The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-17

A passenger on the Berlin-Zossen
Railway, while the car was running
at 124S miles an hour, has been de-
scribing his sensations. Looking for
ward, the writer says, ''it seemed as
If the line were for mile after mile be-
ing literally swallowed up by the car.
At one place a blow quite as loud as
the blow of a fist on a table was
heard on one of the windows. This
was found to be caused by a bird
which had been overtaken in it's
flight. AT the end of the run the
front of the car was found to be plas-
tered over with flies, bees and other
small insects. as if they had been
crushed under the thumb-nail against
the glass and IRON"
Among the numerous special kinds
of radiation recently discovered. not
the least interesting are the n-rays of
M. Blondlot These rays, which
We're first discovered in the radiations
from incandescent bodies, pass readily
through aluminium, glass, black paper,
and other substances, but are arrested
by lead or by moistened paper. They
were at first studied by means of their
action upon small electric sparks, but
a more convenient means of observing
illuminated phosphorescent bodies, the
luminosity of which is increased when
the Blondlot rays fall on them. In a
more recent paper NJ. Blondlot has
found that bodies in a state of STRAIN
such as tempered steel and unanneal-
ed glass, give off these rays spontan-
eously and continuously at the ordinary
temperature. and in the current num-
Der of the Complies rendus M. A.
Charpantier shows that these rays are
also emitted by the human body, espec-
tally by the muscles and nerves.
He points out that this effect may prove
to be of the greatest importance in the
case of the nerves. as up to the pres
ent no external reactions of the nervous
system have been observed, and new
field of studies in physiology and medi-
cine is thus opened up.
The late Prof Ogden N. Rood of
Columbia University, New York, re-
Gently published some Investigations
almost his last work-on the electrical
resistance, both internal and external
Transmission and surface conduction),
of various "non-conducting" bodies,
usually so-called. Among these were
glass, quartz and mica. The expert
ments were conducted with much diff
Guilty and with great care, but, owing
to leakage at connections, ETC., their
results are announced as only approx
innate. The external or surface resist
ance of quartz was found to be for one
square centimeter of crystal surface,
521, 000,0 ohms. as compared with L.
800 900 for window glass; 22,0 600 for
cobalt glass and 0,760,000 for mica.
Each of these values was the mean of
several experiments. The internal re-
sistance-one square centimeter with
q thickness of one NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. a
surprising contrast, being for quartz
only 1856 900 ohms, while for mica mus
coVite) it was 3,000 900. The tests on
glass were unsatisfactory to Prof.
Rood, and he reserved them for fur
Their study. AS the experiments on
quartz, however. were made without
reference, apparently, to the faces or
axes of the crystals, fuller investiga-
ton of the subject from more strictly
meteorological standpoint, with prom
Use of interesting results, should fol-
low the work thus begun by this emil
nent physicist.
1t was supposed formerly that mi
grating birds travelled very rapidly,
some covering the distance between
the Southern and Northern states in
an incredibly short time. Some were
even said to fly at the rate of fifty and
sixty miles an hour and to keep this
up for eight and ten hours a day, as
if anxious to get back to their winter
o: summer haunts. The very con-
trary has been found to be the case.
The migration journey is u period of
harvest-time joy and celebration for
the birds. 1t is a period OF fasting
and oftentimes of song. The birds
move slowly, if the food is abundant,
lingering in one place for days and
weeks where the harvest is particular
ly good. Instead of travelling rapidly
in their great migration, they ire
quently in the autumn move only at
the rate of a few miles day, and not
infrequently only a few miles a week.
When the seeds of the weeds ripen in
the late summer and fall the millions
of migratory birds begin their journey
southwark, deVouring the weed seeds
at the most critical stage of their lives.
A few of the birds eat number OF
seeds throughout the whole summer,
but the vast majority eat them in the
early autumn and early spring, few
staying north to pick up seeds which
fall on the ground when covered with
snow. They gorge themselves with
the weed seeds until their stomachs
are distended to three times their nor
NAL size All the common song and
plumage birds are great seed destroy
ers. Blackbirds. meadow larks, spar
rows, goldfinches, doves, quails, sis
kins, grosbeaks and grass birds will
eat all the way from 100 to 1000 seeds
of weeds at a single meal. 1t is be-
coming evident to students of birds
that they are influenced almost solely
in their migratory habits by the har-
vest of weed seeds and not by the eli
mate Formerly it was supposed that
the birds started southwark as soon
as the chill of autumn approached, but
cold frosty weather might come in Au-
gust, and the birds would not begin to
migrate. They are not weather proph-
cts at all, but simply hungry little
creatures in search of ripening seeds.
Out in Kansas, says the Chicago
Chronicle, there is a small pond, dig
rified by the name of Lake Doniphan,
which provides the young beaus and
bellies of the vicinity with the most
remarkable skating that is to be had
in the country. No torchlights or lamps
of any kind have to be used at night,
the ice providing all the illumination
necessary. This remarkable property
of the ice was discovered entirely by
accident. A little boy was skating on
the lake, when he fell. A box of par
lor matches which he carried in his
pocket ignited and he found himself
a kissing flame of gas. The boy, thor
oughly frightened, Immediately gave
the alarm that the lake was on fire
and the VILLAGERS turned ont in hur-