Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-02-21

The insect-eating insect the mantis
! is becoming popular as an ally Of tla
! farmer and hoTticulturist. The INSECT
! is found commonly in France and GeH-
many, where it is priced for its le-
struction of pests. All insects except
ants are its prey, and tid-bits for It are
| grasshOppers, caterpillars, spiders and
| the tussOck moth. A few years ago it
appeared in Rochester, brought thace,
! it is presumed, in a shipment of nurs-
cry stock from abroad. It thrived all
multiplied, and soon forced a recogni-
ton of its value. 1t is believed that it
will thrive anywhere in this latitu =
From Rochester it has been trans
ferred to Buffalo by F. NJ. Adams, SUI
perintedent of the Buffalo Foresters
association, who hopes by its aid &C
solve the problem of the protection Of
the trees in that city.-New York
Evening Post.
Professor Pickering Of Harvard col
lege, wants 100000 to build and en-
dow an astronomical observatory
south Of the equator. One of the
greatest needs of astronomy at the
present time, he says, is large teIe-
scope mounted in the southern hemis-
phere Nearly all the largest tele-
scopes of the world are north Of lasi-
tude 80 degrees north, and only one or
two of them are located where the
condition of the air permits work of
the highest grade to be done. IN
many departments of astronomy 40
work Of this character has been under
taken on any of the extreme southern
stars. The cost of a telescope of the
largest size would be about 100000,
and unequal sum would be required
for a building and incidental expenses.
The observatory at Cambridge nov
has an income of $4,000, but decreas-
ing rates of interest cut down the in
come and more endowment is wanted.
Professor chickering's report.
In a recent test of wireless telc-
phony across the Mississippi river ct
st. Paul evidence was given Of t{lr
utility of the method which may result
in the adoption of the plan when the
mechanism has been perfected. Tue
distance across the river at that point
is 1000 feet, and, in spite of a stro og
wind and extremely cold weather, CON
versation was carried on with little
difficulty. The name wireless tele-
phony is something of misnomer, as
wires have to be used. One hundred
and fifty feet were stretched parallel
to the river On each side and the
transmitters and receivers were at
tached to each set, the voice vibra-
tions beingc arried across the river
from one and registered on the other.
New York Evening Post.
The little planet Eros is soon to be
an object of special interest. It's near
approach isg enerally regarded as the
most important astronomical event Of
the year, The value OF observations
Of this object for parallax Is probably
overestimated, since it will be too
faint for satisfactory measurement
with heliometers, and 1t Is doubtful If
our present knowledge of the solar
parallax can be greatly improved by
observations of Eros made this year.
Accurate determinations of its abso-
lutte posltisiis will doubtless be OF
great value but this work will be IN
dertaken at so many observatories
that much of the time spent coald
probably be more usefully expended
many photographs will be taken here,
it is doubtful if all will be measured,
unless the number obtained elsewhere
proves to be insuffcient.-Pro Professor
Pickering's Report.
Bronx Park Garden, New York, has
species of mountain sheep absolute
ly new to science" called the owls
Fannini," in honor of the curator of
the Provincial Museum of British Col
umbia. It is known in the Klondike
region as a "saddle-backed" or pie
bald" sheep. It's head, neck, breast,
abdomen and the inside of it's foreleys
are snow white. The other portions
of the body are a brownish gray, Civ
ing the animal the appearance Of be-
ing covered with gray blanket.-Re-
port of Director of New York Zoologi-
cal Society.
Arctic exploration in 1901 is to be
undertaken by a number of natiols.
On the part of the United States
Peary is now in the north of Gre en-
land, pushing toward the pole; and
Mr.. E. B. Baldwin. representing Mr..
William Zieglar of New York, is nov
in London inspecting ships and pre-
pairing for an expedition north by way
of Franz Joseph Land. Vice-Admirol
! Makaroff, of the Russian navy, is fit
ing out the Russian ice-breaker Err
mack at Newcastle for a trial on some
what the same route. The duke of
Abruzzi, who took the Stella Pal1re
within PAL miles of the pole and %
miles nearer than hansen, will joi l
with the latter in another attempt by
the same route, also by way of Fra IL
| Joseph Land. The Germans are plan
ming an expedition and Sverdrup, a
| Swede, and Stein, German-American,
were lately in Ellsmere Land. Cap
tain Dernier, a Canadian, proposes to
seek the pole, and is organizing his
party The Baldwin expedition is ex-
pected to get away next summer.
The introduction of the Kiushu rice
of Japan is destined to be of great i'm
portance to the rice growers of the
south. introduced in 1898, it has al
ready had marked influence on rice
growing. In the report of the Secre-
tary of agriculture for 1900 he says of
the Introduction of the seed: cit has
brought about the opening up and de-