Holbrook argus. (Holbrook, Ariz.) 1900-1913, 1900-11-10
EkMmSCienCe
Ess141ventiOn


The tensile strength of a wet rope Ii
only one-third the strength of the rope
when dry, while a rope saturated with
grease or soap is weaker still.
The tube of a twelve-inch gun has
fifty spiral grooves inside, which cause
the shot to revolve seventy-fve times
per second as it rushes through the air.
The difference between the tallesc and
shortest races in the world is one foot
four and one-eighth inches. and the
average height is five feet and cne-half
inches.
Since the beginning OF tbs century no
less than fifty-two volcanic islands
have risen out of the sea. Nineteen of
that number have since disappeared
and ten are now inhabited
In Tasmania are large forests OF tho
Australian beech, tree which some
times measures thirty feet or more in
circumference at the base of tue trunk.
The wood Is employed fos purposes
similar to those served by che beech
woods of northern forests, but 1t is
harder and heavier. polishes EASILY, and
Is very lasting il not exposed b the
weather.
The observations of Capt Carpenter,
OF the Royal Navy, show that the hurri-
cane which destroyed more than seven
teen thousand houses and hundreds Of
lives in the Islands of Barbados and st.
Vincent had calm 'eye" at its center
in,
non of central calm at the core of a
whirling storm Is characteristic Of the
West Indian hurricanes The diameter
OK the storm center, including the cir
ching winds that inclosed the eye, was
about thirty-ive miles during the Pc
Rod Of greatest destruction. After the
hurricane passed st. Vincent, the storm
center enlarged to a diameter of ITO
miles.
The nistral is famous wind which
blows cold and strong in southeastern
France. In the districts where it pre-
walls, the trees all lean toward the
southeast, and the gardens have to be
protected on the northwest side, from
which the wind comes, by lofty walls.
Last winter in Marseilles n carriage in
which lady was driving was blown
bodily into Il canal by the mistral, and
both the lady and the horse were
drowned. in consequence of this acct
dent and of other manifestations of the
power CT this destructive wind, the
mayor of Marseilles issued an order
that no carriages should be allowed to
drive alongside the canals or the water
front of the harbor while u mistral is
blowing.
The spider has usually been regarded
as a type of the solitary among ami
mails, each individual preferring to live
alone. But naturalists have discovered
exceptions to this rule, and among the
most remarkable are three species Of
spiders recently studied by Eugene ST.
mon in Venezuela. The most interest
ing of these, the Uloborus republicans,
seems to be truly republican in its in
stincts, several hundreds Of individuals
dwelling together in huge webs, made
up Of smaller webs linked together by
strong threads and fastened among
the branches OF trees. On these webs
the spiders can be seen moving freely
about, meeting and exchanging greet
ings with their antennae, like so many
ants. In the center of the main web
is space where the eggs of the entire
republic are laid. and where, at the
proper season, the female spiders can
be seen assembled. each guarding her
own silken cocoon filed with eggs.