Scientific American Supplement, No. 488, May 9, 1885
Play Sample
CORDENONS' SEISMOGRAPH.
The apparatus is represented in the accompanying cut. The horizontal shocks are indicated by the front portion of the system, and the vertical ones by the back portion. The hour of the first shock is indicated as follows: The elastic strip of steel, C, is fixed by one of its extremities to a stationary support, d. When, as a consequence of a vertical motion, the free extremity of this strip oscillates, the leaden ball, x, drops into the tube, c, and, on reaching the bottom of this, acts by its shock upon a cord, i, which actuates the pendulum of a clock that has previously been stopped at 12. The other strip, B, is very similar to the one just described, but, instead of carrying a ball, it holds a small metallic cylinder, u, so balanced that a vertical shock in an upward direction causes it to drop forward into the anterior half of the tube to the left. A second vertical shock in a downward direction causes it to drop into the other half. The cylinder, u, and the ball, x, are regulated in their positions by means of screws affixed to a stationary support.
The portion of the apparatus designed to register horizontal (undulatory) motions consists of four vertical pendulums, z z z z, each of which is capable of moving in but one direction, since, in the other, it rests against a fixed column.
Telluric waves, according to modern observations, almost invariably in every region follow two directions that cross each other at right angles. When the seismograph has been arranged according to such directions, no matter from what part the first horizontal shock comes, one of the four pendulums will be set in motion. If, after the first undulation in one direction, another occurs in the opposite, the pendulum facing the first will in its turn begin to move; and if other undulations make themselves felt in diametrically opposite directions, the other pendulums will begin to act. These pendulums, in their motion, carry along the appendages, e e e e, which are so arranged as to fall in the center of the marble or iron table, one upon another, and thus show the order according to which the telluric waves manifested themselves. The part of the apparatus that records vertical shocks has a winch, r, which falls at the same place when the lead ball drops.
The apparatus as a whole may be inclosed in a case.When it is desired to employ it, it should be mounted in a cellar, while the clock that is connected with it can be located in one of the upper stories of the house.—F.Cordenons, in La Nature
NOTES ON THREE NEW CHINESE FIXED OILS.1
By Robert H.Davies, F.I.C., F.C.S., General Superintendent of Apothecaries' Hall.
The three oils that form the subject of the examination detailed in this paper were consigned to a London broker, with a view to their being regularly exported from China if a market could be found for them here: it was, therefore, necessary to ascertain what commercial oils they resembled in character, so as to estimate to what uses they might be applied.
TEA OIL (Camellia oleifera).
In color, transparency, and mobility, this oil considerably resembles olive oil.The odor and taste, though characteristic, are not easy to describe.
(1.) Specific Gravity.—The specific gravity at 60° F.is 917.5), water at 60° F.being taken as 1,000.
(2.) Action of Cold.—On subjecting to the cold produced by a mixture of pounded ice and salt, some solid fatty matter, probably stearine, separates, adhering to the side of the tube.It takes a longer exposure and a lower temperature than is necessary with olive oil.I did not succeed in solidifying it, but only in causing some deposit.Olive oil became solid, while almond and castor oil on the other hand did not deposit at all under similar circumstances.The lowest temperature observed was -13.3° C.(8° F.), the thermometer bulb being immersed in the oil.
A few qualitative tests, viz., the action of sulphuric acid, nitric acid (sp.gr.1.42), and digestion, with more dilute nitric acid (1.2 sp.gr.)and a globule of mercury, were first tried.
When one drop of sulphuric acid is added to eight or ten drops of tea oil on a white plate, the change of color observed is more like that when almond oil is similarly treated than with any other oil, olive oil coming next in order of similarity.
When a few drops of tea oil are boiled with thirty drops or so of nitric acid in a small tube, the layer of oily matter, when the brisk action has moderated, is of a light yellow color, similar in tint to that produced from almond and olive oil under similar circumstances.When the oil is digested with an equal volume of nitric acid (1.2 sp.gr.), and a globule of mercury added, the whole becomes converted into a mass of elaidin in about two hours, of the same tint as that produced from almond oil when similarly treated.
These tests point to the fact that the oil may be considered as resembling almond or olive oil in composition, a conclusion which is borne out by the subsequent experiments.
(3.) Free Acidity of Oil.—The oil was found to contain free acid in small quantity, which was estimated by agitating a weighed quantity with alcohol, in which the free acid dissolves while the neutral fat does not, and titrating the alcoholic liquid with decinormal alkali, using solution of phenol-phthalein as an indicator.
It was thus found that 100 grammes of the oil require 0.34 gramme of caustic potash to neutralize the free acid.Mr. W.H.Deering (Journ.Soc.of Chem.Industry, Nov., 1884) states that in seven samples of olive oil examined by him, the minimum number for acidity was 0.86 per cent., and the maximum 1.64 per cent., the mean being 1.28 per cent.Tea oil compares favorably with olive oil, therefore, in respect of acidity, a quality of which note has to be taken when considering the employment of oil as a lubricating agent.
(4.) Saponification of the Oil.—Considerable light is thrown on the composition of a fixed oil by ascertaining how much alkali is required to saponify it.In order to estimate this, a known excess of alcoholic solution of potash is added to a weighed quantity of the oil, contained in a stout, well-closed bottle (an India-rubber stopper is the most convenient), which is then heated in a water oven until the liquid is clear, no oil bubbles being visible.Phenol-phthalein solution being added, the excess of potash is estimated by carefully titrating with standard hydrochloric acid solution.
It was thus found that 1,000 grammes of oil would require 195.5 grammes of caustic potash to convert it entirely into potash soap.
Koettstorfer, to whom this method of analysis is due, gives 191.8, and Messrs.F.W.and A.F.Stoddart the numbers 191 to 196, as the amounts of caustic potash required by 1,000 parts of olive oil.The numbers given by niger seed, cotton seed, and linseed oils are very similar to these.These oils differ from olive and tea oil, however, in having a higher specific gravity, and in the property they possess of drying to a greater or less extent on exposure to air.
(5.) The Fatty Acids Produced.—A solution of the potash soap was treated with excess of hydrochloric acid, and after being well washed with hot water, the cake of fatty acids was dried thoroughly and weighed.These, insoluble in water, amounted to 93.94 per cent, of the fat taken.The proportion dissolved in the water used for washing was estimated by titration with alkali; the quantity of KOH required was insignificant, equaling O.71 per cent, of the fat originally used.This portion was not further examined.
The insoluble fatty acids amounted, as last stated, to 93.94 per cent.Pure olein, supposing none of the liberated acid to be dissolved in water, would yield 95.7 per cent.of fatty acid.
The acid was evidently a mixture, and had no definite melting point.It was solid at 9° C., and sufficiently soft to flow at 12° C., but did not entirely liquefy under 22° C.To test its neutralizing power, 0.9575 gramme dissolved in alcohol was titrated with decinormal alkali; it required 34.05 c.c.This amount of pure oleic acid would require 33.95 c.c.; of pure stearic acid, which has almost the same molecular weight as oleic acid, 33.71 c.c.; or of pure palmitic acid, 37.4 c.c.This, taken in conjunction with the way in which the acid melted, makes it extremely probable that it is a mixture of oleic and stearic acids.
