POPULAR MISCELLANY 



43i 



sessing a power of absorption more intense 

 and lying nearer to the yellow of the spec- 

 trum, and obtained in eosine and in various 

 derivatives coloring substances which hard 

 ly possess more than a broad absorption 

 band in the yellow, and with which he ob- 

 tained the desired result. When these bod- 

 ies were mixed in due proportions with the 

 dry gelatine plates, the yellow of the colored 

 objects appeared quite clear on the photo- 

 graph, but the blue was still always bright- 

 er. Professor Vogel then inserted a yellow 

 glass between the object and the camera, 

 which partly absorbed the blue rays, leaving 

 the yellow unimpaired, and obtained photo- 

 graphs in which the blue, as well as the 

 green and yellow, and partly even the red, 

 parts of the colored objects presented to 

 the observer's eye the same vivid effects as 

 the original. 



The Objects of Bathing. The object 

 of bathing, says a writer in the " Saturday 

 Review," is fourfold : to produce a certain 

 amount of nervous shock, that should be 

 followed by reaction and an increased circu- 

 lation of the blood on the surface, resulting 

 in a more rapid change of tissues ; to lower 

 the temperature of the body ; to cleanse the 

 skin ; and to produce pleasurable feelings, 

 and, in connection with swimming, the bene- 

 ficial effects of one of the best forms of 

 physical exercise. The nervous shock and 

 the reaction from it, following the first con- 

 tact with the water, are important points, 

 and to obtain them the plunge or the 

 douche is preferable to any other form of 

 bath. To wade up to the middle and stand 

 shivering and fearful of the momentary 

 feeling of discomfort is neither healthy 

 nor pleasant, and timid persons who dare 

 not plunge boldly into the water should be 

 content with the douche-bath. A large 

 garden hose, with a high pressure of water, 

 held at a distance of fifteen or twenty 

 feet from the body, will give an idea of 

 this most delightful curative and bracing 

 agent. Sea-bathing differs from out-door 

 fresh-water bathing in the greater specific 

 gravity of sea-water and its consequent 

 greater buoyancy and more uniform tem- 

 perature, while the pure air, sunshine, and 

 better sanitary surroundings of sea-side 

 places contribute largely to the results. 



Mineral baths, as such, have no particular 

 superiority over other baths of the same 

 density and temperature. In addition to 

 the greater healthiness and enjoyableness 

 of out-door bathing, it is probable that the 

 simple exposure of the body to the sun and 

 fresh air is of real benefit, and contributes 

 to the sum total of the good results. Cramps 

 are considered one of the great dangers of 

 bathing, but when they are fatal it is proba- 

 bly the result of syncope or fainting, from 

 failure of the heart's action. A good swim- 

 mer in vigorous health would hardly be 

 wholly disabled by a cramp of only a part 

 of his limbs. 



Structure of the Edible Birds' Nests. 



Mr. Pryer, whose account of his visit to the 

 Gomantin Caves, in North Borneo, has fur- 

 nished a fund of information respecting the 

 edible birds' nests of the Chinese, has pub- 

 lished in a Japan paper an article correcting 

 some misapprehensions that he has found 

 to exist on the subject. That the nests are 

 made from the saliva of the bird he regards 

 as a physical impossibility, for a bird could 

 not secrete in a few days a mass of saliva 

 more than equal, when dried, to the entire 

 bulk of its own body, and then do this nine 

 consecutive times a year. He thinks that 

 some saliva is used by the birds, the alga? 

 being worked up in the bird's mouth in the 

 same manner that mud is worked up by 

 the Japanese swallow. Mr. Pryer at first 

 thought that the black nests owed their 

 color to their being made of the brown out- 

 sides of the algae, while the white nests are 

 made of the inside. This is not correct, for 

 the birds can use only the inside ; the black 

 nests are simply white nests grown old and 

 frequently repaired. 



How to sleep well. In sleeping, much 

 depends on securing a comfortable position. 

 Lying on the back would seem to give the 

 most ease, but general experience and prac- 

 tice prove that it does not, and it is liable 

 to some definite objections. In a weakly 

 state of the heart and blood-vessels, and in 

 certain morbid conditions of the brain, the 

 blood seems to gravitate to the back of the 

 head, and to produce troublesome dreams. 

 Persons who have contracted chests, and 

 who have had pleurisy and retain adhesions 



