Part 2

A number of cases of confirmed cocaine habit have recently been reported. While some of them lack confirmation, it is certain that several physical and mental wrecks have been caused by the excessive use of this alkaloid. The South American Indians, long famous as coca eaters, seem as a rule not to succumb to its effects. They use the dried leaf, which they chew, previously introducing a small amount of alkali, to set the cocaine free. In civilized countries the alkaloid as a chloride is usually employed, and is administered by hypodermic injection.

The practice of using it habitually in excess is hitherto reported as almost confined to physicians. Its effects upon its victims are very sad. The brain becomes permanently or for a period affected, a species of lunacy being produced. Just as in the case of opium eaters, the moral nature is undermined. One doctor was reported, so recently as to be within the memory of our readers, as having turned on the gas in a drug store where the alkaloid was refused him, with the design of asphyxiating the clerk, in which attempt he nearly succeeded. Another doctor, within a space of some sixteen months, has gone insane from the cocaine habit and has been removed to an asylum, leaving his wife also ill from the effects of the same drug, with which he had experimented on her.

If the cases continue to multiply, there may be room for questioning the utility to man of the discovery of this anæsthetic. It is doubtful if all the services in local anæsthesia rendered by it can compensate for the ill it has already done.

Pyrofuxin--a New Tanning Substance from Coal.

A new extract of coal is being introduced in Germany for industrial purposes, especially for tanning leather and disinfection generally, to which the name "pyrofuxin" is given by the discoverer, Professor Paulus Reinsch, of Erlangen, Bavaria. Unlike the generality of such compounds, this new material is not a derivative of coal tar, or of any of the distillates of coal, but is obtained directly from coal itself. Pit or bituminous coal contains most of it, and is prepared for treatment by being broken into nuts. The crude pyrofuxin is extracted by repeated boilings in a solution of caustic soda. The pyrofuxin enters into solution, and is allowed to stand for a time. It is then poured off, and a carbonic acid gas is passed through it. The resultant liquor has a specific gravity of 1.025 to 1.030, and holds from 10 to 15 grammes of pyrofuxin to the liter. In its purified form the compound is a fine, non-triturable substance, without taste or smell, non-poisonous, and in appearance like catechu. Some Russian coals contain 18 per cent of pyrofuxin. After the extraction of this material the coal remains combustible. It is described as being one of the most powerful and effective antiseptics known to science. On this account it is expected to be most valuable for tanning, as being twenty-eight times quicker in action than bark, and producing a better result at decreased cost.

It will be soon enough to give credence to this alleged leather tanning agent when specimens of good leather are produced.

Weight and Power of Modern Guns.--Table of Armstrong Guns.

+----------+---------+-------------------+--------------------+ | | | Total | | Gun. | Caliber. | Weight. | Length of | Length of Bore. | | | | Gun. | | | | | | | --------+----------+---------+-----------+-------+-----------+--------+ in. | in. | tons. | calibers. | in. | calibers. | in. | 4.724 | 4.724 | 2.5 | 24 | 112.7 | 22 | 104.0 | 4.724 | 4.724 | 2.2 | 35 | 165.3 | 33 | 156.6 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 28 | 166.4 | 26 | 156.2 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 32 | 192.0 | 30 | 180.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 37 | 222.0 | 35 | 210.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 28 | 196.0 | 26 | 182.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 32 | 224.0 | 30 | 210.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 37 | 259.0 | 35 | 245.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 11.5 | 28 | 222.5 | 26 | 208.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 12.5 | 32 | 256.0 | 30 | 240.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 37 | 296.0 | 35 | 280.0 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 19.0 | 28 | 257.6 | 26 | 238.7 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 21.5 | 32 | 287.3 | 30 | 267.8 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 24.0 | 37 | 340.4 | 35 | 322.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 25.0 | 28 | 274.0 | 26 | 254.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 27.0 | 32 | 320.0 | 30 | 300.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 30.0 | 37 | 370.0 | 35 | 350.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 43.0 | 28 | 331.0 | 26 | 307.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 46.0 | 32 | 384.0 | 30 | 360.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 51.0 | 37 | 444.0 | 35 | 420.0 | 16.25 | 16.25 | 93.0 | 28 | 455.0 | 26 | 422.5 | 16.25 | 16.25 | 110.0 | 32 | 520.0 | 30 | 487.5 | 16.25 | 16.25 | 127.0 | 37 | 601.3 | 35 | 568.75 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 100.0 | 28 | 468.0 | 26 | 442.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 116.0 | 32 | 544.0 | 30 | 510.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 137.0 | 37 | 629.0 | 35 | 595.0 | --------+----------+---------+-----------+-------+-----------+--------+

