Prof. II. Kammerlingh Onnes OH Ley
den bus succeeded la liquefying he
lium. Terrifying In lta destructive aspects
and appalling In Its danger, yet in
tensely fascinating In Its possibilities
for benefiting the world, the latest
explanation of chemical science has
placed mankind literally within but a
few degrees of the frozen pole of
knowledge.
Heat Is life; cold Is annihilation.
The final and absolute extremes of
these are as yet heights so exquisite
and depths so profound that they mock
at once the lens and the pluinmet-lina
of human conception.
For the sake of convenience, ho.v
ever, science has established a pure
ly arbitrary starting point for the
measurement of heat and cold. This ,
Is called the "absolute zero," and Is ;
fixed at 4o9 degrees below the fam-
war zero mark or the Fanrenneit
thermometer a point which chemists
have vainly Bought to reach ever 1
sinee rror. Dewar most nearly an-1
proached It by his astonishing feat of
liquefying air and hydrogen.
But even Dewar's greatest cold was
hundreds of degrees from absolute zero.
That was some ten years ago. Now
comes news from the old town of Ley
den In Holland birthplace of the elec
tric battery that Trof. -II. Kammer-
llngh Onnes of that city has succeeded
In liquefying the rarest and most vo
latile of all gases. He has reduced
helium to a visible fluid, determined
Its temperature and made the Incred
ible discovery that it Is but a frac
tion over four degrees from supqxise.l
ly theoretical' Jumplng-off place of Jack
Frost I
In order to appreciate the vast slg '
nlflcance of I'rof. Onnes' achievement,
It Is only necessary to recall the means
by which the air Is kept at zero tern- '
perature In a cold storage warehouse. .
As everyone knows, evaporation causes
cold. It Is the evaporation of the wa
ter with which you bathe your face
not the temperature of the water It
. self which produces the sensation
coolness.
According as the evaporation fH slow
or rapid, the cold produced Hi less or
greater. So, In a cold storage plant,
ammonia gas, which Is extremely vol
atile. Is allowed to evaporate, either
v. directly Into the air or It Is released
In the presence of brine (which freezes
only at less than zero temperature) I
and thp brine, taking the temperature
of the evaporating ammonia, Is then
distributed in pipes throughout the ra
tal)! Islimcnt. Thus the desired degree
of cold Is Imparted to the storage
rooms.
Now fancy, If you can, a cold, com
pared with which the deadly chill from
iimmoitln gns Is hotter than boiling
oil ; call this the temperature of liquid
hydrogen. Then, with this as a new
jMilut of departure, try to Imagine a
cold so profound that beside it llqu.J
hydrogen Itself Is as a boiling oil, and
the frozen heart of an Ice plant Is
hotter than the bowels of a smelting
furnace, and you have-some conception
of the temperature If It can be callcl
temperature of liquefied helium.
Itr. H.'T. Galpln, a well known
authority on refrigeration, a member
of the London Society of Chemical In
dustry, the American Chemical Society
and the Society of Electrical Engineers,
attempted to explain in non-technical
language what the new discovery means
to science and humanity.
"The liquefaction of helium," he said,
"Is of the most startling and far-reaching
slgnlflance. It opens the door
to possibilities of which students of
refrigeration have long been aware,
but which thus far have been beyond
our reach In actual practice. It is
apparent, for example, that if we can
distribute ammonia chilled brine from
one room of a cold storage warehouse
to all the other rooms In It, we should,
theoretically, be able to distribute it
from a central point of houses, office
buildings, theaters and the like, at a
distance, as is done with gas and steam.
"But the size and the cost of the
plant required, the Impassibility of de
veloping a degree of cold which will
'iot be dissipated In transit unless
pipes of prohibitive size are employed,
'ias plaeedthe Idea in the category
nf laboratory ilreams. Even the use
f liquid air or liquid hydrogen would
iot obviate this last objection. The
ost of the production and the dlstrlbu
Ion would outweigh the benefits.
"Science does not recognize the lm
possible, however, and If Frof. cnnes
has produced a liquid which, forced to
distant points through pipes small
enough to be strung like telephone
wre8, is so cold that such distribution
cannot materially impair Its effectlve-
ness and this seems to be the ease
sclence Ifas achieved a most revolu
tionary triumph."
