The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-11-29
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Anti-typhoid incubation is claimed
to have lessened the number Of cases
aid the mortality.
Electric anaesthesia proves va!uable
in surgery as well as in denial opera
tons. BY high-frequency alternating
currents French surgeon has aroduc-
ed insensibility so lasting that serious
and difficult operation was performed.
the patient feeling nothing
The inertia of a 2oO0-pounG automo-
bile at IS miles an hour is ta,,,llated
| by E. Hospitalier to be the same as
| would be given by a fall o. 1876 feet
| The retarding power develoYea by the
brakes on the frail tires must cverage
! about go horsepower, though the maxi
mum strain may be nearly twice as
great.
The unpleasant odor arising from the
first fire in heating apparatus has been
investigated in Germany 1t is found
| that the fine dust collecting in pipes
| and on steam coils during a season Of
rest contains much moisture and is rich
| in heterogeneous, and the first
warmth causes the organisms to vege-
tate in great numbers. This sets free
much ammonia, which gives the dis
agreeable and irritating smell.
| In the new Dessolle process of cop
per plating, the cleansed metallic arti-
cles, first subjected to an electric cur
rent in a preparatory adhesion BATH"
are placed in the usual plating bath,
and the latter is driven forcibly in jets
J against the articles and the anodes.
This removes gas and impurities from
the bath. The result is a perfectly
smooth deposit of copper which can be
given unusual thickness with great
durability.
A German motor wagon for military
use, known as the Kellar wagon, has
the novel feature of movable railway
track under it's wheels. The wheels are
| two feet in diameter, and each is sur
rounded by rail in the form of hoop
seven feet in diameter, with broad
and fiat outer surface. Each rail is
held in place by two Hanged guide
wheels, by which the steering is done.
With a fair load, the 2S horsepower
engine gives a speed of miles an
/ hour.
Casks of corkwood, the recent inven-
! ton of a resident of Algeria, are claim
ed to have important advantages. Cork
| being a bad conductor of heat, liquids
are protected from freezing on exposure
to cold, and perishable substances are
| preserved from heat in warm climates.
An interior coating keeps the contents
from contact with the cork. The slaves
do not warp, and an eleven gallon cask
weighed only 80 pounds instead OF the
so pounds that would have been it's
weight in ordinary wood.
Metallic calcium by electrolysis has
been produced by Prof. Borchers, of
lAix-la-Chapelle, only after many fail
ures. The perfected process is very
simple, calcium chloride being the only
compound used, and it gives promise of
reducing the price of calcium from
nearly $4,000 a pound to less than dol
lar. The metal is as soft as hard but
ter, rapidly oxidizing into lime on ex-
j posure to air. As reducing agent, it.
would be useful in chemical researcli2
and organic synthesis, and possibly for
freeing iron from sulphur and phos-
phorus.
Investigation about year ago show
ed that the baIata tree grows in album
dance along thousands of miles of the
Amazon and it's tributaries, but that
the Brazilians were rapidly cutting the
trees for firewood and building mate
rial. Since then the production of gutta
percha from this source has been be-
gun. Each tree yields an average of
315 pounds, and a competent bieeder can
prepare 40 to so pounds per day, one
20 men can get from rubber trees. The
, gum is ready for shipment after being
J fermented and then dried.
While the cause of righthandedness
} is a subject of dispute, artists and
others often work with the two hands
alternately, and the idea is gaining
} ground that ambideXterity is an ac-
complishment that should be cultivated.
Physicians are even contending that it
aids the general health. Children in
Japan are early taught to write and
draw with both hands and German
schools are now making left-hand work
I during a part of the time compulsory
But little practice is necessary to give
the left hand proficiency in the use of
saw, plane hammer, etc, as well as in
writing.
From reports by members of the Ger
man cancer commission, Prof. Hirsch-
berg finds that up to the sixtieth year
cancer is more common in women than
in men, the difference being small at
} ! greater age. In men 415 cases in 1000
are in the stomach, while in women go
of each 1000 affect the uterus and 243
are in the breast. Among old people
cancer is more frequent in the unmar-
ried, the reverse being true among
young people. Hereditary influence was
proven in only II per cent of the cases;
Infection was suspected in 435 cases.
Living in regions where chemical fer
tilizer is employed seems to predispose
: to cancer of the stomach, as does also
the use of acid wines and cider.