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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, SEPTEMBER 1,1882,
INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC'.
Rose, Georgia, has a large cotton factory.
The cotton seed-oil mill at Rome, Ga., is
approaching completion.
The Abbott Iron Company, of Baltimore,
will manufacture steel rails at their works.
Roahoke, Virginia, is to have an iron fur
nace, costing $300,000 with an output of 100
tons.
In the past six months $15,000,000 has been
added to cotton manufacturing in the
South.
Tcllahoma, Tennessee, has the only tile
factory south of Baltimore. Besides this
its has a hub and spoke factory, a woolen
mill, a distillery and will soon hare several
other establishments. Mike Campbell is the
genius of the manufacturing world in Tul-
lahoma.
The manufacture of strawboard is a grow
ing industry. The practice of putting man
ufactured goods in paper boxes instead of
bundles has been very generally adopted by
manufacturers, and the consumption of
boxes is now very great. Strawboard is
used for paper boxes, buttons and binding
books. Such lias been the demand for straw
to make the board that the price has mate
rially advanced.
Some scientists predict the incandescent
electric lamps will soon altogether supercede
the arc lights now so rapidly coming into
general use for lighting streets and large
areas. They believe that the danger to life
from contact with the wires used for electric
lighting purposes may be overcome by
using low tension currents, which are harm
less. As to tire risks, it is maintained that
they can only arise front gross carelessness.
Dbonier claims to have discovered a sim
ple method of rendering bronze as malle
able as copper, iron, etc. This consists in
the addition of a very little mercury—one
and a half and two per cent. It seems to
act mechanically rather than chemically.
The mercury may be combined with one of
the metals of which the bronze is made,
before they are combined, by pouring it into
the melted metal and stirring well, or it
may be put into the melted copper along
with the tin, or just aftej the latter has been
added, or an amalgam of tin is stirred into
the melted copper.
A little over a year ago the writer passed
through Roanoke, Va., then a mere way
station known as Big Lick. To-day Roanoke
has about 3,000 inhabitants, and will proba
bly have more than double that number in
side of a year. This wonderful develop
ment is due to manufactures. The Shen
andoah Valley and the Norfolk and Western
Railroads determined to make this point
their junction, and are now erecting shops
in which employment will be given to about
1,000 hands. The managers of these roads
interested some Philadelphia capitalists in
Roanoke, and a Land Improvement Com
pany, with a nominal capital of $2,000,000,
of which $500,000 is paid up, was formed;
then came a large furnace company with a
heavy capital; then the Crozier Steel and
Iron Company with $300,000 capital, fol
lowed by numerous smaller manufacturing
establishments; while we note the purchase
of a site at that city for a large flour mill;
the organization of a new iron company
with a capital of $300,000; an increase of
$300,000 to the paid up capital of the Land
Improvement company; and, in addition
to all these, a contract has just been closed
for the erection of fifty new buildings.
There are also a number of tobacco fac
tories; a planing mill and sash and blind
manufactory, and two others in construc
tion ; a steam spoke and ax-handle factory,
and a number of other factories, while a cot
ton mill is talked of.
This is what one Southern village has
done in a year, and one in which the ad
vantages, while very good are in no way su
perior to those possessed by hundreds of
other Southern towns and cities. Through
out the 8outh there as many other places
building up just as Roanoke is doing, al
though probably not so rapidly. These
places are thoroughly demonstrating the ad
vantages of the Southern States for manu
factures, and the actual results are doing
more to convince the world of this fact than
ail the glittering generalities ever publish
ed.— Baltimore Journal of Commeace.
Lumber Industry of tbe United States.
