The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-15
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY
A HEATING FAN--MTLK rEsTED
 BY ITS FLOW.
Danysg, the New Rat Plague In toxication from Explosives, Health of Armies-New Fog Warnings--visibility o$ Uniforms-Artihcial
 Jasmine.

The electro-thermic fan of M De Mare, of Brussels, consists of rotating fan. with mica blades carrying resistance coils, the apparatus being driven by an electric motor. The advantage of this form of heater is that the moving coils radiate heat so rapidly that nothing ia lost in light, and in . late experiment the wire was made white hot before starting, but soon cooled down to blacixness ct the center as the fan rotated, the outer coils continuing to glow feebly., The heat dis charged from the mouth of the fans cas- ing was greater than the hand could bear. In another experiment with coils of very thin wire, tho fan was started before the current was turned through the coils, and the wire glowed but faintly. although radiating heat that would have melted 1t under the usual conditions of a stationary coll. ~
 Milk varies in viscosity with composition and temperature, and a new apparatus called the '1acto-viscometer'' is regarded by French physicists as solving the prob lem of a simple test for milk. It con- sists of a timed copper reservoir mounted on a tripod, with a fine glass tube as out let. When the reservoir is filled with sample of the milk, the stopcock Is opened, and the time required for the GSCAD0 or CHo liQuI0 Ac uOSC0 AAA p~SNeANep with the temperature, and reference to table shows the exact character of milk corresponding to these data.
 A new virus called "danysg'' is made in France, and is claimed to be harmless to domestic animals, but fatal to rats. Bread impregnated with it was scattered in docks, vessels, railway stations and schools, in Marseilles, and over thou nI n a zinRia ntRhG The final results of the experiments will be eagerly awaited.
 Much to be desired is a method Of recogs nizing poisonous plants at sight. While no general rule can be given, Dr. 1T. H. Rusby finds that that there are evident indications, and that certain characterize ties often go with poisonous properties. One of these Is the lurid purple color of stems of castor oil, cicuta, coniuns pukeberry and dogbane. A narcotic odor is common in many of the most poisonous plants, though lacking in others. and milky juice Is cause for suspicion. The most general characteristic, however, is an acrid taste. This Is our best safe- guard, and it can usually be relied upon to give warning before dangerous quafl- tity has been eaten.
 Nitroglycerine is occasionally used in medicine, and it now appears that soI- diers of the British army have become addicted to cordite-which is moro than half nitroglycerine-as stimulant. An investigation by Major Jennings shows that even a very small quantity produces very powerful effect. The taste is sweet. pleasant and pungent, and when little is sucked by itself from a strand the effect is a strong tendency to sleep, with a violent headache and noises in the ears for thirty-six hours or more. The worst results follow It's use in beer. Intoxica- ton follows at once, and the men become quarrelsome, destructive and brutal, soon falling into deep slumber. The cordite victims age rapidly.
 A study of statistics of the six great