CHEMISTRY. 



91 



Question number three is in this form : 

 Ila\e you noticed any signs of general ill- 

 heultli or weakness that could properly be at- 

 tributed to tliis pollution of the uir? In seven 

 of the twenty-six returns tubulated, the ques- 

 tion is not specifically answered. The medical 

 officers for ten districts say they have not no- 

 ticed any signs of general ill-health or weak- 

 ness attributable to this cause; the medical 

 officer for Bristol adding, " Although St. Phil- 

 ip's, Bristol, stinks from one end to the other 

 of gases from different manufactories, the peo- 

 ple are very healthy the children remark-ably 

 plump and healthy" The answers from the 

 remaining nine districts are all in the affirma- 

 tive. Thus, one medical officer reports " cases 

 of temporary uneasiness of the respiratory or- 

 gans," which he ascribes to this cause; and 

 anot her says : " I could not fairly attribute the 

 general signs of ill-health I observe to this 

 pollution of the air alone, but it appears to 

 me, in some cases, to be the chief cause of ill- 

 health." The medical officer for St. Helens 

 remarks : " The aspect of the people, especial- 

 ly those who dwell in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood of the works, is sallow and amende, pre- 

 senting a marked contrast to those who live in 

 healthy towns." Thus, we have the evidence 

 of several medical officers in charge of polluted 

 districts that the vapors and gases emitted by 

 chemical works are a cause of general ill-health 

 and weakness, sometimes producing specific 

 diseases of an asthenia type, or even prema- 

 ture old age. 



Question number four refers to a matter on 

 which it is particularly difficult to obtain posi- 

 tive information ; it is as follows : 



Have you observed whether the atmosphere 

 is especially injurious to those newly settled 

 in the district, and whether a prolonged stay 

 seems to secure comparative immunity from 

 suffering? 



The evidence under this head may be briefly 

 summed up. It is not very strong either way, 

 but what there is appears to amount to this : 

 The medical officers who have had experience 

 of the more serious effects of noxious vapors 

 do not find that immunity from these is se- 

 cured by a prolonged stay in a polluted dis- 

 trict, and those medical officers who can charge 

 the vapors with producing nothing graver than 

 headache, chest constriction, and indigestion, 

 find the sufferers from such complaints become 

 acclimatized. There is also some evidence sup- 

 porting the belief that, except in the case of 

 those actually employed in the works, the new- 

 ly settled in a polluted district suffer most. 



The fifth question, which asks for practical 

 or legislative suggestions toward amending the 

 eviU observed, has elicited suggestions from 

 six medical officers. 



These suggestions are briefly as follows : 



1. The removal of the works from the vicin- 

 ity of inhabited houses. 



2. The reduction of the legal maximum of 

 noxious vapors allowed to be discharged. 



8. Emitting the report, for the mort part, 

 when the wind will curry them in a uutu di- 

 rection. 



4. The more stringent application I. v sani- 

 tary authorities of the legislative provisions 

 already existing. 



6. The adoption by manufacturers of the 

 most approved scientific processes. 



6. liequiring the removal of all sulphur from 

 alkali waste before deposit. 



Hartlett'g Ozone- Generator. Dr. F. W. Bart- 

 lett's ozone - generator, which was exhibited 

 at the Buffalo meeting of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 consists of three parts, each having a sharo 

 in the process. The base, or generator, is a 

 glass vessel eight inches high, with a pro- 

 jecting rim at either end ; the interior space, 

 four and a half inches in diameter, being di- 

 vided into eight compartments by projections 

 from the inner wall, extending one and a quar- 

 ter inch toward the centre. This unoccupied 

 centre has a movable cylinder which, when in 

 position, completes the walls of the separate 

 cavities. In each of these a tablet of phos- 

 phorus, one by two inches, and one-eighth of 

 an inch thick, is suspended in water by a fusi- 

 ble wire the fusible wire being used so that, 

 in cases of ignition, which sometimes occurs, 

 the phosphorus may be completely submerged 

 and the flame extinguished. Resting upon the 

 base is a conical cylinder, eight inches high, 

 and with a diameter at the top of five inches, 

 composed of double walls of wire-cloth, be- 

 tween which lies some porous material satu- 

 rated with a strong alkaline solution. This pre- 

 sents an effectual bar to the passage of phos- 

 phoric acids, while it permits the free transit 

 of the ozone. Above this eliminating-chamber 

 is a second glass cylinder about eight inches in 

 height, with an aperture at the top through 

 which passes a glass rod carrying a plunger 

 for displacing the water in the base, and by 

 means of which the tablets of phosphorus may 

 be raised or lowered. The space thus provided 

 above the phosphorus is about eighteen inches, 

 and is considered by the inventor indispen- 

 sable to the full utilization of the phosphoric 

 vapor in the production of ozone. 



In its present form the machine is employed 

 chiefly for disinfecting purposes, and performs 

 such work not only thoroughly but very cheap- 

 ly. For ozonizing the atmosphere of a house, 

 the slow oxidation of 100 to 150 grains of 

 phosphorus daily will suffice. It is entirely 

 manageable and without any disagreeable odor. 



Dr. Bartlett claims that ozone possesses 

 very important curative properties, has em- 

 ployed it successfully in numerous cases of 

 asthma, hay-fever, typhoid fever, scarlatina, 

 diphtheria, puerperal fever, erysipelas, etc. 

 He predicts that its introduction will work 

 great changes in the medical treatment of zy- 

 motic or malarial diseases. 



An Improved Gat-Jet. The flame from a 

 Bunsen burner is not solid, but, like the flame of 



