SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS,

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15748, 24 October 1914, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS,

UP-TO-DATE DELIVERY. The Electric Vehicle Association o{ America has compiled some interesting parcels post statistics with a view to pro°moting the use of the electric vehicle in this branch, of government service. In. fifty cities, having a combined population of 20,000,000, 11,000,000 parcels were mailed, and 5,500,000 parcels were received, for local delivery, from October 1 to October 15 last year. They weighedon the average, one pound and eleven ounces, and paid 10 cents postage each. Three-quarters of this mail was handled by regular carriers, and about 10 per cent., or 350,000 parcels, were delivered by automobiles, at a cost of £3530.

ELECTRICITY FROM WIND POWER.

One of the large electrical companies has recently designed a wind-power motor for use in country districts where the cost of s.team or oil power plants would be too high on account of the difficulty in transporting fuel. The installation is automatic in action, and includes a small storage battery, which furnishes a supply of current when the windmill stops, An automatic tension regulator is used to maintain a. constant pressure. Tfi e dynamo also is of the constant-voltage type. The speed of the dynamo may vary within considerable limits, and the connection and disconnection of the battery takes place automatically when the proper conditions arise, at no current intensity, so that there is no injurious sparking. The installation contains no unreliable mechanical apparatus, and it is impossible for the battery to be either overcharged or under-dischaTged.

THE PROMISE OF PEAT.; d"; When coal is gone peat promises to take its more. The peat bogs i of Ireland cover about 2,831,000 acres, "i estimated to contain 39,972.000,000 tons..of fuel of the value of £850,000,000;' Scotland has great deposits; and in Eng- > land and Wales there are some 6,000,000 acres. Apathy in utilising this great /' national resource may be attributed to ; ;- the abundance of coal. Chief among theproducts of peat are peat fuel and peat!-" charcoal, with such by -products -- as \' naphtha, sulphate of ammonia, acetic acid, v tar, and paraffin was, but there are also, 1 moss litter, manure, preservatives, and sheep dips, paper, cardboard and millboards, disinfectants, artificial wool, .surgical 'wool, and filtering and absorbing material. Though supplying antiseptic' wools and dressing, the special medicinal value rests in use for peat baths.

TELEPHONE TRAIN DESPATCHING The telephone has been displacing th« - telegraph on a number of wads for train " despatching, but one of the drawbacks of ■-;' this method of communication has been " the fact that the operator has had to wear " head telephones, which are particularly.': : annoying when there are thunder storms'" - in the vicinity. Recently, L. B. Foley, •; superintendent of telegraphs of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, has installed loud-speaking telephones .oa'- - the train-despatching lines. The receiver, -\ which is more sensitive than that ordina- V rily employed, is furnished with a horn,' •; , something like a phonograph horn, and - is mounted on the despatcher's desk at. - any convenient point, so that he can re- - ceive a message without putting his ear to >• the receiver. The transmitter is also fitted with a horn, into which the operator can speak. No amplifiers are used. \ : _ With this outfit a message may be heard _ - in all of the loud-speaking receivers on the' • line within fifteen feet of any one of them, PROTECTING THE BRITISH FLORA,.,For some years efforts have been mads i by certain societies in the British Isles to "-_ : preserve the flora of those islands from devastation at the hands of persons who' collect flowers and plants either for their ' own pleasure or for sale. Recently the scope of this protective campaign has been enlarged to take account of injuries done / r.; to plants from natural or indirect artfej • ficial causes. Mr. A. R. Harwood has _-" , called attention to the far-reaching im- .i| portance of these effects. Thus periods of ' •■ drought cause the extermination of many i plants, montane, and ericetal species be-.'--ing especially susceptible. Bog-pools - are •'. : liable to be completely dried up, with partial destruction of their flora. Drain-,,-,: age seriously disturbs the natural vege- -£;.■ tation of a country. Thus tho typical _' flora of the Fens is disappearing. Peat- v; cutting in Ireland has similar effects. ,*; Deforestation works striking changes 'in r, the flora. Golf-links have been detrimen-,' . tial to certain species of limited distribu- •.;. tion. Mr. Harwood urges that wherever ~ ; these and others similar causes are work i||. efforts should be made to obtain, in the : v case of an association of plants, a reserva- ..■'.• tion, and ir. that of a single station for a -\V rare plant some adequate means of pro- : i. tection. &•■ A BOTANIST'S DISCOVERY. | The newest leaf of an old tree is not <| reaiiv new at all. It is as old in its way J as the tree itself. Professor H. M. Bene- ;| dict has, following the belief of nursery- ■..% men, finally proved it beyond dispute, •■- and he can tell the grower of fruit trees ■; whether a branch is a cutting or a sea- •;• ling, whether it is really yenng or old. ;•; No morn will the fruitgrower purchase cuttings when he desires seedlings if he * is the possessor of a niagnifymg-glass. y. The secret of the difference is disclosed, p by the venation of the leaf, which be- v comes closer as the plant grows older. ; "Practical fruitgrowers, have," cays Br. Benedict, " for some time insisted thai; cuttings do show relation to the, ago-;.'' ■:.;■ the parent tree. They observed this in < the bearing qualities of the tree. But r& botanv has always said this was impos- -:-j sible." Now we are able to prove that the practical nurserymen are in the right v*j The principle involved is that of senihty, ,0 or the gradual loss of power, even when , S all external things ar* favourable, .y Senility applies to youth as well as »g» |/| in this connection; in fact-, it is most .-..; marked in the earliest stages of some ,j| animal forms, especially human beings- ;■ In plant life the, embryonic tissue. .„•,■: whereby the plant grows, partakes 01 the ~ -X age of the plant itself. This is the point which contradicts formerly accepted no- ; tanical principles. In other words, tie j* a new twig, which presents itself on tne. older branch in the springtime, is not- « •- new growth, as has been thought; it '■ i :-£\n as old as the tree from which it springs. $m As the plant grows older the multiple.ceils which carry the nourishment in the leaf become smaller in si/.e and greater »!»•_._ i number. It was by noting marked 0* I ferences here and establishing a more ... I less uniform scale that the botanist W 1 .able to establish, this new principle.