Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-01-24
km>%CienCe


The humming bird In Australia, no
less than man, protects Its habltation
with a lightning rod. The hummina
bird, before a devastating thunder.
storm bursts, prudently covers the out.
side Of its little nest with cobweb.
Silk is a non-conducter Of electricity,
and since cobweb is silk the humInina
birds nest Is thereby rendered light
ning-proof.
In a recent article in the Street Rail-
way Journal on Transportation Fla.
cilities In South America" 1t Is stated
that transportation IS SO difficult over
the mountains that the coal imported
into Bolivia for the railways " use
costs about $50 per ton. At La Pa2
abundant timber grows within fifty
miles from the mountains, but trans
portation Is 50 difficult tina trolley
poles and lumber for building opera.
lions are brought from Oregon, a dis
lance of thousands Of miles.
A sanitary garbage wagon used in
Berlin, says Popular Mechanics, is COM
pletely covered by a large hood Of sheet
AAShNAS "ANh q VI hol Va A1S
which elongated upon the roof of the
hood curves downward at the back end,
where 1t is open to receive the refuse.
The garbage is placed upoL a movable
platform under the mouth of the ohute
and raised by chains inte the interior.
4 trap o opens by the turning Of a
lever and the box diyerts it's contents
into the body Of the wagon, odor md
all.
The British Admiralty has instruct
ed the commanders Of all ships Of war
furnished with wireless telegraph ap-
paratus to telegraph to meteorological
stations with which they may be In
communication full details concerning
the weather at sea. This new branch
Of the English meteorological service
has already proved valuable, and 1t Is
believed that its Importance will con-
tinually increase. Weather information
from the sea is of special value IN the
British Isles, because the great storms
generally approach across the ocean,
and not, as in the eastern half OF
the United States, across a broad con-
tinent netted with telegraphs.
BY crossing and selection, a new va
riety of cattle, known as the Bordelaise
race, has been developed in Southwest
ern France. The two parent varieties
are the Holland and the Breton cattle.
the one famous for the abundance OF
their milk, the other for their pro-
| vision OF butter. The Bordelaise race,
.-1,,r, Ruc@ br,1 hnNlyF appan rod I'm 900
is said to combine the excellences OF
its two progenitors. Its most eharac-
tertstic external mark is the blnck-and-
white tiger pattern covering the body.
In the pure breed the bead is entirely
black. The name comes from the city
OF Bordeaux, the metropolis Of the re-
| gien where the new race is bred.
1t is a matter of o1n1mon observation
that grass does not grow so well close
to trees as In the open. The same Is
true OF grains. Experiments in Eng
land and in this country have shown
that the deleterious effects OF the near
neighborhood Of grass and trees are
mutual. The trees suffer as well as
the grass aud grain. This IS especially
true of fruit trees. The cause is MS
erihed to the excretion by the trees,
on the one hand, of substances poison
Gus to the grass, and by the grass, on
\ the other hand, of substances poison
Gus to the trees. 1t thus appears that
the failure Of grass to grow well near
trees should not be ascrlbed to too
much shede, nor to the exhaustion by
the tree roots Of the food supply need