Scientific American Supplement, No. 430, March 29, 1884

V >> Various >> Scientific American Supplement, No. 430, March 29, 1884

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Take two creatures of different bulk but built upon exactly the same
plan and proportions, say a Brobdingnagian and a Lilliputian, and let
both show their powers in the arena. Suppose the first to weigh a
million times more than the second. If the giant could raise to his
shoulder, some thirty-five feet from the ground, a weight twenty
thousand pounds, the dwarf can raise to his shoulder, not, as might be
thought, a fiftieth of a pound, but two full pounds. The distance raised
would be a hundred times less. In a race the Lilliputian, with a hundred
skips a second, will travel an equal distance with the giant, who would
take but a skip in a second. The leg of the latter weighs a million
times the most, but has only ten thousand times as many muscle fibers,
each a hundred times longer than those of the dwarf, who thus takes one
hundred skips while the giant takes one. The same physical laws apply to
all muscles, so that, when all the factors are considered, muscles of
the same quality have equal power.--_Am. Field._.

* * * * *

OIL IN CALIFORNIA.

J.W. McKinley, writing to the Pittsburg _Dispatch_, gives the following
account of the California oil field at Newhall:

On the edge of the town is located the refinery of the company,
connected by pipe lines with the wells, a few miles distant. Leaving
Newhall, we drove to Pico Canon, the principal producing territory of
the region. As we approached, we saw, away up on the peaks, the tall
derricks in places which looked inaccessible; but no spot is out of
reach of American enterprise and perseverance. In one of the wildest
spots of the canon, about thirty men were making the mountains echo to
the strokes of their hammers upon the iron plates of a new 20,000 barrel
tank. Along the canon are scattered the houses of the employes of the
company, most of whom have recently come from Pennsylvania. Near one of
the houses was a graded and leveled croquet ground, with a little oil
tank on a post, for lighting it at night. Farther up we came to a
cluster of producing wells, with others at a little distance on the
sides of the mountains, or even at the top, hundreds of feet above our
heads.

The first well was put down about eight years ago, but more has been
accomplished in the last two years than in all the time previous. One
well which we visited has produced 130,000 barrels in the last three
years, and is still yielding. There have been no very large wells, the
best being 250 per day, and the average being about 90 barrels, but they
keep up their production, with scarcely any diminution from year to
year. Drilling has been found difficult, as a great portion of the rock
is broken shale lying obliquely. The tools slip to one side very easily,
and a number of "crooked holes" have resulted. One driller lost his
tools altogether in a well, and finished it with new ones. The cost of
putting down a well is from $5,000 to $7,000, depending upon depth, etc.
Most of the wells are from 1,200 to 1,500 feet, but some have yielded at
a much less depth. One well of 270 feet depth produced 40 barrels per
day for about three years, has been deepened, and is now yielding even
more. Another one of 800 feet is said to have produced 200,000 barrels
in the last five or six years. Drilling has been very successful in
striking oil in paying quantities wherever there were indications of its
presence.

The Pacific Oil Company now has 27 wells producing or drilling, and
during the last two years has been rapidly widening the scope of its
operations. It has now from 30 to 40 miles of pipe lines, and is
preparing to lay 20 miles more, to connect its land with ocean shipping
at Ventura. The producers of California have a great advantage in their
proximity to the ocean, which gives them free commerce with the outside
world. Crude oil is now sold at $3 per barrel in Los Angeles, and the
oil companies are making immense profits. There is a very large amount
of oil territory as yet undeveloped, and a rich reward awaits enterprise
in these regions. In the Camulos District, which lies west of the San
Fernando, are even stronger surface indications of oil than there
were in the Pico Canon. We first went up the Brea Canon, in which are
numerous outbursts and springs of oil. Ascending the mountain west of
this canon, we could plainly see the break in the mountains crossing
from the San Fernando through this district to those beyond which
have been developed. A couple of miles farther west, the Hooper Canon
stretches back over two miles into the mountain, and is full of oil.
Great pools of oil fill its water courses, that are dry at present.
Hundreds of barrels of oil must be wasted away and evaporated during a
year. A well put down only 90 feet by horse power, struck light oil in
considerable quantity, and, had it not been for the death of one of the
owners and the consequent suspension of operations, would doubtless have
yielded in large quantities at the depth of a few hundred feet.

The mountainous territory between these two canons will probably in a
few years be the scene of great activity. In the Little Sespe District,
a few miles west of Camulos, a 125 barrel well was struck at 1,500
feet recently. The Santa Paula region, a little farther west, is also
yielding large profits to the parties developing it.

* * * * *

NUTRITIVE VALUE OF CONDIMENTS.

By HELEN D. ABBOTT, Assistant in the Chemical Laboratory of the
Philadelphia Polyclinic, and College for Graduates in Medicine.

