Troy weekly news. (Troy, Idaho) 1897-1933, 1907-02-22

Ia 1S tr4O
: invention


Rabbits, asserts a naturalist have
white tails so that the young may dis
tinguish their mother III 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 a continued and
steady decline in the amount of rail-
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.. z. Marchal, some
insects are as fond of eggs for food as
human beings are. He has observed
that a hymenopterous insect, Tetrasti-
chus xanthomelanan9, makes a prac-
tice Of sucking the eggs of the elm
beetle. 1t first perforates them with a
small hole, and then swallows the con-
tents. Afterward the tetrastichus util-
ICES the emptied egg-shell by depositing
Its own eggs within 1t 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 q ship
at sea- The Invention consists of a
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 a 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
seaworthiness and the ships buoyancy
was unaffected.
The Kusel electric lamp, invented by
DR.. Hans Kusel OF Baden, and manu-
featured In Austria, Is remarkable not
only for It's excellence In practical use,
Tut also for the novel manner in which
the hlaments are made. Alloys of
chromium, manganese, molybdenum,
uranium. thorium, chromium, platinum,
osmium and iridium are first dissoci-
a.ed In water by the electric spark,
and being preclpitated in in1nitesimaB
particles, they form a colloidal mass,
which, because OF its Elasticity, can be
nodded like wet clay. After drying,
the filaments thus nodded become suffi-
GENTLY hard and resistent to bear all
the manipulations needed for their in
PRODUCTION into electric lamps. AS soon
as they have been heated to redness
by the passage OF current they return
to the metallic state, and thus form
flaments of pure metal, perfectly
homogeneous throughout, and of uni
form caliber.
Interesting studies have lately been
made by Miss Rina Monti on the ear
lest forms of life appearing In Alpine
lakes One OF these, the Lake of the
Seracs, has been created within human
memory, and 1t seems to Justify the
statement that the first living forms
snhabiting lakes are Of a vegetable ma
ture. Only five living species are found
IN the Lake of the Seracs all of them
plants, and four of the order of
diatoms. In the older lakes OF Ong and
VI i5h"6" amman AoAHS oSSiH 10 APP
pear, feeding upon the diatoms. The
first two steps in the populating of a
lake, according to Miss Months conclu-
sions, are, first, the appearance of
distoms absorbing carbonlc acid dis
solved in the water, and second, the
appearance of simple animal organ
isms such as rhizopods, whose nourish-
ment depends upon the pre-exlsting
vegetable forms. Biologists have sup
posed that the first living forms In the
oceans were vegetable.
| Antiquity of the Word "snovvv