+------------+---------+---------+--------------+--------------+ Weight. | | | | | Thickness of | | | | Energy | Energy | Wrought Iron | -------+-----------+ Muzzle | Total | per Ton | per Inch |Plate the Shot| | | Velocity. | Energy. | Weight | of Shot's | is Capable of| Charge.|Projectile.| | | of Gun. |Circumference.| Perforating. | -------+-----------+------------+---------+---------+--------------+--------------+ lb. | lb. |ft. per sec.|ft. tons.|ft. tons.| ft. tons. | in. | 12 | 40 | 1,680 | 783 | 522.0 | 53.1 | 7.0 | 16 | 40 | 2,078 | 1,198 | 532.4 | 81.3 | 9.1 | 42 | 80 | 2,060 | 2,354 | 588.5 | 125.7 | 11.6 | 45 | 100 | 1,940 | 2,610 | 580.0 | 139.4 | 12.2 | 60 | 100 | 2,146 | 3,193 | 580.5 | 170.5 | 13.5 | 60 | 120 | 2,050 | 3,497 | 466.3 | 160.2 | 13.0 | 75 | 145 | 2,020 | 4,075 | 479.4 | 186.6 | 14.1 | 80 | 145 | 2,140 | 4,604 | 511.5 | 210.9 | 14.9 | 120 | 180 | 2,177 | 5,915 | 514.3 | 236.9 | 15.8 | 120 | 200 | 2,157 | 6,452 | 537.6 | 258.4 | 16.5 | 130 | 210 | 2,236 | 7,280 | 520.0 | 291.5 | 17.5 | 175 | 320 | 2,060 | 9,412 | 495.3 | 327.5 | 18.5 | 200 | 380 | 2,035 | 10,923 | 508.0 | 380.1 | 20.0 | 230 | 380 | 2,375 | 14,800 | 616.6 | 515.0 | 23.2 | 200 | 450 | 1,910 | 11,383 | 455.3 | 364.2 | 19.5 | 270 | 470 | 2,185 | 15,560 | 576.3 | 497.9 | 22.8 | 270 | 500 | 2,213 | 16,979 | 566.0 | 543.3 | 23.8 | 330 | 700 | 2,087 | 21,141 | 491.6 | 563.1 | 24.2 | 400 | 800 | 2,117 | 24,861 | 540.4 | 662.2 | 26.2 | 450 | 850 | 2,205 | 28,665 | 562.0 | 763.6 | 28.1 | 850 | 1,800 | 2,106 | 55,377 | 595.4 | 1,088.7 | 33.5 | 900 | 1,800 | 2,216 | 61,200 | 556.4 | 1,203.2 | 35.2 | 900 | 1,800 | 2,295 | 65,745 | 517.6 | 1,292.6 | 36.5 | 827 | 2,000 | 1,932 | 51,790 | 517.9 | 973.1 | 31.7 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,190 | 66,512 | 573.3 | 1,249.7 | 35.8 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,255 | 70,520 | 514.7 | 1,325.0 | 37.0 | -------+-----------+------------+---------+---------+--------------+--------------+

Castner's New Method for Producing Sodium.

