4. From white copperas and sugar of lead, of each 1 lb.; pure white lead,
2 lbs. For 'whites,' and opaque light colours, greys, &c.
Dryers are employed, as the name implies, to increase the drying and
hardening properties of oil paints. A little is beat up with them at the
time of mixing them with the oil and turpentine for use.
=DRY'ING.= See DESICCATION, &c.
=DRY'ING-OIL.= See OILS.
=DRY-ROT.= A peculiar disease that attacks wood, and renders it brittle
and rotten. It is generally caused by dampness and the subsequent
development of the spores of fungi, particularly those of _Merulius
lacrymans_ and _vastator_ and _Polyporus destructor_. The dry-rot
principally attacks 'ill-seasoned' timber, and more particularly that of
ships and badly ventilated buildings.
_Prev._ Various means have been proposed to prevent the attacks of dry-rot
and to arrest its progress when it has commenced, among which the process
called 'KYANIZING' (Kyan's patent) is that most generally known and most
extensively adopted. It consists in immersing the timber in a bath of
corrosive sublimate. The process termed 'PAYNIZING' (Payne's patent)
consists in first filling the pores with a solution of chloride of
calcium, under pressure, and next forcing in a solution of sulphate of
iron, by which an insoluble sulphate of lime is formed in the body of the
wood, which is thus rendered nearly as hard as stone. Wood so prepared is
now largely employed in our public works and railways. Sir W. Burnett's
process (patented in 1836) consists in impregnating the timber with a
solution of chloride of zinc. Mr J. Bethell's process (patented in 1838)
consists in thoroughly impregnating the wood with oil of tar containing
creasote and a crude solution of acetate of iron, commonly called
'pyrolignite of iron.' The impregnation is effected in a strong
cylindrical vessel, connected with a powerful air-pump, so that in the
first instance a vacuum being formed, and subsequently a pressure of
several atmospheres applied, the liquid may as much as possible be forced
into all the pores of the wood. The above processes for 'seasoning'
preserve the timber not only from dry-rot, but from the influence of the
weather and the attacks of insects and worms.
"The construction of air-drains or passages around wood-work to be
preserved is, where the method is applicable, a great aid to the
preservation of wood. Dry-rot is both prevented in new buildings and cured
in old ones by filling up the spaces between the floor-joists with
'tank-waste' from alkali works. This can also be applied to the ends of
beams resting in walls."--_Chemical News._
=DUB'BING.= _Prep._ 1. By boiling the waste cuttings of sheep-skins in
crude cod oil. 2. Black resin, 2 lb.; tallow, 1 lb.; crude cod oil or
train oil, 1 gall.; boil to a proper consistence. Used by the curriers to
dress leather, and by shoemakers and others to soften leather, and to
render boots and shoes waterproof.
=DUBOISIA MYOPOROIDES.= (Nat. order, _Solanacæ_.) A small tree growing in
Australia, New Caledonia, and New Guinea. The leaves have been used in
Brisbane and Sydney as a substitute for atropine, and extract of
belladonna; to both of which Mr Tweedy believes them to be superior in
prompt and energetic action. Mr Tweedy further states that, in every case
in which he has used _duboisia_ to produce dilatation of the pupil of the
eye, its action has been beneficial, and he is induced to conclude, more
advantageous than that of atropine. According to Dr Ringer, _duboisia_,
besides causing dilatation of the pupil, quickens the pulse, parches the
tongue, stops the secretions of the skin, and induces headache and
drowsiness. He also reports that it is antagonistic in its action to
muscarine, and produces tetanus after the lapse of some hours or days.
For an account of the botanical properties of the plant, the reader is
referred to a paper by Mr E. M. Holmes in the 'Pharmaceutical Journal' for
March 9th, 1878; and to the 'Lancet' of March 2nd, 1878, for some
experiments on its physiological effects by Messrs Ringer and Tweedie. The
_Duboisia myoporoides_ was introduced into medical practice by Dr
Bancroft, of Brisbane.
Since the above has been written, Mr Gerrard has obtained a powerful
alkaloid from an extract of the leaves of the Duboisias, very similar in
chemical properties to aconite, and possessed of the same physiological
qualities as the extract.
=DUCK.= See POULTRY.
=DUCTIL'ITY= is the property of being drawn out in length without
breaking. See METALS.
=DULCAMA'RA.= See NIGHTSHADE (Woody).
=DUMB'NESS.= _Syn._ APHONIA, L. As speech is an acquired and imitative
faculty, persons who are either born deaf or become so in early infancy
are also, necessarily, dumb. The first step in treating dumbness must
therefore be directed to the removal of the deafness on which the
imperfection rests. The exertions of modern philanthropists have, however,
been so far successful in such cases as to enable the deaf-mute to
converse with those around him by signs. Those interested in the subject
may consult an admirable treatise on 'Deaf-dumbness,' by M. E.
Hubert-Valleroux, of which an excellent translation appeared in the
'Medical Circular,' vol. ii, for 1853. See DEAFNESS.
=DUMPLINGS, Norfolk.= Mix half a pound of flour with half a teaspoonful of
baking powder and a pinch of salt; make into a little dough with cold
water; fall into small balls, put them into boiling water immediately, and
boil for twenty minutes.
=DUNGER--MANURE= (Boutin, Paris). A bluish-green fluid, containing about
190 grammes of solid matter per litre. The residue consists of sulphates
of copper, iron, magnesia, and soda, sal ammoniac, nitrates of potash and
soda, common salt, and none or a mere trace of phosphoric acid. The blue
deposit which separates on standing is ultramarine. (Keller, Karmrodt, and
Nessler.)
=DUNG'ING.= _Syn._ CLEANSING. One of the principal processes in the arts
of calico printing and dyeing, its object being to free the cloth from
loose matters, which would interfere with the dyeing. After the thickened
mordants have been applied to the fabric and properly fixed, it is
necessary to remove the now useless thickening matter, together with the
excess of mordant, which has not come into actual contact with the cloth.
Formerly a bath formed of cow-dung, diffused through hot water (130° to
212° Fahr.) was always used to wash away these loose matters; but now
various manufactured substances are successfully employed for the purpose.
The best dung substitutes are the arsenite and arseniate of soda, the
silicate of soda, and phosphate of lime. Experience proves that, in the
case of these substitutes, a final rinse in cow-dung before dyeing is
advantageous. A process very similar to 'dunging' is employed after
dyeing, to clear and give purity to the undyed parts. This subsequent
process is distinguished by the term 'clearing.' Cow-dung has been used in
'clearing' operations, but its employment is not to be recommended. Bran
scalded and mixed with water is employed for certain goods, but bleaching
powder is the most generally used 'clearing agent.'
=DUST, ATMOSPHERIC.= When a ray of sunlight is admitted into a dark room,
or an electric beam is transmitted through a glass tube, myriads of little
motes are revealed, which move and dance about in all directions.
In ordinary daylight these minute particles are invisible. Nevertheless,
they are always more or less present in the atmosphere wherever (except
under special conditions) this permeates, and they constitute that more or
less attenuated, impalpable, generally dry, or dessicated form of matter
which we denominate dust.
As with every inspiration we take into our bodies more or less of this
suspended material, the study of the composition and characters of the
different substances which compose it is one possessed of paramount
interest, both for the pathologist and sanitarian.
Amongst solid, inorganic matters found in the open air are silica,
peroxide of iron, silicate of alumina, carbonate and phosphate of lime,
sand, carbon, chloride of sodium, and metallic iron. These, of course, are
of telluric origin, and are carried into the atmosphere by strong currents
and winds, which latter have the power of transporting dust to great
distances, _e.g._ red sand from the interior of Africa has been found in
the sails of ships 600 or 800 miles distant from the African coast, whilst
particles of carbon, sand, and dried mud, ejected to great heights from
volcanoes into the air, have been transported over still greater
distances.
