140 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



pected, in the light of an observation made 

 by Professor Reynolds, that there must re- 

 sult a difference of pressure on the two 

 sides of the vertical line through the center 

 of gravity in the thin space between the 

 box and the journal the maximum being 

 on one side or the other, according as the 

 rotation is one way or the other ; for, un- 

 doubtedly, the box and journal became 

 adapted to each other for a certain direc- 

 tion of running, and when a reversal was 

 made some time would elapse before a re- 

 adaptation would be completed. This would 

 explain why a new journal and box would 

 always heat on first being run, however per- 

 fect they might be. 



Deaths by Poisoning. According to the 

 English Registrar-General's reports, deaths 

 by poisoning occur with alarming frequency 

 in the ordinary course of events. In 1881, 

 569 deaths were recorded in England alone 

 from this cause; in 1882, 599, or one in 

 every 863 of the total deaths registered. 

 Fully two fifths of the cases in the latter 

 year were classified under the heading " ac- 

 cident and negligence " ; the rest, 288, were 

 suicides. Of the deaths through accident 

 or negligence, 85 were occasioned by opium, 

 laudanum, and morphia ; 18 by lead com- 

 pounds ; 34 by the four stronger acids 

 hydrochloric, nitric, sulphuric, and carbolic ; 

 14 by chloral ; 11 by phosphorus ; nine by 

 arsenic ; six by chlorodyne ; four by chloro- 

 form ; and four by soothing -sirup. How 

 came the victims of these poisons to take 

 them accidentally in fatal doses ? The medi- 

 cal reports on the subject trace the mistakes 

 to two principal causes the giving or tak- 

 ing of overdoses of certain remedies con- 

 taining poisons, and the substitution of one 

 bottle or substance for another, as where 

 bottles of all kinds of things are piled to- 

 gether in the cupboard, and, in the nervous- 

 ness of haste or in carelessness, the wrong 

 one is taken. The remedies for these dan- 

 gers ought to be obvious. One is, never to 

 give an infant an opiate or other powerful 

 soothing remedy without first obtaining the 

 sanction of a doctor. Another is, that no 

 patient taking powerful remedies should be 

 permitted, or 6hould permit himself, to 

 measure or repeat the dose himself. A 

 third is, never to place bottles or packets 



containing poison alongside of or near any- 

 thing that is to be taken internally. Fourth, 

 never to put any poison into bottles, jugs, 

 or cups which children or any other persons 

 are apt to associate in their minds with sub- 

 stances not in themselves dangerous. The 

 last remedy is sovereign. It is, not to keep 

 strong remedies on hand. 



Relation of Color and Flavor in Fruits 

 and Vegetables. Mr. Emmett S. Goff re- 

 cords in the " American Naturalist " some 

 investigations he has made to determine 

 whether there may not be a law of relation 

 between the color and flavor in fruits and 

 vegetables. He was led to his experiments 

 by the observation that in several fruits 

 and vegetables, such as onions, currants, to- 

 matoes, and raspberries, a white or light- 

 colored flesh is accompanied by a milder and 

 more delicate flavor than exists in other va- 

 rieties of the same fruit or vegetable hav- 

 ing a dark-colored flesh ; also that seme 

 vegetables are " blanched " to give them a 

 more delicate flavor. The usual aim in im- 

 proving the qualities of fruits and vegeta- 

 bles is to intensify the desirable qualities 

 and eliminate the undesirable ones. It is 

 evident, therefore, Mr. Goff says, that, if the 

 color of the flesh has a direct relation to its 

 flavor and tenderness, we have a valuable 

 index in the work of selection. If by whit- 

 ening the flesh of a fruit we can eliminate 

 acid and solidity, or if by darkening the flesh 

 of another fruit, already too tender and in- 

 sipid, in the same way, we can heighten its 

 characteristic flavor and increase its firm- 

 ness, we have gained a new faculty in mak- 

 ing the products of Nature subservient to 

 our wants. Mr. Goff supports his view by 

 the citation of a number of fruits and vege- 

 tables of peculiar qualities, and quotes de- 

 scriptions by various authors, which appear 

 to be in agreement with it. 



The Harp-Seal in the St. Lawrence 

 River. It has been long known that the 

 harp-seal (Phoca Qroerdandica) was accus- 

 tomed to visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence for 

 bringing forth its young ; but Dr. C. nart 

 Merriam has collected evidence that its ex- 

 istence in that river is far more general and 

 fixed than had been supposed. Mr. Napo- 

 leon A. Comeau, who lives near the point 



