring about 35 times per minute. The oxhydrogen lime light may be seen from mountains at the distance of 200 miles round.

Lightning is reflected 150 to 200 miles.

1,000 cubic feet of 13 candle gas is equivalent to over 7 gals. of sperm oil, 52.9 lbs. of tallow candles, and over 44 lbs. of sperm candles.

The time occupied by gas in traveling from a gas well (in Pennsylvania) through 32 miles of pipe was 22 minutes, pressure at the well was 55 lbs. per inch, pressure at discharge 49 lbs.

At birth, the beats of the pulse are from 165 to 104, and the inspirations of breath from 70 to 23. From 15 to 20, the pulsations are from 90 to 57, the inspirations, from 24 to 16; from 29 to 50, the pulsations are 112 to 56, the inspirations 23 to 11. In usual states it is 4 to 1. The action of the heart distributes 2 ozs. of blood from 70 to 80 times in a minute.

The mean heat of the human body is 98 degs. and of the skin 90 degs. Tea and coffee are usually drank at 110 degs. The deepest coal mine in England is at Killingworth, near Newcastle, and the mean annual temperature at 400 yards below the surface is 77 degrees, and at 300 yards 70 degrees, while at the surface it is but 48 degrees, being 1 degree of increase for every 15 yards. This explains the origin of hot springs, for at 3,300 yards the heat would be equal to boiling water, taking 20 yards to a degree. The heat of the Bath waters is 116 degrees, hence they would appear to rise 1,320 yards.

Peron relates that at the depth of 2,144 feet in the sea the thermometer falls to 45 degrees, when it is 86 degrees at the surface.

Swemberg and Fourier calculate the temperature of the celestial spaces at 50 degrees centigrade below freezing.

In Northern Siberia the ground is frozen permanently to the depth of 660 feet, and only thaws to the extent of 3 or 4 feet in summer. Below 660 feet internal heat begins.

River water contains about 30 grs. of solid matter in every cubic foot. Fresh water springs of great size abound under the sea. Perhaps the most remarkable springs exist in California, where they are noted for producing sulphuric acid, ink, and other remarkable products.

St. Winifred's Well, in England, evolves 120 tons of water per minute, furnishing abundant water power to drive 11 mills within little more than a mile.

The French removed a red granite column 95 feet high, weighing 210 tons, from Thebes, and carried it to Paris. The display of costly architectural ruins at Thebes is one of the most astonishing to be seen anywhere in the world. The ruins and costly buildings in old Eastern countries, are so vast in their proportions and so many in number that it would require volumes to describe them.

Babel, now called Birs Nimroud, built at Babylon by Belus, was used as an observatory and as a temple of the Sun. It was composed of 8 square towers, one over the other, in all 670 feet high, and the same dimensions on each side on the ground.

The Coliseum at Rome, built by Vespasian for 100,000 spectators, was in its longest diameter 615-5 feet, and in the shortest 510, embraced 5-1/2 acres, and was 120 feet high. Eight aqueducts supplied ancient Rome with water, delivering 40 millions of cubit feet daily. That of Claudia was 47 miles long and 100 feet high, so as to furnish the hills. Martia was 41 miles, of which 37 were on 7,000 acres 70 feet high. These vast erections would never have been built had the Romans known that water always rises to its own level.

The Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, was 425 feet long and 225 feet broad, with 127 columns, 60 feet high, to support the roof. It was 220 years in building.

Solomon's Temple, built B.C. 1014, was 60 cubits or 107 feet in length, the breadth 20 cubits or 36 feet, and the height 30 cubits or 54 feet. The porch was 36 feet long and 18 feet wide.

The largest one of the Egyptian pyramids is 543 feet high, 693 feet on the sides, and its base covers 11 acres. The layers of stones are 208 in number. Many stones are over 30 feet long, 4 broad and 3 thick.

The Temple of Ypsambul, in Nubia, is enormously massive and cut out of the solid rock. Belzoni found in it 4 immense figures, 65 feet high, 25 feet over the shoulders, with a face of 7 feet and the ears over 3 feet.

Sesostris erected in the temple in Memphis immense statues of himself and his wife, 50 feet high, and of his children, 28 feet.

