SCIENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 133, 28 February 1908, Page 5

SCIENCE NOTES.

PELICAN HABITS. . v ■ .-■■ ■ .■■■ ' • :: IiOME INTERESTING FACTS. ;• Situated in the Indian river, Florida, is a small, low island, of porhaps throe acres in .... extent,.'-which is the breeding placo. of the famous brown poltcan. Its name, Pelican Island; is derived from this"fact. There aro Ecores of islands, no . different . from this, scattered up and down tho Indian river, and yot the pelicans, when they had ohce-seleoted this as'a nesting site, could- not . bo'driven away, although plumo'hunters shot.'them.by tho hundred, almost exterminating • them. Formerly tho island was wooded with live oak .and; mangrove,, but; tho weight of the nbsts-gradually levelled all tho ■ trees,'so that, now thero are only: a- few dead stumps . to.baseen;in consequence of this". --The''-birds havonow to bring ■ their nesting 1 material - from tho'majn-shoro,-over half a milo away,, and .build, their, nests on tho low, ground,, whereas formorly .they -built in the. trees. 11ns change of habits, while it showed most forcibly.- the .strange attachment;: the birds had for.-this island, was fraught, with new ■ dangers,"j W.'fors-many -'years, high; tides: over T : Bowed the island and washed away, hundreds of eggs, r Still tho pelicans remained;-un-daunted, and tlicir perseveranco seems ,to havo met with its reward at last, -for the visitor cannot now-see tho ground because of tlio,great number or tho birds.:-' 1 The pelicans are remarkably fearless. - The' nests •are rough structures, -being made of piles of sticksy reeds, ..dried glass and^rubbishj.with now., and -then portions of - bleached ■ fish and pelican .skeletons. v'Tho number of eggs to bo ; found in a nest <is usually / three, although this varies, two, four, or fivCj occasionally being soon. Tho young pelicans', when hatched, aro naked, blind and, prostrate; and it seems impossible .that theso amorphous ! flcsl)rcolourcd squirming . organisms can bo aught but somo,-hideous monstrosity.of nature.: -..But . after . they aro about six :days.old tlio yotiug birds ,'loso .all their ugliness and soonbecomo strong enough to d,esoend : from ' their 'natal pile of-sticks and winder around at.will. A very-intercet- ; that while adult pelicans ( cannot utter,.a sound, oxcepting a snake-liko hiss, tho young-,buds-malio a vigorous outcry, which ;at. a-distanco - sounds like the shrill laugh of children.—-"Science Siftings." •

' , iSLECTJtIFICATION OF ITALIAN , y RAILWAYS :. !t is reported that the Italian Government mends to proceed forthwith with tho elec: tnhcation' of various lines of ■ the State railways, (chiefly thoso having steep gradients and long.tunnols), .for which it^was.decided to'appropriate 70,000,000 francs.' , . Itfis'pronosed "to_ equip clectricially tho'main .lino ' between "Milan-and Lecco. .By this means the electrically operated -lines between;Sori--1 drio aiid-. Colico, and between Chiavenna, Colico, . and Lecco will be brought into, .electrical;. communication ; with Milan., At tho present time tho Administration' 13 causing trials to bo made with the Ga'nz and Westinghouse systems, in order to decider; which of-tho two is tho moro practical, and economical. .Tho Government also has contracted for..-the conversion .of tho railway from Porite- . decimo to-Busallato electric motive power. Tho-three phase system is to be employed', . the frequency bomg 15 and the voltage at the ■ trolley iwires 3000. "Current •• will:'.bo. generated by tw0.5000-k.W;.turbo-alternators running-at 900 revolutions per minute The gerierator voltage- 'will 'be ' 13,000. Locomotives weighing 60 tons will be used; Each Joooinotive, will ~bo equipped' with ', two 750-k.w. eight-polo motors: The speed will bo .either about-28-.or 14 miles, per hour, , according, to the, arrangement of the motors. ■ The.locomotives, are to be-capablo of drawing ; a train, weighing 380' tons at a speed of .28 ' miles per' hour, tiri', : ( a gradient- 'ofl in 30. The.State also has authorised the construction of-a high-speed electric railway' between 1 km. '. in- length; tho existing railway is 260 km. long,.and tho journey lasts five hours,-- which will. bo , reduced, to- two hours on the now route-

