The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-09-16

So1k-Iertil1ty ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
sion increased : Novel An9stneEcs-
Dangerous Euel-The Household Wire
less-Fireproof Celluloid-Brass Poison
iug-Energy Wasted IN EARTHQUAKES
New Electric Depilation.
To place agriculture among the exact sciences
Il the hope Of certain French enthusiastic. and
AZ flrst step it Is proposed to establish system
Of exact measurements Of the fertility OF the
soil. pioneer in this art Of "euphorimetry."
Is It Is called, has been M. varembey. He has
made many experiments, and has recommended
q euphorimetric scale ranging from to 10 de-
erees. each degree to represent the fertility pro-
duced By 1000 Kilograms Of farm-yard manure
onone hectare Of land. He has shown that every
degree Of fertility in the soil yields IS lters Of
wheat per hectare or IS iters of rye, or ~ iters
Of barley. or IS liters of oats. The effects OF
other manures can be determined according 10
this standard. the present fertility OF any soil
can be estimated from the last crop and the ex-
haustion experience has shown to be caused by
such crop, and the probable yield Of any one OF
the cereals can be calculated from the present
fertility. While irregularities Of temperature
and moisture must AFFECT crops. it is believed
that theoretical results for normal conditions
can be worked out with much accuracy.
Ass
The smallest object yet recognized under the
microscope is the bacillus of pleuro-pneumonia
in cattle. This is one-tenth of a micron-or
about 1,250OOO of an inch-in size. and still
smaller microbes. as yet unseen, are supposed
to be associated with smallpox, hydrophobia and
the horse sickness of South Africa. Two years
ago two Germans devised q means of increasing
the visibility Of minute objects by immersing
them in glass so as to admit of lighting from the
side. This process has been greatly simpliied
By A. Cotton and H. Mouton, French micro
scopIsts, and new view Of the infinitely little
IS promised as the next scientific sensation.
sss
For cooling hot bearing Prof. Lecocq sug-
gests dissolving the usual oil in petroleum spirit
the evaporation of which viii effect the cooling
desired.
The disagreeable effects of chloroform and
ether have been partially avoided in recent
years by the use of local an@sthesia, but this is
not adapted to all cases. A novel application Of
music is now claimed as an important advance
In surgical methods by Prof. G. Redard, of Ge-
neva. Switzerland. When chloroform or ether
Is administered, an ordinary musical box is set
going, and the soothing action prevents both the
unpleasant exhileration before loss Of conscious
ness and the after-sickness. SO that there are
neither bad dreams nor subsequent nausea and
prolonged feeling of illness. Still more curious
is Prof. Richards blue-light an@sthesia. Aftel
experimenting with light Of various colors, be
has found that an ordinary incandescent lamK
with blue bulb produces kind of hypnotic
sleep when held before the eyes for two or three
minutes, and that no harmful effects attend the
awakening. The sleep is profound enough Il
enable q dentist to extract tooth without pain
~
Briquettes Of soft coal have come into consid
cradle use in European cities in recent years
They are convenient. but their use lie ATTENDED
by mysterious danger of spontaneous ignition
while they are fresh. the risk disappearing afte
the material has been prepared few weeks
Prof. Modem. of Griefswald, states that BerliI
alone had 149 fires from this cause in 1909 AMI
1903. The manufacture consists in pulverizinI
the coal, then heating and pressing into bricl
form, and the change that gives liability Il
ignite In air is unknown. 1t is urged that TIN
date of manufacture be stamped on each bri
Quette.
The domestic wireless telegraph of William
Hammer, the New York electrical engineer, in
cludee tiny transmitter and pole on the dining
room table. with batteries under the table, ant
In the kitchen another pole, with transmitte
and receiver, connected with an electric bell
A wireless current through the walls summon
the maid, system of signals giving call 70
anything desired.
The projected Danish laboratory st Disk
Island, North Greenland, is expected to includ
an Arctic botanical garden-the first of its kim
for studying plant growth in cold.
.ss
The extreme combustibility of celluloid rem
ders it dangerous and unfit for many purposes
To overcome this difficulty. French chemls
dissolves it in ether and alcohol, and adds to /
an ether-alcohol solution of ferric perchloride
The result is q clear. sirupy liquid of yellow
color. Left in the air in suitable open vessel
the volatile portion of the mixture soon evapo
rates, leaving shell-like substance that is un
fammable and incombustible, retains the plan
.cy and transparency of ordinary celluloid ant
serves all the purposes of that useful material.
- :.
The disease known as foundry fever caused
by the fumes from brass furnaces, is found by
German investigator to affect at least Is pc
cent. of all brass moulders. Many workers hav'
experienced twenty or thirty attacks. The sui
ferer experiences irritation producing coughing
fits. with headaches and ague, these symptom
continuing several hours, when severe swea
ends the attack. Removal of the cause is tn,
only cure. In one badly affected foundry tn,
roof was raised and a high stack was provided
for better ventilation. and there was no further
trouble.
The earthquakes Of the last eight years arr
calculated by DIR. Won Kovesligethy to have ex
erted seventy billion horsepower per second
This Buda-Pesth physicist assumes that the de
viations of the poles that astronomers have beer
recording are due to earthquakes, and his calcu
lations are based on the extent of the move
ments shown and the estimated weight Of the
earth.
An improved method of operating on super
huous hairs is known as ''enelectrolysis." The
hair is first pulled out with tweezers, and the
electric needle is then inserted in the hole left
in the skin. The destruction is claimed to b
more certain than by the old method, while
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