The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 4, 1898, Page 18

18 MAKING THE NEW ARTIFICIAL ALBUMEN IN THE LABORATORY. foleBeRaReReReReqoFoFoReFogeF Tk 3] k=g k=3 o k=4 o o o o e <] RTIFICIAL albumen from coal tar is the latest product of sci- ence. This astonishing report comes from Vienna, and Dr. Lilienfeld is the man to whom the credit of dis- covery is given. He went through the operation of producing albumen from coal tar before an assembly of physi- cians and scientists, and no one of the company had the least doubt that the result was all that was claimed for it. The raw product was a dark brown powder, with a taste almost identical to egg albumen. The importance of this discovery is almost beyond estimate. Artificial al- bumen at a low cost will most surely revolutionize the method of food pro- duction for the entire world and render possible many things that are now im- possible. An ounce of pure albumen has about twenty times the nourishing power of meat. It will nearly equal a peck of potatoes, and has, besides, the quality of not interfering with the digestive apparatus, even though eaten exclu- sively for months at a time. It is the active principle of all animal food and the developing energy of all embry- onic life. At present albumen is expensive, ex- cept for a short part of each vear. In meat it costs over 25 cents a pound. In hen eggs e cost varies from 15 cents a pound to 60 cents a pound. And if the meat and eggs are not fresh the nourishing quality of the albumen is greatly lessened. With artificial albumen man will no longer be dependent upon living ani- mals for meat foods, but will nroduce them in the laboratory. A year's meat supply for one man It is reported that a Dr. Lillienfeld of Vienna has discovered a process for making albumen artificially out of certain coal-tar waste products. He claims that it has all the properties of pep- tone, and that by means of it one can obtain albumen in su:fficient quantity to support life at an expenditure of about 8 cents a day. It occurs in the form of a prown powder and has a taste resem- bling egg albumen.—AMedical Record. o =g=gegegegegeFegegegegeogegegoFeiagegeag g3 F-FoFF-FoF 2R R -8 121 jegegegegegegegegeReggeg-Reggegage] fageRagogagoR=gea] going to the Klondike can be carried in a small market basket. For a short trip into the desert a man can carry his food in his pocket. There will be no danger of it spoiling nor causing excessive thirst, as all salted meats do. This prepared albumen is the ideal food, suited for all times and all con- ditions, and not at all likely to cause such diseases as scurvy. Naturally one asks how albumen can be made from coal tar and why it is so nn:rlsmng and acceptable to the stom- ach. Both questions atomic chemistry. The components of albumen and coal tar are almost the same, except that they exist in different proportions in the two substances. Albumen is composed of carbon, hy- drogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur. These are all of the principal elements of nature. Coal tar contains the same elements, but more carbon and oxy- gen. The atoms are all then in coal tar, and if the chemist can isolate them and then combine them in the proper proportions there is no chemical rea- so?‘ why albumen should not be the re- sult. The method Dr. Lilienfeld followed to produce his artificial albumen has not been made public, but it is under- stood that the chemical combination is phenol, amydo-acetic acid and phos- pho-chloric oxide. He demonstrated its identity with natural albumen by several of the well-known reaction tests. Albumen agrees with the stomach be- cause it contains so many of the ele- ments that the secretions are not ex- hausted in converting it" into tissue cells. 5 It is this quality that makes it pos- sible to eat albumen day after day for months without causing distress to the stomach. Experiments to show the results of are questions of THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, ‘SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1898. exclusive diet on ducks have proved albumen to be the only substance ca- pable of sustaining life for any length of time. A duck fed exclusively butter lived only seven days; one fed on fat meat about ten days; one fed on starch two weeks; one fed on lean meat thirteen days. The duck fed on albumen showed no signs of dying even after several months of the diet. The samé experiments on dogs and chick- ens gave about the same proportional results. Of course, water was freely given in connection with the exclusive diets. Should artificial albumen prove all that is claimed for it there is no rea- son to believe that man would find it necessary or desirable to live on it ‘ex- clusively. In.fact, his appetite swould most likely object. This is cne of the instances where science cannot over- come nature. But artifieial albumen, as