Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-16
SCIENCE NOTES.
Civilization and Food.


organs, and so out, Of the body before
] it has been made fully and economical
ly available for the sustenance of the
slow nutritive process. Moreover, g
sudden irruptiOn into the blood of new
ly digested elements would tend te
disturb the chemical equilibrium Of
that fluid, and so interfere with the
transitional performance of its func,
tons. 1t would also tend to produce
| liver and other congestions, to the
! general disadvantage and discomfort
of economy. A too rapid digestion and
| absorption of food may be compared
to feeding fire with straw instead of
slower-burning coal. In the former it
would be necessary to feed often and
often, and the process would be waste
full Of the fuel; for the short-lived
| blaze Of the whole mass would heat
up the chimney. To burn fuel eco
nomically and to utilize the heat to
down, so as to insure slow as we'll as
complete combustion.
So with human digestion, our highly
prepared and highly cooked food re-
quires in the healthy and vigorous
that the digestive powers should be
damped down in order to insure the
economical use of food.
Coffee After Dinner.
Why do many people take coffee
after dinner? 1t is, perhaps, little
n iPJ fn CriT
Tor this practice. One explanation
is that coffee tends to neutralize the
effect of alcohol which may have been
consumed with the meal The prac-
tice Of taking cheese at the close of a
meal is supposed to be justified on
the ground that it aids the secretion
of gastric juice in the stomach, and
thus favOrs digestion. This is prob
ably correct, for a morsel of old cheese
certainly causes an increased flow both
Of saliva in the mouth and gastric
juice itself But the coffee question
can hardly be solved on a like basis.
Instead of favOring digestion both tea
and coffee distinctly retard it. Sir
William Roberts, distinguished
physician, questions whether this de-
laying effect on digestion may not
after all be a beneficial feature in
modern life. His argument is that
the high advance of civilization and
the perfection of cooking tend to
present us with our food in a condi-
ton which favors not merely rapid
digestion but even too quick assimi-
lation.
Limits ofsPower Transmission.
There are limits, the Electrical Re
view thinks, to the amount of electric
ity that can be safely carried with
wires and insulators such as are now
us ed. The first of these is the break
down strength of insulating materials
of various kinds and of the
air itself. 1t has been lately con-
sidered that about $4,000 volts is the
limit imposed by the resisting proper
ties Of the air, as above this voltage
the air seems to conduct reasonably
well and leakage occurs across the
line. From the present knowledge of
the subject it appears that insulators
of porcelain are strong enough to
withstand any electrical strain which
can safely be borne by the atmos-
phere. The present cost of conduct
ing metals and insulation imposes
fairly definite limit to length under
given conditions of Transmission. In
most places transmission lines are
subject to the competition of the coal
carrying railway. Unless the price
Of fuel is materially advanced, or that
of conducting copper or aluminium
materially diminished, it is probable
that in the Eastern states, at any rate,
the transmission distance limit will
not be large
The Physiology of Cwearing.
Prof. G. Patrick ask sin a learned
review, Why do Men Swear?" Deal
ing with the question from the evol-
utionary point of view, the Profes-
sor leads us from the mere growl of
anger in the lower animal to what one
may call the specialized evolution of
swearing in man. 1t is obvious that
many swear words are really of a re-
llgiouS nature, and in the development
Of this art, if art it may be termed, the
suggestion is thrown out that what
may have originally been meant as an
appeal for help has become trans
formed into term either of CON
tempt or of violence, intended to ter
rify or shock an enemy. Why
swearing is rightly considered an i'm
moral habit Professor Patrick ex-
plains from the consideration that the
higher We advance in civilization the
more distinctly are we taught to in
hibit and to repress the emotions of
anger, while the same advance would
render profane in the eyes of cultured
persons the misuse of religious terms.
A Temperance Reform.
New York Sun.-It is painful to read
| in the Kansas newspapers that Sheriff
| So-and-So is going TO empty so-and-so-
many bottles OF beer into such-and-
such a creek on such-and-such day.
| Is there no better destination for the
confiscated stock of the joint keeper
From the points of view of the public
health and of temperance it must be
wrong to pollute a stream, and
| surely the Jamaica ginger drinker
might be coaxed from the error of his
ways by means Of beer. First beer,
| then water. Reform must be gradual
Besides, beer is good to clean rugs
with.