Science Jottings.'

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 7, 3 October 1907, Page 10

Science Jottings.'

NOTES FROM OTJT OF THE WAY ABOUT THE WHALE.

Tlio question as to whothcr a whalo '•'or a shark could swallow a..man»fujfl, disgorgo him again without' .iiljU'rjr, is being revived in scientific" circles.' Professor '• Paul Haupt,. df'.'tKb ' re-' nowned John Hopkins University, attacks tho problem, and with his own scientific and collateral evidence to comb to the conclusion that both tho swallowing, and.,tho disgorging• whalo is possible. Thero is, of course, the Biblical' tradition'of Jpilah'-'being' swallowed and ejected .alive, and though this journal 1 is not t-li6 pla'co to discuss the mattor ; it .is nevertheless an interesting subject .on tlic .plivsidlogical side. ~ It has been; rope'atodly, pointed - out that a whalo. could not swallow, a. maiij writes Professor Haupt, and'tliat even - if.it did, no man could live for three days inside of such an animal. Sharks, . ho continues,.may swallow men/.and even horses , and. other;' largft.-aiiimals. whole. In certain- old "publications we find 'tho romarkablo statement that in 1758 a sailor fell overboard and was swallowed by a shark. The captain commanded his men to train 'a gun' upon tho shark, .and.tho monster was hit by a cannon ball. The shark vomited tho sailor, who was picked up by. a boat. He .had hardly suiiered any injury. Vvo must reniombor, however,, states tho Professor cautiously, that all. that happened in 1753. ' "I personally did not see it." :■ •

: , Against the objection that the gullet of a whale is not largo enough to admit a man, our. authority" reminds lis that the gullet of a right .whale would not admit a man, it is true; but.: the sperm . whalo has, a gullet quitoi'krgo-pnough to. swallow :-. The.. sjiefici t whale has on ejicli,j side of .tho£tßi#c*-f-jaw-£froin~' twenty.,- to : twenty-fivfe 'tooth' -- consisting -'of.' tho finest ivory. They!aro about five.Qr six in'chos...long and projcct';iabout''''two; inches i'ii'rdm tho gum. ... The" giant sponn whale attains a length of about ono hundred feet, with a girth .'of ; forty/fe'b't.' The Arabic >namo of the sperm whale is ambar, which means' passing through tlio water. , Ambar .is'also the name of the fragrant sub-, stancewhich wo c&ll 'anilibrgris;/' br grey/attiGir! in distinction from ybl- ■ low, or Trench amber.''' Ambergris is tho ' morbid concretion from |£ho alimentary tract of . the, sperm,. whalo,' '-.like the bezbar found l iii the-stomach and intestines of-certain animals, especially : the wild ; goat Itnoifti-'as tlio bezoar goat. s ' -HYPNOTISM; E(® t SEASICKNESS ' ■' That • can. 'be/cured 'in ; many ca'^esy• or rather; prevontod;, t by; "hypnotic suggestion, seems certain. It is'acknowledged that tho majority of cases are duo to self or mixed sug- : these 'can bo cpfaiter-!. t acted % .hypnotic suggestion, given before embarking, as a preventive. But there are organic, dispositions which render; these, preventive meas-: uros unavailing. The victims of "mal-de-mor" may therefore be divided into two classes, iimigiimry and xcal;.... A diii'ererice of opinion has been expressed as to the possibility of correctly di,aghbaiag_,tho cases, but. Djs.Jlegnault, Farpz and Berillon are of 'opinion thrit; evoiv .those,' predisposed firgan'ically to silver on a rough voyagej; fiiay, bb muchrbenefitcd by previous hyjiiio-' tic suggestion. Dr. Berillon, states that'the "cdncatiori.'of'the : strengthening of tho power of selfcontrol ■ by hypnotic! suggestion—will enable the real, victinis to a i-ough voyage'mth' greatbr.-: equaniElity. • ,N /;/ •' ■ SHORT. NOSES , v - [/.J; ■ . " -IV:-"'. "Physiognomists regard, the short' ■»ose-'v/itljr|cant' favour," -writes an expert,, ,in-= the occult,; ,- " but you "can sei\this down ..fori,-a .fact, l -.that, short' nosb.'is'-"combined with,- features .tithenyise strong the. indication is of' a personality*imiting' ; forco with ability,- and'-,if. the : fea'tufes. 1 are supplemented' by curly', hair, thb" indication is of a very acutb-'d.isctimr'. inating .intelligence, wit,' great'power of discernment, and. an ability to. see through the outward appeara'ftces into the heart of things, and discover by intuition their real value. "I never 'saw- a curly-headed, short -/ nosed, man," continues our authority, "who , did not possess mother wit enough to make: lifo"'pleasant for himself and everybody^ho, know...-Such men aro often hip-tyripere'd'imd havo fits of passion, fl;liiclj. usually,' howovbr, last but-a fqw<i minutes, then give, way to. tho ; natural good humour whiclr is their, prevailing characteristic.' They generally go to extremes! When they ; aro. good-humoured their pleasantry 1 ' '■ bubblss over without hny provocation'; when the contrary,' they as chronic ilyspeptics, but no long'ac- : quaintanco is necessary to read tlieir . moods, and while straAgors tlioy snme- ; times seem incomprehoiisible;" thoso-who<:hft)-e~learned their "godd- points, : appreciate how little of churlishness and hokanuch of excellence is-to-bo found iii their mental mako up." , ,' —FATAL TO PEARLS. - - iSomo timo ago a lady showed a correspondent iof "Science Siftings,'.' T a. large pegd'set' i.nia ring. TliS had lost'its lustre so completqly.ihat it midit easily havo been mistaljen for a little balLof unpolished marble. He asked her'if she had been handling something that had ,aeid';in'it^--Slfo ! " • could not remember at.first, but finally recalled;-tb/at she had - been:, .putting, up with strong'viiiegar,-' and supposed sho had got her fingers jn thennhcgiir. That TOs;tho whole trouble. A pearl is nothing but carbonato. ofjlimo, and vinegar or...any, other: acjd" will eat off tlio • pflhslj' in' a . ■ ;AU-coloured gem? 'ar.q liable to fade on exposure to tho siiiilight, and when not, in use should be kept in the dark. NEW.jUSEI FOR THE FOUNTAIN ■ PEN. Two parontless squirrels,.ihiifta 'few days old, hungry and disconsolate, were reppjitly discovered in tlio hrillbw. of a an English'" paper)':' They wore rescued and given to a sympathetic man living in. the district, who wijjjggly,. assumed th(j;Vcluty iofj foster-fiilr'elit." After the orphans, were safely,.'established in-a roomy ''wire' cage, the problem of .feeding'/them' presenti'd itself. They wero.too young to crack' nuts : for themselves, - 'and their little teeth wore too sharp to .permit tho use of. a rubber -tube--fqr liquid refreshments. In this emergency thejf,-protector c l*ad an insriira'-'-: tion. He filled the reservoir of his fountain-pen with milk, and inserted the point-jn, each small mouth alternately. The orphans drank eagerly. Succeeding experiments have been equally successful, and when last heard from the pots were thriving vigorously, v . ' /- p\( l .. P •" ' ' ' ' " ■ • ' ' ' THE'SLEEPING SICKNESS. 1 ' 1 ' who recently left Brussels for tho Congo to practise upon native victims of sleeping sickness the experiments he has made on fluimals in Belgium has communi-