Additional evidence of the large proportion of oleic acid was furnished by forming the lead salt, and treating with ether, in which lead oleate is soluble, the stearate and palmitate being insoluble.In this way it was found that the oleic acid obtained from the ethereal solution of the lead salt amounted to 83.15 per cent.of the oil.
This acid was proved to be oleic, by its saturating power and its melting point, which were fairly concordant with those of the pure acid.
CABBAGE OIL (Brassica, sp.)
Appearance, etc.—The sample was of a deep brown color, of a fluidity intermediate between olive and castor oil, and possessed a strong, rather disagreeable odor.
The Specific Gravity at 60° Fahr., 914.0. —The specific gravity of rape oil and colza oil, both of which are obtained from species of the genius Brassica, varies from 913.6 to 916.
Exposure to Cold.—This oil by exposure to a temperature of -12° C.(10° F.)becomes solidified in course of an hour, a bright orange-yellow mass resulting.
Qualitative Examination.—The three reagents before indicated were applied to this oil.
(a.)Sulphuric Acid.—The color produced was very marked and characteristic; it differed considerably from any of the others simultaneously tested, the nearest to it being olive end rape oil.
(b.)Strong Nitric Acid.—The reaction was more violent than before, the stratum of oil after cooling being darker in color than in the three cases before mentioned.The reaction with rape oil was similar in all respects.
(c.)Elaidin Test.—The solid mass of elaidin formed was of a darker color than that from olive, almond, and tea oil, but closely resembled that from rape oil.
Free Acidity.—This was estimated as above described.100 grammes of oil would require 0.125 gramme caustic potash.The samples of rape oil examined by Deering (loc.cit.)were found to require from 0.21 to 0.78 KOH per 100 grammes oil.
Saponification of the Oil.—Upon saponifying with alcoholic potash, it was found that 1,000 grammes of oil required 175.2 grammes of potash for complete saponification.
The number obtained by Koettstorfer for colza was 178.7, by Messrs.Stoddart for rape oil, 175-179, and by Deering for rape oil, 170.8-175.5.The only other oil of which I can find figures resembling these is castor oil, which requires 176-178 grammes per kilo (Messrs.Stoddart).The difference in specific gravity between this (cabbage) oil and castor oil and the solubility of the latter in alcohol point to a wide distinction between them.Hence I think the numbers above given conclusively demonstrate the resemblance between this oil and rape oil in composition.
The Fatty Acids.—The acids produced by adding HCl to the potash soap were almost entirely insoluble in water.The actual amount of potash required to neutralize the acid in the wash water equaled 0.20 per cent.of the oil originally taken.
The insoluble fatty acid amounted to 95.315 per cent.of the oil taken.It was evidently a mixture of two or more fatty acids.On trying to take its melting point, I found that it commenced to soften at 17° C., was distinctly liquid at 19°, but not completely melted until 22° C.
According to O.Bach (Year Book Pharm., 1884, p.250), the fatty acids from rape seed oil melt at 20.7° C., which is fairly concordant with the result obtained for cabbage oil acids.
The neutralizing power of these acids was then tested.0.698 gramme dissolved in alcohol required 20.52 c.c.decinormal alkali.It is a singular coincidence that brassic acid (C22H42O2), which is a characteristic acid of colza and rape oils, would have required almost exactly this quantity of alkali for neutralization, O. 698 brassic acid theoretically saturating 20.69 c. c. of decinormal alkali. I am disposed to regard this as a coincidence, since a subsequent experiment showed that the lead salts formed were partially soluble in ether, whereas the lead salt of brassic acid is said to be insoluble in this liquid.
WOOD OIL (Elæococcus cordata).
Appearance, etc.—This oil has a decided brown color and a persistent and disagreeable odor.It is rather more fluid than castor oil.Glass vessels containing it soon show a film of apparently resinous material, which forms whenever a portion of the oil flows from the lip or edge down the outside of the vessel, and is thus exposed to the air in a thin stream.This drying power is one of its most prominent characters.If a few drops be exposed in a flat dish, in the water oven, the oil dries rapidly, so that in two hours the gain in weight will be appreciable, and in four hours the whole will have become solid.
The Specific Gravity at 60° Fahr., 940.15. —This is an unusually high gravity for a fixed oil. The only two which exceed it are castor oil, which is 960, about, and croton oil, which is very similar to this, 942 to 943 (A. H. Allen). It is interesting to note that both these oils are yielded by plants of the natural order Euphorbiaceæ, to which the plant yielding so-called wood oil belongs.
Exposure to Cold.—This oil is apparently unaffected by exposure to a temperature of -13.3° C.(8° F).
Qualitative Examination.—The action of sulphuric acid is remarkable.When a drop comes in contact with the oil, the latter apparently solidifies round the drop of acid, forming a black envelope which grows in size and gradually absorbs and acts upon so much of the surrounding oil as to assume the appearance of a large dried currant of somewhat irregular shape.
When a drop of the oil is added to nitric acid, it solidifies, and on heating very readily changes into an orange yellow solid, which appears to soften, though not to liquefy, at the temperature of boiling water.This substance is readily soluble in hot solution of potash or soda, producing a deep brown liquid, from which it is again deposited in flocks on acidifying.I have not yet found any solvent for it.The action of nitric acid with linseed oil is more similar to this than that with any other oil I have tried, but the nitro products of the two, if I may so call them, are quite different from one another.That from linseed oil produced as indicated remains liquid at ordinary temperatures, as does the oil upon its addition to the acid.
Elaidin Test.—By the action of nitric acid in presence of mercury, a semi-solid mass is produced of a much deeper color than in the preceding cases.A portion of the oil remains in the liquid state, as is usually the case with drying oils.
Free Acidity.—By the method indicated, it was found that 100 grammes of oil required 0.39 grammes caustic potash to neutralize the acid occurring in a free state.
Saponification of the Oil.—The oil saponifies readily on being heated with potash in presence of alcohol, and the amount required to convert it entirely into potash soap was 211 grammes of caustic potash per thousand grammes of oil.There are no saponification numbers for oils that can be considered close to this.I can find no record of any having been obtained between 197 and 221, so that the further examination on which I am now engaged may show this unusual number to be due to this oil containing some new fatty acid in combination.
The Fatty Acid.—The acids produced by adding acid to the potash soap formed in this case a cake on cooling, of a much deeper color than I have before obtained.After washing well they amounted to 94.10 per cent.of the oil.The amount dissolved by the water in washing was in this case also very small, the potash required for neutralizing equaling 1.02 per cent.of the weight of oil.
I found that the cakes of acids were solid at 36° C., and were completely melted at 39°.
On solution in alcohol, and digestion for two days with animal charcoal, the color was much diminished, and on the liquid being filtered and cooled to 0° C., an abundance of small white crystalline plates separated out, which, when dried, melted at 67° C.
The crude fatty acids turn black with sulphuric acid, as the oil does, and yield a similar substance with nitric acid.It is similar in appearance, but differs in that it melts at about 50° C., and is soluble in glacial acetic acid, which is not the case with the substance from the oil.
These fatty acids crystallize on cooling, in a most characteristic and beautiful way, forming wavy circular plates totally unlike any that I have seen before.
