Amador ledger., 1906-03-23

Farms. -Dissociatlor by X-Rays.-
Visible Digestion. The Latent Image
Automatic Lighting.
AT the summer solstice at Paris. the
sun descends only eighteen degrees
below the horizon, and twilight con
tinues from the setting of the sun il
the northwest until its rising in the
northeast. At midnight a luminou!
arc several degrees high can be observ
ed in the north This faint light wa:
first photographed by Pouchet anc
outset from the top of the Eife
Tower, and it was conclusiveIy proven
to be from the sun. Photometr1C
study was urged by the late Nj.
Cornu. A special photometer has
nowbeen constructed by M. Touchet.
and with this apparatus the varying
intensities of the twilight arc will be
accurately measured from the EiffeI
Tower observatory.
A new artificial granite reported
from FIeiburg, Baden. is made from
chips of granite or MAI BILE, or both.
These are made into a consistent
putty with suitable proportion of
cement, water, coloring matter and
any other desired ingredients, and the
mixture is shaped IN moIds and allow
ed to set. The blocks are then i'm
mersed in water to acquire a certain
amount of water. On removal, they
are dried and hardened III warm and
shady place, after which they are pol
ished.
The idea of using chlorotorm for
consumption was suggested to Brit
lsh physician on noting the temporary
improvement in consumptive patients
after operations requiring an anaes-
thetic. He has had no opportunity
to test the theory fully, but has OBJ
tanned favorable results in little ex-
perimenting with chloroform as an
inhalant. This liquid being very
volatile and germieide, he contends
that it should be an ideal drug for
destroying bacllIi in the lungs.
Capock, much used in Holland and
other European countries, is a pro-
duct of certain bamboos known in the
Dutch Indies as the "false cotton
tree." 1t is a down of yelIowish
brown silky filaments, which is found
in the capsule of the fruit, where it
surrounds and protects the tender
pulp. 1t is not only very light, but
it absorbs scarcely any water even
after months of maceration. Less
than pound is sufficient to support
man OF ordinary weight in water.
In the English and German navies
the material is being used instead
of cork for lifesavlng apparatus, and
French surgeons now find that 1t has
advantages as substitute for wadd-
ing or cotton for bandages or COM
presses. 1t is suggested that the
price, which is now high, might be
reduced by encouraging the cuItiva-
tion of this variety of bamboo in
eastern colonies.
Atoxine of the blood of eels and
allied species, preventing coagulation
of poisoned blood, was discovered by
M. Mosso as long ago as 1889. The
toXine has not yet been isolated, but
late Investigators have found that the
eel serum retains its toxic power for
considerable time in the dark, but
that the degree of toxicity varies with
the individual eel and with the sea-
son. Like snake venom, the toxine
appears to be active only when swal-
lowed. An antitoXine can be produced
in the blood serum OF susceptible
animals, and this renders rabbits and
goats immune against great doses,
though little effect is produced on
gulnea-pigs.
The strength of hair has been found
by German eXperimenter to vary
greatly with color. A single black
hair supported 4 ounces; one of very
dark brown, 312 ounces; brown, 3
ounces; but yellow scarcely held up
ounces without beaking. )
Twice as much heat is generated by
X-rays in lead as in zinc. The only
explanation evident to the discoverer
is that certain elements are broken
up by these rays, and that the energy
liberated from these atoms forms "a
part of that appearing when the rays
are absorbed by matter.
The powers of the stomach have
been gagged hitherto by means of a
test breakfast and the subsequent use
of the stomach pump, or less directly
by chemical test of the urine. A new
method is being tried in Europe by
DR.. Schwartz. He administersa large
pill of third or half an onnce of
subnitrate of bismuth enclosed in a
coating of connective tissue from the
sheep or OK, and when examination
is then made with X-rays this sub
stance shows as a dark shadow. At
first 1t appears as deep black 81 OF :
AS digestion progresses however, it
dissemlnates through the stomach,
and in health gives faint shadow of
the entire organ in about seven hours.
In such disorders as deficiency of
acid, pyloric disease and cancer, the