Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 212

"It must also be remembered it is every whit as dangerous if these waste conduits lead into the soil pipe of a closet. Waste pipes from the above-named places should be led down to within 12 or 18 inches from the ground, and should deliver on to the grating of a gully or yard trap."

This subject has been already treated in the article on "Sanitation, Domestic," wherein we have embodied the practical suggestions of Mr Collins, another sanitary house reformer, as well as in our article on "Drainage," in which will be found details for carrying out the system recommended by Messrs Ea.s.sie and Symonds, and thus preventing the admission into our dwelling-houses of the poisonous sewer gas.

The matter has so important a bearing upon health, that we shall make no apology for having thus reiterated and emphasised it by quoting Mr Ea.s.sie's words of warning. See TRAPS.

=SIT'FASTS.= These hard tumours, possessing but little sensibility, are situated in those superficial parts of the horse's body which have been exposed to the unequal pressure of the collar, the saddle, or the harness.

The tumour should be removed by the veterinary surgeon, if the previous application of either blisters, biniodide of mercury ointment, or a seton have been tried and failed to disperse it. The precursor of the sitfast is always a swelling filled with serum and lymph, caused, as before stated, by badly-fitting harness. Hence the soundest treatment is to prevent its development into the hard form, by proper means, directly it shows itself, the best remedies being the application of salt and water or Goulard water, and correcting the defects of the harness.

=SIZE.= Obtained, like glue, from the skins of animals, but is evaporated less, and kept in the soft state. See GOLD and GOLD SIZE.

=Size, Oil.= This may be made by grinding yellow ochre or burnt red ochre with boiled linseed oil, and thinning it with oil of turpentine.

=SKATE.= The _Raia batis_ (Linn.). Other varieties of _Raia_ also pa.s.s under the name. It is a coa.r.s.e fish, and is princ.i.p.ally salted and dried for exportation.

=SKIN (The).= _Syn._ CUTIS, DERMIS, PELLIS, L. Every person must be familiar with the external appearance and general properties of the skin; but there are many of our readers who may not be aware of its peculiar compound character. The skin, then, although apparently a single membrane, is composed of three distinct layers or membranes, each of which performs its special duties:--1. The exterior of these is called the cuticle, epidermis, or scarf-skin. It is an alb.u.minous tissue, possessing no sensibility, and is found thickest on those parts of the body most exposed to friction or injury.--2. The mucous net, or rete mucosum, which is a thin layer of soft pulpy matter, which lies immediately under the cuticle, and is supposed to be the seat of the colour of the skin.--3. The derma, cutis vera, or true skin, is a highly sensitive, vascular, gelatinous texture, the third, and last in succession from the surface of the body.

It is this which, when the scarf-skin and hair have been removed, is converted by the process of tanning or tawing into leather.

The skin, because of its tough, elastic, flexible nature and its underlying layer of fat, is admirably adapted for covering the various internal parts and organs, as well as for bodily movement and exertion.

Besides this, it exercises, in common with the lungs, the liver, and the kidneys, the important function of a depurator, and may, with the organs above specified, be regarded as one of the main outlets for the waste products of the body; the effete and noxious matters of which, when in a healthy condition, it effects the removal, are those contained in the perspiration, and in addition carbonic acid, and, in the case of unhealthy subjects, nitrogen. The importance of the removal of these substances from the organism will be realised when it is stated that, when this excretory function of the skin has, in the course of experiments upon animals, been prevented by covering their bodies over with a coat of varnish or some other impermeable agent, the animal has quickly perished.

The perspiration is variable in amount, owing to various causes, such as temperature, the amount of exercise taken, the more or less hygroscopic condition of the surrounding atmospheres, the quant.i.ty of fluid swallowed, the season of the year, &c., with the exception of that which occurs under the armpits and upon the soles of the feet, it has generally an acid reaction, due to the presence in it of uncombined formic and lactic acids.

Under ordinary conditions of life it averages daily about 2 lbs. in quant.i.ty, being, as might be expected, more abundant than the urine in summer, and less in winter. The perspiration is of very complex composition, and contains lactates, butyrates, and acetates of sodium and ammonium, sodic chloride, phosphate of calcium, and sulphates--these latter, however, occurring in but small quant.i.ties. It also contains a peculiar nitrogenous substance that very quickly decomposes, and a peculiar odorous principle. According to Anselmino the proportion of solid matter in the perspiration varies from 5 to 125 parts in 1000.

Various observers have arrived at different conclusions respecting the amount of carbonic acid exhaled from the skin. Professor Scharling believed it to be from a fortieth to a sixtieth the amount given off by the lungs. Recent observations seem, however, to have shown that this estimate was too high. Dr Edward Smith, operating upon himself by placing every part of his body except the head in a caoutchouc bag, and subsequently collecting the evolved carbonic acid (the experiment being performed in the summer time), found the quant.i.ty evolved to be 6 grains per hour, or about a hundredth part of that pa.s.sing off from the lungs.

