WILLAMETTE FARMFP
m
StyEEr Id Wool.
Eastern Wool Markets.
New Yobk, May 22d. There are but few
changes to note in Wool. Tbe market has
been moderately ao'ive for 6ne grades of Cali
foruia and Texas, and the prices realized were
quite satisfactory throughout. There is no
very heavy business looked for until a'tr tbe
arrival of tbe new clips of Ohio and Western
fl-eoe, for manufacturers believe that with a
continuance of the present unremuneraiive
piicesfor goods, receivers of tha raw materia'
may be indnced to recede somewhat from their
present ideas Australian sells slowly at 61
hVt cents. Tbe rargoof Sidney, ex Europa
amounting to 1 300 bales, wM be offered tit
pubUo auction on next Wednesday. Carpet
stock is meeting with a general d-m mi, aud
prices are steady. The sales for the week are 148
bales Australian clothing, t6152Ko.; 10,000
lis. do combings, at 55c; 85 bales Cape, 33
35c: 8,000 lbs. Mexican, 22o.: 25 bales Ei
India and 224 do Rio Grsnde, private; 224 do
California, 1522c; 26 do new spring. 30
35o.; 10,000 lbs. slightly hurry, old sties, 22c;
3il bags scoured do. 6572n.; 25,000 lbs.
California lamb's, 26o.; 328 bags wisteru
Texas, 23y,2Sy,o.i 75,000 fcs. East rn do.
2432c; 25 bales Nevada, 32o.; 10,01)0 lbs.
gelected Ohio oombing fleece, 70c; 3,000 ftn.
fat sheep's. 40 j.; 195 bags super and X pulled,
1348c; 50 do black do; 3,000 B)s. Connect!
cut fleece, 2,000 lbs. combing, do, and 5 0UO lb,
medium unwashed Western do, on private
terms.
BosTOK,.May22d. There is no prospect as
yet of any improvement in Wool, although
there has been rather more doing the past
week. Tbe market is dull for all fine Wools,
and prices are unsatisfactory. Manufacturers
are looking for lower prices fur all descriptions
of olothing Wools whn the new clip begins to
arrive. Oombing and desirable lots of medium
fleeces are likely to sustein a gotd range of
prices as long as manufacturer continue t
run on these grades, as the supply is limited,
but oihtrwise the prospeots of the trade are
not very encouraging. Sales of Ohio and
Fennsjlvania fleeces nave been 10,600 lbs., at
5556o. Choice XX fleeces have been held
at 52M53c, and these are extreme prices for
this description, while medium and No. 1
range 35o higher. Michigan and Wisconsin
fleeces have been taken only in small lots, at
4750o. California Wool has been arriving
more freely. Sales have been 440,000 lbs., at
2224c. for spring, and 1725c for fall.
Some of the recent receipts include fancy lots,
and as high as 40c Tfr lb. has Iteen obtained for
a smnll lot of 1.500 9s.; but this is no criterion
of the market; 35c may be considered an out
side figure for choice Spring, and 3032o. for
ood average lots. The reoeipts so far have
een taken on arrival, but stocks at the close
are beginning to accumulate. In pulled Wool
there is very little change; good and choice
Eastern and Maine superfine are still in de
mand, at prices ranging from 50 to 57o. There
have been sales of combing and delaine at 56
65o.; scoured, 47c$1.08; super and pulled,
4057o.
Sheep Raising.
By Got. E. B. Brown,. Continued.
Ancient Shepherds and their Flocks.
Tbe comparative histories of the primitive
shepherds with the nomadio shepherds of to
day, show so many points of resemblance, and
withal suoh tenacity to the traditions of their
elders on the part of the Arabic shepherd?,
whose customs are almost identical with those
of the Patriarchs, that it is fair to suppose
them entitled to the credit of inventing the
1 1. artnua 1 nrhlltl Avail VVimAtl
very uiuJtuo uiuudm v .tm.vm .. ,.VH.VH
manufacture from the wool of their flocks
now.
