Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-31
- SCIENCE. =

he o@AAAV~A
Y A special study of colOrS and their
'chemistry has been made by j. 6. Vibert.
the great French painter. He findsthat
the ancient painters, of the time of APPEL
les, had only four colors-chalk white,
yellow ocher, red ocher, and black. In
'Pliny's time there had been added diff
iferent chalk whites. lead white and its
combinations. mussicot, minimum, orpiment
cred and yellow Sulphide of arsenic), red
and purple lakes (made from shells>,.
natural and burnt ochers, cinnabar, in
digo. powdered Emau blue. ~verdigris.
brown earths. ivory black and other
blacks, and sepia. Later came the red
lakes. made from cochineal n from
madder. and the vegetable yellow lakes,
also the true ultramarine blue from the
costly lapis lazuh. A chest in the mu-
scum of Antwerp contains a collection Of
the cOlors used by Rubens, and of these
white lead, ~cinnabar, lapis (ultramarine),
the madden lakes, the earths and thu
ochers have proven very durable, while
the vegetable yellows, reds and green's
have faded and vanished. OF the many
colors brought out since Rubens' time,
those of aniline-so often brilliant but de-
ceptive mixtures-are held to ave been
an unfortunate addition for art. 1t Is
concluded thai the finest cOlOTS are those
of pure pigment, with a little linseed
or poppy Oil as a medium, and that the
mineral c~olors-unlllSe those from vege-
table substancss-are generally perma-
nent, but hard to get in purity.
A number Of samples OF cement from
the ancient water conduits of Ephesus
and Smyrna have been analysed, proving
to be Of similar composition, although
ranging in date from several hundred
years before Christ to three centuries
after. The samples We're found to be
~. l~.- "a - --.-NV
fatty acids. Experiments indicate hat
the cement was a mixture of two parts
of Stag or lime with one part of olive oil,
as this was hard and durable.
Treatment of soil with lime has been
suggested to the Paris Academy Of Sci
ences as a possible remedy for malaria,
having a surface rich in lime are free
from this malady.
A clever X-ray trick is described by
DR.. Gustave 4tMichaud lin the Scientific
American, To heighten the effect a lamp
may be placed behind the sitter, in front
OF whom is then held the apparatus,
which looks like the lens tube of a cam
era with a sheet of white ape exposed
i'm full view. as the plate, and the rubber
bulb, apparently operating a pneumatic
shutter is pressed. Thu result is start
limg-a picture of the subjects internal
organs flashing instantaneously into
view in strong colors. The picture is
previously painted on the paper with in.
visible inks-a diluted solution of sulpho-
cyanide of potassium being used for the
lungs, a more concentrated solution or
the same salt for the heart and the prin-
cipal arteries, a solution of ferrocyanide
of potassium for the larger veins, and
a weaker solution of the same salt for
the stomach and a few intestinal coils.
For tho roct off tho hnHxy ic r1cod q oon-
centrated solution Of tannin. The tube
really contains only a small atomizef,
and pressure on the bulb forces from this
upon the paper an invisible spray of fer
rio chloride solution, producing wel1
known chemical reactions.
In a case reported by DR.. Woods, the
only patient he had seen to recover from
tetanus was treated by hyDOdermic in
j~ections of ten tper cent solution of car
bolic acid every half-hOur, except when
| quiet at night, until able to swallow. A
dram of the solution in glycerine was
then administered every three hours UNI
TIL the spasms ceased, and after thai less
frequent and smaller doses until all rig
idity had disappeared. Like treatment
proved effective in a case of tetanus in
a horse.
Milk containing five per cent Of borax
is proposed by M. Ed. Crouzel as a gen.
eral antidote to poisons. Boric acid is
precipitated as an insoluble borate by
most mineral bases. The casein of milk
coagulates with toxic acids, and also
forms insolute classmates with mineral
bases, while the fatty character of milk
prevents ~irritant substances from taking
too much effect.
The number of winks in a given time
| is found by KotZ, a Russian physician
to furnish a fairly accurate measure Of
the degree of eye fatigue caused by vari-
GUS illuminants. This method gave the
following unexpected results from read
ings of ten minutes: with a candle, 81
winks per minute; city gas, 2.S; sunlight
20; electric light, 1.S.
A peculiar industry of the island OF
Procida is the manufacture of fine silk
threads from the stOmachs OF silkworms
The worm, just before the time of its
metamorphosis. is cut open, and thu
membrane of the stomach is carefully re-
moved and picked by the secret process
Holding one end in the teeth and draw.
ing the other with the hands, the work
people then work the tissue into threads
of considerable length. The threads are
priced for strength and fiexibility, and
find a market in northern Italy at about
SIS a pound. They are used for fishing
tackle, brushes, etc. Production is ex
pensive, as the worms must be tax
at the time of their greatest value fol