Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-08-04
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1t has been noted that vessels may
float down stream faster than the wa
ter. The explanation is that both the
water and the floating object are being
pulled down the hill by gravity, but
the water Is much more retarded Dy
friction.
Pointing out the need of protecting
egrets. or white herons, an English
naturalist calls attention to tAe possl-
bilities of egret farming. This mas
been successfully established at Iunls,
and as egret plumes are worth more
than their weight in gold, the pronts
from cutting the feathers from tne
birds should be large.
Meteorology owes its origin to Italy,
which. as DIR. II. G. Bolton notes, pro-
duced every one of the fundamental
instruments now used in weather ob-
servations. The hygrometer was IN
vented about 1450, by Nicolas de
Cusa; thermometer, 1873. by Egnat1s
Dante; thermometer, 1895, by Calico;
raingauge, 1889, by Cartelli; barometer,
1e43, by Torricelli.
The new peat wood Of Joseph Hem
merling of Dresden takes high polish.
and Is thiry-three to fifty per cent
cheaper than oak. It is especially rec
ommended for panels, parquet hoor1ng
and ceilings. The material is produced
by adding to the wet peat some Dlnd-
ing material up to five per cent OF It's
total weight, then forming into cylin-
ders under high pressure, and nnally
drying at a high temperature for four
or five days.
An effort to determine from geysers
the upper temperature limit OF lie
has led Prof. w. A. Setcheu to con-
clude that no animals exist In strictly
thermal waters, or those heated above
43 degrees or 45 degrees O. (1O9 de-
grees or 118 degrees F.. A flamen-
tous plant, one Of the bacteria, was
found at SO degrees G., and few 9TH
er simple forms were found at II de-
grees and below. How the protoplasm
of these organisms is made to resist
the coagulation that usually destroys
life at little above 40 degrees @. La
not clear.
By means Of cross-breeding Mr..
Luther Burbank Of Santa Rosa, Gali-
fornie. has developed variety of
biackberries which are perfectly white,
| as bright as snow In the sunshine, and
so transparent that the seeds can be
seen inside the ripe fruit. The seeds
are said to be unusually small, and
the berries are as sweet and meltingly
tender as the finest of the black varie
ties. The familiar Lawton berry Is
described as the great-grand-parent OF
the new white variety, to which has
been given the name Of Iceberg
The white berries are as large as the
Lawtons.
There has been some talk In Eng
land lately Of endeavoring to shorter
the voyage across the Atlantic by de
veloping the harbor of Galway, or
the west coast Of Ireland, and connect
ing it by swift steamers with st. Johns
in Newfoundland. The distance from
Galway to st. Johns Is 1915 miles
that from Liverpool to New York Is
3,116 miles, and from Southa mptor
1905 miles. 1t is assumed that transit
between New York and ST. Johns
nearly all by land, could be performed
SO rapidly that the time from LondeI
to New York would be cut down g
whole day below the present fastest
records.
Many naturalists believe that ami
mails possess senses unknown to ehu
man beings, something not included il
our fvefold range of seeing, hearing
feeling, tasting and smelling. Insects
especially give evidence of possessing
powers of perception peculiar to them
selves. Ehe wasp Bembex. says ]
Carter Beard, makes her nest In sand
banks that are sometimes acres in ex
tent. On leaving she covers it up sc
carefully that it Is indistinguishable
from the surrounding surface, and YET
on her return she flies direct to il
without hesitation. Another wasp, al
IL possessed of kind of X-ray sense
unerringly locates the hidden eggs OF
the mason-bee under thick layer OF
sunbaked clay, and deposits her OWL
eggs in fhe S9 mo cells