The suburban citizen., 1900-10-27
POPULAR SCIENCE.

rOFUIRna SClENCE~
The ants in one nest are not all OF
the same size A Swiss professor has
found them as different as SO many
human beings, with dwarfs, giants,
cripples, etc.
Latest adyces from St. Petersburg
are TO the effect that the Russian Cow
ernment has appropriated an amount
Of 100000 rubles for the establishment
of mountain observatory in the eau
casus, on the top of a mountain In
the nelghborhood Of Tiplis, the capital
of the Caucasus The observatory will
be provided with the latest and most
improved scientific instruments, and it
is reported that the requisite buildings
Will he erected in the course Of the
present year Well known Russian
scientific men will be in charge Of the
new observatory.
Il. c. Green, Of tho, Ceylon botanic
gardens, reports n remarkable case of
web-spinning by red ants A breach
having been made in n structure of
leaves on which Il colony were ut
work, the ants ut once Cet TO work to.
repair the damage Some of them
went to a distant nest and brought two.
young ants that were in the grub.
stage and passed them back and forth
across the gap repeatedly. At length
It was seen that web was heing
spun, the silken threads issuing from
the mouths of the grubs. In this way
the breach was mended The mature
ants must have passed the spinning
stage; hence they impressed the young
sters.
The preservation of juicy frnitsmush-
rooms, etc, may, according to Ger
man technical journal, be effected by
placing the articles in warm, five
per cent gelatin solution. and after
cooling, submerging them in mix
ture Of twenty parts of folmic aide
hyde and ninety parts Of water. BY
this means an insoluble gelatin envel-
Ope is formed, which serves to keep
intact the natural form and color of
all fruits and succulent plants sub
jected to the treatment; moreover. fer
mentatiye bacteria are completely de-
strOyed thereby II would be impor-
tant, perhaps before eating the fruit,
TO get rid of the strongly antiseptic
covering, out Of respect to the stom-
Nch.
1t is n matter Of common observa-
tion that cats always fall upon their
feet. Recently Il Maltese kitten about
two-thirds grown, belonging to Mr. J.
II. Serylss Of Closter n. J., was
chased by a dog and took refuge in
a tall tree, which has almost no
branches up to a height Of sixty feet
The kitten ascended to that elevation,
and apparently through terror refused
to descend. 1t remained ON its lofty
perch four days and nights, including
one night Of tempestuous rain and
lightning. Finally boy, armed with
climbers, was sent after the kitten. On
his approach, 1t ran out on slender
branch and leaped Mr. Seryiss
watched it descend and observed that
its legs were widely spraWled, and
that it kept its belly toward the
ground, until, striking small branch
of neighboring tree about fifteen feet
from the ground its balance was de-
stroyed, and it fen on It's side. 30
bones were broken, but IL was severe
ly bruised, and for several days it
would swallow nothing but water.
Soon it entirely recovered.
In Albuquerque New Mexico, which
has an altitude of about 5000 feet, the
recipes and regulations laid down by
the ordinary cookbook are, it seems,
worthless. Water boils there at 2O2
degrees Fahrenheit instead of at 212
degrees, as at sea level; hence articles
Of food to be boiled require a much
longer cooking than the usual cook
book prcscribes. On account of the
extreme dryness of the air, farlna-
ceous foods, such as beans. corn, etc,
lose so mucL of their moisture that
they require long soaking in water
before cooking. The worst difficulty,
however, is said to be with cake and
break making. Ordinary directions as
to the number Of eggs and amount Of
baking powder break down altogether.
"As the baromehic pressure largely
determines the effectiveness Of the
raiser this may explain the unusual
action of the baking soda and egg