Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 43, Number 34, 21 December 1917 — Page 11

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How SCIENCE Now ENABLES a DYING HEART Actually to WRITE Its Life STORY

T UST how and why the human heart beats has always been a c mystery to medical science that, until now, baffled all attempts at solution. However, in view of the heart's most .important function it Is the body's dynamo scientists continued persistently to make researches which at last have terminated successfully in the perfection

of a delicate electrical machine the average individual causes a decalled the "electro-cardiograph,"that, flection which indicates the passage with almost supernatural power, ac- 0f a current of approximately one to curately records a true record of a two one-thousandths of a volt Thus

human heart. The electro-cardiograph is described as a modified galvanometer. consisting of a very powerful magnetlc field produced by an electromagnet and excited by a constant direct current, such as the current given by a storage battery. A very short air gap is made between the poles of the magnet and in this powerful field a fine quartz filament or fibre is stretched. Delicate adJusting means are provided for controlling the tension of this wire. A small diaphragm is placed on the centre of this, which closes two small holes that extend through in eacn pole piece. These holes are the con-

denslng microscopes and the project- motor mounted at the bottom of the beat alike, and the electro-cardiO' ing microscope to focus a fine beam machine. . This instrument is placed graph, by its extremely delicate regof light to strike a moving photo- '

graphic film. If the wire is slightly displaced by the passage of an electric current through it, it will naturally displace the small diaphragm and in turn permit the fine beam of light to pass through the openings and strike the film placed opposite to the projecting lamp throwing out the fine beam of light. It will, therefore, be seen that by displacing the quartz wire in certain movements a record will be made on the film accordingly. This quartz filament is connected to a bridge of proper dimensions and also to special terminals which are . connected to the patient whose heart is to be examined. These terminals are three in number and are made of German silver plates, each of them being fitted with binding posts connected to the leads, connecting the plates with the sensitive galvanometer and bridge circuit. Two of the plates are secured to the arms of the patient, while the third terminal is strapped around the left ankle. Proper care is taken to see that the electrical connection letween the body and the terminal is of low resistance, and for this purpose a wet cloth which is saturated with a 20 per cent, salt solution Is placed between the foot and plate and again the cloth is wrapped about the plate. The bridge circuit is balanced bo that the resistance of the electrical path between terminals is constant, and this is obtained when the quartz etring or filament of the galvanometer is ln a zero position. It is evident that a slight addition of current to the galvanometer cir-

cuit will cause a displacement of tho providing clogs for ill-shod pupils, at tney are getting out of the habit filament, which is recorded on the who have been paying for them by o( pr0ducing seed, film. Since the contraction of the weekly instalments of three pence. Potato seed is in great demand heart creates an electric current, as "The price of leather," states a and la actually worth $6 a thimbleful found by various scientists, and as writer, "may make it necessary for wben me thimbleful can be secured the Intensity of this current depends tfie city man of the future to clatter acc0rding to Prof. Edward F. Bigeupon the Intensity of the heart con- to business in his clogs. i0Wi wno m the Guide to Nature, traction, it is, therefore, obvious that "For country wear one can buy an tell3 an amus!ng tale of his efforts to obtain the seed of this exceeding

WhereWHITSUNDAY Is Brides' Day

14 . TTc:TVFlt nftpn rlavn nn im-b--e-f i th matrimonial portant part in the matrimonial market, especially m some parts of Europe, and an old-time custom in Petrograd was once responsible for the yearly pairing-off of all eligiDies. On Whit-Sunday afternoon the lamous summer gardens were thrown npen for the marriage-mart. Girls and their mothers, bachelors ana their fathers the entire population, iu fact thronged the gardens for the purpose of finding suitable partners. The girls put on their prettiest clothes and wore their prettiest smiles, and as they promenaded to and fro they and their parents kept a wary eye for a suitable husband. Tho girl frequently held some objeet of value ln her right hand as a pym . . v OOl OI wnat ue aspirant misui ue led to expect in the shape of a dowry Sometimes It would be silver -noons or a silver dish, or, in the case of one Jumble means,.a homely-looking Jar. When a favorable impression had heen made, tne suuor wouia aaare-s t a. - .ia the girl's companion probably the

the flue quartz wire will be displaced a certain amount by the generation

of current by the heart. With the contraction wave, the electric potential spreads over the heart and thu3 the galvanometer records the heart beat and also indicates the origin and path by which the current spreads. it is estimated that trie Heart or it is known that it would require the heart heats of thousands of persons to generate enough current to light incandescent lamp. The apparatus used in recording the pulsation of the heart is shown in the accompanying illustration in actual use and also how the various ' electrodes are secured to the patient. . The sensitive galvanometer is seen at the left, while the beam of light ia derived from a powerful arc projector stationed at the extreme left, but not shown. The instrument at the extreme right is the photographic film appa- ----' - ratus. The film is driven at a dennite and uniform speed by an electric

