The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-07-14
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.


firnan permitting the Palestine en-
ploration fund to dig for two years at
Jerusalem Mr.. Bliss starts on Zion.
and will proceed toward Ophcl, explor-
ing the tract lying between the south
wall of the city and the valleys OF Him
noru and Jchosaphat.
Tobacco culture is increasing rapid
ly in Queensland, Australia. The crop
has been found To- be the most piofita-
bic one raised in the colony. the local
demand from the tobacco factories sus-
tanning good prices for the leaf. Coffee
is also receiving increased attention in
the colony. and many trees have been
planted in the northern districts.
| According to the Glasgow Evening
News it appears that the latest statis-
tics issued by the German imperial
health department give 80 Berlin the
honor of being the healthiest city in
the world. The death rate is given as
only 1913 per 1000. The unhcalthiest
city is Alexandria, which, despite its
unvarying fine weather, its three hun
dred fountains and its soft sca brcczes,
has death rate of no less than 52.9 per
1000.
The talk about the danger of catch
ing disease from the wine vessels used
in the Protestant communion service
has led microscopic to institute an
inquiry whether there is not a like
danger from the use of common drink.
ing glasses and mugs in the liquor
shops. 1t is not at all probable that
this microscopist will find what he is
looking for. as the barkecpers wash
every glass or mug after il has been
used.
Miss Mary Westfall. of California,
during the past eight years has been
gathering. classifying, and exhibiting
Pacific sea mosscs and algm. Here is
probably the best and most beautiful
collection in the world She has made
special study of marine botany, and
has arranged with exquisite skill her
superb collection of more than three
Thousand specimens. Scientists who
saw portion of Miss Westfalls collec-
tion in the Woman's building ut Chi
cago were enthusiastic in their praise
of her work.
--Peanuts-or as they are called
there. ground nuts-are largely culti-
waited in India, the area devoted to the
, crop in the presidency of Madras alone,
ranging from 200,OO0 to aS0.000 acres.
} The methods of cultivation are very
rude and primitive. When the crop is
ready for harvest from forty to eighty
} women are employed per acre for gath
!. ering the nuts, which they do by grub
bing them out of the soil. The average
crop on unirrigated land is fifty bushels
: per acre, on irrigated land about twice
: that.
One of the latest uses of electricity
| is in pulling teeth. To the battery are
, attached three wires. Two of them
have handles at the end, while a
| third is attached to the forceps. The
patient grasps the handles, the current
, is turned on suddenly, and the dentist
, instantaneously applies the forceps to
/ the tooth. The instant the tooth is
( touched, it, as well as the surrounding
parts, becomes insensible to pain. y
quick jerk and the patient is relieved
of his tooth without pain.
, The bumblebees which We're intro.
r duced into New Zealand Il few years
, ago have become acclimatizedi and are
r spreading into neighboring colonies.
| They are almost the only insects that
are capable of fertilizing the scarlet
l clover which. being of annual duration,
must be fertilized every year, or else
=. the fields must be resown with inn
Z ported seed This beautiful and valna
BILE variety of clover gives a great
quantity of nutritious fodder, and fol
this reason great efforts have beer
made to introduce the bumblebee. st
: that the fields may be naturally resowr
: from plants grown upon the field.
in his recent work, The Great Bar
, rier Reef of Australia" w. $. Kent
, states that the average annual value o.
the pearl-mussel fishery in that regior
!, is $296, 900. The profits of the fishery
, are made out of the pearl shell only
for the pearls, and often very valuable
, ones, too, are frequent; they are appro
priated by the natives NJ. Kent dis
tinguishes two pieces of pearl shell
: the large white shell, Mcleagrina mar
garitifera, nd IL smaller black-edget
!. form which he names M. nigro-mar
y ginata. Mr.. Kent has proved that it i
= possible to transplant living pear
!. shells. Under favorable conditions tin
y shell is supposed to attain in three
years the marketable size of eight o
nine inches in diameter, and that il
five years pair OF shells may weigl
Z fiyfa ~, civ mounds