The above experiments may, I think, be taken as conclusive as to the nature of tea oil and cabbage oil. The former may certainly be considered a useful lubricating agent for the finer kinds of machinery. The work upon wood oil is not yet sufficiently complete to show us the nature of its proximate constituents. I am continuing the examination of this oil. Perhaps I need scarcely add that there is no connection between this "wood oil" and the Gurgun balsam, the product of Dipterocarpus turbinatus, which is also known as "wood oil."
[1] Read at an evening meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Feb, 4, 1885.
THE OTOSCOPE.
Prof. Leon Le Fort has recently presented to the Academy of Medicine, in the name of Dr. Rattel, a new otoscope, which we illustrate herewith.
The first person to whom the idea occurred to illuminate the ear was Fabricius d'Acquapendentus (1600).To do this he placed the patient in front of a window in such a way as to cause the luminous rays to enter the external auditory canal.It was he likewise who conceived the idea of placing a light behind a bottle filled with water, and of projecting its concentrated rays into the ear.
In 1585 Fabricius de Hilden invented the speculum auris.This instrument was employed by him for the first time under the following circumstances: A girl ten years of age had in playing introduced a small glass ball into her left ear, and four surgeons, called in successively and at different times, had been unable to extract it.Meanwhile the little patient was suffering from an earache that extended over almost the entire head, and that increased at night and especially in cold and damp weather.To these symptoms were added strokes of epilepsy and an atrophy of the left arm.Finally, in November, 1595, De Hilden, being called in, acquainted himself with the cause of the trouble, and decided to remove the foreign body.To do this, he selected, as he tells us, "a well lighted place, caused the solar light to enter the ailing ear, lubricated the sides of the auditory canal with oil of almonds, and introduced his apparatus."Then, passing a scoop with some violence between the side of the auditory canal and the glass ball, he succeeded in extracting the latter.
At the beginning of the 17th century, then, physicians had at their disposal all that was necessary for making an examination of the ear, viz.: (1) a luminous source; (2) a means of concentrating the light; and (3) an instrument which, entering the auditory canal, held its sides apart.
The improvements which succeeded were connected with each of these three points.To solar light, an artificial one has been preferred.D'Acquapendentus' bottle has given way to the convex lens, and to concave, spherical, and parabolic mirrors, etc. De Hilden's speculum has been replaced by cylindrical, conical, bivalve, and other forms of the instrument.
The apparatus that we illustrate herewith offers some arrangements that are all its own as regards the process of concentrating the light.It is lighted, in fact, by a small incandescent lamp of 2 candle-power, placed within the apparatus and supplied by an accumulator.The reflector is represented by a portion of an ellipse so calculated that one of the foci corresponds to the lamp and the other to the extremity of the instrument.A commutator, B, permits of establishing or interrupting the current at will.A rheostat added to the accumulator makes it possible to graduate the light at one's leisure and cause it to pass through all the shades comprised between cherry-red and incandescence.Finally, the orifice through which the observer looks is of such dimensions that it gives passage to all the instruments necessary for treating complaints of the middle and internal ear.
RATTEL'S OTOSCOPE.
This mode of lighting and reflection may be adapted to a Brunton otoscope, utilized for examining other natural cavities, such as the nose, pharynx, etc. Elliptical reflectors do not appear to have been employed up to the present.
STATE PROVISION FOR THE INSANE.1
By C.H.Hughes, M.D.
We live in an age when every uttered sentiment of charity toward the insane is applauded to its remotest echo; an age in which the chains and locks and bars and dismal dungeon cells and flagellations and manifold tortures of the less humane and less enlightened past are justly abhorrent; an age which measures its magnificent philanthropy by munificent millions, bestowed without stint upon monumental mansions for the indwelling of the most pitiable and afflicted of the children of men, safe from the pitiless storms of adverse environment without which are so harshly violent to the morbidly sensitive and unstable insane mind; an age in which he who strikes a needless shackle from human form or heart, or removes a cause of human torture, psychical or physical, is regarded as a greater moral hero than he who, by storm or strategy of war taketh a resisting fortress; an age when the Chiarugis and Pinels, the Yorks and Tukes, of not remotely past history, and the Florence Nightingales and Dorothea Dixes of our own time, are enshrined in the hearts of a philanthropic world with greater than monumental memory.
Noble, Christlike sentiment of human charity!Let it be cherished and fostered still, toward the least of the children of affliction and misfortune, as man in his immortal aspirations moves nearer and nearer to the loving, charitable heart of God, imaging in his work the example of the divinely incarnate Master!
But let us always couple this exalted sentimentality with the stern logic of fact, and never misdirect or misapply it in any of our charitable work. Imperfect knowledge perverts the noblest sentiments; widened and perfected knowledge strengthens their power. A truly philanthropic sentiment is most potent for good in the power of knowledge, and may be made most powerful for evil through misconception of or inadequate comprehension of facts. As we grow in aspirations after the highest welfare of the insane, let us widen our knowledge of the real nature of insanity and the necessities for its amelioration, prevention, and cure
It is a long time since Grotius wrote, "The study of the human mind is the noblest branch of medicine;" and we realize to-day that it is the noblest study of man, regardless of vocation.Aye!it is the imperative study of our generation and of those who are to follow us, if we would continue, as we wish to be, the conservators of the good and great, and promoters of advancing capability for great and good deeds in our humanity.
One known and acknowledged insane person to every five hundred sane persons, and among those are unreckoned numbers of unstably endowed and too mildly mannered lunatics to require public restraint, but none the less dangerous to the perpetuation of the mental stability of the race, is an appalling picture of fact for philanthropic conservators of the race to contemplate.
The insane temperament and its pathological twin brother, the neuropathic diathesis, roams at large unrestrained from without or that self-restraint which, bred of adequate self-knowledge, might come from within, and contaminates with neurotic and mental instability the innocent unborn, furnishing histogenic factors which the future will formulate in minds dethroned to become helpless wards of the state or family.
The insane temperament is more enduringly fatal to the welfare of humanity than the deadly comma bacillus which is supposed to convey the scourge of Asia to our shores. The latter comes at stated periods, and disappears after a season or two of devastation, in which the least fit to survive of our population, by reason of feeble organic resisting power, are destroyed; while resisting tolerance is established in the remainder. But this scourge is with us always, transmitting weakness unto coming generations.
It is the insanity in chronic form which escapes asylum care and custody except in its exacerbations; it is the insanity of organism which gives so much of the erratic and unstable to society, in its manifestations of mind and morals; it is the form of unstable mental organism which, like an unstrung instrument jangling out of tune and harsh, when touched in a manner to elicit in men of stable organisms only concord of sweet, harmonious sounds; it is the form of mental organism out of which, by slight exciting causes largely imaginary, the Guiteaus and Joan d'Arcs of history are made, the Hawisons and Passanantis and Freemans, and names innumerable, whose deeds of blood have stained the pages of history, and whose doings in our day contribute so largely to the awful calendar of crime which blackens and spreads with gore the pages of our public press.