Will WOODEN SHOES Be in VOGUE?

x- k um,, -nnrHHrtt, view of the abnormal condition of the leather market not only in this country but in every counI try ot me wonu, u o u66MliUU which has been made in London for solving me uue-piuj Carving Wooden Shoes. . l.J-lrlS, .Vi.nr,.0 cIoks are comine more and more into vogue. Hundreds of London school chlldren are now wearing clogs, which coBt about three shillings a pair (about 73 cents), and London County Council school teachers have been marriage DroKer or saleswoman whose business it was to act as me-transactions-and parnddre9. aee and prospects would follow in due .. -, , course. The miestion of "her" dowry would then recelve consideration, and if the aKi frnm n t Qf view thg marrlage saies. -op-ivpH n fe for her serYjgea

BLUE GLASS Keeps FLIES Away

I IIAT flies will avoid a room I which is lighted with windows X . . , , , of certain colors is the conclu--oT,tiv rorherl hv iwn Knircivil 1 -"v'j j Hsh experimenters. A room was fitted with blue-glass windows, having horizontal axes,-and it was found that When they were placed obliquely so that the tight insiSe looked blue from the outside, hardly any flies entered the room. n. ji .. j , un me oiuer nana, wu dows were of white, yellow, or or-

Mystery of HOW and WHY CHIEF ORGAN of Human BODY'S BEATS SOLVED by Wonderful

THE ELECTRO-CARDIOGRAPH

How This Sensitive Apparatus Is Connected to

the Patient to Determine Heart Beats and in exact line with that of the telescope of the galvanometer pole-piece, The resistance box is shown on the shelf of the galvanometer table, "The electro-cardiograph," explains Samuel Cohen in the Electrical Experimenter, "traces its indication of conditions in the heart by curves on the photographic film. These heart pictures are as charac- ' . " " ' teristlc as finger prints or photographs. No two individuals' hearts i,f -.,- i t . elegant pair of lace-up clogs at a quarter of the price of equally efficient boots. ADart from the attenUon mat they would attract, there i8 no reason why these should not De worn in 'town.' There is nothing

undignified in the clog worn by the taken when the usual signs of life Lancashire or Yorkshire textile were in abeyance; the heart was worker, and not a few of the cap- profoundly affected, and the patient tains of the British textile industry past all possible hope of recovery behave themselves worn clogs, and fore fibrillation ensued., some at least would not be ashamed "The record was obtained from a to wear them again. woman patient 30 years of age, suf"The present home demand In fering from broncho-pneumonia of Great Britain is so great that an or- both lower lobes. The curves were der for 100,000 pairs of sabots for taken one after the other in quick the Belgian government has just had succession and are described in this

to be declined by a British clogmaking firm, which . received an award for its clog show at a London exhibition." Why POTATO IF a thimbleful of potato seeds are worth $6 what will be the cost of , , a bushel of potatoes, ims question is not asked primarily for the purpose of finding a solution of the high cost of a staple tooa 01 me daily diet, but it will surprise most people to learn that there really are such things as potato seeds. According to experimenters, potatoes have been grown so long from cuttings ly comon food-product. Prof. Bigelow says that he has been told everywhere that potato seed can be had "by the bushel," but he rarely finds any. in Maine ne says mat m; is informed that It is plentiful in Ohio, and in Indiana they refer him to Michis-an "Thirteen years ago," says Prof. "TiT-t, Bigelow, "I originated tne annual summer school of nature-study at the Connecticut Agricultural Colio stnrr Connecticut, and was the director of the first session. One of the members of the staff at that session was Prof. Gully, the horticulange hue, the flies entered in large numbers and seemed at ease. The conclusion drawn from these and . -,w Similar CAUniUlClILS naa " i , . - uh yeiiuw, auu uiauge mis ai c iBui the fly while the other colors, particularly blue, are darkto It. If further investigation should confirm these conclusions, it is possible that louvers of light-blue glass could he provided for workshops, stores and even nOSpiLaiO, WUtrio t.uuv-au.u j AniMA.iA nnri cs mLr yenvimuou . - screens unnecessary.

