The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-04-29
ODD DANGERS
CONTINUED rrom page 10

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fully executed proceeding has recent
ly been explained on the hypothesis
that the woodpecker deluded by the
humming of the wires which is con
veyed by the body of the pole to
some extent, fancies the latter to con-
tain a hidden swarm of insects which
Il is determined to spare no efforts
to discover.
The green woodpecker of Califor-
mia, instead of seeking a phantom
store of insects within the telegraph
poles, manifests a more severely prac-
teal, if less imaginative, instinct, by
utilizing the red cedar posts as con-
venient and effective places in which
to store his food supply. The tops
of the poles are often found riddled
with small pits. which are filed with
acorns-a nut being neatly stored in
each cavity-thus providing the birds
against a winter famine. India crows
and Australian magpies have been
known to pick up the wire clippings
left by the telegraph engineers in put
ting I'D the lines and build their
nests with them on the poles.
It is said that in some parts of At
RIGA and India elephants have found
what was apparently quite an attrac-
tive diversion to their way of think
ing, in uprooting telegraph poles by
the hundreds, their powerful trunks
being singularly adapted for this spec
les of exercise.
The powers of destruction posses
sed by ants in their war upon the
telegraph line might seem ridiculously
feeble compared with those of ele-
plants Yet, as matter of fact, in
certain countries ants work far more
harm in this wise than do the ele-
plants, where the latter most abound.
The havoc wrought in tropical coun-
tries by the termites, or white ants,
may be seen by specimens in the
collection of the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition showing that in one night mas
sive wooden posts, as well as weighty
books, etc, can be almost completely
demolished by the insiduous crea-
lures. Telegraph poles, in the places
where these ants abound, are now, it
is said, impregnated with oil or Gre
osote, or. in especially infested dis
tricts, iron posts are found neces-
sary.
In Japan there is a spider which
gives a good deal of trouble to the
telegraph men, owing to its habits Of
spinning webs from wire to wire, and
causing a leakage of the electric
current from one wire to another, es-
pecially in the morning, when the
webs are heavy with dew. Wasps and
other insects also are known to build
their nests between the wires or
about the insulators, and these, in
wet or dewy weather, produce leak
age of the messages. In this city,
some years ago, according to the vet
eran telegraph chronicler, line was
put out of commission for several
hours, on account of a swarm of bees
having taken up their quarters in
box, and preventing linemen from ef-
fecting some necessary repairs. After
great trouble the insects were at
length smoked out of their improvised
abode.
The small boy has been known to
enter the lists with the foes of the
wire, and it is said to have recently
been found desirable, in Belgium and
other countries, to employ insulators
of an inconspicuous gray color instead
O white ones, as Offering a less tempt
ing mark to aim at. In savage or bar
barous countries the natives are
prone to destroy the lines, which
however, they are sometimes induced
to regard with superstitious awe. oc-
casionally this sentiment has been in
culcated into their minds by the ex-
pedient of letting a shock from wire
into their systems.
It might be supposed that subma-
rine lines are securely placed OUT or
the reach of harm, but these, too, II
appears, have their enemies The
limnoria worm and the Xylopha@"
sbellfsh devour both the hemp and
gutta percha which protect the wire,
and permit the current to escape int
the sea. A single onslaught of a GER
tain marine maggot has cost the
shareholders of a cable company thou
sands of dollars, because it has en-
tailed the expensive proceeding Of
sending a cable ship to grapple for
the cable and cut out the fault, This
is said to be an extremely trying OPP
Grafton, especially when performed in