Arnold James Cooley

“ But give to such children the food that nature destined for them, and if the remedy do not come too late to save them, the mournful cry will cease, the face will assume a look of content, by degrees the features will disclose themselves, the limbs will grow round, the skin pure red and white. ”

“ It would be difficult to say where bacterium germs do not exist. In air, in water, in the soil adhering to tiny particles of every kind, in every region of the earth, from the poles to the equator, they are found. In the substance of the tissues—nay, in the cells of almost all plants, and in the interstices of the tissues of many animals—bacteria germs exist. I know not what part of the body of man and the higher animals is entirely destitute of particles which under favorable circumstances develop into bacteria. ”

“ Fried bacon is remarkably strong, and is hence more likely to offend the stomach than when it is broiled, or preferably toasted before the fire; the last being, of all others, the best way of dressing it so as to preserve its delicacy and flavour. Gourmands, however, often esteem, as ‘une bonne bouche,’ bacon dressed in the flame arising from the dropping of its own fat.
Choice. Good bacon has a thin rind, and an agreeable odour, the fat has a firm consistence and a slightly reddish tinge; the lean is of a pleasing red colour, is tender, and adheres, whilst raw, strongly to the bone. ”

“ The filtration of water may now be considered. The water of our wells is presented by nature ready filtered to the hand of man, and often exhibits an admirable degree of transparency and purity. It acquires this state by percolating through the mineral strata of the earth, which deprives it of the organic matter it derives from the soil and subsoil, but, at the same time, it dissolves a portion of the saline and earthy media through which it passes, and hence acquires that peculiar ‘hardness’ which is constantly found in spring water. ”

“ Organized matter, or that which has possessed either animal or vegetable life, or which has been produced by living organs, seems to be alone capable of assimilation, to any extent, by the animal system; and hence it is from the organic kingdom that our aliments are necessarily derived. Water, iron, earthy phosphates, chloride of sodium, and other salts, which form the inorganic constituents of the body, though not of themselves nourishing, are also assimilated when taken in conjunction with organic aliments, and then contribute essentially to nutrition. ”

“ If the deposit so obtained be mercury, it condenses in white shining globules;—if lead or bismuth, it does not rise but melts into a yellowish glass, which adheres to the copper; if tellurium, it falls as a white amorphous powder; if antimony, it does not rise at that low temperature; but if it be arsenic, it sublimes as arsenious anhydride, which condenses as minute octahedral crystals, looking, with the microscope, like very transparent grains of sand. ”

“ When the supply of air is sufficient for the immediate and complete combustion of the whole of the combustible matter, no such precipitation takes place, and the flame is neither white nor brilliant. The richest coal-gas, mixed with sufficient air to convert all its hydrogen and carbon into water and carbonic acid, explodes with a pale blue flash; yet the same gas, when consumed in the ordinary way, burns with a rich white flame. Every one must have noticed the effect of a gust of wind upon the flaring gas-jets of a butcher’s shop ”

“ The common system of washing followed by drying in the sun, adopted by the ancients, is a process which of itself, by frequent repetition, decolorises the raw materials of textile fabrics, and thus must inevitably have taught them the art of ‘natural bleaching’ of a character similar to that practised in Europe up to a comparatively very recent period. And this appears, according to the authority of ancient authors, to have been the case. Washing or steeping in alkaline and ammoniacal lyes, or in milk of lime, followed by exposure in the sun, formed the chief basis of their system ”

“ After watching with great care for a considerable time a given spot I have assured myself that new particles actually come into existence; and that one does not, after intently watching for a time and concentrating the attention upon a certain space, merely see one coming into view one after another, as star after star. The material in which the minute germs of bacteria are imbedded, and which, at least in part, consists of formed material produced by the bacteria, is much softer than the matter of which the capsule of fungi consists. It is, perhaps, almost as soft as mucus. ”

“ When fluid substances are suffered to pass with adequate slowness to the solid state, or when solutions of solids are slowly concentrated by evaporation, or the solvent powers of the menstruum, gradually lessened by cooling, the ultimate particles of matter frequently so arrange themselves as to form regular geometrical bodies, familiarly known by the name of crystals. This wonderful property, which is possessed by a great variety of substances in the mineral kingdom, and by nearly all saline bodies, is resorted to for many useful and important purposes in the chemical arts. ”

“ Lately, I have been trying an ice formed of the frozen solution of the acid (or some other antiseptic) . Though, of course, not so tasteless as pure ice, the flavour is so much lessened by the low temperature, and probably also through the parched tongue, very little appreciating any flavour, that I find scarcely any complaint on that score from the little sufferers; they generally take to it very readily. The process of making it is very simple. A large test-tube immersed in a mixture of ice and salt is the only apparatus required, and in this the solution is easily frozen. ”

