The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-12-10
written for the CitizenJ

while 1900 tons were put up in the
| United States in 1895. Recent large
| losses from souring have led TO an in
vestigation at the Massachusetts, Insti-
tute of Technology. The souring is
/ found to be due to fermentation set up
bv bacteria, which exist on the corn in
the field. and are not destroyed by the
| temperature of 1902 to 1902 at which
the corn is cooked in the cans. To eff
| feet sterilization the packer places the
1 cans in retorts heated toy stea n under
/ pressure. Experiment has shown that
/ temperature above the boiling point
| of water. must be reached throughout
+ the corn to kill all bacteria, and that
I exposure OF the cans for go minutes to
2200 F. ensures complete sterilization,
/ but the minimum time and tempera-
/ ture of safety ar still to be determined.
/ Considerable time is essential on ac-
count of the slow CONJUNCTION of heat
through the corn. A demand for corn
of light color seems to have led the
packer to reduce too much the time
or temperature of the sterilizing pro-
cess, and the sour corn of late years
has resulted.
From records of an immense num-
Der of observations, DR.. Gerhardt
Schott draws the conclusions that the
sO.cailed "Gulf Stream does not exist
as IA warm current east of 400 W., and
has no rapid movement east of 600 W.;
that the Labrador current does not
anywhere touch the seaboard of the
United States, aud has nothing to do
with the "cold WALL" and that on the
Great Banks there Is practically no
current. The warm aud Geld streams
are irregular movements, not liable to
Getiuite changes with seasons.
a recent calculation shows that cleo
tric heating for cars costs over five
times a. much in fuel as heating by
stoves, an expenditure equivalent 10
SIX horsepower Ceing required to raise
the temperature of au ordinary car for
81 ueople from o. to 600 F. 1t is esti-
mated that double windows would re-
guce the fuel expense one-half.
Glass is usually colored by fusing
with a metallic oxide, the entire mass
being changed. In the new process of
NJ. Leon Lamal, patters are beautifully
stained upon the surface by penetra-
ton. a yellow color being given when
silver salt is placed in contact with
tue glass and the whole heated to 500
TO $500 F. The depth of penetration
depends on the time of heating, the
SHADE upon the quantity of salt ap-
piled. In five minutes, the co,or had
reached depth of 1880 of an inch; in
an hour, this depth was doubled, and
in is hours, plate lie of an inch was
colored throughout. The yellow has a
fine greeuish or blush fiuorescence.
Photographic collodion negatives can
be applied directly to the glass, and
lace patterns eau be transferred by
simply dipping the lace into a weak
solution of nitrate of silver and then
into potassium sulphide. Other salts
such as those of gold, copper and iron
can be used, silver with a little copper
giving red color.
Psychologists have yet to record
many curious workings of the mind.
DR.. Ginostos has reported to a Bor-
deauX society the case of young man
an irresistible impulse TO count the let
tiers in words aud phrases. This he
does continually while awake, with
out interfering in any way with his
daily work, his reading, or his CONVEX
satiou. When not talking, he invents
phrases and counts the letters, 80 being
number that gives him satisfaction,
while Is displeases him. AT night he
sleeps without dreaming. The editor
of Scientific Miscellany may add SIM
liar experience, having been frequently
aroused to the consciousness that,
while absorbed in some work, he had
been automatically grouping words on
printed page in pyramids, each word
chosen having one letter more than its
predecessor.
Carbolic acid has been effectively
used for tempering steel tools by NJ.
Levat, a French engineer. Two cast
steel grAvers of fine quality were
heated to cherry red, and one
was dipped into water and the other
into a solution of commercial carbolic
acid. They were then tried on chiselled
iron and on extra hard white cast iron.
/ The water-temrered graver was
notched in several places, while the
other resisted perfectly.
Rain gushes in thunderstorms have
, been variously explained, but Prof.
Cleveland Abbe finds it still an open
question whether these pushes bring
about the formation of lightning, or
vice versa.
Some curious experiments and spec
ulations, which seem to have been
/ taken with more or less seriousness,
nave been brought befor the Paris So
ciety of Physic Sciences by DR.. Bara-
/ due. The instrument used, called the
biometeT, is claimed to show that the
vital forces of man do not depend on
the laws Of either heat or electricity. 1t
consists of a pointer. like the hand of a
/ watch, suspended over a dial inside
glass vessel insulated by three compact
/ layers of mica, aibumen, linen-cloth
aud cOllOdion; the motion of the point
/ er, 50 it is asserted, indicating the vi
tai forces Of the person touching the
/ instrument, and varying with the
state of mind. If the person is happy
I the hand is attracted, in grief it is re-
/ HSAACN. Ii. DdEduuC IuTlueI clalIlS TO
have photographed the vital forces, a
I picture being taken by force of will in
in complete darkness, and even the vi
/ tai forces of a corpse being sufficient
( three hours after death TO impress the
! sensitive plate in the dark. The cou-
I elusiOn is that there exists in man a
/ vapor of life, which is the quintessence
/ of movement. Its cause the experi-
] menter confeSses himself unable to de-