Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-08-21
Curious, Useful and Scientific.
AFTER DINNER MAPS.

Many persons, particularly the mid
dle-aged and elderly, allow themselves
after-dlnGer maps; and the custom, If
not carried to excess, is by many med
ical men considered beneficial rather
than otherwise, as by keeping the body
in a state of quietude, digestion is
promoted and assisted In southern
countries the midday sleep, termed
the saestd, is almost universally taken,
and wonderfully refreshes the frame
enervated and weakened by the intense
heat. 1t is, however, recommended
that such sleep be not INDUCED in to
too great a length, as persons invariably
find such prolonged slumber in the day
time causes them to wake dull, IL
ritable and unrefreshed: while most
have experienced, on having been
accidentally reused up a few minutes
after absolute forgetfulness, a sensation
of lightness and renewed vigor, unat-
tended by peevishness, or the least de-
sire to sleep again. Medical men, in
sanctioning the indulgence, particular
ly desire that it be taken in reclining
posture, and by no means lying
horizontally, the stomach in the latter
position pressing on the intestines, and
causing the blood to be impelled to the
head. Corpulent persons, and those
who have a tendency TO apoplexy,
should be particularly mindful on this
point.
GANNIBAL STATISTICS.
The cannibals are more numerous
than is generally supposed. The Bat,
tas are reckoned at 200, 900 souls: the
cannibals of Niger Delta at 100, 900 !;
the Fans of 10000; the cave dwellers
Of the Bassuto country, about tenth
OF the whole population-at 10, 900; the
Nlam-N1ams at about 500, 600; the Nj
ranhas and Messaysas at 5000: the
other southern African cannibals at
1,000 the Australian aborigines at so. i.
900; the Milanesian without includino
New Guinea, at 100000. IF per-
son choose to run the risk of BEING
eaten, here is a wide choice. Most Of
these people, however, it must be re-
membered, are not cannibals EXCEPT in
time of war, when 1t is more ancestral
custom which makes them effectually
dispose OF an enemy by eating him.
PATENT BRAIN DROPS.
Psychologists tell us that the brain
consumes a great deal of phosphorus,
and the doctors say that brown bread
Is healthier than that made from bOlted
-four, because Of the phosphorus that
the bran contains, which III fine -four is
IN great part absent Baking powders
were accordingly invented, the princi,
pie purpose of which is to supply bread
with the needful amount of the phos-
phoric quality. A candy has now been
invented and patented, which is moth
ing else than doses of phosphorus in
disguise. The love of candy has thus
been utilized and made to repair the
waste of nervous and brain forces. It
is pleasant way of taking medicine,
and even the children cry for it.
PURE AIR.
DR.. August Smith gives good rule
for ascertaining the amount of carbon
ic acid In the ar of the house: "Let
US keep our room so that the air does
not give precipitate when a 1O4 ounce
bOttleful is shaken with Ealf an ounce
of clear lime water" a sanitary regu-
latiOn which can easily be carried out.
CONDUCTORS OF SOUND.
Among the best conductors of sound
are iron and glass. Through them
sound is transmitted at the rate of IT.
800 feet. over three miles per second.
But in air sound travels only thirteen
miles per minute, or 1, 142 feet per Sec
Ond.
ONIONS.
In the onion there is found a pecu-
liar oil containing sulphur, called the
of allyle. The odor of the
breath after eating onions is caused by
the presence of a small quantity Of
this oil, which is exhaled in breathing.
THE MINERAL WORLD.
There are about four hundred species
OF minerals known; but the varieties of
these species are almost infinite. For
example, carbonate of lime exists in
chalk, marble spar, photographic stone,
etc