Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 27.djvu/152
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��THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.
��pected, in the light of an observation made by Professor Reynolds, that there must re- sult a difference of pressure on the two sides of the vertical line through the center of gravity in the thin space between the box and the journal the maximum being on one side or the other, according as the rotation is one way or the other ; for, un- doubtedly, the box and journal became adapted to each other for a certain direc- tion of running, and when a reversal was made some time would elapse before a re- adaptation would be completed. This would explain why a new journal and box would always heat on first being run, however per- fect they might be.
Deaths by Poisoning. According to the English Registrar-General's reports, deaths by poisoning occur with alarming frequency in the ordinary course of events. In 1881, 569 deaths were recorded in England alone from this cause; in 1882, 599, or one in every 863 of the total deaths registered. Fully two fifths of the cases in the latter year were classified under the heading " ac- cident and negligence " ; the rest, 288, were suicides. Of the deaths through accident or negligence, 85 were occasioned by opium, laudanum, and morphia ; 18 by lead com- pounds ; 34 by the four stronger acids hydrochloric, nitric, sulphuric, and carbolic ; 14 by chloral ; 11 by phosphorus ; nine by arsenic ; six by chlorodyne ; four by chloro- form ; and four by soothing -sirup. How came the victims of these poisons to take them accidentally in fatal doses ? The medi- cal reports on the subject trace the mistakes to two principal causes the giving or tak- ing of overdoses of certain remedies con- taining poisons, and the substitution of one bottle or substance for another, as where bottles of all kinds of things are piled to- gether in the cupboard, and, in the nervous- ness of haste or in carelessness, the wrong one is taken. The remedies for these dan- gers ought to be obvious. One is, never to give an infant an opiate or other powerful soothing remedy without first obtaining the sanction of a doctor. Another is, that no patient taking powerful remedies should be permitted, or 6hould permit himself, to measure or repeat the dose himself. A third is, never to place bottles or packets
��containing poison alongside of or near any- thing that is to be taken internally. Fourth, never to put any poison into bottles, jugs, or cups which children or any other persons are apt to associate in their minds with sub- stances not in themselves dangerous. The last remedy is sovereign. It is, not to keep strong remedies on hand.
Relation of Color and Flavor in Fruits and Vegetables. Mr. Emmett S. Goff re- cords in the " American Naturalist " some investigations he has made to determine whether there may not be a law of relation between the color and flavor in fruits and vegetables. He was led to his experiments by the observation that in several fruits and vegetables, such as onions, currants, to- matoes, and raspberries, a white or light- colored flesh is accompanied by a milder and more delicate flavor than exists in other va- rieties of the same fruit or vegetable hav- ing a dark-colored flesh ; also that seme vegetables are " blanched " to give them a more delicate flavor. The usual aim in im- proving the qualities of fruits and vegeta- bles is to intensify the desirable qualities and eliminate the undesirable ones. It is evident, therefore, Mr. Goff says, that, if the color of the flesh has a direct relation to its flavor and tenderness, we have a valuable index in the work of selection. If by whit- ening the flesh of a fruit we can eliminate acid and solidity, or if by darkening the flesh of another fruit, already too tender and in- sipid, in the same way, we can heighten its characteristic flavor and increase its firm- ness, we have gained a new faculty in mak- ing the products of Nature subservient to our wants. Mr. Goff supports his view by the citation of a number of fruits and vege- tables of peculiar qualities, and quotes de- scriptions by various authors, which appear to be in agreement with it.
The Harp-Seal in the St. Lawrence River. It has been long known that the harp-seal (Phoca Qroerdandica) was accus- tomed to visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence for bringing forth its young ; but Dr. C. nart Merriam has collected evidence that its ex- istence in that river is far more general and fixed than had been supposed. Mr. Napo- leon A. Comeau, who lives near the point
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