Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1846-07-30
CuriOsitles Of Science.

mention tnese iaCt6i only IN tne nope Oh snow |
ing you that there is pleasure in studying the
sciences, and when come to Natural History, |
s. all find the study Of that still more amusning.
The animal and vegetable worlds are well worthy OF
observation Probably you all know what is meant
by cycfoid If we make spot on the periphery |
of wheel, travelling on plane, the figure which
that spot describes is a cycloid. Now there Is no
figure in which body can be moved with so much
velocity and such regularity Of speed, not even the
straight line Mathema,icians discovered this not
many years ago but Natures God taught it to the
eagle before mathematics were invented land
when the eagle pounces upon his prey, he describes
the figure Of cycloid
A globe placed in water or in air, in moving, |
meets with resistance, and its velocity will be re-
tarded II you alter the globe to the form Of an
egg, there will be less resistance. And then there
is a form called the solid of least resistance, which
mathemacians studied for many years. TO discover
and when they had discovered il, they found they
had the form Of fsh's head. Nature had rugged
out the fish into Just such figure.
The feathers OF birds, and each particular pare
Of them, are arranged al such an angle az 10 be
most efficient in assisting fight. The human eye
has a mirror, on which objects are reflected, and
a nerve by which these reflections conveyed TO
the brain, aud thus are enabled TO take 40 in
terest in the objects which pass before the eye
Now, when the eye is too convex we use one kind
OF CuffeCk INC II IL De Gou
vex enough. or if we wish to look at objects at
different distance, we use glasses of entirely
other description.
But birds cannot get spectacles, Providence
has given them method OF supplying the dehc-
iency They have the power Of contracting the
eye, Of making il more convex as TO sec the
specks which float in the atmosphere, and catch
them for food and also Of natening the eye. to
see to a great distance, and observe whether any
.s,lt. .skn = 10 do
them. In addition to this they have film. or coat
ing. which can be suddenly thrown down over the
eye TO protect it; because at the velocity with
which they y and with the delicate texture of their
eye, the least speck of dust would act upon IT
penknife thrust into the human eye. This film is
to protect the eye, and the same thing exists to
some extent, in the eye Of the horse. The horse
has large eye, very liable 10 take dust This
coating ia the horse eye is called the HAw or third
eye lid, and ifyou will watch closely, you may
il descend and return with electric velocity. 1t
clears away the dust and protects the eye from in
Jury. 1.-THE eye should catch cold. the haw har-
dens and projects and Ignorant persons cut it of,
and thus destroy this safeguard.
You all know, ifyou take pound Of iron, and
make Of it rod foot long, what weight it will
support. But if it be hollow rod ii will support
a weight many times greater than before. Nature
seems to have taken advantage Of this also long be-
fore mathematicians had discovered it, and all the
bones OF animals are hollow. The bones of birds
are large, because they must be strong to move
their large wings with sufficient velocity but they
must also be light in order TO float easily upon the
air Birds also illustrate another fact in natural
philosophy. If you take bag, make it air tight,
and pot it under water, it will support large
weight. say an hundred pounds. But twist it, or
diminish The air in it, and It will support no such
weight. Now bird has such air bag. When
he wishes to descend he congresses it at will, and
falls rapidly; when he would rise he increases it,
aud floats with ease. He also has the power OF
forcing air into the hollow parts Of the body and
thus, to assist his fight The same thing may be
observed in fishes. They also have an air bag to
enable them to rise or sink in the water till they
find their temperature.
rthey wish to rise they increase il il they wish
to sink they compress it, and down they go. Some
times the fish in sinking. makes too strong effort
to compress il then down he goes to the bottom,
and there remains for the rest of his life Floun.
ders and some other fish have no air bag; and
they are never found swimming the surface
but must always be caught on the bottom.
In this way are the principles Of science applied
10 almost every thing. You wish TO know how TO
pack the greatest amount Of bulk in the smallest
space. The forms OF cylinders leave large spaces
between them Mathematicians labored hard for a
long time to find what figure could be used so as
TO lose no space and at last found that it was the
sx-sided figure, and also three planes ending in a
point formed the strongest roof or floor The hon
ey bee discovered the same things good while
ago Honeycomb is made up Of six-sided figures,
and the roof is built with three plane surfaces COM
| ing to point
If flexible vessel be emptied of air, its sides will
be almost crushed together by the pressure of the
surrounding atmosphere. And il tube partly filled
with fluid, be empted Of its air the fluid will rise
| to the TOP. The bee understands this and when he
comes to the cup Of the tall honeysucke, and finds
that he cannot reach the sweet matter at its bottom
he thrusts in his body shuts up the flower. snt
then exhaus,s the air. and possesses himsefof thu
dust and honey Of the flower. The feet ofiiies an'
lizards are constructed similar principle. ant
they thusiwalk with glass or ceiling
! Their feet are so made as TO create a vacuum be
meath them. and so they have the pressure of thu
atmosphere, fifteen pounds to the square inch, tc
enable them to hold on. The cat has the sam
power to less extent.
Plants require the sunlight, aud some flowers tur
themselves towards the as it travels round ffou
east to west The sunfower does this, and so doe
a field ofcloyer. The facts, though we have no
yet got at the reason Of them, are still extremel
interesting.
You all know that il hollow ball be filled wit
gas lighter than the air. il will rise and float away
This fact is beautifully carried out in nature. TIL
larina or impregnating dust Of plants, are it'll
, balls, extremely thin, ard filled with light gas
They are blown of from the male plant, and
falling upon the female plant impregnate il. M
tuTe has SO arranged it, that the unctious matte
which causes the impregnating part Of plants 10 a
tach to others, never occurs precisely the sam
: time in male aud female plants. Thus ifthe iarn
from the male pant bit the male, il does not al
here but il il hit the female, il does attach n