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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1877)
ebru.'.ry. THE WEST SHORE. Ill Tfje West $1oe, Sliteeu PatfC Monthly Illustrated Piper, published at Poktlixd, Obsqox, by L. SAMUEL, BWuhlngbmgt TKRMS OF SUBSCRIPTION, eluding PosUtf to any part of the United State): to foreign countries, ft cent additional. If Subscription must be paid in advance, tnd all l i;rv(ilioiiivly tnntopped at the end A the time It tit oid (or. u.mituuiut) can be made bv mistered tttnr nr hv irier on any ( the Purtlaiid budiiusa home. HE KNtlLISH BELIEVE IN THE SEA SKKl'KNT. The London Sptttator gives full credit to the vt reported observation of the sea serpent Ita ppesrance coiucmea who wnai it now agreea ton, that it must be of a Saurian character, ke the monster of geologic periods. The fditior , in the btroilsoi Malacca the 1,4-monster, bo repeateiuy seen ana so repeat-1 hllv declared to be mythical, anueara at last to ; Lre been carefully observed by competent wit- Iejes, ine creature was seen uy tne passengers I mil crew of the ship Nfntor, on her voyage to tiinnhai; and on her arrival at Shanghai the Later of the ship, Mr. John Keiller Webster, :iJ the surgeon, Air. James Anderson, made a :atutory declaration of what they had Been be re a magistrate, as a mode, we suppose, of rmally attesting that they spoke in gol faith, lie creature (which resembled a hute salaman- iwr, only that instead of being a1out six or eight ncoes long, tnese ".intensions must lie muitl lied by at least 75 or 100, the body being from ,i to 50 feet in length, the head 12 feet, and the ail, it is said, no less than lftO feet) was first teen at hall juist ten o clock on the 1 1 th of Sej tcmlwr, 15 miles northwest of the North Sand ighthmiM, in the Straits of Malacca. The itather was fine, the sea smooth, and the air lrfectly clear. The Chinese on deck were ter nlilv alarmed and set u a howL The whole hatch ami three saloon passengers saw the crca- uracieany ana onserved its movements. It nreled for a Ions time about as fast as the kteamer, appearing to paddle itself by the help u an uiniuiui.urj' iiiumuii ui its tau in a vortical lane. ' The hotly and tail were marked as those i the salamander are marked with alternatu Bands, black and pale yellow in color. 'The itArt was immediately connected with the body, nthout any indication of a neck.' Both wit iesses state positively that the only resemblance ris to some creature of the froc or newt kind. t'hifo one of them the surgeon) says the longer observed it the more he was struck with its hssmblance to a gtgnntic salamander. Its back wis oval in form. No eves or fins were seen knd it did not blow or spout in the manner of a mate. ine greater part ot its head was .ever seen, being beneath the surface. Proba ly the creature is of a race which survives from list very different world in which creatures of bsantic size seem to have been so much com- 'i.mer than now. .Ut appears to be no man ir of reason for a, . ii the very express evi dence Mi BUCniiintlv anil aohnrlv nivoti " .v B. . A CRACK IN THE GREAT GUN. W I,- fnmi i . - v iuiuigiij (jitcu ou outline oi tne malt fhmc m.rfl. vnutiuiia. uu uu tne eve of the completion of the 81 -ton gun, a vex- mioiiujj una titi-urren wmcn iron savs is serious enough, but not thought of sufficient im-1 ....w . jnc.cim um varying hui oi me pro. i gramme. 1 he holes pierced through the body 1 nf the, mm ftr iiw... .. J I , "" v """" "TO pressure gauges, have been calculated to weaken it considerably, and it should be mentioned, to the credit of the gun, that it has fired lG(i rounds, in which it has consumed no less than 23 tons of powder I and diiifhtipfHwl 191 t..n. Af i- rm. .' - r-.. v.,. pi.-jouuicB, 10 inn must be added the fact that the charge (ireil i in tha nt ,.f tl I i . . 1 " "" " nimo uva immu mucn heavier tlian contemplated when the gun was originally designed, and that the closer con finement of the powder gases obtained by the use of the gas-check has also to some degree added to the work imposed upon the irreat sun Thn aiithni-itio. H.a.f !., atiU regard, with satisfaction, the unimiWd wuuiuuu vi wv main iiruciure, wnue tliey at done, that the steel tube, or lining of the gun. . M)U uinruakwuruiy pan. in this steel tube a crack has been discovered. Gutta-pereha impressions of the bore have leeu taken at various stages, and the examination y, pn)tarawiry to tne renewed trials arranged for this week, revealed evidence nf tha inn;,. f.. I : :.l