an accompaniment of starchy and sugary foods, together with. a little acid, would be a boon to mankind. And if necessity called for it albumen ex- clusively would sustain life a long time. At least a year longer than any other exclusive food would. Scientists all over the world are talk- ing of little else besides Dr. Lilienfeld’s discovery. All feel that it is possible to make albumen from coal tar. And when the wonders of “synthetical” chemistry as considered there is no need of surprise. On the subject of chemical synthesis, the entire chemical world is aroused, and scores of laboratories in Germany and elsewhere are actively experi- menting, for discoveries along these lines have enormous commercial possi- bilities in them. Substances that hith- erto have been produced only by pro- cesses of nature are now “built up” in the laboratories with great exactness, meeting every test. What is more, they can be made in this way at far less cost than they can be taken from some plant, frequently a rare one. The es- sential element, the extract, instead of being distilled or yielded to some com- plicated method of treatment, is made up in the reverse way—working back- ward, as it were. ‘What has already been accomplished in this field would make a long story. Scores of ‘“‘compounds,” elements, es- sences and essential principles under way are proved scientifically possible; commercial successes or their secrets all but wrested by experimenting sci- entists. No one outside of the active LL REVOLUTIONIZE THE FOOD SUPPLY OF THE WORLD. —_— IT REQUIRES DOG SLEDS AND MANY WHEN ALBUMEN FOOD PACKS TO CARRY ENOUGH PROVI- SIONS INTO THE KLONDIKE TO LAST . ONE MAN THROUGH THE SEASON. field of chemistry knows what strides ALBUMEN ENOUGH OF IT LONG SEASON. have been made and what the future seems to have in prospect. It is along coal most has been done. that formerly were only to be extracted from plant life at great cost are now part compounded from the products of coal tar, and the artificial competes successfully in open market Great fortunes have already been accumulated by the lu€ky investors and capitalists. to Wide awake, modern large sums at their beck and call for this sort of work, and visions of big royalties are dangled before them. Thus Fischer, the German professor and chemist, is sald to have made over $40,000 in a single year on one coal tar patent, and others have gained reve- That indigo has for a long time been made successfully by artificial means is an old story. There in great with the natural. couraged others nues scarcely less. tar Drugs and colors lines CHOP WITH % NUTRIMENT CONTAINED IN CUBE. OF IS MANUFAC- TURED A MAN MAY EASILY CARRY IN A SMALL BAS- KET TO LAST HIM THROUGH A is hardly another color, however, that that the The essences, too, chemical sciences. most of them are ‘“‘made.” as alinit, protargol, europhen, table and plant products. made in the laboratories. tergreen is likewise made, It would seem as if the secrets chemistry were being more and more bolic acid is artificially produced. cannot be built up by chemical means. A fast, dead black is the single tint that has evaded the chemist thus far. have yielded to These are still ex- tracted in the old-time way, but the of This has en- laid bare. The scientists have mnot enter the fleld. stopped at these inventions. The new chemists find coal-tar drugs—some with such names ferro-somatoso, salophen and tannopine— have come largely into use, and act- ively compete with the old-time vege- The alka- loids, formerly extracted, are now far- nished drug stores in their pure state, Oil of win- and car- Sei- of Animal Lile, a \lery Little Cost, ‘Dr. Lilienfeld of Vienna Claims He Has Discovered How to Manufacture Albumen, the Basis- 0Q0000000000000 FOOD MADE of ALBUMEN Will Cost EIGHT CENTS 3 a Day. 000000000000 [ 0000000000000 00000000000 ¥ 0 The New Food Is Made Out of Coal Tar, but Clever Cooks Wi form It Into 11 Be Able to Trans- All Sorts of Palatable Dishes. . ence has, as a matter of fact, surpass- ed nature at one point—the making of bitter almond oil. The artificlal is concededly better than the natural—it has no poison (prussic acid) in it. Artificial sugar is an actuality—not saccharine, but genuine sugar. This responds to every test, and no differ- ence in taste can be detected. Science makes artificial alcohol as well, and excellent alcohol. Neither of these pro- ducts is yet a commercial success, though there is every, reason to believe that both soon will be. While there are many eminent sci- entists who agree with Dr. Lillienfeld and firmly believe that he has pro- duced artificial albumen, there are others equally eminent who object. They say that he is only & step nearer the actual result. One of these objectors is the famous Dr. Pickering of Kings College, Lon- don. He is a well-known writer on physiological subjects and maintains