The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-07-22
Weather Conditions.

Weather Conditions
The maximum temperature in Raj
eigh yesterday was 90, which showed
cooler weather by four degrees. 1t is
doubtful if the weather will be as
warm today.
Refreshing showers occurred al
most North Carolina stations Thurs
places in the lower Mississippi val
ley and the Cotton Belt The amounts
did not exceed half an inch, except at
ST. Louis. Thunder-storms were re-
ported at Raleigh, Wilmington, Rlch-
mond, Hatteras, Memphis, / ElJer,
North Platte, Amarillo and Shreveport.
The hot wave has bee nbroken in the
north. more moderate temperatures
prevailing everywhere, but Thursday
continued very warm in the eastern
portion of the Cotton Belt, with max
imum temperatures as follows: Au-
gusta 9S degrees, Raleigh, Charleston,
Savannah and Jacksonville 90 degrees,
Macon and Montgomery "a degrees. a
maderate barometric depression mas
appeared in the central Mississippi
valley with the barometer below
29.S inches. While moderate tenn
peratures prevail from the Rocky
Mountains east to the Atlantic over
the northern section of the country, 1t
is very warm at some ROCKY Noun
tain Stations. Winnemucca and Spo-
kane reporting SO degrees, Harve %
degrees.
The heated term of the late summer
annually kills many hundreds of
the remader more or less subject to
softening of the brain and Mysteries.
During the present hot wave, an
honest farmer brought the Biologist
of the North Carolina Department of
Agriculture a vigorous looking cotton
stalk and complained that the flow
erS were all turning brown, falling OH,
leaving behind nothing but the bolls.
He was advised to try a boll-less va
riety of cotton.
Upon the coast the sea-serpent has
already appeared and in the secluded
valleys of the mountains the equally
affrighting cabbage snake" will soon
be sending people SupperleSS to BED.
Many stories have been published con-
corning the deadly venom of this crea-
ture Several of these garden Serpents
have been caught and sent to the
Biologist for identification. In every
case these have proved to be a COM
mon and harmless nematode worm
or hair snake" Mermis VariabiliS.
Snakes and serpents belong to the
back boned series of animals. This
in the scale of created beings. 1t has
a soft, homeless body, with only rudf-
mentary organs. 1t does not bite or
chew, but absorbs it's food in liquid
form through any and every part of
it's body. 1t is normally an internal
parasite of graSshoppers and other in
SectS. It's presence in cabbage heads
is rare and accidental, due to the pre-
vious abundance of the insects upon
the plants. The Mermis worms are
never found parasite upon human or
vertebrate animals. The stories con-
corning deaths supposed to have been
caused by these worms are untrue and
ridiculous. There is no venom in them
They may be eaten raw or cooked
without any danger to the eater
The serious part of these cabbage
snake stories is that such publications
cause considerable loss by preventing
people from eating the cabbage they
have raised or purchased Such fears
are wholly groundless The worms
are not common, and when they do
appear upon cabbage they will do no
harm to any one eating the vegetable.
They are at worst no more harmful
than the worms so plentiful in apples
and peaches some seasons.