Aubert's experiments led him to the conclusion that it was about half the amount given by Smith; whilst Reinhart estimated it at 34 or 35 grains a day.

These excretory processes of the skin are effected by means of very minute vessels called the _sudoriparous_ or _sweat-glands_. These glands abound in almost every part of the human skin. They are of largest size under the axillae or arm-pits, where perspiration is most profuse. They are also very abundant upon the palms of the hand. Professor Erasmus Wilson says that as many as 3528 of these sweat-glands exist in a square inch of surface on the palm of the hand; and as every tube, when straightened out, is about a quarter of an inch in length, it follows that, in a square inch of skin from the palm of the hand, there exists a length of tube equal to 882 inches, or 73-1/2 feet. These glands, as we have seen, vary in number for different parts of the human body; but if we take Professor Wilson's average for the superficial area of a man of ordinary stature, viz., 2800 of them to the square inch, it follows "the total number of pores on such a man's skin would be about _seven millions_, and the length of perspiratory tubing would then be 1,750,000 inches, or 145,833 feet, or 48,611 yards, or nearly 28 miles."[166]

[Footnote 166: Carpenter's 'Human Physiology.']

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Sudoriferous Gland_ from the palm of the hand magnified 40 diam.:--_a, a_, contorted tubes, composing the gland, and uniting in two excretory ducts; _b, b_, which unite into one spiral ca.n.a.l that perforates the epidermis at _c_, and opens on its surface at _d_; the gland is imbedded in fat-vesicles, which are seen at _e, e_.]

In addition to the _sudoriparous_, the skin also possesses _sebaceous_ glands which stud almost every part of its surface except the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The sebaceous glands secrete a semi-fluid, greasy kind of substance, the office of which is probably to aid in rendering the skin soft and supple, and to prevent the too rapid evaporation of moisture from it. The sebaceous glands are more particularly found on the scalp, the a.n.u.s, and the nose, their locality in the skin of this last feature being sometimes marked by small black specs, which when squeezed yield a little white ma.s.s resembling a maggot in appearance. This is merely the solidified secretion from the sebaceous gland. A parasite known as the _Acarus folliculorum_ infests the sebaceous glands. In the cartilaginous part of the external pa.s.sage of the ear are other glands, the _ceruminous_, which secrete the wax that forms a protective film for the membrane of the tympanum or drum, and guards it against dust, insects, &c. See EXERCISE, PERSPIRATION.

=SKIN BALSAM, Glycerin--Glycerin Haut, Balsam.= A mixture of 1000 parts glycerin, 120 parts orange-flower water, 1 part each oils of neroli and bitter almonds. (Hager.)

=SKIN COSMET'ICS.= The simplest, cheapest, and most generally employed cutaneous cosmetics are soap and water, which at once cleanse and soften the skin. Soap containing a full proportion of alkali exercises a solvent power upon the cuticle, a minute portion of which it dissolves; but when it contains a small preponderance of oily matter, as the princ.i.p.al part of the milder toilet soaps now do, it mechanically softens the skin and promotes its smoothness. Almond, Naples, and Castile soaps are esteemed for these properties, and milk of roses, cold cream, and almond powder (paste), are also used for a similar purpose. To produce an opposite effect, and to harden the cuticle, spirits, astringents, acids, and astringent salts, are commonly employed. The frequent use of hard water has a similar effect. The application of these articles is generally for the purpose of strengthening or preserving some particular part against the action of cold, moisture, &c.; as the lips, or mammae, from chapping, or the hands from contracting chilblains; but in this respect oils, pommades, and other oleaginous bodies, are generally regarded as preferable.

Another cla.s.s of cutaneous cosmetics are employed to remove freckles and eruptions. Among the most innocent and valuable of these is Gowland's lotion, which has long been a popular article, and deservedly so, for it not only tends to impart a delightful softness to the skin, but is a most valuable remedy for many obstinate eruptive diseases which frequently resist the usual methods of treatment. Bitter almonds have been recommended to remove freckles (Celsus), but moistening them with a lotion made by mixing 1 fl. oz. of rectified spirit, and a teaspoonful of hydrochloric acid with 7 or 8 fl. oz. of water, is said to do this more effectually. A safe and excellent cosmetic is an infusion of horseradish in cold milk. (Withering.)

Hermann prescribes the following lotion:--Blanched almonds, 2 oz.; rose water, 8 oz.; orange-flower water, 2 oz. Make an emulsion, strain, and add sal ammoniac, 1 dr.; simple tincture of benzoin, 2 dr.