that the substance that Lillienfeld has succeeded in making is not albumen, the manufacture of which is still a secret to be wrested from science, and that he has advanced several stages nearer the production of the artificial proteid which is to’ revolutionize the food supply of the world. Right or wrong, it is obviously only fair that Dr. Pickering should be given an opportunity of proving his claim not only to have anticipated the vaunted discovery of the Viennese chemist, but also to have left it be- hind in his advance toward the arti- fieial production of that mysterious substance which forms the basis of all living matter. Dr. Pickering, when speaking of the matter before a body of learned men ~a short time ago, said: ‘“Some six years ago, while pursuing my work as a physiologist, I happened accidentally on a short communication by Professor E. Grimaux, the distinguished Parisian savant, which had escaped the eyes of most investigators. It was published, I remember, in the year 1889, and it de- scribed how the French scientist’ had built up artificial substances which gave some of the tests that had hith- erto been considered essentials of albu- men. “Working on the lines suggested by Professor Grimaux, I discovered six other substances, still more like albu- men, and these results were published in pamphlet form in 1895, and laid in full detail before the Royal Society on December 10, 1896, as well as before the Academy of Sciences in Paris. My discoveries created some sensation at the time in scientific circles. But, al- though my substances gave all the tests of albumen, they were not the real thing. One of these six sub- stances was perhaps more important than the others. It had the peculiar- ity that when digested it gave products that ‘behaved’ in every respect like real peptone, which is the substance formed by digesting natural albumen. “Now Lillienfeld’s substance. which T have reproduced, gives some of the tests of real peptone, but not all. His discovery is no more albumen than mine; it is, in fact, one stage farther from it than the substance discovered three years ago by myself. Lillien- feld does not seem to have noted that peptone, which is perhaps the right name for his product, is only the halt- way house to albumen. I have gone one step nearer producing a pure pro- teid. My substance only differs from albumen in being less heavy and less susceptible to polarised light. Tt even possesses the deadly characteristic of albumen, that when introduced into the living blood it kills instantly. There is no absolute test for albumen. Even if it were made artificially, no one could be sure that it was the right sub- stance. “My product could not, I am afraid, be used as food, much less Lillienfeld’s. In the first place, the cost is absolutely prohibitive. Then no one would will- ingly eat it because it is tasteless and odorless, and produces a nauseating ef- fect. I once ate an ounce, but was very sick. Its nutritive value is, I am con- vinced, not very great. Some mice which were fed on it for a short time in my laboratory grew rapidly thinner. Lillienfeld’s claim to have discovered the means of making albumen to be used as a substitute for food is, there- fore, to my mind entirely premature. “I firmly believe that we are on the eve of one of the greatest advances in modern science. I am convinced that some one working on these lines will one day- solve the problem which will revolutionize the entire food supply of the world. When real albumen is made artificially and cheaply a coun- try like England need have no fear as to her food supply. No question of food in time of war would then affect us. The question of overpopulation and overcrowding as far as food is con- cerned would then have no fear for our legislators. A few large factories would then produce enough albumen to feed not only England but the world. ““This new food will not, like the sub- stance which I have described to vou, be tasteless or odorless, for I am con- vinced that we shall be able to apply the chemical properties that give taste and color to animal food to the artifi- cial albumen. Neither our teeth nor digestion will suffer by the change, for it will be possible to render the new food either hard or soft, and the cook of the future will find ample scope for her ingenuity in devising fresh dishes and new ways of cooking them. Al- ready all the essential ingredients or breadstuffs have been, or will shortly be, produced artificially. “I look forward to the time, though I cannot perhaps hope to see it myself, when the civilized man will no longer depend on animal food for his living, and when there will be practically no limit to the food supply of the world.” ————— OLD LINCOLN'S _INN: . The rabbits in the coney garth adjoin- ing the inn were “a temptation to the young gentlemen,” who were conse- quently forbidden to use the