The Bossier banner., 1892-02-25
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

SCtEENSE AMI tlNCOo n
"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 or
three miles.
Prof. Mayer has calculated that ii
the motion of the earth were suddenly
arrested, the temperature produced
would be sufficient to melt and even
volatile it; while, if 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 a 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
In Virginia there are Is, 600, 600 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.
Prof. Huntington, of Cambridge,
said in 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, i'm
bedded in auriferons gravel under lava
at the foot of the mountain. Remain:
of plants belonging to the Tertiary
| age, and the bones of extinct nam
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 ha:
been decided increase in the fishing
interests of Washington, notably in the
oyster fishery, the yield of which hal
advanced from Is, 600 to 60,993 bushels
in the salmon fishery, in which th'
catch in 1850 was reported to be $50, 00'
pounds, and in 1883 was 6,319, 73'
| pounds; in the vessel fishery for fooC
species Gncluding halibut and salt sal
mon) which has been established in re
cent years, and the product of which il
1858 amounted to CSC, 900 pounds. Th
fur-seal fishery has declined considera
bly, in value, though to a less extent il
number of skins
| -One of the earliest accounts of star
showers is that which relates how, i
472 the sky at Constantinople appeare
to be alive with flying stars and mete
ors. In some eastern annals we are toll
that in October, 1909, 1.-The stars ar
peared like waves upon the sky. The.
flew about like grasshoppers and wer
dispersed from left to right" 1t is re
corded that in the time of King WilliaI
IL. there occurred in England wonder
full shower of stars. which seemed
fall like rain from heaven. An eye-wi
ness seeing where an aerolite fell, cas-
water upon it, which was raised i
steam with great noise of boiling"
Some years ago American cotto
seed was planted in Turkestan, and tn
development has been something phe
nomenal. In 1884 about 800, 900 pound
of cotton were exported, while the proc
uct for this year is expected to reac
$780, 600 pools, or about 126,O0o,oo
pounds. At this rate of increase Asi
threatens to become very formidabl
rival to the cotton production of tn
United States. The Asiatic as well a
the Egyptian cotton is packed muc
neater than our cotton, and is con
pressed so tightly as to almost preclud
the possibility of spontaneous combu
ton or other causes which cause fire
on shipboard and as consequence
is preferred by shippers, and is carrie
at lower rate of insurance.-N.
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