Part 7

_Form of Projections._--The principle is maintained by all the best English and French architects that projections (_i. e_., cornices, sills, lintels, etc.) should be "throated," that is, undercut in such a way as to throw off the dripping of rainwater, etc., from the front of the building, but in New York this principle is almost universally neglected. It was pointed out that the severity of our climate even requires the further care that the upper surface of projections should be so cut as to prevent the lodgment or long retention of deposits either of rainwater or snow. It is immediately above and below such deposits that the ashlar of our fronts is most rapidly corroded and exfoliated, an effect evidently due mainly to the repeated thawing and solution, freezing and disintegration, which are caused by the water, slush, and snow, which rest, often for weeks, upon a window-sill, balcony, cornice, etc. Thus from the initial and inexcusable carelessness in the construction and form of the projections, and, later, the neglect of the houseowner, due to ignorance of the results involved, to remove the deposits of snow, etc., as fast as they accumulate on the projections, is derived a large part of the discoloration of the marble, Nova Scotia stone, or light colored granyte, and especially the exfoliation of the brownstone beneath the window-sills, balconies, etc., by the water alternately trickling down the front and freezing, by day and by night, for long periods.

The artificial means of preservation are of two classes, organic and inorganic. The former depend on the application of some organic substance in a coating or in the injection of fatty matters; but, as the substances are with greater or less rapidity oxidized, dissolved, and carried away by the atmospheric fluids, the methods founded on their use have been properly denounced by many authorities as only costly palliatives, needing frequent repetition, and therefore exerting an influence toward the destruction of delicate carving. The following were discussed: coal-tar; paint, which has been used in New York for many residences, as in Washington for the Capitol, and in London for Buckingham Palace, etc., but lasts only a few years, and often even permits the disintegration to progress beneath it; oil, often used in New York, but as objectionable as paint; soap and alum-solution; and paraffine, beeswax, resin, tallow, etc., dissolved in naphtha, turpentine, camphene, oil, etc.

The preparations of an inorganic nature, which have been proposed and used abroad, have in some cases met with success; but the exact nature of their action, and the conditions to which they are each suited, are yet to be investigated, especially with reference to the entirely different climate by which the stone in our city is being tried. The processes which have been proposed, and in some cases practically used, involve the application of the following substances: waterglass, in connection with salts of calcium or barium, or bitumen; oxalate of aluminum; barium solution, in connection with calcium superphosphate or ferro-silicic acid; copper salts, used by Dr. Robert in Paris to stop the growth of vegetation on stone, etc. There is certainly a call for processes by which, at least, those stones which are used in isolated, exposed, and unnatural positions may receive artificial protection, such as the stone sills and lintels of windows, stone balusters, projecting cornices, and ashlar-stone set up on edge. It will doubtless be found that only those stones which possess a coarse, porous texture and strong absorptive power for liquids will be found particularly available for protection by artificial preservatives, and that such stones should indeed never be used in construction in a raw or crude state. In the spongy brown and light olive free-stones, a marble full of minute crevices, and a cellular fossiliferous limestone, a petrifying liquid may permeate to some depth, close up the pores by its deposits, and incase the stone in solid armor; while, upon a more compact rock, such as a granyte or solid limestone, it can only deposit a shelly crust or enamel, which time may soon peel off. The carelessness with which stone is selected and used, and the ignorance in regard to its proper preservation, when the decay of a poor stone becomes apparent, have led to an increased use of brick and terra cotta, much to be deplored; durable stones are to be obtained in great variety, methods for the preservation of the porous stones can easily be devised, and stones of a fireproof character do exist in this country in abundance.

In conclusion, three suggestions were offered: 1st, that householders invoke the magic use of the broom on the fronts of their residences as carefully as upon the sidewalks; 2d, that house-builders insist upon the undercutting of all projections, and the exclusion of brackets or other supports to sills and cornices, which only lead to the oozing of water and a line of corrosion down the ashlar; 3d, that house repairers recut the projections in this way, whenever possible, and entirely avoid the use of paint, oil, or other organic preservatives.

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ELEPHANTS MOVING TIMBER AT MOULMEIN, BURMAH.

"Elephants," says Mrs. A. H. Brackenbury, of Singapore, to whom we are indebted for our sketch, "work in the timber yards of Moulmein, carrying huge planks, sometimes two or three together, and with great care and exactitude piling them in stacks one over another. The old hands take a sidelong view with one eye closed to test the perpendicularity of the stacks. The elephants lift the planks with their proboscis on their tusks, and then tuck their trunks around the burden, and march majestically off as if they were carrying nothing. A man sits on each elephant's neck to direct him, which he does by kicking or pressing behind their ears.