Skin paints and skin stains are employed to give an artificial bloom or delicacy to the skin. Rouge and carmine are the articles most generally used to communicate a red colour. The first is the only cosmetic that can be employed, without injury, to brighten a lady's complexion. The other, though possessing unrivalled beauty, is apt to impart a sallowness to the skin by frequent use. Starch powder is employed to impart a white tint, and generally proves perfectly harmless. The American ladies, who are very fond of painting their necks white, use finely-powdered magnesia, another very innocent substance. Several metallic compounds, as the trisnitrate, chloride, and oxide of bis.m.u.th (pearl white, Fard's white, &c), carbonate of lead (flake white), white precipitate, &c., are frequently used to revive faded complexions; but they are not only injurious to the skin, but act as poisons if taken up by the absorbents. Trisnitrate of bis.m.u.th (pearl white), probably the least injurious of these articles, has been known to cause spasmodic tremblings of the muscles of the face, ending in paralysis. ('Voght. Pharm.') The employment of liquid preparations containing sugar of lead, which are commonly sold under the name of milk of roses, cream of roses, &c., is equally injurious. Another disadvantage of these metallic preparations is, that they readily turn black when exposed to the action of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, or the vapours of sulphur, such as frequently escape into the apartment from coal fires.

There are many instances recorded of a whole company being suddenly alarmed by the pearly complexion of one of its belles being thus transformed into a sickly grey or black colour.

In conclusion, it may be remarked that the best purifiers of the skin are soap and water, followed by the use of a coa.r.s.e but not a stiff cloth, in opposition to the costly and smooth diapers that are commonly employed; and the best beautifiers are health, exercise, and good temper.

=Skin, Goldbeat'er's.= See GOLDBEATER'S SKIN.

=SKINS (of Animals).= The preparation and preservation of fur skins are noticed under PELTRY; the preparation and uses of the skins of the larger animals under LEATHER, TANNING, TAWING, &c.

=SLACK.= Small coal, such as is used for kilns.

=SLAG.= The semi-vitrified compounds, produced, on the large scale, during the reduction of metallic ores by fluxes. Those from iron and copper works are often used for building materials, mending roads, &c.

According to Egleston[167] the following are some of the industrial applications to which the slag from blast furnaces is put.

[Footnote 167: Dingler's 'Polytech. Journ.,' 'Journ. Chem. Society.']

When required for building stones the slag is run from the blast furnace into a semicircular vessel on moving wheels, and having its bottom covered three centimetres deep with sand and c.o.ke dust. By means of a bent iron instrument the slag is mixed with sand and c.o.ke dust till the escape of gases has nearly ceased and the ma.s.s is sufficiently tough. With the same tool it is next pressed into a mould furnished with a lid, which is forced down as soon as the escape of gas ceases. The red-hot stone is then placed in the cooling oven, covered with c.o.ke dust, and allowed to remain three or four days to cool completely. These stones are impervious to damp, and make good foundations. According to another method the slag, which should contain from 38 to 44 per cent. of silica, is run down a shoot into a large cavity, and then covered over with sand and ashes, and left to cool from five to ten days, when it is distributed in moulds, and there hardens. In certain parts of Belgium slag is poured upon iron plates and cooled by water, and thus a kind of gla.s.s is manufactured.

In other districts the slag is granulated as it flows from the blast furnace by means of a stream of water. The granulated slag is preferred by the puddlers to the sand for the moulds of pig iron. The slag gravel may be advantageously subst.i.tuted for sand in mortar making, a more rapid hardening being thus secured, a matter of great moment in building foundation walls.

Artificial stone is also manufactured from the granulated slag, and used for building purposes, furnishing warm dry houses of handsome appearance.

When stones for building with enamelled surfaces are required they are obtained in some parts of Europe as follows:--The unburnt bricks are covered with granulated slag, and after drying are burnt in a furnace where they do not come in contact with carbon. The stones are completely glazed, and according to the different kinds of slag used are tinted of different colours. This operation is also employed advantageously with tiles, pipes, and earthenware.

If, in the preparation of fire-proof bricks, a certain proportion of mixture of clay and granulated slag be added to the mixture, very hard and durable fire bricks are obtained. These have been tested in a bra.s.s furnace, and experiments are being tried as to their applicability to building puddling furnaces. This granulated slag may also be advantageously used for manure. Blast furnace slag has also been drawn out in fine threads or filaments, furnishing the so-called 'furnace wool.'

This substance, being a very bad conductor of heat, has suggested various household and other uses. A cheap and valuable cement, said to be equal to Portland cement, has been prepared from the finely granulated slag, which will also resist well the action of acids.