“ One patient, perhaps, fancies himself a giant; another as heavy as lead; a third a feather, in continual danger of being blown away by the wind; and a fourth a piece of glass, and is hourly fearful of being broken. ”

“ Carbonic acid is a constituent of the atmosphere, its presence being essential to the existence of vegetable life on the globe. It issues from the earth in many situations, as the Grotto del Cane in Italy, the Valley of Poison in Java, and near the Lake of Laach in Germany. It gives to many mineral springs their sparkling brilliancy, and is held in solution by all natural waters. Combined with the bases, lime and magnesia especially, it exists in large quantities in the crust of the earth. It is the chief product of combustion, and one of the products of fermentation. ”

“ There is a remarkable relation between the specific gravity of a body in the gaseous state and its chemical equivalent or combining proportion—a relation of such a kind that quantities by weight of the various gases, expressed by their equivalents, or, in other words, quantities by weight which combine occupy, under similar circumstances of pressure and temperature, either equal volumes or volumes bearing a simple proportion to each other. ”

“ The practice of using cupreous salts, adopted by some lazy and unprincipled makers, is unpardonable, and admits of no excuse, even a lame one, as not the least advantage, either of convenience, cost, or appearance, results from such a practice, while the colouring matter, though small in quantity, is nevertheless sufficient to impart a noxious quality to the liquid. This fraud may be detected by the addition of liquor of ammonia in excess, which will strike a bluish or greenish-blue colour when copper is present. ”

“ There are none more simple and effectual; and, together with a good ‘palate,’ and a close observance of its effects on the head and on the stomach, will readily distinguish pure and wholesome beer from ‘doctored’ and inferior liquor. If, therefore, we find a sample of beer possessing the above qualities and in good condition, and on testing it for its alcohol and saccharine matter, find these substances in such quantities as fairly to represent the amount of malt which should have been used in the brewing of such a liquor, we may, in the absence of proof to the contrary, infer it to be pure ”

“ In chemistry, a name commonly given to any proximate principle of vegetable origin possessing alkaline or basic properties, however feeble. In its most extended sense the term embraces all organic bases, whether obtained from the animal or vegetable kingdom, or produced artificially. The alkaloids form a numerous and important class of bodies. They exist in nature nearly always in the form of salts, the acid being often, like themselves, peculiar to the plant, or class of plants, in which they are found ”

“ It is a curious sight to see the number of patients of both sexes and of all ranks and ages, who flock to the slaughter-house every morning to drink of the still fuming blood of the oxen slaughtered for the table. ”

“ To ensure the purity of the metal is a matter of the greatest difficulty, owing to the facility with which foreign matters are taken up, during the process, from the materials of which the apparatus is composed; and from the substances from which it is prepared being seldom absolutely pure. Indeed, it is not too much to assert that chemically pure aluminum has not yet been obtained; and that even a very close approximation to it is of very rare occurrence. Whenever a copper boat is used to hold the sodium, the product is always contaminated with copper. ”

“ Dr Guy has demonstrated the great mortality that is caused by consumption in those trades in which workmen pursue their calling in hot, close, gas-lit rooms, in comparison with those who pass most of their time in the open air. The amount of air required by each person in a room is no less than 2100 feet per hour; when the ventilation does not supply this amount of fresh air, the apartment smells stuffy, the furniture becomes coated with a film of organic matter, unless constantly cleaned, and the carbonic acid becomes increased beyond its normal quantity. ”

“ The product of the last formula is a most beautiful article, of immense strength, and the richest flavour. The assertion made by a recent writer on pharmacy, that ‘the product is very strong, but has lost some of the flavour of the ginger,’ is evidently made in ignorance of the preparation. “We were the first to introduce and publish this formula, and have employed it for years on the most extensive scale, and can conscientiously assert that, for inexpensiveness, and the quality of the essence produced by it, it is unequalled by any other. ”

“ In the animal and vegetable substances employed as food, these inorganic compounds are provided in small but sufficient quantities to meet the requirements of the healthy body, and in this state of combination alone can they be regarded in the light of aliments. A complete consideration of this subject embraces, not only all the substances used as food, but also those things which when taken with them improve their flavour, promote their digestion, and render them more wholesome and nutritive ”

“ The smallest portion of sour milk, of sour dough, or sour juice of beet-root, of putrefied flesh and blood, occasions like alterations in fresh milk, dough, juice of beet-root, flesh, and blood. But further, and which is a very curious circumstance, if we put into a liquid containing any fermenting substance another in a sound state, the latter would suffer decomposition under the influence of the former. If we place urea in the presence of beer-yeast, it experiences no change; while if we add it to sugar-water in a fermenting state, the urea is converted into carbonate of ammonia. ”

