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nil rolls OAIUC uiim c iiiaui .Finally in 181)2, a fairly satisfactoryapparatus was invented. Since then nitrous oxide and oxygen have been used in clinics more or less frequently* forsurgical work.”Its availability seems to have depended /on the mechanical apparatus. Now that such an apparatus has been perfected, it is the opinion of eminent surgeons that nitrous oxide oxygen anesthesia will be the method of choice, supplanting ether, which was first demonstrated publicly at the Massachusetts General Hospital by Dr. Morton, Oct. 18, 1847.For AlcoholicsA feature of nitrous oxide oxygen bythe new apparatus is that by it alcoholic persons can be successfully anesthetized, something it is not always possible to do by ether. The new anesthesia has been used successfully in a number of cases in Boston where the patient was addicted heavily to drink.The apparatus as now constituted is not considered available for general use owing to it being so cumbersome. It w’elghs, without the tanks, at least 100 pounds. Hence it is* hardly possible for a surgeon to carry it writh him on his different surgical cases.To obviate this difficulty, Dr. Boothby is perfecting the apparatus so that it will be more compact. It will not weigh more than 25 pounds, will be collapsible, ^nd can be carried without difficulty. It will be constructed of aluminum.While it will cost more -to administer nitrous oxide oxygen than ether, the results will be so far greater, it is expected, that the increased cost will not be worth considering.»■ • •Man in Glacial EpochIt has been known during a long time that in western Europe man existed during the glacial epoch, says the Scientific American, We now kr.ow that the greatice age consisted of different glacialtimes separated by interglacial times. Inglacial times the snow line dropped 3000or 4000 feet below its present level in the Alps, whereas in interglacial times it lay about 100 feet higher than at present* Thus, the temperature seems to have been higher in the interglacial periods t)ian it is now. There is abundant evidence, in the opinion of Penck, that man existed during the beginning of the last glacial epoch. There is some reason for thinking that at least 20,000 years have elapsed since the last glaciation, and tlint the man whose jaw'bone was found in 1009 near Heidelberg lived 200,-000 years ago.MACHINE INVENTED BY DR. BOOTHBY, BY WHICH AN ANESTHETICMADE FROM AIR HAS BEEN PUT INTO PRACTICAL USE.it produced so little shock with a yn’ni-mum of discomfort that the patients are beginning to demand its use.Many post-operative Complications have followed the use of ether, it is asserted by experts, who say that the ^se of nitrous oxide-oxygen will do away with these troubles. This, it is asserted, wffli be true especially of the lungs because of the practicability of efficiently warming the gases.Accidentally Discovered“It was In 1844,” said Dr. Boothby, “that the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide were accidentally discovered. A travelling entertainer was giving an exhibition of ‘laughing gas/“A young man who had inhaled the gas ran about the stage. He bumped his leg, bruising it badly. After sitting down lie was astonished to learn it was bleeding. He said that he did not know that he had struck his leg, and, until the effects of the gas passed away, felt no pain.“A Dr. Wells, seated near by, asked why a tooth could not be extracted without pain while under the influence of ‘laughing gas/ The next morning gas was administered to Dr. Wells and oneIMPROVING THE ELECTRIC IRONThe cost of operating an electric iron has been decreased recently by the addition of an automatic device for the control of the temperature, which prevents the waste of energy and the danger resulting from overheating. The degree of temperature Is controlled by a thumb screwy w hich may be set for any desired temperature with a range from 800 to 200 degrees F. This makes the ironwm % • • • # » •• • • • • • •
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