however, was an exception. He escaped oblivion without the aid of a Homer. Homer's heroes are to be congratulated above all men on having their story sung by such a minstrel; but with this thought there always goes a little doubt as to whether there ever were such heroes and such deeds outside of Homer's imagination. The hard granite of the Egyptian monuments leaves no doubt that Sesostris lived and reigned.

DURABILITY OF DIFFERENT WOODS.

Experiments have been lately made by driving sticks, made from different woods, each two feet long and one and one-half inches square, into the ground, only one-half an inch projecting outward. It was found that in five years all those made of oak, elm, ash, fir, soft mahogany and nearly every variety of pine, were totally rotten. Larch, hard pine and teak wood were decayed on the outside only, while acacia, with the exception of being also slightly attacked on the exterior, was otherwise sound. Hard mahogany and cedar of Lebanon were in tolerably good condition; but only Virginia cedar was found as good as when put in the ground. This is of some importance to builders, showing what woods should be avoided, and what others used by preference in underground work.

The duration of wood when kept dry is very great, as beams still exist which are known to be nearly 1,100 years old. Piles driven by the Romans prior to the Christian era have been examined of late, and found to be perfectly sound after an immersion of nearly 2,000 years.

The wood of some tools will last longer than the metals, as in spades, hoes and plows. In other tools the wood is first gone, as in wagons, wheelbarrows and machines. Such wood should be painted or oiled; the paint not only looks well, but preserves the wood; petroleum oil is as good as any other.

Hardwood stumps decay in five or six years; spruce stumps decay in about the same time; hemlock stumps in eight to nine years; cedar, eight to nine years; pine stumps, never.

Cedar, oak, yellow pine and chestnut are the most durable woods in dry places.

Timber intended for posts is rendered almost proof against rot by thorough seasoning, charring and immersion in hot coal tar.

THE WORLD'S NOTED BRIDGES.

The Sublician bridge at Rome is the oldest wooden bridge in existence. It was built in the seventh century. The old London Bridge was the first stone bridge. It was built in 1176. The first cast iron bridge was erected at Coalbrookdale, Eng., in 1779. The Niagara Suspension bridge was built by Roebling, in 1852. It cost $400,000, is 245 feet above the water, 1,260 feet long. The Havre de Grace bridge over the Susquehanna is 3,271 feet long. The longest general traffic draw-bridge in the world is at Rush Street, Chicago, Ill.

The largest stone bridge on the face of the earth is that finished in May, 1885, at Lagang, China. Chinese engineers had sole control of its construction. It crosses an arm of the China Sea, is nearly six miles in length, is composed entirely of stone, and has 300 arches, each 70 feet high. It is the most colossal structure ever reared by man, yet we sneer at the "heathen Chinee." The largest truss iron bridge in the world

crosses the Frith of Tay, Scotland. It is 18,612 feet in length and composed of eighty-five spans. The Forth Bridge, across the Forth at Queensferry, was commenced 1883, and opened March 4, 1890. The river at Queensferry is about 4,000 feet wide at low water. The principal feature of this work is the extraordinary length, for a rigid structure, of the two main spans, each of which has a length of 1710 feet, made up of two cantilevers, each 680 feet long, united by a central girder 350 feet long. The two main spans are supported on the small island of Inchgarvie. The Forth Bridge has a total height above high water of 361 feet, and a clear headway above high water of 150 feet, and carries two lines of rails. The longest wooden bridge in the world is that crossing Lake Ponchartrain, near New Orleans, La. It is a trestle-work twenty-one miles in length, built of cypress piles which have been saturated with creosote oil to preserve them. The highest bridge in the United States is over Kinzina Creek, near Bradford, Pa. It was built in 1882, has a total span of 2,051 feet, and is 301 feet above the creek bed.

The oldest chain bridge in the world is said to be that at Kingtung, in China. The Menai Bridge, in Wales, was constructed by Mr. Telford, 1825; its length is 580 feet. Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol is 702 feet long and 245 feet above high water. The suspension bridge between New York and Brooklyn is 1,595 feet long in the center span, and 4,355 feet altogether; its width is eighty-five feet. It is a railway, vehicular and foot bridge.

SELECTED HINTS FOR ARTISANS.

FURNITURE POLISH.-For French polishing cabinet-makers use: Pale shellac, 1 pound; mastic, 13 ounces; alcohol of 90 per cent standard, 1 to 1 pints. Dissolve cold, with frequent stirring.

CEMENT FOR RUBBER BOOTS.-A good cement for rubber boots is made by dissolving crude rubber in bisulphuret of carbon, making the solution rather thin. Put the cement upon the patch and the boot, heat

both, and put them together.

