ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE 



5042 



ROCKET 



tee to study the relations between capital and 

 labor. 



The outbreak of the War of the Natu 

 the occasion for many D of merry. 



Thousands of dollars wen- spent in Belgian 

 relief work and in cooperating with the Red 

 Cross Society. America's entrance into the 

 great war was followed by several new dona- 

 tions, including $200,000 to the Rockefeller In- 

 stitute for Medical Research for the establish- 

 :vl Hospital, where new meth- 

 combating infection of wounds will be 

 studied 



The Institute for Medical Research (see be- 

 low) has been aided by regular donations 

 amounting to over $2,500,000. Other institu- 

 tions that are regular beneficiaries of the fund 

 are the American Academy at Rome, the New 

 York Association for Improving the Condition 

 of the Poor, and the organized charity socie- 

 ties of New York and Brooklyn. To Wellesley 

 College has been donated $750,000, and to 

 Johns Hopkins Medical School, $350,000. In 

 1917 $2.000,000 was appropriated toward the 

 establishment of a huge medical college in con- 

 nection with the University of Chicago. The 

 governing body of the board is a self-perpetuat- 

 ing body of trustees. 



ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE FOR MEDI- 

 CAL RESEARCH, one of the most important 

 agencies of the present day devoted to the in- 

 terests of humanity, its special field being the 

 prevention and cure of diseases that afflict man- 

 kind. The Rockefeller Institute was incorpo- 

 rated in 1901 in accordance with a pledge made 

 by John D. Rockefeller that he would advance 

 $200,000 to be used in preliminary work in 

 medical research for the interest of "humanity 

 and science." Subsequent gifts have brought 

 the endowment up to $8,240,000, including 

 grounds, buildings and equipment. 



The first year's work of the Institute con- 

 sisted in giving aid to various lines of research 

 already established, but at the second annual 

 meeting of the board of trustees it was decided 

 to unite the most important lines of work in 

 a central laboratory under the direction of a 

 competent head. Dr. Simon Flexner, professor 

 of pathology at the University of Pennsylvania, 

 was chosen director, and in 1904, in New York 

 City, the board began the erection of a splendid 

 building in which to carry on the work of the 

 Institute. 



Under the present organization there are 

 maintained departments of pathology, bacteri- 

 ology, physiological and pathological chemis- 



try, physiology, comparative zoology, pharma- 

 cology and experimental therapeutics. The In- 

 stitute cooperates with many other bodies in 

 practical investigation; with the Health Depart- 

 ment of New York City it has made a study of 

 the conditions governing the milk supply of 

 that city, particularly with reference to the 

 tenement children; and it has cooperated with 

 various commissions appointed to investigate 

 certain dangerous diseases. A hospital under 

 the direction of the Institute was opened in 

 1910, where the different diseases that affect 

 mankind are given the closest scientific study. 



The records of the work accomplished by the 

 Institute are collected in volumes of Reprints 

 and published in numerous scientific maga- 

 zines. The organization also has the care of 

 the publication of The Journal of Experimental 

 Medicine. Though established for research 

 rather than instruction, the Rockefeller Insti- 

 tute is closely connected with the progress of 

 medical education, because of its important dis- 

 coveries in the field of medicine. 



ROCK'ET, a form of fireworks which is sent 

 flying through the air, releasing brilliant stars, 

 clusters of many-colored sparks, or showers of 

 gold and silver rain that are remarkably beau- 

 tiful. 



The skyrocket consists of a paper or card- 

 board cylinder with a pointed head, fastened 

 to a light-weight stick that both balances and 

 guides. There are also winged rockets, fur- 

 nished with cardboard wings instead of a stick. 

 The cylinder is packed with an explosive mix- 

 ture, except for a hollow bore through the cen- 

 ter. Here the heated gases collect when the 

 rocket is fired, forcing their way downward and 

 escaping through a small opening at the lower 

 end. The rapid upward motion is the result of 

 the reaction of the air on this escaping gas. 

 The rocket is like a small cannon, but it is so 

 light and the charge so heavy that the back- 

 ward pressure exerted through the recoil is 

 much greater in proportion than when a cannon 

 is fired. By the time the body of the cylinder 

 is burned out the rocket has reached its great- 

 est height. The fire is then communicated by 

 a fuse to the pointed head containing the ma- 

 terial that, when ignited, produces stars and 

 sparks. 



Rockets serve not only for ornamental fire- 

 works, but for signaling, both in the army and 

 in the navy. A signal of distress at sea may 

 be given by firing single rockets at short inter- 

 vals. The life-saving service likewise employs 

 rockets for carrying life lines, particularly 



