THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
109 
brilliant centre. A short distance west of the 
Harp is Cygnus, the Swan, containing a con- 
spicuous figure resembling a cross with the 
bright star Deneb at its head. The tree of the 
cross lies in one of the richest portions of the 
Via Lactea. About 13° northeast of Aquila lies 
Delphinus, the Dolphin, easily distinguished by 
means of the four principal stars in the head, 
which are so disposed as to form a diamond, 
pointing N. E. and S. W. This cluster is com- 
monly known as " Job's Coffin." Aries, in the 
Zodiac, is just rising. 
Meteors.— July 3d-4th, 14th-17th, 25th-30th, 
are quite well-established shooting-star epochs. 
The last has its radiant near Gamma Cygni. 
Penn Yan, N. Y. 
Advice to Bathers. 
With a view of diminishing the loss of life 
which annually occurs from drowning, the Eoyal 
Humane Society of England issues the following 
seasonable advice to bathers : " Avoid bathing 
within two hours after a meal, or when ex- 
hausted by fatigue or from any other cause, or 
when the body is cooling after perspiration, and 
avoid bathing altogether in the open air if, after 
being a short time in the water, there is a sense 
of chilliness, with numbness of the hands and 
feet, but bathe when the body is warm, pro- 
vided no time is lost in getting into the water. 
Avoid chilling the body by sitting or standing 
undressed on the banks or in boats, after having 
been in the water, or remaining too long in the 
water, but leave the water immediately there is 
the slightest feeling of chilliness. The vigorous 
and strong may bathe early in the morning on 
an empty stomach, but the young and those who 
are weak had better bathe two or three hours 
after a meal ; the best time for such is from two 
to three hours after breakfast. Those who are 
subject to attacks of giddiness or faintness, and 
who suffer from palpitation and other sense of 
discomfort at the heart, should not bathe with- 
out first consulting their medical adviser." 
Accidents. 
In the Scientific American of recent date, Prof. 
Wilder, of Cornell University, gives a series of 
rules for action in case of accident. Some of 
these rules are decidedly injudicious. Thus it 
is recommended to " remove cinders, etc., from 
the eye with the round point of a lead pencil." 
Unless in very careful and steady hands, hard 
substances should never be applied to the eye. 
A fine camel hair brush which has been moist- 
ened, the moisture squeezed out, and the brush 
drawn to a fine point, is the best thing. It ab- 
sorbs the moisture at the point where the cin- 
der lies, and the latter adheres to the brush and 
is easily removed. Where a fine brush cannot 
be had, a narrow strip of bibulous paper, such 
as printing paper, rolled spirally so that it may 
have a fine point, is the best thing. It will re- 
move specks more certainly than any hard sub- 
stance, and there is no danger of hurting the 
eye by an unsteady movement. 
He also directs us to use " acids " as antidotes 
to acid poisons, but this must be a misprint. 
Where it is necessary to pass through rooms 
filled with smoke, he directs us to " take a full 
breath and then stoop low, but if carbon (carbonic 
acid?) is suspected, walk erect. 
It is well known that the air of a smoky room, 
if filtered through a wet cloth, is greatly purified. 
Therefore, the best plan is to throw a wet hand- 
kerchief over the face. Carbonic acid is always 
present where there is fire, but when heated it 
rises, so that the direction to walk erect is de- 
cidedly injudicious. In almost all cases the air 
near the floor is pure, because, a current of cool 
air from without sets in towards the fire, and of 
necessity passes along the floor. 
Skeleton Leaves. 
The following is a simple method of preparing 
skeleton leaves, and is decidedly preferable to 
the old and tedious method of maceration, as it 
is quite as efficient and not at all oiTensive. 
First dissolve four ounces of common washing 
soda in a quart of boiling water, then add two 
ounces of slaked quicklime, and boil for about 
fifteen minutes. Allow the solution to cool; 
afterwards pour off all the clear liquor into a 
clean saucepan. When this liquor is at its boil- 
ing heat place the leaves carefully in the pan, 
and boil the whole together for an hour, adding 
from time to time enough water to make up for 
the loss by evaporation. The epidermis and 
parenchyma of some leaves will more readily 
separate than others. A good test is to try the 
leaves after they have been gently boiling for 
an hour, and if the cellular matter does not 
easily rub off betwixt the finger and thumb 
beneath cold water, boil them again for a short 
time. When the fleshy matter is found to be 
sufficiently softened, nib them separately but 
very gently beneath cold water until the perfect 
skeleton is exposed. 
The skeletons, at first, are of a dirty white 
color ; to make them of a pure white, and there- 
fore more beautiful, all that is necessary is to " 
bleach them in a weak solution of chloride of 
lime— a large teaspoonful of chloride of lime to 
a quart of water ; if a few drops of vinegar are 
added to the solution it is all the better, for then 
the free chlorine is liberated. Do not allow them 
to remain too long in the bleaching liquor, or 
