112 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



[July, 18S9. 



and feeling of well-being and contentment, despite 

 a frowning environment, we cannot saj. For the 

 American leg-crosser does sometimes carry his 

 habits to extremes. It may require another century 

 of evolution to inoculate those given to the habit 

 with altruism, and teach them that a deeper and 

 truer joy may flow from not wiping their shoes on 

 passing strangers than comes even from the highly 

 evolved muscular adjustments of sitting with super- 

 imposed knees. — Medical Record. 



HOW TO TREAT BURNS. 

 One who was severely burned all over the body 

 while engaged at a fire gives the following particu- 

 lars of the treatment of his burns, and the sugges- 

 tions he offers may be useful. He says : I will not 

 attempt to picture the suffering I endured, as any 

 work on surgery gives a good description of the 

 symptoms. I will simply allude to the treatment, 

 which I found very defective. Carron oil, as an ex- 

 ternal application, failed to give me any relief. 

 After suffering twenty-four hours an old lady advised 

 me to use fresh-slacked lime. This suggested an 

 idea, which we acted upon at once. Lime and dis- 

 , tilled water were mixed together to the consistency 

 of thick cream, then equal parts of linseed oil were 

 added ; this mixture relieved the pain. This dress- 

 ing was continued until suppuration set in. We 

 then used an ointment composed of : Acid carbolic, 

 one drachm; vaseline, six ounces. Mix. This was 

 continued as long as any dressing was required. 

 The following facts I learned from my painful expe- 

 rience : ist. When called to treat a severe burn 

 give morphia subcutaneously to relieve pain, and 

 whisky internally to guard against the cold stage, 

 which will set in about one hour after the injury. 

 2d. Officinal aqua calcis does not contain enough 

 lime to make the first dressing for a burn. 3d. Do 

 not puncture blisters, or remove the burned and de- 

 tached skin. 4th. During suppuration keep parts 

 clean, and change dressing often ; never use liquids ; 

 a soft piece of old linen, pressed gently upon the 

 parts, will remove the matter; avoid rubbing, as it 

 will not only cause pain, but damage granulation. 

 5th. Watch the granulations carefully. Should 

 they raise up above the surface, touch them with 

 nitrate of silver. 6th. As soon as soreness will 

 admit use splints and bandages to avoid the con- 

 traction cicatrization is liable to produce. 

 *<^ 



CREDULITY AND "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE." 

 The fact that such a baseless speculation as 

 "Christian science" can find believers shows that 

 what is referred to in our other editorial as the fancy 

 of the multitude for theories which save them trouble 

 and minister to their love of the marvelous has not 

 yet disappeared from the world. The fascination 

 for holding odd notions seems to be a weakness o 

 the human mind which is hard to eradicate. Such 

 beliefs have been pretty well driven out of chemistry, 

 physics, zoology, and other fields of science which 

 can be searchingly investigated, and they remain 

 only in psychology and medicine, dealing with the 

 living human organism, which cannot be freely ex- 

 perimented upon. Human credulity has been 

 greatly lessened by the march of scientific enlighten- 

 ment, and what remains has taken on a new form. 

 In earlier times it delighted in the supernatural 

 now it revels in its own false ideas of the natural 

 Then it trusted the revelations of self-appointed 

 prophets, now it pins its faith tothe slipshod reason- 

 ing of sham investigators. Science has done such 

 wonderful things of late that a certain class of people, 



including many of excellent judgment in other fields 

 has come to believe any marvels put forth under its 



name. Hence we have a modern class of mystery- 



mongers which will flourish until the spread of sci- 

 entific culture has diffused the power of discriminat- 

 ing between science and base imitations of science. 

 — From the '^Editor's Table," in the Popular Science 

 Monthly for June. 



LICORICE ROOT. 

 Nearly three million pounds of licorice root ar- 

 rived at the port of New York during one week, 

 recently, from Smyrna. The largest share of lico- 

 rice now comes from Asia Minor, one American 

 having almost a monopoly of it, and having branches 

 for manufacturing the extract in this country. 

 Large quantities of licorice are imported into the 

 United States at a heavy expense of import duties. 

