Amador ledger., 1907-11-15

The system of COMPRISING air by
falling water, as installed in several
places in the United States and Can
ada, is claimed to have an efficiency
of 70 to 83 per cent. The water flows
through large horizontal pipe to
vertical one, at the upper end of
which is the circular loop of an air
pipe with great number of fine holes
in its lower side, and as the water
drops past the ring innmerable air
bubbles are drawn along and COM
pressed. At the bottom the water
turns suddenly and comes to rest in
reservoir, into which the air rises
under pressure. The compressed air
can be drawn off as desired, and when
the reservoir is full any excess passes
away automatically with the water
carried to the surface in an overflow
pipe. The difference of few feet in
the level of the inflow and outflow
pipes gives a rapid flow of water,
while the amount of compression de-
pends entirely on the depth of the
hole.
The pineal gland and the pituitary
body = neither weighing more than
five or six grains-have long perplexed
anatomists. The former-b behind the
middle ventricle of the brain-is now
supposed to be the remnant of third
eye of our ancestors, and the rudi-
mentary eye is distinct in some liz
ards, with the power of sight in two
species. The pituitary body, just
back of the mouth, has been lately
proven to serve some important pur-
pose. Its chief function is not yet
clear, however, one authority suppos-
ing that it destroys toxins another
that it is general nerve tonic, while
M. de Cyon regards both pituitary
body and pineaI gland as regulators
of blood pressure in the brain.
In South Africa, where thunder
storms are terrific, lightning often
strikes ironstone beds, and blue
1ames-sometimes firing buildings
are alleged to play about such out
crops two or three hours after
storm.
The practical limit of deep-sea
diving, under the best conditions, is
placed by Hill and Greenwood, of the
London Hospital, at thirty.five to
forty fathoms. A special study of
eight years has shown these physio-
logists that the chief danger to the
diver arises from the nitrogen absorb
ed by the blood and other body
fluids, and that it is the absorbed
nitrogen that produces the ill effects
of rising too quickly. The breathless-
ness and oppression felt by the work
ing diver are results of poisoning by
carbonic acid instead of direct effects
of the great pressure. With special
air-pumps and extra precautions, the
experimeters descended thirty five
fathoms in Scotch loch, and, rising
very slowly, were none the worse for
the experience, but the oxygen re-
quired for regular working at such
depth is so great in amount that
pneumonia and commissions are COM
monty produced.
Even the prosaic washing of dishes
has been a subject of scientific in
vestigation. In the interests of the
misunderstanding mortal, Christiani
and Michelis, Swiss bacterioIogists,
have tested the effect on germs pre-
sent of different methods of washing,
such as ~ simply wiping glasses with
sterilized cloth, (2) rinsing with
cold water and wiping with no parti-
cular care, and (3) thoroughly wash
ing and rinsing in fresh water and
carefully drying. They find that the
partial washing or wiping so common
in hotel, restauran: and family
kitchens leaves the germs practically
untouched. Thorough washing, even
in cold or lukewarm water, with
vigorous wiping. may remove practi-
cally all bacteria; and safety is the
more absolute the nearer the water is
to boiling. Dissolving two per cent
of carbonate of soda in the water
makes sterilization still moro thor
ough.
A new directory by the Royal
Observatory of Belgium shows that
there are 1856 astronomers and some
what over $50 observatories in the
world. or the observatories, more
than 100 are in the British Isles,
with nearly as many IN the United
States, the number in other countries