Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/758

 Resuscitating the Drowned

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��A first-aid tilting machine

UK usual inclhods ol ii\i\- ing the apparcnlK- dead

��aim to aid respiration. These methods produce a rhythmical filling of I he chest with air. Imfor- t u n a t e 1 y they require the aid of several wcll- traincd at- tendants for a considera- ble lime, and such aid may not alwa\"s be at hand. The ap- paratus shown in the accompany- ing illustra- tions, which is the inven- tion of Dr. L. Lewin, of ficrmany, is

said to-» attain (he desired end with greater ease and certaint\ . It ic)n>isls of an adjustable table orcoiicli im which the jierson to be re\i\ed is placed and put through the different desired positions with the aid of onh' one .ittendant. The folding table is easil\- traiisi)ortcd and is so constructed that the head or foot-end can be raised or lowered tmtil it forms a decided angle with the horizontal position of the couch. The l)atient, say one to Ik- re\i\cd Irom drowning, is strajjpcd to the table by a bandage. H\' mo\ ing a l(\er carr\'ing a i)awl the head-end is lowered to an .ingle of ninet\- degrees w ith the hori/on- i.il, ihc palicnl lii-iiig iluw sIikkI on his held. llii.s c.iiiMs tile wall! collecli'd in the lungs to flow out '<[ Hie nose and mouth, both as a result ol the law ot gravits' and also because tin- t.illing ol the intestines drives the dia|)lir,igm forward and producer ,i siiong ( oin- I>rcssion of the chest. After a p,i>si\'<-

��breathing out has been produced dur- ing the ten to fifteen seconds of this posi- tion the ta- ble is swung towards the opposite side so that the patient is brougiit into a •■J? n e a r 1 y u!> r i g h t position. This change brings about an expansion of the chest, the result of its elasticity and the sink- ing into the natural posi- tion of the intestines and diajihragm. Both of these mo\-ements can be re- peated several times a minute, thus caus- ing a succession of bre.ithings in and out. In .iddition to this, if the heart action is poor the blood is driven to the difTercnt liarts of the body by graxity in the changes of position.

���Above; By moving a lever underneath, the head-end of the table is low- ered and raised at regular intervals

At left: The apparatus is adjust- able and may be folded up so that it may be easily carried by one man

��Nature and Not Cannons the Real Cause of Rainfall

W\\\ docs r.iin ofti'ii follow great b.ittles? lannonading has noth- ing to do with it. The belief that rain toniinonl\- follows b.utles antedates the invention of gunpowder. In temperate latitudes rain occurs normalK-, on an average, every three or four davs, or, in some regions, as often as every other day. 'l"he movements of iroojis that jiiecede a b.ittle are rendered dilVicult or impossi- ble by wet wi'.ither .md muddy roads. I leiice the prelimin.uies of b.ittle aie car- riid (lilt dining intervals of fair weather.

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