Some doubt appears to prevail as to whether all dust storms originate on
the earth, it having been conjectured that some of the solid matters found
in the atmosphere may be of meteoric origin, and may have entered it from
the realms of space. The chloride of sodium (which the chemist knows is so
omnipresent that he cannot heat an ordinary platinum wire in a Bunsen
burner without indications of its presence) is derived from the spray of
the sea, lifted and diffused into the air by the wind; the iron dust from
the rails over which railway trains are constantly passing; the silica,
amongst other sources, from the traffic over macadamised thoroughfares.
The organised and organic substances contained in the external air are
very numerous. The animal kingdom is the source of the wings of moths,
butterflies, and other insects, spiders' legs and webs, hair, wool,
epithelium, and eggs, many of these bodies being mere _débris_.
The vegetable kingdom contributes spores, pollen, cells, cotton fibre, and
the germs of vibriones and monads. Besides these are many living
creatures, brought by the agency of monsoons and cyclones from extensive
deserts. Showers of sand derived from these wastes occur in different
parts of Europe. Ehrenberg submitted the sand obtained during seventy of
these showers to microscopic examination, and found, in addition to sand
and oxide of iron, numerous organic forms, amongst which 194 Polygastrica,
145 Phylolithariæ, besides Polythalmia, &c. Silvestre found four species
of diatoms and living infusoria in the sand obtained from a dust shower in
Sicily in 1872. But, besides the presence of these organisms in the
external air, which may be regarded exceptional, it contains, under
ordinary conditions, numerous living creatures, some brought into it from
the earth by the force of winds, others growing in it. More than 200
forms--rhizopods, tardigrades, and Anguilulæ--have been found in it by
Ehrenberg. So tenacious of life are these latter that, even if dried, they
will retain their vitality for months, and even years.
Of the organisms found in the air the following are the most
important:--1. Extremely small, round, and oval cells, which, that they
may be rightly examined by the microscope, require a power of 600 or 1000
diameters. They are found sometimes growing together and sometimes
cleaving, when they present an appearance like the figure 8. Sulphuretted
hydrogen in the air is said to stimulate their growth and carbolic acid to
check it. Although existing in the open air, they are by far more abundant
in the atmosphere of dirty prisons. They are also met with in the sweat of
the prisoners inhabiting these localities. Observers believe they increase
rapidly by cleavage. No ill effects have been traced to them.
"To the same class, perhaps, of these round and oval cells the bacteria
and monads, which have been described as gathered from the air, must be
assigned; the development of these cells into vibriones and rod-like
bacteria, though asserted, has not yet been definitely proved, and,
indeed, Burden-Sanderson's observations rather throw doubt on the
statement that true bacteria exist in the air.
"2. Spores of fungi are not infrequent in the open air; they occur most
commonly in the summer (July and August); they are not in this country
more frequent with one wind than another; the largest number found by
Maddox in ten hours was 250 spores; on some days not a spore can be found.
Maddox leaves undetermined the kind of fungus which the spores developed
under cultivation; the spores were pale or olive coloured and oval,
probably from some form of smut. Angus Smith found in water through which
the air of Manchester was drawn innumerable spores. Mr Dancer has
calculated that in a single drop of the water 250,000 fungoid spores as
well as mycelium were present; but as the water was not examined for some
time there may have been growth. Mycelium of fungus seems uncommon in the
air, but is sometimes found.
The cells of the _Protococcus pluvialis_ are not uncommon, neither,
perhaps, are those of other algæ. On the whole the experiments of Maddox
show that in his locality (near Southampton) it is incorrect to speak of
the air being loaded with fungoid spores; they can be found, but are not
very numerous."[267]
[Footnote 267: Parkes.]
Amongst other suspended matters are minute fragments of dried horse
droppings, derived from the original substance, reduced to powder by the
traffic, and carried by aerial currents into the atmosphere. In the
'Chemical News' for October, 1871, Professor Tichborne gives the results
of some analyses of the street dust of Dublin. Some dust taken from the
top of a pillar 134 feet high contained 29·7 per cent. of organic matter,
whilst that collected from the street consisted of as much as 45·2 per
cent. This organic matter was principally composed of comminuted stable
manure; it was capable of acting as a ferment, and was possessed of
deoxidising powers sufficient to reduce nitrate to nitrite of potash.
This evidence of the presence of suspended known matters in the air has
led some pathologists to conjecture that certain formless substances found
in it, undeterminable by the microscope, may in reality be disease germs,
which, being transported through long distances by the wind, may also be
the means of spreading certain maladies from one locality to another. In
this manner cholera has been supposed to have been propagated from India,
the particles of the dried excreta of cholera patients being supposed to
be the carriers of the formidable disease; this hypothesis of its origin,
however, is not yet, at any rate, universally accepted. "In the case of
smallpox and scarlet fever the distance to which the 'contagions' spread
by means of the air is certainly inconsiderable."[268]
[Footnote 268: Ibid.]
Hitherto we have spoken only of the nature of the dust occurring in the
external air. The composition of that met with in confined spaces is, of
course, largely influenced by surrounding conditions and circumstances;
for instance, in indifferently ventilated apartments, in addition to the
substances already enumerated, the dust of the confined air has been found
to contain small particles of food, bits of the hair of human beings,
domestic animals, and feathers of birds, as well as of coals, cinders,
charred wood, linen, cotton, and wool fibres, varieties of epithelium, and
certain round cells resembling nuclei.
In the apartments of the sick it is additionally charged with a very large
quantity of organic matter.
The spores of the Tricophyton and Acorion have been discovered in and seem
peculiar to skin hospitals. In that taken upon two occasions from the ward
of St. Louis (the Skin Hospital of Paris), and submitted to examination,
one specimen was found additionally to contain 36 per cent. and in the
other 46 per cent. of organic matter.
"The scaly and round epithelia found in most rooms are in large quantity
in hospital wards, and probably in cases where there is much expectoration
and exposure of pus or puriform fluids to the air the quantity would be
still larger."[269]
[Footnote 269: Parkes.]
The investigation of the air of a cholera ward in 1849 by Britain and
Swayne, at Clifton, revealed the presence of bodies resembling fungi;
minute scales of variolous matter have been found by Bakewell in smallpox
wards, and cells of pus and epithelium in the sheds and stables of animals
affected with cattle disease and pleuro-pneumonia. Dr Watson detected in
the air of a ward for consumptive patients at Netley, together with pus
cells, bodies bearing a great resemblance to the cells met with in
tuberculous matter, these latter not being discoverable in the open air or
in the rooms of non-consumptive persons; whilst Rainy, examining the air
of the cholera ward at St. Thomas's Hospital, found bacteria in it,
besides fungi. The presence of these bodies was, however, detected in the
open air.
The atmosphere of mines, workshops, manufactories, and rooms in which
handicraft of any kind is carried on, is more or less laden with small
particles of substances employed in the arts, manufactures, and various
industries. The nature of these floating substances, as well as a list of
the diseases, together with the amount of mortality they produce, will be
found under the article "TRADES, CERTAIN, THEIR EFFECTS ON HEALTH."
Dr Wynter Blyth gives the following instructions for collecting
atmospheric dust for examination:--
"The most simple way to obtain the emanations from a sick room for
microscopical observation is to suspend a common water bottle from the
ceiling filled with iced water. The moisture of the air condenses, and
brings with it organic matters; or the moisture may be gathered which
adheres to panes of glass in cold weather; or a bottle may be taken
containing some distilled water, absolutely free from impurities of any
kind, and filled several times with the air of the place. The water may
then be submitted to microscopical and chemical examination.
"Metallic dust, such as iron, may be attracted by a magnet. The most usual
and successful way is, however, by _aspiration_, either by an aspirator
made for the purpose [see ASPIRATOR], or by means of an ordinary cask, by
which a considerable volume of air is drawn through a small quantity of
distilled water, glycerin, or other liquid. The indirect way for the
organic matter, &c., mentioned above, viz., analysis of the rain water,
and the obvious way of collecting the dust, by carefully sweeping it off
shelves, &c., may be also enumerated.
