POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



861 



estimated. Of the uses of potassium chlo- 

 ride but little is known. Sodium chloride, 

 however, or common salt, has been more 

 closely studied. In such proportions as the 

 healthy taste demands, it is undoubtedly a 

 valuable stimulant to the nutritive process- 

 es. The extent of the need for Ume-salts 

 in young animals is surprising. Iron is un- 

 doubtedly a food ; for the quantity in the 

 system is restored as fast as it is eliminated. 

 Contrary to popular belief, the major por- 

 tion of the iron of the human body is found, 

 not in the blood but in the muscles, even 

 after their contained blood has been re- 

 moved. Silicic acid is found in very small 

 quantities in bones, hair, and blood. It is 

 supplied by many vegetable foods. Cal- 

 cium fluoride is found in teeth, and "to a 

 shght extent in bone. Fortunately for us, 

 these inorganic foods, whose withdrawal ex- 

 ercises deleterious influences on the econ- 

 omy, are, as a rule, present in great quan- 

 tity in the actual foods in a mixed diet. In 

 certain methods of preparing foods, how- 

 ever, their proportion is much diminished ; 

 thus, in the boiling of meats and vegetables, 

 a large quantity of these important food- 

 stuffs is extracted. Indeed, one of the chief 

 dietetic advantages of salads and uncooked 

 vegetables in general is, that these elements 

 have not been removed. 



Why do onr Teeth decay so fast ?— To 



this question Dr. Julius Pohlman answers, 

 because we do not use them enough — show- 

 ing that as a rule " those people who are 

 least acquainted with the so-called hygiene 

 of the teeth are the happy possessors of the 

 soundest dentition " — like the negroes who 

 chew sugar-cane, the German peasants, who 

 are famous for their brilliant "Schwartz- 

 brot-Zahne," or "rye-meal-bread teeth," 

 polished but not worn out by daily masti- 

 cation of dry, hard, black loaves, and the 

 few old people left among us who persist in 

 eating bread-crusts. Our weak and effemi- 

 nate teeth are not used to hard work, and, 

 like other organs that are not exercised, 

 tend to atrophy. " The foundation for bad 

 teeth," says this author, " is generally laid 

 in early childhood ; for numberless mothers 

 and nurses very carefully soften the food 

 or remove the crust from the bread before 

 giving it to the little folks, because it may 



otherwise 'hurt their teeth,' and so the 

 child grows up with a set of unused organs 

 in its mouth ; and when we have finally suc- 

 ceeded by the creation of artificial condi- 

 tions in producing weak organs, then we 

 wonder why the poor child has such bad 

 teeth, and why it is so often suffering with 

 toothache, and why the dentist's bill is so 

 high. Teeth are organs specialized to per- 

 form the work of mastication ; they are 

 subject to the same laws that govern other 

 organs, and their strength is determined 

 by their use. Understanding this, we are 

 obliged to admit that, if we ever become 

 a toothless race, it will be our own fault." 



Antiseptic Properties of Coffee. — The 



stimulating effects of the infusion of coffee 

 have been referred to its excitant and tonic 

 properties. Recent researches indicate that 

 it has still more valuable qualities — those 

 of an antiseptic. In 18S5 M. Oppler an- 

 nounced the property which it possesses of 

 preventing, to a certain extent, the develop- 

 ment of micro-organisms in substances liable 

 to putrefy. Then JI. Sueksdorff showed 

 that infusions of coffee and of tea might re- 

 main exposed openly to the air for a con- 

 siderable time without molding or devel- 

 oping bacteria. Finally, Mr. Heim has re- 

 cently published the results of more exact 

 researches, which tend to demonstrate the 

 reality of the antiseptic properties of roast- 

 ed coffee. The cholera bacillus appears to 

 be one of the organisms most readily af- 

 fected by coffee. It is desirable to have 

 the investigation extended to the infusion of 

 tea, which will probably be found to have 

 similar properties. 



A Crystal Sknll. — Among the interest- 

 ing features at the meeting of the American 

 Association was the exhibition, by Mr. 

 George F. Kunz, of a crystal skull which 

 had been brought from Mexico by a Spanish 

 officer before the French invasion, and, hav- 

 ing been in possession of Mr. Evans, the 

 English collector, and Mr. M. E. Boban, 

 now belonged to Mr. George H. Sisson, of 

 New York. The inclusions in the rock- 

 crystal material were identical with those 

 in the quartz or rock-crystal from Calaveras 

 County, California. Nothing more than this 

 is known of the origin of the skull. It is 



