SCIENCE NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 12308, 24 September 1904, Page 10

SCIENCE NOTES

Iced water should be shunned by all who T?, re £° maintain perfect digestion. It chilla the stomach and'deadens the activity of the glands that produce digestive fluids, the free use of iced water in America is, according to an American contemporary, one tbjng that gives the American people the £ime of a "nation of dyspeptics." In liurope iced-cold drinks are a rarity. * The latest article found to contain arsenic |3 glycerine. The Manchester public anaysfc has examined a number of samples! Rom eight manufacturers, in several of I •vhich arsenic was found. But in only' one j ase was tha quantity of arssnic in excess >f the limits laid down by the Koyal Comlission on Arsenical 'Poisoning. The >ffending glycerine is to b© with.dra.wn fromsalt A fine specimen of the egg of the great uk was sold the other day at Stevens's luction.rooms for 200 guineas, or two-thirds he price realised by an example sold a few .-ears ago. In 1838 this egg was bought or £2, while in 1869 it was sold for £64. •n 1898, after it had long been supposed ! ro be broken, it was found among the effects of the daughter of the purchaser. According to the ' Novoe Vremya,' a Ruslari servant-maid cannot keep any place )ecaufo of her uncanny propensities, which ■.re quite beyond her power to control. She s. in fact, a sufferer from a radiating activity equal to that of an electric eel. Chairs ud tables begin apparently to " turn " when she so much as touches them; clothes fall off glassies are upset—and so are her oarents and relatives. The girl herself is nchned to be amused at her own galvanic isuberanee. Bnt her fellow-peasants in yiadi-Caucasus: declare her bewitched. She ;s, according to the Russian Press, on her ray to be treated at a St. Petersburg hospital. From time immemorial themcon has been popularly credited irith the power of turnng raw roent bad, and Mr F. T. Bullen, in Lhe 'Sunday at Home,' asserts that there is truth in the belief. He stales that he has Vnown a bonito fish hung- up under a boat where the moon's rays could not possibly have reached it for more than an hour, to 'locome utterly unfit for food, having a most foul taste, while it smelt as fresh as ever. Professor Lloyd Morgan, mineralogist and .•.cologint at the University of Oxford, tells i story of a commercial magnate who came to him to consult about the instruction of as son. who wae some day to succeed to hie ast business interests. "But mind you," : ;iid he, "I don't want him to learn about strata, or dips, or faults, or upheavals, or lenudations, and I don't want him to fill lis mind with fossils or Bluff about crystals. vVhat I want him to learn is how to find ;old and silver and copper in paying quantities, sir—in paying quantities." A novel 'method of supplying milk has been adopted by a Leytonwtone (Kng.) dairynan. If tho idea develop* it will add to the picturesqueness of the streets, though nervous town ladies will not welcome the change. Four cows, in charge of two whiteoated farm hands, move slowlv round tho streets. Instead of tho usual • cry of ' Mil-ko!" one of " Watm nri-ko, warm mil-ko!" takes its placo. When a customer ippearu a neatly-dressed little dairymaid, •vith milking stool and most business-like methods, immediately sets to work, and the 'genuine and unadulterated article" is supplied. Food inspectors should appreciate ihis novelty, as it will surely .lessen their labors in searching for " chalk and water." it An interesting application of the steamhetiting system is in course of experiment in Dresden, In that city the Saxon Government have established a, huge central station., and from this the heat is distributed imong a number of the municipal buildings, including the Royal Opera-house, the Picture Gallery, Zwinger Museum, the HofJdrelio, and Royal Palace. The edifices arc .ill situated near the central heating station, which stands upon the banks of the river Kibe, whereby an adequate supply of water is always available. The station contains ten generators, producing over 65,0001h of steam per hour. The steam is distributed to the various public buildings by means of steam pipes laid beneath the streets. But tliis ingenious heating system is also utilised to fulfil a dual purpose—the generating of electricity for lighting the various edifices. Phisiotype iB the new method of obtaining impressions from animal or vegetable life. The subject to be reproduced is placed on a sheet of paper and pressure is appbed; this ieavea a hidden design on the paptr —strong or light according to the amount of natural oils or moisture contained in the subject. This design is then developed by the .aid of a colored powder, which is dusted over the impression; this brings tho complete print into view in a strong permanent color. If necessary, the impressions can be made and remain undeveloped for a considerable time; three months have elapsed betwosn printing and developing some oi the work done by tho inventor. The process is specially adapted for finger printing, as it is no longer necessary to blacken the fingers with pigments. * —Oold Feet and Hands.— I do not {writes Dr Gordon Stables) very often touch upon the heart, for the reason that troubles thereof are not likely to be allayed by any kind of self-treatment. Ik. I have many inquiries about tb.s organ, nevertheless. Many people, morcov*, 'complain of cold feet and hands. If such symptoms arc constant, there is considerable probability that tho circulation is really weak, and that there is room for improvement in the body's great forcepump, the heart. What are such people to do? Well, they must be treated not only locally, but constitutionally, and I know of nothing better as a heart tonic than plenty of exercise in the open air, and fresh air all night long, with washing the feet every night in cold water, and wearing light Shetland wool socks in bsd. Don't wear what are called bed-socks. You might as well put on a couple of teapot cosies. Socks like these will cause aching or burning feet, gouty toes, chalk stones, chilblains, and many other troubles. Keep the toes very clean. Kcniove all hard skin between or on them.—'N.B. Advertiser.' —Virtues of the Lemon.— . The uses to which a lemon may be put (says a French health journal) are varied and important. In a case of sore throjii the best thing one can possibly do is to gargle the throat with lemon juice at the first sign of tiie complaintw ' For children it is enough to placo a pad soaked in lemon juice against their throats, and such treatment will invariably effect a cure. When taking an unpleasant remedy, such as castor oil, pour some lemon juice into a glass, and then pour the dose of oil in, and after that some more juice. If you drink tho coucoction without stopping to take breath you will not taste the oil at all. In case of inflamed gums, recovery is usually eit'eeted by the application of lemon juice once or twice to the afflicted organs. A doso of camomile, together with a certain quantity of lemon juice, will be found to put all troubles of the stomach right in a very small space of time. Tea and lemon juice will be found equally effective m cases of maladies of the liver. Nothing cieansec the hands soiled by ink or by housework so ■ soon and so perfectlv as lemon juice- You shonld also have it to remove the stains from straw hats. Lemon juice, again, is a powerful remedy in case of chilblains, and it is an excellent thing for restoring the complexion. Do not throw away the rinds of lemons, for they are most useful in cleansing, saucepans, with the addition of some boiling waixn - . Use lemon juico for the cleansing of your utensils, together with cleaning'powder.