"_Examination of dust._ The dust obtained by any or all of these methods
should now be examined microscopically and chemically. Low powers should
be used at first, and then (if looking for germs) the highest that can be
obtained. If the dust is in any quantity it can be submitted to chemical
examination, but a knowledge of what class it belongs to--animal, mineral,
or vegetable--is sufficient for most purposes."[270]
[Footnote 270: 'Dictionary of Hygiene.']
=DUST-BIN.= A dust-bin on any premises may become a nuisance and a peril
to health if certain precautions are not observed with respect to it.
It should have a tolerably tight-fitting cover, and one that is waterproof
also, if, especially as it ought to be, the dust-bin is situated in the
open air. The bottom should never be the bare earth, but one that is
properly bricked or tiled. It should be lime-washed occasionally, in
summer time the most frequently. Only dry refuse, such as ashes and the
sweepings of rooms, &c., should be thrown into it.
On no account should fragments of vegetable or animal nature be put in,
such as fishbones, potato parings, cabbage stalks, dirty or discarded
pieces of apparel, or bits of rags or dusters. These should be at once
burnt on the kitchen fire; the best kind of stove for consuming these is
that known as the kilnhouse. Meat bones should be got disposed of as soon
as possible, as they frequently give rise to unpleasant and offensive
odours. Finally, the dust-bin should not be too large. If too capacious,
it acts as a guile for servants not to have it cleaned out as often as it
should be, the frequent removal of its contents being a most essential
condition toward the preservation of health.
=DUSTING.= This very important branch of household labour is sometimes
very inefficiently performed. Very frequently the dust of an apartment is
not removed, but merely disturbed or driven from one place to settle down
on another.
It should always as much as possible be got rid of by means of a duster or
a brush and dust-pan.
As the dust should adhere to the former, this should from time to time be
taken out into the open air and shaken. During the time a room is being
dusted the furniture should be collected in as small a space as possible,
and enveloped in the dusting-sheet. The dusting-sheet on its removal
should be carefully folded together, taken into the air and shaken. The
furniture may then be dusted and returned to the proper places.
A duster should never be rubbed over furniture standing close to a wall,
or a dirty mark on the wall-paper will be the result. The same caution
applies to mantel-pieces, where the paper may soon be spoilt by the act
of dusting, unless contact with the duster be avoided.
=DUTCH DROPS.= The dark-coloured residue left by the dry distillation of
turpentine. (Hager.)
=DUTCH GOLD.= See ALLOY.
=DUTCH LIQ'UID.= See OLEFIANT GAS.
=DYE'ING.= The act of tinging or colouring absorbent materials by
impregnating them with solutions of colouring matters or dye-stuffs. The
colouring matters which impart their tints without the intervention of
other substances are called 'substantive colours'; while those which
require such aid are called 'adjective colours.' The bodies employed to
fix and develop the latter class are called 'mordants.' The exact way in
which dye-stuffs act upon fibrous materials has not yet been investigated
as fully as it deserves; the generally received opinion is that the fibre
has a chemical affinity for the colouring matter in the case of
substantive dyes, and likewise for the mordant, which, in its turn, has an
affinity for the colouring matter of adjective dyes. Another opinion is
that the fibres have pores, which, when expanded by heat or chemical
agents, admit particles of colouring matter. However this may be, it is
certain that different materials 'take' dyes in different proportions;
thus, silk and wool take the coal-tar dyes in the most perfect manner, but
cotton requires the intervention of a most powerful mineral or animal
mordant. Wool takes the colouring matters of most dye-stuff so well that
the deepest tints can readily be produced. SILK and COTTON are dyed with
greater difficulty, whilst LINEN shows still less disposition to take
dyes. The operations which take place in dyeing are 'mordanting,'
'ageing,' 'dunging,' 'dyeing,' and 'clearing.' The first of these
operations is noticed under MORDANT. After the fabric has been mordanted,
it is generally hung up in a room through which a current of steam and air
is passing, by means of which the union between the fibre and the mordant
is quickened very considerably. This exposure to moist air is the step in
the process to which the term 'ageing' is applied. The operations of
'dunging' and 'clearing' are noticed above (see DUNGING). The 'dyeing'
proper, which follows the 'dunging,' is effected by running the fabric
through the solution of the dye-stuff, the colour being modified more or
less by the nature of the mordant used. Under the names of the different
colours the means used to dye such colours are minutely described. See
BLACK DYE, BLUE DYE, &c.
The following particulars respecting the production of the more common
colours may prove interesting to the reader, who merely requires some
general information on the subject:--
BLACK is usually produced by logwood or galls with an iron mordant. Common
black silks are dyed with logwood and fustic, iron being used as a
mordant. The best silks are dyed black on a blue ground. Woollen goods are
first dyed blue with indigo, and afterwards with sumac, logwood, and green
or blue copperas. Cotton and linen goods are dyed black in a very similar
manner.
BLUE is commonly produced from indigo, either in the form of sulphate or
in aqueous solution. Prussian blue, with a persalt of iron or tin as a
mordant, gives a very splendid dark blue. Of late several blues of novel
shades have been produced from coal-tar.
RED is obtained in various shades by using cochineal, safflower, lac-dye,
madder, or logwood, with a tin mordant.
PURPLE. Until the last few years the dyer was dependent for his purples on
orchil or cudbear, but he has now at his disposal the magnificent series
of aniline, or coal-tar, colours, ranging from the most delicate violet,
or 'mauve,' to the full crimson-purple, known as 'magenta.' See PURPLE
DYE.
YELLOW. The most important yellow dyes are made from quercitron, fustic,
turmeric, arnotto, and French and Persian berries. For further
information, see BLEACHING, CALICO-PRINTING, &c.
=DYER'S SPIRITS.= See TIN MORDANTS.
=DYES.= See DYEING, and the names of the principal colours.
=DYE-STUFFS.= The colouring materials used in dyeing are so called. The
more important of them are noticed under the respective names.
=DYNAMITE.= Nobel's dynamite consists of a mixture of 75 parts of
nitroglycerin incorporated with 25 parts of an infusorial earth known as
'kieselghur,' found at Luneburgh, and consisting of the fossil shells of
infusoria. Kieselghur is almost pure silica. Dynamite is in regular use on
the Continent for mining operations, and its manufacture and transport
appear to be subject only to reasonable precautions. If ignited in the
open air, or even when loosely packed, it burns quietly away, with the
evolution of a small quantity of nitrous acid. Although the first cost of
dynamite is four times that of gunpowder, it is said to be really only
half as expensive, since it possesses eight times the explosive power of
the latter; added to which the labour of boring blast-holes is avoided. It
also possesses the advantage of not being impaired in efficiency by damp.
When required for use the dynamite is rammed into a thick paper cartridge,
into which a fusee is passed, by means of which it is ignited. Although
dynamite when once made may be comparatively harmless until exploded at
will; that great risk is incurred in its manufacture may be inferred from
the fact that, upon two occasions the manufactory on the Continent in
which it is prepared has been twice entirely destroyed. On the occasion of
the last accident it was impossible to learn the cause of the disaster,
since every one in the building was blown to atoms.
Diralin is said to be a mixture of nitroglycerin with sawdust or wood-pulp
as used in paper-mills, the two latter substances having been previously
treated with nitric and sulphuric acids.
=DYNAMOM.= (Dr Momma Düsseldorf.) A galvano-electric curative apparatus. A
small capsule of horn, containing a disc secured to a pedicel. On the disc
a number of sharp needles are fixed. By gently moving the apparatus, and
afterwards withdrawing it, artificial pores are produced in the skin by
punctures which are not very painful. These are then to be rubbed with a
certain oil, probably containing cantharides. (Wittstein.)
