The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1892-02-27
scIEncE AND INDUSTRY.

"A French beekeeper has expert
mented with his bees as carriers of dis.
patches One difficulty of the bee serv.
ice is that the insects will not return
over distance of more than two OF
three miles.
Prof. Mayer has calculated that II
the motion of the earth were suddenly
arrested, the temperature produced
woysld be sufficient to melt and even
volatile it; while, II it fell into the sun;
as much heat would be produced as re-
suits from the combustion. of 5000
spheres of carbon the size of our globe.
The aquatic plant, the bladd erwort,
feeds on animal life. The tiny bladders
attached to the leaves and leaf stalks
are each furnished with door, the
whole acting on the cell-trap principle.
Any small water creature that ventures
to peep in it is seized in the clutches of
the murder Gus plant, and Is at once
swallowed and assimilated.
I'm Virginia there are IS, 600, 900 acres
of arabic land lying untitled. The
greater part of it is the property of
large holders who get no income from
It. and who do not possess the capital
needed for its cultivation. The state
authorities have come to their aid and
are striving to attract immigrants who
will take it up and put it to service.
PROT Huntington, of Cambridge,
said in a recent lecture that a meteorite
which fell in Russia in 1886 contained
carbon in the crystallized form of the
diamond. This seemed to him to sug-
gest an explanation of the origin of
diamonds, which has never been salts
factorily explained.
The last bulletin of the American
Geographical society contains an inter
esting paper on the curious discovery
of human remains under the Tuolumne
Table mountain of California. Bones
of men and grinding instruments were
there found by Prof. Whitney, inn
bedded in anriferons gravel under lava
at the foot of the mountain. Remains
of plants belonging to the Tertiary
age. and the bones of extinct man.
malta, such as the rhinoceros of the
west and the American mastodon, are
also met with in the same strata.
During the past ten years there has
been decided increase in the fishing
interests of Washington, notably in the
oyster fishery, the yield of which has
advanced from $4,000 to GO, 993 bushels;
in the salmon fishery, in which the
catch in 1850 was reported to be $50. coo
pounds, and in 1858 was 1888, 739
pounds; in the vessel fishery for food
species Including halibut and salt sal
mon) which has been established in re-
cent years, and the product of which in
1888 amounted to Csc. 900 pounds. The
fur seal fishery has declined considera-
bly, In value, though to a less extent in
number of skins
-One of the earliest accounts of star
showers is that which relates how. in
472, the sky at Constantinople appeared
to be alive with flying stars and mete-
ors. In some eastern annals we are told
that in October. 1909, 1.-The stars APP
peared like waves upon the sky. They
few about like grasshoppers, and were
dispersed from left to right" 1t is re-
corded that in the time of King William
III. there occurred in England wonder
full shower of stars. which seemed to
fall like rain from heaven. An eye-wit-
ness seeing where an acrolitc fell, cast
water upon it, which was raised in
steam with great noise of boiling"
Some years ago American cotton
seed was planted in Turkestan, and the
development has been something phe-
nomeDal In 1884 about 800. 600 pounds
of cotton were exported, while the PROD
uct for this year is expected to reach
$500, 900 pools, or about 126. 600, 900
pounds. At this rate of increase Asia
threatens to become a very formidable
rival to the cotton production of the
United States. The Asiatic as well as
the Egyptian cotton is packed much
heater than our cotton, and is COM
pressed SO tightly as to almost preclude
the possibility of spontaneous combus-
ton or other causes which cause fires
on shipboard and as q consequence it
is preferred by shippers, and is carried
at lower rate of insurance. Y.
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