The Census Department has issued a bul
letin upon the lumber industry of the United
States, from which we have compiled some
interesting figures. The nnmber of estab*
Bailments for tbe entire country is 25,708,
having an aggregate capital of $181,180,122,
and employing 148,000 bands. During tbe
census year the value of the lumber used by
these mills was $139,836,809, and the value pf
the product after being sawed, was $233,367,-
729. Over $31,000,000 was paid out in wages.
According to the value of the products Mich
igan ranked first, with $52,449,028; Pennsyl
vania second, with $22,457,359; Wisconsin
third, with $17,952,347; New York fourth,
with $14,336,910; Indiana fifth, $14,260,830;
Ohio sixth, $13,864,460; Maine seventh, $7,-
033,868; and Minnesota eighth, $7,366,038.
The statistics of the Southern States are as
follows:
Alabama...
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
Mouth Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
Total..
6,626
Capital.
31,545,655
1,067,840
2.219,5 V)
3,101 ,<52
2,290.558
903,950
1,237,094
922 595
1,743,217
1,060,265
2,004 Nd
1,660,962
2,122.925
1,668.920
123,550,076 32,302
Total
value of
product.
$2,649,634
4.375,310
4,064,961
1.764,640
1.813,332
1,920,635
2,672,796
2.031,507
3,744,9-5
3.673,449
3,434,163
2,431,967
39,930,628
While these figures show there is a large
lumber business at the South, yet, at the
same time, they give some idea as to how
very small it is when compared with what
other sections do, or when compared with
the amount of standing timber in the South.
A few comparisons may show the force ot
tins. During the census year the value of
lumber cut in Michigan was over $52,000,000,
against $3,600,000 for Texas; but the latter
State now has 68,000,000,000 feet of pine
standing, while the former has 85,000,000,000
feet. Louisiana has 48,000,000,000 feet of
pine standing, and the value of her lumber
products for the census year was only $1,745,-
640, while Wisconsin has 41,000,000,000 feet
standing and her lumber product was valued
at nearly $18,000,000.
The vast lumber interests of the South are
just beginning to attract the attention which
they deserve, and there are already signs of
local development which promises to be very
rapid in the future. The Northern and
Western States have in many instances cut
the bulk of their best timber and the mill-
owners are now looking to the South with a
view of transferring their operations to that
section.' In some of tbe Southern States,
especially Florida, the demand for lumber
for building purposes is very active, due to
the heavy immigration, and this must con
tinue for many years.—Baltimore Journal of
Commerce.
To show how cheaply iron is obtained,
and how the mechanical skill and labor ex
pended upon it exceed the price, a writer
In the British Quarterly Review gives the fol
lowing calculations:
Bar iron worth £1 is worth when worked
into—
l. *
Horses Shoes 2
Table Knives 30
Needles 71
Pen Knife Blades 657
Polished Buttonsand Buckles... 897
Balance Springs of Watches.... 50,000
Cast iron worth £1 is worth when con
verted into—
Machinery £4
Large Ornamental Work 45
Buckets and Berlin Works 600
Neck Chains 1,386
Shirt Buttons 5,806
Thirty-one pounds of iron have been made
into wire upwards of 111 miles in length,
and so fine was the fabric that a part wat
converted, in Ben of horse hair, into a bar
rister’s wig.
The bill modifying the money-order sys
tem provides for the issuing of a "postal
note" at a charge of three cents for the trans.
mission through the mails of sums of less than
$5; that amoneyordershallnotbe issued for
more than $100, and that the fees for money
orders shall be as follows: For orders not
exceeding $10, eight cents; exceeding $10
and not exceeding $15, ten cents; exceeding
$16 and not exceeding $30, fifteen cents; ex
ceeding $30 and not exceeding $40, twenty
cents; exceeding $40 and not exceeding $50,
twenty-five cents; exceeding $50 and not ex
ceeding $00, thirty cents; exceeding $60 and
not exceeding $70, thirty-five cents; exceed
ing $70 and not exceeding $80, forty cents;
exceeding $80 and not exceeding $100, forty-
five cents. __
Obey the injunction: "Make hay while
the sun shines."
Written specially tor tbe Southern World.
THE PHENOMENA OF THE CLOUDS.
