The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-02-27
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he TO be an effective remedy for
p PIN eczema as well as other SKIN
piinp. ,s Even when of long standing.
ai'e orst cases were cured by four
Tue ,rs, exposure to sunlight. covered
nnlv BY a red cloth.
r,o teepers Of the big cobras in the
trial Park Menagerie and the New
Vort geological Garden do not ind 1t
osr 70 supply their venomous charges
.% .s the kind Of food that they spe-
,;aIlv prefer. In their native land Co
u.s. live chiefly on smaller and less
..nrorous and Objectionable snakes,
hu+ although every effort Is made to
collect harmless snakes to satisfy the
ono+ite of the imprisoned cobras, at
"amo seasons they have to be content
9th rats and mice, which they do not
norticularly like. Other varieties OF
pantive snakes are fed mainly on toads.
r,ce and rabbits. English sparrows
are also purchased for them.
Sir Harry Johnston, whose discovery
Of a new species of animal in the Ugan-
40 protectorate has excited much IN
forest among naturalists, brought back
to London and exhibited there speci-
men of a gigantic species of earthworm.
which, when alive. was about three
foot long and as thick as two fingers.
Evenlarger species Of earthworms than
this exist. Ceylon has some giants, OF
blue color, that attain as great size.
In Cape Colony and Natal there Is a
sneces. particolored, green above and
vellowish beneath, which, 1t Is averred.
sometimes attains length of six feet.
Giant earthworms are also found In
Australia and in South America.
The remarkable fact that the earli-
est known ancestor, or primitive type,
Of the modern whale bore heavy armor
on its back, in the form of strong. bony
mates. has recently been set forth by
the German paleontologist, DR.. 0. Abel.
The plates occasionally found asso-
ciated with the remains Of the primeval
form Of whale, the extinct ZeuglOdon,
have generally been regarded as hav-
ing belonged to gigantic turtles, but
DR.. Abel shows that they were a part
of the skeleton of the zeuglodon itself.
They resemble in their character the
impenetrable bony shells of the huge
glyptodonts that formerly inhabited
South America. The suggestion Is
made that at the time when they car
ried armor, whales were amphibious
creatures living on the coast and need
ing special protection from breakers
and sharks.
Francis Darwin, speaking before the
members of the British Association at
Glasgow, said that pine-tree grows
straight upward because 1t possesses
q gravitation sense. A plant which
grows in a curve in order to assume
the position best suited to Its needs
also exhibits a perception of gravita-
ton. Some fiower-stalks are very Gu
riously guided by the gravitatlon sense.
The common narcissus is an example.
At first there is a straight shaft pierre
ing the ground with its compact point
ed fower-bud. But as the flower
opens, the stalk bends close to the top
and brings the fiower-tube into rough
ly horizontal position, where 1t shows
off its brightly colored crown to the
insects that visit it. The flowers are
guided to the right position by the
gravitation sense, and they increase
or diminish the angular bend in their
stalk till the right position is attained.