The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-05-13
SCIENTIFIC AND MECHANICAL

A RECENT communication to the State
Department, from the United States Con-
sui at St Helena, states the fact that the
white ants. which effected Judgment in the
island, are rapidly destroying everything
upon it. No wood but teak, and sometimes
not even that, escapes their fangs; and
Numbers Of houses in jamestown have
been fairly Quilted by tbew-dOOrs, vim
dovs, sashes, floors, and roofs, all being
eaten up, leaving nothing but the hare
walls.
The Siam papers report the fortunate
news Of the capture Of an albino or white
elephant. He had been brought to the cap
ital in state and will in due time succeed to
lie highest dignities of STATE, the chief
lite elephant ranking next the Queen,
and the heir apparent coming next only to
this elephant.
ANOTHER tigress is recorded as dead in
India, at the hands Of Major Daires, Of the
Madras Presidency, and none too soon.
She had in seven years, killed above 10
persons in few villages, so that many fam
lies had lett, and great part Of the land
had gone out ofcultivation.
DR.. FAYRER has found that the water
snakes Of India are deadly poisonous. In
the Bay Of Bengal they swarm, and Il is
noted as ominous that lately it was proposed
to erect a seabathing establishment for Cal,
cutta, AZ Parwar, under the assurance there
were no sharks 1t is remarked that sharks
need not he noticed when a bather may
have deadly water-snakes swimming after
him.
NATURAL history, and dancing and the
police Such is our announcement from
Madras. la consequence Of fatal case,
the Commissioner Of Police has ordered
that the dancing girls shall not dance in the
Hindu temples with cobra snakes thrown
round their nscks This will cause great
DISAPPOINTMENT to the piOus votary and the
interested amateur. 1t will tend, however,
to lessen the reverence for the cobra, and
may bring his tribe into greater danger of
repression
LIEUTENANT PAYER, well known for bis
geological investigations in the Alps, has
lately communicated some facts 10 regard
to discoveries in Greenland by the late
German expedition, of which be was mem
Der, and in this he calls attention especially
to the probability OF the hypothesis that
Greenland is essentially congeries of is
lands similar to that west Of it, and not a
huge continental mass, as has been suppos
ell BY most authors. One strong evidence
Of this be con siders to be furnished by the
deep inlet discovered by the expedition, pre-
vlously unrecorded on any chart, and which
received the name of Emperor Francis
Joseph's Ford. This was found to extend
deep into tie interior Of the land, coLtinu-
ally opening into new arms, and widening
10 places until it was traced out for over
one third, Of the estimated breadth Of
Greenland, and without any Indication Of
coming to an end. Indeed, in a soashwes-
terly direction, it opened out into what
looked like great basin into which the
ford itself empiied. The circumstance
also that the sadness of the tiords is gener.
ally greatly diminished by the fresh water
streams pouring into them when they are
simply Guide sacS, and the fact that the
great Greenland ford, Notwithstanding the
enormous addition Of fresh water, retained
all is saltness, pointed to a maritime com
municatiOn with the opposite side Of the
country. Time was not allowed the party
10 prosecute the exploration Of this supposed
strait but it is believed, as stated, that it
finds Its opposite opening in Bafhn's Bay.
Another still more potent argument in favor
Of the assumption that Greenland is a con-
geries Of islands, and not a continent, was
found in the apparent absence Of great
valleys, such as usually char
acterize continents, these being entirely
wanting in the northeastern part Of Green
land. nult.E
1T would appear from a communication
in lie Journal de Quebec that the sea ID
steadily swallowing up the land at St.
Thomas, and possibly other points on the
lower st. Lawrence, correspondent of the
Engineer asserting that at low tide, some
thirty years ago, be saw the ruins Of the
third church built in the locality within the
space of two hundred years. and that since
the tubates, or banks covered BY the tide,
have advanced from one to two leagues in
Ia tbs iukarior