The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-06

flight it must be steered in all directions, and at all times be under perfect controi and equilibrium. It must be so designed as to ascend in any country which may be encountered in field service.
 It should be sufficiently simple In con- struction and operation to permit an in- telligent man to become proficient in it's
 use in a reasonable time, and should be provided with some device to permit of safe descent in case of accident to tho propelling machinery. Three trials will be allowed for speed and three for en- l durance, both tests to be completed with in 30 days from the date of delivery. And it is said by friends of the Wright brothers that they will be able to comply
 with these conditions.
 And while we are building airships we may as well take up the question of drinking cups, for when the flying ma 1 chimes take the place of railroad trains l they will have to carry drinking cups. According to Prof. Alvin Davison of La Fayette college, the drinking cup Is a | mighty big factor in transferring disease producing parasites from one person to another, and Professor Davison certainly knows what he is talking about If all cups are like one he ran across. But 1t may be that this cup was black sheep. Let us hope so, anyway, or we shall feel
  Professor Davison says about that dis reputable cup:
 Cup No l, which had been in use nine days in school, was a clear, thin glass. It was broken into a number of pieces and properly stained for examination with a miscroscope magnifying 1000 diameters. The human cells scraped from the lips of the drinkers were so numerous on the upper third of the glass that the head of pin could not be placed anywhere with out touching several of these bits of skin. The saliva by running down on the in- side of the glass had carried cells and bacteria to the bottom. Here, however they were less than one-third as apun- dant as at the brim.
 By counting the cells present on 90 different areas on the glass as seen under the miscroscope it was estimated that the cup contained over 20,0o0 human cells or bits of dead skin. As many as 150 germs were seen clinging to single cell, and very few cells showed less than 10 germs. Between the cells were thousands of germs left there by the smears of saliva deposited by the drinkers. Not less than 100 900 bacteria were present on every square inch of the glass. Most of these were of the harmless kind abundant in the mouth, but some were apparently the germs of decay feeding upon the bits of the human body adhering to the cup. In order to determine how much material each drinker is likely to leave on the cup, I requested 10 boys to apply the upper lip to pieces of clean, flat glass in the same way as they touched the cup in drinking. These glass slips thus solled were properly stained for microscopic ex- animation which showed an average of about 100 cells and 75,000 bacteria to each slip"
 Examination showed that many of the germs present were those of diseases, the bacilli of tuberculosis, pneumonia. etc., being easily identified.
 Professor Dayison says that the germs of diptheria and grippe frequently remain from one to three months in the mouths of the patients after they have recovered, and that Tit Is an established fact that a considerable number of well persons har- bor in their mouths the germs of grippe, pneumonia, dipthera, and tonsolitis. Ex- animation of 4250 persons by the Mas saohusetts association of the boards of health showed that more than 10 of them carried in their mouths virulent diph- theria germs. In Minnesota, true dipth- theria germs were found in the mouths of 75 persons in every 1000"
 We are glad to be able to state that the problem of homegrown bread for the next score of years has been solved
  most as much bother as the result of the forthcoming election. statistcans have figured it out that by 1850 we will have 142, ,091 663 souls in this country and that each of the bodies that house these souls will need seven bushels of wheat for nourishment in that year. This means that a billion bushels will be required or 300,000000 more than our present wheat crop. Folks were greatly disturbed as A. onr. afrc from until Dr. Edward G. Parker of the Agricultural Experiment station, Univer- sity of Minnesota, arrived via the ancient and respectable Century magazine and made it easy for them. We can con- tinue to grow our own staff of life, he says. And how? Here the New York Times takes the words out of the good doctors mouth and says:
 Dollar wheat will inevitably expand the wheat acreage to its margins, and these margins are elastic. The winter wheat area has already crept up into the Red river valley, and harder winter va rieties may gradually be acclimated to the northern limit of the spring wheat belt. Because of its stronger root sys- tenn the winter wheat can be grown on poorer soils.
 When acreage has thus expanded and population becomes denser, beginnings of
  slothfuf farmer will abandon his method of soil robbery through continuous crop ping. By rotating with cultivated corn. quick maturing barley, which destroys weeds, and with crops like clover, al- falfa and alsike, that absorb atmospheric nitrogen, thus replenishng the soils or ganic supply, it will regain its mellow ness and water-holding capacity. The yield of wheat by rotation of crops may be increased 40 per cent.
 Irrigation will do much in the rich, dry lands. By drainage the slough area will be reduced to permit early seedlings of spring wheat, which is the best for making bread. Instead of Scratching over the plowed fields, they may by thor ough tillage be made to yield from two to five bushels more per acre at an extra cost equivalent to the price of a half bushe. If the farmer select heavy, plump grains for seed the yield may be further