Burkbardt thus describes the loom at present
found among the Arab shepherds: "The Arabs
use a simple loom; it is called nulon, and con
sists of two Bhort sticks which are stuck in the
ground at a certain distance, according to the
jt.A KvAatVi nt tlm ahnnlri. nr ninCA to bfi
woiked; a third stick is placed across over
. SI. Al i. m fcZ.l AMAfin nMnlffl
to em ana over me vwu uunzuuiui uruoo dhuud,
the wool. To keep the upper and under woof
a. Ji.iinnnA fim aonn ntnAI n. Tint.
stick is placed between. Apiece of woodserveB
as the weaver s snui ie, ana a nuuii ynicuo n
born is used in beatiug back the thread of the
shuttle. The loom is placed before tbe mabar-
A.n nr wnm.n'o anrfmpnt. nnd worked D
the mother and her daughters. The distiff is
in general use among them, and among the
Kilby Arabs all the shepherds manufacture
wool."
It is probable tbat the covering of primitive
sheep was a mixture of hair aud wool, closely
akin 10 thot of many varieties now occupying
extensive districts where the Pa'riarchs wan
dered, nonUwardandtttitward, through a great
part of Europe and Asia, and our own Mexico
and South America. Says Youatt, "It is highly
improbable thst the sheep which has now be
come par earceWence the wool bearing animat,
should in any country, at any time, have been
entirely dtst.tute of wool, but covered externally
with hair, and underneath with a fine, short,
downy wool from which tbe hair is easily sepa
rated." Partially by temperature, perhaps,
but mainly by breeding and cultivatiou, this
hair has been caused to disappear and its pla- e
occupied, yea, more than occupied, by the soft
clean wool, once of but few ounces, but now ol
many pounds.
In the p-ilmy days of the Roman empire the
Italian sheep surpassed all others in tbe fine
ness of their fleeces. The sumptuous Bomau
was clothed in woolen fabrics of tbe finest tex
ture, and fortunes, even according to idr-as ot
to-day, wrre often expended for bis toga.
"The be-t wool of all others," sajs Pliuy, '!.
that of Apulia and Tarentum, which is of a
very short staple, and esp cially in request for
eloakp and mantles." "This induced that ex.
extreme assiduity in perfeoiing tbe material f r
its manufacture," says Youatt. "Although the
old Tarentine sheep produ:edawool equaled
in early limes,' tbey were not without their de
fects, and very serious ones, too. Tbey were
called by the agriculturistsof those days orcllitte,
from the skins and other clothing with which
they were covered; and also mHes, not only
from the softness of their fleeces, but from tbe
delicacy of their constitution and tbe constant
care that was required to preserve tbem from
injurious vicissitudes of heat and cold. The
eare bestowed upon the fleece was a work of
great labor. It was frequently uncovered, not
only to ascertain its condition, but for tbe re
freshment of the animal; it was drawn out and
parted, and combed if it was beginning to mat;
' ft was frequently moistened with tbe finest oil,
and even wine; it was well washed three or
four times a year; the sheep houses were daily,
and almost houily washed and cleaned and fa-
The introduction of silk and cotton fabrics
from the East, better adapted to tbe climate of
Italy, caused the celebrated flocks of Apnl a
and Tarentum to disappear, to be sucoetd. d by
a larger, coarser, but more profitable race, bet
ter suited to the time. In A. D., 41 Colum
ella, a distinguished agriculturist, introduced
many of the Tsrentine breed into Spain.
They had gradually spread from Byria and the
Black aintoIUly, and arrived at eaiinency.
(TttteOeatlsmd.)
ffllSCELLEOdS.
The Fahrenheit Thermometer.
"Zero," on the common thermometer, like
the fanciful names of the constellations, iB a
curious instance of tbe way wise men's errors
are made immorlal by becoming popular. It
mav be worth wbile to say that the word itself
comes to us through tbe bpanisb from th Ata-
I 'io, and means empty, bene no ning. in ex
pressions like "90u Fabr.." th- abbreviation
Fnhr. stands for Fahienheit, a Prussian mei
chxnt of Dantzic, on the sboreH (if ihe B-tltlc
sen Bis full name was Gabriel Daniel Fahr
enheit. From a boy be was a close ob'erver of nature,
and when only nineteen tears old, in ihe re
mark ibly cold winter of iyu'J, lie eipeimomea
bv putting snow and bait together aiid not cnt
ibat it nrodnced a deuree of cold ejunl to tbe
coldest diy of tbat year. As tbat d y was the
coldest tbe oldest inhabitant could rememb. r,
Gauiiol was the more struck wi h the coinci
dence of bis little Fcientifin discovery, and
histily concluded tbat be hid found the loweM
degree of temperature knori i the wold
either natural or artificial. He o tiled that de
gn e zero, and o iubtructtd a thermometer, or a
rude weatner gl-iss, wun a fcaie g nu'-aiuu op
from zero to the bulling point, which he num
bered 212, and freezing point 32 -because, as
he thought, meicury contracted the 32.1 of it
volume on being cooled down from the tem
perature of fret zing water to zero ; and expanded
180th on being heated from the freezing to the
boi ing point.
