The Van Buren press., 1894-10-20
ALMOST INCREniEUE.-

ALMOST 1NCREcfELE.
Strange nut True stories Ne searuing sarts
uussanimais and RIants.al.
There are manv surprising thingssin
plant and insect iife. espeeiaiiv when
arc used To call attention
to them or instances. DeIisle tells rs
OF tiv that ran nearfv three inches
and maue $40 steps IN half Il seeentt.
his sis abotrt euuaiato a mans rum
uing 70 miles a minute. fhe flea leans
200 times its own length. 4 this rate
a man SIX feet tait would bounu at one
effort Il distaHceaof Loo feet.
The mite IN the cheese rs only ons-
fourth OF an inch in length. vet It can
take the 1ip OF its taih In its mouth.
and then. letting go with sudden
Jerk. jump out of bowl SIX inches in
depth. To equal this man should be
a bic to 1ump out OF Il vertical shaft n
4 mine IA feet IN deptf1
President Clark of Amherst college
some wears ago made series of experi-z
menfs upon the growing face of d
squash. W hen II was IL days Old and
measured ~ Inches IN eircumferenee.
lie inciosed 1t In sort OF iron ana
wooden harness. with long lever nt=5
taehed
The latter WIS weighIed according
10 the growing power of the sauash-
beginning with 90 pounds ON tine tsven-
tiebh dav OF Its existence. ON the nluH-
lleth dav it lifted 5.00o pounds.
A peculiar ptant is founu III the states
of Oregon ana Texas. L is known as
the compass piant. the polar plant and
The pilot weea4 owing to the polarity OF
Its leayes
The radical leaves present their
edges north and sOutfI. Whiie their
faGes are turned east and west. This
peeuiiaritv mas long been known TO
hunters. VIM. on dark nights. easiiv ger
their bearings pv feeling tine direction
nf the leaves.
The seed of the globe turnip is not
larger perhaps. than the twcntiethf
part of an inch IN diameter. ana vet IN
the course OF few months this SEED.
viii be enlarged by the sell and the air
into s7. oO0.8o0 times ITS original bulk.
and this in addition DO considerable
buncn of leaves.
DIR. Desguilers name some experf-
menbs proving tnat.. in an average con-
dition. turuip. seed mar increase its
own weight ID times ii minute. By
IN actual experiment. naue ON peat
ground. turnips nave been found 70 IN
crease more =than Il .010a times the
weight of their seeds d uav.
There is sheiltish called the coat
of-maii. which has its ewes. not on Its
bodv. where we would naturally look
for them. hutl on its she'll. They
glisten like crystals in their ea1careens
settings. As we'll might we eXp peeb to
seeseYes on the smell of tortoise. or On
our finger nails.
This discovery. SO new IN science. mas
led to closer inspection. In lone
Specimen 500 eyes were counted. "a
rows. with an averages OF is in eacn
row. Another smell. in which the ewes
were very smaii- had $500 ewes on 1t.
Fish live TO wonderful age. Prof.
Baird tells us of pike in hussln whose
age dates back to the fifteenth century.
In sthe rovaf aquarium st. Peters.
burg there are fish that nave been there
for id0lvears. Thew live on without
seeming TO arrive at maturity
Perhaps not one pov IN twenty wnIie
digging WORMS for Dait- stops TO Won
der why worms were maue- or now
manv there are m the ground.n
The attention OF Darwin. theeInineni
naturalist. was attracted to thesubleci
when a boy, and one OF theilast Hrtr
. cles that ne wrote was a treatise ON the
! vastiEaportrance of the earthworms re
the human race.
The scientific world WAS astonlsne1
at what he had to savson tine subject
The fertility OF our soil is due 10 the
1obors OF these insignificant creatures
BY penetrating the earth in every di
, rection ana depusltlnE their own re
mains therein the fertility OF the sol
is not onlv kept up, butnis largely i'm
proved. Their number is surprisingly
large.
MIR. Erqunart estimated the number
of worms In tine ricn pasturcianus neal
| Auckland. New Zealand. at from 4o0s00t
to 100000 to the acre.. We're II not fol
ttiiis eai,tfiwerrns soils would become
barren. and half of the world would
| die OF starvn-ion.---Elfa Ill. Stau1fer
! in N. Y. Advertiser.