Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-04-04
EXPEs .lMENTS BELOW ZERO.
The Varied Effects of Intense Cold on Diff
fcrcnt Animals.


fcrcnt Animals.
H. Raoul Pictot has been making
some curious experiments on the physio-
logical effects Of extreme cold With the
aid CT various freezing mixtures he has
arranged what he calls wells of cold, !"
the air in which IS cooled to various de-
grees. So far the temperature in the
coldest of these wells is only reduced to
166 degrees below the Fahrenheit zero,
but much lower temperatures are easily
reached by other means. 1t is calculated
by modern physicists that about 460 de-
grees below zero will be reached what
is called the temperature of DEATH" or
absolute cold" at which all substances
are solid and at their extreme limit of
contraction. NJ. Pictot has Of course not
yet attained this condition, but he has
approached near enough to it to give
some singular indications of what may
be discovered later
In one Of his experiments dog was
introduced into ''well of cold" at a
temperature of 1870 degrees below the
Fahrenheit zero For 10 minutes the
animals vitality struggled successfully
against the cold, and even raised to the
extent of half ccntigrade degree the
temperature of the we'll. At the end of
this time the dogs cxtremities began to
freeze, but the heart and vital organs
remained warm, and it was not until
the end of an hour and q half that the
temperature Of this part of tho animal
was found to have been reduced one
centigrade degree. After this point was
reached, however, the vital powers
seemed to give way, the temperature
suddenly fell, and nothing could revive
the poor beast.
M. Pictet himself had the courage to
try how such terrible cold felt. He
plunged his bare arm into the well at
the same temperature which had proved
fatal to the dog and held it there for
five or six minutes. At the end of three
or four minutes he felt violent pain,
proceeding apparently from the perios-
teum, or sensitive covering of the bone
After about two minutes of. this he
withdrew his arm, and sharp, burn
ing pain came on, caused, as he sup
posed, by the sudden reaction in the It's
sues. In experimenting on other animals
he found that the lower the organism
the better it seemed to resist cold
Fishes could be frozen hard without los
ing vitality. If the temperature to which
they were exposed did not sink below
the Fahrenheit zero, and if the expert
ment did not last too long, they could
be thawed out, apparently without in
jury, Frogs could be kept for time in
temperature 20 degrees below the
Fahrenheit zero without harm. but they
succumDed TO temperature OF 81 ue
grees below Snakes bore about the
same degree of cold, and centipeds did
not seem to be inconvenienced by a
temperature Of 60 below Snails were
still more hardy, suffering no loss Of
vitality in well at temperature 1874
degrees below zero
This astonishing fortitude was, how
ever, far surpassed by that Of certain
microbes which NJ Pictet froze up in q
block OF solidifed atmospheric air at
temperature $50 degrees below the Fab
renheit zero. In this block, hard and
solid as crystal, he kept them for some
time, and then thawed them out gently,
upon which they exhibited their usual
activity What can be the nature of
circulation which is Indifferent to this
awful cold or Of an organism in which
circulation can be entirely stopped with.
out injury we can only conjecture, but
M. Pictet's experiments have certainly
added another mystery to that standing
enigma of science known as vitality
Paris Journal.
human Hair I'rInic.
Eight cars loaded with human hai1
arrived in Paris recently, consigned to
dealers in that merchandise. The hair
came from India and China, whence
thousands of pounds arc annually sent
to England and France. This traffic,
foreign medical journal says, is the
cause of the introduction of many dis
eases to Europe. The hair is cut from
persons after death in China, and al
though it is disinfected upon arrival in
France it often carries the germs of
disease. Asiatic hair, owing in part tc
its coarseness, can he purchased cheap