The prevailing opinion respecting the substances known as condiments
is, that they possess essentially stimulating qualities, rendering them
peculiarly fitted for inducing, by reflex action, the secretion of the
alimentary juices. Letheby gives, as the functions of condiments,
such as pepper, mustard, spices, pot-herbs, etc., that besides their
stimulating properties they give flavor to food; and by them indifferent
food is made palatable, and its digestion accelerated. He enumerates as
aids to digestion--proper selection of food, according to the taste of
the individual, proper treatment of it as regards cooking, and proper
variation of it, both as to its nature and treatment.

While it is difficult to give an entirely satisfactory definition as to
what constitutes food, the following extracts from standard works
will serve as guides. Hermann[1] says: "The compound must be fit
for absorption into the blood or chyle, either directly, or after
preparation by the processes of digestion, i.e., it must be digestible.
It must replace directly some inorganic or organic constituent of the
body; or it must undergo conversion into such a constituent, while in
the body; or it must serve as an ingredient in the construction of such
a constituent." He further says that water, chlorides, and phosphates
are the most indispensable articles of diet. Watts[2] states that
"whatever is commonly absorbed in a state of health is perhaps the best,
or rather the truest, definition of food."

[Footnote 1: Elements of Human Physiology, by L. Hermann. Translated by
Gamgee.]

[Footnote 2: Dictionary of Chemistry, vol. iv., pages 147-8.]

Chemical analysis shows that the most important and widely applicable
foods contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and mineral matter,
the latter containing phosphates and chlorides. Other things being
equal, it may be considered that the comparative nutrient value of
two articles is in proportion to the amounts of carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphoric acid they contain.

"The food of man also contains certain substances known under the name
of condiments. Since these bodies perform their functions outside the
real body, though within the alimentary canal, they have no
better reason to be considered as food than has hunger, _optimum
condimentum_."[1] Such is the positively expressed opinion of Foster,
the author of the article on nutrition in Watts' Dictionary of
Chemistry. With a view of determining how far the common condiments
deserve this summary dismissal, a number of analyses have been made in
the laboratory of the Philadelphia Polyclinic. My examinations were
especially directed to the mineral matter, phosphoric acid, and
nitrogen. The following table shows the result of the analyses:

Percent. Percent.
of ash. of P_{2}O_{5}.

Fennel........................ 9.00 .103
Marjoram...................... 8.84 .050
Peppermint.................... 8.80 .016
Thyme......................... 8.34 .122
Poppy......................... 7.74 .024
Sage.......................... 7.58 .033
Caraway....................... 7.08 .118
Spearmint..................... 7.06 .017
Coriander..................... 6.10 .097
Cloves........................ 5.84 .563
Allspice...................... 5.54 .017
Mustard....................... 3.90 .134
Black pepper.................. 3.60 .011
Jamaica ginger................ 3.16 .052
Cinnamon...................... 3.02 .009
Mace.......................... 2.44 .230
Nutmeg........................ 2.24 .092
Celery........................ 1.29 .082
White pepper.................. 1.16 .017
Aniseed....................... 1.05 .113

[Footnote 1: Ibid., page 149.]

The articles were examined in the condition in which they were
obtained in the market, without any preliminary drying, selecting, or
preparation. The ash was obtained by burning in a platinum crucible, at
as low a temperature as possible, dissolving in hydrochloric acid the
phosphoric acid separated as ammonium molybdo-phosphate, and determined
in the usual manner.

Qualitative tests made for nitrogen indicated its presence in each one
of the condiments examined.

It is of importance to observe that the majority of these condiments are
fruits, ripe or nearly so. The seed appropriates to itself the nitrogen
and the greatest nutritive properties for the development of the future
plant. All nutritive substances fall into two classes: the one serves
for the repair of the unoxidizable constituents of the body, the other
is destined to replace the oxidizable. Condiments fulfill both of
these requirements, as is shown by a study of their composition; the
phosphoric acid and nitrogen are taken up by the tissues, as from other
substances used in diet. Some articles affect the character of the
excretions; this is often due to essential oils; the presence of these
in the excretions cannot be said to diminish the value of the substances
in supplying the tissues the necessary elements. The same holds true for
condiments; the essential oils conspicuous in them are accorded only
stimulating properties; however, it may be observed that the essential
oils in tea and coffee are accredited with a portion of the dietetic
value of these beverages. It appears that when condiments are used in
food, especially for the sick, they may serve the double purpose of
rendering the food more appetizing and of adding to its nutritive value.
The value of food as a purely therapeutic agent is attracting some
attention at present, and in its study we must not neglect
those substances which combine stimulant and nutritive
qualities.--_Polyclinic_.

* * * * *

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