Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-13
SCIENTIFIC NOTES,


by naturalists cGLoptemuS Atlantis.
Mr.. Stearns also describes two speci-
mems of albino or white beavers, one cap
tured last year at Olympia, Washington
territory, the other about twenty two
miles away.
The Hessian fly did most of its damage
IN Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio, where it destroyed much winter
wheat. This fact seems to have escaped
most entomologists.
New parasites have been discovered By
Russian scientist n the blood of fishes.
Foreign organisms in the blood of healthy
animals have been looked upon by the
microsco pists too pluca as curiosities and
their relation to blood corpuscules little
studied.
Great injury is being done to strawber-
ries near Carbondale, ILL.,, by an undeter-
mined insect of the myriopod order. The
furnished plant bug has been very
troublesome in that state also. The army
worm this year has confined its ravages
chiefly to Chester county, Penn.
A member of the French Academy of
Sciences describes an animal which covers
the surface of young trout when fried.
These parasites have the appearance of
small pysiform cells attached to the mar
row end. 1t soon caases the death of the
ashland then takes up its abode on another.
Trout breeders should watch the
young fry.
NJ. G. Caslet has been studying leeches.
He finds they have not muscular power
enou ii to drive their little lancets through
N ID,
ingly scrape away the skin to mere mem
brane aud then puncture it. Those who
have to use these little blood suckers may
be interested to know the msthods of their
phlebotomy.
Mr.. Stearns describes the horned
toa1s or lizards of Placer county, Califor-
MIA, in the American naturalist. These
queer creatures change color with the
materials around them, so that if perfect
ly motionless they are not easily detected.
He says also, that the scale, imbrications,
tubercles, and horns are so related to the
surface texture of the ground upon which
they live as to be protection from dis
Covery.
Another interesting case is that OF the
oatasetum. The bees visit this flower to
gnaw the Ia bellum or front segment of
the blossom. In doing this they ine7i-
tably touch long tapering sensitive pro-
lection. This transmits a sensation or
vibration to q certain membrane, produc-
ing rupture, and spring il set free,
which shoots the pollen mass like an ar
row at the bee, and it fastens to him by
its adhesive quality. Thus the fertilizing
pollen is spread abroad.
Naturalists find off the sea coast of Kew
England on what are called the "outer
grounds" ore ''gulf stream SLOPE" which
unites lhs Continental plateau with the
depths of the ocean, many
species of animals which belong as
far south as Florida. This dispersion
has been caused By the warm water of the
gulf streams which moves northward
while between it and the shore flow the
cold waters of the polar current.
DR.. Cruger describes the marvellous ar
engagements by which bees assist in the
fertilization of plants. There is one of
the orchids that has bucket with an aper-
ture serving as a spout. Bees visit this
flower in search of material for comb.
They rub their backs against the stigma
of the flower and obtain glue. The pollen
adheres to them and is carried away.
When the bee thus loaded flies to another
flower and is pushed by its crowding COM
rades into the bucket and energies by the
spout with the pollen on its back it egain
brushes the stigma which takes up the
pollen and this is how that orchid is ferti-
liked.
The saving of wax is the most import
ant point in the economy of bees. Twelve
or fifteen pounds of dry sugar are needed
NF -
honey used must therefore be very great.
Every Improvement in the construction OF
comb saves wax and is a direct profit to
the insect. The time otherwise devoted to
wax-making is thus saved for storing hon
ey. The humble bee has such coarse cells
of great thickness, while the hive bees have
a wonderfully perfect architecture. It is
accomplished thus: The bees place them
selves at equal distances apart upon the
wax and excavate equal spheres around
themselves. The circles intersec5 and the
planes are built up with thin scabs OF wax.
Hexagonal cells OF the greatest deIicacy
are thus formed.
The Academy of Science of San Fran
cisco publish a record of Investigations
upon the snow storm which occurred there
last December. Snow storms are very rare
OI tLldL COSS1s anu Llo OCCurfSNC6 was q
matter OF surprise. Mr. 81. G. Hawks
melted some os the Snow to get pure water
for his laboratory. He was astonished to
get instead muddy water, which dspos
tied sediment. Applying the microscope,
this turned out to Do small fragments Of
quartz and mica, with large amount of
organic matter principally vegetable fibre.
The material resembled that of the great
Colorado desert, which Mr.. Hawks had
previously examined. It was wholly un-
like any soil near. At Frisno at the same
date shower of mud fell; samples ex-
amIned By Mr.. Hawks proved identical
with the material in the snow at San Fran
cisco. Reports from numerous other points
come Of sand storms and Snow with
a dirty residuum on melting. Tho
probability of serious injury to eur breath
ing animals by infectious germs carried in
this way is pointed cut in the payer. and
atmospheric poison limited at as the cause
of many visitations of disease.
1t is we'll known that the crustacsous
We class including the HOLSTERS and crabs
cast their shelly coverings
annually. This process is called
and &c to FLa H.