Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1886-04-24

deal of ozone-a peculiar l~ife-giving con
dition of oxygen. Every health resort
in the country, almost, has prided itself
ON it's ozone. On the mountains it is
"~mountain ozone" by the seashore it is
"sea ozone" and in the country board
ing.houses it is just plain, everyday
country ozone, that, by dint of especial
presence, has cured the thankful patients
of everything, from corns to consump-
ton. 1t is said that a New York chem
ist has discovered a practical means OF
acquiring a knowledge Of the approx.
mate quantitive presence of ozone in the
atmosphere. 1t is certain that a great
deal of very common speculation con.
corning this body is based upon ignorance
of facts and unfounded implications.
Ozone is a modification or condition OF
oxygen, that it is contained in varying
proportions in the atmosphere; some
times not at all, Especially in %cities,) and
sometimes, after a thunder storm, in so
great a proportion that we can smell 1t.
yet that event after a most violent elec-
trio storm the quantity contained in the
atmosphere is very minute. and further
that a determination Of the amount OF
ozone contained in the atmosphere is a
long and tedious process. We also know
that it possesses the characteristic OF its
other state q. e. oxygen gas) but in a far
more energetic degree, and we are ac-
quainted with a number of its character.
istic chemical reactions.
Again, we know that the atmosphere
is composed in part of oxygen, and that
this gas is the principal life'sustaining
force of nature. If, then. oxygen sus.
tains life. what concentrated s~ustenance
should we desire from zon Beer
makes people drunk, but whisky, being
stronger, is the more potent in this di.
r~ection. "Milk for babes, but tallow
candles for men" says the Esquimeaux
Bible, for the well.known reason that
tallow candles are stronger. More than
this, it is ~well1known that in crowded
cities, where there is q poverty OF oxygen,
people grow sick and lose their strength,
and if they go to the country, where
oxygen is plentiful, their strength in
creases. Therefore the inference has
been duly drawn that an atmosphere
containing ozone must be healthy in pro-
portion to the amount Of ozone that it
contains. And the more vigorously this
has been maintained the more implicitly
it has been believed. Moreover, the
facts have been in favor Of this theory,
in so far as the atmosphere rich in oxygen
and imbued from time to time with
moisture in the form of good, old.fash-
Toned thunder storms, is healthy.
But the fact is, how conducive to
health, or, on the contrary, how deroga-
tory it may be. is a thing that we know
very little about. 1t has been suggested
as a potent cause of pulmonary troubles,
and not long ago a very learned authority
expressed a firm belief in the activity of
ozone as a cause of pneumonia. 1t is a
violent oxidizpg agent. and as such is
likely to disturb delicate organs Ok.
idization may be the end of life, but IL
certainly is not its object. The quickest
way to oxidize a person is to prepare a
large pile OF soft wood and shavings, sat-
urate the same well with kerosene, at.
tach the patient by means OF strong
chains to the top of the pile, and ignite;
yet we need not enlarge upon the fact Of
such oxidation being neither conducive
to good health nor to a long life.
Things must be done 10 moderation in
this world, and if ozone or any other
concentration of good things be an evil,
due judgment should be passed upon it.
Now, we do not know, as we have al
ready said, whether ID is a healthy pur-
suit to breathe ozone or not, aud, unless
the rumor which we have reported be
verified, we are likely to remain IN ignor.
ance, because it is too difficult to tell
where ozone is and how much OF it is
there. We do not preach against the
mountains, the sea. the hills. the valleys
or the country, we only raise our voice
in defense of these very places against
the reputation that too eager proprietors
are won't to give them regarding vista
tions from this body Of which we know
so little.
It is said that Mr.. Gladstone has re-