NEWS AND SUNDRIES. 
465 
November of that year she had 14; in May, 1884, she gave birth 
to 16; and in October last 14 more were added to her family, 
making a total of 55 pigs in less than sixteen months. Of these 
pigs 42 were raised. There can hardly be too many such in Iowa, 
at present.— Prairie Farmer. 
Artificial Ivory. —Sheeps’ bones are macerated for 15 days 
in lime water, after which they are washed and dried. They are 
then placed in a closed kettle, with the addition of scraps of deer 
skin, and the mixture is heated by a current of steam, until the 
whole is transformed into a fluid mass, to which 2 to 3 p. c. of 
alum is added. The liquid is then Altered through cloth and 
poured into shallow moulds, where it assumes a certain consistency 
in contact with the air. The hardening is completed by immers¬ 
ing in a bath of alum. The resulting plates are white and hard, 
and may be wrought more easily than ivory. The material is 
susceptible of a very tine polish.— Druggist Circular. 
An Observation Regarding Menstruation in Animals. —Dr. 
t 
S. A. Evans, of Conway, N. H., writes: “For several years past 
1 have kept a non-pregnant cow, for the purpose of supplying my 
family with milk. Have kept a record of periods of heat. Find 
they recur once in twenty-one days. Are accompanied, tirst, by 
a discharge of gelatinous material from vulva, which, after some 
hours, becomes slightly tinged with blood. The color becomes 
gradually more pronounced, until within twenty-four hours it ap¬ 
pears to be pure blood. Periods last about forty-eight hours. At 
these periods only can the cow become impregnated, which would 
seem to show that in her case ovulation and menstruation are 
simultaneous. These observations have extended through three 
winters, and in two different animals.”— Medical Record. 
The Cheapest Antiseptic. —M. Pasteur anticipates that 
bisulphide of carbon will become the most efficacious of all antisep¬ 
tics, as it is also the cheapest, costing but a fraction of a penny 
per pound in large quantity. It is also the best insecticide known, 
and for this purpose may, perhaps, be useful to preserve wood¬ 
work in tropical countries. Some idea of the use it is already put 
to may be gathered from the fact that over eight million pounds 
of the substance are used annually to check the ravages of 