.catqd to tho Academy of' Medicine jin of a method for tbo treatment of sleeping sickness by atoxyl; the' now romcdy recommended by Dr. Thomas, of tho Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Sinco April, 1906, l)r. Hollobeko has treated soven Europeanssulforing, from sleeping sickness with complcto sticncss. 'CHiLDREN'S MEATEST 1 TERROR? An examination of 1500 children recently made shows that'thunderstorms aro by far the worst terror of childhood. Afterwards conic,; respectively, snakes, . strangers, darkness, firo, ■ death; "diseaso, wild animals, policomen, wafer insects, and ghosts. •' In 'the fear''of rats and mice girls exceed boys in tho ratio of 75 to 161 In boys fear begins,to diminish after the fifteenth ( .year; in girls after the eighteenth. PRESERVING MINING TIMBER. Some reconfc experiments conducted with various substances, such as crcosoto,' common salt, and. zinc chloride for the preservation of mine timber, "liavo proved that " "peeled-, timber -is superior to and more durable than tho green unpeoled. timber, commonly employed, ai'i'd ':it-''i's 'expedient:'.that all timber should be treated chonjically. Of the various .substances tried, creosote, with a solution" of zinc chloride applied by' tho .open..tank process, is said most off.ectivelyv.-tb.-resist decay. •/' TO PRESERVE 'GEMS. A jeweller correspondent informs us that many gems • arc spoilt by the wearers not understanding how to take care off them..; rTKcift %-tJie;-turquoise, for instane'e,'. N.d't,lirjj jo'i.se ought ever, to be exposed to the. action of soapy water-when- washing'tho: hands. The best turquoise gems are of a delicate tint of'.blue, but 'if : ',a"' tiirquoi'se"'ring' ij kept on the ha'qfls Jvli'feii r \t.J) shing # n ; . 'n';fow;-n)jont-hs, ?qmetim&vjiii ;Ja -f|w! woeks, 'tlid blue stone'.changes «te*a' dingy green, loses/its and. becomes worthless 'as a' gerii' '' Then, again, no gems ought ever to bo exposed to hot Avater. Opals generally lose their firo and sometimes crack, in. water oven no hotter than tho hand will bear, iind perhaps that .is -ono reason why tho opal is considered an iunlucky stone. . \ '