Evening star., 1896-08-15
SCIENCE BREVITIES.

"Onions are almost the best nervine
known" remarks the Medical Times. mo
medicine is so useful in cases Of nervous
prostration, and there Is nothing else that
will SO quickly relieve and tone up a
worn-out system. Onions are useful In all
cases Of coughs, cold, influenza, In con-
sumption, insomnia, hydrophobia, scurvy,
gravel, kidney and liver complaints. Eaten
every other day they soon have clearing
and whitening effect upon the complexion:
''Mr. H. D. Hawks, a '9G graduate of
Columbia College, New York, has been
very successful in X-ray experiments
says the Electrical Review. "At recent
exhibition. witnessed by Prof. Anthony.
Mr.. w. ]. Hammer, Mr.. E. p. Thompson.
and others. not only were the ribs clearly
seen; but the heart of the subject was out
lined and its expansion and contraction
easily observed Mr.. Hawks has decided
to make tour Of some Of the eastern
cities exhibiting his apparatus. and he
should receive a warm welcome from the
scientific people wherever he goes"
Speaking of the report that the x rays
have caused the hair to fall out. the Lancet
says jocosely: IF the time that elapses
before positive badness was effected could
be. reduced. what an incalcuable benefit
would RoentgeTs discovery confer on
shavers! Thus to remove the beard would
only require the placing of Crookes' tube
for few minutes over the chin before re-
firing to rest. when next morning the ordi-
nary application Of soap and water would
complete the operation! Under these cir
cumstances the new barber may not im-
possibly be one of the many outcomes Of
the new photography -=--. 49, ..,- ,
From paper recently read before the
Society of Medical Officers Of Health 1t
would appear that the street vendors are
not the only people whose Ice creams are
crowded with living hacteria" saws the
British Medical Journal. THE author, Mr..
Nield-Cook, having investigated the ice
creams of the streets turned next to the
ice creams of society, and with the object
of discovering the meteorological condi-
tfons of the best which were procurable
visited the shop of a well-known West End
confectoner, and bought a strawberry Ice
cream. Sad to relate this society ice cream
was even worse than those of the Italian
vendors III the streetS for 1t contained from
SWU,wD to 14,2So,oOO bacteria per cubic
centimeter'
Fingers and toes Of crlminals-''Dr. P
Penta has studied the fingers and toes of
1850 criminals and finds a deficiency in
the size or number of toes quite frequent
among them, although very rare among or
dinary men, says Modern Medicine. HE
has also observed that prehensile toes
marked by wide space between the great
toe and the second toe, is condition quite
common among criminals, also webbed
condition of the toes, an approximation to
the toeless feet of some savages. He
found the little toe rudimentary In many
cases, showing tendency toward the four
toed animal foot. The most common of all
the abnormalities was the webbed condi-
ton Of the toes. These observations agree
with those made by various investigators
who have found other deformItieS existing
among the criminal classes, particularly
misshapen heads, 'one-sided faces, mismat-
ed ears and eyes. etc. The criminal is a
degenerate type"