How and Why the

to Measure the Amount of

Electric Current Generated by the Heart, the Body's Dynamo. istration of the contraction of the muscle, readily shows the most minute difference. "A remarkable story of a dying heart is told by the accompanying rnrao. rorrict-,t J- .- . y !i ' " -i-uirccar-trating this remarkable story are shown on this page and were taken

by Dr. R. H. Halsey of New York convulsive gasps and a slow contraccity. tion of the skeletal muscles occurred. "The records here reproduced form In FlS- 3 the change is remarkable,

an almost complete electro-cardio-graphic record of the heart beats durinS tne last movements of the patientg Jife The chaQge the lengthened cpnduction Interval and plex of Fig. 2. That fibrillation of the ventricles was not the immediate cause of death is clear from Fie- a order. In Fig. 1 the frequency of the

heart is 75. The duration of the give them pause and compel admiradiastole, the period of rest between tion of these wonderful insects, contractions of the heart, varies from Lord Avebury has proved that ants

SEEDS Are turist of the college. This expert ln garden-products made one day an astonishing statement that I thought intended tn he oratorical rather v,on ijtprnllv finnniMal Whon di coursing in regard to the fruiting-

It Took Prof. Bigelow Several Months to Collect a Thimbleful of Potato Seeds, Which He Values at Six Dollars, berries of the common potato, he ex- At the Right Poclaimed: 'All these berries have dis- tato Balls Which appeared from the state. I will give Look Like Green $25 for one found within Connecti- Tomatoes.

cut.' So for thirteen years I have tried in vain to prove that Prof. Gully is wrong, but he must still limit that claim to Connecticut, although it - would not cost him a fortune should be extend it to the United States in general. "From the lecture platform in teachers' institutes In Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania I have told the story of that startling announcement, and in most places I have offered a prize for a box of well-developed specimens. I made the offer before more than 2000 teachers of Alleghe 1 1 v iuluh y en. a illuuisu, auu aaiu Hi ny county at Pittsburgh, and again ln v !t,t(t ..u ujic w ui ouuiuern Indiana. "My announcement was received with general surprise and the remark: 'We can send them to you by the bushel. We will bankrupt you.' But of the thousands of teachers that lumiocu ij owvu mo uco vjLLkj nhniif n rinvfin navA rasnnnr on n -i " " . ""ILII "Z. do pac.age cuuuiiueu uiuio luau Newspaper Feature Srrrico. 1917.

0.2 seconds to less than 0.1 seconds, and is non-rhythmic. The up-stroke of P is quicker than the down-stroke. In the second figure, the frequency of the heart is 80. There are the , v. . ii. j . - " '"""" llf.ruia"u" ol "During the very brief interval between the taking of Figs. 2 and and the frequency of the ventricle nas increased to 63 per minute. "The remaining complexes vary in their detailed bt are a general outline. In Fig 4 there tricular contraction, and in Fig. 5 all movement ceased permanently, the patient having died. "When the heart takes a sudden

How ANTS Keep Their OWN

G O to the ant, thou sluggard," was the Biblical command, heeded by those who wished to become wise, and men have learned very much from and about ants, to Worth $6.00 a eight or ten balls. Nearly all have been vestigial. "In the 13 years not more than 30 larsre. smooth, round nerfect SDeciwont linvo renrherl me As a result of my efforts during the past summer, I have obtained at a cost of $6 less than a thimbleful of the seed. "Now the question is, 'What is goins to haDDen to the Dotato cron when no more seed is obtainable?' Most people know that what we call the planting of seed-potatoes is the planting of pieces or potato to raise The POISONOUS T HERE is a seeming incongruity m speaking of oxygen as a poison; yet scientists say ... . . . . m that it fcas long Deen Known, uiat i. . a warm-blooded animal be submitted to pure oxygen at a pressure of several atmospheres it wi die as promptly and surely is if it were in an atmosphere of pure nitrogen It is pointed I out t even exposure ly 4v, r- -- - - are often ata. nTiRinHriiuir; lijic? 7-S7 tli. -.,,it thfl most ituucu wi-u i

