Evening star., 1897-01-02

historic race who developed the civilization
and art to which the name of Mycenaen or
Mykenaen is Professionally given. So far
as excavations have yet extended, this race
seems to have found its apogee in the city
OF Myeanae. explored first by DR.. Schlie
mann, though its remains are widely dis
trifuted from Hissarlik, in Asia Minor the
the probable site of ancient Troy. through
the Islands of the Aegean sea to Sicily and
the coast of Italy. Crete, Cyprus, the Pei
oponnese-all were settled and at some
time ruled by the Mycenaeans who appear
to have been the Vikings of the antique
world
Remarkable People.
1t is probable that with them navigation
arose. they were explorers and conquer
ors. they have left vestiges of their inter
course with the valleys of the Nile ana
Danube, ard probably extended their out
posts as far Southern France and Spain.
1T is rot improbable that the chief god of
the Greeks, Leus, was one of their earliest
rulers, and from them many If not most.
Of the charming myths and legends which
comprise the beginning of Greek litera-
ture mrst have been handed down. OF
later origin than the civilization of Eu-
pirates and the Nile. they appear to have
borrow cd nothing from these. until their
own culture had reached a brilliant and in
dependent maturity
To trace the origin of this remarkable
people, to reconstruct from scattered re-
mains their history. their wanderings and
achievements, and to find the causes of
| their decadence and dispersal, is today the
most fascinating field of antiquarian re-
search. Yet, twenty Years ago. there
not so much as a surmise that the Myce-
naens had even eXisted-so rapidly does
knowledge progress in Our day.
A Nest-Building Fish.
Mr.. Bashford Dean, author Of a recently
published work on Fishes Living and
Fossil" gives some curious and not less
interesting details regarding one of the
very few fishes that are known to con-
struct nests in which the eggs of the fe-
male are deposited. The common stickle-
back, which constructs nest woven of a
Slutinous thread. is probably the best
known type of a piscine having this habit
The fish whose methods Mr.. Dean describes
can fresh waters At the opening of
spring, it leaves the deep waters of the
lakes, where ii has taken refuge during
the cold of winter. and seeks to warm
itself in the shallow waters of the border,
celecting particularly the tufts of matted
vegetation which abound there.
With the advent of the depositing season
the Amias resolve themselves into small
bands, composed OF single female and
several males. These troups. swimming
around in narrow circles, press down and
pull over the stems OF vegetation. and in
this manner build a nest much a dog
or cat would do in turning down the grass
through their peculiar evolutions before
finally placing themselves in position. The
cSSS dIt SluSu 10 tIle D6NelOpment
proceeds very rapidly, and twenty-four
hours after deposition the young have al
ready quit the eggs. During this time only
one male, whose manifest duty it is to give
fatherly instruction to the young, remains,
caring for the progeny in various ways.
He keeps company with the fry during sew
eral days, leads them to short distances
encourages them and protects them with
considerable force and persistence against
the intrusions or attacks OF possible enc
mics. Finally, the association of fry dis
bands Each animal seeks its own path of
living, as does likewise the father, his spe-
cial work having been accomplished.
Training a High Speed Locomotive.
1t seems curious that locomotive should
have 10 be put through a course of training
very much like that of trotter in order TO
bring 1t to the highest speed efficiency but
it is nevertheless a fact. From a fortnight
to two months are required to bring one of
the fine new locomotives such as carry the
Empire State Express or fly between New
York, Philadelphia and Atlantic City, into
perfect condition. When the engines are
first brought from the shop they are in
clined to be stiff, awkward and refractory
in many instances and If attempt were
made to run them at speed Of from sew
enty to ninety miles an hour the result
would be apt to be disastrous in the injury
it would do the machine.
So, for a short time the new locomotive
is first put on to side run and worked up
hour. Then, IL ii does good work, 1t is put
on to an ordinary run the main line
This is not only to get its bearings worn
down and its parts into properly adjusted
relationship, but also to get it accustomed
SO to speak, to the track.
Any locomotive engineer will tell you that
the engine seems to have great many hu-
man Qualfties-th; 1t will have moods, and
at one time run well, and another be per-
verse and intractable 1t is for this reason
that as rule, the same engineer always
runs the same engine. Usually there are
two crews, one OF which works the engine
one day and the other the next, but the en-
gineer himself always has his own engine.
AS rule, when new locomotive is put
on to a road the engineer who Is to take it
when 1t is put into fast service assumes
charge of it from the beginning and does
the breaking-in himself This is done in
order to enable the engineer to acquire the
most minute acquaintanceship with hts
machine, SO that he will understand its ca
pabilities perfectly. 1t Is a curious fact
that, of two engines built in the same shop
and with almost Identical castings, very ,
often one will exhibit a wide variation in
action from the other. They differ almost
as widely as engineers themselves. and by
making the acQuaintanceship of an engine
early in its life the engineer comes to re-
gard his machine as a sort of second self.
Electric Iron and Steel Smelling.
The all-pervading conquest of electricity
seems likely within another year to take
over yet another important branch of in
dustry. In this country. in France and in
Sweden, at least three well-known inven-
tors have taken out patents for electric fur
naees for the smelling of iron and steel
ard; 1t is understood. that in the last
named country the process is about to be
put into effect on a large scale. There DR.
De Laval has secured ore side Of the Falls
of Trollhatten, and has organized a large
company to exploit his invention. At Ten
hausen NJ. Herault the inventor of the |
electric aluminium process, known under
his name, and under which the larger part
of the aluminium OF Europe is manufac- |
tured, has also devised an electrical smell |
ter, and claims to have secured admirable
results therefrom. although no definite fie-
ures have yet been given out In this |
country Joseph A Vincent Of Philadelphia
has taken out letters patent of an exceed-
ingly simple smelling furnace which has |
received high cofnmendation from those
whD have examined 1t. and for which The
inventor likewise claims high eficiancy.
Briefly descrtbed. the furnace Iconsisss ~