Progress in Science.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 13, 28 September 1910, Page 54

Progress in Science.

A Dinosaur Skeleton with Skin 3,000,000 Years Old.

EARLY complete skeleton* of B duck billed dinosaurs have been 1 j found, some with fragments of / the epidermis also preserved. Kot long ago two were mounted in the American Museum of New York city. A third specimen, incased in nearly Complete epidermis, has just been added to the collection, thus completing our knowledge of these interesting creatures, so that few. if any, of the extremely ancient prehistoric animals are at present a- well known as the members of the family I rachodontidae. The-e in slightly modified form- are found in the rocks of several geological formations, covering a long period of the earth’s history, but all became extinct at the close o f the Laramie, Cretaceous period, conservatively estimated to be three millions of years ago. Tlie\ were not exclusively American, for a few represent at i ves have been ’found in rocks of the W’eahlen age in England and Hungary. But they reached their maximum development in America, when* they were widely distributed over the ea-tern ami western I’nited States ami southwestern Canada. Plant remain-, leave-, fruits and wood are ; >ometime- found with the fossilised bones, ami. by comparing them with modern plant-, we are able to determine ,with considerable accuracy the climatic condition- of the past geologic age. I’aim lease-. fig fruits, and banana leave* have been found with Trachodons in Montana. which -how that the climate, •of t he I ’nited States, as far north as Canada, was warm temperate to sub-tro-pical at the close of the Cretaceous period. The Trachodons were aquatic dinosaur-. and -pent most of their Jives in fresh water lagoons, which were then abundant over the low’ interior lands. Their icmain- have also been found in Bea depo-its that were formed near the

shores. It is not a difficult matter to picture one of these sylvan marshes of the Cretaceous period with stately palms bordering the lakes; the rapacious Tyrannosaurus, king of the flush-eating dinosaurs, lurking among the trees to capture a meal; the Trachodons disporting themselves out in deep water, their only safety from foes. The numerous remains of these huge creatures that have been recovered attest their great numbers during life. A f.omparat i ve study of their anatomy leaves little doubt that they were oviporous; that is, reproduced from eggs, which may well have been hatched in the warm sands bordering the shores. They combine some anatomical characters of both lizards and crocodiles, but have no near living relatives and left am descendants. They were kangaroo shaped, with long hind legs and reduced fore legs and a long deep powerful swimming tail. The peculiar expanded beak, resembling a duck’s bill, was covered by a horny mass, denticulate in form, winch was undoubtedly used in gathering its vegetable food, the nature of which is still conjectural. The teeth, situated farther hack in the jaws, are the most highly specialised of any known. There were about 1000 altogether, massed in a solid pavement, that is. about 500 in each jaw, distributed in 45 to 00 vertical rows, according to age and species. <s> $ <s> A Cinder-laden Blast. The powerful abrading effect of the cinder-laden blast from locomotive smokestacks has been shown at a bridge at Boston, which was built with the low’est members only 15 feet above the tracks, and therefore within a foot or so of the mouth of the smokestacks. Although the steel beams of the floor

were completely inclosed by thick lead plate, and the webs and flanges were also protected by hollow tile, within ten years’ time the blast has eaten through the lower faces of the tiles, and bodily cut out pieces of the lead, whole sections of both the tile and the lead falling to the ground. The destructive effect was much less notable in bridges having three feet additional clearance. <s><s><s> Aerial Navies. The total number of military airships completed in Europe and America at the end of July was 27, and nearly as many more were being built. Germany possesses 13 completed airships, France 7, Italy 2, and Belgium, England, Austria, Russia and the I’nited States 1 military airship each. The smallest is the German “Clout h,” of 1700 cubic metres gas capacity and 22-mile speed. They vary in length from 100 to 450 feet. The largest machines are the Zeppelins 1., 11., ami HL, which are from 12,000 to 15,000 cubic metres capacity. s>s>s> The Best Men from the Country. It has long been well-known that the rural population is superior to the population of the cities, and the population of the agricultural eastern provinces of Germany is superior to that of the manufacturing western provinces in regard to fitness for military service. The fortyone large cities, which contain one-fifth of the entire population of Germany, furnish only 17 per cent of its soldiers. •Berlin makes the poorest showing of all, furnishing only 39 per cent of the contingent which it should furnish in accordance with its population. Hamburg furnishes 42 per cent of its proper share, Bremen 65 per cent, Alsace-Lorraine 78 per cent. The deficiencies are made up by the eastern provinces. East Prussia furnishes 140 per cent of its proper share, West Prussia and Posen 129 per cent, -Pomerania 123 per cent, Saxony 134 per cent. The average height of the recruits from the north of Germany exceeds that of the recruits from the south. The average height for the whole Empire is 66 inches, the average for Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Oldenburg is inches, and the average for Saxony and Silesia is onlv 65i inches.

At Great Depths. The deepest coal seam* mined in America lie above a depth of 2,200 feetg some of the coal mines in England aif developing seams at a depth of 3,600 feet, while coal mining is carried on at a depth of about '4,000 feet in Belgium. > The First Aeroplane. According to A. A. C. Swinton, the first flight of a model aeroplane propelled bjr steam is do 'be .. credited to the Hon. Charles A". Parsons of turbine fame, who in 1593 built an aeroplane with two 11foot wings and a tail, and drove it with a steam engine - whose cylinder was 1| inches diameter by 2 inches stroke, steam being supplied by a boiler 2J inches diameter by 14 inches long, in which steam was generated at 50 pounds pressure by a spirit lump. The whole apparatus, including aeroplane, 4 engine, and fuel, weighed pounds, and it flew' for distances of 100 yards at a height of 20 feet, coming down only when the steam pressure fell. s. Nothing Wasted. An electric lighting plant in Nebraska is manufacturing ice as -a by-product. 1 be exhaust steam of the plant, which would otherwise go to waste, is utilised in the ammonia absorption process of Jee manufacture, and also for distilling water from which the ice is made. This venture, we are informed, Iras proved a very profitable one for the lighting company, end might be copied to advantage by other plants similarly situated. A Useful Invention. The Great Western Railway in England, is installing a compact railway ticket printing machine. When a ticket for a certain station is required, the clerk touches an indicator which carries the name of the station, slips a blank into a slot, turns a bundle, and the completed ticket drops out. At the :mmo time a, record of the sale is printed on a continuous strip of paper, together with the fare and all information required for bookkeeping. When the clerk goes off duty, he simply has to total up the continuous strip of paper and count his cash.