SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL

New Zealand Graphic, Volume X, Issue 22, 3 June 1893, Page 512

SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL

A new cigar tray for use on pianos has recently been placed before the public. Its object is to save the keys from being burned and the veneer blistered by lighted cigars being placed upon them. It is a laudable purpose, but as it is by no means one of the useful customs of the country to rest burning cigars on pianos, the utility of the invention is not so good as its object. For the greater number of photographic uses the graduated measures, which are now being made of transparent celluloid instead of glass, should answer well, but they are obviously not suitable for strong alcohol or ether. To the tourist the new measures should be very acceptable, on account of their lightness as well as on the ground of freedom from risk of breakage. Filter manufacturers are said to be anticipating a profitable year. It is predicted that cholera will visit us again, and there are other diseases, as fatal and more infectious, that proceed, like it, from the same conditions, ».e., foul drinking water. Hardly any water supply is so pure that it cannon be immeasurably improved by filtration, and there is none that is entirely free from traces of organic contamination. An automatic railway carriage door lock is said to have been invented which catches automatically when the door is shut, and the handle inside the door will not then accidentally open by pressure, and any pressure so given would only tend to keep the lock more secure. It is said to be a colonial invention, and has been brought under the notice of the Railway Commissioners by Messrs C. Atkins and Co., of Melbourne, as agents for W. S. Busby’s patent. Its construction is said to be simple and it is elective in action. INGENIOUS BUT NOT EFFECTUAL. A new and powerful lamp, which, by means of a great reflector, is said to distinctly illuminate objects over half a mile distant, is to be adopted in the French army. It will be carried on a light waggon, behind the soldiers, and shining above them, will leave them still in obscurity, and throw its light forward on an enemy or whatever happens to be in front of them. The drawback seems to be, however, that the enemy will know they are under the light, although invisible, and thus be able to take measures accordingly. A MODEL HOUSE. Professor Morse has built a model house at Salem, which is so constructed that all its apartments face due south, the corridors alone looking north. The frontage of the building is of glass, with reflectors to * repeat ’ the power of the sun. This, the professor believes, is the most wholesome form of house heating extant, and, indeed, we do not feel inclined to contradict him on this head, but in countries of, say, uncertain sunshine, remarks the Hospital, this heating would surely be a question more of theory than of fact, and in depending on au exterior source for beat the inmates would be likely to peiish in the attempt. TWO BRAINS. Dr. B. W. Richardson holds that every man has two brains—separate and distinct, which are sometimes so very different that they seem almost to belong to two diffeient men. Dr. Richardson sums up as follows: —(1) That all mankind is dual in mind by natural construction, so that a congregation of human beings, large or small, a family circle, a private meeting, a parliament, a nation, must always be reckoned as twice its individual number before its mental constitution and strength can be properly appraised ; (2) That the efforts of all should be directed to the proper construction of the casket of the mind, and the physical powers working it; (3) The mental work should be for progress in ways of unity of purpose, towards greatness of life and character. WHY OIL CALMS THE SEA. It has long been known that oil poured upon the suiface of stormy water has a wonderful effect in calming it. Many vessels have probably been saved from destruction by this simple method, and every month the United States Hydrographic Bureau publishes along with its * Pilot Chart,’ dozens of letters from ship captains describing the results they have obtained by the use of oil in smoothing the waves of an angry sea. The reason of this curious effect of oil upon water is, in a general sense, peifectly apparent' It depends upon the viscosity, or adhesiveness, of the oil, which causes it to act somewhat like a skin drawn over the more unstable suiface of the water, so that the tendency of the latter to break into spray as it is driven by the wind is restrained. The danger to ships from a high running sea arises from this breaking of the waves. As long as the surface of the waves is smooth and unbroken the ship rides easily upon them. But while the principle upon which the oil acts is thus evident enough, the real method of its action is not so apparent. This has recently been subjected to a mathematical investigation by Mr A B. Basset in England. He shows that the viscosity of oil is so much greater than that of water, being in the case of olive oil more than 230 times as great, that the water may be regarded as a frictionless liquid in comparison with the oil. The surface tension between the oil and the air is also shown to be considerably greater than that between the oil and the water. With these data he finds that the motion will be stable, or there will be no breaking of the waves unless the latter vary in length between two certain fractions of a centimetre, namely, nineelevenths and six-fifths. The result would, of course, vary a little with different kinds of oil, and as a matter of fact the reports of mariners show that there is a considerable difference in the effect produced upon the waves, depending upon the sort of oil that is used. Petroleum and vaiious kinds of fish oils have been employed. The effect is always found to be beneficial, though in vaijing degrees.

