June, 1880. THE WEST SHORE. 183 FACTS USEFUL AND CURIOUS. The greyhound rung by eyesight only, and this we observe as a fact. The carrier pigeon llios his 250 miles homeward by eyesight namely, from point to point of objeota which he has marked; but this is only our conjecture. The fierce dragon-ny, with 1,UUU lenses in lus eye, darts from angle to angle with the rapidity of a flashing sword, and as rapidly darts back, not taming in the air, but with a clash revers ing the action of his four wings, and instanta neously calculating the distance of the objeots, or he wonld dash himself to pieces. But in what conformation of the eye does this consist? No one can answer. A oloud of 10,000 gnats dance up and down in the sun, the minutest interval between them, yet no one knockB another headlong upon the grass, or breaks a leg or wing, long and delicate as these are. Suddenly, amidst your admiration of this matchless dance, a peculiarly high shoul dered, vicious anat. with long, pcndaut nose, darts out of the rising and falling cloud, and, nnttlinff on vour cheek, inserts a poisonous sting. What possessed the little wretch to do this? Via he amen your uioou u me m.y dance? No one knows. A carriage pomes suddenly upon a Hook of geese, on a narrow road, and drives straight through the middle of them. A goose was never yet fairly run over, nor a duck. They are under the very wheel and hoofs, and yet somehow they contrive to llap ahd waddle safely off. Habitually stupid, heavy and indo lent, they are nevertheless equal to any emer- WW WW Why does the lonely woodpecker, when he deaoendB his tree and goos to drink, stop sev eral times on his way, listen and look round, Worn h takes his drauizht? No one knows. How is it that the species ot ant, wnicn is in battle by other ants to bo made Blaves, I NEW INVENTIONS. We publish descriptions of the following new inventions, obtained through Howoy ft Co., Mining and Scitntiie Prm Patent Agency, San Francisco: Houi HrroRnra Dirtoi. Rmbta Batdait, 737 Howard St., S. F. This invention relates to an improved devico for securing horses at points where it is necessary to loavo thorn; and it consists in the employment of a rod, one end of which may he dropped upon the ground nt will. The other end is hinged to a slido which moves in a hollow barrel or guide, said guide being Bcourod beneath the vehicle in a horizontal position. A rod is secured to the slide and ex tends toward the front, having a loon or riug to which a line may he attached and led to the horBe's hit When a stop is made the hinged rod may he let down so that its cud rests upon the ground, anil any forward movement of the horse will draw the sliding roil hack into the tube or guide, thus pulling upon the rein or line, and the horse'B mouth. A miring in the roar of the tube forces the rod forward when the horse hacks or the strain is relieved. This device has heeu applied to a immtior of vehicles, and the inventor informs us that the results are very satisfactory. Railroad Bail Joint.- siias Harris, 7 Ul orty St., S. F. The ordinary form of rail joint is made hv moans of liah-platea on each side of the rail, crossing the joint, slots being formed through the fish-plates anil rail, so that holts may pass through them, these holts Ixung M cured in placo by nuts. The ditlieully witl this connection is that the nuts aro continually boing shaken loose until the holts (all mil am tho plates dnm off, leaving the meeting ends o Mill U I Ml I 111 I IIUH'I mill nil,, an.- NATl'UAI. LUfl Among tho recent discoveries is "natural lime," which occurs iu Kansas. It is found in largo beds; is of a tine, white color and very line in texture. It is also soft, smooth and readily converted into a plastic condition by the nidation ol saint anil water. Ihu uioilar thus made has apparently the same qualities as the liest made from superior "hif d limn" from the kilns. It sots and hardens quickly and turns wry white. This discovery brought out tho query as to helher such a strange product as this occurs III auy other section of our continent. 1st answer the .Vcirniic ifMrriftin gives a loner irom m. M. 1'ierson, of Fort Itayard, N. M , In winch that gentleman says: "I answer, yes. From 1871) to 1N74, I was U. M. tonsiil M I aso nei Norte. Mex.. ami, while prospecting for silver ore, I discovered a large deposit, in what miners term pmikot formation, ol natural lime, located 11 blue limestone, in Hie ioniums, one ami oue- If iniloa west from tho city of I'aso del INnrle, Mex. 1 gave it various trials, and found it to poises all the good qualities 01 inm m" lime, nml for whitewashing far superior to the manufactured article. should be the black, or nearo ant? No one knows; The power of judging of actual danger, and the free and eaay boldness which results from it, are by no means uncommon. Many birds seem to have a most correot notion of a gun s range, and while scrupulously oareful to keep beyond it, confine their care to this caution, though tho most obvious resource would bo to fly right away out of sight aud hoanng, which they do not ohooso to do. And they sometimes appear to make even an ostentatious use ot their power, fairly putting their wit aud olevcr neas in antagonism to that of man, for the bene at. -1 iu.:. t. ii,... o W i,.!v mad an account, Ul Ul bHOlI If ''--J by a naturalist in Brazil, of an expedition he made to one of the islands of the Amazon to shoot spoon-bills, ibises and other of the msg mticent grallatorial birds, which were most abundant there. His design was completely baffled, however, by a wretched little sandpiper that preoeded him, continually UttWU tale ory, whioh at once aroused al the MKU within hearing. Throughout the day did this individual Bird continue his self-imposed duty of sentinel to others, effectually prevent. - approach of the fowler to the game, and yet managing to keep out of the range of his gun. Tim Burr VHICL.