We may cherish the sentiment that it were base cowardice to lay hand upon the lunatic save in kindness; and yet restrain him from himself and the community from him. We may couple his restraints with the largest liberty compatible with his welfare and ours; we may not always abolish the bolts and bars, indeed we cannot, either to his absolute personal liberty in asylums or to his entire moral freedom without their walls, yet we may keep them largely out of sight. Let him be manacled when he must and only when he must, and then only with silken cords bound by affectionate hands, and not by chains. We may not open all the doors, indeed we cannot, but we can and do, thanks to the humanitarian spirit of the age in which we live, open many of them and so shut them, when it must need be done, that they close for his welfare and ours only; that he may not feel that hope is gone or humanity barred out with the shutting of the door that separates him from the world.
We may not always swing the door of the lunatic as facilely outward as inward—the nature of his malady will not always admit of this—but we should do it whenever we can, and never, when we must, should we close it harshly.And while we must needs narrow his liberty among ourselves, we should enlarge it in the community to which his affliction assigns him, to the fullest extent permissible by the nature of his malady.
Liberty need not necessarily be denied him; and to the glory of our age it is not in the majority of American asylums for the insane, because the conditions under which he may safely enjoy liberty, to his own and the community's welfare, are changed by disease.The free sunlight and the fresh air belong as much to him in his changed mental estate as to you or me, and more, because his affliction needs their invigorating power, and the man who would chain, in this enlightened age, an insane man in a dungeon, because he is diseased and troublesome or dangerous, would be unworthy the name of human.Effective restraint may be employed without the use of either iron manacles or dismal light and air excluding dungeons.
The insane man is one of our comrades who has fallen mentally maimed in the battle of life.It may be our turn next to follow him to the rear; but because we must carry him from the battlefield, where he may have fought even more valiantly than ourselves, we need not forget or neglect him.The duty is all the more imperative that we care for him, and in such a manner that he may, if possible, be restored.Simple sequestration of the insane man is an outrage upon him and upon our humanity."Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them," is the divine precept, which, if we follow it as we ought, will lead us to search for our fallen comrades in the alms-houses and penal institutions and reformatories, and sometimes in the outhouses or cellars of private homes, to our shame, where errors of judgment or cruelty have placed them, and to transfer them to places of larger liberty and hopes of happiness and recovery.The chronic insane are entitled to our care, not to our neglect, and to all the comforts they earned while battling with us, when in their best mental estate, for their common welfare and ours.
Almshouses and neglected outhouses are not proper places for them.They are entitled to our protection and to be so cared for, if we cannot cure them, as that they may not do those things, to their own harm or the harm of the race, which they would not do if they were sound in mind.Society must be protected against the spread of hereditary insanity, hence such kindly surveillance, coupled with the largest possible liberty, should be exercised over them as will save posterity, so far as practicable, from the entailment of a heritage more fatal than cancer or consumption.
The insane man is a changed man, and his life is more or less delusional.In view of this fact, we should endeavor always to so surround him that his environments may not augment the morbid change in him and intensify his perverted, delusioned character.
Realizing the fact that mind in insanity is rather perverted than lost, we should so deport ourselves toward the victims of this disease as in no wise to intensify or augment the malady, but always, if possible, so as to ameliorate or remove it.
Realizing that the insane man in his best estate may have walked the earth a king, and in this free country of ours have been an honored sovereign weighted with the welfare of his people, and contributing of his substance toward our charities, we should, with unstinting hand, cater to his comfort when this affliction comes upon him.
We should give him a home worthy of our own sovereign selves, and such as would suit us were we providing for ourselves, with the knowledge we have of the needs of this affliction, pending its approach to us.
That his home should be as unirritating and restful to him as possible it should be unprison-like always, and only be an imprisonment when the violent phases of his malady imperatively demand restraint.An hour of maniacal excitement does not justify a month of chains.Mechanical restraint is a remedy of easy resort, but the fettered man frets away strength essential to his recovery.Outside of asylums direct restraint is often a stern necessity.It is sometimes so in them, but in many of them and outside of all of them it may be greatly diminished, and asylums may be so constructed as to make the reduction of direct restraint practicable to the smallest minimum.Direct mechanical restraint for the insane, save to avert an act of violence not otherwise preventable, is never justifiable.The hand should never be manacled if the head can be so influenced as to stay it, and we should try to stay the hand through steadying the head.
Every place for these unfortunates should provide for them ample room and congenial employment, whether profitable to the State or not, and the labor should be induced, not enforced, and always timed and suited to their malady.A variety of interesting occupations tends to divert from delusional introspection.
Most institutions attempt to give their patients some occupation, but State policy should be liberal in this direction.
Deductions are obvious: Every insane community of mixed recent and long standing cases, or of chronic cases exclusively, should be a home, and not a mere place of detention.It should be as unprison-like and attractive as any residence for the non-criminal.It should have for any considerable number of insane persons at least a section (640 acres) of ground.It should be in the country, of course, but accessible to the supplies of a large city.It should have a central main building, as architecturally beautiful and substantial as the State may choose to make it, provided with places of security for such as require them in times of excitement, with a chapel, amusement hall, and hospital in easy covered reach of the feeble and decrepit, and accessible, without risk to health, in bad weather.
Outhouses should be built with rooms attached, and set apart from the residence of trustworthy patients, for farmer, gardener, dairyman, herdsman, shepherd, and engineer, that those who desired to be employed with them, and might safely be intrusted, and were physically able, could have opportunity of work.
Cottages should be scattered about the ground for the use and benefit of such as might enjoy a segregate life, which could be used for isolation in case of epidemic visitation.Recreation, games, drives, and walks should be liberally provided.
A perfect, but not direct and offensive, surveillance should be exercised over all the patients, with a view to securing them the largest possible liberty compatible with the singular nature of their malady.
In short, the hospital home for the chronic insane, or when acute and chronic insane are domiciled together, should be a colonial home, with the living arrangements as nearly those which would be most congenial to a large body of sane people as the condition of the insane, changed by disease, will allow.
It is as obvious as that experience demonstrates it, that the reigning head or heads of such a community should be medical, and not that medical mediocrity either which covets and accepts political preferment without medical qualifications.
The largest personal liberty to the chronic insane may be best secured to them by provision for the sexes in widely separated establishments.
It is plain that the whole duty of man is not discharged toward his fallen insane brother when he has accomplished his sequestration from society at large, or fed and housed him well.The study of the needs of the insane and of the duty of the State in regard to them is as important and imperative a study as any subject of political economy.
[1] Remarks following "Definition of Insanity." published in the October number of The Alienist and Neurologistand read before the Association of Charities and Corrections at St.Louis, Oct.15, 1884.
THE COURAGE OF ORIGINALITY.
Most of us are at times conscious of hearing from the lips of another, or reading from the printed page, thoughts that have existed previously in our own minds.They may have been vague and unarranged, but still they were our own, and we recognize them as old friends, though dressed in a more fitting and expressive costume than we ever gave them.Sometimes an invention or a discovery dawns upon the world to bless and improve it, and while all are engaged in extolling it some persons feel that they have had its germs floating in their minds, though from the lack of favorable conditions, or some other cause, they never took root or became vital.An act of heroism is performed, and a bystander is conscious that he has that within him by which he could have taken the same step, although he did not.Some one steps forward and practically opposes a social custom that is admitted to be evil, yet maintained, and by his influence lays the ax to its root and commences its destruction; while many, commending his courage, wonder why they had not taken the same course long ago.In numberless instances we are conscious of having had the same perceptions, the same ideas, the same powers, and the same desires to put them into practice that are shown by the one who has so successfully expressed them; yet they have, for some reason, lain dormant and inoperative within us.
