The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-02-12

BRIEF NOTES OF SCIENCE.

Keller has shown in Madagascar
that the corals always grow out in the
direction of the strongest light.
In the collection of botanical speci-
mems made by the Cornell scientific
party in Greenland last summer are
some full-grown forest trees less than
three inches in height.
According to Engineering, some re-
cent researches by Capt. Abney show
that the light of the starry sky IS to
that of tie full moon about as l: 400.
The latter is usually considered to be
about as l: 100000 to that of the sun
at noon, so that we receive over
100000 million times as much
light as from the stars, taking both
hemispheres INTO consideration.
The very rare phenomenon called
ssIlant atoll" has been discovered
near Ithaca by Prof. tkjnson. 1t
consists of ring of plants fca.ing in
pond, with circle of clear water
within the ring. The plants derive
their nourishment from the decayed
vegetable matter tfat collects about
herr roots, and these are gradually
becoming anchored to the bottom, so
that in time true ring Island will
be formed resembling he coral atolls
of the southern oceans.
The chalk strata at Rheims France
contain the fossil bones Of bird rep
tiles and animals, which become
frequently shat Tered IN attempting to
remove them. 1t occurred to Mons.
Lemoine that the imbedded fossils
might lie photographed by the aid OF
Y rays, since the la ter pass readily
through chalk but are largely inter-
cepted by the phosphates Of bones. 1t
is reported that his photographs clear
ly indicate the details of the hidden
fossils.
NJ. E. Villari recently contributed
to the paris Academy Of Sciences some
observations on the property of dis
charging electrified conductors pro-
duced in gases by the X rays and BY
electric sparks. 1t was shown that
gas confined in a tube and exposed to
the X rays acquire rapidly the power
of discharging and electrified disk and
keeps this property for some time.
The passage of series of sparks from
coil strengthened by condenser
confers the same property ON gas
says Nature.
A successful experiment with bees
as the carriers of messages, 1t is said,
has been accomplished by an English
bee-keeper, who thinks the bees, in
some respect superior to pigeons for
the purpose. The message, photo
graphed in microscopic characters, is
fastend between the insects wings.
1t is the habit of the bee to rise in the
air, and then fly straight home. Such
a bearer of dispatches would be in
invaluable 10 war, for the insect being
invisible, except when close at hand,
would have nothing to fear from the
bullets of the enemy.
Since the colonization of the island
New Zealand 70 less than five hun
dred species of plants have been into
duced and acclimated. The presence
of these plants there is ascribed direct
ly or indirectly, to the presence Of
civilized man. They have followed
him, and curiously enough have driven
before them some of the plants in-
digenous to the soil. Most of the
invaders are small species, yet they
have prevailed over large and vigorous
native species. Man is conqueror, and
plants and animals which are able to
in his presence and under the condi-
lions which he creates are overrunning
the world in the wake of his con-
quests.