=DYS'ENTERY.= _Syn._ BLOODY FLUX; DYSENTERIA, L. A disease arising from
inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestines, and
characterised by stools consisting chiefly of blood and mucus, or other
morbid matter, accompanied with griping of the bowels, and followed by
tenesmus. There is generally more or less fever, and the natural fæces are
either retained or discharged in small, hard balls (_scybala_). The common
causes of this disease are marsh miasma, improper diet, excessive
exhaustion, and fatigue, and, above all, exposure to the cold and damp air
of night after a hot day.
_Treat._ The common dysentery of this country generally gives way to
gentle aperients (castor oil or salts-and-manna), to cleanse the bowels,
followed by mild opiates or morphia, to allay irritation. The chronic
symptoms, which frequently hang about for some time, are best combated by
mild tonics and vegetable bitters (bark, calumba, cascarilla).
Occasionally, chalybeates (ammonia-citrate of iron, lactate of iron, wine
of iron, saccharine carbonate of iron) will be found useful during
convalescence. Throughout, the diet should be light and nutritious.
The contagious dysentery, of camps and hot climates, is a severe and often
fatal disease, in which the preceding symptoms are complicated with
remittent or typhoid fever. Its treatment is tedious and difficult, and
depends chiefly on judiciously meeting the several symptoms as they
develop themselves. Aperients, diaphoretics, and nauseants, followed by
tonics, are the remedies generally relied on. The febrile symptoms must be
treated according to their inflammatory or putrid tendency. This variety
of the disease frequently gives rise to organic diseases of the abdominal
viscera, dropsy, &c. It is regarded by some as contagious, but without
sufficient reason.
=DYSMENNORH[OE]'A.= See MENSTRUATION.
=DYSPEP'SIA.= [L.] _Syn._ DYSPEP'SY, INDIGESTION. This complaint pervades
every rank of society, and is, perhaps, of all others, the most general.
Few indeed are there who wholly escape it, in one or other of its forms.
The common symptoms of dyspepsia are--want of appetite, sudden and
transient distensions of the stomach, frequent eructations, heartburn,
stomachic pains, occasional vomiting, and, frequently, costiveness or
diarrh[oe]a. Sometimes the head is affected, and dimness of sight, double
vision, muscæ volitantes, and slight vertigo, are experienced, along with
a multitude of other symptoms, depending on a derangement of the functions
of the nervous system.
The causes of dyspepsia are numerous. In the higher ranks of society it is
a common consequence of over-indulgence in the luxuries of the table, of
late hours, or of the want of proper exercise, both of body and mind. In
the studious, and those who lead a sedentary life, it is usually caused by
excessive mental exertion or anxiety, or by the fatigues of business, and
the want of sufficient bodily exertion and of pure air. In the lower
orders of society it generally results from inebriety, or a deficiency of
proper food and clothing, bad ventilation, &c.; and is not unfrequently
occasioned by the physical powers being over-taxed, especially soon after
meals.
The treatment of dyspepsia depends less on medicine than on the adoption
of regular habits of life. Moderation in eating, drinking, and the
indulgence of the passions; early rising, due exercise, and retiring to
rest at an early hour, will do much to restore the tone both of the
stomach and nerves. Excessive study and mental exertion should be avoided,
and recourse should frequently be had to society and amusements of a
lively and interesting character. If the bowels are confined, mild
aperients should be taken, and if diarrh[oe]a is present, antacids and
absorbents may be had recourse to with advantage. The stomach may be
strengthened by the use of mild bitters, tonics, and stimulants, and sea
bathing, or the shower or tepid bath, may be taken, when convenient, to
strengthen the nervous system. When dyspepsia is a secondary or
symptomatic disease, the cause should be sought out, and the treatment
varied accordingly. Among the aperient medicines most suitable to
dyspepsia may be mentioned--Epsom salts, phosphate of soda, and Seidlitz
powders, each of which should be taken largely diluted with water. An
occasional dose of the '_Abernethy Medicines_' (which _see_) has also been
recommended. Among antacids, are the bicarbonates and carbonates of
potassa and soda, either of which may be taken in doses of half a
teaspoonful dissolved in water; or, if the spirits are depressed, one or
two teaspoonfuls of spirit of sal volatile will be more appropriate; and
in cases accompanied by diarrh[oe]a, a little prepared chalk. As bitters,
the compound infusion of orange peel, or of gentian, are excellent. As
tonics, small doses of bark, or of sulphate of quinine, to which
chalybeates may be added, if there is pallor of countenance, or a low
pulse, with no disposition to fever or headache.
When dyspepsia is complicated with hysteria, hypochondriasis, or
chlorosis, the treatment noticed under those heads may be conjoined to
that above recommended. When it depends on constipation, or a deficiency
of bile, the mildest and most effective of all remedies will be found
supplied in inspissated ox-gall. "In all cases of incipient constipation,
ox-gall is a remedy of undoubted efficacy; and even in protracted cases,
when hope has almost fled--but where evidences of strangulation are not
unequivocally manifested--it should never be omitted by the practitioner.
In habitual or chronic constipation, accompanied by indigestion,
clay-coloured stools, and a feeling of oppression after food has been
taken, it acts with almost specific certainty. When, however, the liver
begins to assume its healthy action, its employment should be
discontinued, and it will then produce all the symptoms of regurgitation
of bile into the stomach. This state will be readily recognised as a
favorable omen of returning power." (Dr Allnatt.)
=DYSPN[OE]'A.= Difficulty of breathing. It is generally symptomatic of
some other affections. When it occurs in persons of a nervous or irritable
habit of body, perfect quiet, a semi-recumbent posture, fresh air, and
some small doses of ether, ammonia, or opium, will generally effect a
cure. Those of a full habit require aperients and depletion. To prevent
attacks of the kind, excess in eating and drinking, and the use of
stimulants, should be avoided.
=DYSU''RIA.= [L.] _Syn._ DYS'URY. Difficult urination. It is generally
symptomatic of disease of the kidneys, bladder, or urethra. The treatment
depends on the exciting cause.
=EAR (Inflamma'tion of).= _Syn._ OTITIS, L. This affection, when it
attacks the internal part of the ear, is generally accompanied with
confusion of sound, deafness, and more or less fever. It is most frequent
among children, and is commonly produced by exposure to draughts of cold
air, and, occasionally, by foreign matters, as cherry-stones, insects,
&c., having got into the external ear. In such cases, the removal of the
offensive matter, and due attention to warmth and cleanliness, with a dose
of laxative medicine, will be all the treatment required. The pain may
generally be relieved by throwing warm water into the ear by means of a
syringe, and fomenting the surrounding parts with decoction of poppy-heads
and chamomile flowers. Should this treatment not succeed, a drop or two of
laudanum, with one drop of oil of cloves and a little oil of almonds, may
be dropped in the ear, and a piece of cotton wool introduced afterwards.
Cases of acute inflammation of the internal ear are occasionally met with
in adults, which assume a very serious character, and demand the most
careful treatment. See DEAFNESS.
=Earache.= Pain in the ear may arise from various causes, amongst which,
in the absence of organic disease, cold, and that peculiar derangement of
health popularly called 'nervousness,' are the most common. In the one
case, the proper remedy is warmth; in the other, the attention should be
directed to the restoration of the body to the healthy standard.
=Earache, Simple Cure for.= Take a common, tobacco-pipe, place a wad of
cotton in the bowl, drop upon it 8 or 10 drops of chloroform, and cover
with another wad of cotton; place the stem to the affected ear, then blow
into the bowl, and in many cases the pain will cease almost
immediately.--_Amer. Journ._
=EARTHS.= In _chemistry_, a group of metallic oxides. The principal earths
are baryta strontia, lime, magnesia, alumina, berylla or glucina, yttria,
zirconia, and thoria. The first four are termed ALKALINE EARTHS; the
remainder, together with the oxides of the very rare metals erbium,
terbium, norium, cerium, lanthanum, and didymium, constitute the EARTHS
PROPER.
