Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 13, 1 April 1909, Page 515

Science Siftings

BY «VOLT

The Smallest Watch. There lives in Cincinnati the proud possessor of the smallest watch in the world. It measures less than one quarter of an inch in diameter, and the face is about the size of the head of a large tack or nail. The case is made throughout of gold. The face is covered, the case being opened by pressing the stem as is ordinarily ,d° ne - The length of both hands, if placed end to end, would not be more than five-twenty-fourths of an inch. The second hand is one-sixteenth of an inch in length. The numerals are in Arabic, and are engraved in red, to be more easily discernible. The works and hands are made of the finest tempered steel, and the works are set throughout in diamond chips. A Volcanic Island. A rim of land enclosing a fresh-water lake in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a novelty in the way of islands (says a writer in the Weekly Telegraph). This small island is Ninafou, which is quite apart from otlier ocean lands. It lies midway between the Fiji and Samoan groiips, and is under the government of the Tonga group, though it is 200 miles from these islands. Some time or other a volcano vent opened at the bottom of the ocean, and the lava that poured out of it piled higher and higher until it finally overtopped the sea. A great volcanic mountain had been formed, and the part of it that came into view above the waste of waters was, of course, an island. In the course of time this volcano was the scene of one of those tremendous explosions that sometimes tear mountains to pieces. The explosion had a remarkable result. The interior of the crater was blown out to a considerable depth, leaving only the narrow rim; in this is a nearly perfect ring around the deep central cavity. This is the island of to-day. Some years ago a thousand Tongans lived in the five villages that lie along the outer slope of that crater wall. The drainage from the inner slope partly fills the cavity, forming a lake. From the top of the crater rim one looks down upon the peaceful lake -within, with its three little /islands, and the curiously shaped peninsula jutting out into it; and outside the rim is the ever-restless ocean. Cultivation in the Philippines. Governor-General Smith of the Philippines recently made a tour of the mountain provinces of northern Luzon, chiefly inhabited by pagan tribes. On his return to Manila he said : ' The journey through the mountain country was a revelation. I have never seen such cultivation as we saw in the mountains. Those people have terraced the mountains in some instances a thousand feet high, and every bit of the land is under cultivation. I do not believe there is anything in the world that can equal the manner in which the people of the mountains have made tlieir country productive. It certainly surpasses anything I have ever seen. The terraces in Japan are pigmies compared with it. The earth and stone were brought for miles, and the most "wonderful part about it is that the terraces are as solid and substantial as if they were part of the mountain itself. Some of them are seventy or a hundred feet high, and remain undisturbed through all sorts of weather and landslides. And at the time these terraces were made the people were under arms, working with tlieir knives and shields close at hand, and with sentries on every high point of land and mountain top.' Characteristics of Lions. If a lion or a tiger suddenly appears before you, just hold a chair out in front of him, and he won't do a thing. Allen "Williams, who in the course of his experience with wild animals has been in that predicament often enough to know, says : ' These creatures have a much more limited intelligence than is generally supposed. They can take in only one thing at a time, and the four legs of a chair "would keep any lion busy thinking for a long time. That is the reason why animal trainers carry two whips when they are in the circus ring. One for cracking and awing the performers, the other for emergencies. If one of the lions tries to attack him the trainer simply holds the reserve whip in front of him. The two objects together are too much for the lion's intelligence, and he is immediately subdued.' Another proof of tlie limited intelligence of the cat tribe, say trainers, is th« fact that their performances must always come in the same order of succession. If by some accident the order is broken, the animals are completely lost, and the trainers are few who can. keen them in submission once they become confused. In fact, most trainers consider themselves lucky in a case of this sort if they can get the lions quietly back into their cages. The whole cat family, moreover, is as treacherous as it is stupid.