Scientific and Useful.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1520, 19 February 1886, Page 4

Scientific and Useful.

BASKETS OF WOOD PULP. Fancy baskets are made of the pulp of wood which are superior in every respect to those made of any of the ordinary materials now used. Thej are light, strong, and handsome And thej are bound to become the ladies' favourite work baskets. What next P Trunks, | we suppose. A FIREBALL. Captain Hanson of the ba'que Pauline, from Cardiff to Quebec, recounts a strung* phenomenon. In latitude 55 degrees north/jlongitude 46 degrees west, on Beptrmber [2oth, daring a rainstorm, a brilliant ball of fire lodged on the dock, and for a few minutes ed about from the cabin to the forecastle, prostrating the Captain and two seamen. With a loud report the fiery visitor disappearrd ns suddenly as it had appeared, without d imaging the vessel. HEAVY TIMBERS. There are 16 species of trees in America whose perfectly dry wood will sink in wa'er. The heaviest of those is the black ironwood (confiilia feriea) of Southern Florida, wliirh is more than 30 per rent, hoarier than wv.t Of the others the best known are lignum vit® (gualccum sanctum) and mangrove (chizphora mangle). Another is a sinill oak (querent gaisea) found in the mountains of Texas, Southern New Mexico, and Arizona, and westward to the Colorado desert, at an elevation of SXHJ to 10,000 ft. All the species in which the wood is heavier than water belong to semi-tropical Florida or the arid interior Pacifu' region. A NEW BOAT Thiro is now approaching completion in a Brooklyn shipyard a launch or boat 100 ft. in length, which is to be propelled by the explosive energy of compressed air, charged with vapourised petroleum. The air is to be compressed to 5001b. on the .square inch, and is to be stored in steel reservoirs. The mixture of air and hydrocarbon vapour is to be exploded in open-end cylinders running i I a allel with the vessel's planking, an elrctrio j spirk being u«ed to effect the discharge. It j is calculated t l >nt 75 explosioj» per minute ca'i be made. Steering and stopping are to be j effected by exp oding the mixture incjlmders j pin. Ed near the stem, at right augles to the i sides of the vessel.

THE MEBSVT TUNNEL. This important undertaking, being pratically completer!, is on the ere of opening for trutFic, ntiH by the end of this year it is to he eipec t.'H that trains will be running regularly beten Liverpool and Birkenhead. Advantage has be< n taken of some unavoidable delay in completing the ventilating apparatus to arrange the junctions for the lines authorised in the lust se?sion of Parliament for connecting the tunnel with the rail along the line of docks. The ventilation is secured hy means of powerful fans, »' i»- v i in the air shafts produce a current ol Mir equal to 30 miles an hour. Accesa to tbe tunnel f<>r passengers will be obtained by a stairway, an inclined way, and an immenseilift capable of carrying 100 persons.

PAPER TIIKB. A roof claimed to be superior to that of slate because of its lightness and other advantages is no* made of ant fibrous pulp. From this material tiles of any shape desired are formed by pressure under 'machinery, or by any other method which may suggest itself. Preesed into the designs wished for, the pulp tiles are partially dried, previous to being subjected to a waterproof solution. Thoroughly impregnated with the preperation to resist moiiture, they are baked to harden in the the waterproof mixture. After the baking, the tiles are treated to a mixture imparting an enamelled surface. To this is added a coating of sand, whereby the pulp is rendered proof against the action of he»t or flame. By the use of different coloured sands a variety of tints may be imparted to the tiles, which, after the application of the enamelling mixture and sand, are baked a second time, after which they are ready for use.

CCBIOD3 EFFECT OF VERTICAL WIND PKKSSUKE UPON A IBEX.

One of the strangest of cyclone freaks ii recorded by a c rrespondent of the Pittsburgh L>e*patch. The scene of it in at Washington Court House, 0., and concerns an "apple tree, with long, spreading, heavy branches, perhaps extending to a height of 25ft. It is a tree of perhaps 25 years' growth, and undoubtedly hns roots as stout and widespreading u« its boughs. Its trunk is not lefs than loin in diameter. It was a thrifty rigorous tree, without any unsound branches, and the family have for years| driven their high top buggy beneath its branches, for it slides the driveway into the yard. A short and sn.bby mnn cannot now walk under it without (lucking his head. Does the render imagine it was uprooted ? That might, indeed seem le, but it is not true. Without breaking so much as a twig of its foliage, the atmosphere drove that tree two and a half or three feet into the ground. The hole enlarged about the base of the tree as it row st inris shows how much larger is the bate that has been forced beneath the surface."

ANIMAL POWEKS OF UUMEBATIOI*. Considering the very limited powers of savage men in this respect —that no Australian language, for instance, hat rumeralt even up to four, no Australian being able to count his own fingers even on one hand—we cannot he surprised if other animals hare made but little progress. Still, it is surprising that so little attention should have been directed to this subject. Leroy, who, though he expresses the opinion that " the nature of the soul of animals i« unimportant," was in excellent observer, mentions a case in which a mnn was anxiout to shoot a crow. "To deceive this suspicioua bird, tbe plan wat hit upon of sending two men to the watch-house one of whom passed ot>, while the oth« r remained ; but the crow counted and kept her distance. The next day three went and again the perceived that only two retired, in fire, it was necessary to send five or tix men to the watch-hous" to put her out in her calculation The crow, thinking that thia number of men had pissed by, lost no time in returning." From this he inferred that crowa could count up to four. Lichtenberg mentions a nightingale which was laid to count up to three. Every day he gave it three meal-worms, one at a time; when it had finished one i* returned for another, but after the third it knew that the feast wat over Swans are said to know directly if ore of their cygnets it misting, but it it probable that they know each young bi-d individually. This explanation applies with less force to the case of eggs. According to my bird-nesting recollections, which I have refreshed by more ruent experience, if a nest contains four eggs, one may safely be taken } but if two are removed, the bird generally deserts. Here, then, it would seem as if we had some reason for supposing that there ia not tuffi cient intelligence to distinguish three from four, but sufficent to distinguish four from two,—Sir Jobs Lubbode.