-An anecdote is told of a physician who was called to a foreign family to prescribe for a case of incipient oonsumptm He gave them a prescription for pills, and wroto th.direU.on: " 6n. pill to be U " a day in any convenient vehicle." The fan y Uid in the dictionary to get at hem.. ng got 10 P"!3J2L-, After culty is obviated by discarding the screw holts j , l.ij hsnlua entirely, aim using "iu ............. by an eccentric, wnicn, won. n h when desired, wdl not jsr loose by the passage,,! tnins This device consists in binding the lis" i,la 0 against the sides of tho rail by mm i 1 11 Ixilt or fsstrning till uijuimn j ..wfcai. with said Ash-plate through x,otiliar y formed bolts Of plates. The eccentric joins the parts together immovably, aud dispenses with all nuts or screw-inn Pmiiv.iishk FahI'F.n Kit. Jacob 1. I'atery n.mnican. Yolo Co., Cal. Patented May iouii V '227 OBI. Tho mold-board and lam1 ,idc are fastened to the share by levers provided with cms or catches. The mold-lxiard is sa cred to the curved la,.,., and the and side hv mean- of braces, the lower edge of said mohl the land-side. On the end of the brace is a ulcru . .compound lever, the smaller arm - . . . r : l-.i .., arm. ..(.. , invnr trnam dstvssh - -- iMi'Hiivan Mktiiiiho MAHt'ratrroiUllO Ni- raooLYouum,- ioarriaon aoaaimy ai ,-muo. have awarded a pri.o ol Vtlnt to iioutiiug ,x lonelier for an improved ami less dangerous method of iminufiiolurihg nitroglycerine. I his method has been for some time ill actual use at Vouges, France, without meeting with any ao cideiit. The process is described as follows: I a, 1 1.., ,,1,1 ,,,, ili,,,l in which fin x nitric acid or a mixture of it and nitric acid is made to act ,11 ulvcorino, aud the mass Is suddenly Human . . Li. 1 1, I,. .1 sed I.) water, in,' reaoinin ,', - silllicielit to dei .pose a purl ol the nitrogly cerine, occasioning violent c plosions in spite of the refrigerating prixxiiscs adopted. I lie principle of ll.o new process consists in obvia ting the greater part of the beat by llrsl oiig.g- nig the glycerine in eomoinmion w,m mm told, forming si.lplioglyce.io acl. ami then destroying slowly, by means of nitric aoul, lb. sulphoglyeeric oumH,und, Two liquors sr pre pared m advanced a sulphoglyce.i, and a su pbouilric, the latter with equal weights of sul phuric and uitno acids. As the) he.l consider ably they are allowed In tool, and aro theu combined in such proportions that the reaction tikes ulacn slowly. In the oi l Hi'dhod the nitroglycerine is separated almost instanta neously, and rises l parts to the surface, roil deriug washing dllli. ult. In the new method enng it forms 1 found a hook waaon, csmam, mji : UalM grave consideration they came 10 in. that the doctor meant the rttot out, and while in the vehicle Urn fn.lnWMi the ftOVIUO W , J l at... 11 - T .111(1 it On ttieem. " . ... .... .. ( the which arasps a stun on inn - - .bare A it i. fotae! i mi th. DMM Ind another in th. end of the ..d;..de, Into .Kich litthc stud, found on the ahM. thus steadying the share. ir 1 ll'.I.L.r II r. Aii4l. 1 RAr. " Patontoil May W, 1HW), tended for the lords, etc.. and It consists pill. luo w " - r and exeroise secured in a lew woeas me iron , hlT th. lvtntaun which otherwise might not have San Benito Co., Cal So 227.9.Vt. This trsp is ' - - nt mil, lists inth..,np.oy,nto.rorn,;r: .bvpen bv wllluh th. ,o 11 1 . - m , ..,,. ,1,. I forward when reins-,., -j 'Ibis trigxer is . ided with needle is forcm LVth. attompt ol th. animal to VV" '1 1 1 Li end is concea ol by a stalk, wswi, ,d, and tins .nd 1 1 u ,, wilh 1 Myd.Dv,ri gd or proUctor is uph.y about. in alemt '.'0 hours, and with a regu- rity which provenU danger. It also goes to the iHitLun, and , an Of wanr,i rapiniy. Pal'KH 1 1' , r.t raoM Pi i r A laU, invention makes paper leans dirnolly ir.un paH,r puip. Itoatoll Ukes the Inad III tin, MWMSI1 "i these boxns, which aro aeamiraa, win own made to any size or shs. Tim process, as da scribed, 11, that after l,ing dried, the Ixiina are ruu th.ougl. a second maeiiin. ai SSH raw . nty twr minuU. receiving, uminr a ii," of lour thousand pounds, suoli emiesising as nay lw neoosMry. From the time III. paper abx k la taken Iron, iim nam. ,,: Ikix is turned from th" inaolmi", manual labor ii entirely avoldssl. By th. usa of on. set of ma, tones, It la said, I0.0M Innes can ls nr ,, r day, at leas than one third of the lowest market prtc. ol hand lusna g.eeia, ami doing ths work ol two hundred hands, as th. orocow is ordinarily oon.iuuwi. i no awajns has come into us. for an InllniU varl.ty ol purMHMM, and this succoas la an importaiil oon tnbutlou 10 Inv.iitlou. A uxutlirriva working by means of euro pressed air has Imwii d-signl by l 'oi.,.1.1 IUau- l, so F.nglish .nalir, who elalma tlial such an .ngin. would ha aid. to aee.nnlah a ouro.y ol 10 mil' without renewing the charge ol air, and drawing two loaded , irriag...