In the Temple of the Sun, at Baalbec, are stones more than 60 feet long, 24 feet thick and 16 broad, each embracing 23,000 cubic feet, cut, squared, sculptured, and transported from neighboring quarries. Six enormous columns are each 72 feet high, composed of 3 stones 7 feet in diameter. Sesostris is credited with having transported from the mountains of Arabia a rock 32 feet wide and 240 feet long.

The engineering appliances used by the ancients in the movement of these immense masses are but imperfectly understood at the present day.

During modern times, a block of granite weighing 1,217 tons, now used as the pedestal of the equestrian statute of Peter the Great, at St. Petersburg, was transported 4 miles by land over a railway, and 13 miles in a vast caisson by water. The railway consisted of two lines of timber furnished with hard metal grooves; between these grooves were placed spheres of hard brass about 6 inches in diameter. On these spheres the frame with its massive load was easily moved by 60 men, working at capstans with treble purchase blocks.

In 1716 Swedenborg contrived to transport (on rolling machines of his own invention) over valleys and mountains, 2 galleys, 5 large boats and 1 sloop, from Stromstadt to Iderfjol (which divides Sweden from Norway on the South), a distance of 14 miles, by which means Charles XII. was able to carry on his plans, and under cover of the galleys and boats to transport on pontoons his heavy artillery to the very walls of Frederickshall.

Belzoni considered the tract between the first and second cataract of the Nile as the hottest on the globe, owing to there being no rain. The natives do not credit the phenomenon of water falling from above. Hence it is that all monuments are so nicely preserved. Buckingham found a building left unfinished about 4,000 years ago, and the chalk marks on the stones were still perfect.

Pompey's Pillar is 92 feet high, and 27-1/2 round at the base.

Water is the absolute master, former and secondary agent of the power of motion in everything terrestrial. It is the irresistible power which elaborates everything, and the waters contain more organized beings than the land.

Rivers hold in suspension 100th of their volume (more or less) of mud, so that if 36 cubic miles of water (the estimated quantity) flow daily into the sea, 0.36 cubic miles of soil are daily displaced. The Rhine carries to the sea every day 145,980 cubic feet of mud. The Po carries out the land 228 feet per annum, consequently Adria which 2,500 years ago was on the sea, is now over 20 miles from it.

The enormous amount of alluvium deposited by the Mississippi is almost incalculable, and constantly renders necessary extensive engineering operations in order to remove the impediments to navigation.

As an exponent of the laws of friction, it may be stated that a square stone weighing 1,080 lbs. which required a force of 758 lbs. to drag it along the floor of a quarry, roughly chiseled, required only a force of 22 lbs. to move it when mounted on a platform and rollers over a plank floor.

The flight of wild ducks is estimated at 90 miles per hour, that of the swift at 200 miles, carrier pigeons 38 miles, swallows 60 miles, migratory birds have crossed the Mediterranean at a speed of 120 miles per hour.

The Nile has a fall of 6 ins. in 1,000 miles. The rise of the river commences in June, continuing until the middle of August, attaining an elevation of from 24 to 26 feet, and flowing the valley of Egypt 12 miles wide. In 1829 it rose to 26 cubits, by which 30,000 persons were drowned. It is a terrible climate to live in, owing to the festering heat and detestable exhalations from the mud, etc., left on the retiring of the Nile, which adds about 4 inches to the soil in a century, and encroaches on the sea 16 feet every year. Bricks have been found at the depth of 60 feet, showing the vast antiquity of the country. In productiveness of soil it is excelled by no other in the world.

How to Splice a Belt in Order to Make it Run Like an Endless Belt.--Use the toughest yellow glue prepared in the ordinary way, while hot, stirring in thoroughly about 20 per cent of its weight of tannic acid, or extract of tan bark. Apply to the splice and quickly clamp together. The splice should be made of scarfed edges extending 3 to 6 inches back, according to thickness of belt. The surface to be perfectly clean and free from oil.