i ' u.Ki(i.i.iiniBi,miB, ib uuuaiuercti Mime. what remarkable, although not surprising, that miu ui-wii gun niuum UDIV IUIIUWVI1 WO CIJBeiy THE DISTANCE OP THE SUN, If some celestial railway could be imairined. Ihe journey to tho sun, even if our trains ran tJO lines an Hour, day and night and without a wp, woum require over 175 years. Sensation, en, woum not travel so lar in a human life- me. To borrow the curious illustration of 'rf, Mendenhall, if we could imagine an infant ith an arm long enough to enable him to mich the sun and burn himself, he wnnld din nf irt age before the pain could reach him. Accord tig to the experiments of Helmholtx anil others, nervous shock is communicated onlv at tlm hte of about 100 feet per second, or I,37 miles uay, ami wouiu need more than 100 years to mi mite tne journey. Ewunct would do it in kut 14 vears if it could be transmitted. Ud a cannon-ball in about nine, if it were t move uniformly with the same spued as when i wit tne muzzie oi tne gun. 11 the earth could f suddenly stoDlKHi in herorhiL and allowml ti Wl unobstmctotl towanl the sun under the ac- icrating mmience of his attraction, she would ach tlie central tire in about four mnntha. 1 avc said if she could be atonped, but such is pne compass of her orbit that, to make its cir cuit in a year, she has to move nearly lit miles a K-ond, or more than 50 times faster than the Mnftert ritle ball; and in moving JU miles sho 'tes i nun eriect straiglitness by less than "inuui oi an men. Aim yet, over all the ircuiiiference of this tremendous orbit, the sun terciae his dominion, and every pulsation of ' surface receives its response from the anh. e&rth.l'rof. V. A. Youny, in ouNiir Food mn lvriupvniir a ; on the "relation of intnniiwp. kce to foud" makes this point: What is the proedy for intemperance? I answer, nerve food "uumnfj matcnal to supply the waste of the V reform in the present popular system of r tciiia. iiv reuucinff tna nniiuirtinn m int and 1'io.BcIe forming elements, and increasing the fiprve ami brain building material in a procr Fttio. lt the ninnlv in aok m .n...f j-. .iuiii wm no more. A study oi this subject, a practical atmlication nf th t).krv tl..t 1 J-, - .uwuna ior tne past 10 vears, gives me a r-'lld baaia nflmut nn n f npd beverage a liquid food composed largely I ' hnun and ,,-rv huil.lina .l.mM.i. . MR,i. ition, concrete, soluble, and one that is so rap- into tne circulation that the patient i ln?'"e,litel)r .'to invigorating, energising yhiys thirst and invigorates without stimula- "(nmg to tne system a permanent ba ' "f nervous vigor and enervv. run RntcMATiSM. Remain constantly h . roon dh annx lemon juice ireely. w Mia. naa cnneai uia mnat niwtinat i of tnHammatory rheumatism. W hoever uus is requested to report to the rust CHANGING THE COURSE OF THE DANUBE. To avoid the rocks by which the navigation of the Danube has for ages been obstructed at the point known as the "Iron Gates," a new bed has been prepared for the river, of which tho Danube has taken possession for itself with out waiting for any opening ceremony. This river was dug out in three sections, separated from each other by two dykes, which were left, and over which the road led to the old bed. The embankment has been raised all along the line and reveted with stone. It was deter mined to make an opening in the upper dyke so as to allow the stone barges to (tast through. Scarcely was the channel oftened when the stream rushed in, widening tho gap soon from iz leet to iuu, carrying away tne bridge which hod been constructed. The dyke being in an oblhme direction, the gap was made toward the right bank, the consequence being that the force oft he stream rushed in that direction, carrying away the masonry and stone pavement for a coiithiduraMu distance. In less thou 12 hours the basin tilled. Curiously enough, the differ ence in the level of the old channel is found to be not near so great as might have been ex pected, 18 inches being registered as the fall and for the present there are two streams, the old one not having been aa yet stopiml. The new channel is nearly nine and one-half miles long, and brings the water of the Danube with in a short distance of Vienna, It consists of two parts: The minor channel, which, in ordi nary times, will receive all the waters of the river, is 245 meters wide and three to 3.60 INSTRUCTIONS FOR HANDLING AND USING TIU-NITRO-GLYCEIUNE. The following rules are laid down by Mr. Mowbray, in his excellent treatise on "Trf. Nitro(Uyceriue," via.: 1. Handle carefully, avoiding a sudden jar or concussion, and be very careful, if any is spilled outside the can, to avoid 'striking it against any hard substance. 