The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 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 flora 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 145 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 3,1S7 earthquakes
were observed in Greece, |. e., about
twice as many as occurred In Japan
within the same time. The island of
Zanta alone had 2,018 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
warmer cline. Most of them fly ln
small companies, but certain species
often migrate in large focks, and the
most prominent examples of these, next
to the famous wild pigeons of the West
are the swallows, notably the white
bellied species. A faTorite route of
these swift flyers is over the salt
marshes which border the sea.
Claude Fuller, the English govern
ment entomologist In Natal, South Ar
rica, says that the Basutos eat locnsts
even making cakes of them, as he Is
Informed. In Pietermaritzburg the na-
tiyes, and some of the whites. gather
the flying termites that are attracted hv
the electric lamps, and use them both
for fish bait and for food. They are
sometimes toasted and sometimes fried
In a 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 tho
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
cessful experiments have been ner-
formed by moonlight. The balloons
carry self-registering thermometers and
barometers and attain enormous
heights, varying between 10000 and
$4,000 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 ponu,ar
phrase as ''the king of rats.o n CON
sisted of seven living rats inextricablv
bound together by the interlacinp Of
the tails. A photograph of the sinon.
lar group, together with a descrint,or
was sent to scientific journal in paris
The name king of rats is based mon
the tradition that the king of the world
of rats and mice is accustomed occa.
sionally to enthrone himself, adorned
with a golden crown, upon groun ~
rats with tails entwined. Several in.
stances of this curious phenomenon aro
recorded In books on natural history n
is said that the king of rats is formod
only in the winter, when the animals
crowd together to keep warm. ana ths
rodent friends of the unfortunate nris.
oners are credited with feeding them
out of benevelonce.