bow against the Iye'fble folk, and, in 1846, to “shut in gonnys.” It was not till 1572 that the coneys were allowed to be destroyed, Again, there was “dycyng and cardyng’ and “hornes blawyn.” " Swords and dag- gers were drawn in_hall by brawling limbs of the law; others fought it out ‘with their fists”; even_ the unfortunate butler was at times buffeted or stabbed. And yet there were legitimate outlets provided for high spirits. Foremost among them was “Le Nowall,” beginning on_ Christmas eve, which the inn kept right royally and with much ceremony. King was appointed, and provided with a marshal, master of the re steward, butler and constable. These of ficers were officially recognized, and re- ceived fees from the inn, which also pur- chased boars, malmsey, spices, holly, “‘and apparently,” the editor adds, “{a mysterious) ‘Pescodde.”” Those who are acquainted with Shakespeare may sug- gest that the payment was made to one who bore that nickname. On Innocents’ day the “King of Coknevs"” sat as King; and at the Purification there were the “Post Revels,” at which, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, many gentlemen of the Middle Temple “came here to dance the Revels with the gentlemen of this inn."— The Athenaeum. 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000C000000000000000000000000000000CCC0000000060G000000000000 INGENIOUS ESCAPE of a Burglar FROM PRISON. ERE is the story of a burglar's clever escape from an English | prison and his subsequent re- | capture. His patience, coolness | and daring at the time aroused! a good deal of comment in the | English newspapers. The rogue was | taken -only after a desperate struggle, | says a London paper. The officer was | assisted by three stalwart men, who’ held the runaway on the ground while | the handcuffs were adjusted. It appears | that the rumors in circulation that the burglar, Riverton by name, carried a revolver were unfounded, but, having | regard to the character of the tugllh’e,‘ it was deemed advisable to exercise the | greatest caution in approching him. Although the story of the prisoner | having removed a slab or flooring stone in hig cell in order to escape through | a flue has caused great interest and wonderment in police circles, yet the | true version of his daring and remark- | able escape has only just come to light. | The prisoner first gained possession of | an Instrument wherewith to raise the stone in his cell. This he accomplished by unscrewing from the wall the elec- tric communicator and breaking off a piece of iron about a foot long. He then set to work and raised two slabs near the heating apparatus grating, and got into a very narrow flue, through which he forced himself along until he event- ually found himself in the heating- room. From here he got into an- other flue, forty-one feet long, and crawled through this to a fit- ting room, where he found tools, which he used in taking out and breaking off the screws of the door, which was locked from the outside. He also ob- tained a plank and a plece of rope. By tying a piece of rope to a plank and throwing it he scaled a wall and drop- ped into the garden of the chief warder of ‘the jail. \ It was now_ daylight, and there was still a wall Between him and liberty. However, he managed to get over, and coolly wall out in front of the ward- ers’ residen It seems that he went off at top speed in the direction of Sketty, as if making for the scene of his recent plunder at Captain Hall's residence. It is well known that at 9 o'clock he stealthily entered Sketty and rang the bell at the residence of Mr. Shenck, engineer to the Swansea Harbor Trust. The servant answered the call at the door and afterward Mrs. Shenck went to see what the stranger wanted. In piteous tones he asked for something to eat, and Mrs. Shenck, moved by his beggarly appearance and touching ap- peal, said to the servant: ‘“Let him have a Jittle breakfast.” and stralghtway conducted to the kitchen, where a bountiful supply of food was placed before him. He ate heartily and appeared extremely thank- ful for the generosity of the family. One distinctive feature about the des- perado is that all his front teeth are missing, and this information was well circulated throughout the district by the police. When the prisoner’s appear- ance was described to Mrs. Shenck she Immediately recalled the fact that her early visitor requested to be suppliel with soft bread, as his jaws, he said, were painful to him.’ After partaking of the breakfast Riverton became quit> at ease, and realizing that he was un- der the roof of a good Samaritan he Jocosely asked to be allowed to wash his hands and face, a privilege which | was granted. By this means he was able to remove the traces left by his burrowing under the cell. He was un- convicted, and consequently dressed in his owhn clothes, so that after a wash and brush-up he was able to leave the premises without attracting any spe- cial notice. t At Cwndonkin Park Riverton was noticed by a man who gave informa- tion to the police. A search was made at this spot, but only an empty sack | was found, the fugitive having left the place, well knowing that the police would soon be on his track. He was now hard pressed, so he concealed him- ‘self under a piece of corrugated irom, a sack being his pillow. Riverton, it ig said, boldly entered the King Arthur Hotel, where the topic of conversation throughout the morning was the clev- erness and ingenuity of the very man who was 80 near, eanwhile he was closely watched, and it was scon seen that he was unmistakably the escaped prisoner. Police Constable Brown was &u&kly alongside the runaway after Thereupon | Riverton was allowed into the holse | is no more. of the harbors about Hawali except as national misfortune or bereavement. of mind has it appeared and time and lowed in its wake. the passing of Kings, revolutions and of the kingdom. Just before a coming always follows their appearance. of yore, for troubles have multiplied a A foreigner has never been known the land. the fearful natives. ‘ sounded to the Hawailan people. Th find. catching of an alolah, believing as the: forerunner of impending calamity. Time an name to the younger generation of Hawalians. heard of them, but had never seen them because national troubles had not visited the country in their day. caught brilliant-hued fish of every other variety, but the tiny red alolah with its peculiar markings they could never And their fathers were pleased for they dreaded the HEN the Hawailan flag ceased to flutter in the breeze on August 12 last Alolah, the Hawaiian prophet of the sea, disappeared from the face of the waters of the islands. “It will come no more? “T'here is nothing else to tell us. full to overflowing. say the natives. Our cup of misfortune is Our rulers are no more, our monarchy The Alolah will be no more.” The story of the alolah is mor~ than passing strange. It is a little crimson fish and never does it appear in any a harbinger of some again out again as certain as the night follows the day has some national distress fol- It has foretold the death of Princes, last of all the end calamity schools of these little red fish run near the surface of the water. Hawalians dread the sight and a period of dread anxiety Of late years the alolah has been seen more often than s thick and fast as the showers that deluge the queen island of the Pacific. to catch an alolah. Whenever a native displays this brilliant carmen-colored creature of the sea a feeling of intense uneasiness pervades “What misfortune are we about to suffer?” ask Never once during the early years of Kalakaua's reign did they catch an alolah. Why? Because the alolah came up from the deep only. when a note of warning must be e alolah was but a They had They 'y did that it was a But one morning & Band of spluttering, barefoot, jabber- ing children ran up to the palace bearing a trophy of the ® THE MYSTERIOUS ) " LITTLE RED FiSH THAT IS THE HARBINGER OF sea that was new to them and must surely be the alolah. ‘Is this an alolah?’ they asked, excitedly. will surely die,” said the guard at the gate entrance. “The Prince ““The Prince will die,” repeated the Hawaiians when they heard of the alolah’'s appearance. For _the heir apparent to King Kalakaua’s throne, his Royal Highness Willlam Pitt Liliohohu, lay ill of the fever. The coming of the alolah meant that the illness would be fatal; so they read the augury. Three days afterward the Prince died and the alolah had proven its mission to younger Hawaii. peared from the face of the waters again. Lydia Kamakacha Liliuokalani was proclaimed next in line of succession. period to arouse anxiety. In 1800 King Kalakaua visited San Francisco in the United States cruiser Charleston as a guest of Rear Admiral Brown. San Francisco threw its hospitable doors open to this dark-skinned monarch. Then it disap- The alolah came no more for a long His people heard of it and another link was wrought in their chain of friendship for the good “Laoles” across the water. From san Francisco on to every point of interest, from the snow-capped Sierras to the orange-perfumed south, the King traveled, finally returning to San Francisco to rest before sailing for his island home. The Hawaliang were preparing to welcome him as it was meet that a people should welcome a well-beloved ruler. In the midst of their work of decorating the islands the dread report spread that the little alolah were running in the waters before Honolulu. ‘What evil did the red fish carry in Its wake this time? January 20, 1891, King Kaiakaua died in his apartments at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco, and the little alolah dived out of sight the same day in the harbor of Honolulu. Lydia Kamakaeha