MARINE MIMICS Ono of the most remarkable examples of mimicry in the marine world is to bo observed -in the. fishmg frog. ("Lophius piscatorius"). *lhis;fish',; which, is also known'locally as tho angler,-gooscfish, monkfish/. all <mouth, toadfish,' quite common along tho'Atlantic seaboard. It;is a ®lo# moving . fish,; .with: an enormous mouth, and has two thick, fleshy pectoral fins that are shaped:.like,'great human hands, while . its tail, is shaped thus- also, with tho'.fingers all-pointed, ono Away. .the ;fish:.is-ai poor swimmer, .it buries, itself "in a recess between ;rocks, .'holding .'on.'with": its'.armlike, pectoral : fins.-',to .seaweeds, or 'stones, which - it- resemblesj.so closely in .colour/that it,; is; almost: impossible to .distinguish it.'.fromj.- its surroundings.As this fishing ;fr"og, or Tiumerous'fringes of fantasti-caljy.-raggedl skin,-, similar ito, the brown .seaweed'.grpwing..in\'.tiny patches on rocks',and timbers_ everywhere ;in salt-water, its. res em-. . bianco is] heightened when'./these, pendent fringes move to and fro withi tho current. Its.-mouth ;is also so coloured and lined that, whon opened,; it looks just liko an. innocent, 1 pleasant dark cleft in a submarine' rock. In order to "draw,fishes . upoiy,. which it fedds. within the, enormous mouth, the fish elevates a long; slender , fin from its back. This ' fin is bulbous and covered ; with' slender fleshy filaments; 'arid''simulates ; tompting live baitso closely when-hung just: over.- the gaping mouth, 1 that many ' fish are attracted by it; and fall victims to the wiles of the fish.

THE FIRST MAMMOTH. .Nicholson's.journal for 1808 has an inter©sting; account; of • tho discovory of the Hrst mammoth;; which was brought to Europe, lhere. wero|.of courso earlier, traditions -of a" huge-..: animal bones littered the Siberian coast;. According to --thisnarrative, a Tungorse chief, about : the end ofAugust,.' 1799,, when;, tho fishing in. the Lena was oyer, repaired to;,the seashore. L-oaving his family in, .'huts,. ho ill quest' of-tusks,; and one-day found a large shapeless; .block surrounded.'. by ice.. He could not make out wliat it was*. Next year lio; visited the ;place again and found it' free from- ice.;- : ln ,1801, : i tho side ,'of tho animal . 0?® appearing, very distinctly, ho told his friends.. . His story, produced .much - alarm; for; there was a' tradition that a similar: riionstof. ; had been found before, andthat the whole family of the:discoverer perished. On this report tho chief immediately fell sick, ibut 'he_ coiild (not; relinquish the tusks, and-he . continued to visit -. his uncanny find until,,lßos,', by which time. the ico had/completely- melted,-, and the mammoth lay on its siile on abank of . sand. .; Its;-, discoverer then:-but off. tho ;tusks-and .sold them to a Russian.merchant for £11 ss, The' carcase wasjeft to.bo devoured; probably after thousands of years' of' . refrigeration, : ' by ; ' bears', wolves; and- . foxes; AVhil© : tho ;flesh remained, a 'rude but faith,.l. rawing .of'it,- including a : bristly mane down the.back.'.ln 1806 these-everits "came to the nars of. 'Mr... Adams;.; of St. Petersburg, and he found the skeleton complete except one foretoot; .The bones • wore - still held '■ together,! and,the .head; covered with dry skin. Ho had the remains carried 6875 miles to St. Petersburg. •Ho secured,also a great-part of the skin. .It was covered with reddish hair and black, bristles. These objects liecame a nine days'' wonder, and the notice concludes with an intimation that Mr. Adams was prepared, 1 to sell them to raise funds for a journey towards the Pole.

