The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-04-28
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Suez canal has proved to be one OF
takings in the history of the world.
and the Manchester ship canal is nov
accomplishing all and more than was
promised at first.
Engineers and scientists are making
exhaustive studies of the recent floods
in Paris, to devise a system which will
prevent a repetition Of the disaster
1t is planned TO keep the Seine within
its channel either by constructing
higher embankments or by carrying
the surplus waters around the city in
a bypass channel.
That the steel car is OF great value
as protection to passengers in the,
event of collision was demonstrated in
recent clash of two trains in the
Hudson TUNNEL, New York City. There
was no telescoping. as would prob
ably have occurred with wooden cars,
and the injuries were merely such as
resulted from the passengers being
thrown down by the shock of the col
lision.
The latest report of the Geological
Survey shows that the value of the me-
tallic products of the United States for
1908 was s549,923,116. as against $685.
802, PA for 1907. The only increase
was in the case of gold-S94, $50, 900,
against s9O.435. 700. Yet in the case of
copper the quantity was greater in
1908 than in 1907-942, 570,721 pounds,
against S6S, 996,491 pounds. The value
of the non-metallic products also
showed a falling off from S1.167, 1885,
72O in 1907 to 81 ,0f5.497, 070 in 1908.
The unspecified mineral products. how
ever, increased from 100000 to $780,
900. Petroleum showed an increase in
both quantity and value-179,572,47
barrels, against 166, 095, 1856 barrels, and
$129,706.258. against s120,106,749
A new petroleum field is being de-
veloped on the northern slopes of the
Caucasus, about fifty miles from the
seaport of Touapse, on the Black sea,
in the district of Maikop, South Rus
STA IL is reported that the thickness
of the oil series indicates that the
district will take prominent place
among the worlds oil regions The oil
is found in Oligocene beds OF Tertiary
age, and fact of great interest is that
the oil beds are everywhere associated
with vast abundance Of fish and veg
etable remains. In one cliff no trace
of petroleum is found except in layer
of sandy clay. which alone is full of
ancient fish remains This is regarded
as making the inorganic theory of the
origin OF petroleum inadmissible go
far, at least, as the Maikop district is
concerned.
At least two Brazilian travellers have
described an extraordinary pbenom-
enon connected with the nests of white
ants, or termites. DR.. ]. S. da Fonseca.
who saw the exhibition on the head
waters of the Rio Verde, describes the
appearance as that OF tiny stars. giving
the nest the look of a miniature tower
brilliantly Illuminated, When the nest
was struck with a stick the lights went
out, only to reappear again little by
little. Castelnau. in the middle of the
last century, beheld a similar specta.
Gle near the city of Goyaz He says
that the lights were produced by an
immense number of small phosphores-
cent Iarv9, which withdrew into the
galleries of the mound when an at
tempt was made to capture them Prof.
j. c. Branner of Stanford University
remarks that this exhibition is prob
ably confined to some particular spe-
cies, or to some special occasions or
conditions of termite life, since he
has lived and travelled ten years in
Brazil without seeing il.