This new method, heretofore mentioned by us, is now being successfully worked in London, and is thus described in _Engineering_:

Up to the present this novel method of manufacture has been kept rather secret, but now, owing to the success achieved by a plant erected and worked on a commercial scale, we are enabled, through the courtesy of Mr. H. Y. Castner, to lay before our readers an outline sketch of the method of operation which is followed, and which we have seen carried out with success at his works, 65 Belvidere Road, Lambeth. Few persons outside of the chemical profession are aware of the commercial existence of the metal sodium or of its uses, and even among those following that profession but little is known, except that it is used in the manufacture of aluminum, and is very expensive. Much has lately been published in various scientific journals throughout the world upon the subject of alleged new processes, whereby that highly interesting metal--aluminum--might be cheaply produced without sodium, and thus be made to take in the commercial world a place to which its varied valuable properties entitle it. So far nothing has resulted from these numerous so-called discoveries, and at the present time the only process in use whereby aluminum can be produced is that devised by and due to Deville's ingenuity.[1] This process has been called the sodium process, apparently to distinguish it from others, but seeing that it is the only process which has ever proved practical, it is somewhat of a mystery why it needed to be so distinguished.

[1] The Cowles electric smelting process, heretofore described by us, has only produced aluminum alloys as yet, and it is doubtful whether it can be made to do more than this.

The late Dr. Walter Weldon, in a paper read before the Society of Chemical Industry a few years ago, clearly resolved the great question of cheaply producing aluminum, and showed by argument that this end was only to be gained in either of the two following directions, namely, first, by the production of cheap sodium and the employment of Deville's process, and second, by the discovery of a substitute for sodium, which has hitherto given to aluminum its excessive cost in production. After twenty-five years of research by some of the best scientists of the present age, no substance has been found that will replace sodium, and although every known substance has, at various times, been proposed, none has been successful. So discouraging has been the research, that those familiar with the subject have almost abandoned hope of ever seeing aluminum cheaply manufactured by chemical processes, believing also that Weldon's first proposition was an impossibility.

It is not the purpose of this article to enter into a lengthy discussion of Mr. Castner' process of producing sodium, as Mr. James Mactear, F.C.S., is about to prepare a scientific paper on the subject, to be read on March 7 before the Society of Chemical Industry. We shall content ourselves by presenting to our readers a short practical description of the process and its results.

Before doing so it will, however, be advantageous to give a short account of the method by which sodium has hitherto been separated from its compounds, in order that a clearer conception of the features in which the new process differs from the old one may be obtained. At high temperatures carbon has the property of separating sodium from its oxygen compounds, carbon uniting with the oxygen to form carbonic oxide, the sodium being thereby liberated. In the usual process this reaction is brought about by mixing carbonate of soda, lime, and carbon in small wrought iron cylinders, and exposing them to an intense heat, when a part of the sodium comes off as vapor. The lime is added to prevent fusion, for were the mass to melt, the carbon would float on the top, and could no longer attack the soda. The new process differs from the old principally in working with a fused mass of soda compound, this operation having been rendered feasible by the most ingenious device of weighting every particle of carbon with iron, so that the two chemicals--soda and carbon--are kept in perfect admixture, and are continually presenting fresh surfaces to each other as the liquid circulates in the crucible under the action of the heat. By this simple but beautiful plan of weighting the carbon, it is rendered possible to employ a soda compound which is decomposed at a much lower temperature than that hitherto used, and to carry on the process in large and durable vessels, instead of in small cylinders, which have a very short life. Having thus given a short account of the chemical process, we will describe the commercial method of manufacture.

