The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-10-11
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY
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Earthquake souress-The Airs Cur rsnfs-- Greens from the Lawn. A Promisin9 New Fiber for Uncle Bam--1educfng Heat
 Loss from 1oflsrs<Au
 Artificial Xorison.

magnetic survey of the Giobe was urged by Captain E. W. crsak in his address as vlcA-prssident of the British Associa- tion. When Gilbert, in a600, discovered the, earth to bE great magnet he sup- posed it to be stable one, and 1t was not until thirty-four years later that the varying magnetic deolination near Lon- don proved the contrary. Observations of the charges are stiil lacking for great portion of the globe away from the coasts while stiil less has been done on the two thirds covered by water. Just at present the observatories and expeditions in the Antarctic regions are cooperating. and 1t is hoped that the exact location of the South magnetic pole may soon be made known. The magnetic records show cu- rious anomaliet. Sometimes no change occurs In the magnetic declinstion in one locality, while h another there will be q sudden one; and some places exhibit very ramerkable local disturbances Mag netic shoals" have been found beneath the sea. Terrestrial magnetism Is stfll an un- fathomsd mystery. and the ordinary frav- eler may aid much in the work of she'd ding iixht on 1t.
 The great earthquakes are traced by committee of the British Association to eight districts. of which seven are beneath the ocean. Five fringe the shores of the Pacific, one is in the Indian Ocean, one in the West Tndies. and the eighth is In the Caucasian Ffimalayan region. Each of these earthquakes shook the en- tire earth. while the hroken-up strata left gave numerous aftershocks. The earth quake movement Is propagated around the globe at the uniform rate of about two miles per second. but through the earth the rate increases with the depth to about seven miles per second.
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 The photoelectric selenium cell of E. Runner has been used to record the progress uf eclipses. the cell proving sen- sitive to the heat rays even in dense fog.
 The great ocean of air in which we live is never at rest. some of its movements- like the trade winds--being remarkably constant. From observations during thir- ty years. Prof. Hildebrandsson, as re- counted in a British Association paper. has been able to calculate the average of the movements for different parts of the globe. not only at the surface but at the greatest heights. One of his most im- portant conclusions is that the hitherto assumed vertical circulation between the poles and the tropics has no existence. He finds that above the thermic ef,Stor and the equatorial calms a current from the east persists throughout the year. Above the trades an anti-trade prevails
 
 isphere and from the northwest In the Southern: this anti-trade does not pass the polar limit of the trade, but deviates more and more to the right in the North ern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern 50 as to become current from the west over the crest of the barometric maximum of the tropics. where 1t de- scends to increase the trade. The regions at the equatorial limit of the trade join sometimes that of the trade. sometimes that of the equatorial calms according to Che season. The pressure of the air di- minishes gradually toward the poles and the upper layers of air in the temperate zones flow over the high pressures of the tropics and descend there. The irreplI- larities at the earth's surface. especially in the regions of the Asiatic monsoons. disappear at the altitude of the lower or Intermediate clouds.
 Troublesome pests of the lawn are the common dandelion tTaraxacum officinalel and the fall dandelion Geontodon autuu- nale). Owners of lawns and parks permit the spring cutting of dande'ions for "gr0ns." but Prof. w. M. Munson of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Sta tion condemns this practice as really very harmful instead of beneficial. Every crown cut off is quickly replaced by one to six new crowns. For keeping out the pests CniCH SOWlnQ WlLn three 10 nVh bushels of carefully cleaned grass seed per acre is recommended. with thorough digging out of scattering dandelions. and new seeding or sodding when these plants become numerous
 highly finished 'sun chariot lately found in a moor of Seeland in Denmark is thought to be at least 5000 years old.
 Olona. the textile of Hawaii is found tc nave promising qualities, The plant be- longs to the nettle family: it resembles ranie without the troublesome resin of the latter. and 1t fourishes in tropical forests at height of 2.O00 feet The fibre proves to be extraordinarily fine light. strong and durable. A rope of or- dinary size appears like silk and has the strength of a ships hawser, and strands no heavier than twine are as strong as wire. Nets and fish lines resist the ac- tion of salt water having been used for scores of years without loss of strength Garments from the fibre have the delicate texture of silk. are practically indestruct- tbie. and may last lifetime. Experiments with different methods of jacketing boilers have shown the Paris, | Lyons and Mediterranean Railway that painting increases the loss of heat. In