Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 23 July 1914, Page 47

Science Siftings

By ‘ Volt.’

China’s Great Wall. , t ew people realise what an almost perfect condition P cyails along a large part of the great wall of China, the nicks of the parapet are as firm as ever, and their edges have stood the severe climatic* conditions of rf° ldh China with scarcely a break. The paving along the top of the wall is so smooth that one may ride over it on a bicycle, and the great granite blocks with which it is faced are smooth and as closely fitted as when put in place over two thousand years ago. The entire 90 lg / h f° f 1 i l v!-'i all 13 1400 miles : it is 22 feet high, and 20 fcct n \ th,ckncss - At intervals of 100 yards or so there are towers some forty feet in height. All About Corks. Very few people understand ; hows corks are made or where cork trees grow. The cork tree, on an average; lives 100 years, and its average height is 25 to 30 feet It is a native of the Mediterranean basin in northern Africa, Corsica, southern France, and the Iberian I eninsula. It does not grow in America except in spots—dry, warm places of mild temperature. These recs arc very _ rare, and considered great curiosities. J he cork tree is valued for its bark; the best time to strip ,t is in July or August. The outer bark of thelice is first stripped when it is about 25 years old. This removal of the rough bark, nr outer skin, as some would call it, causes a growth of finer quality. This requires about eight or nine years, and the quality improves with each successive stripping. * Musical Safes. Nowadays the safe thief must be a highly-trained cxpei t. The Bill Sykes type of burglar has passed. Fvery year the work of the professional safe-breaker becomes harder and more dangerous. Actually music must now form a part of his training. The latest type of safe has no locks, keys, or keyholes. Instead, there is a highly-stretched wire, which responds to its own musical note. The wire is connected with an electric attcry inside the safe, and to open one must sound a tuning-fork, or a note on bugle, organ, or trumpet in precisely the same way as the wire. When the note is sounded, the sensitive wire vibrates, and turns on the current which operates the locking mechanism. Three wires are used in some instances, necessitating, of course three trumpet blasts in different keys before the mechanism will work. The obvious danger to this appaiatus is, of course, that one of the wires might get out of -tunc, in which case the safe would remain snugly locked until the right key was struck. New Cure for Rheumatism. A bath of paraffin wax, heated to 125d0g. Fahrenheit, is the new and extraordinarily efficacious treatment for rheumatism, gout, sciatica, lumbago, and kindred affections. The method, which is called the Kcritherapy, has been described by its discoverer, Dr. Barthe de Sandfort, to the Academy of Medicine, which is unanimous to regarding it as a precious contribution to medical science. Dr. de Sandfort had for some time used plasters of- superheated wax on wounds, ulcers, burns, carbuncles, etc. These not only removed all pain, but caused the places to heal with almost miraculous rapidity. This led him to believe that wax might advantageously be applied to the whole body. Accordingly ho went to an oil refinery and entered a vat containing a hundred gallons of boiling wax. Far from being burned, he experienced rather "a pleasant sensation, and the after-effects were wonderfully exhilarating. He was’ so encouraged that he tried the treatment on some patients, with results far exceeding his expectation.