Why Henry Cohen Lost His Hair

Roentgen Rays Will Burn and Blister the Skin Under Some Conditions.

PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN.

Tesla, with Hands Burned Through Carelessness, Says There Is No Danger.

HAIR WILL GROW AGAIN.

The publicity given to the case of Henry Cohen, who lost his hair after his head had been subjected to X rays for the purpose of locating a bullet, has resulted in a new interest in the mysterious light and force that penetrate and make transparent some bodies that are opaque in all other lights. Persona who heretofore submitted unhesitatingly to an inspection of internal organs have become timid since they heard of the fate of Cohen, and they want to be reassured before they consent to sit within the radius of the cathode stream.

Mr. Martin, who operated the Crookes tube that threw the X rays through Cohen's head, said, last night: "It is well known that X rays will blister and dry up the skin if the tube is held close to the patient, and there is nothing between the tube and the skin to protect the latter, provided the rays are continued long enough. The drying up of the skin would cause the hair to fall out but no serious harm would be done as it would soon grow in again.

SKULL MOST DIFFICULT.

"The skull is the most difficult part of the human frame to make a picture Icture through. It is necessary to place the tube close to the scalp. Seven pictures were made of Cohen's head, the average time of the exposures being twenty minutes.

"What causes the X rays to burn no one knows. Tesla holds that the bombarding of material particies Icles through the th the air releases ozone. All agree that ozone is released in small quantities, although but few believe that there can be enough of that gas released by the action of the rays to burn the skin." I found Nikola Tesla in his laboratory in East Houston street, and asked him regarding Cohen's loss of hair.

TESLA'S CHAPPED HANDS.

The backs of his hands were chapped, the skin being dried, cracked and purled up, as would be the condition of the hands of a boy who had played in snow and permitted his hands to dry in cold air.

"That," said he, "is the result of fifteen minutes' exposure close to a Crooke's tube. It is the result of carelessness, and it amounts to pothing. If the skin of the scalp is dried and blistered the hair will fall out."

When asked what caused the blistering of the skin in the cathodic stream Tesla referred me to an article he wrote on the subject re- cently. In that article he says that experimenters need not fear poisonous or deleterious action from the Roentgen rays, as it seems reasonable to conclude that it would take centuries to accumulate enough such matter to interfere seriously with the process of life of a person.