Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1879 — ITEMS OF INTEREST. [ARTICLE]

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Richard Arkwright, of England, a hair-dresser, invented the spinningframe in 1768, by means of which an immense number of the finest threads are spun with a very little hand labor. Wire rope for mines, elevators and the transmission of power is now being made of the comparativoly-new alloy, phosphor bronze. These ropes are said to retain their pliability after long use, and to resist the action of the corrosive waters found in mines. An unuspal scene for Europe—that of the sun not setting, but shining through the whole night—is to be witnessed from the summit of Mount Aavax, in Finland, near Torneo, at 66 deg. northern latitude. Every year, on June 23, a multitu le of people of different nations visit that mountain to witness the interesting spectacle. The process of making cigars is simple and easy. A sound piece of leaf, shaped like one of the gores of a globe, is placed on the work-bench. A bundle of fragments of leaves is placed across the center of this gore and rolled up in it by placing the hand flat over it. The point of the cigar is shaped with a pair of scissors, and secured by means of a solution of gum and chiccory. The cigar is next placed against a gauge, and a portion of the broad end cut off. A German journals speaks of the description of a storm that is often found in novels in more or less varied terms, but usually somewhat like this: “ The waves rose mountain high over the frail vessel, threatening every instant to ingulf it. Then suddenly they lifted it to the clouds, only the next moment to let it sink again into a watery abyss,” etc. This is poetic, but by no means accurate. Careful scientific observations have established the fact that ocean waves seldom attain to a height of twenty feet, and never rise higher than twenty-seven.

A Batimore inventor has a patent for a suit of flying clothes. By working the arms the man in the clothes mounts heavenward. Waterproof pantaloons and jacket are in one piece. To this is fastened a reservoir made of oiled silk, and stretching from shoulders to waist. To each arm is attached a wing made of silk, with steel ribs. After the mortal has essayed the flight of a bird, and is high in the air, ho hoists a sail. A mast four feet long is jointed with his back, and a triangular sail is set so as to be regulated by his feet. When the sail is raised the arms are motionless, and the gentleman in the air booms along like a center-board yacht under a spanking breeze.