Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 3 September 1908, Page 35

Science Siftings

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Seasoning Timber. - - Oak timber loses about one-fifth of its weight in .seasoning - and about one-third of its weight in becoming dry. Gradualdrying and seasoning are considered the most favorable to the durability and strength of timber. Kiln drying is particularly serviceable for boards and pieces o.f small dimensions, and unless performed slowjy is apt to cause cracks and impair the strength of the wood. If timber of large dimensions be immersed in water for some weeks, it is improved, and is less liable to warp • and crack in seasoning. Something About Silk. Common as is -silk nowadays, in earlier .-times it was a most precious material. When it was first brought into Europe silk commanded three tvgnesr .its '.weight in" gold, and "so valuable was it deemed that in the reign of Tiberius a law was > passed forbidding it to all save noble ladies and prohibiting men from vTearing it on the- ground- of its effeminacy-.-. So unusual -was i;even 200 years later for a man to wear silk that every historian of the time of Hclipgabalus. noted "the -fact that ;ihe emperor" had . a silk gown. For ages it continued at an abnormally high price. Charlemagn3,-iri the year 780 could sehd^tp^Kihg Offa of Mcrcia no more valuable- a present than two silk coats. ' • ' Habits of Seals. The habits .of seals are very interesting. The very, young seal" is helpless in the water until he is- taught, by "his mother to swim. She takes him into the water daily' on her-fin and dumps him in, and when he gets tired of floundering about places him on her fin again and. returns Jo her camp.- '. -When the young seals are well grown, they suddenly disappear with their mothers and the bull seals. No' one knows where they go, and their return is equally as sudden as their departure. , . The bulls are the first to put in an appearance at the camping ground., „_, When they arrive, commence at once to prepare a camp for their mates, which they stake, off, ■ and for which' 'they fight until they die. In the meantime.. .the female seals remain quite a distance from land, "floating lazily, on the water and seemingly having a good time. A Lake that Changes Color.. . • . A'small lake in Seaside, Monterey County, California/ changes 1 its color four times every year "(says r the St. Louis .Globe Democrat). To all appearances it is like any other: small lake, and there seems to be no reason why , it should be such - a remarkable sheet of water. It is prettily situated, .full of fish and -water fowl, and when in its -normal condition the' water is clear and sweet. It has one peculiarity' besides ' its variable color, however. The water' is "rtever stagnant, despite the fact ' that there is no apparent outlet to the lake. _ The-color changes are very pronounced, and are in four distinct shades— yellow, green, red and dark grey that has the appearance of black at times. After • each change the water regains its" normal clear appearance. The color is in the waCer, and .is not. the.- result of reflection from the sky. -" This has been proved- beyond doubt, by the fact that the color "remains the same" for, days at a." time, regardless of the condition of the clouds. The four colors .men-tioned-are the ones always seen, and they always occur, in the' order named, the disturbance, if such it may be called, covering a period of from six weeks to two months in -July and August of* each year. Old residents of Seaside ,assert that the phenonic-. - non is v regular annual event, und that it is always followed by the death of a large number 6i fish in the- lake.' - No ex- , planation of the peculiar., condition, has ever been attempted by scientists, although several scientific men of note have studied the lake carefully/ The prevailing opinion^among the inhabitants of the section is that, the lake is of .volcanic origin, and that the changes are due to subterranean disturbances which .produce " chemical changes in the water. '" " '-