SCIENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 156, 26 March 1908, Page 4

SCIENCE NOTES.

WOMAN WHO. THOUGHT SHE SWALLOWED A PIN. POWER OF IMAGINATION. "Imagination and what it conjures up liavo a great deal to do with somo cases of sickness," says a medical correspondent of "Popular Scionce Siftings." "There ivas a woman who used to como to this hospital regularly complaining that she had swallowed a pin and that it was stuck in her throat, hurting her dreadfully. Week nftor week wo assured her that wo could find no pin, but still sho camo. At last wo determined to satisfy her, so wo told ; her to open her mouth wide and shut her eyes. Then we placed a pin boween a pair of long forceps and ran it down her throat. After a while wo drew it out and declared that wo had at last succeeded in extracting tho troublesome pin. She \ got up, declared sho felt better, and went'away.. I saw her later, and sho declared that the pain in her throat had entirely disappeared."

A HUGE FIND. A PREHISTORIC MEAT-EATER, Thero -is now on exhibition at the' American Museum of Natural History, New York, a skeleton of a largo carnivorous dinosaur, i.e., a flesh-eating reptile, Though threo or moro distinct types of great dinosaurs lived dt the same timo and in the same region, the remains of tho herbivorous (vegetableeating) oiies'havo been the most frequently discovered, '.while';tho, flesh-eaters liavo been found oiily in a fow instances.. This is said 'to be tho first giant carnivorous dinosaur of this typo to be mounted and .exhibited. Near, this"allosaurus (as' it lias been christened) skeleton was found a saurus,: as tho other. 80ft. creaturo has been called. It is possible; although very iar from , being ..a demonstrated fact, that this very 'allosaurus preyed upon this 'Very brontosaurus skeloton." Howevor this may have been, it is absolutely, Bure, judging intervals between tho tooth marks, found on tho brontosaurus skeleton, that a certain allosaurus did prey upon this brontosaurus. The' final scene of such a combat between, tho' two titanic reptiles, the flesh eater and tho'. massivo -"thunder saurian brontosaurus— must have been i more than atve-m----spiring.; That tho allosaurus waged constant warfare upon, arid: probably put to death its other still larger 'Herbivorous contemporaries, is shown by the finding of . their bones all .scored and bitten, with the teeth of the alio--saurus lying close , by-. . This alert creaturc —tho allosaurus was built for speed and strength, as well as toi fighting erect; using tho very long, powerful hind limbs,-to, advance by walking, or. running, in fnalting an attack unon tho most vulnerable parts,' probably . tho throat, . of tho largo dinosaurs.- In crect attitude. it is estimated the head was about twenty feet abovo ground.' Tho massive hind.limbs, oiglit feet long, with their hugo: claws, wore 'well ' adapted to support tho enormous frame and to hold down the body of its . prey, llio short fore limbs, three feet with their immense- claws, were used exclusively, it is thought, for attacking and tearing oil tho flesh 'of-a victim, and- not for-support. Tho lioavy tail, twenty feet long, served to balanco the body; A vivid idea of tho size !of tho enormous claws and their flesh-tear-ing qualities can be judged from-. that tho head of a man will go comfortably within them, 0110 of the, claws bqing twelvo inches.long.. -. .. ~.. ' . . - , ' Tho skull' was three,feet in. length, and many of tho tiger-like teeth measured threo inches. The whole skeleton is thirty-four feet : in.length and eight. feet .three luslios 111 height—"Science Sittings." '

