Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1906-02-26
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DR.. Koch, the famous German scien-
fist, is to take charge Of an expedition
to investigate the sleeping sickness iu
German East Africa. The German 60.
lonial department has, it is said. given
a great sum Of money toward the ex-
pense Of the expedition.
Prof Frederick Soddy OF Glasgow
University holds the theory that golt
is gradually disintegrating into othe'
materials. lie has visited the gold de-
posts of western Australia and New
Zealand and lie expresses his conyic-
ton that in all prOba ility gold. like
radiun, is at once the product OF some
other parent element and is itself
changing to produce Offspring" ele-
ments. The professor laments the in
adequacy of his resources in the way
OF gold upon which to experiment, AMI
points to the tons of gold perhaps dis
integrating in the vaults of the Bank
Of England.
After several years experimenting.
officers of the Pennsylvania Railway
have come to the conclusion that di-
rectly behind locomotive is a bad
place for sleepers or any other cars
which are used by passengers. For
this reason an order has been issued
that lin all instances a baggage car,
whether the car Is needed for baggage
purposes or not. must be the first car
of the train" This Is the first official
acknowledgment from a railway COM
pany that the middle of II train is the
safest place to ride. Recent accidents
have convinced many railway men that
not only the front end of passenger
trains, but also the rear, should he pro-
tected by Il baggage car, whether used
or not.
The gigantic animals of the so lea lle,l
age of reptiles. whose remains are es-
pecially abundant in some o. the lands
bordering the Rocky Mountains, appeal
so powerfully to the Imagination that
an exaggerated notion OF their size and
weight is frequently entertained. Ii
has more than once been pointed out
that. as far as paleOntolOgy shows. tho
lures than the whales Of to-day A
recent comparison between the probable
weight Of the huge BrOntOsaurus ex.
celsis. skeleton Of which is In the
American Museum Of Natural History.
New York. and that Of large SULPHUR
bottom whale, strengthens this state
ment. After prolonged study OF the
probable contours of the animal when
in the flesh. W. X. Gregory concludes
that 1t weighed about - tons. This Ia
surely an immense weight, but tho
weight Of Il 75-foot whale has been est.
mated at no less than G3 tons The
length of the brontosaur,ls' skeleton il
66 feet and inches.
In the latest volume Of the Smith.
sonian reports Prof. - l.. Langley
gives the first authoritative statement
concerning the experiments with his
aerodrome In l3O3. The experiments,
were paid for by the War Department,
and IN consequence of their apparent
failure Prof. Langley has been unable
To get another appropriation Of money
to continue them. But he asserts AMI
produces photographs IN support of his
statement. that on both occasions when
his machine failed To make Il successful
flight the real flying capacity of the
apparatus was not tested ut all. Acct
dents In the launching prevented thu
ncrodrome from getting free IN the air.
Prof. Langley believes that further OK
perimenis would result IN pcrfcttin.
the launching apparatus. and that then
the acrodrome would prove It's capacity
To fly. 1T is at the moment of success.
and when the engineering problems
have been solved that Il lack of means
has prevented il continuance OF tho
work.