The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-02-01
SCIENCE AND IN7uST2r.

recently made strange acquisition
in a number of sea gulls, which now
make themselves at home on anu
about the waters of little lake IN the
park. The queer part OF it Is that they
came Of their own accord. and seem
to be satisfied with their new habitat,
three hundred and fifty miles away
from their natural one-thc sea. AS
they appeared the day after severe
gulf storm, it is supposed that they
were driven there by the wind.
An English naturalist says that the
speed of birds. is often exaggerated
| The swift, for example, has been
credited with a speed of $50 miles an
hour, and the popular imagination
compares the flight of sparrow-hawk
with that Of cannon ball. Without
aid from the wind, he says. the pigeon
will fly about 40 miles an hour; but
the homing pigeon may be relied on,
under fair conditions, to make 60
miles an hour. On short course the
| sparrow-hawk can outfiy this, but 1t
frequently fails to catch smaller birds
that form its prey.
The suggestion IS made in London
that while they are installing an up
to-date underground electric railway
it would be good idea to arrange fora
supply of ozonized air to the passen-
ger coaches. 1t Is pointed out that
car-sfckness is in a large measure due
to the vitiated air in coaches and tun-
Inels. It would be comparatively
easy matter to supply each train with
an ozonizing apparatus, inasmuch as
such devices are operated electrically.
II is even suggested that the steam
underground roads might arrange for
such an outfit by driving it from the
car axles, just as dynamos are driven
for the generation of current for car
lighting.
u The jet of water, so useful in hy-
draulic mining, is now employed by
engineers in building reservoir dams.
The jet is directed against the upper
slopes of valley, and the sandy soil
!, and gravel thus washed out are car
. ried by the force Of the stream to the
!, site of the dam in the lower part OF
the valley. The Jet is so managed
that it not only carries the materials
!, where they are wanted, but consoll-
, dates them in position, dropping the
larger stones at the sides and bearing
the finer material to the centre of the
dam. So we'll is the jet managed that
, it does its work as we'll as human
hand could do 1t, so far as accuracy Is
, concerned, with Immediately IN
+ creased force 1t reminds one of old
Amphion, who built the walls~of The
, bes with no help but his Tyre, putting
! the stones in place by the notes.
II Some one has said that the Egyp
t tians were the only nation that evel
). had sufficient patience to domesticatt
the cat. A very high idea OF human
+. patience Is given by the account OF
/. correspondent Of Forest and Stream
r who has, he says, tanned a common
a cat to retrieve. Patience, gentleness
entire absence of force was his max
inns. Whenever game had been killed
the cat was led to 1t and the game wa'
y given to him. Next the cat sought thu
game on his own account. Next III
> was taught to stay close to his master
! lat first perched on his shoulder. III
was then taught not to fear the sount
o of the gun, beginning with little car
: bine, then proceeding to the fowling
piece. When the gun was fired com
mon ball was pitched forward by tn
master. and the connection betweel
q the report of the piece and retrieving
Twas established. Then a dead bir'
was substituted for the ball, and
q WAS at first thrown from the hano
: and afterwards dropped from tn
!, branch of distant tree. The educa
= ton of this particular cat Is now com
piete. He retrieves perfectly, point
!. sometimes, and in general conduct
!. himself like a hunting dog. The bio
= ogists deny the inheritance OF az
ouired characteristics; If 1t were NO
= for their doctrine this learned anima
= might become the progenitor OF Ion
line of useful hunting cats AS 1t II
> he stands as living monument t
human patience and as a PROOF tina
even the cat may be educated.