Time showed that this arrangement, instead
of being trnly scientific, whs as arbitiary as
the divi-ion of the Bible into verses and chap
ters, and that these two points no more repre
sented the real extremes of temperature than
' from Dan to Beeraheba" expresses the exuot
extremes of Palestine.
But Fahrenheit's thermometer has been widely
adopted, with its inconvenient scale; and none
thought of any better u til his name became
an authority, for Fahrenheit finally abandoned
trade and gave himself to science. Then habit
made people oling to the established scale, as
babit makes the English cling to the old sys
tern of cumbrous fractional miney.
Our nation began to use Fahrenheit's ther
memeter about the mi.ldle of the last century,
or not far from the time when old style was ex
changed for new style in the writing of dates.
Tbe three countries which ue Fahrenheit
are Holland, England and America. Bussia
and Germany use Beaumur's thermometer, in
which the boiling point is oounted 80
above freez'ng point. France uses tbe centi
grade thermometer, so called because it marks
the boiling point 100O from freezing point.
On many accounts tbe centigrade system in
the best, and the triumph of couven'ence will
be attained when zero is made tbe freezing
point, and when the bailing point is put 100 or
1,0000 from it, and all the subdivisions are
fixed decimally.
If Fahrenheit had done this at first, or even
if be had made it one of bis many improve
ments, after the public adopted his error, the
luck of opportunity, which was really his,
would have secured to his invention the patron
age of the world. Ex.
Progress in Iron Work.
At a meeting of the New York Society of
Practical Engineering, held on tbe evening of
the 22d ult., Ueorge E. Harding, M. is , read
the regular natier on ' Tbe Progress of Inven
tion in tbe Metallurgy of Iron," reviewing tbe
successive steps by which this industry has
arisen from its primitive methods to its prefect
omplex processes and oolossal proportion.
He stated that the next step forward to be
made in iron manufacture is the production of
shaped articles direct from tbe ore, without re
heating or intermediate processes. At the
close of Mr. Harding's paper, the Hon. Abram
S. Hewitt made an extemporaneous addre-s on
the most recent successes of iron making.
Among other matters of interest he stated that
tbe production of iron direct from the ore is
easy by the use of charco il, but not with bard
coal. This direct production of iron is not,
however, of the same importance as it was for
merly, for the reason that steel may be mad
direct, and is so rapidly taking the place f
iron for many purposes that the production in
Great Britain has risen in a few years from
20.000 ions to upward of 1.000 000, and in tbe
United States already amounts to 500,000 tons
per annum. The elimination of phosphorus
from iron is no loner the problem that only
r-cenllv has been the case, fur it has been
found thit by eliminating tbe carbon instead, a
good steel can be made, containing as much as
four-tenths of one per Ce-nt. of phosph rus.
Go d steel may contain eilher caibon it pbos
phorus, hut not both together. Tbe result ol
'his discovery will bo to open up immense
tracts of American iron min8 tbat hitherto
nave been of little worth. Tbe mi Isumuier
seRsjon of the Society of Pracical Engineering
will be held in July next.
Safety-Lamps not Always Safe And Why
Twen y-two 1 rue explosions have taken plo
in English coil mines sii.ee the year 18l6.
amoi'g ihe seventeen took place at the mo
ment of tbe firing of a blsi at a di-tnce.
