The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-07-16
SCRAPS OF SCIENCE.
ANEsTRETIzING DURING SLEEP


Prof. Dolbeau describes at mucl
lon2th, in the Annales d Hyginene. hi
various experiments to ascertain wheth
er a person can be an@sthetized during
sleep. He mentions the cases of three
patients, who, while sleeping, were
readily aroused by applying small quan
titles of chloroform at no great distance
| from the nostrils. In another series o1
experiments, made on seven patients,
ten drops OF chloroform were poured on
a napkin folded in four, which was
gradually brought TO the vicinity of the
air passage, so that all air inspired ira
versed it; in ell these cases, the pa
tients we're suddenly aroused from their
sleep, some Immediately, and only one
after the eleventh inspiration. A third
group of cases consisted of 90 patients.
1t was found in ten out of this number,
that is in more than third, complete
an8thesia could be induced without
awakening hem. Dexterity in the
made of procedure seemed to have
something to do with the proportion
thus obtained, Tor this increased pro-
gressively with the number of cases ex-
perimented upon.
BRAIN OF MAN AND APES.
Prof. Owen is quoted as saying, be-
fore the Anthropological society of
London, that the brain of man is more
complex in its organization than the
brain of inferior animals, it is more
subject to injury, and more liable to
experience the want of perfect develop
ment that instances of idiOcy occur
among all races of mankind, and that
extreme smallness of the skull indicates
want of intellect approaching to idiOcy.
Alludipg to the attempts that have
been made to find link of connection
between man and apes, he remarked
that it was possible that an idiot with
an imperfectly developed brain might
wander into some cave, and there die,
and in two or three years his bones
might be covered with mud, or be i'm
bedded in stalagmite, and, when dis,
covered, such a skull might be adduced
as affording the long looked for link con-
Meeting man with the inferior animals.
He expresses the opinion that the diff
ference in question is altogether too
wide to be bridged over by this skull of
any creature yet discovered.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY LIGHTING.
The ieaf-like figures which are so fire.
quently found upon the bodies of men
and animals struck by lightning are
generally believed to be impressions
Of the foliage in the vicinity where the
accident occurs, made by the lightning |
N some manner analogous to the pro-
,ess of photograph. There are strong
reasons, however, in support of the |
advanced by Mr.. Tomlinson,
4. r. s., that these figures are not de- |
lived from trees at all, but represent the |
iery hand of lightning itself, the trunk |
being traced by the main discharge, |
While the spray-like branches proceed |
rom the electric feelers first cast out, |
IS it were, 10 find the line of least re-
istance. The sensation of cob webs |
)eing drawn over the face, which has
ometimes been felt by sailors Just be-
ore their ship was struck by lightning,
S by him attributed to these sprays of |
Electricity preceding the main discharge.
t is nevertheless true that neighboring
Metallic objects, such as q horseshoe, for
Example, are frequently impressed with
distinctness upon the body
# the person struck.
PREVENTION OF INCRUsTATION OF BOILERS.
EXPERIMENTS nave been made on one
# the Australian railways in lining To-
omotive boilers with copper, to prevent
ncrustation. The plates at each end
7ere lined with copper of the thickness
{ one millimetre, the result being that
7hile the centre plate (iron) had layer
f incrustation ten millimetres thick in
wo years. and carious corrosion besides,
he copper plates had quite a smooth
1rface, and only three millimetres'
of incrustation.