Liliuokalani, she that is now ex- Queen, was proclaimed Queen. The alolah was caught geveral times during the first years of her, reign and as usual national calamities of greater or lesser degree fol- lowed cloze upon {ts appearance. The revolutions of 1893-95 were heralded by the alolah. During those troubled times more of the little crimson fish were caught than during the entire reign of any other -monarch. S 5 In July, 1898, the alolah again became a frequent visitor in Hawaiian waters. There were those who said that its coming meant that the republic of Ha- wail should resist annexation. On July 1, 1898, the joint resolution of Congress was approved by President McKinley. It provided for the annexing of the Hawailan Islands to the United States. The cession was formally consented to and approved by the republic of Ha- | waii. The anti-annexation leaders | called into play every device and argu- ment to make the natives realize that +his meant a destruction of their na- tionality. ‘“What need for this? Have not the alolah been ccught?” they answered. ‘““And when since the first of our kings had this meant aught but evil and misfortune?” On August 10 a sad kanaka fisherman displayed to a sore-hearted group of natives the tiny crimson alolah. Two days later, on the 12th day of August, to the strains of “Hawaii Ponoi,” the Hawaiian flag was lowered, and the American colors raised to the music of “The Star-Span<led Banner.” The natives believe that with the passing of their independence the crim- | son messenger of the sea will come no more. For the alolah came to warn the Hawalian people of national calam- ities. And the fiag of Hawali is fallen— the Hawaii of old is no more. — o ATKINS"? | carance at the be- | He was a_gunner | He made his fi flnnlng of this century. n the Royal Regiment of Artillery. that time soldiers’ accounts were not w kept, and monthly settlements of soldi pay .were not regularly made. Thoma: Atkins kept a book in which he balanced his accounts monthly, and so originated | the idea of a soldier's pocket ledger, or, | as it was called in the Royal Artillery, | a.“Tommy Atkins,” for I have heard so called during my service in the army It may be certain that several improve-| ments and_alterations have taken place since the book was first irtroduced. I may add that the above named facts I heard from my father, who knew Thomas Atkins well, for he served in the Royal rtillery at the time. AMY g%’nndfather, who was a color ser- geant in the Royal Artillery at the be- ginni of this century, was present at the tal ng of the Cape of Good Hope, 1805-06, was discharged to out pension a few years after, called his account book “Tommy Atkins.’ So did my uncle, late gunner, Royal Artillery, a Waterloo man. Being born in the artiilery, I never heard the account book called by any other name than “Tommy Atkins.” It is quite an artillery word. Possibly the word #Pocket-ledger 1s uséd mow.— s HORRORS OF THIRST on the 2 AFRICAN DESERT. N “The New Africa” Dr. Schulz de- scribes the horrors of thirst in the case of his companion, Hammar, who became separated from the party and wandered all day without water over the dry, hot sand belt of the South African desert. We had been expecting to overtake. him all day and as night drew on we became much disturbed at his absence. We fired the gun, the signal agreed upon if either of us was lost, but there was no answer. In half an hour the gun was again discharged, and so on at each half- hour till half past ten. But no answer from Hammar. Then, after the eleven o’clock signal gur joy of joys! We heard three shots in rapid succession, about two miles out. Grasping my gun and singing out to Chiki to bring a big calabash of water along, I rushed off in the direction of the shots, and soon was delighted to see a fire blazing in the distance, to which I hurrled as fast as my legs could go. There lay Hammar by the fire, pros- trate from exhaustion, so utterly done that he could not put one foot befor= the other, but still alive. His face looked like a piece of wood, and was so pinched and dried up that he would not have been recognized by a casual acquaintance, and it was days before he regained his usual appearance. He had sat ‘down to rest beneath a tree at dusk, and had loosened his cart- ridge belt. When he heard our first signal gun faintly, he found with dis- may that his belt was missing. It was . dark, and he had gone a long distance from the tree. He turned about and made his way cautiously back to the tree in the greatest anxiety lest he should miss it. Luckily he found it and the cartridge belt lying where he had dropped it. Then he retraced his steps, waiting for the signal shots which kept him in the right direction. Hammar had been on his feet ‘sixteen hours and as we reckoned it, had cov- ered between sixty and seventy miles without touching a<drop of water.