The San Francisco call., 1896-04-19
Wasps Commit Suicide.

|
A short time ago, says Popular Science
News, M. Henry, being curious to see the
effect OF benzine on wasp, put some of it
under a glass in which one was impris-
oned. The wasp Immediately showed signs
of great annoyance and anger, darting at
piece of paper which had intro
duced the benzine into his cell.
BY and by he seems to have
given up the unequal contest in despair,
for he lay down on his back, and, bending
up his abdomen, planted his sting thrice
into his body, and then died. M. Henry
allowed his scientific interest to overcome
his humanity 80 far as to repeat the ex-
pertinent with three wasps, only to find
| that the other two did likewise. He is
| therefore of opinion that wasps, under
| desperate circumstances, commit suicide.
Various Notes.
The Soar family of Ambaston, Derby
shire, England, have a curious heirloom
n the shape of loaf of bread which is
now over 600 years old. The founders of
the family, 1t appears, were great friends
of King John. When that monarch died
he made several land grants to the Scars.
One of these tracts, it appears, had always
been conveyed with loaf of bread as
witness of good faith. When King John
made over the pa pers to the original Soar
he sent the traditional loaf along with the
writings" and the deed and the loaf are
both kept to this day as sacred relics.
The Hungarian crown, the royal head
dress worn at their accession by all the
Austrian Emperors, is the identical one
made for Stephen and used by him at the
time OF his coronation more than 800 years
ago. 1t is of pure gold and weighs nine
marks and six ounces (about fourteen
pounds, avoirdupois). 1t is adorned with
tifty-three sapphires, fifty rubies, one
emerald and 338 pearls, but no diamonds,
it being notion of the royal Stephen that
diamonds were unlucky.
The largest oak tree now standing in
Great Britain is that known as the "Cow-
thorpie." 1t is 78 feet in circumference at
the ground and about 146 feet high.
The most expensive carpet in the world
is now on the shelves of the Gobelins' fac
tory. 1t is worth $4,000, and was made
during the years 1869 and 1870. 1t was
ordered for Napoleon III, but was un-
finished when the Franco Prussian war
broke out. When that war was finished
he had no use for it.
Careful scientific observation shows that
the average speed of the transmission of
an earthquake shock is 16,600 feet per
second.
Among the latest inventions which
Yankee genius has given the W orld is a
doorknob which renders latchkev super
fiuous. By rotating the knob in the same
manner as safe lock until the proper
com bInation is secured the door can be
opened.
An ingenious man has invented device
Tor feeding his horse, and he does it with
one of the ordinary alarm-clocks For in
stance if the horse is to haye its morning
feed of grain at o'clock the alarm is set
and when the morning comes the horse
faS Sf hcfn re ,n,-te
are open. 1t is so arranged that the alarm
pulls the slide, letting the grain run
through sluice to manger.
Ramie cloth treated with tar has been
successfully employed in France as a
material for machine betting. Thus pre-
pared 1t Is unaffected by water, steam or
acids. and endures almost any amount of
friction. A belt of double leather $50 milIi-
meters wide gave way under tension of
1891 kilos; of the best cotton, under 1916
kllos; while one of ramie of the same
width required 1900 kilos to breakit
Paper telegraph poles are the latest de-
velopment of the art of making paper use
ful. These poles are made of paper pulp,
In which borax, tallow, etc., are mixed in
small quantities. The pulp is cast in a
mold, with core in the center, forming a
hollow rod in the desired length, the cross
pieces being held by key-shaped wooden
pieces driven in on either side of the pole.
stronger than those of wood and to be un-
affected by sun, rain, dam pness or any of
the other causes which shorten the life of
a wooden pole.
The idea of copper-toed shoes was pat
ented January 5, 1858, by Maine genius
who made 100000 out of it. Another
similar invention which made great deal
of money was the metal button-fastener
for shoes, invented and introduced by
Heaton of Providence. At the time it was
considered a fine invention, for the old
sewed button was continually coming off.
1t has gradually grown. ispepnlarIty since
Its introduction in 1861 Afftik now very
few shoes with buttons saase Manufactured
without the Heaton improvements and
appliance.
Wooden trestle structures i'll the United
States aggregate 1000 miles in length and
represent an expenditure of $50, ,000, 900. As
they must be replaced about once in nine
years the annual outlay is about 81 900, 600.
Commissioner of Public Works Coils of
New York will not permit the srreet-paying
to be torn up for the purpose of laying
pipes and wires oftener than once year.
1t is reported from France that the
fresh juice of the poppy plant applied to
recent bee stings gives immediate relief
and prevents inflammation.
Deep and rapid breathing is recon-
mended as means of stopping hiccough.
Tricycles for mail collectors will be used
in Chicago.
From twelve to thirteen miles is the
computed range of the most powerful guns
now made, and to obtain that range an
elevation of nearly forty-five degrees is
found to be necessary. Qulck-fring guns
are more depended upon at the present
day than extreme length of range, and in
this respect what is considered the most
wonderful OF guns, perhaps, is one OF the
Maxims, which can tre as many as 6n0
shots minute, and yet is so hight that a
soldier can carry it strapped to his back
In the report of the Fuedlinburg Gas
and Water Company it is stated that the
saving in the cost of pumping with gas
engines, as compared with steam, taking
the last year in which steam was used and
the second with gas, was AZ per cent.
No eye, says the scientific writer, has
ever seen real fire. The flame is leaping in
strange. fantastic form, fifteen or twenty
inches upward from the coal, and with it
is good deal of black, sooty smoke. The
sooty smoke and the flames are one and
the same, with only difference of tenn
perature. The SCOT which forms the flame
is redhot. Every particle of the flame is
rednot coal or particle of carbon. The
real Fl ra wa do not