"ELECTRO-CARDIOGRAPH" Jump to the fast rate, stops suddenly tain treatment may be made and sent and returns to the normal rate, a to physicians in various parts of the typical curve is made. This condl- wofld, who by interpreting the curves tion is called a 'flutter the auricles can obtain information of great value of the heart sometimes contracting in the treatment of their own pa300 times a minute and the ven- tients. tricles only 150 times a minute! "In order to standardize such "By the use of the electro-cardio- records, the tension of the. gal vangraph and a stethoscope connected ometer quartz wire is adjusted so The Electro-cardiograph Records Below, Numbered 1 to 5, Consecutively, Show the Heart Variations During the Last Moments of the Patient, a Victim of Broncho-Pneumonia. Note How the Heart Started to Fluctuate Progressively, and Finally Stopped All Action at the Bight End of Figure 5. ;

with a microphone, th; sounds made by the contractions of the heart are recorded witll curve8 indlcating the rhythm so that the exact point in mal and abnormal sounds may be recorded. "Electro-cardiograph records show ing the action of the heart under cerare the longest-lived of all insects, having kept queen ants for 14 and 15 years, during which they worked, were perfectly healthy and active and laid eggs every year from which workers were produced. Ants vary in their .habits, according to species and place of living, almost as much as men. That they THIMBLEFUL a new crop; it is really but a sOrt of cutting as one might cut twigs of willow and set them in the ground to produce new trees. Like grafting, it nroduces Its own kind. "But when we plant potato-seed it is like planting appie beeds, for we do not know what will happen. The seeds seem to become insane and try to nroduce a little of everything. For- ' tunate is the experimenter that finds in the varied potato seedlings somo particular form that may be better than the original." EFFECT of Air familiar of which are , severe inflam- ... prQf Karaner has attempted to - ..... rtpfin,, more accuratelv tne DOSSiDlO - - - - pathologic effects of this gas which ,8 bing used .5eS1 it. a. J"fft asphyxia in anesthes a, in the Industries, and in he exigencies of submarine or aedPerfces His taining from 80 to 96 per cent, of nflpr normal barometric -j -..

that a current of one-thousandth of a volt will deflect the filament to such an extent that its shadow-projected on the recording film will move one the wire is set to move a definite amount for a known voltage of current, the deflection shows the amount of current that caused it." Milch COWS keep other insects which serve them as milch cows has long been known, but not always clearly described or fully understood. The little yellow ant (lasius flavus) is a regular miniature cattle farmer, according to a late authority, keeping flocks or herds of root-feeding aphides, (plant-lice, or green flies) in its nest. This ant collects from the leaves of the common daisy the eggs cf a species of aphides, which live upon this plant throughout the summer months. The little yellow ants collect these eggs when they are faid upon the daisy plants in September and October and carry them away to their nests. Here the eggs are taken care of all through the winter, until early March, when the little aphides appear. As soon as the young aphides are strong enough the ants carry them from the nest and place them on the tender young leaves of the daisies. Here they stay and every day the yellow ants come and milk their insect cows throughout the spring and summer. The milk contained in the aphides is a sugary fluid which they secrete, and can be tempted to discharge through two small tubes at the rear of the body when the -aphides are properly handled. The aflts understand precisely how to tickle or massage the aphides, for they rub the little insects with their antennae and in a few moments the sugary fluid begins to flow, when the ant eagerly laps it up. The ants do not, how-' ever, keep this for themselves. So soon as they have sucked up all that they can hold in their little gullet-' pouches, they hasten to the nest and give this sweet fluid to the larvae (the young ants) or to the workers who are doing special labor In the nest The fluid thus takes the place c milk, and the aphides are the real cuwb. Rich in OXYGEN jpr congestion and flnallv a oneumonia. probably of irritative origin and to oe oescnoea ai a iiunuuua uruueuo- , , . . tiai . i , ,,-.! itn,,), )0,i,.. pneumonia. Atthmigh deflc iency of Ttaf .ubiSted S SS Stoi ftUto riS oxygen perce ntag ea fai M to : reveal Jt in the 1 ood ' ' J rJf " - ence of congestion which is ac' counted for ln other ways. - -

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