Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-01-28
POPULAR SCIENCE.
HIGH FUSING POINTS.

HIGH FUSING POINTS.
M. Wolfe has lately determined, by
means of extremely delicate processes,
the fusing points of the more refractory
metals. The following are given as the
exact temperatures for five of these met
ais, In the order of their fusibility: Sill
yer, l, 749 degrees Fahrenheit; gold, |, 1868
degrees; copper, /, S90degrees; plantinum
3,195 degrees; iridium, $3.50 degrees.
RELIEF FOR ASTHMA.
The Practicien Ga new French medi-
cal weekly gives the following formula
for asthma, which has been adopted with
much success by DR.. de Crevoisier, of
Briey: Take equal weights of stramon-
ium, sage, belladona and digitalis; crush
TO about the thickness of sawdust, damp
a little and mix In as much nitre as of
one of the other substances. Burn
little on a plate, cover with paper cone
at the top, and let the sufferer inhale the
smoke. If the smoke is too abundant
damp the mixture with little water.
sPHoN FOR CARBoYs.
The Pharmacist gives the following
deductions for making siphon for car
boys: Bend two glass tubes at right an
giles, SO that the longer end will exceed
the height of the vessel, while the aggre-
gate length of the two shorter ends shall
be few inches more than the radius of
the same. These tubes joined by means
of rubber tubing, and one of the longer
legs furnished with perforated cork,
serve as a siphon. Fit the cork to the
mouth of the carboy; provide it with an
other smaller glass tube, to which is
attached some rubber tubing several
inches in length (the same as for wash
bottle); then blow through the latter.
The pressure produced IN the vessel is
sufficient to cause the filling of the ST.
phon.
FITTING IN SMALL POX.
Somebody has ascertained the curious
facts in small pox, that poor people are
pitted least, rich people are pitted most,
and no class are pitted under their dress
Poor people have less light in their
homes, rich people have plenty of light,
and under the dress, there is, of course,
less light than in either case. The ex-
PLANTATION according to this observer, is q
scientific one. The sunlight consists of
three primary colors. The red, the blue
and the yellow rays have distinct and
characteristic properties-the yellow
gives light, the red heat, and the blue
actinism. Now, the pus of various pos
tules absorbs, by its yellow medium, the
actinic rays, which results in corrosion
of the tender flesh at the base, and thus
leaving pits.
PRESERVING WOOD BY LIME.
The improved French method of pre-
serving wood by the application of lime
is found to work well. The plan is to
pile the planks In tank, and to put over
layer Of quicklme, which is gradually
Stacked with water. Timber for mines
requires about week to be thoroughly
impregnated, and other wood more or less
time, according to its thickness. The
material requires remarkable consistence
and hardness, it is stated, On being sub
iected to this simple process, and the
assertion is made that it will never rot.
Beech wood prepared In this way for
hammers and other tools for ronwork is
found to acquire the hardness of oak,
without parting with any of its well
known elasticity or toughness, and it
also lasts longer.-Michigan Building
NeaUs.
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF COMPRESSED
AIR.
In paper of ocular interest on this
subject by Stembo--whose attention, it
seems, was first directed to the vital cap
acity of the lungs as depending on the
barometric pressure states that there
is steady increase In the capacity while
the pressure increases, and, on the other
hand, he obtained similar result out
side of the pneumatic cabinet. He then
investigated any possible source of error
affecting these observations, the result
being positive confirmation of the in
crease in lung capacity. The explana-
ton given by Stembo leads to the con-
clusion that compressed air will have
healing tendency in inhammations of the
mucous membrane of the bronchial tube,
also In acute catarrh of the smaller bron-
che, and in bronchial asthma. With
reference to the temperature of the skin,
under compressed air, the Investigations
made by Stembo show that, with in
creasing pressure, the temperature in
variably sinks.
THERAPEUTIC USE OF LlNSEED.
DIR. Sherwell's paper on the use of lin
seed and its oil as therapeutic agents in
diseases of the skin, recently published,
has received considerable attention from
the medical press. 1t appears that he
was in the habit of applying it in
threefold administration, and these may
be here briefly cited First, if the per-
son were male and had sound teeth,
the seed itself was the best form In which
to take 1.-THE man would carry about
ten ounces of this around il his pockets,