The term _earth_ was very loosely applied by the older chemical and
pharmaceutical writers, and the practice is still common among the vulgar
at the present day. Thus, ABSORBENT EARTH (chalk); ALUMINOUS E.,
ARGILLACEOUS E. (alumina); BOLAR E. (bole); BONE-E. (phosphate of lime);
FULLER'S E. (an absorbent clay); HEAVY E. (baryta); JAPAN E., or TERRA
JAPONICA (catechu); SEALED E. (bole), &c., are names even now frequently
encountered both in trade and in books.
=EARTHEN-WARE AND GLASS, to prevent the Cracking of.= When quite new, all
vessels of glass and earthenware should be laid to soak in cold water, and
after some hours, this water, covering the vessels, should be gradually
heated to the boiling point. It is a good plan to place a little hay on
the top of the water.
Glass and earthenware vessels thus treated are far less liable to crack
when subjected to the heat of boiling water than it would otherwise be.
=EARTH-NUT.= See ARACHIS HYPOG[OE]A.
=EAU.= (Fr.) Water. This word, like its English synonym, is applied to
numerous substances, differing in their composition, sensible properties,
and uses, of which the following are a few useful examples:--EAU DOUCE,
fresh or river water; EAU DE MER, sea or salt water; EAU DE FONTAINE, EAU
DE SOURCE, spring water; EAU DE PUITS, well or pump water; EAU DE RIVIÈRE,
river water; EAU DISTILLÉE, distilled water; EAU DE ROSE, rose water; EAU
DE VIE, brandy; EAU DE COLOGNE, Cologne water; EAU D'HONGRIE, Hungary
water; EAU BÉNITE, holy water; EAU FORTE, aquafortis; EAU DE SAVON,
soapsuds; EAU DE SENTEUR, scented water, &c.
=Eau Athenienne.= (Hte. Bourgeois, Paris.) Pour nettoyer la tête et
enlever les pellicules--for cleaning the head and removing scurf. An
alcoholic solution of potash-soap, with some solution of potash and
aromatic oil. (Dr P. Goppelsröder.)
=Eau Berger for Dyeing the Hair.= Two fluids for consecutive application.
No. 1 is a solution of 1·3 grammes sulphate of copper, ·25 grammes nitrate
of nickel, 30 grammes distilled water, 4 grammes ammonia. No. 2 is a
solution of calcium sulphide, made by passing sulphuretted hydrogen into
milk of lime until it ceases to be absorbed, and then filtering from the
excess of lime. (W. Engelhardt.)
=Eau Capillaire Progressive, pour rétablir la coleur naturelle des cheveux
et de la barbe. Formule rationelle, succès garanti.= Progressive hair-wash
for restoring the natural colour of the hair and beard. Formula rational,
success guaranteed (Dr R. Brimmeyer, chimie-pharmacien, Echternach,
Luxembourg). (Schädler.)
=Eau d'Afrique, for dyeing the Hair Black.= Three fluids to be
consecutively applied. No. 1 is a solution of 3 parts nitrate of silver in
100 parts water. No. 2 is a solution of 8 parts sodium sulphide in 100
parts water. No. 3 is a solution of nitrate of silver like No. 1, but
perfumed. (Reveil.)
=Eau d'Atirona.= An elegant fluid cosmetic soap, by the use of which all
imperfections of the skin will be easily and painlessly removed. It
consists of 25 grammes of a spirituous tincture of cinnamon and cloves, 4
grammes soda soap, and a drop of peppermint oil. (Wittstein.)
=Eau de Bahama.= A black dye for the hair. It is a solution of sugar of
lead perfumed with oil of anise, and containing flowers of sulphur in
suspension. (Reveil.)
=Eau de Beauté, Eau de Paris sans pareille, or Eau de Princesses= (August
Renard, Paris); with a German title, "Rhümhehst bekanntes cosmetisches
Wasser genannt Prinzessen-Wasser." The well-known and renowned cosmetic
called Princesses' Water.' To experience the brilliant effects of this
marvellous fluid we need only, after washing, habitually pass a small
sponge moistened with the fluid gently over the skin, and allow it to dry
without rubbing. By so doing our complexion will remain white, smooth,
clear, and soft, even to extreme old age. Those, however, who are troubled
with freckles, heat-spots, or any other eruption should use the water
several times a day as directed. They need suffer no longer from any
defect of the skin. Princesses' Water when shaken is a milk-white fluid
contained in an oval bottle with a long neck, which holds 125 grammes. On
standing it deposits a white precipitate. It is made from 2·5 grammes
calomel, ·45 grammes corrosive sublimate (so altered by the added perfume
that the usual tests do not reveal it), and 122 grammes orange-flower
water.
=Eau de Botot.= A mouth wash. Tincture of cedar wood, 500 grammes;
tincture of myrrh and tincture of rhatany, of each 125 grammes; peppermint
oil, 5 drops. (Winkler.)
=Eau de Capille= (Kamprath & Schwartze). A hair dye. A mixture of 16
grammes glycerine, 8 grammes hyposulphite of soda, 1 gramme sugar of lead
(or an equivalent quantity of Liq. Plumbi subacet.), about 2 grammes
precipitated sulphur and 130 grammes water, perfumed with a small quantity
of eau de Cologne. (Hager.)
=Eau de Charbon, Dr Chattam's= (A. Ahnelt, Charlottenburg, the African
traveller). A prophylactic and specific against syphilis. 150 grammes of a
slightly red fluid, consisting of a watery solution of carbolic acid
coloured with aniline and perfumed with 1 drop peppermint oil and 8 drops
chloroform dissolved in 20 grammes spirit. (Hager.)
=Eau de Cythère.= A hair dye. A solution of 4 parts chloride of lead and 8
parts crystallised hyposulphite of soda in 88 parts distilled water.
(Hager.)
=Eau de Docteur Sachs.= For promoting the growth of the hair, preventing
its turning grey, for protecting the scalp from all injurious influences,
and for preserving it in a state of purity and health. A solution of
castor oil in spirit containing picrotoxin. (Dr C. Schacht.)
=Eau de Fée--Fairy Water.= A natural hair wash (Lattke, Chemiker, Kiel).
Recommended as a preparation consisting solely of harmless vegetables. It
consists mainly of a strong solution of nitrate of lead. (Himly.)
=Eau des Fées--Fairy Water.= A hair wash. A solution of 1-1/4 parts lead
sulphite in about 3 parts sodium hyposulphite, 7-3/4 parts glycerin, and
88 parts water. According to the directions for use, more than three
bottles of 120 grammes of the Fairy Water should not be used before the
hair has been treated with Eau de Poppée, and, to raise it to the highest
possible degree of beauty, with Huile régénératrice d'Hygie. (Hager.)
=Eau de Hebe.= For freckles. To be applied with a small sponge in the
evening and washed off in the morning. Lemons, cut small, digested in a
closed flask with distilled vinegar, lavender vinegar, oil of lemon, and
rosemary, and filtered.
=Eau de Java Anticholerique= is a solution of camphor and carbolic acid in
spirit. (Casselmann.)
=Eau de la Floride.= A colourless fluid with a greenish-yellow deposit
consisting of sugar of lead, 50 parts; flowers of sulphur, 20 parts;
distilled water, 1000 parts. (F. Eymael.)
=Eau de Lechelle= may be replaced by a filtered mixture of 200 parts aqua
aromatica, 300 parts aqua dest., 10 parts acid. carbol., 10 parts ol.
thymi, 20 parts acid. tannic.
=Eau de lys de Lohse= (Lohse formerly--before the French war--Lohsé,
Berlin). A cosmetic consisting of 2 grammes zinc oxide, 2 grammes
prepared talc, 4 grammes glycerin, and 200 grammes rose water. (Schädler.)
=Eau de Mont Blanc.= A hair dye. A solution of nitrate of silver.
=Eau de Naples.= Neapolitan washing solution. A mixture of 12 parts borax,
100 parts distilled water, 50 parts rose water, 1 part camphor, 4 parts
tinct. benzoin. (W. Hildwein.)
