Nov. 1st, 1887.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



I9J 



years ; that of the schoolmaster at 57 ; the lawyer at 54 ; 

 and the physician at 49 years. From this it will be seen 

 that, as might be expected, those who follow their calling 

 in the open air live the longest. The next in order are 

 those who are engaged in the preparation of food, such as 

 the brewer, the baker, and the butcher. Then follow the 

 shoemaker and the tailor, who do not reach a very high 

 standard of old age. After these come the stonemason 

 and the sculptor, and the last is the common labourer, to 

 whom is allotted an average age ot only 32 years. 



Medical School for Wojien. — The customary inaugural 

 address for the winter session was given this year by Mrs. 

 Scharlieb, M.B., B.S. Lond. Inspired by the recollection of 

 Mr. Ruskin's Seven Lamps of Architecture, she gave as her 

 text " The Seven Lamps of Medicine," which she enumerated 

 as follows : — Obedience, Thoroughness, Truth, Courage, 

 Gentlenesj, Humility, and Sacrifice. We have here a large 

 share of the cardinal virtues, and Mrs. Scharlieb did quite 

 right to urge medical students to practise them. At the same 

 time we do not quite agree with Mrs. Scharlieb that students 

 of this class are really called on to " surrender the pleasures 

 and enjoyments of youth " or to " renounce their own ways," 

 anymore than conscientious students in other walks in life. 

 As a matter of fact, a medical student has to work hard to 

 render himself or herself efficient for future practice, but we 

 cannot forget that a large portion of the knowledge to be 

 acquired is of the most absorbing interest. 



The training for medical work is, or should be, distinctly 

 a scientific one ; and it embraces so many branches of 

 science that we are disposed to congratulate rather than 

 condole with a student whose good fortune it is to have the 

 time and money to prepare for such a career. Again, we 

 cannot but dissent from Mrs. Scharlieb's exhortation to " seek 

 no earthly reward." Every labourer is worthy of his hire, 

 and if the practitioner, man or woman, has been properly 

 trained and is capable of doing good work, there should be 

 no dishonour in seeking reward while at the same time doing 

 good to the patient. It would indeed be bordering on false 

 sentiment to treat the question otherwise. We fully appre- 

 ciate Mrs. Scharlieb's desire to place a high standard before 

 the students she was addressing, but after all the practical 

 side of life has also to be taken account of, and the where- 

 withal to live has to be found. 



The British Association. — All well-wishers ot this 

 Association must have noticed with satisfaction that its sec- 

 tional procedure has been the subject of criticism in several 

 leading journals. We say this in no carping or unfriendly 

 spirit, but from a sincere desire to see beneficial reforms in 

 the direction we have already indicated on several occasions. 

 There can be no manner of doubt that means should be 

 taken to weed out unworthy papers, that those to be read 

 should be more precisely classified, and that no paper 



should be presented in more than one section. A difficulty 

 there will always be, in preventing a favoured few from ob- 

 taining an undue proportion of the time allotted for reading 

 papers on certain subjects. This, however, is not to be over- 

 come by any mere rule, but by the firmness, tact, and 

 impartiality of the president of each section. There has 

 lately been more scoffing than usual at the work of the 

 Association, but its shortcomings are after all not so serious 

 as to be beyond the power of the Executive to remedy, if 

 only the faults are admitted and the true remedies sought. 

 There is happily a growing desire for acquiring and spread- 

 ing knowledge, and for fifty-six years the British Association 

 has been actively engaged in this direction. Much good it 

 has certainly done, but that is no reason why it should not 

 keep pace with the times, and do more. 



How TO Act at a Fire. — In a lecture before the Society of 

 Arts, Mr. A. W. C. Ghean gave the following concise and simple 

 directions how to act on the occurrence of fires. Fire requires 

 air ; therefore, on its appearance, every effort should be made 

 to exclude air — shut all doors and windows. By this means fire 

 may be confined to a single room for a sufficient period to allow 

 all the inmates to be aroused and escape ; but if the doors and 

 windows are thrown open, the fanning of the wind and the 

 draught will instantly cause the flames to increase with extra- 

 ordinary rapidity. It must never be forgotten that the most 

 precious moments are at the beginning of a fire, and not a single 

 second of time should be lost in tackling it. In a room a table- 

 cloth can be so used as to smother a large sheet of flame, and a 

 cushion may serve to beat it out ; a coat or anythmg similar may 

 be used with an equally successful result. The great point is 

 presence of mind ; calmness in danger, action guided by reason 

 and thought. In all large houses buckets of water should be 

 placed on every landing, a little salt being put in the water. 

 Always endeavour to attack the bed of a fire ; if you cannot ex- 

 tinguish a fire, shut the window, and be sure to shut the door 

 when making good your retreat. A wet silk handkerchief tied 

 over the eyes and nose will make breathing possible in the 

 midst of much smoke, and a blanket, wetted and wrapped 

 around the body, will enable a person to pass through a sheet of 

 flame in comparative safety. Should a lady's dress catch fire, 

 let the wearer at once lie down. Rolling may extmguish a fire, 

 but if not, anything (woollen preferred) wrapped tightly round 

 will effect the desired purpose. A burn becomes less painful 

 the moment air is excluded from it. For simple burns, oil or the 

 white of egg can be used. One part of carbolic acid to six parts 

 of olive oil is found to be invaluable in most cases, slight or 

 severe, and the first layer of lint should not be removed until the 

 cure is complete, but saturated by the application of fresh outer 

 layers from time to time. Linen rag, soaked in a mixture of 

 equal parts of lime water and linseed oil, also forms a good 

 dressing. Common whiting is very good, applied wet and con- 

 tinually dampened with a sponge. 



Moisture Proof Glue. — Dissolve sixteen ounces of glue in 

 three pints of skim milk, and if a still stronger glue is wanted, 

 add powdered lime. For marine glue, heat moderately a mix- 

 ture of indiarubber (one part by weight), mineral naphtha or tar 

 (two parts), and add twenty parts of lac in powder. To use this 

 glue, it must be heated to a temperature of 120^ C. — Revue 

 Indusiiielk. 



Farming by Gaslight. — Howard County farmers residing in 

 the vicinity of the great Shrader gas-well, near Kokomo, 

 Indiana, go on record as harvesting the first wheat by natural 

 gaslight. A dozen self-binders and men shocking wheat was 

 truly a novel scene, which was witnessed by hundreds of people 

 who surrounded the fields of grain in carriages. The constant 

 roar of the Shrader well can be distinctly heard eight miles 

 away, while the light can be plainly seen at Burlington, fifteen 

 miles west of here. The estimated flow of gas from this well 

 is 15,000,000 cubic feet every twenty-four hours. — Indianapolis 

 Journal. 



