Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-11-11
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The biophone, a new German phono-
graph, produces pictures as well as
sounds. It shows, for instance, the
singer giving song.
The temperature limits Of life are
much more widely separated than we
once supposed Bacteria are now
known to develop and multiply at n
deg. c.; and Prof. A. Macfadyen Of
London has exposed such organisms to
100 deg. G. below zero for six months
without harming them, while they
even survived $50 deg. G. below zero.
An investigation Of paving stones
has been undertaken in Ireland by
Prof Jolly. He finds that resistance
to wear varies directly with the
amounts Of quartz and felspar contain
ed, the completely crystalline igneous
GRANTEES, ETC., being as a rule the
toughest Rocks that are decidedly
porphyritic, porous or CLASSY are to be
avoided. A certain coarseness Of grain
is usually desirable, as fine-grained
rocks, like certain Welsh diorite, are
10 U0COulG Sl1ppcIy.
The electric discharge between two
vessels of mercury in a partial vacuum
is the most efficient form Of artificial
lighting yet discovered. In a recent
test by w. G. Geer the mercury term
inals were about four fifths OF an inch
apart, and an arc Of two inches in
length was produced by direct cur
rent Of no volts. Nearly so per cent
Of the energy supplied was converted
into visible light. Turning to other
lights, the Geissler tube showed an
efficiency of 80 per cent; the ordinary
arc lamp, 10; acetylene gas, 10; the in
candescent electric lamp, 6, and the
Argand gas burner, 1.6.
The entomologists employed to abate
the mosquito nuisance along the north
shore Of Long Island report, among
other things, that a single rain-barrel
will breed more mosquitoes than
large pond. Even the salt meadows
hardly equal, as mosquito-producers,
four or five good barrels apiece. The
reason is that the larger pools contain
fish which prey upon the larvae. A
soggy pasture, in the same sense,
equals from one to two rain-barrels.
Wind is great enemy to mosquitoes.
Even a gentle tanning keeps them off.
This recalls the legend that Emped-
ocles freed the great city Of Acragas
(Agrigentum) in Sicily from malaria
by opening the hills, so that the north
wind swept freely over the town. We
now know that mosquitoes are the
chief distributors Of malaria.
The Jesup expedition, sent out by
the American Museum Of Natural His
tory to investigate the native tribes of
Northwestern America and North
eastern. Asia has completed it's
field-work and collected some
twenty thousand specimens of house
hold articles, dress, ornaments, tools
and weapons such as have never before
been exhibited. The explorations ex-
tended from the Columbia River
around the North Pacific coast to the
Amur River in Asia. Close similarities
were found in the customs, dress, i'm
plements, folklore and other charac-
teristics Of the American and Siberian
tribes, pointing, it is thought, to the
common origin Of these people at
some remote past time. The most nu-
merous Of the Siberian races are the
Yakuts, numbering about 10000 in
dividuals, and dwelling in and around
the Lena River valley. Their terri
tory includes about one<third Of Sibe-
ria. Many of them have amassed
wealth in the fur trade, and their sill
versmiths are noted for skill. Yakut
bellies frequently possess costumes Of
furs, ornamented with silver, worth
$1,000.