The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1906-10-20
- 49,
|PoPulssE!is ienoe'


Superstidous people formerly regard
ed with awe the turning red at long
intervals Of Lake Moret in Switzer-
land. Botanists have now shown that
the phenomenon is due to a plant
which propagates every tenth year,
and which, though very minute, grows
SO rapidly that the whole lake Is soon
turned crimson.
While George W. Stevens, many
years ago, was repairing the road in
front Of his house In Bolton, VT, he
hung hoe In a tree and forgot 1t. A
few days ago the tree was cut down
and, when sawed up, the blade Of the
hoe, with the exception of a part of
the crook and the handle, was found
embedded in the body Of the tree, hav.
fng been covered by the wood and bark
by natural growth.
The motor cultlvator Of Prof. T.
Hudson Beare, a Scottish mechanician
Is designed to do all the work Of pre-
pairing the ground for seed at one
operation. 1t can be driven at three
times the speed of the ordinary pillow
and each trip covers three times the
breadth Of the usual furrow. and well
pulverizes the ground. By simple
attachment the sowing also can be
done at the same time.
OF thirty accidents from electric
shock In Switzerland last year, twenty
one were fatal, while Austria had but
six fatalities in fifty-six cases. A fifth
Of the accidents were from currents OF
250 volts or less, and a mason was
killed by 120-volt three-wire supply
while in another case a shock from
twenty-six thousand volts did not kill
OF fifteen attempts at resuscitation
only one was successful.
A remarkable hair ball from the
stomach of a young girl has been
brought to notice by Prof. Won Bra
mann of Halle. She had a habit OF
swallowing ends bitten from her long
hair, forming in time bulky accumu
lation, though felt only as a slight
pressure, and when the mass was re
moved by an operation it was found
to have shaped itself to the cavity
like a cast In mold. Iron tonlcs ha6
changed the light color to black.
Prof. Elihu Thomson says that ex
pertinent has proved that alcohol, pro
vided 1t can be made cheap enough, il
entirely suitable as fuel for lnterna
combustion engines. Although the heat
ing value Of alcohol Is much less thar
that Of gasoline, yet gallon of alco
hol will develop substantially the SAM
power as a gallon Of gasoline, because
Of the greater efficiency Of operation
Less heat is thrown off In waste case
from the alcohol, and mixture Of al
cohol vapor with air stands a mucl
higher compression without prematur
explosion than does a mixture of gas
oline and air. In fact, Professor Thorn
son says, the efficiency, or the rati
Of the conversion Of heat units int
power, Is probably higher in the alec
hol engine than in engines operate,
with any other combustible.
The principle of the rified gun ha
recently been applied to pipes 70
pumping oil. The crude oil of Califor
MIA is mostly thick, vlscous, and diff
cult to pump through long lines. Heat
ing cannot be successfully applied t
a long pipe, and mixing with waite
results In an emulsion from which tn
oil cannot be readily separated TIL
latest scheme for dealing with thes
viscous oils comprises pipe rlfled O
the inside, SO that the oil, mixed wit
about 10 per cent of water, is cause
to whirl rapidly. The water, bein
heavier than the oil, seeks the outside
and forms a thin film, which lubrlcate
the pipe for the passage. of the oil
The friction is thus SO far reduce
that the oil has been easily pumpe
through line thirty-one miles loni
The water and the oil come out entir,