The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-01-28
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Cuba since the American occupation
Of the island. This is due principally
to the determination Of the mosquito.
From the latest measurements by
Curie 1t is estimated that the energy
Of fifteen pounds Of radium, fully
utilized, would run a one-horse-poWer
engine many centuries.
Sycamore Is an exceedingly durable
wood, and statue from 1t, now In
the museum Of Gizeh, is reported
sound and natural in appearance, al
though nearly six thousand years old.
A cedar, which is 1000 years old,
is said to have been recently cut near
Pixies Peak, Colorado. Charles e..
Bessey, of the University Of Nebraska,
Is responsible for this assertion The
tree was brown cedar and the
growth rings on the stump were easi-
ly counted.
The clam is disappearing so fast
that the United States Fish Commits
sion is endeavoring to propagate the
mollusk by artificial culture. The fish
commission is studying the soft, or
long clam, but the State of New York
is combining its attention to the round,
or hard clam.
The serum obtained by inoculating
horses with cobra venom, so effective
in the practice of Calmette, has been
found by DR.. Tidswell to have no
power In counteracting the venom Of
Australian snakes. Other experiments
seem to prove that the anti-venom
serum is only active against poison Of
snakes of the same species as that
supplying the venom Of the serum.
Many Of the curious animal inhab-
ltants of the earth are threatened with
extinction, but the ostrich, fortunate
ly, can be preserved by artificial rear
ing. Considerable attention has lately
been drawn to the ostrich farms Of
California, and now it is reported that
ostriches have been successfully rear
ed in Australia. They produce mag
nlfcent white feathers, as much as
q inches In length and 10 in width.
The first birds were imported from
Africa.
Spiders and crabs are able to re-
place limbs which have been removed
by accident. Grabs are decidedly
pugilistic, and when they come in
contact with members Of their own
species a battle is likely to ensue, in
which limbs are destroyed. Fisher
men state that when crabs are con-
fined in shallow water a thunderstorm
will cause a wholesale picking away
of their limbs. 1t Is fortunate for
them that nature has provided for
these accidents by giving them the
power of growing new limbs in a short
time.
A German chemist describes new
cement, composed of casein and some
tannlc acid compound, that becomes
very hard when dry, and Is then In
soluble in water, oils, petroleum, etc.
In preparing it, calcium tannate may
be obtained by adding clear lime wa
ter to a tannln solution until no
further precipitation occurs, then
pouring off the liquid and drying the
The calcium tannate Is
mixed with casein In proportions
ranging from one to one up to one
to ten. The dried mixture is reduced
to powder, which is ready for use on
adding water to any desired consist
ency.
R B. Ewart, who recently traversed
South America from Callao and
Lima, across the Andes and down
the Amazon Valley to the Atlantic,
informs United States Consul Kenne-
day at Para that the Ucayall River,
one of the tributaries of the Amazon,
is as large as the Mississippi, and
traverses a rich rubber-tree district;
but all through this region the coun-
try lying beyond distance of two
miles from the principal streams Is
unexplored, even by the ma
tives. Besides rubber, the forests
abound in rosewood, mahogany, ce-
dar, walnut and dyewoods, and on the
high lands are vast stretches of saw
annas, or prairles, with climate like
spring all the year, and great posi-
bilities for cattle raising.