OLLA PODRIDA.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 764, 22 October 1886, Page 5

OLLA PODRIDA.

A USEFUL INVENTION.

An ingenious apparatus has recently been invented by M. Helie which ought to < command some attention on the part of railway companies. This is a simple mechanical appliance which apprises the guard in charge of a train in motion whenever a carriage door is opened, by letting on an electric current which sounds an alarm bell, when of course he can immediately communicate with the driver and bring the train to a stop In these days, when crimes are not infrequent on railways in all parts of the world, the universal adoption of such an arrangement would afford an additional sense of security, to the traveller, for the would-be perpetrators of such deeds as those of Muller and Lefroy would then have to think twice before indulging in their merciless work of rapine and murder. —Electrician. IVY FOR THE HOUSE- C If confined to a single plant for house culture, we should select the ivy. By this, we mean the true evergreen, European ivy, Hedera, and not any of the plants called Parlor, German, Colosseum, and other ivies. There t are varieties by the dozen, but such is the confusion among them, that no two florists or nurserymen agree as to names. Select a free-growing kind, with pleasing foliage, no matter what it may be called. Plant it in good soil, made porous by sand ; see that the . pot is well sdrained. / Give an abundance of water, but allow none Co remain at the root, and it will grow. If rooted plants are not procured, cuttings will answer as well. Procure a branch from a neighbor’s vine, and pot it as if it were a rooted plant. The ivy may be trained around arid over window frames, doors, or upon wires, upon picture frames and mirrors in a highly decorative manner; it will grow well if it does not have strong light. It needs a little attention in keeping it free of dust. The leaves should be wiped with a damp sponge or soft cloth once a week, and it will be Avell to cover the foliage, when the room is swept, with a light cloth, or even newspapers will answer, to protect it from dust.

ELECTRIC BATHS IN EYE DISEASES. Professor Denti, writing in the Annali di Ottalmologia.. states that he has found electric baths and douches very valuable in several ophthalmic affections, especially in those which refused to yield to more ordinary methods of treatment. His apparatus consists of a vessel of water placed at a height of two metres above the patient’s head, a constant current battery of thirty cells, and a glass or ivory Jiox without a bottom. This box is fitted on to the eye. It contains a metal pipe communicating by an indiarubber tube with the water vessel, 1 from which the box cau be filled with water ; an efferent non-metallic pipe is also provided. The metal pipe is connected by wire with one pole of the battery, the other electrode being placed on the forehead or crown of the head. The sittings are of from four to six minutes’ duration. For baths eight or ten cells are used, for douches twenty or more. No unpleasant effects have ever been observed, the stimulating action being only sufficient to produce a slight degree of hypersemia. The author finds that the baths are best in deep-seated affections, such as those of the vitreous or of the optic nerve ; the douches are useful in more superficial . affections, such as those of the conjunctiva and cornea. Dr. Denti tried the electric baths in six cases : four of atrophy of the papilla in different stages, one of disseminated cloudiness of the vitreous, and one of double ulcerative blepharitis. The papillar atrophy was benefited most when it was slightest. In one case of atrophy accompanying disease of the spinal cord, the intraocular affection was, or.' appeared to be, arrested. \ The patient with the cloudy \ vitreous was so much improved that, though at first he could scarcely distinguish large objects, after thirty sittings he was able te read ordinary print. The patient with blepharitis was completely cured. The douches were employed six times ; in three cases of paralysis of the eye muscles, and in. three of exudations remaining after ulcerative keratitis. One of the cases of paralysis was entirely cured, the other two being improved ; and in the cases of keratitis the \ success was most marked, the exudation being completely absorbed.—Lancet. ..

ELECTRIC GONGS ON GERMAN RAILROADS.

Tabulated statements of the number o electric gongs by which the approach of the train is announced from point to point, especially at crossings, on German railroads, make, says the Railroad Gazette, the mean distance apart of these gongs 950 metres, or 3,116 feet, and on Austrian railroads I‘o4 kilometre, or 3,411 feet. These gongs are arranged on a circuit between two stations, and are operated analogously to the block system ; that is, station A announces to B that a train is ready to start, whereupon, if B knows of no obstacle, he acknowledges th« sigual by giving ‘all right,’ anil.

A. then presses the key which causes the gongs between. A and B to strike. The 'German roads are now generally arranged so that this system is a perfect block, telegraph stations being inserted where necessary between the stopping stations ; but on the light traffic roads" B is allowed to give ‘all right ; without having received the last train that went into the block. It will be per- - ceived that even where not used as a block system, and apart from the warning given to trackmen and crossing tenders, these bells, which can be heard nearly, if not -quite, from one end to another, are a considerable aid to safe working, since a train in the block always gets warning of another train entering behind it. These bells are ■used by combinations of blows to give a variety of information, such as * Train toward A!’ ‘Send over engine!’ ‘Stop all •< r ' T trains !’ * Set your watches —noon !’ ‘ Train backing up on wrong track !’—Electrician.

