Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-06-30
POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.


Scientists have estimated that every year
a layer equal to fourteen feet of the entire
surface of all oceans and other waters is
taken up into the atmosphere in the
shape OF vapor, to fan as rain and again
flow back into the seas.
Bricks made of plate glass are of very
superior quality. A sand of iron and
glass is forged into a mold under several
thousand pounds pressure; it is then sub
jected to extremely high heat, which
causes glass and sand firmly to unite.
The bricks are perfectly white, and will
stand both frost and acid.
The new bridge in Paris, called the
Pont Mirabeau, is to be constructed
somewhat on the cantalever principle,
since it will rest upon two piers and meet
in the centre It's stability, however,
will depend upon an adjustment of
weight ike that of huge crane. The
long arm meeting in the centre will he OF
light construction, and to compensate for
its weight the short arm received by the
abutment will be especially heavy.
Herr Weismann, distinguished Ger
man biologist has pointed out that the
average duration Of the life of birds Is
by no means we'll known. Small singing
birds live from 8 to 10 years. Ravens
have lived for 100 years and parrots still
linger in captivity. Fowls live from 10
to 90 years, while the wild goose lives
over 100 years. The long life of birds
has been regarded as compensation for
their lack of fertility and the great NOR
tally of their young.
OFFICIAL TINE. Notwithstanding the
fact that standard time has been adopted
almost everywhere in the United States
for the last seven years, there still remain
some cities who subject themselves to
the inconvenience of double standard.
Among these was Augusta, Ga, which,
however, on March 1, formally adopted
eastern time as its standard. There arc
now but two places of any importance in
tho Union, says the Railway Guide,
where mean solar time, or as it is popu-
larly called, "sun time" is used. In both
of them attempts have been made to
adopt standard time, but the conserva-
tive spirit has been too strong and has
of affairs. In one case the effort was
made in the winter when the days were
short, and the difference in the hours OF
daylight soon made itself apparent and
the attempt TO readjust the working
ho1rs was failure. If, however, a trial
should be made during the spring and
summer it is doubtful whether any one
would be sensible that the change had
taken place. Both Of the towns referred
TO are on the line of railways leading to
Chicago and it is to be hoped that they
will try to bring about the reform before
the opening of the Columbian exposition,
otherwise they may figure in the eyes OF
the visiting foreigners as the only cities
in the United States whose inhabitants
still use the system in vogue in the days
of Christopher Columbus.
DIAMETER OF A THuspERBoLr.
you ever see the diameter ora lightning
flash measuredr' asked g9ologist.
''Well, here is the case which once in
closed flash of lightning, fitting it ex-
actly, so that you can just see how big
il was. This is called 'fulg,rite,' or
lightning hole, and the material 1t is
made of Is glass. will tell you how it
was manufactured, though it took only a
fraction of a second to turn il out. When
bolt of lightning strikes bed of sand
il plunges downward into the sand a
distance, less or greater, transforming
simultaneously into glass the silica in the
material through which it passes. Thus,
b. its great heat, it forms at once glass