The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1897-02-04

,een inches deep.
No bird can fly backward with
out turning. The dragon fly, how
ever, can accomplish this feat and
coutstrip any swallow.
The anabas scandems, or climb
ing perch. is Brazilian fish that
will cross great stretches OF dry
land or climb any tree in it's way.
In the fiords of the Norway
coasts the clearness of the water is
wonderful. At a depth Of thirty
fathoms objects the size of sill
yer dollar may be clearly seen.
The coolest region on earth is
the country around Werchojansk,
in Siberia. says Prometheus, where
the thermometer is sometimes ~
degrees below zero. The aver
age temperature Of January is A.
degrees below zero. More than
10000 people inhabit that region.
Almost all plants sleep at night,
though in the plant world there
are owls and bats that exhibit
most life and animation after the
sun goes down. The Nicotina af-
fms, variety of tobacco plant,
the night-biooming cereus and
many others are examples of night
life in the world.
The theodolites used at the Blue
Hill Meteorological Observatory
for measuring clouds were recent
ly turned upon flock Of ducks
that was flying over The birds
were found to be at a height of
9zS feet above the lower station in
the Neponset valley. and they were
flying at the rate of AS miles an
hour.
In so dry a region as central
Australia frogs are found in fair
numbers, creeks and clay pans
'swarming" with them. AS the
waters dry up the frogs disappear
in their borrows. remaining till
the rains come again. Certain
species of them," says Spencer,
gorge themselves with water be-
fore they go into their retreats.
and in times Of drought the ma
tives dig them out and obtain
enough water from their bodies to
satisfy their thirst.
To- I'll, ho
supply of natural gas in the United
States fell off One-half from 1888
to 1898. The decline has been
less in Ohio and Indiana than in
Pennsylvania. the product in the
last-named state being worth more
than nineteen million dollars in
1865. Owing to the adoption of
less wasteful methods the falling
off has not been SO rapid since
1891 but it still amounts to an av-
erage decline Of five per cent ev-
cry year.
A peculiar effect of barometric
change is seen in the breathing
ground of limestone districts If
we'll in this kind of soil is COW
cred over SO that only small hole
is left in the top, and lighted
candle is held near this hole. quite
a strong current Of air can some
times be noticed. The ''breath-
ings are irregular, and accompany
barometric changes, for the reason
that when the pressure Oh either
side Of the opening is heavier than
that on the other side, flow sets
in from the heavier to the lighter
Extensive deposits of ancient
volcanic ash in southwestern Ne
braska have lately been turned to
useful account as source OF pull
verified pumice, which has become
an important article of commerce.
Prof Salisbury of the University
of Chicago, after examining the
localities where the ash is found,
concludes that it was deposited in
water at time when that region
of country was covered by lake
which is supposed to have existed
late in the tertiary period, and the
ash is believed to have been borne
thither by winds.
F. Trunks of trees changed to stone
from which magnificent specimens
Of bandedIagate can be cut, are
found in the Yellowstone Valley
in Arizona and elsewhere in the
West, but east of the Mississippi
such things are very rare. Re-