Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1906-12-15
M|!Eis'i;siS'SS$$%ts;es1
~~~~~~~~~~~

Rabbits, asserts naturalist, have
white tails SO that the young may dis
tinguish their mother in case Of pur-
suit. The natural color of the rabbit
Is SO like the surrounding ground that
this would be impossible otherwise.
Since 1878 to the present time nearly
every year has seen continued and
steady decline in the amount Of rain.
fall in Ecuador. No exact statistics
are obtainable. but there is said to be
little reason to doubt that the decline
within the period cited Is upward Of
80 per cent.
According to DR.. T.. Marchal. some
Insects are as fond of eggs for food as
human beings are. He has observed
that a hymenoptcrous insect. Tetrastl.
chus xanthomclananG. makes a prac.
tice of sucking the eggs of the elm.
beetle. It first perfOratcs them with a
small hole. and then swallows the con.
tents. Afterward the tctrastichus util.
ICES the emptied egg.shell by deposltng
its own eggs within. It might be sup.
posed that the primary object Of the
operation was that implied by the last
statement, but DR.. Marchal Is confident
that the eating of the egg Is a no less
important motive.
A German engineer claims to have
discovered an efficient method Of pre-.
venting the violent motion of ship
ut sea- The invention consists Of
kind of turbine fitted vertically to the
ships keel. When set in motion the
turbine counteracts the ships tendency
to roll from side to side. An old tor.
pedo boat was fitted with the appar.
atus for trial trip In rough weather
off the mouth Of the Elbe. The ship
rolled to the extent of nine degrees.
but after the turbine was set In motion
she only rolled one degree. The result
was attained without any reduction Of
seaworthlncss and the ships buoyancy
was unaffected.
The Kusel electric lamp, invented BY
DIR. Hans Kuscl of Baden, and manu-.
featured In Austria, Is remarkable not
only for Its excellence In practical Use.
Lut also for the novel manner In which
the illaments are made. Alloys OF
chromium, manganese, molybdcnum,
uranium, thorium, chromium. platinum,
osmium and iridium are first dlssocl.
atcd In water by the electric spark,
and being preclpltated In inilnltcsimal
particles, they form colloidal mass,
which. because of Its Elasticity. can be
nodded like wet clay. After drying,
the fllamcnts thus nodded become suill.
ciently hard and rcs!stent to bear all
the manipulatlons needed for their In
PRODUCTION into electric lamps. AS soon
as they have been heated to redncss
by the passage Of current they return
to the metallic state, ma thus form
fllaments Of pure metal. perfectly
homogeneous throughout, and Of uni.
form caliber.
Interesting studies have lately been
made by Miss Rina Mont OH the ear.
Hest forms Of life appearing In Alpine
lakes. One Of these. the Lake Of the
Seracs, has been created within human
memory, and II seems to Justify tho
I
statement that the first living forms
inhabiting lakes are Of vegetable m.
turc. Only five living species are found
In tho Lake Of the Scracs, all OF them
plants, ana four Of the order Of
diatoms. In the older lakes of Ong and
OF TIgnaga animal forms begin to mp.
pear, feeding upon the dlatoms. Tho
first two steps In the populating Of a
lake. according to Miss Months conclu.
slons, are. first, the appearance Of
diatoms absorbing carbonlc acid dis.
solved In the water, and second, tho
appearance OF simple animal organ.
isms, such rs rhlzopods, whose nourish.
ment depends upon the prc.cxistIng
vegetable forms. Biologists have sup
posed that the first living forms In the
| oceans were vegetable.