Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

INDIFFERENCE. Would I could learn Indifference From all I bear and see ; Nor seek to care for others more Than others care for me! For why should I with vain regret Uphold a broken claim ? If others should so soon forget, Should I not do the same? Would I could learn Indifference From all I hear and see, Nor seek to care for others more Than others care for met There Is no blight that winder throws, No frost however stern, Like thatwhloh chill’d affection knows Of hearts forsaken learn ! What solace can the world Impart When love’s reliance ends, For there’B no chill can touch the heart, Like that unklndness sends, Would I could learn indifference From all I h« ar and see, Nor seek to care for ethers more Than others care for me 1 Eliza L. Leveti. The East kivet Suspension Bridge. The following statistics of this re markable structure will give an idea of ite magnitude. Its entire cost, and the date of its completion, are items which will be forthcoming in due time: Construction began January 2d, 1870. First rope thrown across the river, August 14th, 1876. De^' h of the New York foundation below nigh water mark, 78 teet 6 inches. Depth of the Brooklyn foundation below high water mark, 45 feet. •* The New York tower contains 46,- 94-5 cubic yards of masonry, the Brook lyn tower 38,214. Weight of the Brooklyn tower about 93,079 tons. Weight of the New York tower,about a third more. Size ot the towers at high water line 140x59 feet; a roof course, 136x53 feet. Height of the towers ’ above high water mark, 276 feet 6 inches. Height of roadway in the clear in the middle of the East River, 135 feet. Grade of the roadway, 3 feet 3 inches to 100 feet. Width of promenade in center of bridge, 15 feet 7 inches. Width for railway on one side of the promenade, 12 feet 10 inches. Width of carriage way on the other side of the promenade, 18 feet 9 inches. Length of main span, 1,595 feet 6 inches Length of each land span, 939 feet. Length of the Brooklyn approach, 1,500 feet. Length of each of the four great cables, 3,578 feet 6 inches; diameter, 15f inches ; number of steel galvanized wires in each cable, 5,434 ; weight of each cable, about 800 tons. Weight of steel in the suspended superstructure, 10,000 tons. Useful and Instructive. Dr. John Rae does not hold the com mon opiniontfhat the Esquimaux are a diminutive race. He is inclined to think that v.hey are fully as tall as the average native of Loudon, and much heavier. The women, when young, he says, are very pleasant-looking— almost pretty—extremely solid and compact, with small teet and hands and well-formed limbs. As to strength, he found that the Esquimaux could lift 400 or 500 pounds with ease. M. Gley, a French physiologist, has attempted to answer by experiments made upon himself, the question: What are the effects of intellectual work upon the cerebral circulation. When he applied himself to a subject which he had a difficulty in undir- standing thoroughly, and had there fore to concentrate all his energies upon It, the rhythm of the heart wap far more accelerated than when he took up some matter with which he was well acquainted. Borne engineers of Dundee, Scotland, have tried with success a new gun for throwing a line to a wrecked vessel. The gun is about two feet long, and has a bore of two and a half Inches in diameter, and the cord is coiled in the form of a cop and put inside a steel canister, which is fired out of the gun, leaving the line streaming behind it. Two ounces of gunpowder carried the end of the line at least 400 yards, and would have taken it further if the line had been longer. Good work from human beings, just as from machinery,requires good treat ment, and the finer the quality and the greater the quanti y of the work the larger must be the outlay. Build factories that supply pure air, and the employes will produce more ; but they will ask for more pay, because they will consume more food and cannot live on low wages. A donkey can exist on thistles, of course, and give a don key return ; but a race horse cannot be placed on the same fare with profit to anyone. There have lately been made a series of Interesting experiments upon the artificial propagation of the sponge by Prof. Ray Lank ester. From these it has been proved that a sponge, cut into small pieces, will form inde pendent masses of growth. Each piece was sunk in a suitable locality in salt water, when it was found that it grew into a well-formed sponge in about seven years. One condition of success was that the pieces must be left in open, unprotected beds where the natural food of the sponge was not withheld. Letters recently received from some, of the Chinamen who were students at Northampton say that two are learn ing to become mining engineers, two are studying medicine and others are at the Naval Torpedo School. The boys are not looked upon with favor by the Chinese officials, who think they cannot be trusted because they have become Americanized. They all look with longing eyes to America, anxious to come back. Apparently they do not take kindly to the man ners ana customs of their native country after their