How Many Pounds of Coal it Requires to Maintain Steam of One-Horse Power per Hour.--Anthracite 1-1/2 to 5 pounds, according to the economy of boiler and engine. Bituminous and anthracite coal are very nearly equal for equal qualities. They both vary from 7 to 10 pounds of water evaporated per pound of coal from a temperature of 212 degrees.

A Formula for Collodio-bromide Emulsion that is Rapid.--Ether s.g. 0.720, 4 fluid ounces; alcohol s.g. 0.820, 2-1/2 fluid ounces; pyroxyline, 40 grains; castile soap dissolved in alcohol, 30 grains; bromide of ammonium and cadmium, 56 grains.

How to Deaden the Noise of Steam While Blowing off Through a Wrought Iron Stand Pipe.--The sound may be much modified by enlarging the end of the pipe like a trumpet or cone; which should be long, 20 or 30 times the diameter of the pipe, opening to 4 or 5 times its initial size.

Why Fusible Plugs are Put in the Crown Sheet of Locomotive Boilers.--To save the crown sheet from burning in case of low water, when the plug melts and lets the steam and water into the fire chamber to dampen and put out the fire as well as to make an alarm. They may also be employed on other forms of boilers, and are much used in connection with whistles for low-water alarms only. Boilers should not be blown out for cleaning with fire under them or while the walls (if set in brick) are hot enough to do damage to the iron shell. Locomotive boilers may be blown out very soon after the fire is entirely removed. All brick-set boilers should be left several hours after the fire is drawn before blowing off for cleaning.

How to Lace a Quarter Turn Belt so as to Have an Equal Strain on Both Edges of the Belt.--Begin on the outside of the belt at the middle, pass one end of the lacing through one end of the belt and bring it out through the corresponding hole of the other end of the belt, laying it diagonally off to the left. Now pass the other end of the lacing through the hole last used, and carry it over the first strand of the lacing on the inside of the belt, passing it through the first hole used, and lay it diagonally off to the right. Now proceed to pass the lacing through the holes of the belt in a zigzag course, leaving all the strands inside the belt parallel with the belt, and all the strands outside the belt oblique. Pass the lace twice through the holes nearest the edge of the belt, then return the lace in the reverse order toward the center of the belt, so as to cross all the oblique strands, and make all the inside strands double. Finally pass the end of the lacing through the first hole used, then outward through an awl hole, then hammering it down to cause it to hold. The left side is to be laced in a similar way.

A Useful Hint to Draughtsmen.--To strain drawing paper on a board, cut the paper to the size required, lay it on the board face downwards and thoroughly wet the surface with a damp sponge or brush, then turn it over and wet the face in the same way; roll it up tightly and let it stay so for five or six minutes, unroll it, and turn up the edges about an inch all around. Take liquid glue (Jackson's is the best) and apply it carefully to the edges, then turn them down, and with a paper knife press them to the board all around. Put the board in an inclined position where it is not too dry or warm, or the paper will dry too fast and tear. If it is allowed to dry slowly the surface will be perfectly even and smooth, and a pleasure to draw upon.

Joints for Hot Water Pipes.--Sal-ammoniac, 2 oz.; sublimed sulphur, 1 oz.; cast-iron filings, 1 lb. Mix in a mortar, and keep the powder dry. When it is to be used, mix it with twenty times its weight of clean iron filings, and grind the whole in a mortar. Wet with water until it becomes of convenient consistence. After a time it becomes as hard and strong as any part of the metal.

When the Process of Galvanizing Iron was First Known.--A. The process of coating iron with zinc, or zinc and tin, is a French invention, and was patented in England in 1837.

A Timber Test.--The soundness of timber may be ascertained by placing the ear close to one end of the log, while another person delivers a succession of smart blows with a hammer or mallet upon the opposite end, when a continuance of the vibrations will indicate to an experienced ear even the degree of soundness. If only a dull thud meets the ear, the listener may be certain that unsoundness exists.

Useful Hints and Recipes.--Following is a comparative statement of the toughness of various woods.--Ash, 100; beech, 85; cedar of Lebanon, 84; larch, 83; sycamore and common walnut, each, 68; occidental plane, 66; oak, hornbeam and Spanish mahogany, each, 62; teak and acacia, each, 58; elm and young chestnut, 52.