"In Africa the elephants are being so persistently slaughtered for the sake of their ivory that they are likely soon to become extinct.

"Would it be possible to breed them on farms as ostriches are bred, and then to employ them in navvy work, for which they are probably as well suited (education being supplied) as their Asiatic cousins?

"Moulmein is a very pretty place, and its charms are enhanced by its being out of the beaten track of tourists. It is up a river, and there are many islands on which are perched the daintiest little gilt and painted Burmese pagodas. The scene recalls the well known view on the willow-pattern plate of our childhood, which plate has once more become fashionable."--_London Graphic_.

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STRENGTH OF YELLOW PINE.

It is reported that a comparison of the relative strength of yellow and Norway pine was made at Dayton, O., with the following results: The specimens were dressed exactly one inch square, and these were broken in a testing machine by placing them on bearings, one foot apart, with the weight in the center. The southern pine had been air seasoned for two years and upward, the Norway from a year to fifteen months. The weakest yellow pine broke at 763 pounds, the strongest at 1,102; average of eight specimens, 904 pounds. The weakest Norway broke at 501 pounds, the strongest at 790 pounds; average of ten specimens, 702 pounds, showing the yellow pine to be 28.7 per cent. stronger than Norway, and that a yellow pine sill 4x8 inches dimensions is equivalent to a Norway sill of 5½x8 inches, with the further advantage in favor of the yellow pine that it can be got much freer of knots and consequently stronger in comparison than these figures show, which are based on clear timber. Another test was made at a meeting of the Master Car Builders' Association, with the following results: Five pieces of each variety, one inch square and eleven inches between bearing points, were experimented upon, the pressure being applied in the center. The outcome showed strength of yellow pine at 500, 510, 500, 490, and 530 pounds breakage strain, or an average of 506; while Norway stood a strain of 620, 645, 730, 650, and 630 pounds or an average of 625 pounds. These experiments do not appear to throw much light on the question of relative strength.

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THE EDUCATION OF GERMAN WOMEN.

"Our women in Germany," said the professor of a German university to me, a few days ago, "must by all means be acquainted with the different departments of housekeeping, and must interest themselves therein. Those who stand highest as well as those who stand lowest, from the wives and daughters of a Minister of State to the wives and daughters of the meanest peasant. The Princess-Royal attends to the skimming of the milk in her dairy." "I beg your pardon for interrupting you," I said, "but an American lady would think that quite out of her sphere; and if I were not convinced of your seriousness, I should imagine you were amusing me by a piece of fiction." "I do assure you," replied the professor, "that it is a well known fact that the Princess-Royal keeps cows and superintends personally the management of her dairy, and I have heard that the Queen of England does the same." "Please to instruct me further regarding the education of women in Germany," I said. "I am very much interested in that subject, as, from my own observations, I have seen that as a general thing the German ladies are well read, not only in the literature of their own country, but also in that of France and England." "Our women," he replied, "also speak French and English, especially French, and many of them are able to read the authors of those countries in the original." "This is the more surprising to me," I remarked, "as they seem to be much occupied with the cares of housekeeping, and I would like to know how they find time to learn foreign languages, and to read all the principal works of the poets and romance writers of three countries." "That," said the professor, "is a part of their education, and in order that you may understand in what manner German girls must utilize their time at school, I will give you a brief explanation of the system of education employed and of that knowledge which it is incumbent upon every German girl to possess, whatever be her position in life, and afterward of the different grades of education from that of the peasant girl to that of the lady of the highest position in the State. Every girl in Germany must learn to read and to write, to sew and to knit, to cook and to do general housework, and to acquire besides some general knowledge of grammar, geography, mathematics, and history. Beginning at the daughter of the _Bauer_, or, as you say in America, _farmer_, the above mentioned knowledge, which is the starting point for the education of the other classes, is the limit of her education; and as it may be interesting to you, I will mention that when the daughters of the Bauer have learned thus much they quit school and labor in the field until they are married, when they leave aside the field work and enter upon the duties of the household and its immediate attachments, such as the dairy, the chicken yard, the gardens, etc.; and while the products of the field belong to their husbands, the garden stuffs, and the milk, eggs, butter, etc., become their own property, and from the profits of these, which they carry to the markets and sell, they provide their pantries with the necessary teas, sugar, coffee, etc., and themselves and their children with clothes.