2. When solid, thaw out by placing the cans jn a tub of warm water, not hotter than the wrist can bear, first pouring warm water into the can, and always remove the can before add- ng more hot water to the tub. 3. To till cartridges, etc. t Hold the cartridges to be tilled over a tray, say two feet by three feet, tho bottom of which should be covered with plaster of pans (which will not readily ex plode when saturated with nitroglycerine. ) Tho soiled plaster ui paria should bo iroqueutly renewed. 4. If nitro-ulycerine in a liuuid state is kont in a store or magatine for some time, the cork should be loosely iuserted, and a pint of cold water poured into each can, to Ui frequently poured on and replaced with fresh cold water in warm weather, taking caro to retain tho bladder under tho cork, It is preferable, when ice cau be procured, to congeal tho nitro-glycerine, ft. Use funnel (gutta-percha, if they can be had) for tilling water holes. Under no circum stances wnatover attempt to tamp the drill holes; it is unnecessary, and may kill tho man who attempts it tt. Hot iron to warm the water, or for sol dering the cans, will be sura to cauto oxplo- 7. Never sledgo or attempt drillinir in a hole or seam where nitro-glycerine ha been spilled; nre an exploiter, which will elleclually clear it up. K. Never pour nitro-glycerine into a hole unless iierfcctly sure that it is a sound hole. or will hold water; if seamy always use car tridges. 0. To obtain the best results with nitro glycerine, drill deep holes, six feet or more. Use powcnui exploders and well insulated wires. It is cheaper to tire by electric battery with sim ultaneous explosion, than to tire several holes with tape fuse. 10. Look out after a blast for any unexplodod cartridge lying around. 11. Never allow any but the must careful per sons to handle or have charge of the nitro glycerine, and inaist upon the use of every pre caution to prevent an accident or explosion. iz. ft ever allow empty glycermu cans to be used for any other puritoso, but destroy thorn by a fuao and exploder, or by building a lire under them; tint, however, removing them to a safe distance. 13. Examine your cans from time to time and notice if, at the level of tho uitro-glycorine, any pin holes have eaten through; in alien case pro cure a new can, or stone jar, and empty the con tents out, not trusting your hold to the upjwr jiart of the can, lest it may give away. 14. When solid or congealed it is absolutely safe; if possible, therefore, any surplus should be stored surrounded with ice, since nu uxplo iou can take place when it is solid. GLADIOLUS.. the example of the original Woolwich infant the tirat ICi-toli gun. which in a similar manner endured some enormous pressure and then cracked its steel lining; after which mishap it however, tired many more very heavy rounds, and proved that a defect in the steel tubing was scarcely to be regarded as any very serious det riment to the weapon. English artillerists, gen erally seaking, have no faith in steel, in con sequence of its brittle nature, but they require a hard, smooth and unyielding surface within the bore, to take the rilling ana endure the fric tion of the projectile; and they have, therefore, reluctantly adopted for this purpose a material, the characteristics of which are the opposite of the tough and elastic wrought-iron coils which compose the body of the gun. The thickness of the steel at the place where the crack has occurred, is about four inches, and it is situ ated at some distance from the powder chamber, anil is at present scarcely perceptible, anil of small extent It is calculated that two or three rounds have been tired since the injury oc curred, and that the gun is as tit for work as ever it was, the tubing never being calculated upon as contributing anything to the strength of the barrel. The trial of the gun againat the enormous armor-plated target will therefore probably be made, as arranged, at Sboeburyness, before it is retubed. Weight or Belts. Rankine says: Leather belts, when new, are not quite of the heaviness of water say about 60 pounds per cubic foot; but, after having been for some time in nse, they become thinner and denser by compression, and are then about as heavy as water. The weight of a single belting may be approximately estimated at 0.008 pounds per foot, length