When we consider the waste of human power that this involves, we may well search for its cause. Doubtless it sometimes results from the absorption (more or less needful) of each one is his individual pursuit. No one can give voice to all he thinks, or accomplish all that he sees to be desirable, while striving, as he should, to gain excellence in his own chosen work. Conscious of his own limitations, he will rejoice to see many of his vague ideas, hopes, and aspirations reached and carried out by others. But the same consciousness that reconciles him to this also reveals much that he might have said or done without violating any other obligation, but which he has allowed to slip from his hands to those of another, perhaps through lack of energy, or indolence, or procrastination. The cause, however, most operative in this direction is a strange disloyalty to our own convictions. We look to others, especially to what we call great men, for thoughts, suggestions, and opinions, and gladly adopt them on their authority. But our own thoughts we ignore or treat with indifference. We admire and honor originality in others, but we value it not in ourselves. On the contrary, we are satisfied to make poor imitations of those we revere, missing the only resemblance that is worth anything, that of a simple and sincere independent life.
We would not undervalue modesty or recommend self-sufficiency.We should always be learners, gladly welcoming every help, and respecting every personality.But we should also respect our own, and bear in mind, that "though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to us but through our toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to us to till."To undervalue our own thought because it is ours, to depreciate our own powers or faculties because some one else's are more vigorous, to shrink from doing what we can because we think we can do so little, is to hinder our own development and the progress of the world.For it is only by exercise that any faculty is strengthened, and only by each one putting his shoulder to the wheel that the world moves and humanity advances.
There is nothing more insidious than the spirit of conformity, and nothing more quickly paralyzes the best parts of a man.A gleam of truth illuminates his mind, and forthwith he proceeds to compare it with the prevailing tone of his community or his set.If it agree not with that, he distrusts and perhaps disowns it; it is left to perish, and he to that extent perishes with it.By and by, when some one more independent, more truth-loving, more courageous than himself arises to proclaim and urge the same thing that he was half ashamed to acknowledge, he will regret his inglorious fear of being in the minority.We are accustomed to think that greatness always denotes exceptional powers, yet most of the world's great men have rather been distinguished by an invincible determination to work out the best that was within them.They have acted, spoken, or thought according to their own natures and judgment, without any wavering hesitation as to the probable verdict of the world.They were loyal to the truth that was in them, and had faith in its ultimate triumph; they had a mission to fulfill, and it did not occur to them to pause or to falter.How many more great men should we have were this spirit universal, and how much greater would each one of us be if, in a simple straightforward manner, we frankly said and did the best that we knew, without fear or favor?Soon would be found gifts that none had dreamed of, powers that none had imagined, and heroism that was thought impossible.As Emerson well says, "He who knows that power is inborn, that he is weak because he has looked for good out of him and elsewhere, and so perceiving throws himself unhesitatingly on his thought, instantly rights himself, stands in the erect position, commands his limbs, works miracles, just as a man who stands on his feet is stronger than a man who stands on his head."—Phil.Ledger
A CIRCULAR BOWLING ALLEY.
The arcades under the elevated railroad which runs transversely through Berlin are used as storehouses, stores, saloons, restaurants, etc., and are a source of considerable income to the railway company. The owner of one of the restaurants in the arcades decided to provide his place with a bowling alley, but found that he could not command the requisite length, 75 ft. , and so he had to arrange it in some other way. A civil engineer named Kiebitz constructed a circular bowling alley for him, which is shown in the annexed cut taken from the Illustrirte ZeitungThe alley is built in the shape of a horse-shoe, and the bottom or bed on which the balls roll is hollowed out on a curved line, the outer edge of the bed being raised to prevent the balls from being thrown off the alley by centrifugal force.
A CIRCULAR BOWLING ALLEY.
The balls are rolled from one end of the alley, describe a curved line, and then strike the pins placed at the opposite end of the alley.No return track for the balls is required, and all that is necessary is to roll the balls from one end of the alley to the other.A recording slate, the tables for the guests, etc., are arranged between the two shanks or legs of the alley.
It is evident that a person cannot play as accurately on an alley of this kind as on a straight alley; but if a ball is thrown with more or less force, it will roll along the inner or outer edge of the alley and strike the group of pins a greater or less distance from the middle.A room 36 ft.in length is of sufficient size for one of these alleys.
PATENT OFFICE EXAMINATION OF INVENTIONS.
To the Editor of the Scientific American:
It is with considerable surprise that the writer has just perused the editorial article in your issue of March the 28th—"Patent Office Examinations of Novelty of Inventions".It seems to me that the ground taken therein is diametrically opposed to the views heretofore promulgated in your journal on this subject, and no less so to the interests of American inventors; and it appears difficult to understand why the abolition of examinations for novelty by the Patent Office should be recommended in face of the fact that the acknowledged small fees now exacted from inventors are sufficient to provide a much greater force of examiners than are now employed on that work.If inventors were asking the government to appropriate money for this purpose, the case would be quite different; although it may be shown, I think, that Congress would be fully justified in disposing of no inconsiderable portion of the public money in this way, should it ever become necessary.
Recognizing the fact that the patent records of all countries, as well as cognate publications, are rapidly on the increase—and particularly in this country—making an examination for novelty a continuously increasing task, and that the time must come when such an examination cannot be made at all conclusively without a vastly increased amount of labor, from the very magnitude of the operation, it is nevertheless true that this difficulty menaces the inventor to a much greater extent, if imposed upon him to make, than it can ever possibly do an institution like the Patent Office.
Dividing and subdividing patent subjects into classes and sub-classes, and systematizing examinations to the extent it may be made to reach in the Patent Office, may, for a very long time to come, place this matter within the possibility of a reasonably good and conclusive search being made without additional cost to the inventor, provided what he now pays is all devoted to the furtherance of the Patent Office business.If, however, we hereafter make no examinations for novelty, an inventor is obliged to either make such a search for himself—with all the disadvantages of unfamiliarity with the best methods, inaccessibility to records, and incurring immensely more work than is required of the Patent Office examiner, who has everything pertaining thereto at his fingers' ends—or blindly pay his fees and take his patent under the impression that he is the first inventor, and run every risk of being beaten in the courts should any one essay to contest his claims; the probabilities of his being so beaten increasing in proportion as the number of inventions increase.
The inventor pays to have this work done for him at the Patent Office in the only feasible way it can be thoroughly done; and the average inventor would, or should, be willing to have the present fees very largely increased, if necessary, rather than have the examinations for novelty abolished at the Patent Office; for, in the event of their abolition, it would cost him immensely more money to secure himself, as before the courts, by his own unaided and best attainable methods.
The inventor now, however, pays to the Patent Office, as you well know, a good deal more money every year than the present cost of examinations, including of course all other Patent Office business; seeing a part of what he pays yearly covered into the Treasury as surplus, while his application is unreasonably delayed for the lack of examiner force in the Patent Office.
