Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-11-02
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Plants, like animals, are continually
wandering to fresh fields and pastures
new. Professor Kellerman finds that
Of the present fora Of Ohio no less than
430 are immigrants. Almost all are
from Europe.
The number of stars distinctly visi-
BILE without the aid Of a glass is put
by Gould at 1888. Professor New
comb says their number is near 7,647.
These are up to the sixth magnitude.
Professor Newcomb estimates the
number up to the 14.5 magnitude at two
hundred million.
The country most frequently visited
by earthquakes is Greece, and not
japan. as was hitherto generally be-
lieved. During the six years from 1893
to 1898, not less than 3,187 earthquakes
were observed in Greece, /. e.. about
twice as many as occurred in Japan
within the same time. The island of
Zanta alone had 2,O1S shocks during
that period.
The great majority of our birds live
by taking insects on the wing, and as
they cannot obtain this sort Of food
after the reign Of frost has set in, they
are compelled to betake themselves to
a warmer cline. Nest of them fly In
small companies, but certain species
often migrate in large fiocks, and the
most prominent examples of these, next
to the famous wild pigeons of the West,
are the swallows, notably the white
beIIied species. A favorite route of
these swift flyers is over the salt
marshes which border the sea.
Claude Fuller, the English govern
ment entomologist in Natal, South AZ
rica, says that the Basutos eat 1ocusts.
even making cakes of them, as he is
informed. In Pietermaritzburg the ma
tives, and some of the whites, gather
the flying termites that are attracted by
the electric lamps, and use them both
for fish bait and for food. They are
sometimes toasted and sometimes fried
! in pan with butter. He quotes from
friend the statement that bugong
moths are cooked by the natives on hot
ashes and eaten with great gusto.
French meteorologists engaged in the
exploration of the upper air by means
of captive balloons have found that,
owing to the effect of the suns heat on
the balloons, the best results are at
tanned at night, and their most sue
cessfuI experiments have been per-
formed by moonlight. The balloons
carry self-registering thermometers and
barometers and attain enormous
heights, varying between 10000 and
sc, 900 feet. The highest flight recorded
by the instruments is nearly nine and
one-third miles.
Last winter there was discovered at
Chateaudun in France an example of
the rare phenomenon known in popular
phrase as "the king of rats" 1t con-
sisted of seven living rats inextricably
bound together by the interlacing of
the tails. A photograph of the singu-
lar group, together with q description,
was sent to scientific journal in Paris
The name king of rats is based upon
the tradition that the king of the world
of rats and mice Is accustomed occa-
sionally to enthrone himself, adorned
with golden crown, upon group of
rats with tails entwined. Several in
stances of this curious phenomenon are
recorded in books on natural history. II
is said that the king Of rats is formed
only In the winter, when the animals
crowd together to keep warm. and the
rodent friends of the unfortunate pris
oners are credited with feeding them