The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-02-22

Correspondence Baltimore County LINTON
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Reversed writing-Dust from the Sun
the Diet by Chart-Safety Under Pres
sure-Worms as Tree Planters-A Nine
Testing Lamp-Improving the Electric
Arc-Gas Engine First Aid.
In the curious case recorded by DIR. Vaughan
Pendred. of Coventry, Eng. bright lad of six,
who has been making rapid progress with his
pen and is proud of his success, writes with
equal facility forward or backward. When
acting by himself, he begins at the right hand
side of the paper and writes to the left. From
copy he writes normally, but. on being asked,
declares that the "mirror-writing" is the correct
form. Such writing seems to be less rare than
is supposed. Among several hundred persons
in good health medical investigator some years
ago found more than five per cent. to whom
mirror-writing was natural, but 1t appeared that
these persons were either left-handed or tenn
porarily using the left hand. In mirror the
left-hand reversed writing of right-handed
persons showed the usual characteristics of
handwriting. The popularity is especially
common among expert penmen, and seems to
be still more frequent in nervous and cerebral
disease. An attempt was made to explain it by
hand is normally guided by the left cerebral
cortex. and it was shown that if this instead of
the right cerebral cortex should primarily con-
troll the left hand, that hand would write back
ward.
The puzzling phenomena of the earth's atmos-
phere-especially those of the aurora-are found
by Svante Arrhenius to be best explained as
effects of solar dust. The influx of such dust
would be greatest when the sun is most active,
and it is then that aurorae and magnetic storms
attributed to the dust when electrihed-are
most numerous, and clouds also are especially
abundant. Jupiter shares in the dust, becom-
ing lighter in hue IN sunspot maxima, owing to
increased cloudiness.
The air is found by Prof. MIGUEL of Montsouris
tocontain most microbes at nine in the morning
and nine in the evening"; fewest at three in
morning and three in afternoon.
-.
The mechanical diet Indicator of Prof. Irving
Fisher of Yale University is designed to show
automatically the proteid. fat and carbohydrate
in any dietary, and it not only indicates the
proportions but also points out the easiest way
to bring the ration up to given standard. The
machine consists of an iron upright nine inches
high, from which is suspended basket holding
q caro- printed WIN q r1Rnb-auRl6O Jrldugle as d
sfood map Each individual food has its own
location. The latitude" of any food represents
in calories the food value of its proteid the
Longitude" food value in fat; and distance
from the hypothenuse, value in carbohydrate.
Serving each food in portions of 100 calories of
food value. or some multiple, a weighted pin for
each portion is placed on the map. The weights
represent the food value of the ration, their
positions show the percentages of proteid, fat
and carbohydrate, and when the basket is allowed
to swing freely pointer indicates on the map
the center of gravity of the pins. The map is SO
gagged that properly balanced ration will
bring the center of gravity within charted
normal rectangle." In trial of FIVE months,
nine students were guided largely by appetite,
and by noting the indications of the map were
able easily to vary the diet so as to reduce the
proteid to a standard set as desirable.
-.
Investigating the effect of compressed air on
health, two British engineers have shown that
a pressure of 90 pounds per square inch-more
than six atmospheres-may be endured without
unpleasant results. The pressure must be taken
of at a uniform rate, however, at least twenty
minutes being allowed for each fifteen pounds
of reduction, and capillary circulation in the
body must be kept up by muscular exercise
during compression. Slight temporary neuralgia
pain in the arms was the only i'll effect of the
great pressure.
That earthworms as well as squirrels may aid
the forester is the novel suggestion of an Amer
lean naturalist. Dry maple-seeds are drawn
into worm burrows, where they sprout, and it is
believed that some of them must survive in
favorably moist seasons.
"a
The new miners lamp of Santa and Spelmans,
of Brussels. is designed to give warning of dan
ger, and is based on the principle that fame
like that of benzine remains constant in size
and brightness under constant conditions but is
by RS sSRa Es lamp has
casing of wire-eauge provided with external
cooling ribs. 1t is surmounted by refractory
chimney, through the opposite sides of which
pass the elements of a thermopile. and any
variation of current is shown by galvanometer
in connection with these elements. If the flame
is made larger and hotter by the presence of
fre-damp, the thermo elements are affected, an
increase of current intensity being indicated by
the galvanometer needle. Carbonic acid gas
reducing the flame, is similarly sgnaled by a
reduction on the galvanometer scale, and
recording apparatus connected with the gal
vanometer may be made to keep record of the
varying conditions in different parts of the
mines workings.
-.
The electric arc from the incandescence of
carbon electrodes converts into light only about
one per cent. of the energy and the so-called
''faming arc" is an attempt to gain efficiency
by adding to the carbon substances that pro-
duce luminous flame. Reporting the latest
results Prof. A. Blondel, the French electrician,
states that salts of the calcium group have
proven suitable materials. The pure chemicals
may be used for electrodes or employed in a
homogeneous mixture with carbon, but cleo
rrodes of carbon with a core of the chemicals
have advantages. A lamp with such electrodes,
giving powerful light, has much greater eff
cheney than any other. The quality of the light
may be varied, but the elements of the calcium
group are best to use, as they not only give out
red and yellow rays but are freer from ultra
violet radiations than the iron or titanium arcs.
Gas poisoning from gas engines has become SO
common that German authorities urge that
cylinders of oxygen be kept near. and that en-
gineers be taught to apply inhalations to re-