experience here. An Emperor Cornered, The Duchess of Clievreuze of the time of Napoleon I. was immensely wealthy, and like the other aristocrats of her day declined to appear at the usurper’s court. The Emperor, who had made up his mind that the representatives of the old nobility should grace it, dropped a hint one evening to one of the friends of the family of Luynes that unless the Duchess appeared at the next re ception at the Tuileries he would allow the decision of the courts in the Con- cini case (to which the Luynes owed much of their immense fortune) to be revised. “But, sire, protested the person ad dressed, “the case could not be revised —the time prescribed by law has ex pired.” “There is no prescription where I am concerned.” After this, there was nothing for the Duchess but to make her appear ance, and accordingly she was present at the next reception. She had suffered from an attack ot smallpox, which had left its .traces on her face. “Ah, it is you, Madame?” said Na poleon, with his brutal frankness; “but I say, you’re all pock-pltted.” “I know it, sire,” replied the Duch ess, with a bow, “but a Frenchman would not have reminded me of it!” The Duchess’ retort was in the same style—though neater—as that of the lady who when one evening the Em peror called her up and remarked loudly : “Are you as fond of men as ever?” replied, as she turned on her heel and walked off : “Yes, sire, so long as they have good manners!” Cloth Tracings, A correspondent of the Moniteur In- du8triel refers to the difficulties en countered in tracing upon cloth or calico, especially the difficulty of mak ing it take the ink. In the tirst place the tracing should be made in, a warm room, or the cloth will expand and be come flabby. The excess of glaze may be r. moved by rubbing the sur face with a chamois leather, on which, a little powdered chalk has been strewn ; but this practice possesses the disadvantage of thickening the ink, besides it might be added, of making scratches which detract from the ef fect of the tracing. The use of ox gall which makes the ink “take,” has also the disadvantage ot frequently making it “run,” while it also changes the tint of the colors. The following Is the process recommended: Ox-gall is filtered through a filter paper ar ranged over a funnel, boiled and strained through fine linen, which ar rests the scum and other impurities. It is then placed again on the tire, and powdered chalk is added. When the effervescence ceases the mixture is again filtered, affording a bright, col orless liquid, if the operation has been cart fully performed. A drop or two must be mixed with the Indian ink ; and it also has the property of effacing lead-pencil marks. When the doth tracings have to heliograph- ed raw sienna is also added to the ink, as this color unites with it the most intimately of any, besides Intercepting the greatest amount of light. J Pious Thoughts. Unbelief. There is no unbel lef; Whoeve plants the seed beneath the sod, And waits to see it push away the clod, lru-its he in God. • Whoever says when clouds are la the sky, "Be patient heart! Light breaketh by and by,” Trusts the Most High. Whoever sees, ’neath winter’s field of snow, The silent harvest of the luture grow, God’s power must know. Whoever lies down in his couch to sleep, Content to lock each s mse in siumber deep, Knows God will keep. Whoever says: "To-morrow,” "The Un known,” "The Future,” trusts that Power alone He dared disown. The heart that looks on when the eyelids close, And dares to live when life has only woes, God’s comfort knows. There Is no unbelief; And day by day, and night, unconsciously, The heart, lives by that lalth tne lips deny, God knoweth why. A Speck of Foliation. We read iast week of a gentleman who was bitten by a fly'. He was sit ting in a chair when the fly lighted on his arm. Feeling the sting he brushed the fly away and thought no more about the matter. Shortly the arm became painful aud swelled, and the man became seriously til. The only explanation that the physician could give was that the fly had probably been at some tainted meat, and at the moment of biting the arm left a little of the pollution in the flesh. The human body is very intolerant of any pollution within the system. Boils or the symptoms of blood pois oning speedily follow its introduction, and health is not restored till it be ex pelled. A physician of this State a year ago allowed a knife which had been used in the examination of a corpse to slip and cut his finger ; be is hardly well yet from the blood poison ing which resulted. It may well be that God has de signed this sensitiveness of the body to the presence of anything that savors of decay, to teach us the necessity of purity of the soul The injury done to the soul by the slightest pollution may not be so evident, but is it not as real? The taint may be communi cated to the soul as easily, as unsus- pectedly as in the bite of a fly. Let us be on our guard.