Gilloway conceived from this tbe suspicion
that a vi.ilent sound waie miabt bs capable ot
pushing tbe flame through the wire gauze of
me eatery tamp, ana inus igni'o iuu luuauiiua
hie gas around. It wasknjwD thatwheu explo
sive gas-s are drawn through a wire gauze
with a velocity of ttn to twehe feet per second,
tbe flame penetrates and ignites tbem; but it
was not kuown thnt a sound wave wonld do
ibe Btme thing, and this is what Galloway has
proved by experiment. He p'aced a safety
lamp in an exp'osive mixture, and fired a pis
tol at a istance of twenty feet, or ignited a
box filled with a mixture of coil gas and oxy
gen; in either case a large flame was projected
through tbe wire gauze out of tbe safety-lamp,
and ignited tbe surrounding gas. He found
nn AiffrrnnnA when the o-as was sen&rated from
tbe air by means of a thin membrane, which
would not permit air currents to pass, but
only transmit the sound wave. The expert
ment was varied by transmitting the sound
wave through a tube twenty feet long, and of
which the axis wsb directed toward the safety-
lamp; clo-iog this tube with au elastic mem
brane made no difference wh stover. He there
(pre oame to tbe conclusion tbat a blast in a
coal mine may m ke all the safety lamps use
less, wbile it explains tbe fact tbat au explosion
in one psrt of a mine is oiten immediately fol
lowed by another exploaioo at a distant point.
Tbe Funbt TJbanub. The spectroscope has
enabled astronomers to ascertain tbat the at
mosphere of ihe planet Uranus, which is further
from Ibe sun than any other planet except
Neptune, is composed chiefly of bydiogtngas.
Mr. Proctor says that if there is even a small
proportion of oxygen present, sn electric spark,
however minute, would cause tremendous con
vulsions by combining tbe hydrogen and oxygen
into water. The Spectator, r. ferring to bis aser
linn that there u probably no life upon tbe
planet, asks, "Why may there not be life which
usuUnooxygM?"
The New Method of Electric Illumination.
Dr. Wilde, of the St. Petersburg Academy of
Sciences, has recently made a report to the
Academy upon the new mode of producing the
electrio light proposed by M. Ladyguin, of tbat
oity. Since tbo discovery of the volt io arc in
1821 by Davy, many at'empts have been made
to utilize it practically for illumination. But
in spite of the re guUtors devised for the pur
pose, it still remains variable and inconstmt;
being too intense u-ed at a sirgle point, it is
jet incapable of division. Since the improved
magi eto-electrio machines have reduced the
cost of the electrio bght to only one-third tbat
of coal rss, these efforts to utiliz it hnve b-en
redoubled. Aud, as a result, M. Ladyguin has
male an itive tion which, in a very simplo
way, resolves both problems, rendering tto
tivbt st ady, and at tbe same time cap iblo ot
division. It has long been known that ihe
electric light (roper comes from the itjt nsely
batel csiboos which ibe current traverses, tbe
re-istance of tbo air between them developing
this h at Sotheiesi tanceof a puunum wire
p'aced in ciro it caues it to be highly heated:
b it the liht thus obtained, though constant,
and entirely controllable, is too feeble for prac
tical use.
M. Ladtguin baa conceived the idea of re
placing the platiuum wire in this experiment
uy a thin rod of pas cirbon, aud with compl-te
success. Carbon pnaseBse, even at the same
t-mp-rsture, a much greater light-radiating
power thin t'latinum; its calirifio capicity is
e-s than one ha f that of platinnm;it is, more
over, a sufficiently good conduo'or of heat; so
that tbe same quantity of beat elevates the
temperature of a small rod of csrbm to nearly
double tbat of a wi e of platinum tbe same
size. Again, the resi-tance ot the carbon em
p oyed is 25) times orester tbau tbat ot plat
inum; h-nee it follows tbat a rod of carbon
may be fifteen limes as tb.Uk as a wire of plat
iuum tbe same length, aud yet be heated by
the same current to tbe same degr- e. Finally,
he caibon msy be heated to tbe eamo intene
whiteness wi h.ut the danger of fusion to which
p'atinum is liable. Those are some of tbe ad
lantuges of curb n; its only disadvantage is,
tbat heated in tbe air it burns, aud eo grad
ually was es. But M. Lidyguin has happily
obviated this difficulty by enclosing the rod of
carbon io a g'aBS cylinder containing no oxy
gen and hermetically sealed. Dr. Wilde asks,
lu conclubiou, that the Academy recognize tbe
f.iot that M. Lidvguln has solved tbe Rrand
problem of dividing and rendering steady the
ele trio light, in the simplest possible manner,
and that th-y award him, in con-oquenoe, the
Lomonossow piize.
Expansion and Contraction of Boilers.
One difficulty to be contended with, in the
management aud working of steam boilers,
arises from the unequal expansion and oon
trattion of the parts of the structure. In some
instances these are so great as to be tbe cause
of more wear and tear than any other process
to which the boiler is subjected.
