November 



1891.J 



SCIENCE. 



269 



the lines of the screws at the hinges. These doors would 

 undoubtedly have fallen earlier had they not been open a 

 great portion of the time during the fire. 



The heat of the fires apparently exceeded that of an ordi- 

 nary burning building. 



Among the principal facts established at this test, the 

 committee conducting the experiment, consisting of C. J. H. 

 Woodbury, C. M. Goddard, and D. L. Lord, wish to call 

 attention to the great resistance to fire afforded by the solid 

 plank construction, the walls being in themselves adequate 

 to prevent the spread of a fire until it has reached a quite 

 large extent; and such construction should in many instances 

 be used in place of ordinary joisted partition. While it is 

 not claimed that such solid plank partitions are equal to a 

 brick division in resistance to fire, yet there are many places 

 where the difficulty of supporting a brick wall would render 

 such a division out of the question, and yet a plank parti- 

 tion could be placed as readily as one supported on joist. 



The porous terracotta lumber and the Eastern plaster board 

 both presented a high resistance to heat, and were unaffected 

 by exposure to the fires. 



The secure bond of the wire lath, especially when re en- 

 forced by band iron, proved the value of this material in 

 securely holding plasters when exposed to fire. 



The magnesocalcite proved its value for re-enforcing 

 tinned fire doors and shutters, resisting the fire, and yield- 

 ing only when the material to which it was attached fell. 



The King's Windsor cement dry mortar resisted the fire in 

 a most efficient manner when the support of the back re- 

 mained, and, moreover, did not crumble as a result of heat 

 or of streams of water played upon it when hot, as was the 

 case with the ordinary lime mortar. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The ditflculty of keeping Irish potatoes in edible condition 

 after March 1 is well knonn to Southern" housekeepers, farmers, 

 and merchants. Professor Schribaus of the National College of 

 Agriculture of France has recently devised a very simple, cheap, 

 and successful method by which he has been able to preserve pota- 

 toes in edible condition for over a year and a half. This process 

 has been adopted by the French government for preserving pota- 

 toes for ihe army. The French Minister of Agriculture publishes 

 the details of the process in the official Bulletin du Ministere de 

 V Agriculture for March, 1891. The following is a translation of 

 the essential part of the scheme. The method of preservation 

 consists in plunging the tubers, before storing them away, for ten 

 hours into a two per cent solution of commercial sulphuric acid in 

 water, two parts of acid to 100 parts of water. The acid pene- 

 trates the eyes to the depth of about one-fortieth of an inch, which 

 serves to destroy their sprouting power; it does not have any ap- 

 preciable effect upon the skin of the potatoes. After remaining 

 in the liquid ten hours the tubers must be thoroughly dried before 

 storing away. The same liquid may be used any number of times 

 with equally good results. A barrel or tank of any kind will do 

 for the treatment. The acid is so dilute it does not affect the 

 wood. Chemical analysis shows that potatoes treated by this pro- 

 cess are as nutritious and healthful after eighteen months as when 

 freshly dug; but they are of course worthless for planting. Atten- 

 tion is called to this method by Gerald McCarthy, N. C. Experi- 

 ment Station, Raleigh. 



— Dr. B. A. Gould, president of the American Metrological 

 Society, writes from Germany that at the quinquennial session of 

 the Geographical International Congress held in Berne Aug. 10-17 

 there were about 280 delegates and representatives from all coun- 

 tries. At this congress was passed the following resolution on Aug. 

 14: "The Geographical Congress entreats Englishmen of science 

 to desist in future from the use of their ancient units of weight 

 and measure in scientific and technical publications, and to em- 



ploy those of the metric system only." This resolution was passed 

 with immense enthusiasm; the applause and cheering lasting for 

 nearly five minutes, and the vote was unanimous. In connection 

 with this the American Metrological Society has prepared a 

 petition asking Congress to pass the following act: "That on and 

 after July 1, 1893, the metric system of weights and measures 

 authorized by the act of Congress approved July 28, 1866, shall be 

 used exclusively in the customs service in the United States." 