The operations are carried on in large cast steel crucibles, and the charges consist of caustic soda and a finely ground artificial compound of carbon and iron, which is the reducing agent. This compound is made by coking a mixture of fine iron and pitch. The crucibles containing these materials are first heated in a small furnace at a low temperature, the object being to expel the hydrogen from the caustic alkali and bring about quiet fusion. The crucibles are then removed from this furnace, by means of a little truck, and placed upon a movable platform, which is operated by hydraulic power. They are then by this means raised into the large furnace, where the crucible covers are fixed stationary. The edges of the crucible and cover coming together form a tight joint, and from this cover projects a small tube to the outside of the furnace into a narrow rectangular box, known as the condenser. The reduction of the sodium commences soon after the crucible containing the charge is in its place, the vapors and gases passing from the fused mixture through the exit pipe from the cover into the condenser, where the metallic vapors are condensed to metal, while the uncondensed gases escape by a small outlet tube. After the charge is exhausted, the crucible is lowered, and one containing a fresh charge raised in its place; in this manner the process might almost be called continuous.

The actual temperature used in this process to bring about reduction, as measured by experts, has been found to be 850° Cent. By the older method the temperature necessary is about 1,400° Cent. This is practically the great point of economy in this process, as the high price of sodium has hitherto been owing to the excessive heat used in the older process and the consequent destruction of the wrought iron vessels. Sodium at present costs about four shillings per pound to produce, while the materials necessary for this quantity, were nothing wasted, would hardly cost four pence. The difference between these two figures represents the wear and tear to the furnace, the destruction of the wrought iron cylinders, the loss and waste of materials, the excessive labor and care necessary to employ in manufacturing, and fuel. Approximately, the cost of these items in producing one pound of sodium by the older process is as follows:

Two shillings is due to the destruction of wrought iron, etc.

One shilling is due to the loss and waste of materials, of which three times the theoretical quantity must be employed.

Eightpence is due to the labor.

Fourpence is due to the fuel.

Mr. Castner seems justified in his claim to produce sodium at a shilling per pound in large quantities. The steel crucibles which have now been in use some time show but little wear, and indicate indefinite use in future, thus reducing the first item of cost in the older process to a fraction. There is hardly any appreciable loss or waste of materials, and from four pennyworth of caustic soda is ultimately obtained one pound of sodium. The labor is a very small item of expense, and the fuel consumed is less than one-third that used in the older process.

Seventy-five tons of fuel are required by the older method in producing one ton of sodium. From actual results a like amount of fuel will produce over three tons of sodium by Mr. Castner's process. The results from this new process are not obtained by calculations on paper, as the inventor has shown from actual working that his claims are well founded. The process is no longer an experimental one, the furnace now erected having a capacity of 120 pounds of sodium per day, which is probably more than is produced at any works now in existence. The production of sodium at one shilling a pound by this process may be considered an accomplished fact, which ultimately means cheapened aluminum and a solution of the problem that has so long engaged the attention of chemists and metallurgists.

Preventive Medicine.

Dr. C. R. Illingworth thus writes in the _Med. Press:_

One of our great aims as physicians is to prevent disease; another is to cut short its course when developed. Our power in these directions finds full scope among that class of disorders now generally recognized as depending upon the reception, growth, and development in the tissues of micro-organic life in one shape or another. By the continual suppression of the growth and development of these forms of cell life, we may, indeed, hope at length to erase the names of the diseases they cause from the category of those "ills that flesh is heir to." The diseases I refer to are scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, rheumatic fever, chicken-pox, small-pox, syphilis, hydrophobia, yellow fever, _et hoc genus omne._

The germicide remedy I have found to answer as a specific and prophylactic in such diseases is the biniodide of mercury given in solution of potassic iodide. In all cases of scarlatina or measles occurring in one member of a family, I put the rest upon preventive medicine. Thus, for children I prescribe as follows: Bichloride of mercury solution, ℥ iss; iodide of potassium, ʒ j; ammonio-citrate of iron, ʒ j; sirup, ℥ iss; water to eight ounces. One or two teaspoonfuls to be given three times a day.

The Peace Army of the United States.

