DISCOVERIES MADE BY ACCIDENT.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3038, 22 March 1881, Page 3

DISCOVERIES MADE BY ACCIDENT.

Valuable discoveries have been made, and valuable inventions suggested, by the veriest accidents. An alchemist, while seeking to discover a mixture of earths that would make the most durable crucibles, one day found that he had made porcelain. The power of lenses, as applied to the telescope, was discovered by a watchmaker's apprentice. While holding spectacleglasses between his thumb and finger, he was startled at the suddenly-enlarged appearance of a neighboring church-spire. The art of etching on glass was discovered by a Nuremberg glass-cutter. By accident, a few drops of aqua fortis fell on his spectacles. He noticed that the glase became corroded and softened where tho acid had touched it. That was hint enough. He drew figures upon glass with varnish, applied the corroding fluid, and then cut away the glaes around the drawing. When the varnish was removed tho figures appeared raised upon a dark ground. Mezzotinto owed its invention to the simple accident of the gun-barrel of a sentry becoming rusted with dew.

The swaying to and fro of a chandelier in a cathedral suggested to Galileo the application of the pendulum.

The art of lithographing was perfected through suggestions made by accident. A poop musician was curious to know whether music could not be etched upon etone as well as upon copper. After he had prepared his slab, hia mother asked him to make a memorandum of such olothes as she proposed to send away to be washed. Not haying pen, ink, and paper convenient, he wrote the list upon the etone with the etching preparation, intending to make a copy of it at leisure. A few days later, when about to clean the stone, he wondered what effect aqua fortis would have upon it. He applied the acid, and in a few minutes saw the writing standing out in relief. The next step necessary yas simply to ink the stone and take off an impression.

The composition of which printing-rollers are made was discovered by a Salopian printer. Not being able to find the peltBall, he inked the type with a piece of soft glue Which had fallen out of a glue-pot. It was euch an excellent substitute that, after mixing molasses with the glue, to give the mass proper consistency, the old pelt-ball was entirely discarded.

The shop of a Dublin tobacconist, by the name of Lundyfoot, was destroyed by fire. While he was gazing dolefully into the smouldering ruins, he noticed that his poorer neighbours were gathering the snuff from the canisters. He tested the snuff for himself, and discovered that the fire had largely improved its pungency and aroma. It was a hint worth profiting by. He secured another built a lot of ovens, subjected the snuff to a heating process, gave the brand a particular name, and in a few years became rich through an accident which he at first thought had completely ruined him. The origin of blue-tinted paper came about by a mere slip of the hand. The wife of William East, an English papermaker, accidently let a blue-bag fall into one of the vats of pulp. The working-men were astonished when they saw the peculiar colour of the paper, while Mr East was highly incensed at what he considered a grave pecuniary loss. His wife was so much frightened that she would not confess her agency in the matter. After storing the damaged paper for four years, Mv East sent it to his agent at London, with instructions to sell it for what it would bring. The paper was accepted as a " purposed novelty," and was disposed of at quite an advance over market price. Mr East was astonished at receiving an order from his agent for another large invoice of the paper. He was without the secret, and found himself in a dilemma. Upon mentioning it to his wife, she told him about the accident. He kept the secret, and the demand for the novel tint far exceeded his ability to supply it.

. A Brighton stationer took a fancy for dressing his show-window with piles of writing paper, using gradually from the largest to the smallest size in use, and, to finish, his pyramids o£E nicely, he cub cards to bring them to a point. Taking these cards for diminutive note paper, lady customers were continually wanting some of " that lovely little paper," and the stationer found it advantageous to cut paper to the desired pattern. As there was no space for addressing the notelets after they were folded, he, after much thought, invented the envelope, which, be cut by the aid of metal plates, made for the purpose. The sale increased so rapidly that he was unable to produce the envelopes fast enough, so he commissioned a dozen bouses to make them for him, and tbu3 set going an important branch of the manufacturing stationary trade.