WONDERS:OP,MINING ENGINEERING. Mr: George J. Binns, F.G.S., who was for many, years a Government Inspector of Mines _m New Zealand, where he still has many is now president of the MidJand Counties' Constitution of Engineers England..'--':At - the recent annual meeting of that body, held at; the University College Nottingham, Mr.' Binns chose as the subject of. his presidential address "The Mining Engineer and the Forces of Nature." ' "How many of the uninitiated (he asked) travelling-., through • the: coal-fields of Great Britain, and catching glimpses of a colliery as they rush,by, are aware that below those hcadstocks are engineering works as wonderful as any- Channel Tunnel, and as deserving of appreciation as any Forth Bridge ?"

"Whogives credit for tho daily fight against explosions of gas, against gobfires, ovorlying water, tho weight of thousands of feet of supor-incumbont strata, and tlio innumerable difficulties and hardships which aro to tho mining engineer matters of daily use?" "The public pampers the collier, consider : mg nothing too good or expensive-for him— does it ever show any desire to spoil with adulation or admiration tho man who, while ho; has to work physically liko a navvy, has oyer to keep his intellect alert,, his precautionary eye-open, and who is, as far as I am aware, tho only- mail in this country who is by law held guilty until ho; has proved his innocenco?" . . .. • . .Spoaking of the poyor.of gravitation, Mr. Bums, as reported by the Derby "Express,'.', said: "Of tho fatalities which still so unfortunately /accompany mining operations,- .how largo a proportion is-due-to the fact that wo have under-estimated'the which is always threatening us." The damocletian sword lias proved too groat a strain upon the-sus-pending hair, and another victim is claimed by the insatiable earth. To combat successfully with'gravity -wo need to employ an equal or superior opposing force. ! .We say that,this.thing -weighs a ton, and.we placo beneath ,it . four supports, each capable of resisting a, pressure of five hundredweights. That is simple,' but when it comes to dealing crust of the'earth, which wo proppst jio lower by several feet, now. .'can we tell its weight? Then comes in tho technical skill : which wo; have, mado our own, and in a. way which ought to excite the admiration of the .world, ,tho mining engineer lays his plans, andi sets : his .' timber, and builds his packs, and lets down the solid crust, of the globe, simply, safely, and without advertisement or fuss. Compare this operation with the works of. the civil engineer! Ho has unlimited cash, ample light and air, no cost per ton to work to, and the "oplause of the multitude to look for. Somfemes he bores beneath the suface of tho earls, and becomes a : miner. Ho drives .what we should call a cross-measure .drift through, for instance, a corner of,'the Ju'ng-frautrue',. it" is high above the sea, the rock is'hardjand the climate cold. No timber or support is required, and you may .travel for a mile or two, at a cost of, ten francs, in, ii little electric carria'go arid peep through a bolt-hole at a.dense fog.; The guide-books speak of it as one of the; greatest engineering achievements of modern times,'but wo know of hundreds of better; roads, thousands of feet below the surface of this country, roads driven by men whose names will not go down iiv history, but whose memories aro no less deserving of a niche in the temple of fame than those of the. engineer whoso works are open to the day:" .

EXHAUSTING NATURE OF EXERCISE. " What escrcisa takes out' of a person under adverse .atmospheric conditions is proved by a recent: experiment' on, guinea pigs. Two were placed under a glass boll. One of the pigs was -put*in a miniature; treadmill, .which was operated to keep him exercising, while the'other permitted to do as ho pleased. The air \ was 'now .exhausted from, the bell. Neither, of the . animals showed any .unusual symptoms at .first, but after, a time 'the animal in _tho treadmill became' a little unsteady,- then tottered, and finally fell utterly' exhausted,' and was helplessly rolled over arid over./in.tho treadmill. The other guinea: pig in'the-meantimo seemed utterly oblivious to the. fato of his companion, and unconcernedly nibbled at soma food in his cage. Not until the air had :';been rcduced* to a considerably lower pressure did. ho finally succumb and topplo i over' unconscious. When - the air was readmitted into the' bell tho; animals were re?-i vived, ; the ono in tho'. treadmill coming too l last. '

