The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1909-06-18
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Heretofore, says DR.. L. o. Howard
1t has been supposed that the gypsy
moth was distributed only by caterpil-
lars carried by moving objects, such
as carriages. The moths cannot fly,
and the part taken by birds and winds
In distributing them or the caterpillars
he regards as problematlcal. Yet re-
Gently isolated colonies of these moths
have been found in the woods far
from roads and paths, and the ques-
tion arises, How did they get there7
DR.. Howard requests information and
suggestions on this point.
Recent excavation at the Maumbury
Rings Circle, In England is regarded
as corroborating the tradition that a
Roman amphitheater once existed on
that site. A stratum of quartz, flint
and fragments of shells, such as the
Romans placed on the surface Of the
arena where gladiators fought, has
been found there. A very interesting
fact Is that other remains indicate
that the place was used by Neolithic
people as flint workshop. 1t is ap-
parent that they used picks made of
deer's antlers to excavate the pit
where the flint was found. The pit is
30 feet deep. The place seems to have
been almost continuously occupied since
Neolithic times.
1t Is known that the Christian era,
based on the birth of the Savior, is
older by several years than the time
assigned In the calendar; but the pre-
else year in which Christ was born has
never been finally determined Lieu
tenant Colonel G. Mackinlay has re-
Gently investigated the question anew,
and has stated his conclusion In a
book, for which Sir w. NJ. Ramsay has
written a preface. The date on which
he fixes for the Nativity Is s B. c.,
according to our present chronology.
He bases his reasoning on the assumed
association Of John the Baptist with
periodical ''bright shinings' of the
planet Venus, the suggestion being
that these special apparltions Of We
nus are the groundwork of the story
of the "Star of Bethlehem"
Prof Todd, the astronomer Of Am
herst College, who is conducting ex-
periments in South America, ascended
a mountain In the Andes to an alti-
tude of $4,000 feet above sea level, and
there remained for one hour In steel
tank of 270 cubic feet capacity, filed
with air compressed to the same ten
sion that air maintains at an altitude
of 1000 feet. His pulse was reduced
from i04 to 81. His breathing and
physical condition remained normal. A
decomposition of the air to its normal
tension at 14,00O feet was then made
in seventeen minutes. The experiment
Is looked upon as being important as
regards the treatment of diseases af-
feeted by various degrees of air pres
sure. Experiments heretofore conduct
ed in the Andes to see what effect
high altitude had on human life show,
says the Boston Transcript that at
$4,000 feet and over the air pressure
is SO light as to produce incapacity for
work. prostration and sometimes death.
At the level of the sea the air pres
sure is approximately 10 pounds to the
square inch. At an altitude of 14,0oO
feet 1t is approximately 9l5 pounds,
Experiments TO determine the effects
OF light on a number Of dyed colors
were undertaken by Herr T. Frusher,
who exposed for perod of forty days
samples of a number of colors, with