. ' A SALT FARM. - Ono of tlio strangest farms in tho world is situated inYSouthorn' California, 265 ft.: below tho lovel of tho sea; - Tho place is known as Salton, and tho farm'ihas an area of about 1000 acres. Hero! tho salt lies,; as deposited by nature, from Bin. to lOin. m depth, iho salt, farmers are busy ' harvesting this crop the year round, and, though-the harvest, lias continued for nearly a quarter of £ century, • during which, poriod , somo 4°»P°9 "innn salt have been gathered, only .10. of .tho 1000 aorcs of the farm havo been touched. Lho salt is first ploughed np/into furrows, and is then thrown 'into conical piles by men with harrows, after whicch it is convoyed to the reduction works near by, and put into marketable condition. - Tlio work ; is done by Moxicans and. Chinamen, ■! tho intenso heat being moro than white men can endure. BEES BEAT. PIGEONS. . * It is not generally known that bees aro swifter in fligh than • pigeons—that is for short distances. . Some'years ago a pigeon fancier of AVestphalia laid a wager that a doxen bees liberated threo miles from their hives, would: reach homo in less timo than a dozon pigeons, Tlio, competitors were given wing at a village nearly a league from homo, and the first bco'reached the hivo a quarter of a. niiuuto in advance of tho, first pigeon. Threo other;boos reached tho goal before the second pigeon. The bees were also slightly handicapped, having been rolled in, flour before starting for tho purpose of identification. , , ' 'WHITE MICE. , : / Whito mice havo attained to tho dignity of li placo oil ono of the flags of the Royal Navy. Tho flag ,oh which they appear has been designed for ; use by tho submarine boats. Thoy appear in a shield abovo a Latin motto; Tho first and fourth quartors contain representations of a submarine and tliroo torpedoes, while the second and third oncloso a white mouso rampant. It is very appropriate that this , timid littlo creature should bo so honoured, as on every submarine boat sevoral are kopt. Thoy aro particularly sensitivo to dangerous gases, and soon show by . their appearance whether any potrol funics aro escaping from the tanks. Tho sailors keep a close watch on them, and on tho slightest sign of exhaustion a diligent search is mado for tho leakage, and measures aro taken to remedy the defect. White mice havo also been carried by rescue parties going i into mines after .explosions, for as long as they keop lively it* is safo for tho men to proceed. CATCHING ELEPHANTS. Tho catching of elephants in the forests of India is carried on systematically under a carefully organisod Elephant Department. When tho departrnont'was first formed, mon woro highly paid, to mako an exhaustive study j)f_tho. manners. of !tho olephants,. and tlio best methods of catching, training, and keeping them. India was .dotted with depots for training tho captives—headquarters for men like Potorsen Sahib, tlio first great elephant catcher, who reduced tho process of their capture to a science, taking not one or two, but 50 at: a ooup. When a herd is found a lino of.lieaters is placed right round it, to keop'it together, whilst a stockade, or keddah, is built.. . This takes two or three days,. and when completed tlio herd of bewildered animals is driven down a narrow avenue to an open gateway. Behind and on oither side of tlioin aro mon with gongs and rilies, and tho huge beasts aro glad to get through tho opening into tho apparent, quiotncss and safety, beyond. Once inside tho keddah a liugo gate is cl6scd behind them,' and thoy aro safely trapped. WpU-trained tamo elephants aro then taken ill amongst them, and with thoir help tho captives aro safely, secured to trees, and in a few days tho process of taming and breaking them in is proccoded with. PINS BY THE BILLION. ■ Olio hundred and thirty-tbrco million gross of pis. Nineteen billion pins..' Tlio consus bureau is tho authority for tho statement, that tho output of pins in tli'o United States for tho year . 1907 alono reached theso stupendous figures. It is not strange, that mankind has for many years wondered where all the pins go. Nineteen billion supplies^:22s pi lis for every man, woman, and child in America. Nor is this all. Those figures aro for tho common.

pin, and do not includo hairpins, safety pins, nor tho importation, of an unstated quantity of pins from other countries. If wo assumo that tho avcrago length of' pins is lin., it appears that in a singlo year America i produces 19,000,000,000 in. of pins, 1,600,000,000 ft. of pins, 320,000 miles of pins, pins enough, if laid end to end,, to go round the world 13 times, pins enough to mako a 100-straiid calilo between New York and Liverpool. Their cost was about £140,000. MAI'S OF THE AIR. Tho Aero Club oNFrance is about to dXaft a soriea of maps of tho air. Tho president will superintend tho work, and a vast number of documents liavo been collected in order to liavo all tho information necessary. • The first few maps are to show the position of tlegraph wires, 'overhead cables, and fill dangerous obstacles which might bo struck by. a balloon's guido ropo at night. Overhead cables/liavo been found conveying' a potentialourrcnt of 20,000 volts or more, and tliesp might easily causo disaster to a balloon whoso occupants aro not awaro of its position. It is to help aeronauts to avoid such obstacles that tho maps aro being prepared. AN INTERESTING ANIMAL STUDY. Mr. Charles G. D. ! Roberts contributes a very interesting study o nimal life to tho January "Windsor" Magazine," from which we cull tho following"Through tho voiceless desolation tho carcajou continued her loisurely way. Presently, just upon the edge of tho forest-growth, sho came, upon tho, fresh track of a huge lynx. Tho prints of . tho lynx's great pads were .several times broader ! than her own, but she stopped and began to ■ cxamino them without the slighest trace of apprehension. For somo reason best known; • to herself slip at length.mado up her mind to. pursue tho stranger's back trail) concerning 1 herself rather with what lie had been doing I than with what ho. was about .to do. Plung- ' ing into tho gloom of the firs, where tho trail led ovor, a snow-covered chaos of, boul--1 ders and tangled windfalls,, sho camo pro- ■ sontly to a spot whore the snow, w-as tlisi turbed and , scratchod. Her eyes, sparkled ' greedily. Thero wero spatters of blood about > the placo, and sho realised that hero tho lynx - had buried, for a future meal, the romnant ! of his kill. Her keen noso speedily told her i just wheTO tho treasure was hidden, and sho i foil to' digging furiously with her short fore-' i paws. It was a bitter and lean season, and . the 'lynx,- aftor eating his fill, had taken i. .caro to bury tho romnant deep. Tho car--1 cajou burrowed down until only the tip;Of.hor - dingy tail \yas visible, before sho found tho - .object of her search. It proved, to 'bo noil thing but ono liind-quar,tor of a little blue i, fox. Angrily she.dragged itforth and bolted it , in a twinkling, crunching tho slim bono be--1 v tween her poworful jaws., It was but a mor- -■ sol to such a hunger as hers. Licking her chops, and passing her black ,paws hurriedly j over her faco as a cat does, sho forsook tho r trail of. tho lynx' and wandored on deeper - into "tho soundless gloom. Several rabbitr. tracks' sho crossed, and hero and thero the' fc 'dainty trail of a ptarmigan, or .tho" small,, j. sequential dots of a. woasol's-foot." > j> ■ WHITE BREAD. 1 , White bread is rapidly becoming tho bread ]of tho ontir<) civilised world,'and its uso is b increasing every year."Milling" pys:— j The change is becoming moro pronounced overy year, but as tho wheat.production in f tho: ryo-consuniing countries doos not increase pro' rata, it is throwing more demand on o' wheat from other'growers. In the Far East D tins-tendency to replace rice by wheat' is an- . other instance of tho triumph'of tho latter, j As knowledge'grows dietary customs givo „ placo to more enlightened foods.' 1 . Growers 0 ofrieo and ryo will become wheat producers,; but probably not as fast as'tho.'consumers j chango from ono to. the'other food;