Iron expands in volume one-eight-hun
dredth; or, in other words, a bar of iron one
inoh souare and 800 inohes Ions would expand
one inch in length while heated from the
freeziue to tbe boiling point of water. Tbe
nronortinn of expansion, for any lensth of bar.
corresponding to any length of boiler, can be
easily estimated, it is not to ce unaersiooa,
however, tbat the maximum expansion would
occur in boilers generally, for it is rare that
one is allowed to get so low in temperature as
.thirty degreeu. Bull, in tbe winter season,
boilers when "blown down," are liable to be
come very cold.
From experiments made by M. Wertheim, he
concluded, from certain phenomena, tbat there
is a kind of thermal elaBtio limit with iron.
"When heated, and when its consequent dila
tion of volume does not exceed that which
corresponds to the boiling point, it returns to
its original dimensions. Beyond a certain
temperature it does not contract again to its
primitive volume, but takes a permanent dila
tion in consequence, apparently, of its elastic
limits having been exceeded."
A New Earthquake Indicator.
A highly ingenious, though simp'o appara
tus, designed by M. Malvosia, of Bob'gna, to
indicate tbe commencement of earthquake
sh cks, has lately attracted the attention of
Italian savants. We will try, briefly, to de
scribe it : On a sliehtly inclined board is
fixed a spiieiiosloif), baviug eight grooves, cor
r spondfug t the eight principal p lints of the
compass. A little b yond tbe edgn of the cap
there is a projecting wooden ring which limits
the incliued suiface. On tbe t p of tbe cp is
poised a Mile bra-sball, vhich is slightly flat
tened at the i oint of contact. Upon tbe ball
rests, very 1 gbt y, a conical weight by a small
-crew pn .j o ing from its bise. This weight is
suspended by a chain from an overhauling
arm, moveablo up and down on a support at tbo
side.
It will thus be seen tbat tbe least shock will
cau-e th- bill to toppl- over. When it does so
it wi 1 run down.one of tbe grooves of tbe cap
to tbo inolined plan", at the bottom part nf
which it finds a bole, and passiog into it.
causes tbe discharge of a pistol. But this is
not all. Whenever theb.ill has left its posi
tion on the cap, a spring needle, longer than
the diameter of the ball, shoots out from tbe
little screw-knob ibat re-ted on tbe ball and
catches in that groove of the cap down which
the ball ran.
Tbus tbe direction is indicated in which the
shock has been given; it bas been on the oppo
si e side to tbat in which the ne die hangs
down. Tbe instrument is said to be very sen
sitive, and will doubtless render good service
in what is now a little understood branch of
science.
Intebestino Discoveby. A discovery of a
curious Lature has been made in Eypt by a
savant who has found and deciphered an in
scription in bonor of Toutmosis III, con
taining more man lour nunareo geograpuio
names, verv precise and rec.OKuiz.ible, concern
ing Arabia, Armenia, Nubia, and tbo coasts of
tne Aieaiirrranean. me inscription ia winy
five centuries oil, and will give rise to somo
nistorio and geographical debates ol great
value.
Lead veins are evidently formed by the ac
cretion of gaseous partioles, and the growth or
repletion carried forward by thelaws of crys.
taflization. 8uppose this crystallization to be
under tbe control of sny snpposaDie principle,
and escb miss of ore (whether in regular cubes
or having ihe edges or solid angles of tbe cubes
truncated) to have direct reference to each
other cube, and the key of tbe filling or reple
tion of the vein system of a lead field may be
had.
Musio rooic Gas Jets. An extraordinary
new musical instrument, called the pjrophone,
invented by M. Kaatntr, of Paris, bas been ex
hibited at tbe Society of Arts. Tbe notes are
produotd by tbe singing of gas jetalngUss
tubes, and are sweet and pure, and, at tbe same
time, have great penetrative power. After tbe
reading of the paper on the invention, illustra
tions of the music emitted were given sepa
rately and in eooswt with tbe husoan volos.
American Ordnance A Novelty in Gun
Manufacture.
Before the war of secession our guns were
the most powerful in the world; but since that
we have made no progress in that direction,
wbile the nations of Europe have gone a
long way ahead of us. There is not in the
Uuit-d States to-day a private or public factory
cepableof forging a 100-pounder of steel or
wrought iron, and the proposal by a bnieau
oftWr to pntchae suitable guns from abroad
would be jusily construed as a gros affront to
the American eagle. Uigent appeals havo been
made every yoar to Congress with a full repre
sentation of the case, but with little effect.
