The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-08-18
COrTsspondsnes Baltimore County linton.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

The Time sense-Our Ignorance Of odors
"A Propeller Governor-Ant Recognl-
tion-5unlight -Killing-Cafe
less Coffee-Suffocating Microbes
Science in Mining-A New Ferment-
Modern Alchemy.
One Of our commonest mental operations is
estimating periods Of time. Attempts have been
made to determine the quality of our slime
sense" and in the latest experiments. at Har-
ward University, 251 males and 27l females. from
10 to % years old, were required to judge
the length of each Of four intervals-1S, 90, ~
and 108 seconds-under four different conditions
Comparing the sexes, the females proved to be
much less accurate than the males. The male
judgments ranged from to 900 seconds, with
an almost invariable tendency to under-esti-
mate; and the range Of the female was from
to 400 seconds, considerable over-estimate
being the rule. The second itself is much shorter
to the female than the male.
-
People do not know as many odors as they
suppose, according to a New York investigator
Testing 255 girls with set of 20 common odors,
chiefly essential oils, only 6.72 on the average,
were correctly named. Those most often iden-
titled were wintergreen, camphor, peppermint,
vanilla and cloves; those least often recognized
were hemlock, bergamot. asafoetida, NORWOOD
and lavender.
In novel device for preventing the racing of
propellers, q pendulum gravitates with the
vessels motion. The pendulum is connected to
the unbelievable, and as the stern rises steam
is gradually shut OF up to the point where the
engines are stopped altogether, the valve being
reopened as the propeller begins to take water
again.
The "recognition-sense" of ants is found by H.
Pieron to be recognition Of order by the an
tennae. The usual hostilities Of ants ceased
when those of the stranger species commu-
nifty were given their own odor, while after
losing their antennae they fought friend and
foe alike.
Artificial light is to find powerful rival in
sunlight for coming sanatoria. Preparing for
an operation for cancer on the external ear, DIR.
Hirschberg, Frankfort surgeon, visited Caux
les Territet, on Lake Geneva. where he was
exposed to the suns rays for many hours day,
and the effect was so unexpected and surprising
that he extended his stay to several weeks, when
his ear became completely healed without the
operation. Other cases-including throat treat
ment by passing sunlight through the open
mouth-have given similar remarkable results.
diseased tissue, being unable to protect them
selves by absorbing coloring matter from the
blood and becoming pigmented, are killed by
the sunlight; and that mountain resorts are
especially favorable because the intensity of
the light Is greater, there is less vapor and the
air is free from germs.
Caffeine, the stimulating alkaloid of our
beverages forms or per cent. of our tea and
about IL per cent. of ordinary coffee Some
years ago G. Bertrand discovered in Madagascar
a species of coffee. Coffea humblotiana, that is
free from coffeine. but contains the bitter prin-
ciple cafamarine. Other species with little
caffeine have been found since, and very recent
ly three new species have proven to be absolute
ly free from the alkaloid, though having some
bitter substance. These coffees are all confined
to Madagascar, experiment showing. however,
that their popularity is not due to soil or climate
-
Pulverized clay is claimed as the successful
remedy of DR.. Stumpf. of wurtzburg, for intes-
final disease, including Asiatic cholera. 1t is
given to the fasting child or adult in dose of
10 to 100 grams, and is supposed to act by en-
veloping the microbes and checking their de-
velopment and the production of toxins. Fever
gives place In half an hour to crisis like that
Of pneumonia.
-
Passing bubbles under ships by an air Jet or
lubricating with kerosene oil two or three times
day, has been suggested as means of lessen
ing friction.
Perhaps in no line of human effort have
modern developments brought more striking
results than In mining. Lecturing the other
day on modern and ancient methods an English
nrfn nonn -
progress that has made it profitable to mine
copper ore in the Lake Superior district at
depth Of 5000 feet. gold ore at the New Chum
Railway Mine in Nictoriaat depth of 4226 feet,
and coal at the Pendleton Mine near Manchester,
at depth of $500 feet; to work with profit at
Kimberley rock yielding one-t tenth of carat of
diamonds per load to work with profit at the
the Atlantic Mine Lake Superior. rock contain
ing seven tenths of one per cent. of copper ore
and for gold mine at Bendigo to pay dividend
on yield of two pennyweights to the ton of ore.
49,
The many species of yeast hitherto known are
all useless in tropical countries, as they are
destroyed by a very moderate heat. A remark
able new ferment has been obtained by johnson
and Hare from eucalyptus leaves and this has
proven so resistant to temperature that it con-
verts sugar into alcohol at 1867 F., and has even
Afurther advantage Is that foreign micro-organ-
isms can be destroyed by heat without injuring
the yeast. The name Daccharomyces Their
mantitonum has been given the new yeast, and
it is regarded as so valuable that it has been
protected by s. patents in different parts of the
world. The cells are more oval and rather
smaller than those of ordinary yeast.
-"
Radium breaks up into helium and lead If
Rutherford's differences are true. Radium has
an atomic weight of 225, and if each of the five
alpha particles given of is an atom of helium of
mass l. the residue must have an atomic weight
of 205, about that of lead. This metal, more
over, is present in all radioactive minerals.
-
Sodium or zinc fiuo- silicate in hot y or l per
cent. solution, is a new French preventative and
freproofing for wood, especially for mines.