Science.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 361, 9 April 1903, Page 7

Science.

SOMETHING FOE NOTHING.

"Msl? AQIO -* haae to interest the sons ;Is|P ofsaea! Is thare another in the A t JK English language which will set the pulse of all humanity to beating quicker? From the country yokel who-bites* eagerly at the alluring advertisement promising anything from a diamond pin to a house and lot for a penny stamp, to the hard-headed business man who is ever on the alert to get the best end of a deal and so secure 'something for nothing/ everyone is on the l okout for a-chance to win without effort to gam without work.

It is a business axiom that 'something for nothing' is an impossibility, and if the expenditure of braiuß is counted, th> verity of the axiom cannot be doubted. But apart from thought and invention, something can be obtained for nothing sometimes, and never more quickly than by the attempt to turn to Borne useful purpose the by-product of some process of manufacture.

j Not many years ago the entire purpose of a hog in a packing house was meat. To-day a hog resolves himself into food, I into glue, into paint, into medicine, into ' musical instrument strings, into fertilizer and several other things too numerous to mention. The manufacture of coal gas furnishes ammonia and coke. Many chemical processes furnish brilliant dyes from refuse, and the consumption of tar, once a paving material only, is now far greater for its thousand and one byproducts, among which are sugar and wine, than for any other purpose. Paper, once rarest of substances, now is made from wood, and is shortly to bo made from the waste hulls of cotton-seed. Fine furniture is made to-day from a rank weed whioh until thus utilised made the land upon which it grew of no value Garboge until recently demanded good prices for its removal; now it is bought from cities by contractors who make from it fertilizer, and, so it is whispered, stock for canned soups. And so it goes. Little of value is wasted to-day, but that little in proportion to the whole, is a vast field, into which the chemical experimenter may go, with the ultimate goal of riches, and the certainty, if only the right course is taken, of finding that will-o'-the-wisp 'something for nothing,' after which men have striven, are striving, and will strive until the world itself becomes a by-product of the universe and breaks into star dust fot tfce possible gratification of the astronomers of some other planet.

ENGLISH CUBE FOR COLDS.

Doctors have never Bueceeeded in gaining the confidence of the uneducated, who regard them covertly as the inflictors of suffering for their own pleasure and profit. And the mystic remedy is still the popular one. A few days ago the vicar of an Oxfordshire village was called upon by a parishioner, who, being afflicted with shingles, ashed that he might be supplied with som9 of the grease upon which the church bell swuuk, says the ' London Chronicle.' He was a dissenter, who had become the leader of the local Salvation Army regiment. But his confidence in the grease of the church bell had survived generations of anti clericalism. :

Perhaps the quaintest remedy is that which is administered for a cough, and in the opinion of thousands of Englishwomen, invariably cures it. It was mentioned to an English lady by her housekeeper, a Londoner born and bred, who had tried it with success upon tier own daughter. You take the hair ; ©f the sufferer land wrap it in a piece of meat, which you give to ad- g. When the dog has swallowed the sandwich the cough disappears. Nothing cculd be simpler or easier, so long as we are not bald. VALUE OF SUNDAY REST An inapoitant contribution to scientific data bearing on the necessity of Sunday rest from labor has been made by a Pennsylvania jailroad (ffisial. Heso'ected two groups of laborers from the working force of a oaiiaih freight house controlled by bis road. Ho measured the working capacity of each group in terms of tons handled daily for a week. On Sunday one group rested; the other worked as usual. On tbe lolluwing Monday the men who had been continuously at eeivice showed a decrease of 10 per cent in efficiency as compared with the previous Monday, and each day after their comparative delinquency became greater. The men who had their Sunday respite, on the other hand, were as valuable to the company the second week as the first.

ADVANTAGES OF SEA-BATHING. There is nothing in the world so refreshing and invigorating on a warm day as a bathe ia the open sea. It cools the body, soothes the nerves, invigorates and gives tone to the whole system. But there is a time for everything, and it is most essential that a sea bath, in order to be beneficial, should be taken at the proper time. Some people, those with vigorous, strong constitutions, derive great benefit from the bath taken before breakfast. But the best time is between eleven and twelve o'clock, after the sun has had time to thoroughly warm the surface of the water. Jt is seldom advisable to bathe in the afternoon, »nd at no time should a bath be taken directly after a meal. It is unwise to remain in the water longer than from ten to twenty minutes, and the bath should bo followed by vigorous friction with a joarse towel. The head should be dipped under the water immediately, as, if this ia not done, the blood has a tendency to rush to the head. If the whole body is wetted at once the reaction will increase the circulation, and, instead of shivering, the bather will feel a warm glow throughout the entire system. After dressing, don't sit or stand about, but take a good brisk walk so as to increase the circulation, and prevent the body from taking cold. If a sinking sensation is felt after the bath a few biscuits should be eaten, LOWEST TEMPERATUEE MAKE. Toisserene.de Bert, the Freneh aeronaut, has secured the lowest temperature mark on record—?2 degrees centigrade or 97,6 degrees Fahrenheit. The reading was registered on a thermometer in a trial balloon sent uporecently, which rose to a height of 38,000 feet. COMPLEXION BULBS. Here arc a few rules given by the celebrated French dermatologist, M. Felix Chaleux, for a clear, beautiful complexion and perfect health : Don't drink tea or coffee. Drink pure water. Eat grapes, apples, raisins, and tigp. Eat a few salted almonds daily. Den't eat animal food. | An egg or two a day, soft boiled. t Eat an oraage every day or so. Walk two or throe milm a day. 1 Bathe the whole body daily. i Don't fret; don't worry.

Never bite your bread at dinner j break off small portions and convey these to your mouth. Jumbled Eggs.—Break the eggs into a stowpan, add a little butter, season them, set them over a stove, and continue to stir them. When done serve immediatelj on hot buttered toast. A Eefreshing Drink—Slice two oranges and one lemon into a jug with two onnosi of candird sugar. Pour over this one quart of boiling water. Keep stirring at intervals until cold. Saratoga Padding.—Beat together three tablespoonfuls of sugar, two tablespoon. fuls of flour, three eggs, and a little salt, Stir into them a quart of hot milk. Beat together again, and bake for fifteen minutes. A tinned pineapple will make a pleasant drink. The pine is out up and mashed, the juice boiled with sugar, a little water and lemon-juice, and powdered over. This (must stvid for two or tkree hours; then fitrain, and add about two pints of water, Serve with ice if possible.