The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-01-18
OF LOCAL INTEREST.

~ Aooelti'oh ~. ~ otoWdIt - lying at
the dock having arrived here from Du.
s1uth about eight o'clock Thursday even.
.ing bound for Isle Royal. AS there has
been no ice on the lake nor in the <harbor
this winter, the Stewart experienced no
difficulty in reaching here on mid-sum.
mer time.
In concert hall of Paris electric en-
ergy has been put to the novel use of
moving the ceiling. This is in two parts
which are drown back on travelling
cranes, opening the hall to the glass
roof by day. The opening or closing of
the ceiling is effected in one minute by
two electric motors
Senior Davis has introduced bill for
the relief of claimants on the public
lands: under the homestead laws, The
bill proposes to re-epact sections 2 and
g of the act of Marcn, 1889, as the inter-
ior department has held that such act
does not apply to persons who filed on
the land for the first time or made final
entry for the first time since March 2,
1889. This bill is for the relief of settlers
who lost their claims because they we're
unable to live upon them during the
hard times.
Senator Davis also introduced bill
providing that where parties have filed
application to purchase lands under the
timber and stone act and have been un-
able from any collse to make such pur-
chase, they may, in the absence of any
valid adverse claim thereto, file a second
application for such lands and make
final proof.
Some interesting Investigations con-
corning dormant seeds have been made
in Germany by DR.. A. Peters. In his
second series of experiments, he has
visited dense forest, which occupies a
site from which villages and cultivated
fields disappeared several centuries ago,
and from shaded places which have been
destitute of surface vegetation for years
he has taken specimens of the sail at
different depths. His purpose was
chiefly to determine whether there we're
seeds of corn field weeds still retaining
the power of termination and develop
ment.' From the specimens of soil he
has succeeded in raising plants repre-
senting about fifty species, including
some that are essentially weeds of cul-
tivation; and he finds the belief justified
that buried seeds of many pasture plants
and corn-feld weeds retain their vitality
mulch more than balfa century-at least
under the described condition.
The food habits of woodpeckers have
been studied by Mr., F. E. L. Beal from
an examination of more than 600 stom-
chs. He has found that the Hairy and
Downy woodpeckers CDryobates villosus
and pubescens) feed chiefly on harmful
insects, eating also wild fruits and seeds.
The Flicker (Colaptes auratusl subsists
largely on ants. of which insects more
than 5000 were contained in each of two
stomachs. This species also eats other
noxious insects and some Wild fruit.
The food of the Redheaded woodpecker
(Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is largely
insects, nearly all harmful, with wild
fruit and some corn and cultivated fruit.
The Yellow Bellied woodpecker, or Sap
sucker (Sphyrapicus varius,) feeds large
ly on the inner bark and sap of trees,
eating also arts and other insects, and
is the only species taking more vegetable
ian animal food,
A case of double bra1r action of much
apparent significance has been recorded
by Mr.. L. @. Bruce in Brain. In one
condition the patient spoke in English,
in the other his language was Welsh
In his English period he was the subject
of chronic mania. He was right, handed,
showed fair intelligence, and remem-
bered clearly the events of previous
English periods, but had no recol-
lection of the occurrences of the
Welsh portion of his existence. He
wrote by preference with his right hand .,
in the usual way; but on request wou Id
write with his left hand, in that case
producing mirror writing -traversing
the paper from right to left. When in
his Welsh stage, however, he was left
handed and the subject of dementia
His speech was almost unintelligible, but
was all in Welsh so far as could be un-
derstood, and he had no idea of English.
His mental and physical conditions
altogether were the reverse of what they
were in the English stage. These obser-
vations convince Mr.. Bruce that the
right and left hemispheres OF the
cerebrum are capable of indepen-
dent action, each controlling the PERSONS
thought and existence during its active
period, and alone receiving the mental
impressions of that period.
THE ST. PAUL WEEKLY GLOBE.