Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-07-07
.'ll Science
Il Nl0
< : ~ Invention



he new Rama goliath from the Gamer
}ons. with a head and body measuring
a0t less than ten inches. Hitherto the
largest known has been Il species living
in the Solomon Islands.
Root penetration in the soil has been
tested by eXcavating about six feet 50
dis to leave Il vertical wall and then
spraying from garden hose. The
Dared roots retained their natural posi-
tons. Bye, beans and peas each showed
a matted felt of white fibers reaching
Town about four feet, wheat had ex-
tended 312 feet in seven months, and
maize and clover were traced to a depth
OF ten feet in light, rich soil
The flying frogs of the Malays ap-
pear to be mythical, but three tree
snakes Of Borneo. lately described to
the London Geological Society by r.
Shelford. are credited with taking fly
ing leaps from the boughs of trees to
the ground. 1t is found that scales on
the lower part of the body may be
drawn inward so that the whole lower
surface becomes concave. The resist
ance to the air is thus greatly increased.
and experiments indicate that the
snakes DO not fall in writing coils. but
are let down gently in a direct line
by the parachute-like action of their pc
culiar bodies.
Speaking at Glasgow recently, b. H.
Brough summed up many facts about
the use of iron by the ancients. Inter
sSting in the light of recent metallurgi-
cal practice is a part of an iron tool
found In the Great Pyramid, because it
contains not only nickel but also com
bined carbon. showing that It is not of
meteoric origin. Under a sphinx at
karnak an iron sickle was found At
Delhi there still exists an iron pillar
30 feet high and IS inches in diameter,
made up of 50-pound blooms welded to-
gether. This pillar, Mr.. Br0ugh sug-
sested may me regarded as the doyen
among products of the heavy iron in
duStry. The use of iron and steel in
China has been traced to the year 1857
b. C.. The Japanese are said to have
had Il curious method of making steei.
They buried forged iron in marshy
ground, and after eight or ten years.
through some alchemy of nature, it
came out steel.
Interesting experiments have recent
is been made at the Kew Observatory
uear London on the effects Of the cleo
tric currents produced in the earth by
The electric traction systems Of the
British metropolis. The delicate mag
netic instruments of the observatory
are affected by the currents. Metallic
plates buried in the ground We're con
nected with Photographic recording
apparatus, and the tracIngs recorded
by the instrument formed picture Of
the timetable of the London Central
Railway, although the nearest point Of
approach of that line is six miles from
Kew. Even accidental breakdowns oc-
curing on the traction line were indI-
Gated in the Photographic record. BY
connecting the earthquakes with Il SEN
stive galvan0meter, the effect of the
movements OF the tramway controllers
was rendered evident, and, telephone
being attached, sounds were heard at
each controller movement.
Two projects for the construction Of
railway tunnels of unprecedented mag
nitude are now under discussion. One
Of them, which appeals strongly to the
imagination if 1t does not enlist much
sympathy among pactical men, Is Mon
sieur de Lobel's plan for tunnelng
Boring Strait to connect Siberia with
Alaska. The author of this plan ex-
planned it before a large meeting Of the
Navy and Military Club Mt st. Peters
burg recently. Bering Strait, he said,
is about 3S12 miles broad and 157 feet
deep, but 1t has two islands so stu
ated that the tunnel could be divided
into three sections OF about 1914 miles
each. The other project is older, and
relates to tunnellng the English Chan
mel between Dover and Calais. French
engineers have recently been studying
the enterprise anew. The distance is
about 231a miles. The work would be
relatively easy because the tunnel would
run through chalk.