"Between the peasant class and nobility there are many grades and classes varying more or less in the refinement of their manners as well as in the extent of their education, but as it would not be possible and is also unnecessary for our purpose to describe them all in particular, I prefer to include them all under the head of gentry, and for these a more ample education is provided. The daughters of the gentry must, in addition to the aforesaid rudiments of knowledge, have a very thorough education in history as well as in grammar, mathematics, and natural and physical geography. They must know French and English, and have an intelligent understanding of the literature of those countries, as well as of that of Germany. They must learn fine needle-work and the art of governing a house and of educating young children. They must also acquire a knowledge of good manners and an understanding of society. They must be able to receive company and do the honors of the house. In addition to this they will have an intelligent understanding of music and art. For all of these branches of knowledge there are schools provided, and according to the position or wealth of the parents, or the intelligence and application of the daughters, will vary the refinement and education of each. As, for instance, the education of a country squire's daughter will be superior to that of a wholesale merchant's daughter, and that of the wholesale merchant's daughter will be superior to that of the retail merchant's daughter. The daughter of a very wealthy banker will be educated above the daughters of the merchants; the daughter of a professor of the University above that of the daughters of a professor of the Gymnasium, and so on; and each will fill a position in life differing from that of the others, according to the respect in which the position of the parents is held.

"The same system of education which we have described for the daughters of the gentry will be incumbent on the daughters of the nobility, with the addition of a more finished and thorough education in regard to the manners and formalities which attach to their station of life, and these will also vary in kind and extent, according to the position of the persons concerned. A Duke's daughter, for instance, will be more accomplished than a Count's. But the difference will be more apparent than real; the actual knowledge of both will, as far as their education provides, be the same. In the society of the Court, the ladies will naturally acquire some knowledge of the affairs of State, which those in private life and a more retired existence will not care to learn. But in matters of art, in literature, in the general business of life, all German ladies are expected to be well informed and to be able to converse intelligently regarding them, while the special faculties of law, of medicine, of theology, of chemistry, etc., etc., are left to the higher ambition of their fathers and brothers, and they do not meddle with them. But, above all, as I remarked in the beginning, a German girl of whatever rank or condition must understand fully all the matters concerning a _household_."

When the Professor had finished, I thanked him and expressed so much admiration at the system of education provided for the women of Germany, that he promised me at some future time a brief explanation of morals and manners in Germany, which I shall be most happy to present before the reader at the proper time.

K.G.D.

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SCIENCE IN ANTIQUITY.

HERON'S PNEUMATIC AND COMPRESSING APPARATUS.

The most ancient of such instruments is certainly the syringe. The Egyptians, says Herodotus (ii., 87), employed the latter in the embalming of common people, for filling the belly with oil of cedar, through injections made _per ano_, without opening the body and extracting the intestines. Heron, in his "Pneumatics," describes an instrument of this kind, called _Pyulgue_, which was designed for sucking pus out of wounds.

The following apparatus, also described by Heron, is the first step that was taken toward the production of the pneumatic apparatus properly so called

"_Construction of a cupping glass that sucks without the aid of fire_."

Let _ΑΒΓ_ (Fig. 1) be a cupping glass (like that which is usually applied to the skin), divided by a partition, _ΔΕ_. Through the bottom let there be passed two tubes that slide one within the other by friction--_ΖΗ_ being the external and _ΘΚ_ the internal one. In these two tubes, external to the glass, there are two apertures, _ΛΜ_, that face each other. The extremities of the tubes situated within the apparatus should be open, and the external extremity of _ΘΚ_ should be closed and provided with a key. Beneath the partition, _ΔΕ_, there is another cock, _ΝΞ_, like the one just described, save that the corresponding apertures are within the cupping-glass, and are in communication with an aperture in the partition, _ΔΕ_.

"Things being arranged thus, the keys of the cock are revolved in such a way that the apertures of the one at the bottom of the instrument are in a line with each other, while the cock above the partition remains closed, inasmuch as its apertures do not correspond. The chamber, _ΔΓ_, being full of air, if we apply the mouth to the orifices, _ΛΜ_, and suck out a portion of the air, and turn the key of the cock without removing the mouth from the tube, we shall be able to thus keep up a rarefaction of the air in the chamber, _ΓΔ_. The oftener we perform this operation, the more air we shall remove. Let us now apply the cupping-glass to the skin in the usual way, and open the cock, _ΝΞ_, by turning the key. A portion of the air contained in _ΑΔΕ_ will pass into _ΓΔ_, and we shall then see the skin, as well as the subjacent matters that pass through its interstices, that we call unexplored spaces, drawn into the space in which the air is rarefied."

