Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/223

 Popular Science Monthhj

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��reptitiously abstracted, so that the num- ber remains approximately the same. This is done either by the medium her- self or by the assistant, who collects the pellets and superintends the blindfolding of the medium.

Often the original slips are left on the table, and no dummies are substituted. If this is done, all of the questions must be written on previously- prepared pads containing a carbon- sheet so that an imprint of the question is obtained. Sometimes the under side of one of the sheets of paper is prepared by soaping it thinly. This is pressed upon the lower sheet; and the medium has only to rub the lower sheet with lamp-black or charcoal to obtain an imprint of the message.

If the "message" is placed in an envelope, and this is sealed, the medium can often see what is written on the pad simply by rubbing over the envelope with a small sponge dipped in alcohol. The envelope will at once become transparent. Nothing will do but alcohol, which dries out almost at once, wdthout wrinkling the envelope, which can be stood upright, on the table, for a few moments, while drying,

���Deep mystery, but not to those who know the Uttle ways of fake mediums

���To obtain an imprint of the message rub the paper with lamp-black or charcoal

��Reducing the Egg Loss Due to Breakage in Shipment

AS spring approaches, the cackle of L the corn-belt hen is the prelimi- nary announcement of the shipping of millions of white and brown eggs to the large cities of the East. The eggs leave their shipping points packed in cases supposed to insure their safe de- livery, but the fact remains, as ablished by Government inves- tigations, that two dozen eggs out of every thirty dozen cased, reach their des- tination in a cracked, mashed, dented or leaky condition.

For New York city alone, this means that one hundred million eggs are annually found to be in a damaged condition following their arrival from the shippers. This causes an annual loss of three milliondol- lars to poultry dealers. An inspection of crates shows that they have been carelessly nailed up. On the other hand, the Gov- ernment inspectors find that nineteen eggs in each case are cracked before being loaded on the car, and that careless packing in old and flimsy cases accounts for the additional breaking of five more eggs in a case.

To eliminate this tremendous loss, shippers are resorting to all sorts of packing methods. Some have found the old-fashioned splint basket, when packed with excelsior as a shock absorber, to cause the least damage. For one hun- dred eggs or larger shipments, a barrel with the eggs packed securely in excelsior, has met with partial success. The or- dinary egg crate has been discarded where shipments are made over a con- siderable distance. Some shippers are packing each egg so that it is the center of a ball of excelsior. This is an expen- sive as well as a laborious method but it does insure full protection for the ex- ceedingly fragile egg.

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