REGARDING THE EQUATOR,' Most of tlio natives of "'..tho Balolo and •Bangu tribes know'all about the presence of the.Equator from the white, men, and somo of them I found had madel' iip extraordinary .taleg about it. " 'One of the best ajid'.mbst original theories I heard from a mail-who had, embraced tho Mohammedan religion." ' Ho evidently believed that whole_ earth was divided: be.tween two races, the,,white;and, tho. black, for' ho told mo that' the Equator had. formerly .been a wall a hundred foot high to keep tlio black and white- people apart, but. that' tho white peoplehad . .wickedly torn down the'wall and carried it'away,: and wero trying to overrun the half of the world belonging by right to tho blacks, .and that somo dark .night God would set up tlio wall again, and then wo would not dare to pull it down. 'Thave,'.' lie said, "a piece of the wall outside my hut, which you can como and see if you like."—Tho "Strand Magazine." : . " : FRUIT AS DIET. Tho value of fruit as a diet for _workers in. -temperate, climates has, .the'. "British Medical Journal" thinks, yet to'be determined. According to Jaft'o, the. Califoniianfraiteaters do not look, robust, but seem active and well; but they live an outdoor life'in, a comparatively warm climate. According to Dr. Langworthy there is /sufficient eyidence to .show that fruit and nuts aro almost completely digested, and have ; a higher nutritive value than is ' popularly attributed to them; but,-, while cheaper than, moat, they aro moro expensive than cereals and potatoes. . During the last few years our town populations havo taken, freelyto thei uso_ of fruit, the sale of bananas in particular' being very large. ' In days when tho art of domestic cookery seems to be at the. lowest • level the addition of ripe,. 'wholesomo fruit is a welcome change and a useful variation to the monotony of tho working man's didtdry. . HOW TO, EAT. AND BE HEALTHY. ! Dr. Harry Campbell,, has laid down somo oxcellont dietary laws for insuring good health. Ho points out that man is an omnivorous being; that it is his vcgetablo rather ■' than his . animal . food that requires : mastication; that starch can bo, and ought io be, by thorough mastication, . largely digested in tlio mouth; " "that an untold number of ovils ,result from tho' prevailing pystem, of pap-feeding"; that'.often much good can bo obtained by _-reducing the carbonaceous (such as starch.in grain and sugar) constituents of tho food, or tlio proteins (as in meat) ; that a long train of ills follows from ovcr-cating; and that .frequently -it : is much more useful to reduco tho total quantity of food than to prohibit any particular item in it. 1 . . . _. • BLACK COLLECTS MORE HEAT THAN " ' 'WHITE. , ~ : v An interesting experiment, mado in. Juno by a physician, proved conclusively that for tlio sake of coolness only white should be worn in hot weather. _ The physician spread out in 'intense sunshine a largo piece of white cloth, another of dark yellow, another of light gretjn, another of dark greon,' another of blue, and another of black. Then, with tlio help of six thermometers, lie mado tlio following tablo of tho various heats which each colour recoived from the -sunlight":— White 100 degrees, dark yellow 140 degrees, light green 155 degroes, dark green IGB degrees, blue 198 degrees, black 208 degrees. Thus tho physician .proved that, in July or August, tho man in white is a little less than twice as cool as the man ill blue/and: a little moro than twice as cool as tho man in black. THE LIFE PLANT. , Visitors to Bormuda often tako homo as a souvenir, of thoir trip tlio leaves of an interesting plant of the house-leek family. It is. known as tho lifo plant, and when tlio leaves begin to shrivel and fade thoy send out littlo shoots which in turn_ bear leaves that continue to grow and remain fresh and green for months. The leaves aro about, four inches long, rich greon in colour, • and of ■waxe.ii texture. If ono of tlio leaves is pimictl'to tho wall indoors it will begin to sprout within three or four days, bo it winter or summer. At first tho top part of. the leaf will begin to wither and shrivel up, and this is likely to contiimo until tho' upper half bus lost its' green colour. Then tiny white roots will sprout from tho edges, and in time diminutive groon leaves will appear on these. Theso little offshoots will sometimes grow to bo an inch long, and contain' several pair of leaves. The limit of thoir existence seems to depend on the amount of hoat and light which thoy obtaiiu