Let the government first apply all the moneys received at the Patent Office to its legitimate purpose, including the making of these examinations, and, when this proves insufficient, you may depend that every inventor will cheerfully consent to the increase of fees, sufficient to insure the continuance of thorough examinations for novelty, rather than attempt to do this work himself or take the chances of his having reinvented some old device (which it is very well known occurs over and over again every day), and being beaten upon the very first contest in the courts, after, perhaps, investing large amounts of money, time, and anxiety over something which he thus discovers was invented, perhaps, before he was born.
For an inventor to obtain a patent worth having, and one that is not more likely to be a source of expenditure than income to him, if contested, it goes without saying that examination for novelty must be made either by himself or some competent person or persons for him; and it is strictly proper and just that the inventor should pay for it; and it is too self-evident a proposition to admit of argument that the organized and systematized methods of the Patent Office can do it at a tithe of the expense which would be incurred in doing it in any other way; in point of fact, it would be impossible to do it by any other means so effectually or so well within any reasonable amount of cost.
Your summing up of the case should, instead of the way you put it, read: The Commissioner of Patents attempts to perform for two-thirds the sum paid as fees by inventors what he is paid three-thirds to accomplish, so that one-third of it may go to swell the surplus of the United States Treasury, and finds it an impracticable task to ascertain the novelty of an invention in a reasonable time for such a sum.To perform it, however imperfectly, he feels authorized to delay the granting; of patents, sometimes for several months, simply because Congress will not allow him to apply the moneys paid by inventors to their legitimate purpose.
I have had, for several years, always more or less applications on file at the Patent Office for inventions in my particular line, and now have several pending; and probably there are few, if any, who have suffered more from the great delays lately obtaining at that institution than myself, particularly in connection with taking out foreign patents for the same inventions, and so timing the issue of them here and abroad as not to prejudice either one.But great as the annoyance and cost have been in consequence of these delays, I would infinitely prefer that it were ten times as great, rather than see the examinations for novelty abolished by the United States Patent Office; and, so far as I know and believe, in this preference I most completely voice that of inventors in general.
John T.Hawkins.
Taunton, Mass. , March 28th, 1885.
The writer of the above communication gives a very clear statement of our original premises.He sees as we do the difficulty, every year on the increase, of making satisfactory searches in the matter of novelty.But his deductions vary from ours.To us it appears on its face an impossibility for satisfactory searches to be made in the case of every individual patent by the Patent Office.The examinations have repeatedly been proved valueless.We know by our own and others' experience that the searches as at present conducted are of comparatively little accuracy.Patents are declared to be anticipated continually by our courts.The awarding of a patent in fact weighs for nothing in a judge's mind as proving its originality.The Commissioner of Patents is really exhausting the energies of the Office employees over a multitude of searches that have no standing whatever in court, and that no lawyer would accept as any guarantee of novelty of invention.If every inventor would search the records for his own benefit, we should then have twenty thousand examiners instead of the present small number.This would be something.But if it be advanced that the inventor is not a competent searcher, then he can engage an expert to do it for him.Every day, searches of equal value to the Patent Office ones are executed for but a fraction of the government fees on granting a patent.
Our correspondent speaks of an evil that he thinks would be incidental to the system we proposed in our article criticised by him, namely, that were the Patent Office to make no search an inventor would "run every risk of being beaten in the courts should any one essay to contest his claims." The fact is that in spite of the Office examination for novelty this risk always has to be encountered, and forms a criterion by which to judge of the exact value of that examination.Furthermore, we take decided issue with our correspondent when he says that the present is the only feasible way of executing these searches thoroughly.They are not so executed as a matter of fact, and could be done better and cheaper by private individuals, experts, or lawyers, engaged for the purpose by inventors.
We agree that all money received by the Patent Office should be applied to its legitimate end.It seems to us a great injustice to make one generation of patentees accumulate money in the Treasury for the benefit of some coming generation.Application of the whole of each year's fees to the expediting of that year's business would be simple justice.But we do not lose sight of our main point, that were the inventor unable to make a satisfactory search, it could be done for him by private parties better and cheaper than it is now done in the Office.
We are very glad to have the question so intelligently discussed as by our correspondent, and we feel that it is one well worthy of consideration.The future will, we are sure, bring about some change, by which inventors will be induced to bestow more personal care on their patents, at least to the extent of securing searches for novelty to be made by their own attorneys, and even at a little additional expense to abandon any blind dependence on the Patent Office as a prover of novelty.—Ed.Sc.Am.
THE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION AT ANTWERP (ANVERS), BELGIUM.
Never before was there so striking and remarkable an example of what can be accomplished by private enterprise when applied to a great and useful object.Last year some prominent citizens of Antwerp—justly proud of the rapid and marvelous progress made by their city—conceived the idea of inviting the civilized world to come and admire the transformation which, in half a century, had converted the commercial metropolis of Belgium into the first port of the European continent.This audacious project has been carried into execution, and the buildings of the Universal Exposition, including the Hall of Industry, the Gallery of Machinery, and the innumerable annexes, cover 2,368,055 sq.ft.of ground.Even this large space has proved too limited.These buildings are shown in the accompanying cut.
All nations have responded to the call of the citizens of Antwerp, who are supported by the patronage of a sovereign devoted to progress, Leopold II., King of the Belgians.Among the countries represented in the exposition, France takes the first rank.She is represented by over 2,000 exhibits, and her products occupy one-fifth part of the Hall of Industry and the Gallery of Machinery.The pavilion of the French Colonies is an exact representation of a palace of Cochin China.
Belgium is represented by 2,400 exhibits.The French and Belgian compartments together occupy one-half of the Hall of Industry and the Gallery of Machinery.This latter building represents a grand spectacle, especially in the evening, when it is lighted by electricity.In excavating under this gallery, ruins were brought to light which proved to be the foundations of the citadel of the Duke d'Albe, the terrible lieutenant of Philip II.of Spain.Thus, on the same site where once stood this monument of oppression and torture, electricity, that bright star of modern times, will illuminate the most wonderful inventions of human progress.—L'Illustration
Bird's-Eye View of the Universal Exposition at D'Anvers, Belgium.
THE STONE PINE.
(PINUS PINEA.)
Although not such an important tree in this country as many other conifers, the Stone pine possesses a peculiar interest beyond that of any other European conifer.From the earliest periods it has been the theme of classical writers.Ovid and Pliny describe it; Virgil alludes to it as a most beautiful ornament; and Horace mentions a pine agreeing in character with the Stone pine; while in Pompeii and Herculaneum we find figures of pine cones in drawings and on the arabesques; and even kernels of charred pines have been discovered.The Pinaster of the ancients does not appear to be the same as that of the moderns; the former was said to be of extraordinary height, while the latter is almost as low as the Stone pine.No forest is fraught with more poetical and classical interest than the pine wood of Ravenna, the glories of which have been especially sung by Dante, Boccacio, Dryden and Byron, and it is still known as the "Vicolo de' Poeti."
The Stone pine is found in a wild state on the sandy coasts and hills of Tuscany, to the west of the Apennines, and on the hills of Genoa, usually accompanied by, and frequently forming forests with, the Pinus pinaster.It is generally cultivated throughout the whole of Italy, from the foot of the Alps to Sicily.It is not commonly found higher than from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet, but it occurs in the south of Italy as high as 2,000 feet.It is found, according to Sibthorp, on the sandy coasts of the Western Peloponnesus, in the same conditions, probably, as in the middle of Italy; it is also met with in the island of Melida.Cultivated, it is found on all the shores of the Mediterranean.In northern Europe, and especially in England, its general appearance is certainly that of a low-growing tree, its densely clothed branches forming almost a spherical mass; but in the sunny south it attains a height of 75 feet to 100 feet, losing, as it ascends, all its branches, except those toward the summit, which, in maturity, assume a mushroom form.
