Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1905-06-02
OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST.

ulIlOu. -NSW lOIh puh'a
OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST.
Experiments justify the conclusion
that increasing the intensity of light
100000 times does not alter its velocity
by as much as two feet second.
Water is so nearly incompressible
that it is but little denser at the bottom
of the ocean than on the surface. Any
substance which will sink will go di-
rectly to the bottom, in spite of the pop
ular belief to the contrary.
The Hygienic Institute of Breslau Is
making war on mosquitoes. Municipal
experts will destroy the mosquitoes
which pass the winter in the cellars and
Easements of houses. Malachite green
is to be used for destroying the larvae in
ponds.
The X-ray operators in the London
hospital used to be injured occasionally
by the rays, but nothing fresh has hap
pened since the introduction of the X
ray shields year ago. These shields
al z maui vi lAlIh 5Auoo SOutdihlh0 q
high percentage of lead.
According to a scientist the immedi-
ate cause of death, in all except very ex-
ceptional cases, such as accident, is the
poisoning of the nervous centers by car
bonic acid, which accumulates in the
blood, owing to the failure of the ar
rangements for its removal
A square foot of uncovered pipe, filled
with steam at 100-pound pressure, will
radiate and dissipate in year heat OBJ
tanned by the economic combustion of
1898 pounds of coal Thus ten square
feet of bare pipe corresponds approx
mately to the waste of two tons of coal
per annum. 49,
Photography is able to depict action
so slow as the growth of flower. BY
exposing plant to camera every quar-
ter of an hour for 16 days it is now pos
sible to watch bud open gradually; to
see the blossoms close at night and re-
open in the morning; to see the leaves
increase in size and the stamens peep
out.
Sir William Ramsay believes that it
is quite possible that in some cases
bread is radioactive. He thinks that
the radio-activity would not do any
harm, as is shown by the presence of
radium in the waters at Bath and at
Wiesbaden. In both cases the water has
to be drunk on the spot in order to get
tho full vol Of ~ 90
Ramsay thinks that this is partly due to
the radioactive properties of the water.
He is inclined to think that there are
radioactive gases in the air. The
freshness" of the air at certain times,
he believes, is due to their presence.
Are the Packers Receiving Fair Play9
When the Garfield report on the
business methods of the packers APP
pearcd. after eight months investiga-
ton, it was severely criticised and
roundly denounced. After three
morths of publicity it is significant
that those who attempted to discredit
| 1t have failed to controvert the figures
contained in that exhaustive document.
| The public is beginning to notice this
omission, and the feeling is rapidly
growing that the sensational charges
out OF which the Beef Investigation"
arose were without foundation. II the
| official statements of the report are
| susceptible of contradiction, good
many people are now asking why the
facts and figures are not furnished to
contradict them.
The truth seems to be that most Of
the charges contain unfounded sensa-
tional assertions A fragrant example
| of this appeared in a recent article in
an Eastern magazine, TO the effect that
forty Iowa banks were forced to close
their doors in 1904 by the Beef
Trusts manipulation of cattle prices"
Chief Clerk Cox, Of the banking de-
partment of the Iowa State Auditors
office, has tabulated the list of banks
given in the magazine article and has
publicly denounced the statement as
utterly untrue. lie gives separately
the reasons for each failure mentioned
and officially states that they have
been caused by unwise speculations
and by reckless banking methods II
may be well to suspend Judgment upon
the packers until the charges agains
them are proved.