THE LATE PRINCE TORLONIA. Visitors to Rome of late years often saw driving in an unpretending carriage, or devoutly attending mass at St. Mark s Church, a man of venerable but strange appearance, who by his aspect seemed to belong to a bygone generation. He might almost have been taken for one of those pensioners who may still be seen in remote almshouses, rare survivors of the energetic reforms of the Charity Commissioners. He was always to be seen dressed in a long snuff-colored coat, reaching nearly to his hesls, cut after the fashion in vogue in 1820, a large doublebreasted waistcoat, and trousers fitting close to the leg, but spreading out bell-shaped over the foot. His wristbands, limp and starchless, hung down far beyond the sleeves of his coat, and on his head he wore one of those genuine old beaver hats dear to our grandfathers before the age of silk. In cold weather he was wrapped in a cloak that might well have scandalized the eyes of a modem tailor. It was confidently affirmed that the owner had worn it for nearly sixty years, ever since he made his first trip to - London in 1829. A strange figure this was to meet in the last quarter of the nineteenth century even in Rome, where strange sights are even now common. Yet any one that had an eye to see would have been more struck by the features of the man than by bis clothes. The heavy beetling brows, the keen eyes, the square cut mouth and determined chin could hardly belong to a man without a history. The question is, who is this ? was pretty snre to rise to your lips on seeing him, and no passer-by but could ans%ver the question at once, for Prince Torlonia had during many years been a notable character in Rome. He was the chief member of a family whose name had for more than half a century been to Romans a synonym for wealth, luck -and liberality. Even the Rothschilds could no more than vie with the Torlonias in their rapid rise from poverty to opulence, and their magnifi. cent expenditure of a huge income. The story of that rise can be told in a few words. In 1780, when the Ancien Regime was drawing to a close, two brothers, Marino and Jean Torloni, herdsmen in what is now the Department of the Puy de-Dotne, finding life hopeless under the grinding oppression of their noble lord, left their home to seek their fortune in Paris. There they started humbly in business, opening a small shop for the sale of second hand wares, but by dint of constant attention and of that inflexible economy which is characteristic of the French peasant, they so prospered that at the end often years they were able to make a successful tender for a contract as purveyors to the army of Italy. With that army they reached Rome in 1792. bnt the hardships of the march proved too much for the elder brother, and he died a few days after enter ing the city. Jean Torloni, now alone in the world, continued to prosper. With judicious patiotism he supplied the French troops without pressing for immediate payment, and thns won the confidence and esteem of Hugh Basserville, French Ambassador in Rome ; so much so that one day, as the tale runs, the Ambassador, sending for him, saidt 4 I have here a large sum of gold in my charge, which I dare not keep in my own house, for I have a presentiment that I shall soon be assassinated and robbed ; I entrust it rto you for safe keeping.’ Torloni took the money, and within a few days Basserville •died, as he had foreboded, and the money remained as a deposit of trust in the contractor’s hands. Torloni, or Torlonia, as he was now called, thought himself justified in using temporarily, for his own purposes, the •money that had thus strangely come into his possession, provided that he should in the end restore it, as he subsequently did, to the ■representatives of the republic, and, opening a. bank, he was able to conduct operations ■of considerable magnitude.—Time. THE RAILWAY TO MERY.

The St. Petersburg correspondsnt of The "Times gives some particulars of the Transcaspian railway, which was opened as far as Merv on the 14th July. There are altogether sixty-three stations from Miehailovsk, on the bay of that name on the Caspian, right through the desert and oasis of the Transcaspian, across the Amoo Daria and Bokhara to Samarkand. The distances between these stations vary from 15 to 33 versts, being in most eases from 22 to 25 versts. The whole distance of the line when completed as far as Samarkand will be 1335 versts. After enumerating the stations, and giving their distances from the Miehailovsk terminus, the correspondent says that the desert stretches along the line 14S versts between the sea coast and KLazandjik, and 69 versts from the latter station to Kizil Arvat. The Akhal Tekke oasis extends as far as Gheours, 237 versts. The furthest point south, Doujak, is distant from the sea 581 versts, from Askhabad 159 versts, from Merv 167, and from Samarkand 754 verst 3. The railway traverses 300 versts of Bokharan territory. Were the line made from Merv over Burdalisk and Korti, instead of Charjui 100 versts would be saved, and the distance between Miehailovsk .and Samarkand would only be 1200 versts, or 800 miles instead of 890 miles ; but the Bokharan Government, for some reason or other, did not consider that this shorter route would so well serve the interests of their country. The principal stations are those of Askhabad and Samarkand. Besides post and telegraph offices, lodging houses have been already partly built at several stations for travellers. According to

