Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-07-05
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

The conflict between sea and land
| is going on all over the world. On
some coasts the sea gains steadily. on
others the land. In still other regions
! the sea is easily victor on the west
coast of France.
The whole of the west coast OF
France suffers greatly from the fury
| of the waves. which make continual
| encroachments on the land. In some
districts the shore recedes as much as
a yard per year. At Annis, where
there is u more resisting limestone
| formation, the recession is only a
| foot a year. Even the frowning gran
ite cliffs of Brittany are gradually be-
ing undermined by the breakers and
/ toppling into the sea.
| Loss of fertilizer from rains cannot
be estimated. The water courses carry
millions of tons of plant foods to the
sea. The Nile alone pours over 1000
tons into the Mediterranean every "a
hours. The annual loss from the
earth's soil is greater than the entire
| deposits of guano. even before they
were exhausted. Unless a large por-
tion of the fertilizer is reclaimed from
the sea a time may come when the
/ worlds average yield of crops will be
exceedingly low.
All snakes lay eggs. Some snakes
| ha4 4oh out thair hnfprn denncifinc q
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 it matters little as to
when or how they are eXtruded Barr
ing accidents. there is very sure to be
a fine brood of young snakes at a.
very early date. While the young
snakes are very small the mother
reptile guards them vigilantly Upon
the approach of imminent danger she
opens her mouth and lets her young
, run down her throat.
The United States coast and geode-
tic survey has organized special bu-
reau charged with a magnetic survey
of the whole country. including
Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands. and
| Porto Rico. Some 500 stations have
been already occupied and the mag
netic elements-declinatio dip and
intensity-have been determined.
Other special stations have been es-
tablished at which these observations
will be repeated from time to time in
order to determine the secular varia-
tions of the elements. Magnetic OBJ
servatories of permanent character
will be established at Cheltenham,
! Md, Sitka and Honolulu. A new edi-
ton of tables and charts of magnetic
elements is in course of preparation,
and the whole field of magnetic sur
vey will be covered within a reason
ably short period.
A scientific party sent out by the
United States geological survey will
travel by dog sledge over Alaskan ice
bound for the Koyukuk river, 700
miles long and one Of the two largest
northern tributaries of the Yukon
Some miners in 1898 found pay dirt
up this river on the gold belt that
runs through Alaska. A large camp
is there now, and the miners are doing
! we'll Some distance below the mining
camp the Altenkakat tributary joins
the Koyukuk. and here large supply
of provisions was cached last summer
for the use of the exploring party that
is just starting out on its journey.
This party is to travel from the mouth
of the Altenkakat to the shores of the
Arctic ocean. 1t is virgin field for
explorers. The main purpose is to
look for new gold fields, which, it is
believed. may exist in the unknown re-
gion. The geology of the country will
also be studied and geographic fea-
lures delineated. The results are like
ly to be very interesting and valuable.