PIANO POLISH.-Take equal proportions of turpentine, linseed oil and vinegar. Mix; rub in well with a piece of flannel cloth. Then polish with a piece of chamois skin. This treatment will entirely remove the dingy appearance that age gives to fine woods

HOW TO EXPEL RATS.-Get a piece of lead pipe and use it as a funnel to introduce about 11⁄2 ounces of sulphide of potassium into any outside holes tenanted by rats; not to be used in dwellings. To get rid of mice use tartar emetic mingled with any favorite food; they will eat, sicken and take their leave.

HAND GRENADES.-Take chloride of calcium, crude, 20 parts; common salt, 5 parts; and water, 75 parts. Mix and put in thin bottles. In case of fire, a bottle so thrown that it will break in or very near the fire will put it out. This mixture is better and cheaper than many of the high-priced grenades sold for the purpose of fire-protection.

TO TEST WATER.-The purity of water can be ascertained as follows: Fill a large bottle made of colorless glass with water; look through the water at some black object. Pour out some of the water and leave the bottle half full; cork the bottle and place it for a few hours in a warm place; shake up the water, remove the cork, and critically smell the air contained in the bottle. If it has any smell, particularly if the odor is

repulsive, the water should not be used for domestic purposes. By heating the water an odor is evolved that would not otherwise appear. Water fresh from the well is usually tasteless, even if it contains a large amount of putrescible organic matter. All water for domestic purposes should be perfectly tasteless, and remain so even after it has been warmed, since warming often develops a taste in water which is tasteless when cold.

FIREPROOF WOOD.-Soak 27.5 parts by weight of sulphate of zinc, 11 of potash, 22 of alum, and 11 of manganic oxide in luke warm water in an iron boiler, and gradually add 11 parts by weight of 60 per cent sulphuric acid. The wood to be prepared is placed upon an iron grating in an apparatus of suitable size, the separate pieces being placed at least an inch apart. The liquid is then poured into the apparatus, and the wood allowed to remain completely covered for three hours, and is then air-dried.

PROTECTING LEAD WATER PIPES.-To protect lead waterpipes from the action of water, which often affects them chemically, partially dissolving them, and injuring the pipes, as well as poisoning the water, fill the pipes with a warm and concentrated solution of sulphide of potassium or sodium; leave the solution in contact with the lead for about fifteen minutes and then blow it out. This coats the inside of the pipes with sulphite of lead, which is absolutely insoluble, and cannot be acted upon by water at all.

TO MAKE CLOTH WATERPROOF.-There have been various devices for rendering cloth waterproof without the use of India rubber. The most successful of these, no doubt, is the Stenhouse patent. This consists of the application of paraffine combined with drying oil. Paraffine was first used alone, but it was found to harden and break off from the cloth after a time. When drying oil was added, however, even in a very small quantity, it was found that the two substances, by the absorption of oxygen, became converted into a tenacious substance very like resin. To apply this the paraffine is melted with drying oil and then cast into blocks. The composition can then be applied to fabrics by rubbing them over with a block of it, either cold or gently warmed. Or the melted mixture may be applied with a brush and the cloth then passed through hot rollers in order to cover its entire substance perfectly. This application makes cloth very repellant to water, though still pervious to air.

PRESERVING WOOD.-There have been a number of processes patended for preserving wood. One of them, very generally used, consists in immersing the timber in a bath of corrosive sublimate. Another process consists in first filling the pores with a solution of chloride of calcium under pressure, and next forcing in a solution of sulphate of iron, by which an insoluble sulphate of lime is formed in the body of the wood, which is thus rendered nearly as hard as stone. Wood prepared in this way is now very largely used for railroad ties. Another process consists in impregnating the wood with a solution of chloride of zinc. Yet another way is to thoroughly impregnate the timber with oil of tar containing creosote and a crude solution of acetate of iron. The process consists in putting the wood in a cylindrical vessel, connected with a powerful air pump. The air is withdrawn, and the liquid subjected to pressure, so that as much of it as possible is forced into the pores of the wood. The processes above given not only season the timber, so that it

U. 1.-11

is not subject to dry rot, but also keep it from being injured by the weather, or being attacked by insects or worms.

TO TRANSFER ENGRAVINGS.-It is said that engravings may be transferred on to white paper as follows: Place the engraving a few seconds over the vapor of iodine. Dip a slip of white paper into a weak solution of starch, and when dry, into a weak solution of oil of vitriol. When again dry, lay the slip upon the engraving and place both for a few minutes under a press. The engraving will be reproduced in all its delicacy and finish. Lithographs and printed matter cannot be so trans. ferred with equal success.