and inch breadth. meters deep; the other, which is to provide against Hoods, is 515 meters wide and two me ters deep, with a dam ti.'A'I meters high. Six teen millions of cubic motors hail to be excavated for raising the level of tho soil nud forming the dam, and half of this by dredging; the stone work of the new dams represented a cube nf .vrtl.UOU meters, and the pitching nearly as much. I lie quays almoroofl .tn,iKX cubic meters of con creto and 30,000 meters of masonry. THE GLADIOLUS. This gorgeous Hower, grown annually from bull, like the dahlia, is justly entitled to rank among the favorites of the amateur culturist It produces long brilliant spikes of showy HdWers, of almost every conceivable shade of color. The gladiolus presents itself at once as tne most uesiraiiie ot our summer duiimius plants. For center and large table bouquets, where mm and ellect are de'ired, they are unetiualed. The gladiolus ahould be planted from early in April till the last of June, by which course a succes sion of bloom will lis obtained. Tne best effect is produced when planted in groups or rows. The bulbs should 1 iilanted three inches deeu. and for grou place them six to eight inches atart, of six to ten in a group; or, they may lie planted in rows two feet apart, and six inches in the rows. If in exposed situations, they snoum ue uea to neat etaaes, to prevent injury from atrong winds. The bulbs should be taken up in the fall, cleaned, and stored where they will tie sais irom ireenng ana moisture. Fio Watiil Boil a quarter of a pound of best preserved figs with a ball ounce of ginger in two quarts ol water. When reduced to a pulp, strain off and bottle for use. LEAD POISON IN SEWING SILK. The Monitetir iMIttyitnt startles ita readers with the revelation of an ingenious fraud, not generally known, but likely to lw in the long run very dangerous to the health of tailors, seamstresses and others who use silk thread in sewing. Nothing is more pernicious to the sys tem than lead, and yet it may be constantly introduced into the stomach by those who use sewing silk. The fact is important if load lw the metal used for giving weight to silk. Iead acts very surreptitioualy on tho system; it ii essentially "a slow poison," and it is very diili cult to comliat its cttocts. It acts on the teeth and on tho intestines, in which it produce par alyris, frequently followed by death. "We have seen, ' says the writer in the Montour U'JIwiifiif, "among other cases, that of a lady who keel a large sewing establishment, who, by the use of such silk thread, was, together with her workwomeu, attacked by lead colic, some of them losing their teeth tho result of tho habit of putting tho ends of the silk into the mouth before passing it through the eye of the needle. Such is tho way in which the lead poison is directly sUorlmd, whilst, by contin ually handling the ailk, the lingers may retain a jtortion of the lead, to bo indirectly introduced into the ayatcm with the food that may lie touched by the hand. The poison may lie avoided by refraining from put tins the ailk into the mouth dipping it in gummcdwater instead but perhaps the best remedy will lie found by the large dealers refusing to buy silk thread by weight unless it is proved to be free from metal lic adulteration. An Invkhtdr Wanted. -The American Man. vueturer says: It isn't a new notion, buta lead, iug Georgia cotton planter is renewing and em phasizing the demand for a cotton-picker that shall do for cotton what the reaping machines do fur the grain crop of tha world. Since the invention of the cotton-gin nothing is so much needed in the South, and there can be but little doubt that the man who solves this mechanical problem will win not only fame but fortune. It is not necessary, says the planter, that the cotton-picker should do its work cleanly; if it can but garner two-thirds or three-fourths of the crop, manual labor will take care of the remain der. The customary price of picking cotton by hand is 7ft cento tier 100 pounds of seed cotton, the average yield of which, in marketable lint, is 33 pounds. The cost of band-picking, there fore, is '2i cents per pound, a very large item, which ouifht to be reduced, bv innniimii. m. chinery, by mora than one-half. A successful inventor, wno should exact as his royalty only one-eightn of one per cent per pound upon the cotton crop of the United States, might fairly figure bis annual income at more than aftUM).. 000, a sun) worth striving for by any mechanic wuv ut gut m snTenuon,