CTJBIOUS HOTEL CTJSTOAlS.
Where
BTerjr Cnaa word Coats a
Penny.
A curious custom prevails at an Edln
.burgh hotel, says Tit-Bits. Whenever a
customer is heard to swear he Is re
quired to place a penny In a box on the
bar counter. It is not a matter for
surprise that the landlord hears much
less bad language than some of his fel
low publicans In the capital of Scot-
land.
xhe following Is a quaint 'Idea for
providing funds for picnics and social
evenings. It is carried on with much
: success at an Ashtou-on-Mersey Inn
A "knocking club" Is connected with
the Inn, and when a customer calls for
refreshments he is expected to knock on
the table or counter before drinking. If
he falls to do this he Is fined one penny.
Any one who wrongfully accuses anoth
er of breaking this unique rule Is also
fined. The money thus obtained pro
vides funds for many enjoyable outings
and pleasant evenings during the course
of the year.
At another hotel, known as the Old
Hundred, customers are allowed only
one drink. If one Is not sufficient to
quench their thirst they are obliged to
go out of the hotel and take a walk be
fore tliy are allowed to have another.
Till recently the proprietor of an old
time hotel in Warwickshire used to In
vite all his customers to accompany him
and his wife to the service at the parish
church on Sunday mornings, which was
situated on the opposite side of the
road, the house being closed while they
were away. On returning each custom
er was Invited to partake of refresh
ments offered by the hospitable landlord
free of charge.
Visitors to a certain hotel In Aber
deenshire who wear brown boots must
remember to keep them In their room
over night. Otherwise the boots will be
blacked, regardless of the original color
of the same. In one of the rooms of a
Dumfries public house Is an old arm
chair which is said to have been fre
quently used by the poet Burns,
A small hotel Jn Wales until quite re
cently was used, by the Catholics as a
place of worship on Sundays, and po
lice court proceedings were held on the
premises during the week.
EMPTY HOTJSE3 IN LONDON.
Fifty Thousand ol Them at Preaent
Said to Be Lacking Tenants.
Fifty thousand empty houses In Lon
don! John Burns made this startling
announcement in the house of commons
recently, says Tit-Bits. Large as this
number Is there are those who believe
It Is under rather than over the mark.
A remarkable change has taken place
during the past five or six yeats.
Whereas, formerly landlords were mas
ters of the situation, tenants have now
the whip hand In nearly every district
and are offered all manner of Induce
ments to take houses.
It Is not long since that a premium
or, what amounts to the same tiling,
key money" -was demanded by prop
erty owners in some parts of London.
'ioilay numbers of such men will act
ually allow tenants a discount, which
consists iu the case of small property
of the expenses of removal up to 1,
or else of so many weeks' occupation
free. Usually no rent is required for
the first fortnight, but In certain lo
calities the competition between prop
erty owners Is so keen that the period
In some cases is one month, making the
discounts about 2 2s or 2 5s.
A more curious bait Is free Insur
ance. One company gratuitously in
sures each of its tenants against fire;
while another, besides safeguarding
the householder against this conting
ency, relieve hlin of apprehension re
specting any damage to his furniture
by lightning or flood.
'Certain separate charges have' also
been swept away, particularly in the
case of flats, which, it Is said, are now
a drug In the market Some landlords,
for Instance, made one for the clean
ing of the common staircase, this, with
the "extra" for gas, amounting to
about Is Cd per week. The 18 pence
was really rent, and the reason it was
not called such was partly to evade
payment of rates. When this is an
actual case a man owned about fifty
flats and returned their rent as 15
pence per week each less than It really
was, his assessment was considerably
lower than It ought to have been, and
consequently he did not pay his due
proportion of rates. But, of late "ex
tras" have frequently been cut to the
amount formerly set down as "rent"
REFUSE BURNING BASKET.
Device (or Getting Rid of Household
Accumulations.
