The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-21
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY
THE FIRST ROCK TUNNEI.--THE EARTH A MASS OF COMPRESSED
 GAS.
Madhouse ndustries-HypnOtism and Inebriety--AlcOhoI Lighting-SmOke DlsinfectiOn-A Muscle Stimulate
 ing Drug-Temperature in Mines.

1mk DIU6~& GA-Ahf~A@s~AS = NN---N~' 
 The piercing of the Simplon leads Dr.
 Berthelot of Balse University, to call attention to the earliest rock tunnel on record Shiloh Tunnel was bored by King Hezekiah. who reigned about T21 to 699 B. C., and It's purpose was to permit the water of Marys Spring to flow into the Pool of Siloam for the use of Jerusalem. Its present length | is 5S0 yards. although straight line between the two ends would measure only 363 yards. An inscription dis covered in 1880 confirms the belief that the hewers with bronze picks began
 at both ends and met near the middle. and numerous abandoned galleries give an idea of the difficulty they had in keeping to their course. The tunnel is
 two to three feet wide. diminishing In
 height from ten to one and one-half
 feet, then rising again to six feet. Though the engineers deviated 90 much from a direct line. they followed the
 horizontal level with remarkable ac- curacy, the total variation being not more than a foot, and we may infer
 that the old Hebrews had some instru-
 ment akin to our spirit level.
 The earth's interior. instead of being fluid is now known to be exceeding ly hard and rigid. This is due to the inconceivable pressure, and Prof. T. J. J. See points out that, as the heat is beyond the critical temperature of ev- cry known element. the matter must he essentially a gas reduced by pres sure to hardness and rigidity pos-
 sessed by no substance known to us. Work for the insane is special
 study at the Villejuif Asylum. Paris.
 Painting. carving. sketchinR and even
 tattooing are included, and recovery Is
 often due to the employment. In other cases the condition of the patients mind
 is mirrored in the work done. aiding
 the physician in his study of the case
 more than any amount of discussion or consultation.
 The possibility of curing drunken ness by suggestion has been widely
 recognized. In one of his recent ex-
 neriments Dr. Paul Farez. the French
 psychologIst, claims to have gone a step further, and to have effected a cure against the patients will and ev- en without his knowledge. The pa tient. a healthy man of twenty-five whose incorporate habits had contin- ned eight years, still drank daily two quarts of wine and several glasses of rum. brandy, absinthe, etc, in spite or the fact that his wife had married him to effect a reform. Treatment began by suggestion four or five times per week during natural sleep and slow
 improyement followed at once, the fits of intoxication at first falling to ahout one a month, while the drinking steadily Iessened. After persevering a wear and a half, the cure was pro- nounced complete, only a little ab- sinthe being taken once or twice month. The mans irritability and Vio- a a regular and contented worker, and was gentle and affectionate in his home.
 Wood alcohol is coming into quite general use for lighting in France and Germany, where 1t is as inexpensive as- kerosene. The alcohol Is led to spec ial burner by a wick, which does not require trimming, and with small Welsbach mantle in a slender glass chimney a smokeless and steady light of forty five candle-power Is produced. This very brilliant light can be resu- lated perfectly and Is quite odorless.
 The vapors of burning sugar. resins and aromatic plants have been found bv M. Trillat to contain considerable
 formic aldehyde. thus showing the
 wisdom of the ancient custom of burn ing these substances for disinfection. Rnrning sugar vapor destroyed such organisims as the typhoid bacillus In thirty minutes; other germs. In one to four hours.
 Late observations have shown that the rate of increase of temperature :n boring into the earth is not as great as has been assumed. A rise of one de- gree c. for every 1oS feet has been ae- cepted for Europe and America. but James Stirling, an Australian cngln- eer. from measurements at the deep mines of all parts of the world shows that the average temperature increase ia one degree c. for every 154.5 feet in depth The extremes are one degree C. for every 4O2.6 feet at the Calumet and Helca mine. The rate diminishes some what with increasing depth, but even the most favorable conditions make mining :mpracticable at the depth of a mix kl