=Eau de Quinine--Glycerin Hair Wash, with Extract of Peruvian Bark= (A.
Heinrich, Leipzig). For removing scurf and strengthening the hair. 2
grammes balsam of Peru, 6 grammes castor oil, 60 grammes rum, 35 grammes
water, 5 grammes tincture of red cinchona. (Hager.)
=Eau de Vienne.= A hair dye from Paris. Two fluids, one of which is a
solution of nitrate of silver in ammoniacal water, and the other a
solution of pyrogallic acid.
=Eau Dentifrice de Mallard.= Star anise, common anise, cinnamon, cloves,
of each, 8 parts; guaicum wood, 10 parts; brown cinchona, 6 parts; rose
leaves, 5 parts; nutmegs, 2 parts, are placed in a displacement apparatus
and percolated with 3 parts cochineal; 12-15 parts water, 1000 parts sp.
vini; sp. gr. ·860. The tincture is displaced with water and 1000 parts
are mixed with 7 parts of a mixture of peppermint oil, spirit of scurvy
grass, and tinct. of benzoin, allowed to stand and filtered.
=Eau Dentifrice des Cordillères.= An Indian recipe. 360 parts strong
spirits, 330 parts water, 2-1/2 parts extract of red or yellow cinchona, 1
part oil of cinnamon, 2 parts oil of cloves, 3 parts oil of anise, 5 parts
oil of peppermint. (Hager.)
=Eau Ecarlate--Scarlet Water.= (Bürdel). For renovating red linen and
woollen fabrics. Oxalium, 25 parts; soda, 16 parts; potash, 5 parts;
water, coloured with cochineal and slightly perfumed, 1000 parts.
(Sauerwein.)
=Eau Lajeune.= A hair dye. An elegant pasteboard box, in which are three
bottles of fluid and two bone-handled tooth-brushes. No. 1 contains a
clear fluid consisting of pyrogallic acid 1·5 gramme, ·3 gramme colouring
matter of alkanet, 17·5 grammes spirit of wine, 27 grammes water. No. 2 is
filled with a thick brown fluid, which from decomposition has produced a
deposit sometimes brown, sometimes grey. This partly-decomposed fluid was
originally a mixture of silver nitrate, 3·5 grammes; ammonia, 4·5 grammes;
gum arabic or some similar mucilage, 2·5 grammes; distilled water, 23
grammes. No. 3, labelled "Fixateur," contains 7·5 grammes fluid,
consisting of ·5 gramme sodium sulphide, 7 grammes distilled water. The
directions for use, translated into various languages, say--Dissolve 10
grammes subcarbonate of soda in half a litre of warm or cold rain water,
and with this wash the grease from the hair. Afterwards rinse it in clear
water, and dry it thoroughly with a cloth. Pour one part of fluid No. 1
into a saucer, and with brush No. 1 apply it to the roots of the hair.
Allow it two or three minutes to dry, then rub the hair with an old linen
cloth to remove the superfluous moisture. Next repeat the operation, using
fluid and brush No. 2, and without waiting wash the hair with warm or cold
soapy water. This hair dye is quite harmless, and leaves no marks on the
skin behind it. _To use it for the Beard._--The process is the same as
that for the hair, except that instead of the soda solution, ordinary soap
is to be used to cleanse the beard from grease. It often happens that when
the user of the dye has not taken ordinary care in cleansing the hair, the
latter becomes of a false and unnatural tint. In this case the Fixateur
should be used. A small sponge should be moistened with this and passed
over the hair, which will make the colour natural and glossy. The Fixateur
as well as the sponge must only be used in this way. It may be employed
two days after the first operation without it being necessary to dye the
hair anew. (Hager.)
=Eau Medicinales= are either simply watery solutions (HYDROLÉS,
HYDROLATURES, SOLUTIONS PAR L'EAU), or distilled water (EAUX DISTILLÉES);
or they are vinous or alcoholic tinctures or solutions of essential oils,
aromatics, or more active drugs. See CORDIALS, HAIR DYES, PERFUMERY,
SPIRITS, TINCTURES, WATERS, &c.
=Eau Tonique de Chalmin= is a perfumed solution of tannin.
=Eau Tonique Parachûte des Cheveux.= To prevent the falling off of the
hair. Macerate some pieces of violet root for some days in 120 grammes
rose water, filter, and add to the fluid 2 decigrammes sulphate of iron, 3
drops vinegar, 1·3 gramme each of tincture of benzoin and balsam of Peru,
7·5 grammes Provence oil, and 10 drops oil of bergamot. (Dr Casselmann.)
=Eau Virginale= (Chable). Lead acetate, zinc sulphate, of each 1 part;
distilled water, 28 parts; eau de Cologne, 12 parts. Dissolve and mix;
allow to stand for a month and filter. A spoonful mixed with a glass of
water to be used as a vaginal injection. (Reveil.)
=Eaux=, in perfumery, are solutions of the fragrant essential oils in
spirit, as eau de Cologne, eau de bouquet, &c.; or they are distilled
waters, largely charged with the odorous principles of plants, as eau de
rose, eau de fleurs d'oranges, &c.
=Eaux=, of the liqueuriste, are aromatised spirits or cordials.
=EB'LANINE.= The yellowish-red, crystallisable, solid substance, which is
left behind in the retort, when wood spirit is rectified from quicklime.
It is insoluble in water, and sublimes without fusion at 273° Fahr.
=EBONITE.= The only difference between this and vulcanite, consists in the
colouring materials used. See CAOUTCHOUC.
=EB'ONY.= The wood of the _Diospyrus Melanoxylon_, an East Indian tree, of
the natural order _Ebenaceæ_. Two other species of the same genus, namely,
_Diospyrus Ebenus_ and _D. Ebenaster_, yields respectively MAURITIUS EBONY
and the BASTARD EBONY of Ceylon. Pale-coloured woods are stained in
imitation of ebony (FACTITIOUS EBONY), by washing them with or steeping
them in a strong decoction of logwood or of galls, and, when dry, washing
them over with a solution of sulphate or acetate of iron. They are then
rinsed in clean water, and the process is repeated, if required. The wood
is lastly polished or varnished.
=EBRI'ETY.= See INTOXICATION.
=EBULLI''TION.= The state of boiling, or the agitation of a liquid arising
from its rapid conversion into vapour by heat. Ebullition occurs in
different liquids at very different temperatures, such temperatures being
called their 'boiling-points.' Under the same circumstances the
boiling-points are constant, and by observing them the chemist is often
able to distinguish liquids which much resemble each other. The
boiling-point of the same liquid may, however, vary considerably under
different circumstances. The causes which induce variation are increased
or diminished atmospheric pressure, the greater or less depth of the
liquid, and the character of the containing vessel. Thus boiling water is
colder by some degrees when the barometer is low, in bad weather, or at
the top of a hill, than when the barometer is higher, in fine weather, or
at the bottom of a valley or mine. There is a very simple and beautiful
experiment, illustrative of the effect of diminished pressure in lowering
the boiling-point of a liquid. A little water is made to boil for a few
minutes in a flask or retort placed over a lamp, until the air has been
expelled, and the steam issues freely from the neck. A tightly fitting
cork is then inserted, and the lamp at the same moment withdrawn. When the
ebullition ceases, it may be renewed at pleasure for a considerable time
by the affusion of cold water, which, by condensing the vapour within,
occasions a partial vacuum. Liquids in general boil from 60° to 140° lower
than their ordinary boiling-points when heated _in vacuo_.
The following table furnishes very exact information respecting the effect
of increasing pressure upon the boiling-point of water:--
Boiling water contained in a deep vessel is hotter than that in a shallow
one, on account of the greater resistance in the one case than the other
to the escape of the steam. It is also found that fluids boil at a lower
temperature and more quietly in vessels with rough and spicular surfaces,
than in those with smooth or polished ones. The boiling-point of water, as
marked on the scale of the thermometer, is 212° Fahr., but in glass
vessels, under common circumstances, it varies from
TABLE I.--_Boiling-points of Water at different
Pressures._ By Mr C. GREVILLE WILLIAMS.
