ON ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION. 969 



other goods may be preserved in a state of perfect purity and freshness, 

 free from moths, &c. 



The destruction of fever- germs, such as the poison of yellow fever, 

 at or below 32° Fahr., indicates that articles of wearing-apparel and fur- 

 niture placed in such chambers, with absolutely dry cold air, 20^^ to 30° 

 below the freezing-point of w^ater, would constitute an invaluable adjunct 

 to the means employed by sanitary authorities for effectual disinfection. 

 The air blown, over metal surfaces and through antiseptic sprays, can 

 be made to operate on every i)art of infected fabrics, without damage, 

 however delicate they may be. 



Fifth. The wholesale manufacture of ice-creams, ice-puddings, &c., 

 constituting in some large cities a most profitable industry. 



Sixth. The maintenance, especially during the winter season, of sheets 

 of ice for skating and curling purposes. The pastime of skating may 

 be indulged under cover in an atmosphere warmed suitably to avert colds 

 and chills; and the ice being frozen by submerged pipes, retains its 

 hardness under the most trying circumstances. 



With the altered views amongst medical men as to the treatment of 

 fever and many inflammatory diseases, ice becomes a positively essen- 

 tial therapeutic agent in warm latitudes. 



Z*.— ON EElSDEEINa SEA- WATER POTABLE. 



The fact is generally appreciated, that Nature adopts two processes 

 of water-i)urification for the requirements of mankind. The most uni- 

 versal is distillation or evaporation, and recondeusation in the form of 

 rain ; and some towns, like New Orleans, are compelled to make use of 

 rain-water, owing to the gross impurities of other sources of supply. In 

 many cities, the rivers whence palatable water is obtained are polluted 

 by sewage ; and where wells have been common, the infiltration of soil 

 by excreta, and other surface impurities, have been active agents in the 

 propagation of filth diseases, such as tyi)hoid fever and Asiatic cholera, 

 llain and distilled water are insipid and unpalatable. They are set 

 aside for bright, sparkling, hard waters, which are often surcharged 

 with organic germs ; and throughout the South and Southwest many 

 towns exist where a pure iialatable water would be regarded as an un- 

 qualified boon, hitherto beyond reach. 



The formation of ice, or crystalhzation of water, effectually removes all 

 suspended or dissolved imi)urities calculated to engender disease. Ice- 

 water is one of the necessaries of life in America, and if the ice were 

 made so as to remove the discharged effete matter, its general employ- 

 ment would tend materially to reduce the prevalence of some of the 

 maladies of towns. The natural ice supplied now always contains much 

 dirt, which can be obtained in quantities from the bottoms of ice-jugs. 



By means of a thermo-glacial engine, the cost of purifying, and render- 

 ing palatable, one himdred gallons of water, will not exceed fifty cents ; 



