788 Traxsactions of the American Institute. 



line to be cut, and then tracing the line with an ignited pencil, 

 made as follows: one-eighth of an ounce of gum tiagacanth, dissolved 

 in sufficient water to form a thick paste, is mixed with a solution of 

 one-fourth of an ounce of powdered gum benzoin, in the least possi- 

 ble quantity of strong alcohol ; to the mixture is added enough 

 powdered beechwood charcoal, to form a doughy mass; this is 

 rolled into little pencils about four inches long, and left to dry. 

 Such a pencil will, on being ignited, burn to a fine point until 

 it is entirely consumed. As contact with the glass tends to check 

 combustion, it is essential to withdraw the ignited pencil every few 

 seconds, and hasten its burning by brisk blowing. 



EFFECT OF ABSENCE OF SOUISTD. 



Dr. H. Ralls Smith, of Louisville, Ky., by certain investigations, 

 claims to have established the truth of the theory that animals 

 living permanently in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky are not only 

 without a trace of the optic nerve, but are also destitute of the 

 sense of hearing. At one time he penetrated about four miles into 

 the interior of the cave, and some four hundred feet below the 

 surface of the earth, the solitude and total absence of sound pro- 

 duced a very distressing and almost insupportable effect upon him, 

 resulting in a very perceptible, although temporary, defection of 

 hearing and aberration of mind. This explains the fact why persons 

 lost in the cave for one, two, or three days, have always been found 

 when rcsuced, in a state of insanity. The mind and special senses, 

 deprived of their natural pabulum and stimulus, gradually become 

 weakened, paralyzed, atrophied, and finally as far as external mani- 

 festations are concerned, nearly if not quite extinct. This fact may 

 afford some clue to the cause of cretinism in the Alpine valleys. 



PRESERVING FRESH FLOWERS. 



A correspondent of The London Chemical News says: Flowers 

 may be kept in pretty fiiir condition, say for a week or ten days, 

 according to the species selected for bouquets and the time of the 

 year, by renewing the water every alternate day, and while doing 

 so, rejecting the decayed flowers and leaves, and taking care to cut 

 from the stems immersed in water, with a sharp pair of scissors, 

 about from a quarter to half an inch of the length; then should be 

 added to the water about a pinch of salt and a few grains of salt- 

 peter for every pint of fluid; when flowers are ver}' much faded 

 they may be revived by immersion of the stenis for two or thi'ee 