--------------+-----------+---------------+-----------
Boiling-point | Barometer | Boiling-point | Barometer
° Fahr. | Inches. | ° Fahr. | Inches.
--------------+-----------|---------------+-----------
184 | 16·676 | 200 | 23·454
185 | 17·047 | 201 | 23·937
186 | 17·421 | 202 | 24·441
187 | 17·803 | 203 | 25·014
188 | 18·196 | 204 | 25·468
189 | 18·593 | 205 | 25·992
190 | 18·992 | 206 | 26·529
191 | 19·407 | 207 | 27·068
192 | 19·822 | 208 | 27·614
193 | 20·254 | 209 | 28·183
194 | 20·687 | 210 | 28·744
195 | 21·124 | 211 | 29·331
196 | 21·576 | 212 | 29·922
197 | 22·030 | 213 | 30·516
198 | 22·498 | 214 | 31·120
199 | 22·965 | 215 | 31·730
--------------+-----------+---------------+-----------
212·254° to 215·6°; whilst in perfectly pure and smooth glass vessels
water may be heated to 221° Fahr. without boiling. That the elevation of
the boiling-point in this case is due to the nature of the surface, may be
at once demonstrated by throwing into water, about to boil in a glass
matrass, a little iron filings or coarsely powdered glass, when ebullition
will commence with almost explosive violence, at the same time that the
temperature of the fluid will sink about 2° Fahr.
The boiling-point of water contained in ordinary vessels may be raised
considerably above 212° Fahr., by the addition of saline matter, as will
be seen in the following table, extracted from Mr C. G. Williams's
excellent 'Handbook of Chemical Manipulation,'--
TABLE II.--_Boiling-points of Saturated Solutions of
various Salts at the ordinary Atmospheric Pressure._ By
C. G. WILLIAMS.
Name of Salt. Boiling-point.
Chloride of calcium 355° Fahr.
Acetate of soda 256 "
Nitrate of soda 246 "
Sal-ammoniac 236 "
Common salt 224 "
Cream of tartar 214 "
The above solutions are suitable for chemical baths. With the exception of
the first, they furnish in their boiling-points temperatures, as nearly as
can be obtained, 10° above each other. They were chosen by Mr Williams
because, in 'fractionating' volatile substances, it is usual to separate
the distilled products by differences of temperature equal to 10° Fahr. In
long operations it is found inconvenient to employ a saturated saline
solution for a bath (by which the highest temperature would be obtained),
as the constant evaporation of the water induces the crystallisation of
the salt. It is hence usual to keep it considerably below that point.
The following table, compiled chiefly from the pages of Dr Miller's
'Elements of Chemistry,' gives the boiling-points of several interesting
substances.
TABLE III.--_Boiling-points of various Liquids at the
ordinary Atmospheric Pressure._
Name of Substance. Boiling-point.
Liquid carbonic acid -108° Fahr.
Liquid sulphurous acid + 17·6 "
Chloric ether 51·9 "
Aldehyd 69·4 "
Ether 94·8 "
Bisulphide of carbon 118·5 "
Bromide 145·4 "
Wood spirit 149·9 "
Alcohol (sp. gr. ·815) 173·1 "
Benzol 176·8 "
Dutch liquid 184·7 "
Acetic acid 243·1 "
Sulphur (melted) 609· "
Mercury 662· "
=EBUL'LIOSCOPE.= _Syn._ EBULLITION ALCOHOLOMETER, THERMO-ALCOHOLOMETER.
"This instrument is essentially a thermometer, and its application to
alcoholometry is based upon the fact that the boiling-point of a spiritous
liquid is scarcely altered by the presence, within certain limits, of the
substances which may be dissolved in it, and which, by increasing its
specific gravity, render the ordinary alcoholometers or hydrometers
useless for the purpose of indicating its alcoholic richness. The
ebullioscope was invented by the Abbé Brossard-Vidal, of Toulon, and in
its original form consisted of a spirit-lamp surmounted by a small boiler,
into which a large cylindrical glass bulb was plunged, having an upright
stem of such calibre that the quicksilver contained in them, by its
expansion and ascent when heated, raised before it a little glass float in
the stem, which was connected by a thread with a similar glass bead,
hanging in the air. This thread passed round a pulley, which, turning with
the motion of the beads, caused an index to move along a graduated
circular scale, which represented on its face the per-centage of absolute
alcohol in spirituous liquors of different boiling-points. This form of
the apparatus being found inconvenient and liable to get disarranged,
various improvements were made in it by MM. Conaty, Lerebour, and others.
The modification of the instrument now in use, and known as Field's PATENT
ALCOHOLOMETER, was made by the late Dr Ure, and can scarcely be improved
on. It consists of a thermometer having a very minute bore and a large
bulb, similar to that employed to determine the height of mountains from
the boiling-point of water, but instead of thermometric degrees being
marked upon the scale the per-centage under proof is placed on the
left-hand side of the stem, and the per-centage content of proof spirit on
the right-hand side. These commence at 178·5° Fahr., the temperature at
which 'proof spirit' boils, and which here forms the bottom of the scale.
The succeeding number are based upon the boiling-points of mixtures of
alcohol and water. The little boiler being charged, and about a
teaspoonful of salt (35 gr.) being added, to prevent loss of alcohol by
evaporation, the thermometer is set in its place, and the spirit-lamp
lighted. When the mercury begins to rise out of the bulb of the
thermometer, the 'damper-plate' is pushed in a little way, to moderate the
heat. The eye is now kept steadily on the instrument, and as soon as the
liquor boils freely, and the mercury becomes stationary in the stem, the
indication is carefully noted, and the damper-plate pushed home to
extinguish the flame.
"The ebullioscope is adjusted to the mean boiling-point of water under an
atmospheric pressure of 29·5 inches. When the pressure is either higher or
lower, both water and alcohol boil at a somewhat different temperature, to
meet which a barometrical equation is attached to the thermometer by means
of a small subsidiary scale. It is therefore necessary, prior to
commencing the operation of testing any liquor, to charge the little
boiler with pure water only, and to fix the thermometer in its place. When
the water boils freely, the mercury becomes stationary in the stem,
exactly opposite the true barometrical indication at the time. Should this
be against the line 29·5, no correction will be required; but should it
stand at any other line, above or below, then the various boiling-points
will bear reference to that boiling-point only. In the latter case, the
boiling-point of the water on the barometrical indicator must be set
against the boiling-point of the liquid on the scale, when opposite the
line--29·5 will be found the true strength. Thus:--the barometer being at
30 inches, and the indication or boiling-point being 72 u. p., 30 on the
indicator must be placed against 72 u. p. on the thermometer, when against
the line of 29·5 will be seen 69·6 u. p., the real strength of the sample
tested.
"When a spirit is stronger than the 'excise proof,' its boiling-point
varies too little with its alterations of strength to render the
ebullioscope of much practical value. To make it applicable to the
stronger spirits, it is therefore necessary to dilute them with exactly
their own bulk of pure water before testing them, and then to double the
resulting indication, as suggested by Dr Ure. Our own plan is always to do
this when the spirit is stronger than 20 u. p.
"By means of the ebullioscope the alcoholic content of beer, wines, and
spirits, of every variety and class, may be readily determined with
sufficient accuracy for all practical purposes; and by methods which we
shall hereafter point out, the amount of saccharine extractive, or sugar,
in cordialised spirit, malt liquors and wines, may also be ascertained.
"The ebullioscope (Field's ALCOHOLOMETER) employed by us in numerous and
extensive investigations connected with public hygiène, was made by Mr
Long, of Little Tower Street, and is an instrument which should be in the
hands of every wine and spirit merchant and licensed victualler, as well
as every private gentleman who feels interested in the quality of the
liquors in his cellar. The instrument is accompanied by a useful little
pamphlet of directions and tables, which has been very accurately got up,
as we understand, by the late Dr Ure, expressly for Mr Long." (A. J.