 About a year ago it was settled beyond doubt that 

 the soil and climate of California are perfectly 

 adapted to its production. Licorice Is prepared like 

 horse-radish, by means of root slips, which are re- 

 moved from the main root. The soil must be well 

 fertilized and thoroughly broken to the depth of 

 three feet to obtain the best results. The great 

 depth is necessary to encourage the roots to grow 

 downward to escape the intense heat, not only of 

 one, but of several hot summers, as it takes three or 

 four years to perfect the roots for market, during 

 which time the plant must receive constant and care- 

 ful cultivation with the prong hoe. Lay off the 

 rows two feet apart, and after cutting the root slips 

 into sections of five or six inches, plant them in 

 vertical holes made with a dibble, sixteen inches 

 apart, observing to thrust them several inches be- 

 low the surface, and cover over. As the growing 

 seas(?n closes each autumn, the stems should be cut 

 down and removed, and a liberal coating of manure 

 composed with rich hammock (top) soil. If the 

 plants have been well cared for, the roots may be 

 large enough in three years to harvest for market, 

 though four years is not uncommon. Harvesting is 

 quite a tedious job, and on account of the depth — 

 two or three feet — has to be done with a spade. 

 When dug, the side roots, used for propagation, are 

 cut oft", and the main roots are washed, dried and 

 tied In convenient-sized bundles. — Am. Analyst. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE 



Popular Science News Company, 



tt8 Peuiberton Sc|nare, Boston. 



ONE DOLLAR A YEAR IN ADVANCE. 

 SETH C. BASSETT, 



Manager. 



SPECIAL NOTICE. 



The Publishers of the NEWS earnestly request that sub- 

 scribeyi will make their remittances either by draft on Bos- 

 ton or New York, or by a postal order. If it is absolutely 

 necessary to mail money, it should be sent only in a regislercd 

 letter. The publishers decline to assume the risk ol money 

 mailed in unregistered letters. 



Remittances will be duly credited on the printed address la 

 bel of the paper; but if they are received after the 15th of the 

 month, the change in the label cannot be made until a month 

 later. If a formal receipt is desired, a twe-cent stamp or a pos- 

 tal card should be enclosed with the remittance. 



Publisljers' Coliiii^ij. 



The steady iiicreiise in the use of Nesti.e's P'ood is because 

 it proves all tliat is claimed for it. 



HUMORS. 



What a difterence it makes whether you put 

 "Dr." before or after a name ! 



We Should Think So. — A French journal re- 

 produces an account ol a patient 124 years ago, who 

 was cured of extreme melancholy by an Inoculation 

 of the itch. 



A Happy Land. — There is not in France a med- 

 ical school which has a professor of gynecology, nor 

 is there in the whole country a special hospital for 

 the diseases of women. 



Better Wait a While. — Patient: "What would 

 you think of a warmer climate for me, doctor?" 

 Doctor: "Great Scott! man, isn't that just what 

 I am trying to save you from ? " 



A Heavy Dose. — This is the order which a little 

 girl brought into a Lewiston druggist's store the 

 other day. It was written on a dirty piece of note 

 paper, as follows : "Mister Druggist : Please send 

 ipecac enough to throw up a four-year-old girl." 



The Chambermaid Cure. — The Qiieen of Sweden 

 is undergoing peculiar treatment to restore her 

 nerves to a normal condition. Her doctors have 

 ordered her to rise early, make her own bed, and 

 dust and sweep the room. She has to take a walk 

 in the garden before breakfast, work among the 

 flowers afterwards, and lead an active out-door ex- 

 istence all day long. Already the Qiieen has been 

 benefitted by this curious cure — the chambermaid 

 treatment, as it is called. It is not likely to become 

 popular. 



Wanted. — A few copies of the Science News tor January, 

 1SS7. Full price will be paid for such at this ofllce. 



Billings, Clait & Co., wholesale chemists, liave several 

 disinfectants which are in kuepini^ with the goods ni;tuufactured 

 by this well-known house. * 



Attention is called to the '-ad." of Shedd's Memory 

 School. This school and method is spoken of very hijjhly by 

 eading educators. Send for circulars. 



To those who value independent tlunkinj^ the experiment is 

 worth tryinj^ of doing without a newspaper for a week, but you 

 must never be without an Ksterkrook Pen. 



WiLMEH Bkinton, M. D., of Baltimore, says; I have used 

 "CoLDEN's LlquiD Beef Tonic" in my practice, and have 

 been much gratitied with the result. As a tonic in all cases of 

 debility and weakness, *'an:emia," "chlorosis," etc., it cannot 

 be surpassed. 



Ice frozen artificially by the machines manutactured by 

 0AVID Boyle, of Chicago, is pure, uniform in quality, and can 

 be produced in any climate or season. It is also much cheaper 

 than natural ice, which must often be transported long dis- 

 tances at high rates of freight. 



Messks. James Qt:EEN & Co., of Philadelphia, have made a 

 most liberal offer to provide all persons interested in science, 

 who intend to visit the Paris Exposition, with letters of intro- 

 duction to their agents, who will give every assistance to them 

 in purchasing scientific apparatus, and shipping the same to 

 this country. An explanatory circular will be sent to any ad- 

 dress upon application. 



