The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-10-23

concentrated it does no harm, but a
proportion of more than ten per cent.
causes serious symptoms. They are:
A feeling of suffocation, burning in the
throat and vomiting; exhaustion comes
on rapidly. the face becomes deadly
pale, pulse feeble, there is p~rofusc
perspiration. but there is no fever. The
treatment of such a case is by removal
to the open air, giving lemonade and
stimulants, and applying mustard to
the surface, so as to encourage the ac-
ton of the heart.
Illuminating gas is a combination or
mixture of several poisonous sub
stances. Gas-men, whether employed
at the generating works or engaged in
repairing leaks in pipes, are liable
to breathe these materials in too con-
centrated a form. There is a popular
notion that the air of gas-works cures
whooping-cough and prevents cholera,
Many instances supporting both these
claims have been brought forward, but
it is stated on good authority that
when the cholera was in Brcslau in
1866 many of the workmen employed
about the gas-works died of it. If the
gases are not too greatly concentrated
there seems little danger in breathing
them. In making close joints in gas.
fitting preparations of lead are used
which are poisonous. and the work
men suffer from lead-poisoning, al
though it is not acquired by breathing
it, but probably by swallowing some Of
the solid particles.
The process Of tire-gilding, if there
is not great attention paid to free ven
t"ilation, is 4 very dangerous one. IN
this process an amalgam of gold and
mercury is formed AMI spread over the
surface to be gildcd, then the mercury
is driven off by heat, leaving the gold
firmly adhering. This is very durable,
as the gold never cleaves off, but stays
until the last particle is removed by
actual wear. In electro-plating the
gold cracks off and is not near 50 dura-
bic. The danger in tire-g,ldingis from
the fumes of mercury. If the process
is conducted in close boxes this danger
IS mostly avoided.
Mirror-mak ers also II the risk of
mcrcurial poisoning. The metal is
spread with a flannel rubber owe tin
foil already laid upon the glass to be
silvcred. Like water, mercury evapo-
rates at all temperatures, so the work
men can hardly escape inhaling some
of it as they bend I'VE their work.
Women are much more liable to be-
come poisoned by this substance than
men, and many of them are engaged
in this work. The signs Of poisoning
are lo~osening Of the teeth, salvation,
ulcers in the mouth and nose and
violent pains in the bones. Eruptions
appear upon the skin and the hands
become tremulous. The best method
of avoiding these dangers is to sprinkle
ammonia water about the works i'll
order that the vapors of mercury may
combine with the ammonia. To avoid
the sufiocating vapors Of the ammonia
it should be sprinklcd about the works
at night and removed by free ventila-
ton before work is begun next morn
Silver has been successfully sub
stituted for quicksilver in mirror-mak-
ing, but this is much more expensive
If this we're done everywhere the max
ing Of looking-glasscs would become a
perfectly safe employment.
Workers in brass foundries are SUBJ
iect to rather remarkable attacks, due
to the breathing of the combined va
pors of zinc and copper, probably, for
those engaged in smelling zinc are not
affected in this manner Some hours
breathing the vapors given Oft by
brass the workman feels weak
and exhausted, so that he has to stop
work. Muscular pains are experienced
in the limbs, and these may be very
severe. The breathing is short and he
has to 90 to bed. Then a chill comes
on that lasts fifteen or twenty minutes;
the pulse becomes quick; distress in
the chest Is felt and a painful cough
ensues. The attack ends in from three
to six hours with a p~rofuse persplra-
lion and a deep sleep follows for sew
pral hours. These sufferers all recover,
but the same person may suffer from
repeated attacks. There seems to be
no c of preventing them, al
some brass-founders think the
danger is less If the workman drink
freely of milk on the days castings are
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