Kootenai County Republican. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1899-1903, 1901-07-19
Tkszl1s%CienCe
|NsIlvention

At Kfmmswick, Mo-, an extraordi-
mastodOns has been discovered. Al
though but a small portion Of the de-
post has been worked by the paleOn-
tologists who discovered 1t. the remains
already unearthed represent between
200 and 300 individuals. Mastodons
Of all ages and sizes are included In
the collection.
Prof. S. II. Vines, president OF the
Section OF Botany in the British Assoc
citation, referred in recent address to
the force by which water is raised
from the roots to the topmOst leaf OF
a lofty tree. and remarked that 1t
must be regretfully confessed that one
more century has closed without bring
Ing solution Of the old problem OF
the ascent OF the sap. One OF the sug-
gested explanations requires that in
tree 100 feet tail the Transportation
force must equal pressure Of 800
pounds to the square inch. But Prof.
Vines says there Is no evidence that
a tension Of anything like such an
amount exists in TRANSPORTING tree.
Now that special efforts are being
made to exterminate mosquitoes. Ow-
ing to the belief that certain species
OF those insects are responsible for the
spread Of malaria. the fact that small
fish are great destroyers Of mosquito
larvae assumes increased interest. This
fact Is vOuched for by DR.. l.. o. How
ard of the Department Of Agriculture.
He tells Of two small lakes formed
nearly side by side In Connecticut by
an invasion Of the sea. one Of which
contained half dozen small fish,
while the other was fishless. Suisse
Quent examination revealed tens OF
thousands of mosquito larvae In the
fshless lake. but the other contained
not one.
All snakes lay eggs. Some snakes
hatch out their eggs before depositing
them. Thus there is distinction. The
egg layers are said to be oviparous, the
others viviparous. Viper, indeed, is
derived from that reptiles supposed
habit Of producing it's young alive, but
no matter what the species, every
snake egg. as soon as formed, begins
to hatch. Thus II matters little as to
when or how they are extruded. Bar
ring accidents. there is very sure to be
fine brood OF young snakes at a
very early date. While the young
snakes are very small the mother rep
tile guards them vigilantly. Upon the
approach Of imminent danger she opens
her mouth and lets her young run down
her throat.
! Monsieur Delaney Of the French
Academy Of Sciences has Just an
nounced the result Of curious inves-
tigntiOn concerning the preferred
numbers" Of the inhabitants of differ
ent countries. The basis OF the inves-
tigatiOn Is study Of the various de-
nominations Of money. postage stamps
and other measures. 1t appears that
nearly all races show a marked prefer
ence for the numbers two" three
and "fve." and their multiples. But
, the Mohammedans avoid the number
three" Neither In Turkey nor In
Persia" says Monsieur Delaney,
docs one find n trace Of this number
and It ls scarcely found in Egypt
Among the French and other Latin
peoples two" and five" are more
popular than three" while the Eng
lish prefer two" and three" and the
Germans "three" and five" The Chi.
nese resemble the Latin race in their
choice. while the people OF India have
strong liking for two" The mum.
her 'sevcn" Is most used in Russia and
other Slavic countries. The higher
numbers are not much used except In
Spanish countries. as III" In Saliva
dor. at" In Mexico, 49, in Spain and
"3l" in the Philippines The people OF
Hawaii are said to be quite fond OF
"13."