Seen in the soft clime of Italy in all its native vigor, the Stone pine is always majestic and strangely impressive to a northern eye, whether in dense forests, as near Florence, in more open masses, as at Ravenna, in picturesque groups, as about Rome, or in occasional single trees, such as may be seen throughout the country, but rather more frequently toward the coast.In these isolated trees their imposing character can be best appreciated, the great trunk carrying the massive head perfectly poised, an interesting example of ponderous weight gracefully balanced.The solid, weighty appearance of the head of the tree is increased by its even and generally symmetrical outline, this especially in the examples near the coast, the mass of foliage being so close and dense that it looks like velvet, and in color a warm rich olive green, strangely different from the blue greens and black greens of our northern pines.The lofty or normal type with the umbrella-formed top is almost peculiar to Central and Southern Italy.In other parts of the south of Europe, though often attaining large dimensions, it remains more dwarf and rotund in shape.
THE STONE PINE (PINUS PINEA) AT CASTEL GANDOLFO, IN ITALY.
This pine has not been much planted in this country, owing, no doubt, to its slow growth and want of hardiness in a young state. Consequently there are not many large specimens, and certainly none to compare with those of Italy for size or picturesque beauty. Mr. A. D. Webster, the forester at Penrhyn Castle, North Wales, who has kindly sent us a fine cone of this pine, writes thus respecting it: "A fair-sized specimen of this pine stands on the sloping ground to the southwest of Penrhyn Castle. It shows off to advantage the peculiar outline of this pine, which is so marked a characteristic of those grown in the Mediterranean region. The trunk, which is about 4½ feet in girth at a yard up, rises for three-fourths its height without branches, after which it divides into a number of limbs, the extremities of which are well covered with foliage, thus giving to the tree a bushy, well-formed, and, I might almost add, rounded appearance. At a casual glance the whole tree might readily be mistaken for the pinaster, but the leaves are shorter, less tufted, and always more erect. The bark of the Stone pine is somewhat rough and uneven, of a dull gray color, unless between the furrows, which is of a bright brown. That on the branches is more smooth and of a light reddish brown color.When closely examined, there is something remarkably pleasing and distinct from the generality of pines in the appearance of this tree, the leaves, which are of a deep olive-green, being, from their regularity and usual closeness, when seen in good light, like the finest network."
There is a moderately large specimen in the arboretum at Kew, and if this is the tree which Loudon in his "Arboretum" alluded to as a "mere bush," it has made good growth during the past thirty years.According to Veitch's "Manual of Coniferæ," a fine specimen, one of the largest in the country, is at Glenthorn, in North Devon.It is 33 feet high, and has a spread of branches some 22 feet, while the trunk is clear of branches for 15 feet.Loudon enumerates several fine trees in these islands at that date (1854), only one of which was 45 feet high.This one was at Ballyleady, in County Down, and had been planted about 60 years.Even where planted in the most favored localities, we can never expect the Stone pine to assume its true character, and that is the reason why so few plant it.
As a timber tree it is of not much value.Mr. Webster says, "The wood is worthless except for very ordinary purposes.The timber grown here (Penrhyn) is, from the few specimens I have had the chance of examining, very clean, light, from the small quantity of resin it contains, and in color very nearly approaches the yellow pine of commerce.It cuts clean and works well under the tools of the carpenter.In its native country the wood has been used for boat-building, but is now, I believe, almost entirely discarded."This pine thrives best on a soil that is deep, sandy, and dry.It should be well sheltered and nursed, as it is rather tender while in its young state.It is best to keep the seedlings under glass, though they may be planted out in the open air after their fourth or fifth year.
The cones of this pine supply the "pignoli" of commerce.The Italian cooks use these seeds in their soups and ragouts, and in the Maritozzi buns of Rome.Sometimes the Italians roast the barely ripe cone, dashing it on the ground to break it open, but the ripe seeds of the older cone when it naturally opens are better worth eating.They are soft and rich, and have a slightly resinous flavor.The empty cones are used by the Italians for fire lighting, and being full of resinous matter they burn rapidly and emit a delightful fragrance.
Description.—Pinus pinea belongs to the Pinaster section of the genus.In the south of Europe it is a lofty tree, with a spreading head forming a kind of parasol, and a trunk 50 feet or 60 feet high, clear of branches.The bark of the trunk is reddish and sometimes cracked, but the general surface of the bark is smooth except on the smaller branches, where it long retains the marks of the fallen leaves, in the shape of bristly scales.The leaves are of a dull green, but not quite so dark as those of the Pinaster; they are semi-cylindrical, 6 inches or 7 inches long and one-twelfth of an inch broad, two in a sheath, and disposed in such a manner as to form a triple spiral round the branches.
The catkins of the male flowers are yellowish; and being placed on slender shoots of the current year, near the extremity, twenty or thirty together, they form bundles, surmounted by some scarcely developed leaves. Each catkin is not more than half an inch long, on a very short peduncle, and with a rounded denticulated crest. The female catkins are whitish, and are situated two or three together, at the extremity of the strongest and most vigorous shoots. Each female catkin has a separate peduncle, charged with reddish, scarious, lanceolate scales, and is surrounded at its base with a double row of the same scales, which served to envelop it before it expanded; its form is perfectly oval, and its total length about half an inch. The scales which form the female catkin are of a whitish green; the bractea on the back is slightly reddish on its upper side; and the stigma, which has two points, is of a bright red. After fertilization, the scales augment in thickness; and, becoming firmly pressed against each other, they form by their aggregation a fruit, which is three years before it ripens. During the first year it is scarcely larger than the female catkin; and during the second year it becomes globular, and about the size of a walnut. The third year the cones increase rapidly in size; the scales lose their reddish tinge, and become of a beautiful green, the point alone remaining red; and at last, about the end of the third year, they attain maturity. At this period the cones are about four inches long and three inches in diameter, and they have assumed a general reddish hue. The convex part of the scales forms a depressed pyramid, with rounded angles, the summit of which is umbilical. Each scale is hollow at its base; and in its interior are two cavities, each containing a seed much larger than that of any other kind of European pine, but the wing of which is, on the contrary, much shorter. The woody shell which envelops the kernel is hard and difficult to break in the common kind, but in the variety fragilis it is tender, and easily broken by the fingers. In both the kernel is white, sweet, and agreeable to the taste. The taproot of the stone pine is nearly as strong as that of P. pinaster; and, like that species, the trees, when transplanted, generally lean to one side, from the head not being correctly balanced. Hence, in full-grown trees of the Stone pine there is often a similar curvature at the base of the trunk to that of the pinaster. The palmate form of the cotyledons of the genus Pinus is particularly conspicuous in those of P. pinea. When one of the ripe kernels is split in two, the cotyledons separate, so as to represent roughly the form of a hand; and this, in some parts of France, the country people call la main de Dieu, and believed to be a remedy in cases of intermittent fever if swallowed in uneven numbers, such as 3, 5, or 7.The duration of the tree is much greater than that of the pinaster, and the timber is whiter and somewhat more durable.In the climate of London trees of from fifteen to twenty years' growth produce cones.
