The new age. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1896-1905, 1906-08-04
'Populs:sis ienoe'



The pearls found on the gulf coast
Of Lower California are said to exhibit
a greater variety of colors than those
OF any other part Of the world, and the
business of pearl-fishlng there is grow
Ing. The chief colors are black, gray,
red, bluish-green and yellowish. The
red pearls rank among the most valu-
able. They posses fine luster, and
many Of them are large and of the
most perfect shape. They are, however,
found only occasionally.
Spiders are not always solitary crea-
lures A scientist has lately found in
southern India a species Of spider that
builds spongy nests with outlying webs,
each nest being occupied by forty to 100
spiders, with large excess Of females;
sometimes five or six nests are cluster
ed together. The spiders not only live
and work together, but they share with
one another any prey that may be cap
tured, and some even show maternal
affection approaching self-sacrlfice.
A problem for the horticulturists Is
the production Of a profitable rubber
bearing fruit, which would make pos
sible an unlimited supply of valuable
material without injury to the plants.
The fruits Of the ordinary plants con-
tain little rubber, but Prof Warburg,
German, points out that certain par
lsitic plants-the caoutchouc mistletoes
discovered three years ago In Venezuela
hold out the hope that the ideal fruit
may be realized. The caoutchouc in
some of these species amounts to one
fifth Of the weight Of the dried fruit.
The fruit is not large, but varies in
size in the three groups of species of
these mistletoes. The caoutchouc, in
stead Of being a milky juice, is In the
form Of solid envelope surrounding
the seeds.
The common cold Is now classed by
some authorities among the diseases
due to bacteria. 1t has not been set
tied that any particular organism Is
The cause, but it seems that more than
one species may play an active part,
md recent British investigator re-
ports that In one severe local epidemic
ne found Micrococcus catarrhalis pres
ent In all cases, while In two other cpl
lemics, both of severely Infectious
character, the bacillus of Friedlander
was recognized in every case examined
at Its onset The organism. however,
often disappears within twenty four or
third epidemcs re-infection sometimes
occurred, producing either a second
acute cold or else a chronic cold last
Ing for months, and the bacillus was so
virulent that 1t killed inoculated mice,
guinea pigs and even rabbits.
Prof. Joel Stebbins and F. w. Car
penter of the University of Illinois
have recently succeeded in applying
astronomical methods to the solution
Of hitherto unsolved problem OF biol
ogy. This relates to the height of the
flight of birds during their migrations
at night. Two telescopes were placed
at measured distances apart (from 10
to 81 feet), on an east and west line,
and with them two observers stimuli
taneOusly watched the moon. The
tracks of birds flying across the face
Of the moon were noted by each OBJ
server independently on lunar chart,
ready at his side. The tracks, being
projected from separate points of OBJ
servation, of course were not Identical
In position, and their distance apart
furnished the basis for a calculation
Of the "parallax" of the flying birds.
Two sets of observations were made, in
May and In October The deduced
heights above the ground varied from
l,400 to 5,400 feet. The last. however,
was an extreme case, most of the meas
ures running from 1900 to $500 or
1900 feet.