"Oh, my 1 Whatever shall I do with
all this rubbish?" exclaims the house
keeper, beholding a miscellaneous col
lection or papers,
scraps and paste
board boxes, the
roundup of the
regular weekly
cleaning. "T h e
ashman declines to
take anything but
ashes, the rubbish
man picks out only
such ns he can
nuRMNU garbage, find URe for, and
the second-hand man will have ntthlng
but whole papers, and they must be
clean, at that." This little monologue
may be heard most anywhere. The con
ditions are about the same in any city
of large or medium size. There Is n
grent deal of accumulated material
around a house which is quite difficult
to dispose of. It might be burned, but
an effort to dispose of the mass in an
ordinary stove would more than likely
lend to disaster, even If the stove Is
of suitable proportions to accommodate
the collection. Most of them are not.
The housekeeper's quandary has led
to the Invention of a model device to
he added to the equipment of the house
hold. It Is a refuse destructor, In
which the accumulations of the house
hold ore to be disposed of by burning
In the back yard without danger. The
destructor is a bnsket of wire built on
an Iron frame, supporting It several
Inches above the ground. Into this the
household accumulations are dumped,
as well as the sweepings. A match ap
plied soon reduces the big pile to a
handful of dust. Such a device solves
completely the problem of the disposal
of a great deal of material. '
A High Award.
"To you we award the palm."
"Can't you give me something more
lofty," asked the aviator, disdainfully.
"I have flown so high that I consider
the palm beneath me." Kansas City
Times.
There are a good many rabbits play
lng Hon parts.
fill
Fool Horae Evener.
One of the simplest forms for four-
horse evener Is shown in the Illustra
tion which is self-explanatory except
for measurements. Besides double
trees of ordinary plough length, and
the stick of tough oak from which to
make the evener, two pulleys large
enough so a small link log chain will
work through them, two bolts to bolt
the pulleys on and two pieces of two
Inch wide strap iron bent and used as
braces for the pulleys, are required.
These pieces of strap Iron had better
be bolted, also. Their use is to furnish
a brace for the pulleys. Any small link
log chain can be used, and if too long
It can be wrapped around the plough
where hitched. Now for the measure
ments. In the first place, the stick
SIMPLE FOUR-HORSE EVENEH.
needs to be five feet four Inches long,
and from the right end to the first pul
ley It Is Just seven Inches. This meas
urement Is to th center of the pulley,
From the center of the right pulley,
measure fifteen and one-quarter Inches
and bore a hole, which is where the
plough head clevis fastens. Now go
back to the extreme right end of the
stick and measure thirty and three
quarter inches. You then have the
place where the second pulley is to be
placed. This puts the two pulleys Just
twenty-four Inches apart. This com
pletes all the measurements that need
to be accurate. At the left end, where
the left team Is hitched, it Is best to
bore about three holes, and you can
fasten the doubletrees In whichever
hole which seems best suited to the
team. Bore the first hole about two
and one-half Inches from the end, then
go two Inches and bore another, and
two Inches from that. If a third hole Is
wanted. This evener will work one
horse In the furrow and three on the
plough, and there will be no side draft
Hitch the chain up pretty short so
there Is not too much slack when turn
ing to the left and hitch It to the
plough back about where the coulter
runs, or where experimenting tells you
Is the best place. Montreal Star.
Food for Yonag Calves.
Withhold solid foods until the calf
will take them dry, wjiich Is usually at
about three weeks of age. As the calf
grows older encourage big eating In
order to secure good storage capacity,
and with sound and nutritious foods
stimulate both digestion and ability to
digest
By rich cream we have commonly
come to understand to mean milk rich
in butter fat. It Is admitted that milk
richest In butter fat Is also richer In
casein ; and, while an excess of butter
fat is not likely to disarrange the stom
ach of the calf, an excess of casein will.
Therefore, allowing the milk to cream,
and removing this to reduce the lch-
ness of the milk to the needs of the calf,
Is an aggravation rather thau a modifi
cation, for by the skimming process the
proportion of casein has been Increased,
while the effort that should have been
made should have modified the casein,
This can be accomplished by simply
adding water to the whole milk, main
taining blood temperature.
Salt as Manuel Fertiliser.
The value of suit us a manure for
mangels has often been demonstrated,
and the demonstration was repented at
Woburn last season. About fifteen tons
of farmyard manure were applied to
four plots, and tills appeared to be suffi
clfcnt to produce nearly as much as
could be grown on the soil of the field,
One plot hud also a top-dressing of one
hundredweight of nitrate of soda, which
very slightly Increased the yield. Where
one hundredweight of salt was added
there was a further Increase ; but where
the quantity of the nitrate was doubled,
without salt, the yield was reduced.