As for the pressure fountain, this had reached perfection as long ago as the Alexandrine epoch. The following description of it is borrowed from the "Pneumatics:"

"_To construct a hollow sphere, or any other vessel, in which, if a liquid be poured, the latter may be made to rise spontaneously with great force so as to empty the vessel, although such motion be contrary to nature_."

"The construction is as follows: Let there be a sphere of a capacity of about six cotyles (about 2¾ pints) made of some metal tough enough to withstand the pressure of the air that is to be produced. Let us place this sphere, _ΑΒ_, upon any base whatever, _Γ_. Through an aperture in its upper part we introduce a tube which runs down to that part of the sphere which is diametrically opposite the aperture, but which leaves sufficient space there for the water to pass. This tube projects slightly above the sphere, to whose aperture it is soldered, and divides into two branches, _Η_ and _Ζ_, to which are affixed two bent tubes, _ΖΜΝΞ_ and _ΗΘΚΛ_, that communicate internally with _Η_ and _Ζ_. Finally, in these tubes, _ΗΘΚΛ_ and _ΖΜΝΞ_, and in communication with them, there is adapted another tube, _ΠΟ_, from which issues at right angles a small tube, _ΡΣ_, that communicates with it and terminates at _Σ_ in a fine orifice.

If, taking the tube, _ΡΣ_, in hand, we revolve the tube, _ΠΟ_, the two apertures that face each other can no longer establish a communication, and the liquid that rises will no longer find an outlet. Then, through another aperture in the sphere, we insert another tube, _ΤτΦ_, whose lower orifice, _Φ_, is closed, but which has upon the side, toward the bottom, at _Χ_, a round hole to which is adapted a small valve of the sort called by the Romans _assarium_. Into the tube, _τΦΤ_, we insert another and closely fitting tube, _ΨΩ_. Let us now remove the tube, _ΨΩ_, and pour liquid into the tube, _τΦΤ_. This liquid will enter the cavity of the sphere, through the aperture, _Χ_. The valve will open in the interior, and the air will escape through the apertures in the tube, _ΟΠ_, of which we have already spoken, and which have been so arranged as to communicate with the tubes, _ΗΘΚΛ_ and _ΖΜΝΞ_. When once the sphere is half full of liquid, we incline the small tube, _ΡΣ_, so as to shut off all communication between the corresponding apertures, and then push down the tube, _ΨΩ_, and drive into the interior of the sphere the air contained in _ΤτΦ_. This requires some force, as the sphere itself is full of liquid and air, but the introduction is rendered possible through the compression of the air, which shrinks into the empty spaces that it contains within itself. Let us now take out the tube, _ΨΩ_, again so as to fill the tube, _ΤτΦ_, with air, and let us push down the tube, _ΨΦ_, again and force this air into the sphere. On repeating this operation several times in succession we shall finally have in the sphere a large quantity of compressed air. It is clear, in fact, that the air introduced by force cannot escape when the piston-rod is raised, since the valve, pressed by the internal air, remains closed. If then, replacing the tube, _ΡΣ_, in a vertical position, we set up a communication again between the corresponding apertures, the liquid will be driven to the exterior through the compressed air, and the latter will assume its normal volume again, and press in the liquid beneath it. If the quantity of compressed air is considerable, there will occur an expulsion, not only of the entire liquid, but also of the excess of air.

The valve of which I have spoken is constructed as follows (Fig. 2, 1 _bis_ and 1 _ter_): Take two pieces of brass about one inch square, and about as thick as a carpenter's rule, and rub their surfaces against each other with emery, that is to say, polish them so that neither air nor liquid can pass between them. In the middle of one of the pieces bore a circular aperture about 4/10 an inch in diameter. Then fitting the two plates together by one of their edges, unite them by a hinge so that the polished surfaces shall coincide with each other. When this valve is to be made use of, the part containing the aperture is adapted to the aperture that is designed for the introduction of the liquid or air that is to be compressed. The pressure causes the other part of the valve (which moves easily on its hinge) to open and allow the liquid or air to enter the tight vessel, wherein it is afterward confined and presses against the unperforated part of the valve and thus closes the aperture through which the air entered."--_A. de Rochas, in La Nature_.

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PROFESSOR ADOLF MEYER has been experimenting upon the relative digestibility of natural and artificial butter. The experiments were made on a man of 39, and a boy of 9 years. He found that there was but little difference, but in these individuals the natural butter seemed to be more easily digested. While natural butter was all digested, at least 98 per cent. of the artificial butter was also digested.--_Chemiker Zeit_.

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FILTH DISEASES IN RURAL DISTRICTS.

By ALFRED L. CARROLL, M.D., NEW BRIGHTON, N. Y.