—Christian Ob server. Christ at the Feaat. Thomas Toller, of Kettering, was remarkable for a happy dealing with texts in, at once, a wise and simple ac commodation to circumstances. For instance, at Kettering occurred a great annual festivity; for several days it kept th^neighborhood in a state of ex citing relaxation from the duties of life. He usually preached a sermon an admonitory character to the young, guarding against the dangers, and showing, how yet the occasion miglit be made honorable to the Au thor of all blessings. On one occasion he took for his text, “What think ye, that he will uot come to the feast?” and he divided his subject in this way. I. He may be here. There is noth in Nuch a feast in itself inconsistent with Christ’s practice. II. Suppose he should be here, how different this feast from all former feasts. (1) If Christ should come.no good man need be ashamed to be seen here. (2) If Christ should come, what a damp it will be to many people’s pleasures. (3) If Christ should come, would uot some be ashamed to behave as there is too much reason to believe they will ? (4) If Christ should come, a welcome guest, how gratefully and happily will everybody go away. III. Suppose Christ should not come tothefeast, then it will uot be worth coming to. (1) If he is not there, then you know who will be—the devil will. (2) If he is not there, no good man has any business there. (3) If he is not there, it will be because he is not invited. (4) If he is not there, then you had better also have remain ed home. Saddle of Lamb.— A saddle of lamb is a dainty joint for a small din ner party. Sprinkle a little salt over it and set it in the dript ing-pan, with a few small pieces of uutter on the meat; baste It c ccasionally with tried-out lamb fat; dredge a little flour over it a few minute before tak ing from the oven. Serve with the best of currant jelly and send to table with a ffew choice early vegetables. Squash Fritters.—A pint of cooked squash, or less, one egg, two spoonsful of flour. Fry in a spider or on the griddle for breakfast. Instructive. Last year Great Britain made nearly 2,700,000 tons of puddled iron and im ported 90,000 tons besides. It is said that plaster of Paris of hardness sufficient to be employed as mold for metal may be made by using 10 per eent. of alum in the water which is intended to be mixed up with the plaster. Electricity is now applied to pile driving. A water-wheel furnishes the power, which is transmitted by two dynamo-electric machines and con necting wires to pile-drivers at a con siderable distance. The French physiologists Perrier and Poirier have found that, properly speaking, starfishes have no blood cir culation at all, as what has hitherto been supposed to be the heart of these animals is simply a gland. The longest three-quarter Inch rod ever made was rolled at the Albany iron-works recently. It is 263 feet long, plumb from end to end and free i om flaws. The next longest rod ever made was forty feet shorter. The question of the existence of earth tides, or oscilliations of the earth’s crust corresponding to those produced in the sea by the attraction of the moon, is being investigated by a British commission. A pendulum is so suspended that its slightest mo tion turns a mirror and causes the point of light reflected by it upon a distant screen to move very percepti bly. The pendulum is proved to be in continual change of position, for the motion of the reflected light is inces sant, and so irregular that it is hardly possible to deteimine its mean posi tion on the screen within five or six inches. Six million pounds of graphite of plumbago are annually imported into the United States, and it ie estimated that the home production in New York, Pennsylvania, Canada and else where equals this amount. This val uable material is used principally in the manufacture of lead pencils, stove polish and crucibles. Its market price varies, according to quality, from $25 to $75 per ton. Valuable. The Blood.—Never under any cir cumstances rub the limbs downward The blood in circulation which can be reached by rubbing is all venous or blue blood. It is charged with waste and poisonous materials, and is strug gling to get to the heart and lungs for purification. Always rub upward. But few invalids, especially with fe-. male difficulties, who will not feel a new life imparted to them when this is tried for the first .time. Valves aie placed in the veins purposely to resist downward movement, while the stiff arteries, near the bone, are without them. Clasp the wrist tightly and see what multiple currents of poison start out on the hand, while none appear on the arm back of the ligature. A life could be destroyed in a short time by simply rubbing the limbs downward, while you cau almost draw the dead out of the grave by rapid,per sistent and general rubbing of the limbs upward, if no lesion of the vital parts has occurred. In view of this, why has it not been so stated in the hundreds of “directions” for restora tion of the dead from asphyxia and syncope—as in drowning aud heart disease? Rubbing to and fro simply affects the capillaries, doing little if any good. Artificial respiration is beneficial, but only when it has given impulse to the heart. The best results will be obtained by having as many as four or six persons rubbing the limbs synchronously (all alike—in rhythm), while another manipulates the chest and abdomen. Human Srains, Skin and Hair.