 This petition they desire to circulate widely among those desiring 

 to sign it, and they ask each signer to mail it to his representative 

 in Congress. The American Metrological Society has prepared 

 a simple chart of the metric system which, for educational pur- 

 poses, it will mail to any one asking for it for 10 cents in stamps. 

 Address Secretary ot American Metrological Society, No. 41 East 

 49th Street, New York City. Copies of the petition can be had at; 

 the same address. 



— Dr. Wiesendenger describes a new method of producing 

 anaesthesia by the application of cold, the characteristic feature of 

 which is that it is not the cold-producing agent which touches the 

 desired part, but a metallic tube or chamber which is cooled by 

 carbonic acid. The cold may, according to the requirements of 

 the case, be regulated from the temperature of cold water to one 

 sufficiently low to cauterize. The first symptom of this artificial 

 cold is anismia of the cellular tissue, producing a slight sensation 

 of burning, which is followed by anaesthesia, which lasts from one 

 to two minutes and then disappears without any ill effects. As 

 the instrument may be manufactured of almost any shape, it is 

 evident that this new method may be used for a variety of pur- 

 poses. The simple turning of a tap will regulate the stream of 

 carbonic acid to any degree of temperature down to four degrees 

 Fahrenheit. No moisture is prorluced. In using this cold for the 

 purpose of cauterizing the surgeon has the advantage of producing 

 anEesthesia at the same time. When applying it to any of the 

 internal cavities, such as the mouth, it is necessary to have the 

 parts carefully dried, as the tissues would otherwise adhere to 

 the instrument. Dr. Kummel applied the method, according to 

 The Lancet, in the case of a boy in the Maria Hospital at Hamburg 

 with such complete success that the boy looked on without moving 

 a muscle while a deep incision of twelve centimetres in length 

 was made in his thigh. 



— The h'>spice of the great St. Bernard (7,609 feet above the 

 sea-level) is said to have been founded a.d. 962 by St. Bernard of 

 Menthon, while, according to some authorities, it rose a century 

 earlier, under Charlemagne. Neither saint nor emperor is likely 

 to make good his claim, as the archives of the hospice have been 

 completely rlestroyeJ in two successive conflagi-ations. But, like 

 other Christian institutions, it had undoubtedly a pagan prede- 

 cessor. The Romans on the self-same spot built a temple to the 

 Pennine Jove, and that, in turn, occupied the site of a still earlier 

 shrine of prehistoric antiquity. The truth is, the Alpine passes 

 were in common use from the remotest ages — the Christian world 

 treading the same route which had been trodden by the Romans, 

 who also availed themselves of the track made by the aborigines. 

 At its highest point the tutelary deity had his place of worship, 

 and this was served by the local priesthood, who rendered assist- 

 ance to the distressed or ailing traveller and received votive 

 tributes in return for its good offices. The existence of a temple 

 of Jupiter on the spot, with its staff of priests, is well known; 

 and the relics that have turned up near it attest its uses to have 

 been similar to those of the present hospice. A discovery of im- 

 portance, sais The Lancet, has just been made in its vicinity — a 

 bronze statue in excellent preservation of Jupiter himself. Its 

 artistic value is very great; its height, forty centimetres. At the 

 same time other ti-easure-trove was brought to the surface, in- 

 cluding a number of medals and a statuette of a lion measuring 

 sixteen centimetres, also of fine workmanship. These are now 

 the property of the monks, and will attract to the hospice a public 

 more able to keep them in funds than the proper recipients of 

 their kindness. Sad to relate, the revenues of Ihe monastery, 

 heavily dravvn upon by the travellers (from 16.000 to 20,000 an- 

 nually) who throw themselves on its bounty, are diminishing, the 

 contributions left by these comfortably accommodated guests being 



