572 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



How to be a Good Xarse.— Six things, 

 says a doctor writing on the subject, are 

 necessary to a good nurse: Strong, equable 

 health ; sound nerve ; minute observation ; 

 a retentive memory ; habits of neatness 

 and cleanliness ; and a calm, collected 

 mind. A nurse must never disregard her 

 health, because it is essential to her own 

 well-being, and because, too, attendants on 

 the sick should always be cheerful and 

 hopeful. Sound nerve is often a matter of 

 training, but its root lies in unselfishness. 

 Any one who, in an accident or operation, 

 forgets self in the desire to aid others, will 

 not be troubled by trembling or fainting. 

 The faculties of observation and retentive- 

 ness of memory can be developed by having 

 interest in the work strong enough to make 

 the nurse careful and patient in her obser- 

 vations. A calm mind is generally the re- 

 sult of organization. If a nurse has ar- 

 ranged her day's work beforehand, if she 

 keeps everything punctually to this arrange- 

 ment, and if everything needful is neatly 

 disposed, she is not likely to be discovered 

 in bustle and confusion at any time. The 

 nurse should, furthermore, be mindful that 

 she is under the doctoi-^, and should respect 

 and obey his directions even if she differs 

 in opinion from him. It is extremely im- 

 portant that those who are sick and suffer- 

 ing should be treated with unfailing gentle- 

 ness and patience ; nothing can ever excuse 

 a nurse for losing her temper with her pa- 

 tient. No duty is too little or trifling for 

 her attention, and no work that is for the 

 good of the patient can be degrading. It 

 is further a good rule never to approach a 

 case fasting ; but always to have a good 

 meal before going on duty. 



Notes about Maple-Sngar.— According 

 to a pamphlet on " Maple-Sugar and the 

 Sugar Bush," by Mr. A. J. Cook, trees grow- 

 ing on high, gravelly soil are supposed to 

 supply richer sap, while those on clay or 

 muck yield more abundantly. Exposure to 

 the open simlight is favorable to a good 

 yield. Concerning the influence of the pre- 

 ceding season on the supply, opinions differ. 

 Vermont sugar-makers believe that an open 

 winter is conducive to a good flow and rich- 

 ness of sap, while those of Indiana and 

 Michigan think the reverse. North and 



west winds and clear skies are favorable, 

 while east and south winds and the ap- 

 proach of a storm are unfavorable. An in- 

 crease in the amount and richness of the 

 sap has been noticed after a rain. A layer 

 of snow or frozen ground over the roots of 

 the tree is thought to be conducive to a 

 bountiful yield. The deeper the bore of the 

 tap, the longer the sap will continue to run ; 

 but a small hole gives nearly as much sap as 

 a large one, with considerably less injury to 

 the tree. While the sugar-maple is the 

 best for sugar, the other maples are often 

 tapped ; but it is an objectionable feature 

 in them that the buds start earlier, causing 

 an increase in the amount of inverse sugar 

 and other changes that give a bitter taste. 

 The average yield per tree is probably two 

 or three pounds, but single trees have been 

 told of which gave thirty or forty pounds. 

 Some sixteen or twenty quarts of sap are 

 required to give a pound of sugar. Mr. 

 Cook estimates the profits of his own sugar- 

 bush at ten per cent on the capital invested, 

 with no risk ; and the business promises to 

 become more and more a source of profit 

 each year. For, " the maple-sugar industry 

 is so limited by the very condition of things, 

 and its product is so incomparably superior 

 to all other like products, that we need fear 

 no dangerous antagonism, no impoverishing 

 competition. We have, and can always 

 keep, the monopoly." The care and exten- 

 sion of maple-sugar plantations are there- 

 fore advised. 



Cariosities Of Gnessing. — Some curious 

 facts bearing on the "Eccentricities of Guess- 

 ing" were communicated to the American 

 Association by Professor T. C. Mendenhall. 

 The author had formed a standard proba- 

 bility curve which could be applied to any 

 form of guessing, and which represented the 

 law that governed the occurrence and re- 

 currence of purely accidental things. This 

 standard was seldom deviated from to any 

 considerable extent. He had frequently 

 tested the accuracy of the jirobability curve 

 by experiment. A large number of persons 

 guessed at the number of nails of various 

 sizes contained in a carboy. The lowest 

 guess was 43 ; the highest between 3,000,- 

 000 and 4,000,000. Eight guesses came 

 within one of the actual number, six falling 