FOOD FOR SNAKES,

; At a recent' meeting of the Royal Zoological bocieiy, London, 1 tho.i Duko. of Bedford- presiding, Mr. Rowland Hunt, M.P., moved,: "That/ the council bo requested to givo instructions that in futuro tho snakes at tho society's'gardens ,shall not bo fed on livo animals on any consideration whatever." -Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, .the secretary, said that sinco, 1903 tho ..practice of giving dead food wherever po'ssiblo'.,had been continuous, and.dead : 't(iod ..was.J, riowv the rule;. - They wcro, acquainted..with tho' routine of other gardens, arid Loridon had. been far moro successful in. tho use. of .dead food. Ho also showed that' the natural terror of snakes evinced: by.: men .-and :monkoys did not occur ;in'tho caso of the lower mammals, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and rats. Sir" Henry Ho worth- then'moved an amendment ■ to tho, effect. that tho members had tho most absolute confidence in tho council,'and were, content to ■ lcavo tho management of : the gardens;to.them. On a division.being-taken, ■ this;was>carried bymoro than eight'to one 7—the numbers, being 42 to 5. : '\..

ITEMS OF INTEREST. Every, square-milo of .the ocean-has a popu- . lation of-120,000,000 fish. : , : I ■ Tho Norwegians are tho longest lived of tho European- people,-, and the' Spaniards : tho shortest. ' - : ''V A little pineapple juice is an excollcnt digestive ferment. A small slico may bo eaten after the meal, but tho fibrous portion.should not'be swallowed. , . To make violet ink, boil 3oz. of logwood in 3 pints of : rain' or distilled water, until-'re-duced to U pints. Strain, and add; Uoz. of clear gum, and 2Joz. of alum in fine powder. Stir well till dissolved. 1 ' i -In -South. Africa, .'where thunderstoinis aro terrifici.lightning often strikes ironstono beds, and' blue flames—sometimes firing buildings— are'alleged to play about such outcrops two or three hours after a storm.Tho weapon :of -the swordfish - probably served as' tho model for ono of tho earliest forms of tli'o'swbrd.' Many early swords, particularly ■ among the ' marine nations, wero edged with tho .teeth cf sharks. \ A imitation, of sea wator to 'bo used in aquariums.in place of the; natural ,water is formed: by mixing lOOoz. of fresh water with '3oz. of common salt,. loz. of ~ epsom salts,.-200grs.-. of chloride of magnesium, and 40grs. of chloride of potassium... . In treatment'; of. burns, the main thing ■ is exclusion; of air arid keeping tho skin soft with; some ointment: ■ White of eggs beaten while' castor oil is'poured in until a tliick crcamy paste is formed makes a good application which is easily prepared. • Some 200 yews ago missionaries taught,the' natives of Paraguay to: make lace by hand. Tho'art has been handed down from generation to generation, and .in some of the towns lace-making, is the chief occupation. 1 The designs aro borrowed from the curious wobs spun by-the somi-tropicar spiders. By a new French process, milk powder is produced by forcing. the liquid under high pressure through a tube' only 1-250 inch In diameter,.-into a closed chamber heated to 167 deg. Fahr., ;by a current- of warm air. The milk expands to vapour; the' air'current carries off the water and the solids' fall in powder. ■• " • . ■ An Austrian - electrician claims to possess ar -invention which he says will nullify wireless messages m war time.-. The inventor declares that, the apparatus makes unintelligible all messages sent within a radius of 700 iniles. - The mechanism., is- quite .simple, -.con-; sisting of a revolving- tower with ten or. more batteries,, which . send flashes varying 'in strength. The radius is said to be so deluged that the operators will not be ablo to distinguish ono message from another. • ■

It is possible that tho propulsion of vessels through, tho water may bo'entirely revolutionised by'an invention which is being developed by Mr. Joseph Turner, of New, York City, The principle is an entirely new ono, the triple: horizontal plates which form tho propeller working up and down with the sinuous motion of a fish; It has a lifting as well as a propelling motion, and it'has the advantage over tho screw propeller that tho surface on both sides of each blade is efficient for propulsion. i

Anthropologists have remarked that taking aim is a human characteristic that even tho anthropoid apes cannot be said to sharo. Apes and monkeys frequently throw nuts and sticks, sometimes with unpleasant consequences to others; but they show little or 110 ability to take accurate aim. The baboon is said to excel somewhat in this respect; but still it would never pass for a marksman. Accuracy of eye, and the judgment of direction and distance that are involved in real aiming have been developed only by man and are the tokens of his intellectual superiorite.