An [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'ingenius'] ingenious device for stretching emery cloth for use in the workshop consists of a couple of strips of wood about 14 in. long, hinged longitudinally, and of round, half-round, triangular, or any other shape in cross section. On the inside faces of the wood strips are pointed studs, fitting into holes on the opposite side. The strip of emery cloth is laid on to one set of the studs, and the file, as it is called, closed, which fixes the strip on one side. It is then similarly fixed on the other side, and thus constitutes what is called an emery file and which is a handy and convenient arrangement for workshop use.

Method of making Artificial Whetstones.--Gelatine of good quality is dissolved in its own weight of water, the operation being conducted in a dark room. To the solution one and a half per cent. of bichromate of potash is added, which has previously been dissolved in a little water. A quantity of very fine emery, equal to nine times the weight of the gelatine, is [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'itimately'] intimately mixed with the gelatine solution. Pulverized flint may be substituted for emery. The mass is molded into any desired shape, and is then consolidated by heavy pressure. It is dried by exposure to strong sunlight for several hours.

How to Toughen Paper.--A plan for rendering paper as tough as wood or leather has been recently introduced; it consists in mixing chloride of zinc with the pulp in the course of manufacture. It has been found that the greater the degree of concentration of the zinc solution, the greater will be the toughness of the paper. It can be used for making boxes and for roofing.

How to Mend a Broken File.--There is no tool so easily broken as the file that the machinist has to work with, and is about the first thing that snaps when a kit of tools gets upset upon the cross-beam of a machine or a tool board from the bed of an engine lathe. It cannot even be passed from one workman to another without being broken, if the file is a new one or still good for anything, if an apprentice has got anything to do with it, and they are never worth mending, however great may be their first cost, unless the plaster of Paris and lime treatment can make a perfect weld without injuring the steel or disturbing the form of the teeth. Steel that is left as hard as a file is very brittle, and soft solder can hold as much on a steady pull if it has a new surface to work from. Take a file, as soon as it is broken, and wet the break with zinc dissolved in muriatic acid, and then tin over with the soldering iron. This must be done immediately as soon as the file is broken, as the break begins to oxydize when exposed to the air. And in an hour or two will gather sufficient to make it impossible for the parts to adhere. Heat the file as warm as it will bear without disturbing its temper as soon as well tinned, and press the two pieces firmly together, squeezing out nearly all the solder, and hold in place until the file cools. This can be done with very little to trim off, and every portion of the break fitting accurately in place. Bring both pieces in line with each other, and, for a file, it is as strong in one place as in another, and is all that could be asked for under the very best of welding treatment.

What will Fasten Pencil Markings, to Prevent Blurring.--Immerse paper containing the markings to be preserved in a bath of clear water, then flow or immerse in milk a moment; hang up to dry. Having often had recourse to this method, in preserving pencil and crayon drawings, I will warrant it a sure cure.

How to Transfer Newspaper Prints to Glass.--First coat the glass with dammar varnish, or else with Canada balsam, mixed with an equal volume of oil of turpentine, and let it dry until it is very sticky, which takes half a day or more. The printed paper to be transferred should be well soaked in soft water, and carefully laid upon the prepared glass, after removing surplus water with blotting paper, and pressed upon it, so that no air bubbles or drops of water are seen underneath. This should dry a whole day before it is touched; then with wetted fingers begin to rub off the paper at the back. If this be skillfully done, almost the whole of the paper can be removed, leaving simply the ink upon the varnish. When the paper has been removed, another coat of varnish will serve to make the whole more transparent. This recipe is sold at from $3 to $5 by itinerants.

A Liquid Cement for Cementing Leather, that Will Not be Affected by the Action of Water.--A good cement for splicing leather is gutta percha dissolved in carbon disulphide, until it is of the thickness of treacle; the parts to be cemented must first be well thinned down, then pour a small quantity of the cement on both ends, spreading it well so as to fill the pores of the leather; warm the parts over a fire for about half a minute, apply them quickly together, and hammer well. The bottle containing the cement should be tightly corked, and kept in a cool place.

