The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-09-26
JUST like FEMALE ROCKS

WASHINGTON, Sept 15.-The Unit
ed States National museum has just
published a report on the diatoms,
known as the jewels of the plant world
dredged from the bottom of the Pa
cific ocean by the fish commission
steamer Albatross in its annual cruises
in search of scientific and other ma
terial. The title of the volume is
Report on the Diatoms of the AL
batross Voyages in the Pacific Ocean,
1SSS-19O4," by DR.. Albert Mann, a col
laborator with the museum in biologi-
cal investigations. From the great
mass of material, grotesque fishes
caught far down in the sea peculiarly
shaped animals brought for the first
time to the light of day, and plants
of sorts unknown to botanists, DR..
Mann has singled out diatoms as es-
pecially worthy of a report, both from
a scientific and from a general point of
view. In the report are rescribed
myriads of tiny growths, many of
them invisible to the naked eye, but
which, placed under a microscope, ap-
pear marvels of symmetry and color.
These midget plants, some covering
pin point and few giants rivaling a
pin head. although found everywhere,
under rocks, in rivers, along the sea
shore, in lakes, in the gulf of Mexico
or the Arctic ocean, have received COM
paratively little systematic study from
botanists. And this is true in spite of
the fact, rarely known, that they are on
the market, as polishing powders sold
either as "tripoli' or, mixed with soap
under some fancy name, that one wide
ly known brand of tooth powder is
composed entirely of diatom shells,
that they are employed as a substitute
for asbestos in most of it's uses, and
that at least indirectly they form a
not inconsiderable part of the worlds
food supply.
Among the more abject inhabitants
of Lapland and Bohemia, says DR..
Mann, the diatoms are actually used as
an adulterant for food. Under the
name of berg mehl" earth rice in dia-
toms is mixed with flour, fat, ETC., and
eaten. Commenting upon this DR..
Mann says.
1T is hardly supposable that this
fossil earth contains any appreciable
amount of nourishment The philoso-
| Db17 Of tho ,,rao+ioa &c ,,,oI,ob11y tba 60 nj
that where a hungry man has a stom-
ach capacity of two quarts and food
supply of only pint he can cajole him
self and gain a sense of plethoric boun-
ty by adding three pints of inert mat
ter to his supply-a sort of square
meal, it is true, but very hollow one.r
In connection with the general food
value of diatoms, he says:
THE diatoms do. however form {
considerable part of the worlds foot
supply, at least in an indirect way, fol
they are one of the principal sources
of nourishment for mollusks, that is
clans and oysters, whose stomachs al
ways contain large quantities of these
plants, as we'll as constituting a gooC
part of the food of small fishes and o.
the animal organisms on which larger
fish feed. Thus they are a sort d
primary source of organic food on tn,
abundance OF which many of our mos
valued food products depend"
These quotations are taken from ;
descriptive pamphlet on diatoms pub
lished two years ago by the Smith
sonian Institution, which now has es
pecial present interest in connection
with the "Albatross" dredgings.
1t is not so much the Industrial valu,