Science Progress.

Manawatu Herald, 7 May 1904, Page 4

Science Progress.

A MODERNIZED WATER CLOCK.' Au Interesting Arrangement I jr the Ant* ate nr to Try ill* Hand At. In these ‘■pit']!)??” nn'-vritig precision of r;f f * of a rm or.o ’./ill naturally expect that a, mechanism of this kind should go unfalteringly and absolutory correct. In fact, it will probably require to bo treated in conformity with the advice of Captain Cuttle—viz, to “wind it onco a day and movo tho hands forward about IB ■minutes every morning and likewise 15 minutes at night, and you’ll have a watch on which yoti can rely.” A description of tlds mechanism, found in a Gorman work, is given by Tho Jewelers’ Circular as follows: “A thin arbor A rests upon two supports, S Sl—a straight and truly round knitting needle will answer tho purpose

well. Ono of its ends protrudes beyond the dial fastened at SI and carries a hand. The hours only are marked upon the dial, and consequently this the only hand is tho hour hand. “About in tho middle of tho arbor A Is fixed a pulley, B, with a deep groove. Around this pulley is wrapped a thread, one cod of which carries a cork float, F, whilo a small center weight Is attached to ,the ot her cud. Exactly underneath the float F is a so called ‘tulip’ glass, which is filled with water to tho rim when the clock la started. A conduit, an ordinary cotton wick, M, passes into an empty cylindrical ■vessel, E, which stands close by. “Tho natural consequence ensues. The wick M acts to a certain degree as a siphon, absorbing tho water in tho glass E and discharging it into tho lower vessel, E. In consequence of this tho former empties slowly, while tho latter fills gradually. fi?ho sinking of tho water level naturally produces tho same with the float P, thoreactuating tho pulley B, the arbor A nnrt. f ' lo J lour h an fl C. By a suitably large mil lev hour hand can be made to WvolVo 111 fe^id^oximatelycorrocttli^’ In spite of sdm 0 dl “les, iting a glass of correct able ■and tho pulley of the m-bt size, a mechanical turn of And ontmV tainmout In endeavoring to ctoiistruct this imitation of a clepsydra, or antique Roman water clock. Scrap Steel Rolled Into Shape. A process has boeti discovered by which Scrap steel can bo heated and rolled Into Shape, according to an exchange. Tho ■secret of tho invention is a mineral composition, which, blended with certain chemicals and mixed with the scraps enables tho muss to ho lieated, rolled and welded without melting. Crosspieces of scrap aro placed in layers over a tV>ttom piece, and tho composition Is applied. 'Finally a top piece Is laid on, ano\tha whole Is strapped togetherwith iron, making a bundle %]4, inches thick, which'*® heated and rolled into any shape required A Remarkable Fact In Botany* I It Is a remarkable fact In botany thatao species of flower over embraces, In tho dpitors of Its petals, tho whole range of the spectrum. Where there are yellows .onto reds theito aro no blues, when blue and mo' joccur there nxo no yellows, and when W® jhavo blues and yellows there are no cede. Tulips come nearer to covering the whole range of tho spectrum than any other «pepies. They can bo found ranging through £jds, yellows and purples, but a blue one as never been found, says a scientific jotrr* pal. The Lavender of Commerce. In parts of England lavender is grown In largo quantities. Tho leaves and blossoms of the peppermint are put into the ‘still, but lavender Is only extracted from ’the flowers of that plant. Most of the lavender of commerce is grown and dlstfllod In tho south of Franco, but It Is claimed that no lavender has been produced to equal tho English perfume, Aim It fetches six or seven times the price of the bin French lavender. The Whale In Miniature. There scorn to bo records of but three specimens of tho pygmy sperm whale.bwiug been found on tho Atlantic ooast between Greenland and Capo Horn. ! That many others have been stranded on our coast is doubtless sure. A whale bo small and resembling ns It does n porpoise. If found by an untrained observer, would no doubt bo taken for the common porpoise, which is so frequently Been along

tour New Jersey , coast during the spring and summer months, says Popular Sdenoft Nows, in which tho following facta aro ifqundi ■ Nearly all tho specimens have been 'found in tropical or subtropical seas, the pPaolflo and Indian oceans having furnished inost of thorn. “ It Is not to be wondered at that cetacean literature furnishes us little or nothing on ■the anatomy of this animal when we cod* islder bow few specimens have ever been Ei, A specimen was secured in Peb- , 1,894, by the WistaT y of Pennsylvania. It w aJiAw weighing 548 pounds, measuring* JOew rlO inches in length and 6 Rust posterior to tho dippers, [deep brown in color on the baclk andjw* post white on the ventral surface. (specimen Wafl found on the beach ftWßga ■lsle City, N. J. The adult pygmy wShw ,’probably dees not exceed 10 feet in ledfclh. Bo far as Is known, It is most olosely » latod to tho true sperm whale.