Cooley.)
=ECHINOCOCCUS HOMINIS.= This creature, which is the larva of the _Tinæa
Echinococcus_, is a very common parasite infesting man, and has been found
in the human lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, ovaries, breasts,
membrane of the throat, and the bones. The disease to which it gives rise
is of a very long and painful nature, frequently terminating fatally, and
one in which no remedies have hitherto been found of any avail. The part
of the human economy most frequently attacked by the ravages of the
Echinococcus is the liver, in the substance of which it gives rise to the
formation of a hydatid tumour. This tumour is composed of a thick-walled
cyst or bag, within which is another of a much more delicate texture.
"This latter membrane is the mother-sac of the Echinococcus embryo"
(Huxley), and corresponds with the germinal membrane of Professor Goodsir.
It is studded with innumerable transparent cells, varying as extremes of
measurement from 1/10000th to 1/3000th of an inch. It is the seat of
development of innumerable Echinococci, and to this membrane, in a fresh
hydatid tumour, they are found connected by a delicate membrane, either
singly, or more commonly in clusters, the number of individuals on the
cluster varying from 10 to 100 or more, as shown in the annexed
woodcut."[271]
[Footnote 271: Aitken.]
[Illustration]
The size of the embryo varies from 1/18th to 1/20th of a line to 1/10th to
1/18th, according as it is elongated or contracted. Fig. 2 represents two
Echinococci. In the one the head is drawn within the vehicle, and in the
other it is extruded.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Fig. 3 represents a transverse view of an echinococcus; S S are suctorial
discs; the hooklets may be seen encircling a membranous disk.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
In Fig. 4 we have a representation of the circlet of these hooklets, B,
which are thirty-four in number; C gives various views of separate
hooklets; _b_ is the base; _c_ the central extremity; _e_ the hooklets
viewed upon their concave or inferior border. The dotted lines connecting
_f_, _g_, _k_, represent the outer surface of the neck, and runs through
the fixed point of the three hooks which move upon the central fixed
process, as on the pivot.
The inhabitants of Iceland are said to suffer severely from the effects of
the Echinococcus Humanus; it has been computed that a sixth of the
population of the island are attacked by it.
=ECLECTIC REMEDIES.= These are medicines chiefly employed by a sect of
American practitioners, self-styled "Eclectics." The medicinal properties
appended to each of these preparations are those ascribed to them by the
Eclectics themselves.
APOCYNIN. From the roots of _Apocynum_ and _Ros[oe]mifolium_. Given in
jaundice, hepatic torpor, and constipation.--_Dose_, 1/2 to 2 gr.
ASCLEPEDIN. From _Asclepias tuberosa_. Expectorant, diaphoretic, and
tonic.--_Dose_, 1 to 5 grains three times a day.
BAPTISTIN. From Wild Indigo. Given in liver affections.--_Dose_, 1/4 to
1/2 grain.
BAROSMIN. From _Buchu_. Diuretic, alterative, antispasmodic.--_Dose_, 2 to
4 grains.
CAULOPHYLLIN. From _Caulophyllum thalictroides_. Tonic and alterative,
acts on the uterus.--_Dose_, 1/4 to 1 grain three times a day; as a
parturient, 2 to 4 grains.
CERASEIN. From the _Cerasus virginiana_. Given as a substitute for quinine
when this latter is inadmissible.--_Dose_, 5 to 10 gr.
CIMICIFUGIN. _Syn._ MACROTIN. From Black Snakeroot. Tonic, alterative,
nervine, antiperiodic, and in chorea.--_Dose_, 1 to 6 gr.
CORNINE. From _Cornus Florida_ (Dogwood). Antiperiodic.--_Dose_, 10
grains.
EUPATORINE. From _Eupatoreum purpureum_. Diuretic.--_Dose_, 3 to 5 grains.
EUPHORBIN. From _Euphorbia corollata_. Emetic, cathartic, expectorant, and
vermifuge.--_Dose_, 1 grain or less.
GELSEMIN. From _Gelsemium sempervirens_. Given in pneumonia, hysteria, and
dysmenorrh[oe]a.--_Dose_, 1/4 to 2 grains. This must not be confounded
with the powerful alkaloid, Gelsimia.
GERANIN, or GERANIIN. From _Geranium maculatum_. Astringent.--_Dose_, 1 to
5 gr.
HAMAMELIN. From _Hamamelis Virginica_ (Witch hazel). Astringent.--_Dose_,
5 grains.
HYDRASTIN. From _Hydrastis Canadensis_. Tonic.--_Dose_, 3 to 5 grains.
This must not be confounded with the alkaloid Hydrasta.
IRIDIN. From the _Blue flag_. Alterative, sialagogue,
anthelmintic.--_Dose_, 1/2 to 5 gr.
INGLANDIN. From _Butter-nut_. Given in chronic hepatic disorders and
constipation.--_Dose_, 2 to 4 gr.
LEPTANDRIN. From _Leptandra Virginica_. Given in liver affections, chronic
dysentery, diarrh[oe]a, and typhus.--_Dose_, 2 to 4 gr.
LYCOPIN. From _Lycopus Virginicus_. Given in hæmorrhage, diabetes, and
dysentery.--_Dose_, 2 to 3 grains.
MYRICIN. From _Myrica cerifera_. Stimulant, astringent, and
antispasmodic.--_Dose_, 2 to 10 grains.
POPULIN. From _Populus tremuloides_. Tonic and febrifuge.--_Dose_, 4 to 8
grains.
PRUNIN. From _Wild Cherry Bark_. Stimulant, tonic, and
expectorant.--_Dose_, 1 to 2 gr.
RUMIN. From _Rumex crispus_. Action like rhubarb.--_Dose_, 3 grains.
SANGUINARIN. From _Sanguinaria Canadensis_. Hepatic and
alterative.--_Dose_, 1/2 to 2 grains.
STILLINGIN. From _Stylingia sylvatica_. Given in bronchitis and
laryngitis. Used externally as a stimulant. Internally, 1 drop with
mucilage.
=EDELENZIANWURZELSAFT--Noble Gentian-root Juice--Enzian Extract--Extract
of Gentian.= A water-clear, colourless Schnapps, which contains much fusel
oil and has had some of the spirit removed, distilled from gentian plant.
(Hager.)
=EDIBLE EARTHS.= There seems little reason to doubt that the inhabitants
of many countries, especially during famine and in times of scarcity, use
certain kinds of earth as food. In Spain, a particular kind of earth known
as _bucaro_ is eaten; the Russian peasant partakes of his _rock-flour_;
the Thuringian of his _rock-butter_; the Swede, of his _bergmehl_ or
_mountain meal_; the native of Java of an earth known as _teneampa_; the
Hindoo, of the so-called _Patna earth_; and the Persian of a species of
soil known as _Gheli Giveh_.
Mr Molvar has analysed an earth, eaten by the poorer classes of the
Neograd district in Hungary, and finds it has the following composition:--
Carbonic acid 40·357
Lime 51·488
Magnesia 0·110
Volatile matter 5·545
Ferrous oxide 0·158
Alumina 2·272
As the volatile matter seemed to be the probable means of nourishment, it
was subjected to a special examination, and was found to contain, besides
empyreumatic substances, 0·067 water, and 0·010 nitrogen.
Dr Schmidt, a German chemist, gives the following as the composition of
100 parts of the air-dried powder from the coast of the White Sea:--
Water given off at 100° C 0·260
Given off at a low red heat 0·835
Alumina 40·797
Ferric oxide 0·310
Magnesia 0·618
Lime traces
Soda 1·829
Potassa 9·845
Silicic acid, trace of fluorine, and loss 45·506
This earth is eaten by the Laplanders, who mix it with the flour of which
they make their bread.