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Show ' I science T Stability of the Solar 8yttem. A question of tho highest lntorcst Is whether or not tho slight mutual In-fluoncoi In-fluoncoi ot ths planots will destroy In tho lapse ot -tlmo tho presont gen-oral gen-oral configuration of tho solar system. It Is concdlvablo that tho largo planots may collide or" that part or all of them may bo precipitated on the sun, or that tho eccentricities of their orbits or-bits may becomo so great that, radical changos of seasons will result from tholr varying distances. Thus, It tho occontrlclty of nn orbit should bo reduced re-duced to ono-half, the planot would bo throe times moro distant at aphelion than at perihelion, and In tho formor caso It would recelvo ono-nlnth as much heat and light as In the latter. A rigorous mathematical answor to tho question of stability Is by no moans oasy. What can be legitimately inferred ftom tho Investigations which havo boon mado on this subject? Only this, unless thero nro othor forces involved than those considered, tha general configuration of the solar system will remain much as It ,1s at present for a long time, probably tons of thousands or even millions of years. Tho stato-monts stato-monts mado In many excellent popular books that tho stability of the solar system for all tlmo has beon provod la entirely too strong and has absolutely abso-lutely no logical foundation. Tho mathematical evidence Is no better than that fumtshod by geology and biology, and such sweeping conclus-slons conclus-slons cannot be drawn from tho data furntehed by any sclenco. Automatic Meat Baster. Probably not many of tho laree number num-ber of people who onjoy eatlne cood roast of beef reallzo tho processes It passos through on Its way from tho slaughter house to the table, but any one who has had any exporlonce In the art of cooking knows that one secret which adds In no small degreo to its palatablllty and sweetness ltos In basting tho meat frequently with tho gravy In the dripping pan. Now, If the cook Is In a hurry, this Bcem-tngly Bcem-tngly small portion ot tho labor of Pours juice over the roast, preparing tho meal Is apt to bo overlooked, over-looked, rosultlng In dry roast instead of a juicy one The Invontor Is of the opinion that this w6rk of basting tho meat should bo dono automatically, any way so ho has designed a dripping drip-ping pan with an apparatus attached to pour tho Julco continuously over tho meat. As shown In tho picture, tho pleco of meat Is suspended by hooks between two rotary shafts, ono of which Is revolved by a spring' motor. mo-tor. Projecting at right angles from this shaft Is an arm which carries a sort of bowl or spoon, while directly over tho meat Is a perforated pipe. To act this automatic basting machlno to work It Is only necessary to wind the motor and placo tho pan In the oven. Each revolution of the shaft tho spoon enters tho trough In the dripping pan, takes up a quantity ot the juice, elovntos It to head of tho porforatcd pipe and discharges. Tho gravy flows through tho perforations and falls on tho revolving roast, whllo tho spoon resumes Its Journoy to tho bottom of tho pan onco moro. Lambort II. Edgar of Philadelphia, Pa., Is tho inventor. Purifying Air. Tho cooling and purification of air for ofilco buildings, says Englnperlng Nows, is most effectually -accomplished by forcing tho air through a water uprny. Tho excess of water In tho air Is thon romovod by centrifugal force. To do this a series of tubes aro pro-vldod pro-vldod In which spirals afo so placed ns to glvo tho nlr,n whirling motion, causing tho suspended partlclos of moisture to bo thrown outward, and thus brought Into contact with tho tubes, from which tho molsturo flows through perforations to a drip-pan below. be-low. By piovldlng a thermostat and stoam boating colls It Is thus posslblo to hnvo nlr nt tho samo temperature throughout tho year, and not only to havo tho samo tomporaturo, but tho somo molsturo contents. A plant of this character was rocontly installed for tho Twin City Tolephono company com-pany of St. Paul, Minn., by tho B. F. Sturtovant company of Boston, Mass. lee Heavier Than Water. By experiments of greater accuracy Prof. Babcock or tho Wisconsin university uni-versity has shown that half a