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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1880)
264 THE WEST SHORE. October, 1880. JNTEJiEoTIXG TACTS AEOUT ICCLAXD. Conoernlng IoeUnd, Mr. Lock elated tht the lalaod, to far (torn being small, aa it is erro notly oalled, U oonaidorably larger than Ire land or Ceylon. It situation li such that iti whole northern ooest ia abut Id Dearly (very yer by the descent of masses ol ice from the north. The southern and western shores are afTeotod by ice in very exceptional iniUnoea only. The oouiitry ia eaaoutially volcanic anil mountainous; hut llnola, which muniiioliea the geographical knowledge of mint aturlnnta on the sohjeat, dine not poearss a single character ialie tu tilaoe it above iU fellows. The whole central plateau ia a wild wettn of lava anil vol canic sand, and the uuly liahilalile parts of the Uland are a narrow fringe of eoulland and a few of the larger nvor valleys. 1 he great ridge of ioe-olad hills, alreUihing across the inland, acta aa a refrigerator to the moiiture-laden winde from the southwest, and iroduoea two dulinot olimateai the northern, gonerally dry; oil the southern, generally wet. and more teuv iterate than the other. 1 he (act that ooloniata from (Jraat llriUin parlioiliated in the entile ment of IoeUnd more than a thoueand yean ago ia atleated by the Idnutity of many worda mat are ueeu uy me people wiw nriinii worm, I'onlee are the chief animal product of the 111 and. From them the etocka of the "lllack Country" of Kngland are recruitrd. 1'he abeep furniah a line mutton, and a wool which if made up Into eicellent falirira at home, or la ex ported. I'rollUhle tradca are driven in skins, aatgut, fox-fur and eidor-dnwnt the ood-flsher- tea are very lmmrUiit, and considerable trade la owned un In owl liver oil and ahark-oil. I he ealinon-llahory hat been ahaiiialully aliueed by the exoesaivs emiiloyment of barbarous methods of Uking the lull. It, however, ia the one great attraction the Uland offers to iKirUineni Md mere prolit might be gained, directly and indirectly, by letting out the atreama, aa in Norway, to Kngllsh ny-naliers, than by oon- trading with liab-ourera. The, ialaud waa at one time well wooded, and supplied itself largely. If not entirely, with oereala, but the climate haa deteriorated and the Boil become etorile in oon MUenoe of the oulting away of the treea, and every gram of eurn ie now Imported from Don matt. The prtnoiiiaj mineral product la aul . t J .1 " ..I. I 1 . 1 I., l; tnur, minou ia uvhmiwiu in a Tory unoiy ui vuled etaU around the voloemo veuls by the vapors issuing uirougn tliem. It la the cuatom to deeoribe the eulphur minne of Hicily and the eulphur nilnea or Iceland aa somewhat aimilar. Iwt for all practical ooneidentiona they are aa dtatmot aa a ooal eoam and a forvet The Kio- iliatt mines eotulst of deposits formed in paat geolotriaal ages, now lying at great deptha, and utterly devoid M reproductive power i the Ice Undio beda are Uie work of to-day, lie on the very eurface of the ground, and live and grow with anabated energy, repUoing the depneit aa faat aa It la removed. The area oompnaed in the Icelandic eulphur districts oollectirely amouats to, parhtjia, a doeen square miles. The euipnar lorma a layer ol varying thickness, oov red by aa earthy oraat and underlaid by eUy containing eulphur mixed wilh various acids ead aalta, and la Invariably wet, ia cooetuence of the stoats ontxleaaed wilhia it The orreUle are almost absolutely pure, but ImpurtUee are anemantcaiiy annul wtui taeaa. IHher mineral products are guld and ailver, which are found in miners ouanuuea, loeumi-epar, pure aped ateaa ol which are veined for opUnal inalrn aneaU and oebiaeta, ooeree chaloxlooiee and smIiUs, ligaiW, baaalt and voloanie Drodacta. TVa aane(aeUrtng Induetry of the onuntry te sssanaad w wooleu laiarioe, cocks and stockings, gloves and a bomeetmn elotb, which are excel- leal-ifr, C. U. W. Lock Pofmln- Sent, PtflBttu trait frvwere are beainaiug to oulti wata) tie Ireaaa) with aara, aad with each good reMiie that M te believed um nut will ai fanuea alaeoat aa aaaay leeaoai la the trade m an aow aoeeoraagea. 1'EKTINKNT FACTS ABOUT K ATI NO. In a rooent number of the London Standard under the query, "do we eat too much ?" the writer givoi many intcretting lacta. lie eay, for intanoa that the amount of nouriahment which a pereon needn greatly deponda on bin oonatitution, aUta of health, haliiU and worx. A ail..ftarv man rcouirel 1cm than one whou dutiea demand the excroite of hii muaclci, and a brain-workor nceda mere than an idler, liut uuiueetionahly the majority ol ut uxe more than we noed. Indeed, food and work are dis tributed moet unciiually. The man of leiaure ia alao the man of means, and accordingly, fares smnptuouely every days whilo the laborer toils for eight hou,rs, and llnds it difficult to get enouiih to icpair the waste of his tisauos. Yet ... r 1 ,. i :n I - i a thinainan or a iwnuaico wui wo unuor biup ioal sun, and lind a few pioe worth of rice or jowrah aullluient to auatiiin his strength. A Frenchman will not eat half what an English man engaged in the same work will demand, ami a Hpauiah laliorer, content in ordinary times with a watermelon and a nit oi bison Drew, will toil in the vineyards and grow fat on a diot- ary of onion porridge and Rrapes. It ia true that Sir. Kraaeey, when building the Continen tal railways, found that one r.nglish navvy was worth a oouple of spare-fed foreigners, liut, on the other hand, the llritish Columbian and Cal ifornia!! gold-digimra, than whom a more mag nificent act of atlilota does not exist, live in the remote mountains of the Far West mainly on beans llavored with a few culms of pork, liut they also obtain the best of water and the pur est of air, and their out-door life and active ex ercise enable them to digest every ounoe of their frugal (are. I he r.nglish soldiers, though