Mr Britten in 1876 patented a process for the manufacture of gla.s.s from blast furnace slag. Large works for the purpose of carrying out this invention, under the t.i.tle of 'Britten's Patent Gla.s.s Company,' have been erected at Finedon in Northamptonshire, and are, we believe, successfully worked in manufacturing gla.s.s bottles.

The method consists in removing molten slag in a ladle from the blast furnace, and pouring into a Siemen's furnace, when certain amounts of carbonate of sodium and silica are added, depending upon the quality of the slag used, and of the gla.s.s required.

=SLATE.= The excellence of this material for water cisterns deserves a pa.s.sing notice here.

Irish slate (_Lapis Hibernicus_) is an argillaceous mineral, said to contain iron and sulphur, found in different parts of Ireland. It is a common remedy, among the vulgar, for internal bruises, taken in a gla.s.s of gin.

=SLEEP.= During the period of our waking hours the exercise of the animal functions entails a waste or destruction of tissue in the organs performing them, which, unless duly repaired, would soon lead to the enfeeblement and consequent failure of the powers of the organs themselves. For the animal economy therefore to be maintained in a state of efficiency the repair of the reduced tissues is a necessity; and this essential condition is effected by the agency of sleep, during which respiration, circulation, digestion, &c., continue to be carried on simultaneously with a.s.similative processes which end in the regeneration of the impaired tissue.

A proper amount of sleep is therefore as great or even a greater necessity than a proper supply of food; and any one failing to obtain it soon perishes of exhaustion. Thus it is that any great mental emotion--such as intense remorse, grief, anxiety, or the depressing effect of a reverse of fortune--so frequently expedites death. Like Macbeth "it murders sleep,"

one of the great needs of man's existence.

Infants and children it is well known require much more sleep than adults.

In these latter the organism, being already matured, demands only so much sleep as will enable it to make up for the daily waste of the body, which waste falls very far below the amount of nutrition required by the growing infant. In a still earlier state of development, viz., the ftal one, life may be said to be pa.s.sed entirely in slumber; whilst children prematurely born scarcely ever wake except for food. We may a.s.sume that, as a general rule, infants take treble the amount of sleep that adults do, and that very young infants thrive the better the larger the amount of sleep they get, is borne out by the experience of medical pract.i.tioners, who affirm that they have known many children who were born small and weakly, but who slept the greatest part of their early existence, afterwards became strong and healthy; whilst those children on the contrary who, being born large and strong, were not good sleepers, became subsequently enfeebled and unhealthy. As regards the sleep of adults, if the slumber has been of average length, or the subject of it awakes fully refreshed therefrom, a second sleep instead of being conducive is prejudicial to health, and should never be encouraged.

During sickness a patient, if in a very helpless and enfeebled state, may often be exposed whilst asleep to great peril, unless the nurse who attends him exercises intelligence and a proper amount of vigilance. In his work on 'Household Medicine' Dr Gardner has pointed out the dangers that beset the sleeping patient, and the means by which they may be avoided. "Having disposed," he says, "of the patient in bed in the best manner, be careful that no part of the pillow can project over the mouth or nose, and that the bedclothes do not cover the mouth.

"The attendant should be particularly attentive to these points, when a narcotic has been taken, when the disease is paralysis, fever, head diseases, bronchitis, or any pulmonary complaint. The patient should be watched until he sleeps, and during his sleep, if a nurse is not constantly present, should be visited frequently, to observe whether the mouth and nostrils are free, and nothing obstructs the breathing.

"Very little suffices for an obstruction in such cases, which may extinguish life. Hundreds, perhaps we may say thousands of persons die prematurely from suffocation during sleep, in a low condition of the vital energies.

"How often does it happen that a patient left in a calm sleep is found dead upon being visited an hour or two after. Soft yielding pillows, in which the head and face get buried, are the instruments of suffocation to weakly persons, very, very often."

The larger amount of sleep indulged in by the very old, over adults, is referable to the incapacity of the aged for exercise, and to their enfeebled powers of nutrition. Besides age, temperament, habit, and surrounding circ.u.mstances exercise considerable influence on the amount of sleep necessary for man. Persons of lymphatic temperament are generally great sleepers; whilst those of a nervous and active nature are mostly the reverse. The late Earl Russell was we believe in the years of his active political life a very small sleeper, his slumbers seldom extending over five hours. So, likewise was the Duke of Wellington; General Elliott, the defender of Gibraltar, seldom slept more than four hours out of the twenty-four. As a contrast to these cases may be mentioned that of Dr Reid, the metaphysician, of whom it is stated that he could take as sufficient food and afterwards as much sleep as would suffice for an ordinary man for two days.

Several well-attested cases of excessive slumber are on record in which the sleep lasted in some cases for weeks, and in others even for months.