— The average weight of the brain of the adult is three pounds and eight ounces —of a female two pounds and four ounces. The nerves are all connected with it, directly or through the spinal marrow. These nerves, together with their branches and minute ramifica tions, probably exceed 10,000,000 in number, forming a “body guard” outnumbering by far the mightiest army ever marshahd. The skin is oompesed of three layers, and varies from one-lourth to one-eighth of an inch in tnickness. Its average area In an adult Is estimated at 2,000 square inches. It performs various Import ant functions. It Is the seat of com mon sensations, and Is furnished with numerous pores or openings, which give passage to the sweat and other exhalation* It is in this way the great regulator of the heat of the body. Walnut Trees and Gum Trees, There is now a great scarcity of wal nut logs in this country, and It is said that it will be difficult to obtain a mil lion feet of walnut lumber next year, as, owing to the demand for this wood in Flurope, the supply was greatly re duced by last year’s cutting. The use of walnut in the manufacture of sew ing machines and lead-pencils has al most cleaned this tree out of our Western forests. Some farmers have begun raising walnut trees for the timber. An important question for builders and manufacturers is, what other wood can be used in the place of walnut ? There is a widespread belief that no other native wood is equal to walnut in certain qualities. It has a fine grain and it cures evenly, does not readily split or crack, and holds its color and shape under trying con ditions which would warp, shrink aud discolor other woods. It takes a bet ter polish than other woods of native growth, and more nearly resembles mahogany and rosewood than any other timber grown on our soil. The substitute of cherry dyed to re semble ebony has partially succeeded in the making of light frame work ; but a broad surface of dyed cherry is not so easily obtained. Recently some experiments have been made with the wood of the black gum tree, one of the largest trees grown in the Southern States. Its small blue fruit fattens the opossum, and bees make honey in the hollow trunks. It is a peculiarity of the growth of these trees that they become hollow as they grow old ; but there is much sound wood in the branches, which has been largely used for railroad ties. It hss been dis covered that the wood of this tree can be dyed through and through. After it has been dyed it is susceptible of a flue polish. Its durability, however, seems to depend, as does its color, upon some artificial process, aud this ren ders its availability as a substitute for walnut questionable. There is a great supply of gumwood in this country,, and if it can be utilized for a few years the farming of walnut trees may make up what is now a serious deficiency in the supply of timber for manufactur ing purposes. One significant fact showing the scarcity of walnut is the presence in the West of men who are pulling up old walnut stumps and roots to be sawed into veneer. Measuring the Perspiration* By means of apparatus constructed especially for the purpose it has been found practicable to measure the amount of perspiration in different portions of the human body. It is also found that the moat important element in reference to the atmosphere, in this connection, is its relative humidity—• an increase of this relative humidity corresponding to a decided diminution in the quantity of perspiration. Of less importance is the influence of temperature, an increase of this acting not so much directly by increasing the capacity of the air for moisture as it does indirectly, by tirst of ail bring ing about some changes in the skin, increasing the supply of water at the surface whence the evaporation takes place. The clothed arm is found to be subject to variations in the amount of perspiration, which are dependent upon the exterior influences of the air as is the case with the naked arm; clothing, in fact,does not diminish,but rather favors, the evaporation of water from the surface of the body. A Rotary Steam Motor. A new kind of steam engine has been recently patented in Austria by Prof. Wellner, of Brunn. The so- called “steam wheel” (according to the account in the Polytechnischer Journal) consists of a simple water wheel, mostly immersed in hot water in a closed vessel. Steam is ad mitted at the lower part, and forces the oells of the wheels upward, pro ducing rotation. The steam fills more aud more of the cells on the rising side, and at length begins to escape into the Bteam space above the water. Steam may either be produced directly at the lower part, or conducted to the vessel from elsewhere. The upper tube for outlet of steam may lead either Into the open air or into a con denser. The meohanical work con sists in the ascent of the speoifloally lighter steam in the heavier liquid. These steam wheels may either be used as independent motors or in con nection with ordinary steam engines; in t he latte* case the escape steam of one kiDd of machine is utilized foi* the other.