The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-29
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The French roller boat built by NJ.
 England, after being exhibited for
 some time as a curiosity. Her construc-
 ton was most intricate and the amount
 of metal used enormous.
 A commission has been appointed to
 examine into the rapid death of the
 elm trees in New Haven, and it is
 found the trees are dying from lack of
 plant food ill the streets, multilation by
 horses. poisoning by Illuminating gas
 and by insects and elm tree beetles.
 Some time ago an attempt was made
 to attribute the death of trees to stray
 electric currents.
 During the eclipse of the sun in May,
 1900. an English observer, MT. Ever
 shed, as reported at recent meeting Of
 he Royal Astronomical Society, noticed
 8 point on the edge of the moon where
 the sun was shining through very
 deep valley, and where the lunar moun-
 tains seemed to be about 35,000 feet in altitude. This exceeds by 5000 feet the estimated height of Mount Everest, the Ioftiest mountain on the earth. The edge of the moon is so broken by peaks, ridges and valleys that the length of totality during solar eclipse is affect ed by them.
 American peanut crops average about 5,OOO,OOO bushels year, and twenty two pounds of the nuts make bushel. About $1O,OO0,O00 worth of peanuts yearly are consumed, either in their natural form or in candy. Vast quanti- ties of peanuts are shipped each year to Great Britain and the continent are converted into ''pure Lucca olive oil." A bushel of peanut shells will afford about a gallon of oil, and the meal is used for feeding horses, and is also baked into a variety of bread which has large sale in Germany and France.
 Value of the collections in the "gold room" of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is estimated at $500,OO0, and they are protected by most admirable series of burglar alarms. Visitors are carefully watched, and the rooms are constantly patrolled both day and night. Each individual object which is valuable is connected with a burglar alarm, as well as the cases themselves. The wires run direct to the office of the director, and if any article is dis turbed the iron doors of the room are at once closed, thus catching the thief in a trap. The device is tested at in- tervals to make sure that the door closing mechanism is in perfect order.
 Prof. John Milne says that upon knowledge derived from the scientific study of earthquakes new rules and fOrmulae for engineers and builders have been established, and these prin- ciples have been widely applied in Japan and other countries, thereby the loss of life and prop erty. Such studies have also been of practical use in the working of rail- ways, especially in Japan, by localizing faults in the rocks and suggesting altera- tions in the balancing of locomotives. advantage gained relates to ocean cables, as it has become possible to indicate parts of the sea-bottom that should be avoided in laying such ca- bles.
 Differences in taste depend simply on the varying intensity in nerve transmits sion, according to Dr. Mendelsohn, and are much affected by temperature. The sense of taste for cane sugar is destroyed by holding the tongue for minute in water at about l25 degrees F. Cold, on the other hand. las the same effect, all power of taste being lost for brief time after the tongue has been held in water at 35 degrees to 50 degrees. Taste is strong est between 30 degrees and 70 degrees. This Is also the temperature at which beverages are most effective, and water 1t about GO degrees is really the best Or relieving thirst, instead of, as is lsually supposed, that at about 40 de- yrees.