the time-table, trains will run twenty versts an hour. In the event of war, tbe number of trains departing may be increased to twelve per day. The railway at present is only a single line. Although many of the stations are situated in waterless deserts, they are all being furnished with water some way or another. At Miehailovsk there is Nobeffs machinery for converting sea water into fresh water, and at several stations large cisterns are to be regularly supplied, either through pipe lines or by water trains. Artesian wells have been dug, and good water has been found between Miehailovsk •and Moll a Kary and at other points. Hot /far from Bala Isshem the railway also has its own petroleum sources, -connected by a branch line. The Odessa correspondent of the Daily News says :— ‘ The leading South Russian organs have jubilant articles on -he successfal and rapid completion of the Merv railway. With the further extension from the oasis of local railway ramifications of a purely strategic nature it is declared that Russia will always be in a position to seriously coerce England through India, the position, we are told, is altogether changed on the Afghan frontier. Russia has hitherto been dependent on the Ciscaspian supplies, the transport of which occupied many weeks. The fertile portion of Persian Khorassan will later on support a mighty Russian host. Candahar can at any moment be made the objective point of a powerful expedition. Through the steppes and desert Khanates, and tribes of Central Asia this railway will carry and spread the blessings of Russian civilisation and culture. After much more to this effect the writers advocate a conter minous Anglo Russian Eastern frontier in the peaceful interests of both great powers.’ THE BANGERS OF DUST-

Darkness, damp, and dust are potent agencies of disease. Everyone recognises this, but how many fail to adopt its precepts ? If there be sermons in stones, surely the summer dust and its dangers would prove a fruitful subject for medical discourse. There is as great a difference between Lon don and country dust as there is between the corresponding muds. Pulverised matter would be harmless enough if it were deprived of its physical property of ready diffusion. The atmosphere is laden and swarms with particulate matter of highly complex nature. Its chief peril to living beings resides in the organic constituents ; largely, this organic material consists in minute forms of life in a state of lateney, only waiting for a spell of heat and moisture and a favorable amount of light, or it may be darkness, to awaken into activity. The habits of individuals in every class of society, including the ‘ masses,’ are not calculated to diminish, but rather to augment the amount of organic matter in our atmosphere. Mucus, saliva, and humor, popularly known as ‘ matter,’ must be discharged from the mouth and nostrils to the extent of many gallons daily, and not a little of it comes from infective sources ; whilst we venture to think that the bulk of it mingles with the dust of our streets and courts. If. as seems not unlikely, com sumption is largely caused by ‘germs,’ then a very ready theory may be advocated concerning the mode in which the contagium is caught. Who can estimate amount of mischief that the shaking of mats may have caused ? How many young girls early in the morning on their way to business have, so to speak, received their death-blow whilst inspiring, all unconscious of harm, some of the clouds of dust that every moment greet them ? Who can tell ? The abatement of this danger and nuisance is a difficulty that seems almost insurmountable. Much may be done by personal habits of prevention. —Lancet. SCRAPS. One of the most interesting recent discoveries in science is the fact that a ray of light produces sound. A sunbeam is thrown through a lens on a glass vessel which contains lampblack, colored silk or worsted, or other substances. A disc, having slits' or openings cut in it is made to revolve swiftly in this beam of light, so as to cut it up, thus making alternate flashes of light and shadow. On putting the ear to the glass vessel strange sounds are heard so long as the flashing beam is falling on the vessel. Recently a more wonderful discovery has been made. The beam of sunlight is made to pass through a prism so as to produce what is called the solar spectrum or rainbow. The disc is turned and the colored light of the rainbow is made to break through it. Now place the ear to the vessel containing the silk, wool, or other material. As the colored lights of the spectrum fall upon it, sounds will be given by different parts of the spectrum, and there will be silence in other parts.—Leslie’s Illustrated Paper. Have, our readers tried the printing of leaves upon ordinary sensitised paper ? No apparatus beyond an ordinary printing frame and a sheet or two of plain glass cut to fit it are necessary, and beautiful and useful results may be obtained. To secure perfect contact between the leaf and the paper, place a pad of cotton-wool under the ba'ck of the frame. The leaf of the common begonia gives a beautiful print, and so do most variegated or spotted leaves. Leaves of rose trees which have been bitten by the mason-bee are very interesting objects. Small fronds of ferns give charming impressions. Such work forms a change from the routine of ordinary photography. It is a capi'al amusement for children and young people, while the results are always acceptable, and make a pretty- variety in one’s album. —Amateur Photographer. The case of Daly v Murray (17 L. Rep. Ir. 185) illustrates one of the causes of the Irish difficulty. Lands adjoining the foreshore were granted, by a patent of Charles 11., to one Alexander Pigott. The grant contained very wide general words, but the foreshore was not expressly mentioned. It was proved that, from 1806 downwards, the ‘ patentee’s ’ representatives had exercised ownership over it, and that at various times between 1849 and 1874 they had obtained convictions at petty sessions against trespassers for removing sand and sea-weed. In 1882, the defendants, claiming an immemorial and public right as licensees of the Crown, took sand and sea-weed. An order had been made in the case on summons, that it should be heard before a jndge alone, and i evidence given by affidavit. In the present

proceeding the plaintiff sought to obtain a decree quieting possession and an injunction, which were obtained accordingly. Without entering into any question as to the justice of the decision as a matter of law, it is easy to see that Crown grants so made, or so construed, must have done much to discontent the population with the land laws;' and it might be well for the Legislature to inquire into foreshore claims both in Ireland and England.—Law Times.