As recently remarked, “the study of the
clouds is among the most thrilling of all sub
jects, especially daring tbe intervals of great
electrical excitement.” But I will add, of
all subjects connected with nature, tbe phe
nomena of the clouds are, perhaps, the least
studied. This is tbe more remarkable from
the fact that ot all objects of nature nothing
is more vividly, or more frequently, or more
impressively presented to our minds, or with
more varied changes, or in loftier situations
attracts our observation; and in addition to
this, the clouds in every age, have been made
the theme of the finest poetical sentiment;
while their sublimity has ever afforded the
grandest illustration of human emotion and
aspiration, their movements and fierceness
have furnished the most striking and forci
ble portrayal of human action in its great
efforts, contests and controversies over the
environments of mental and moral progress.
In times of great atmospheric excitement,
the mind is usually either overawed, or filled
with so much wonder at the awful grandeur
and magnificence of the scenes thrown as it
were, so magically over the heavens, as to
entirely lose sight of the more common
place business investigation. If we are al
lowed to think at all, it is more the contem
plation that inspires the work of the artist
than the calmer inquiry that investigates tbe
"why and wherefore” of a deeper thought.
Tbe philosopher is usually lost in the poet—
the matter of fact of nature in the fancy of
the varying scenery of the heavens. But at
other times the effects are not such as to ex
cite an interest.
Ordinarily that character of weather which
fulfills our wants more directly affects our
feelings, but hardly ever stimulates our
reasoning on the subject. If rain is needed
we are delighted to see the mists forming
and gathering over head; if it is otherwise,
however, a sense of relief is experienced
when the clouds dissipate or depart, and the
surrounding earth sparkles again in the sun
shine.
Sometimes, indeed, the glory and beauty
of the clouds evite a moment’s thought
which would lead us away from the merely
fanciful in contemplating all this into the
deeper and more important philosophical
inquiry into these conditions of nature, but
the want of time and means, too often
thwart our indulgence of more than a pass
ing or momentary thought.
While there is much known about the
clouds, patiently brought out by a few who
have given some attention to their’investi
gation. much yet remains secreted in their
phenomena to incite farther observation and
study. Mysteries exist connected with the
subject that science, so far, has been unable
to explain, and undoubtedly there is much
more of the phenomena of the clouds yet
unrevealed to our observation, which, from
time to time, in the progress of meteorology,
will disclose itself, and excite the inquiry of
science for its meaning.
Clouds are divided into different kinds ac
cording to their shape, formation, and ap
pearance in some respects. While tbe out
ward indications denominate the kind of
cloud we observe, its formation depends
upon certain philosophical conditions re
lated to the atmosphere which enter into
its origin and make-up, and this remark ap
plies as well to the shape and appearance of
clouds, as will be noticed hereafter.
Cnmulus clouds are the most common and
are usually observed in greater or less num
ber in an open sky on warm days. They
are more frequently seen in summer, and
for this reason, have been called summer
clouds. They are sometimes observed as
small, fleecy bodies, but, but more often
rolled up into huge bundles or packs with
white fleecy edges and dark, irregular planes
toward the observer. At times they rise in
monumental piles with tall pinnacles tow
ering heavenward, reared upon pedestals of
great proportions. From these clouds all oth
ers may be, and are very frequently formed;
from the whisk-like cirrus, to the deep, dark
or blue and dense nimbus. From these
may come the cooling zephyr which fans
away the heat of a summer mid-day, or the
frightful blast of the whirlwind, with the
deep-toned and quaking voice of the storm-
king. The timid maid sports in the flattery
of their gentle touches, yielding willingly
the fresh outburst of her young happiness,
as Bafely their soft embraces encircle her and
bring smiles and roses to her cheeks without
a blush; yet the stoutest heart may be made
to shrink before their united effort when
they stir the atmospheric sea to its greatest
depth, or awake the elements of earth and
sky by their dreaded blasts and fiery pas
sion.