The following figures are believed to be approximately accurate, and most interesting and instructive they are:

French army, peace footing. 523,283 German army, peace footing. 445,417 United States army of pensioners, peace footing. 400,000

One of the great evils of a huge standing army is the cost of its support--a constant drain upon the national resources.

It does not seem that in this respect we have so very much the advantage of France or Germany, loaded down as those nations are with military burdens.

The great difference is that, while all or nearly all of the French and German soldiers, supported at the national expense, are available in case of a national emergency, few or none of ours are.

Is this enormous burden a just debt?

The question is best answered by another question. Is it not fair to assume that in 1877, twelve years after the end of the civil war, about all the equitable claims for pensions on account of that war had been put in and allowed?

Yet since 1877, the number of pensioners on our rolls has almost doubled; and the annual cost of maintaining them has nearly trebled.--_N. Y. Sun._

A Solid Life Insurance Company.

The figures of the last annual report of the New York Life Insurance Company, just issued, present a record of almost unexampled success in the conduct of the business of that old and strong company for the past year. Its income for the year was $19,230,408, it paid policy holders $7,627,230, and it has cash assets amounting to $75,421,453. It goes without the saying that this great company does its insurance business on strictly business principles. It recognizes the policy holder's right to paid-up insurance in case of a discontinuance of payment of premiums, and its policies are notably free from restrictions as to occupation, residence, and travel. The company issues a great variety of policies, thus adapting its contracts to the wants of almost every one having present means from which a small percentage can be spared for the benefit of themselves or those dependent upon them at a future date.

DR. GILES DE LA TOURETTE has recently published a monograph upon normal locomotion and the variations in the gait caused by diseases of the nervous system. He found, from a comparison of a large number of cases, that the average length of pace is, for men, 25 inches; for women, 20 inches. The step with the right foot is somewhat longer than that with the left. The feet are separated laterally in walking about 4½ inches in men and about 5 inches in women.

EMERY WHEELS FOR GUMMING SAWS.

In the illustration herewith, the operation of gumming saws with an emery wheel is vividly represented, the frame affording sufficient support for the side of the saw where the teeth are being ground, and the arrangement being a simple one, readily made at any work bench or machine where a shaft is run upon which an emery wheel can be placed. The operation itself involves only the simplest mechanical knowledge and but a rudimentary experience in the handling of tools, yet the desirability of this method of sharpening saws is largely dependent upon the kind of emery wheel used and the rate of speed at which it is run.

The vulcanite emery wheels made by the New York Belting and Packing Company have especial advantages for this kind of work. They are strong and safe at the highest speed at which it is desirable to run them, the company recommending that they never be run at a less rate than 6,000 feet per minute circumferential speed, and from that up to 8,000 and 10,000 feet per minute, although the lowest named speed is rather above the ordinary limit of many other kinds of emery wheels, and attempts to run other wheels at or beyond this limit have frequently resulted in serious accidents, from the breaking of the wheels. The higher rate of speed, which not only cuts faster, but, in the case of the vulcanite emery wheel, prolongs the life of the wheel, is concededly safe with the vulcanite wheel. Thus run, it is not likely to wear out of true, the operator does not have to bear on so hard, and the wheel retains its shape much better than when run at a slow speed. The nature of the wear of the working surface in the vulcanite wheel is claimed to be essentially different from that in wheels where the emery is fixed in its place by other methods, the rubber affording an elastic foundation or cushion, from which the particles of emery slightly protrude. This not only insures more efficient work from the cutting edges of the emery, as they become changed by use, but allows of more access of air to the work, thus tending to prevent casehardening of the edges of the metal being ground.

In addition to wheels with bevel shaped grinding surfaces, as represented in the engraving, the company also make wheels with round grinding surfaces, and this kind is always considered best for large saws.

THE FRILLED SHARK--THE OLDEST LIVING TYPE OF VERTEBRATES.

In technical terms this is a living species of cladodont shark, named by Mr. Garman _Chlamydoselachus anguineus._