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has been a continuance of dry weather; and unless March be dry, the seed will rot in wet soil.

314. Why is it said that "A dry cold March never begs bread?"-Because the dry cold winds of March prepare the soil for seeds, which germinate and produce fruit in the autumn.

315. Why is it said that "A wet March makes a sad autumn?"-Because, if March be wet, so much of the seed rots in the ground, that the autumn crops are spoiled.

316. Why is it said that "March flowers make no summer bowers ?"Because, if the spring be very mild, vegetation gets too forward, and is pinched by the nightly frosts, so as to produce neither fruits nor flowers.

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317. Why is it said that April showers bring May flowers?"-Because April showers supply the principal nourishment on which the seeds depend for their development.

318. Why is there more rain from September to March, than from March to September?-From September to March the temperature of the air is constantly decreasing; on which account, its capacity for holding vapour is on the decrease, and the vapour is precipitated as rain. - Dr. Brewer's Guide to Science.

319. OYSTER POWDER.-Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut them, except in dividing the gristle which attaches the shells. Put them into a mortar, and when you have got as many as you can conveniently pound at once, add about two drachms of salt to about a dozen oysters; pound them, and rub them through the back of a hair sieve, and put them into a mortar again, with as much flour (but previously thoroughly dried) as will roll them into a paste; roll this paste out several times, and lastly, flour it, and roll it out the thickness of a half-crown, and cut it into pieces about one inch square; lay them in a Dutch oven, where they will dry so gently as not to get burned; turn them every half hour, and when

they begin to dry crumble them. They will take about four hours to dry. Pound them, sift them, and put them into dry bottles; cork and seal them. Three dozen of natives require seven ounces and a half of flour to make them into a paste weighing eleven ounces, and when dried six and a-half ounces. To make half a pint of sauce, put one ounce of butter into a stewpan with three drachms of oyster powder, and six tablespoonfuls of milk; set it on a slow fire, stir it till it boils, and season it with salt. As a sauce, it is excellent for fish, fowls, or rump steaks. Sprinkled on bread and butter, it makes a good sandwich.

320. CHARCOAL AS A DISINFECTANT.-The great efficacy of wood and animal charcoal in absorbing effluvia and the greater number of gases and vapours has long been known.

Charcoal powder has also, during many centuries, been advantageously employed as a filter for putrid water, the object in view being to deprive the water of numerous organic impurities diffused through it, which exert injurious effects on the animal economy.

It is somewhat remarkable that the very obvious application of a perfectly similar operation to the still rarer fluid in which we live-namely, the air, which not unfrequently contains even more noxious organic impurities floating in it than those present in watershould have, up till February last, been so unaccountably overlooked.

Charcoal not only absorbs effluvia and gaseous bodies; but, especially when in contact with atmospheric air, oxidizes and destroys many of the easily alterable ones, by resolving them into the simplest combinations they are capable of forming, which are chiefly water and carbonic acid.

It is on this oxidizing property of charcoal as well as on its absorbent power, that its efficacy as a deodorizing and disinfecting agent chiefly depends.

Effluvia and miasmata are usually regarded as highly organised, nitro

genous, easily alterable bodies. When these are absorbed by charcoal, they come in contact with highly condensed oxygen gas, which exists within the pores of all charcoal which has been exposed to the air, even for a few minutes; in this way they are oxidised and destroyed. My attention has been specially directed for nearly a twelve month to the deodorising and disinfecting properties of charcoal, and I have made an immense number of experiments on this subject.

On the 22nd of February last, I brought the subject before the Society of Arts, and on that occasion exhibited a specimen of a charcoal respirator and the mode of employing it. I likewise dwelt at some length on the utility of charcoal powder as a means of preventing the escape of noxious effluvia from churchyards, and from dead bodies on board ship and in other situations.

On the 9th of June last I also, in a letter to the Society of Arts, proposed to employ charcoal ventilators, consisting of a thin layer of charcoal enclosed between two thin sheets of wire gauze, to purify the foul air which is apt to accumulate in water-closets, in the close wards of hospitals, and in the impure atmospheres of many of the back courts and mews-lanes of large cities, all the impurities being absorbed and retained by the charcoal, while a current of pure air alone is admitted into the neighbouring apartments.

In this way pure air is obtained from exceedingly impure sources. Such an arrangement as this, carried out on a pretty large scale, would be especially useful to persons necessitated to live in pestiferous districts within the tropics, where the miasmata of ague, yellow fever, and similar diseases are prevalent. The proper amount of air required by houses in such situations might be admitted through sheets of wire gauze or coarse canvas, containing a thin layer of coarse charcoal powder.

Under such circumstances, also, pillows stuffed with powdered charcoal, and bed coverlets having the same

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material quilted into them, could not fail to prove highly beneficial.

A tolerably thick charcoal ventilator, such as I have just described, could be very advantageously applied to the gully-holes of our common sewers, and to the sinks in private dwellings, the foul water in both cases being carried into the drain by means of tolerably wide syphon pipes, retaining always about a couple of inches of water.