„ , It was inevitable that the weather should Speaking of have formed the main subject of our converse the Weather. , ...... , , when we met in the ordinary man s smokeroom last week. For one thing we had most of us got wet through on the way round, and were now picturesquely clothed in our host’s garments while our own were drying and steaming in the kitchen. Some indignation was expressed by the Mahatma (a new member) at the introduction of such a worn-out subject, and this roused the ordinary man to retort, the Mahatma having cast the blame on him. ‘ It is all very well,’ he remarked, ‘ to slate the weather as a subject for small talk, but of the Topic ag o f ten j, een remarked that if an edict Opened. W ere promulgated and could be enforced prohibiting all discussion of the weather, conversation would languish, and people would sit and look at each other even more dumbly than they do at present. When all topics fail, it is always safe and easy to fall back on the weather, and while the conversation may be lacking in originality, it seldom is in interest. There is a sound philosophic reason, or rather more than one, for the universal discussion of the weather. In the first place it is common ground on which all may meet. The profoundest scientist and the most unlettered rustic are alike interested in the weather, and the man of science has no advantage over the peasant in the discussion, whether it be of conditions present or of future possibilities. Indeed, when it|comes to speculating on what the weather will be, the ignorant man, that is, ignorant of book-learning, if he be a keen and shrewd observer, can more than hold his own with the scientist. As to present conditions one person can obviously tell as well as another whether the sun is shining or the rain falling, and whether there is a chill in the air or not, and as the physical sensations caused by atmospheric changes are common to all, the topic of discussion is ready to hand.’ ‘ But there is another and better philosophic The Doctors , reason for speaking of the weather, said the Opinion. j octor- ‘We are so constituted that not only our bodies but our brains and nerves respond to changes in the weather, with different degrees of quickness and intensity to be sure, but still practically universally. With all modern discoveries of science, all the explanations of physiologists and anatomists, all the researches of psychologists and students of the problems of the mind and nerves and intellect, it is yet to be explained why a grey, drizzly, sad-looking day gives most of us the “blues,” while a bright, clear, sunshiny day seems to arouse hope and ambition, and make us believe there is something valuable and pleasing in human existence after all. We recognise the fact so clearly as to put it beyond the domain of controversy, and because we recognise it, and because the most interesting subject to everybody is his or her personal feelings at the moment, the weather holds triumphantly its long-established rank as the chief and foremost thing to talk about.’

‘ Moreover, too, the weather, as a subject for The Politidtscussion, possesses an immense advantage cianalsoDe- j n jj e j n g purely impersonal. This is a great fendeth it. c()ln f or t > especially to a man like myself, who hears nothing but personalities during session, or even now when preparing for the fray. Two persons conversing about the weather are in no danger of blackguarding each other. There is not even the peril of bestowing unwise flattery or undeserved censure on a third, which is not unlikely to be the case when people are under discussion. We can bestow on the weather commendation or dispraise as we see fit, and the order of nature is not changed in the slightest. Nor do the sun and moon resent the aspersions cast upon them by censorious critics. The cosmic arrangement is perfectly impervious and indifferent to praise and abuse, and therefore the weather may be in one case a safety valve for spleen and bad temper, and in the other u canvas for the display of gorgeous word-painting and deftly chosen epi-

I thets. Not only painters, but poets, have lavished their I best and noblest efforts on the outward and visible signs I and appearances of the weather, and if it is good enough for I them we need not surely be ashamed or hesitate to talk I about it.’ I „ „ • At any rate, whether there be any good I The Common- J > J " reason or not for talking about the weather, j sense Man , you may be sure matters will go on in the cioseth the f uture ag they have in the past. When the Subject. bashful swain goes to woo his Dulcinea he will break the ice and launch the conversational ship by some allusion to that universal topic the weather. All the arguments, and all the high falutin’ things that can be said about the stupidity and unintellectuality of the custom will not alter it one iota. The children of this world are wise in their generation. They know when they have got a good and a sage thing, and will not willingly consent to surrender it.’ _ The question of sermons is one which has Ghosts of n long haunted me said the Mahatma, abruptly. In the absence of the chaplain we can discuss it freely. I may say that on gloomy nights in my astral smoke-room, with feet arranged at a most comfortable angle on the mantel-piece, the sermons themselves—or ghosts of sermons from dead preachers—have haunted me. But few men have the gift of uttering in the pulpit words which will so impress themselves upon their hearers that the echoes thereof never die. I have heard so many preachers, Ritualists and extreme low churchmen, Dean Stanley, and the Mr Spurgeon, with others of all denominations, including Roman Catholic priests and Rabbis. In some few instances the sermon has been a distinct treat, a dessert after dinner. And, rtrange to say, I have noticed that it is not only the intellectual, clever sermons which afford the most pleasure to thinking, reasoning listeners. Some of the simplest in doctrine, the most unpretentious in literary expression, composed mainly in good Saxon phraseology, have attracted the most interested and attentive congregations. Wherein then lies the power of a sermon, and what can be donetopreventitsremembrance from vanishing likesmoke wreaths? Of course, I am quite aware t hat rank outsiders like myself and my snarling confreres are not supposed to be in a position to decide why a sermon is or is not a success. Clerical gentlemen, as a rule, decidedly object to outside interference in their special domain of preaching. They like to have it all their own way. They stand up and deal out mild platitudes to their hungering flocks, or they take a piece of Biblical history, and laboriously deduce from it a subject of Sunday-school moral precept. It would not do to make the story too interesting, for fear the hearers would not keep their attention fixed on that most important part of the narrative, the 19th century moral aspect of the very ancient event. I must just digress to remark that if only these grey-powder morals were more deftly mixed in with the historical jam, they would go down so much better. As a rule, in the silver spoon—the sermon, the nicest part —the jam story—comes first, and at the last, the medicine moral is plainly revealed by the stereotyped question : * And now, dear brethren, what do we learn from all this ?’ I know I am listening to the sermon to get what good I can from it, but, like many another grown-up child, I don’t like to see the powder so clearly. The fact is, few sermons are live sermons. A Live Sermons. maQ p oa jti On of preacher too often fails to look upon his congregation as men and woiren. He regards them as souls, and he knows it is his duty to save these souls. So, with the best intentions in the world, he takes his Bible on Saturday and prepares discourses for the morrow which have this result in view. He usually sits in his study, surrounded by the works of living and dead divines. No sound from the outside world reaches him. He shuts his door—sports his oak, in fact—and begins his difficult task. He has written so many sermons himself, other people have also written so many—what can he find to say ? It is against the tradition of sermons to go to the everyday world for inspiration as to what will most interest and profit everyday listeners. Little wonder, then, that few sermons are live sermons. To be an effectual preacher the parson must keep in touch with his congregation ; as a man to men must he speak. He must break loose from the conventional, old-fashioned sixthly or seventhly discourses. He must present Heavenly truths in an earnest, sympathetic,

