The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-01-17

Drills q, 900 Years Ago-Painting the
Eyeball--Standardizin Food--Mechani-
cal Observation-Disclosures Gold.
The universe is narrowed to the limits of our
perceptions. It is not the same to all persons,
it may be very different to the even more inn
perfect faculties of other animals. Able Mo-
reaux suggests that II could perceive the
ultra.xiolet rays, as Lubbock has found the ants
do. he might see a whole landscape shining in
light unknown to us now, while the normal man
would be in darkness. To the color-blind, usual
ly unable to distinguish red from green and
black, while some perceive no yellow or blue,
the world is not the same as to the average indi-
vidual. If your eyes were attended to the Their
mochemical vibrations revealed by the bolome-
ter, the visual scale would be transposed, and
instead of the stars we should per-
ceive those whose light has been long extin-
guished, the sun would appear surrounded by
its ever-changing corona, currents of hot air
would become visible like snow-squalls, and the
science of heat would give up its secrets. There
are other vibrations waves, X-rays.
land so onto which we do not respond. The
Able wonders why we have only five senses,
how they were developed, and whether different
environment would have evolved other percep-
tive organs.
ed-especially in ltaly-with hypodermic injec-
tions Of dilute phenol solution. The disease is
usually arrested, and at the end of several days
the symptoms begin to diminish. From the 80
cases thus far recorded, Dr. Croft finds the NOR
tally to be about 10 per cent. while with treat
ment with anti-tetanic serum the deaths have
reached 30 per cent.
The breathing or blowing OF wells driven on
the plains of Nebraska has been lately shown
to coincide with changes of barometric pres
sure, but it is thought that low pressure can
hardly account for the force with which the air
is expelled from some of the wells.
-.
The rapid changes that are taking place in the
production of motive power were made evident
ii two striking papers of the late British Asso-
citation meeting. Mr.. H. A. Humphrey pointed
out that 800 horse power gas engine shown at
Paris in 1900 was of great interest on account Of
its size, but the same makers now build engines
of $500 horsepower and are ready to begin
upon motors of twice that capacity. OF gas en-
gines larger than 200 horsepower, British ma
kers last August had delivered or had under
contract not less than 81, while the total on the
Continent and in America was 327 engines, ag-
gregating 181 ,605 horse power. Gas engines of
1,5OO horsepower have been made in Pittsburg,
and two gas engine gas compressors Of 1000
horse power each under contract in Buffalo.
In the second paper. by the Hon. G. A. Parsons,
it was stated that compound steam turbines
were furnishing total of 5000 horsepower in
1890 the largest unit not exceeding 120 horse
power. Rising to 10000 horse-p power in 1895,
now the aggregate of these motors for driving
7dyuamos has reached about 100000, the largest
size having increased to 5000 horsepower; and
.fo
applied to the driving of boats.
-
The worlds greatest monument. priced as a
marvel of antiquity, seems to have been made
with tools we class as modern. From evidence
collected at Gizeh, w. W. Flinders-Petrie con-
cludes that the pyramid builders used solid and
tubular drills, straight and circular saws, and
lathe tools, all of which were set with cutting
stones, and they did work that would puzzle the
artisan of today. Some granite cores show that
the drill sunk one-tenth of an inch at each
revolution, while the cut was clean and uniform
through soft sandstone and the hardest granite.
As diamonds were very scarce, it is supposed
that the cutting material was corundum.
-.
Tattooing the cornea with sterilized India ink
is recommended by DR.. j. l.. Borsch for lessen
ing the unsightliness of Opaque spots on the
eye. When the opacity is slight, the treatment
may even give considerable restoration of
sight,
A United States Food Pharmacopaia, to
aid the grocer and the food inspector as the
Pharmacopeia serves the druggist, is the sug-
gestion of Mr.. Edward N. Eaton, of the Illinois
Food Commission. The work, to be prepared
by experts, should contain a classification and
description of the various animal, vegetable
and mineral substances used for food or in pre-
pairing food, with standards of quality, methods
of manufacture and preparing for the market,
and chemical data to prove purity or character
or amount of adulteration. Every effort should
be exerted to make the book authoritative with
the trade and as influential in court as possible.
The United States Pharmacopoeia, selected as an
excellent model, is revised every ten years, and
is controlled by an incorporated body, with a
board of five trustees to transact all business
and carefully chosen revision committee of rs
medical men and pharmacists
~
The balloon constructed by the French War
Department for crossing the Sahara is to carry
no passengers except six pigeons whose safe
passage will show the feasibility of travel by
this means in the desert. AS the trip may re-
quire four or five days. the recording barometer,
thermometer and barometer have clockwork to
operate five days and camera, carrying long
strip of film. is SO arranged that exposures will
be made by clockwork at intervals of Is minutes
during the time. Leakage is to be balanced by
water ballast, released by valve when the
ground is touched by ball hanging from the car.
~
How much of our gold may be collected from
space cannot be guessed. Specks appearing to
be gold have been recently taken from meteor
ties, and as the meteoric matter reaching the
earth is estimated at many millions of tons year
ly, much of the gold of the land and of sea-water
may be acquired in this way.
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Anew map shows that the peat-bogs of Ireland
cover 1881 square miles, mostly in counties DON
egal, Mayo and Galway. Their average depth is
25 feet.