Such an arrangement would effectually prevent the escape of any effluvia, would be easy of construction, and not likely to get soon out of order.

The charcoal respirators to which I have already referred, and to which I should wish to draw especial attention, are of three kinds.

The first form of the respirator is constructed for the mouth alone, and does not differ in appearance from an ordinary respirator, but is only half its weight, and about one-fifth of its price.

The air is made to pass through a quarter of an inch of coarsely powdered charcoal, retained in its place by two sheets of silvered wire gauze covered over with thin woollen cloth, by which means its temperature is greatly increased. The charcoal respirator possesses several advantages over the respirators ordinarily in use:

1st. Where the breath is at all fetid, which is usually the case in diseases of the chest, under many forms of dyspepsia, &c., the disagreeable effluvia are absorbed by the charcoal, so that comparatively pure air is alone inspired. This, I think, may occasionally exert a beneficial influence on diseases of the throat and lungs.

2ndly. The charcoal respirator for the mouth alone will certainly prove highly useful in poisonous atmospheres, where miasmata abound, if the simple precaution is only observed of inspiring the air by the mouth and expiring it by the nostrils.

The second form of respirator is orinasal-that is, embracing both the mouth and the nose. It is only very slightly larger than the one already de D 2

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scribed, and does not cover the nose as the ordinary ori-nasal respirator does, but merely touches its lower extremity, to which it is adapted by means of a piece of flexible metal covered with soft leather. When this respirator is worn, no air enters the lungs without first passing through the charcoal, and any effluvia or miasmata contained in the atmosphere are absorbed and oxidized by the charcoal. This form of the respirator, therefore, is peculiarly adapted for protecting the wearer against fevers and other infectious dis

eases.

The third form of the respirator is also ori-nasal, but is much larger, and therefore more cumbrous than the preceeding variety. It is intended chiefly for use in chemical works, common sewers, &c., to protect the workmen from the noxious effects of the deleterious gases to which they are frequently exposed.

I think it but justice to myself to state that I have no pecuniary interest in any of those respirators. Though strongly urged to do so, I refrained from securing them by patent, on the ground that inventions for the prevention of death and disease ought to be sold at the lowest possible price, and should not, therefore, be encumbered with the expense and restrictions dependent upon patent rights. These respirators have been very successfully manufactured by Mr. W. B. Rooff, of 8, Willow-walk, Kentish Town, who sells the one for the mouth alone at 6s.; the small ori-nasal at 8s.; and the large ori-nasal at 10s. each.

I am aware that some persons, who admit the deodorising properties of charcoal deny that it acts as a disinfectant. I would direct the attention of such persons to the following statement of facts-About a year ago the bodies of a full grown cat and two rats were placed in open pans, and covered by two inches of powdered charcoal. The pans having stood during all that time in my laboratory, and though it is generally very warm, not the slightest

smell has ever been perceptible, nor have any injurious effects been experienced by any of the nine or ten persons by whom the laboratory is daily frequented.

Now, had the bodies of these animals been left to putrify under ordinary circumstances, not only would the stench emitted have been intolerable, but some of the persons would certainly have been struck down by fever or other malignant disorders. Within the last few months charcoal powder has been most successfully employed both at St. Mary's and St. Bartholo mew's hospitals, to arrest the progress of gangrene and other putrid sores. The charcoal does not require to be put immediately in contact with the sores, but is placed above the dressings, not unfrequently quilted loosely in a little cotton wool. In many cases patients who were rapidly sinking have been restored to health.

In the instance of hospital gangrene, we have to deal not only with the effluvia, but also with real miasmata; for, as is well known, the poisonous gases emitted by gangrenous sores not only affect the individual with whom the mischief has originated, but readily infect the perfectly healthy wounds of any individual who may happen to be in its vicinity. So that in this way gangrene has been known to spread not only through one ward, but through several wards of the same hospital.

Within the last few weeks, the dissecting-room at St. Bartholomew's hospital has been perfectly deodorised by means of a few trays filled with a thin layer of freshly-heated wood charcoal. A similar arrangement will, in all probability, be likewise soon applied to the wards of St. Bartholomew's, and every other well-conducted hospital.

From these and other considerations, therefore, I feel perfectly confident that charcoal will prove by far the cheapest and best disinfectant.

Unlike many other disinfectants it evolves no disagreeable vapours, and if heated in close vessels will always act,

however long it has been in use, quite as effectively as at first.

If our soldiers and sailors, therefore, when placed in unhealthy situations, were furnished with charcoal respirators, such as the second form above described, and if the floors of the tents and the lower decks of the ships were covered by a thin layer of freshly burnt wood charcoal, I think we could have little in future to apprehend from the ravages of cholera, yellow fever, and similar diseases by which our forces have of late been decimated. If found more convenient, the charcoal powder might be covered with coarse canvas, without its disinfectant properties being materially impaired.

The efficiency of the charcoal may be greatly increased by making it red-hot before using it. This can easily be done by heating it in an iron saucepan covered with an iron lid.

