been affirmed, is one of the greatest and most wonderful discoveries of
modern science. A very thin platinum wire loop, brought to incandescence
by the current from a battery--which, though of great power, is so small
that it hangs from the lapel of the operator's coat--is used instead of a
knife for excisions and certain amputations. It sears as it cuts, prevents
the loss of blood, and is absolutely painless, which is the most
astonishing thing about it.

"Our greatest consumers of platinum are the electricians, particularly the
incandescent light companies. I supply the platinum wire for both the
Edison and the Maxim companies, and the quantity they require so
constantly increases that the demand threatens to exceed the supply of the
metal. Sheets of platinum are bought by chemists, who have them converted
into crucibles and other forms."

The reporter's curiosity was awakened by Mr. Baker's mention of the old
lady who made those very fine draw plates, and on his return to the city
he hunted her up. Mrs. Francis A. Jeannot, the lady in question, was found
in neat apartments in a handsome flat in West Fifty-first street. Age has
silvered her hair, but her eyes are still bright, and her movements
indicate elasticity and strength. She is a native of Neufchatel,
Switzerland, and speaks English with a little difficulty, but whenever the
reporter's English was a little hard for her a very pretty girl with
brilliant eyes and crinkly jet-black hair, who subsequently proved to be a
daughter of Mrs. Jeannot, came to the rescue. With the girl's occasional
aid, the old lady's story was as follows:

"I have been in this business for thirty years. I learned it when I was a
girl in Switzerland. Very few in this country know anything correctly
about it. Numbers of people endeavor to find it out, and they experiment