Conure-smen seem to think but little of the
necessities of national defence. The contin
gency of a foreign war is apparently regarded
as Bo'reino'e that it is not thought to be wor.h
the smsllest iusorance premium upon it. It is
not difficult to obtain each year n lew thou
sat ds of dollars for experimental purposes; but
when mention is made of the millions neces
on re in timvide a national eun factory, Con
gress declines with astonishment the unwelcome
proposal
After many efforts tbe Ordnance Department
succeeded in obtaiuing two years ago, an ap
propriation for construi tmg ana testing some
h-ay riflss. It was provided in tne act tnat
one of these should be a breech-loader. A
board was appointed to seleot the models, and
those cboseu were: 1, a 12 in. Krupp; 2, a 12
in. Woodbridge muzzle-loader; 3, a 12-in.
Hotrhkiss mnzzli.-loder. besides several minor
recommendntions. The Krupp gun was never
negotiated for. becau'e it soju became appar
ent that the other projects wonld more than
swallow up tbe appropriation, and American
t'ooius must be enoouraged, not affrouted.
Hotchkiss' gun has been much elaborated and
m dined, and tbe inventor expeots to have his
gun finished during this spring, if the fundB
hold out. This gun is made up by welding
together iron disks, and then boring out. The
plan is an old one, and failed in tbo hands of
Dr. Ames, tbe gun separating into sections at
tbe welds. Hotchki-81 improvement consists in
his method of welding.
The Woodbridge gun is in mow respects a
novelty. He pn pose J bis plan as long ago as
1850, wben his proposal was favorably endorsed
by General Scott. During the war a sm ill gun
was made by him and could not be ruptured.
His plan consists in winding about a steel
tube a coil of soft steel wire. The wire is fed
to the coil in a band consisting of twenty or
thirty wires, each wire of three-tenths of au
inch cross section. When the coil is wound
up the whole is placed in a tight flask of boiler
iron, and this is put into a specially constructed
furnace, muzzle upwards, and heated to red
ness. An alloy of 80 of copper and 20 of tin is
then poured into the flasK. This is a very
fusible alloy, and is expected to solder the
njmi Into u nracticallv homosenous mass, and
to oiva trunnions and contour to the gun. If
this succeeds the finishing of the gun is of
course mere lathe-work. This project seems at
first to have some of the Munchausen elements
in it; but a very o ireful study ol the elaborate
.iptnils nf the plan, and of Mr. Woodbridge
nreliminary experiments, led every member of
tne uranance ioaru iu uw toiw uv . "
worth trying. It is known that bronze pene
trAtaa with astonishing power between clean
surfaces ofiron or steel, when the latter is hot
enough to preserve tne nuioity oi tne oronzo.
and wnen tne suriaces are luuruutsmj unu,
This has been abundantly verified at the
Bpringfield armory. Moreover, the small gun
made by Dr. Woodbridge in 18CI was cut into
small pieoes, and was found to be homogenous
and solid throughout. The furnaces, machinery
and steel tube for this gun have been procured,
and the calibre of the first one is intended to
be nine inches, on account of the extreme nov
elty of the experiment; but if it proves success
ful a 12-in. rifle will be immediately constructed
or attempted. Difficulty has been experi
enced in procuring the wire. It is required to
bo square in section and of three-tenths of an
inch in gauge, and as the inventor is extremely
exalting and coutious, much difficulty bas been
found in fulfilling his requirements.
The prinoiple appears to have many points to
reoommend it. Its longitudinal strength will
be guaranteed by the obliquity of the wires,
which will be reversed in the alternate layers.
It is objected by many that the beating of tho
coil and its subsequent slow cooling will de
prive the wires of u great portion of their
tensile strength; but, granting this, there will
sti 1 be left a very high tenacity, as has been
sbon by Mr. Woodbridge in his extensive
preliminary experiments, and, as already
stated, the inventor combines with Borne daring
a great and perhaps exceBsivo amount of cau
tion aud foresight in providing against pos
si bin sources of difficulty and errors of detail,
so that good results are very confidently antici
pated. Fish Culture and Protection.
