NATURAL HISTORY.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
When Millions of Tons of Coal Have Been Burned is the Earth Lighter? No; because"nothing is ever lost or wasted, and "when the coal is burned it has merely changed its form and become gases and ashes. These are are still part of the Earth, and together weigh the same as before. What is the Origin of the Saying "When My Ship Comes Home?" It is an old saying dating back to the time when merchants sent their : argosies to foreign parts laden with goods which represented a large part of their fortune, and expected them i to return full of freights.
What Causes a Waterspout? A tornado, or whirling column of wind, extends from the clouds to the surface of the water, and while the clo«d passes down some water passes up. The greater part of the waterspout column, however, is composed of cloud and rain. How Did the Scent Get into the Flowers? The smell of a flower is due to special kinds of essences or oils which the plant makes as it grows. How
it does so no one can explain, but the scent is either a defence against enemies, or an attraction to insects that fertilise the plant, and has been developed in the long course of the evolution of the plant. Why Is the Sea Green? It is not always green. Except in shallow water it is more generally a rich blue, partly due to the natural colour of water, partly to substances dissolved or suspended in it, and partly due 'to reflection of the blue sky. Round the coast the colour is modified by the reflection of the light from seaweeds and other green substances in it: What Is a Comet? It is supposed to be a shoal of meteoric fragments speeding through the solar system. There are two theories to account; for the tail. One is that it is finely divided matter streaming out from behind the comet and driven hack by the pressure of the Sun's light. The olher' is that the comet excites to luminosity the particles that surround the Sun for millions of miles like an atmosphere.
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Bibliographic details
Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16174, 27 December 1924, Page 14 (Supplement)
Word Count
362NATURAL HISTORY. Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16174, 27 December 1924, Page 14 (Supplement)
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