Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1880)
May, 1880. THE WEST SHORE. 45 A CALIFORNIA SCENE. We give on this page an excellent reproduc tion of a choice painting, representing a fraction of the grand and beautiful aa embodied in Cali lornia natural aoenery. i lie view oombinei the majesty of the mountains with the quiet beauty of the riverside; its quiet disturbed only by the wild life natural to our unfrequented districts. The view is on Kern river, one of the most not able of the Southern California streams. In an article recently published, the Paciic 'rata gives a characteristic sketch of the river and its course: Kern river, or Win flraeo as formerly oalled by the Mexicans, is a topographioal exemplifi cation of the course of but too many of earth's high born sons. In ita early stages we find it a muddy; it forms sloughs and miasmatic marshes, and its waters degenerate from pure and life giving to fever and death-bearing. It opens up, it is true, a large agricultural district, and much land that would otherwise be barren waste is made to produce abundantly uy moans ui irngauou; ueuue mauy are induced to settle in this region where they may utilise ita waters, but we think many who do so have reason sooner or later to regret their choice of location, moro particularly, however, on aooount of its unho.il thl alliens, than for other reasons. The greater part of its wators finally empty into (loose lake, though much of it sinks in sloughs and a part Hnds its way into Kern lake. The region in whioh it rises is remarkable for its loveliness, but step by step it descends in its oourte of dissipation until it ignominioualy oomes to its end in (iooso lake. Fall or HmotlG DOIT. I'rof. Silvostria, .. aaaaaVflaVHLflPv " t."' j 1 M J-jt t,. j; jff ,i' f'' 4 HnawtflHF 1 WUnniHDu ,ti. ', ' I A v5l9iE& Ik. aHHBI aE&HaaflHsawvSasSSaiTmBSn s$l, v ar " -Tsawte VIEW ON THE KEEN ltl EK.-(A. Hiaratadt) lovely little stream, rising in the region of Mt Brewer and coursing south among some of the grandest scenery of the Sierras, passing on its way Mt Williamson, Mt Tyndall, Mt Whitney and Mt Agaaaiz, whose snow-capped peaks rise between U.000 and Ift.OOO feet into the bluest of western skies, and whose waters pay tribute to the clear water of Itm Hravo. It is here among these grand old giants that Mr. A. Hier stadt, our celebrated national painter, has se lected the subject of one of bis works of art, the which our engraver has so well succeeded in oopying. Here where we see the grand and sublime united with the mild and lovely we have indeed, a combination well worthy the brush of the painter, or the pen of the poet Following ita ooorae still further down we find it leaving the mountains and eutering among the rolling hills from whenoe it emerges into tlie heated and alkaline valley of the San Joaquin. For many miles it carries with it along ita shores traces of ita former loveliness, bat gradually ita waters Income dark and of the (Catania observatory, reports the fall on the night of the !H)th of M arch of a shower of no tonne dust, minglsd with rain. Besides ths usual characteristics of oolor, ohsmical oompoai tion, and the mixture of mineral and organio particles and minute infusoria, there waa a on siilerahle proportion of iron, either in a purely metallic state or in metallic particles, coated with oxide. The aixe varied from a tenth to a hundredth part of a millimeter, and the form was either irregular or spherical, as If It had undergone fumon. This phenomenon waa first observed in the Indian ocean, eouth of Java, in I (CIO, and has been corroborated by I'rof. Nor donakjuld'a Arctic observations. UrRlASKD Us rus (J lam. -Considerable baa been written about toughened glass as a material for railway eleepere, and now Mr. Itucknall, of England, Intends to manufacture toughened glass pipes for water and gas works, for drains and chemical purposes, as well as transparent bricks, telegraph insulators, etc HARVEST DRnnc During hot weather, and in hile oiigaired harveet operations, a good deal of liquid is necessarily imbibed, for the poree are open and perspiration flows out. The question is, what is toe ueet to uriua 1 1 u boari steamers the firemen employed about the furnaces are some times greatly 1 xhauated by heat Their pro fuse perspiration renders a large quantity of wa ter necessary to supply the waste. Ths ingestion of clear water under the oiroumatanoes appears to answer very imperfect 1 y the wants of the sys tem. It seems to pass through the circulation to the akin, percolates aa through a sisve, and llowa over the surface of the body in streams. A large drink of oold, or even cool water, un der these circumstances, on an empty stomach, is vsry dangerous, end liable to produce death with almost the suildonness of an eleotrio ahook. Croat practical ail vantage haa bean obtained by mixing farinaceous substanoea, particularly oatmeal, with the water to be used by the men employed at this kind of labor. Ths oatmeal is mined in proportions of three or four ounoea to a gallon of water, and used aooording to in clination by the firemen and coal-heaver. It might be iliflinult to determine why oatmeal for this pin pose shoubl he better than oorumeal, or buckwheat, or rye, wheat, millet, etc, but the liremon themselves seem to think It haa tha af fect of making them aa strong aa horses. We may aafely allow something for this sort of pre judice, which we know to be very portent among the influencee on health and disease. The peculiar aroma of the oata la probably as sociated with a pleasant degree of stimulation of the alimentary mucous snrfaoe in such a way aa to promote ita complete digestion. It seems to fill the blood-vessels without increasing the amount of cutaneous oxhalations. The men na. assinnally try acid, saccharine or alcoholic drinks aa substitutes for the oats, but always with un satisfactory results, except that they find innlaa sss and water better than clear water, and they who are ilisimaed to inaist on ths sxosllenoa of rum and whiaky under all circumstance pen tion for the, and sxparienoe after each Inge, tion a momentary relief, followed by additional prof 11.0 nous of perspiration and exhaustion." A Niw anil powerful thormo-eleetrio battery which is spoken of in terms of the hlgheet praise in the French Journals, haa been devised by M, ('lamond, whnee name is already ueoolatetl with the substantial improvement of this class of ap paratus. Tim apparatus referred to could not be understood without an illustration and de. eoription of apeoial features, anil lor these wa rsfsr our readers to ths pegea of La Hatwt (I'aria) for January I7lh. It must sufrie to say hare that the apparatus is designsd to produce electricity by the ilireot transformation of heal, and haa demonstrated ita utility for tins pur. pose beyond queetion. The largest apparatus thus far onnstruoted by M. (.'lamond is com posed of (1,1X11) couples, with which bs haa been able to ran two Herrin electric lamps yielding a light of from HUU to I, (XX) oandlea for each lamp, with the consumption ol H to 10 kilos (17-0 to pounds) of oosl per hour. Oil .' siios- lit , kino. As tin. , ,,- Nru remarks, anyone may make hi own oil. pasta blacking if he oar to take tha trouble Hie following is a trustworthy roip (or lb purpose: Molasses Ixory Mask an I ft Rab together in Wedgwood mortar till all tha ingredient form a erfeetly smooth homo gemmae mixture ; then ..Id a little lemon Jaios or strong vinegar, aay the Juice of one lemon, or about a wine-glass of strong vinegar, and thor oughly inoorporate, with just eooegh water, added slowly, to gain the required consistency . Niw lUxmr nil Hums,- An iron foundry man reoommands a "a never-failing speedy remedy" for barn sad scalds powdered pin wood charcoal.