The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-06-21
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.


raine are wine and tobacco.
in 1890 the agricultural implement
manufacturers of this country made
materials costing SCI, sos, 265 into prod
ucts worth ISL ,271, 651.
The chicken crop of Delaware is
away ahead of the wheat crop in value.
The difference would be bigger yet if
all the wheat that is grown in the state
were fed to chickens.
By a simple rule, the length of the
day and night, any time of the year,
may be ascertained by simply doubling
the time of the suns rising, which will
give the length of the night, and doub-
ling the time of setting will give the
length of the day.
The English government report of
an investigation into the influenza cpl
demic of the last four years regards the
proof of the contagiousness of the
disease from person to person as
overwhelming, and denies that it
is transported through the atmos-
phere: another warning of the folly of
unnecessary contact with the sick or
contact without precautions; an emf
nent laryngologist attributes the con-
tagiousness to the breath.
1t is a remarkable fact in botany
that no species of flower ever embraces,
in the colors of its petals, the whole
range of the spectrum. Where there
are yellows and reds there are no blues;
.,yiien blue and red occur there are no
yellows, and when we have blues and
| yellows there are no reds. Tulips come
nearer to covering the whole range of
the spectrum than any other species
They can be found ranging through
reds yellows and puppies, but blue
one has never been found.-Popular
Science Monthly.
"A considerable quantity of evidence
has been collected of power in tobacco
to destroy the micro-organism of chol-
era. Herr Wernicke wrapped cultures
in cigars inoculated them with sterile
dry and moist unsterilized leaves, i'm
| merSed them in infuSiOns, and envel-
oped them in tobacco smoke: and in
| every case they disappeared in a few
hours, except in five per cent. infu-
sion, when they lived thirty three days.
Tarsinari found that they were usually
killed after thirty minutes exposure to
| tobacco fumes. Immunity from cholera
| has been observed among worllmen in
tobacco factories. - Popular Science
| Monthly.
One of the deadliest serpents in the
tropics is the fer-de-lance, of which
there are at least eight varieties. These
snakes are of precisely the same color
| which will enable them to hide among
| the foliage or roots of trees. Sometimes
| they are bright yellow and can scarce
| ly be distinguished from the bunch of
bananas within which they lie coiled.
| Again, the reptile may be black. or yell
lowish brown. or of any hue resembling
| tropical forest mold, old bark or decom-
| posing trees. The iris of the eye is
orange, with red flashes, and at night
| glows like burning coal.
| The agricultural crisis" has called
out very Interesting review of Italian
agriculture, by Signor Galanti. He
states that the area of land under cul-
tivation in Italy is about 10000, 900
acres, of which nearly one-ffth is in
wheat, with an annual average yield of
I o. ut eleven bushels per acre; 5000, 900
acres are devoted to maize, with an
average yield of seventeen bushels
to the acre: 100000 to leguminous
plants. while oats. barley. rye and rice
comprise the rest of the cereals. Vines,
citrus fruits. olives and other fruits re-
ceive much attention. The farm live
stock includes 100000 cattle. 100000
| sheen 500 600 goats 500. 900 swine
72O, 900 horses and 100000 mules and
! donkeys.
| There is a tree which grows in
Madagascar called the "Traveler's
Tree" which is of the greatest service
to the tired and thirsty travellers in
that tropical climate This wonderful
tree has no branches, the leaves grow
ing from the trunk and spreading out
| like the sections of a fan. These leaves,
of which there are generally not more
than twenty-four on each tree, are
from six to eight feet in length and
from four to six feet broad. At the
base of each leaf is a kind of cup con
tanning about quart of cool, sweet
water. The natives save themselves
the trouble of climbing the tree by
| throwing a spear, which pierces the
leaf at the spot where the water is
stored. The water then flows down
nto the vessel held beneath it and the
traveller is enabled to continue his jour
ney, cheered and refreshed by the pre-
cious liquid nature has so kindly pro-
vided for his use.