Union gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1899-1900, 1899-08-25
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Holmes comet, which was discov-
cred in 1892, and which aroused great
interest because of an unexplained
,utburst of light that 1t exhibited while
retreating into space, was rediscov-
cred coming sunward once more, by
Mr.. Perrine, of the. Lick Observatory,
IN June II. Its period of revolution is
about seven years.
The new satellite Of Saturn, recently
discovered by Prof. w. G. Pickering,
with the aid of photography, has been
named Phoebe. Owing to It's small
size, probably not exceeding 200 miles
IN diameter, and its great distance from
the planet, about 7,7S7,O00r miles,
Phoebe bears no resemblance to such a
satellite as our moon.. Seen from Sat
urn, it would appear only as a star, and
faint star at that, probably just no.
dceable to the naked eye.
Wide currency having been given to
the statement that liquid air promises
to do the work Of coal at next to no
cost, because an experimenter claims
to have produced stem gallons of liquid
air by the use of three gallons in an
engine" President Henry Morton, of
the Stevens Institute, has pointed out
the fallacy of the claim. He shows
that 1t really takes twelve times as
much power to make gallon of liquid
air as that gallon could develop in an
Ideally perfect engine.
The waves of the Indian Ocean in a
strong west wind are three hundred to
four hundred feet long and sixty feet
high and have speed of thirty-three
miles an hour. Such wave weighs
B64 tons to the foot. If ship six hun,
dred feet long lies In the trough of the
sea a wave sixty feet high hurls
against it 21S, 400 tons, more than nine
teen times its own weight. This
weight does not fall upon the ship at
sea, because its buoyancy enables it to
rise, but If it drifts upon the lee shore
the power of succession of 21S, 400
ton blows will tear to pieces any ship
man has the cunning or the power to
build.
Mr.. Darwin once wrote book, which
many readers pronounce as interesting
as novel, on earthworms and the
wonderful way in which they plow up,
turn over and invigorate the soil. In
4 recent address, DIR. L. o. Howard, of
Washington, showed that many species
Of insects are also important agents
In soil making. They are found be-
meath the ground" he says, "in incred-
lble numbers, and they penetrate to a
surprising depth. The minute insects
of the family Pudoridae-which are
wingless-have been found swarming
literally by the million at depth of
six 10 eight feet in stiff clay subsoil." !"
Among the means of protecting fruit
trees against frost, practiced in Cali
fornia. Is the production of fog by a
generator in the form Of wagon, in
vented by George Z. Ditzler. The
wagon carries sheet-iron tank, the
upper part of which is filed with wet
straw, or similar material, kept moist
by the automatic injection of water
from a cask, while near the bottom is
CRATE upon which tar is burned, a
blast, operated by revolving fan,
serving 10 maintain the combustion.
All tbi heat Is compelled to pass
through the wet straw before reaching
the air, and in consequence the wagon
Is buried in dense fog, and as it pass
envelops them in mist so thick that
the driver is frequently compelled to
lead the horses.