The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-11-06
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For wears the fertile soil of France
has been cultivated mainly with the aid
If cows and oxen instead Of horses.
Now. however, in consequence of the
iptroduction of American agricultural
machinery, horses are rapidly coming
into use OH French farms, and, as in the
case of the machinery, America is
called upon to supply the larger part of
the demand. American horses are also
purchased in large numbers for the
French army.
one of the most remarkable and in
teresting products of German chemistry
is the cubic inch of radium lately pre-
nared for Prof. Curie. 1t cost $1,000
and REQUIRED the use of several tons of
barium salts. 1t shines like a lamp.
also exciting phosphorescence in other
materials like zinc sulphide. So ener-
getic is this action that small particle
lights ND mass of zinc sulphide thou
sand times as large, and this phOs-
nhorescence continues considerable
time after removal of the radium.
The terror of cattle, dogs and wild an
imals before the eruption of Mont Pelee
adds to the evidence that the senses
of the lower animals are unlike our
own. The late Prof. S. Sekiya, of Toxic,
kept pheasants to study their behavior
before an earthquake, and Prof. John
Milne testities that their screaming
often gave notice of preliminary ire
mors of an earthquake that were unfelt
by human beings. This being the case,
it seems not unlikely that the creatures
on Mont Pelee heard sounds and felt
vibrations not perceptible to man.
1t has been long known that the colors
of butterflies are Influenced by temper
allure. Experience during the last ten
wears has given DR.. Z. Fischer some
startling results, and have shown not
only that cold seasons may produce new
butterflies from the old, but that abb
normal heat may yield the same yarie-
ties, the changes being due to retarded
development. Extreme cold, moreover,
brings out other variations that may
appear also In extreme heat. He sug-
gests that these varieties of extreme
temperatures may become permanent
at future stage In the earth's evolu-
ton, although Standfuss contends that
they never were and never will be any
thing but singular freaks.
Within the last fifteen years the new
industry Of fox farming has been de-
veloped in Alaska. 1t originated in the
desire to preserve the valuable blue fox
from determination. The experiment
was begun by placing twenty foxes on
an unoccupied island In the course of
a few years some thirty islands were
thus turned into fox ranches. 1t was
found that the animals soon became
sufficiently domesticated to cease fear
ing their keepers and to assemble at
feeding places. Eight hundred or a
thousand foxes are included In ranch.
At the proper age certain number are
killed for their pelts. The business APP
pears to pay very we'll, and 1t Is sug-
gested that other fur-bearing animals
might be domesticated and propagated
in a similar manner.
That certain portion Of the blind
may be taught to see is indicated by the
striking success Of NJ. Heller, Of Vienna.
When brought to him three years ago,
two Hungarian boys, aged seven ana
five years, could see nothing, but their
eyes appeared to be normal. Their
training began with looking at bright
disk in dark chamber. They learned
TO distinguish this, and the younger
boy, who progressed more rapidly than
the other, was then shown familiar OBJ
jects against the disk, then lines ana
figures, and finally was able to read.
Later he was made to recognize the Oh
tects and letters by daylight Another
examination showed defect or me
retina, and 1t was concluded that the
field of vision was so narrowed that the
feeble impressions reaching the brain
attracted no notice before the unusual
teaching.