Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1907-01-12
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An ingenious Yankee sea captain has
invented an apparatus with which he
thinks whales cap be killed By electric
shock. A harpoon IL fixed at tne end
Of q long, metallic cable, properly in.
sulated, and which serves In place Of
the usual rope. Through this cable
an electric current Of 10000 volts 10
to be sent by means Of dynamo car.
ried on the whaleboat
An oficiai Of the national museum at
Washington gives some facts not gen.
orally known concerning the relative
values Of diamonds and rubies. Ac.
cordlns to the latest figures obtainable.
q ruby weighing 40 much as carats
10 worth ten to twelve times as much 90
q diamond Of the same weight, even
though the latter be Of the first water.
The ruby, therefore. instead Of the dia'
mond, 10 the material that embodies the
highest money value In the smallest
compass.
Prof. Atkinson, a botanist Of Tor.
neil university, Is the discoverer Of an
example Of the very rare specimen
called q "plant atoll." 1t consists Of
q ring Of plants floating in a pond,
with a circle Of clear water within the
ring. The plants derive their nourish'
mcnt from the decnyed vegetable mat.
ter that collects about their roots. and
these are gradually becoming anchored
to the bottom. 10 that In time a true
ring island will be formed. resembling
the coral atolls of the southern oceans.
Sir Patrick Manson. In his recent
lectures on tropical diseases, although
accepting the theory that the only mode
Of transmission Of marsh. or maDarial.
fever II through the bite Of the Ano-
phelcs mosquito. adds the statement,
which will probably be new to most
readers. that the mosquitoes are capa.
bic Of becoming infected BY absorbing
the blood not merely Of human patients.
but also Of anthropoid apes. and per.
haps even Of various other mammals.
which. In an evolutionary sense. are
related to mon.
A new estimate Of the comparative
amount Of light received on the earth
from the sun and from tie brightest
(apparcnt) fixed star In the heavens.
Sirius. has been made by Mr.. Ceraski
Of the Astronomical Observatory Of
Moscow. The sun, according to his Is.
tlmate, sends us about 17,UDO.OOW,OOO
times MS much light as Sirius does.
But this. of course. Is a matter gov.
erncd by relative distance. so thar II
the earth were halfway between Sirius
and the sun, Sirius would appear be-.
tween 10 and II times rs bright as the
sun.
Some interesting statistics have been
collected by Vice Consul Arnold At
Foochow concerning the great decline
In China's tea trade. From 1878, wlcr
ten was frst introduced into England
until 1897 China held exclusively the
tea trade Of the world. Then India
began to enter the tea market. The
Chinese trade reached high tide In
1850. with n total export Of 3OO.OOO.OOO
pounds. In 1854 China furnished about
Z? per cent Of the worlds total, India
and Ceylon ~ per cent. and Japan and
Formosa 10 per cent. Hut In 1904. whei
the total consumption had increased to
GA. 100000 pounds. China contributed
only 30 per cent. India and Ceylon W
per cent. Japan and Fo"mosa ~ per
cent. The decline In China II nscrlbed
to careless methods OF cultivation and
preparation OF the leaf.