The San Francisco call., 1904-04-10
MEN auadMAa1EERS In
THE F0REI.Zhe WORLD
MONIES

present time to the ice-breakers on
Lake Baikal, in Siberia, these forming
a portion Of the system of the Trans
Siberian railway. The Baikal, which is
the powerful ice-breaker for this serv-
ice, is 292 feet long and 1900 tons dis
placement. and is fitted with three
lines of rails for the locomotives and
cars forming the train, there being
also a promenade deck for the use of
the passengers during the crossing.
The field ice on Lake Baikal forms
thirty-six inches thick. and also forms
heavy packs. but the ice-breakers have
been found successful in carrying the
regular passenger trains and the mails
across throughout the winter.
The desert of Fayum. southwest of
Cairo. in Egypt, is the locality in which
the oldest known inscriptions written
in Greek letters have been discovered.
In the last two years ii has become
equally famous for the number of hith-
erto unknown varieties OF extinct ami
mails whose bones have been disin
TERED from the sands. One of these
beasts is the moeritherium-the anes-
tor Of all ELEPHANTS creature with a
long snout. but with lower jaw so
long that the snout could not hang
down in trunk style.
Still more interesting, from the
point Of view Of scientists, however, Is
the arsinoitherium, an animal that
was bigger than the biggest of our
modern rhinoceroses. Some six or
seven skulls of this animal have been
secured, the largest having a lower
jaw over two feet in length. Above
the nostrils the arsinoitherium had a
huge pair of horns projecting forward.
The striking thing about these honrs
is that they were not of horny, fib-
rous material, but bony outgrowths.
covered in life with blood vessels and
skin. like the horns of giraffe,
though probably protected at the tips
with horny matter. Behind the big
horns was pair of smaller ones. The
nearest relative of the arsinoitherium
known to science is the dinosaurus,
specimens of which have been discov-
cred in Wyoming in sands Of the same
age as those of the Fayum. The
Egyptian beast had the Wyoming one
beaten in the size of its horns, though
horns.
The arsinoitherium is named after
Queen Arsinoe, daughter of the First
Ptolemy, who had a palace in the
Fayum in davs when that region was
more nearly habitable than it is to-
day. The time that has elapsed since
the arsinoitherium lived is however,
as much greater than that since Ar
since as century is greater than a
couple of minutes. Excavations in the
Fayum are still being pushed, though
under great disadvantages, owing to
the fact that the best localities are
three full days march from water,
and many more finds are anticipated.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Invar, an alloy which, when heated
contracts instead of expanding, has re-
Gently been invented by DR.. Guillaune
the physicist. 1t consists of nickel and
steel, therefore of two metals which
each for itself expands rather consid-
erably in heat. Correct measurements
have, however, shown that DR.. Gull
laune has really produced alloys which,
when heated, expanded even less than
marble or wood, and which, when
slightly changed in their composition,
even contract when heated. Proper
tions Of compositions of alloys have also
been found so that they neither expand
nor contract. but remain the same in all
degrees Of heat.
The Importance of this invention is
extraordinary. For scientific as well
as for practical purposes, measuring in
struments Of invar, as the inventor
calls the new alloy, will render most su-
perior services. Already objects fer
tropical surveys have been made of 1t.
Such measurements always suffered
from certain Inaccuracies, owing to the
expansion of the metals in the heat, and
required numerous remeasurements.
Measuring sticks for Laboratories, as
we'll as for official gauging, are also
to be made Of this new alloy.
DR.. Guillaune has made a special al
10y to correct the unrest of naval
chronometers by the medium defect Of
temperature. Such a chronometer, re-
Gently tested at the observatory at
Kew. near London, had only a devia-
ton Of Is of a second per day. 'and
for an increase of temperature of one
degree Fahrenheit each the deviation
was only .O04 of a second per day more.
That pendulums of invar, therefore,
must excel by their Interchangeable and
even swings is self-evident, and the
tests made at the same observatory
have demonstrated that even in diff
ferences of temperature of is degrees
Gel. simple pendulums of invar rods
showed only a deviation Of . of sec
ond per day. 1t has to be added that
these pendulums had no equalizing at
tachments, but consisted only Of rods.
nth these examples the number of
uses of invar is certainly not at all
exhausted, and undoubtedly many more
will yet be found.-Frankfort News.
Non-Smkable Boat.