attractive way. He must forget he is preaching, and, to a certain extent, with all reverence, talk to his people. He must not say * You and I, brethren, are sinners, I, as much as you,’ he must say * we.’ He must not place himself on a platform above his listeners, looking down from his superior goodness with an obvious condescension on the numerous sinners before him. Some men have the faculty of doing this in a most aggravating, pharasaical manner, which considerably riles even the publicans in the audience. And if a man feels be has nothing to give his people from himself next Sunday, for Heaven’s sake don’t let him give them of his nothingness. They are obliged to listen that once —it is hardly decent to walk out during the sermon (looks like shirking the collection, you know), but the wearied hearers do not come again, that is unless they are women whose duty it is to go to church to represent the family or see the neighbour’s new bonnet. Any preacher is justified in reading—but let him read well and do his subject justice—a good discourse from some one who has had more leisure or brains than he. No one would think the worse of a man for saying : ‘ My friends I was unable to prepare a sermon this week, but I am going to read you one by Archdeacon Farrar or Mr Spurgeon.’

Abusive Some preachers have a deplorable habit of abusing people from the pulpit. Of course Sermons. .... they do rt in an unctuous, clerical sort of way. They may not use cuss words as such, but they do condemn those who have offended them, or who venture to differ from them, to Sheol. They make it warm for them, too. Now I think it’s awfully hard lines to sit still and be preached at. You can’t retort. It’s not civilised or Christianised to get up, hurl a hymn-book at the sermoniser, and say ‘You’re a liar.’ But it gives one decidedly un Christian feelings to have to grin and bear the reproaches, innuendos, and condemnations which come whirtling through the consecrated air in your direction. A preacher is quite right to hit out straight from the shoulder, and he is respected for it. But he should always remember he is hitting men who can’t hit back. Sermons and Why should tlle beginning of a oeimon be the signal for those who want to cough to get to Coughs. ° work ? They will remain with throats quiet and will apparently show no desire or necessity for a thorough throat clearing until the clergyman announces his text, and then every man, woman and child who can feel the slightest nclination of a sneeze, goes to work and makes up for lost time during the rest of the service. When the old woman on the south side of the aisle coughs up, the old man on the other side seems to think that it will never do in the world to let a woman get ahead of him, so he coughs, and thus warned his wife thinks that she ought at least put in a slight ‘ ahem ’ as her share, and to show her husband that her cold is really no better. Of course the small boy must get in his cough, and as he coughs he looks at his sister, and she coughs because he did, and then he coughs to show her he had to, and probably as a sort of challenge to match his cold if she can. And then comes some throat exercise from that old fellow who has had a cough for thirty years ; he never knew why, never could tell why he coughed ; thinks this damp climate has something to do with it. He would be pained if a physician told him that there was no earthly use in his coughing ; he coughs because he has always coughed and because it is not good form to spit in church, he must do something, and on top of all these come coughs of various styles that are contributed to the general fund because some people cough when they do not know exactly what else to do. There is no exaggeration in this. Watch when next at church and see how one cough will start a lot of people on that line who would not have thought of coughing if they had not heard the signal. Some persons seem to think that they cannot settle down for the hearing of gospel truth until they have just a little coughing spell ; it seems to put them in the prouer frame of mind to listen to the preacher.