The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-04-03
[,mYnSCienCe'
Eezga{yeSa!tion

rho rotation of the earth determines
.,,o ,anqth of the day. and may be re-
ardod as one of the most important
e,omants i'm astronomical science. 1t
serves as a universal measure OF time,
ND forms the standard of comparison
Gov tbe revolutions of the celestial bod
ios for all ages past and to come.
# is proposed to project thirteen
inch stream of light from the sea to the
s,r which will be visible forty miles
away The electric lights on the light
shin now on Diamond shoal can only
ho soon thirteen miles. The search
rcbt apparatus will be arranged be-
t,yoen the two mastheads, and the roll
ing of the ship will produce distinct
i've wavering light to be reflected from
the sky.
An important announcement was
lately made by L. o. Howard. the Unit
ed States entomologist, of the discOv-
erv of the long sought original habitat
If the San Jose scale insect. This was
found to be in China, in the region to
the south of the Great Wall. The scale
insect was preyed upon by a species
of ladybird beetle, living examples of
which have been imported to be prop
aCated and distributed.
Professional divers, who remain I'M
der water from two to five minutes at
a time, are accustomed, before sub
merging themselves, to take deep in
spiratiOns for ten minutes. The object
is said to be to store up oxygen, not In
the lung cells, but in the blood-corpus-
cles. This renders a temporary sus-
pension of the breathing possible by
supplying the corpuscles with an extra
quantity Of oxygen, to be exchanged
chemically with the carbonic acid pro-
duced by vital processes, in the blood.
On the loftiest mountain in Germany,
the Zugspitze, in the Bavarian Alps,
9,275 feet above sea level, is an import
ant meteorological observatory, which
is occupied all the year round, but in
winter is cut off from communication
with the lower earth because of storms
that destroy the telegraph and tele-
phone lines. Recently a wireless tele-
graph installation has been made at
the observatory, connecting 1t with
the postoffice at Eibsee In the valley,
three miles away. The observer in his
lofty perch is thus made Independent
of the storms, for the wind has no eff
feet upon the ethereal waves that carry
his messages.
recent chemical examination Of the
black deposit, resembling boiler scale,
that has formed to thickness of three
quarters of an inch under the coping Of
the balustrade surrounding the "StOne
Gallery" at the base of the dome Of st.
Paurs Cathedral, reveals the curious
fact that it is essentially a calcium
sulphate collected from the air. In two
centuries the smoke and gases from
London chimneys have charged the
rains with sufficient sulphurous and sui
phuric acids to cover the stone with
deposit that strikingly resembles calca
reous tufa. 1t is thickest on the under
wv Vi 'hC NoPlHSc DCCducc Va tAC ullP
ping Of the rain.
A Danish engineer, H. G. Vogt, Of Co
penhagen, has invented propeller for
ships that attempts to initiate the ac-
ton of fish's tail, and combines driv-
ing with steering power. Experiments
are said to have shown that the new
apparatus, which is called the 'pendu-
lum propeller" gives a greater driving
thrust than does the screw propeller,
while its steering ability exceeds that
attainable with twin-screws and helm
together. The great difficulty is with
the engine, for, with present forms OF
engines, the weight of the driving
mechanism is too great to be practical
Die for steamships. The Oscillating
blade of the pendulum propeller Is
placed at the stern of the ship, in the
position of the ordinary rudder, with
It's longest axis vertical.