bet ter fed than thoae of any army except tho Amer ican, do not (jot one-half the amount of solid nutriment which the idlost of club-loungers con siders iodeeiensable for his sustenance. An athlete in training is allowed even loss food; yet ha procpere on the limited fare, and prolongs his life y the regimen by which he has been subjected. King Victor Kinmanuel was a mon arch of the most robust physique; yet ha only at one meal wr day, aud it ia manifestly ab surd for any man to require three more or less weighty meals, and an alternonn cup of tea, to aumwrt the exertion of walking to the olub, riding an hour in the park, writing a note or two, and dancing a oouple of miles around a ballroum. The ancients had their "amethus toi," or "aober atones," by which they regulated their indulgence at table. The moderns have ant even this. Hut they have their gout and their livers to warn them, when it ia too late, that nature haa been overtasked. THE FLAVOR OF MEAT. M. Monclar, a noted agriculturist in Franoe, haa suggested a singular plan for varying the flavor of meat He imagines that by feeding cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry in a particular way, or rather by flavoring their food in various ways, their flosh may be rendered muob more agreeable to the palate than it often is; and there can be no doubt that he ia substantially right Thus, for instance, it ia well known that poul try which have been fattened upon food con taining a alight admixture of chopped truffles are far better eating than those chickens whioh have been stulled or larded witn irumea alter they are killed It ia only natural that anoh should be the case, for the flavor of the truffle that is consumed by the ohicken permeates the whole system, which it cannot do when simply placed in the oarcass. M. Monolar instances cases in which hares killed in a wormwood field, larks shot in a cabbage field, and eggs laid by hens which had eaten diseased silk worms, had such a nauseous taste that no one could touch them; while upon the other hand nmn rlnnka. And fieldfares which had fed noon aprigs of juniper had a delioious flavor. He has made several experiments among outers, mree upon tame rabbits, which he fed with the waste of aniseseed, with barlev and bran con taining a slight flavoring of juniper, and with barley and bran containing a little essenoe of thyme. In each case he found that the flesh of these animals was far better eating than that of rabbits fattened in the ordinary way, and yet that there waa no trace of aniseseed or juniper in the taste. His conclusion is that cattle. sheeD and pigs might be fed in the same way, and that by varying the flavoring matter tbe beer, mutton and pork might be made to have several different tostos. Caterer. IstrkovM) Uxin-Mr. Sugg, the well-known gas engineer, ho lately devised a form of onm. pound Argand burner for street and out-door usee. It ia now in use in Iondon on several of the prominent thoroughfares, and ia highly oommended, Meveral of theee gas lamps give aa illumination of !MU candle-power each. The aame inventor has likewise devised a very in genious self-veotilatinc ess Umn for the uUl uaa of librariea. It ia provided with a chimney in the form of a nwUllio tube, which delivers the products of combustion out at the roof, or to soma other ooovenieut place outside of the library room. This Hue ia surrounded by a seo ond larger cylinder communicating with the baae of the lamp, which ia closed, and through which the lamp receives its air supply alao from the outside of the room. The lamn. th.f.(nr. neither itnpoverUhoa nor vitiates the air of the room. It was designed to meet the objection that the eulharous gaaea evolved ia the com baeboa of ooal a aa have a deleterious actios on we wainer w uie oooa Dindinga. Minorar aid Lxd.-U a piece of lead wir be knag perpendicularly over a vassal of mar- eary. we sowar asra tmmened, the mercury will f- I -aueira hi wire 10 aightalthiwelttaafewday. To Make a Strong Pastk. To make a paste for fastening bills in a file book, or for any purpose where a vory strong paste ia desired, the following recipe is recommended: Kice or starch paste is the best Four parts (by weight) of line glue are allowed to soften in 15 porta of cold water, and then moderately heated until the solution becomes quite dear; G3 parts of boiling water are now added, with constant stirring. In another vessel 30 parte of starch puve are etirreu up wun zu parts oi ooiu water, so that a thin milky fluid ia obtained without lumps. Into this the boiling glue solution ia gradually stirred, and the whole Kept at a boil ing temperature for a short time. After cooling a few drops of carbolio acid are added to the paste. This paste ia exceedingly adhesive, and may be used for leather as well as for paper and cardboard. It should be preserved in corked ooities to prevent evaporation, and in this way will keep good for years. A Difficult Pifxi of Casting. The Ames Co., Chioopee, Mass., have recently finished the most dillioult piece of iron easting they have ever attempted. This is an iron tub for a rag engine, and wss ordered by the Seymour Paper Co. of Windsor Locks, Conn. The job took eight and a half tons of metal, and the work preparing the mold occupied three weeka. The dithoulty of the work consisted in the tub be ing so large and tbe sides and bottom so thin. Iron tubs for paper mills have been made before, but they have been cut in sections. They will be muob better if they can be made in one piece, and when once ia place will last as long as the mill does. To Cut 8iurr Brash. -Moderately thick plates may be cut chemically by drawing a Una or mark with a solution of mercury in nitrio acid. The acid attacks the oopper, while mer cury amalgamates with the sine) thia seems to be the explanationi at any rata, the braaa be eomaa as brittle aa glass on the plaoa where the line ia drawn, aad ia easily broken oft