ton of Ico weighs moro than tho water ob-talnod ob-talnod from molting that quantity of Ico, Thoroforo tho wolght of a body Inoreasos as its tomporaturo falls. Siberian Asbestos Mining. A prominent Moscow firm, N. & P. A. Korzonotzof, has beon granted permission per-mission by tho Irkutsk Department of Mining to work asbostos mines not tar from tho Kutai, nn affluent of tho Angara. Tho asbestos layers aro found sovon feet from tho surface. I Thero are somo asbostos mines In the I Urals, In European Bussla, but the I larger part of tho asbostos usod for I Insulators In Russia Is Imported. Judg. I Ing from tho samples, tho Siberian I asbestos excels oven tho Alplan, and Is In no way Inferior to tho Canadian I product H A Safety Skiff. I Tho man who rocks tho boat Is to I bo found In nil communities and In all ages, and his pranks will contlnuo to I figuro In current history until boats I aro fitted with somo moans of provent- I lng his dnstardly work. Tho cut hero- H with produced shows n. dovlco of au- B tomatto action to provent tho sinking H of a small boat undor thoso or similar BJ circumstances. Fastened to tho gun- HJ wales ot tho craft on olthor sido Is a HJ collapsing pocket, hold normally In H close relationship with tho sides of H tho craft, but In case ot tho boat be- H lng rocked violently, either by accl- dont or design, tbeso things act ot H their own accord to provont the cap- H sizing of tho boat. As tho position B of the craft la disturbed from the H proper ono, tho wolght attachment on H tho pocket on tho lower side cause H it to expand and fill with air, and as soon as this pocket touches tho water tho further progress of tho boat to H destruction Is arrested and tho boat H prevonted from filling. H Radium Rays. The rays of radium aro of. throe kinds. Thoso of ono class aro bit H feebly penetrating. Another class are H nogatlvoly charged electrons, moving at a high voloclty, llko thoso dlsoor- orod In Crooko's tubo, nnd a third 1 class aro cot doficctcd by a magnet M and aro highly penetrating, llko thoso I of Roontgon. Compact Dook Arrangement. I Casos for books, fllos, libraries, etc., I have gonorally tho drawback of not I utilizing to groatest advantngo the 1 spaco occupied. Until tho stack sys- Jfejjjjl torn was dovlsod, shelf room was -l practically limited to tho amount of I avallablo wall spaco. In fllo rooms I particularly, tho ndvantago of having I all tho casos adoquately protected from dust and abrasion Is of para- I mount Interest. A rccont German Invention In-vention Is designed to economize storage space, and whllo affordlng.pro-toctlon, affordlng.pro-toctlon, at samo tlmo It enables tho Inspection of a slnglo book, or file, without exposing tho whole contonU of tho caso. For this purpose tho case Is dlvldod Into vortical section, oach of which Is mounted on rollers and provided with handlos, and so being mado perfoctly tndepondont ot oaoa other. Tho casos may thus bo mado much deopor than Is usual with library li-brary sholvos, and, as . shown, tie C I I J J I3JI 11 1 ii 1 1 i i r WK -po-t-i nfT" " nnnflirfT- pl ?'.i s i j i H Compact bookcase, books nro placed In thorn odgowlso, so that when a section Is drawn out for Inspection tho books nro readily accessible. acces-sible. A cupboard baso may bo pro-vldod pro-vldod to so'rvo for tho storage of large books, maps, or tho like Indoxos aro placod on tho front of each section, or compartment, so that any particular classification enn bo readily located. In the Scientific World. Radium, whon brought near a diamond dia-mond In tho dark, will make It sparkle. Pnsto diamonds aro not so effected. The oxpondlturo Incldont to tho building of tho aeroplane which ProC Langloy of tho Smithsonian Institution Institu-tion tosted on the Pctomnc has lwoa $50,000 appropriated by congross, BS5,-000 BS5,-000 by tho army board of ordnanco, nnd as much more fxom private contributions, con-tributions, Tho production of nltrlo acid br olectrochomlcul methods Is a now procoss thnt pronilsos oxtonslvo changes In our agriculture At Niagara Niag-ara oxporlmonts haw bcon conduUod V B successfully In producing commorcla! Jmfr nltrlo acid by using a hlh tonslon ' curront in nn air chamber, by which a yloR of ono pound of r-ltrlo acid la obtained for every sovon horse power hours. ' |