The Quickest and Best Way to Drill Holes for Water Pipes in Rough Plate Glass.--Use a hardened (file temper) drill, with spirits of turpentine and camphor to make the drill bite. A broken file in a breast brace will do good work if a power drill is not obtainable.

A Recipe for Making Printers' Inks.--For black ink: Take of balsam of copaiba (pure), 9 ounces; lamp black, 3 ounces; indigo and Prussian blue, of each half an ounce; Indian red, 3/4 ounce; yellow soap (dry), 3 ounces; grind the mixture to an impalpable smoothness by means of a stone and muller. Canada balsam may be substituted for balsam of copaiba where the smell of the latter is objectionable, but the ink then dries very quickly. The red inks are similarly made by using such pigments as carmine, lakes, vermilion, chrome yellow, red lead, orange red, Indian red and Venetian red.

A Cement to Stick White Metal Tops on Glass Bottles.--One of the best cap cements consists of resin, 5 ounces; beeswax, 1 ounce; red ocher or Venetian red in powder, 1 ounce. Dry the earth thoroughly on a stove at a temperature above 212¡ Fah. Melt the wax and resin together, and stir in the powder by degrees. Stir until cold, lest the earthy matter settle to the bottom.

The Correct Meaning of the Tonnage of a Vessel.--The law defines very carefully how the tonnage of different vessels shall be calculated. An approximate rule for finding the gross tonnage is to multiply the length of keel between perpendiculars by the breadth of vessel and depth of hold, all in feet, and dividing the product by 100. It is generally assumed that 40 cubic feet shall constitute a ton, and the tonnage of a vessel is considered to be the multiple of this ton, which most closely corresponds with the internal capacity of the vessel.

A Recipe for Re-inking Purple Type Ribbons.--Use: Aniline violet, 1/4 ounce; pure alcohol, 15 ounces; concentrated glycerine, 15 ounces. Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol, and add the glycerine.

The Process of Giving a Tempered-Blue Color to the Steel Plate and Malleable Iron Castings of a Roller Skate.--In order to obtain an even blue, the work must have an even finish, and be made perfectly clean. Arrange a cast-iron pot in a fire so as to heat it to the temperature of melted lead, or just below a red heat. Make a flat bottom basket of wire or wire cloth to sit in the iron box, on which place the work to be blued, as many pieces as you may find you can manage, always putting in pieces of about the same thickness and size, so that they will heat evenly. Make a bail to the basket, so that it can be easily handled. When the desired color is obtained, dip quickly in hot water to stop the progress of the bluing, for an instant only, so that enough heat may be retained to dry the articles. A cover to the iron box may sometimes be used to advantage to hasten the heating. Another way, much used, is to varnish the work with ultramarine varnish, which may be obtained from the varnish makers.

Cement to Mend Iron Pots and Pans.--Take two parts of sulphur and one part, by weight, of fine black lead; put the sulphur in an old iron pan, holding it over the fire until it begins to melt, then add the lead; stir well until all is mixed and melted; then pour out on an iron plate or smooth stone. When cool, break into small pieces. A sufficient quantity of this compound being placed upon the crack of the iron pot to be mended, can be soldered by a hot iron in the same way a tinsmith solders his sheets. If there is a small hole in the pot, drive a copper rivet in it, and then solder over it with this cement.

The Best Method of Rendering Basement Walls Damp-Proof.--Construct on the outside an area wall so that the earth does not rest directly against the main wall of the house, but only against the outside wall or casing of the area. To form such an area, build a wall half or one brick thick parallel to and some 2 or 3 inches from the main wall, and form at the bottom a channel or gutter connected with the drains, so that any moisture or water finding its way in through the outer casing may be conducted away and will not therefore penetrate into the building. Thoroughly ventilate the areas by means of air bricks or other suitable connections with the outer air, and connect with one another by making through connections underneath the floor joists. Be very careful that the main wall is laid on a good and efficient damp course. The top of the space between the area and main walls may be covered in all around the building with bricks--ornamented or otherwise, as preferred--on a line just above the ground. Another plan of effecting the same object is to dispense with the area wall and in building the brick work to cover the whole of the work on the outside with a thick layer of bituminous asphalt. The plaster on the inside is in this case often rendered in nearly neat Portland cement.