SCIENCE SIFTINGS

New Zealand Tablet, 22 January 1920, Page 46

SCIENCE SIFTINGS

Nature's Barometers. Chickweed is an excellent thing by which to get a; forecast of the weather. When the flower . expands fully we are not to expect rain for several hours. Should it continue in that state no rain will disturb the summer's day. When it half conceals its miniature flower the day is generally showery; but if it entirely shuts up, or veils the white flower with its green mantle, it is a sign of a ' very wet day. The different species of trefoil always contract their leaves at the approach of a storm. So certainly does this take place that these plants have acquired the name of the nurseryman's barometer. The tulip and several of the compound yellow flowers all close before rain. There is also a species of wood-sorrel which doubles its leaves before a storm. The banksia, or mountain ebony, capia, and other sensitive plants observe the same habits The Uses of the Cocoanut. The Dutch East Indies is tho best instance of the all-round usefulness of the palm. To begin with, cocoanut oil is the chief resource in the way of edible' fat for the millions of natives, and this is a matter of interest to us, as one of the food problems before the world is a proper source of fats. Every part of the tree can be put to good use. Even the roots have a reputation as a medicine. Tho hard, horny wood is used for native huts or other cheap buildings. The sweet sap can be made into sugar. The gigantic leaves are utilised for making baskets or other articles which are intended to last only for a short time, the stiff ribs of the leaves are made' into brooms, and the freshly sprouted, and as yet undeveloped, leaves make a delicious vegetable. The most important product is, however, the fruit. While still totally unripe, or half-ripe, the nuts play a great part in native medical science. The milk is taken by the natives as a cure for intestinal troubles, and many medicines have, according to them, to be prepared with cocoanut milk in order to assure a maximum of curing power. The husk is used for the manufacture of cord. The hard shell is made, into cups and other receptacles. It is, moreover, an excellent calorific, and is, therefore, used as fuel. The meat of the fresh nut is an excellent food, and forms an important part of many European and native dishes. When kneaded with water the grated flesh produces an emulsion which is used as a substitute for milk with many native dishes. Trees. The cow-tree of Venezuela yields a milk of good quality. The trees form largo forests along the sea coasts, and the milk, which is obtained by making incisions in the trunk, so closely resembles that of the cow, both in. appearance and quality, that it is commonly used by the natives as an article of food. Unlike many other vegetable milks, it is perfectly wholesome and very nourishing, possessing an agreeable taste, resembling cream, and a pleasant odor. An enormous age is attained by some trees —notably yews. At Fountain's Abbey, Yorkshire, the yew trees were old when the abbey was built in 1132. California has a very ancient tree in Mariposa Grove. This is a "redwood," which is credited with many hundred years. Baobab trees of Africa have been computed to be more than 5000 years old, and a deciduous cypress at Chapultepec is considered to be of a still greater age. Humbolt said that the Dracaena Dracq at Orotova, on Teneriffe, was one of the oldest inhabitants of the earth. Two Wonderful Clocks. The clock of the Lyons Cathedral is a wonderful piece of mechanism, and the legend describing it is as follows: "The clock crows, the bell sounds the hours, the little bells the Sancta Spiritus, the angel opens the gate to salute the Blessed Virgin Mary, the heads of the two lions move the eyes and the tongue, the astrollabe shows the hours in its degrees and the movement of the moon. Moreover, the perpetual calendar shows all the days. of the year, the feast days and the bissextile. The hours at which the chimes are complete are 5 and G in tho morning, midday, and 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The chimes at the other hours are restricted so as not to interfere with the Cathedral service." Complicated indeed is the clock of the Beauvais Cathedral. It is said to be composed of 92,000 separate pieces, according to a French statement. One sees on the 52 dial plates the hour, the day, the .week, and the month, the rising and setting of the sun,, the phases of the moon, the -tides, the time in the principal capitals of the world, together with a series of terrestrial and astronomical evolutions. The framework is of carved oak, eight by five metres, or 26 by 16$ feet. When the clock strikes all the edifice seems in movement. The designer wished to depict the Last Judgment. This wonderful clock is the work of a Beauvaisian, M. Berite. He died in 1887. ■'-.'-'"■.."-•"■'■/