“ Exhaust the art of the optician, strain your eyes to the utmost, until the aching sense refuses to perceive the little quivering movement that indicates the presence of life, and you will find that you have not exhausted nature in the descending scale. ”

“ The solid food for breakfast should be easy of digestion, and nutritious. Females, children, and persons leading a sedentary life, should confine themselves to a sufficient quantity of good meal-bread with only a moderate quantity of butter, to which an egg, or a small rasher of mild bacon, may be advantageously added. For very young children there is no better breakfast, where it agrees with them, than scalding-hot new-milk poured on sliced bread, with a slice or two of bread and butter to eat with it. ”

“ Many habitual coffee drinkers cannot tolerate the use of chicory, which is a doubtful improver of coffee. The prevailing fault of the coffee made in England is its want of strength and flavour. The coffee-pot should be heated previously to putting in the coffee, which may be done by means of a little boiling water. The common practice of boiling coffee is quite unnecessary, for all its flavour and aroma is readily extracted by boiling hot water. Indeed, all the “useful and agreeable matter in coffee is very soluble, it comes off with the first waters of infusion, and needs no boiling.” ”

“ CAUS′TIC. Syn. Caus′ticum, Escharot′i-cum, L. A substance that corrodes or destroys the texture of organised bodies. This action is popularly termed “burning.”
The principal caustics are nitrate of silver, caustic potassa, a mixture of caustic potassa and quick-lime, sulphate of copper, red oxide of mercury, verdigris, tincture of sesquichloride of iron, chloride of zinc, chloride of antimony, nitric acid, acetic acid, and carbolic acid. ”

“ Our recommendation of bathing applies chiefly to the warm bath and the tepid bath, which are alike adapted to the delicate and the robust, and to every condition of climate and season. Cold bathing, in this climate, is only suited to the most healthy and vigorous, and can only be safely practised during the warmer months of the year, and in a mass of water sufficient to permit of the heat of the body being maintained by swimming or other active exercise. ”

“ During life, the skin is continually subjected to abrasion, and the processes of reproduction and decay, by which the cuticle, its exterior portion, is being constantly thrown off as effete and useless matter, in the shape of very minute scales or dust. This, mingling with the oily and saline products of the skin, acquires sufficient adhesiveness to attach itself to the surface of the body and clothing, as well as to attract the waste particles of the dress, and the dust and soot floating in the atmosphere. ”

“ On the small scale, shallow capsules of glass, wedgwood-ware, porcelain, or metal, are commonly employed as evaporating vessels, and these are exposed to heat by placing them over a lamp, or naked fire, or in a water bath, or sand bath, according to the temperature at which it is proper to conduct the process. On the large scale, high-pressure steam is usually employed as the source of heat. The term ‘spontaneous evaporation’ is applied to the dissipation of a fluid by mere exposure in open vessels, at the common temperature of the atmosphere, and without the application of artificial heat. ”

“ A dirty carpet literally infects the room: if you consider the enormous quantity of organic matter from the feet of people coming in, which must saturate it this is by no means surprising.” (Miss Nightingale.) In laying down carpets it is very advisable, at first, to cover the floor beneath them with large sheets of thick paper, so as to prevent dust from rising between the boards. Old drugget, sacking, matting, or any similar substance, will effect the same purpose, and will, moreover, materially increase the durability of the carpet, by preserving it from the contact of the hard floor. ”

“ An extract possessing equal strength to the whole mass of the ingredients from which it has been prepared is almost next to an impossibility, however desirable such a degree of perfection may be. The medicinal properties of all solutions of vegetable matter are injured by being reduced to the solid state; and this deterioration, more or less, takes place, whether the solvent be water, acetic acid, proof spirit, or alcohol. ”

“ There appears to be scarcely anything which is at all eatable that the ingenuity and taste of the modern cook does not appropriate to his purposes, and clothe with delectability, or transform into something execrable. We observe that our chef de cuisine—no unimportant personage—has taxed every viscera and brought together every novelty and dainty to humour and excite the appetite. Animals which were guiltless of brains whilst living, are found by him to possess excellent ones when dead, from which he prepares a variety of miniature dishes which are truly novel and inviting. ”

“ A chemical formula is termed empirical when it merely gives the simplest possible expression of the composition of the substance to which it refers. A rational formula, on the contrary, aims at describing the exact composition of molecule, or combining weight of the substance, but stating the absolute number of atoms of such of the elements essential to that object, as well as the mere relations existing between them. The empirical formula is at once deduced from the analysis of the substance, reckoned to 100 parts ”