The record-union., 1899-08-28

and claws are used. and usually with
good effect. Six or eight little arma-
dillos usually make up family In
Central America the animals are kept
from rapid increase only by the con-
stant hunting of them by the natives,
who relish their flesh as food
According to the report of the Ger
man Chemical Society," the average of
142 analyses made in Sheffield, Eng
land, show that the air of that city
contains 314 parts in ten thousand Of
carbonic acid, the maximum being 5.14
and the minimum PIG. In the center
of the city the average was 80 parts,
with maximum of go and minimum
of 2.S. These figures are higher than
those observed at Paris (295), Dieppe
(294), and Odessa GOD: but at Liege
the proportion of carbonic acid is about
the same (34). Wind and snow in
crease the proportion, ,>but rain has no
effect. 1t is greatest in January and
least in April. and also decreases in
hot weather.
The too free use of water as a bever-
age is condemned editorially by 1.-THE
Medical Brief 1t says: "A fact per-
haps not generally known to the pro-
fession is that water, as we'll as food,
requires to be assmilated, to properly
fulfill it's natural offices in the system.
Water is not readily Incorporated into
the blood serum. thinning it, increas-
ing its solvent qualities, and lessening
it's plastic properties, unless it is drunk
in response to thirst, such as normal
ly follows good digestion, brisk exer-
else, eating salt foods, hot bath, Wig
orous sweating, fever, etc. Advent
tious water, water taken into the stom-
ach without appetite or demand for it,
fingers long in the digestive organs, Of
ten producing a feeling Of weight
Unless measures are employed to stim-
ulate the assimilation of water by Gre
ating a legitimate demand for it, as
expressed by thirst it is not advisable
to force too much on the system. A
single glass between meals and at bed
time will wash out the stomach as we'll
as several, where the individual mani
tests no desire for, or an actual repug
nance to, water Indifference to a flu
id which constitutes three-fourths of
the human body is abnormal, and re-
quires treatment: but the treatment
must consist in establishing a physio-
|
not in forcing nature by distending the
digestive organs with a heavy fiuid.''
According to the usual practices"
says the Revue Scientific" "the grad
uations on thermometer scales and
levels are marked by scratching the
surface of the glass in some way, at
each point where there is to be grad
uation. But the glass is weakened in
, each of these points, and is very apt
to break, which is dangerous in the
, case of boiler levels. 1t is evident that
this could be avoided by softening
slightly the surface of the glass at the
desired points and mixing some color
| ing matter with it, An American firm
asserts that it has obtained this re-
suit under the best conditions by pass
ing over the tube. where a graduation
is to be marked, an iron disk turning at
the rate of $500 revolutions a minute.
The friction causes a rise of tempera-
ture sufficient partially to melt the
glass. and at the same time small par
ticles of iron are detached from the
wheel and become incorporated in the
softened glass"
Electrical World and Engineer.-A
novel application of thermodynamics
to domestic purposes has recently
turned up in the shape Of an air-cooling
apparatus for offices, apartments and
habitations. 1t is somewhat radical
departure from previous methods in
that the source of the cooling is not,
as generally heretofore, the conversion
of mechanical work into the abstraction
of heat, either directly or indirectly, but
merely depends upon the enormous Ia
tent heat of vaporiZation Of water.
Water from any convenient source is
supplied in a thin film to the copper
top of a fiat convoluted air fiue, and a
sharp blast is directed axially along
and over this fue from a special little
. blower motor. The forced evaporation
chills the air f1ue vigorously and drops
the temperature of the whole air-blast
, from 10 to 20 degrees F., according
to the rate of evaporation attained.
The net result of this arrangement, the
details of which are here only sketched
roughly, is to send out into the apart
ment to be cooled about 10000 cubic
feet of air per hour cooled to a tenn
perature of about 6S degrees, on an
expenditure of about 100 watts. By
adjusting the machine the air supplied
moisture with such a degree of humid
ity as may be desired. and the tenn
perature may likewise be varied, al
. though as usually adjusted the tenn
! perature of the air delivered is con-
trolled automatically within a few de-
grees range. Obviously such an ap-
paratus is not intended or adapted for
, cold storage work or the like but with
in the range required for effective
house cooling it is enormously more
efficient than any machine which de-
pends on the degradation of mechanical
, energy. The new machine is manufac-
. tured under patents to DR.. Louis Bell.
, Two Chance Meetings.
Five years ago two travellers met at
, the entrance to Jerusalem-a dignified
Englishman and a genial young Amer