The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-23

the cause Of which does not seem to be
clearly understood, the plates must be per-
fectly cleaned, and contact must be COM
plete at all points.
Plants. like animals, have a kind of fever
after being wounded. In observations made
some time ago. Mr.. H. N. Richards proved
that respiration is increased in the injured
plants and he now finds that there is also
an increase of heat. The disturbance of
both respiration and temperature runs a
definite course, attaining maximum some
twenty-four hours after injury. The In
crease of heat is, of course, less perceptible
binary temperature of plants in relation to
the surrounding medium, the rise after in
jury IS as great as in animals, If not
greater The maximum in all plants seemed
to be two or three times the ordinary excess
above the surrounding air.
The size of the drop so much used in
measuring powerful drugs can be made to
vary in most alarming and little APP
preciated degree. DR.. George F. Payne
mentions an instance in which a physician
obtained forty drops to a fluid dram from
one-ounce glass stoppered bottle and on
dropping the substance-dilute hydrocyanio
acid, a most deadly poison-back again
from a narrow-lipped graduate the num-
Der was one hundred The anticipated
number was sixty. In experiments with
fluid dram of water eighteen drops were
had from the bottom of q ten-ounce evap-
square-ended two-pint funnel choked with
stopper for dropping, thirty from a glass
stopper two inches in diameter, forty-five
from tWo-ounce Tipped graduate, nifty
two from two-ounce cork-choked funnel
with slanting end, siXty-two from a three
sxteenths-inch guiding rod. taking supply
from One-gram graduate. one hundred
from fve-ounce Tipped beakor, 120 from a
hVe-ounce Tipped beaker with three-six-
teenths-ilch guiding rod 100 from one
twentyfourth-inch guiding rod point from
a tWo-ounce dropping funnel, and eco from
a one-fortieth-inch guiding rod point from
tWo-ounce dropping funnel. BY the
methods usually employed the drops varied
from thirty-three to 100 to the fluid dram.
Whatever new sources of rubber may be
discovered, according TO Mr.. John r. jack
son, Of the Kew Museum, it is pretty GER
tain that the plants yielding the elastic
juices must belong to one of three natural
orders of Euphorbaceae, Urticaceae or
Apocynaceae Hevea brasiliensis, the
source of Para rubber, is the best known
Of the rubber producers and is a tree grow
ing to height of sixty feet in the forests
of tropical America, especially along the
Amazon. This and Central American rub
Der tree (Manihot GlaZiovO. both of the
same order, have been very successfully in-
troduced in other countries, especially in
India, and West Africa A species of the
Urticaceae (Castiloa elast@aa) furnishes the
Guatemala, Mexico and West Indies rub
ber another species (Ficus elastica). the
Assam ICUuCI, anu ~ llilIu specifies Ut tCuS
VogelD poor Lagos rubber. What is
known African rubber is furnished by
several shrubby climbing species (Lan-
dolpha owariensis l., florida and l.. Kirku)
of the Apocynaceae The new source of
Lagos rubber, which has suddenly devel-
oped one of the important industries of
Africa. is the Kicksia Africana. which is Of
the same order, but is tree fifty or sixty
feet high, with trunk twelve or fourteen
inches in diameter. 1T is one of the most
beautiful trees of the forest, with yield
in good season of ten to fifteen pounds
of excellent rubber per tree. In January,
1895. the trade in this rubber began with
21.131 pounds of exports, but at the close
of December the total had grown to $685.
504 pounds for the year. Several other
Eastern species of this order yield small
quantities of rubber. The efforts of Kew
authorities to extend the growth of rubber
plants in all favorable climates have been
so successful that. with the additions to
be expected from new sources, Mr.. Jack
SON believes the supply may be kept up
even to the demand so rapidly increasing
through the growth of electrical, rubber
tire and other industries