Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 29 July 1909, Page 1195

Science Siftings

BY 'VOLT

Condensed Milk. The condensed milk of commerce is made by mixing ;t; t with sugar and evaporating it, at about 110 degrees, to about a fourth of its original bulk. It then becomes a thick viscous fluid, and when put # into tins hermetically sealed while yet steaming will keep sweet a very long time. * Much of the condensed milk sold in tins contains, in very small type, not likely to attract the attention of the purchaser, a notice that it has been deprived of a portion of its fat; in other terms, it is condensed skim milk. Not Darkest Before the Dawn. The idea that the darkest hour is just before the dawn is poetical, but incorrect. The darkest hour is midway between sunset and dawn, and the legend is of a piece with the statement often made that the hour preceding dawn is the coldest. In many countries there is a fixed belief that just before the break of day there comes an ebb when nature grows cold and pulseless and life fluttering in the breast (.f the dying man finally expires. According to science, such dissolution should occur between 3 and 4 o'clock, investigation extending over a period of several years having proved that the temperature is lowest then. •Thread Used in Surgery. Are you aware that the modern surgeon employs in his work dozens of different kinds of thread for sewing up cuts and wounds? Among them are kangaroo tendons, horse hair, silk, and very fine silver wire. Many of these threads are intended to hold for a certain nvimber of days, an«i then naturally break away. The 'short, tough tendons.taken from the kangaroo, which, are used for sewing severe wounds, will hold for about four weeks before, they break away. Silk thread will remain much longer, sometimes six months, while the fine silver wire is practically indestructible. With the entire outfit a surgeon is able to select a thread that will last as long as the wound takes to heal and will then disappear completely. To accommodate this assortment of threads special varieties of needles are- required. Besides the needle craned in different segments of a circle surgeons use needles shaped like spears, javelins, and bayonet points. Bee Sting for~Rheumatism. "With a view to isolating the particular quality in tho sting of a bee which gives relief to persons suffering from rheumatism or gout, Dr. Arthur "W. Swarm, a surgeon in Roosevelt Hospital, at New York City, is conducting experiments on patients theref In making his experiments, Dr. Swarm is giving special attention to the chemical properties in the virus ejected by tlie insect. He has not learned whether the relief to the patient is due to a formic acid in the virus, to some undiscovered property, or to the mere fact that the sting as an entirety is a counter-irritant to the pain. This is the problem he seeks to solve, and with its solution there must be evolved, he says, a process of treatment by which the direct sting of the bee and the consequent pain will be made iinneeessary. The present method of treatment is to place bees in a tube open at one end and apply this end to the patient's body, the sting following after the bees have been irritated. Relief invariably follows the treatment, and there are absolute cures on record.