When the charcoal is to be applied to inflammable substances, such as wooden floors, &c., of course it must be allowed to cool in close vessels before being used. [We have deemed these remarks by Dr. John Stenhouse, F.R.S., lecturer on chemistry at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, to be of great importance; we have, therefore, printed them in extenso.]

321. LEMON SPONGE. - For a quart mould-dissolve two ounces of isinglass in a pint and three quarters of water; strain it, and add three quarters of a pound of sifted loaf sugar, the juice of six lemons and the rind of one; boil the whole a few minutes, strain it again, and let it stand till quite cold and just beginning to stiffen; then beat the whites of two eggs, and put them to it, and whisk till it is quite white; put it into a mould, which must be first wetted with cold water, or salad oil is a much better substitute for turning out jelley, blancmange, &c., great care being taken not to pour it into the mould till quite cool, or the oil will float on the top, and after it is turned out it must be carefully wiped

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over with a clean cloth. This plan only requires to be tried once to be invariably adopted.

322. TO KILL SLUGS.-Take a quantity of cabbage-leaves, and either put them into a warm oven, or hold them before the fire till they get quite soft; then rub them with unsalted butter, or any kind of fresh dripping, and lay them in places infested with slugs. In a few hours the leaves will be found covered with snails and slugs, which may then, of course, be destroyed in any way the gardener may think fit.

323. HOW TO WASH KID GLOVES.-Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean; if coloured, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry; and old gloves will soon look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, shapy, and elastic.

324. DYEING THE HAIR.-It may be stated once for all that this practice is decidedly injurious. It may fail altogether in producing the desired result; it is never unattended by a certain amount of unpleasant circumstances, and frequently with evil results.

In the first place, the alteration of the abnormal colour, so far as the general aspect of the face is concerned, has an effect the very reverse of that which was intended. Every constituent part of man tends to make the human machine one harmonious whole: the figure, the stature, the skin, the hair, the gait, &c.

Fair hair is associated with a sanguineous and lymphatic temperament, a fine and white skin, blue eyes, and a

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soft and mild expression. Black hair, on the contrary, is generally connected with a bilious habit of body, a muscular and nervous temperament, a dark and yellowish skin, lively black eyes, and a bold, proud air. Red hair is associated with a peculiar constitution, although closely approaching to the fair type. In this variety the skin is transparent, fresh, and presents a peculiar limpidity, which belongs exclusively to the colour of hair mentioned.

To what absurd contrasts, then, are those persons not exposed, who, from idle vanity, attempt to break the bond of union which exists between the hair and the rest of the body? If, then, from the impression that red hair is a disfigurement, it is dyed black, what relation can exist between this new colour, and the soft blue eye, and a skin so fine and so susceptible, that the sun's rays seem to penetrate it, in the form of those lentiginous spots commonly called freckles?

These objections do not apply with equal force to those cases where the object is merely to disguise partial discolouration of the hair; but, at the same time, it is not always easy to produce the exact shade of the original colour, and when the hair begins to grow this partial discolouration reappears and discloses the dye.

Finally, when this discolouration is widely diffused over the head, and requires an extensive application of the dye, in the case of an old man for example, the hair will then present a lustre, brilliancy, and tint, in melancholy contradistinction with the faded and wrinkled skin, dull leaden eye, furrowed.cheek, and broken and tottering gait.

Besides, experience has sufficiently established the fact, that the ingredients of which the dyes are composed, are far from being free from danger or inconvenience. The texture of the hair itself is deteriorated by them.

Composed, as they are generally, of very active remedies, they burn the

hair, alter the piliferous capsule, arrest the natural secretion of the hair, and favour the production of baldness. They also frequently produce inflammation of the scalp. I have met with many cases in which females, who had been in the habit of using those dyes, were reduced to the sad alternative of maintaining a disagreeable and painful eruption, the result of the ingredients employed, or to abandon the disguise they were intended to produce.

Since we cannot hope to prohibit altogether the use of compositions for dyeing the hair, it only remains to point out those that are the least injurious, and most likely to answer the purpose sought for.

From the earliest time the following substances have been employed to blacken the hair :-The oil of cade, gall nuts, the lie of vine branches, preparations of lead; ravens' eggs have been extolled, probably because the colour of that bird is the most perfect black; putrified swallows, colocynth, However, experience has shown that a certain number of preparations possess more or less efficacy, the principal of which I shall here point out.

&c.

Preparations of silver are used in various forms; as, for example, a pomade composed of nitrate of silver, cream of tartar, ammoniac, and prepared lard.

This pomade is to be applied to the hair by the aid of the brush and comb. They are also used in the form of paste :-Nitrate of silver, proto-nitrate of mercury, and distilled water. Dissolve

strain, and wash the residue with sufficient water to make a paste.

A clear paste is made of this solu tion and a sufficient quantity of starch, which is then carefully applied to the hair in the evening. The head is covered with a cap of gummed taffeta during the night, and the following morning the paste is washed off, and the hair anointed with any simple ointment.-Dr. T. H. Burgess on the Diseases of the Hair. (See 270, 271.)