TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11535, 18 March 1903, Page 7

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

An interesting article Fuel Briquettes in *• Casaier's Magaia sine" jfor January deGermany, scribes a form of artificially prepared fuel _hich, in Germany, is rapidly superseding -hard coal for general use. The fuel consists of briquettes made from lignite, peat and the dust and waste of coal mines, the Manufacture of which involves " the most intelligent application of scientific knowledge to technical processes." These briquettes already form the principal domeetic fuel of Berlin and other cities and districts in Germany; they are used also for locomotive and other steam firing, and are employed for heating in Various processes of manufacture. The advantages claimed for {hem by the writer, Mr Frank H. Mason, are. that they "are clean and convenient to handle; they light easily and quickly, tnd burn with a clear, intense flame; When made of lignite or peat, they burn practically without smoke, and are, withal, tha cheapest form of fuel for most purposes." The total output of fuel briquettes ir. Germany during the year 1901 was 1,643,416 tons, the bulk of which was aannfactured by a syndicate comprising thirty-one firms and companies. The average selling prico in large quantities was about twelve or thirteen shillings a ton. Almost half of the total output was taken by the German railways, 497,136 tons were sold to factories and works of various kinds, and 149,089 tons were used by German merchant steamers and. the navy, or exported to the German colonies or neighbouring European countries. "Brown «*_" pr lignite, from which the briquettes are usually made, is abundant and cheap in many parts of Germany. The lignite is ** crushed, moistened with water to the consistency of mortar, then passed through a machine, .which, by compression under heat, develops the bitumen in the material, and renders the mass so plastic and adhesive, that it moulds rapidly into smooth, glistening briquettes of a black or dark-brown colour, which are practically smokeless, tod leave a reddish-brown ash after combustion." In making briquettes from peat the raw material is cut. torn, kneaded and compressed by a machine into about two-thirds of its original bulk, and delivered at the end of the machine in cubes of any desired size, which are dried by artificial processes. These fuel briquettes not only serve to eke out the insufficient

coal supply of Europe, but they have a decided and beneficial influence in reducing the soruoke nuisance in large industrial centres'. " Berlin, although a busy manufacturing citr, ranks as one of the cleanest and best kept is Europe," thanks largely to the general use of briquettes, which a* o practically smokeless. Dr. Niels Fineen's celeThe Light Cure brated light treatment for Cancer. for tho cure of lupus and the prevention of smallpox markings has laid the foundations of a nsvr science, the future of which, according to Dr. George U. Hopkins, an American physician, is " glorious with hope." Dr. Hopkins experimented m America with the Finaen ray as eariy a» 1899, and cases of lupus were successfully treated with his apparatus —the first in the country—until the tube was broken owing to defective mounting. Dr. Hopkins then journeyed to Copenhagen and studied tlie light cure under Finsen himself, taking another Finsen tube back with him when lie returned to the United States. Since then he has treated lupun cases from •ill part.s of the United States and Canada, and, except in the more mulignant cases, the cure has been complete. Having obtained such -successful result.-* in the ca_se of cancer of the ekin. Dr. Hopkins turned his attention in 1900 to the deep-seated cancer of tlie biea.st, and in an article in "MeClure's Magazine" he describes the results. A difficulty aroae from the fact that the Finoen ray has but slight penetrative ]>o\ver, aud could not jeach the core of the ailment. ''Tlie uj_ of th.' Roentgen or X-ray in connection with the Finsen ray," saya the doctor, " suggested itself to me. The Roentgen ray hue extraordinary germicidal qualities, but no curative properties. Light heals; the X-ray is _jot light, but something beyond light, the nature of which is an unfathom'd secret. Therefore, to destroy tho germs, I used the X-ray, which broke down the cancerous tissue and killed the bacteria. 'fljin I used the Finsen tube to heal the open sore which resulted." The area of ulceration rapidly shrank after this treatment, and at the end of several months completely disappeared. Cases of abdominal cancer were subsequently treated with the same result, and in no instance, apparently, has there been ft return of -tie growth. It takes several years of observation, however, before the physician can say with certainty that the disease has been eradicated, no that it is too early yet to assert that the new treatment will definitely cure malignant cancer. In the construction of Back to the flying machines most men Pterodactyl, have gone to the birds for inspiration. Professor Langley, described in a St. Louis paper a* "America's greatest aeronaut," has selected a reptile as his model. One would search in vain, however, for a living specimen of this creature, for it belonged to a pre-hiatorio age, and its likeness is only to be seen in museums. Tlie pterodactyl, which gave the Professor some ideas about flying-machines, was a sort of lizard, with huge bat-like wings, one of the most grotesquely hideous objects ever seen out of v nightmare. As the "greatest flyer that ever existed, far surpassing in this respect the largest soaring birds of tosuch as the condor and the albatross," it commands the respectful admiration of aeronaut* Several fairly complete skeletons of the giant pterodactyl have been found, and from these scientists have decided that the creature's body cannot have weighed more than twenty-five <_• thirty pounds, though Its wing* measured twenty feet from tip to tip, and had a surface of some twenty-five square feet. The nearest living approach to the pterodactyl as a flying-machine is the condor of the Andes, with a wing-stretch of some nine or ten fost, and a wing-area of nearly ten square feet. The albatross, another soaring bird, has wings measuring nearly twelve feet from tip to tip, but'they are so narrow as to cover an area Of only seven Bquare feet. These birds, however, are not readily accessible to the ordinary observer, so Professor Langley has gone to the turkey buzzard for a living model. He has constructed a high watch tower in the Zoo Park of Washington, and from this eyry, with tho aid of a. camera, he notes the soaring flight of these birds. HLs studies have led him into investigations' of the amount of power used by various birds in flying. He finds that even the condor only uses about one-twentieth of one horse-power, while the buzzard avails itself of only about a quarter as much. Birds that flap in their flight use a great deal more power than those which soar, and hence are less useful as models for flyingmachine makers, though the latter would have reason to be well satisfied if their inventions could get along as well as even the heavy-flying shag.