It is when separated and marshaling over
the heavens at intervals of space between
them, that we luxuriate in their cheerful
breezes, but when collecting into huge, mas
sive shapes, or into mountain ridges, sus
pended in the air they often become the
parent of the cloud-burst, cyclone or torna
do. They then cease to be the cumuli and
become what is best known as the cumulo-
stratus. Like tremendous blocks, gray,
black or blue, piled one against or on anoth
er, they form impending ridges of impreg
nable aspect. When they unite in a heavy
dense volume, either befoie or in the back
ground of others, or when they compact into
one apparent solid mass, they become the
nimbus cloud; and in their various forma
tions we have the gentle winds and showers,
the storm-blasts and rain torrents.
The coloring of the clouds is due to the
state of the air, the passage of light through
different degrees of rarefied nuclea, beat of
different intensities and the position of tbe
moisture to the direct or reflected rays of
the sun, moon, and stars. And their vari-
agated hues, shadings, and tinsellings are
often beyond the conception of the mind,
and certainly defy any effort at description.
The cumuli frequently appear to possess an
affinity for each other, and as often one
seems to repel the other. This is supposed
to be due to the kind of electricity with
which they are charged. This may be so,
and yet it is not unlikely this phenomenon
results alone from the temperature. An
equalization of temperature, either in the
surrounding air, or in the clouds, would tend
to spread or unite the particles of the sepa
rated clouds. In giving up their temper
ature to the air, the latter expands, driving
the clouds further apart. Again, a higher
temperature rising from a lower air stratum
or the earth, would tend to separate or drive
these clouds apart, not by expanding the
cloud particles, but by increasing tbe ex
panded air volumes which hold the clouds
apart.
It is also said that the cumuli are formed
from vapors which rise from marshes, lakes,
and rivers into the saturable air. This un
doubtedly accounts for the moisture out of
which they are formed, but does it satisfac
torily explain the mystery of the appear
ance of large bodies of moisture floating in
the air during the day, and about noon gen
erally collecting into cumulo-stratus, or the
nimbus clouds, and frequently suddenly
disappearing in the afternoon? Would it
not appear that this interesting phenome
non indicated rather that the air is always
more or less filled with particles of moisture
interspersed through out it—that as the sun
rises its heat produces relative vacua or un-
dulatory waves in the atmosphere, and these
air bubbles concealed are troughed as it were
by the air expansion ? The solar and lunar
corona), paraselenes, halos and parhelias are
all only indications of moisture suspended
in the air in this condition. The haze or
aeriform mist which produces these in the
light of the sun, moon and stars once gave
substance and shape, perhaps a few hours
only before to the cumuli. The altitude of
air-support may be regarded as a surface to
the moisture suspended, and in the evening
as calmness and a more uniform temperature
above ensue, the moistures float out into a
thin haze and at last become invisible over a
denser air surface, so to speak. During the
night the atmosphere is once more charged
with these particles interspersed downward
from the position they occupied during the
day, and they settle, as radiation of heated
airat the earth’s surface diminishes, in small
vesicles, or globules of moisture called dew.
They descend invisibly, but often rise vis
ibly in the morning and disappear to form
again.
But it must be understood that the ascend
ing vapors of the earth from Us swamps,
springs, rivulets, creeks, rivers, lakes, seas
and oceans supply tbe moistures that form
not only the cumuli but all other clouds,
yet these vapors may be retained in the at
mosphere in an invisible torra at night and
be presented to view in the various ways
noticed in the day time. It settles in great
quantities oft-times wetting the grass as if
by a shower, but unless from a stratus cloud
no one ever saw it descend, and it is seldom
ever seen to rise. When observed at all to
rise in the morning it is usually along the
mountain gorges or from its sides.
Athville, Ala. Gao. R. Gather.
The Chicago Journal of Commerce says that
the lessons of last year’s dry season was that
land should be drained and cultivated deep.
The lesson of this year’s wet weather is that
land should be drained and the soil made
deep so as to carry away the water. Drain
ing will double the value of nearly every
acre of land.