Tbo protection .and culture of fish bas at
tracted no little attention in the past few years
throughout the conntry, from Maine to Cali
fornia. Why should not Kentucky look to so
great an iuterrst? Let her streams be proteoted,
as in other States, from seines and poisoner'',
and they will afford not only fine spoit to the
aooler. but support, at least in part, to a vast
number of families in ihe more sparsely popu
lated portions ol tne mate.
This is no new subject. It is consider! din
China of paramount importance now, as it has
been for centuries Air. u. u. uoiton oauer.
ex-United States Consul to China, tells us tbat
the people thero hold in great reverence any
thing iu tbe way of fish which contribute
largely to their support, and they ascribe
especial virtues to the medicinal properties of
tbe oil of the shod, considering it almost a spe
cific for affections of the air passages, and, in
its early statzes, a positive cure even for con
sumption. The Chinese show tbe greatest care
in keeping tbo waters free from taint and
poison. Tbeir rivers aro probably as full of
fish to-day as they were 4,000 years ago.
If this HUbject is of suoh great consideration
in the oldest country of tbo world, it should
certainly command, in some degree, attention
here in Kentucky. With our limpid lare
springs, ponds may be made, in which the
trout, and the grayling (a new fish), may bo
propagated successfully. These with the
gamey black oss and newlight, would not only
afford fine sport to families, but a very desira
ble, whole. ome food. No farm should be
without a nond well stocked with flab, even
though they be small black or son perch. To
catch tbem affords amus-ment to children, and
not unfrequeotly to men and women.
Fish eggs even young fish can be safely
transplanted and cultivated in any stream or
pond. All that is wanted is tbe will to do it
Let Ihe owners of liob, broad acres in this
hsppy blue grass region think about this mat
ter, make ponds, aud stock them with gioo
fish. Tbey will never regret it. Kentucky L Iv
Block Journal.
Tbe Cansdlsn merchants appear to be getting
reconciled to the Grange, as at tbe last quar
terly meeting of London Division Grange "it
was resolved that tbe names of manufacturers
and dealers who have made offers of reduction
iu the prices of articles to th Division Orange
be printed for distribution."
Chances for Finding Mine's.
The limits of the areas on the Pacifio slope
which aro unexplored by the prospeotor, are of
course being gradually reduced, but there still
remains much country which, for all practical
purposes, is unknown to the miner. It is not
enough for his purpose that nearly all parts of
tbe country are, even when not settled up, oc
casionally visited by hunters, stock men, etc.,
or run over hastily by poople not seeking pre
cious motals. Every day fresh discoveries aro
being made in places which have had a small
population in the. vioinity foryoirs, and we have
no reason to assume that a tract contains no
gold, silver, lead, coal or qnicVsilver, because
up to the present time it bas not attracted the
attention of the miner. The prospector has
not to travel far to find new conntry, and in
the neighborhood of older mining districts
there are msny tracts yet undeveloped. More
over, there are many claims whioh were aban
doned years ago, befjre perlect appliances for
saving tbe precious metals were tnougntor,
and when labor and food was high.
It is, moreover, by no means certain tbat be
cause other prospectors nave passed over
ground that tbore is nothing to be found.
Many of us remember instances where ground
was supposed to have been thnroubly pros
pected, and after perhaps a hundred different
men had gone over it, another man would
come along and strike it rich. Tbe writer
recolleots having camped in one locality a
week with three other prospectors, and thor
oughly worked over a small section, finding
nothing. Two weeks after two men camped at
tne same spring, and found a vein cropping
out, whii h, after working about three years,
thev sold lor $130,000. This vein was not 200
yards from tbe spring where the camps were
looaiea, and tne nrst party nad passed over cue
croppings, which were small, many times with
out seeing them. This is by no means an
isolated case.
Many old miners, however, prefer to work
and re-work well known guile) s and flats rather
than spend their time in making tiials in new
ground. It is often stated that in new camps,
tbe miners, curiously enough, almost always
accidentally open tbo richest claims first; but
those who make this statement do not always
lake oare to examine the facts. At first any
new discovery the finding of any rih pooket,
etcited tbe pnblio mind, and oven without ex
aggeration, the facts made known in the early
days of our gold mining were startling; but
more extraordinary results are obtained now,
week after week, than many which occurred in
early days.
Whsn we read a paragraph in a newspaper
informing the puUic that tne last clean-up of
snob a claim was $60,000, or suoh a mine is
raising 200 tons of ore per day, worth $150 per
ton, there is neither surprise nor excitoment.