LUMINOUS PAINT.-This useful paint may, it is said, be made by the following simple method: Take oyster shells and clean them with warm water; put them into the fire for half an hour; at the end of that time take them out and let them cool. When quite cool pound them fine and take away any gray parts, as they are of no use. Put the powder in a crucible in alternate layers with flour and sulphur. Put on the lid and cement with sand made into a stiff paste with beer. When dry, put over the fire and bake for an hour. Wait until quite cold before opening the lid. The product ought to be white. You must separate all gray parts, as they are not luminous. Make a sifter in the following manner: Take a pot, put a piece of very fine muslin very loosely across it, tie around with a string, put the powder into the top, and rake about until only the coarse powder remains; open the pot and you will find a very small pow der; mix it into a thin paint with gum water, as two thin applications are better than one thick one. This will give a paint that will remain luminous far into the night, provided it is exposed to light during the day.

MAKING BLACKBOARDS.-The following directions for this work are given by an experienced superintendent: The first care must be to make the wall surface or boards to be blacked perfectly smooth. Fill all the holes and cracks with plaster of Paris mixed with water; mix but little at a time; press in and smooth down with a case-knife. The cracks between shrunken boards may be filled in the same way. Afterward use sandpaper. The ingredients needed for slating are (1) liquid gum shellac, sometimes called shellac varnish; (2) lampblack or drop black. Gum shellac is cut in alcohol, and the liquid can be obtained of any druggist. Pour some shellac into an open dish, and stir in lampblack to make a heavy paint. With a clean brush, spread on any kind of surface but glass. Put on a little and test it. If it is glossy and the chalk slips over it, reduce the mixture with alcohol. Alcohol can be bought of any druggist. If it rubs off, let the druggist put in more gum to make the liquid thicker. One quart of the liquid and a five cent paper of lampblack are sufficient to slate all the blackboards in any country school with two

coats.

HARMONY AND RELATIONS OF COLORS.

Most persons have observed that colors, when brought together, mutually set each other off to advantage, while others have altogether a different effect. This must be carefully attended to by every painter who would study beauty or elegance in the appearance of his work.

Whites will set off with any color whatever.

Reds set off best with whites, blacks or yellows.

Blues set off best with whites or yellows.

Greens set off best with blacks and whites.
Gold sets off best with blacks or browns.

In lettering or edging with gold a white ground has a delicate appearance for a time, but it soon becomes dingy.

The best grounds for gold are Saxon blue, vermilion and lake.

Following are the colors to be derived by mixing two or more pig

ments:

Buff.
Chestnut

Chocolate

Claret.

Copper.

Dove.

Drab.

Fawn

Flesh

Freestone

French Gray..

Gray
Gold.

Green Bronze

Lemon.
Limestone.

Olive

Orange

Peach

Pearl

Purple...

Rose

Sandstone.

Snuff.

Violet...

Mix together-White, Yellow. Ochre, Red.

Red, Black, Yellow.

Raw Umber, Red, Black.
Red, Umber, Black.

Red, Yellow, Black.

White, Vermilion, Blue, Yellow.

White, Yellow, Ochre, Red, Black.
White, Yellow, Red.

White, Yellow, Ochre, Vermilion.

Red, Black, Yellow Ochre, Vermilion.

White, Prussian Blue, Lake.

White Lead, Black.

White, Stone Ochre, Red.

Chrome Green, Black, Yellow.

White, Chrome Yellow.

White, Yellow Ochre, Black, Red.

Yellow, Blue, Black, White.

Yellow and Red

White and Vermilion.

White, Black, Blue.

Violet, with more Red and White.

White, Madder Lake.

White, Yellow Ochre, Black, Red.
Yellow, Vandyke Brown.
Red, Blue and White.

THE PHONOGRAPH.

The phonograph was discovered accidentally. Mr. T. A. Edison was at work on an apparatus for recording a telegraphic message, by having an armature (with a needle fastened in one end) of the sounder make indentations on a piece of tin foil wrapped around a cylinder. The message would thus be punctured or indented on this tin foil, then by substituting a blunt needle for the sharp one and turning the cylinder, the armature would be vibrated as the needle entered into and passed out of the indentations. While experimenting, he turned the cylinder very rapidly, and instead of a succession of "clicks," a musical sound was produced. He seized the idea, and the Edison Phonograph was the result. The perfected phonograph of today consists of a cylinder of wax, or other plastic material, which is revolved either by hand, foot power or an electric motor. This cylinder, called the phonogram, is used for recording the sound. This is done by a diaphragm-such as is used in a telephone-into the center of which is fastened a sharp needle, which rests upon and just touches the phonogram. When the words are spoken the diaphragm vibrates, moving this needle up and down, and a series of indentations are made in a spiral line on the phonogram, which is turning around about eighty-five times a minute. To make the phonograph speak, or repeat the words, another diaphragm, similar to the first or recorder, but having a blunt instead of a sharp needle, is placed at the starting point, and the phonogram made to revolve; of course, as the needle passes over the indentations it vibrates the diaphragm, and the words are reproduced—as in a telephone.