Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1905-01-07
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From an account of large fungi
found in France in 1902, it appears
that lycoperdons twenty to twenty
four inches in circumference were not
uncommon. Three We're much larger
even than this, and one from Imfre
vile is reported by NJ. Maurice Touze
to have been twentysix inches high
and nearly eight feet around, the
weight being twenty-five pounds.
The climate summary of the British
Empire for 1902 presents some inter-
esting facts. The highest mean an
nual temperature was $50 degrees at
Madras, the lowest being 1916 degrees
at Winnipeg; the greatest mean daily
range was 25.5 degrees at Coolgardie
West Australia), and the least was
SO degrees at Hongkong. The high
est shade temperature was TIA de-
grees at Adelaide in February, and
the lowest was 36.1 degrees below zero
at Winnipeg in January. The highest
temperature in the sun was III de-
grees at Trinidad. Colombo had III
inches of rain, and Coolgardie only
14.T.
1t is said that Great Britain is now
endeavoring to overtake France in the
development of the submarine branch
of her navy. The admiralty has de-
cided upon a submersible torpedo
boat, which can travel for long dis
tances on the surface at high speed,
and can, at need, dive entirely below
in about six seconds. and can reach.
If desired, depth of 100 feet. These
boats are to be of 200 tons displace-
ment. The French are. about to con-
struct two new submarines, each of
400 tons displacement. During the
present year the French navy will have
80 submarine boats in commission, and
Great Britain expects within a short
time to complete nineteen.
A discussion, is now going on of the
ACCESSIBILITY of teaching children to
use both hands equally. In some art
schools ambideXterity is taught as far
as possible, but William Hawley Smith
questions the value of such teaching,
and says that in most cases 1--WE shall
fail to secure real skill with either
hand if we strive to train both to do
the same work. He thinks ii wiser
to follow natures lead in this respect.
T. d. A. Cockerell suggests that there
Is an advantage in specialization with
the hands. He himself, while right
handed" always draws with his left
hand, having done so from earliest
childhood. The question is also raised
whether the extra muscular activity
necessary to train two hands instead
of one involves a similar increase in
mental activity.
In his presidential address at the
American Association meeting in st.
Louis Prof. Ira Remsen discussed,
among other things, the question Of
the artificial production of foodstuffs
by chemical processes. Notwithstand-
ing the brilliant pictures of the future
that had been based on the recent ad-
vances of chemistry in this direction,
Prof. Remsen did not think that the
real outlook is promising. The great
est advance has been with regard to
sugars; but, said the speaker, 1.-The
task of building up a sugar from the
raw material furnished by nature, that
is to say, from carbonic acid and
water, presents such difficulties that
1t may be said to be practically impos-
sible" AS to the other chief constitu-
ents of foodstuffs, there is not a sug-
gestion of the possibility of making
starch artificially, and the same is true
of the proteids.'