There are no well-marked varieties of the Stone pine, though in its native districts geographical forms may occur.For instance, Loudon describes a variety cretica, which is said to have larger cones and more slender leaves.Duhamel also describes a variety fragilis, having thinner shells to the seeds or kernels.Neither of these varieties is in this country, so far as we are aware.There are various synonyms for P.pinea.the chief being P.sativa of Bauhin, P.aracanensis of Knight, P.domestica, P.chinensis of Knight, and P.tarentina of Manetti.—The Garden.
THE ART OF BREEDING.
From a paper read by C.M.Winslow, Brandon, Vt., before the Ayrshire Breeders, at their annual meeting, in Boston, Feb.4, 1885:
Sometimes we meet with breeders whose only aim in their stock seem to be to produce animals that shall be entitled to registry.To such I have little to say, as their work is comparatively easy, and has but few hindrances to success; but to those breeders who are possessed of an ideal type of perfection, which they are striving to impress upon their stock, I have a few words to say upon the hindrances they may find in the way of satisfactory results.It is a law of nature that the offspring resembles some one or more of its ancestors, not only in the outward appearance, but in the construction of the vital organism and mental peculiarities, and is simply a reproduction, with the accidental or intentional additions that from time to time are accumulating as the stock passes through the hands of more or less skillful breeders.
The aim of the breeder is to not only produce an animal which shall in its own person possess the highest type of excellence sought, but shall have the power to transmit to its offspring those qualities of value possessed by himself.A breeder may, by chance, produce a superior animal, or it may be the result of carefully laid plans and artfully controlling the forces of nature and subjecting them to his will.
It is comparatively easy to accidentally produce an animal of value, but to steadily breed to one type is the test of the skill of the breeder and the value of his stock.However well he may lay his plans, or however desirable his stock may appear, his ability to perpetuate their desirable qualities will depend upon the prepotence of the animals, and this prepotence depends, to a great extent, upon the length of the line in which the stock has been bred with one definite end in view.A man may, in his efforts to breed stock excelling in a certain line, produce stock that shows excellence in other qualities, but this will not compensate for a deficiency in the qualification he is attempting to impress, nor is it safe to breed from any animal that does not show, in a marked degree, those desired qualities.
There is one qualification without which there can be no success, and that is a sound, healthy constitution, with good vital organs and vigorous digestion; and any amount of success in other directions will not compensate for lack of constitution, and disappointment is always sure to attend the breeder who does not guard this, the foundation of all success....
The very finest type of breeding and surest plans of success may be entirely defeated by improper feed and care.A valuable herd may be entirely ruined by a change of food and care; for those conditions which have conspired to produce a certain type must be continued, or the type changes, it may be for the better or it may be for the worse, since stock very readily adapt themselves to their surroundings; and it is just here that so many are disappointed in buying blood stock from a successful breeder; for a successful breeder is necessarily a good feeder and a kind handler, and stock may give good results in his hands, and, if removed to starvation and harshness, quickly degenerate.So, too, stock that has been bred on poor pasturage will readily improve if transplanted to richer pastures and milder climate.
Therefore he who would prove himself an artist in moulding his herd at will, must not only bring together into his herd many choice lines of goodness, but must ever seek, by kind treatment and good care, to change their qualities for the better, and by right selection and careful breeding so impress these changes for the better as to make them hereditary.If this course is persistently adhered to, the stock will gradually improve, retaining the good qualities of the ancestry, and developing new ones, generation by generation, under the hand of the artist breeder.
THE BABYLONIAN PALACE.
In a recent lecture on "Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities," at the British Museum by Mr. W.St.Chad Boscawen, the architecture and ornaments of a typical palace were described.The palace, next to the local temple, was, the lecturer said, the most important edifice in the ancient city, and the explorations conducted by Sir Henry Layard, Mr. Rassam, M.Botta, and others, had resulted in the discovery of the ruins of many of the most famous of royal residences in Nineveh and Babylon.The palace was called in the inscriptions the "great house," as the temple was "God's house," though in later times it was also named "the abode of royalty," "the dwelling-place of kings," while the great palace of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon, the ruins of which are marked by the Kasr mound, was called "the wonder of the earth."The arrangement of the palace was one which varied but little in ancient and modern times, the same grouping of quadrangles, with intermural gardens, being alike common to the Assyrian palace and the Turkish serai.
The earliest of the Assyrian palaces were those built in Assur, which dated probably from the nineteenth century before the Christian era; but the seat of royalty was at an early period transferred from Assur to Calah, the site of which is marked by the great mounds of Nimroud at the junction of the greater Lab and the Tigris.Here large palaces were erected by the kings of the Middle Assyrian Empire, the most lavish of royal builders being Assur-nazir-pal and Shalmanisar; while a third palace was built by Tiglath Pileser II.(B.C.742).Mr. Boscawen described the explorations carried out by Sir Henry Layard on this site.
The most important chamber in the building was the long gallery or saloon, which had been called the "Hall of Assembly."The various parts of this palace included the royal apartments, the harem, and the temple, with its great seven-stage tower or observatory.The very extensive and systematic explorations carried out by the French explorer M.Botta had restored the remains of one of the most beautiful of the Assyrian palaces.The usurpation of the Assyrian throne by Sargon the Tartar in B.C.721 placed in power a new dynasty, who were lavish patrons of the arts and who made Nineveh a city of palaces.Probably on account of his violent seizure of the throne, Sargon was afraid to reside in any of the existing places at Nineveh—though he appears for a short time to have occupied the old palace; he built for himself Calah, at a short distance to the northeast of Nineveh, the palace town of Dun Sargina, "the fort of Sargon," one of the most luxurious palaces—the Versailles of Nineveh.The ruins of this palace were buried beneath the mound of Korsabad, and were explored by M.Botta on behalf of the French Government, and the sculptures and inscriptions are now deposited in the Louvre.Compared with all the Assyrian palaces, later or earlier, this royal abode of Sargon stands alone.The sculptures were more magnificent, while warmth and color were obtained by the extensive use of colored bricks.Some of the cornices and friezes of painted bricks, of which Mr. Boscawen exhibited drawings, were most rich in ornament.The chief colors employed were blue and yellow, and sometimes red and green.Having described the general construction of this remarkable building, Mr. Boscawen proceeded to speak of the character of Assyrian art during the golden age (B.C.721-625), and he illustrated his remarks by the exhibition of several large drawings.One of the most elaborate of these was the embroidery on the royal robe.The pectoral was covered with scenes taken from Babylonian myths.On the upper part was Isdubar or Nimrod struggling with the lion; below this a splendid representation of Merodach, as the warrior of the gods armed for combat against the demon of evil, while the lower part was covered with representations of the worship of the sacred tree.The general character of Assyrian art, its attention to detail, and the wonderful skill in representing animal life, as exhibited in the hunting scenes, was next spoken of, and Mr. Boscawen concluded by a brief description of the royal library, a most important part of the great palace at Nineveh.
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