The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1892-01-02
POPULAR SCIENCE.

'N>AA-NJ A-N' "a NGAl IUiS
7,OO0,0 600 feet.
There is no way to bend wood bette,
than by stcaming.
An ornithologist says that birds fire..
uuently commit suicide.
Professor L;ntner, an authority on en-
tomolOgy, says that there are Il million G.
more species OF insects in the world.
A new method of divertinS and heal
ing the insane of Blackwell's Island. New
York City, is TO have them rehcarse in
comedy.
Cigarette-shaped" bullets were used
by General Canto's army. 1t is reported
that they "could go through two or three
men at Il time"
Recent improvements in telegraphy
enable certain companies to transmit 100
words for twenty-five cents and realize a
handsome profit.
The Yorktown is the only vessel in the
navy, so far, fitted with electric telegraph
for transmitting the range from the con-
ming tower to the gun divisions.
The land and sea breezes which are
common on the sea-coast are due to the
unequal heating of the atmosphere over
the land and water at different times of
day.
A red Asiatic carp ON view in the
AQUARIUM of the Trocadero in Paris is a
splendidly colored creature, and Is known
Is the fresh-water cardinal on account of
its deep scarlet tinge.
Since the Ice age, there is evidence in
the fossil faunas add f1oras of marine de-
posts and peat boys that northwestern !
Europe has experienced for some time a
climate considerably warmer than that of !
the present day.
In Great Britain, where dews are
heavy, it is estimated that the whole |
amount deposited in a year would be
equal to depth of several inches of
water. In some tropical regions dew is
deposited so fast as to be equal to light
rain.
Among the interesting exhibits at the
Frankfort Germany electrical exhibition
Is that of coach and sleigh having in
csndescent lamps at the end of the tongue
and in the lamp holders at tine sides.
The storage battery is placed beneath the
drivers seat.
: NJ. Contejean has observed that the
breathing of insects is the reverse of that
of vertebrate animals. In other words,
while inspiration in vertebrates is an ac-
tive process and expiration passive one,
with inscts inspiration is passive and ex-
piration active.
Winds are caused by the unequal dem
sity of weight of different portions of the
This is mainly due to
differences in temperature. The high
wind that accompanies thunder storm
at the close of a hot day is due to the
tact that the atmosphere, which has been
heated during the day, is now rapidly
rising, while the cooler atmosphere
around Is rushing in.
Mr.. Mu, in studying the porpoise at
Cape Hatteras, observed that the mothers
helped their young in their efforts to
breathe, by bearing them up to the sur
face of the water on their fippers, or
otherwise. The spiracle OF blowhole
appears to be sensitive part of the head.
When touched with the hand the animals
Invariably Shaved signs of discomfort by
lashing the tail.
In the examination of the poisonous
of insects and reptiles it is
apparent that the destructive principle is
the same in all, and that the fang ia all
possesses a hollow through which the
poison flows into the wound the moment
the incision is made. The sting Of the
scorpion is precisely like the fang of the
rattlesnake, and performs its deadly
work on the same mechanical principles.
The curious fact has recently been
developed that the species OF plants
dependent on insects for pollen for fer
tiiization are all pcrennials. Annals
IRE said to be self-fertilizers, and the
question has been raised why, if this
cross fertilization is for the benefit of the
ACE, race of ANNALS may not be bene-
tied by cross fertilization as we'll as a
al