The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-07-09
~HATURAL1srp PORTFOLIO.

ca ana led by them in their youth.
T. THE IvoRY-NUr TRnE.-rhe ivory-n,
tree is very common in Sourh America.
Is a species Of palm the nuts mako choi
blttoiis and small ivory articles, while ii
broad md substantial leaves form d cove
lug for the hints of the natives. =
TIE ToRTorsE-SnELL cAr.455Tbe Spa,
18Th or tortoise-shell cat is the most beaut
full and pleasing of the cat specics The,
animals are often kept for thcir boaut
alone, and Mt one period a well-markcd to
toisc-sheii among cat-fanciors, brought
high price 1t is said that the fortoie,
shell cat Is found wild in South Amcric,
Spaniards. 49,
NEW WHu.E.-The gigantic wh.l
a?r.ured in February last in tho Gnlf !.
Taianto, Italy, has been subjected 10
critical examinatio:. by Professor. Capcilin
who. IN Q report lately published, statcs
l. as his opinion that the whale is q specie
hitherto Unknown TO science, and he h.
! a-nAl it Bnlenr Tnrentina, in allusion |
the locality Of it's capture,
MoNeTER SKATE -Foop OF SEA FIsr
"A gentleman in Scotland ,endo the follow
ing - Among other fishes which cam
10 our bats, my Daughters caught upo,
their long line q ,kate weighing 1852 Id,
inside The Akate Wa n goldfish weighing ]
l.Sf. md inside Tic Goldfish a plaicc. weipl,
pg about one pound. As there was a hoo
inssiej tho plaice, no doubt the flat fish too
The bal. fist, and was afterwards swallow
by tac cod who in his turn was swal
lowsd' BY tho skste."
ATVyNERAD,E CnE.rIUT TnEE.-Tb,
.srscst chestnut tree probably in the Stat,
or New Jersey was fclled recently in Cam
lon, On recount of its Plant size. it wa
III stsndisg When the land on which !:
y:cw was cleessd by John Sicllcr in 1754
For many ysais this monarch oil tho an
cient forests has beer a landmark in Can.
den County. Undor its shade Indian chi.
dfcn have doubtlcss sporLed, probably il
the time of Columbus. It was 81 feet {
inches round tho butt. :.
Size OF THE GREENLAND WHALE Ar
idea OF the enormous nizo of the Greenland
whale Is obtained On reading in an ac~out,
OF captures that "somc CT the mon de
cerde into the mouth OF the whale to nc.
move the b~aleen." The moth is q caps
cious chamber in which several mon cnn b.
busy ut once chopping or detac,iing hug.
blades of baleen from the roof Of thet
temporary workshop. As much MS TIVE
o weight hns been obtained from IL,
mouth Of q single whale. fn
aeY VEGETATION RAw.GTh.
vegetation of n certain kind will not onl,
exist but flourish without rain. appears b
lave been proved beyond doubt, for ID
DR.. Sc~hweinfurth's account of his Iourne,
across the Arabian desert, publishod Ii
i~'efey7nann's Mitfhelungen, be mention
that in one part where no rain had been
known for six years, he found some acacia,
and tamarisk still green aad f~lourishing,
while the last traces of horbaceous plants
had disappeared. A shy blue SALIVA wa,
found in p~rofusion in moro favored local..
lies. =. --T-l
ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF GRANVILLE.
The Piscicultural Institution OF gohwedr
has recently made some important sxpsr.
ments with a view to ascertain whether
the artificial culture Of river erssvnsh
tAsfacus Jr1piatiHs) is possible on n large
scale. The experiments were entirely sue.
cessfpl- In b spring of 1876 some seven
hundred crawfish with ova were put into
two circular ponds OF only six feet In diam.
eter, and for each animal o separate hole
had been constructed. At the end Of No.
vember the ponds were drained In order to
separate be yonng crnwish from tho old
1t appeared that Of the latter only
three or four were crawling at the bottom
"a ehC Poho, Wnho aA bnc obucIb uAQ OCCu-
pied their respective dwellings. The young
were Of the size Of q bee, and extremely
lively. They were taken out of the ponds,
and already m the following day could be
fed artiicially on carrots md meat Many
a land and garden proprietor could thus
crawfish culture o lucrative pastime
Mt very little cost, particularly since the
consumption of these crustaceans increase
largely every year.
AMERICAN CRows.-It is not generally
known that crows go on further south
than Washington during the winter. They
congregate there by the millions, and have
roosting places within three miles of the
city. Early in the morning, in huge fiocks,
they course down the Potomac, and late in
the evening return to their roosts in the
pine groves which lie adjacent to the river.
They follow the tide swamps whenever
barred by the ebb tide and subsist upon tho
crabs and other water animal life which
may be left exposed. But why they do
not remain some twenty or thirty miles
down the Potomac, where the pine groves
are o hundred times more extensive than
here, and where ice never forms, is unex-
planned. We nave gone near a roosting-
place, of q few acres extent, about dusk,
and were surprised to note the immense
number of these birds clinging to the
ranches of the trees. They keep up an
incessant cawing all night long, and when
disturbed, literally fill the air with their
masses and cries. When warm
weather comes, they leave us, and arc
as rarely seen here during the summer ~
they are further north during the winter. 81
WAY BEES Work IN DARK.--A life
time may be spent in investigating the
mysteries hidden in a bee hive, and still
half of the secrets would be undiscovered.
The formation Of the cells has long been q
celebrated problem for the mathematician,
whilst the changes which the honey under
goes offer Mt least an equal interest to the
chemist. Every one knows what honey
fresh from the comb is like. 1t is n clear,
yellow syrup, without a trace of solid sugar
in il. Upon straIning. however, it gradu-
ually assumes a crystalline appearnnce+it
candies, as the saying is, and ultimately
becomes a solid mass of sugar. It has not
been suspected that this change was duo to
a Photographic action that the same agent
Which alters the molecular arrangement of
the iodide of silver'on the excited collodion
plate, and determines the formation of
cnnphor and, iodine crystals in q bottle,
causes the syrup honey to assume a crys-
talline form. This, however, is the case
Mgr. Schelber has enclosed honey in stop.
,,ered TASKS, some of which he has kept in
perfect darkness, whilst others have been
exposed to the light. The invariable re-
sdft has been that the summed portion
tapidly crystallises, whilst that kept in tho
dark remained perfectly liquid We now
see why bees are SO careful to work in the
dark, and why they are so careful to OBJ
scure the glass windows which are some.
times placed in their hives The existence
N their young depends on the liquidity OF
chs sacchnrine food presented to them, and
il light were allowed access to this, the
syrup would gradually acquire a more OF