Agricultural Gazette.
Poultry-House Lice,
Turn out the fowls some days -and
close all the cracks In the house ex
cept the door. Take a kettle of live
coals, and place on the ground In the
center of the house, but If there Is a
wood floor, lay a flat stone under the
? X ? 3 J I 5
I
! 5
kettle. Throw a half pound or a pound
of sulphur on the coals, and shut the
door. If the house Is left closed for a
few hours it is safe to conclude that
no lice or mites will be found therein
after the operation. The sulphur cure
is the best method of ridding poultry
houses of pests, but if the house is not
tight It will not prove satisfactory.
Clean the house as well as It can bo
done, mix whitewash with fresh lime,
mix In a liberal supply of sulphur, aft
er which throw sulphur Into all the
cracks. Apply kerosene oil to all the
roosU, and burn off the outer surface.
Air the house thoroughly. Weekly
Witness.
The Aa-e of Sheep.
The age of sheep Is very 'easily
shown by an examination of the teeth.
A lamb has the first pair of permanent
front teeth when about 10 months old;
the second pair apiears at about 18
months; the third pair at 28 months
and the fourth at about 33 to 40
months. When the whole of the per
manent front teeth have appeared the
sheep is in its fourth year. The Meri
no matures its teeth later than the
other breeds; the Cotswold and South
downs and other highly-improved uiut-
iuu sneepare some months ahead or
a Merino, but at 4 years every sheep
has its full mouth of teeth. Later
the age is known bv the nnnenrnnee
of the teeth, which gradually lose their
snarp edges and become worn down
smooth. A healthv sheen will keen lta
teeth good until 10 or 12 years old.
u tne pasture is not unusually bnre
and the soil Bandy, so as to wear the
teem excessively.
Sheep aa a Civlllser.
A speaker at a farmers' meetina
eulogized the little animal with the
golden hoof in the following Interest
ing strain:
"Sheep are always the advance
guard to attack new and undeveloped
territory. The first sheep and the first
negro slaves that placed foot on what
is now the United States of America,
were landed from the Bame fleet at St
Augustine, Sept 5, 15G5, 330 years ago.
rrom that day to this the sheen has
been the most universal live aeent of
the settlers in subduing the country
and maintaining its productiveness;
and whenever they have neglected theni
sterility exists as a monument to their
roily." W eekly Witness.
To Lift a Loaded Waion,
Build a grip of timber under a wa
gon and place unon It a heavv beam.
as shown in the sketch. Let this come
Just under the axle of the wagon. Then
HANDT FOB OILING AXLES.
place a stone In front of the wheel,
so that when the team draws the wa
won forward the wheel will be lifted
upward on the Inclined Beam. If the
Incline Is not to much the wagon will
not slip backward and the wheel will
be loose for oiling. Farm and Home.
Looking Forward.
Luther Burbank, the famous hortl
I'ultural wizard, says there Is not a
weed alive which will not sooner or
later respond liberally to good culti
vation. A day wjll come when the earth
will be transformed, when man shall
offer his brother man not bullets nor
bayonets, but richer grains, better fruit
and fairer flowers.
Poultry Pickings.
The heating of the brooder playa a
very important part In the growth of
the young chicks.
The fowls and eggs from a pure bred
flock of hens will bring more money on
account of their uniformity.
A good brooder Is of more Import
ance thau an incubator, If one can be
of more Importance than the other.
There is nothing that fits Into the
regular farm crops and live stock bet
ter than a well managed flock of poul
try. '
Do not expect to find smooth sailing
with the incubators and brooders at
first It requires patience and vigilance
In learning to manage them.
The cost of securing well bred poul
try is so coriiparatlvely smull that there
is no excuse for keeping a lot of mon
grel hens.
There Is nothing more disgusting
than to see a lot of old, scaly legged
roosters running with a flock of hens.
Sell them off and keep good, healthy
males.
One of the most conservative poul
trymen Bays that if all farmers would
keep pure bred poultry the business
would be doubled in a few years and
that we would still be getting good
prices for our produce.