€i^e ^ojjttlar Science ^ttos 



AND 



BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY. 



Volume XXIII. 



BOSTON, MAY, 1889. 



Number 5. 



CONTENTS. 



Familiar Science 



Fruit . . . 



Iron Pyrites, or P'ools' Gold 



Butterfly Decalcomania . , 



Evolution 



Coral 



The Camel's Humps . 

 Scientific Brevities . . , 



Curious Wavs of Cutting 



Practical Chemistry and the Arts. — Potas- 

 sium and Sodium 



The Action of Hjdric Sulphide upon Mercu- 

 ric Chloride 



Is There More Than OneElementarv Substance.' 



The Whitenting; of Brick Walls 



Instantaneous Photography 



Practical Recipes 



Industrial Memoranda 



Home, Farm and Garden. — The Reason Why 71 



65 

 66 

 66 

 67 

 68 

 68 

 68 



69 



70 



70 

 70 



70 



70, 

 70 



closely that little explanation is necessary. 

 It will be noticed that two cuts are made, at 

 right angles to each other, through half the 

 circumference of the apple, and then two 

 more cuts of one-quarter the circumference. 

 Finish the process, and divide the fruit into 



Miscellaneous Egg Lore 

 Oatmeal as Food . 



Currants are Small Grapes 

 Gleanings 



Editorial. — A Walking Fish 



Heat and Cold in Chemical Reactions . . . 



Scientific Puzzles 



Meteorology for .March 



Astronomical Phenomena for May . . . . 



The An;tsthetic Revelation 



Long Beards 



Qiiestions and Answers 



Literary Notes 



Medicine and Pharmacy. — The Death of Fal- 



staff 



The Pro and Con of Vaccination . . . . 



An Improvement Necessary 



Monthly Summary of Medical Progress . 



Publisher's Column 



7^ 

 7- 

 7- 



73' 

 •74! 

 75 \ 

 75 

 7.5 

 76 

 76 

 76; 

 7f'! 



77 

 77 

 78 

 79 

 80 



EaiQiliar Scieijce. 



CURIOUS WAYS OF CUTTING 

 FRUIT. 



An apple may be cut into two separate 

 pieces of a most peculiar shape, with the aid 



Fijj. 2. 



the two pieces represented, which can easily 

 be put together or separated, and will puzzle 

 the uninitiated as to just how they were made. 

 To cut an apple into halves without injur- 

 ing the skin, take a fine needle, threaded with 

 1 2 



■g. I. 



of a sharp-pointed knife. The illustration 

 ig. i) shows the lines to be followed so 



a piece of strong silk, and pass it through the 

 apple in the direction A — B (Fig. 2.) After 

 pulling the needle through, pass it again from 

 B to C, and so follow the dotted lines until A 

 is reached again, and the silk thread com- 

 pletely encircles the apple, underneath the 

 skin. By pulling carefully upon the two 

 ends of the thread, it will cut entirely through 

 the apple, dividing it into two parts, and 



when it is peeled, if care is taken to cut pretty 

 deeply, it will fall apart, much to the wonder- 

 ment of those who have previously noticed 

 the skin to be whole and unbroken. The 

 same method may be used to divide the 

 apple still further into quarters or eighths, if 

 one has the necessary patience. 



A very novel and beautiful way of cutting 

 an orange is illu.strated in figures 3 and 4. A 

 small, sharp -pointed knife -blade, and an 

 orange with a smooth, tough skin are neces- 

 sary. Make the cuts as shown in Fig. 3, 

 Nos. I, 2, 3, and then cut, as shown in No. 

 4, entirely through the pulp of the orange, 

 dividing it into two parts. Care must be 



IMJJ. 4. 



taken not to cut into the curved lines, as that 

 would spoil the whole. If properly done, the 

 fruit will present the appearance shown in 

 Fig. 4, and several of them will make a very 

 pretty ornament for the table. Of- course, 

 only one side of the orange is represented in 

 the diagrams, but the reverse side is cut in 

 exactly the same manner. Considerable care 

 will be necessary to do the work successfullv, 

 but the result will well repay the trouble. 



The above illustrations are from Ha 

 Nature. 



Coal Tar Colors. — About one hundred and 

 fifty colors are now obtained from coal tar, which 

 has almost entirely supplanted vegetable and animal 

 dyes. 



