The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-07
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

! ferent colors. and according 10 expert
ments recently described by FIammaIiOn,
before the French Academy of Science.
silk worms were kept in boxes covered
with glass Of different shades. The silk
worms all received the same food. but
they gave different results as to the guam
tity of silk and eggs.
in an official circular the surgeon gen.
eral of the German army, Collar, in Ber-
lin, has called attention of the heads of
the garrison hospital to what he describes
as a new cleaning method for such insti
tuuons, TO be employed in future, thorough
experiments having proved il to De of suf-
ficienJ advantage 10 warrant its adoption.
The main feature of this method consists
in the addition of petroleum to the wa
ter, besides soap and soda, as many grams
of it being taken as there are litres Of wa
ter used-for example. thirty grams OF
petroleum TO thirty litres Of water. It has
been found, according to the statements
set forth in this circular, that such an
admixture of petroleum not only admits of
an easier cleaning, as well as less tear
and wear Of the linen but the wash also
retains its color, is thoroughly disinfected
and the expense is considerably reduced
The dampness Of dwelling houses is
pronounced by writer in the Scientific
American dangerous from two-fold point
of view-hrst and primarily in itself, and,
second, because of the long life which it
gives to the elements of contagion aud
Infection II is ascertained that The mi
crobe of typhoid fever rema MS alive for
three days. that of diphtheria month,
and that Of pneumonia from fifteen days
to three weeks Contrary to the tradi-
tons of the elegance" of dwellings,
which causes the walls to be covered with
tapestry or paper in imitation of it, scien-
hp tppig r fI,.aa
rioyment of stucco or good varnish as
being best from a meteorological point Of
view, both because they are easily washed
and because they possess the property Of
cleansing themselves promptly and spon-
taneously of parhogenic germs which be-
come lodged in them.
The fact is well known that while trade
spasms are comparatively common, trade
paralysis are much less so. But NJ. We're,
a Belgian physician, narrates the case of
girl of IA years, tapestry worker, whose
work made it necessary to keep her right
arm constantly elevated and abducted. At
ter twelve days of this application, signs
of paralysis began to appear in the right
arm and soon became complete-there was
no anaesthesia of the affected limb, and
no evidence that the girl was hysterical.
Under massage and electricity the patient
recovered. 1t is to be noticed that the
paralysis affected the whole arm, and not
simply the group of muscles concerned in
the trade movement, in this respect diff
fering from trade spasms. There was also
idio-muscular contraction of the paralyzed
side this being regarded by M. Fere as
a reaction of muscular debility, such as
is seen in exhausted cyclists.
In consequence Of the infectious char
acter of the dust of ordinary apartments
occupied by consumptives, experiments
have been made in Berlin to determine the
efficiency of various methods of cleansing
and disinfecting. Three coaches were first
infected with different sorts of germs, and
were then disinfected with soap and car
bolic acid solutions; these tests showed
diminution in the bacilE and in the case
of the material treated with steam dsin-
lection was complete. The results of the
final experiments, briefly stated showed
that the system of cleansing, consisting
simply in washing in a potash soap solu-
toni to 100-followed by an abundant
rinsing or sprinkling with water and then
by dry rubbing, is sufficient to remove all
disease germs from the top, sides and
seats of third and fourth-class cars, not
upholstered, and even though badly soiled.
Further, similar cleansing with soap is
sufficient to cause a decided reduction In
the number of germs upon the floors of
such cars.
The Pretoria correspondent Of the
London Chronicle says: "It must have
been the next evening, as we were waiting
three or four hours, as usual, for the line
to clear, that Gen. Joubert came up in
special train. A few young men and boys
In ordinary clothes formed his staff The
general himself wore the usual brown
SLOUGH hat with Grape band, and a blue
frock coat, not luXuriously new. His beard
is now quite white, but his long straight
hair Is still more black than gray. The
brown, sallow face is deeply wrinkled and
marked, but the dark brown eyes are still
bright and look out upon the world with
a kind of simplicity mingled with shrewd-
ness, or, perhaps, some subtle quality. He
speaks English with a piquant lack of
grammar and misuse of words. When l
travelled with him next day almost the
first thing he said to me was: The heart
of my soul is bloody with sorrow His
moderating influence on the Kruger goy-
eminent is well known, and he described
to me how he had done his utmost for
peace. But he also described how bit by
bit England had pushed the Beers out of
their inheritance and taken advantage of
them in every conference and native war"
The important point is made by intel
ligent advocates of cremation that it must
be regarded as a wasteful and expensive
pIOCGSS Qlll6SS uIOpcI ll4cdlS NC Ndheii 10
utilize the great heat which has of neces-
sity to be employed if the operation is
to be conducted in the thoroughly effec-
tual manner required. Something more is
essential of course, for the cremation of
animal substances-without the production
of a positive nuisance-than mere burning,
that is, such temperature as will not
merely burn up the body into gases, but
also consume such fearfully odorous gases
fDfO harmless cOmpOuDdS To heat f1r-
mace so as to produce such temperatures
for each single cremation, however, and
then to throw away their heat unused is
necessarily very wasteful. But il is ar
gued where the destruction of animal
substances has to be carried out contin-
uously, as in modern refuse Instructors,
such waste is obviated, for not only is
the heat which is used made TO give up
its energy in the form of power but there
is the advantage that every particle of
refuse consumed adds its quota 10 the
sum of the heat produced Such is the
unitarian view presented by a correspond
ent of the London Hospital.