The pnblio has become accustomed to regard
these as ordinary occurrences, aud fails to con
trast them with what was presented to their
observation ten or fifteen years ago. In Cali
fornia, this is more particularly noticeable in
quartz mining.
Io faot, the prosperity of California mining,
paradoxically, stands in the way of its advance
ment. If our miners were not well off, if they
had not good machinery and appliances to aid
them, it they were obliged only to select the
rixViAut rnnk. and nonnil it on in a mortar, aa ia
often done in new camps, the results of their
labors when made known would attract Hun
dreds to the mines. But merged in averages
and given in bulk, they fail to convey intelli
gence which excites the mind. In many oases,
if miners bad to seleot the rock, as in early
days they used only tbe richest dirt, results
now often obtained would seem so extraor
dinary as almost to exceed belief.
Take California, for example, with regard to
new mines. Ton years ago it was thought
tbat at this time there would not be a thousand
miners in the State, but there are more than
ever before. All ibis time with quicksilver as
valuable as it was, there were only two nr three
mines of this character being worked. Last
year, wben the prico of the artiole was very
high and a new mine or two was found, pros
pectors started in all diiections, and the result
was that many people found the precious metal
almost under tbeir noses, on tbeir ranches, near
their towns and iu all directions. It has been
found in all tbe coast counties from Mendocino
to San Diego and away back in the interior.
Tbe mea-turo of tbe success of tbe minos
must not be gauged by our exuorts alono, nor
must it be gauged altogether by tbo published
statements of bullion product. Immense sums
have been expended in all Ihe milling States
and Territories in the construction of roads,
ditches, mills, machinery, etc In many places
large towns, with fine buildings, eto , Bhow
that n'i small share of the wealth tbe mines
bavo yielded has been profitably used in turn
ing the wilderness into a habitable abode. Iu
many plncoi where a few years ago man's step
was unknown, we hear now tbo roir of hun
dreds of stampbeads, the rush of water, and
see tbe hills stiipped of tbeir treos, the streams
elevated from then natural beds, fine houses,
wide stroets, tall chimneys, churches, theaters,
rto. If in some places tboro bas been a profuse
outlay, it has not been that of the spendthrift,
but riithr that of tbe wise, enlightened and
perhaps too liberal population, who have faith
in their prospects, and show it more in deeds
than words. Scientific Press.
The Extension of tbe InoN Tbaoe in J it as.
Ihe Government of Japan is taking steps
for establi-h ng blast furnaces, in which the ex
cellent magU' tlo iron ores averaging ubovo fifty
fier cent, metallio iron, and which occur in
odes, are to be smelted both with charcoal as
well as ooke. The iron hitheito manufactured
in Japan h is been made, as described in a
former report, from tbe iion rands which oo
cur in tbo islands of Ybbso, by a scrt nf bloom
ery process, and these iron sands bavo lately
been described in tbe report of Mr. B. S. Ly
man, tbe geologist and iniuing engineer to the
Government of Jap en, as o insisting of two va
rieties, the onn easily smelted and pure, whilst
the other is difficult to smell, and supposed to
oontain titanium. Ho oslima es tbe total
quantity of these sands at 125,000 tins, which
no regards as containing 01,000 tons metallio
iron, but s'ates that only some G.COO tons of
tbe sand are of tbe easily smelted description,
Iron and Steel Institute,
Liquid Paboumbnt. According to Dr. Hoff
man, a fluid by ihis name, conslmintj of gutta
percha soltentd and soaked in elber. is espe
cially adapted for forming a coating for pic
tures snd cards, it permitting the removal of
dirt with a moist rag. Penoil aud crayon
drawings msy be rendered intffueable by
sprinkling with Ibis liquid by means nf an at
omizer, an exceedingly delicate film remaining
on tbe evaporation of the ether.
The new revenue steamir for the Pacific
coast is to be built by tbe Oregon Iron Works,
of Portland. Oregon, tbeir bid be ng tbe low
est $92,000 Toe vessel is to be oue or the
staunobtst in tbe service, snd will be US ft
Ion-, 23 ft breadth of beam aud 11 ft depth of
bold. Her draft of water will be 10 it 10 in,
and she will be of 227 loos cu-tom-house
measurement. She is to be a piopslltr with a
vertical inverted engine, 34 io, diameter of cyl
inder by 31 ia. stroke, and provide! with a sur
laae condenser.
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